Her eyes opened slowly, gradually revealing the depths of pa.s.sion reflected there. Her response was a soft purr. "Or not."

"Or not." Heart racing with excitement, he began his journey. His mouth had never taken such a luxury cruise. He lingered over the smooth, perfumed skin of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and the pebbled texture of each nipple before moving lower, tracing each rib.

Her skin tasted of milk and honey laced with the salty tang of the boisterous s.e.x they'd already enjoyed. She shuddered when he dipped his tongue into her navel, as if she knew he was giving her one more preview of what lay ahead.

By the time he settled between her thighs, he was ready to explode with needs of his own. Loving her this way would be like a thirsty man drinking seawater. The more he had of her, the greater his desire.

But he craved her nectar, and he would have it, even if the pressure increased to the point of pain. Parting her silky curls, he found her rosy treasure, already dew-soaked and trembling. The first stroke of his tongue brought an urgent whimper.

"Say it," he whispered, his breath fanning the moist entrance to all her secrets.

Her answer was more plea than command. "Take me."

And take her he did, bestowing that most intimate and thorough of kisses. And as he feasted, his body grew ever hotter, ever more demanding, yet he kept on. When she began to thrash beneath him, he captured her hips in both hands and held her fast so that he could finish what he'd started.

Her cries, muted at first, grew louder until she arched off the bed and called his name. His name. A fierce sense of triumph gripped him, and as her tremors eased, he turned his head and nipped the tender skin of her inner thigh, not enough to hurt much, but definitely enough to leave a mark.

She gasped softly but made no protest.

Vaguely he was aware that his action was completely out of character, something he'd never considered with any other woman. But he couldn't take it back. Some instinct had propelled him to brand her.

Breathing heavily, aching from the effort to delay his own gratification, he changed his position so he could reach the condoms. He glanced over and found her watching him.

"I'm sorry." He gulped in air. "I didn't mean to-" But he couldn't finish the lie. "That's not true. I meant to."

"I know."

He fumbled with the box. "And now I need you so much my coordination's shot."

Rolling to her side, she rose up on one arm. "Just lie down, Gabe. I'll handle this."

He went still.

Her smile was pure seduction, and that promising gleam was back in her eyes.

"Okay." He handed her the box and sank back down on the mattress.

Instead of taking out a condom, she leaned over to the far side of the bed and put the box on the other nightstand. When she turned back to him, her gaze focused on his white-hot p.e.n.i.s. "As I said before, I want some of that."

7.

MORGAN THOUGHT it was only fair that she get equal time to turn Gabe inside out in the same way he'd done to her. And on top of that, he'd bitten her. Considering her determination to stay unattached until she was firmly grounded with a home and a thriving business, she shouldn't like that he'd done that.

But for some reason she didn't want to examine right now, she'd loved it. This matchup that was supposed to be a simple case of mutual l.u.s.t might not be quite so simple, after all. Yet the next few minutes looked as if they could be very simple. She'd give Gabe the b.l.o.w. .j.o.b of his life.

Judging from the way his chest heaved and his body trembled, he could use that. She didn't plan to make the process go quickly, though, no matter how tightly he was wound. Although the o.r.g.a.s.m he'd given her had sapped her of strength, the adrenaline rush of knowing she was about to take charge of his climax had pumped energy back into her system.

Before taking her position astride his thighs, she handed him a pillow. "Prop this behind your head."

His eyebrows lifted.

"It's more fun if you watch."

"Sweetheart, it'll be a short show."

She surveyed his body, slick with sweat. She planned to make him sweat some more. "Maybe not."

"Guaranteed." His breathing grew labored. "In fact, if you don't get started soon..."

"Right." Straddling his thighs, she studied the object of her affections. He was so finely made he could probably sell a plaster cast of his p.e.n.i.s to a s.e.x-toy company. She could hardly wait to get her hands on him, but she had to be careful.

That's why her first move was to squeeze the base of his thick p.e.n.i.s with her thumb and forefinger.

"d.a.m.n, Morgan, I'm going to..."

She squeezed a little harder.

He blew out a breath. "Okay, maybe not yet. But soon."

"We'll see. Don't you want to have some fun first?"

"Love to." He dragged in air. "Probably can't."

She maintained firm pressure with her thumb and first finger. "Describe one of your compet.i.tions for me."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. Distract yourself for a bit. Then you can enjoy this even more."

"I've never met a woman quite like you, O'Connelli."

"Is that a compliment?"

His grin looked a bit strained. "You think I'd insult you while you have a choke-hold on my d.i.c.k?"

"I suppose not."

"It was a compliment. I like you. A lot."

"I like you, too, Gabe. Now tell me how cutting-horse compet.i.tion works."

"This is crazy. Just grab the box of condoms and we'll-"

"Nope." She squeezed again. "Talk to me, cowboy."

His eyes were very blue as he held her gaze. "You have two and a half minutes."

"Oh, I think I can draw this out longer than that."

"No, during compet.i.tion. That's how much time you have."

She smiled. "So you decided to play."

"Yeah, what the h.e.l.l. It might work."

"So you have two and a half minutes."

"Right. In that time you and your horse cut at least one cow from the herd."

Gradually she relaxed her grip. "Sounds simple."

"It's not." His gaze stayed locked with hers.

"I suppose nothing ever is."

"Just looks that way."

"Tell me more." She ran the tip of her fingernail along the ridge on the underside of his p.e.n.i.s.

"I have no control. It's all up to the horse."

"I thought men liked to control what was between their legs." She gripped him gently and stroked up and down, up and down.

"We do." His eyes darkened. "But in compet.i.tion...we can't."

"The horse does."

"Yeah." He gulped. "By staying parallel to the cow, veering when it veers, staying hooked."

"Sounds like split-second timing." She leaned down and allowed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to nudge his p.e.n.i.s.

"It's...it's precision work." He groaned. "You're killing me."

"But you're holding on." Lazily she moved right, then left, her softness brushing against his rigidity.

"Barely, babe. Barely."

"Tell me more."

"Uh...cattle can be hard..."

"Really?" She placed a b.u.t.terfly kiss on the quivering head of his d.i.c.k.

"Hard to separate. We say they're......sticky."

"Mmm." Closing her fingers around his p.e.n.i.s, she stroked upward. A drop of moisture gathered on the tip. "Sometimes sticky is good." She licked the drop away.

Gabe sucked in a breath. "I can't...hold on...much longer."

"Keep talking." Taking him into her mouth, she applied pressure while swirling her tongue over the smooth skin.

"A hot quit is...ah, Morgan, that's...nice..."

Slowly she released him. "What's a hot quit?"

He arched back against the pillow and closed his eyes. His words came in a rush. "Abandoning a cow in the middle of the action."

"Wouldn't want that." She took his p.e.n.i.s into her mouth again and raked the underside gently with her teeth.

He groaned again. "Sure...wouldn't."

Lifting her head, she blew across the sensitive tip. "Anything more to add?" She cupped his b.a.l.l.s and ma.s.saged gently.

"When a cow is...cut, the horse commits to working that cow." His jaw tensed. "And I hope you're committed to working...me."

"Oh, I am, cowboy. No more teasing. It's time." With firm deliberation, she took him into her mouth and began to suck. He was a big guy, but she could accommodate most of him. From the way he was moaning and panting, she thought she must be doing a decent job.

And when he finally came, his cry of release was followed by two murmured syllables uttered so softly that she almost missed hearing them. But she didn't. He'd said her name.

And that was her cue to slide down between his trembling thighs and give him one sharp nip to remember her by.

GABE HADN'T MEANT to fall asleep, but the climax Morgan had given him had totally wiped him out. He'd barely felt the nip when she bit his thigh, but it had made him smile. She was a bold woman, and he liked that. He liked that way too much. But he'd been too exhausted to question anything before he'd conked out.

Morgan must have gone to sleep right away, too, because the bedside lamps were still on when the alarm beeped at four-thirty. The second it rang, Gabe remembered that he'd meant to shut the stupid thing off before going to sleep. He hadn't, and now he'd been wrenched out of a fabulous dream in which he and Morgan walked naked along a tropical beach. He'd never been naked on a beach in his life, but he could imagine doing it with Morgan.

He wanted the dream back, so he swatted at the alarm in an attempt to turn it off.

"Don't do that." She reached over and grabbed his arm. "I need to take you back to the ranch."

He rolled over to face her. She looked all rosy and sleep-tousled, not the sort of person a guy wanted to leave when she was as naked as in his dream, and there was an untouched box of condoms sitting in full view on the bedside table.

"Come on." She planted a quick kiss in the general vicinity of his mouth and scrambled out of bed. "Get up and get dressed. I'm driving you home."

"But I don't want to leave." He sounded whiney. Clearing his throat, he lowered his voice. "Come back to bed. I'll make it worth your while."

She moved around the bedroom collecting clothes. "I'm sure you would, and don't think I'm not tempted, but we're not doing that. Jack could tell you it's not worth causing a problem in your family."

"This is one lousy morning." Gabe sat on the edge of the bed, but he had no interest in putting on the clothes Morgan tossed in his direction. "With Jack it was a recurring thing, and he refused a direct request from our dad. n.o.body's called to ask me to do anything."

"Doesn't matter. Jack and your mother have to be supersensitive to the issue now. I'm already seen as a threat by both of them. I refuse to make things worse."

"You're really going to kick me out, aren't you?"