They were headed for the trees, and she wondered how far in he’d lead them before calling a halt. She had virtually no control over this enterprise, and she wasn’t used to being passive.
“Jack, I need to learn to stop my own horse when he’s trotting, don’t you think?”
“I guess.” He glanced over at her, his face shadowed by the brim of his black Stetson. “Although Emmett pointed out to me that the wedding won’t be a rodeo. If you can ride at a walk and stay on the horse when he’s standing still, that should take care of the wedding part.”
“So I really don’t need to learn to ride very well at all.” To her surprise, she was disappointed. “You know what? I want to learn how to ride. I mean, for real.”
“You do? But you’ve lived here for three years without learning. We were together for six months, and you never said a word about riding, even though you knew I practically lived on horseback whenever I wasn’t with you.”
“I didn’t want to take the time, I guess. You were busy and I was busy.”
His voice was low and intimate. “Face it. We spent most of our time together in bed.”
Images rushed into her mind, heating her blood. She met his gaze and tension coiled tight within her. “Which wasn’t a bad thing.”
“Definitely not a bad thing.” His eyes darkened until they were pools of intensity. At last he groaned and turned his head away. “I swear, all you have to do is look at me like that, and I can’t think of anything but getting you naked. No wonder all you thought I had on my mind was sex the other night at your apartment. You were right.”
“I’m just as bad, Jack,” she murmured. “I want you so much right now that I’m liable to start squishing as I ride.”
He reined his horse to a halt and grabbed Destiny’s bridle. “Hang on.”
“What—”
“We’ll worry about riding lessons later. Let’s move.”
As Jack urged Bandit forward, Josie gripped the saddle horn and prepared to be bumped along until they reached the trees, but instead the motion changed to a rolling gait that was not a trot, but not the full-out gallop she’d ridden yesterday.
“What are we doing?” she called out to Jack as he churned along beside her.
“Finding some privacy!” he called back over the sound of the horses’ pounding hooves.
“I mean the horses! What is this they’re doing?” Without knowing how, she’d adopted Destiny’s rhythm and they were moving together so well she couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t ride, not really, but this was glorious.
“We’re cantering! Watch out for branches!” He guided them into the trees.
“I love cantering!” Josie dodged an overhanging pine branch right before Destiny slowed to the dreaded trot again. Not for long, though. Jack brought both horses to a halt.
“Where are we?”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re out of the open meadow, and that’s all I care about.” He vaulted from the saddle, his boots making a crunching sound as he came down on a forest floor littered with leaves, pine needles and small branches. He quickly tied Bandit’s reins to a tree.
Josie scrambled down, too, her heart racing from the ride into the trees and the reason for it. Jack had decided to quit messing around.
Following his example, she tied Destiny’s reins to a tree branch. In the time it took her to do that, Jack had taken a blanket from somewhere and spread it on the ground.
“I see you came prepared.”
He glanced at her before hanging his hat on his saddle horn. “Guess I liked your suggestion.” He closed the distance between them and pulled her close. “You need to ditch this hat, lady. I intend to make hot, sweet love to you, and your hat will get in the way.”
Her pulse hammered as he brought her close enough to feel the hard ridge of his penis pressing against the denim of his jeans. “Maybe you could get rid of it for me, cowboy.”
“Be glad to.” Holding her tight with one arm, he reached for the hat and hung it on Destiny’s saddle without even bothering to look at what he was doing.
“This isn’t the only time you’ve made love in the woods with a couple of horses looking on, is it?”
“No, but this is the first time I’ve wanted it so bad I’m shaking.” He lowered his head until his mouth was nearly touching hers. “Have you ever made love in the woods, Josie?”
“Never, Jack.” She discovered that she was quivering a bit, too. Anticipation could do that to a girl.
His lips brushed hers. “So you’re a sex-in-the-woods virgin?”
Her laughter was breathless from all the wanting crowding her chest. “Guess so.”
“Then I’ll be gentle.”
“God, I hope not.” Clutching the back of his head, she pulled him down and kissed him with all the urgency she’d been saving up for the past twenty-four hours.
He seemed to get the message. Continuing to kiss her, he scooped her up and carried her over to the blanket. Then he lowered her feet to the ground slowly as his tongue explored her mouth in a way that left no doubt as to his next move once their clothes were gone.
Breathing hard, he released her with obvious reluctance and started pulling off his boots. She did the same. They undressed with quick efficiency, tossing each item quickly aside. They’d passed the stage of undressing each other slowly and teasingly. After six months as lovers, they knew exactly how to get naked in the shortest amount of time.
Yet even in the flurry of activity, Josie couldn’t help stealing a glance at Jack as he shucked his clothes. He’d always had a magnificent body, but apparently he’d done more physical work than usual in the past ten months because now he was solid muscle. And he wasn’t kidding about wanting her.
Yet apparently she’d have to wait before she could enjoy the benefits of that gloriously erect penis. Jack guided her down to the blanket with kisses that started with her mouth and traveled south until at last he caressed her inner thighs with his tongue.
The blanket was soft, the twigs and leaves underneath lumpy, but she didn’t care if she lay on a bed of rocks. She trembled with eagerness. Jack had many talents as a lover, but this might be his greatest one. No doubt he knew that, because she’d told him enough times. If he wanted to remind her of what she’d been missing since they parted, he couldn’t have chosen a more potent method.
He began, as he always did, with a soft kiss placed exactly on that spot that generated such an incredible response throughout her willing body. She gasped as that leisurely touch of his lips sent jolts of sensation rocketing through her.
“I’ve missed you,” Jack whispered, his breath warm against her dampness. “Missed doing this.” He circled her clit with his tongue.
She moaned and curled her fingers into the soft blanket. She’d lost count of the number of nights she’d dreamed of Jack making love to her this way. Now he was here, and she needed… needed… yes, that — the stroke of his tongue, the pressure of his fingers, the moist caress of his mouth, the gentle rake of his teeth.
She writhed, she begged… and then she surrendered to a climax that roared through her with the force of a summer storm. Nearly rendered deaf and dumb by the pleasure, she lost track of time, but it seemed only seconds before he thrust deep. She arched upward, inviting him with the tilt of her hips to sink even deeper.