Cassie's Hope (Riders Up) by Adriana Kraft Read Free Book Online Page B

gaze off of his.
    He nodded, seating
his entire length in her. “You’re incredibly hot. And this bed seems to work
quite nicely.”
    “Oh, yes.”
     He moved
hesitantly to and fro.
    She wrapped her
legs around his ass. “No need to go slow.”
    Silently he agreed.
Slow would be okay later, but not now. He picked up the pace.
    She matched his
efforts thrust for thrust. She thrashed about under him, resisting and then
embracing another orgasm. She howled into the night.
    Clint swallowed
hard trying to keep pace with the woman beneath him. Her squeals of delight
echoed from some far off place: from the present and the past, from the past
and the future. Spinning out of control, he pumped and pumped. His hips
strained. Cassie’s fingernails dug into his back. His breathing stopped and
then he erupted. His howls echoed hers. He didn’t stop pummeling her until he
was completely drained.
    His brain froze and
then slowly melted, allowing a thought or two. What in the hell had happened? She
was no reluctant lover. She’d overtaken him. Some of his questions were
answered. She did indeed emit fire when making love. He held back a chuckle. And
she made delightful sounds when on fire.
    He shook his head. Be
careful. This one could be habit forming. Don’t get burned.
     
    - o -
     
    Cassie huddled in
the warmth of Clint’s jacket as they neared her motel in the predawn hours. Awareness
of all they’d done on the bed of straw flooded her mind. She still found bits
of straw in her hair. Now what? Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. It’s okay. Great sex
for a week, if I’m lucky, and then back home. It’s okay. Oh my! Oh my!
    He parked the
truck. She grinned shyly at him. “I’d invite you in, but we both need to get
some sleep.”
    Clint nodded,
laughing softly. “To do that, I got to get away from your burning flesh. Damn,
woman, you could devour me if I let you.”
    “I just might,” she
said, leaning over to kiss him.
    Breaking away from
her, he paused, obviously considering his next move. Cassie waited patiently. Although
sated for a week, she would like to see him again.
    “I have to run down
to the ranch and check some things out later today. I’ll try to be back by
Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Maybe we can pick up where we left off
then.”
    Cassie hesitated. That
didn’t sound too promising. If that was the way it was, she could play it cool
too. “Sure, why not?”
     
    All day Monday,
Cassie had expected a call from the man who had helped her soar to such heights
on shedrow. She’d fumed and sputtered about having second thoughts about the
entire trip to Wyoming, especially that tryst in the stall. Her body might still
be humming, but that didn’t soften her total feeling of rejection.
    By late Monday
night she’d made her decision. It was time to go home. Her dad would be upset
with her for returning early and not giving Hope the entire altitude edge, but
she wasn’t about to wait around for some damn cowboy who had left her hanging. He
could’ve asked her to go with him to his ranch. She could’ve gotten someone to
tend Hope for a day or two. But no, the big jerk just dashed off and left her. So
be it.
    Early Tuesday
morning, Cassie had her tack and horse loaded and headed east on highway 80. With
any luck, Chicago and sanity were only two days away.
     
    - o -
     
    Tuesday evening,
Clint stomped up and down shedrow. The damn redhead had left him high and dry. He’d
come rushing back early to hook up with her and have a fun week. He’d planned
on taking her to Salt Lake so he could treat her like the lady she was. Or at
least the lady he’d thought she was.
    Instead, she’d run
out on him.

 
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    “Don’t know why you
had to come back so soon,” Tug groused at Cassie. “But it’s good to see you and
the filly in good health.”
    “I wish you could’ve
seen her,” Cassie said, not bothering to hide her grin. “She was so fluid. Unbelievable.
We haven’t seen anything