Cowgirl Fever (Novak Springs Book 1) (14 page)

It had taken forever for all the women to fall asleep. Ginnifer wanted to sneak out to go visit Dallas, but she was starting to think it might be a bad idea, especially since Melody had hinted at knowing about her plans. What if he was asleep? It was well past midnight, and she had no clue where his bedroom was located. Standing outside of the main house looking up, Ginnifer chewed her bottom lip trying to decide what to do. It was ridiculous to even come out here expecting that he would still be awake. She would have to resign herself to spending time with the foal she helped deliver. Visiting with Dallas was clearly out of the question. Ginnifer turned around and headed to the horse barn where the new foal was being stabled. As she walked in, she saw a small light was lit in the back of the barn. Strolling through the paddock, she stopped at the stall that held the baby horse and his mama. Olympia looked up at her, made a small noise, and trotted over to the gate. Ginnifer took it as a sign she was happy to see her. Reaching over into the tiny bucket hanging next to the stall, she pulled out a couple sugar cubes and fed them to the horse. Olympia greedily ate up the two cubes and nudged her head into Ginnifer’s chest.
At least someone is happy to see me…

“I should’ve known I could find you here.” Ginnifer turned to find Dallas leaning against one of the posts in the barn. “I think you may have made a friend for life,” he said.

“She’s a beautiful horse,” Ginnifer replied as she was petting Olympia’s mane. “I thought it would be too late to come and visit you, so I decided to stay with these two wonderful creatures.”

Dallas sauntered over to where Ginnifer was standing and pulled her into his arms. Once she was fully seated within his embrace, she looked up into his eyes. A smile only a man could possibly portray crossed his face. Leaning his face closer to hers, he told her, “It’s never too late for you to come visit me, Gin.”

Ginnifer crinkled her nose up and shook her head at him. “Yes, tonight would’ve been, but only because I had no idea where to find you in that house or if it was unlocked for me to find you.”

Dallas pulled her closer as he leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek. Bringing his mouth up to her ear, he whispered, “Well, we can remedy that now. I can show you exactly where you can find me each night.”

Ginnifer laughed and pulled away from him. “In a bit of a hurry are you?”

With a devilish grin Dallas said, “Absolutely.”

“I don’t know that I’m done visiting with Olympia and her baby. Does he have a name yet?” she asked.

Dallas shook his head. “No, why don’t you name him?”

Excitement filling her voice, she said, “Really? Oh, I have to think about this…he’s so beautiful, he needs a name to match.”

Dallas laughed as Ginnifer bubbled with excitement. “Do you have anything in mind to fit such lofty expectations?”

“What do you think about calling him Eros?” she asked.

Dallas pulled back and looked at her, shock evident on his face. “The God of Love?”

“Yes, because everyone that looks at him will fall instantly in love with him. I think it’s very appropriate.”

Smiling down at her, Dallas nodded his head in agreement. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before saying, “It is perfect. Are you ready to stay the night with me, or do you want to visit with Olympia and Eros longer?”

Ginnifer was more than ready to spend the night with him. The more time she spent with him, the harder it was to leave. She was already in too deep to pull herself out. It was starting to look like she might be nursing a broken heart when she went back to New York. There was no way she was going to deny herself whatever time she had with him. So with that decision made, she nodded her head in affirmation. “Yes, take me to your bed.”

Dallas smiled as he pulled away from her. He grabbed her hand in his and pulled her along with him out of the barn. Ginnifer thought he would be in a hurry to get her inside of his bedroom, but he strolled along in a slow, lazy pace as they followed the path to the house. Dallas confused her at every turn. She thought all he wanted from her was sex, but the more she got to know him, it seemed like he genuinely liked to spend time with her. It was a conundrum she couldn’t pick apart and solve. When they got to the steps leading to the front door, Dallas stopped and pulled her into his arms. He brought his lips to hers in a quick scorching kiss before letting her go. Ginnifer felt butterflies growing inside of her stomach. The man was constantly surprising her.

Brushing his hands alongside  her cheek, he pushed back her hair. “I needed to do that once before I got you inside.”

“You don’t see me complaining.”

A bark of laughter floated through the air. “That’s what I love about you, Gin. You constantly surprise me. Come on, let’s get inside,” he said as he grabbed her hand again. They stepped quietly into the house as he led her to his bedroom.

If Ginnifer was confused before, she was even more so now. What did he mean when he said he loved that about me? Those words scared her, but she wasn’t going to allow them to interfere with her night. She had been looking forward to spending this time with Dallas all day. She needed it. So when Dallas opened his bedroom door, Ginnifer left her reservations behind as she followed him inside.

***

Dallas couldn’t believe he had finally gotten Ginnifer inside of his bedroom. He needed to strip every ounce of her clothing off of her. Their time in the barn had been rushed. Now that he had her where he wanted her, Dallas planned on taking his time. He needed to savor every inch of her. Gin was becoming a distraction, and he thought about her all the time. Dallas figured if he could get her out of his system, he would quit thinking about her so much.

Once they were fully inside the room, Dallas closed the door and locked it. He twisted Ginnifer around and pulled her into his arms. He turned and pushed her up against the wall and captured her mouth with his. When she gasped in surprise, he took advantage of her open mouth and tangled his tongue with hers. They stayed in that position for several seconds, letting their tongues dance together. Dallas slowly trailed his hand under her shirt to cup her breast. He lightly squeezed it as his thumb caressed her nipple. He pulled his mouth off of hers so he could yank her shirt over her head and took a step back to admire her in the dim light of his room. His Gin had on one of the sexiest bras he had ever seen. It was sheer black with lace cupping her breasts. Her nipples poked through the black fabric, so he leaned down and pulled one of them inside his mouth. Dallas sucked on it through the barrier of her bra. He heard her whimper as he let it go and took the other breast in his hand. With fast fingers he unsnapped her bra and let it fall from her shoulders. Her beautiful breasts were begging him for more attention, so he pinched them between his fingers as he nuzzled her neck.

“You have too many clothes on,” Ginnifer said as she tried to push his shirt off of him. Dallas stepped back and tore his shirt off. He watched as she pushed her pants down, revealing matching panties. The woman had some enticing lingerie. He kicked his own jeans off before pulling her back toward him.

He led her over to the bed, sitting her on it as he ran his hands over her already naked flesh. “Let’s have some real fun tonight.”

“I thought we were having fun.”

He shot her a sinful smile. “You haven’t seen fun yet.” He left her lying on the bed as he pulled a drawer out. He pulled out some silk ropes, holding them out for her to see.

“You expect me to let you tie me up?” she asked with bewilderment.

“Have you ever let someone tie you up, Gin?”

“Um, no…”

“You’ll love it, I promise, but if for any reason you don’t, say the word and I will untie you. Do you trust me?”

Ginnifer started to chew on her bottom lip as she kept looking between the ropes and his face. Finally with a half-smile, she looked at him and told him, “Okay, I want to. Tie me up good, Dallas.”

Dallas couldn’t believe his luck. For a minute there he thought she was going to say no. He had a desperate need to see her tied up in his bed and spread out for his pleasure. With a cocky smile on his lips, he gestured her to scoot up on the bed as he said, “Spread your arms above your head, darlin’. I can’t wait to hear you scream with pleasure.” He tied her up quickly with the silk ropes and then reached into the drawer, pulling out a silk blindfold.

“You’re feeling real kinky tonight, aren’t you?” Ginnifer asked.

With a small chuckle, he put the blindfold on her. Now that he had her where he wanted her, he needed to decide how he wanted to start. He leaned over her and licked from her navel to her breast. Her nipples puckered up when his mouth hovered over them, not quite taking them in his mouth but letting his hot breath coat them. Ginnifer moaned in pleasure and began to squirm on the bed, pulling on the ropes. Dallas trailed his fingers down her stomach and rested them on the edge of her panties. He ran the palm of his hand over her mound and rubbed it over the outside of her black panties.

“Please, Dallas, you’re torturing me,” she pleaded with him.

Dallas ignored her pleading and slowly pulled the panties down her legs. Once she was fully naked he began in earnest to drive her wild. He licked the inside of her thighs and skirted over her most sensitive flesh. He lay down next to her and stroked her hips and left small kisses on her neck. When she started to thrash in earnest, he whispered in her ear, “Are you ready?”

With frustration Ginnifer muttered, “I’ve been ready forever. Do something before I scream.”

“Oh, you’re going to scream. Give me a little time, and you’ll be screaming so much your throat will be raw.”

Dallas pulled away from her and spread her legs wide, leaning down to lick her core. He pushed a finger inside and stroked his fingers over her clit. Ginnifer pushed up at him and began to beg him, “Please, Dallas, I need more.” He brought his mouth down again and licked her overly sensitive clit, and she screamed as the orgasm rocked through her body. Dallas continued to roll his tongue over her sensitive flesh as she came, causing another volcanic eruption from her. Ginnifer screamed again as the second orgasm hit.

Dallas pulled away and crawled up on the bed over the top of her. He pushed her legs farther apart as he probed her entrance with his cock. He slowly pushed himself inside her. Her entrance, still contracting from orgasm, made him pause with each thrust. Once he was fully seated, he reached up and untied the silk restraints and pushed off the mask. He pulled her into his embrace and began to slowly push himself in and out of her tight channel. Ginnifer bent her knees and lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. She wrapped her arms around him and met each of his thrusts with her own. Nothing had ever felt as good as this.

How am I ever going to let her go in a week?
Dallas could feel Ginnifer start to quiver in orgasm again. He reached down and rubbed his thumb over her clit, setting her off. With a loud moan, she squeezed his shaft, throwing him into the most explosive orgasm he had ever felt. For several seconds Dallas couldn’t think as he released himself inside of her. When he was capable of thought again, he realized he was probably crushing her with his weight. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled them both onto their sides. With a satisfied smile, Dallas leaned down and looked at Ginnifer. Her eyes were closed and a sultry smile remained on her lips. He unwrapped one of his arms from around her waist and pulled the blanket up on top of them. He reached for her and pulled her securely back into his embrace. With a contented smile, he let himself breathe in her scent, memorizing it. It was definitely going to be hard to watch her walk away from him. No one had ever pulled him in as completely as Gin already had.

Ginnifer had a smile she couldn’t get rid of if she wanted to. Dallas had woken her up before the sun rose with a kiss and some wild morning sex. She hadn’t slept so little in her life. If she was lucky, she had actually gotten three hours of sleep. Who was she kidding, that had nothing to do with luck. Luck hated her. That night was absolutely amazing, no matter how much sleep she did or did not get. It had been totally worth every second. She would sacrifice sleep for the rest of her life if she was treated to Dallas’s brand of lovemaking. No one had ever satisfied her the way he had. He took his time savoring every inch of her body. He took pleasure in exploring what she liked. Dallas was an amazing lover, and Ginnifer promised herself she would never regret this time with him.

Ginnifer was currently at breakfast enjoying a meal before they were handed their scavenger hunt assignments. Dallas and Wes were still nowhere to be seen, probably choosing to breeze in at the last minute. Dallas had mentioned he needed to try to get as much done as he could before he was tied up with Emma’s guests. As far as she knew, he didn’t know who was on his team, and they would be sort of spending the day together. She kind of felt bad for her best friend. Tori was bound to have a bad day dealing with Wes’s animosity.

She frowned as she looked over at Tori. When she had gone back to the cabin, Tori was still sound asleep, so she jumped in the shower. There wasn’t any reason to go back to bed because she planned on attending the morning yoga session. Ginnifer knew that Tori planned on skipping it so she could call Colt before breakfast. For a half a second Ginnifer had thought about skipping it herself. She only reconsidered when she thought it might look odd if she bailed out on her plans. Tori expected her to go, and it might appear strange if she changed her mind. What it really boiled down to was Ginnifer didn’t want to explain to Tori why she had changed her mind. She had told Tori about her budding romance with Dallas but had left out a lot of details. For instance, she didn’t tell her they had actually had sex. It felt wrong to divulge those intimate details. For the first time, it felt bad to tell her best friend everything. Saying it aloud would somehow taint how special it felt.

Ginnifer looked up at the sound of Emma’s voice announcing she was going to pass out the scavenger hunt list. Emma looked at the group and said, “Could everyone assemble into your teams? I have one list per team for you each to look over. The instructions are on the list. Please look it over and see if you have any questions.”

They all got up and assembled into the teams they had been assigned to the previous night. Ginnifer’s team was Cassidy, Shelly, and Melody. She liked Cassidy and Shelly, but she could have done without dealing with Melody. She still really bugged her. Her skin crawled whenever she was near. It was unreasonable, she knew that, but she couldn’t help feeling like the woman was spying on her. She had disliked the woman since the first day she met her. It was time to admit her instincts were on par as far as the woman was concerned. Coffee hadn’t been necessary to understand the woman was off. With a grimace, Ginnifer and Tori separated and went to their respective teams. Tori hated having to spend even a second in Wes’s company, and Ginnifer wasn’t happy because Melody was being super annoying that morning. During yoga she had come over to her, bubbling over with happy tidings. The last thing she remembered her saying was that she was glad they had been assigned to Dallas’s team. She couldn’t fathom why the perky yoga instructor wanted to be on Dallas’s team, but she knew she was going to have to restrain herself from punching her the whole time. Ginnifer still couldn’t pinpoint what it was about Melody that bothered her. The woman was the bane of her existence though, and she couldn’t wait until the day she no longer had to deal with her. She had to agree with Melody on one point. It was awesome to be on Team Dallas. After her night with him, she didn’t think it was possible to tire of being around him. He was more than capable of wearing her out, but it was more that her appetite for him was insatiable.

Melody bounced over and stood next to Ginnifer while they awaited their scavenger hunt list. Her black curls were spilling all over her head as she kept hopping up and down in place. She really was incapable of standing still. Maybe that was what was so irritating about the woman; she constantly was moving some part of her body. Emma walked over and handed the coveted list to Ginnifer, the members of her group crowding around to read the list.

“This is going to be sooo much fun, roomie,” Melody practically screamed in Ginnifer’s ear. She reached up and rubbed it, trying to settle the vibrations within. Looking over at Melody and giving her a scathing look, Ginnifer started to read the list out loud, “Bull rope, lariat, riding crop, riding gloves, spurs, saddle, chaps, cowboy boots, leather vest, cowboy hat, mechanical bull, spur sleeves, goat, horse, water trough, barbwire fence, corral, and a grazing pasture.”

With a shrug of disbelief, Melody asked, “Is that all we have to find? Those are boring.”

Ginnifer rolled her eyes and refrained from stating her true feelings about her roommate’s lack of excitement. “It’s a ranch scavenger hunt. What did you expect? There are some items listed as bonus finds. They are worth extra points if we find them.”

“Well, what are those items?” Melody asked with some enthusiasm returning to her voice.

Ginnifer couldn’t wait for the scavenger hunt to be over with. She only hoped her team won so she could go on the overnight camping trip with Dallas and Wes. She didn’t want to be apart from him for the night. She looked down at the list and started to read the items that were worth extra points. “Bitter root, gray wolf, and a gopher snake.”

Melody smirked at the items on the bonus list. “Those aren’t much better. I hope there’s something more entertaining that happens while we are doing this scavenger hunt. I could’ve come up with a better list than this.”

Ginnifer frowned at the normally vivacious woman and asked, “Why the hell are you doing this if you find it so distasteful?”

Melody shrugged her shoulders. “It seemed like a good idea when Emma said your team needed another player. Plus have you taken a good look at Dallas? I only agreed to participate if she put me on his team. It was the only way I could get a little closer to him. The man is like a ghost never to be seen around this place.”

Ginnifer’s mind wandered as Melody kept talking about how sexy Dallas was. She only had one thought cross through her mind as she attempted to block out Melody’s incessant chatter. Good God, Melody was interested in Dallas. Maybe she
had
been spying on them. Clearly the woman had a death wish. Ginnifer sighed as that thought crossed her mind. She didn’t know for sure if she had been spying on them, but it felt right. Melody saw a good-looking man and wanted to get to know him better, so it probably hadn’t crossed her mind that she was being invasive. Still it was grating her nerves raw to listen to her go on and on about all of Dallas’s physical attractions. Didn’t she realize he was more than a human stud? She had better stop talking about him soon, or there was no stopping Ginnifer from smacking her silly.

Ginnifer looked up and noticed that Melody had been talking the entire time she had been lost in her own mind. She didn’t even need someone to pay attention to her. Clearly the woman enjoyed the sound of her own voice. Ginnifer did her best to tune back in, but Melody was not one of her favorite people, so it was an excruciating task to complete. Turning her head in Melody’s direction, she heard her say, “Plus, we have a history, so I know once he sees me, it will make him extremely happy.”

Ginnifer turned toward the energetic woman and with a stunned look on her face asked, “Wait a minute, what did you say?”

Melody beamed as she gloated, “Dallas and I go way back. He asked me to marry him. I had to break things off because I wasn’t ready at the time. I am now, so it’s partially why I took this job. I needed to get close to him again.”

All Ginnifer could think about when Melody uttered those words were, why me? If Dallas had cared enough about this woman to actually ask her to marry him, she really must mean a lot to him. For the life of her she couldn’t comprehend what he could possibly have seen in Melody. On the other hand, Melody was incredibly beautiful. It was her personality that made Ginnifer cringe. Perhaps Dallas saw a side of her no one else did, but Ginnifer seriously doubted that. It was much more likely he was blinded by lust.

After all it wasn’t like Dallas owed her anything. They hadn’t made any promises to each other. If he wanted to get back together with the gorgeous chatterbox, she had no say in the matter. It still irked her that she had to spend the day with Melody fawning all over him. It was time she started to distance herself from him. Nothing but hurt could come out of the situation. So with a forced smile, she looked up at Melody and said, “Well, I wish you luck with that. I hope things go the way you have planned. “

For a brief moment it looked like triumph flashed through her eyes as Melody tilted her head and said, “Of course they will. Dallie loves me. Why wouldn’t everything go the way I have planned?”

Ginnifer shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s changed. Aword of caution, sometimes things look better in your head while the reality of it sucks.”

Melody waved her hands, brushing off Ginnifer’s comment. “Not a possibility. I know that man better than anyone. There’s no way he changed.”

Ginnifer wanted to laugh at her. Was she really that naïve? Melody was going to do what she wanted no matter what anyone said to her. If anything, it should be interesting to witness Dallas’s reaction to seeing his ex-fiancée on his scavenger hunt team. How would he possibly juggle her with his current lover? If her heart wasn’t breaking into a million pieces, Ginnifer would laugh at the situation. As it was, she had to gear herself for a hell of an afternoon.

In the distance she heard Emma tell the teams to look on their scavenger hunt list to find out where they had to meet their team leader. So Ginnifer looked down at the list to find out that they were supposed to meet Dallas in the stables near the house. Well at least she was familiar with their starting location. She looked up at her team members and asked, “Are you guys ready for a scavenger hunt? Let’s go meet our team leader.” Melody bounced out in front of them, stopping only when she realized they hadn’t all followed her out.

Cassidy and Shelly looked at her with disbelief on their faces. Clearly Ginnifer wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Ms. Happy Pants. Shelly shook her head in denial. “I can’t believe that woman’s audacity.”

Cassidy agreed. “Don’t let her get to you. She is horrid. I don’t think she will last long on this scavenger hunt. Want to bet she hangs all over Dallas the whole time and doesn’t help us?” She visibly shuddered. “I don’t envy you two having to share a cabin with her.”

Shelly grimaced at Cassidy. “Yeah lucky you. You got to escape her company.” Looking over at Ginnifer she said, “She insisted on being in your cabin, did you know that? Emma agreed because she needs her here for the yoga program.”

Well that was interesting. Why would Melody want to be in the same cabin as her and Tori? This wasn’t adding up to anything good. Over time it would make more sense, but at that moment nothing did, so she laughed at their comments and nodded her head in agreement. “Well, we need to go catch up with her. Let’s get this thing done, ladies.”

Even through the shock of Melody’s news, she saw them as two women she could get along with. Maybe they would help her to forget the ache in her chest. They all walked out following Ginnifer to where Dallas was located. All Ginnifer could think about as she led the way was that she wished she could find a way out of doing the damned scavenger hunt. Something she had looked forward to had turned into something that would potentially be the worst experience of her life. She didn’t really look forward to Dallas’s reaction to seeing his ex-whatever she supposedly used to be again. No, watching that reunion was Ginnifer’s equivalent of hell.