Untamed (3 page)

She couldn’t take it any longer. Had to have him in her. She pulled away and climbed to her knees, pulling his face to hers and tasting herself on his lips. Her hands worked on his pants, sliding them down over his narrow hips.

Commando.
Somehow the realization that he had nothing beneath the jeans was an extra turn-on. She wrapped her hand around his erection, stroking firm and slow. Within moments, his kiss became more fierce and needy.

It thrilled her knowing that her touch, her kiss could evoke that kind of hunger in him. She ended the kiss and sank down before him. She ran her tongue over the engorged head of his dick, eliciting a sharp intake of breath.

His fingers tangled in her hair as her mouth closed on him and she heard his muffled groan. She held his penis firm with one hand allowing her free hand to move to his balls, rubbing lightly.

“Jesus.” His expulsion of breath and sound told her all she needed to know. She straightened and pushed him back on the sofa. “It’s good time,
sugar.”

He couldn’t argue with that. Right now he felt like a certain part of his anatomy was about to explode. Clint reached for her as she climbed on top of him, straddling his body. He grabbed her hips as she worked her hand between them to take hold of his erection and rub it against her wet sex.

Inch by sublime, torturous inch, she slid down on him, prolonging the anticipation, driving the need higher. He was about to slam into her out of sheer desperation when she sank down on him.

“Oh my god, you feel good,” she breathed.

That was all it took to obliterate his control. He grabbed her ass with both hands and slammed her down. She gasped and braced herself with her hands on his chest, meeting his need with equal fury.

Clint stifled a groan. He wanted to pound into her, to ease this need. It took all the control he possessed to hold back. His chest tightened as he fought for control, the effort making his breath hard and ragged. He gritted his teeth against the need that pounded at him with increasing intensity and began a slow rhythm, pulling almost completely out before plunging back in again. Lily quaked with each stroke, and moved harder and faster on him.

He grabbed her, pulled her to him and rolled them off the couch onto the thick rug in front of it. With her now beneath him, he grabbed behind her knees and lifted her legs in the air.

Her moan was one of acceptance. She stretched her arms up over her head, arching up against him. It was so completely feminine and submissive that it threatened his tenuous control. Primal need took over and he stroked hard and fast, her cries and gasps driving him faster and harder until he felt control fading like morning mist in sunshine.

Impending orgasm had him slowing his pace. He lowered her legs and moved forward, braced above her to capture her mouth with his. The kiss was slow but passionate, matching the motion of his hips. Together they danced a primitive dance, each naturally matching the rhythm of the other. Clint found himself shocked at the feelings. Nothing in his life had ever felt so right as this moment, and this woman.

When Lily moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist, he drove himself into her, feeling her push back against each thrust, driving him deeper into her. Her legs tightened around him as her body went into climax. Wetness poured between them, her sex clenching around him, her belly contracting. Her head arched back, eyes closed in abandon. Clint slowed his movements, enjoying the feel of her orgasm.

Lily went limp and sank into the feeling of Clint kissing and sucking her neck. He pulled out of her as his mouth traveled to her breasts. He teased her nipples with tongue and teeth as his hand continued the journey down her body and slipped under her ass. With expert motion, he rolled her on top of him. He fingered her clit gently as he sucked her breasts. Just as another orgasm began to ripple through her body, he shifted and drove himself into her.

Lily cried his name and the sound made his skin burn and his mind explode with sensation. She took him, setting the pace and rhythm, riding him like a runaway stallion. Sweat poured from both of their bodies. His hands pulled at her hips as his eyes raked over her body, stopping to stare into her eyes. With eyes locked and bodies connected, they traveled together to a shared climax that left them both spent and exhausted.

When it finally passed, leaving them both sweaty and breathless, she lay down on him, the side of her face against his broad chest, listening to the rapid beat of his heart. She felt his arms circle her protectively. Relaxing into his embrace, warm against his skin, she fell asleep.

Chapter Three

At first she thought she was dreaming. She felt the hard, warm body spooned against her, heard the soft sound of his breath near her ear. Sleep pulled at her and the thought flitted through her mind that she preferred the dream to reality.

Then it sank in. This wasn’t a dream. That hard, warm body pressed against her back was Clint and this was his bed.

Shit on a stick. Memories of last night came rushing back. Her dad had been right. She had a habit of leaping before looking. She should never have had sex with Clint. This was just going to make things more awkward.

She needed to leave. Before he woke.

Well, maybe just five more minutes. It felt so good, and it had been so long since she’d felt this safe. Or satisfied.

The teenaged Clint she’d known and loved had been passionate and eager, but he sure as shit hadn’t known his way around a woman’s body the way he did now. It would be way too easy to get hooked on him. Regardless of the years that had passed, first love was one that was not easily forgotten.

To be reunited with her first love and discover that making love with him was the stuff dreams were made of made him dangerous. She’d had her heart stomped on enough. She didn’t think she could take another stomping and sure as hell, if she stayed, Clint would end up breaking her heart.

His life stood testament to that. He was damn near forty and had never married. Which meant he wasn’t interested in commitment. She doubted her sudden appearance in his life was going to change that. People were who they were. That was a lesson she’d learned the hard way. Anyone who thought they could change someone else was a fool.

She’d been a fool once, when she’d married Eddie. She might be rash and prone to leap before looking, but she also followed the old cliché “once bitten, twice shy.”

Lily eased away from Clint and paused to make sure her movements had not wakened him. When his did not move, she sat and swung her legs over the edge of the bed to stand.

Just as she started to rise, she felt his arm go around her middle and pull her back down, engulfing her in his arms.

“Where you going, Lil? It’s not even daylight.”

She untangled herself from his arms. “I can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

“Because!” She jumped up, heedless of her nudity and the way he was smiling at her. “I can’t. I’m not a charity case, someone for you to take in because I can’t fend for myself.”

“I never thought you were,” he argued.

“How could you not?” She threw her arms out to her sides. “For crying out loud, look at me!”

“I am,” he said around a grin.

Lily’s hands balled into fists in frustration and fell to her sides. “Clint, I’m serious. I don’t want sympathy.”

“Lil.” He scooted over to her side of the bed and stood to face her. “You’re letting your pride get in the way of your good sense.” He put his hands on the tops of her shoulders. “Now don’t give me that look. I know you don’t like hearing it, but it’s true. If you leave now, where’re you gonna go?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then why leave?”

“Because.” She mentally cursed herself. That was a stupid answer. Made her sound like some stubborn kid. But there was no way she could tell him the truth. “Because I need to earn my own way, not sponge off others.”

“Fine, then work for me.”

“What?”

“Well, you said you were a trainer. I’ve got two colts ready now, and more on the way. Cam and I are buying some wild horses from a guy in Arizona. They were gonna be put down if they weren’t sold.”

She chewed her lip for a moment. “You and Cam could train them.”

“Yeah, we could. But it’s getting close to market and we’ve got a lot of cattle to tend to and get ready. We could use an extra hand. Hell, we talked about hiring someone last week. Cam just signed on with the sheriff’s department so he doesn’t have as much time for the ranch as he did. I’m really in need of some help.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

She considered it for all of five seconds. She might be a fool to take the offer, but she didn’t have any other options at the moment. At least she could earn some money and, when she had enough, she could figure out where to go.

“Okay, how much does it pay?”

Clint laughed. “Already figuring up your budget to get the hell outta Dodge, Lil?”

She looked down, a little embarrassed that he’d read her so well. He put two fingers under her chin to tilt her face up. “No pressure,” he said softly. “But I’d really like you to stay.”

“Why?”

“Because,” he said and grinned.

She smiled up at him. “Well, when you put it that way. Okay, boss, what’s the first order of business?”

Clint chuckled and pulled her to him. “We’re not quite ready for business.”

Lily knew in her bones it was a mistake. She should draw a line. Mixing business and pleasure always led to trouble. The problem was, as had been pointed out her entire life, she was a total sucker for trouble.

Shoving doubts and reason into an already jumbled closet of problems in the back of her mind, she met his lips.

Chapter Four

Lily put her shovel and rake into the wheelbarrow and pushed it out of the stall. Some people might look at mucking out stalls as nasty work but she didn’t mind it. It’d taken her the better part of the morning, but when Clint and Cam got back from the livestock auction they’d find the place in tiptop shape.

It made her feel good that they’d trusted her to take care of the place. They’d invited her to go, but truth be told, she needed a break from Clint. Not because things weren’t going well, but because they were.

She’d been there nearly two months and each day she was more in love with him. At first she’d figured it was just sex. Sex with Clint was as addictive as she’d feared. He evoked passion she hadn’t known she possessed and delivered pleasure the likes of which she’d never imagined.

After a month it started to be clear that it was more than sex. She saw him for the man he’d become. Honest, hardworking, with a strong sense of self, a sense of humor and a kind heart. He was all the things she admired most. And just looking at him started a fire inside her that she couldn’t control.

They hadn’t talked about the future. No words were spoken of love or commitment. She’d wanted it that way. No, that was a lie. That wasn’t what she wanted, but it was the way things had to be. She wasn’t even divorced.

Besides, he’d given her no indication that he wanted anything to change between them. Maybe she had been right in the beginning. Maybe Clint wasn’t looking for forever.

That thought brought a little cloud of depression to her sunny mood. She mentally cursed herself for even allowing romantic notions of happily-ever-after to enter her mind. She needed to focus on the now. And right now, life was pretty damn good.

* * * * *

Clint watched the passing scenery as Cam drove. He was eager to get back home. They’d picked up a bull at the auction and had two potential buyers lined up for their cattle, so all in all it had been a successful trip.

Until last night. They’d gone to a local bar with a couple of guys they knew from Georgia who were at the auction. It was a typical country-western club, loud music and most of the clientele as far from cowboy as you could get with their new shiny boots and ill-fitting hats.

Women in tight denim looking for a hook-up were plentiful, and as always, Cam drew more than his share of attention. Clint had to hand it to his baby brother. Cam couldn’t walk into a bar without turning female heads. At six foot four and two hundred and twenty-five pounds of solid muscle, he stood a head higher than most men.

Thanks to their parents, they’d both been blessed with thick dark hair and the kinds of features that were easy on the eyes. Cam’s natural, outgoing nature and easy charm made it almost too easy to score with the ladies.

Last night was no exception. Within ten minutes there were two fillies perched at their table. Cam was having a high old time with a sassy redhead while the cute blonde with the store-bought breasts and teeth so white they damn near glowed did her best to entice Clint onto the dance floor.

When he finally gave in and let her drag him to the floor, the music switched from a lively foot tapper to a slow belly rubber. The blonde plastered herself against him and wound her hands around his neck.

Clint looked down at her smiling up at him and in that moment it hit him. He didn’t want to be here on the dance floor with her. Not because she wasn’t pretty, or sexy, or damn eager for whatever he had to dish out, but because he was in love with Lily.

It shocked him so much that he stepped on the blonde’s toe. She squeaked and hopped and almost toppled over. He caught her, apologized and walked off the floor.

“I’ll see you back at the hotel,” he said to Cam as he reached the table.

“You leaving?” Cam looked up in surprise.

“Yeah. Catch a ride with Mike.” Clint headed out the door and to the truck.

He thought about it all night, and most of the morning. Now, seven hours from home, he watched the passing scenery as Cam drove.

“You got something stuck in your craw, bro?” Cam’s voice cut into his thoughts.

Clint looked over at Cam behind the wheel of the truck. “Just ready to be home.”

Cam chuckled. “You mean ready to get back to Lil.”

There were a lot of people Clint could fool, but Cam wasn’t one of them so he didn’t bother to deny it. “I think I’m in love with her.”

“Shit on a stick, are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. You got a problem with it?”

Cam shook his head. “It’s your life, brother. I mean I knew you and she had a case of the hots but I thought it was just sex, ya know?”

“So did I,” Clint admitted.

“She’s something,” Cam commented. “Damn good with the horses, works circles round most men and easy to be around—doesn’t jaw your ears off twenty-four seven.” He looked over at Clint with a grin. “And definitely easy on the eyes.”

Clint nodded. Everything Cam said was dead on the money. “There’s just one thing,” he replied.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“She’s still married.”

“Ain’t no big thing, bro. People get divorces all the time.”

Yes, they did. And there was no reason Lily couldn’t file for divorce. In fact, as soon as they got home, Clint was going to talk to her about seeing a lawyer. The sooner she was free of Eddie Haywood, the sooner he could talk to her about their future.

* * * * *

It was the dogs that alerted her something was wrong. Lily took one of the four-wheelers to check it out. A section of fence was down in the south pasture. She hoped none of the cattle had wandered. The land behind the south pasture was very swampy, the kind of marsh that conjured up visions of snakes and gators. Not exactly a place she was keen on wandering around in.

But if any of the stock had gotten out, she had to find them. Clint and Cam were due home today and there was no way in hell she was letting them come home to missing stock.

She got off the four-wheeler at the fence. The moment she cut the engine, she heard the sound. A calf. In fear or pain, and dogs going nuts. She took off at a dead run, beating her way through the tangle of palmetto and vines.

Twenty yards into the brush and her right leg sank to the knee in muck. She yanked free and looked for another way, edging along as fast as possible in the direction of the commotion.

She stepped out into a small clearing and saw it. A calf was stuck in the mud on the edge of a small pond, bellowing like mad while two of the dogs, Charlie and Pickles, snapped and barked at a gator in the water.

“Shit!” Keeping her eye on the gator, she headed for the calf. Aside from being terrified and stuck, it appeared unharmed.

Lily tugged and pulled, swore and pulled some more, twice slipping as she tried to get the calf free. Finally, she pulled it free, accomplishing another ungraceful splat in the process.

Her hat had fallen off and was dangling in front of her, her hair twisted in the cord. She managed to get to her knees in the mud and caught sight of movement on the ground to her right. Before she had time to process what was happening, something came off the ground at her.

The water moccasin hit her hat. She yelled and flopped back. Christ on a crutch, the damn snake had a hold of her hat and wasn’t letting go. A million things went through her mind in a split second, none of them much help, so she did the only thing she could do. She grabbed the snake at the back of the head and hung on, using her free hand to help her get on her feet.

The calf had already taken off, barreling through the brush in the direction of the pasture. The dogs were still raising hell at the gator, which was trashing around in the water, decidedly annoyed.

It was clearly time to get the hell out of Dodge, so Lily took a page from the calf’s book and ran.

It wasn’t the homecoming Clint had imagined. He hopped out of the truck at the house, while Cam pulled around to the pasture to unload the bull from the trailer.

“Lil?” he called out the moment he entered the back door.

There was no answer. He headed out to the barn. No sign of her. Where the hell was she? Just as he was leaving the barn, he heard the commotion. It was coming from the south. Sounds of frightened livestock, barking dogs and a woman’s voice.

Clint jumped on one of the bikes and gunned the engine. Cattle were clustered at the near end of the south pasture. He had to stop and open the gate. The cattle were obviously agitated, and that made him nervous.

He blasted across the pasture. There was a four-wheeler parked at a section of fence down on the far side. Maybe that explained the cattle. Beyond the pasture was a marsh and every now and again they’d get a gator come into the pasture.

Clint stopped at the downed section of gate and cut the engine on the bike. A moment later, a muddy calf appeared through the brush, making tracks. Clint watched it run by. What the hell?

That was when he heard it. Lily cussing a blue streak and frenzied barking. He jumped off the bike and started for the fence but stopped cold, completely unprepared for the sight that met his eyes.

Lily burst through the bramble, covered from head to toe in black mud, her hair a wild tangle, hat hanging over her right breast and of all things, a snake latched on to the hat and her hand latched on to the snake.

She saw him and screamed, still running. “I can’t get this fucker off me!”

He ran to her, both of them stopping at the same moment. Her chest was heaving. “What do I do?”

He wasn’t quite sure. He’d never seen anything like it. He moved closer. As unlikely as it was, the moccasin had gotten a fang hung in the straw weave of her hat, trapping itself. Its thick body was thrashing and curling beneath her hand.

“Can you pull it loose and throw it?”

“I tried. It’s not budging and I can’t get my hat off. My hair’s tangled in the cord.”

“Okay. Okay, no worries. There’s a knife in the tool pouch on the bike. We’ll cut you free.”

She nodded and followed him to the bike. He got the knife. “Okay, I’m going to cut the cord on your hat and work it free from your hair. Just hang on.”

“Just do it,” she whispered.

It took a bit of doing to untangle her hair from the cord, but finally he succeeded. “Okay, you’re free. Just throw it as hard as you can.”

She did exactly that. The hat, with the snake still attached, sailed through the air. They watched it land. The snake came free. And demonstrating that the phrase “mean as a snake” had to have been coined for water moccasins, it came right at them.

“Kill it, kill it, kill it!” She screamed and jumped up on the seat of the four-wheeler.

Clint leaped for the bike, snatching the shotgun from its holster.

“Clint!” Lily screamed.

He whirled to see the moccasin strike at the four-wheeler then draw back, preparing to launch itself again. He took aim and fired.

Bits of dirt and snake exploded, peppering Lily. She looked from what was left of the snake to Clint and jumped off the four-wheeler, dancing around. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Take that, you nasty fuck!”

Clint didn’t even have time to holster the shotgun before she launched herself at him. He caught her with one arm, swinging her around as she latched hold of him, legs around his waist and arms around his neck.

She plastered her lips to his. Even when she was filthy, smelly, covered with mud, snake and leaves, her kiss kindled a fire in his belly. When she finally drew back, she smiled at him.

“Welcome home.”

Clint laughed until he almost fell down. She was without a doubt the woman for him.

When he could finally talk, he set her down. “Come on, let’s get you back to the house and turn a hose on you.”

“You might want to turn it on yourself,” she pointed out.

He looked down at himself. “Good point. How ’bout we share?”

“Now you’re talking.” She grinned and jumped on the four-wheeler.

When they pulled up at the barn, Cam was getting in his truck. “What the hell happened to you two?”

“A calf got stuck,” Lily replied.

Cam nodded, clearly not buying it. “Right.”

“Where’re you headed?” Clint changed the subject.

“Date.”

“Have fun,” Lily said with a smile.

“I intend to,” Cam replied, waved and started his engine.

They watched him drive off, then Lily grabbed Clint’s hand. “Now what was that about a hose?”

Clint swept her off her feet and headed for the well house in the back of the yard. Lily squirmed out of his arms when they reached the well house and grabbed the hose as he turned on the water.

He had enough time to straighten up and turn toward her when the water spewed from the nozzle on the end of the hose and hit him. Lily laughed and danced around him. He caught her and after a brief wrestling match in which they both got drenched, managed to take the hose from her.

Lily screamed, laughed and squirmed as he held her with her back to him with one arm, drenching her and himself even more. “Enough!” she gasped between laughs. “I give, I give!”