He released his hold on her waist and followed her instructions. Her skin felt so damn good beneath his palm. He inched upward. “For a better grip.”
“You’re going to need it,” she said. “I’m letting go.”
A second later, both of her hands were reaching for the bottom of the material bunched around her hips. Holding tight with his thighs, he withdrew his right hand from the handle and placed it on her other leg.
She pulled her dress over her head and tossed it forward. One of the thin shoulder straps caught on the bull’s right horn. The dress hung there, spinning around.
“Looks like the bull’s waving the white flag,” she said.
Sweetheart, I’m ready and willing to surrender.
“Lose the bra, Josie,” he said gruffly. “Let’s take this naked bull ride all the way.”
But she didn’t reach for the back clasp. Instead, she slipped her hand in the handle and looked over her shoulder at him.
“You’re sure?” she said softly.
“I want you.” And yeah, he supposed he’d known that he would need to toss that fact out there tonight alongside a few others. “I have for a while. I’ve respected your brother, steering clear, but I want to spend the last few hours before I go with you.”
“Noah—” Her eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected this speech.
But he wasn’t done yet. “You can pull your dress back on and we can just sit here, watch the bull spin, and talk until the sun comes up. But I’d rather take that naked ride.”
She let go and leaned forward, her fingers deftly working to strip off her bra. “Don’t let me fall.”
“I won’t.” He slid his hands up her thighs, over her white underwear to her waist while she tossed her bra to the mat.
“Ah hell, Josie, I want to turn you around and bury my face in your breasts,” he said. And yeah, he heard the raw desire in his voice. “I want to claim every damn inch of you.”
His hands moved higher, brushing the underside of her breast. He couldn’t resist. He had to touch her. Cupping one full breast in each hand, he ran his fingers over her nipples, offering gentle squeezes. She gasped and leaned back, her hips moving with the bull’s rhythm.
“I want to taste you, touch you, fuck you right here,” he growled. “I want you so damn much. But—” He had to tell her. He needed to make it clear. “But I’m still leaving in the morning. Nothing will change that.”
JOSIE FELT REALITY rush in, fighting for space alongside the tantalizing feeling of Noah’s hands on her breasts, his lips on her neck, his body pressed against hers. And this bull—the hum and gentle vibration beneath them threatened to push her over the edge. Until he said those words.
I’m still leaving in the morning. Nothing will change that.
“I know,” she said simply.
His hands stilled, no longer tracing circles and exploring her nipples. Oh no, he’s walking away. He’s heading for the honorable path.
“Is it possible?” she asked, needing to keep him here, mounted on this spinning, bucking machine. “To turn around and face you for the rest of our naked ride?”
He chuckled. “I don’t know. Might depend on how flexible you are.”
“I don’t think that’s our problem,” she murmured. Although that might be a little white lie. She wasn’t Gumby. Not even close. “But you still have your clothes on.”
He released her and she felt his hand moving behind her. A second later, his shirt landed on the faded red section of the surrounding mat. “I can’t get my jeans off on this thing,” he said.
“How about I turn around and release your zipper?” She drew one knee up and froze. “I might need some help,” she added.
His hands returned to her waist. “Can you move your leg over the head the next time it dips forward? I’ve got you.”
She nodded, trusting in his hold. The bull reared and she swung her left leg over the top and . . . slid right off the other side. She landed on her hands and knees.
“Shit,” he cursed. And then he was beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her away from the faded blue into the not-so-pure white area. “Before it swings back around,” he added.
She ended up on top of him, her bare chest against his superman-sized muscles. “Sorry. I just really wanted to get you out of your pants,” she said, looking down at him.