A Cowboy Comes Home (11 page)

He took a second with the condom.

Their gazes locked, hers a clouded jade, his barely able to focus.

He brushed his thumb across her lower lip, dipping it inside the hot cavern of her mouth. She suckled, swirling her tongue across the sensitive pad.

He kissed her hard, and she arched her back, twisting her hands into the quilt.

“I’m sure,” she gasped, and he arched forward.

The second he was inside her, a roaring need took over his brain. Desire pulsed to every point of his body. His hands roamed her breasts, his lips moved from her mouth, to her shoulder, tasting everything in between.

She was all motion beneath him, her breaths coming in small gasps, her body arching to meet his rhythm, her arms rigid, head tipped back and her eyes closed shut.

He lost track of time, sensation after sensation building within him. He held on as long as he could. But when she cried out his name, and her small body convulsed, he followed her over the edge, oblivion washing over him in waves.

The roaring in his ears slowly subsided. Though his muscles were spent, he braced his elbows, worried that his weight might crush her. But he didn’t want to move, didn’t want to withdraw, didn’t want real life crowding in on paradise.

When worry for her comfort trumped his longing, he moved off. But he bent one knee, laying his leg across her thighs, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into the cradle of his body, resting a palm across her warm, smooth belly to keep the connection intact. “You’re amazing,” he whispered huskily in her ear.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Glad to hear it.” He kissed her lobe, thinking he could happily start all over again.

They breathed in sync for a few minutes, and even as reality returned, a strange sense of calm stole over him.

It was odd. This was still his childhood bedroom, still the family ranch. Three oil paintings of quarter horses hung on his wall. The scents of the fields wafted in the window. And the sounds of the animals punctuated the night.

But for some reason it felt softer, the edges didn’t seem so sharp.

“What?” she asked, twisting her head to look at him in the half light.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You sighed like the world was coming to an end.”

“It’s not.”

“Are you upset?”

“No.”

She moved to a sitting position, her expression pensive. “Regrets?”

“No.” He vigorously shook his head, pulling her back down, wrapping an arm tightly around her. “Absolutely none.”

She seemed to relax, and her fingertips brushed across his chest, while her warm breath puffed on his neck. He burrowed against her thick hair and inhaled the clean, citrus scent.

“It’s funny,” he ventured. For some reason, he wanted to put the feeling into words. Unusual for him, but he plunged on. “This is the closest I’ve ever come to being content in this room.”

“That’s good.” She twisted her neck to look up at him. “Do you think maybe we banished some demons?”

“Maybe,” he allowed.

“I feel very powerful,” she joked.

“Then again—” he kept it light “—it could be that you are the most fun I’ve had in this house since my mom made chocolate mint fudge on our eighth birthday.”

She grinned. Then she sobered and drew back, eyeing him quizzically. “Wait a minute. Did I beat the fudge, or was it the other way around?”

“Not a fair comparison. Apples to oranges.”

She socked him in the shoulder. “Man, did you ever miss that opportunity.”

“Ouch. Sorry.”

“You better be. Chocolate mint fudge. Like it could hold a candle to me.”

“It could when I was eight.”

“You’re not making this better, Caleb.”

He chuckled low.

“You know,” she began, coming up on her knees. “We may be on to something here.”

He reached for her, not wanting this space between them. “Oh, I think we are. And I think we should do it again.”

She batted at his hand. “I meant, changing your perception of the ranch. Not just your bedroom. And not just with sex. But the whole thing.”

Something cold settled into Caleb’s stomach. Was she really going to turn this into a sell-the-ranch, don’t-sell-the-ranch thing?

“I know exactly how we could do it,” she rattled on, voice decisive.

“Mandy, don’t—”

“You need to talk to Reed,
really
talk to Reed.”

“How the hell did Reed get into this conversation?” Annoyance put an edge to Caleb’s voice.

She stopped. She blinked.

He tried but didn’t quite keep the edge out of his tone. “Last time I checked, it was just you and me in this bed.”

“But… He’s your brother.”

“That means something completely different to you than it does to me.”

Caleb knew his anger stemmed from disappointment. But what had he expected? He and Mandy were still the same people. They still had divergent goals. Nothing had fundamentally changed because they’d sweated naked in each other’s arms.

She shook her head in response to his statement, her rich hair flowing with the motion. “No, it doesn’t. This land, your family, Reed. They’re all part of your history and your heritage. You couldn’t erase them by running away when you were seventeen, and you can’t erase them by selling out now.”

His annoyance was growing to full-out anger. “I did
not
run away.”

“Semantics.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Why did you smash the picture?”

Caleb set his jaw but didn’t answer. He’d smashed the picture because he couldn’t stand to see his father’s smug face staring out at him one minute longer.

“Why did you smash the picture?” she repeated.

“Drop it, Mandy.”

Her tone turned softer. “If you didn’t care anymore, you wouldn’t have smashed the picture.” She gave a heartfelt sigh. “Staying away for ten years didn’t fix it, did it?”

“This is none of your business,” he told her firmly. It was temporary, a blip on his radar. A few days—a few weeks, max—and he’d be back to his regular life in Chicago. The ranch would cease to exist for him. And that’s the way he wanted it.

“Do you think you’ve been repressing your true feelings?”

Suddenly, Caleb simply felt tired. He didn’t want to fight with her. Mandy was the sole bright spot in all this madness.

He reached for her, urging her back down into his arms, genuinely trying to see things from her perspective.

“If it makes you happy,” he told her. “Yes, I’ve been repressing my feelings. My childhood sucked. Reed made a stupid choice from which our relationship will probably never recover. And, I’m sorry to have to be so blunt. But there’s nothing you can do to help. I know you disagree, but I’m making the right choice.”

“It’s—”

He pressed his index finger across her warm, swollen mouth. “For me, Mandy. It’s the right choice for me.”

Her green eyes turned soft and sympathetic.

He forced out a smile. “But you’ve made it better for right now.” He couldn’t resist, so he kissed her mouth one more time. “You’ve made things much better for right now.”

Desire surging, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. She was instantly kissing him back, her soft, sinuous body wrapping itself around him one more time.

He made love to her slowly, gently, savoring every second of the peace she offered.

Afterward, they lay still and silent for a long time.

It was Mandy who finally broke it.

“I need to go home,” she whispered.

His eyes came open. “Why?” He didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t want her to move an inch, at least until morning.

But she twisted her neck to look at him. “It’s coming up on eleven.”

“You have a curfew?”

“Travis looked pretty suspicious when I left.”

“So?”

Travis’s interference was definitely not welcome in this. Whatever was between Caleb and Mandy was none of her brother’s business.

“So, if I come home after midnight, he’s going to put two and two together.”

“And?”

“And, he’ll be upset.”

Caleb propped himself on one elbow. “Are you telling me this was a clandestine fling?” Even as he said the words, he asked himself to come up with an alternative. What were they going to do? Date until he left for Chicago? Own up to her brothers that they’d slept together?

“I think that’s the best way to handle it, don’t you?”

“You’re an adult,” he reasoned out loud. “Your private life is none of your brother’s business.”

Mandy laughed. “You going to tell him that?”

Caleb was willing, if that’s what Mandy wanted him to do.

“I could tell him,” she mused with a nod. “But then there’d be a fight.”

“I’m not afraid of Travis.” Caleb had no intention of lying about his relationship with Mandy.

“I meant with me, not you. And, with everything else going on, I really don’t have the energy to fight Travis.”

“I don’t like this,” said Caleb. He wanted her to stay right where she was. He wanted to hold her in his arms all night long, maybe even beyond that.

She cocked her head, defying his mood by giving him a saucy grin. “A few minutes ago, you seemed to like it just fine.”

“I don’t want to go sneaking around behind your family’s back.”

She patted his chest. “For now, let’s just keep it quiet. Who knows what happens next between us. Maybe nothing.”

Caleb was hoping for a lot more than nothing.

“If you go ahead with your plan to sell, you know you could be gone in a matter of days,” she reasoned. There was no inflection to her tone, impossible to tell if she’d miss Caleb or not.

Then she gave a wry half smile. “You want to start world war three over something this insignificant?”

Insignificant?

“Because, believe me, Caleb, Travis is as overprotective as they come.” She glanced at her watch. “I go home now, he can wonder, but he won’t know. And if he doesn’t know, he can’t go off the deep end.”

Caleb ran his fingers through her messy hair. “This is a stupid plan.”

“But it’s my plan.” This time, there was a distinct edge to her voice. “Some decisions you get to make, Caleb. This one is mine.”

He stared at the determination in her green eyes.

“Okay,” he finally agreed. He’d keep the secret. Lady’s choice. And he didn’t kiss and tell.

The lights were on, and Travis was still up when Mandy came through the front door of the Jacobses’ ranch house. He appeared in the kitchen doorway, a screwdriver in one hand, a rag in the other.

He stared at her for a long, silent minute as she tugged off her boots and tucked her loose hair behind her ears.

He took two steps forward. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” She steeled herself for a moment then met his gaze full-on.

“Mandy.” He smacked the screwdriver and rag on top of the dining-room table. “He’ll break your heart.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She had her suspicions, but she didn’t know for sure, so it wasn’t a lie.

“What do I always tell you?” He came forward at an angle, giving her the impression he was circling in.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

“We’re not like you, Mandy. We’re guys. We’ll say anything, do anything—”

“Caleb’s not like that.”

Travis scoffed out a cold laugh. “What did he tell you?”

“He didn’t tell me anything. And I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stomped to the sofa and flopped down, picking up this month’s
Equestrian
magazine and opening it in front of her. “And I really don’t want to have this conversation with you.”

Travis moved to the armchair across from her. “He’s from Chicago, Mandy. He’s not staying.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Mandy didn’t expect Caleb to stay. Her wildest wish was that he’d hang around long enough to meet up with Reed. Beyond that, she had absolutely no illusions.

“The women he goes out with,” Travis continued. “They know the score. They expect the lies. They know they’re lies.”

“Caleb has not lied to me.”

“Then how’d he get you into bed.”

Mandy determinedly flipped her way through the pages of the magazine. “None of this is any of your damn business.”

“I love you, Mandy.”

“Shut up.”

“He doesn’t.”

She glanced over the top of the magazine. “What a ridiculous thing to say. Of course he doesn’t love me. Why would he love me?”

“Then why won’t you believe I have your best interest at heart?”

“I’m not a child, Travis. I like Caleb. Caleb likes me. Despite your cynicism, that’s all there is to it. I’m not about to get hurt. And that’s all you need to know.”