9781618857279MakeMineaCowboySullivanNC (13 page)

“Would
you like to go riding tomorrow?” Jason asked.

“Um,
yes I would.”

“Great.
I’ll saddle a couple of horses. I can meet you at the stable around nine in the
morning.”

“Okay.”
What the hell? This whole thing stinks.

They
finished dinner in silence while the rest of the family talked about different
topics. The moment she finished, Jason grabbed her plate to deposit it into the
dirty dish bin.

“Walk
with me.”

“All
right,” she answered, deciding to see where this whole thing might be leading.
Did Joel push her off on his brother because he didn’t want to hurt her
feelings by saying he wasn’t attracted to her? Did Jason think she wanted him?

She
let Jason take her hand and walk her out the front door of the main lodge to
the chairs lining the porch. Even though the full moon happened the night
before, it still shone bright enough to see the walkway.

“You
look beautiful in the moonlight.”

“Thank
you.”

“You
know, the kiss we shared last night blew my socks off. I wish you hadn’t made
me leave.”

Frowning,
she opened her mouth to tell him she knew he wasn’t Joel, but he bent his head
and kissed her full on the mouth. She quickly stepped back and smacked him
across the face. “How dare you.”

“What?”

“Do
you think I’m stupid? Do both of you think I wouldn’t know the difference
between you, Jason?”

“You
knew I wasn’t Joel?”

“Hell
yes! Even if I hadn’t figured it out at dinner, I would have known from the
kiss.”

“Most
people can’t tell the difference between us.”

“Joel
has an abrasion near the left side of his mouth from where he got in a fight
with Joshua at the bar last night.”

“Damn.”

“What
the hell is going on here? Why the ruse?”

“I’ll
tell you, Mesa,” Joel said, coming around the side of the house. “I was pissed
off at myself this morning because of what happened last night. Our kiss, I
mean.”

“Well
you know what? Fuck both of you! You want to play these
sillyassed
games,
you can play them on some other unsuspecting
woman. I’m not doin’ it.”

“Mesa,
listen,” Joel implored, holding out his hand to touch her arm.

She
jerked back and slapped at him. “No. This is childish. I can’t believe you two!
I thought I might have meant a little more to you than this, Joel, but
apparently not. What we shared last night was special to me, but not to you.
I’m just another girl to you.”

“No,
you’re not, Mesa.”

“Yeah,
whatever.” She spun around to head back into the house. Maybe it was time to
go. Head back to Los Angeles and lick her wounds.

“Mesa,
please.”

“What
Joel?” She turned back around.

“Let’s
talk about this.”

“What
the hell is there to talk about? You and your brother were playing me for the
fool. How many times have you three switched places on a girl, huh? I bet a
lot.”

“No.”

“Yes.”
During her discussion with Joel, Jason had disappeared either back into the
house or whatever. At this point, she really didn’t care. He probably slinked
back into his
hidy
hole. Man, if she ever became a
permanent part of this family, she’d…what?
Those
are crazy thoughts.

Joel
slipped his hand along the side of her face before burying his hand in her
hair. He dragged her in closer with a fistful of her hair at the back of her
neck. “I want you.”

“You
made a fool of me.”

“No,
I wanted to make sure it was me you wanted.” His lips whispered over hers. The
softness skimmed across her cheek to her ear. “I need you.”

“Need
is a powerful word.”

“It’s
totally what I’m feeling, but I can’t promise you anything beyond tonight.”

“I
don’t need anything more.”

“Are
you sure?” he asked, listing his head to look into her eyes. The blue glistened
in the moonlight like a beacon for her lost soul.

“Yes.
I need you. I need this.”

“Your
room or my place?”

“You
have somewhere we can go?”

“Yeah.
I have my own cabin a few miles up the road.”

“Make
love to me, Joel. Fuck me.”

He
pulled her head back as he raked his teeth along her neck. Shivers raced down
her arms as a soft moan escaped her mouth. “Come home with me.”

“Yes,
please.”

He
looked deep into her eyes for a moment as if judging whether she was serious or
not. Little did he know, she’d wanted this from the first time he’d kissed her
or maybe it was when she had her breasts squished to his back as they rode in
the rain back to the house? Who cared?

“Let’s
go,” he said, grabbing her hand and half dragging her to where his truck stood
in the parking lot behind the main lodge.

“A
little horny are we?”

“Hell
yeah.
A lot horny.
You’ve had me wound up tighter than
a damned spring from the moment you climbed up behind me to rest those gorgeous
breasts against my back.” He opened the door on the driver’s side of his truck,
practically shoving her inside the cab by the seat of her pants. “Sorry, baby.”

Oh I love the little endearments
coming from his mouth now that we’re going to have sex.
“You can call me all the little pet names you want.”

He
grinned as he turned over the truck and shot gravel behind it as he tore out of
the drive. “You have no idea how much I want this.”

“If
I’m judging your craving to mine, I bet I do.”

“How
long has it been since you’ve had sex?”

“Several
months. You?”

“Me
too.”

“You
do have condoms, right?”

“Yeah.
A few.” He grinned.

“I
hope you plan on using several tonight.”

“Oh,
no problem there, babe.”

Damn, he almost sounds cocky.
Well, why wouldn’t he be? He could probably have any woman he wants. She
frowned, feeling a bit self-conscious at her rounded little stomach and even
rounder hips. She wasn’t a skinny woman by any means.

“Why
the frown?”

“Nothing.”

“No,
baby. Tell me. No secrets tonight.”

She
bit her lip.

“Come
on.”

“I’m
just not the skinny little cowgirls you’re used to.”

“I’m
not into skinny.”

“Younger?”

“I’m
not into jailbait either, Mesa. I like you the way you are.
Rounded
curves and enough softness for me to sink myself into.
I don’t plan on
coming out until tomorrow mornin’. You okay with that?”

“Are
you sure?”

“Positive,
babe.” He grabbed her hand to place it on his groin.

The
hardness behind his fly let her know he wanted her…needed her.
God, he’s huge!

“I
hope you plan on goin’ easy on me.”

“Why?”

“Like
I said, I haven’t had sex in a bit and you aren’t exactly small.”

“I’ll
take care of you.”

Within
moments, they pulled up to a small cabin with a porch around the front. It
wasn’t anything huge by any means.
Just small enough for a
single man, or a couple maybe.
Get
those thoughts out of your head. You’re only here for a few days.

“Nice
place.”

“Thanks.
It’s not much, but it’s got a king sized bed.”

“That’ll
do for tonight then.”
King sized bed and
Joel for the night? Hell yeah!

No
lights shone from the windows. White curtains blew in the breeze of the one
open to the left front corner. The house wasn’t decorated at all. No woman’s
touch anywhere.

“Sorry.
It’s kind of a mess.”

“A
bachelor lives here. I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Dishes were piled in the
small sink to her right as they walked through the door. He had a stove,
refrigerator and a few cabinets to hold dishes, she assumed. The couch in front
of the fireplace would make for great cozy nights. She shook her head. She
didn’t need to go there.

“This
way.” He took her hand and led her back down the hall to the first door on the
right. “There’s a bathroom to your left if you need it.”

“Thanks,”
she said, walking through the small doorway and shutting it behind her. The
florescent lighting over the mirror showed her wild hair from Joel running his
hands through it. Her eyes were bright. The pupils dilated. Her lips were puffy
from his kiss. All in all, she looked like a slut. “Great.” She ran her fingers
through her hair to try and straighten it out a little before she went back out
there. “Okay, really Mesa. I don’t think he cares what your hair looks like
except if it’s the hair between your legs.”

Oh, crap! I didn’t shave my legs
this morning. What if they are stubbly? I didn’t shave my bikini line lately
either. Shit!

“Mesa?
Are you okay, babe?”

“I’m
fine, Joel. I’ll be out in a second.”

“I’ve
got some wine. We can sit and relax for a bit. No hurry on this.” It sounded
like he ran his knuckles on the door. “I mean, we can talk a while or
whatever.”

“Okay.”
Could he tell her nerves were shot? Probably. He definitely was trying to
soothe them. She used the restroom, washed her hands, and then opened the door.
Joel stood on the other side with a little smile lifting the corners of his
mouth.

“Better?”

“Yeah.
Thanks.”

“Come
with me,” he said, taking her hand. With his hat now gone the light reflected
in a blue-black sheen on his curls. “We can watch television, talk or whatever
you want to do. We don’t even have to have sex if you’ve changed your mind.”

“I
haven’t. Have you?” she asked, taking a seat next to him on the couch.

“No,
but I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of caveman. You’re comfort means
everything to me.”

She
wiped her sweaty palms along the thighs of her jeans.

“Are
you nervous?”

“Yeah,
a little,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve never had casual sex before.”

He
ran his fingers along her jaw. “I’ve never been in a relationship, so I guess
it makes us even.”

“Never?”

“Well,
nothin’ serious anyway. I’ve dated a couple of women for a period of time, but
it never got serious on my part.”

She
frowned. He smoothed his thumb between her eyes.

“What’s
the frown for?”

“I
was thinking about my ex.”

“A
hint here, Mesa.
Guys don’t want to hear you’re thinking
about your ex when they’re about to have sex with you.”

She
turned to face him as she placed her hand on his chest. “No, nothing like that.
I wasn’t comparing you by any means. There’s nothing to compare with. I mean,
you’re lean, muscular and drop dead gorgeous. Those eyes could melt chocolate
and you know how much women love chocolate. He didn’t have any of those
things.”

“What
were you comparing then?”

“I
wasn’t comparing anything. I had a thought about how my relationship with him
seems so different than this with you. When I went out with him, things moved
very slowly. We didn’t have sex for six months after we met. Even then, it
wasn’t anything to write home about.” With a giggle, she covered her mouth.
“Not like I would write my mother about my sex life, but you know what I mean.”

He
laughed. “Yeah, I do. There’ve been a few women I wouldn’t make love to twice.”

“Really?
I thought all guys were just in it for the end result. You know, gettin’ their
rocks off.”

“Not
if they are any good, they aren’t. It’s more fun for me to make sure the woman
has several orgasms when I’m with her.”

The
lump in her throat almost choked her. “Several?”

He
leaned in and ran his tongue along her jawline until he reached her ear. “Yeah,
several.”

Holy shit, he’s got one sexy voice.
The
lower rumble of his voice threw her heart into overdrive. The slow seep of moisture
between her thighs surprised her. She never got this wet with her ex. Not from
only a whisper in her ear. Those were things she wrote about in her novels, not
something she experienced for herself. She swallowed
hard.

“Um,
Joel?”

“Yeah?”
he asked, sliding his tongue around her earlobe.

“Damn,
you’re good.”

He
chuckled softly as he nipped the fleshy part of her ear between his teeth. She
closed her eyes, letting the feelings overwhelm her. Hooking up with him
probably wasn’t a good idea, but every time he got close to her, she couldn’t
think of anything except getting him between the sheets to see how good he
really was.