Falling For A Cowboy (14 page)

He should have
raised
higher
.
“
I
’
m following in his footsteps.
”
He laid down his cards
, a straight
. No need to explain yet what he did or didn
’
t do. Best if she thought he was just a rodeo cowboy.
There
’
d be no expectations of anything more
if she thought he was the type to drift
.

“
My sympathies, Clay
.
I know how tough it must have been.
”
She laid down three of a kind, kings
.

He
scooped up
the pitiful pile of pennies and added them to his small one.
“
How did you lose your father?
”

“
Lung cancer.
”
Her tone was flat but she bit on her lip as if she was afraid it would run away.

“
Sorry
.
That must have been tough.
”

She nodded and shuffled the
deck
.
The
cards ended up askew
, and s
he fiddled to r
ight
them.
They
both
were silent
as she dealt
.
She
obviously
was
wrestling
with some unresolved pain
.
He knew about that.
Watching the play of emotions on her face as she struggled to hide it, he felt strangely protective of her. She seemed fragile, as if all that bluster of hers was masking
some
deeper vulnerability
.

He picked up his cards
.
Nothing.
“
You always think you
’
ll have time
.
My father and I butted heads a lot
.
I wasn
’
t
exactly
an easy teenager
.
I still miss him
.
Everyday
.
”
He rarely talked about his father with anyone.

She
lay
down the hand
and fixed her gaze on the back of the cards
.
“
I know
.
I wasn
’
t easy either
.
Actually,
I was pretty angry at him for dying,
for leaving us
for
good.
”

Y
up.
He
sure
could
relate
.
“
Me too.
”

Her gaze found him
.
Those beautiful lake blue eyes of hers could mesmerize Rasputin
.
His heart did a two-step.

“
Really?
”

“
Oh yeah.
Big time angry
.
Took me years to realize it wasn
’
t his fault
.
I blamed him for always having to be in the center of things, you know
.
If he
’
d just left the shoeing to the blacksmith
.
Seems stupid when I say it out loud.
”
He
put
in two pennies to open
.

She shook her head
.
“
I know. I think I
’
ve hung onto
my
grievance
for
too long
.
I
’
m not even sure any of it was justified
.
I think I was wrong about him all this time
.
And I can never tell him.
“
H
er
eyes
glistened, as if they were holding back tears
.

He understood about finality
, too
. He
’
d gone through the same guilt after the anger had subsided. But
apparently she hadn
’
t
been able to
put it to rest
yet
.
In fact,
she looked like she could still use comforting.

“
I
’
m pretty sure your father knows. You ever talk to your father?
”

Her eyebrows shot up in question
.
“
No, he
’
s…
”

Clay smiled
.
He should have expected the reaction
.
“
I know
. B
ut I talk to my father just about every day over something
.
I
’
ll be moseying along and find myself with a problem I
’
m sure he faced
,
and I
’
ll just ask for his help.
”
Clay shrugged hoping he was hiding his unease in talking about this.
“
Damn if the answer do
es
n
’
t come to me.
”
He shook his head feeling a little stupid for his confession and looked at her from under his brow.
“
Sound strange
?
”

“
Actually, I
’
ve heard my mother doing just that when she thinks no one
’
s around.
”
She
sent
him a small smile
.
“
I think maybe I should try it.
”

He
gave
a half-nod
.
“
No guarantees
,
but if nothing else, I think it will make you feel better.
”
Now she probably thought he was a complete idiot.
“
How about we go in there and just listen to Kenny Wayne?
”
He
couldn
’
t keep looking and not touching.
And
,
while he
’
d every intention of keeping his word about being a Texas gentleman, he
had
a special
brand of comfort
in mind
.

“
Okay,
”
she whispered the word
.

Maybe now he
’
d get
a chance
.

* * *

“
I told you I
’
d be a gentleman, and, despite what it will cost me, I
’
ll keep my word
.
”
Clay
had
a big old smile on his face
as h
e
patted the cushion of the sofa where he sat
.
Kenny Wayne was singing about giving a girl everything.
She
didn
’
t doubt
this cowboy could.

She fiddled with the sound control of the
MP3
player
on the end table
.
Every fiber of her being screamed
for
her to sit
next to
him
.
If he
’
d just keep it to kissing
.
Heck, who was she
kidding
?
If
she
’
d
just keep it to kissing.

She
’
d no doubt he
’
d keep his word about being a gentleman
.
But if
she
asked
him
, he wouldn
’
t be breaking it.
Why
had
she
thought she could entertain him alone in her house and not find him in her bed in the morning
?
That lazy smile of his said he
bet
she couldn
’
t
.

Within a second of her sitting down,
he wrapped
a muscled
arm around her shoulder and tugged her close
r
.
She could feel the heat from his body
as her bare thigh made contact with his denim
-
covered one
.
She stared
at
warm eyes and a
slanted
grin and her insides went liquid like some blender had been switched on at full speed.

“
Now being a gentleman
…
”
H
is
husky
voice roll
ed
over her like a soothing lullaby
.
“
…
I
’
ll ask first if I can kiss you
.
Just kiss you, honey. That
’
s all.
”
His
wine-laced
breath blew hot on her skin, t
he last sentences half-whisper
ed in her ear
.

In an involuntary movement
,
h
er head nodded in agreement.
Oh
G
od, what if he asked permission for everything? And she granted it
?
She doubted she had the willpower
to
act
different
ly
.
From the moment he
’
d stood at her door she
’
d wanted to kiss him
and more
.
H
aving spent
the evening with him,
want had turned to need.

His hand caressed her cheek, leaving a rough trail of heat as
he
traced her jaw line. Her pur
é
ed insides began to quiver.

“
I
’
m going to take it slow,
darling,
”
he
drawled
in her ear
.
He shifted so
she was staring right into shining eyes beckoning her to trust him.
But he wanted her for only one reason and the trust he was seeking was
probably just
her acknowledgement that he
’
d be a good lover, nothing more.

Part of her wanted to
settle for that
.
Seeing him on her sofa, feeling his touch
,
her
desire
had ratcheted up to a whole new level—to a
plane
she
’
d never been
on
before
.
N
ot with Bradley or the few, very few, boys who
’
d taken her out in high school
. There was no future here
—n
o white picket fence
, n
o stability
, n
othing but this night.
Maybe it was enough.

He brushed his lips across hers.
The quiver
s
increased.
“
That
’
s it.
Just a kiss.
”
His hand went to her waist, the warmth seeping through her shirt
.
Again, h
e brushed her lips with his.

Why did she have to feel so much from just his touch
?
Her insides were jumbled, her
hands
shaky
,
and her mouth had gone dry
.

“
I want you, honey,
”
he said and his mouth came down on hers, hard, demanding
,
and tasting
of
wine. His one hand
held
her head while his other stroked her back
as though
he was petting a kitten
.
Sensuous stroking that made her womb clench, stroking that said he knew exactly what he was doing.