Cowboy Up Read online

  "Somethin' tells me your mind might be ready to be bad, sugar, but your nerves aren't there yet. Goes down smooth, but sip it nonetheless."

  My brain, still clearly under the dark cowboy's control, doesn't have a problem working now. My hand curls around the glass and I bring it to my lips, letting him control me without fighting it. He's not wrong--it goes down smooth as silk. At least, the first two sips do. Then I get a little confident and take a deep swallow, only to sputter my way through it.

  "Sip," he calmly demands, leaning into me enough that I feel the heat of his body against my bare arms. "Want you feelin' calm when I show you how fun it is to be bad, not drunk."

  "Who says I want to be bad with you?" I ask, taking a very small sip this time.

  "Babe, you wanna be bad with me."

  He's right, I do. "You seem confident." I look over the glass, trying to see through the shadows, but give up when I realize just how well he's cloaked.

  He doesn't respond but instead takes a drink from his own glass.

  "I don't even know you."

  "Wouldn't make a difference if you did."

  "You know, some people might actually think that you're actually just cocky and not confident."

  "I'm old enough to go after what I want without playin' games. There ain't a thing cocky about that." God, his voice is pure sex.

  "And what's that?"

  "You'll find out," he promises darkly, playing the game despite his words.

  "Cocky."

  His deep laugh is low and gritty, almost as if it's a sound that normally doesn't come from him. For whatever reason, it makes me want to know everything I can about this man--this stranger.

  We fall into a comfortable silence, but one that carries so much promise I can feel it building inside of me. Luke comes over to talk to me when he can, but it isn't often. My glass is never empty for long, but on Luke's fifth pass with the bottle of top-shelf whiskey, the dark cowboy places his hand over the top of my glass. I look over at him instead of Luke, to see him shaking his head.

  "I got her, but how 'bout water and close out my tab?"

  "You got it, Davis." Luke laughs, turning to grab me a bottle of water from the fridge behind him.

  "Your name is Davis?" I ask the man next to me, weighing the sound of it.

  He doesn't acknowledge me, waiting for Luke to come back with his credit card and his receipt to sign. He scribbles his signature and hands it back to Luke, dropping his feet to the wooden floor under us and stepping back. I follow his movements with my eyes, waiting to see what he'll do next, already anticipating the rush of disappointment when he leaves, knowing I'll likely never see him again. My jaw drops the second his hand comes out, palm up, in a gesture that clearly means he wants me to go with him. I look from his hand up to the darkness shadowing his face, wondering if I should actually be careless enough to go off with some stranger I don't know.

  "You gonna give me shit about this?"

  Confused, I look from that tanned hand with the long fingers back up at him, but I can tell by the tilt of his hat that he's speaking to someone behind me.

  "Would it matter?" Luke laughs behind me and I turn to look at him.

  "Not really. Only opinion that I care about is hers, but still askin'."

  Luke shakes his head but still smiles. "Not her keeper, but I assure you if I had a problem with this shit I wouldn't have sat her next to you and continued to refill her glass." Luke looks down at me and gives me a wink. "Been a while, darlin', make sure he wraps it up."

  I gasp and feel heat blossoming on my cheeks as Luke turns with a deep laugh and walks away. I'm going to kill him.

  Heat blankets my back a second later and two strong hands clasp my hips. I feel him move until his breath is at my ear. "Let's go be bad, hmm?"

  Am I going to do this? Go off with some man I don't know and sleep with him? Because I would be a fool to think this is anything else. Earlier I promised myself I was done living a ghost of a life and that I was going to find a way to be wild and free. I've never slept with someone I wasn't in a long-term relationship with. Oh, who am I kidding, I've only slept with one man. To say I'm in over my head here is an understatement. Lucy does it all the time. Hell, she keeps telling me I need a good rebound romp in the sheets. Screw it, I'll regret it if I don't at least jump in the saddle again, letting this man go without taking him for a ride.

  I take a deep breath, lean back against the strong body behind me, and nod. "Yeah. Let's go . . . be bad."

  My back vibrates with his laughter, and I shiver in his hold, my wide eyes meeting Luke's across the bar. He gives me a wink and smiles his ruggedly handsome, crooked smile, tipping his chin toward the door in silent confirmation that he has no problem with the stranger leading me away. Knowing that the dark cowboy has Luke's trust breaks the final restraint on my reservations. I turn, look up at my companion, and smile.

  "Lead the way."

  2

  CAROLINE

  "Bar at the End of the World" by Kenny Chesney

  Deliciously reckless.

  That's really the only way I can explain the feeling that's rushing through my body right now.

  The darkness around us makes my other senses come to the forefront. The rasp of his five o'clock shadow against my sensitive skin as he kisses and licks his way down the column of my throat only makes my arousal spike to dangerous levels. Had we made it farther than even a foot into the motel room across from Hazel's, I would've turned on a light so I could finally see him, but now it's more fun to continue this ride with that unknown factor. He can be anyone I want him to be now. Or anyone I don't want him to be. For one night, I can take the pleasure my body hasn't had in years and live off the memories of it until I'm ready to give another man a chance. Hopefully I won't let another five years pass before that happens again.

  I push my hands from his shoulders and palm his jaw as his stubble prickles against my fingers while my hands wander up to his hair. His hat falls to the floor with a thud and I know he's just as lost in me as I am in him, because he doesn't even make a move to pick it up. He lets out a deep grunt when I mold myself against his body, seeking some sort of friction. The next thing I know, my back is against the door and he's gripping my bottom. His mouth hits my jaw with a bite of his teeth, making a squeak of pleasure shoot up my throat, and his deep rumble of laughter reaches my ears as he presses me harder into the door with his hips. The heavy bulge of his erection against that spot makes me so desperate for him that I whimper in relief when his mouth finally closes over mine in a wet tangle of tongues.

  I've never been kissed so thoroughly.

  This is the kind of kiss that sets the bar for any that might follow.

  The kind that shows you everything you've been missing and everything you never knew you wanted. I'm going to be comparing every kiss I ever have to my dark cowboy's, even though I know there's a good chance no one will ever compare. The sounds coming from my mouth, the ones being swallowed by his, are nothing short of needy. My hips move in tandem with the thrusts of his, and even though we're both fully clothed, I know it won't take much more of this for me to go off like the town's fireworks on the Fourth of July.

  "Fuck, you taste just like apple pie," he whispers against my lips, breaking away with a gasp.

  "Huh?"

  "Goddamn, I love apple pie," he says before his mouth is back on mine, this time with a whole new kind of hunger deepening his kisses.

  I'm held captive, enraptured. Then his hands move from my bottom to glide up my torso. He lifts his hard chest off mine and suddenly those delicious fingers are at my breasts. Even if I had big boobs his hands would dwarf them, I'm sure, but as it is he covers both with a firm grasp before adjusting his hold with a deft twist of the wrists. His mouth continues to feast on mine while his huge hands learn my body with slow movements. I tear my mouth from his with a breathy moan when he pushes my shirt up and slips his fingers into the cups of my bra to tweak my nipples.

 
"Oh, God," I moan when he does it again.

  "I can't get enough of you," he rumbles.

  "Please," I beg, not with the slightest clue as to what I'm begging for.

  His hips dig even harder into mine as he leans back, supporting me against the door with that connection alone as he pulls my shirt off. The darkness makes me feel more confident than I normally would be, almost half naked with a man--no, a stranger.

  "Yours too," I tell him as his fingers move to unclasp my bra. "I want to feel your skin on mine," I breathe, taking over the task so he'll hopefully give me what I want.

  I fumble in my haste to feel more of this dangerous arousal he's creating in my body, but the second my bra is free and dangling toward the floor, his naked chest collides against mine, pushing me into the door with a force that sends the air rushing out of my lungs.

  His mouth hits my collarbone at the same time his hands grasp my bottom, sliding me up the door until I feel the wet heat of his breath against my breast.

  Then he stops.

  "Wh-what are you doing?" I cry out, tugging him by his thick hair toward my aching breast. When he doesn't budge, I drop my head back with a thump hard enough to make my eyes water.

  "Fuck, give me a second, darlin'," he rasps out, his heavy breath wafting against my flesh, causing my whole body to spark with another wave of need.

  "Please, Davis," I whine.

  He grunts, the sound of his name turning into a loud scream of pleasure when his mouth covers my nipple. Sucking deeply, he sends arousal shooting from every single nerve in my body. I've never in my life felt anything like it. One hand starts to caress and tease my other breast until I'm positive I'm going to come from this alone. My hips pump against his abs, and I wish I wasn't so short and that it was his crotch against mine, but with muscles like his, I'm thinking I still might be able to.

  "More, need more."

  He pops his mouth free, giving one more lick, then spins us and stomps away from the door. I'm so lost in him that when he drops me, I don't even think to panic. The hard mattress gives me enough of a bounce that when he follows on top of me we collide with dual grunts.

  He's got me naked in a matter of seconds in a move so skillful I don't even realize I'm being undressed until a rush of cool air brushes against my wet core. I don't give myself a second to think about where he learned that; instead I push off the bed with my feet against the mattress and rut against his denim-covered erection. His groans mingle with mine, making me drunk with pleasure. The darkness around us, with not even the moon to cast some sort of light on us, only heightens the pleasure until I'm going out of my mind.

  "I need you," I tell my dark cowboy.

  "Fuck yes," he answers, but leaves me abruptly to stand.

  I start to protest, until I hear his belt clang and the sound of his boots being toed off. "Light on or off, sweetness?" he rumbles.

  "Off."

  If he had an issue with my answer, he didn't verbalize it, instead he continues to undress.

  "You taste like apple pie all over?" he oddly asks, when the sounds of him getting naked stop.

  "What?"

  "Never tasted anything better," he continues.

  Lifting off the mattress with my elbows, I start to reach for him but stop the second he speaks again, and I know I'll spend the rest of my life swearing I saw the bright lights of heaven not even a moment later.

  "Can't wait to find out if your pussy tastes as sweet as the rest of you."

  Oh. My. "Heavens!" I scream when he grabs my hips and his mouth covers my sex. My eyes roll back in my head as I scream my throat raw, coming instantly with waves of intense pleasure that just keep getting more intense as his vibrating groans shoot against my core.

  My toes curl, my fingers cramp as I fist the sheets, and I thrash my head from side to side with the roaring of my thundering heart matching the storm raging through my body.

  He continues to drink from me. Sucking, nipping, licking, devouring me. The ragged sounds coming from me ring in my ears as I continue to come, begging him to never stop. All of this, without even knowing what the skillful man between my legs looks like, but knowing I will never forget him.

  He gives me one long, slow lick from my clenching center to my oversensitive clit before releasing his hold on my hips and climbing up my body. Limply, I watch his shadow in the darkness move until something falls on my chest.

  "You wanna be bad, sweetness, then let's be bad," he tells me against my mouth before kissing me. The taste of my arousal thick on his tongue makes me turn my head and deepen the kiss.

  I could kiss this man for days and days.

  He rolls us, my legs falling to straddle his hips as the hard length of his erection sits between my soaked lower lips. I start rocking my hips mindlessly, needing to be filled with him. He gives me free rein until his breathing is just as frantic as mine. Only then does he stall, his fingers digging into my thighs.

  "Condom, get it on my cock and ride me until that sweet fucking pussy sucks me dry," he demands.

  My hands shake as I search between our bodies for what he must've dropped on the mattress before rolling us. Finally finding it by my knee, I shift and grab his thickness gently. I give him a few pumps but stop when I realize just how big the man under me is. I look up and gasp, adding my other hand to better size him up. Holy shit, this will never fit inside of me.

  "My cock will fit just fine inside of that sweet pussy."

  "Shit," I hiss, giving him a squeeze with both hands. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

  "Gathered that, sugar, but trust me when I say you're soaked and it'll fit just fine."

  He's not wrong. I'm so wet I can feel the dampness spreading across his thigh. I shift my hips, the friction making me pant loudly.

  "Fuckin' hell. Get that shit on me so you can fuck me," he strains.

  "What?" I sputter, freezing with both hands still fisting his huge erection. "You want me to . . ." I stop, unable to finish my thought.

  "Say it, Carrie," he tells me, the nickname not bothering me as much coming from him. He must have heard Luke call me that and I don't correct him, using it as my own cloak. "Say you're going to fuck me. Tell me how you're going to ride my cock."

  Oh my God, this man is going to be my undoing.

  I squirm, but don't speak as the shyness I thought I'd lost comes roaring back. I start to drop him, but he must've realized I was losing my nerve. His hands shoot off my thighs and around each of my fists, closing around my hold roughly and pumping himself through our joined hold. A long and pained sound leaves him. He lifts up, one hand cupping my center, one long finger sinking into me and hooking inside my body as I scream.

  "You feel this? Feel what your body wants? Or how fuckin' hard I am for you? I want you to use me, Carrie. I want you to ride me until I feel that wet pussy drippin' down my balls, and then I want to feel that sweetness of yours clamp down on me as you come. You'll keep ridin' me though, won't you, sweetness? You'll keep givin' me more because you want to know what bein' bad feels like. And I'll give it to you just as soon as you give me what I want. Then I'm gonna flip you over until your ass is in the air and your ponytail is in my fist with my balls slapping against this soaked pussy until you come again. Fuck you so hard, darlin', you're gonna feel me for days. Then you're gonna get your sweet ass back against this mattress so I can put my knees at your sides and pump my cock until I come all over these fuckin' tits."

  He slides his finger in and out of my body a few times, my core fluttering around him.

  I'm ready to come again.

  "Show me you wanna be bad," he says, his voice straining as his erection grows even harder between our hold.

  I rip my hand away from his flesh and my mouth finds his as I search for the condom again. This time he's the one that finds it, but he pulls my hand from his neck and places the packet in my palm as I continue to roll my tongue against his. As I tear it open, my mouth leaves his and starts kissing every inch of his body whil
e I fumble my way through putting a condom on. Then, thank the heavens above, I finish at the same time my mouth finds his nipple. I bite it, not even sure what's come over me, but I get a rush of power from the guttural noises spilling from him.

  I scoot my knees until I feel him again between my legs, lifting up with my hands on his shoulders. "Put your cock inside of me," I pant against his mouth, shocked at the brazen words that left my own without thought.

  "I thought you'd never ask, sugar," he grunts, one hand leaving the breasts he'd been playing with to line himself up with my entrance. The second I feel his blunt tip, I let my body fall, taking every rock-hard inch of him at once.

  The pleasure is blinding.

  And I scream.

  And scream.

  And scream.

  Every single time I go to lift myself off of him, I feel a strangled sound leave my mouth.

  "Take it easy, darlin'. Fuckin' hell. Didn't think you would try to split yourself in two," he mumbles, kissing me sweetly while helping me rock my hips to get used to the size of him. It doesn't take long for those sweet kisses to turn desperate and my body to need more.

  If he weren't such a large man, or maybe if I weren't such a small woman, I would have been able to ride him like he had wanted, but as it was, I couldn't even get myself halfway off his hardness before he realized I needed help. His hands clamp my hips and lift me all the way off before thrusting me down. We continue, both of us moving in a way that would make you think we'd been lovers for years. The sounds of my wetness fuel my desire as we swallow each other's moans.

  "I'm going to . . ." I pant.

  "Say it," he grunts when I stop speaking. "Tell me what you're gonna give me."

  "I'm going to . . . God, Davis, I'm going to come!" I yell as I start to do just that.

  He drops me, hard and heavy against him, and I start rocking my hips while my pleasure takes me to the brink of insanity. The whole time, he speaks soft words that I'm unable to understand through the force of my orgasm.

  Then he proves he's a man of his word, because I come again on my hands and knees while he pulls my head back with a strong grip on my ponytail, his balls slapping against my hyper-sensitive flesh. Then and only then does he pull free of me, flip me onto my back, and climb up my body with his knees digging into the mattress next to my sides. I feel the tip of him touch my chest a few times as his furiously pumps himself; then the hot splash of his come hits my chest as he bellows out into the shadows around us. I hadn't even registered him removing the condom, so lost was I in delicious pleasure.