Crazy Little Thing Called Love (25 page)

Like now, when she was prancing around his
kitchen, boiling water and talking her pretty little head off in
nothing but his t-shirt. Her long, slim legs went on forever. He
liked those legs, liked them wrapped around his waist a whole
lot.

“Zach?”

“Huh?” He lifted his eyes back to her
face.

“You weren’t listening to a thing I said were
you?”

He liked the way her bottom lip poked out
when she pretended to pout at him, “No. I was distracted.”

“Funny.” She rolled her eyes, “I asked you a
question.”

He’d been completely serious but he tilted
his head, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I asked if you call all the women you
sleep with baby-doll.”

His head snapped to attention then. When had
they gone from talking about Stephen Jones to the dangerous topic
of women he’d slept with? That seemed like a flying leap even if he
hadn’t been paying attention.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious if it’s easier than keeping
names straight.” She smiled sweetly and he knew he’d been
played.

She hadn’t asked him anything of the sort.
She’d noticed he wasn’t paying attention and goaded him. She was so
damn cute thinking she could get the upper hand so he rose to his
feet.

“No baby. I only call you that because you
look like a full-size Barbie, all pretty and blonde and
fresh-faced.” He shrugged.

“Maybe that’s because I’m so much younger
than you, cradle-robber.”

“Maybe.” He laughed as he stalked closer, “My
turn to ask a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you always beg for your orgasm when you
get close?”

She smirked, “I don’t know, nobody’s ever
mentioned it but you.”

He slipped an arm around her waist and drew
her up against him, “Maybe nobody else had what it takes to make
you beg for it.”

“Maybe.” Her breathe hitched and he had to
taste her lips.

She sighed into his mouth and melted against
him. He liked it when she did that. Her breasts flattened against
his chest and her arms wrapped around his neck. She tiptoed up to
meet him and he grabbed her ass, lifting her so she could wrap
those legs he liked so much around him.

“I was cooking you dinner.” She broke the
heady kiss after a couple of seconds, “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Yes, but not for spaghetti.” He flipped the
knob on the stove and carried her over to the table; setting her on
the edge he lowered himself into his chair in front of her.

“Zach.” Her lips parted on his name at the
same time he pushed aside the lace panties and put his mouth on
her.

She’d begged him, pleaded for him not to stop
as the orgasm ripped through her. It was the sweetest sound to hear
her come apart, to taste her on his lips and tongue. She was so
damn sweet and pretty he’d had to take her again right there on his
kitchen table.

He’d watched her eyes close and her mouth
fall open in a gasp as he’d entered her. She was hot and tight and
wet and he’d felt every pulse of her orgasm as he held her close
and drove into her. He doubted he’d ever have a meal there and not
think about the beautiful woman in his bed now.

“I should get going.” He felt her lips on his
chest.

“You can stay if you want.”

He’d never offered to let anybody stay the
night with him. He rarely even brought women to his house. She’d
been here twice now. He’d had her in his shower, his kitchen, his
bed. He could think of a few more places he’d like to have her as
well.

“Stay and I’ll cook breakfast for you in the
morning since I interrupted dinner.”

She giggled, “I thought you said you couldn’t
cook?”

“I make a pretty good pop-tart.”

She laughed, “As tempting as that sounds, I
should get back to the ranch before somebody notices the R8 parked
in your front yard.”

“I hate to break it to you baby-doll but your
car is less than discreet, one of my brothers has probably already
seen it. It’s bound to be news all over Fate by now. I imagine
everybody’s talking about how you got mixed up with that bad news
West boy.”

“You think they’re talking about me and
Devin?” She gaped in mock horror and he rolled her to her back,
pinning her beneath him.

“Very funny.”

“I thought so.” She smirked up at him and
then cupped his cheek gently, “Like I said, it’s a very tempting
offer but I should get back to the ranch.”

“Can’t handle the gossip?”

“I’m twenty-eight years old Zach. I don’t
care if the whole town knows we’re sleeping together. I stopped
caring what they think about me a long time ago.” She frowned, “But
for some God unknown reason I still care what my Daddy thinks so I
can’t stay the night.”

At the mention of her father and the flash of
pain in her big blue eyes he reluctantly rolled off of her. She
couldn’t stay the night. She was right. He knew that, he was just
foggy from so much sex.

He watched her stand and search for her
clothes. Her soft skin was covered by the pink lace panties. Her
hair glinted in the moonlight through the window as she pulled the
yellow sundress over her head and flipped it up over her shoulder.
She glanced at him one last time as she hesitated by the
doorway.

“Thank you for today Zach.”

“Anytime.”

He watched her walk away and heard his front
door shut a minute later. He sat up in his bed and looked around
once she was gone. He should get up and finish the cabinetry. He
had things to do since he’d spent the entire afternoon with
Bluebell.

If she hadn’t walked through the front door
of the hardware store he’d have spent the afternoon working. He
would have finished sanding and cutting and gluing the cabinets.
He’d have them installed and he’d be ready to start laying
tile.

But he hadn’t done a one of those things and
he hadn’t wanted to. The minute he got a look at her in that little
yellow sundress he hadn’t wanted to do anything but get her naked
as quickly as possible. He’d spent the rest of his day doing just
that over and over again.

He pulled his tired body from the bed and
grabbed a fresh pair of boxers. He was just stepping into his mesh
shorts when he heard a knock on his door. A smile unwittingly rose
up his face and he stubbed his toe on the foot of the bed racing
across the room.

His smile died when he pulled the front door
open. He frowned. He should have known he wasn’t that lucky.

“Was that Bluebell Carter’s flashy little
sports car I passed on my way up the drive?” Devin raised a curious
eyebrow.

“I don’t know. Was it?” He stepped out of the
way as his younger brother came inside and shut the door behind
him.

“I didn’t know you two were acquainted.”

“She’s a friend.” He turned his back on his
brother and padded to the kitchen.

That was true. He considered Blue a friend, a
friend that he liked to see naked but a friend nonetheless. He’d
had close friends he liked a whole lot less than he liked her. She
was a friend, with benefits.

Devin glanced at the stove and his mouth fell
open in shock, “Did you cook her dinner?”

Damn. He’d forgotten that he left the big pot
on the stove earlier. It was still full of water. Sitting on the
counter beside it was the can of tomato sauce and a box of
spaghetti that Bluebell had pulled from his cabinets with the
intention of cooking. They’d never gotten back around to food after
he had her instead.

“No.” He picked up the pot and dumped it in
the sink.

“Never known you to cook for your
friends.”

“I wasn’t cooking for her.”

“Sure looks like it.” Devin taunted.

He scowled, “If you must know she was going
to make dinner, that’s all.”

“Wow, I wish I had friends that offered to
cook me dinner.”

“Funny.” He ignored his brother’s teasing and
put the food back in the cabinets.

“You two dating?”

“No.”

Devin knew he didn’t date. It was a stupid
question. He didn’t do relationships, neither did his brothers. It
was just a fact of life for them. They all had their reasons but
they weren’t a bunch of sissies that sat around and talked about
it.

“So you wouldn’t mind if Riley asked her out
then?”

“What?” He turned back to face Devin too
fast.

“Riley was just saying the other day that if
she’s sticking around town he was thinking of asking her out.”

“She isn’t sticking around town.”

“She’s been around over a month.” Devin
shrugged.

“She’s just staying with her father because
he’s dying. The moment he’s gone, she will be too.”

“You know that for a fact?”

“Yeah.”

“You two talk about it?” Devin raised an
eyebrow again.

Zach fidgeted under the scrutiny. He wasn’t
used to the strange feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. It
was the same feeling he got whenever Bluebell mentioned her father
or the Montgomery Oaks Ranch. He knew what Devin was getting at and
he didn’t like it.

“No.” He glared at his younger brother, “We
haven’t been doing a lot of talking.”

“I figured as much.”

“Fuck off Devin.” He growled, “What are you
doing here at ten o’clock at night anyway?”

Devin simply smiled, “Didn’t have anything
going on so I thought I’d stop by and see if you needed any help
with the house. If I’d known you had company I wouldn’t have swung
by.”

“I don’t have company now.” He shrugged, “So
yeah, if you want to help I could use it.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

Zach spent the next two hours building and
installing the new cabinetry in the master bathroom with his
younger brother. Devin was a good handyman and it was nice to spend
some time together. They had a beer and caught up.

Devin told him about Riley getting in a fight
with Maddie’s boyfriend at her birthday party. Zach told him about
the lunch date their mother had with Frankie. They both agreed they
were the only sane ones in the family.

Neither of them brought up the ranch or the
land and for that Zach was thankful. He didn’t want to know about
the Montgomery ranch. What he already did know wasn’t sitting right
with him. The fact that he knew more about Bluebell’s fathers plans
for the ranch that was her home than she did ate at his gut but it
wasn’t his place to tell her. The old man needed to do it, and
soon.

Zach checked the oil in the Impala. He’d
already checked the tire pressure and gas gauge. He hadn’t spent
enough time on the old car recently.

He liked cars, in particular his father’s old
1967 Chevy but he wasn’t a mechanic. It was a hobby, one that had
taken a backseat to remodeling the house in the past few months.
The fact that he was in the barn making sure it ran now confused
and frustrated him all at the same time.

It was Bluebell. She was driving him a little
bit crazy. He knew it. Knew it and hated it but there wasn’t
anything he could do about it.

He hadn’t seen her in four days, had barely
even heard from her in four days. Not since the day after they got
busy in Griff’s and then a few more times at his house. Not since
he asked her to stay and she’d said she couldn’t. Not since she
told him she got her period and would be out of commission for a
few days.

He hadn’t realized she meant he wouldn’t see
her at all but he supposed he should have been fine with that.
Besides, he had things to do. He wasn’t the type of man to sit
around and wait for a woman and he definitely wasn’t the type that
was going to go hunting her down just to make sure she was
okay.

Obviously she’d only wanted sex. He knew he
should be thrilled. She was a beautiful woman that entertained the
hell out of him, was good in bed and only wanted to use him for hot
sex and then left him alone. She was perfect.

So why was he annoyed?

Maybe it had something to do with the fact
that he hadn’t been done with her yet. Something about Bluebell
Montgomery Carter got under his skin. Something about her made him
want to get under her skin too. He wasn’t sure what it was but he
didn’t like that she’d been the one to use and discard him. Maybe
it was just his ego.

He’d spent the past four days not thinking
about her and yet, she was all he could think about. Devin helped
him lay the tile in the master bathroom and he wondered if he could
show it to her which was just ridiculous because if they couldn’t
have sex for a few days he shouldn’t want to see her so badly. He
took his frustrations out on demolishing the guest bathroom.

He spent his nights hitting Sully’s and the
Roadhouse. He’d had beers with his brothers, shot some pool and
checked out the women. But he’d gone home alone every night.

It would have been easy to pick up some new
girl. He wasn’t cocky about it he just knew it was the truth.
Victoria Sands had practically offered to climb on his lap and ride
him in the middle of the bar but as much as he hated to admit it,
the offer hadn’t remotely appealed to him.

He was crazy, so crazy that when he heard
that familiar singsong voice behind him he thought he was having
another dream for a minute. He’d been having a lot of dreams about
the crazy sexy blond. He turned, half expecting to see nothing but
air. Instead, his lungs stopped working and all of his air rushed
out in a whoosh.

“Hey ya cowboy.”

Bluebell was standing just inside the door to
the barn. She was wearing those sexy as sin red cowboy boots but
instead of a dress this time she had donned a tiny pair of denim
cut-offs and a red and white plaid pearl snap with the sleeves
rolled up. Her blond hair was tied into double braids on the side
of her head and a white cowboy hat sat atop the pretty picture.

He hadn’t seen her in four days. He hadn’t
seen her in four days and she turned up in his barn looking like
cowgirl Barbie. His mouth went dry. Damn she was pretty and damn if
that didn’t annoy him just a little bit more. Not enough to tell
her to get lost, but just enough that he didn’t immediately grab
her and fulfill the urge to sink deep inside her.