Bound, Branded, & Brazen (21 page)

She let go of his face and he pushed to his feet.

She swallowed hard as he stared down at her with the kind of look that screamed predator. And she was the prey.

She kind of liked that.

She waited in breathless anticipation for what was coming next.

control was a big thing in gage’s life, in his work, and especially with women. But God help him, if Brea continued to smile up at him like a hungry wolf who wanted to eat him alive, he was going to lose it.

Shy? Yeah, he knew that about her. But he hadn’t expected her to be so responsive. He thought he was going to have to coax it out of her.

He’d been wrong. She was a natural at sex, once given the right stimulus.

And he was stimulated as hell, his cock and balls throbbing for release after touching and tasting her. Lying on the ground like that she was an invitation he couldn’t resist.

But the wind had picked up and a chill cut the air around them. The last thing he wanted was an interruption.

He grabbed her hands. “Come on, darlin’. It’s getting cold out here.”

He pulled her to her feet and she tilted her head back to stare at him. “Are we leaving?”

Disappointment shadowed her eyes and made him smile. He squeezed her hand. “Are we finished yet?”

“Well, uh, I didn’t think so.” Her gaze skirted south, right where the bulge in his jeans hadn’t even begun to subside.

“You’re right. We haven’t. We just need to change locations. Thought we’d go inside the cabin where it’s warmer.”

“Oh. Good idea.”

They went inside, and Gage held on to her hand, leading her toward the sofa. He turned on the lamp on the table.

“Um, wouldn’t you rather leave the lights off?” she asked.

He turned to her. “No. I want to see you. All of you.”

“Oh.” Her gaze drifted toward the double windows leading outside. He tipped her chin and forced her attention back to him.

“Brea. No one is around but you and me. If you and I are going to do this, you have to trust me. If you don’t want to, say so now and we’ll head back.”

“I want this.”

No hesitation. That was all he needed to know. He moved in, wound his arms around her waist and drew her close.

And she tensed. All that relaxation he’d felt in her body earlier had disappeared.

He loosened his hold on her and took a step back. “What’s wrong?”

She tilted her head back and smiled, but there was fear in her eyes. “Nothing. I’m ready. Let’s get to it.”

She’d made it sound more like a pending execution than lovemaking. She was girding up for battle, for something unpleasant. Not quite the scenario he’d pictured.

“Bullshit.” He took a step back and sat on the sofa. “Come on. Sit down and let’s talk.”

Brea frowned. “Talk? About what?”

He laid his palm on the sofa cushion. “Sit down, Brea.”

She did, looking like someone who’d just been called into the principal’s office for doing something bad. She stared down at her boots, not at him. He looked at her for a few seconds, trying to figure out the problem. Outside, she’d been eager, responsive, had melted under him. But a minute ago she’d acted like a scared virgin. Huh.

“You have had sex before, right?”

Her gaze shot to his. “Of course. Tons of times.”

He avoided laughing, instead arching his brow. “Tons? Define ‘tons.’ ”

She was really cute when she blushed. “A lot.”

“How old were you when you had sex for the first time, Brea?”

“Do we really have to go there, Gage?”

“I think it’s important, yeah.”

“How old were you?” she asked.

“Fourteen.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

He shrugged. “You asked.”

“So you’ve probably had thousands of women.”

He snorted. “When I was a horndog teenager, I got around, yeah. But when I got older I got more selective.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re not such a manwhore now?”

He laughed. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“And I should be complimented that you chose me.”

This wasn’t about him and he knew it. The bite in her tone was about something else. And Brea was smart. She was doing a good job turning the topic to him. “We weren’t talking about my sex life, though. We were talking about yours. And I think you either haven’t had much experience, or what you had wasn’t good.”

She lifted her chin. “I think you presume to know way too much about me. And based on what, exactly?”

Defensive, too. “The fact that as soon as we got in here and you knew we were going to fuck, you tensed up.”

“I did not.”

“Yeah, babe, you did. Did you have some bad experiences with sex you want to talk about?”

“No.”

“Talking about them might help.”

“I meant no, I didn’t have any bad experiences. Jesus, did you take some psychology classes or what?”

He grinned and swept his hand over her hair.” I just read people pretty well. Or at least I can read you. And something’s bothering you. I want to know what it is.”

“Shouldn’t you be trying to get into my pants like most guys would do instead of worrying about how I feel?”

“Is that what you think guys do? That all they think about is getting pussy? That we don’t give a shit about the woman?”

She glanced away, shrugged.

“You must have had some pretty lousy experiences with men.”

“Or maybe I’m just not very good at this.”

And like a lightning bolt, the problem zapped him. “You think you’re no good at sex.”

She met his gaze with wide eyes. “I didn’t say that.”

“No, but some guy said it to you, didn’t he?”

She didn’t answer, just clamped her lips shut.

“What an asshole.”

She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, defiance written all over her face. “It wasn’t just one guy. That’s how I know it’s true.”

“Jesus, Brea. How long ago was this?”

She shrugged. “I don’t remember. A few years ago.”

“So you had a couple losers who couldn’t take the time to show a young girl what sex was all about and you believed them when they said it was your fault?”

She clasped her hands so tightly together her knuckles whitened. “It wasn’t their fault I couldn’t . . .”

“Come? They couldn’t get you off, or get you excited and they said it was your fault. And you believed them.”

“What was I supposed to believe?”

“That they were lazy assholes, for starters.” He shifted to face her. “Honey, sex happens between two people. That means it takes both parties to make fireworks happen. If it didn’t happen for you, it wasn’t your fault, it was theirs.”

She frowned like she didn’t believe him. Of course she didn’t believe him. He’d like five minutes in a locked room with the guys who’d done a number on her self-esteem.

“I’ll bet they didn’t think to warm you up or do you first, thought only of themselves and finished in record time. And then when you didn’t get off, they claimed there had to be something wrong with you, right?”

“Maybe.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Brea.” He swept his thumb over her cheek, needing her to believe in herself. “Outside you showed how passionate you are, how responsive you are.”

“But you were . . .”

“Go ahead.”

“You were doing me. And you know what you’re doing.”

He laughed. “And you think we can’t make magic
together
when we fuck? That I can’t make you come that way?”

“No.”

He arched a brow. “Babe, I believe you’ve just issued a challenge. I accept.”

What challenge? She hadn’t challenged him to anything.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said. “You think you’re defective or something. That’s a mental block, not real. You think you can’t come during sex. I aim to prove you wrong.”

“Oh. Uh, that’s totally unnecessary. I’m sure we can have fine sex together. Don’t worry about it.”

“Fine? Did you just say ‘fine’?”

There was a wicked gleam in his eye as he leaned toward her. She backed away, scooting farther down the sofa.

“Oh, no you don’t. There’s no escaping now. You’ve challenged me.”

A little thrill shot up her spine. Gage was certifiable, but she couldn’t help laughing as he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. Dammit, she liked being with him. He was a lot smarter than she’d thought he’d be, and that was her own prejudice about cowboys in general being dumb. He read, he could carry on an intellectual conversation, he made her laugh, and he even seemed to care about whether she had a good time with sex.

She still didn’t think men like him actually existed.

And he was bound to be disappointed in her before the night was over. But she intended to enjoy him while she had him.

Especially if he continued to stare at her like he was hungry. And not for food.

He shifted, sliding her underneath him, his body covering hers. In one swift move, he became the predator. She liked the feel of him on top of her, the feeling that he wanted her. Especially when something hard and insistent brushed against her thigh.

She shuddered at the quick flash of need that roared through her, priming her for him. Gage was way too much man for her. She already knew this, had prepared herself for his disappointment. She should have said no, should have walked away at the first sign of interest, but she couldn’t seem to resist the sizzling pull of attraction she had for him.

Once. That’s all she wanted with him, just one time. Then she’d have a real fantasy to think about during all those long nights when she was alone in her room reading.

He pressed his lips to hers, and this time there was nothing easy about it. He took, he demanded, and all she could do was hold on, try to catch her breath as he ravaged her senses with his mouth. He slid his tongue between her teeth, forcing her to open for him so he could wrap his tongue around hers, lick against her, at the same time rocking his body against hers in the most primal way imaginable. Brea held on to his arms, feeling the rock-solid strength of him, the corded muscles of his arms, the sheer power of his thighs as he molded his body along hers. And when he nestled between her legs and thrust his cock against her sex, her body wept for joy, climbing a pinnacle of need and desire that she’d never climbed before.

She poised, waiting for him to draw her skirt up, pull her panties aside and shove his cock inside her, but all he did was continue to kiss her senseless, over and over again until she had no idea how much time had gone by. Every inch of her body was nothing but raw nerve endings. He slipped his hand under her butt, and just his hand resting there while she was fully clothed made her ache to be naked, to feel him touch her all over.

And still he kissed her, finally pulling his mouth from hers to travel down her jaw. When he dragged his tongue along her throat, she tilted her head back and moaned, her body covered in goose bumps despite the warmth in the cabin.

This was torture.

He lifted up on his hands to stare down at her. “I’m going to make you come for me tonight, Brea. And not just once.”

She shuddered. But she still didn’t believe him, knew she was going to disappoint him. Yet her body was on fire and they both still had all their clothes on.

Holding himself above her, he surged against her, against her sex, his denim-clad cock the sweetest torment.

“Don’t doubt me.”

His harsh whisper thrilled her.

She still doubted. With his hand, yes, his mouth, oh hell yes. But inside her, it wouldn’t happen. It never had. She wasn’t capable.

He reached for her top, lifted it over her belly. She raised her arms and he smiled at her.

“Not yet.”

Instead, he bent down and pressed a kiss to her belly. Her abdomen quivered at the touch of his warm lips to her flesh. She remembered what it felt like to have his mouth down there, wanted to feel him there again. And again. She’d never released like that before.

Maybe Gage was right. The cursory licks and sucks the other guys had given her in the oral sex department had barely warmed her up. Gage had given her oral pleasure like he had really enjoyed it. She had given herself up to the mastery of his exquisite mouth and tongue until he rocketed her right over the edge.

But shouldn’t she be doing something for him, too? She started to lift, sliding her hand between them to reach for his cock.

Gage lifted his head. “What are you doing?”

“You’ve been doing everything for me. I should—”

He removed her hand. “Just relax and let me kiss you. And dammit, quit worrying about what you think
you
should be doing. The only thing you should concentrate on is enjoying what’s happening between us.”