Lipstick and Leather (Rough and Ready Book 7) Read online

  Could they have a long distance relationship? Would it work?

  After they cared for the horses, they headed into the ranch house. It was cool inside, a respite from the baking sun.

  While he started the shower in the large master bathroom, she started stripping out of her clothing. “Sweat, horse, and dust. Cowboy’s cologne,” she said.

  He grinned. “And cowgirls smell of dandelions and daisies.”

  She stood naked in front of him and tilted her head to the side. “So that means I don’t need a shower?”

  He swooped her into his arms. “Not a chance.”

  She laughed and held onto him, feeling his naked hard, muscular body against her own. He set her in the shower, directly under the spray. She sputtered as she got a face full of water and he laughed.

  “I swear I’ll get even.” She turned to face him as she stood out of the line of fire.

  He snorted. “Sure you will.”

  She held back a grin. “You just wait.”

  He stood behind her as he poured shampoo onto his palm and worked it into her hair. It felt so good that she sighed with pleasure. He rubbed her scalp, the feeling indescribably delicious. His erection brushed her backside as he massaged her scalp and rinsed her hair.

  Water pounded down on her back as he put shower gel on a scrubby and started soaping her with it. He scrubbed her from head to toe, cleaning the grime away. When he reached her breasts he soaped them before rinsing them off and lowering his head. She caught her breath and held onto his shoulders as he sucked each one so that they were hard, aching.

  He eased down on one knee and soaped her belly and legs, skimming over her mound but not touching her between her thighs like she wanted him to.

  After he teased her, he soaped the hair of her mound and slid his fingers between her thighs. She held on tighter to his shoulders as he rinsed her off.

  He put his palms on the insides of her thighs, pressed them apart, and moved his face closer. She held her breath as he skimmed the curls of her mound with his lips then licked her clit. Her knees almost buckled from the intense sensation, the feel of his tongue on her. He slid his palms onto her ass and pressed her closer. She gasped and shivered as he tasted her.

  A buzzing started in her ears and she closed her eyes as the world began to slip away and her climax stormed closer. All that remained was Gray with his head between her thighs and the feeling of what he was doing to her.

  She moaned as the oncoming orgasm charged forward. Her body started to vibrate, her thighs trembling.

  And then she came with such force her whole body jerked and her eyes flew open. She shook as he continued and she rode out the orgasm as long as she possibly could.

  When her body finally settled, her climax fading away, he stood and smiled down at her then pressed his lips to hers.

  “My turn.” She gently pushed him under the spray. “Hand me the scrubby, big guy.”

  “Bossy woman.” He was so tall he had to duck under the spray.

  She took her time lathering him up and scrubbing his broad shoulders and muscled chest. He had thick, powerful thighs and she got down on her knees to scrub him down to his feet.

  After she washed his feet, Gray watched as Susan eased herself up so that her face was close to his erection. It ached as it grew harder yet. She moved her hand up and down his erection, lightly trailing her fingers from the base to the head. He gritted his teeth as she teased him, making it harder and harder not to take her down, pin her to the shower floor, and drive into her.

  Her tongue darted out as she licked the head and he groaned from need for her. He was practically shaking from having to hold himself back. She licked the underside of his cock from the base to the tip. He nudged her lips with it and she let it slip into her mouth and lowered her head until he was at the back of her throat. Her warm, wet mouth felt so damn good he could hardly see straight. She worked his erection with her mouth and her hand until he almost wasn’t able to continue standing.

  He didn’t know how he could keep from coming, and when she grasped his balls and squeezed, he just about came undone. Stars sparked behind his eyes and he was so close to coming he almost couldn’t stop himself.

  “No.” The words came out tight as he reached for her.

  She looked surprised and she gasped as he turned her around and lifted her so that her hands were on the shower wall, her back to him. He grasped her around the waist, her skin so soft beneath his callused hands.

  He moved her so that she was bent over a little and her ass was at a good position and then put his cock right where it needed to be.

  Water blurred Susan’s eyes but the heat of their passion seemed to turn the water to steam. She waited for that moment when Gray would be inside her.

  He drove into her core and buried himself deep. Her eyes widened and her heart pounded as he started to move in and out, his pace increasing with powerful thrusts. This was no gentle love making like they often shared. It was good, hard sex, and she loved it.

  She still felt weak-kneed but his hands on her waist and the shower wall beneath her palms helped her keep her balance. She closed her eyes and felt the intensity of his need. It was need that she felt equally.

  Her breathing grew faster, harsher and then her knees almost gave out on her when he started playing with her sensitive nipples.

  The feeling of him inside her, and the way that he touched her, brought her orgasm closer and closer. He rolled one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger then reached between her thighs with the fingers of his other hand. He stroked her clit and she felt like she was going to come unglued and collapse all over the shower floor.

  A powerful climax stormed through her and she let loose with a cry. She didn’t care if anyone heard two counties away. It was one hell of an orgasm that felt like it was going to carry on forever.

  He came just moments after she did, letting out a loud groan of his own. He throbbed inside her and she loved the feel of him as he came.

  Still inside her, he leaned over her back and held her as the water rained down on them.

  Chapter 16

  “I lost you once. I’m not going to lose you again.” Gray gripped her upper arms like she might try to get away. “We’ll work this out.”

  While they stood just outside the security checkpoint in the Tucson airport, the roar of a jet rattled the windows as it took to the sky.

  “It’s so far from Dallas to here.” Tears bit at the backs of Susan’s eyes as she struggled to keep from crying. “Long distance relationships never turn out well.”

  An announcement came over the loudspeakers for a plane ready to board for San Francisco. It wouldn’t be long until it was time for her to head home to Texas.

  “We’ll make it, Suze.” His jaw was tense, his eyes filled with a fire she’d never seen in him before. “You’re mine.”

  She blinked. “It doesn’t work that way. You can’t just lay a claim on me like that.”

  “I already have.” He brought her up close to him, his grip tighter. “Clear things up when you go home. Then come back to me.”

  “I can’t walk away from my dad’s business.” She tried to step back but he held on tight. “Dad didn’t want the business to be sold. He wanted it to be there for the family. I’m the only one who can run it.”

  “You’re too important to me.” His blue eyes seemed to spark with fire. “Damn it, Suze. Don’t do this.”

  “I have to.” She put her hands on his chest and felt the soft material of his cowboy shirt beneath her palms. “I wish you could come with me.”

  “You know I can’t do that.” He searched her gaze. “Please stay.”

  Tears finally escaped and she had to bite her lower lip to keep from outright crying. “I need to go now.”

  He wrapped his arms tight around her in a fierce embrace like he was never going to let her go. But then he stepped back, letting his hands slide down her arms until he was holding her fingers.

&nb
sp; “Bye,” she whispered and drew away.

  He said nothing as she turned and walked toward the checkpoint. When she looked over her shoulder, he was gone.

  Susan rested her head in her arms on her desk in the business office. She had been back in Dallas for two months and talked with Gray every night. Each time they spoke it got harder and harder to say goodbye.

  He’d been out to visit her once for three days—he couldn’t afford to be away from the ranch for longer than that. He had a couple of ranch hands who were hard working and dependable, but he had to be there to run the show. She understood that but it didn’t make it any easier.

  As for her, there had been so much work to do in her office that she hadn’t been able to get away yet. The two weeks she’d been gone from work to see her aunt during the summer had been a lot more time than she should have taken.

  Something had to change. Neither one of them could take much more of this.

  Was it even possible to break it off with Gray and move on? With her head still on her arms, she squeezed her eyes tight. She didn’t want to move on. She loved him too much.

  But what was the right thing to do?

  She sat up, leaned back in her chair, and held her hands to her heart. This had gone on long enough. There was only one thing that she could do.

  With new resolve, she picked up the phone and dialed.

  Ah, hell. Gray rested his forearm on the top rail of the fence looking out into the pasture. Beyond the pasture was the river and Turkey Springs. Early morning sunlight was already warming the land and the still air smelled of cattle and earth.

  All his life he’d lived in this state, and most of those years had been right here on this piece of property. The land was in his blood. It was a part of him and he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

  He looked down at his scarred and dusty boots before setting his gaze back on the pasture.

  Susan was a part of him, too.

  Which part could he live without?

  Damn it. If she would just move here he’d be a damn sight happier than he was right now. He understood her sense of duty but it didn’t make it any easier.

  Last time he’d seen her she had told him that it wasn’t fair to expect her to drop everything in her life to move to the ranch with him. She had a successful business, she had friends, and she had family in Dallas.

  He saw the truth in her words but it didn’t make it one damn bit easier.

  Living without Susan in his life now… He couldn’t see it.

  There was only one thing left for him to do.

  It was done.

  Susan pushed her hair out of her face, feeling strangely elated. She had expected to experience some sort of a sense of loss, but she only felt excited by what the future held.

  A knock at the office door startled her into looking away from the phone and at the door. It opened and a man stepped through, his boot steps loud on the tile floor.

  Gray.

  She stood, her heart thrumming as she met his blue eyes that had a dark, intense glint in them. His frame filled the doorway, his presence almost overpowering.

  He looked so good standing there in his Stetson, his jaw set, his expression one of a man filled with determination. Maybe he had come here with the intention of carting her off like a cowboy hero from the Wild West.

  “What are you doing here?” She wiped her palms on her short skirt, suddenly feeling nervous. She wanted to walk to him but something held her back. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

  He shut the door behind him and there was a loud click as he locked it.

  It only took three steps and she was in his arms. He kissed her hard, with even more passion than she had ever experienced before with him. She hadn’t thought that could be possible.

  His kiss sent her head spinning and kicked her heart into overdrive. He moved his palms from the waistband of her skirt to her breasts and back again, the pressure of his hands on her body making her feel even more alive.

  She caught her breath as he pushed up her skirt and grasped her ass then lifted her, his Stetson getting knocked off in the process and it made a thump as it hit the floor. She wrapped her legs around his hips so that he was firmly between her thighs as they kissed.

  Raw and hungry, she wriggled in his arms, pulling apart the pearl snaps of his Western shirt. She rubbed his bare chest, his skin firm and warm beneath her palms.

  He kissed her hard, his mouth bruising hers with his intensity. She felt him unbuckle his belt then unfasten his jeans and zip them down one-handed. He didn’t slow down. He pulled her panties aside and then he thrust inside her hard.

  Her cry would have echoed throughout the office building if he hadn’t had his mouth pressed so firmly against hers.

  He dominated her, driving into her hard, pressing her against the wall as he took her. His movements were powerful and deliberate, the strength of his passion branding her forever his.

  Forever Gray’s.

  He felt so amazing inside her and it made her wild in his arms.

  Her orgasm came out of nowhere and it was so intense that she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. She shuddered, her body on fire as her mind spun.

  A few strokes after she climaxed he came just as hard as she had. He leaned his head back and his expression was strained as he held back his own cry.

  In the next moment he carefully took her down to the floor and they were lying side-by-side on the hard tile, both breathing hard.

  She smiled. “What a greeting.”

  With a grin he tugged on a lock of her hair. “Hey, usually we would talk first, but I couldn’t wait much longer for you. Come on. Let’s get your clothes fixed up. I’ve got something to talk with you about.”

  Her stomach flipped. “So do I.”

  He helped her get back to her feet then tucked himself in while she arranged her panties and her skirt. He picked up his Stetson and set it on her desk.

  “Gray, I want to tell you—”

  He put his hand over her mouth and her eyes widened. “I’m going to talk first,” he said. “Got that?”

  She nodded and he removed his hand. She opened her mouth but he gave her a look that had her closing it again.

  He took her by her shoulders, his grip firm. “I love you, Susan, and I’m not letting you get away from me again.”

  Her eyes widened and then happiness bubbled up inside of her. To hear him say those words again, like he had nine years ago… The feeling was beyond anything she ever imagined experiencing.

  She started to talk but his expression told her to remain quiet.

  “I can’t live without you.” He clenched his jaw before he spoke again. “I refuse to live without you.” He paused again then said, “I put the ranch up for sale and I’ll be moving to Dallas when the sale goes through.”

  This time Susan’s jaw dropped and she wasn’t able to get a word out.

  “I’ve got an interested buyer.” He looked determined. “It shouldn’t be too long.”

  “You would do that for me?” She’d finally found her voice. “For us?”

  He nodded. “Already in the works.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” She smiled. “A buyer for our family business signed the papers this morning and the deal will close next week. I have a contract with a woman who agreed to not lay off anyone in the family without severe penalties. I was waiting to tell you when it was completed. It’s done now. She put up a lot of money, non-refundable.”

  He looked shocked. It was his turn to be speechless.

  “That’s what I wanted to tell you when you told me to hush,” she said. “I’m moving to Arizona as soon as everything is taken care of here.”

  He grabbed her and spun her around the office then squeezed her to him. “Damn, but I love you.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Gray.”

  “Let’s celebrate.” He held her to him.

  “I know just the place.” She
drew back and grabbed her purse, then pulled out a ticket to Arizona and held it up. “Let’s go home.”

  Excerpt…Hot For You

  Carilyn had just finished her third mojito when Cody asked her to dance. He took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor. She felt a little tipsy and warm inside but was still steady on her feet.

  It was a slow song, and Cody brought her in close to him as she put her hands on his shoulders. A fluttering sensation batted around in her belly and her heart beat a little faster as she felt his body heat even though there was a good inch between them.

  His beautiful warm brown eyes studied her. “Enjoying yourself?”

  She hoped he couldn’t see the sudden nervousness that gripped her. “Yes. I like your cousins and their wives.”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. “There’s plenty more where they came from.”

  She smiled in return and he brought her in closer so that their bodies were touching and she caught her breath. She linked her hands around his neck as he moved his own hands to her hips.

  Heat rose inside her and her throat grew dry as their gazes held. He looked at her lips as if he wanted to kiss her. She wanted him to more than she’d ever wanted a kiss before. Her tongue darted out to touch her lips and he brought her body flush with his.

  The hard ridge of his erection pressed against her belly. An ache grew between her thighs and her nipples grew taut. She had the sudden desire to take him by the hand, lead him out of the club, and tell him to drive home as fast as possible.

  She wanted him. And she wanted him now.

  Someone ran into her from behind and she fell forward against Cody. She looked over her shoulder but the couples around them seemed to be paying attention only to their partners. It was the second time that night that someone had run into her, but this time there wasn’t a guy trying to apologize to her.