Saddle Up (11 page)

Stepping out of the shower, Miranda pulled on her cotton sleep shorts and a tank top, and then proceeded to dry her hair. Her jitters were growing by the second. Out in the desert, it was easy to fall victim to heat-of-the-moment passion. Danger and desire made an addictive cocktail, especially to someone who'd always lived vicariously through films, but spending the night with Keith in a hotel was very much a conscious decision.

She froze at the sound of a light knock on the door, fraught with nervous anticipation. She'd almost decided to back out, until she peered through the peephole and found Keith standing there with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder and bearing two very full trays of food.

“Room service.” He grinned as she cracked the door.

Her anxiety eased by his playful tone, Miranda fumbled to release the chain and then stepped away to let him in.

“Hungry?” he asked.

Her stomach answered with an embarrassing growl.

“I'll take that as a yes.” He chuckled. “What are you in the mood for? We've got a double decker club with fries, a Monte Cristo with onion rings, and a four-cheese pizza.” He set the food on the table beside the queen-size bed and uncovered the trays with a scowl. “Maybe I should have ordered more.”

“More?” She laughed. “There's enough food there for a small army. How much do you normally eat?”

His gaze raked slowly over her, heating her skin. “The kind of activity I have in mind burns many calories.” He fed her a fry with a grin then offered her half a sandwich and a slice of pizza. “We're going to need our strength, so you'd better eat up.”

She accepted the plate with a smile. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she took a bite of the sandwich, rolling her eyes in appreciation. He sat down beside her, sneaking an onion ring from her plate with a guilty look. For the next few minutes they ate in silence, Keith devouring his food with gusto while Miranda picked at hers. She was famished but too nervous to fully appreciate the meal.

“Second thoughts?” he asked.

She hesitated for a couple of seconds, weighing her feelings. “I just don't have any experience with this kind of thing. To be honest, I haven't a clue what to think…about you and me.” Except that he read her better than anyone she'd ever met.

“Then don't think,” he replied. “Just eat.” His gaze traveled slowly over her, making her insides quiver. “And quickly.”

Swallowing his last bite, he tossed his plate down and then took hers away. Slowly leaning in, he kissed her, just a light brush of his lips. Holding his body inches from hers, enough for her to feel his heat but not his flesh, he teased and enticed. Sucking her lower lip between his teeth, he gently nipped and then slowly released. “Any better now?” he asked.

“A little,” she whispered back.

“Come.” Taking her hand, he led her into the large, tiled bathroom with its oversized Jacuzzi tub. He turned on the tap. “Earlier you mentioned a desire for a hot bath.”

“But I already showered,” she said.

“Showering doesn't sooth aching muscles like a hot soak does. You're tense. You need to relax.” His smile faded. “And I want to undress you,” he added with a dark look that made her pulse race.

“Arms up.” He drew the thin white tank top over her head to reveal her small breasts and painfully erect nipples. She wished she'd worn one of those sexy pushup bras, but she only owned one and wore it only on special occasions. She realized with a pang that maybe seduction by one of the hottest men alive qualified as one. She fought the urge to cross her arms over her breasts.

His gaze locked on hers, and he slowly drew back. As if reading her mind, he brought her hands to her sides. His eyes not leaving hers, he cupped her breasts and stroked the peaks of her nipples with his thumbs. “I love your natural beauty,
Aiwattsi
. So slender and graceful. You remind me of a doe.”

“Is that what it means?” she asked. “Doe?”

“Close,” he replied. “
Aiwattsi
is a little fawn. Your eyes are innocent like one.”

“But don't wolves eat fawns?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied, giving her a lupine flash of incisors. “I find fawns very tasty indeed.”

She gave a tiny gasp as he planted his lips at the sensitive junction of her shoulder and neck. Sliding his hands down her back, he clasped her ass and then lowered his head. Kissing and licking, he worked his way down to claim her breasts with his hungry mouth. “Perfect. Beautiful. Delicious.”

His words made her feel once more like an exotic desert flower. She arched her back and released a blissful sigh. He suckled her breasts as his hands mapped her body. Her fingers tangled in his thick, silky hair. She shut her eyes, throwing her head back with a moan, abandoning herself to the drugging pleasure of his mouth. Just like the wolf in his story, he devoured her by inches as he moved down her body with lips, teeth, and tongue.

A quiver raced over her skin as he caressed the curls of her mound through her shorts. She tensed again as he began to peel them off her hips. Her heart pounded in her chest at the realization that they were approaching the point of no return. He looked up with a grin as he bared her short nest of curls.

“Your down matches your hair. I want to bury my face in its softness.”

His meaning made her throat go dry. “Um…” She swallowed. “You aren't planning to…do
things
down there…are you?”

“Things down there?”
His chuckle warmed her exposed belly with a blast of moist, hot air. “I'd planned to do lots of
things
, but not if you can't even say it. Haven't you had lovers before, Miranda?”

“Only one,” she confessed. “We were supposed to get married when I graduated college.”

“And this guy you were going to marry didn't go down on you?”

“Um. He did once or twice, but I didn't like it.” Jason had
tried
to please her sexually, but there was just no excitement, no passion between them. She'd never regretted breaking it off with him, but now she understood why. At the time, she hadn't even known what she was missing. Now she did.

“You will this time,” he said. “If there's one thing I take pride in, it's pleasing my woman.”

“
Your woman
?” she repeated, both irritated and flattered by the possessiveness of the statement. “Is that what you think I am?”

“You will be the moment I put my tongue in your—”

“Please don't say it, Keith. I don't like dirty talk.”

“All right. I won't say it…but
you
will. Tell me you want it, Miranda. Tell me you want me to bury my nose in your soft down.”

“But I don—” She gasped as he nuzzled her with his face.

“Oh, yes, you do,” he insisted darkly. He kissed a slow path from one hip bone toward the other. “Tell me you want my lips and tongue inside your lips.” He worked his way back to her navel, tracing it slowly with his tongue. Her inner walls responded, shuddering with a wave of intense want. “You want me to drink your salty sweetness while I kiss and suck the little pearl that hides within your womanhood. These are just a few of the
things
I wish to do
down there
, and all you have to do is tell me you want it.”

She shut her eyes on another hard swallow.

“I'll make this good for you,” he promised. “You won't regret it.”

Her desire once more waged battle with her conscience. Knowing that he wanted her made her feel beautiful and desirable. Why shouldn't she feel those things? She didn't care if it was only for one night. “No. I won't regret it,” she whispered as much to herself. “But what about that bath?” she suggested shyly.

“You distracted me,
Aiwattsi
.” He chuckled and then began stripping, toeing off his boots and peeling off his T-shirt. She drank him in with thirsty eyes, from chest and shoulders down his torso to his low-slung jeans. She hadn't had a good look at him before, but now she could hardly tear her eyes away. His entire body was honed of lean, hard muscle under his sun-bronzed skin. In her eyes, Keith was physical perfection.

“Like what you see,
Aiwattsi
?” he asked softly.

“Yes.” She tracked back up to his face. “I like it very much.”

His gaze probed hers as he released his belt. Their eyes still locked, he took her hand, guiding it to his fly. Miranda lowered his zipper with trembling hands. She felt his abdominal muscles tighten as she reached inside, discovering hot, hard,
naked
flesh pulsing under her fingers.

“Commando?” she asked, surprised.

He shrugged. “I'm a free spirit.”

Closing her hand around him, she caressed up and down his length. “I love how you feel.”

His hand came over hers, guiding her with more aggressive strokes. “And I love that you do. I'm eager to know what else you enjoy.”

Emboldened, Miranda kissed down his body while continuing to stroke and fondle him. His breaths grew heavier as she came face-level with his erection. He sounded a low growl as she freed him from his jeans. His erection grew bigger, pulsing hotly in her hand. She bit her lip and continued stroking him.

He released her hand from him with a growl. “Keep that up, and you can forget the bath.”

He quickly shed the jeans and pulled her into the tub with him, settling her between his legs. She was suddenly all too aware of his turgid shaft pressing against her ass. He drew her back against his chest. She sank into the steamy water, immersing herself to the chin with a long, sultry sigh. He murmured another warning in her ear, “You'd be wise not to make sounds like that either,
Aiwattsi
.”

“I can't help myself. It feels so good.”

“I can make it even better.”

He reached for the soap, lathered his hands, and began massaging her shoulders, working his fingers into her muscles. She slumped deeper in the water, dropping her head forward with a helpless moan. “Oh. My. God. Please. Don't. Stop.”

“You'd better save those kinds of words for later,” he said darkly.

He grew gentler as he worked his hands around her, cupping her breasts and caressing her nipples with his thumbs. While one hand continued to play with her breasts, he glided the other down her belly, slowly exploring her inch by soap-slickened inch, as he licked and sucked her earlobe. “Open your legs.”

She resisted at first and then jumped at the sharp nip of his teeth. “I told you to open your legs.” Although they trembled uncontrollably, she obeyed. Taking her hands in his, he brought them up to her breasts. “I want you to touch yourself here, while I touch you there,” he said. “I want to learn what you like. Then I'm going to make you come.”

“Here? Now?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes. Here, now. And then I'll do it again with my mouth and yet again with my—”

“Don't say it,” she replied. “I want to hear
your
word for it.”

“
Pakan
,” he answered. “Aptly, it can also mean arrow. And I intend to pierce you with my arrow.
After
I have made you come with my hands and my mouth.”

“Three times?” She gave a nervous laugh. “That's certainly an ambitious plan.”

He grinned. “I've spent many hours since last night plotting my strategy.”

“What about me? Don't I have any say in this?”

“No,” he replied sternly. “The only thing you get to say is, ‘You're a god, Keith, don't ever stop.' We're done talking about it now. I need to concentrate.”

“But—”

“No talking. Shut your eyes.”

She leaned back with closed eyes, biting her lip and then inhaling a tiny gasp as he slid his hands between her legs. His mouth continued its play on her neck, licking and sucking. With his arms wrapped around her body, he located the hood of her clitoris. Circling and teasing the sensitive bud with one hand, the gently probing fingers of his other traced the folds to her entrance. Inserting two long and knowing fingers inside her, he worked them in and out. Strumming her clitoris, he played her body like an instrument, creating an ebb and flow that quickly had her undulating in pleasure.

“Please,” she whimpered, her body trembling as her climax clawed for release.

Responding to her plea, he sucked harder on her neck, increasing the tempo of his fingers plunging in and out, harder and faster until she tensed, crying out a muffled sob as her orgasm broke free. Her climax hit hard, overwhelming her with tremors until she fell back against him, limp and lifeless. Keith clasped her snug against him until she stirred back to life.

Sitting up, she turned around to face him. “Why did you do that?”

He smiled smugly. “Because I wanted to. Because I could. Because I wanted you to
know
I could.”

She frowned. “Is this some kind of kinky control thing?”

“Maybe a little.” He shrugged. “Almost every man gets off watching a woman orgasm. Or better yet,
making
her come. Are you ready to get out yet? My fingers are pruning, and so is my
pakan
.”

He pulled the plug and then stood, but before he could step out of the tub, she wrapped her hands around him. “It doesn't look shriveled at all to me.” She cocked her head. “Quite the contrary.”

“I thought I warned you about touching me like that.”

“But, Keith”—she rose on her knees with a devilish look—“don't you know that almost every woman gets off watching a man orgasm…or better yet,
making
him come.”

“Don't play this game with me,
Aiwattsi
,” Keith warned. “Not unless you intend to finish it.”

She licked her lips, her mouth watering in anticipation. Her voice emerged, husky with lust. “What makes you think I won't?”