Page 46 of Breaking the Cowboy's Rules

He moved his fingers, which elicited a startled eek from her. He stroked a finger down her neck and licked along the line he created. She shivered and twisted to give him better access. As if her feminine parts hadn’t just taken an unexpected tropical vacation, a pulse started back low in her core.

“You taste delicious, and I can’t wait to dine on you,” he murmured.

“There’s more?”

He tilted her head, ran his finger over her lips and then kissed her mouth. Not a quick kiss. A claiming kiss. She felt possessed as his lips moved expertly on hers, and her lips parted when his tongue traced the seam, and then he deepened the kiss.

She sighed into his mouth.

“Baby, that was just me with one hand,” he said, and she smiled at his low, cocky tone. “That was me warming up.”

“And showing off.”

“A little,” he acknowledged.

She squirmed at the thought of having him deep inside her body. Now would be even better than later. Who knew she had such an inner slut? Sex had started out as a curiosity—a desire to feel something bigger than herself, to be swept away. Instead it had always been a letdown. She’d felt emptier and more alone. Embarrassed and shamed in a way she knew she shouldn’t be. And, full disclosure, she’d always felt defective.

Maybe this week with Bodhi could fix all that. Give her a new appreciation of the perks of sex.

She felt fantastic now. But Bodhi clearly had a level of expertise far beyond anything she’d imagined. Maybe it was more the man than the act itself.

“What about you? I didn’t…we didn’t…”

“I compete in a lot of things.” Bodhi smoothed her hair back from her face. “But sex is sharing, and we’re just getting to know each other. I want you to be comfortable.”

“That was not comfortable. That was more like being shot out of a rocket and orbiting the moon.”

He laughed. “I must be losing my touch. I was aiming for Venus at least.”

She laughed and then caught his hand, looked at it. Strong. Beautifully shaped. Tanned. A few scars. From what? Her tummy flipped at thinking of him hurt. His hands were rough from a lifetime of work, and yet he’d been so gentle with her. Thorough in a way a man had never been—in a way she’d never dared.

She held his hand to her cheek a moment, wishing they were facing each other but knowing she wouldn’t be this brave if they were.

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you, Bodhi.” She kissed the fleshy area between his thumb and forefinger and then each knuckle. “Thank you for finding me.”

*

What had justhappened?

What had he just done?

The questions rang in Bodhi’s head as they continued their ride. Bodhi’d given and received more than his fair share of orgasms over the years—“an embarrassment of riches,” Beck had endlessly teased him. Other cowboys on the tour had put it in cruder terms.

But nothing had left him feeling so unsettled, raw, exposed. He felt agitated as he and Nico rode along the creek along the cherished land. He’d not thought through the seduction at all.

Her comment about wanting an orgasm had challenged him a little, but he hadn’t intended to hop up on Midnight’s back and stroke her to orgasm like he was auditioning for internet porn.

He hadn’t been thinking. Just moved by the moment. Nico had been so beautiful. The way the dappled light hit her hair and fair skin and the way she looked at him—curious, analytical and a bit bowled over—just did something to him that made him act impulsively. He’d wanted to rip off her jeans and just take her from behind—on a horse.

What was wrong with him? He’d lost what was left of his mind. Was heightened sexual drive part of…? No. He wouldn’t think about that now. But was impulsive behavior part of his potential condition? Mood swings part of his future? Was that why his father had shot himself up on a mountain—sitting in a clump of chokecherries on a ledge to take in one of his favorite views and drinking the last remaining bottle of wine from his wedding that he’d been saving for his tenth anniversary in a few months instead of talking to his family and seeking a second or third medical opinion.

“Do you regret what we did?” Nico asked curiously.

“No,” Bodhi said firmly as Nico pulled him thankfully out of his head. “Regrets are a waste of time.” He winced at the stock answer. “Scratch that,” he said as an unfamiliar and powerful urge swept over him to be honest about what he was thinking. What he was feeling. “I say that in a lot of interviews, and to a lot of women,” he said. “And it’s not true. You deserve honesty.”

An uncomfortable smile touched her lips. “The woman who is living a lie with you this week deserves honesty.”

“Put like that…” He sighed. “But we talked about being honest with each other—after the one lie. And I haven’t had that before. We will be spending time together, getting to know one another, and it might sound ridiculous or desperate, but I want you to see me—the real me—the me I can show you.”

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