Rough, Raw, and Ready (Rough Riders #5)(68)

Her body coiled with eagerness, yet was loose limbed with pleasure. When she realized she’d been wallowing in sexual gratification and not reciprocating, she slid her hands from his wide shoulders, across his collarbones and stopped at the hollow of his throat.

Chassie unbuttoned his shirt, seeking contact with his skin. She loved touching every ridge of his pectorals as her fingers sought the tight male nipples hidden in the hair on his chest.

Edgard groaned. “Pinch them harder.”


As she alternated pinching and rasping her thumbs over the hardened nubs, she playfully used her teeth on the strong line of his jaw. That bristly section of his beard scraped her lips and tongue. The valley between his ear and his jawbone seemed to be the source for his intoxicating male scent. She rubbed her mouth, her cheek, her nose in that secret spot, steeping her senses in him, in Edgard, this man who’d gone from her friend to her rival to her lover.

“Arch your neck so I can taste you,” he murmured.

His mouth connected unerringly with sensitive spots to send her flesh tingling and her head buzzing. She moaned with complete abandon.

His focus on every nuance of her pleasure was absolute. Wasn’t long before her climax swirled through her, not in a sudden burst, but drawn-out twinges that sated her body and filled her soul with an impression of rightness.

Edgard’s rhythm accelerated. He plunged deep and his cock jerked, bathing her clenching channel with heat she felt through the latex.

When he whispered, “Chassie,” in her hair, her world tilted, her emotions shifted, becoming clearer. She cared about him, not because of Trevor, but because he brought something different to her, something just for her. Edgard was as much a part of Trevor as she was and Edgard was rapidly becoming part of her too.

Chassie let the silence linger while they each caught their breath, leery of ruining the moment.

Edgard sighed and nuzzled her cheek. “You okay?”


“I’m great. You?”


“Pretty stunned, actually.”


“Stunned that you enjoyed it?”


“No. How many times do I have to tell you I’ve loved every second of touching you and being with you?”


“But I’m a woman. Isn’t that like against the gay guys’ creed?”


He squeezed her ass. “Dammit, that reminds me, I forgot to check the gay man’s handbook. And nailing a real chick—not a man in drag—against the wall, probably will get me permanently kicked out of the club. Then again, a smart cookie like you knows I wouldn’t have considered f*cking you at all if it hadn’t been for our separate relationships with Trevor.”


“Yet, this isn’t the first time we’ve done this, Ed.”


“It is the first time we’ve made love alone without Trevor.”


“True. Is that why it is so stunning?”


“No. I’m stunned by the way you make me feel, Chass.” He pressed his mouth to hers. “Worthy.” A soft brush of his lips. “Safe.” Another kiss. “That I have value to you beyond what we both feel for Trevor.”


Oh God. Don’t cry.

Her head thunked back and tears trickled down.

“No, querida, don’t. Please.” Edgard kissed away her tears, murmuring Portuguese sweet-nothings until her cheeks were dry.

“Why are you so goddamned gentlemanly and sweet to me all the time?” Chassie asked half-gruffly, secretly basking in the tender way he soothed her.

Edgard leaned back to gaze in her eyes. “Because you let me. Because I can be softer with you and you don’t think any less of me, don’t consider me less of a man. You bring out a side in me I’d nearly forgotten and your acceptance of it is one of my favorite things about you.”


“I’m glad something is appealing, since I don’t have the appendage you prefer.”


He smiled gently. “Joke all you want. But I understand now, maybe more than I ever did, Trevor’s confusion when he started having feelings for me. I have those same confusing moments with you, Chass. You’re not my type, yet I realize for the first time that you really don’t fall for a person’s gender or appendage so much as you fall for the person. And I’ll be damned if I’m not falling for you, Chassie West Glanzer.”


In that instant everything between them changed.

“I love him,” Chassie said softly.

“I know. I love him too.”


“What do we do if he really wants to make a go of it with his family?”


“I don’t have any idea.”


Silence descended as they stared at each other helplessly.

Edgard withdrew and set her back on her feet. He kept his back to her as he pulled on his jeans and buttoned his shirt. “What are your plans for the rest of the night?”


“Nothin’.” She snatched her jeans but didn’t bother putting them on. “Pretend I’m not worryin’ about Trevor walkin’ away from both of us for a bigger piece of goddamn dirt. Pretend I’m not worryin’ about what my McKay relatives are dealin’ with.” Pretend you didn’t just turn me inside out.

“Maybe you oughta hit the hay early since it’s been a rough day. How’s your head?”