BuckingHard (8 page)

“You’ll have to help her,” Doc instructed. “She’s been at it
half the night. She’s worn out.”

An embarrassed flush crept up Bradi’s neck and face, as if
remembering that they’d also been at it all night. She grabbed the forelegs,
dug in her boot heels and used every ounce of her body weight to pull the foal,
rocking back and forth. The mare pushed and the nose broke through. Another big
push and, with Bradi pulling hard, the foal slipped from its mother. Crooning
softly, Bradi grabbed a feed sack and started wiping down its long gangly legs.

Mason watched a few more minutes then backed away and walked
to an empty corral at the far end of the barn. She’d be a while yet, wrapping
things up, doing whatever it was she had to do. And he needed the time, now
that he’d calmed down enough to think straight, to figure out where and when
he’d screwed up.

Looking out over the back pasture, he played back the ride
home from the creek. Based on what her mom said, Bradi’s decision depended on
him, and she had been on her way to tell him about the job offer when he found
her stuck in the mud with the calf.

He couldn’t remember much of their conversation but he did
recall her saying she needed to talk to him, so obviously she hadn’t made her
decision at that point. But then he’d been such an asshole and made her cry
because her every touch made his cock brick-hard and he couldn’t think beyond
the need to fuck her right there on his damn horse. He’d been too concerned
with his own turmoil to notice hers.

And then at the house, she still seemed intent on talking
until Deidre showed up and…

That’s okay, Mason. I know what I need to do.

Mason closed his eyes, remembering the look in hers. Crushed.
Defeated. Resigned. All hidden behind a watery smile. He’d done more than hurt
her feelings. He’d gone out of his way to push her away and then he’d put
another woman first.

“God, Bradi, I’m sorry.”

Tell
her
that, dickhead.

He would. First he had to know if she was leaving because
she wanted to or because he hadn’t given her a reason to stay. Whether she
accepted the PRCA internship or not, it had to be what she wanted. But if she
showed any sign of hesitation, one smidgeon of indecision, he’d fight hard and
he’d fight dirty to keep her here with him.

And after all was said and done, if she truly wanted to go,
he’d find the strength to step aside and let her.

* * * * *

Stepping from the barn and into the hot noon sun, Bradi
shaded her eyes to search for Mason. She found him on the far side of the
corral. All she had to do was turn around and walk away. He wouldn’t know she
was gone until it was too late.

But her feet stayed rooted to the ground. She couldn’t do
it. His display of jealousy earlier might have been a matter of pride, but he
seemed truly hurt that she would leave without saying goodbye. After last
night, she owed him that much.

Striding across the hard-packed dirt, she soaked in the
sight of him. He stood with his back to her, a booted foot propped on the first
rung of the fence, his jeans stretched tight across his ass. A maroon T-shirt
hugged his shoulders and ballooned at his trim waist. She ached to slip her
arms around him and hold on forever.

Instead, she leaned on the gate that opened to the pasture
and pretended to study a patch of large oak trees in the distance. “Mom and
foal are doing fine.”

“I had no doubts. You did a great job.” He raked a hand
through his hair. “Did you tell Doc?”

“Not yet.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw him look at her but she
stared straight ahead. “You need to tell him.”

“I know. I… I will.” She’d hemmed and hawed for a half hour
before the call from Clay came about the mare and she’d eagerly used the excuse
to postpone talking to Doc. But she couldn’t put it off much longer. “Lindsey
invited him up to the house for lunch.”

He flicked the latch on the gate and she backed away to let
him open it. “Come take a walk with me.”

“I really should talk to Doc and then get going.” She was
taking the red-eye to Denver and needed to leave soon so her parents wouldn’t
get stuck in Houston traffic.

A hand at the small of her back propelled her forward. He
closed the gate and pointed to the grove of trees. “Just five minutes.”

Walking beside him, the silence raked over Bradi, much
different from the silence of the ride home from the creek yesterday. Their
relationship had changed overnight, and she had no one to blame but herself.

“This PRCA job, is it what you want?”

No.
“It’s a good opportunity.”

“Is it?”

She shrugged. “It’ll look good on my resume. And it’ll open
doors later on.”

He nodded and motioned her out of the hot sun and onto a
worn horse-trail. Sunlight sprinkled the path, which narrowed the deeper into
the trees they walked. His arm brushed hers, sending a rush of tingling heat to
her breasts. Her nipples drew into hard points.

She stepped ahead of him and kept to the middle of the
trail, leaving no room for him to walk beside her. “I’ll get to travel.”

He grunted.

“And I’ll make good money,” she rambled on to keep from
wondering if his eyes were glued to her ass. “Well, better money than here at
the clinic.”

The trail opened into a clearing littered with several large
blocks of limestone the size of her mom’s Toyota. Mason propped a hip against
the nearest one and looked at her. “Since when did money become so important to
you?”

“It’s not, at least for the reasons you think.” She hopped
up to sit beside him. “I had a few scholarships, but Mason, I have a shitload
of student loans to pay off. I can do that a lot faster if I take this
internship.”

He nodded then looked at her. “Those are all good reasons to
go. But you still haven’t answered my question. Is it what you want?”

What she wanted wasn’t possible but she couldn’t tell him
that. She plucked a piece of straw from her jeans. “Why wouldn’t I want it?”

Straightening away from the rock, he moved in front of her
and tipped her chin with a finger until his dark eyes held hers. “Why won’t you
answer my question?”

Her heart pounded. He was too close, too inquisitive, too
goddamn sexy. Bradi turned her head and jumped to her feet. Wrong move. She was
sandwiched between the rock and Mason. She slid sideways but he blocked her
with a thick thigh. His hips pressed her backward into the boulder and her
belly fluttered. Oh god, he was definitely the proverbial hard place.

She flattened her hands against his chest and pushed. “I
don’t know what you want from me but—”

“I want you to quit running from me.” His long tanned
fingers gripped her upper arms and hauled her up against his chest. “And I want
you to answer the fucking question.”

“I’m not running from you. I’m leaving town.”

“Yeah, without even telling me. Without saying goodbye.”

The hurt in his eyes tore at her. But on the other hand,
what did he really expect? “I’ve been coming and going for the last seven years
and it never seemed to bother you.”

“That was before last night.”

“Last night was a mistake.”

“Is that how you really feel?”

“Mason, we both know you wouldn’t have wanted me in your bed
if I hadn’t pushed you into it.”

“If you’ll recall…” His voice deepened and his eyelids
drooped. He released one arm to drag a finger along her shoulder and down the
scooped neck of her tank top. “I‘m the one who put you there.”

A shudder rippled through her and her breath turned shallow.
She latched onto his wrist and looked around the clearing. “Mason, don’t.”

“No one can see us if that’s what you’re worried about.” His
finger hooked the material and dragged it over her bra. His eyes burned with
lust as they followed the movement. “I want to tie you to my bed again.”

Her grip tightened on his wrist but she arched into his
touch. She didn’t have the will to fight him physically, even knowing how much
it would hurt when it was over. “Mason, please. We can’t. I can’t.”

“Why not? You wanted it last night.” He dragged her bra down
with her shirt. Her breast dropped then lifted, nipple hard and aching. “You
begged for it.”

I wanted
you
. Begged for
you
.
“That was
different,” she whispered.

“Why?” His gaze lifted to hers. “Because you knew you were
leaving?” His thumb rolled the beaded tip, eliciting a whimper from her. “What
was I, Bradi? Just a little something for the road?”

Shame filtered in to dampen the pleasure. He was right. She
would never have seduced him otherwise. But dammit, it hurt that he couldn’t
see how much she loved him. She thrust his hand away and bucked against him.

Catching her hand, he twisted her arm behind her back. His
face lowered until his breath mingled with hers. “Tell me I’m wrong, Bradi.
Tell me last night was special.”

“So you won’t feel used?” The hurtful words just kept
pouring out of her mouth. “The sheets on your bed weren’t even cold from an
afternoon of fucking Deidre when you tied me to it.”

Teeth clenched. “I haven’t had a woman in my bed since you
got home from school.”

She snorted. “Wow, two whole weeks, that must be a new rec—”

His lips slanted over hers and the wet blade of his tongue
sliced between them to circle her mouth. Heat swirled in her belly and zinged
in all directions. Her pussy clenched and moisture flooded her panties.

His hands dropped to her ass and lifted her onto the rock,
then grabbed the back of her knees and spread her thighs wide. He wedged his
hips between them. It must not have been enough for him—it wasn’t for
her—because he grabbed her ass again and hauled her closer. The thick length of
his cock rubbed her clit through their jeans. A jolt of fire shot down her
thighs, ripping a cry from her and breaking the kiss.

He didn’t let up but moved his lips along her jaw and down
her throat. “I want to take you home right now and pick up where we left off.”

She bit her lip to keep from begging him to do just that.
But it wouldn’t lead anywhere. At least not where she wanted. Yet she couldn’t
stop him now as his tongue teased the swell of her breast and a shiver of need
shimmied its way to her cunt.

Bending her over his arm, he yanked the other side of her
tank top and bra down. Lace grazed her nipple and she hissed through her teeth.
His mouth covered the taut bud. No more teasing, just full-on, hard sucking.

“Oh god, Mason.” Bradi clutched a handful of hair on each
side of his head and hooked her legs around his thighs. She bucked against his
groin. He reciprocated with a groan and the sting of his teeth that sent a
thread of pleasure from her breast to her clit. “Yes.”

He wrenched her belt buckle loose and popped the button fly
of her jeans with one tug. Then his fingers were sliding under the top of her
panties. They stilled at the edge of her damp curls, the middle finger circling
the upper crease of her folds.

She lifted her hips, trying to wriggle closer to the
taunting digit. She would not beg.

He released her nipple and slowly made his way across the
valley between her breasts toward the other needy peak.

“I want to spank that sweet ass of yours until it’s as pink
as your shirt, until you’re trembling and begging me to fuck you.” His finger
dipped lower, skirting her clit and delving into her slit. “I want to fill you
so full of my cock that you sink those teeth into me and come.” He probed
deeper, pumping once, twice. “Ah, yeah, feel all that cream. You want to come,
don’t you, baby?”

Yes. No.
It wouldn’t change things. He wanted her.
Now, today. He might even want her tomorrow. But he still wouldn’t love her.
She tossed her head from side to side, but a second finger joined the first and
together they curled upward to find her G-spot. “Yes.”

“Hang on.” Without removing his fingers, he lowered her to
the cool slab, grasped her belt and ripped it from around her waist. The belt snapped,
causing her to shudder in anticipation. But he smiled and raised the leather to
her lips. “Maybe next time. Now bite.”

Trying not to think about the fact there would be no
next
time
or that after one night he was aware of her needs before she voiced
them, she accepted the leather between her teeth and bit down hard. He
smothered her breast with his mouth and sucked her deep. His thumb massaged her
throbbing clit and his fingers stroked the sensitive nerves deep inside her
cunt.

The orgasm hit in thundering beats of hot pleasure then
hummed from her core, crackling along every nerve in her body. Her muscles
contracted around his fingers. Her head rolled back on her shoulders and a
muffled moan escaped around the belt.

He waited until the tremors slowed but hadn’t quite stopped
to release her nipple. “Damn, I need you, Bradi.”

Beyond the roar in her ears, she heard the question in his
statement. “Yes.”

His fingers slipped from her pussy to grip the waistband of
her jeans. He stepped back and jerked the denim, along with her silk underwear,
to her ankles. Her boots flew over his shoulder, one by one, and her jeans
followed. His fingers fumbled at his belt and zipper, then reached for his back
pocket.

Still hazy and relishing the tiny aftershocks of her orgasm,
Bradi lifted her head as he stepped between her thighs and the crown of his
latex-covered cock eased past her opening. She locked her ankles around his ass
and leaned back on her elbows to absorb the sensation of his thick shaft
gliding against her still-spasming inner walls.

Sweat trickled down the side of Mason’s face and air
expanded his chest in rapid huffs. His hair was ruffled from having her hands
fisted in it. The veins in his neck and arms strained with the exertion of
holding back.