Palomino Ch. 05

Lacey's eyebrows furrowed as she could only imagine what was coming next.

"Her truck was draggin' a trailer with her two horses in it. The trailer jackknifed on a patch of glass on a bridge and drug her off the road into the ravine," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, gripping the sheets beneath his fingers. Just seeing the vision of it all again ripped at his heart.

Lacey wanted to reach across the distance that separated them, just to hold his hand. She hurt for him inside ... for what that must have done to him. She watched him relive it, and she couldn't help it. She couldn't just lay here. In a quick breath she was sitting on the edge of his bed, her soothing hand on his bare back as he continued to speak.

"She died instantly, is what I was told. The horse that managed to survive, I put down myself. Why they hadn't done anything about it by the time I got there, the hell I know."

"I'm sorry Wes ... I'm so sorry." Lacey was at a loss for words.

"She was three months pregnant."

Lacey couldn't help the soft gasp as the news got worse and gently rubbed his back and tears stung her eyes. She hurt deeply for him and wished there was something she could do to make it all better.

Tears stung his eyes and buried his face into the pillow, shuddering as he relived the most terrible moments of his life. "She was the damndest rodeo queen ya ever did see, though. Took state and regional titles several times over. Never did achieve her goal of taking nationals, though."

Tears slipped down Lacey's cheeks as she wished there was something she could do. Leaning down, she hugged him as best as she could, her chest pressed to his back as her lips gently caressed the back of his head as he kept his face in the pillow. "Oh Wes, I'm so sorry," she murmured softly, holding him close.

After a long while, Wesley spoke again. "I want you to have that hat. But it stays here. To wear when you're here. I've got her work hat too, that ya can have."

She pulled back a bit, her face showing her shock at him giving her the hat and she looked down at him laying on the bed beneath her and could only nod in agreement, her fingers gently smoothing his still damp hair. "Thank you," she murmured softly. "I promise I'll take good care of it."

He looked up at her with a slight smile, his eyes damp and reddened, and rolled over onto his back. He reached to take her hand gently and kissed the backs of her knuckles. "I know ye will."

She gazed down at him as he rolled onto his back and she was lost in his gaze as his lips caressed her knuckles, turning her hand to gently stroke at his tanned and slightly weathered face, a soft smile appearing.

Without thinking, he reached up to gently grasp the back of her neck and pulled her down toward him to kiss her gently, caressing her neck just below her hairline. He'd ached to do it all weekend. Why, he didn't exactly know. Especially with the story he'd just told her.

Lacey was surprised when he pulled her down for the kiss but she couldn't control her response to him as her other hand joined the first one on his face, gently caressing as their lips met in a soft, yielding kiss, seeming to explore and memorize the other pair as her body was forced to press intimately against his.

After several moments he released her, their eyes meeting. That same crooked grin appeared on his face. He hadn't intended to go that far, but it did feel good. The feel of her lips against his still tingled across them.

Lacey smiled tenderly down at him before slowly lifting up off him some. Her lips were still slightly parted and her whole body tingled with the feeling of being captured momentarily in his arms and tasting his kiss. She smiled, brushing his lips with her fingers before pulling those away as well. "I ... I guess I should get back in my own bed," she replied somewhat sheepishly.

"What if I don't want you to?" he whispered gently, watching her.

Lacey looked down at him as her heart began to beat wildly within her chest as his simple words. She smiled tenderly, almost teasingly at him as she tried to remain cool and collected despite the burning desire she had to just crawl beneath the sheets with him and pull off that damned towel. " Are you saying you want me to stay in your bed, cowboy?" she teased gently.

He grinned that same, crooked grin. One side of his mouth just did not want to respond to whatever it was going through his mind. His thumb traced gently over her knuckles and the back of her hand as he contemplated. "Would it be too awkward in the morning if I said yes?"

Lacey knew that getting involved with him was only going to make things more difficult when it came time to leave, much less her decision on whether she belonged on the ranch or in the city. But she had never been drawn to anyone the way she was drawn to him. There was not one thing within her that told her that this was wrong; that being with him wasn't where she was supposed to be. In fact, everything was in complete opposition. She leaned down to gently feather a light kiss across his lips before drawing back just enough to whisper, "Why don't you ask me that in the morning?"

He grinned against the kiss and wrapped her in his arms. He hadn't wanted to seem too abrupt, too needy, but this felt right. His body responded to her feminine shape. Lance was right. He did need somebody. And that somebody was right here. If he could manage to make her stay. His fingers slid under her tank top gently as he rubbed her back, their lips meshing to one another's.

Lacey's fingers slid over his chest, trapped beneath their bodies as she was pulled into his arms, a soft sigh of released breath brushing over his lips as they kissed. She couldn't take her eyes off him and even as they kissed and gently stroked the other, their eyes remained locked, as if they both wanted to make sure the other one wasn't going to simply up and vanish.

He pulled back gently to speak before either of them got too fired up from the touching and stroking. "...I don' wan' this to seem like... like you're a... I don' know how ta say it..." He'd wanted the girl ever since he'd laid eyes on her. He hadn't allowed himself the luxury of thinking he'd ever have her.

Lacey pulled back some, a soft smile appearing as he struggled to find the words that she herself had wanted to say. "Shhh," she softly whispered, pressing a single finger to his lips before sitting up, crossing her arms before her to grasp the tank top in her hands and lifted the shirt up and over her head, exposing, for the first time, her ripe, perfectly formed breasts to him. Tossing the shirt aside, the only thing that kept her from him was the skimpy string bikini that she wore, and the towel that barely covered him anymore. "I feel it too," she murmured softly, putting to rest any fears he had about this just being a roll in the hay for either one of them when clearly, it was not.

He moaned softly into her lips as she hushed him and he just held onto her. His hands roamed over her smooth curves, feeling the flesh she'd bared to him to see and to touch. He wanted to memorize every inch of her before he let her go on that plane on Sunday. If he couldn't have her for good, he could at least have her tonight. After awhile he gently rolled her over onto her back. By now the bed was an absolute mess. Everything was haphazard and scattered. The only things that mattered, though, were him and her.

Lacey was lost in the overwhelming sensations that she was feeling in his arms. There was an intense joy and a feeling of calm that she had never felt with any man, but there was also this underlying feeling of sadness, or need, between them as if they both knew that this could be their only time together. She pulled him close as he rolled her over, wanting to show him with every touch , every kiss, every shift of her body against his that he already meant more to her than whatever waited for her back in New York. She had to go home. That part was inevitable. But the part that still hung precariously, was if she would stay in the city, or pack her things, say goodbye to a life that didn't feel like hers anymore, and come back to him and life at the ranch.

He pressed his body against hers intimately, settling between her legs that wrapped around his waist. He still couldn't take his eyes off her as she settled beneath him. He suddenly regretted not having a condom handy. He hadn't even thought about it. This wasn't something he had imagined even in his crazy mind. "I.... I don' mean to ruin the mood any, Lacey..." he began gently as his callused fingers continued to work magic between her legs, stroking her lustfully, "You on any contraceptive?"

Lacey moaned, arching up to his touch, her whole body on fire for him, as suddenly his words permeated her foggy mind. She blinked a moment and then shook her head, her words stammering a bit "N-no ... I ... I'm not," she said, a tremble snaking down her spine. Good lord, she hadn't had time to date seriously, much less get involved with anyone, and now, she suddenly wished she was! "Y-you don't have any ... any thing?" she stammered, feeling panic rush through her, mingling with the passion he had aroused in her.

He didn't draw back or stop anything he was doing. He didn't want to make her feel like he was casting her aside. Gently he shook his head at her question, regret clearly etched on his face. "I didn' even think 'bout it, ta be honest."

Lacey blinked a moment before a soft moan erupted from her lips as he continued to stroke her, her body moving hotly beneath his and her hands pulled him closer. She wanted to throw caution to the wind and beg him to finish what he started but she knew that he was much more cautious than that. Damn Lance! She gazed up at the gorgeous cowboy above her, passion and regret etched on her face as well. "We should go beat down Lance's door ... I bet HE has something!" she teased even as a soft sigh of disappointment was released from her lips.

He grinned and kissed her lovingly. He shifted a bit to lie beside her and continued to stroke her. He didn't want to take the chance with absolutely no protection, but that didn't mean he couldn't finish her off by other means. He nibbled along the length of her neck and over her collar bone as his fingers worked magic over her soaked slit, stroking and urging her gently.

Lacey moaned, pressing against Wesley as he continued to stroke her. She knew he was being thoughtful, but damn it, she wanted to feel HIM! She rolled towards him, her leg moving to lie over his hip, opening her up completely to him as her own hand snaked between them, sliding lower to tease and stroke at his hardened manhood. She gasped to feel his length and width of his girth as her fingers encircled him, gently pulling and stroking in time with his own magical fingers as the both began to writhe and shift on the bed.

He moaned hotly against her neck as he was stroked and loved on, shifting within her grasp. "Oh yeah... just like that Lace." He shuddered hard in her grasp as she returned the favor of their lustful bond, quite enjoying the sensations racing through him.

Lacey's hips moved on their own accord, meeting his fingers as they began to thrust into her more than willing body and her own fingers closed a bit tighter over his cock, stroking him in time with the fingers making her cunt pulse and tremble in want. His words made her moan and shift against him, crying out his name softly as they pressed together as much as possible. "Oh god, Wes ... I want you so much," she moaned, trembling uncontrollably against him.

He cooed gently as he stroked her deeper and harder with his fingers, his thumb pressing against her clit as they rocked together. He was a bit disappointed that they weren't able to bond completely, but this would do, and it felt damned good. He moaned as she stroked on him, his cock jerking and swelling in her grasp.

She moaned hotly against him, jerking as his thumb on her clit sent her over the edge. Her body bucked, coating his fingers with her hot, sweet nectar as her fingers circled him even tighter, stroking him harder in a desperate desire to feel him cum and coat her belly in his seed as she writhed against him, her head pushing back into the pillow as she orgasmed against him.

He shuddered as he pushed her over the edge and he smiled, continuing to stroke her. Suddenly his whole body seized up for a split second and he grunted hard, jerking against her as pleasure raced through him, his whole body quaking as he came. He panted, struggling to keep his focus on her as pleasure threatened to shatter him.

Lacey clung to him, whimpering again as he jerked and exploded across her hip and belly, searing her skin with his thick cum. Her nails grazed the strength of his upper arms and back, pulling him closer as she jerked and came once again over his fingers that continued to stroke and push deep into her, her sex muscles clenching around his fingers. She cried out, trembling against him.

He grinned, satisfied, proud that he still had the effect on a woman he once had and he gently coaxed her down with gentle caresses and kisses, wrapping her up in his arms.

Lacey gasped for breath, clinging to him as he wrapped her up in his strong arms and pulled her close, responding sluggishly to his kisses until she was able to gather her wits about her some. Then her fingers slid up his arms to tangle in his hair, pressing slow, intimate kisses against his lips as they slowly caressed each other, holding each other tightly.

After awhile of post loving cuddling and touching, and they were both relaxed again Wesley pulled back enough to rest against the pillows and reached for the towel that had been discarded to clean them up. He pressed his lips to hers again, loving the sweet taste of her lips.

Lacey couldn't help but chuckle and tease him some as he cleaned her, helping with the mess that he had made against her flat belly and rounded hips. "My word ... you sure know how to make a mess," she teased, gently nibbling on his lips as her fingers tenderly caressed his face, blue eyes twinkling as they locked gazes with his again . She knew, in that moment, that she would never tire of looking deep into his eyes, or touching him tenderly.

"Mmhmm... I sure do. Comes with the territory," he winked in play as he stroked her belly, wiping her clean with the towel. "Next time I'll remember a condom. Promise."

Lacey laughed gently and then curled up next to him, lying in his arms as her cheek pressed to his shoulder as they relaxed in the bed. "You better," she murmured, a soft smile plastered on her lips as she held him close. She didn't want to think about Sunday, or the time that she would have to walk away from his smiling face. She just wanted to think about here and now and the way he made her feel. "Still mad at Lance?" she asked with a grin.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head as she cuddled and he reached for the crumpled blankets to semi cover them. It was a hot night and they wouldn't need much, but the blanket was more of a comfort shield. "I'm starting to think the scoundrel planned this."

She murmured softly as the excitement of the day and then the thrill of tonight caught up with her, closing her eyes as her arm drifted around his waist. "Mmmm ... probably," she managed to say before falling asleep in his arms. She hadn't been this comfortable or this settled in a very long time. Sleep had never come easily for Lacey before tonight.