Slow and Easy: Sensual Erotica Boxed Set (6 page)

Leland chuckled sexily and brushed his lips
over hers. “Sugar, I’d say you best be prepared to spend the rest
of the night screaming my name.”

Pepper quaked with anticipation. Her pussy
clenched with need. “Promise?”

“
Always.”

SPURS

Chapter One

Daphne's tummy quivered at the metallic
jangle of spurs and heavy boots on the wooden floorboards. For the
rest of her life that sound would conjure only one image in her
mind: Cord Burnett, the sexiest, most drop dead gorgeous cowboy
she'd ever seen. Growing up in Texas, Daphne had seen her fair
share of cattlemen but never had any of them compared to Cord. From
the moment she'd clapped eyes on him, she'd just known he was the
man for her.

Unfortunately it didn't seem as if Cord
shared her sentiments.

She tried not to dwell on that miserable
fact as he drew near. Instead she settled deeper in the corner of
the comfy sofa and pretended to be engrossed by the article on
supermassive black holes in her scientific journal. The footsteps
came closer, the jingling spurs surprisingly noisy in the empty
ranch house. When Cord drew near, Daphne's entire body flared with
awareness. He was so close his body heat penetrated her arm and the
side of her face. As he moved around to stand in front of the
couch, his smell filled her nose. Leather. Sweat. Horses.

If only she could bottle it and keep it for
those lonely nights she'd soon face once she embarked on her
graduate studies.

“
Where is
everybody?”

His gruff voice shook her to the very core.
She looked up slowly, savoring every second of raking her eyes over
his dusty, muscular form. Those piercing blue eyes made her shiver.
His square jaw with its five o'clock shadow lent him a roguish
look. The Stetson sitting atop his head hid most of his prematurely
graying hair. She couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like
to be wrapped up in those big, strong forearms.

Shaking off her momentary enthrallment,
Daphne met his gaze. “Kate and Derek decided to drive into Austin
for the weekend. They won't be back until Sunday afternoon.”

She noted the smallest tic in Cord's jaw.
He'd done his best to avoid her during her two week visit to his
ranch. She'd never imagined his dislike of her ran so deep he would
be upset with Kate, his own niece, for leaving Daphne behind for a
few days. The knowledge he couldn't stand to be alone with her
stung painfully.

Daphne looked away, not wanting him to see
the hurt in her eyes. “I made dinner but don't feel obligated to
try it.” She tried to make light of the situation with an impish
smile. “I'm not known for my cooking skills.”

Cord's expression softened a bit. “I'm sure
it's just fine. I need a shower first.” He gestured to his filthy
clothing. “Half an hour okay?”

“
Sure.” Her gaze drifted to
his backside as he walked away from her. She'd never seen such a
perfect ass. The denim stretched taut across his butt only
exaggerated its perfection. It was all she could do some days not
to reach out and swat it. What would Cord do if she did? She
doubted he'd be very impressed.

Daphne dropped the magazine onto her lap and
leaned her head back against the sofa cushion. She buried her face
in her hands. What was supposed to be three weeks of uninterrupted,
completely disconnected-from –the-real world vacation in the
gorgeous Hill Country of Texas was turning into a nightmare. Kate
had been so excited to bring Daphne and Derek out to the sprawling
ranch where she'd spent her childhood.

For Derek, it was a chance to experience the
life his soon-to-be wife had lived for years. Like Daphne, Derek
had led a rather cushy life in Houston. They'd both attended the
best schools, Derek at a private school in Houston and Daphne going
to boarding school abroad. They'd both graduated from top notch
universities. Derek now worked with their father and was being
groomed to take over the family business. Marrying Kate in the
spring was just the next step on the path their parents had laid
out for him almost as soon as he'd been conceived.

Daphne, on the other hand, had jumped at the
chance to escape from her mother's never-ending parade of eligible
Ivy League graduates. She was about to start studying for her PhD
for goodness sake! Bagging a blue-blooded husband with high earning
potential and the “right” connections was the last thing on her
mind. She needed space, some time to decompress after four years of
studying astrophysics at Caltech, and this ranch located in the
middle of nowhere had seemed the perfect choice.

Until she'd met Cord and all her plans were
shot to hell.

Falling in lust with her best friend's uncle
had to be the very worst thing she'd ever done. Not that she had
any control over it, of course. It had simply happened. One look at
that rough, raw man and she was gone. She smiled wryly at the irony
of her situation. Generally she had to beat men off with a stick
but the only man she'd ever craved wanted nothing to do with
her.

Annoyed, Daphne tossed the magazine onto the
coffee table. She heard Cord's bedroom door close and almost
instantly the naughty images started. In her mind, Cord undressed
slowly, stripping down to his birthday suit and revealing inch
after delicious inch of tanned, toned body. His thick cock stood at
attention. He stroked the length of his rock hard shaft as he
pointed to floor in front of him. She hurried to comply, kneeling
at his feet and staring up at him with such hunger. She desperately
wanted to taste his cum, to suck his cock and hear him groan with
pleasure.

As Daphne entertained her filthy fantasy,
she allowed her hands lift up the fabric of her long skirt. Her
fingers slid inside her panties and between the lips of her
throbbing sex. Eyes closed, she imagined Cord's cock in her mouth
as she stroked her clit. The little pearl begged for attention. She
flicked her fingers over it as she enjoyed the fantasy of Cord
pressing his cock between her wet lips. His phantom fingers
tightened in her hair as he pumped his hips and fucked her mouth
just the way she wanted. He breathed heavily as he neared his
climax.

The excitement of behaving so wantonly and
of risking Cord finding her masturbating on his living room couch
only made Daphne hotter. As imaginary Cord came all over Daphne's
mouth, she slid her fingers inside her wet pussy and thrust them
against her g-spot. No lover had ever been able to bring her to
climax but she'd never had a problem achieving the Big O on her
own. With such a dirty fantasy racing through her mind, Daphne had
no problem coming now either. She pinched her nipples through the
thin fabric of her dress and strummed her clit with her thumb.
Mouth open but no noise issuing forth, Daphne came hard.

She might not be able to have Cord in real
life, but in the realm of her fantasies, that man was all hers.

* * * * *

Cord cursed his rotten luck as he stood
beneath the pounding spray of his shower head. Of all the times for
Kate to run off with her fiancé for a weekend in Austin! Being
alone with Daphne was going to kill him.

For the last twelve days, he'd walked around
with a permanent hard-on. The second Daphne Vasquez had stepped out
of her brother's SUV that hot Saturday afternoon he hadn't been
able to get her out of his mind. A stiff breeze had kicked up her
blue skirt and bared a tantalizing glimpse of thigh and baby blue
panties. He'd tried to do the decent thing and look away but it had
proven impossible. As she'd walked toward the house, he'd prayed
for another gust of wind, another peek of those cotton panties—and
felt like a huge pervert.

Daphne was way out of his league. Hair as
black as coffee. Silky skin the color of caramel. Eyes as green as
spring grass. And those curves! Daphne was obviously a girl who
enjoyed a good meal and understood men wanted their women soft and
round and full. She was brilliant, beautiful, disgustingly rich,
and young—twenty-two to his thirty-four. Too young for a rough old
bastard like himself.

But even knowing all that Cord couldn't stop
the fantasies. He hadn't been prone to wet dreams in ages but
having Daphne just a few doors down had driven him to the point of
insanity. He'd done an alarming amount of laundry over the last few
days. No matter how hard he tried not to think of Daphne, his cock
seemed to override his wishes.

In his dreams, he could have her any way he
wanted. Over him, under him, bent over the kitchen table—his dream
self had fucked Daphne six ways to Sunday. Even now he ached for
her. Desperate for relief, he stroked the rigid length of his soapy
cock. He fisted the head and fondled his sac. If he closed his eyes
and concentrated, Cord could practically taste her. He yearned to
bury his face in her sweet pussy. He could hear her shrieking his
name as she came against his lips. He wanted to lap at her cunt, to
swallow every last drop of honey leaking from her core. And then
he'd shove his fat cock inside that tight pussy. He'd give her the
ride of a lifetime, pound her right into the mattress until she
begged for mercy.

With a strangled groan, Cord came all over
his hand. He leaned against the tile and caught his breath. Shame
filtered through him. It wasn't right to fantasize about her like
that. She wasn't some pinup intended to fuel his dirty thoughts.
She was a brilliant, beautiful young woman who deserved to be
treated with respect.

Growling and frustrated, Cord switched off
the water and reached for a towel. He stared angrily at his
treacherous cock and warned it to behave. He'd taken the edge off
with that jerkoff session. Hopefully it would be enough to tide him
over through dinner and the rest of the evening without Kate and
Derek as a buffer. He didn't know how he'd make it through Saturday
or Sunday though. He'd have to just get through it, he
supposed.

But Daphne was just so goddamn gorgeous and
alluring he accepted it was probably futile.

It killed him to be rude to her but avoiding
her and acting as if he couldn't stand her was the only way to
maintain his sanity. He couldn't have Daphne, not in this lifetime.
She was the kind of girl meant for a specific kind of man, namely a
CEO with piles of cash and a bloodline to rival his best bull, but
definitely not some rough and tumble rancher with a bachelor's
degree from a state university. He couldn't compare to the men who
moved in her privileged circles. To entertain any hopes outside the
realm of reality was simply masochistic.

He'd steel his jaw and get through the
weekend. If being near her proved too tempting, he'd drive into
town and visit one of his standbys. There were a handful of women
willing to let him spend the night. Or he could always stop by the
Rocking R for a drink. Meeting a woman there wouldn't be difficult.
Maybe that was exactly what he needed: a wild night with a nameless
woman to clear his head. Daphne wasn't the only sexy woman in
existence. He'd done just fine without her all these years.

This was all just a passing infatuation.
Wasn't it?

* * * * *

Daphne held her breath as Cord took the
first tentative bite of the pasta dish she'd prepared. She hadn't
been joking about her cooking skills. She'd grown up in fully
staffed households and boarding schools. Learning to whip up a home
cooked meal hadn't even crossed her mind until her first semester
at Caltech. Thankfully Kate had taken Daphne under her wing and
taught her some of the more important skills she'd failed to
develop over the years. Things like cooking, cleaning, ironing.
Basic skills she really needed but had never been taught. They'd
actually become friends over their shared microwave and contraband
hot plate.

“
It's good,” Cord declared,
his voice carrying a hint of surprise.

Daphne smiled, her tummy trembling happily
at his compliment. “Thanks.”

They sat on opposite ends of the dining
table. Despite the distance, Daphne could smell the brisk cedar
scent that always seemed to cling to him. She yearned to bury her
nose against his neck and inhale the smell deep into her lungs.
Would it send her over the edge? Probably, she acknowledged,
squeezing her thighs tightly together. Her sex pulsed at the vision
of being so close to him, of pressing her breasts against him and
licking at the curve of his throat.

They'd been eating in silence for a few
minutes when Cord finally spoke. "I was thinking of driving into
town later."

Hope swelled inside her. She grinned at him.
"Really? Well maybe we could see a movie or something."

Cord's face tightened. "I meant alone."

"Oh." Embarrassment burned her face. The
brief happiness she'd experienced at his compliment earlier
collapsed. "Sorry."

"No, I should have been clear." He paused
before reluctantly adding, "You can come, I guess."

"No, thanks." She faked a disinterested
smile. "I should probably catch up on some reading and return
emails."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure." She stabbed her fork into the
pasta. "Will you be gone long?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Well I was
thinking of having a drink at the Rockin' R so I may not be home
tonight."

Pain lanced her gut at the thought of him
with another woman. "I see."

"I don't think it would be appropriate for
me to bring someone home."

So he was going in to town to fuck someone
else. Daphne tried not to let her emotions slip. It was obvious he
wasn't ever going to be interested in her. Time to nip that silly,
foolish infatuation of hers in the bud, it seemed.

She lowered her fork to the table. "You know
what? Kate left me the keys to her car. I'll just take off after
dinner and find a room at one of the B&B's in town."