Tying You Down (14 page)

When she loosed the arrow, it went wide of the target but hit the side of the bale. “Well, at least I hit the hay and not a tree,” she said as she looked at him.

“You did great,” he said as she nocked another arrow. He stood close to her, helping her position herself in the correct stance and sight the target.

Again the arrow hit wide of the target, but this time on the opposite side of the bale.

She kept at it until her arm was sore and she was at least hitting the paper target around the outside ring.

“It’s getting late.” He started toward the truck and set both bows and the quiver of arrows on the tailgate, near a small coil of rope. “Unfortunately, I need to get back to the ranch to take care of chores.”

“And I need to get cleaned up and go to Jo-Jo’s.” She gave him a light kiss. “I had a great time today.”

“So did I.” He smiled. “One of those days that I wish could go on.”

She slipped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. “Maybe we can stretch it out…just a little bit longer.”

Chapter 18

Tate held Jo’s gaze, feeling an ache in his groin. “I think I can hold out a little longer before I have to head back to the ranch,” he said, his voice suddenly tight with need.

“Jo-Jo’s can wait, too.” She pressed close and he groaned as she rubbed her belly against his cock that had gone rigid at the thought of being with her.

He cupped the back of her head and brought his mouth down hard on hers. She kissed him with a kind of wildness that made him think of a wildcat in his arms.

She clung to him as he unzipped her windbreaker and moved his hands inside to feel the heat of her body. He unbuttoned her shirt, wanting to tear it apart and let the buttons fly instead of messing with them. But he reined in his primal thoughts long enough to get her blouse open.

He jerked her bra beneath her breasts and she caught her breath. He moved his mouth from hers and saw that her nipples had tightened until they were large, hard nubs. No doubt from desire and the chill air, too. He lowered his head and sucked her nipple. She moaned and clung to him as she tipped her head back.

Another moan rose up within her as he caught her other nipple in his mouth. She dug her fingernails into his shoulders, the sensation adding fuel to the intensity of desire raging through him.

She moved her hands down to his belt buckle and unfastened it before going after the button and zipper of his jeans.

He sucked in his breath as she reached inside and pulled out his cock. Her hands were cool but he felt hot beneath her touch. She slipped out of his arms and got down on her knees on the pine needles and leaves on the forest floor.

She gripped his erection and then her mouth was sliding over his cock. He groaned and slid his hands into her hair as she went down on him. He watched the way his cock moved in and out of her mouth. Just seeing her sucking him made the sensations stirring in his groin even more intense.

There was something about being out in the forest that made it even more erotic. The pungent forest scents and the cool air brushing the parts of his body that was bare. Even the chance that they could get caught added to the experience.

She looked up at him and met his gaze, watching him as he watched her. Her blouse and windbreaker were open and he could see her perfect breasts bouncing as she moved her mouth up and down. She made a humming sound that vibrated along his cock and thought he was going to climax before he could stop himself.

His blood felt like it was boiling and his breathing was ragged as he forced her to stop. He had to take a deep breath. He brought her to her feet and took her by the hand, and picked up the rope off the back of the truck.

She looked at the rope with interest as he led her to a soft patch of grass that was on the opposite side of the horse trailer and couldn’t be seen from the road.

He unbuttoned her jeans and she clung to his biceps as she kicked off her boots. She seemed almost frantic as she stripped off her jeans and panties, leaving only her socks. She shrugged out of her blouse and windbreaker and her skin pebbled from the chill but she didn’t seem to care.

His cock grew even harder as he took her down to the grass. He grasped the rope then her wrists, and bound her hands in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Her voice was throaty as she spoke.

“I’m tying you down.” He stretched her arms above her head and tied the ends of the rope to a slender tree. Her breasts jutted up as she squirmed and pulled against the ropes. He drew back and looked at her. “I’d love to keep you this way, tie you up in my home so that you can’t get away from me.”

She bit her lower lip and squirmed.

From his pocket he pulled out his wallet and took out a condom packet before tossing his wallet onto the truck’s tailgate. He tugged down his jeans to his knees and then rolled the condom down his cock. And then he was between her thighs and he sank into her core that enveloped him in her slick heat.

She gasped then sighed as he slid all the way inside her. He started riding her, her wrists tied over her head. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was lost in the feel of his cock moving in and out of her.

“Look at me.” The words came out like a command. “I want to see your eyes.”

She raised her lashes and he felt a larger ache in his groin as her green eyes met his. Her lips were parted and her face and skin flushed as he fucked her.

He looked down at where their bodies joined. She looked down, too and they both watched him riding her. He reached down and palmed her breasts that were large handfuls, even in his big hands.

She moved her hips in a steady rhythm, a look of pure pleasure in her gaze.

He felt his orgasm rising and rising in him, the feeling in his groin growing more and more intense until he was clenching his teeth, forcing himself to hold back. He didn’t know if he’d be able to keep from coming much longer.

“Come for me, honey,” he murmured. “Come with me.”

Her eyes widened and she cried out as if his words were what she needed to climb over the top. Her cries echoed in the forest.

He shouted out his own orgasm. The feeling of her core clamping down on his cock was enough to send his senses flying in every direction.

His cock pulsed inside her and he felt heat rush through every part of his body. She went limp beneath him and he hugged her as he brought her back down to earth.

Chapter 19

David paced his small apartment and gripped his mobile phone tightly as he listened to his lawyer, Larry Hopfield.

“You’d better figure this out,” Larry was saying. “The problem is, unless some of these investors get paid back, they’re going after you.”

David ground his teeth. His face was flushed. Hot. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“We’ve been through this before.” Larry spoke in a firm, hard voice. “I think you know what you did. You essentially sold securities without a license. You paid some of their investment to investors in another project. It’s not going to take much for them to figure that out. They’re going to go after you, so you’d better communicate with them and return their money.”

“I’ve got another deal going.” David fought down panic through his anger as he thought about Charlee and the fact she’d come into her inheritance in five months. He’d done this before. He’d be able to do it again. “Talk to them. I need six months and I’ll get every penny to them.”

“You can’t do that,” Larry said. “You need to pay them back now.”

“I don’t have half a million in my back pocket.” David nearly shouted the words. “I need time.”

“I am just telling you, figure it out, David.” Larry’s voice was even harder and he sounded like he wanted to wash his hands of everything. “I don’t think you have long.”

Larry disconnected the call.

“Shit!”
David almost flung his phone across the apartment. Instead, he picked up a wooden lamp from the end table that his laptop was sitting on, and smashed the lamp down on the carpet. The bulb shattered and the wood cracked, the sound loud. He swung the lamp, over and over again until the wood was nothing but splinters. He jerked the cord out of the socket and flung what was left of the lamp against the far wall where it crashed and dented the wall, then dropped onto the carpet.

His breathing was hard from the power of his exertion. How the hell was he going to come up with that kind of money when Charlee hadn’t come into her inheritance yet? It took time to work a mark and he needed just a little longer.

What the fuck was he going to do?

He pushed his hand through his hair as he started pacing again. Pacing, pacing, pacing, his mind whirling through possibilities.

In the meantime he needed to find another means of income. He owed money, and he owed money big. Just the thought of it made sweat break out on the back of his neck.

What about Jo?

Yes, Jo.

Why hadn’t he thought of her before? From what he had learned, she had that kind of money. If he could get her to invest in one of his schemes then he’d be able to pay back the other debts.

And then, before Jo knew what had happened, he’d be gone with her money and Charlee’s, too.

Chapter 20

The Friday morning following the horseback ride, Jo’s mobile phone rang and she paused mid-step to grab it off of the breakfast bar. On the screen was a number she didn’t recognize.

She pushed the “on” button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Jo?” a male voice said. “This is David Smith.”

Surprised, Jo said, “David. What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to meet with you for coffee. Are you free in about an hour? Around ten?”

Her brow furrowed as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “What’s up?”

“I’d just like to talk with you,” he said. “Can you make it to the coffee shop around the corner from Jo-Jo’s?”

She pushed hair away from her face. “I suppose so.”

“Good. I’ll see you at ten.” He disconnected the call.

Frowning, Jo held the phone away from her ear and looked at it. What could David want with her?

She hadn’t thought to ask if Charlee would be there. She dialed Charlee’s number but there was no answer, so she left a message to call. Likely her sister was at work and had her phone on vibrate—she didn’t like it to ring when she was with a client. That or Charlee was just busy with something and hadn’t heard her phone.

Jo set the phone on the breakfast bar again and padded in her bare feet across the tiled floor from the kitchen to the bedroom to change out of her jammies and into some jeans.

* * * * *

Jo had chosen blue jeans and brown leather knee boots along with an aqua-green cowl-neck sweater. She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail and hadn’t bothered with makeup.

The strong smell of coffee greeted her as she walked into the coffee shop a couple of minutes before ten. As she stepped through the doorway, she saw David sitting at a corner table. He raised his hand in greeting, but remained in his chair. She thought about how Tate would have stood until she was seated, not that she expected chivalry from a man. She slid into the chair opposite him.

It was easy to see why Charlee liked him so much as far as appearances went. He was a good-looking man with brown hair, blue eyes, and a friendly grin. Like he had the first time she’d met him, he exuded a charisma that could easily take anyone in.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked, gesturing to the menu with his coffee cup.

“I think I’ll have a chai tea.” She got to her feet to order and wasn’t surprised that David remained seated. Even though he’d been the one to invite her out for coffee, he wasn’t offering to pay for her drink. Not that she minded paying for her own beverage, it just showed more of his personality.

After the barista served the hot chai, and once Jo had put a little sweetener in the tea, she returned to David’s table.

As she sat, he studied her. “Like I said the first time we met, I know I’ve seen your face. You posed in a magazine ad, didn’t you? I don’t remember what the ad was for, but you were in a skimpy bathing suit.”

“You’ve got the wrong girl.” Jo crossed her legs at her knees. “So, why did you want meet? Is this about Charlee?”

“No, this has nothing to do with her.” David gave an engaging smile. “I want to talk with you about an investment opportunity.”

Jo blinked. She hadn’t known what to expect, but she certainly hadn’t expected that.

Before she could say anything, David continued, “I’m planning a big residential community with some commercial development as well.” He leaned forward, one forearm braced on the table. “I need a couple more investors and I thought of you.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Why would you think of me?”

“This is a great opportunity that will make you a lot of money, Jo.” His blue eyes fixed on hers. “I like you and I want you to have a chance to more than double your investment. I have all the presentation materials in this folder I want to give you.”

She didn’t plan on giving him a dime, but her curiosity had her asking more. “How much are you looking for?”

“Five hundred thousand,” he said. “You’ll get back a million.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That’s quite an investment you’re asking for.”

He shrugged. “The market has really turned around and is strong and growing stronger. That’s actually on the low end. You can always invest more.”

Jo almost laughed, but she held it back. “Thanks for thinking about me, but no.”

To David’s credit, he maintained a calm expression. “You’d be missing out on something big. Will you at least look at the materials?”

She shook her head. “I don’t need to look. I’m just not interested. I’m very conservative.”

“What are you going to do with your money, Jo?” he asked. “You can’t possibly come across an opportunity as sweet as this.”

She frowned. “To be honest with you, it’s really none of your business what I do with my money, David.” She leaned forward. “And you’d better not be planning on getting money out of Charlee.”