Ride Rough - Tessa Layne Page 0,38

deliberate, not rash, and agreeing to date Trace would be rash. But maybe rash was exactly what she needed.

"Cecilia." His voice softened in the sweetest way. And it hit her square in the chest. He wanted her. Wanted wanted her.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" she said with a breathy giggle.

His hand came to her neck, massaging at the perpetual knot at the base of her skull. "That depends entirely on what you want." He brushed a featherlight kiss just below her ear.

"What's your endgame?" She pressed a hand to his chest. "Wait, don't answer that. I don't have a right to ask that." Did his hand at her neck have to be so distracting? She wanted to arch into his fingers, receive his touch like a happy kitten purring for more pets.

Trace's eyes crinkled. "I don't have an endgame. I'm here until the Prairie Circuit finals, maybe a little longer."

Oh, so end of October. "That's it? What's next?" She did the mental math. That was about four months. She'd lived with Charlie less than that before he'd decided she was too much for him.

He shrugged. "Don't know. Probably back to California."

Oh. Why did that confession make her heart sink a little? "So you're suggesting we..." hook up "see each other until you leave?" On the surface, that wasn't a bad offer. Hell, she was going to start looking for a journalist job on Monday anyway.

"Do you always negotiate like this before sex?"

"Don't you?"

He scoffed before his mouth landed on hers, rough and insistent. She melted into him, fisting his shirt as their tongues slid together. "No," he said, voice full of grit when they parted. "Let me be clear. Against my better judgment, I like you Cecilia. I don't want anyone else. I'm here for a few more months and I would like to spend that time with you. If you're willing. Object?"

"Against your better judgment?"

He barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "That's what you got from that? Yes. Against my better judgment because you're ornery, demanding, and very high maintenance." He punctuated each of those with kisses that grew hotter by turns. "Arguing turns you on, and you need as many spankings as you need kisses."

Why did that send heat shooting straight to her pussy? Her body heated like an inferno, combusting from the inside out. His mouth landed on hers again, tongue hot and urgent as his fingers threaded through her hair, pulling just enough to draw a moan from her lips.

"And in spite of that, hell, maybe because of that, I like you. I like baiting you, and provoking you, and I sure as fuck like kissing you and anything else you decide we can do."

The heat in his declaration went straight to her soul. The last remnants of caution evaporated as his words sunk in. She tugged on his shirt, drawing him close. "Take me home, Trace."

His eyes lit and he kissed her, hard. "Where's your purse?" he asked roughly.

"Front room."

A moment later, he was back, purse in hand. He took hers with his free hand and pulled her to the back door. "People will see," she protested. "We should leave by the front door."

"Don't care." He squeezed her hand, a silent assurance as he ushered her across the yard and down the drive to where his truck was parked. Without a word he opened the passenger door and lifted her in, shutting the door as soon as she was settled and jogging around the front. He turned and speared her with an intense look. "Okay?"

She nodded mutely as the engine roared to life. Neither of them spoke on the blessedly short drive. The air between them was heavy with expectation, punctuated only by the sound of the blinker and the quiet rumble of the engine as the truck slowed to a stop. Cecilia's nerve endings popped with anticipation. She could practically feel Trace's mouth scraping across her aching nipples, settling on her swollen, throbbing clit.

"Stay there," Trace ordered as he cut the engine and hopped out, briefly pausing at the back of the truck before coming around and opening her door. He held up a hand, which she took, and braced the other on his shoulder as he helped her down.

"What's this?" she asked with a gasp as her gaze fell on the freshly repaired bike to her right.

Trace shrugged, a smile lurking at the corner of his mouth. "I didn't want to return it until it was fixed."

"That's very sweet of you,