Lessons by Erica L

It had been only a few short days since their torrid encounter back at the ranch. He caught her totally unaware. Casey's mouth went dry as she stared at the muscles of his magnificent bare chest, the bronzed muscles and satiny skin glowing with male sweat. She smelled the musky scent of him, and felt the warmth of his body's vitality. Suddenly he seemed so powerful, so rivetingly sexual in the enclosed space of the tack room. Chris Larabee had been out to help Casey with some of the new horses she had bought and was driving her crazy with a flash of new yearnings.

She remembered it like it was yesterday. She placed her trembling fingers on his chest. With a groan, he hauled her close, until her lips were touching the gleaming flesh as well. She shuddered against him, then tasted him, tasted salt and man. Her trembling arms encircled his massive torso.

"You are so beautiful," she whispered achingly. "You have the body of a god."

Feeling overjoyed, even slightly humbled, by this touching evidence of her caring, Chris kissed Casey's hair, then tilted her face up to his. Casey wanted him, and the burning look in his eyes pinned her to the spot, breathless with anticipation. He leaned over, gently kissing away doubts. She sobbed and gave him her lips, this time eagerly.

He crushed her to him and devoured her mouth with demanding lips and ravishing tongue. She clung to him dizzily, as the room seemed to whirl around them and lightning bolts of arousal repeatedly staggered her. Everything about the moment was so intense, the fierceness of her yearnings, the heat of his body, the taste of his sweat.

"I promise I'll take care, love, so I may savor you, too," he whispered into her ear. "I promise you I will explore, and delight in, every delectable inch of you."

Fearing she might demand such a demonstration at once, Casey managed to break free. Appalled at her own lack of restraint, and breathing in gasps, she muttered, "I--I must go get dinner ready now."

"Sure." He watched her walk to the door of the tack room. In mingled fascination and horror, Casey stole a glance at the bulging front of his trousers. She hastily flicked her gaze away and headed out the door.

"Stop it, Casey. Stop thinking of him. He's just gonna cause you pain," She said, chastising herself.

But her thoughts of him just fueled her desire to have him even more. He was reckless and hardly even cared whether he lived or died, and now he was in the street trying to win a bet with his best friend to see who is more childish!

As the two continued to face each other, Chris and Buck continued to dodge shots, Casey watched in deepening terror from across the street. The wind was now billowing through the center of town, thunder pounding and lightening striking and the two lunatics across from her continued to shoot at each other like children, leaping crazily around amidst the dust and rain. Casey was convinced she was going to watch Chris die before her very eyes, and equally certain she would never recover from it. It no longer mattered why she felt this way, her entire world and all her emotions turned topsy-turvy by this man in black. She simply felt it. It was surely her destiny to never be with the man that she was so desperately attracted too. Then she saw Buck take a quick shot, she heard Chris howl an expletive, and watched him stagger back and clutch his arm. Casey raced across the street, trembling so badly that her voice came out an enraged whisper.

"Are both of you totally mad? How dare you shoot away at each other during the middle of a thunderstorm! You should both be locked up in jail!"

Chris dropped his hand, revealing a thin cut on his bicep. "But, Casey, it is only a nick--"

"You can go to hell," she told him, then swung her crashing gaze to Buck. "And that goes double for you!"

Before either man could comment, Casey raced off for the livery. Chris pursued her, and he entered their barn to the heartfelt sounds of her crying.

"Casey, darling, I didn't mean to--"

She turned, beating her fists on his wet chest as she screamed at him, "Go away and leave me alone!"

"Darling, it was only a bet--"

"During a thunderstorm?" she yelled. "You could have been killed--"

"But I wasn't--"

"That is not the point! Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of money--"

"I assure you, my life was never--"

"It was! The wind was howling, the rain pelting, the dust blowing, and yet you two fools were just firing away at each other! You're like a big, tough gunfighter, who must forever prove that no one can beat him--"

Abruptly, Chris grabbed her wrists and hauled her hard against his hot, solid body. She gazed up, defiant, yet captivated. His words were low and hoarse as his burning gaze cut through her like a knife.

"Then beat me, love. Win me. You do it so well."

She should have been furious. She should have throttled him. Yet, pressed against him so provocatively, with his mesmerizing green eyes blazing down into hers, she could think only of how wet he was, how wet she was, and how she ached to ease the hurt and need inside her. As on that magical day back at the ranch, a wall tumbled inside her, but this time a stampede of raw emotion was unleashed. Moaning incoherently, she stretched on tiptoe to kiss him passionately. He responded with a groan of desire, crushing her closer and plundering her mouth with his tongue.

"Don't you know we can avoid this no longer?" he whispered roughly, his lips against her cheek. "You were meant for me, Casey."

"Meant for heartache and ruin at the hands of a gunfighter, you mean." But even as she said the words, she pressed her lips lovingly to the exposed flesh of his upper chest.

"Why heartache, darling?" he teased, his hand cupping her breast and tearing a moan from her. "I'll be gentle with you. You can trust me."

"Trust you and trust Ezra with the crown jewels," came her abject, tremulous response.

With a low, husky chuckle, Chris swept Casey up in his arms and carried her to one of the empty stall, and to a fresh pile of hay. She shivered as he pressed her down beneath him and kissed her hungrily. She tangled her fingers in his, wet hair and whimpered softly.

"You know I'm not going to stop this time, don't you?" he asked raggedly.

He pulled back then, and began purposefully unbuttoning the bodice of her dress. Wobbling in her own raging heartbeat, she stared up at him. Spotting the smoldering intensity in his eyes, she panicked and almost did beg him to stop. But then he was kissing her again, so passionately, and raising her skirts. And then it was too late.

Beneath Chris, Casey trembled with both passion and fear. Somewhere in a far recess of her mind, she knew she was being reckless, but for once she did not care. Being in Chris's strong arms, being totally consumed by desire for him, simply felt too good. For the first time in her life, the proper young lady was thrust aside as the passionate woman emerged. Casey felt powerless to contain the powerful longings flowing through her as Chris's wonderful lips seduced hers and his massive, hard body crushed her soft flesh. Chris, too, was reeling with desire. He gloried in Casey's surrender, in making her his at last. In the back of his mind, his conscience nagged that he was a scoundrel to proceed with this, but for now, he was too caught up in the glory of loving her, awakening her, to his love. He wanted her so desperately, had waited long enough for her. She was like a fire burning in his heart, his spirit, his blood. Emotion shook him as he anticipated all the ecstasies they would share. He ran his lips over the incredible softness of her face. At her low cry, he claimed her mouth, sucking her tongue, her very breath, deeply into him. Her moan stirred even wilder longings; the sweet taste of her left him ravenous for more. He stroked and probed with his tongue while pulling the pins from her hair and sinking his fingers into the thick, velvety mass. He held her to his demanding mouth and ravished her with his tongue until she sobbed in delight. His senses swam with the delicious womanly scent of her. His lips roved down her throat, and his heart gloried to her sharp gasp. He finished unbuttoning the bodice of her dress, pulled down her chemise, and bared her lovely breasts, taking delight in the way the mounds rose and fell so rapidly with her labored breathing. He pressed his ear into the hol-low between her breasts and listened to the crazed rhythm of her heart. That was where he wanted to be inside her, making them one heart, one body. He cupped one of the soft, round globes in his hand, then glanced upward, desire storming him anew as he glimpsed the languid, loving dazed look in her gorgeous brown eyes. The thought of how those lovely eyes would darken, glow, dilate, as he drove into her, igniting his arousal to an unbearable high.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, smiling at her.

"So are you," she whispered back.

He leaned over to take her breast with his mouth. The instant Chris's lips brushed the tight, aching pink bud, Casey went insane. The hot pleasure of his tongue flicking across the sensitive peak was like nothing she had ever felt before, jolting, raw pleasure. She cried out his name, slipped her hands beneath his shirt, and caressed his strong shoulders while breathing in delirious gasps. Her ardent response further fueled his own desires; slowly, he sucked her taut nipple inside his mouth. She made a sound of strangled delight and dug her fingers into his shoul-ders. He glanced again at her beautiful face, at the cheeks flushed with passion and innocent wonder. God help him, she was so sweet, so amazingly heavenly! He wondered what color that bright face would burn when he introduced her to realms of ecstasy she had never known. He leaned over, running his lips over the soft, firm contour of her breast. Tenderness filled his heart as he felt her fingers slide into his hair, holding him tightly to her breast, as if she truly did crave him.

"You do know what to expect, darling?" he murmured as he licked her smooth flesh.

"I--I'm a mature woman," came her breathless response.

"Are you?" With a husky chuckle, he caught her hand and pulled it downward, pinning her fingers to his rock-hard erection.

Her mouth fell open on a gasp. "Well, perhaps not that mature."

Nonetheless, she did not shy away. Chris's mirth soon faded to burning need as Casey explored the swollen shaft with an untrained eagerness that left him heaving huge breaths of tormented arousal. He raised himself to find her staring at him with fascination and desire. She smiled, hooked her arms around his neck, and drew his face down to hers. This time, she possessed His mouth, at first tentatively, running her tongue over his lips, his teeth; then boldly, thrusting inside his mouth, eliciting a fiery response from him that left both of them totally engulfed in pleasure.

He moved with fiery haste, pulling her clothing down her body, following with his burning lips, kissing the hollow of her stomach, undoing the ties of her pantalets, caressing her soft, womanly curls. All the while she panted and stroked his rough face, his satiny hair, and encouraged him with low, careless cries. He was on fire, barely able to contain the urge to join their bodies.

She was sobbing with pleasure by the time he moved upward again to kiss her, gently parting her thighs and exploring with his fingers. His merest touch on her sensitive, aching bud had her writhing against him. By now he craved her so deeply, he felt close to drowning in his own delirious heart-beat. But he continued slowly, arousing her passions until she was slick, ready for him. His fingers trembled as they finally moved to the top of his pants, freeing his throbbing, agonized erection. He pressed his mouth deeply into hers as he teased and parted her further. He pushed against her opening, so delicious, so tight. He probed harder, heard her muffled cry, and drew back to look at her face.

"I--I'm not totally sure this is gonna work," she murmured raggedly. He couldn't contain a chuckle. She appeared so earnest.

"Oh, Casey," he whispered. "Darling, it's too late to back out now. I'm going to fill you until you beg for mercy."

Kissing her again, he pushed harder, and she squirmed. He slid his hands beneath her, sinking his fingers into her soft bottom, holding her to his possession. She whimpered as he thrust into her. She enveloped him like a hot, wet noose, making him burn to bury himself in her. He gritted his teeth and bore down, breaking her virginal barrier. She cried out, and he comforted her with his lips while pressing into her, unable to stop now, groaning in tormented pleasure as the velvety wet vise of her tightened around him. By the time he was fully inside her, she was trembling, gasping, clinging to his muscular shoulders.

"Darling, I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing her mouth, her cheek. "I won't hurt you again, I promise."

Casey stared up at him. In truth, she felt torn apart, bursting with him, yet she had never known such powerful intimacy as she did with him so deep inside her, with his warm, hard body crushing her nakedness. He made her feel wild, wanton, but most of all; he made her feel alive with pleasure as she was throbbing with pain. She stretched upward and hungrily kissed his mouth. Her sweet surrender shook him to the core. He kissed her back tenderly and moved within her gently, unhurriedly, not wanting to hurt her again, holding back as tightly as he could. During the next few moments she gasped and clung to him as the slow, deep massaging of his strokes drove her to new heights of demented arousal. A last she wiggled against him tentatively, and he responded with a flurry of driving thrusts that had her tossing her head and crying out, rubbing her breasts against him. Chris growled, as he lifted her hips, thrusting vigorously, until she whimpered with the intense torment of it and arched to meet him. A soft sob escaped her as he pressed her higher, and an eruption of delight swept through her. Chris groaned deep in his throat, and a ragged whimper escaped Casey, as he pressed home with the force of his climax. He fell on her, breathing frantically, devouring her mouth with ardent kisses. She held him tightly to her heart.

THE END