Page 201 of The Skeikh's Games

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Skylar had been right, Ryder was in for a wild ride. After lunch, Aunt Marie as she insisted he call her, had taken them out to explore her property. On horseback. He didn’t even think California had any ranches but Lyla Peterson, no Aunt Marie, lived on an honest to goodness ranch with horses, chickens, a few cows, dogs, barn cats and ranch hands. He’d never been on a horse before, not in his life, and that’s how he found himself sitting behind Skylar with his arms wrapped around her waist.

“Hang on a little tighter than normal and you’ll be fine. In a few minutes you’ll get used to the feel of being on a horse.” Skylar smiled at him over her shoulder and he did as she asked. He held on tight to her tiny waist.

“This okay?” His voice was gruff. The proximity and her sensual scent tortured him in the best way. He felt the telltale tightening in his jeans when she looked over her shoulder again, auburn lashes framing smiling hazel eyes.

“Perfect.” Skylar didn’t know what had happened between her and Ryder since arriving in California, but she felt more relaxed around him. She was at ease and relished the low hum of desire every time she caught sight of Ryder. “Don’t let go.” That husky, sexy voice was hers. Hers!

Ryder and Skylar listened as Aunt Marie outlined her hope for the school she wanted to open right here on the New Day Ranch. “This place will be dedicated to kids with learning disabilities that will make it difficult to learn a trade, but who want to learn a trade.” She pointed to a building set apart from the main house and bunkhouse that would house the school. “Kids can stay here or go home each day. Given the location I imagine most will be living here.”

“This is very impressive, Aunt Marie.” He still had a hard time calling the woman he’d known for just a few days his aunt. “I’m interested in the type of software you’ll need.” In fact his fingers itched to get started.

She nodded. “We’ll get to that. In the meantime I need to go get dinner started. You two enjoy the property and be back in two hours.” She winked, turned her horse around and galloped off with a wink.

“I think Aunt Marie is up to something,” Ryder whispered in her hear, making her shiver. That small move brought a measure of satisfaction. She was as affected by him as he was by her.

“She’s trying to get me laid.”

He leaned in again. “Is that what you want?”

She nodded and leaned back just enough to feel his hard chest against her. “It is, but I’m not looking to just get laid. I don’t do hookups or one night stands. I haven’t waited all this time just to…nevermind.”

He was curious but she was obviously embarrassed. “So you’re looking for something more, then?”

“Yes. I am.” She wanted to find the right guy to give herself to, not just some guy. She thought Ryder might be that guy. “Are you that guy, Ryder?”

“Do you want me to be?” His lips brushed against her ear as he spoke, his hands caressed up and down her sides, grazing against her breasts. His tongue reached out to touch her, to taste her, gliding up and down the muscles in her neck, sucking right where her neck met her shoulders. Damn she tasted good.

“I think you might be.” She hoped she was right about Ryder Tomkins because her body wanted whatever he was offering and she feared she wouldn’t be strong enough to stop whatever was happening between them.

“Skylar,” he whispered against her neck. “I want you and not just for a night.” No, it would take a lot longer than one night with her to satisfy him. The horse had come to a stop, pulling Ryder from the bubble of lust he’d been in. “Where are we?”

Skylar looked up and she too realized they’d stopped. “Oh. This is called the Honeymoon Cabin. Ranching is such a full-time around the clock job that when one of the ranch family members or ranch hands got married, they used this little cabin for their honeymoon until there was a better time to get away.”

Interesting. “How many days did they stay out here?” He slid down the horse in a clumsy dismount and waited for Skylar to follow.

“Usually a week. They worked all day on the ranch and spent their evenings here.” She walked to the door and pushed it open. “Alone.”

Ryder smiled and followed her up the stairs and into the house. Something hit him in the face as soon as he passed the threshold. He looked down at it and smiled. Her shirt. He removed his own and left them both on the floor by the door, scanning the room in search of her. “Skylar,” he called out as he scanned one empty hall. He turned to the other hall and found her jeans in the middle of the floor and smiled again. His pants joined hers on the floor and he turned left and saw the bathroom so he turned right and hissed out a breath. Skylar looked gorgeous in deep red lingerie, in nothing but deep red lingerie. “Shit.”

Skylar watched desire darken Ryder’s handsome face. His slack-jawed awe boosted her confidence and she arched her back and pushed her breasts out a little further. Another hiss went straight to her core, making her clench and moisten under his scrutiny. “Ryder,” she moaned. His gaze so heavy and thick it was like a caress.

In a few short steps Ryder was at the bed, his blue eyes raked over her underwear clad body and he bent to caress the silky skin of her leg. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, his voice full of reverence. She shivered under his hands while they stroked her ankles and her calves before he moved up to her thighs. A finger stroked at her core over the scrap of red lace and a gasping moan escaped her mouth. He smiled and slid a finger inside the lace, dipping it into her core.

“Ryder,” she screamed and her hips bucked off the bed.

“Wet and responsive too,” he told her moments before he ripped her panties from her body. One yank and she was bared to him, pink and glistening. He bent even further, her gaze glued to his body as his head sank lower and lower until she felt his breath where she ached for him. His tongue snaked out and swiped against her three times, up and down and back up again. “Tasty too,” he choked out before he covered her body with his.

“Ryder,” she moaned his name over and over. The feel of his mouth on her most sensitive area was more erotic than she could have ever dreamed. Her body vibrated with a need she couldn’t identify, but her legs opened wider to accommodate his large body, instinctively knowing what to do.

“God Skylar, I need you.”

“Yes,” she moaned. His words hit her deep and low in her belly. He needed her and that was a heady sensation she wasn’t used to. “I need you, Ryder. Now.”

He reared up and looked down at her, one hand held him up while the other deftly removed her bra. He gasped and dipped his head low, his tongue swirled around first one nipple and then the other. She screamed when his teeth made contact with the beaded tip. He watched her as she watched him, taking note of every reaction. Her eyes darkened to a burnt gold when his fingers swiped through her moisture and again dipped inside her body. Ryder stood and quickly removed his boxers, a smug smile touched his mouth at her gasp.

Skylar had never seen a sight as beautiful, as sexy and as erotic as Ryder staring at her naked body and stroking his impressive length. “Ryder, please.”

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