Rough Stock (8 page)

She watched through heavily lidded eyes as he stripped off his boots, jeans and T-shirt and
finally, his boxers. Yeah, it was stupid being naked in her room. If her parents came down the hall for any reason, he’d have about two seconds to gather everything up and jump out the window, and even then, he’d be outside in the yard butt-ass naked. At the moment, Clay didn’t care. He did, however, pile his clothes beneath the window just in case. Better safe than sorry.

Her eyes were wide as she watched him crawl onto the bed next to her, led by the pole jutting straight out from his body that pointed to her like a homing device.

Clay stretched out next to her, his erection pointing at the ceiling now. It felt really good to be lying naked so near her. A little too good. He could get used to this real easy. Making love to her right now would feel even better.

He bent his knees and slid farther down on the bed so there was space between his head and the headboard. “Get on top of me, darlin’?”

Clay had made it a question, not an order, but she did as asked and crawled on top, facing him. Her hair hung down around her flushed face making her look like an angel. At the same time, her sweet and tempting pussy hovered much too close to his ready cock.

Clay reached up and kissed her, just a quick peck before he did something he might regret later. “Now spin around so you’re facing my feet.”

April raised a brow but again did as he asked. He loved how she trusted him.

His hands on her hips guided her backwards until she was lined up perfectly, right where he needed her to be. Her pussy hovered above his head, his cock aligned with her mouth. She stiffened a bit over him. He was fairly certain she’d never been in this position before.

“Relax, darlin’.” He kissed one pale cheek, then the other, and then Clay set to proving all over again just how well he, and only he, could make her come.

Latching his mouth onto her, he zeroed in on her clit and scraped it gently with his teeth, before soothing it again with his tongue. He felt the shiver run through her at that.

His long groan of deep satisfaction when she slid her mouth down over his erection came out muffled. The sound must have vibrated through her in a good way, because she twitched above him and moaned.

He loved the taste of her, the feel of her over him, the way she trembled in his arms as her muscles clenched when she got close to coming. Clay especially loved how he knew exactly how to touch her to make her come so easily.

With his tongue sliding in and out of the one place he desperately wanted to go but hadn’t, he wet one finger and began circling the place he had already been and really hoped to be again. April stilled and her body briefly clenched tightly against his probing.

Clay’s mouth zeroed back in on her clit as he continued plying her with his wet finger until her body finally opened, slowly accepting him, welcoming him inside. It was her trigger, a guaranteed hot button, something he had discovered that very first time the three of them had been together. He’d never told Mason what he’d done to finally push her over the edge that first night. It just didn’t seem right to discuss details about her like that. Now, it was Clay and April’s little secret, something he knew about her that no one else knew. He had to share so much already, he wanted something just for himself.

He had just worked the tip of one finger inside her when she came, hard and fast, pulsing over him violently. Writhing above him, April bore down, her mouth and hand tightening over his cock, speeding her motions as she came, chasing all thought except for the feel of her out of his head. It was almost enough to make him follow right behind her, but not quite.

As her spasms died down, the movements of her mouth and hand on him slowed and he nearly cried with frustration. “Keep going, darlin’. Please, I’m so close.”

April readjusted her position over him, then Clay felt her tiny, wet finger slide back, behind his balls, to begin probing him. His body involuntarily clenched tightly against the invasion.

Clay let out a shuddering breath, silently chanting the word “relax” in his brain. He’d read about this too. The male G-spot, guaranteed to make any man come if manipulated correctly,
if
he could get his body to let her inside. Her touching him like that was a little bit frightening and very, very intriguing at the same time.

She gathered more spit on her finger and circled him, teasing his hole. She’d abandoned his cock for the moment but he was too fascinated with what she was doing, what he was feeling, to care.

Between the slickness of her saliva and her patient probing, Clay felt it happening, his body finally opening for her, just like hers always did for him. The tightness eased just enough and she slid part of the way inside. He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back against the mattress, trying not to clench up as she pushed inside him. She moved gently, slowly. He raised his hips off the mattress slightly to give her more access as she worked just the tip of her finger in and out. April took him inside her mouth again while moving her finger faster.

Clay took a shuddering breath as what he suspected would be unbelievable pleasure hovered just out of his reach. “A little deeper, darlin’.”

Since his cock was already deep in her throat, she must have figured out he meant her finger and pushed farther inside. She hit right where he needed her to and his body jolted. He felt the familiar tingle inside his balls and trembled as he came harder than ever, pulsing inside her mouth, muffling his cries by burying his face against her thigh.

Her mouth milked him as her finger continued stroking until the intensity of it all turned from pleasure to pain and he had to squirm to pull out of her mouth.

As breathless as Clay, April shakily crawled off him, spun around and landed heavily on the bed. He rolled on his side, flopped one arm over her and blew out a long breath. “Wow.”

April let out a breath of her own. “Yeah.”

Then right before his eyes, he watched her shut down, like a door closing between them. They’d just shared something pretty amazing and he wanted to talk about it. Why didn’t she?

“April, don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Her voice was soft.

“Don’t close me out. Please. You do it every time we’re together. Why?”

She was silent for so long he thought she wouldn’t answer. “Do you ever think about the future?”

Hmm.
Was this a radical change of subject or did this have something to do with the two of them? “Sure, I do. I want to go pro and ride as long as I’m physically able, then retire and buy a horse farm with the money from my winnings.”

“See. You have a whole plan mapped out for the future.”

“You do too. I thought you were enrolling in the community college this fall.”

“So I can do what? Graduate and substitute teach for a few years until I get married and have babies of my own, just like my mother did?”

Clay imagined her married to him, having his babies. “Your mama’s life looks pretty good to me.”

She let out a sound of disagreement before saying, “I did something. Nobody knows. Not even my parents.”

The suspense nearly killed Clay as he waited for her to finish her sentence. She finally did. “I applied to NYU. I got in. With a pretty decent scholarship too.”

Vainly hoping that there was another NYU somewhere in Oklahoma he hadn’t heard about, Clay asked, “New York?”

She nodded.

“You’re going?” Just because she’d gotten in didn’t mean she’d actually go.

“Yes, I think so. I really want to. I want to live life before I settle down.”

Okay, he could handle that. Four years. She’d come home for holidays and summer break. He’d visit her in New York when the circuit took him out east. Then she’d come back for good and settle down here.

She continued talking while Clay’s brain worked.

“But that’s the problem. Every time we’re together—you, me and Mason—I’m afraid I won’t go. That I won’t want to leave you both and I’ll stay here.” Her hand found his and she laced their fingers together. “I want you, Clay.”

He swallowed hard at that revelation. “Good, because I want you, more than anything.”

She continued softly. “But I want Mason too. And that’s a problem.”

Clay shut his eyes for a second and absorbed her confirmation of what he already knew but had managed to push aside over the past hour.

The mention of Mason’s name also brought back the guilt. How the hell was he going to explain this night to Mason? But at least she was talking about things, which was more than she’d done for the past week. He’d deal with Mason later.

He played with her hand in his. “So that’s what’s been bothering you? I know you want Mason too. I can handle it. It’s okay.”

She spun on him. “No, it’s not okay, Clay. What kind of whore am I that I want you both?”

“You’re not a whore.” But besides that, he didn’t have an answer for her. This triangle of theirs was as new and weird for him as it was for her and, Clay was sure, for Mason too.

She hesitated and he knew there was more coming. “People choose one person to fall in love with, Clay. One person to marry and be with for the rest of their lives. Not two. What kind of person am I that I love you both?”

Heart in his throat, Clay touched her face. He noticed his hand trembled. Hearing a woman loved you could do that to a man, he guessed. Saying it back could shake a guy up too. “You’re a person with the biggest, most loving heart of anyone I know. That’s why I love you.”

Clay’s voice had come out sounding as emotional as he felt. He slid his arm beneath her head and leaned in, kissing her deeply. Clay imagined he could taste himself on her tongue, but it didn’t matter. April was in his arms and she loved him. That was all that mattered. Yeah, she loved Mason too, but he’d just have to deal with that.

She pulled back. “Don’t tell Mason about college. It’s something I have to tell him myself. Okay?”

He nodded and lowered his mouth to hers again. Then he slid lower as his tongue trailed down her throat to nibble at the tip of one breast. Her back arched at his touch, pressing her body closer against him.

Clay decided to be selfish and keep her to himself for a little bit longer tonight. He’d share her again, for as long as that was what she wanted, but for now, he wanted to pretend the woman he loved was all his.

Chapter Seven

Mason stood watching Clay in the saddle atop one of the new horses in the ring. He was good. A natural. He moved with the horse’s motion rather than fighting it. His timing was perfect, almost as if he could read the animal’s mind and sense what it would do next. Watching him reaffirmed to Mason that his decision was the correct one.

“Hey.”

April’s soft voice behind him was as welcome as a cool rain on a hot summer night. Mason turned, and when he saw her shy smile, he returned it with a warm one of his own. They hadn’t really spoken since the night at the lake, but she was here now and that was all that mattered.

“Hey, baby.” Glancing at the house to make sure no one was coming, Mason ran one hand down her arm, enjoying even this small contact. “I’ve missed you.”

Her eyes lowered at first, but she finally raised them to meet his. “I’ve missed you too, Mason.”

That knowledge made him smile more broadly. “I’m glad.”

“Mason. I kind of need to talk to you about something.”

That
wiped the grin right off his face. He swallowed. “Um. Okay. When?”

“Tonight, after my parents go to sleep. My room.”

Mason nodded and then she turned and left. He was still frozen when Clay swung off the horse and came to stand next to him. “What did she want?”

He finally broke his gaze from watching her walk away. “She says she needs to talk to me. Tonight.”

Clay glanced at the house. “Did she say why?”

“No, but I didn’t ask either. I was afraid to.” Mason let out a short laugh at himself.

“Afraid of what?”

“That’s she’s going to tell me she’s made a decision between the two of us. That she’s chosen you.”

“Why would you think that?” Clay was acting strangely, speaking quieter than usual, almost carefully.

“Because she didn’t ask you to come to her room tonight.” Mason squinted against the sun’s glare at Clay. “Did she?”

Clay shook his head. “No.”

Mason let out a long slow breath. “Shit.”

***

The hours between afternoon chores and nightfall seemed to fly, the one time that Mason wished they would drag. Where normally he’d want to see April, tonight he dreaded it and what she would tell him with every fiber of his being.

But the June sun had set, and Mason knew April’s parents would be in bed sleeping by nine, as usual. He had no excuse, so he told his parents he was going to Clay’s house, that he might spend the night there and then he headed down the road to April’s farm.

If she dumped him, he could always come home again and say he couldn’t sleep at Clay’s and wanted his own bed. If she didn’t—doubtful, but Mason could hope—he could spend a long, blissful night in her bed alone with her. That would be really nice. He’d never done that before, been there alone with her, even when the three of them had been only friends.