Long Hard Ride (Rough Riders 1)

Her firm lips nibbled up and down the sides of that straining length of rigid flesh until it quivered against his belly. A little lick here, a little lick there. She avoided the tip weeping for her attention.

Colby groaned and shifted his hips slightly. “Now you’re just bein’

mean.”

“No. It’d be mean if I stopped entirely. And if you complain again, that’s what I’ll do.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Channing made as if to leave.

“Okay, okay! I believe you. Jesus. Don’t go, darlin’. I’ll behave.”

She smirked and let her hair drift up his battered body, over and over—a thousand little lashes of pleasure on his sensitized skin.

He shuddered and said, “That feels so good. Everything you do to me feels good.”

She licked his neck, much like she’d licked his c**k and he moaned.

After toying with his earlobe with her tongue and teeth and breath—which drove him crazy—she whispered, “Where’s the lube?”

One-handed, Colby frantically patted the area beside him and then pressed a cold metal tube against her arm.

She drew back. “You already had the KY up here? Pretty confident, aren’t you, cowboy?”

“No. Just hopeful. I’m an optimistic sort of guy; I think you forgot that about me, shug.”

Optimistic. Right. The man was just plain cocky. Channing flipped the cap open on the lube. Instead of warming the gel in her hand first, she squirted a cold line of it straight down his dick.

“Jesus Christ!” He shot up and froze at the sudden pain the movement caused before he flopped back down. “Shit. That’s cold.”

“You’ll get used to it,” she murmured and began to work him methodically with the slippery friction of her palm.

“I deserved that, didn’t I?”

“Yep. But you deserve this, too.” Channing kissed the blunt end of his cock, opened her lips wide and slid that glorious smooth male skin past her teeth, over her tongue until his shaft was buried as deep as possible in her mouth.

With one hand she feathered her fingers over his balls as her hungry mouth pumped him faster and faster, letting the lube and saliva mix together until he was sopping wet everywhere, as she knew he liked it.

She liked it, too. God. She loved going down on him, as evidenced by her own thighs, sticky from arousal.

Colby began to pant and grind his hips into her face, whispering,

“Please, please, yes, God, don’t stop, yes, ah, like that, more, oh, baby. I f**king love this. Goddamn you’re good at that. YES.”

The second his balls lifted, she swirled her middle finger around the wetness coating him between the legs and slid it into his anus.

“Fuck!” He sat up, grabbed her hair and held her in place as he started to come.

She kept her lips wrapped around his c**k as he pulsed and exploded in her mouth. She hollowed her cheeks and sucked, swallowing every hot spurt, losing herself in his taste. In the power of making this strong man relinquish control. To her.

“Channing, my God what are you doin’…”

She lovingly lapped the tip of his semi-erect c**k and wiggled and thrust that digit harder, deeper inside his tight back channel. Colby went utterly still, then he clenched his muscles, bore down hard, grinding his ass into her hand and he came again around her pumping finger.

Colby grunted but stayed upright as she pulled back completely.

“You’re gonna f**kin’ kill me. That was so goddamn good that if I died tomorrow, I’d die a happy man.”

It hit her then. Colby really could die tomorrow. Something could go wrong with the broncs or the bulls or even his horse and he could be dead in a matter of less than eight seconds.

Oh God. The thought of this resilient man being a bag of broken bones. The thought not seeing him ever again. The thought of him cold, dead and buried. She remembered the sad look in Gemma’s eye when she talked about losing the love of her life. And the fact that Channing felt exactly the same way meant…

She was in love with Colby McKay.

She scrambled back on her knees.

Of course Colby sensed her distress. “Chan? Darlin’, what’s wrong?”

“Um nothing. You should lie down and rest.”

“Not until you tell me why the sudden change from red hot to icy cold.” He paused. “You aren’t ashamed of anything we’ve done, are you?”

“God, no. It’s just…you’re hurting and you should be resting not wasting time screwing around with me.”

Colby snagged her by the shirt and hauled her up short until they were nose to nose. “That’s about the dumbest, goddamn thing I’ve ever heard you say. Nothin’ we do when we’re alone together is a waste of time.”

“Let go.”

“No.”

Channing jerked away, and Colby winced, but he gritted his teeth and held on to her.

“See? You’re hurt and you’re in pain and I can’t stand it. And what’s worse is I can’t stand the thought that this will keep happening to you.

Next time maybe something even worse—” Her voice broke.

“Ssh. Take a deep breath.” He brought her forehead to his lips.

“That’s what this is about? Me gettin’ hurt today?”

She nodded, too much of a chicken to tell him the rest of her revelation. Who’d believe a person could fall in love in four days anyway?

Romantic nonsense.

Yet it didn’t feel like only four days. It didn’t feel like nonsense. It felt…right.

“Nothin’ I say will convince you that I’m fine, will it?”

“Probably not.”

“Channing. Look at me.”

She angled back. He kissed her with tenderness. She melted into the kiss, letting him think he’d reassured her when she wondered if anything would ever soothe her again.

Colby smoothed his hand over her scalp, intertwining his fingers in her hair. “Better?”

“Yeah.”

He eased onto his back and sighed. “Now then. Why don’t you strip off them britches and come up here and sit on my face?”

“What?”

“You heard me. I can’t use my hands but I’m better with my tongue any way.” He grinned and his teeth shone brightly in the dimness. A little wolflike, she thought.

“I-I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Yes, you do. I can smell that sweet cream gathered between your thighs and I’ve got a mind to taste you, darlin’. Long and slow and deep.