9781618857279MakeMineaCowboySullivanNC (9 page)

“Wow.
Such a diverse group you have here.” The notes on the group were getting longer
and longer. How much more could she possibly need to develop the hero in her
book? Maybe there needed to be an entire family.

“Then
there is Joey or Joe. He’s the baby of the family and boy do we all know it. He
gets away with murder. I swear. Mom and Dad think he can do no wrong. Well, it
looks like it from the rest of us boys’ perspective anyway. He’s the one in
charge of the horses. He helps Dad buy and sell those for the
Remuda
and keeps us in a good supply of gentle to a little
more rowdy for the experienced riders. We have a wide range of horses we keep
on the property. Joe breaks most of the newer horses and he competes in
bronc
riding at the rodeo. I think he does some bull riding
on the side, too although he doesn’t want Mom to know about it and it’s not
professionally. One of these days, he’s gonna break his neck, but it’s what he
loves. He’s got the adrenaline junkie personality. Definitely attracts the
buckle bunnies with his happy-go-lucky attitude. Woman in every town.”

“Wow.
You’ve got such a wide variety of personalities in your brothers. I’ve got five
pages of notes on them.”

“Good.
I hope you get some great information while you’re here.”

“This
is going to be awesome, Joel. Thank you for giving me the lowdown on everyone.”
She reached over and kissed him on the cheek.

“Would
you like to go for a walk?”

“In
the dark?”

“I
grabbed a small flashlight while we were in the barn.”

“Okay,”
she said, sliding her pen and notebook into her purse. She wasn’t sure how much
they could see in the dark, but she didn’t want to call it a night quite yet.
Being close to Joel ramped up the heat between them. Her body felt on fire as
she shivered in the night air. It wasn’t from being cold.

As
they stood to make their way into the blackness surrounding the bonfire, one of
his brothers called out, “Behave
yourself
, Joel. She’s
a guest.”

“What’s
that all about?”

A
shrug lifted both his shoulders as he laid his hand on the small of her back
guiding her around the boulders and path rocks blocking their way. “Nothing
really. We just have a don’t mess with the guests policy.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.
It’s really to keep my brothers from coming onto some of the single women we
get staying here, which doesn’t happen a lot. We tend to meet more women in
town. The ranch is packed most of the time with families.”

“Does
the no messing with the guests policy include me since you kissed me?” she
asked, cuddling closer to his side. She really hoped the policy didn’t apply to
her. She wanted Joel to kiss her again.

Chapter Five

He
stopped and looked down at her. “Technically, yes. I shouldn’t have kissed you
earlier. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t
be. I wished for it. Remember?”

“Yeah,
but…”

She
pressed two fingers to his lips. “I wanted you to. It’s not your fault. If your
mother says anything, it was me, not you.”

The
warmth of his lips under her fingertips sent chills down her arms. He kissed
her fingers, then her palm. Shivers raced down her back. Her heart sped up,
threatening to jump from her chest.

Moonlight
lit the path now that they were away from the fire. It also reflected the white
of his teeth as he smiled. The wink he gave her did nothing to calm her out of
control libido.

“I’ll
blame it all on you then.”

“Great.”
He grabbed her hand to lead her down the path headed for the front of the
house. Clouds raced across the face of the moon blocking the light at times,
but giving everything
an
slight eerie silver glow.

He
led her to the front of the main house where several rocking chairs and other
assorted benches lined the porch in front of the windows. Light from the main
room of the lodge spilled out onto the front lawn, but did nothing to cut the
darkness beyond fifty feet. Joel took her shoulders in both of his hands as he pushed
her down on one of the rockers. “I thought you might like to sit here for a bit
and watch the clouds drift across the moon. It always seems kind of strange to
me to watch with the outline of the trees beyond the light from the house.”

“It
is spooky out here.”

The
front door of the ranch house creaked open, but no one came out. She glanced at
Joel, but he didn’t seem to notice.
It
was probably someone from inside who opened the door, and then changed their
mind about coming outside.
She glanced through the window, but didn’t see
anyone near the door.
Okay, that’s weird.

“How
long have you lived in Los Angeles?”

“All
my life.
My parents moved there before I was
born.”

“Do
they still live there?”

“Sort
of.
They spend part of the year in Arizona.” His profile
intrigued her. The slope of his nose looked regal, except for the small bump
near the bridge indicating he’d broken it at least once. His lashes were long,
dark spikes any woman would give her eyeteeth to have. The black Stetson sat
back on his head, framing the black curtain of his hair. He wore it longer than
most guys, she noticed, almost to his shoulders.

“What?”

“Nothing,
why?”

“You’re
staring at me.” He smiled and winked.

“Sorry.
I didn’t mean to. I’m admiring your profile.”

“Why?”

“I’m
committing it to memory for a book cover. I want to take your picture before I
leave.”
Yeah, sounded like a good excuse
to me. I certainly can’t tell him I think he’s hotter than Hades.

“Oh?”

“Yeah.
Preferably with your shirt off.”

He
laughed. The rich, deep sound made her pussy weep with need.
God, I want this man to make love to me.
Make love, hell! I want him to fuck me
six ways to Sunday.

With
a quick glance at his watch, he said, “How would you like to go into town? The
bar there should be just starting to swing right about now.”

“Sure.
I haven’t been out to a bar in quite a while.”

“No?”
He stood and held out a hand to help her to her feet.

“Nope.”

“Well
then you need to loosen up a bit. Have a few drinks.
Dance.”

“I
can’t dance.”

He
tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow as they walked back toward the
parked cars behind the main house.

“Sure
you can. Everyone can dance.”

“I
have two left feet. Trust me.”

“Have
you ever tried to two-step?”

“No.”

“I’ll
teach you. It’s easy. I’ll lead, you follow. You’ll have the hang of it in no
time.”

“I’ll
probably bruise your feet stepping on them.”

“You
can’t be any worse than Willa Miller.”

“Who?”
She giggled as he opened the door to the biggest truck she’d seen in her life.
White and huge with big mud tires.

“Willa
Miller. She’s been hanging out at the bars since she turned twenty-one. She’s
now fifty something,
I think.” Once he got around the front
of the truck, he hopped inside and closed his own door. “She’s got to be the
worst dancer I’ve ever seen. Most of the guys tolerate her because she so
sweet, but man she’s hard on the toes.” Her laugh turned into a snort. Joel
roared with laughter as he turned over the engine. “You snort when you laugh.”

“Only
when I’m laughing really hard.”
She placed her hand
over her nose and mouth trying to hide the sound. “It’s not funny, Joel.”

“Sure
it is. I think it’s cute.” He grabbed her hand to lace their fingers together.

“You
would.”
What to make of this enigma named
Joel?
He acted like he was attracted to her, but she didn’t know whether to
take him seriously or not. Could they have a fling for a few days while she
stayed on the ranch? She could. Would he be willing? The attraction was
definitely there on her part. She slowly pulled her hand out of his grasp to
wrap her arms around herself. What to do?

“Are
you cold? I can turn on the heater if you want.”

“No.
I’m fine. I got the shivers for a minute, is all.” She rubbed her arms to calm
the chills.

Within
moments they pulled into a bustling bar in the center of Bandera. Tons of trucks
sat in the parking lot, but very few cars.
Figures.
Everyone drives a truck in cowboy country.

Joel
walked around the front of the truck to open her door. Such a gentleman, but
then again, his mama raised him to be like that, especially around women. He
opened the door and held out his hand to help her down from the twenty feet off
the ground his truck stood—okay, maybe not that high.

“I
should have dressed up more.”

“You
look great, Mesa. Besides, most of the women in here wear jeans and T-shirts.”

“Maybe
I’m overdressed then.”

“I
like you just the way you are.”

“Thanks.”

The
doors to The Dusty Boot opened and closed several times as they made their way
closer. She could hear the music playing loudly every time they opened. Several
cowboys stood on the porch and called to Joel when they reached the doors. He
waved back, but didn’t stop to chat.

They
walked inside only to be immediately swallowed up in the crowd of cowboy hats
and rhinestones. A band played from a small stage near the back of the bar. A
loud cowbell clanged causing her to jump. Joel put his lips near her ear.
“The mechanical bull.
They ring the bell when someone rides
for eight seconds.”

“Are
you going on it?” she asked, breathing in his cologne. All man, cowboy, and
musk.
God, he smells good.

“If
you will.”

“Me?”

“Yep.
I want to see those sexy hips swing with the back end of the bull.”

Heat
crept up her neck as she bit her lip to hide her smile. Sexy hips, huh. She
almost felt giddy. He thought she had sexy hips. “Okay. I’ll give it a go.”

The
smile he gave her could have set her panties on fire. She sniffed hoping she
didn’t smell smoke, because damn, he probably would melt the silk of her
underwear.

“Hey
baby.” A beautiful blonde scooted close and pressed her size double D breasts
against Joel side. “I’ve missed you. You haven’t been around here much, Joel.”

“No,
I haven’t.”

“Wanna
hang out? I’m free tonight and all yours.”

“I’m
with someone, Brandy.”

“Oh
yeah?”

“Yes.
Brandy this is Mesa. Mesa, Brandy.”

“Nice
to meet you,” Mesa said, glancing at the woman hoping she could hide her disdain.
The blonde didn’t even acknowledge her.
Well,
so much for pleasantries.

“I’ll
see you around, Brandy.”

“Sure,
cowboy. Call me.”

“Uh,
yeah.”

Joel
took Mesa’s hand and wormed his way through the crowd toward the back of the
bar. A large mechanical bull sat in the middle of a padded ring. Several people
stood around the outside of the ring, laughing whenever someone climbed on and
was tossed off on their ass.

Great. He wants me to get on that
thing?

“Yes,
I do,” Joel said. “Climb on. You can do it.”

Joel
went back to pay the operator as she sucked in a ragged breath.
I can do this. With Joel watching, it’ll be
much more fun.
She grinned as she realized she could totally tease Joel at
the same time. With a sexy swing of her hips, she approached the steel beast.
She stuck her foot into the metal stirrup and swung her leg over the back of
the bull. Adjusting herself toward the handhold, she tucked her dress between
her thighs so she could save what little modesty she possessed, and then
grinned like an idiot. Centered on the bull, she flung her left arm out and
nodded to the operator to start the ride. Once the bull started bucking, she
shifted her body in the sexiest motion she could as she glanced at Joel standing
off to the side. He wolf-whistled, bringing a smile to her lips.

The
music seemed to roll along her spine with each swing of the bull. Her left arm
snapped back and forth as she rode for the full eight seconds and earned
herself the cowbell ring. When she jumped off the back of the bull, Joel met
her in the middle of the padded ring, swept her up in his arms, and planted a
fat, juicy kiss on her mouth.