Rough Rider (20 page)

“That's the expansion you were talking about.”

“Yes.” He nodded. “They are only interested in organic, grass-fed beef, which means I also need more grazing pastures. Wade and I have gone head-to-head over this for the past couple of years.” Dirk's brows met in a scowl. “He's too damned shortsighted to see the new opportunity.”

“Then you can't give up.”

“I don't intend to.”

The waiter returned with their drinks. “Do you have any questions?”

“Mind if I order for both of us?” he asked Janice.

“Not at all. Please do.”

Dirk never even opened the menu. “The crab hamaruki to share, two wedge salads, and two of the Wagyu tenderloins.”

“Excellent,” the server replied and disappeared.

The service was exceptional and the entire meal superb, especially the beef. In truth, it was the best she'd ever tasted, which only confirmed in Janice's mind that Dirk really was onto something. On top of that, Dirk appeared more relaxed than Janice had ever seen him. They lingered over dinner, laughing and talking until they were the only patrons remaining in the restaurant.

“Would you care for coffee or dessert?” the waiter asked.

“Nothing more for me,” Janice groaned, near bursting. “But it was all fabulous.”

Dirk's blue gaze met hers. “I agree. It's been the best night I can recall in a very long time.”

It was almost eleven o'clock when they finally left the restaurant. Dirk walked her to the passenger side of his truck and paused before opening her door. “It's just occurred to me that I've gone about all of this completely ass backwards.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I just realized this is our very first date.”

Janice stared at him for a moment and then cracked a smile. “You're right. It is at that.”

“Mind if I kiss you?”

“You're
asking
?” She laughed outright.

He grew suddenly serious. He cupped her face with both hands. “A man should never take a woman for granted.” His lips met hers, gliding over them with a toe-curling and breath-stealing tenderness. He released her slowly and then stepped back to open the truck door.

“I s'pose that goes both ways,” Janice said as he handed her in. “But after
that
meal, I promise you I'm a sure thing.”

He held her gaze for a long moment. “That so?”

“Yeah.” She licked her lips, tension coiling deep in her belly. “I told you I left the house tonight with a certain optimism.”

“Then I'd hate to disappoint you, Red.” The words were barely out of his mouth before he spun back toward the inn. “Wait here,” he tossed over his shoulder.

Dirk returned a few minutes later, room key in hand. “Last one,” he explained. “There's a big wedding party.”

She stared at the key. “You got us a room?”

“I want us to do this right for a change. I don't want a quick and dirty fuck in the truck like a coupla horny teenagers. You deserve better than that.”

Janice swallowed hard, the significance of his act and his words nearly overwhelming her. It seemed a monumental step from him.

“I admit I'm nervous as hell right now,” he confessed, as if reading her mind. “I haven't had a woman in a bed since before… Shit! I've never felt
this
anxious before.”

Although he was accustomed to taking charge, she could see he was facing a major crisis of confidence. She twined her arms around his neck. “There's no reason,” she said. “All I want…all I need…is you inside me.”

He withdrew a few inches, searching her face. “I want that too, Red. So you wanna go inside now?”

“Yeah. I do,” she replied.

Moments later, Janice slinked through the lobby, acutely self-conscious about her lack of luggage and knowing she'd feel far more embarrassed when they left after a couple of hours. She hoped they'd be able to sneak out without anyone noticing. As if reading her thoughts, Dirk walked on the inside as they passed by the check-in desk, wrapping his arm protectively around her. He punched the button to call the old-fashioned elevator and pulled her inside the moment the doors opened.

Once they closed again, he hit a button for the second floor and then pinned her to the wall, his thigh wedged between hers. His mouth descended on her neck, licking, sucking, gently biting. Desire bloomed until she thought she'd melt into a puddle on the floor. Her legs were almost ready to give way when the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

* * *

The scent of vanilla had enveloped him the minute the elevator closed. She smelled so damn good that it made him light-headed. She tasted even better. When the bell dinged, he peeled her arms gently but firmly from around his neck, forcing himself to break the kiss before he lost himself in it…in her…completely. He guided her down the hall with his hand poised just above her ass, unlocking the door, his heart pounding erratically with a mix of fear and anticipation. It wasn't their first time together, but this was different. By taking her to bed, he'd be letting his guard down. Completely. And it scared the shit out of him.

The room was dark, but he intentionally bypassed the light switch. He could barely stand to look at himself in the mirror. The thought of seeing revulsion reflected in her eyes terrified him.

Without breaking the kiss, they backed unevenly across the floor toward the bed. Her hands matched the eagerness of her mouth, unbuttoning his shirt and peeling it back to explore his torso. He experienced another instant of panic when she reached for the bedside lamp.

“No.” He stayed her hand. “One step at a time, Red. If this is gonna happen, you'll need to grant me a few small concessions.”

As if reading his fears, Janice rose up on her toes and cupped her hands around his face. “This is about trust, Dirk. You told me you want to make this work between us. If that's going to happen, you need to trust me.”

Holding him, she brushed her lips over his, then worked her way over the scar that marred his face. He stiffened beneath her touch, but tamped down the urge to wrench away.

“Please, Dirk,” she whispered, her brown eyes pleading. “Just let go. Let me prove to you that your injuries don't matter to me. Show me we can do this…that we can have this.” She feathered more light kisses over the mangled flesh before pressing her warm, lush body against him and sealing her mouth to his.

He kissed her back, his mouth melding with hers, exploring, tasting, growing hungrier when her tongue darted out seeking his, spiking his desire another notch. Edgy as he was, she still had him hard as a post in no time.

She stripped off his shirt, but he knew it was too dark for her to see very much. Even with their eyes adjusted, the dim light wouldn't reveal the worst of it. She tugged his jeans and boxers off his hips, but stopped shy of pushing them all the way down. He sprang free into her warm and eager hands. She caressed his length as she trailed hot and humid kisses down his torso. Lust had him swaying drunkenly on his feet by the time she was face level with his swollen dick. He had to clasp her shoulder for balance.

His lids fluttered shut on a low moan as she drew him into her mouth. She took him deep, gently rolling his balls between her fingers. They tightened beneath her touch. He rocked his hips. She gripped his flexing buttocks and he was gone, his mind blurred to all but sensation. He realized with annoyance that once more he'd let her take control. It wasn't what he wanted, not how he'd planned for this to play out, but it still took a supreme force of will to withdraw from her mouth.

* * *

As she'd sucked, stroked, and caressed, his pleasure became hers. She was quickly caught up in his salty taste, his musky scent, and the guttural sounds emerging from his throat. He had to be close to coming. His eyes were shut, the muscles in his neck straining, his chest rising and falling erratically when he abruptly withdrew.

“What's wrong?” She looked up at him with surprise.

“Nothing,” he growled. “I appreciate the gesture, but it's not what I want.”

“I thought it would help you relax.”

He brought her back to her feet. “Not this time, Red. This has gotta happen on my terms.”

She'd gone down with the single thought of making him forget his fears, but if he needed to exert control, she wasn't about to balk. He'd never be able to handle any kind of relationship until he reclaimed his sense of manhood. And that would never happen until he regained his confidence in bed. She was determined to do whatever it took to help him.

“And what are those?” she asked.

He pulled her close, rocking his pelvis into hers and squeezing the globes of her ass. His big hard erection pressed into her belly. He kissed her deeper, licking up her neck and then around the shell of her ear. He sank his teeth into her lobe. “Take off the dress and I'll show you,” his voice rumbled low and deep. “Leave the shoes on.”

“I need help with my dress,” Janice said.

He spun her around and unzipped it. The black sheath slid down her shoulders, over her hips, and hit the floor. She wore nothing underneath. He grunted in approval. “You have one beautiful ass, Red.”

He stepped into her from behind, nuzzling along the juncture of her neck and shoulder with his lightly bristled jaw. His breath was hot and moist on her skin. She shivered. Her breasts were heavy, her nipples painfully erect. His every touch had her aching with want. Cupping and molding her breasts in his hands, he continued kissing, licking, and biting her neck and shoulders while teasing her nipples with his thumbs. Cranking her need tighter. Higher.

His chest hair tickled her back as he nestled his hard cock between her ass cheeks. He felt so damned good—all big, hot, and aroused male. Her sex throbbed like a beating heart, her inner walls convulsing with the excruciating need to be filled.

“Please,” she whispered, grinding her backside into him.

“On the bed,” he said, ripping back the covers. “I want you on your hands and knees.”

His commanding tone sent ripples down her spine. She kicked off her heels and climbed on top of the bed, kneeling with legs apart. Her body thrumming with the anticipation of penetration, only to be surprised by his mouth instead. Her skin stung with sharp nips of his teeth on her butt cheeks, soothed by hot wet kisses and long raspy licks.

He explored her deeper with his tongue while his hands slid over her hips, stroking and circling the dimples of her lower back and then farther south, fondling her ass and then sweeping up and down the cleft. His finessing fingers excited every nerve ending, pushing her closer and closer to the brink of climax.

“Now, Dirk. Please.” She whimpered over her shoulder. “I want you inside me.”

His tongue probed her deeper. He circled a finger over her puckered entrance.

She froze, clenching her butt cheeks with another whimper—this time in fear. “Please don't.”

Dirk drew back. “What's wrong? You don't like that?”

“No. I don't. Grady…he was rough.”

He pulled her into a sitting position. “Let's get one thing straight. I ain't Grady. And I'd never force anything on you that you don't like. I'd never hurt you, Janice.”

“I know,” she whispered. “If I thought you were anything like him I wouldn't be here.”

“Trust is a two-way street, sweetheart.”

“I know. I'm sorry.”

“There's no need to be.” He soothed her with a kiss and a caress. “Are you all right now? Do you still want this?”

“Yes,” she said. “I'm OK, and I do.” In truth, she ached like hell to have him buried deep inside her.

“Then just relax and let me take care of you.”

“No, Dirk. I want to feel you inside me. Now.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Now.” She kissed him hungrily, her desire coming quickly back to life with every flick and stroke of his questing tongue. She lay back on the bed, pulling him down with her. He released her just for a moment. His hands came down between them. She heard the stiff rustle of denim, and then he plunged into her, impaling her fully in a surge of pure pleasure that rocked her to the core.

She shut her eyes, reveling in the sheer sensation of Dirk filling her emptiness, relieving the ache. They remained joined and locked, stock-still, until he began a slow and deliberate thrust and drag that wiped her mind clean of all thought beyond the feeling of him moving inside her.

“So good,” he murmured hotly, licking and sucking her neck. “So damned good.”

She urged him deeper, digging her heels into his flanks and straining into his ebb and flow of motions. He increased his pace, pounding into her until the air echoed with their mingled moans, synchronized with the erotic slap of flesh on flesh, until her senses were swimming in a mind-erasing rush of sensation.

“Give it up,” he growled, driving into her in a ravaging rhythm of thrust and retreat that sent her barreling toward the edge. She clawed the sheet on an endless moan as her climax sluiced through her, her inner walls contracting and convulsing in searing waves.

He followed with a primal roar as he emptied into her in a hot and pulsating rush. It was everything she'd wanted. Everything she'd wished it could be. She only hoped he felt the same.

* * *

Dirk was sitting on the edge of the bed lost in his thoughts and staring at his boots when Janice emerged from the bathroom. She left the light on and the door open, he guessed intentionally. She scooped up her dress from the floor with a look of uncertainty. “What now?” she asked softly, a tiny frown wrinkling her brow.

He didn't immediately answer, mainly because his brain still wasn't fully functioning yet. He'd been so lost in the moment…in her…that he hadn't given any thought to the aftermath. Her brown gaze continued to search his. Her question had caught him off guard. Staying together the whole night seemed a huge step…but then again…maybe it was time to get off the fence.