Chapter Six
Ryder took his time and made love to her with that kiss, a message in each stroke of his tongue, a promise of passion beyond this moment. But passion turned quickly to fiery desire. Their hands traveled, explored. Desire building, second by second, caress after caress. He found his way into the V of her body, fit his cock to the center of her core, her hips arching into his. He drank in the soft sounds of pleasure that escaped her mouth into his as he molded her breast to his palm, stroked her nipple through the soft, black T-shirt. But it wasn’t all of her and he needed all of her. Needed in a way he could never put into words.
He shoved her shirt upward and eased it off of her as she removed it. Standing up and giving her his back, he reached for enough control to undress before he kissed her again. When finally he turned around, he was naked, aroused, his hungry stare devouring the sight of her spread out on the bed, waiting for him, his gaze hungrily painting a trail along her naked body. She rested on her elbows, legs slightly parted. Her nipples a rosy pink, her breasts full, high. Her skin the most beautiful ivory he’d ever seen. Flawless. Perfect.
His knees hit the mattress, his eyes fixed on her face as he eased her knees apart. Her lashes fluttered, gaze sliding to his erection, the inspection arousing, erotic. His hands trailed up her shapely thighs, her lashes lifting, desire-filled eyes meeting his. He watched her expression as his fingers glided higher and higher, watching the pleasure in her eyes, in her face, until finally he slid his thumb into and through the silky wet heat of her body. Alexis sucked in a breath and shivered. Her reaction pleased him, and encouraged him to continue.
His lips followed where his palms had been, mouth trailing up one of those stellar thighs until his warm breath trickled over her clit, his tongue following. A gasp escaped her parted lips, her back arching. But he didn’t give her more, didn’t take her fully into his mouth. Not yet. Later. He wanted her first orgasm to be with him inside her, buried deep, the two of them as one.
Ryder trailed kisses upward again, over her stomach, palming her breasts and flicking one plump nipple to a stiff peak. He replaced his fingers with his mouth, suckling and licking, teasing, her hands in his hair, urging him to give her more pleasure. When finally she called his name, pleaded for more, he moved fully on top of her, bracing his weight on his arms and settling his hard length onto the wet heat of her body.
“I’ve figured out how to make tomorrow matter,” he said softly, kissing her jaw, her lips, sliding his cock more snuggly between her legs.
“How’s that?” she asked breathlessly.
“I’m going to make love to you until tomorrow is already here,” he promised near her ear. Ryder pulled back to look into her eyes, to search her face. “Is that okay with you?”
For several seconds Alexis simply blinked up at him, studied him, an unreadable expression on her face. Then suddenly she smiled, her eyes shimmering with a taunt. “Ask me tomorrow.”
Her answer both surprised and pleased him. Ryder chuckled low in his throat, the sound absorbed by her lips as he kissed her. A gentle kiss filled with the warmth she created in his heart, with the realization she made him laugh easily, that she lightened the darkness within him. But the gentleness of the kiss quickly turned hot again. He wanted inside her, he wanted all of her. Needed all of her. Responding to that need, Ryder reached between them, wrapped his shaft in his palm. Teasing them both with delicious friction, he slid it back and forth, gliding along the silk folds of her body—setting every nerve ending in his body on fire.
Alexis clung to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “Ryder,” she gasped, the word a demand, a plea.
He entered her then, but forced himself to retain control. Ryder inched deeper, deeper, slowly sinking to her core. For a moment, he buried his head in her shoulder, reveled in the warm heat of his mate surrounding him. Reveled in the perfection of the moment.
Seconds passed, and Ryder inhaled. He eased back, searching Alexis’s face, wanting to know she felt what he did. Instantly, their eyes collided in a rush of pure white-hot fire the likes of which he’d never known. Something happened in that moment with Alexis—a bond formed, a connection he would never be able to put into words. It was as if she poured herself inside him. As if she became a part of his very existence. He could barely breathe.
Then, as one, they moved, their mouths connecting, bodies swaying. It was a rush of passion, a wild bonding of two people who had to have each other. Who needed to be close more than they needed air to breathe. Ryder was pumping into her now, each contact with her core rocketed fire through his veins. Each thrust a blast of riveting pleasure. He wanted to feel her all over. To be closer. And she wanted it, too. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, her calves wrapped around his legs, arms clinging to his back. This was the wildest of rides, the kind no one would dare try to tame. A ride that peaked when she suddenly called out his name, when she clung to him a second before her body spasmed around his cock.
And then it happened—out of nowhere, the Beast within him flared. Ryder stiffened with the primal demand that charged his body. His gums tingled with the promise of fangs, and he buried his head in her neck, desperate to hide his face. There was only one time a Knight bore fangs, and that was when they marked their mate—to finally say goodbye to their Beast forever. And God, how he wanted to mark her. To claim Alexis as his own. No! He pumped into her. Drove the primal urge into passion. He would not claim her like this. He would not. He pumped again and again. Pushed deeper, harder, until the urge for release prevailed. Until he exploded inside her in one hard thrust, shaking from head to toe. Until his muscles slowly eased to relaxed, his body gently covering hers.
Seconds passed, perhaps longer. Ryder climbed out of the haze that had overtaken him and realized Alexis was stroking his neck with her fingers. Calming the wildness inside him. He’d never felt anything like what he’d felt making love to her, never felt his Beast demand so much of him. What if he couldn’t control it next time? He inhaled and raised his head, stared into her eyes, saw a sense of satisfaction and peace in her that was not there before. Something their lovemaking had created. And he knew he would and could control himself.
Chapter Seven
It was four o’clock in the morning, and Alexis sat on the end of the bed, dressed in Ryder’s shirt, eating a piece of toast smeared with her favorite strawberry jam. She couldn’t believe how relaxed she felt with him. How comfortable talking. And they’d talked a lot. For hours. Well, more than talked. Made love. Talked to recover. Made love again.
“It’s good, right?” she asked, watching Ryder take a bite of the toast. He wore blue boxers with horseshoes on them, which she couldn’t help but tease him about.
“It’s great,” he agreed, finishing off his third piece. “You said your housekeeper makes this stuff?”
She nodded. “Beverly is an amazing cook. She makes pancake syrup, too. It’s so good. Everything she makes is.” She laughed. “Good thing I work hard or I’d be fat. You should taste her muffins.”
He studied her a moment. “What time does Beverly get in to work?”
Alexis reached for the glass of chocolate milk sitting on the nightstand, finishing off her last bite of toast. “Soon.” She took a drink. Ryder covered her hand and the glass with his palm, long fingers wrapping around and sliding between hers. He tilted the glass to his lips. Heat curled in her stomach at the intimate act. God. She was so into this man. She’d never connected this completely with anyone. Neither female nor male. Never listened to someone talk for hours, hungry to hear more. His horse-training stories were completely enthralling; his suggestions for incorporating his techniques into their operation, exciting—if not impossible. She had no money to make changes. “My foreman, Rick, will come with her. You can meet him, and he can show you around.” She’d already discussed Ryder being introduced as a hired consultant from Jaguar Ranch, evaluating their operation for possible improvements.
“I’d rather you sh
ow me around,” he said.
If only she could. “I have to go to town today,” she said, dreading the meeting she would be attending. A plea for more time to pay off the loans her father had taken on the ranch. “You’ll like Rick, though. He’s a good man.”
Ryder took the glass from her hand and set it on the nightstand. “Are you worried Beverly and Rick are going to find us down here together?”
“Yes.” Her reputation was all she had, her professionalism. “I’ve lost good men lately. Men I thought would never leave have up and disappeared. If they stop respecting me, I’ll lose more. Bedding the newest cowboy in town won’t give me respect.”
His lips twitched. “And here I thought I bedded you.”
“Only because I let you,” she teased.
He grinned. “So that’s how it is, is it?”
She nodded. “That’s right.”
His expression turned serious, his voice lowered. “Any regrets, Alexis?”
She touched his jaw, ran her palm over the dark brown stubble. “Not yet,” she whispered. “You planning on giving me any?”
“Not unless me making love to you again is going to give you regrets,” he whispered a moment before his lips found hers.
Alexis sighed, melting into the kiss. She wanted him now, and wanted to find solace in his arms as she hoped he did in hers. She’d seen the pain in his eyes, felt the comfort of knowing he understood what she was going through. Somehow, she could feel the healing they were delivering to each other. Somehow, she could see the path beyond the past to the present.
No regrets.
With their horses tied nearby and Alexis by his side, Ryder sat on top of a wooden fence and looked down a hillside, watching herds of cattle grazing the miles and miles of green pastures before them. This had been his family’s land, his home.
“It’s hard for you, being here,” Alexis said. It wasn’t a question. Simply an understanding she seemed to have of him. A way of knowing without words. She touched his leg, resting her palm there. A week had passed, and they had grown closer, talked more. But still she held back. Still she hadn’t told him how bad the financial situation was at the ranch. Not that she had to. He had been around long enough to know there were corners she was cutting, supplies that were short. He could see her stress, feel her worry. And she was scared—of her situation, of him, of herself. Afraid of counting on someone who would leave, as her father had. A natural reaction to death. But could he break through those fears before he was forced to face his duty again?
“It’s hard to believe this place belongs to someone other than my family,” Ryder said, refocusing on the land before him. He gave her an opening with those words, a chance to tell him she feared losing her family ranch. He wanted her to admit that to him. But another part of him wanted her to say she was ready to let it go. That she would consider a life away from here. She was his mate, and whether it was a creation of nature or simple attraction, the primal instinct to protect her and keep her close grew more intense with each passing moment.
Silence stretched in torturous minutes before Alexis finally spoke. “I can’t imagine life away from Big W,” she said, answering his silent question with painful clarity. She wanted to stay. He had to go. “It’s a part of me.” She glanced at him and back at the horizon. “I can’t imagine how hard it is to see this land and know it’s gone from you.”
Her words cut like a knife on too many levels to analyze. He didn’t want to think about them, didn’t want to dig deep enough to feel their full impact. The sun was beginning to set anyway, his mood darkening with it.
A raw tingling began to form in his body, his senses alerting him of imminent danger—Beasts. “We should go,” he said, keeping his voice nonchalant, his body relaxed, his eyes alert. Several cattle began to act uneasy; one began to run. “Now.”
She nodded and eyed the area around them. “Why do I feel like we are being watched?”
Ryder jumped from the fence and grabbed Alexis, pulling her against his body and then toward the horses. “Technically, we’re trespassing,” he warned, explaining away what she sensed—which was Demons and death. “Maybe someone isn’t happy about that.”
Alexis started to mount her horse, and it snorted, sidestepping with unease. “Easy boy,” he murmured, rubbing its neck. He’d dealt with many a horse around Beasts, trained them to face Beasts with calm composure. But that took time he didn’t have. Again he spoke to the horse. “Easy.” He eyed Alexis. “Talk to it.”
She nodded and did as he said, her gaze skirting around nervously. Ryder mounted his horse a moment before a snarl sounded nearby.
“Wolves!” Alexis yelled.
Ryder reached over and patted her horse’s hindquarters, and then they both launched into action. Not wolves, he thought. Hell Hounds and Demons. The Demons that had stolen his life. He wouldn’t let that happen to Alexis. Not now. Not ever. He looked back over his shoulder, that vow repeated in his head over and over as they distanced themselves from danger. Alexis was safe, but for how long? And how did he save her without destroying what she called her life? Because he couldn’t stay, and she didn’t want to leave.
He’d thought that finding Alexis had been a blessing he didn’t deserve. Instead, he was beginning to wonder if this was his eternal hell. To know his mate existed but have duty force him to destroy her life, create resentment or simply force him to walk away, to leave her behind.
Chapter Eight
The sun was setting, the night muggy. It was two weeks after Ryder had joined the Big W operation, and he stood on the front porch of the house and eyed the scene in the driveway. Alexis and Kelly stood by Kelly’s red Volkswagen in heated debate. Again. Kelly was going to see Hector. Alexis was begging her not to. Kelly waved her hands in anger and then got into the car. Ryder waited as Alexis approached, looking shaken and upset.
This was the first time he’d seen her in twelve hours. He’d left early to work with Rick that morning. Alexis had gone into town to the bank, very closed-lipped about why, but he intended to find out tonight. Not that he needed much guesswork. The ranch was falling apart; the cattle were being attacked and killed by wolves—or so Rick thought. But it wasn’t wolves. It was Hell Hounds. A little detail Ryder had been handling off the radar. He’d been hunting, killing as many Demons as he could. Telling Alexis he was scouting for wolves, checking traps. But there were too many. It was time to ask for help. He needed more men; he needed the Knights. He shoved the thought aside for the short term, as Alexis climbed the stairs and tried her best to give him a smile.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.” He wanted to pull her close, to hug away her frustrations, but he couldn’t. She wanted their relationship off the radar. She saw him as temporary, and she didn’t want her reputation with the men hurt. He didn’t want to be temporary but the complications were many. Yet he had a sworn duty as a Knight at Jaguar Ranch, she had a life here in Round Rock. Mixed emotions tormented him. How could he face the elder Knights suffering without a mate with one of his own? And even if he dared do such a thing, he would be asking Alexis to live in a world full of Demons, in a war zone. To leave behind Big W Ranch, the home she was fighting to save.
“She’s going to see him again,” Alexis said, her jaw clenched as she leaned on the railing beside him and watched the red car disappear. “She threw you in my face. Said she knew we were together. That I had a lot of nerve judging her when I’m sleeping with someone I’ve only just met.”
“I wondered why you were so secretive with her,” he said softly. “Considering she is a good friend and all. I guess I have my answer.” She’d already shared their history, the way they’d grown up together, the way Kelly felt like a sister to her. “Friends and family know how to push our buttons more than anyone. And they usually push those buttons when deflecting from themselves.”
Alexis sighed and nodded her agreement. “Yeah well, friend or not, she doesn’t have her head on straight. She can’t be a good f
riend to someone else, because she isn’t even a friend to herself right now.”
Ryder turned to her then, taking in her profile, her dark brunette hair lifting as a lone breeze skirted across the porch. She was beautiful. Sincere. Hardworking. And he was falling in love. He opened his mouth to speak, not even sure what he was going to say, when the phone rang, the sound carrying through the screen door.
She pushed off the rail. “I have to get that. I’m expecting a call.”
He followed her inside, lingering in the living room as she grabbed the phone in the den. He could hear her talking to the bank. No, they would not give her more time. She was going to sell the ranch, she promised the caller. Ryder had mixed feelings about that declaration. He wanted her with him, but more than anything, he wanted her to be happy. Her voice continued to echo off the walls, vibrating with desperateness.
Without any hesitation, he turned on his heels and headed for the door. He and Alexis needed to have a talk. But first he needed to talk to Jag—and do so in private. If Alexis wanted to keep the ranch, damn it, she’d keep it. Even if it meant leaving Round Rock without her. Even if that meant leaving his mate here, to happiness that didn’t include him.
At the north end of the ranch, Ryder dismounted the stallion he’d ridden to the secluded hillside and tied it to a tree. He removed his cell phone and dialed Jag. A quick conversation later, and Jag materialized in front of him, the only Knight able to orb from place to place—his gifts as their leader were extraordinary.
Tall and dark, of Hispanic heritage, Jag wore jeans and boots as another might wear a crown: regal and proud. Even without the sword strapped to his right leg, he was a lethal force, so powerful that one instantly sensed it in his presence.