Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty — Lucky (3 page)

‘What rules?’

‘I don’t have sex when I’m at home. Not in fifteen years. It does not happen.’
Holy hell.
Why the hell had she blurted that out? He wanted to talk about her past, not root her.
Idiot.

His eyes.
Heaven
. They went all smoky. Like in her dreams. Smoky grey with hardly a hint of blue. Maybe he did want that root. But he wouldn’t be worth it. He’d be here and gone in a couple of years max. She had a life sentence.

She turned quickly and headed across the paddock. ‘Drop it, Dare. I’m not talking anymore.’

***

It was the longest weekend in history. The rodeo went smoothly, just as Lucky had said it would. A few drunken fights. A few people behind the wheel who shouldn’t have been. All in all a weekend that wasn’t anywhere near as terrible as the dreadful images he’d had. Except for Lucky Percival. She was the most frustrating woman he’d ever met. Nothing about her went smoothly. She was so prickly. Closed. Hurt. Hard. All the swearing and tough talk hid someone delicate and sensual. He wanted to know that side—the side no one else saw. The side he glimpsed at rare moments when no one else was around and she let her guard down.

Monday saw visitors leaving and the clean-up begin. It was not the day to continue his conversation, but he’d talk to her tomorrow. Properly.

Tuesday morning and breakfast was back to just them. No other guests. Casey had gone too. Lucky burned the toast, the bacon and the eggs. If he had to guess, he’d say she was nervous. And that made him burn even hotter for her. It meant she believed he’d take up the conversation again, and may even mean she’d give him something more than words. His cock tightened. Eager. But the logical part of him didn’t think she’d give him anything. Ever. She had her damn rules.

‘Where’s your food?’ he asked as she placed his breakfast and coffee on the table and headed for the back door.

She shook her head. ‘Not hungry.’ She kept heading outside, not sparing him a backward glance.

He was out of his chair and behind her before she reached the door to her cottage. His hand closed around her upper arm.

She didn’t turn, just spoke softly. ‘I’m not doing this, Dare. I’m stuffed. I’m going back to bed.’ Her body stiffened, as if she’d given him too much information. And she had. He didn’t need the image of her going back to bed. His imagination had had her there more times than he could count.

He wanted to curl his arms around her, pull her back against his chest and nuzzle into her neck. Instead he let her go and stepped a pace back. ‘You didn’t need to get up just to cook my breakfast.’

She shrugged and shoved her key into the lock, opening her door. ‘Sorry it burned. It should be edible though.’ She stepped through the doorway, still not turning to acknowledge him.

He shouldn’t. Everything he knew told him to turn, go back to the dining room and eat. He stepped in behind her, curled his hands on the door and closed it softly behind them.

It was like all the fight had gone out of her. She had to know he was behind her, but she didn’t acknowledge him. She stepped to her bed, chucked her tank off, slid her shorts down her legs and slid between the sheets.

His mouth was dry. Her back was as muscled as he expected. Tanned and rippling as she undressed. It was her bum that did his brain in. Lush globes of lily white. Globes he imagined fitting perfectly into his tanned hands. Globes he wanted to see parted for his cock. Lily white flesh he wanted to suck and leave reddened from his bite. Rubbed red from his stubble.

His cock was rigid and throbbing. Heart galloping. Moisture gone from mouth. Brain focused on her body. Those long legs. The tan. The lack of tan.

The temperature soared twenty degrees in twenty seconds, and had him sweating.

He blinked.

He was in her room. Uninvited.

It was wrong.

He’d never force himself on her. Never force himself on anyone. And here he was, rock hard, wanting her, almost ready to jump into bed and take her. Wrong. So very wrong. He knew she wasn’t ready. Knew she had rules. Knew he had to treat her better.

‘Dare?’ Her voice caused his blood to circulate faster than the bubbles in a newly popped open fizzy drink.

He grunted. It was all he could manage. Words were beyond what his brain was capable of.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Fucked if I know.’ The words didn’t sound like him at all. All gritty and tight as if he’d growled them through clenched teeth. The knot in his jaw ached. He
had
said them through clenched teeth. And he’d sworn. He rarely swore. She was rubbing off on him.

She still had her back to him. He didn’t know if she wanted him, or wanted him to leave. He thought there was an invitation in the way she said his name, but it was most likely his imagination, an invention of his need.

Her breathing was short as if she couldn’t get enough air. God. It was because of him. He’d scared her. Busting in on her like this. He was a fool.

‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I’ll leave.’

‘You came already?’ There was no mistaking the humour in her question. Each word was filled with mirth. He could almost see her eyes sparkling and her lips pulling into one of those smiles she rarely gave him, but seemed to give others easily.

Then the underlying meaning of her words worked their way into his thick head. His cock tightened again and his breath lodged in his chest. Was she making a joke about sex? Suggesting they might have sex? He couldn’t get his brain to work. His cock, well, it was working just fine. Strangled, but fully functional.

‘Dare?’ Her voice held just a tremor of uncertainty.

‘What?’ Not his voice. More like some kind of growl from an animal, he suspected.

‘Either come here, or go. I can’t sleep with you hovering.’

Sleep? Sleep? He looked at her, so tiny in such a huge bed. He turned to the door. He stared at it. Closed. Shutting them inside.
Hell.

There was no way on earth he could turn that door handle and make himself go. No way on earth.

***

He was leaving. She’d thought she’d given enough signals to say she wanted him to stay, but he mustn’t have read them. Or she had no idea about signals. Besides, he was polite and proper. He was probably looking for more than a quick fuck … and in truth, she was too. But it was terrifying to say she wanted more. It was damn difficult to say she wanted anything, but if she didn’t get out of bed and stop him, he’d go. Right now, that was the more terrifying option for her sex-starved, tormented body.

She slid from the sheets and padded up behind him. Naked. She laid her right hand flat against his shoulder blade. The muscles beneath were bunched tight, jerking beneath her touch. Was that because he wanted her? God, she’d be a right dick if it wasn’t.

‘Do you really want to go?’ Her voice was breathless, husky and inviting, but she’d no idea if he’d hear that or if he’d misunderstand her again. ‘I’d like you to stay.’ She slid her other hand to his hip and then over his arse.

Watching Casey and Joel fight their attraction all weekend had worn her down. They were two people who belonged together and had been too pig-headed to see that. She thought she was principled with her rules, but maybe she was pig-headed too. Fighting against sexual need was tiring and after the weekend she was exhausted. She needed Dare.

He growled beneath her right palm. She felt it before she heard it. It was a rumble that sent shudders along her arm and across her breast, bunching her nipples into the tightest buds she’d ever experienced. Her breasts ached. Stepping forward, she pressed herself against his back, slid her hand to the front of his t-shirt and rubbed her nipples against the cotton stretched across his back. Sliding her hand over his belly, under his t-shirt, she let her fingers trail through chest hair. Following it upwards and over his pecs, she rubbed her breasts into his back harder. He had the day off, so wasn’t in uniform, and she had plans for him today. In her bed.

‘Mate, you sure you want to do this?’ His voice was tight. His breath ragged. His muscles tense.

She stepped around him, rubbing against him as she moved. She lifted her face hoping he’d see her need. ‘My name’s Lucinda, if you can’t handle the nickname.’

Air rushed from him, bathing her in a minty dose of his scent. His eyes went dark, no hint of blue in them. His lips were parted, waiting for her mouth. His hair fell across his forehead and she reached up to slide it back. So soft. Her fingers tingled and a shiver ran all the way to her toes.

‘Lucinda.’ He smiled. Her name was rich and fluid as he rolled it from his lips. His eyes danced and sparkled. Tension left him. She reached on tiptoes as he swept his arms around her waist. Their mouths met.

His lips were soft. Softer than anything she could imagine, making her want to sink into them, have them surround her. Pushing against him, she opened her mouth as his lips caught hers. She nibbled and was nibbled upon. She sucked and was sucked on. She devoured and was devoured. Her tongue slid against his lips. He followed with his tongue. She lashed her tongue against his, he caught and sucked hers as a cascade of fluid dropped through her body and pooled between her thighs.

Sliding her hands behind his neck and then up into his hair, she held his head at a better angle to taste him more. As her lips and tongue explored his mouth, his hands held her hips more tightly, lifting her and moving her to the nearby desk. The cool wood on the back of her thighs had her gasping and pulling away from him for a second.

He grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and had it over his head and on the floor in an instant. He shucked his shorts and shoes as quickly, then stepped back to capture her mouth, but she wasn’t having that.

She pushed her palms flat to his chest and he halted. ‘Step back, I want to see you,’ she said.

He blushed.
God.
It was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen. A naked, aroused man, blushing as she checked him out. A red tinge slid up his neck then across his jaw and lay on his cheekbones.

‘You’re beautiful.’ She was breathless, astounded, and she hadn’t really checked out down below.

His chest was massive. She’d known that, but naked it was more impressive. Muscled. Sweeping expanses of tanned skin. Rich brown hair in strategic places that drew her gaze. His shoulders extended outwards, rounded and muscular. Biceps swelling even as she stared down his arms. His stomach was packed with too many muscles to count, and those rising over his hips teased her gaze to his cock. Standing tall in a brown thicket, his cock was impressive, making her mouth water. Strong legs barely got a glance as she reached her hand toward him.

He tapped her hand away. ‘I need to look at you too.’ He smiled as he picked her up and deposited her on her feet next to her bed. She’d thought he’d bonk her on the desk, but she should have known he was a gentleman who’d want a bed. Next time she was taking him on the desk, or against the wall, or in the shower, somewhere he’d have never done it before.

A fingertip slid across her lips and then down her neck, over her collarbone and across her left breast. He circled her nipple until it was bunched tight and throbbing. He seemed fascinated by it, leaning closer as it shrank and tensed. Then his lips closed around it and she moaned low and long and deep. Wet, hot silk. His tongue brushed over the tip and she felt sensation jab at her clit, even if there was no direct connection. She needed things sped up here. She needed to fuck him senseless, not this teasing each other into oblivion.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, twisted a foot around his leg, and toppled them both onto the bed. His lips pulled off her with a pop and the expression of shock and disbelief had her laughing.

‘I need you.’ She stared into his eyes, hoping that he’d see her desperation and take her quickly.

He smiled. ‘Luce … be patient … I’m not going anywhere.’

As if she could be patient.
She reached for him, but he took both her wrists in his hand and pinned them on the mattress above her head. He gave her a wicked grin and returned to feasting on her nipples with his lips and tongue.

She writhed beneath him, but his body captured her. His leg slid between hers, pinning her even more. She wriggled and squirmed and then found she could move her hips so that her cunt rubbed against his thigh. Effing heaven. While he suckled, bit, licked and nibbled, she writhed and soaked the muscled hairy thigh he’d perfectly placed for her.

After he’d lavished attention on both breasts, he moved back to her mouth and kissed her as if she was his last meal. She wanted her hands in his hair. She wanted to move his head so she could get her tongue deeper, her kiss harder. She wanted to be on top so she could fill herself with his cock, the hardness of it teasing against her hip. But he wouldn’t let her. He had control. And damn if it didn’t feel good.

In a break for air, she moved her leg so she had it around his, and she tried to hook it up higher, around his hip and his butt. She hoped she could pull him on top of her, have him fill her, have him take away the ache of longing and need. But his growl stopped her moving.

‘I’m the boss this time.’ He grinned. ‘I know you think you’ll hate it, but I promise you’ll enjoy.’

He didn’t give her a chance to reply, just crushed her mouth beneath his and claimed every scrap of air she’d just sucked in. While she was left gasping, he took each of her hands, threaded his fingers between hers, and pulled their joined arms down her body. As quickly as a frown pulled across her forehead, he shimmied down her body, rubbing his mouth across her stomach. His body slid between her thighs and she gasped.

‘No.’

He looked at her over her pubic mound and his eyes gleamed with mischief and need. ‘Yes.’

His head dropped and before she could take a full breath, his mouth was on her, opening her, tasting her. His tongue slid right inside her, hard and tight. She gasped. Then without consciously thinking, she opened her thighs wider, and planted her heels on his back. When his tongue flicked, she dug the bottom of her feet into his muscles to offer every bit of encouragement.