Training Amber (2 page)

At the moment she was sure she’d completely run out of breath, Rio lifted his head and smiled at her.

“You taste even better than I imagined,” he told her. “Like the nectar of the gods.”

“I-I’m… That is…” Her lips felt delightfully swollen but her thoughts were scattered like dry leaves in the wind.

He touched the tip of one finger to her mouth. “Do you believe in fate,
querida?
”

“I-I guess so. Why?”

“Because I believe fate truly brought us together. I have been waiting for a woman just like you to come into my life, the way Molly came into Nick’s.”

“But you know nothing about me,” she protested. “And I’m…”

“I know that I want to learn everything there is to know. And to tell you about myself. Does that appeal to you? Would you like to come home with me and spend a few hours together?”

“I don’t know. You mean, just leave here? Now? I-I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that impulsive in my life.” No, she definitely had not. A smattering of lovers before she met Dennis had all followed the traditional path. None of them had been hasty or impulsive.

Yeah, and look where that got me.

He smoothed her hair back from her face. “Then perhaps it’s time that you did.” He sat her down at the small, glass-topped patio table. “Wait right here.”

“Molly will—”

“Be ecstatic, I assure you.” His gave her a brief kiss, nipping her lower lip. “Don’t move.”

Amber finished her wine while she waited, arguing with herself about the wisdom of doing this. But before she could change her mind Rio was back.

“Amber said to give this to you.” He handed her a small clutch purse she’d left out on her bed. “She said to tell you it has a house key in it and you’re not on the clock.”

“Rio, listen, I—“

“Shh, shh, shh. No second thoughts. Come. Let’s go.”

He guided her around the house to the parking area, past the other vehicles to a gleaming black Porsche Carrera convertible. Amber stopped and stared at the car. She had clients in New York who drove cars like this, so she knew exactly how much they cost. She was also aware that Nick Trajan made a very good living as an architect but this brought home to her exactly the kinds of circles he and Molly traveled in. The kind she’d just been kicked out of.

When Rio opened the door and tried to urge her into the car she simply stood immobile, refusing to move. She couldn’t go through this again. He’d take one look at her in bright light and that would be the end of everything. He was young, he was rich and he certainly wouldn’t want last year’s model. Not without some “tuning up”.

“What is it,
querida?
Is it the car? I promise I won’t drive fast, if that’s what worries you.”

She shook her head. “You have a lot of money.” She realized how stupid the words sounded the moment they came out of her mouth.

He frowned. “And that’s a problem because…? I’m not trying to buy you, Amber. What’s worrying you?”

“You’re younger than me. You’re rich. You should have a woman with a body to be proud of who can, who can…” She ran out of words.

He pulled her close to him and cupped her face. “Who can what, my sweet? I don’t know what you
think
I want, but I know that what I
do
want is you. Give me one night and if what we do doesn’t please you we’ll still be friends.” He kissed her lightly. “I want to get to know you. To find out what makes you tick. What turns you on. And why this car terrifies you so.”

She swallowed hard. Was she going to just let memories of Dennis ruin the first good thing that had happened to her in ages?

She swallowed hard. “All right. Just…don’t expect too much.”

“I expect to give you pleasure, Amber. And I hope I succeed.”

Chapter Two

Somehow, Amber had expected that Rio would also live in Limerock, so she was surprised when they drove out of the community and through the little town to a country road heading west. With conversation impossible in the open car, Rio turned on the radio, found soft music and cranked it up enough that they could hear it. Amber leaned back against the rich leather seat and willed her body to relax.

She soon realized that they were in a
real
country environment—lots of open spaces, no streetlights, distant houses hidden at the ends of long driveways separated by miles of open land. When Rio turned in at one of the driveways and she heard the nickering of horses she sat up, squinting through the dark. At the end of the drive was a sprawling ranch house, welcoming lights a golden glow in the huge front window. Beyond that were large buildings that were indistinct shapes in the dark, and more sounds of…horses?

“What is this place?” she asked.

“
Rancho del Sol
. Ranch of the Sun.” He braked to a stop in a gravel parking area and turned off the ignition. Taking her hand, he lifted it to his lips. “
Mi casa, querida.”

“You live on a ranch?” Amber was stunned. She had imagined him as a high-powered businessman, especially after seeing his mega-dollar sports car.

“I own it.” He chuckled. “That surprises you.”

“I didn’t… I just… I thought…” She was stammering and couldn’t seem to organize her thoughts.

“I breed and train very expensive cutting horses. The stud fees for some of them are as high as for thoroughbreds.”

“I had no idea.” She felt as if she’d landed in a foreign country.

“Come. Let’s go inside. In the morning when it’s light I’ll give you a tour.”

“Th-the morning?”

“Yes.” He helped her out of the car and wrapped his arms around her. “Tonight we will be too busy in my bed.”

The brief kiss he gave her was like a blowtorch on her lips, sending showers of sparks cascading through her. What was it about this man that made her entire body turn liquid and throb with need? That made erotic fantasies dance in her head?

What am I doing? Am I out of my mind? I came here to get away from everyone and here I am about to have sex with a total stranger. Someone I’ve known less than an hour.

But Rio Negron was unlike any man she’d ever come into contact with. With barely a touch he made her blood race and her heart beat faster. Maybe it was time for her to take a chance. It had certainly worked for Molly.

Rio led her through an enormous living room and down a hallway, talking softly to her. She had no idea what he was saying because his hands were touching her lightly everywhere. The nape of her neck. Her spine. His fingers trailed the length of her arm. All very soft, gentle caresses but they only served to stoke the fire already blazing deep inside her.

Then they were in his bedroom, a room almost as large as the living room, with one wall of solid windows looking out into the blackness of the night. Rio walked her over to it and stood with his arm draped casually over her shoulders, his fingertips resting on the upper swell of one breast.

“This land has been in my family for generations,” he told her. “It was always a cattle ranch, but when the beef market began to destabilize my father saw the opportunities in cutting horses and made the change. A lot of the land lies empty now but it’s my own wide open space and I wouldn’t change it.”

Amber had to admit she could see him, with his dark good looks, astride a powerful stallion like the
vaqueros
of old. The image sent a tingle down her spine.

“But now,” he said, “I want to unwrap the package. My unexpected gift.”

When he turned on the bedside lamp she backed away from him.

“Can we…leave the lights off? There’s plenty of moonlight coming in through the window.”

He cupped her face and gently licked her lips. “But I want to see you. Explore the sexy body I know is beneath these clothes.”

Amber looked down at her feet. “Not so sexy, Rio. Certainly not in the same shape as the younger women you’re used to.”

His face hardened. “You haven’t a clue what I’m used to. Or what I want. And younger women often aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”

“But—”

“No buts. Listen to me, Amber. The moment I saw you I knew you were perfect for me. A mature woman at the ripest point of her life. No games. No artifice. Just pure woman. Would you like to know that when I saw you standing in the Trajans’ living room my cock got so hard I was afraid it would burst through my slacks?”

She laughed unsteadily. “I’m sorry, I just find that hard to believe.”

He stared hard into her eyes, as if trying to read something written on her soul. “What’s got you so tied up in knots,
querida
? Nick said you were just coming off a divorce. Was it so destructive?”

She bit her lip. “The divorce was actually a relief. It was the marriage that was nearly my undoing.” She closed her eyes. “It seemed I’d reached an age where, without a lot of re-engineering, my body was no longer appealing or acceptable.”

His hand tightened fractionally on her face. “I have to think your ex is suffering from a case of terminal stupidity. A treasure like you doesn’t come along very often. And if you let me, I’m going to prove it.”

He threaded his hands through her hair and took her mouth, his tongue a live thing, probing, licking, touching.

When he kissed her like that Amber couldn’t think. Couldn’t do anything except melt into him and let herself feel. She was barely aware when he moved one hand and slipped each of the buttons free on her blouse. She felt the whisper of silk as it brushed her arms, then it was gone and one hand cradled a breast, rasping the nipple through the insubstantial satin of her bra.

Rio trailed his mouth down her neck, pressing tiny kisses against her skin, nipping lightly here and there. Then her bra was gone and his mouth was on her nipples, first one then the other. She felt the pull clear to the center of her pussy, cream rushing to dampen her panties even more than they already were.

She clung to him as he teased each peak to a pebbled stiffness, then traced a line with his tongue down the valley between her breasts. Then his hands were at the waist of her slacks, unbuttoning, unzipping, and somehow her slacks and bikini panties disappeared as if by magic.

Rio took one step back from her, resting his arms on her shoulders, and let his eyes roam slowly from her face to her toes, taking in everything in between. Amber had to fight the urge to cover herself with her hands.

“Beautiful,” he breathed.

“I-I know my body isn’t perfect…” she began.

“Are you questioning my judgment? Your body is exactly what I want. Just…stand there. Don’t move.”

His eyes never left her as he efficiently stripped off his clothes. Amber nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw him naked for the first time. His muscular body was lean, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. Black hair matted his chest and arrowed down to a nest of curls surrounding the most magnificent cock she’d ever imagined. Thick and long, it jutted proudly from his body, the head a dark purple, a tiny bead of fluid sitting atop the slit. The sac with his balls hung heavy against his thighs, which were dusted with the same dark hair.

Unconsciously, Amber licked her lips, and Rio laughed, a low, husky sound.

“I’m glad you approve.” He stepped closer. “I know I’m probably rushing you but I don’t want to give you a chance to change your mind.”

He was aware that was entirely possible. She was as skittish as a new colt.
She deserved all the trappings of wining and dining and the slow lead-up to this but he sensed he’d caught her at a moment when, for whatever reason, she was open to him, and he wasn’t about to let that moment slip away.

Rio knew he’d have to be very careful with her. But Amber McCloud was someone special. The punch to his gut the moment he’d laid eyes on her had told him this was no casual situation, at least for him. And truth be told, he wanted what his friend Nick had found with Molly. Maybe his grandmother was right and the fates would bring him the right woman when he was ready for her.

Well, he was damn ready now.

Swiftly, he pulled back the covers on the massive bed and placed her on the cool cotton sheets, arranging her just so. Then, passion heating his blood, he knelt between her thighs and proceeded to taste every inch of her. He followed the line of her collarbone with his tongue, pressed an openmouthed kiss to the hollow of her throat where her pulse beat wildly.

Her skin was soft and carried the intoxicating scent of wildflowers, the fragrance driving him wild. He laved every inch of her breasts, drawing circles with the tip of his tongue and swirling around the swollen nipples. He shifted so he could move his mouth lower, tasting her navel then lapping the warm flesh of her tummy.

“Rio,” she breathed, restless beneath his touch.

“So gorgeous,” he murmured. “So sweet. A treat from the gods.”

“I might argue with you if you weren’t driving me out of my mind.”

“Then I’d better keep doing it,
sí
?”

When he reached her cunt he spread her legs wide, opened her labia with his fingers and took a slow lick the length of her slit. She squirmed and moaned beneath him, her little whimpers adding fuel to the fire burning deep inside him. And one taste of her and he nearly lost his mind. The honey slicking the sweet pink flesh of her pussy was better than any fine wine he’d ever been served. Tastier than any nectar.

He held her firmly in place while he lapped to his heart’s content, thrusting his tongue deep inside her then pulling out to swirl it around her clit. The little nub of furled flesh was like candy in his mouth and he couldn’t stop himself from sucking on it, pulling it with his lips. When he moved one hand to slide two fingers inside her the hot walls of her cunt clamped down on him at once.

God, she was so responsive. Any man who didn’t appreciate her was out of his mind.

With his hands against the backs of her thighs, he pressed her knees to her chest, opening her to him even more. He nibbled at the edges of her labia and teased her opening with the tip of his tongue before sliding his fingers back inside her again. She was very close now. Very close.

He slipped his fingers out and ran them along the sensitive skin to the tight ring of her anus, rimming the tight muscle with a fingertip. Amber jerked at his touch and moaned again. When he thrust his fingers into her cunt this time she climaxed at once, hips bucking, fingers grabbing his head and holding tight to his hair.

He rode her through it until she was quiet, her breath coming in short pants, her heart beating wildly. He moved up her body to press his mouth to hers, sharing her taste with her, running his tongue over the surface of her lips and around the inside of her mouth.

Smoothing the tangled hair back from her face, he smiled at her.

“I could do this forever, Amber.”
As long as I get my cock inside you very, very soon.

“I’d be worn out,” she grinned.

“But I’d feed you and keep up your strength. Besides, we’ve just begun tonight. I have so much more in store for you.”

She lowered her glance almost shyly. “You didn’t get to…you know.”

His laugh was a low rumble. “Get to come? It’s okay to say the word, Amber. It’s okay to say anything you want. It’s all part of arousing and satisfying each other.”

“I know.” Her face turned a rosy shade of pink.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a woman blush. What kind of sex had she had with that asshole ex of hers, anyway? “Do you? I hope so, because I plan to tell you in great detail what I’d like to do to you. With you. Right now, my goal is to give you the most pleasure I can.”

She shifted slightly beneath him and his painfully hard cock came into contact with the soft curls guarding her pussy. He sucked in a breath, straining to maintain control over his body. Not until he was sure he’d wrung every climax from her possible would he allow himself his own release.

He rose on his knees, studying her body again with deliberate intent, appreciating the lushness of it, the dark nipples, the deep auburn curls covering her mound. The sweep of her thigh, the curve of her hip. He thought he could spend hours just looking at her.

“Rio.” She frowned. “I’m not… That is…”

“I thought we settled that.” His voice was stern. “Amber, your body is everything I want. It’s a body meant for pleasure. Yours and mine. It’s more than any man could ask for. So no more negative remarks, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“The one thing I’m grateful to your ex for is he apparently was so lacking in skill that I don’t have to worry about performance anxiety.”

She laughed, a breathy little sound. “I don’t see that as a problem.”

And then he went to work on her again, with his hands and his fingers and his mouth. There was no part of her body he left untouched. He sucked her nipples until each one was red and swollen again, and kneaded the pleasurably soft mounds of her breasts. He took his time coasting his mouth over her stomach, teasing her navel with his tongue while his hands held her hips firmly in place.