The Reluctant Virgin [Ride 'em Hard 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  “I remember you plenty. People used to say you looked like my sister, which I don’t agree with.”

  “Well, Angel’s beautiful, so what does that make me?”

  He chuckled. “It makes you not my sister. But I guarantee you’re the loveliest thing I’ve seen in a long time.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” she said. Cindy tentatively reached out and ran her hand down the length of his arm. “Where did all these muscles come from?”

  He swallowed before speaking. Her soft touch aroused his cock, made him aware of just how long it had been since he’d been with a woman. “Hard work, darlin’. Raising cattle and farming aren’t for the faint of heart.”

  “I know it. I work with cowboys every day, and I respect each one for their work ethic.”

  There was no way a cowboy could resist a beauty like Cindy. How had she remained unmarried for so long? The more he thought about it, the more he realized how lucky he’d be to have a woman like her. If she were his, he’d never let her go. But it sounded like she had a wide selection of men to choose from.

  “Why haven’t you let one of those men snatch you up already?”

  “I don’t think I’m meant to for the whole white picket fence.”

  “And why on earth not? It would be a sin for a fine woman like you to stay single.”

  She looked shy now, her bravado diminishing. When she peered up from her under her lashes his breath caught. He wanted her. Wanted to feel the texture of her skin, the heat of her lips, and sound of her passion.

  “You know why, Matthew.” He had to tilt her chin up to hear her. “You know.”

  “I know what? Why you’re single?”

  “My leg! You think any man in their right mind would choose me when there are plenty of normal woman available? And don’t tell me the fact slipped your mind. Nobody forgets.” She recoiled into herself, her body stiff. He felt like an asshole for not understanding her in the first place. He honestly didn’t see her missing limb as an obstacle to having a committed relationship. Were other men that shallow?

  “Cindy, I don’t care about that. It’s the God-honest truth.”

  “Then you’re a minority. I started fresh when I left town. As long as people don’t know the real me, they treat me well. Men show interest and women have respect. It wasn’t like that when people knew about my disability. They assumed I was feeble, sick, some kind of freak. But I’m not! I’m not sick or lame. I’m as capable as the next woman, but that’s not good enough…”

  He didn’t think she held such passion inside. She’d kept professional since he first saw her. It was good to let things out rather than bottling them up. His sister sure didn’t hide her true feelings from others, even if she should sometimes keep them to herself.

  “I like the real you, Cindy. I’m here ain’t I? Do I have to show you before you’ll believe me?”

  She exhaled a held breath, dropping her face into her palms. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you told me how you feel. It only confirms I have a long ways to go in courting you.”

  “You’re not courting me, Matthew. This is the first time you’ve seen me in seven years.”

  “I’m not a boy. I know what I want when I see it. And I do plan to show you just how much you attract me.”

  “How—”

  Matthew leaned and kissed her lips, effectively cutting off her question. There was no need to play these adolescent games, not when they were both adults and he was devastatingly attracted to her.

  Her lips were full and soft, molding to his as if she were made for him. He half expected her to put up a fight. The Garner women in his life were hard-core, not a sensitive bone in their bodies. Cindy was different, and he liked it. She made feminine cooing sounds against his lips, her body relaxing from its defensive position.

  He moved in closer, needing contact more than air. She laid a hand on his shoulder to keep balance, deepening their kiss. The stress of selling his family ranch, not knowing what his future held, and being the only sibling to not find love had taken its toll on his sanity. Cindy offered him a reprieve, an escape from the stress in his life. He hadn’t realized how loosely he was bound together until his lips met hers. Matthew wanted to let everything go and lose himself in this girl from his past.

  “Matthew,” she whispered, not pulling away.

  “What, darlin’?” He peppered kisses down her neck, savoring the softness of her skin. A sequence of events had begun, and he couldn’t stop them. His cock pulsed, pressed tight inside his Wranglers. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he had Cindy screaming his name.

  “You’ve created a fairy tale here, Matthew. But I don’t get one. I’m the little girl who wanted the little mermaid to get her legs, because she was me.”

  “Hush. I’m here now. Things are going to change.”

  “I can’t do this…”

  “You’re doing just fine.” He lowered her to her back, the sun highlighting the blue of her eyes as it shone down from above. Her blonde hair pooled behind her, her chest rising and falling in deep waves. “I won’t hurt you,” he promised. Matthew wasn’t just talking about her body. He wouldn’t break her heart either. His daddy had taught him well, and he planned to follow through and marry Cindy if she gave herself willingly. He wouldn’t walk away.

  “I told you I’m not breakable.”

  “Good thing,” he said. Matthew slid his hand down her side until he reached the edge of her shirt. When he slipped his fingers under the material, she flinched. He didn’t stop. He smoothed his hand up her stomach, her skin warm and supple like her neck. He needed her, wanted her. Matthew returned to her lips, tasting, nipping, exploring.

  “Matt—”

  “Hush now.” He cupped her breast over her lace bra, squeezing the fleshy mound. Being with Cindy awoke the beast within him. He wanted to take her hard and fast, but he knew she wasn’t an easy woman. He’d have to take his time with her, show her he was different than other men. “I told you I’d show you how much I liked you.”

  “I’ve never…”

  “Never what?” He fiddled with the button on her jeans, eager to impale his fingers into her little pussy to test her readiness.

  She sat up in a rush, her breathing labored. “This. Any of this. I’ve never been with a man, Matthew.”

  He eased her back down, softly brushing her hair back. “In how long?”

  Cindy looked him in the eye. “I’ve never been with a man. Not now or ever.”

  “But you’re my age. How’s that possible?” Matthew wasn’t Don Juan, but he’d been with a handful of women. Most of the guys his age had been with much more.

  “I just can’t. I have too much to hide.”

  She leaned into his touch as he caressed her cheek. Maybe this woman was just as deprived of affection as he was. With a tough-as-nails mother and sister, he’d never really experienced the tender loving of a woman he often heard of in country songs. He craved it like nothing else.

  “You want me because what you see is normal. But you know what I really am under these clothes,” she said.

  He became frustrated. “You’re not talking about your leg again, are you? Is that what’s holding you back?” Matthew rose to his knees in front of her and tugged her jeans down her hips. She protested, fighting and kicking, trying to pull her pants back up.

  “Matthew! Don’t you dare!”

  He’d show her one way or another that she didn’t disgust him like she thought. The girl was born with a birth defect. How could he fault her for that? She was also the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen this half of the province.

  Once he got her jeans partially down, he stood up and plucked them off completely. She quickly pulled her knees close to her chest and hugged her legs. The devastation in her eyes broke his heart. He exhaled, tossing the pants as he returned to the ground.

  “Do you think I’m that superficial, Cindy?”

  “Turn around,” she whispered.
“I don’t want you to see me.”

  Her prosthesis wasn’t horrendous to look at. It was even better than what he expected. “No.”

  Her mouth dropped open slightly, but no words came out.

  “Open your legs for me,” he said.

  “Are you kidding?”

  He tugged off his T-shirt and threw it on the grass. Then he grabbed her by the hips and pulled her down until their bodies touched. He spread her thighs, giving him room to drop down over her. “Actually, I’ve never been more serious.”

  Something flicked on inside her the moment Matthew removed his shirt. His shoulders were so broad. They seemed to go on forever. His muscles were hard and toned from his pecs down to his ripped abs.

  He’d seen her without pants but still wanted her, which was surprising. He may be able to fake his attraction for a while, but she doubted he could control the bulging cock in his jeans. She could feel the hard length pressed against her thigh as he supported much of his weight over her body.

  “Don’t question me, Cindy. If I wasn’t attracted to you I’d never have invited you to dinner. You’re here because I want you, all of you.”

  The late afternoon sun warmed her face, the sweet scent of barley carrying on the wind. Matthew began to remove her shirt, and this time she didn’t fight. She wanted to experience what everyone else had, but she’d just been afraid to go through with it.

  He reached down and cupped her mound, her pussy soaked through the thin lace. Her body was so receptive, jolting when his big palm covered her most intimate part. Her mind raced, her libido taking control, soothing her inhibitions.

  “This is crazy,” she said.

  “Ain’t nothing wrong with a man and woman enjoying each other.”

  She’d reluctantly agreed to dinner, and now she was lying on a picnic blanket about to get fucked by a man she hadn’t seen in seven years. It was surreal. Her body was so desperate for male companionship that she was somehow willing to throw away her long-standing celibacy rule.

  Cindy never considered her virginity to be sacred. She wasn’t saving it for the right man, carefully guarding it from smooth-talkers. It was something that had become a part of who she was, but she didn’t value it. Cindy was a reluctant virgin. If it wasn’t for her disability, she would have given away her maidenhead years ago—probably to Chance Anderson. She’d yearned for the seductive cowboy on each maintenance call, but she held in her desires because her fear of rejection was greater.

  Now Matthew claimed to be blind to her shortcoming, not caring that half her leg was missing. This was the perfect chance to lose her dreaded virginity, to know a virile man’s body intimately. But Cindy knew she wasn’t the type that could love a man for a night and forget him by morning. Whenever she did something—whether in work or life in general—she gave it her all. She couldn’t love halfway. She also couldn’t deny the half-naked cowboy stud laying over her.

  “I’m not that kind of girl, Matthew. Once I choose a man, I plan to commit for life. I don’t have one-night stands.”

  “Then choose me,” he said before suckling her ear lobe. Thousands of nerve endings fired to life in her dormant erogenous zone. Her eyes lolled back in her head. If Matthew could garner such a reaction from her ear, what was he capable of if she gave him free reign over her entire body?

  “That’s a big decision. I can’t make it in the blink of an eye.”

  “Don’t worry, Cindy. I won’t take something you’re not offering freely. But you can keep your virtue intact and get a sample of what I can give you.”

  She bit her inner lip, fighting the words that were about to come out. “Just a sample.”

  He pulled back to smile at her. The sun behind him gave Matthew a luminescent quality. He was a handsome man with a strong jaw and seductive eyes. She’d remembered him as a clown, a down-to-earth cowboy she didn’t have to feel awkward around. Now he was everything. A man. A lover. Something to be taken seriously, not for granted.

  “I knew you were sugar and spice,” he said. He crept down the length of her body, leaving a trail of hot, moist kisses. When he reached her stomach, she had to hold back a giggle from the ticklish flutters. But the butterflies diminished when he tugged off her panties, leaving her completely exposed. “God, Cindy, you have no idea how badly I want you.”

  She wanted to scream for him to take her if he claimed to want her so bad. Mostly because she felt the same desperation. Her body was coiled tight, her inner walls contracting in deep waves. She was exposed in the open fields, feeling a titillating surge of naughtiness. This was dirty, hard-core loving. Exactly what she fantasized sex with a cowboy would be like. Any minute and she’d kiss her virginity goodbye. Although she felt a twinge of trepidation, she was more anxious to continue than anything. She trusted Matthew. There was something wholesome about him just as she now discovered he had a darker side, one she wanted to embrace.

  He kissed her inner thighs, the sensations scattering along her skin. When she realized what he planned to do, she tensed. “Matthew, don’t…”

  “Just a sample, like you said.” Then, without further warning, he lapped his warm tongue along her moist folds. She called out, taken off guard by the power of such intimate contact. She was completely lost, engrossed by the movement of his tongue and lips over her swollen clit. “Relax, baby girl.”

  She did. Cindy loosened her legs, allowing them to drop to the sides. She closed her eyes, absorbing the warmth from the sun and the erotic heat burning in her cunt. As she gave in to Matthew’s ministrations, she realized she hadn’t once worried about her leg since he’d started. He had even flung both her legs over his massive shoulders to get better access to her pussy. She never concerned herself that he had touched her prosthesis. Cindy felt like a woman, wanton and desirable, not like an invalid incapable of attracting men.

  His hands were tucked under her body, holding her steady. He showed no signs of wavering. The growls coming from his chest and the determined action of his mouth confirmed he thoroughly enjoyed eating her pussy. She felt triumphant, garnering the attention of one of the town’s most popular cowboys. Would she be able to keep it? Would she want to?

  Cindy cast away her thoughts, determined to enjoy the moment. This was all new, but she hadn’t lacked for imagination over the years. Matthew put her fantasies to shame, the reality so much more satisfying.

  When heat started to radiate up from her toes, she knew something monumental was coming. The burning traveled up her legs toward her centre. Her heart raced and her back arched on its own volition.

  “Matthew! Oh, God,” she cried. Cindy felt like a pressure cooker, the intensity building, building, building. He didn’t let up his ministrations, using his strong arms to hold her in place.

  Then she burst, an internal eruption jolting her body as her pussy clamped down hard. She could scarcely catch her breath, the contractions going on and on. Matthew didn’t release her until she calmed a degree. When he finally rose up to his knees, looking down at her, he had a naughty grin on his face.

  She glanced to her sides, only finding fields of wheat. They were alone under the midday sun.

  “Was that the first time a man—”

  “Yes,” she blurted, not ready to hear him describe the act. Now that her faculties were returning, shyness started to set in. It amazed her how different she could become in the heat of the moment, not worrying about anything but the erotic spell Matthew managed to cast over her. Now the doubts returned.

  He began to pass her the clothes strewn around them—her panties, jeans, and shirt. “Here, darlin’. You best get dressed now. I’m not sure I could handle a virgin. Regardless, this ain’t the place to lose your innocence.”

  “Didn’t I just lose it?” she asked, pushing up to her elbows.

  Matthew chuckled. “That? You have no idea.” He winked at her as he stood up. She felt so small and exposed with him looking down at her. That’s when she noticed the hard cock pressed diagonally behind the
denim of his pants. He had the control of a saint. How could he go down on her and not follow through with fucking her? She wasn’t sure if that was a compliment to her or an insult.

  Chapter Eight

  Cindy didn’t waste time heading home after Matthew returned her to her truck. They didn’t even eat the lunch he’d packed. After her orgasm, he was more interested in packing up and heading out. She wondered if he’d had a change of heart or if he just wanted to be a gentleman by getting some breathing space. Whatever it was, she’d had enough.

  Her emotions were too close to the surface for her liking. Josh and Matthew had succeeded where so many other cowboys had failed. They’d managed to wriggle their way under her skin. As she pulled into her town, her mind was plagued with questions. She promised to call Matthew first thing tomorrow but doubted she would. Out of sight, out of mind, was exactly what she was hoping for. In this case, she had a feeling distance would not cure her of the ache in her heart. How could it be possible for her to possess the same yearning for three different men? Chance and Josh and now Matthew. She blamed her years of abstinence on her sudden hormonal awakening.

  A familiar pickup truck was parked in front of her family home. She wasn’t in the mood for guests after the whirlwind couple days she’d just had. All Cindy wanted to do was lock herself in her room and try to blank her mind. That was when she recalled who owned that truck—Chance Anderson. Of all the people to show up now. He’d never been to her home, so why was he here?

  Cindy parked her truck and headed to the front door. Chance and her parents were at the dining room table having dinner. The best china was out and the old chandelier was casting diamond glitter on the walls. She froze in place for a moment, trying to come to grips with the scene. Why was Chance being treated as their special guest?

  Her mother stood up first, followed by Chance. The distinct sound of the wooden chair legs scraped the floor. “Cindy, I was worried sick about you.”

  “I called you last night.”