That was why he didn't want to get tied down to one woman. He didn't want to get hurt again, to go through anything like that again.

Tess scooted as close as she could to Gage and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. She felt his need for whatever comfort she could give him.

He held her tightly and for a long time they said nothing.

When they finally drew apart, he caught her face in his hands and kissed her. "Thank you," he said.

"I'd be happy to go to your family get-together." She smiled. "I like your brothers."

"You'll like my sisters-in-law, too," he said, smiling in return.

"I bet I will." And having her sister there would make things even more comfortable. "I'm nervous about meeting your parents, though."

He laughed. "I guarantee you, there's nothing to be nervous about when it comes to my mom and dad. They're great."

"I'd like to see pictures of your family." She sat up straighter on the couch. "Do you have a photo alb.u.m?"

"A digital one." He got to his feet. "I'll get my laptop."

She waited as he went down the hall and then a moment later he reappeared holding a laptop.

He sat beside her again, raised the lid, and opened up a photo program. "My dad scanned in hundreds of photographs from back when our grandparents were young to when we were kids and on to the present. He gave copies to me and my brothers."

"That's so good that your dad did that for you all." Tess watched as he clicked on a folder in the photo program.

"He takes pictures all of the time." Gage looked at Tess with a grin. "Don't be surprised if he catches you in a few shots."

She laughed. "I'll keep an eye out for him and his camera."

"These pics are from the time we were kids." He started clicking through the photos of him and his brothers.

"What great photos." She smiled. "You and your brothers were cowboys back then, too. Look at those little boots and western hats you wore when you were small."

"The only thing missing was a Skoal ring on the back pocket," he said with a teasing smile and she laughed.

He showed her pictures of the five of them fishing on the Mogollon Rim, hunting in the White Mountains, and horseback riding on back trails, as well as working on their parents' ranch. There were lots of pictures of the boys partic.i.p.ating in 4-H activities, and more showing that a couple of them were into rodeo. The youngest McBride brother, Creed, was now a professional world champion bull rider.

His father looked tough and weathered in recent photographs, but a smile was always in his eyes. His mother wore a kind expression.

Gage shut the lid to his laptop. "You've got to be tired of looking at all of these pictures."

"I loved them all." She met his gaze. "Thank you for showing them to me."

He slid the laptop onto his coffee table then turned to her. They moved toward each other at the same time, and she found herself in his arms, his mouth on hers.

Their kiss wasn't gentle. It was powerful, intense, almost frantic. They kissed like they couldn't get enough of each other, couldn't get close enough.

She found her hands unb.u.t.toning his shirt, trying to get it off as fast as she could. When she got it unb.u.t.toned, she pulled his shirt out of his jeans before pushing it over his shoulders and he helped her take it off and threw the shirt on the floor. She unbuckled his belt and slid her fingers into his waistband, her fingers skimming the head of his c.o.c.k.

He kissed her hard and grasped the hem of her blouse and pulled it up over her head, then tossed the blouse aside. "s.e.xy," he murmured when he saw the corset she was wearing beneath her blouse and the way it accentuated her cleavage. He drew her to her feet, kissing her as he pushed her skirt over her hips. It fell to the floor and she stepped out of it then kicked off her shoes.

With a groan, he ran his hands from the corset and down over her black panties to the garters and stockings that were now revealed.

"d.a.m.n, you look hot." He brought her up tight against him then caught her by her a.s.s. He raised her and she wrapped her thighs around his hips.

He strode across the living room and down a hall. As he walked she kissed his stubbled jaw, the side of his neck, his throat, his bare chest. She couldn't get enough of the salty taste of his skin or his masculine scent.

His master bedroom was huge with a king-sized bed in the center. He carried her to the foot of the bed and set her on her feet. He toed off his boots and kicked them aside before removing each of his socks.

She'd already undone his belt and the b.u.t.ton on his jeans so now she unzipped them and jerked the jeans over his hips. Again she went down on her knees as she pushed them to the floor and brought his boxer briefs with them, and then he stepped out of them.

With appreciation she grasped his c.o.c.k, remembering how it had felt inside her and wanting to feel him again. She looked up the expanse of his body, the hard, muscular thighs, the hard plane of his abs, and his powerful chest.

He reached for her but she shook her head.

"Not yet," she said before licking the head of his c.o.c.k and tasting the droplet of s.e.m.e.n there.

He groaned as she slid him into her mouth. He was so big and hard, and much too long for her to take him all. But she brought him to the back of her throat as she sucked his length. She grasped his c.o.c.k with one hand while she gripped his b.a.l.l.s in her other.

She hummed her pleasure and from the hiss of his breath she knew he could feel the vibration through his c.o.c.k. He slipped his fingers into her hair, brushing it away from her face and holding the back of her head as she moved her mouth up and down his erection.

"d.a.m.n, Tess." He sounded nearly out of breath. "Maybe you'd better stop. I'm too close to coming."

Disappointed, she let him slip out of her mouth, his c.o.c.k glistening with moisture. She loved doing that for him.

He brought her to her feet and cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands through the corset before jerking the front of the corset down.

Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s spilled out and she barely found her voice as he rubbed his thumbs over the hard nubs. She felt almost shy, but she knew he was the one who could make her fantasies come true.

"I want kinky." Heat rushed to her face as he raised his eyebrows. "I've always wanted to experiment," she managed to say. "To play."

A mouthwatering grin curved the corner of his mouth. "My specialty."

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "You're into kink?"

"I like play." He leaned over and grasped his jeans then pulled the belt out of the loops.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the belt. He grabbed her hard and jerked her to him.

"Do you want it rough?" He grasped a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back.

Her eyes watered but she loved it. "Yes." She swallowed. "I want it rough."

He pinched one of her nipples hard while holding onto her hair and she gasped. Then he released her hair, took her by her upper arm, and brought her with him to the bed. He pulled the covers down to the foot of the bed then picked her up and set her in the middle of the mattress.

The next thing she knew he had taken his belt, wrapped it around her wrists, and secured them to the headboard. She tugged and found she couldn't move them. Her heart raced faster.

Wild sensations shot through her belly as he grabbed one leg, and then her other, and unfastened the garters. He pulled off her panties and tossed them aside. She squirmed with desire as he slid down the stocking of her right leg then slipped the silky stocking over her foot.

"Now you're mine," he said with a wicked grin. "You can't get away from me."

When he grabbed her ankle, she started struggling, fighting him, the erotic play turning her on even more. He kept hold of her ankle and tied the stocking around it and secured it to a bedpost. He went to her other leg and she fought him even more as he slid off the remaining stocking. He easily grasped her left ankle and tied it to the bedpost, spreading her wide to his gaze.

She felt helpless but on fire at the same time. He moved away from the bed and went to his bureau and opened a drawer. He took out what looked like an old white T-shirt and a ripping sound met her ears as he tore it into strips. He tossed what was left of the shirt onto the floor then carried three strips back to her.

After he eased onto the mattress, he straddled her chest, looked down at her, and studied her eyes. "You're gorgeous, Tess. I love seeing you like this. I love having control of you."

He held her gaze as he put his c.o.c.k to her lips and she pressed her lips shut and shook her head, as if she didn't want him.

"You're going to suck me." He said the words like a command. He grabbed a handful of her hair, keeping her from shaking her head, and forced himself inside the warm of her mouth. He started moving in and out, not pushing himself too far, but far enough that her eyes watered. "That's it, baby." He pumped his hips a few more times then drew his glistening c.o.c.k from her mouth.

Without taking his eyes from hers, he reached beside him and grasped one of the T-shirt strips. Her eyes widened as he brought the strip closer to her.

"No," she said, shaking her head. Fighting him was turning her on so much that he had to see it in her eyes.

He put the piece of his T-shirt in her hand. "If at any time you really want me to stop, drop this cloth."

He grabbed her face in one hand then wrapped another strip around her head and mouth, gagging her. She made m.u.f.fled sounds of protest, struggled against her bonds, and shook her head back and forth again. He checked her hand periodically to make sure she hadn't dropped the cloth.

With ease he stilled her, took the other strip and wrapped it around her head, too, only this time over her eyes so that she was blindfolded.

She made helpless sounds. She couldn't talk and she couldn't see, and she was completely at his mercy.

"Do you like being in my control?" he kissed the corner of her mouth.

She shook her head as if she didn't and she fought again against her bonds but held onto the strip of T-shirt tightly.

"Oh, I know you really do like it," he said.

She not only liked it, she loved it. She didn't want him to stop.

"I want to take care of you." His voice thrummed as he moved his lips down her jaw. She shivered from his warm breath on her ear. "I'm the only one who will ever bring you pleasure." He bit her earlobe. "You're mine."

Her belly flipped at his dominant words. His warmth brushed her body and she wondered what he was going to do next.

He moved so that he was kneeling between her thighs and he slid his fingers inside her. She moaned behind her gag as he moved them in and out in a slow rhythm. He shifted and she felt his big shoulders between her thighs right before she felt his mouth on her c.l.i.t.

Her breath caught in her throat and she would have come up off the bed if he hadn't secured her so well. It felt so incredible as he licked and sucked her c.l.i.t as he moved his fingers in and out. He'd gone down on her the first time, but everything seemed more intense while being gagged and not being able to see or move.

Heat washed over her and her scalp p.r.i.c.kled as she felt her oncoming o.r.g.a.s.m rushing forward. Her legs trembled and she fought against her restraints without even realizing that was what she was doing.

And then he stopped. She whimpered and squirmed, frustrated that he had left her so close to climax.

"Don't come, Tess," he said right before he went down on her again.

She nearly screamed behind her gag when he stopped again, her body vibrating with the need to come.

He kissed the inside of each thigh and she whimpered again, tears of need wetting the T-shirt strip over her eyes.

His mouth was on her c.l.i.t again and he pumped his fingers in and out. She rose and rose toward o.r.g.a.s.m and prayed that he wouldn't stop. He didn't this time.

When she climaxed she cried out behind her gag, every stroke of his tongue and movement of his fingers carrying her higher.

As she came down, he withdrew his fingers and moved from between her thighs so that she felt him over her. He untied the T-shirt strips from her mouth and eyes and then she found herself looking into his clear green gaze. He reached to the nightstand and opened the drawer then pulled a condom package out from inside it. Her heart beat faster as he opened the package and rolled the condom down his erection.

"I'm going to give it to you just the way you want it." He pressed his c.o.c.k to her core. "I'm going to f.u.c.k you hard."

"Yes." She nodded. "Now."

He drove inside her and her eyes flew open, widening at the sudden feel of him stretching and filling her. He took her with a fierce, possessive look in his eyes.

The sensations were so incredible they whirled around her.

Her o.r.g.a.s.m crashed into her and he kissed her hard as she came, stealing her cry. He continued taking her and then he gave a loud, shuddering groan as he climaxed. She felt every throb, every pulse in her sensitive channel.

He was still inside her as he unfastened the belt from her wrists. He brushed his lips over skin she hadn't even realized was chafed. He pulled out of her and untied her ankles and then he was drawing her into his arms.

Chapter 22.

So she liked it hard and kinky.

In the darkness, Harvey peered in through the slats in the blinds in Gage's bedroom window as he watched Gage f.u.c.k a tied-up Tess. He'd even heard their conversation, had watched her struggle, and had seen on her face just how much that had turned her on.

The rage building inside Harvey caused his body to shake as he clenched his fists and ground his teeth.

If the b.i.t.c.h liked bondage and domination, he'd be happy to oblige. He'd been playing around with BDSM for years and even had some "toys" of his own that he'd be happy to use on Tess. A ball gag, nipple clamps, a flogger, maybe even a b.u.t.t plug.

Yes, he'd throw a little pain in with the bondage while he was at it. He could almost feel the satisfaction of using clamps on her nipples and her c.l.i.t while he had her bound and on her knees as he whipped her with the flogger until her a.s.s and the backs of her thighs were bright red and raw.

And then he'd f.u.c.k her.

Harvey watched until Gage and Tess finished and were lying together. The longer Harvey stood there in the bushes beside the window, the more he wanted to kill Gage and take off with Tess. If he didn't have such good self-control, he'd kill Gage, take Tess, and burn the whole d.a.m.n house down now.

But he had other plans.

And by the time he was finished he'd have Tess, and Gage would be dead.

Harvey took a step back from the window, his boot landing hard on a stick. The crack of wood snapping was loud enough to break the stillness of the night.

s.h.i.t.