STORY EXCERPT

Jayne Sheridan fanned herself as she sat in the folding chair between her cousin Grace and Seth Carter. Her heart hadn’t settled into a regular rhythm since Seth had sat down beside her.

He turned to speak with one of the men and, her eyes were drawn to his arm, perched next to hers on his chair’s armrest. Up close, his tattooed skin looked nothing like what she would’ve expected. She wasn’t even sure what she’d expected. The tattoos were monochromatic, black with gray shading, and very intricate. The unusual design drew her eyes inexorably up his forearms to his lean, muscular biceps. She unconsciously leaned in to get a closer look, and her fingers twitched with the desire to run a finger along his smooth skin. He cleared his throat, and she looked up into his faintly amused blue eyes. Unsurprisingly, words failed her and she looked away.

Think of something to say. Anything! The parade will be over soon and you might not have another chance.

Sucking it up, she turned to him and asked, “Did it hurt?” right as a member of the local lowrider club, driving a customized 70s-model Chevy Impala, slowed to a halt in front of them. He turned up the volume on his sound system and “Low Rider” by WAR blasted from his speakers. She groaned softly, thinking Seth hadn’t heard her and she’d have to pretend like she hadn’t asked him a stupid question.

Of course it hurt, you ninny.

But Seth must’ve known she was speaking to him because he leaned close and said, “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Miss Tongue and Miss Lips forgot how to function as a unit when she inhaled his manly, clean scent. His long, black hair wafted in the breeze and caressed her cheek as she looked at his profile. Words failed her, again, and Jayne wanted to crawl under a rock.

She mutely stared as the diffused sunlight illuminated his blue eyes until he finally turned to look at her. She suddenly forgot how to swallow and choked on her own spit.

Oh, kill me now!

Grace patted her back, and Jayne put her hands over her face and wanted to die of embarrassment. Seth leaned forward, looking at her with sincere concern in his eyes.

“Are you all right?” he asked quietly.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she settled back in her chair and wiped stray tears from her eyes. “Yes. I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.” Yes, you do, you big dolt. You choked on your drool! Get a grip!

She was grateful for the distraction when Maya, Kendall, Boone, and Richard arrived laden with bottles of water and cotton candy for the kids. Mutely, she nodded when Grace softly asked if everything was all right. She sipped from her water bottle and figured she would wait five minutes then make her pathetic loser excuses and walk the few blocks back to her house. She wasn’t even surprised by today’s outcome. Par for the course for her social life.

Seth turned to her and short time later. “The lowrider made it impossible for me to hear you earlier. What were you trying to say?” He didn’t act as though she’d just royally humiliated herself or try to hide the concern that was still in his eyes. He merely chose not to remind her by overlooking it. He really wanted to know what she had said.

Jayne took a deep breath.

You might as well chat with him. It’s not possible to humiliate yourself further. Wait, don’t say that…

Feeling a little more at ease, she replied, “I asked if it hurt.” She pointed at his wrist. “But that’s a stupid question, isn’t it?” She hoped it didn’t make him uncomfortable to point out his tattoos.

Giving her his full attention, he shook his head. “No. Some hurt worse than others, depending on how many nerve endings there are and how close the tattoo is to a bone or joint. None of it was unbearable.” As he spoke, he showed her the image on the underside of his wrist and then turned his arm so she could see the rest. There was so much to see she couldn’t take it all in at once.

Not sure if she hid her inward cringe at his description very well, Jayne asked, “Was the pain worth it? It must’ve been a struggle to sit still through that.”

Seth contemplated her words stoically for a few seconds, but when he looked back into her eyes, she thought she saw the hint of a smile. “Some things in life are worth the struggle.”

Jayne nodded and sat back as his words echoed in her thoughts. She had personal experience with struggles. When the parade drew to a close she stood and folded her chair as the others made preparations to leave.

Grace turned to Jayne and said, “Instead of walking back for your car, do you want to just ride out to the ranch with one of us? We’ll give you a ride back into town whenever you’re ready to go home.”

Jayne hated to be an inconvenience to anyone like that and started to shake her head. “It won’t take but a few minutes. I’m only three blocks away.”

Gaining her immediate attention with a gentle hand on her bare upper arm, Seth said, “Would you like to ride with me, Jayne?”

Just about anywhere you want to take me, handsome.

She looked at where he gestured behind the flatbed trailer to a sparkling, well-maintained motorcycle parked in a row with two others. She recognized the Harley-Davidson emblem on a chrome part and bit her lip.

Grace asked, “Ever ridden on a Harley before, Jayne?”

Jayne stifled a gasp at that question because Grace already knew the answer. Since making the move back to Divine in February after the breakup with her rather staid former fiancé, Jayne had spent a lot of time getting caught up with her cousins. She’d heard about a lot of their escapades, and they knew all about her lack thereof.

“No, I haven’t.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Teresa nodded silently when Joaquin patted his thighs as they reached the back end of the Divine Creek Ranch, near the small waterway it was named for. She could see the heat in his smoldering green eyes and knew he wanted to do more than take a simple horseback ride with her. He’d teasingly suggested on several occasions that they should try this but hadn’t acted on it until today.

As she released one foot from her stirrup, the warm breeze caressed the bare flesh beneath the hem of her sundress. Joaquin caught the reins on her horse, Adoración, and drew Deseo closer so they were juxtaposed alongside each other. She reached out for Joaquin, and he lifted her as though she weighed nothing and placed her in front of him, facing him. The breeze lifted the loose hem of her sundress again, exposing her clear to the tops of her thighs.

Joaquin growled softly, causing her pussy to tremble at the desirous sound. “I’m so glad I asked you to leave the panties in the truck now.” She was too. She’d waited all during lunch, getting hotter and wetter, wondering what their plan was.

At Joaquin’s side, his brother, Angel, the other great love of her life, nodded in agreement as she smiled up at him.

“I feel very naughty.”

Joaquin’s chest vibrated with a chuckle. “You’re going to feel a whole lot naughtier before this little excursion is over. Angel has plans for you too.”

Teresa looked into Angel’s golden-brown eyes. “You do?”

“Yes, beautiful. I want to watch you ride Joaquin’s cock on horseback and then you’ll find out what I’m going to do with you.”

The thought made Teresa squirm in Joaquin’s lap, drawing a happy groan from him. Her gaze locked with his, and she smiled as she unhooked his silver-plated belt buckle and unbuttoned the fly on his Wranglers. “I’m not sure how good a job I’m gonna do of saving the horse while I ride the cowboy.”

“Funny, sugar.” Joaquin helped her, leaning back and drawing the zipper down. “Deseo doesn’t mind, remember?”

How could she ever forget the night Joaquin had proposed while they’d taken a moonlight ride together on Deseo’s back? The bright moonlight had given the landscape an ethereal, dreamlike quality as Joaquin had shared what was in his heart. From that day to this she’d never looked back with regret.

Angel ambled up beside them to watch and help as he scanned the area around them, making sure they were completely alone, before lifting the skirt of her dress out of the way. Teresa’s cunt spasmed with need as her naked flesh was exposed to the open air.

Joaquin parted his fly, revealing his convenient commando state and fisted his thick cock. “Ready to ride, sugar?” His voice was deep with lust.

At her nod, he wrapped his other arm around her back and lifted as she placed her thighs on top of his, braced the balls of her feet on the insteps of his boots in the stirrups, and arched her back. She felt his blunt head at her slippery, wet opening and squirmed against him, causing both Joaquin and his brother to groan.

Angel moved ahead of them, and Teresa surmised he was watching as her pussy took Joaquin’s cock in tiny increments as she moved. She knew Angel enjoyed watching her take them, one at a time or both at the same time. She delighted in providing the show for him and waited as Joaquin held her tightly and slid in by careful degrees, impressing her with his tremendous strength and control.

Deseo shifted beneath them, but Joaquin held him steady and turned him toward a shady stand of trees in the distance. Deseo walked at a slow pace, with Angel leading her horse, Adoración, right beside them. Her heart pounded when Angel reached over and slid his hand between them and caressed her engorged pussy lips and her clit. Joaquin whispered to Deseo and his gait increased to a light canter, which nudged the head of Joaquin’s cock in and out between her lips with a maddeningly erotic motion. A moan came from her, and she laid her forehead against Joaquin’s shoulder as she redoubled her efforts to get more of his cock inside her.

“Teresa, you feel so damned good. I’ve looked forward to this for a long time. Ready to pick up the pace?”

She wanted all of him, and she was ready to start begging as Angel continued teasing her clit. Her cunt ached with a deep need, and she cried out, “Please, yes, Joaquin!” She was already writhing toward climax as he finally released her and she slammed down on his cock, crying out in triumph. Angel pulled his hand back and let his brother have the moment.

Joaquin spoke to the horse, and the strong animal quickened his pace, moving from a canter to a long-legged, smooth gallop that she matched in his arms. The hot wind blew around her naked flesh, and she’d never felt wilder as she rode Joaquin with abandon. A lump clenched in her throat at the sounds of absolute pleasure Joaquin made as he rocked with her, somehow dividing his focus between controlling the speed of the horse as he held her securely and let her move to her heart’s content.

“Faster?”

“Oh, yes!”