Jake spent the next two days pondering his next move and suffering his lust. If his incomprehensible desire for Ryan was strong before, it was a nearly uncontrollable blaze now. His dreams featured her naked, wanting, that luscious body that the drying sheet had only hinted at on display for his eyes, hands and mouth. He woke up in trembling sweats the first night, a raging hard on tenting his covers. He'd lost count of the times he'd had to take himself in hand.

Finally, the day had arrived when he'd asked Ryan to report back to work. He could barely keep his mind on his work, much less the figures and tables a ranch owner needs to tabulate in order to run a smooth operation. Throwing the pencil down on the record book in disgust, he pushed his chair back and prowled his office. Where the hell was she?

He paused at the window and watched his foreman lead Midnight to the smaller horse pen, where Nocturna pranced in her Andalusian way. They were being formally introduced today. Jake wanted to be there for his buddy, but his body overrode every sane decision he should be making. As he watched the horses approach each other, Jake noticed the second Midnight caught the filly's scent. He seemed to preen for her, his walk just a little more precise, his neck arched just so. It made Jake chuckle to see Nocturna turn her head in rebuff. 'Not gonna be that easy, buddy,' thought Jake.

The horses had drawn his attention momentarily, so that the knock on the door was answered with a careless, “Come in.” He turned to greet the visitor, but his words died in his mouth.

Ryan walked in, dressed as ever in men's work clothes, leather work gloves held tightly in one hand, hat set snugly on her head. Her chin was up, the light in her eyes one of challenge. Jake felt his gut clench and his loins scream with want. His pants got tighter with every second that she stood stoically in his presence. He cleared his throat and motioned to a visitor's chair across his desk.

“Why don't we sit,” he said, moving to his own chair behind the desk.

Jake paused when Ryan shook her head slightly and said, “I'd rather stand, thanks all the same.”

Nodding, Jake compromised by moving around to the front of the desk and leaning back against it. In seconds, he realized this was a bad position for him. His traitorous cock was standing at nearly full attention, held in check by his cotton johns and the rough material of his pants. He made up for the blunder by crossing his ankles and leaning his hands as if carelessly against the desk. Then he just stared. He watched Ryan's cheeks grow red, her feet shuffling restlessly. Finally, she huffed out a breath and frowned at him.

“What?” she said with irritation.

Jake wanted to smile, but he knew it would only makes matters worse. He also wanted to see her whole face in the full light of day.

He said, “Take off your hat.”

With clear reluctance, Ryan reached up and took off the hat, her other hand coming up automatically to ruffle and settle her hair. It was a self-conscious motion that Jake found endearing. With her hat off, and in clear light, Ryan was a knock out. Jake understood why she tended to keep her head down while working, why she almost always wore the hat. Anyone who saw her without it would have no doubt she wasn't a man, and then she'd have real trouble.

Jake perused the lovely arch of her brows, the high cheekbones, the pale skin with a trace of freckles, the full lips currently pressed in a thin, aggravated line. He could imagine what she would look like with her hair long, how the russet tresses would enhance her beauty. The vision pulled at his lust, the chained beast beating against the bars of his self control.

“Why do you do this, Ryan?” asked Jake.

Impossibly, her chin rose another degree. “Because I'm good at it,” she said, a trace of pride in her voice. “My daddy taught me to rustle. My momma died from consumption when we were young, so he raised us best way he knew how. Lettie didn't pick it up the way I did. She always just wanted to watch. But I love it. He was killed in an Indian raid three years ago. I had to take care of Lettie, and this was the only way I knew how. I wasn't gonna whore, and I wasn't about to let Lettie whore. So here I am.”

Jake listened to her talk, the hypnotic tone of her voice as always stroking his beast. After another moment of staring, Ryan spoke again.

“So?”

Jake quirked an eyebrow. “So what?”

Ryan spoke slowly, “So can I keep workin' here or do I have to find a new job?”

Jake gripped the desk, then stood from his leaning position. He walked slowly towards Ryan, watching her body tense and her eyes cloud with uncertainty as he approached. He read caution, but not a clear indication that he stop. He walked until he was barely a foot away, the top of her head reaching no higher than his forehead. Her eyes remained on his, the connection feeling like a physical tether.

He said, “Yes, you can keep working here. But,” Jake paused, bringing his hand up and running a gentle finger over her cheek. Soft, so soft. Her eyes widened slightly and her mouth parted in a soft intake of breath. Jake wanted to crush those lips, to taste her like he had only two days ago. It seemed like an eternity to him now.

“But,” he continued, “what if I want more?”

Ryan's lips trembled as his finger traced lightly over the lower lip. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply and said, “Jake. Please.”

If she had said “don't”, he would have dropped his hand and stepped back. Instead, he palmed the nape of her neck and drew her lips to his in a searing kiss. Sweet Jesus. She was so delectable. Jake feasted on her willing lips as the blood roared in his ears, his other hand coming to pull her against him. The soft, nearly imperceptible mewl from Ryan only heated him further, and he pressed her back against the closed office door with reckless desperation.

A dull thud registered right before he felt her strong hands dive into his hair. He groaned into her open mouth, his tongue taking, owning. The wet sounds of tongue kisses filled the office as he felt Ryan grip his hair and pull him more surely to her lips. Her body was a live wire, arching and pressing against him in deliciously naughty ways. Jake wanted to tear her clothes off, to fill his hands with her creamy flesh, to bury his aching cock into her wet heat.

He broke the kiss, tipping her head back to lick and kiss his way down her throat. Ryan gasped and keened in unrestrained pleasure as Jake's teeth scored along her skin. She pulled his head back, leaned her forehead to his and held him there as she breathed hard. Jake could sense the struggle in her, tried to give her the time to assimilate.

Ryan panted, a hard edge in her voice as she said, “Jake, I won't be your whore.” Her hands gripped his hair, her lips reaching out to rub lightly on his. “What do you want from me?”

Her words had shaken him, but Jake had lost the battle of wills, letting his lips trail over her cheek, to the delicate shell of her ear. Ryan moaned and turned her head for him, trembling in his arms as he tasted her lobe with his tongue.

“Hell, woman. You've been in my head for weeks,” he whispered harshly into her ear. “I thought I was going insane, wanting a man the way I wanted you. Thank God you're not.” This last was said on a strangled groan as she nipped his jaw.

Ryan licked her way to just below his ear, then said in a small voice, “I thought it was just me. You've been in my dreams.” Her hands turned his head for better access, her mouth dragging tortured gasps and moans from Jake as she licked her way up to his ear and traced the shell. She bit lightly, making him shudder, then gasped, “I meant what I said. I won't be your whore. But I can't say no to this.”

Jake felt like a wild, rutting beast. His head was full of ways he could take her here, in his office. On his desk, over a chair, against the wall, against this door. His hand strayed down her side, to her thigh. Jake lifted it up, wrapped it around his waist, and pressed his erection directly to her core. Her body responded with delicious enthusiasm, hips pressing against him in return. He was so close to ripping her clothes off that it scared him. The noises she was making weren't helping matters any.

Ryan gasped and purred against his throat, and Jake lost it. With a growl, he gripped her waist and twirled her around, pressing her face first to the door. His hands roamed her shoulders, back, sides, and finally the curves of her tight, rounded bottom. He mauled and squeezed the globes, feeling Ryan press into his hands. Jake wanted her naked flesh. He leaned against her, his strong hands gripping her wrists and holding them up high against the door.

His lips nipped her earlobe as he said, “You need to stop me if you don't want this. I can't. If you let me, I'm gonna strip you naked right here and have my way with you. Do you want me to stop, Ryan?”

Her body pressed back against his, legs splaying wide, ass pressing against his insistent bulge.

“Don't stop. God help me, Jake... don't stop.”

A devil of a smile curled his lips, and Jake chuckled into her ear before kissing and nibbling the spot right beneath it. Ryan cried out as his hands tugged at her shirt, pulling it out of her pants and exposing the skin of her back to his questing fingers. Jake marveled at the softness of her skin as he lifted the material up, his fingers trailing lightly. At a point just south of her shoulder blades, he encountered what felt like bandaging. Frowning, Jake gathered the shirt, then pulled it the rest of the way off, revealing her secret for disguising her breasts.

The banding must be uncomfortable, but she put it on every day to do a job she loved and to protect her sister from the indignities of the world. Jake just stared for a few moments, his fingers following the tight bandaging to her sides, then to her chest. He could feel the strain in the material as it held her flesh in tightly. His fingers teased her skin above and below the banding as he sought the way to undo it and release her breasts.

Jake found the knot tucked between strips. Closing his eyes and licking his way down her neck, he began undoing the tight join, fingers tugging at the loose ends. At the base of her throat, Jake bit Ryan, just as the last loop gave way. Then, with impatient fingers, he unwound the cloth. Ryan cried out softly at his bite and quaked in his arms; Jake imagined that he was the first man to ever undo that particular article of clothing for her.

He let the long cloth strip fall to her waist, then almost reverently cupped her full, firm breasts.

Ryan arched her back, pressing herself into his hands and rubbing her ass back against his groin. Jake groaned and squeezed her flesh, his fingers finding and pinching pebbled nipples. He felt her breath hitch as he rolled the tight buds, delighting in how very responsive she was in his hands. Turning her around again, Jake got his first eye full of her naked breasts, and his mouth watered. They were full, perky, pale orbs, the tight centers a lovely dusty rose that invited his exploration.

Wrapping his hands around her ribcage, Jake leaned down, took a turgid little nip between his lips and suckled. Ryan's hands came up and threaded into his hair, her grip tightening as Jake's tongue and teeth got into the action. His name was a tortured sound out of her mouth as he worshiped. Impatiently, he licked a trail to the neighboring peak and repeated his onslaught, listening to the soul wrenching sounds coming from the woman in his arms. He bit a little harder, sucked a little more strongly, and Ryan's hold tightened to painful intensity. She wasn't pulling him away, though. Her fisted hands in his hair were holding him in place, practically begging him to continue.

Jake replaced his lips with his hands, squeezing and pinching the sensitive mounds, as he licked his way down her sternum to the little dent of a navel in her abdomen. Ryan released a surprised giggle when he tongued the little indentation, the sound making Jake smile wide as he continued his way down. Kneeling before her, Jake looked up as he slid his hands down to the sturdy leather belt holding up her trousers. His eyes found hers as the buckle was undone, and he watched the desire cloud her eyes as he undid the buttons of her fly. Her hands moved tentatively over his hair, then up her own abdomen to cup her heavy breasts, as Jake pulled the undone pants apart, untied her underpants, and began sliding them down.

He growled low in his throat as the silky, lighter colored fur of her mound came into view. Eyes on his work once again, Jake slid the clothing down her smooth thighs but got only as far as her calves before giving in to temptation and pressing a kiss to the top of her core. He heard Ryan's startled gasp as he nuzzled the downy hair, her scent coming stronger with every pass of his nose and lips. Jake felt his blood thumping a fast, steady beat in his ears and in his murderously hard cock, his hands becoming a little more impatient. About mid calf, Jake realized Ryan was still wearing her boots, an unwelcome obstacle to his quickly deteriorating control.

With exasperated grunts and unsteady hands, Jake shoved and tugged at cloth and leather, until mercifully both boots and pants were strewn all over the office floor. Ryan's whimpers and mewls were encouragement for his raging lust as finally he was able to slide his hands over smooth calves and thighs, parting them as he went. At the apex of her sex, Jake's thumbs traced the edges of her delicate labia, the touch making Ryan moan and spread her legs further. Her hips curled her heated core out, seeking his touch.

Jake's thumbs slid over the entire length of her slit, the slickness of Ryan's arousal smearing over his fingers. He could smell her musky, delightful scent and his senses reeled. Before he could stop himself, he leaned in and licked the same trail his fingers had just traveled.

Ryan cried out, “Jake! Jesus... Jake...”

He looked up her beautifully exposed body to her wide, lust-drugged eyes as she watched him savor her delicacies. Then, letting his eyes drift shut, he dove into his obsession with gusto. His lips opened and his tongue assaulted, diving between her lips to taste the secret passages he'd only just uncovered. Ryan's hips pressed against his questing mouth and tongue, her fingers once again diving into his hair and holding him in place. Jake licked the dew right out of her core, his tongue working up, up, and finally settling on lazy, tight circles around her distended little pleasure nub.

Ryan panted and undulated, her hips grinding in slow rhythm to Jake's tongue dance. She trembled and moaned, her words just mumbles and pleas that were only half intelligible. Jake ran two fingers through her dripping slit as he continued suckling her, then slowly pressed them into the well-lubricated channel beyond. He heard Ryan's gasp, felt her body tense for a moment. She was tight, so very tight inside. Jake looked up and found her facing him, bottom lip caught between her teeth, a slight frown wrinkling her brow. She seemed expectant and worried, even as the desire still filled her gaze.

It occurred to Jake that perhaps she was a bit more innocent than he'd thought.

“Ryan... ” he said, as his fingers worked her slowly from the inside. He watched her chest heave, the pleasure clear on her face. Then her cheeks flamed and she looked away.

“Never, Jake. Never before this.”

The knowledge shot through him like a bolt of lightning. He felt honored, proud, and a bit of a cad as he stared up at this beautiful, strong woman who had never experienced the touch of a man. Jake cursed himself a thousand times for not seeing past his own lust. His fingers stilled inside her, then withdrew. Ryan looked down, a tremulous and embarrassed look in her eyes. Holding her gaze, Jake licked and sucked his fingers clean of her juices. He was now determined to make her first time absolutely memorable.

Gripping her hips firmly, Jake nuzzled her delightful little button with his nose again, then licked a slow circuit around the bud. Ryan moaned, hands clutching his head as she spread even wider for him.

“Sweetheart, I'm gonna make you feel so good,” whispered Jake against her soaked core. His tongue dipped past her lips and licked upward, cupping her clitoris and stimulating it with small sideways motions. Ryan tried to grind her hips to his mouth, her hands pulling on his head. Jake's chuckle rumbled out of his chest as he easily resisted, the touch of his lips and tongue remaining light and teasing.

Ryan whimpered and Jake relented, his lips wrapping around the sensitized pebble and giving it a good suck. Ryan's response was a near scream that had Jake's blood pounding again. He buried his face in her damp thatch, dragging his tongue through her juicy flesh and up to her clitoris again and again. Ryan was rocking against his lips faster, her pleasure sounds increasing in pitch and intensity as Jake worked her.

She panted, “Jake! Oh fuck, Jake, I need...” She trailed off, chest heaving in unrestrained pleasure.

Jake spoke against her center. “You need what, Ryan?” He licked and sucked her, intensely aware of the shuddering and bucking of her body. She was so damned close.

Ryan moaned raggedly. “Please,” she sobbed.

“Just let go. Just let it go, Ryan,” said Jake as he used his thumbs to spread her lips and fur wide before fully engulfing her womanhood in his hot, wet mouth. His tongue twirled and his lips sucked, and Ryan flew apart above him.

She ground herself against his mouth as she came, Jake never stopping his motions. He could feel her muscles contracting and pressed his tongue into her flooding channel. Sweet, delicious nectar graced his tongue and he lapped it up as Ryan's tight little hole milked his tongue as if it were a cock. Jake pulsed in his vice-like pants as Ryan's orgasm dragged on, the desire to plunge himself inside her nearly irresistible. Jake didn't want to take her like this, though. Not for her first time.

He licked and suckled until Ryan slumped tiredly against the door, her fingers combing through his hair as he gently cleaned her juices up with his tongue. A last lick and nibble at her nub made her jump and cry out softly. Then Jake was massaging her hips and working his way up. His knees hurt and his thighs were cramped, but he wasn't really feeling it. Jake trailed his fingers over her abdomen and up to her breasts, cupping the mounds and rubbing her nipples with his thumbs.

Ryan shuddered and sighed, arching her back and closing her eyes. Jake leaned in and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her exposed neck, nibbling the skin and drawing a low moan from the languid, pleasure-drugged woman in his arms. Cupping her face in his hands, Jake made slow, lazy love to her willing mouth, enjoying the feel of sultry, sated woman. Ryan's hands wrapped tentatively around his chest and to his back. He couldn't have said why, but he felt a powerful need to take care of her, to be gentle and sweet. It somehow had become more important than slaking his own lustful desires.

With a final, tender kiss, he pulled back and watched as Ryan opened her eyes and smiled up at him. He returned her smile and said, “You should probably get on with your day, Ryan.”

She frowned slightly. “But... you didn't...” Her cheeks flushed and she looked away, her obvious embarrassment making her even more endearing.

Jake kissed her nose and said, “I don't want you like this, in a rush against my office door, the first time. I don't want that for you. I'd like to do it right.” His thumbs caressed her cheeks softly as he caught her eyes again. “Come back tonight, after everyone's gone. Let me show you what it should be like.” His eyes strayed to her lips and he couldn't help another moan as he took them in a smoldering kiss.

When they parted again, both were breathing hard and clutching at each other. Jake huffed out a strangled laugh and Ryan giggled. With visible effort, Jake drew away, bending down to retrieve her clothing. He watched her dress, most intrigued by the way she so quickly and expertly wrapped the binding around her breasts. He winced at how tightly she wound the tape around herself. She finished dressing, then grabbed up the discarded gloves and hat, placing the latter on her head. The disguise was good, but all Jake could see now was the woman beneath.

Drawing a finger over her cheek, he said, “I'll see you tonight. Please don't keep me waiting.”

Ryan smiled cheekily and tipped her hat at him. “No sir. Can't have that.”

Turning, she gripped the door knob and was gone. Jake stood looking at the closed office door for a full five minutes before running his fingers through his hair and expressing a frustrated groan. It was going to be a long afternoon.

He returned to his desk, glancing out the window at his horses one more time. Jake chuckled at the way Nocturna danced circles around Midnight, the big black stallion turning in place and pawing at the ground helplessly. Just then, for some reason, he felt a sudden kinship with his horse's situation. Turning away, he sat down in his chair and forced himself to focus on the books. There would be time for Ryan later.