The Devil's Cowboy (9 page)

She shuddered and Rafe tightened his arms round her.

“There were two voices in my head, Rafe. One was hers, but the other… it was so smooth, so seductive. It knew all the dark secret needs I’ve kept locked up deep inside. It made me feel them, feel a mindless frantic hunger gnawing at me. Then the voice promised to fulfill all those wicked desires at last, give me everything I’ve ever wanted—and more. All I had to do was let go of my own will and give myself to him.”

She looked up at him, her eyes swollen with tears. “Was that
him,
Rafe? Was that the devil?”

“I’d say you just met the prince of darkness, darlin’. He can be very persuasive.”

“The man who locked her up—I think it was her husband—he wasn’t the devil. But he let that darkness inside his soul. He chose it willingly. And it grew inside him until all the goodness, all the loving kindness that once drew her to him was devoured.”

“That’s how it happens. Folks don’t go wrong all at once. They make one bad choice, then another. Pretty soon, bad choices seem like the only choices they have.” Rafe stood, lifting Ellen to her feet. “We need to get you out of here. We’re not gonna tackle this again tonight. There’s a little place not too far from here where I stay from time to time when I’m in the city. I’m coming upstairs with you while you grab your bag. We’ll spend the night there. I won’t leave you alone after what happened.”

Ellen nodded. “I would like that, Rafe. I would like to be with you tonight.”

* * *

He made a quick phone call, then took them on a ride through the heart of the slumbering city. Ellen laid back, closing her eyes. When the motor stopped, she found herself parked in front of a small stone guesthouse with a welcoming light burning on the porch. In the distance, beyond a vast expanse of manicured lawns and tennis courts, lay a sprawling two-story Dallas mansion with white columns that Ellen swore was nearly a twin to its famous Washington counterpart. Her eyes widened.

“Holy cow! Another grateful former client?” she asked, as Rafe turned off the engine and reached for their bags in the back seat.

“Belongs to my old friend Luke,” he replied. “My daddy worked for his daddy in the oil fields for years and we grew up together.”

“Looks like his daddy did pretty well for himself.”

“Let’s put it this way—you’d recognize Luke’s last name for sure. We have this place to ourselves for as long as we need it,” he went on. “It’s private and safe—and I guarantee there are no other guests here, from this world or the next.”

He led her through an arched wooden door. Inside, a soft lamp had been switched on to reveal a cozy living room complete with stone fireplace for the short-lived Dallas winters. Slightly faded drapes that looked like they were sewn from antique tapestries were drawn to cover the windows. The furniture was simple, rustic. A leather sofa flanked with two armchairs, each with a matching footstool sturdy enough to hold a pair of size twelve cowboy boots with ease. It was definitely a man’s room, a casual space that Ellen guessed was very different from the interior of the big house across the lawn. She wondered whether Luke had the place decorated specifically for Rafe. He looked so at home here.

Suddenly nervous, she turned to face her companion. They were finally alone, far from ill-tempered spirits, nervous mothers, assorted ranch hands, and boisterous children. She stared at his big hands for a moment, remembering how they’d ripped the shirt from her body in her vision, and felt a sharp stab of pure lust. Her mind filled with wicked thoughts of all the delicious, naughty things her heroines would say and do at a moment like this in one of her stories, things she’d never had the nerve to ask for or do in real life.

Rafe was watching her, his gaze hot and dark. “Yes.”

She met his eyes, confused. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, I will. Yes, I want to do all those things to you and with you, everything you’ve ever dreamed of doing in your deepest, most secret fantasies. Things we’ve done in our past lives—and things we’ll do for the first time tonight. I want it very much.”

He moved close and Ellen found herself stepping back, only to trip over one of the footstools. His hand shot out to grab her elbow and steady her, then pulled her in close before she could take a breath.

“Now you say yes.”

An image of the two of them popped into her mind, her sprawled naked on the antique Oriental rug by the fireplace while he held her wrists captive over her head with one hand. She looked into his eyes and knew he’d projected it there. Her eyes widened. “How do you do that?” she murmured.

“Say yes, Ellen. Say yes to everything tonight.”

He was dangerous and sexy and she’d already been seduced by the devil himself tonight. Ellen was hot and wet and ready. She looked up at him and smiled, a naughty smile worthy of her favorite character, the well-spanked Selena happily writing an erotic tale for her newly dominant husband.

“Yes. Oh, yes.”

He moved quickly. His hands fisted in her hair, his mouth descended on hers. Hot, hungry, demanding, forcing her lips open. Ellen had been kissed before, but never like this. She opened her mouth and his tongue thrust into her. He pulled away, only to sweep her hair aside and run that hot tongue down the nape of her neck. She shivered and tried to kiss him again, but he shook his head and grabbed both her wrists, trapping them with one hand, just like he did in that steamy vision he’d projected into her mind.

“You’re mine tonight. I’m the one in control again—at last. I’ve waited lifetimes for this night. I’m going to take you every way I want—and all you can do is say yes.”

Ellen shivered at the dark intensity in his voice. For the first time, she tasted the addictive potion of raw lust spiced with a tingle of fear.
Now I understand why the women in my books are drawn to the bad boys,
she thought wildly.

“I’m going to strip your clothes off and have you stand here in front of me so I can fondle you and ravish you any way I please. And you’re not going to move—unless I tell you to.” As he spoke, he was pulling her shirt over her head. He stopped, admiring the soft, lush tits spilling out over the top of her bra. Then in one shocking move, he grabbed her delicate lacy bra in both hands and ripped it off her body, bending his head to fasten that hot, demanding mouth on her nipples, first one, and then the other.

He sucked hard and an invisible electrical charge shot straight to Ellen’s pussy. She let out a soft cry. He groaned at the sound, deep in his throat, and bit deliberately on one hard nub. Ellen writhed against him.

Rafe reached down and stripped her loose cotton trousers off with one swift tug, exposing a pair of white bikini panties. Fleetingly, Ellen wished she’d been better prepared for this—wearing a wispy black lace thong and stiletto heels, like her female characters always did.

“Doesn’t matter what you’re wearing,” Rafe said, startling her once again with his mind-delving ability. “You won’t have them on long enough to matter.” He was as good as his word, sinking to his knees and stripping the modest panties down to her ankles. He lifted one foot, then the other, pulling off her sandals and then tossing the pants and panties across the room to lie in a heap with the shirt and torn bra.

“Spread your legs apart.” His voice was rough, demanding.

Hesitant and embarrassed, Ellen was slow to move. Rafe yanked her to her knees, stretching her body face down across the nearest footstool. A rough hand held her in place. The other hand delivered half a dozen sharp whacks to her naked bottom, then slid arrogantly between her legs to tease. She gasped. This spanking was nothing like the harsh spankings he’d given her back at Melanie’s house. Her ass stung, but her pussy was suddenly dripping wet.

He pulled her back to her feet. “You’re mine—to do with as I please. And you will obey me tonight… because that’s what you’re aching to do. I know what you want, Ellen, what you’ve been hungering for deep inside. I’m going to give it to you… and in return you’re going to give me everything I want.”

His voice hardened. “Now—spread your legs.”

She slid her feet apart. He knelt in front of her again. “Wider,” he demanded.

Ellen took a step to the side. Rafe looked up at her. “Put your hands behind your head and don’t move.”

Shaking a little, she did as she was told. With her hands clasped behind her head, her full breasts jutted out. Rafe made a sound low in his throat and reached up, cupping her lush tits in both hands. He was so tall that on his knees his mouth was level with her nipples and he put that mouth to work—licking, sucking, biting, as she squirmed and shivered. She looked down at the top of his head, longing to bury her fingers in his hair and hold him close. But there was something so compelling, so erotic, about being free of any restraints yet forcing herself to remain unmoving, just because he commanded it.

Rafe stopped suddenly and Ellen moaned. “Take both hands and reach down. Spread yourself apart, so I can lick your pussy.”

She reached down, hands trembling, and opened herself to him. Rafe bent his head lower and ran his tongue delicately over her, then slowly, deliberately, licked each of her fingers. “That’s good,” he murmured. “Stay just like that.”

His mouth suddenly fastened on her clit, hard, demanding. She swayed backward and would have fallen. Rafe reached behind her, grabbing her hot, stinging ass in both hands to hold her in place as he ravaged her with his tongue. She cried out once, then again when he sucked her clit into his mouth, teasing and licking. Every now and then, his tongue flicked over her fingers, as if to remind her that she must keep herself open at his command.

Ellen felt her orgasm building. Rafe seemed to know her body instinctively. He drew it out, backing off to lick and tease, then sucking hard again. Savage desire poured over her in waves that grew more fierce with every new assault. Her pussy ached with need, desperate to be filled. She wiggled, she thrust her hips forward, but he was relentless, focusing all his attention on her pulsing, throbbing bud.

He looked up at her, his eyes hot and dark. “Now come for me.” He sucked her into his mouth again, then rammed his tongue into her molten core. Ellen cried out, fisting her hands in his hair and grinding herself into his face as she exploded. Rafe held her immobile, lashing her over and over with his tongue, drawing out her pleasure beyond anything she’d ever experienced.

Her legs trembled and she would have collapsed had it not been for his big hands gripping her ass, squeezing just hard enough to bring back the spicy sting of her spanking. He drew her down into his arms, holding her tight, and she clung to him, breathless.

“That was incredible,” she murmured, sliding her hands inside his shirt to run down his chest.

He took her by the shoulders and held her away from his body. “You disobeyed me.” His voice was low and rough and she shivered.

“What?”

“I told you not to move. You took your hands away from your pussy without my permission.” He stood up, pulling the belt off his jeans. “Bend over that footstool.”

She stared at him in shock.

“I told you tonight you will do exactly as you’re told. You deliberately disobeyed me. Now bend over that footstool.”

The stern note in his voice sent a powerful thrill straight to her still-needy, dripping slit. She crawled to the footstool, arranging her body over it, knees on the floor, head hanging down.

“Spread your legs. No matter what position I tell you to assume tonight, make sure your legs are always spread as wide as possible—or you’ll be punished.”

Shaking with a mixture of apprehension and arousal, Ellen slid her knees apart as far as she could.

“Move up further, with your knees off the floor. Grab the legs of the footstool in front with both hands. I want that ass in the air.”

Ellen leaned over farther and wrapped her fingers around the legs of the stool. Her head almost touched the floor, leaving her legs nearly dangling off the ground.

“Good. Now you can spread them wider.”

She forced her legs apart as far as possible, with her thighs straddling the edges of the stool. His fingers roamed, sliding down between her legs to dip into the wet heat, then back again to tease the tight bud of her virgin ass. Ellen pictured herself, naked and vulnerable, her most intimate secrets on display for this man who was a total stranger yet knew her so well. He ran a fingertip around the rim of her ass and she moaned, overcome with forbidden sensations she’d dreamed of experiencing for so long.

“That first orgasm you had—that was nothing more than foreplay.” His hands kept up their insolent assault. “You’re going to come for me again tonight—over and over, every time I tell you to. You have several lifetimes of pent-up desire that need to be released. Then, when I’m sure you’ve been fully aroused, you’re going to please me—and you’d better do a good job.”

Ellen nearly sobbed. It was as though he’d read her mind—or her books. He was every hot alpha hero rolled into one, every wicked D/s fantasy she’d ever created come to life.

His hands caressed her ass again, then he moved away. She heard a swish and felt the first lick of fire. Ellen gasped and jerked, terrified at the idea of being spanked with a belt.

“Don’t you dare move,” he warned.

She dug her nails into the wooden legs of the footstool and concentrated on keeping her body perfectly still. The belt whistled through the air again and it was all she could do not to twist away. She bit her lip at the hot, stinging pain. Another swoosh, another burning flame seared her tender skin… but this time it tripped a switch deep inside. Suddenly, she craved the intensity, the burning heat. The sharp crack of his belt against her hot ass only magnified the raging fever between her legs.

She ground herself shamelessly against the footstool. Behind her, Rafe dropped to his knees again.

“You love it,” he murmured. “You love it when I spank you, paddle you, make you do all the things I want.” He teased her pussy with one finger, sliding it in and out, then plunging deep. Ellen whipped her head from side to side, panting heavily. His hand withdrew, moving to her still-engorged clit. He captured it between two fingers, stroked it. She moaned again.