RustlingUpaBride Read online

  Peering through the darkness, I saw the big emblem painted on the side. My heart shot straight to my throat.

  “Jesus, Clay! Isn't this place owned by the Noon Wolves?”

  “Sure is. I ride with these guys sometimes. Got to know their President Pepper pretty well too.

  They're the ones giving us our entertainment for the evening. Be right back.”

  He left the truck on and hopped out the door. The local motorcycle club made everybody uneasy who wasn't part of it. Rumors abounded about the way they broke the law and smacked down anybody stupid enough to get in their way.

  I watched in disbelief as Clay disappeared inside their clubhouse, and returned a minute later carrying a huge pack of rockets.

  A man with a huge beard in a leather jacket was at his side. Skulls, growling wolves, and weird symbols I couldn't make out covered his coat.

  I'd heard the rumors about Clay hanging with these rough men forever, but it seemed too badass to be true. The man in leather laughed as he climbed into the driver's seat. The biker slapped his arm hard as he let it hang out the window, and he passed a huge bundle into my lap.

  “Enjoy yourself, man.” The biker said.

  “That's the plan.” He turned back to me. “Throw that in the back behind you. These bitches scream like a cat in heat when they go off, but they look really pretty. You're gonna love it, Nellie.”

  I stared like a total moron. The only fireworks I'd seen were at the local Fourth of July events, and they were pretty underwhelming. I loved them, and wanted to get close since I was a girl.

  Naturally, Daddy never let me.

  “You're serious? It's safe?”

  He chuckled – a low, smoky sound that went vibrating through my nerves. I reached for his free hand on the arm rest between us, and squeezed it to get his attention.

  The shy girl was gone, and now I was all fired up in more ways than one. Clay just kept laughing, shaking his head every time he looked at me.

  “What's so damned funny?” I asked angrily, echoing the same question he'd asked me earlier.

  “Just thinking about how predictable this all is, babe. I'm gonna wow you tonight and light up your whole world. You're afraid and uncertain, I get that, but you're gonna love every second.”

  My anger melted. Pure adrenaline shot through my system. Lust, excitement, and frustration roiled in my veins.

  I couldn't deny it. I wanted his arrogant ass even while every rational part of me screamed no, no, no.

  Tonight was the night I'd dreamed about like a blushing schoolgirl for so long. And having it staring me down sent chills sweeping up my back, even as the same chills electrified my thighs, making my whole body ache for whatever this tattooed giant had in mind...

  The second rocket exploded. Sparks filled my eyes, high in the sky, raining down over us.

  Unused to being so close to explosives like this, I threw up my hands. Stupid reflex. They wouldn't have protected me at all if a fiery fragment really landed on my hair.

  “Holy shit, Nellie! Did you see that one? Those boys weren't kidding. These bombs are pretty fucking awesome!”

  He ran back to my side. The thing he'd set up in the nearby field continued to reload and fire on its own.

  I screamed and threw myself at him when another rocket went up in a burst. I looked back just as it exploded in a big white plume. The shock wave looked like fluffy seeds lighting up the sky, slowly drifting down to Earth.

  “Don't be afraid, baby. I've done this a few times. Distance is totally safe. I'm sure I could get a certification and do this shit part time if I wanted. I'll keep you safe while we enjoy the show...”

  He wasn't lying. His hands slid down my shoulders and he nudged me to turn around. I did, hooking myself into his perfect body and leaning back against him.

  We watched several more fireworks go up and sizzle. The latest was pink and red, crackling like meat on the grill when it faded.

  I looked at Clay. The fiery bursts above filled his eyes, fading like stars going out. One look at the blaze lingering in his dark pupils told me I was in deep, deep trouble.

  He smiled, hugged me a little tighter, and brought his lips to my ear. “That thing'll keep firing for the next ten minutes. Got a blanket and a few pillows in the back of my truck. You want to get down on the grass or cold American steel?”

  I trembled. His breath was hot, insistent, a vital shot into my veins that turned my desire into a serious need.

  “The truck,” I whispered. “Let's go there.”

  He led me by the hand as new sparks blossomed behind us. Bluish fireworks tore through the night, illuminating everything below like a shimmering ocean.

  The back of his truck was clean and surprisingly empty. He crawled back there, opened up a big rectangular box, and spread out the blanket inside. When he was finished, Clay fell back on his hands, his big lap open and inviting.

  “Come on up here, baby. I don't bite until I'm balls deep. Promise.”

  I jumped on the truck. Something like a fever rushed through every part of me, making me sweaty and tingling numb with excitement.

  This was going to be the greatest night of my life, or else my biggest mistake. Maybe both.

  Whatever the hell it was, there was no turning back. Not the instant I hooked my arms around his big neck, pushing my jeans against his.

  I'd never been face to face with a man like this before. Clay wrapped his hands on my lower back. He slowly shifted them up, his eyes warming as he gazed at me the entire time, feeling my warmth in the tips of his fingers.

  Then his powerful face moved closer. I froze, crackling at the sensations he swirled along my bare flesh, crawling up underneath my shirt.

  His lips lined up perfectly with mine. At the last second, I tipped my head, open and ready.

  Kissing Clay was nothing like the rare awkward kisses I'd shared with boys over the years. This was a man's kiss, strong and decisive, hungry and filled with fire.

  Heat exploded through me. I moaned into his mouth and blushed, losing control, losing myself in this kiss.

  I still couldn't believe it. Clay Samuels' sweet mouth was actually on mine.

  It didn't seem possible.

  But the way he kissed, spreading my lips with his tongue and exploring my mouth, left no room for doubt.

  This was real, sensual, and hot as lightning. His lips spoke to me in a language of pure passion, telling me my body had a new master, a fresh muse, and he wouldn't be satisfied until I surrendered everything.

  Especially when he sucked at my bottom lip, raking his teeth across it. His tongue probed deeper, its wider part stroking at my soft lips, moving perfectly and rhythmically.

  Oh, oh, oh...fuck!

  I lost my breath. My body stiffened in his arms. My nipples were hard as spring buds against his chest, and the heat went straight to my throbbing sex. Muscles deep inside me clenched, unfurling slick and warm, waiting for this big, tattooed beast to pillage my virgin flesh.

  I gasped when he finally broke the kiss. His hands smoothed their way around beneath my loose shirt, stopping to cup my breasts. He squeezed my cups through the thin lace bra, and I threw myself backward, gasping for air.

  The fireworks were upside down, bursting in the air. Several fields away, another rancher had noticed our little display and began sending up fireworks of his own.

  The whole night sky lit up with fire, half as dazzling as the inferno he'd kindled inside me.

  Clay hadn't been kidding. The real explosions jerked at my core, ferocious bursts buzzing my nipples and clit every time he toyed with my flesh.

  “Oh, hell. I love your curves, Nellie. Nice to have a woman with some real fucking shape to her.”

  I blushed a brighter shade of red. Any girl could see I could stand to lose a few pounds, but by some insane miracle, it just turned Clay on.

  I wondered if this was part of his charm, but only for a second. When he pulled me up, lowering his head to my bare belly as he held
my shirt above my breasts, there wasn't anymore room for doubt.

  Sparks roared through me. His lips crawled up, up, dangerously close to my cleavage.

  I couldn't take anymore. I ripped my shirt off over my head as he laid me down. Clay's hands went behind my back, popping my bra's clasp with ease, then drawing it off slowly, like uncorking a fine wine.

  He stared at my naked breasts, the first time I'd bared them for any man.

  Amazement flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly swallowed up in something else, something hotter than the distant fireworks lighting up his eyes. Another bundle of stars exploded high above his truck.

  He jerked my bra away and threw it behind him. Then his fingers hooked around my waist and

  started to pull on my jeans.

  They came off faster than my top, streaking down my legs in a single hot second. The lust curling through my veins turned hotter, dizzying.

  I licked my lips, trying to keep myself from passing out. Clay moved in, picked me up, and brought me in for another all consuming kiss.

  He kissed and sucked, faster and harder than before, lashing my tongue with his. His hips went between my legs. I convulsed when I felt his length through his jeans rubbing up and down my panties, grinding harder each time he stole more of my breath, ravaging my lips.

  Climax was building in my core, wet and hissing steam, and all he'd done was tease me. In and out, up and down, every part of him shifting against me, promising even sexier things to come.

  I started to pant. His hips fell away, and his kisses moved downward. When he caught one nipple in his mouth, wrapping his skilled lips around it to suck hard, I lost it.

  Instant electricity shot through me, its only competition coming from the other breast. He took that one in his hand and plumped it in firm squeezes, softening my nipple with delicate rolls between his fingers.

  His tongue plucked at one nipple, and then the next. Further south, my clit hummed, collecting all the energy, begging for the touch that would send me completely over the edge.

  Shaking, I reached low. My fingers brushed his hard abs and I felt between his legs.

  “Oh, God...you're big.” Only words that came to mind, wicked and true.

  Also a ridiculous understatement. The bulge I felt in his pants was huge and just as rigid as the rest of him.

  He held the raging hard on in check. I didn't know how he ignored the urge to shove down his pants and fuck me with that needy horn sprouting from his crotch. But I remembered he was older than me, almost a decade my senior, and a man could learn a lot of incredible things in ten years.

  Especially a man as big, ripped, and experienced as him.

  “Baby, that's all for you. Every fucking inch of it. You'll get to see it, feel it, fuck it...but not before I taste this sweet pussy. When I claim a woman, it's with all my senses...”

  He tore himself reluctantly away from my breasts, leaving his hands on them. They squeezed, forcing me to squirm as he went down. He caught the hem to my panties in his teeth and tore them down.

  I was amazed how fluidly they zipped down my legs in his mouth. He left them at my knees and moved up, smiling at me like a big cat.

  Above us, the last of our fireworks exploded. One more cherry red sizzler erupted, fading to earth in pinkish embers, lingering longer than the others.

  I was staring at the last sparks, noticing the sudden silence without another rocket behind it, when his tongue lashed at my left inner thigh. I reached for his head, hooking it through his short, sexy hair.

  There was no stopping him, not even to catch my breath. He planted his mouth between my legs and began to lick, running his slick tongue up my folds, tasting my cream.

  Oh, oh...fuck! This. Can't. Be. Happening.

  I wasn't used to saying nasty words like that. But I was used to thinking them, and F-bombs exploded in my head, replacing the fireworks as orgasmic tension ratcheted up with every lick.

  Clay's licks became rougher, faster, rising to the top. My virgin sex had never taken anything like this, and nothing prepared me for having my clit sucked, lashed with a warm tongue.

  “Clay...Clay! I'm coming for you. I can't hold it. Fuck!”

  He grunted against my soft flesh. Losing the curse word boiled my blood, and so did the way he drew my nub deep into his mouth, racing laps around it again and again.

  My hips thrashed at his mouth. Everything beneath my waist tightened like a spring and spasmed.

  I screamed over and over into the night, rocking my hips against his mouth, trying to milk out all the pleasure I could from his wonderful, relentless lips, teeth, and tongue.

  He worked me like a machine, still fucking me with his mouth through my ecstasy. This man had the schematics to a woman's body like nobody else, and I couldn't wait to see what he could do with that big, tattooed body of his when it was naked and on top of mine.

  Thinking about him driving his huge cock into my virgin flesh just made me come harder. My little fingers tore at the rumpled blanket beneath us.

  Blood roared in my ears, hissing at maximum steam. Its steady rush was only drowned out by the irregular growl of fireworks from the nearby ranch.

  My thighs stopped pinching his head. I flopped back as the breathless explosion released me, leaving me with a dull tingle rather than the seething brimstone I'd felt before.

  Clay rose on his arms, still licking my cream off his lips. He smothered my pussy in one hand, gingerly flicking my clit with one thumb.

  “How was that for a first time? Nobody made you come like that before.”

  I sighed. He was arrogant, bossy, and drop dead sexy, but he saw right through me like he had x-ray goggles.

  “How'd you know I was a virgin?” I asked, moaning a little as he found new life between my legs.

  “Had a funny feeling. Not everybody's got the balls to date old man Sherwood's daughter. Took me two years to get your attention.”

  I inched myself away from his hands, though it wasn't easy. I sat up, covered my breasts, and raised an eyebrow.

  “You? Really?”

  “Yeah. Had my eye on you since you hit eighteen. I was just waiting to see if you'd go away for college and come back home with some hipster fuck before I made a move.”

  I laughed. “Not my type. I've been on a couple dates with the ones around here and...yeah.”

  That singular word summed up my experience. Clay, on the other hand, deserved whole sagas written about him.

  “I'm damned glad you stayed here. Wasn't hard to catch you eyeing me at my shows the last couple years. I'm tired of fucking sluts who fall all over my dick.”

  My cheeks turned hot, red. “Uh...it's not like I made you work hard for it tonight.”

  “No, baby, but you're innocent and new to all this. That's exactly what I like: a bad girl in a virgin's skin. Been waiting a long time to get my head straight and see if you'd want to do more than ogle the wild man.” He smiled. “I know what they say about me. I'm fucking done with quick lays. I'm looking to settle down soon, Nellie. You're good material for more than fucking, though you're plenty fine for that.”

  I did a full swoon in his arms. Couldn't believe what I was hearing.

  The whole time, I thought I was the one daydreaming. Wrapping my mind around the impossible idea Clay had been waiting for me, and wanting me for more than one night, hurt my brain.

  We sat against one side of the truck and he pulled me close, resting and enjoying the moment.

  Slowly, I eyed the bulge in his pants begging for attention.

  “Can I?” I asked.

  He didn't answer me with words. He locked his fingers around one wrist and pulled my hand to his lap, moving it up and down against his cock.

  “Baby, you don't ever have to ask. Can't fucking wait to get you nice and familiar with this body...”

  His hands moved beneath mine. He started to unzip his fly when a louder growl rumbled behind us.

  At first, I thought it was just the other fa
rmer's fireworks. Then I realized it was an engine.

  Clay was already up. He pushed my hand away and stood up, looking into the night like a soldier at his post.

  “Fuck me. We've got company...”

  My heart raced. I reached for my clothes and struggled to throw them on as quickly as possible.

  Couldn't find my bra and panties, so I threw on my top and jeans. Going commando with unknown guests was better than nothing at all.

  He grabbed his cowboy hat, ran off the back of the truck, and landed on the ground. I looked up, hoping it was just the rancher who owned this land, or maybe a cop who wanted to know if we needed help.

  People were pretty friendly and understanding around here. But if there was any trouble, I was glad I was with Clay, a man who knew how to tango.

  I heard voices over the lingering fireworks in the sky. They sounded angry. I held my breath and turned around, forced myself to look up over the truck.

  “Shit!” I recognized the big black SUV pulled up about ten feet away.

  It was Daddy's truck. The driver's door was open, and he stood in front of the truck's headlights with Clay, jabbing his finger into my lover's huge bare chest.

  I went running. The men were staring each other up and down with grim faces when I cut between them.

  “There you are!” Daddy said, mixed relief and annoyance in his voice. “Let's go, Nellie.”

  He grabbed my hand hard. I wanted to slap his arm away and run back to Clay, showing him I wasn't a little girl to be led around. But the way he was looking at Clay told me it would've made the situation a whole lot worse.

  “I'm sorry.” I mouthed the words silently to the tattooed god standing in the lights.

  He looked at me and nodded. He understood – at least on the surface.

  “We'll catch up later, Nellie. Count on it.”

  The words prickled hopefully at my spine. It wasn't until I got in Daddy's truck that I realized just how badly things were fucked up. The air conditioning was running on arctic and some twangy bluegrass song was coming in low over the radio, just like always.

  I'm sorry, I thought again, looking at Clay's dark figure in the night as our truck peeled away.