Spring at Saddle Run Read online

  “Bullshit. For now, this will be the key.” He lifted his hand. “And maybe this.” He touched his mouth with his fingers. “Because every lock’s got a sweet spot. The key just has to find it.”

  “I have found it.” She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. “Alone. But you heard me say that already.”

  “Yeah, and alone is fine, but it can be a whole lot better with a partner.”

  Millie opened her eyes and glanced at the front of his jeans. “Better for you, too.”

  “Yeah,” he repeated, “but this is a different kind of lock and key thing. An experiment of sorts to show you that getting off can happen with a partner. I’m going to touch you, and you’re going to pretend these and these—” he touched his mouth again and wiggled his fingers “—are this.” He took her hand and put it over his erection.

  The corners of her mouth lifted, and the look she leveled at him could have seduced a eunuch monk. “Why can’t we use the big key?” She gave him a squeeze that caused his eyes to cross.

  He prayed his voice didn’t break. Or his willpower. “Because I don’t have a condom on me and because the experiment is a better option.”

  Simply put, she was going to feel some guilt over this, and it’d be far less if they hadn’t actually had sex.

  Joe cupped her chin and lightly touched his mouth to hers. “I maybe can’t give you tomorrow, but I can sure as hell give you right now.”

  Because simply put, he was going to feel some guilt over this, too. Later, when his body had quit burning for her. But for now, he let the burn take over.

  He flicked the candy aside and kissed her, but this time he didn’t go for her mouth. Joe went after her neck, and he kept kissing, kept moving his mouth until he heard the first click of the lock.

  Millie’s low throaty moan when he kissed the spot just below her ear.

  The moan increased big-time when he let his breath land in that general area. Now that he had some progress, he went in for more. He slid his hand over her breasts. She was wearing a thin sleeveless top the color of a ripe blueberry. Emphasis on thin. Her bra must have been lacking thickness, too, because he had no trouble finding her nipple and giving it a gentle pinch.

  Another notch up the moan ladder.

  So, he touched, fondled and then lowered his head to kiss her through her top. It took some maneuvering, and Joe thought he might have bruised his kidney when he banged it on the gearshift, but Millie’s moan was worth it. He kept that up until he was on the brink of driving them both stark raving mad.

  Then, he shoved up her top, pushed down the cups of her bra and put his mouth key to good use.

  Millie responded.

  She called him a bad name that had his blood churning and his erection hardening even more. But Joe ignored his own pain and discomfort and continued to kiss and do dirty things with his tongue. She arched her body as much as she could, twisting and turning until she had her back against her door.

  Joe did his own twisting and turning, and with his mouth and tongue still playing with her breasts, he slid up that slim skirt of hers. Inch by inch. Up her thighs and all the way to her waist.

  Outside, the storm had whipped up into a frenzy. Rain, wind, lightning. Inside, there was a frenzy, too, because Millie’s moans had turned to sounds of urgent yearning. With some curse words mixed in. The woman did like to talk dirty.

  Joe talked dirty right back to her. It seemed to go well with the kisses he was giving her nipples and his exploring fingers that skimmed up the same path her skirt had recently taken. From knees, to thighs.

  He made it to the top of her panties. Not lace but there was plenty of “kick in the gut” sexy about the plain white panties that were cut low on her hips. He slid his hand into her panties. Then, lower, he slid his fingers into her.

  Mercy, she was soft and hot and wet in exactly the right place.

  Joe decided to keep his mouth on her breasts, for now, anyway, but if he needed any help with her lock, he could double team her with some touching and some exploring kisses. For now though, he touched. Moving his fingers through all that slick heat.

  Sliding, touching. In and out. He listened for her subtle cues. The hitch of her breath. The murmured profanity. The lift of her hips to deepen his strokes inside her. Other cues weren’t so subtle when she caught on to his hair and pulled his face against her body. Not that she had to pull far. Joe was right there.

  Trailing his tongue from her breast to where his hand was working her, he kept up the strokes but added a flick of his tongue. And yeah, he heard the click.

  Heard Millie’s gasp of pleasure.

  As that lock of hers opened right up for him.

  * * *

  MILLIE JUST LEANED there against her car door. Spent but with an amazing buzz that was flickering like little gold sparks all over her body. She didn’t even try to speak, because the “spent” extended to her mouth, but she did manage to slip her hand around the back of Joe’s neck.

  His shirt and hair were wet from the rain, making him look hot and rumpled. As if he’d just finished up shower sex. He dropped his head against her chest, silent except for his heavy breathing, but she suspected he didn’t have buzzing, flickering gold sparks going on. He was probably throbbing and not in a good way since he hadn’t gotten the extremely pleasurable release he’d given her.

  That reminder jolted her into doing something about it. Millie slid her hand in the direction of that huge bulge in his jeans. Joe stopped her though, and worse, he moved away from her.

  Crap.

  He was already feeling guilty, which was yet another reason for her to attempt a hand job. Or maybe one of the dual key deals that he’d used on her. She definitely didn’t mind kissing him in places other than his mouth. In fact, it was something she very much wanted to do and she could add it to her bucket list. In fact, she could add more orgasms with Joe, too.

  “Lock,” she said, pointing to his erection. “Keys.” She lifted her hand, wiggled her fingers and blew air at him.

  He smiled. Groaned. And shook his head. “Tempting. Very tempting,” he rasped, “but we need to take this slow.”

  Millie couldn’t think of a single reason why, but then, she was fueled by that amazing orgasm and an urgent desire to get her hand in his boxers. Or briefs.

  “I can do slow,” she assured him. “I don’t think this rain is going to stop anytime soon so we’ll be here for a while.”

  Millie had no intentions of mentioning the half dozen or so umbrellas tucked under the seats and in the glove compartment. She also wouldn’t mention that Joe had braved the rain to get into the car with her and could brave the rain to go back to his truck. She didn’t want him to leave and wanted to hang on to this at least a little while longer.

  “Maybe I can’t give you tomorrow, but I sure as heck can give you right now,” she said, paraphrasing what he’d told her minutes earlier.

  He stared at her, studying her face, then laughing when she blew air at him again. “Very tempting,” he repeated. “But since we’re at the drive-in, why don’t we watch a movie until the rain passes.”

  She frowned. “A movie?”

  Joe made a sound of agreement. “A different kind of lock and key game.” He reached out and started drawing something on the condensation on the windshield. “It’s one of my favorite movies,” he added, and he proceeded to draw a fish.

  No, not a fish, she amended, when he added a dorsal fin. “A shark.”

  Another sound of agreement from him, and he added a little stick figure in front of the shark. A stick figure with boobs.

  “Jaws,” she blurted out.

  He flashed her a smile. “Yep, and I saw it for the first time right here at this drive-in. It was a retro night special. Now you draw your favorite movie.”

  Millie had a ton of favorites, but the first that came to mind was Br
idesmaids so she started drawing women on the windshield. It didn’t take her long to realize she sucked at this so she went with another favorite and attempted a T. rex. Apparently, she sucked at that, too, because Joe just stared at her attempts and didn’t venture any guesses.

  “Bridesmaids,” she finally said, pointing to the group of women. Then, she pointed to the dinosaur. “Jurassic Park.”

  “That’s a pretty wide range of favorites.” He settled back against the seat. “So, other than Jolly Ranchers, what are you eating while we watch your T. rex duke it out with my shark as our stick people stand by and watch in horror? I’m going for popcorn, extra butter, and a root beer.”

  “Lock and key,” she muttered, smiling now. “This is a sort of ‘getting to know you’ deal.” And while she preferred to be fooling around with Joe in a carnal sense, this could be fun, too. “One of those big salty pretzels with mustard and a Coke. Do you wear boxers or briefs?” she asked. Because that was definitely something she wanted to know.

  “Boxers,” he readily supplied. “You knew my middle name,” he tacked on to that. “I heard you say it to your mother.”

  She nodded. “I saw in some of the research.” Millie nearly cringed when she heard those words leave her mouth, and it would probably spoil this amazing sex buzz that was still humming between them. “You’re named for the old Western actor Gary Cooper?” she quickly added.

  “The singer, Alice Cooper,” he said with a smile that told her the buzzing and humming was still there. “First place you had sex?” he continued.

  “A bed. I know, it’s so Millie Vanilla of me. You?”

  He hiked his thumb to the back seat. “A car. A Taurus to be specific. Not a comfortable, or particularly long, experience.”

  Millie laughed. “How old were you?”

  “Fifteen. How about you? How old and where?”

  She wrinkled up her nose, wincing before she even answered. “In a River Walk hotel in San Antonio on my twenty-first birthday.” Which, of course, told him loads. She’d been with Royce then so he’d been her first along with her one and only.

  Until now, that is.

  While Joe and she hadn’t actually had sex, Millie was going to count him as her second. A far better experience than her first, too. She was pretty sure her smile made him aware of that.

  Millie stayed frozen, their gazes locked. The heat still sizzling. “You did give me an amazing moment,” she murmured and would have reached for him, but her phone rang.

  She took her cell from her purse. “Tanner,” she said, looking at the screen.

  “Answer it,” Joe encouraged. “He’s probably concerned about you.”

  True. After all, she’d run out of his shop humiliated and in tears. The moment she hit the answer button, Tanner’s voice raced out.

  “God, Millie, I’m so sorry. I should have told you Joe was there, and I had no idea you were going to say what you did.”

  “That makes two of us on the last part,” she said. She hadn’t gone there to bare her soul and make the “no orgasm with Royce” confession. Heck, she’d confessed to solo orgasms, as well.

  “I’m so sorry,” Tanner repeated. “Joe went looking for you. Not sure if he found you or not, but he was worried about you. Hell, I’m worried about you. Millie, are you all right?”

  Her smile returned. “I’m okay.” And for the first time in two years, Millie thought that just might be true.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “I BROUGHT OVER two locks for you to choose from,” Jimbo Bodine said to Millie.

  Millie tried very hard not to laugh. Or blush. Jimbo was the town’s best locksmith, and he was doing her a favor by coming in after hours to change the locks on the shop’s doors, and it would only confuse the man if she broke into a giggling fit over his comment.

  But, sweet heaven, it was hard not to do just that.

  She thought she might never look at another lock and key again without thinking of Joe and his incredible mouth and hands. In fact, she might not make it a full minute without thinking of Joe, period. The man certainly had a way of making a lasting impression. Her body agreed, and it was begging her to have another round of lock and key experiments with him.

  Jimbo cleared his throat as if to get her attention. Which had definitely strayed. And he held out one of his offerings, still encased in its plastic case.

  “This one here is a jimmy-proof double dead bolt similar to what you got now. If you want something more secure, and pricier,” he added, showing her the second one. It was in a box. “It’s got a security cam and keyless entry. Last Ride might not be a hotbed of crime, but you can’t be too careful.”

  Wise words, but Millie wasn’t worried about thieves. She was more concerned with keeping Laurie Jean and her lover from sneaking into the place. Since her mother wouldn’t even discuss the subject with her, or acknowledge that there was a lover, Millie was going to remove the temptation of giving Laurie Jean a convenient place to diddle around.

  “Even if you go with something like you already got,” Jimbo went on, “you should probably consider having me put a peephole in the back door. There are plenty of windows out front so you could see who might be out there, but there aren’t any windows by the back door.”

  He was right so Millie nodded. “Definitely go with the peephole.”

  Jimbo grunted his approval and held up both locks again. “So basic dead bolt lock or the fancier one?”

  Because her mind was in the gutter with Joe and his magic mouth and hands, Millie thought of sex. And she quickly pushed it aside when she heard the bell jingle over the front door. The shop was closed, but she hadn’t changed the open sign.

  “Let’s go with the first one with the peephole addition,” Millie muttered, turning to see who’d just come in.

  Frankie.

  She glanced around the shop until she spotted Millie. “Got a minute?” Frankie asked.

  Even if Millie hadn’t seen the woman’s dour expression, she would have heard it in her tone. Frankie definitely wasn’t daydreaming about sex, or if she was, it certainly wasn’t “magic mouth and hands” stuff.

  “Of course,” Millie told her. “You want some coffee or something to drink?” she added.

  “No, thanks.” Frankie headed toward Millie as Jimbo mumbled something about getting started on the lock installation.

  Since it was obvious that Frankie had something on her mind, Millie motioned for her to follow her into the office. She got herself a Coke and lifted a second one to offer it to Frankie. She took it, but instead of opening it, she ran her fingers up and down the cold can.

  Oh, yes, she definitely had something on her mind. Millie just propped a hip on her desk. “Where’s Little T?” she asked.

  “It’s his night with Tanner.” Frankie paused, stared at the Coke can as if it were worthy of a long stare. “So, how’s the research going for the Last Ride Society?”

  “Good.” Millie wasn’t sure if this was small talk or the reason for Frankie’s visit, but she decided to go ahead and elaborate in the hopes that it would get Frankie to open up. “Dara keeps emailing me stories, and I’ve gotten some pictures off Ella’s old social media pages.”

  Some of the color drained from Frankie’s face. “Not any pictures of Royce and her?”

  “No, not even a mention of him,” Millie quickly assured her.

  That would have been a serious jolt, but there had been some shots of Ella and Joe that’d given her a jolt of a different kind. Because they’d looked happy and very much in love. Of course, most people didn’t post unhappy and “out of love” pictures of themselves.

  “There was nothing on her social media about her paintings,” Millie went on. “Did she ever say anything about her art to you?”

  Frankie lifted her shoulder and finally popped the top on the Coke. “I knew she painted, and she�
��d mention it sometimes in a general sort of way. I think she was nervous though about showing her paintings to anyone. Maybe because she didn’t think they were good enough?”

  “They were good enough,” Millie assured her. Very good, in fact, but Millie dealt with enough artists to understand that some were insecure and afraid of criticism. Maybe Ella had been.

  “And what about the bucket list?” Frankie asked several moments later. “Any progress on it?”

  Loads, but Millie wasn’t going to bring up her fooling around with Joe, which had certainly been progress. The fact that the fooling around had happened at the drive-in, one of the places she’d intended to visit meant it was a double bang on the bucket list.

  “Thanks to Dara, I’ve learned how to ride a horse.” Millie paused, sighed. “Frankie, what’s wrong?” she came out and asked. “Are you here because Laurie Jean accused you of blackmailing her?”

  Frankie blinked, not in a shocked kind of way but as if she’d forgotten about it. So, that likely wasn’t the reason for her visit.

  “Over the years, Laurie Jean has accused me of a lot of things,” Frankie said. “I do the ‘water off a duck’s back’ thing when it comes to her.”

  Maybe, but Millie couldn’t help but notice that Frankie hadn’t denied the blackmail. Which only added to the puzzle of this particular mess. Aunt Freida was dodging her calls, and Laurie Jean had clammed up. Millie had zero intentions of going to her father about this so she was just going to have to put it aside until it blew up in their faces.

  Something that Millie was certain was going to happen.

  “I slept with Tanner.” The confession just gushed right out of Frankie.

  Now Millie blinked, and it was definitely from shock. “Recently?” she asked.

  Frankie made a so-so wave of her hand. “Recent-ish. About six weeks ago, right before he started seeing Skylar.”

  All right, that explained Frankie’s bristling toward the other woman, and Millie felt some bristling toward her brother. For Pete’s sake, had Tanner gone from Frankie’s bed straight to Skylar’s?