Choice of Love (8 page)

    Good lord, Devin Cooper was one mercurial individual. One minute he was angry and rude, the next he was sweet, charming, tender, then he was pure heat and passion, and then right back to rude and angry. What annoyed the hell out of her even more than his mood swings was the fact that she was helplessly attracted to him no matter what mood he was in. What was the matter with her?  Who was she kidding? There is no way she could win man like Devin Cooper; she might as well put the idea out of her completely. Memories of their shared kiss in the stable and how he couldn’t pull away from her fast enough, assailed her. Her eyes welled with tears she refused to shed.

    She sniffed a few times, looking around her. It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea where she was or how far from the tent she had wondered. She had been so angry and hurt that she had just walked aimlessly into the night. 
Oh, this is just perfect, now I’m lost. Could this night get any worse?
Mary Lou heard shuffling coming from the bushed to her left and stiffened, eyes going wide. Apparently it could get worse, now she had to worry about being eaten by wild animals. Peering into the bushes obscured by the night, she squinted trying to see what was hiding behind it.
Please let it be squirrel or a cute little rabbit,
she mentally pleaded.

    Her prayer was not answered. To her horror a coyote stepped out from behind the bush. She slowly backed away, surprised that her legs could still support her, seeing as her entire body was shaking like a leaf.  Each backward step she took, he stalked her, eyes focused solely on its prey. Without her even realizing, four more of the feral animals strode out in to the open. She was surrounded. Mary stood her ground, not because of bravery but because she was paralysed with absolute fear. Why hadn’t she been paying attention to how far she was straying from the camp? Now, she was going to die a gruesome death.

    Devin finally spotted Mary Lou. He had big plans to lecture her on her stupidity and recklessness for wondering alone into the night. Although he knew he had hurt her feelings, he still though she would she more sense and just sulk outside the tent, within view. This environment could get very dangerous at night. She was standing with her back to him, as if she was frozen. Why the hell is she just standing there like that? Then, when he got closer he realized. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he saw about five coyotes surrounding Mary Lou. He had to think and move quickly before; they decided to make her their main course. He grabbed a handful of stones; the first one he pitched hit one of the animals with a force that sent it to the ground. He threw another, which connected with one more of the animals. The two injured coyotes scampered of whimpering and the rest followed their lead.

    He reached Mary Lou’s side swiftly, He had to get her back to the safety of the tent before the animals decided to come back.  She still stood frozen, whimpering, her eyes bright with welled up tears. Devin shook her shoulders lightly and she slowly looked at him and blinked, as if only just realizing he was there. “Oh Devin!” she cried throwing herself into his arms “I thought I was going to get eaten. I didn’t know what to do.”

“You’re ok darlin’, I’ve got you” he reassured. Feeling her shiver, he rubbed his big hands up and down her arms. “Let’s get out of here before they come back.”

    They made their way back to the ranch camp, Mary Lou never letting go of Devin. She was still in shock over her confrontation with the coyotes. She would be forever grateful to Devin for saving her life. Before they entered the tent, Devin looked up and around the camp inhaling sharply, His brows furrowed as he focused ahead of the tent where he had tied the horses. Concerned, Mary Lou followed his gaze, wondering what he was looking for. “What is it?” She asked.

He glanced down at her replying, “I don’t see the horses at the spot where I tied them earlier.”

    Mary Lou looked at him in confusion, wondering what that could have meant. The horses were missing? They really didn’t need any more bad luck for today; the day had been filled with one mishap after another. Seeing the worried expression on Mary Lou’s face Devin reassured her “The must have just broken loose, while we were gone and wondered off, they probably won’t go far. Anyway we can’t look for them right now, it’s really not safe out here so we are not leaving this tent again until morning” he finished. His gut told him that something wasn’t quite right. If the horses had somehow gotten loosed, the injured horse would have remained within the vicinity of the ranch camp, she couldn’t go far or too fast on her broken. So why were they nowhere in sight? They had not been gone for too long. He kept his concern to himself, not wanting to upset his companion any more than she already was. He would get up early and search for the horses first thing in the morning.

    Devin ushered Mary Lou into the tent. He retrieved the flashlight that he had dropped into the picnic basket, turned it on and rested on top of the basket, providing them with soft glow of light. He sure was glad that he spotted the flashlight in one of the draws in the kitchen and threw it into the picnic basket for the heck of it; it sure came in handy now, he had not bothered to set up a fire, he didn’t want to attract any wild animals to the camp. The night was chilly but the temperature had not dropped too low, he had decided that they would be alright without the fire for the night. They sat side by side on the blanket spread out in the tent. Mary Lou glanced at Devin. “Did I thank you for saving my life?” She asked “Thank you Devin. Thank you for coming after me, even though I was a complete idiot wondering out in to the night like that.”

Devine gave a small smile, “No need to thank me Mary, you wouldn’t have gone out if I hadn’t been a complete ass. It was my fault. It wasn’t very fair of me to talk to you that way. I’m sorry.”

Mary Lou smiled softly and nudged him playfully with her shoulder, “Apology accepted Mr. Cooper.” 

They sat for a moment in silence. Devin felt Mary Lou give a small shiver beside him. “Cold?” he asked.

“Yea a little” she said rubbing her palms over her arms.

    He put his arms over her shoulders, pulling her close. Mar Lou was startled at the unexpected gesture. She swallow hard, being this close to Devin was wreaking serious havoc on her senses, not to mention her body. After a while she relaxed into his arms absorbing the heat that his body provided. “Thank you” she said faintly nestling more into his arms.

    Devin broke the silence, “Mary, I really am sorry for the way that I have been acting since the moment we met. I’ve been a total jerk the entire time. You were right; none of this is your fault. I wanted to take you on the nature ride to make up for the way I had been acting. I thought you would enjoy the scenery and the picnic. Didn’t turn out too well, did it?” He chuckled softly.

    Mary laughed, “its ok Devin, I understand that you were thrown into a situation involuntarily. Your schedule was disrupted and you were upset, like anyone would be. “And the nature ride wasn’t a complete disaster. I actually enjoyed myself.  This place is absolutely amazing and so peaceful. This city girl has fallen in love with the country.”

    He smiled broadly “Well how about that, I’m glad you like it here little lady” his western drawl emphasised. He paused for a moment. “I’m also sorry about jumping you like a hormone-filled, crazed teenager. It was highly inappropriate and unprofessional. You are a guest at my ranch and I should not have taken advantage of you like that” he rushed out.

“Devin- she began, but he cut her off.

“No Mary, it was improper of me but damn it I had been dreaming of doing it since the minute I laid eyes on you and merely lost my self control in the stables.”

    Mary Lou couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He had been dreaming of it? Holy shit that means he was attracted to her. She untangled herself from his embrace and turned to look at him. In a moment of odd bravery Mary Lou took a deep breath and confessed, “Devin, you don’t have to apologize because I loved it.” She took a deep breath thinking
to hell with it, I’m just going to let it all out.
“Since I met you, I have been all hot and bothered and madly attracted to you. The moment you kissed me was probably the best moment of my life so far. I don’t get kissed by guys like you Devin. You made me feel wanted and beautiful for once in my life, then you pulled away and I was so disappointed because I realized that I was kidding myself. There is now way a man like you could want a girl like me. I mean, I’m not pretty and all my friends say I’m boring.”

    She was staring at the ground, not able to look him in the eye after her confession. She missed the astonished expression on his face before he cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “What the hell do you mean you are not pretty? Plenty of men must be chasing you down in Detroit.” She shook her head sadly. “Well city men must all be blind” he continued. “I don’t understand how anyone can think of you as boring; you are smart, witty and sexy as hell. Plus you don’t you don’t put up with my crap, you don’t hesitate to tell let me know when I’m being a jerk” he laughed, “and you are one of the most responsive women I have ever met. The way your body answered to my touch in the stables... hell I want you Mary Lou Carpenter.”

    Mary Lou’s breath was coming out in small gasps as she stared up at him wide eyed. She couldn’t believe that he really and truly desired her, just as she did him. She slowly moved closer to him, her eyes never leaving his, feeling incredibly brave. With her lips inches away from his she whisper “Then take me, Devin Cooper.”

Chapter Five

    Devin stared in to Mary Lou’s eyes looking for any sign of uncertainty, but he saw none in her passion clouded eyes. He covered the short distance between them and captured her lips with his own. He drew her onto him, so that he legs were straddling him. He delved deeper in to her warm, welcoming mouth with his tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts on to his chest; he could feel her nipples harden against him. His hands bunched in her thick curls, pulling her closer to him. Mary Lou moaned softly her body pliant against his. He reached his hands down and grabbed the tail of her tank top pulling it over head. Her full breasts were barely contained by a yellow lace bra. He reached around and undid the hooks, releasing her breasts which he cupped with both hands.
He had been right
, he mused, remembering when he had first saw her at the airport, and they
were
a more than hands full. His lips trailed soft kisses down her neck and chest; going lower he took her right breast in to his mouth, sucking gently. Desire shot through Mary Lou, coursing down to her pussy. Her head dropped “Devon” she moaned.

    Hearing her groan his name his so sensually, turned him on even more, if that was even possible. He needed to hear her call his name like that again. He gently eased her on to her back, coming down beside her. He caressed her face briefly then trailed his hands down her torso, coming to the top of her shorts. He unfastened the button and zipper, pulling the shorts and panty off in one move; she eased up to make the task simpler. She was now fully exposed and vulnerable beneath his stare, her breathing quickened. He studied her in the soft glow of light coming from the flashlight, not say a word, his eyes moving leisurely down her naked body. She had the urge to cover herself and hid from his intense gaze.
What is he thinking?

As if reading her mind, Devon whispered “You’re beautiful”.

“Undress for me Devon, now, I need to see you” she said, unable to believe her new found bravado. The Mary Lou she knew would never have been courageous enough to make such a demand.

    He raised his eyebrows and smiled, getting up on to his knees “Yes ma’am” he drawled. He slowly pulled his shirt over his head, undid the zipper of his jeans and pulled it off. He hooked his fingers in the waist of his boxer and rolled it down his hips, all the while maintaining eye contact with her. She was propped up her elbow staring up at him; she broke eye contact, her gaze travelling down his body. He was a work of art, strong muscular arms, and sculpted washboard abs. When his penis sprang free, standing proud and tall, her eyes widened.
Damn! This cowboy is well endowed,
she thought.

“You’re magnificent” she breathed.

    She reached up and pulled him down to her anticipating the feel of his hard naked body against her softness. He came down on her, careful not to crush her with his weight. The moment their bodies made contact, the heat of passion erupted in to a full blaze consuming them both. “I can’t wait Devon; I need to feel you inside me now.” He reached down and slipped a finger, then two inside her, testing her readiness. He moved his fingers in a slow back and forth motion, she was dripping wet. “Devon please” she begged.  He eased his hips between her legs, his cock hard cock pushing against her entrance. He slowly pushed forward not wanting to hurt her. She wrapped her legs tightly around his hip as pulled him to her forcing him to enter her fully. She gasped at the fullness, her nails digging into his arms. “Are you ok sweetheart?” He asked down into her wide eyes.

    “More than ok” she whispered. He paused for a moment allowing her to adjust to him. She writhed beneath him, her body begging his to move. He pulled back and entered her again. She angled her hip upward, allowing him to go even deeper. She arched her back and moaned in sheer pleasure. He began to move faster with sure, hard stokes. God, she felt damn good, he closed his eyes and threw his head back savouring the feeling of her tight sheath engulfing his length completely. He felt like he had just entered the gates of heaven.

    Suddenly, in one swift movement, Devon rolled them over bringing her on top of him. She gasped startled at the unexpected switch. Straddling him more tightly she looked down at him and smiled, remembering her best friend’s words
“ride that cowboy”.
She bent forward and gave him a quick heated kiss. She placed her hands firmly on his chest and began to move. She moaned and threw her head back, revelling in the control. She rode him faster and faster, bringing herself closer and closer to the edge.

    Gripping her hips he groaned “that’s right baby, he ride me harder” he said threw gritted teeth. He gazed up at her; it was a beautiful sight; her head thrown back, lips parted and breasts bouncing sexily. She rode him until she reached the pinnacle of ecstasy, slipping over the edge. Her muscles contracted around him bringing him with her over the edge. Mary Lou collapsed on top of him, trying to catch her breath.

“That was mind-blowing”, Devon said after he had caught his breath. Mary Lou nodded in agreement, unable to utter a word.

    He adjusted her in his arms so that she was nestled at his side, in the crook of his arms. Mary Lou interrupted the silence, “I just had sex with you, in a tent, after only knowing you for one day, Devon. What you must think of me” she said jokingly. “I have never done anything like this before; I’m not too experienced in the sex department.”

Devon laughed “I hope you aren’t having any regrets, because I sure as hell don’t.  Not experienced? A sexy woman like you must have had a few boyfriends.”

“Would you believe me if I told you that in all my twenty-six years, I have only ever had one boyfriend?” she asked. “That sounds pathetic huh? It didn’t last long and ended badly. It was horrible actually.

“I’m sorry to hear that, the guy must be a complete idiot” Devon said “I’m a bit surprised though. You’ve only has one boyfriend?”

“I’ve always been an introvert, with zero confidence” she admitted “and not very outgoing so I was never in the position to meet anyone; and the one guy that I got involved with treated me like crap. So I kind of lost interest in having any kind of relationship with a man. I’m pretty much just a lonely, boring accountant.  She sighed, “Oh, no I’m babbling on about my pathetic life, I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize darlin’, I want to know everything about you” he replied.

She looked him and smiled, “So what about you Devin? A fine specimen of a man like you must have the ladies have women falling all over themselves to get to you.”

He shrugged “Most women, upon finding out who I am are only interested in my money, so I’ve ever really had any lasting relationships worth mentioning. I’m ashamed to say, I only have a string of one night stands.” He gazed at her, gauging her reaction.

Mary Lou tilted her head and studied him, “Hmm, forget your money Devon Cooper, you are damn good-lookin’ cowboy” she said attempting a western drawl.  A shocked expression crossed his face quickly replaced by amusement, he roared out hearty laugh. “You are delightful, Mary.” He drew her to him, still smiling. She fell asleep, her head resting on his chest but remained awake and alert, keeping watch.

    The next morning Mary Lou’s eyes fluttered open, she stretched leisurely feeling deliciously sore. She forgot momentarily where she was, and then everything came rushing back. Holy crap she was laying in a tent, out in the middle of nowhere where she’d had steamy, wild sex with a sexy cowboy.
Who was she?
She realized that she was in the tent alone. Where was Devin? She quickly got dressed and stepped out of the tent. She spotted Devin pacing back and forth, rubbing his jaw in agitation. As she moved to closer to him, she could hear him muttering something about a horse being shot and the other stolen. He didn’t see or hear her coming and was startled when she asked “What about a horse being shot?”

He whipped around, “Mary, I didn’t know you had woken up” he gave her a tender look that caused her heart to flutter.

    She smiled up at him “Good morning. Are you ok? You seem upset. I heard you say something a horses being shot and stolen. What’s going on Devin?” She looked around noticing their horses were nowhere in sight. “You haven’t found the horse?” she asked with growing concern.

    His eyes darkened, “I found one.” She looked him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t want to alarm her with news of what he had found; but she had her arms folded, foot tapping,  giving him a look that said if he knew what was good for him, he’d better spill. He sighed and reluctantly continued, “I found Lucy, but she’s been shot.”

Mary Lou’s eyes widened “Oh my God is she...dead?” She asked, eyes welling up with tears when he nodded. “Who would do such a thing? “Where’s the other horse.”

“Stolen” Devin answered grimly.

“How do you know?”

“I thought they had somehow gotten loose but when I examined the scene, the rope was still tied to the tree. Someone cut it.  I found Lucy’s corpse some distance away from here, whoever cut the ropes, must have shot her after finding out that she was injured and was of no use.”

Mary clutched her chest “My God, Devin that means we could be in danger if whoever it was comes back.”

“I haven’t seen anyone, whoever it is must be long gone by now”, he assured her. He had a bad feeling about the whole thing, but kept it to himself, there was no need to alarm Mary Lou any further. Besides he didn’t want to waste any more time talking about it, they had a quite a journey ahead of them. “I still have no cell reception. Looks like we’ll be walking back to the ranch”, he announced.

    Mary Lou groaned and muttered
“Great.”
She turned to go back to the tent to retrieve the blanket, flashlight and basket, but before she had a chance to walk off, Devin grabbed her arm and whipped her around toward him. He caught her startled gasp with his mouth as his lips crushed hers in a brief, fierce kiss. He lifted his head and amusement in his expression, “That
had
to be done; now we can go.”

She rolled her eyes playfully and sauntered off, yelping as he swatted her on the ass.

    They walked for what felt like forever. The morning sun burned making it feel like they were trapped in an inferno. Mary wiped at the sweat running down her face. She tugged at her clothes, wondering if she could rip them off and walk naked, it’s not like anyone, except Devin would see her anyway.
Where’s the subway or a freaking taxi when you need one
she thought.

    Devin could hear Mary’s breath coming out in short puffs. He glanced at her and immediately decided that they need to stop and rest. She was damn near hyperventilating, he felt guilty for pushing her too hard. He should have kept in mind that she probably didn’t do much walking in the big city, with their trains and buses everywhere you looked.  “Let’s stop for a minute” he insisted when they reached a shaded area beneath a tree. Taking out the last bottle of water left in the picnic basket he handed it to her. She gratefully accepted, taking a few big gulps then offered him some. He shook his head in refusal “I’m fine.”

Mary Lou leaned against the tree and took a deep breath, letting it out loudly. “Wow! I won’t need to exercise again as long as I live after this workout, honey!” Devin smiled in amusement at her exaggeration.

She straightened and shot him a serious look. “Devin, I’m still thinking about what happened to the horses. It just seems so... fishy.”

“I know darlin’, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. We just need to focus on getting back to the ranch” he said. “Why don’t you just concentrate on the beauty around us and try to forget about what happened this morning. I’ll get someone to investigate later.”

    She nodded “Yea, ok.” Devin was right there was nothing they could do about it now. She took his advice stepped out from under the tree, she need to take all that nature has to offer out here in the country, because she would be leaving it behind in a few days. The thought of leaving almost stopped her breath, or rather the thought of leaving Devin. Oh no, she had gotten way too attached in the short span of time they had been together. Hell, she thinks she was falling in love him. What was she going to do when she had to leave on Saturday? She put that thought out of her mind for the time being as she peered over the vast territory, they were now standing on a hill like area, so she had the advantage of viewing a wider range. She noticed movement out on what looked like a ridge. She squinted, shading her eyes with her hands to block the glare of the sun. She turned to Devin who was still sitting beneath the tree, “Hey I didn’t know you had activities other than the guest ranch going on your land” she called.

Devin looked up in confusion, “I don’t.”

“Then what are those men doing down there?” she asked pointing down the hill.

Devin made his way to her side and followed her gaze. “See? It looks like they’re working on something to me” she said. There were about seven men, moving about in a flurry of activity.

    “That’s strange; no one is supposed to be working on anything out here without me knowing about it.” They stood watching the men for a few minutes trying to figure out what they were doing down there. Just then Devin realized that one of the men had stopped moving, he appeared to be looking up the hill directly at him and Mary Lou. He pointed up at them and must have said something to the others because they all stopped to look in two’s direction.  Devin pulled Mary Lou out of sight, back under the shade of the tree. He instinctively knew that something was not right about the men’s activities.  He was even more concerned that they had been seen. If those were the culprit s responsible for stealing his horse and shooting the other, they were potentially dangerous. As soon as they got back to the ranch, he would call the authorities. He grabbed Mary Lou’s hand “Come on, time to get moving.”