Training Amber (3 page)

He licked the crease where hip and thigh joined and tugged lightly on her pubic curls with his teeth, then nipped at the sensitive nub of her clit. Her juices spilled into his mouth and he eagerly lapped at them.

He even turned her over on her stomach so he could press kisses the length of her spine and explore the hot crevice between the cheeks of her ass. Soon he would take her there. When she was ready. There was so much more he wanted to do to her. With her. He wondered briefly what she’d say if she knew how deep his tastes really ran. But that was for another time.

Tonight was purely for her sensual enjoyment.

And finally, when he’d wrung everything from her he could, he turned her onto her back, sheathed himself and drove into her. And, oh God, his heart nearly stopped with the force of the feeling. She was hot and tight and wet, like a sleek satin glove clutching at his dick. He had to hold himself still while he reached for the last threads of his control. Then he opened his eyes to look at her, rolled his hips and pumped into her.

Sex had never been like this for him, something that reached to the core of him. Something more than physical. Always it had been just the satisfaction of the body’s needs, with a willing woman who understood the things he enjoyed. But with Amber there seemed to be an almost metaphysical connection, an invisible thread linking them together. His
abuela—
his grandmother—would say fate had brought them together, and who was to say she was wrong?

As he drove into Amber again and again he thought of the games he’d like to play with her. The things he wanted to teach her. And his orgasm pushed its way up from deep inside him.

When he was just about to lose it he felt her pulse around him, milking him, the spasms racing through her body straight to his cock. And he took them over the edge together, whirling into space, bodies convulsing and shaking until neither had breath left in them. He collapsed forward and rolled to the side, taking her with him. He could feel her heart thumping as hard as his, her body still trembling with aftershocks.

Finally he slid from her body very carefully, disposed of the condom and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her.

“Sleep,
querida.
You need your rest. We are far from done.”

Chapter Three

“Wake up, sleepyhead.”

The deep voice and the fragrant aroma of rich coffee roused Amber from a slumber of deep satisfaction. She forced her eyes open to see Rio sitting next to her on the bed, stark naked, holding a mug of streaming brew under her nose. It amazed her how comfortable he was in his nakedness.

“You’re awake.” Rio’s warm voice slid over her like honey. “I’ve been wondering just how much more patience I’d have to have.”

“Mmm.” She turned over and stretched like a lazy cat. “Bedside service. How luxurious.”

He chuckled. “I need to take very good care of you,
amada.
I’m hoping last night was just a beginning for us.”

He let her sip from the mug for a few moments before taking it from her and placing it on the nightstand. Then he slipped into bed behind her, molding his body to hers. Before Amber realized what he was doing he slid the sheet and coverlet away from her body and ran a palm smoothly over her curves.

“Rio, no.” She grabbed the covers and jerked them up to her chin, turning away from him again. “Don’t…do that.”

“Do what,
amada
? Kiss you? Touch you? Why not, when it gives us both such pleasure?”

“Don’t…pull the covers away. It’s daylight.” And the sun was streaming in through a large picture window. She was sure every blemish had been starkly revealed.

“I won’t let you hide from me,” he told her, his voice kind but firm. He tugged the covers from her grip, leaving her naked again. “You have a wonderful body and I love to look at it. Don’t deny me that pleasure and don’t make excuses for nonexistent flaws.”

He was running his hand over her again, soothing her, nibbling at her earlobe. He caressed her shoulder and her arm before shifting his hand to cup her breast. His thumb slid lazily back and forth over her nipple, the plump bud hardening beneath his touch. Amber wanted to protest, to cover herself again, but Rio’s caresses made her objections fade in the haze of an erotic fog.

He licked the outer shell of her ear while his hand slid from her breast across her stomach and down to the soft curls covering her mound. One lean finger slid into the wet slit, lightly rubbing her still-sensitive clit, dragging her own moisture over it. Her body moved in response, hips hitching back and forth. The hot, insidious tip of his tongue swirled her ear, sending shivers skating along her spine.

Rio murmured softly to her, words in Spanish that she didn’t understand but knew instinctively were sensual in meaning. When he pressed himself against her back she could feel the hot thickness of his swollen and demanding cock against her backside.

He lifted her leg and moved it over his thigh, opening her up to him, and his shaft pressed into the crevice between the cheeks of her ass. His fingers, saturated with her cream, slid easily along the length of her cunt, pausing briefly at the very sensitive flesh below her opening until he barely touched the tight ring of her anus.

“One of these times,
amada,”
he murmured, “when you are completely comfortable with me, I am going to take you here. It will be like nothing you’ve ever felt before.”

Fingers of icy heat chased themselves through her system. After all the reading she’d been doing she’d developed a fascination with anal sex. Not that Dennis would ever have considered it. He engaged in sex like he did everything else—precisely, rigidly and quickly. She’d wondered during the last few years of their marriage why he even wanted a wife, except for decoration and appearance.

“But for right now,” he continued, “I want to feel that hot, tight cunt of yours around me.”

He rolled away from her momentarily. She heard the drawer of the nightstand open and close, the crinkle of foil. Then he was back, his cock now sheathed in latex. Lifting her thigh again he positioned himself at the entrance to her vagina and slid smoothly inside her.

Amber sucked in a breath. She couldn’t believe how quickly he’d aroused her, how instantly she was ready for him. How excited she was to feel the thickness of him inside her.

His hand cupped her breast again, thumb and forefinger pinching the nipple sharply, taking her breath away.

“A short, fast, hard ride,
cariña,”
he whispered, and instantly began moving, pumping hot and deep, his balls slapping against her body.

It took only seconds, amazingly, for them to reach the peak at the same time. He pinched her nipple harder as he gave one final thrust and they exploded together, shuddering, his cock pulsing inside her.

Then they were still, his mouth pressed to her shoulder, her heart pounding furiously. When their breathing evened out he slid slowly from her body.

“I want to see more of you, Amber. A lot more.”

“I have to be honest, Rio. I’m really a mess after the divorce. I don’t think I’m much of a prize package for anyone right now, or have the capacity to—you know—be in a relationship.”

He caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “I think you have untold depths, Amber. A soul and a heart just waiting to be unlocked. And I firmly believe fate means for me to unlock them.” He studied her with heated eyes. “I know we just met last night but it doesn’t take long to know if you connect emotionally with someone. At least for me. I felt the tug the moment I laid eyes on you. The kind that doesn’t fade. If I’m willing to take a chance, are you?”

Was she? Part of her wanted to hide from the bright daylight that could expose all her flaws and part of her wanted to jump in with both feet.

Rio rose from the bed with the lithe grace of a panther. “Don’t answer me now. Let’s take this one hour at a time. I already called Molly to assure her you were all right, so we have time for some breakfast before I take you home. All right?”

“Thank you. That was very thoughtful. And yes, breakfast would be nice.”

“I’ll give you the luxury of a few more minutes in bed,” he teased, heading for the bathroom. “I’d invite you to shower with me but we might never get to breakfast.”

He strolled out of the bathroom a few minutes later, smiling at her, and pulled on a pair of jeans that fitted his body like a glove and a black T-shirt that emphasized the sexy darkness of his Castilian heritage.

“Breakfast in ten, Amber. Rise and shine.”

When he was gone, Amber headed into the bathroom. It was a big room, with a granite vanity and rough marble tiles on the floor set in an intricate design. A large mirror covered most of one wall but Amber studiously avoided it. Despite what Rio had said, Dennis’s critical comments were still too fresh in her mind.

The shower had multiple heads that sprayed softly from all directions. The shower gel had a pleasant citrus scent, so she applied it liberally over her body, taking her time. Closing her eyes and pretending it was Rio’s hands massaging the lather into her skin instead of her own. That his mouth was on her the way it had been the night before. That his thick, hard cock was filling her again and again.

She was good at imagining. When her sex life with Dennis had gone from acceptable straight to hell, the sex she’d enjoyed the most had been in her mind. She’d even downloaded some erotic romances to her e-reader, thinking maybe she could learn some things. But all she’d learned was that there were a lot of things she wanted to try, only definitely not with Dennis.

She dried off and wrapped the towel around herself, tucking one end in to hold it in place, and went in search of her clothes. Apparently Rio had picked them up from where he’d tossed them the night before and placed them, neatly folded, on an upholstered chair. But she was reluctant to put them on at the moment, unwilling to break the spell of the previous night, which still wrapped itself around her.

Maybe he won’t mind if I throw on one of his T-shirts. All men have a drawer full of T-shirts. Even a prig like Dennis had one.

She opened one of the drawers in the massive carved dresser—and jumped back as if a snake had suddenly stuck its head out. Instead of piles of clean T-shirts the drawer held an assortment of toys that reading had taught her were an integral part of BDSM play. BDSM? Was Rio into that?

Holy shit!

Amber had read a lot of books where BDSM was a fundamental part of the story. She’d often wondered, as she pleasured herself in her bedroom, what it would be like to be a sexual submissive, even just for play. Would she enjoy the pain? The domination? The idea had played around in the back of her mind but she’d never really given it any deep thought. Or imagined that she’d meet a man who was into that kind of sex.

The one thing every book she’d read had made clear was that a deep level of trust was required for a successful BDSM relationship. Stronger than in any other situation, even if it was only for one night. And Amber didn’t know if she had it in her anymore to trust someone that way.

She was still standing there, staring into the drawer, when a hand lightly touched her shoulder. She jerked so sharply the towel nearly came undone.

“Exploring,
cariña?”
An amused smile played on Rio’s lips.

“I was just, um, looking for a T-shirt to put on while we ate breakfast.” She backed away from the drawer as if it had suddenly caught fire.

“It’s all right.” He bent his head to nip an earlobe, then softly licked the side of her neck. “I didn’t know you even had an interest in this type of play.”

Shivers skimmed the length of her spine. “I don’t. I mean, I did— That is…” She covered her face with her hands. Could she possibly sound any stupider?

“No worries.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Something to discuss another time.” He reached into another drawer and pulled out a neatly folded navy T-shirt and handed it to her. Then he put his mouth close to her ear. “But it would be my great pleasure to teach you all about it, Amber. I think you would be a magnificent sub. Very trainable.”

“H-how do you know that?” she stammered, clutching the T-shirt.

“Because despite the things that have you so tied up in knots, last night you gave yourself openly and freely and let the pleasure take you. I can give you even more, a little at a time, and take you to places you never thought you would go.”

She stared at him, puzzled. “But why would you want to do that? Surely there are women more sexually sophisticated than I am, younger women who would make better partners for you.”

He turned her to face him directly and slid his fingers into her hair, holding her head in place. “Because it’s you I want,
querida.
And somehow I’m going to make you understand that. Believe it.”

* * * * *

She was still thinking about the contents of the drawer after breakfast when Rio walked her into the barn, his fingers linked loosely with hers. She had trouble keeping her mind on what he was saying as he pointed out the different horses, told her what stages of training they were in and gave her a simplified explanation of the process. People were busy everywhere, grooming the animals, doing barn chores, working horses in the corral. In a second barn he showed her a large training ring where someone was already working a horse, four calves leading it a merry chase.

And finally he showed her the breeding barn and explained the process from start to finish. By the time they walked back to the house, Amber’s head was spinning.

“I had absolutely no idea this was such an intense, lucrative business,” she told him. “I’ve seen rodeos on television or in the movies so I’ve seen roping and barrel racing events. But I never thought about all the cutting horses required for ranch work.”

“The demand keeps growing,” he told her. “We pride ourselves on breeding and training the best. And now I think I should get you back to Molly’s so she doesn’t think I’ve kidnapped you.”

They were quiet during the ride, Amber busy with her own thoughts even as she took in the lush countryside bathed in the golden glow of the morning sun. When they pulled into the driveway and Rio parked the car he turned to her, his fingers threading through her hair at the nape of her neck.

“You have to know I want to see you again,” he told her. “Like tonight.”

Amber frowned. “Rio, I’m sure there are plenty of women your own age for you to spend time with.”

“Not that again. Please.” The muscles in his face tightened. “If that’s what I wanted, that’s what I’d do. Why is it so hard for you to believe that you’re the one I want to be with?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m wondering if it’s…you know, just out of pity. A favor for Molly’s poor divorced friend.”

His hand tightened against her skin. “I’m not sure who you’re insulting with those words, you or me.”

She tugged at her lower lip with her teeth. “I know Molly’s concerned about me. She thinks I’m going to crawl into an emotional hole and shut out the world.”

Rio made what was obviously a conscious effort to calm himself. “Surely you can’t think last night was out of pity. I could never have made love to you the way I did if that’s all it was.” He pressed two fingers lightly beneath her chin and turned her to face him. “Your ex must be some kind of asshole if he could deliberately do this kind of damage to a beautiful, smart, sexy woman. I’m inclined to think he had his own inadequacies and could only make himself feel better by diminishing you.”