Training Amber Read online

  She swallowed hard. Was she going to just let memories of Dennis ruin the first good thing that had happened to her in ages?

  She swallowed hard. “All right. Just…don’t expect too much.”

  “I expect to give you pleasure, Amber. And I hope I succeed.”

  Chapter Two

  Somehow, Amber had expected that Rio would also live in Limerock, so she was surprised when they drove out of the community and through the little town to a country road heading west. With conversation impossible in the open car, Rio turned on the radio, found soft music and cranked it up enough that they could hear it. Amber leaned back against the rich leather seat and willed her body to relax.

  She soon realized that they were in a real country environment—lots of open spaces, no streetlights, distant houses hidden at the ends of long driveways separated by miles of open land. When Rio turned in at one of the driveways and she heard the nickering of horses she sat up, squinting through the dark. At the end of the drive was a sprawling ranch house, welcoming lights a golden glow in the huge front window. Beyond that were large buildings that were indistinct shapes in the dark, and more sounds of…horses?

  “What is this place?” she asked.

  “Rancho del Sol. Ranch of the Sun.” He braked to a stop in a gravel parking area and turned off the ignition. Taking her hand, he lifted it to his lips. “Mi casa, querida.”

  “You live on a ranch?” Amber was stunned. She had imagined him as a high-powered businessman, especially after seeing his mega-dollar sports car.

  “I own it.” He chuckled. “That surprises you.”

  “I didn’t… I just… I thought…” She was stammering and couldn’t seem to organize her thoughts.

  “I breed and train very expensive cutting horses. The stud fees for some of them are as high as for thoroughbreds.”

  “I had no idea.” She felt as if she’d landed in a foreign country.

  “Come. Let’s go inside. In the morning when it’s light I’ll give you a tour.”

  “Th-the morning?”

  “Yes.” He helped her out of the car and wrapped his arms around her. “Tonight we will be too busy in my bed.”

  The brief kiss he gave her was like a blowtorch on her lips, sending showers of sparks cascading through her. What was it about this man that made her entire body turn liquid and throb with need? That made erotic fantasies dance in her head?

  What am I doing? Am I out of my mind? I came here to get away from everyone and here I am about to have sex with a total stranger. Someone I’ve known less than an hour.

  But Rio Negron was unlike any man she’d ever come into contact with. With barely a touch he made her blood race and her heart beat faster. Maybe it was time for her to take a chance. It had certainly worked for Molly.

  Rio led her through an enormous living room and down a hallway, talking softly to her. She had no idea what he was saying because his hands were touching her lightly everywhere. The nape of her neck. Her spine. His fingers trailed the length of her arm. All very soft, gentle caresses but they only served to stoke the fire already blazing deep inside her.

  Then they were in his bedroom, a room almost as large as the living room, with one wall of solid windows looking out into the blackness of the night. Rio walked her over to it and stood with his arm draped casually over her shoulders, his fingertips resting on the upper swell of one breast.

  “This land has been in my family for generations,” he told her. “It was always a cattle ranch, but when the beef market began to destabilize my father saw the opportunities in cutting horses and made the change. A lot of the land lies empty now but it’s my own wide open space and I wouldn’t change it.”

  Amber had to admit she could see him, with his dark good looks, astride a powerful stallion like the vaqueros of old. The image sent a tingle down her spine.

  “But now,” he said, “I want to unwrap the package. My unexpected gift.”

  When he turned on the bedside lamp she backed away from him.

  “Can we…leave the lights off? There’s plenty of moonlight coming in through the window.”

  He cupped her face and gently licked her lips. “But I want to see you. Explore the sexy body I know is beneath these clothes.”

  Amber looked down at her feet. “Not so sexy, Rio. Certainly not in the same shape as the younger women you’re used to.”

  His face hardened. “You haven’t a clue what I’m used to. Or what I want. And younger women often aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. Listen to me, Amber. The moment I saw you I knew you were perfect for me. A mature woman at the ripest point of her life. No games. No artifice. Just pure woman. Would you like to know that when I saw you standing in the Trajans’ living room my cock got so hard I was afraid it would burst through my slacks?”

  She laughed unsteadily. “I’m sorry, I just find that hard to believe.”

  He stared hard into her eyes, as if trying to read something written on her soul. “What’s got you so tied up in knots, querida? Nick said you were just coming off a divorce. Was it so destructive?”

  She bit her lip. “The divorce was actually a relief. It was the marriage that was nearly my undoing.” She closed her eyes. “It seemed I’d reached an age where, without a lot of re-engineering, my body was no longer appealing or acceptable.”

  His hand tightened fractionally on her face. “I have to think your ex is suffering from a case of terminal stupidity. A treasure like you doesn’t come along very often. And if you let me, I’m going to prove it.”

  He threaded his hands through her hair and took her mouth, his tongue a live thing, probing, licking, touching.

  When he kissed her like that Amber couldn’t think. Couldn’t do anything except melt into him and let herself feel. She was barely aware when he moved one hand and slipped each of the buttons free on her blouse. She felt the whisper of silk as it brushed her arms, then it was gone and one hand cradled a breast, rasping the nipple through the insubstantial satin of her bra.

  Rio trailed his mouth down her neck, pressing tiny kisses against her skin, nipping lightly here and there. Then her bra was gone and his mouth was on her nipples, first one then the other. She felt the pull clear to the center of her pussy, cream rushing to dampen her panties even more than they already were.

  She clung to him as he teased each peak to a pebbled stiffness, then traced a line with his tongue down the valley between her breasts. Then his hands were at the waist of her slacks, unbuttoning, unzipping, and somehow her slacks and bikini panties disappeared as if by magic.

  Rio took one step back from her, resting his arms on her shoulders, and let his eyes roam slowly from her face to her toes, taking in everything in between. Amber had to fight the urge to cover herself with her hands.

  “Beautiful,” he breathed.

  “I-I know my body isn’t perfect…” she began.

  “Are you questioning my judgment? Your body is exactly what I want. Just…stand there. Don’t move.”

  His eyes never left her as he efficiently stripped off his clothes. Amber nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw him naked for the first time. His muscular body was lean, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. Black hair matted his chest and arrowed down to a nest of curls surrounding the most magnificent cock she’d ever imagined. Thick and long, it jutted proudly from his body, the head a dark purple, a tiny bead of fluid sitting atop the slit. The sac with his balls hung heavy against his thighs, which were dusted with the same dark hair.

  Unconsciously, Amber licked her lips, and Rio laughed, a low, husky sound.

  “I’m glad you approve.” He stepped closer. “I know I’m probably rushing you but I don’t want to give you a chance to change your mind.”

  He was aware that was entirely possible. She was as skittish as a new colt.

  She deserved all the trappings of wining and dining and the slow lead-up to this but he sensed he’d caught h
er at a moment when, for whatever reason, she was open to him, and he wasn’t about to let that moment slip away.

  Rio knew he’d have to be very careful with her. But Amber McCloud was someone special. The punch to his gut the moment he’d laid eyes on her had told him this was no casual situation, at least for him. And truth be told, he wanted what his friend Nick had found with Molly. Maybe his grandmother was right and the fates would bring him the right woman when he was ready for her.

  Well, he was damn ready now.

  Swiftly, he pulled back the covers on the massive bed and placed her on the cool cotton sheets, arranging her just so. Then, passion heating his blood, he knelt between her thighs and proceeded to taste every inch of her. He followed the line of her collarbone with his tongue, pressed an openmouthed kiss to the hollow of her throat where her pulse beat wildly.

  Her skin was soft and carried the intoxicating scent of wildflowers, the fragrance driving him wild. He laved every inch of her breasts, drawing circles with the tip of his tongue and swirling around the swollen nipples. He shifted so he could move his mouth lower, tasting her navel then lapping the warm flesh of her tummy.

  “Rio,” she breathed, restless beneath his touch.

  “So gorgeous,” he murmured. “So sweet. A treat from the gods.”

  “I might argue with you if you weren’t driving me out of my mind.”

  “Then I’d better keep doing it, sí?”

  When he reached her cunt he spread her legs wide, opened her labia with his fingers and took a slow lick the length of her slit. She squirmed and moaned beneath him, her little whimpers adding fuel to the fire burning deep inside him. And one taste of her and he nearly lost his mind. The honey slicking the sweet pink flesh of her pussy was better than any fine wine he’d ever been served. Tastier than any nectar.

  He held her firmly in place while he lapped to his heart’s content, thrusting his tongue deep inside her then pulling out to swirl it around her clit. The little nub of furled flesh was like candy in his mouth and he couldn’t stop himself from sucking on it, pulling it with his lips. When he moved one hand to slide two fingers inside her the hot walls of her cunt clamped down on him at once.

  God, she was so responsive. Any man who didn’t appreciate her was out of his mind.

  With his hands against the backs of her thighs, he pressed her knees to her chest, opening her to him even more. He nibbled at the edges of her labia and teased her opening with the tip of his tongue before sliding his fingers back inside her again. She was very close now. Very close.

  He slipped his fingers out and ran them along the sensitive skin to the tight ring of her anus, rimming the tight muscle with a fingertip. Amber jerked at his touch and moaned again. When he thrust his fingers into her cunt this time she climaxed at once, hips bucking, fingers grabbing his head and holding tight to his hair.

  He rode her through it until she was quiet, her breath coming in short pants, her heart beating wildly. He moved up her body to press his mouth to hers, sharing her taste with her, running his tongue over the surface of her lips and around the inside of her mouth.

  Smoothing the tangled hair back from her face, he smiled at her.

  “I could do this forever, Amber.” As long as I get my cock inside you very, very soon.

  “I’d be worn out,” she grinned.

  “But I’d feed you and keep up your strength. Besides, we’ve just begun tonight. I have so much more in store for you.”

  She lowered her glance almost shyly. “You didn’t get to…you know.”

  His laugh was a low rumble. “Get to come? It’s okay to say the word, Amber. It’s okay to say anything you want. It’s all part of arousing and satisfying each other.”

  “I know.” Her face turned a rosy shade of pink.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a woman blush. What kind of sex had she had with that asshole ex of hers, anyway? “Do you? I hope so, because I plan to tell you in great detail what I’d like to do to you. With you. Right now, my goal is to give you the most pleasure I can.”

  She shifted slightly beneath him and his painfully hard cock came into contact with the soft curls guarding her pussy. He sucked in a breath, straining to maintain control over his body. Not until he was sure he’d wrung every climax from her possible would he allow himself his own release.

  He rose on his knees, studying her body again with deliberate intent, appreciating the lushness of it, the dark nipples, the deep auburn curls covering her mound. The sweep of her thigh, the curve of her hip. He thought he could spend hours just looking at her.

  “Rio.” She frowned. “I’m not… That is…”

  “I thought we settled that.” His voice was stern. “Amber, your body is everything I want. It’s a body meant for pleasure. Yours and mine. It’s more than any man could ask for. So no more negative remarks, okay?”

  “O-okay.”

  “The one thing I’m grateful to your ex for is he apparently was so lacking in skill that I don’t have to worry about performance anxiety.”

  She laughed, a breathy little sound. “I don’t see that as a problem.”

  And then he went to work on her again, with his hands and his fingers and his mouth. There was no part of her body he left untouched. He sucked her nipples until each one was red and swollen again, and kneaded the pleasurably soft mounds of her breasts. He took his time coasting his mouth over her stomach, teasing her navel with his tongue while his hands held her hips firmly in place.

  He licked the crease where hip and thigh joined and tugged lightly on her pubic curls with his teeth, then nipped at the sensitive nub of her clit. Her juices spilled into his mouth and he eagerly lapped at them.

  He even turned her over on her stomach so he could press kisses the length of her spine and explore the hot crevice between the cheeks of her ass. Soon he would take her there. When she was ready. There was so much more he wanted to do to her. With her. He wondered briefly what she’d say if she knew how deep his tastes really ran. But that was for another time.

  Tonight was purely for her sensual enjoyment.

  And finally, when he’d wrung everything from her he could, he turned her onto her back, sheathed himself and drove into her. And, oh God, his heart nearly stopped with the force of the feeling. She was hot and tight and wet, like a sleek satin glove clutching at his dick. He had to hold himself still while he reached for the last threads of his control. Then he opened his eyes to look at her, rolled his hips and pumped into her.

  Sex had never been like this for him, something that reached to the core of him. Something more than physical. Always it had been just the satisfaction of the body’s needs, with a willing woman who understood the things he enjoyed. But with Amber there seemed to be an almost metaphysical connection, an invisible thread linking them together. His abuela—his grandmother—would say fate had brought them together, and who was to say she was wrong?

  As he drove into Amber again and again he thought of the games he’d like to play with her. The things he wanted to teach her. And his orgasm pushed its way up from deep inside him.

  When he was just about to lose it he felt her pulse around him, milking him, the spasms racing through her body straight to his cock. And he took them over the edge together, whirling into space, bodies convulsing and shaking until neither had breath left in them. He collapsed forward and rolled to the side, taking her with him. He could feel her heart thumping as hard as his, her body still trembling with aftershocks.

  Finally he slid from her body very carefully, disposed of the condom and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her.

  “Sleep, querida. You need your rest. We are far from done.”

  Chapter Three

  “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

  The deep voice and the fragrant aroma of rich coffee roused Amber from a slumber of deep satisfaction. She forced her eyes open to see Rio sitting next to her on the bed, stark naked, holding a mug of streaming brew under her nose.
It amazed her how comfortable he was in his nakedness.

  “You’re awake.” Rio’s warm voice slid over her like honey. “I’ve been wondering just how much more patience I’d have to have.”

  “Mmm.” She turned over and stretched like a lazy cat. “Bedside service. How luxurious.”

  He chuckled. “I need to take very good care of you, amada. I’m hoping last night was just a beginning for us.”

  He let her sip from the mug for a few moments before taking it from her and placing it on the nightstand. Then he slipped into bed behind her, molding his body to hers. Before Amber realized what he was doing he slid the sheet and coverlet away from her body and ran a palm smoothly over her curves.

  “Rio, no.” She grabbed the covers and jerked them up to her chin, turning away from him again. “Don’t…do that.”

  “Do what, amada? Kiss you? Touch you? Why not, when it gives us both such pleasure?”

  “Don’t…pull the covers away. It’s daylight.” And the sun was streaming in through a large picture window. She was sure every blemish had been starkly revealed.

  “I won’t let you hide from me,” he told her, his voice kind but firm. He tugged the covers from her grip, leaving her naked again. “You have a wonderful body and I love to look at it. Don’t deny me that pleasure and don’t make excuses for nonexistent flaws.”

  He was running his hand over her again, soothing her, nibbling at her earlobe. He caressed her shoulder and her arm before shifting his hand to cup her breast. His thumb slid lazily back and forth over her nipple, the plump bud hardening beneath his touch. Amber wanted to protest, to cover herself again, but Rio’s caresses made her objections fade in the haze of an erotic fog.

  He licked the outer shell of her ear while his hand slid from her breast across her stomach and down to the soft curls covering her mound. One lean finger slid into the wet slit, lightly rubbing her still-sensitive clit, dragging her own moisture over it. Her body moved in response, hips hitching back and forth. The hot, insidious tip of his tongue swirled her ear, sending shivers skating along her spine.