Page 37 of Too Hot To Handle

Reever let go of the reins he had knotted together and pulled his shirt free of his jeans. Even before he had finished, he felt a hot rain of kisses across his naked back. Then, with a catlike sound of contentment, Tory caressed his skin with her cheek, turning her face from side to side as though he were a warm river and she were bathing in him. Her mouth opened and she shivered as she tasted him.

Reever’s breath shortened. He felt as though he were caught between two fires, Tory’s hands on his chest and her mouth caressing his back. His own hands began a slow, sweet stroking of her thighs until she rocked against him with more than the horse’s easy motions. Slowly, inevitably, her hands slid down his chest to the less sensually rewarding material of his jeans. She stroked his hard thighs once and then again and again, using her fingernails and sliding higher up his legs each time until she finally brushed against the rigid proof of his desire.

„Tory – “ grated Reever.

Her hands returned, settling over him sweetly, hotly.

„Let me,“ she breathed, closing her teeth on his back with the slow, loving sensuality he had taught her. „Help me.“

Reever looked down and saw Tory’s delicate fingers against the faded blue fabric as she stroked him. He knew he should stop her, but it was too much what he had dreamed of since the first day she had ridden behind him and he had ached at the thought of having her hands on him. When she tugged blindly at the fastening on his jeans, he shuddered heavily.

„Reever,“ Tory said, her hands trembling, her breath hot against his back. „Please.“

Slowly he guided her fingers over his jeans until the cloth parted. Her hands eased inside his clothes. She made a husky sound of discovery and pleasure as she found him. Reever felt her touch like sweet fire over his aroused flesh. He stifled a groan as he shifted position, bringing himself more fully into her hands.

„I love touching you,” Tory said huskily, and her breath flowed hotly over Reever’s skin. „I love feeling you change and knowing you want me more and more with each heartbeat Your whole body gets hard. Everywhere, not just where I’m holding you now.“ Her teeth closed over a muscle that rippled beneath the taut, naked skin of his back. „You’re so strong,“ she whispered. „I love your strength. I love the salty taste of your skin. I love your heat. I love – “

At the last instant Tory controlled the tumbling words, dragging herself back from the brink of admitting how much she loved Reever himself.

„Everything,“ she said finally, caressing him, measuring his potency, savoring the different textures that went from hot satin smoothness to the tight male flesh hidden within a thatch of hair. „I love everything about you, Reever.“

„Oh, God,“ Reever groaned. The sight of Tory’s slender fingers loving him was like being connected to an electric current. He shuddered convulsively, repeatedly, a man being softly, wildly devoured. „Stop,“ he said thickly. „You’ll make me lose control.“

„Then I’d just have to start all over again, wouldn’t I?“ Tory asked. She laughed softly and bit his back hard enough to leave a small mark. „I can hardly wait.“

Reever endured it for a few moments longer, watching Tory’s hands like sweet flames caressing him, burning him. And then he felt forerunners of the release to come shuddering through him. He called her name, trying to still her hands, but it was too much like his dream, sweet and wild, inevitable, and the knowledge that she was shaking almost as much as he was only made it hotter.

When he finally managed to ease her hands up his body and refastened his jeans, he kissed her palms lovingly and stroked her arms, trying to calm her. It was a long time before they both could breathe without air catching in their throats. Only then did Reever stop Twinkletoes, bring his right leg over her neck and slide off.

„Reever?“ asked Tory.

„Scoot forward and lean to the right, little cat. It’s your turn. And mine.“

Tory didn’t understand, but she did as Reever had asked. He swung up behind her in a single swift motion, reached around her and picked up the reins. A gentle nudge of his heels sent Twinkletoes ambling up the dim trail. He let go of the knotted reins, knowing that the mare would keep walking without his guidance.

„I was going to ride this way from the first,“ Reever said, pulling Tory even closer against his body, „but I didn’t trust myself to get all the way to the meadow. Then I discovered that you’re every bit as bad – and as good – as I am.“

Tory gave Reever a puzzled look over her shoulder, still not understanding. He smiled down at her with such sensual promise that her lips parted on a sudden intake of breath. He caught her chin and licked her lips delicately, nibbling and tugging as though it were her breast rather than her mouth he was teasing. The promise implicit in his caress made Tory’s nipples tingle and tighten in a rush that sent fire racing through her core.

„They know, don’t they?“ whispered Reever, biting the nape of Tory’s neck as his hands settled around her ribs, pulling the T-shirt tight to reveal her hard nipples.

„What?“ she asked.

„Your breasts,“ he said, rubbing his palms along her ribs. „See? They’re changing for me.“ Just above the tight crowns his fingers traced circles that touched only air. Even so, she rose and tightened visibly, as though she had been stroked. „They know I’m going to love them with my hands and my mouth.“ His voice deepened as his fingers drifted down her body to her thighs. „Does the rest of you know that, honey? Are you changing for me where I can’t see you?“

Tory shivered and Reever smiled.

„I’m going to find out,“ he said, tasting her neck as he caressed her thighs. „But not right away.“ His hands eased up to her ribs again, and this time he was beneath the soft cotton of her T-shirt. His touch skirted her breasts, defining them without touching them.

„Reever,“ she said huskily, turning toward him, trying to capture his elusive touch. „You’re torturing me.“

„No, I’m not,“ he said, laughing softly. „Not yet. But soon, little cat. Soon I’m going to hold your breasts in my hands. I’m going to stroke and tug on those pink buds until something flowers deep inside you. Then I’m going to undo your jeans and find another bud, another flowering, but this one won’t be hidden inside you. This one I’ll be able to tease and love until I have to hold you on Twinkletoes because you’ll forget where you are, who you are, everything but my touch on your sweet, hungry body.“

Tory tried to speak, could not and shivered instead. Reever smiled as he watched the march of sensation over his lover’s smooth skin.

„I can’t wait any longer,“ he said. His voice was very deep as his teeth caressed her neck with fierce restraint. „I’ve dreamed about this since I brought you back to the ranch on Blackjack weeks ago. But Blackjack isn’t placid like Twinkletoes, and you couldn’t ride worth a damn then. It’s different now. Lift your arms for me, honey. Let me show you what a woman like you does to a man like me.“

Slowly Tory lifted her arms over her head.