Pretty Shameless, page 5
part #2 of Deputy Laney Briggs Series
Gunner cocked his head my way, murmuring. “Stop what, Laney?” He rounded the table and crouched down in front of me, and well—shit—if his tempting mouth wasn’t in line with my crotch. Thankfully, by the grace of God, my blue jeans made an okay barrier…for now. “How about we get dinner started? We can chat each other’s ears off afterward.” That deadly grin zapped my love button like a jolt of lightning.
Instead of waiting for the inevitable, I shoved him aside and made a complete fool out of myself, swinging and prissing my ass over to the fridge. I went on to gather the items for dinner and plopped them down on the counter. As I was peeling an onion, a rough hand tipped my chin up, placing my mouth directly in the path of his sinner lips. He rolled a thumb across my bottom lip and gently tugged. I sucked in some air and tried to force myself to ignore the other hand creeping along my backside, and that’s when a finger wiggled over my ass, making damn sure I shot to attention. Christ, was I shameless?
“Are you really going to make me beg for forgiveness, sweetheart?” He placed a soft kiss on my neck, and, dang it, his breath on my lips tasted better than a smooth shot of whiskey.
“Listen, Gunner. You can’t just kiss me and expect everything to be okay…” And then his mouth pressed against mine. All warm and welcoming, but yet enticingly erotic. My heart tumbled up into my throat. Aw hell, he smelled like morning dew after a spring rain shower. It intoxicated me. He intoxicated me. No we were an intoxicating love disease.
And it would never let either of us go.
His tongue rolled against a sweaty patch along my neck. And I gasped, knife tumbling from my grasp and hitting with a resounding thud on the cutting board. “No. I would never ask that of you.” Gunner gently kissed my cheek, killing any kind of backlash. “Not in a million years.” He pressed his nose closer to my collarbone and flicked his tongue at my earlobe, drawing it between his teeth in a slow, seductive, mind-numbing suck, only to pull away as his hand pressed into the small of my back to rub the sensitive flesh. Rubbing again, Gunner said, “Tomorrow morning I’m driving out to Harper’s Ridge before heading into work on a call my boss needs me to check in on. If I hear any news about Wyatt, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
Quite frankly, I had problems. Even though I wanted to see Gunner burn for his lying sins, I still felt an undeniable desire for the man that haunted me to the bone. Good Lord, I needed help. But yet I ached to feel him consume, devour, to become completely obsessed with me. Maybe our little inquisition could wait ’til tomorrow. Then again, I’ve never enjoyed being a damn doormat. No it was time to make my Texas Ranger come clean. I shoved him in the chest, hard. “You need to tell me the truth, Gunner. We both need to start being more upfront with each other.” I looked him in the eyes and lifted a hand to cradle his strong, manly jaw. “I’ll go first. Today I ran out to Wyatt’s trailer in hopes of finding him before the bondsman in Harper’s Ridge got a hold of his scrawny ass.”
He sighed. His hand slipped from my face, his mouth grim and unreadable. “Mom barking up your tree, again?” he grumbled. “Fine, Laney. But first let’s get dinner laid out.”
Our plates were loaded down with warmed-up pot roast, rolls, and mashed potatoes. Other than that I hadn’t done much except place a paper towel and cold beer next to Gunner’s silverware.
I poked my fork at the meat. “Hope you enjoy leftovers.”
Eyes pinned my way, Gunner took a long draw from his beer, chuckling. “Not like I’ve starved yet.”
“Well, I suck at cooking.” I reached for the saltshaker, feeling the mood between us shift into a more pleasant territory. This push-and-pull relationship of ours was old hat by now, but even in the midst of the ugly times I could still count on him to love me back. I could believe in myself to do the same. Sprinkling salt over the wrinkly nuked carrots on my plate, I carried on. “I’ve missed this,” I said, looking up from the table. “Our dinner dates.”
He reached out and cupped my hand in his, driving me completely bonkers for the man again. “Same here, sweetheart.” He stroked his thumb back and forth along my knuckles as I latched in on the serenity soothing from his voice and the warmth flickering behind his loving gaze. On a firm hand squeeze, Gunner added, “Ask me anything, darling, right now I am an open book.”
Granted I’d sold my soul ages ago to the man, but heck, I’d never expected him to cough over the goods so easily.
I squeezed back and tried to hold onto his love. “I want to know what or if you are involved with any of this shit that went down with Wyatt.”
He gave me a noncommittal nod. “Off the record,” he said. Face taut and so damn handsome it had the potential to turn me into a horny little teenager all over again, Gunner shifted in his chair. “My boss asked me to check up on Wyatt a few days after I left on the El Paso case.”
“I see,” I pulled my hand back and picked up my beer. There was a good chance I’d need to be taking a drink pretty soon. “Did you offer up Wyatt as a rat for the Rangers, or did your boss suggest it since he knew you lived out in Pistol Rock and was shacking up with his cousin?” I asked, not entirely ecstatic to hear him say his peace.
He grimaced. “I might’ve mentioned to my boss that I was dating Wyatt’s cousin.”
I gave myself a second to let that information penetrate. Not entirely what I wanted to hear, but, oh well, at least he hadn’t lied. Taking another swallow of beer, I decided to go for broke. “Tell me how Manny Sanchez fits into all this, and why in the hell did you send me out to Elm Brook? You could have just filled me in over at Wyatt’s this morning, but like always you choose to hide the truth.”
He whipped off his hat and tossed it to the linoleum floor, then hunched over on his elbows, with a pair of smiling, desperate, “sincere” eyes that bore straight to my heart. “Manny put in a call a couple days back about having a line on Wyatt’s whereabouts. The lead came up empty.” He shook his head, the uncertainty bleeding all over his face. “This morning you took me by surprise. I never expected to run into you at Wyatt’s, and when I heard your sassy, cute voice threatening to shoot the lock off the door I had to think quick.” He cautiously danced his hand past the bowl of mashed potatoes and stretched a finger out to touch my hand. “But trust me, it was never my intention to upset you.”
Trust was an extremely difficult pill to swallow around a man like Gunner Wilson. It’d never been a two-way street between us, although I could no longer deny the fact that I’d always known what type of man I was getting in bed with. He’d never hidden his true colors. And I made sure to call him on all his bullshit. There was a remote possibility I’d been the one spewing most of the white lies in our poisonous relationship. Maybe I enjoyed the sacrifice; either that, or I was madly in love with a man who would tempt me to sin until my dying breath.
“Seriously? This whole damn day has been about one red herring after another with you.” I smiled, reaching to grab hold of his hand, completely enthralled and absolutely annoyed at the lack of details Gunner was willing to cough up. “You think I’m buying that bullshit about not wanting to upset me?”
His chair legs scraped along the floor, and the endearing touch of his hand vanished from the tabletop. Outside, high winds bashed against the single-pane kitchen window. I was listening to the steady drone of the heater purr through the room when a set of capable fingers started to roam beneath my chin. I glanced down at the man kneeling before me and immediately knew those smiling eyes had my number.
He tipped his head to the side, studying my face, the glint in his stare heartfelt and candid. Soft touches contrasted with the heat blossoming below my skin. There was no need for words anymore, because he had me when he’d chosen to drop to his knees, yet I allowed him to say his peace. “Would it matter if I agreed with you?”
I shook my head, purposely staying focused on my man staring up at me, his expression plagued in concern. “Not the least.”
Gunner rose to his feet and kissed my shoulder. The tenderness of the act touched the depths of my soul. In the end, he was the only man for me. And I would gladly hand myself over. As I sat there marveling at the man of my dreams, a pair of delicious lips danced across the swell of my breasts, and then, hell, his mouth found the jackhammering pulse in my neck, sending my already racing heart into overdrive.
“I think I’m done eating,” he murmured through a kiss as he pulled off one red cowboy boot and then got to work on the other. They fell to the floor with a clunk beside my chair. Then his hands were on my hips, his knees on either side of my legs, and my shirt was slowly inching up over my head, and somehow my jeans had miraculously sunken to the floor. Lord, those wickedly skilled hands killed me. I glanced up, and one look at his handsome face and I knew I’d cried wolf. My heart galloped nothing to ninety when he started to fumble with the clasp of my bra, and I thought, if I could just feel him buried deep inside me everything else would work out. “What about you? Still hungry, Laney?”
“Yes.” Warmth flushed my cheeks, and my mouth trembled. “But I’ve worked up an appetite for something much more appealing.” I slowly dragged my hand across the stubble lining his tan, square jaw. He moaned, and it was such a delight. So I pulled at his bottom lip—just a little taunting—gently at first, but when I got the reaction I wanted, a hand thrust between my recklessly parted thighs, I put some force behind the tugging. “What the hell am I supposed to do with you?” A needy whimper escaped my mouth at the touch of his finger skimming across the hard, swollen bud of my nipple.
“Right now”—Gunner smiled—“all you have to do is sit back and enjoy.” His nose ran the length of my neck as his mouth covered my collarbone in sweet, indulgent kisses. And then, just as I was getting lost in a sea of lust and desperation, he bit my shoulder, making me shudder with need beneath him. “We can talk later, darling,” he affirmed, soothing the tender flesh with a nibble on the side of my neck. “What do you say?” His forefinger and thumb fiddled with one of my nipples, again.
“Umm…” I clenched the black T-shirt covering his hard, toned body in my fists, trying to hold on to something while I relinquished everything else to him. “Later’s fine.”
My legs were shaking, and my heart was aflutter as I slipped a hand down his pants and circled my fingers around his expanding length. Damn, that was one award-winning dick. Nicely hung, and velvety smooth. Perfection. I tightened my grip and gently tugged. His dark eyes grew as big as saucers.
“Shit,” he grunted on a curse.
“Someone enjoying the fondling?” I smiled naively and flicked the tip of his shaft.
“Fuck, woman,” he said, his voice rough as he grabbed hold of my face and pulled me back, only to stare deeply into my eyes. Then his hot lips circled around a nipple as his cock pressed into my thigh and, holy moly, was it charged up and ready to play. I arched my back and crumpled in his big, strong arms.
“If your mother only knew what kind of a girl she raised.” He chuckled, licking and teasing my taut tit before his teeth met my sweaty flesh.
“You have a way of bringing out the smut in me.” I reached out, yanking at his stubborn zipper, and laughed in a playful tone.
“Fuck, yes,” Gunner growled, wrapping comforting arms around my waist and gently lowering me to the kitchen floor. My eyes flicked wide open, meeting head-on with a man intent on driving me over the edge in love and life. “Keep the red boots on, sweetheart. I’ve always enjoyed fucking my girl wearing nothing but those tempting cowboy boots.” Strong hands cupped my calves as he slid one boot back on, and then the other. Voice full of praise and admiration, he squeezed and caressed my bare skin, saying, “Damn if you aren’t a sight for sore eyes.”
I smiled back, enjoying the adoration. He always knew the right words to say to make me even more infatuated with him.
And I was completely and utterly enchanted.
And loved.
Then a pair of sexy lips dipped below my navel, and a finger hooked beneath my pesky cotton panties, skimming them down my legs and bunching the last scrap of fabric that lay between us around my ankles. I let out a loud moan, unraveling at the seams, and tried again at that fucking zipper. I was all thumbs, curling my fingers in the dark happy trail spilling out from his tight Wranglers. He cocked his hips closer, allowing me a minute more to indulge in my pathetic attempt at freeing his delicious, thick, and full dick. I nearly decided to cut to the chase and rip the damn jeans down his hips. Not my problem if he’d need to pick up a new pair. Besides, I’d put money on it that his closet had at least four more starched pairs waiting for their turn.
“You”—I lowered my gaze to his zipper fly—“owe me a blow job,” I told him and gestured at the wall. “Toss the Wranglers, cowboy.”
“Fuck.” Gunner swallowed long and hard, unhitching his big belt buckle. “This demanding cowgirl getup might be my new favorite thing.”
A sly smile worked into his dimples as he walked backward and shifted against the wall, dropping both wide shoulders. I rose to my feet and followed after him, then fell to the floor. That heated gaze raked over me down on my knees and lips parted. And I stared ahead, fascinated by how I turned him on. There was nothing wrong with giving in to guilty pleasures, I told myself as my hands inched farther down, sinking beneath those tight jeans and jerking them half-mast past his bare ass. He was naked from the waist down and ripe for the taking, all hard and thick. A drop of precum slid down the side of the most glorious penis this cowgirl had ever had the opportunity to wrap her lips around. I lifted my head and licked the cleft like the curl on the tip of a soft-serve ice cream cone, all the while relishing in the low, soft groans that tore from his chest. His long, thick length was so hard it stood up toward his flat, I-make-smart-girls-dumb stomach. Balls drawn tight and heavy, fully naked and on display, Gunner was pure sin. I fixed my gaze on every taut line of muscle outlining a set of abs that always made me act like a drunken coed at a wet T-shirt contest.
He reached out a hand and wrapped it around my neck, tipping my head back to meet him eye for eye. “I must’ve done something good in my other life to deserve such a naughty girl.”
My hands began to massage his full, heavy balls. A guttural groan ripped from his chest when I gave them a little tug. It egged me on. So I decided to not play nice; I’d make my cowboy beg. “You definitely did something right, Gunner,” I told him, then wrapped my lips around the head of his cock, drawing the heated flesh to the back of my throat. With a swirl and flick of my tongue, I ran my mouth up and down.
“Fuck, Laney. Jesus that feels good.” His hand tightened around the nape of my neck. Such a damn good high. I heard the back of his head hit the wall.
He’d taught me what felt good the first night we met, and with age I’d just gotten better at firing him up.
I let my tongue roll across the head of his penis, finding immense pleasure in the fact that he was putty in my hands this go-around. His muscular thighs gave way at the touch of my hand stroking, caressing, and kneading his full, weighty balls. With a firm grip around a steely ass cheek, I pulled him forward, dying to get my full serving of the man. I hollowed my cheeks and began to pump him, drinking in the velvety-smooth texture of his cock as it brushed against my tongue and grazed the outer edge of my mouth. Sex had always produced the final word between the two of us. Everything began and ended on a fuck. I used to understand that Gunner would never completely pour his heart out to me. Now I was over being kept in the dark. Now I demanded answers.
Moaning, he thrust in my mouth. “Yes,” he said, voice hoarse and chipped. “Take all of me, Laney.”
I had my hand cupped around his heavy sac and my mouth sliding up and down the slick length as I slowly started to milk him dry. Suddenly he hissed, then abruptly grabbed my face, putting a stop to my little taste test down memory lane.
I tilted my head back and looked at him. “Were you not enjoying yourself?” I asked, wet-lipped.
He grinned, finger stroking the base of my neck. “As good as your mouth feels, I’ve got other ideas in mind.” His voice was ragged and rough. “Let’s try things my way this time, darling.” His smile broadened as he slowly released my face and sank to his knees, placing us on a level playing field. It struck a chord. My gaze flicked toward his. Lord, those wickedly intense brown eyes moved me. “Now…” He kissed me beneath my chin, maneuvering an arm around my waist and lowering me back first to the floor. “This should do just fine for what I have in store.” He moved his hand, inch by glorious inch, up my inner thigh, saying as if it was a prayer, “And this is just pure perfection.” He cupped a hand between my legs, delving a finger deep. I could feel him in my bones. Shit, my back bucked off the cold floor as warmth spread between my legs. Just as I was about to go in for the kill again, he caught both my hands in his and pinned them above my head. I closed my eyes, allowing the anticipation to bloom, the pleasure, the desire, the undying connection I felt for him to take hold and whisk me away.
“Please let me try to beg for your forgiveness, Laney,” he whispered, his five o’clock shadow rasping along my chin. “It might take my whole damn life.” He sealed his mouth over mine, begging…no, demanding me to allow him a piece of me. My lips parted, and a scorching heat met my tongue as our mouths intertwined.
We could make this work. Gunner Wilson was my first kiss, my first love, my ongoing sin, and I wasn’t ready to call the final sentence.
Eyelids fluttering wide and boot heels digging into a firm backside, I pressed my breasts flat against the wall of his chest, feeling him so close it burned, as I whimpered in need. “Just don’t break me, Gunner.”
“Never,” he murmured with a swift kiss, releasing both my hands. Anchored above me, the planes of his chest all hard and glistening, he kissed my cheek. Then he pulled back, marveling at me on display. “You know something,” he said, and nudged the tip of his cock at the inviting bull’s-eye, sending me into a tailspin. I moaned, and my eyes flew wide when he pushed slightly in. “It’s plain and simple. I can’t live without you.” His voice was rough and strained with a lustful plea. “Will you forgive me for being an ass again?”
