Keep You Safe, page 8
“You got any triggers I should know about?” His stern eyes bore into me as if he’d be able to detect a lie. “Anything you’re not up for?”
We were really going to do this. Far from warning me off, his questions made a thrill race through me.
“I’m up for just about anything you want to dish out,” I said brashly. Somehow, despite his sternness, I trusted Grayson not to give me more than I could handle and not to be cruel. Due to my lack of experience in this area, I also didn’t exactly have a wish list beyond wanting a lot more of what happened at the pond. However, Grayson continued to look at me expectantly, so I added, “I’m not a fan of extreme humiliation and would rather not have permanent marks, but otherwise, we’re fine.”
“Oh, I’m not planning to beat your ass.”
I made a disappointed noise, and Grayson laughed, an actual chuckle from the king of somber expressions. His eyes crinkled and his mouth became softer and more generous. I’d give up dinner for a week if it meant earning more laughs from him.
“Guess we don’t need me walking funny,” I joked to keep him smiling. He’d likely dodge the question if I asked if this sort of play was also new to him, but his reluctance to hand out a spanking gave the impression that perhaps he was making this up as he went along. I liked that, something new for us to explore together beyond his obvious lack of same-sex experience. “How are you going to punish me then?”
“Figure I need to remind you of the value of a job well done and teach you some patience along the way.” Grayson stalked to the recliner, sitting down with his legs slightly spread, doing a great job of looking both intimidating and inviting. Digging a remote out of a side pocket on the recliner, he flipped on a game show of all things.
“We’re watching Jeopardy?”
“I’m behind on this week’s episodes.” His tone was conversational, like I wasn’t standing in front of him, harder than a fence post, desperate to play. “You come before the episode ends, and you won’t get your reward.”
My cock pulsed in my jeans. Let the games begin. “What’s my reward?”
“Think you can earn a riding lesson outside of the ring tomorrow?”
“Yes, sir.” I’d been getting more riding practice thanks to Kat and felt ready to try riding outside of the arena setting. The fact that Grayson also remembered what I’d asked for last time made my insides tremble with a mix of want and gratitude.
“Good boy.” He also apparently remembered how much I liked praise. The first time he’d said the words, they’d washed over me like summer rain, unexpected yet welcome nonetheless. “Come over here.”
I moved to kneel between his legs. I could easily blow him for a single game show episode. As long as I avoided touching myself, we’d be golden. But Grayson apparently had other plans as he made a clucking noise.
“Nope, not there. That’s part of what you gotta earn.” He patted his muscled thigh. “Strip and come here.”
I’d never been so eager to shed my clothes in all my life. As a bonus, me naked and him remaining partially clothed was one hell of a turn-on, making my newly freed dick bob in front of me. Grayson was far more chiseled from years of hard work, but if he objected to my skinniness, he didn’t show it as he made a low sound of approval. As soon as I was naked, he arranged me on his lap. His jeans were rough under my ass and only added to my surging arousal.
“I think I like this.” Gazing up at his face, I gave a happy sigh. If he wanted to sit like this for a whole episode, I could easily keep from coming. But then the diabolical man started stroking my sides. I made a startled noise.
“Eyes on the TV,” he directed in more of that easy tone. But his narrowed eyes said he expected to be obeyed. “You pay attention to the show now.”
“Impossible.” I wriggled on his lap, trying to see if he was hard, but he stayed my motions with a firm hand on my hip. His other hand wandered like a drone mapping new terrain, skimming over my arms, my collarbones, my nipples, and stomach. He returned to my nipples to give each a light tweak. I let out a soft moan. “As is me waiting if you keep doing that.”
“Oh, I’m just getting started.” He ran a single finger across the crease of my thighs, dancing ever closer to my cock. If he was nervous about touching a cock other than his own, he didn’t show it, expression staying placid, almost as if he were actually paying attention to the show.
I was panting even before his fingers reached my cock, and when he stroked the underside, I moaned. “Fuck.”
“What was the last question?” His tone said he expected an answer, but the voices on the TV might as well be speaking Klingon for all I cared.
“Heck if I know.” I let a little brattiness creep into my voice, which earned me a firmer grip and a none-too-gentle nipple flick.
“Wrong answer.” He tilted my head away from gazing at him, so I was forced to look at the TV. “You watch that mouth of yours now.”
The mention of mouths made my brain gallop right to thoughts of kissing, but Grayson didn’t seem inclined in that direction. I didn’t want to force the issue, not when I was desperate for more of his approval. “Yes, sir.”
“That’s better.” He rewarded me exactly as I’d hoped, wrapping a fist around my cock. His hand was bigger than mine and more work-weathered, a contrast that made me moan even before he started leisurely stroking. He also faced the TV, but unlike me, he was apparently actually following along. “What is Argentina?”
“How are you so good at multitasking?” I groaned. Not only was he the silver fox cowboy of my dreams, but he was also smart? He was lucky I didn’t propose on the spot. Or come, which was increasingly becoming a possibility, even with his maddeningly slow strokes.
“Practice,” he said idly as he continued to play with me, rattling off a few more right answers as I lost the ability to think of anything other than how badly I wanted to come. Every time I got anywhere close, though, he slowed down even further, loosening his grip until I was wriggling, trying to get more contact.
“Please.” I wasn’t above begging.
He made a tsking noise. “Episode’s not even half over.”
“Forget multitasking, how are you so damn good at edging?”
“Practice there too.” He let out another of those welcome chuckles, torso rumbling against me. “Lotta lonely nights on the ranch. I got good at playing games with myself, making it last.”
If he were this good at edging himself, he’d likely be one of those go-all-night mythical tops. Want made my pulse pound.
“Hell, if we ever fuck, I might not live to tell the tale.” My tone was brash without being pushy. Fucking didn’t seem to be on the table tonight, which was fine, but I surely filed the idea away for later. He continued stroking my cock, and I let out a moan. “Might not live to the end of this episode, honestly.”
“You will.” He sounded way more certain than I was. He patted my belly with his free hand. “You can wait. I know you want to be good for me.”
“I do.” His reassurance made me more determined to last. As good as it felt to push against him, his praise felt even better. I made it past the halfway point in the episode, falling into a blissfully dreamy state where I floated along, close to the edge, but also nowhere near falling over. Thank God he didn’t ask me to answer any more of the game show questions, though every so often, he’d murmur an answer.
I’d never before found multitasking sexy, but hell if he didn’t inspire all sorts of fantasies of him doing mundane tasks while railing me.
“You’re doing so good,” he praised as the host announced the Final Jeopardy round. “Just a little longer.”
As soon as the final question was revealed, Grayson sped up his strokes, dragging me ever closer to falling over the edge.
“Please.” I’d never longed to see closing credits more. I risked his ire by glancing away from the TV and up at his face. I’d expected to find him watching to see who won, but his gaze was locked on me like he was memorizing my every reaction. That level of attention was heady fucking stuff. I wriggled against him enough to feel him hard and urgent under me, and suddenly, I was right there. “Oh please.”
“There you go.” Grayson gave permission a split second later, right as the closing music sounded. “Go on now, come for me.”
Relief hit as hard as the orgasm itself, wringing me dry as I came and came, all over his fist and my stomach and chest. The edge had turned out to be a giant waterfall drop, a rush so powerful my head roared and my eyes stung. I hadn’t thought it was possible to weep from coming before, but my burning eyes and damp cheeks said otherwise. Full-body shudders had me almost doubled over as Grayson held me tightly.
“You did right fine waiting.” His praise felt like the benediction I’d waited weeks for. He stroked my side, calming me as my breath slowly returned to normal. “So good for me.”
I’d had the most intense orgasm of my life, but Grayson was still hard beneath me, a subtle tension racing through him. I wanted to give him even a fraction of what I’d just experienced.
“Please tell me I get to suck you now.” I scooted off his lap and onto my knees in front of him before he could say no.
“Gonna be quick.” He unzipped his jeans, revealing the thick cock my mouth hadn’t forgotten. Saliva gathered in anticipation. He groaned as he gave himself a few strokes. “You ain’t the only one I’ve been edging.”
“Glad to know you only pretend to be made of stone and that it turned you on too.” I laughed and leaned in so he could tease my lips with the head of his cock.
“How you can still sass after that come, Lord only knows.” He slid his ass forward in the chair, making my job that much easier.
“Better give my mouth something better to do.” I winked at him before darting my tongue out to tease the tip of his cock. He withdrew his hand so I could work. He’d said he was close, so I didn’t bother with a lot of buildup, instead going right for the deep rhythm with plenty of suction that had worked last time.
“Yep.” He groaned his approval, rocking up to meet my lips, much less tentative about using my mouth this time. “That’s it.”
I sucked hard on each upstroke, letting things get sloppy in a hurry. Grayson rewarded my efforts by stroking my hair with an affectionate hand.
“Good boy, keep that up.” His praise had me ready to keep going until New Year if that was what it took. However, his breathing turned choppy, and I doubled down on my efforts to bring him off in the next minute. He released a long, low moan. “Gonna go fast now.”
“Please.” I moaned the word around his cock as he did exactly that, going fast and hard, bucking into my mouth as he came with the force of what felt like a firehose. I swallowed and swallowed as he cursed and kept right on coming.
“Aw fuck. Damn.” He shook almost as hard as I had, shudders ripping through him. His touch on my hair gentled as I released his spent cock and rested my head on his thigh.
“Wow.” I panted like I’d come a second time. Getting him off was almost as big a rush as my own orgasm. Pride and arousal mingled, a pleasant endorphin rush I wanted to wallow in. “That was pretty much the most erotic experience of my life.”
“You ain’t kidding.” He kept petting my hair, seemingly in no hurry for either of us to move. His expression was as content as I’d seen it. I wanted to stay and bask in his approval, but I also didn’t want to wait around for his icy walls to go back up and the distance between us to return.
“Guess I better get back to the bunkhouse.” My body refused my message to move. As long as he was stroking my hair and gazing at me with such admiration, leaving felt impossible. “Still can’t feel my knees.”
“Not gonna run you off before you can walk again.” Grayson gestured at the TV before tossing me the towel that had been over his shoulder before. “I’ve got another episode to get caught up on.”
Shocking the hell out of me, he opened his arms for me to climb back onto his lap after I cleaned up with the towel. And of course, I did exactly that, settling in against his chest like I belonged there. Nowhere else I wanted to be. I wasn’t going to turn down the invite to stay awhile, even as I knew it would hurt that much more when he inevitably pulled away again.
Chapter Thirteen
Grayson
I woke up at my usual early hour, swimming in regrets. I’d crossed a line with Adler, regardless of how he might see the situation. The worst part was that my body still tingled with the memory of the encounter, the weight of him on my lap, his breathy noises and low moans, how right his cock had felt in my hand, how the edging play had made me feel superhuman levels of powerful, and how my own orgasm had been even better than the last one with him, which was truly saying something.
I needed an extra-long shower to get rid of the raging hard-on I’d woken up with. Jerking off only soured my mood further because now I felt guilty for beating off to images of last night when I’d already resolved to push the whole thing from my mind. That task, however, was damn near impossible because Adler was already waiting for me at the horse barn.
In my post-orgasmic daze, I’d let—okay, encouraged—Adler to stay a few more episodes, fed him frozen pizza, and sent him on his way with a promise to make good on the offer of riding today. That level of niceness was going to come back to bite me in the ass before the sun was fully up.
“Most of the bunkhouse is very much hungover.” Adler’s grin was way too familiar.
“Yep. Figured.” I turned the stern up to eleven to counter. “Which is why you’re ridin’ fence with me this morning.”
“Exciting. I thought we were doing another lesson, but this is like a promotion.” He bounced along beside me as I clomped down the row of horse stalls.
“Nothing exciting about riding fence,” I warned as I came to a stop at Cinder’s stall. Maybe Adler would get bored quick, although I doubted that.
“I see you’re back to being cranky.” Adler wasn’t one to let me brood in silence, and his tone was an overly familiar tease. Couldn’t have that.
“We can’t do last night on the regular.” No sense in avoiding the issue further. I needed to squash any assumptions Adler had brewing.
“I don’t see why not.” If anything, he grinned wider.
“You know perfectly well why not,” I shot back before motioning at the horse. “Go on and get Cinder ready.”
“As you’ve said several times, you’re not technically my boss.” Adler brought Cinder out, demonstrating an ease he hadn’t had a week ago. “Maverick is.”
At least one of us was relaxed because I sure as shit wasn’t.
“To the rest of the bunkhouse, I am.” I ground out each word. “Can’t be seen playing favorites.”
“I assumed any repeats would be on the down-low.” Adler used a reasonable tone for someone who had no idea how rumors spread like wildfire on a ranch. He brushed Cinder with easy movements.
“There are few secrets on a ranch.” My voice was as firm as I could make it. “Truth always comes out.”
“You sound like someone who knows how awful gossip can be.” Adler’s eyes narrowed as he considered me.
“You could say that.” I pursed my lips. Adler wasn’t from around here. He had no fucking clue.
“You fool around with the wrong woman?” he asked as he fetched the saddle and blanket. “I have a hard time imagining you doing much that would court rumors.”
“Not me.” Apparently, my lips were set on flapping regardless of my brain’s resolve. Adler didn’t know, and I should leave it at that, but the story tumbled free. “My mom stepped out on my dad with one of his hands on the previous ranch where he was foreman.”
“Oh.” Adler’s eyes went wide, and he paused in the middle of cinching the saddle. “That would do it.”
“Yep.”
“Poor you. And your poor dad too. What a terrible situation.” Adler radiated sympathy I didn’t want.
“No one had clean hands there.” Might as well share the whole damn thing lest he go getting the wrong idea. “My dad laid the other guy out one night in a drunken rage. Lost his job and his marriage. Mom ran back to Chicago. Dad found sobriety. Got a last chance at being foreman here, but the gossip followed. Nothing I hate worse than rumors with my name on them.”
“I can see that.” Adler nodded like he understood, but I wasn’t sure anyone could. But he plowed ahead. “And trust me, having been the subject of nasty gossip back when I was using, I’m not eager to be the subject again.”
“Good.” Time to move on from this topic. I moved to the next stall down to bring out Diamond Lil, my personal horse, a middle-aged paint who’d been with me enough years for us to both be a little long in the tooth. Unlike me this morning, she was her usual level-headed, bombproof self.
“But that doesn’t mean—” Adler wasn’t done, but I was.
“No buts.” I glowered at him. Luckily, I could saddle Diamond in my sleep, so I had her ready in short order. “Let’s ride.” I led her toward the barn door. “Bring Cinder along, nice and steady. Keep your distance from us.”
The advice applied on multiple levels, none of which I expected Adler to follow. But to my surprise, he stayed quiet as we exited the barn. He did a right fine job of mounting without a step, not that I was going to make the mistake of handing out more praise.
“Keep your eyes peeled for down fence, tilting poles, sagging lines,” I directed as we headed out.
“Okay.” Adler continued to stay quiet, clearly concentrating on trying to match my pace. Diamond knew the fence line in the same way I knew the rhythm of my game shows after a lifetime of viewing, first with my parents, then my dad alone, and now me, a nightly routine I couldn’t shake. Few things fazed Diamond, including Adler and Cinder’s stops and starts.
Cinder continued to have a stubborn nature, and I couldn’t help making a frustrated noise.
“Remember what I’ve said about posture. Head up. Shoulders back. You’re in charge, not Cinder.”
“I’m going to have a sore ass regardless of how pretty I sit.” Somehow, Adler still had it in him to grin. And, of course, any mention of his ass took me right back to last night when he’d been firmly planted in my lap.
