Strong legs, and a thatch of dark hair centering his cock. She leaned forward on all fours and reached out, circling his c**k with her hand. Diaz inhaled, the sound sharp and guttural, almost like a curse. She tilted her head back to meet his gaze. He looked angry, his eyes dark.

“Let me,” she said.

“That’s not what this is about.”

“Let me anyway. I want to explore you.”

“Christ, Jessie.”

She took that as a yes and left her hand on his cock, maneuvering around to a sitting position and letting her legs dangle on the bed. Diaz moved closer, his knees bumping the mattress. He widened his stance, giving her free access to all his treasures.

God, he really was a treasure, especially here where he was so masculine. He felt all man, and smelled it, too. Like the outdoors, so crisp and musky and utterly primal. She breathed him in as she began to stroke his length with gentle movements, exploring what she had in her hand, mesmerized by the feel of soft skin surrounding a steely hard piece of flesh. Her pu**y quivered as if by instinct, knowing the pleasure his c**k could awaken in her.

Her virginity had long ago been technically disposed of by the vibrators she played with. But those were lifeless toys—without emotion, cold and impassionate. Diaz’s c**k was hot, thick, pulsing with a life beat. Responsive, too—it jerked in her hand as she grazed her thumb over the wide crest, spilling drops of pearly liquid in its wake. She captured those fluids against her thumb, brought them to her mouth, and licked, surprised at the tangy flavor. She stroked, bringing him closer, and licked the soft tip.

“Jessie.”

Her name rolled off his tongue as a strangled whisper. She liked hearing that, so she licked him again, tasted more of his salty flavor, felt his c**k jerking in response. He reached out to tangle his fingers in her hair, gripping a handful of it as he rocked against her tongue. She closed her lips around his hard flesh and brought him deeper into her mouth.

“That’s it, babe, suck me.”

Who knew sucking a man’s c**k could be such a turn-on? She’d seen movies, thought this was done only for the man’s pleasure. She had no idea she could get so excited having Diaz at her mercy like this. But the more pleasure she gave him, the more it aroused her. And she seemed to be doing it right, since he gripped her hair hard and began pumping his c**k between her lips, gently at first, then harder as she increased suction. She reached up and cradled his balls in one hand, gently massaging them, and he shuddered.

“You keep that up and I’m going to come in your mouth.” His voice was harsh, and as he said the words he thrust his c**k deep into her throat. God, it was so exciting, feeling him lose control like this. She realized that’s exactly what she wanted. To make him come, to feel him shatter.

Instead, he pulled his c**k away from her lips, pressed her down on the bed, and covered her mouth with a deep kiss, penetrating with his tongue, licking and sucking hers. She wanted to protest that he hadn’t finished, he hadn’t come. But he’d pushed on top of her and to feel him na**d against her like this was almost more than heaven, so her protest died on a shuddering moan. She’d wanted this for so long, and now it was happening. His cock, still wet from her mouth, rode along her clit, sending lightning shots of pleasure along her nerve endings. She lifted, needing more, wanting that sensation to continue, to drive her right over the edge.

But Diaz shifted, grasping her wrists and lifting them over her head, holding them there with one hand while he grazed her cheek, neck, and collarbone with the other. Was his mere touch on her skin supposed to drive her this crazy? He rested his fingertips along her jaw, using his thumb to caress her bottom lip. He looked down at her, his eyes so dark, hot, intense.

“You are so beautiful,” he said. “And your mouth . . . damn, Jessie, you have an amazing mouth.”

She smiled up at him, glad that she’d pleased him. “I wanted you to come in my mouth.”

He slid his thumb just inside her lips, letting her lick and suck it. Her womb clenched, recalling the sensation of sucking his cock, of how it made him feel. She wanted that in her mouth again, to give him that kind of pleasure so she could be that turned on.

His gaze darkened. “You’re killing me. I want that, too. But first, you’re going to come.”

She liked that idea, too. She felt strung out, needy, her body tense and on fire. She wanted a lot of things and she wanted them all right now. Was sex always like this, the running toward the finish line yet wanting it to last forever kind of thing? She needed, wanted so much, and yet she yearned for it to last forever.

All thought fled when Diaz hovered over her breast with his hand. Then, a light caress, teasing her nipple with the barest touch. She jerked, lifted in an attempt to drive her upright nipple against his calloused palm. He lowered his hand, circled his palm over her nipple in gentle motions. The sensation shot south, making her clasp her legs together in an attempt to create friction. She wanted her hands free so she could rub her own clit.

“No, babe. You wanted me to do it, so I’m in charge now.”

She wasn’t sure that was a good thing, since Diaz seemed determined to do things slow, and she was ready to come, to experience that explosive magic right now. Instead, he eased down her body and captured her tortured nipple between his teeth, then licked it, sucked it, nibbled some more until she went mad from the pleasure. He took her other breast in his hand, fit the nipple between two fingers and rolled it. She had no idea her ni**les were so sensitive. She played with them a little bit by herself while she was masturbating, but hadn’t lavished attention on them the way Diaz did now. And oh, were her ni**les ever connected to her clit. Then again, maybe it was just Diaz’s hands, his mouth, the way he did it. Every place he touched her seemed connected to her pussy, because she quivered and quaked there at his every kiss and caress.

But he wasn’t content to stop at her breasts. He released her wrists, at last, but only because he snaked lower, kissing his way down her ribs, her belly, lingering at the piercing at her navel, flicking it with his tongue, dipping into her belly button until she giggled. And then he moved even farther down, spreading her legs apart to situate himself between them and draw them over his arms.

He was so dark, his head between her thighs, his hair brushing her skin. She tensed, waiting, barely able to breathe as his mouth moved toward her skin. He kissed and licked her inner thigh.

“You smell good, Jess.”

She blushed, her skin went hot, knowing what was going to happen, anticipating it, wanting it, this first she’d never had before. At the warm, wet touch of his lips to her sex, she trembled, shifted the pillow under her head so she could watch his mouth cover her clit, shuddering when his tongue made contact with the piercing. He flicked the silver ring, licked around it, played with it, then laid his tongue over her cl*tand took her so close to the edge she gripped the sheets in a tight knot. But he pulled back, letting his tongue glide along her pu**y lips, down, then back up again, avoiding her clit, then right on it again, taking her close and moving back, seeming to know how far to take her without letting her fly.

The man was maddening, and each time the sensations grew more and more intense, building her pleasure to a fevered pitch. Soon she was raising her butt off the bed, driving her pu**y into his face. He held on to her and pushed her back down, but she was mindless now, didn’t care, wanted only the orgasm he could bring her.

“Diaz, please.”

She felt his fingers probing near her pussy, and oh was he going to?

He did, sliding one inside her as he continued to lick along the folds. Then two fingers, stretching her, pumping them in and out as he licked and sucked her clit, his mouth and tongue hot and wet, the dual sensations overwhelming. It was all she could take. She went off like the space shuttle in a burst of light and flames.

“I’m coming, Diaz, I’m coming!” she cried as she lifted off the bed, shuddering through one of the wildest orgasms she’d ever felt. He held on to her, his fingers continuing to f**k her with relentless strokes until she felt the contractions subside. He withdrew, kissed the top of her sex and made his way up her body, taking her mouth, letting her taste her own pu**y juice on his lips. She licked at his mouth, sucking his tongue inside. He rolled her over on top of him and she kissed him deeply, pouring out her feelings with her mouth, cradling his face between her palms and then pushing up to stare down at him.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome. And thank you. I enjoyed it, too.”

She smiled down at him, then slid her now soaking wet pu**y along the length of his cock. It would be so easy to f**k him right now, to ease it inside her and ride him. She quivered at the thought.

“No, Jess.”

She frowned. “Why the hell not?”

He grasped her hips, lifted, and the sensation was incredible. “Because you need a relationship, a boyfriend. Not a f**k buddy.”

“I want to f**k you.” The thought of having him inside her gave her goose bumps.

He bucked her off of him and rolled them both to the side so they were facing each other. “No, you don’t. You want someone who’ll be there for you, all the time. You want the tenderness, the companionship, all the emotional stuff that goes with a relationship. That’s not me.”

“You’re always around when I need you, just like the other guys.”

“And that’s exactly what I’m talking about, Jess. Me, the other guys.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “We shouldn’t even have done this much. This is wrong.” He pushed up and sat on the edge of the bed.

Diaz had some seriously misguided notions about her, about the two of them, about the Wild Riders and where she fit in the scheme of their relationships. She really needed to set him straight.

She slid to the end of the bed with him, took his hand in hers. So big, it nearly dwarfed her small hand. She laced her fingers with his.

“Your problem is that you’ve known me since I was a kid, since Grange and all of you sort of ‘adopted’ me. So you’ve all thought of me as some little sister or something for all these years.”

He turned his head and looked at her. “Yes. That’s it exactly.”

“That was fine back then. It isn’t now. Well it is and it isn’t. I think of all the guys as family, and Grange, too. He was the father I never had. He’s been good to me. The guys have all been brothers. I came into the Wild Riders at a time in my life when I needed family more than I needed anything.”

“See? That’s what makes this wrong.”

She shook her head. “No, let me finish. It was wonderful then, but I’m not a child anymore, and I haven’t been for a long time. I grew up, and when I did I started noticing men. Or rather, a man. You, specifically.”

He arched a brow. “Me? Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Call it chemistry or whatever you want, but I suddenly saw you as someone other than ‘family.’ The other guys? Yeah, they’re like brothers to me. Funny, silly, they can grab me and hug me and I feel nothing at all but warmth and connection and the feeling of belonging. You? You were different. I look at you and I feel something that’s very unlike family. When I look at you I tingle inside, my toes curl, and I get hot. You’re a sexy, desirable man that I’ve wanted for many years. I’ve just been waiting for you to wake up and notice me as a woman.”

His eyes widened. “Honey, I’ve noticed you were a woman for several years now. And that’s been a huge problem for me.”

“Really?” The thought pleased her.

“Quit smiling. I said it was a problem.”

“Oh. Sorry. But really, it’s not a problem.” Why was he making this so difficult?

He heaved a sigh. “Yeah, it is. I’m not going to do this, Jess. We’re not going to be a couple. I’m not going to f**k you and ruin your life.”

She rolled her eyes. “You ha**g s*x with me isn’t going to ruin my life, Diaz. I have no expectations that it’ll be followed by a marriage proposal. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “But I can’t, knowing I’d have taken something from you that you should give to someone special.”

She laid her palm across his cheek. “I think you are special.”

“You’re making this very hard for me.”

She reached between them, circling his semihard cock. “Not very hard, but I’ll bet I could get it that way.”

He laughed. “Damn, Jessie. I’m trying to be serious here.”

“Me too. I’m damn serious about getting your c**k in my mouth again. So don’t stop me.”

Before he could say anything, she shimmied down his body. This was her chance to explore, and she prayed he wouldn’t stop her this time. Not when she had the opportunity to feel and kiss the hard planes of his chest and stomach, which rippled when she pressed light kisses against it and palmed it with both hands. With a gentle push she rolled him onto his back and she climbed onto his thighs, raking her fingernails down his sides to test his tickle response.

Nothing. The man was a rock. A solid tree trunk of muscle and iron will. It was her duty to break his will, to make him sweat, to test his limits and make him crumble.

She was going to enjoy this. How could she not, having free rein to discover Diaz’s body? He wasn’t moving, just watching her with a guarded expression. She loved his eyes—dark, fathomless, she could drown in them. But not now. Now she was going on an expedition of skin. She leaned forward and kissed his shoulder, then sank her teeth into it, nibbling with the tiniest of bites. She felt the gooseflesh rise on his skin, but he didn’t shiver. She moved across to his chest, doing to him what he’d done to her—waving her palms over his flat nipples, circling them until they hardened like pebbles under her touch.