Clay: Armed and Dangerous Read online

  Stroking his hand over his mustache, Clay thought out loud, “I can go talk to Guerrero again. Doubt I’ll get anything fresh or new. This may not even be his game.”

  “What about Levi Thorn?”

  Clay’s gaze shot up to meet Quinn’s blue eyes, which seemed unusually steady and focused. “What about him?”

  Quinn shrugged. “Blalock and I have been looking into the desperate-for-cash possibilities, people in the area who are hard up for money. Levi’s been short on funds for a while. The Thorn Ranch is in the red, so he has motive to earn a little money on the side. And he seems to have a bunch of money all of a sudden even though all those trucks just went missing from their spread. I hear he just about bought out Lowe’s yesterday—ordered a huge bunch of lumber.”

  Frowning, Clay closed the manila folder. “Anything else?”

  “A lady friend of mine works at the bank in Douglas.” The deputy shifted and folded his arms across his chest. “She said Thorn got himself a safety deposit box, and he made a big deposit this morning. A good chunk of change. No way insurance paid off that fast on the stolen Thorn trucks.”

  With a sigh, Clay scrubbed his hand over his mustache. “Get a warrant for the box, but keep it quiet. See what you can dig up—but don’t limit your investigation to him, not just yet. Everybody in this area’s hurting. There’s any number of people who could have gotten desperate enough to try to make a quick buck.” When the deputy left his office, Clay righted his chair and sank into it. If Rylie’s brother ended up being a suspect, that sure put a damper on things. Hell, Rylie could be involved for all Clay knew—the Thorn Ranch was half hers, and he had an instinct she’d go to the mat and even die fighting before she let that property go down the drain.

  But his gut told him otherwise, and unless his lust for her was screwing with his instinct, he was sure she was innocent. Levi Thorn, on the other hand, could very well be in the mess well past the crown of his Stetson.

  ***

  The sound of a truck driving up to the ranch house jerked Rylie’s heart into full gear. She dodged into her bedroom, chiding herself for being excited about a date. It had been years since she’d been nervous about going out, but there was something about Clay that made her body tingle just thinking about the man.

  Rylie smoothed her short jean skirt as she checked her reflection in the mirror. She picked denim to commemorate what she was wearing when Clay first touched her, and she’d chosen a hot pink strapless top that bared her flat belly and slender shoulders.

  She pushed her blond hair behind her ears and put a touch of gloss on her lips. A knock sounded at the door at the same time she spritzed on her vanilla musk cologne. After grabbing her jean jacket, she hurried to the door, only to see Levi walking in with Clay.

  Her pulse skyrocketed at the sight of Clay, who was wearing a snug shirt that showed his cut physique to perfection and tight Wranglers that molded his muscular thighs—and that showed a promising bulge.

  Levi frowned, took off his Stetson, and tossed it onto the hat rack, then ran his fingers through his blond hair. “You didn’t tell me you had a date with the sheriff, Ry.”

  “Since when do I tell you about any of my dates?” She looked past Levi and smiled at Clay. “Hey there.”

  “Hey yourself.” Clay touched the brim of his Stetson and smiled at Rylie.

  “I’m gonna grab myself some eats.” Levi nodded toward the kitchen, a tired, irritated look in his eyes. “Catch you later.”

  As Levi vanished into the kitchen, Clay murmured, “You look like spring come early.”

  She returned his smile with a sassy toss of her head, letting her gaze rake over him. Her voice was husky as she met his eyes. “I’d say you look like a real good reason to come... early.”

  A growl practically rumbled from his chest, and his green eyes darkened from crystal to almost jade. “Let’s go.”

  Rylie slipped on her jacket and headed out the front door as Clay held it open for her. The cool night smelled clean and crisp, the sky clear with stars spattered across its expanse.

  “You’ve got a choice to make,” he said as they walked to the black truck parked out front.

  She paused in front of the passenger door and looked up at him. “I told you, yes.”

  “This one’s not a simple yes or no.” He smiled and reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’d like to take you to dinner. The choice is, we can go to a nice place and hope for a quiet evening with no interruptions. Problem is, I can’t seem to go out into public anymore without someone coming up and wanting to give me their opinion on one thing or another. You need to know that it’s a real possibility.”

  Rylie leaned in toward him, enjoying his spicy male scent. “And choice number two?”

  “Dinner at my place.” His hand slid into her hair and he caressed her scalp. “Just the two of us.”

  “That’s a no-brainer.” She rose up on her toes and brushed her lips over his. “Let’s go to your place.”

  Ten miles to his ranch. Clay wasn’t sure he could do it. His hands and eyes wanted to wander straight to Rylie. The way her clothes hugged every curve, it nearly killed him. He’d been able to tell that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and he’d almost bet that she didn’t have on any panties, either. She had taken his dare. Damn, did he want to find that out for sure.

  Instead of copping a feel, he kept his hands glued to the steering wheel as they’d talked about everything from the weather to what he’d done before he became sheriff. Whenever he tried to steer the conversation around to her, Rylie managed to evade his questions. As though she didn’t like talking about herself... or maybe she had something to hide?

  He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he guided the truck from the highway, up the short dirt road, and then parked in front of his home.

  “Nice,” Rylie murmured, peering at the house through the starlit night. “What I can see of it, anyway.”

  Clay opened his door and walked around to help Rylie, only she was out of the truck before he made it to her side. He took her hand and led her to the house, enjoying the feel of her fingers twined with his.

  He unlocked the front door and let her in, then closing it behind them. “How does steak sound?” he asked as he flipped on the track lighting.

  “As long as it’s medium rare, I’ll love it.”

  “Done.” He took off his Western hat and tossed it onto the back of a recliner, then raked his fingers through his hair.

  Rylie slid off her jean jacket and laid it next to his hat as she glanced around the living room that was done in Western decor from oxblood-brown leather sofas and chairs to end tables made from knotty pine. Bookcases along one wall were filled with novels on the American West, along with tales by Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, and other Western authors.

  “For a bachelor, you have great taste.” She moved to one end table and touched the bronze statue of a bucking bronco doing its best to unseat its rider.

  Clay’s mouth watered as he watched Rylie trail her fingers down the statue. He cleared his throat and came to stand beside her. “My youngest sister’s into decorating and insisted that a sheriff needs appropriate digs.”

  “It suits you.” Rylie tilted her head up and looked at him, her lips slightly parted, her chocolate eyes focused on him. “Rough... untamed... and utterly male.” The desire in her gaze slammed into him like a fist to his gut. Before he even had a chance to act on his instinct, she moved into his arms and wrapped her arm around his neck.

  “I don’t know what you do to me,” she murmured. “I barely know you, but all I can think about is sex when I’m near you.”

  “You make it real hard to think about anything else.” Clay pulled her body tight against his and fisted his hands under her jean skirt. His fingers slid along her bare ass as he discovered she was wearing nothing underneath, just as he’d dared her to do. A groan rumbled from his chest, and he throbbed with scalding need to be buried inside Rylie’s core.
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  She reached up and flicked her tongue over his bottom lip and then gently nipped it. Damn, but the sensation was erotic. He’d never had a woman bite his lip before, and he couldn’t believe what it did to him.

  Unable to stand her sweet torture any longer, Clay crushed his mouth against hers, devouring her, filling himself with her sweet taste. Rylie’s tongue met his, her kiss as hard and demanding as his own.

  He raised her skirt to her waist, then grabbed her ass, lifting her up and pressing her bare flesh against his erection. She wrapped her legs around his waist, clamping him tight as her hands clenched in his hair and they ravaged each other’s mouth.

  Rylie couldn’t believe how wild she was for this man. She needed to feel his naked skin next to hers, to feel him sliding into her.

  “I want you, Clay.” Her voice was husky as she pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Now.”

  “Damn, Rylie.” Clay moved his lips to her neck and she gasped at the sensual feel of his mustache along her throat. “I’ve never met a woman like you.”

  With her legs still wrapped around him, he walked to an overstuffed chair near a fireplace. He set her down, her naked ass on the cool leather of the chair, her skirt hiked up to her waist. As he knelt between her thighs, she kicked off her shoes and spread her legs.

  “I want you naked.” Rylie reached for him, but he captured both her wrists in one of his big hands.

  He gave her a sexy grin that sent tingles straight through her belly and made her absolutely wild for him. “I need a little appetizer first.” With her wrists held in one of his hands, he pinned them over her head while pressing closer to her. His masculine scent filled her senses, driving her crazy, making her want him so badly that she wriggled and moaned.

  With his free hand, Clay reached up and tugged on her strapless top, pulling it down to see her small breasts and pert nipples. “Mmmm. Beautiful,” he murmured before lowering his head and licking one of her diamond-hard nubs.

  Rylie gasped, her back arching up as feral sensations coursed through her body. She struggled to free her hands as Clay suckled first one nipple, then the other. His mustache brushed across her sensitized skin and she could swear she was going to come just from the sensation of his mouth, lips, and mustache on her breasts. The feel of her skirt and top around her waist, with the leather of the chair against her bared skin, was incredible.

  “Let me touch you.” She clamped her knees around his waist, locking her ankles behind his back and pressing his jean-clad crotch tighter to her sex.

  “You enjoy watching people.” He kissed a trail from her breasts to her neck as he spoke. “I’ll bet you’d like to be tied up.”

  “God, yes.” Rylie moaned at him, saying one of her fantasies aloud, and she knew she couldn’t wait another moment to have him inside her.

  “Such a wild little thing.” Clay lowered her arms, but didn’t release her wrists. Instead he kept a hold on them as he eased down. She smelled the scent of her juices as he widened her legs further and ran his tongue along the inside of her thighs.

  “Dammit, Clay!” Rylie squirmed, dying for him to give her a little mercy. To do anything to bring her some relief. She’d never wanted anything as bad as she wanted Clay inside her.

  “You like it fast and hard, don’t you?” His tongue moved closer to where she wanted him to go. “Slow and easy drives you crazy, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, you bastard.” Rylie clenched her teeth and arched her back up off the chair. “Now quit making me wait.”

  Clay chuckled, the feel of his warm breath against her skin almost enough to send her over the pinnacle. “I was right that you shave.” He ran his tongue up her smooth skin and she cried out from the feel of it. “And you’re gorgeous.”

  Rylie was about to yell at him again when he pressed his mouth tight to her folds. He plunged his finger inside her, thrusting it in and out of her as he licked and sucked, driving her completely insane. She fought against his hold on her wrists, wanting to clench her hands in his hair, but at the same time totally turned-on by being held prisoner to his will.

  Her climax hit her so hard that she shrieked and clamped her knees tight around his head. “Stop,” she begged as aftershock upon aftershock wracked her body. “I can’t take any more.”

  But Clay didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop, until she reached climax again. And then again.

  Chapter 6

  Rylie was still recovering from that third orgasm when Clay released her wrists, scooped her up, and stood. Her world spun and she gasped as she flung her arms around his neck and held on while he strode from the living room.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked as she clung to him.

  “My room.” His stride was deliberate, his jaw set as he carried her through the large home.

  “ ’Bout time.” She caught glimpses of a large stainless-steel kitchen that would make a chef envious, as well as a kitchen nook with a bay window and a formal dining room. The house smelled warm and inviting, a spicy masculine scent that reminded her of Clay.

  His boots rang against the tile as he headed down a short hall and through double doors into a massive bedroom. Light from the hallway poured through the doors, illuminating the rough-hewn wooden furniture and a king-sized bed smack-dab in the middle of the room.

  One-handed, he flipped on the lamp on the nightstand beside the bed, and the room filled with a soft amber glow. He set her on the comforter and tugged off her skirt and top before she had a chance to even think straight.

  Rylie had never thought of herself as beautiful, not like her friend Skylar. As far as Rylie was concerned, she was too thin with not enough curves, as well as being small-chested. But right now, with the way Clay just stood there and looked at her with hunger, desire, and admiration in his green eyes, she felt absolutely gorgeous.

  She eased off the comforter to stand on the small rug at his bedside as he toed off his boots and yanked off his socks. “Let me undress you,” she said.

  But when she reached for his shirt, he caught her wrists. “I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

  “Fair’s fair.” Rylie gave him a saucy smile, but inside she was a quivering mass of lust. Every cell in her body screamed with need for this man. Need to have his naked form against hers, need to taste his skin, and need to see if he fit as perfectly inside as he did outside.

  Clay released her, but a muscle in his cheek twitched and she could tell he was barely able to rein himself in. He clenched and unclenched his fists. “You’d better hurry, woman.”

  With a soft laugh, Rylie grabbed the bottom of his shirt, brought it up to his chest, and he helped her pull it over his head. The action mussed his thick sable hair, giving him an untamed and dangerous look.

  “Mmmm.” She ran her palms over his muscled chest, enjoying the feel of him. “Now keep your hands to yourself while I get my turn at you.” Breathing deeply of his scent, she leaned forward and flicked her tongue against his nipple, and delighted in the way he sucked in his breath. His biceps flexed as he fought for control.

  His salty taste rolled over her tongue as she licked a path from one nipple, through the light dusting of hair on his chest, to the other nipple. Her hands continued exploring him, moving to his shoulders and along his arms to his wrists, and then back up and down his chest to his flat belly. She loved the ripple of muscle beneath his smooth skin and the way his taut stomach clenched beneath her touch.

  “Rylie.” A growl rumbled up in Clay’s chest, reverberating through her as she continued kissing and licking him.

  “Don’t tell me you like it hard and fast.” She trailed her tongue in lazy circles down his belly toward his waistband. “I thought you enjoyed slow and easy.”

  Clay thought he was going to climax in his jeans from the way the woman was torturing him. “Honey, when it comes to you, I have a feeling nothing’s easy.”

  “Oh?” She tugged at his belt and pulled it out of the belt loops, her chocolate eyes meeting his. “I sure
said yes mighty fast to you in the barn. What do you call that?” Rylie placed her hand on his cock and rubbed it through the denim.

  He throbbed at her touch. “There’s a difference between going after what you want and being easy.”

  “I like the way you think, cowboy.” With nimble fingers she unfastened his jeans, tugged them down, and gasped when his erection sprang out. “Damn. I knew you were big, but... damn.”

  When she looked up at him, he raised an eyebrow at her wide- eyed expression.

  A mischievous light sparked in her eyes. “In case you’re wondering, that’s a good thing.”

  He grinned as she pulled his jeans and briefs down past his hips and he stepped out of them. “Thank God for small favors.”

  Rylie knelt on the rug at his feet and wrapped her fingers around him. Her hair shimmered gold in the lamp’s glow as she shook her head. “In your case, I’d say it was a rather large favor.” Before he had a chance to respond, she swirled her tongue over his oh-so-sensitive head.

  Clay’s hips bucked and he slid his hands into her hair, unable to keep from touching her any longer. He could barely remember to breathe as he watched her lips slide down his shaft, taking him deep. Her mouth felt warm and wet, and better than he had imagined. And he had imagined plenty since meeting Rylie.

  Her eyes met his as she continued easing her lips up and down. She moved one hand lower, toying with his sensitive sack while her other hand worked his staff in time with the motion of her mouth.

  He clenched his fingers in her silken strands and gritted his teeth. “You’re going to be swallowing real fast if you don’t slow down.”

  In response she hummed, the vibration burning through him like a match-lit fuse. His groin tightened as the sensation shoved him over the edge and straight into an explosive orgasm.