Strokes Vol #3 (3 page)

I awoke again
in darkness, my back warmed by a hard chest. A large hand lay clamped between my thighs. Soft snores gusted against my hair. Usually, this was the time in a tryst where I awoke worried about how to extricate myself and beat a graceful retreat. Our arousal had been spent. Lust-goggles had been removed. Now we were just two naked bodies, spooned together, mimicking intimacy neither of us could really feel.

But this time, I wasn’t in a rush to leave. I liked the firm muscle surrounding my body. Liked the scent of his skin, the smell of our sex. The hand between my leg jerked slightly, and his thumb slid between my folds. Maybe it was a reflexive movement, but my pussy approved. A fresh, warm wash of cream seeped from me.

The thumb lifted, pushing into my opening, and I knew he was fully awake because his breaths were quieter now.

That sly little intrusion struck me as funny, and I grinned in the darkness, then squeezed around his thumb, letting him know I was also fully alert.

A mock murmur scraped from his throat. His thighs shifted, bumping against the backs of mine, rearranging my legs. His cock nudged my ass, softness gradually replaced by a hardened column, riding my divide.

“Gonna keep playin’ ’possum?” he growled into my ear.

I gave a soft, feminine grunt. “I was makin’ sure you had time to slide out of bed if you wanted to run.”

“Now, darlin’, why would I want to do that?”

“I don’t know,” I said breezily, my heart skipping a beat because I didn’t want the conversation to become too truthful. I liked him. More so by the minute, since he’d made me smile. But I knew this wasn’t going to lead to anything. It couldn’t.

He pressed a kiss behind my ear. “You do this often?”

I stiffened inside his arms. I wasn’t really like this, but he was a special case. Not something I was willing to admit because things might get sticky.

“Didn’t mean any insult,” he said, kissing the top of my shoulder.

I forced myself to relax. “Guess the question was fair,” I whispered, “considerin’ how fast this all happened.” I eased to my back, missing the touch of his hand and his thumb as they slid away. I looked into his face, his cheeks and brows highlighted by silver moonlight. “Obviously, I’m no virgin, but I don’t jump straight into bed with strange men.”

He ran the backs of his fingers along my cheek. “Why me? Why tonight?”

I gave a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know. The moment you walked into the restaurant, I knew I had to have you.”

“Always know exactly what you want?”

I shook my head, but then wrinkled my nose and nodded. “When it’s something I want really bad, I go for it.”

“Then, I’m flattered.” His eyes narrowed. “Did I kill the mood?”

I grinned. “Got another condom?”

His mouth curved into a crooked smile. “You’re dangerous.”

“I like the way you ride, cowboy.” My words were bold, but my voice was soft, my breath stolen by the heat simmering in his gaze.

He entered me as we lay side by side, my thigh draped over his hip, my head resting on a thick bicep. His large hand cupped my buttock, molding it, forcing me close as he gave me long, slow thrusts.

My inner channel was just a little raw and I must have winced, because he withdrew.

“You’re sore. You take me,” he said softly, then lay on his back, a curved arm shoving a pillow under his head and shoulders.

He wanted to watch me move, and I wanted to try something I’d only ever read about. After all, I had a cowboy in this bed. But first things first.

I bent over his cock and sank my mouth down his length, sucking hard as I drew off. I had to do it a second time, simply because I wanted to savor the fullness. “Just makin’ sure that latex is wet,” I drawled, as I released him.

His chuckle ended on a groan when he saw me facing away to mount him. I glanced over my shoulder as I rose high to take his cock. “You said you liked watchin’ my ass jiggle.”

He laughed and gave my ass a playful slap. “Giddyup, girl.”

*

We’d barely caught
our breath again when lights flickered and the air conditioner sputtered on, blowing a cooling breeze over steamy damp skin.

“Shit!” He pulled away, rolled off the bed, and tugged the curtains closed.

When he turned back to the bed, I rolled to my side facing him, planting an elbow in the mattress so I could rest my head on my hand. “Guess this is where we get dressed and go,” I said softly, trying hard to keep the disappointment from tightening my voice. I really liked this cowboy. Too bad this was only a one-night stand.

He sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand over my shoulder down to the curve of my waist. His gaze followed. Probably filling in his mental picture of what he hadn’t been able to see in the dark.

I let him look his fill and didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed doing the same. Lord, the man was built. Thickly muscled arms and shoulders, ridged abdomen, lightly furred.

My gaze slipped to his waning erection, still clothed in a condom.

“Carly, I know you wanted this to be something…fun,” he said softly.

I knew what he was really trying to say. I didn’t want to say goodbye either. Something about him—maybe the care he’d taken with my body—made me feel things I couldn’t express. But I didn’t want to spend the rest of the night in his arms and hear half-hearted promises come morning.

“Cowboy,” I said, my flat tone a reminder of the rules, ignoring the way his expression slowly shuttered although it caused me a twinge of pain. “Storm’s over.”

He drew in a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right.” His lips curved in a rueful smile. “Guess I should get rid of this,” he said with a quick glance at his cock.

I stifled a sigh of regret and stayed silent as I watched him stride to the bathroom and quietly close the door. The sound of the shower starting up pulled me into action.

I rolled from the bed, opened the top drawer of the bedside table, and pulled out a small notepad and the motel’s pen. I quickly scribbled
Carly
and my real last name, plus my cell phone number on the top sheet, then searched the ground for his jeans and slipped the note into the front pocket.

Maybe he’d turn out his pockets before he washed them. Maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d read the note, smile and crumple it before throwing it out.

I really didn’t want to know. If he didn’t call, I’d prefer to think he never saw it and that maybe he carried a little regret with him when he thought about me and our tryst.

As for me, I knew watching a storm roll in would always remind me of my wild night ride with the rodeo champion.

I dressed quickly, let myself out of the room, and dug into my pocket for my keys. In minutes, I was pulling out of the parking lot, watching the motel’s lights grow fainter in the rearview mirror as I headed west, toward home. Regret weighed down my chest.

My cell phone buzzed on vibrate on the seat next to me, and I quelled the leap of hope that quickened my heartbeat until I saw
CALLER UNKNOWN
on the lit screen.

With my heart beating wildly, I smiled and tucked the phone between my shoulder and my ear. “Hi there, Cowboy. Miss me?”

*

A week later,
I stroked “Waitress Red” onto my toenails, and then set my feet up on the porch rail to admire them while the polish dried. I’d had the cabin to myself all weekend, but that was about to change.

My parents were in Dallas, my brothers back at the ranch. No one had a clue I’d invited company to join me. A good thing, since the last thing I wanted was my brothers showing up with shotguns to give Dalton a proper pre-date warning. I’d groaned and cried through that humiliation too many times. Was it any wonder I took my pleasure when and where I could find it? And if they knew who he really was…?

An engine growled and tires kicked up white-flour dust in the distance. Cowboy’s Ford was taking the goat-trail road to the cabin with ease. He pulled it to a halt in front of the porch, opened his door and stood on the running board, tipping back his hat to give me a lazy once-over that left my skin tingling head to fire-engine red toes.

“Might have told me you were a Mallory…”

I grinned. Unrepentant. McCabes and Mallorys had been chewing over the same tracts of land since Texas had achieved statehood. The fact we’d never met before that day in the diner was no surprise since our families’ friends would never stray from one camp to the other. Guest lists for parties were carefully scrutinized and scrubbed.

He stepped down to the dirt and strode toward me. “How long you plannin’ on keepin’ us a secret?”

I glanced upward, pretending to think about it. The question was all I’d thought about after leaving him at the motel. The sex had been great. He’d been great. His call minutes after I’d left had made me smile inside because I knew he was caught—just like I was.

“Wanna run away?” I asked, wrinkling my nose, only half joking.

His head dipped, his cowboy hat hiding his expression, but then he looked up at me. “I don’t want to run. And I won’t hide.”

Secretly glad he felt the same way, I nodded and gave him a smile. “I don’t go by Carly by the way,” I said. “It’s my middle name.”

“I know.” His smile was crooked as his hands caught the edge of the porch roof. “I looked you up on Facebook, Elizabeth.”

I admired the way his plaid shirt with its snap buttons stretched across his broad torso. “Just Beth,” I said, feeling breathless.

His gaze narrowed on my face. “Just Beth, now was that so hard?”

I groaned. “Makes it real. When I’m Carly and you’re Cowboy, we’re just two people…”

“…Fallin’ in love?”

My breath hitched and tears stung my eyes. “Crazy, huh?”

He dropped his arms and closed the distance between us to scoop me up against his chest. With an inch between our mouths, nothing about this seemed crazy or wrong. “Guess we’re done talkin’.”

A smile stretched my mouth. “Don’t have a neighbor for miles.”

His eyebrows waggled. “Guess we’re gonna do it on the porch.”

“Put me down.”

We both stripped in under a minute and gazed at each other’s bodies in the sunlight. I hadn’t been dreaming, hadn’t exaggerated a thing in my mind. He was just as ruggedly masculine, just as rough around the edges. My nipples prickled, my heartbeat thudded.

His hand wrapped around his cock and gave it a slow pump. “Pardon my lack of manners, ma’am, but this has to be quick.”

“No complaints from me,” I murmured, then turned and faced outward, my gaze taking in the cedar and oaks dotting the hillside below me, the bright cloudless blue sky above. I gripped the porch rail and bent over it.

While fingers stroked my sex and swirled inside it, juicing me up, I let my mind wander. This wasn’t a passing fling. We couldn’t stop wanting each other if we tried. I was glad that our first attraction hadn’t been tainted by thoughts of the obstacles we faced. Our families would just have to deal.

His fingers withdrew, then slid around my torso to cup my breasts. He gave them firm squeezes while he shuffled his feet apart, scraping them on the boards while his cock slid lower. When he was just the right height behind me, his cock snug against my entrance, he smoothed his hands to the notches of my hips. “It’s gonna get rough.”

“God, I hope so,” I said, moaning when he nudged me there. I’d missed the feel of that fat blunt knob. “Fuck me, cowboy.”

He obliged, driving deep in a single, steady thrust. When he was as deep as I could take, he groaned and hugged my waist, bending over me to rest his head in the corner of my neck. “I thought maybe I’d dreamed how good this felt.”

“It’s no dream,” I said, lifting a hand to touch his cheek. “It’s just us.”

“I’m not letting you go.”

“Fine with me, but you better start moving.” I squeezed my pussy around him, drawing inward as hard as I could before relaxing.

“Don’t do that again,” he said, giving a raspy hiss when I did.

“Shouldn’t have dared me.” I couldn’t help smiling.

“There I was, thinking I’d go slow and easy. Make it good for you.”

“Baby, it already is. Fuck me, Dalton. Don’t worry. I’m already there.”