Wild (21 page)

He watched, transfixed by the almost mystical feeling that seemed to surround the two of them as she carefully took his last drops before setting him free, sat back on her heels, and actually licked her lips. His legs felt like rubber, but his dick was still hard. He'd come so hard he was lucky he didn't pass out, but it wasn't enough.

He had a feeling it would never be enough with Darian. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, pulled her to her feet, and held her close, nuzzling her throat, nipping at the soft and obviously sensitive skin behind her ear.

Her arms were around his neck, and she plastered her long, lithe body against his, except he was naked and she was still wearing jeans.

Obviously a situation they needed to deal with. He said as much. “Aren't you a bit overdressed?”

She raised her head and smiled at him. “I was sort of thinking the same thing. Aren't you going to do something about it?”

“Oh, yeah.”

He couldn't believe his hands were actually trembling when he flicked the snap at her waistband. It was difficult grasping the tiny zipper tab so he could actually pull the blasted thing down. Women's clothes in this century looked hotter than hell, but damn, it was hard to get them off.

He wrapped his hands around Dar's waist and picked her up. Then he laid her back down on the bed with her legs hanging over the edge, which made it much easier to slowly peel the tight, stretchy jeans down her long, long legs.

And wasn't it a shame that her tiny little thong panties rolled partway down with her jeans, unfortunately stopping just above the juncture of her thighs. Somehow, it was even sexier this way, with them almost but not quite off. She reached for the waistband to push them down, but he stopped her. Instead, he placed the palm of his hand over the fabric covering her warm, damp center.

“Wait,” he said. He went to his knees and ran his hands up her sides. Stopped at the swell of her breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples. Her skin was soft—smooth and dark with the texture of silk. Her nipples were large and much darker than the rest of her, unlike anything he'd ever seen, and once again he realized how little he knew of the world outside, of women he didn't understand, of the many kinds of beauty he'd never seen.

She took his breath.

He'd dated in college, but he was already shifting at that point, in the late 1980s when he'd gotten his engineering degree, and he was always afraid of their secret getting out. It was even harder now, with cell phones recording everything and governments able to do in-depth identity searches. Fingerprints alone could give them away. How did you explain a set of prints that matched prints from a guy the same age in the 1920s?

You didn't. You just made sure there was no reason for the police to ever get hold of your prints. He leaned forward, prints forgotten as Dar writhed beneath his touch. She was so damned sensitive. He licked her nipple, and it tightened even further, the dark areola drawing close against the taut bud. Fascinating. He wrapped his lips around first one and then the other, moving back and forth, right, then left, then right again, sucking hard, using his tongue to apply pressure, molding her firm breasts in his hands.

He cupped them, held them close together so that he could slip from one to the other more easily. The scent of her arousal, an intoxicating musk that went straight to that primitive part of the male brain where there was absolutely no conscious process beyond
want
and
take
and
now
held him in thrall.

Still cupping her breasts, pinching her ruched nipples between thumbs and forefingers, he slipped down her body, leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses on her belly, her mons, the inner crease of her thigh. He grabbed the silky band of her thong at her left hip with his teeth and ripped, pulling the torn fabric down her right leg until it was out of the way.

He could have pulled them off gently, but that would have required letting go of her nipples. He wasn't ready for that. Her nether lips were full and glistening, her body ripe. For him. Only for him. He dipped his head between her thighs and licked from her perineum to her clit, filling his mouth with her taste, her unique flavors.

He circled her clit with his tongue, pinching her nipples harder, stretching and twisting them until she cried out, “More!” and arched her back, lifting herself. He loved that she was gasping her arousal, pressing herself against his mouth, actually begging for more. He curled the tip of his tongue against her inner walls, stroked the entrance to her sheath, probing, tasting.

He knew she was close, but she needed more. He hated turning loose of her nipples, but he had to so he could grab a condom out of his pocket. He sheathed himself and moved over her, his feet on the floor, her body at the perfect height and angle for him.

She lay there, watching him, panting, eyes wide, lips parted. He separated the damp folds between her legs, stroked the engorged head of his dick between them until he was slick with her fluids. He was big and thick, and he worried about hurting her, but she watched him with a look of pure anticipation.

“Is this okay, Dar? Are you ready for me?”

A smile split her face. “Hell, yes. Now, Lawz. Okay?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Her legs came up, she wrapped them around his waist as he drove forward into her tight sheath.

“Yes!”

One word, hissed rather than spoken. Her eyes were closed, her body shivering as he filled her. She was so tight, holding him in a silky clasp that rippled along his length. Once he discovered how deep he could go, that yes, she could take all of him in pleasure, not pain, he dropped all restraint.

He thrust forward, plunged deep and hard—she wrapped her legs tighter, locked her heels at the small of his back, gave as much as she took.

He wasn't going to come alone, though it took everything he had to hold on. Reaching down between them, he found her clit and swirled his thumb over the sensitive nub. She gasped and sucked in a deep breath and then another.

He was there, so close to the edge, so caught up in the most amazing sexual experience of his life when her body tightened, when he felt the powerful grasp of her inner muscles, the rhythmic clenching along the full length of his cock.

And just like that, so simple after all, she pulled him with her over the edge.

 

CHAPTER 5

Jules glanced down at her hand clasped so firmly in Armando's and experienced a sense of wonder. A large, very powerful man was holding her hand, and she wasn't freaking out. Andrew hadn't been all that big—barely six feet tall—but Armando made him seem like a child. Close to six and a half feet tall and muscular enough to convince Jules he could snap her like a twig should he choose, she actually felt comforted by his presence, the sense that she trusted him in a way she'd never trusted Andrew.

“Tonight was fun,” she said, thinking of the laughter, the fact that the four of them had fallen into their often silly, sometimes biting humor that never failed to lift her spirits, and the guys hadn't missed a cue. The shared laughter among her girlfriends was something she'd always been able to count on. Even when things had been horrible right after Andrew had hit her. She never felt comfortable telling her friends; the guilt and shame were too much to handle. Still, they'd been able to make her laugh.

“Your friends are terrific women.” Armando gently squeezed her hand. “I love the fact that you've been friends since you were children. We often hear that women don't get along that well in groups.”

She laughed. “Oh, we've had our moments, but our friendship is stronger than some of the petty things that we can find to bitch about. We can count on each other when times are tough. One of us is always talking someone down off the ledge.”

They'd reached her cabin, the porch light a tiny beacon in the darkness. It threw shadows across the small front deck, but the light was warm and welcoming. Jules wondered if she was ready to invite a man inside. Specifically, this man.

Armando walked her up the steps and paused at the door. He turned and gently pulled her into his embrace and rested his chin on top of her head. “I've had a most pleasant evening. I truly enjoy your company, Jules. I hope we'll be able to spend more time together while you're here.”

She loved the way it felt to be held in his arms. Safe, not at all threatening. And obviously he wasn't going to pressure her for sex. That was good. She probably would have gone along with him if he'd wanted, but pausing like this was a good thing. It was better to wait. Better to take the time to get to know him first.

She thought she'd known Andrew, but she was very, very wrong. She'd had a nagging doubt about him that never fully let her trust him. Obviously her subconscious was smarter than her working brain. It wasn't that way with Armando. Not at all. No red flags, no areas of concern.

She already knew she could trust him.

He kissed her so sweetly. “Before I go, I need to tell you that you might have a visitor later. The wolves have grown very comfortable with our guests, so if you hear someone scratching at your door, feel free to invite him in. I think they just like the chance to sleep on comfortable beds, but all you have to do is tell him to go away and he won't bother you.”

“A wolf might want to sleep in my cabin with me?” She'd never imagined anything like that, though the one that walked Elle and Dar to the lodge had certainly seemed tame. “I would absolutely love that.” She touched her fingers to the side of his face. His dark beard felt like silk beneath her fingers. “Thank you for walking me back tonight. Will you be going on the hike with us tomorrow?”

He shook his head. “I think I'm cooking tomorrow. Trak was still putting the schedule together, so I'll find out when I get back to the lodge. Good night, Jules. Sleep well.” He kissed her once again, turned away, and quickly disappeared into the woods.

She stood there for a long time, thinking about him after he was gone.

*   *   *

Elle loved looking at Tuck's hands. He had such large hands, brown from the sun, and strong, but he'd said he painted, and she knew he cared for even the smallest animals. There must be a lot of gentleness in those hands. She loved the way he made her feel, not really tiny, but definitely normal. Life wasn't always easy for a large woman, especially one who towered over most of the men she dated and generally outweighed them as well. It wasn't like that with Dr. Kentucky Jones. He was large and strong, and he made her feel safe.

And he was a veterinarian. She'd learned that about him tonight when they were talking about the wolves and some of what the men had to do on the preserve to keep them healthy. She'd wanted to say that had been her dream, to take her own special skills with animals and actually learn even more to help them, but she hadn't.

The trail opened up, and suddenly her little cabin was right in front of them, porch light shining, her sense of calm abandoning her. What would he want from her tonight? Elle bit back a laugh. She certainly knew what she wanted, and he was standing beside her, holding her hand. There was something about Tuck, the sense of so much more beneath his skin, that he could offer her an adventure unlike anything she'd ever known.

Most of her sexual experience had been with friends, guys who were misfits like she was, guys who just wanted to get off and were tired of doing it alone. That wasn't Tuck. He was focused, so strong and kind and well built that she imagined he never lacked for feminine companionship.

He walked her up the steps to the front door, turned, and, still holding her hand, pulled her close. When she wrapped her arms around him, she actually felt his sigh.

“I like holding you like this,” he said. “You fill my arms, you smell absolutely delicious, and you have burgundy hair.”

His soft laughter left her smiling. “I'm glad you like my burgundy hair and my hand lotion, since that's the only scent I'm wearing. I like being held by you. I'm a big girl. It's nice to have a man large enough to make me feel cosseted.”

He nuzzled her hair. “It's not hand lotion I'm referring to. It's your natural scent, the one that tickles my nose and makes me want to growl. I must say, though, that I like that word.
Cosseted.
Cared for and protected. So many women today want to stand on their own. They aren't willing to let a guy go all manly on them and act protective.”

She loved the dry comments he came up with. “You're welcome to go all manly on me, as long as you realize that I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, that I'm merely indulging your testosterone-driven need to prove manliness.”

“That works. I think I'd love being indulged by you.” He cupped her face in his big hands, tilted her mouth to his, and kissed her. His beard was softer than it looked, his lips softer still as they molded hers, as his tongue carefully breached the seam between them. He tasted of chocolate and the sweet port they'd had after dinner, he smelled like forest and cool mountain air, and his strength enveloped her, his long, strong arms and broad shoulders, the solid pressure of his thighs against hers.

And the thick length of him, so obvious in spite of his heavy denim jeans, pressed like a hot brand against her. She'd never wanted as much as she wanted Tuck, never needed the way she did now. He'd made her laugh all evening, had teased her and smiled with her, but now he made her want.

She was tired of wanting. Breaking the kiss, she gasped for breath, raised her head, and studied him for a long moment in time. His face was flushed, his gray eyes dark and dilated, and he sucked in one breath after another before letting out a short, sharp bark of laughter. “I'm sorry, Elle. I'm usually better mannered than this. Please forgive me.”

“No,” she said, but it was hard not to laugh at his stunned expression. “There will be no forgiving because it's not necessary. Forget manners. I want you, Kentucky Jones. I've been wanting you ever since you walked me to my cabin this afternoon, kissed me, and then bailed out. I'm getting tired of wanting. It's time to have something.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down. Kissed him hard and fast. “Are you, Dr. Jones, by any chance, part of the vacation package?”