Clay: Armed and Dangerous (11 page)

Clay waited until Brogan gave him the go-ahead. “Wade Larson, general malcontent,
owner of the Coyote Pass Ranch.” He hesitated, then tacked on, “And Levi Thorn, part
owner of the Thorn Ranch. And see if your sources drag up anything about new Guerrero
activity in this area. I’m particularly interested in stolen vehicles.”

Brogan repeated all the information and punctuated it with a small grunt. “Give me
a couple of days.”

“Thanks,” Clay replied. “I’ll look for it Monday.”

After he placed the receiver back on the cradle, Clay rubbed his forehead, trying
to ease the beginnings of a headache. Damn, but he didn’t like the way things were
turning. Didn’t like it at all.

Golden light of a new morning spilled through the shutters and onto Clay’s eyelids,
but he was too comfortable holding his little wildcat. He kept his eyes closed, enjoying
the feel of her in his arms, filling his lungs with her perfume of vanilla musk and
the scents of their mingled sex.

Rylie stirred next to him, her hip rubbing against his hard-as-iron length. “Better
watch it,” he murmured, his voice thick with sleep. “Or I might just have to wake
you properly.”

“Oh, yeah?” Her tone was light and teasing as she caressed his forearm.

But then he heard a familiar metal click at the same moment cool metal clamped around
his wrist.

His eyes shot open and he yanked his arm, only to have metal dig into his flesh. He
was handcuffed to the bed rail.

Rylie giggled, rolling away from him and off the bed before he had the chance to grab
her with his free hand. She dragged the comforter along with her so that he was completely
naked, then dropped it to the floor as she said, “I told you that you’d pay.”

“You sure did.” Clay couldn’t help but grin at the sight of her eyes glinting with
laughter. But his smile faded as his gaze traveled down her length, from her tousled
hair to her pert nipples, on past her flat stomach and below.

He was so hard he was afraid he wouldn’t last but a few seconds. “Over here. Now.”

Her grin widened. “Don’t you know? Paybacks are a bitch, sugar.” Letting her gaze
linger on him, she licked her lips. Something told Clay he just might enjoy her version
of paybacks. But then again, when it came to Rylie Thorn, nothing was a certainty.
And nothing was easy.

“I have to teach you a lesson.” She walked around the bed, studying him like a buyer
examining a bull at an auction. “Now, I could just leave you locked up... Take your
truck and go on home.”

Clay frowned. “Uh, honey—”

“Hold on, I’m thinking here.” Rylie held up her hand, a look of serious consideration
on her face. “Or, I could force you to have wild sex with me.”

“That’d be a hardship.” Clay’s cock jumped against his belly, and he held back a grin.
“But I think I could manage.”

“Hmmm.” She strolled closer to his side of the bed, but kept her enticing body out
of reach. “Of course, I could always get my revenge in another way.”

A rumble of sheer lust rose up in his throat, and he bit the inside of his cheek so
hard he tasted blood.

“Do you want to touch me, Clay?” Slowly, deliberately, she ran her tongue along her
lower lip while she cupped her breasts in her palms, her chocolate eyes focused on
him.

“Yeah.” His voice was hoarse and he swallowed, hard, then swallowed again as she pulled
at her nipples. Nipples he wanted to suck, and lick, and nip at with his teeth.

A sensual smile teased the corner of her mouth as she let one of her hands drift down
her flat belly to her silken sex. “Would you like to see me touch myself?”

“Rylie…” Clay groaned and pulled against the restraint, wondering if he could bust
the rail, snatch her before she knew he was loose, and take her ten ways till Sunday.
He was so hard his erection practically pointed toward the ceiling.

“How about if I make myself come while you watch?” She widened her stance and slipped
her fingers lower. Her lips parted and her eyelids fluttered as she stroked herself
with one hand while tweaking her nipple with her other. “I like how you feel inside
me, Clay.” Again she licked her lips, this time her gaze focused on his erection.
“Would you like to be inside me now?”

“Hell, yes.” The cuff rattled against the rail as he strained against it.

“What if I sit on your face?” Rylie seemed lost in the sensations of taunting him
while stroking herself. “Would you like that?”

He clenched his fist and practically growled at her. “Why don’t I show you?”

She turned her back to him and bent over, her legs parted so that he could clearly
see her beautiful shaved skin, and her fingers teasing, teasing, teasing. Looking
over her shoulder, she said, “Would you like to take me from behind?”

Clay roared and slid his legs over the side of the bed, trying to grab her with his
free hand. The cuffs slid along the rail and held fast, keeping Clay only inches from
reaching Rylie.

She taunted him as she looked over her shoulder and gave him that sexy smile. “Yeah,
that’s it.”

He yanked so hard against the restraints that the bed moved a good six inches.

Rylie gasped as Clay hooked his free arm around her waist and pulled her ass tight
against him. “You need to be punished, woman.”

“I have been a bad girl.” She bent even lower, rubbing her ass against him. “So what
are you going to do about it?”

“Ride you until you can’t walk straight.” Clay stepped back against the bed, dragging
Rylie with him. In a quick motion, he flipped her around. She squealed as she found
herself sprawled on the bed, her ass sticking up in the air. It was a tricky maneuver,
considering he was handcuffed to the rail, and it didn’t leave a lot of room for error.
But he was a man on a mission.

He guided himself into her wet folds, nudging her legs farther apart. The walls of
her core gripped him tight and he damn nearly came.

She moaned as he sank deep inside her. Gripping the bed sheet in her hands, she pressed
her ass back against him. “I’ve been a real bad girl. I think you’d better take that
into consideration.” The cuff yanked against Clay’s wrist as he powered himself within
Rylie’s slick depths. Her passionate cries added even more fuel to his frenzied thrusts.

He didn’t have much more time before he came. This woman drove him crazy, made him
so damn hot with lust he couldn’t think straight. As he pumped in and out of her,
he reached around her hips and stroked her swollen center.

That was all it took. She screamed into the bed sheet, her body tensing against him,
the muscles of her core clenching him tight. Clay bit back a shout as he came. He
throbbed and pulsed as he collapsed against her backside, doing his best to keep his
weight off her.

“Mmmm.” Rylie sighed, enjoying the feel of Clay’s muscled body pressed along her length.
She wiggled her hips and was rewarded by the feel of him hardening inside her. “What’s
for breakfast?”

Clay chuckled and pressed his lips to her hair. “Depends on whether or not you unlock
this cuff.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I keep you right here where I’ve got you.”

“That’s not so bad.” She shimmied her hips again. “I kinda like it.”

“Uh-huh.” The cuff rattled against the bed rail as he shifted. “I’m getting a cramp
here.”

“Ahhh, poor baby.” Rylie tried to move out from under Clay’s weight, but he had her
pinned tight to the mattress. “Okay. Let me go and I’ll get the key.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” Clay withdrew from her core and eased his weight
to the side, but still kept his free arm around her waist. “After all, you are a real
bad girl.”

“Well, next time you can spank me.” Her remark was flippant, but in the next second
Clay smacked her ass with the flat of his hand. “Ow!” Surprise shot through Rylie.
His hand was so large compared to her butt that both cheeks stung, yet the sensation
made her ache.

“If you’re bad, that’s what you can expect.” He nuzzled her nape, his breath warm
across her shoulder blades.

Rylie moaned. “Don’t forget. This bad girl always gets her revenge.”

“I’m counting on it, little wildcat.” Low laughter rumbled through Clay’s chest. “I’m
counting on it.”

Clay asked Rylie to spend all of Sunday with him, but she insisted she had to get
home and take care of her share of chores around the ranch. He had a feeling, though,
that it had more to do with her fear of getting too close to him. Even after all that
they had shared since last night, he could sense her pulling away from him, trying
to distance her emotions and her heart.

After a leisurely breakfast, Clay drove Rylie back to her ranch, and then walked her
up to the front porch. She paused, her fingers gripping the handle of the screen door,
and raised her eyes to meet his. “Thanks for the hot time, cowboy.” Her tone was light,
but her eyes were so dark they were almost black. Like she wanted him right this minute.

He reached up and caught a wisp of her blond hair, fingering the soft strands. “How
’bout I take you out for dinner tomorrow night. I know a great Mexican restaurant.”

She shivered, as though unnerved by his nearness. “I thought you were worried about
being mobbed in public.”

“It’s not so bad early in the week.” He moved in closer, pressing her up against the
screen. “It’s easier to tell a few people to go to hell, rather than a large crowd.”

“I... I’m busy Monday.” Rylie swallowed, her throat working. She put her palms against
Clay’s chest, as if she was trying to bolster her determination. “Actually, the whole
week’s pretty tight.”

“Sure it is.” He brushed his lips across her forehead. Even though they’d taken a
shower together, he thought he could still smell the scent of their sex. “Change your
plans.”

“Can’t.” Her response was barely a whisper as his mouth trailed from her forehead
to her ear. She clenched her hands in his shirt and tilted her head back, a soft moan
rising in her throat.

“My dad always taught me there’s no such word as ‘can’t.’ ” Clay moved his lips over
hers. “Anything you truly want, you can have. Anything you put your mind to, you can
do.”

“And you put your mind to taking me out?” Her breath was warm against his mouth, her
gaze focused on his lips.

“Uh-huh.” Clay took possession of Rylie’s mouth, his hands sliding around her slender
waist and drawing her tight along his length. The woman was fire in his blood, singeing
him, until she’d burned a permanent hole in his heart. No way was she getting away
from him, no matter what she might think.

Her fingers gripped his shirt tighter as their mouths mated. His tongue gained entrance
to her willing mouth, and her sweet taste swept through him like the warm rush of
rain in a summer thunderstorm.

“Where the hell have you been?” A man’s voice growled from the other side of the screen
door.

The sound of her brother’s voice startled Rylie. She jerked her head back, breaking
the kiss, but Clay held on to her, keeping her pinned to him.

“Dammit, don’t sneak up on me like that, Levi.” Her tone was slightly breathless as
she turned to look at her brother through the screen door.

She glanced back up at Clay and saw a predatory look in his eyes. “ ’Morning, Thorn,”
Clay said as he pulled her away from the door, giving Levi enough room to open it
and step through.

Levi glared at Clay, that protective-older-brother look in his blue eyes, then turned
his frown on Rylie. “Since when do you stay out all night without calling home?”

“You knew where I was.” Rylie straightened to her full five feet four inches, and
raised her chin. “I’m twenty-eight years old. I certainly don’t need to report in
to you.”

“Well, how about a bit of common courtesy?” He brushed past her and Clay, and headed
to the far end of the porch where an enormous box stood that she hadn’t noticed before.
“You had me worried.”

“You could have called.” She pushed away from Clay, and felt relieved when he let
her go. “What’s that?”

Levi dug in his front pocket and pulled out his pocket knife. “New water heater.”

“We can’t afford a new heater.” Rylie put her hands on her hips and frowned at her
brother. “How in the hell did you pay for it?”

He shrugged and used his knife to slice the plastic straps around the cardboard. “Don’t
worry. It’s taken care of.”

“What do you mean, don’t worry?” If there was one thing Rylie couldn’t stand, it was
to be told to butt out of something she considered to be her business.

“I said, don’t worry about it.” Levi spoke through clenched teeth and gave her “the
look” that said they’d discuss it when they didn’t have company.

Her gaze shot to Clay. He had his thumbs hooked through his belt loops and was watching
Levi cut open the box. “Need some help getting that inside the house?” Clay asked.

“Sure.” Levi gave a quick nod. “If you have the time.”

“I’ve got all day.” Clay winked at Rylie. “I can help you install it, if you’d like.
I’ve got some experience there.”

Rylie raised her hands in exasperation. Here she thought she’d be escaping his incredible
masculine magnetism, at least for the rest of the day. Sure, the sex was great, but
she needed time to gather her wits. Needed space away from this man who turned her
inside out and made her feel like a simpering little fool.

“All right.” She moved to the screen door and propped it open. “You two men enjoy
tearing up the place. Just don’t expect me to serve anything fancier than a pitcher
of iced tea and a box of macaroni and cheese.”

Clay flashed her a quick grin. “I like mine extra, extra cheesy.”

“I’d like lemon but no sugar in my tea, Ry,” Levi called out as he ripped the cardboard
away from the new water heater.

Shaking her head, Rylie headed into the house and let the screen door slam behind
her.

Men.

***

Clay worked with Levi in companionable silence for a while, debating various ways
to ask him a few casual questions without putting him on the defensive. In the end,
it was Levi who broke the ice after spending ten minutes cussing a pipe fitting without
ever saying the same word twice.