Western Dreams (Rescue Me Saga Extras #1) (2 page)

Planning to take his time making their way to Denver, from Albuquerque, they’d stopped briefly at the Four Corners and started to tour Mesa Verde when he’d come close to having a panic attack. Too many people around for his peace of mind. After noticing the mention of a Colorado mountain on a tourist’s shirt, he’d consulted his map app and then a park ranger, who let him in on how to find this hidden gem to show Megan. It was right on the way to one of the stops he’d already planned to stop, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

After stopping for lunch at Cortez, they headed north until he found the gravel road he’d been told to watch for. The Road King growled as the climb grew steeper.

“How much farther?” Megan shouted in his ear.

“You’ll know when the hog stops rumbling.”

Her laugh made him hard. He hoped the mid-June night wouldn’t be too cold for them to camp out. They had sleeping bags and a pup tent stowed in their gear, but even with the additional touring rack and deluxe saddlebags he’d added, his HD Road King had limited storage capacity. If they planned to do a lot of touring together, Megan might want to have her own Harley—maybe a Softail. But right now, he wanted the feel of her right behind him.

At last, the gravel parking area spread out before them. He looked around to see if there was a visitors’ information sign to help him get his bearings. Would they be able to see the peak from the trail—and know it when they saw it?

After staking out one of the two remaining campsites, he helped Megan off the bike and secured their helmets and saddlebags. Treated water was available here so they filled their sports bottles and hit the head before setting out. They’d see the campsite enough tonight.

Ryder bent down to kiss Megan, parting her lips as he deepened it before pulling away and smiling. “I can’t wait to share something special with you on our hike.” His voice had grown husky from desire.

“Sounds like fun.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

He shook his head. “You, my horny wife, have a one-track mind. That wasn’t what I had in mind at all—not for the hike, anyway. Now I hope you won’t be let down by the actual surprise.”

She brushed her thumb over his cheek and gave him a peck on the lips. “You never disappoint me, Sir.”

God, he hoped he never would, either. Grabbing Megan’s hand, he led her to the Woods Lake trailhead. A horse whinnied nearby. This campsite provided a loop for those with horses, too.

“It’s gorgeous here. How’d you ever locate it with all the twists and turns on those back roads?”

“I’m pretty good at remembering directions. And then there’s GPS.” He grinned at her.

“Well, one secret has been revealed at least.”

*     *     *

Megan hadn’t felt so carefree in years. They were in no hurry to arrive at Adam’s, because she wanted to give him and Karla plenty of time to settle in with the triplets. Okay, maybe Megan wanted to postpone seeing Karla surrounded by three beautiful babies, because Megan wouldn’t be able to have even one herself.

But that was my choice.

She’d only wanted to rid herself of the pain of endometriosis, but never expected to fall in love with Ryder or any other man. Would he regret their not being able to have his biological children? He said they would adopt, but the process could take years. Not that they were in any hurry. They’d only been married a little over a week. Selfishly, she wanted to be able to do things like this with him before being tied down.

He hadn’t told her much about where they’d be going on this trip. After walking around the Four Corners Monument for bragging rights that their honeymoon had taken place in four states, though, she’d become aware that Ryder’s nerves were on edge by the time they reached Mesa Verde. The next thing she knew, he’d found this hidden gem far from the crowds. Perfect.

“Let’s stop and drink,” Ryder suggested. “I hear the more water we drink the easier the altitude will be on us.”

Taking a few gulps, she wondered what it was he wanted to show her up here, given he didn’t seem to have been here before, either, but she chose to stay in the moment instead.

Glancing over the meadow strewn with alpine flowers in purples, whites, and yellows, the backdrop of high mountains still showed a substantial amount of snow. Setting down her water bottle, she lifted her camera out of her backpack. “I’ve got to take some photos.”

“Absolutely. Go ahead. I’m sure they’ll bring back lots of memories in the years to come.”

Megan smiled, picturing them decades from now, perhaps on an anniversary, poring over the photos and remembering their honeymoon. She walked closer to a clump of flowers and snapped close-ups, then stood to take a longer shot of the entire meadow. Aspens with their off-white trunks and quaking leaves framed the shot. “I wonder which peaks these are.”

“No clue. But there’s one farther along I think I’ll recognize when I see it.”

She returned to his side and slung her camera strap around her neck. “Lead on!”

The path worn between the field grasses was narrow, but they chose to walk side by side a while, holding hands. “It’s so peaceful up here. Like we’re the only people in the world.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thanks for understanding back at Mesa Verde.”

“Nothing to thank me for. I was feeling a bit claustrophobic myself. I can’t wait to show you Bandelier when we go home. Similar cliff dwellings but much more remote.” She wondered how he would do in Denver, but there was no getting around eventually showing up at Adam’s. They had a baby shower planned for the twenty-fourth.

Plenty of days for her and Ryder to enjoy their honeymoon road trip.

Ryder stopped along the trail as if to get his bearings and glanced up at the peaks surrounding them. His face lit in a smile, and he turned his attention to her before pointing to one. “See that mountain?”

She followed the direction of his finger to a sheer rock face and a snowpack. It seemed oddly familiar, although she wasn’t familiar with Colorado’s Fourteeners at all, except for Mount Evans near Denver. “Gorgeous! Where have I seen it before?”

“Well, it’s the mountain face used on the Coors beer label.”

“Your favorite.”

“Yeah, but that’s not why this mountain is important to
us
.” She met his gaze, curious how a mountain could have any significance for them other than being beautiful to look at. After a dramatic pause, he said, “That, my dear Mrs. Wilson, is Wilson Peak.”

Seriously? How sweet was it that he’d hiked all the way up here to show her this hidden mountain bearing his name? Wait. Wilson was
her
name now, too. She smiled as she turned toward the peak again, this time feeling a connection that hadn’t been there a moment before.

“Any relation?”

“To the mountain?” he asked, teasing her.

She lightly punched his bicep. “No, silly, I’m asking if you’re any relation to whomever the peak was named for.”

“No clue. I only learned there was a Fourteener named Mount Wilson from a T-shirt someone was wearing at Mesa Verde.” Such an observant man, even when being bombarded by so many people, he would take notice of something like that. “Then I asked the park ranger there, and she told me about it but said not to confuse it with Wilson Peak. Both are in the same vicinity here in the San Juan Mountains, but hearing about the Coors connection made me think it would be worth searching out.”

As she stared at the mountain, Ryder came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. His hands roamed over her belly to reach inside her leather jacket and cup her breasts, and she wished she’d worn a tank without bra cups. Undeterred, though, he pinched her nipples through the cups and leaned forward to kiss her on the neck.

“Are you sure you want to start something you can’t finish, Ryder?”

He whispered in her ear, “Who says I’m not going to finish?” His right hand drifted lower until he briefly rubbed her clit through her jeans. Megan ground her butt against his erection and moaned. While they were partially hidden by the trees here, they were still on a well-marked trail. What if someone else happened upon them?

The friction of his fingers and her clothing against her clit had her squirming. She glanced around, hoping to find a place where they might remove some of the interfering layers of clothing and relieve this tension.

“Mr. Wilson?” she whispered.

He pulled her lower body tighter against his as he continued to nibble at her neck. “Hmm?”

“Before we reach
our
peak, do you think we ought to seek out a more secluded spot for this quickie?”

His left hand pinched her nipple, which only fueled the fire inside. “Who said anything about me taking you quickly? My bride, I can see you have a lot to learn about me.”

“Well, we’ve only known each other a few weeks.” She still couldn’t believe how quickly she’d been certain he was the one for her.

Clearly, if she’d known of his propensity for slowly torturing her to death, she might have given this relationship a little more time. She grinned. No she wouldn’t. He always did have a slow hand and enjoyed the journey as much as reaching the destination. That was one of the things she loved most about him.

But he released her all too quickly. Thinking one of them had come to their senses, she prepared to continue their hike along the trail until he pulled her into a nearby wooded area and pressed her back against the trunk of an aspen tree.

“I figure we’ll have a lot more privacy here than we will tonight at the campground,” he said by way of explanation.

She grinned before he lowered his face to her upturned one. His warm lips nibbled at hers, placing kisses at the corners of her mouth, licking along the crease, begging for admittance. She held out as long as she could before she opened her mouth to his now-insistent tongue. Her desire increased as he kneaded her breast and pinched her nipple. Instantaneous need consumed her, and she reached up to try and remove his leather jacket but only managed to get it down to his elbows.

Ryder pulled away, breathing as hard as she—and not from the high altitude this time. His lascivious smile made her heart skip a few beats. After a moment, he paused to assess their location while she unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans.

“Eager, are we?” he asked.

“I’m just not sure I want an audience of hikers—or wild animals—so I’m being efficient.”

“Efficiency has its place, but one of my goals here is to make sure you’re vocal enough to scare off any intruders.”

Her clit tingled in anticipation as she removed her jacket and handed it to him. She smiled. “I’ll do my best, Sir.”

He laid both leather side down on the ground in the center of the aspen grove.

Together, they shucked their boots and jeans. The sight of his tented black boxers made her speed up her own disrobing efforts to catch up. Each discarded item of clothing was added to the bed of sorts he was making on the ground. It would still be hard without sleeping bags but he was doing his best to make it comfortable.

“You’re on top, Red.” She loved when he called her that. “I’ll take the ground.”

Once again, he thought of her needs ahead of his. She’d have to make the hard ground worth it to him. Megan smiled. “My pleasure.”

*     *     *

Megan’s impish grin made Ryder even harder. He closed the gap between them. “Raise your arms.” She did so, and he lifted her tank over her head, his gaze never leaving hers. He loved that she never wore a bra. One less layer to deal with.

Closing his eyes, he lowered his mouth to one peak and licked her nipple, feeling it harden instantly. Placing his teeth on her, he bit gently and pulled away, taking her with him. She arched her back to follow him, causing him to release her.

“Eyes.” She met his gaze, and he pressed her against the aspen trunk. “You are to keep your spine in contact with this tree unless instructed otherwise.”

Her pupils dilated. “Yes, Sir.”

“Now, where was I?”

“You were torturing my nips, Sir.”

He shook his head but couldn’t hold back the smile. They hadn’t made love in three days. He’d missed having that connection with her, even though she’d been plastered against him on the bike most of that time.

Soon she’d be on top of him, and he’d be buried deep inside her.

Ryder didn’t have to worry about restraining her. Megan would stay put, not wanting to risk putting an end to their time together even if it would only postpone the inevitable. Grabbing her hair, he pulled her head back. Dominance surged through him. God, he needed this. Needed her.

He plundered her mouth again, his thumb and index finger rolling the same nipple he’d aroused a moment ago, as he captured her moan in his mouth. His hand roamed over her skin, noting her scars in passing but focused more on reaching the destination at the juncture of her thighs. He broke free of her lips. “Spread your legs. Remember where your spine is to remain.”

Megan inched her feet apart, careful to keep her back straight, and he slid his hand inside her panties. Wet. He avoided her clit and delved into her pussy, sinking two fingers deep inside her. When he began pumping in and out, she grabbed onto the slim trunk to steady herself, threw her head back, and panted. He loved watching her responsiveness.

Knowing she was ready for him, he withdrew his hand. “Clean my fingers,” he commanded as he held them in front of her mouth. She opened her eyes, now smoky with lust, and maintained eye contact as she took both wet fingers onto her tongue and closed her lips around them.

When she started pumping them in and out as though giving him head, he groaned. Enough foreplay. He pulled his fingers from her mouth and took her hand as he led her toward the quasi-bed he’d made on the ground. “Remove your panties.” He watched her slide them over her hips, thighs, and calves before stepping out of them. “Now my boxers.” Leaving her panties where they lay, she stepped closer and reached out to hook her thumbs into the waistband, pulling it away from and over his erection. She gave the sensitive knob of his dick a seemingly accidental tweak, but the grin on her face gave her away.

Removing his T-shirt, Ryder laid it down flat on the pile and stretched out on the clothing, crooking his finger for her to join him. She knelt with her knees straddling his calves, and her gaze feasted momentarily on his dick. “Your choice. Suck me, or ride me.”