Falling For A Cowboy (16 page)

He grabbed her arm
, held it in a gentle grasp
.
“
Dusty, look at me.
”

She raised her gaze and met his head on
.
His jaw was clenched, his smile tight
,
as if he
was
wavering
between control and something else.

“
I desire you
.
Hell, I want you more than any woman I
’
ve been with
.
And that
’
s not just talk
.
I don
’
t understand it
myself
.
This is new to me
.
Because I
’
m pretty certain one
night isn
’
t going to do it for me
, either
.
”
H
is voice had gone soft and h
e took a deep breath
as if he needed to
brac
e
for something
.
“
That scares me because I
don
’
t know if I
’
m ready to offer more
.
And I understand if it
’
s not enough.
”

At least he was being honest about not being ready to offer more
.
The rest, she wasn
’
t buying.
“
It
’
s not.
”
She wrenched her arm free.

“
Fine
.
But don
’
t go thinking you
’
ve nothing to offer a man.
”
Irritation tinged his words.
“
You
’
re smart, funny, sassy
,
and sexy as hell. I can
’
t look at you and not want you
.
And I sure can
’
t kiss you and hide the fact. I
’
m not sure where this
insecurity
of yours
is coming from except that Bradley fellow must have done a number on you.
”

“
How do you know about Bradley?
”
Anger flamed up within her because
she knew the answer as soon as she asked the question
.
Tara
Lynn
had a lot to answer for.

“
Look, I
’
m just saying that
I
’
m attracted to you
. You
’
ve sure
been keeping me up at night.
”
He gave her a lopsided grin
.
“
And I mean that in every sense.
”

God he was devastatingly attractive
, and so convincing
when he said
lines
like that. But she didn
’
t believe him
.
Not one word
.
He was a rodeo cowboy, after all.

“
I
’
ll get the linens.
”

Dusty
wondered if Clay was awake yet as she
tip-toed down the stairs
.
It was almost ten o
’
clock, meaning she
’
d missed the Heritage Day parade
.
She hadn
’
t missed the parade since she could remember
.
Not that the floats and the band were all that much
,
but in
Langley
everyone went to the parade to show their support
.
It was a town thing.

She
’
d been up most of the night thinking about the hunk of a cowboy sleeping in her
living room
. After checking the clock almost every half-hour she must have finally fallen
a
sleep sometime before dawn and had slept right through
.
By the time she
’
d showered and put on her make-up, which took an extraordinarily long time that morning, it was well past parade time.

Pausing at
the bottom stair, she peeked
into the living room at
the
bare-chested man lying
under the
pale yellow
blanket covering the sofa bed. He was still asleep
.
Whitey lay next to him, his doggy eyes trained on her, watching.
Even her
dog was turning traitor.

She
’
d
wondered what Clay looked like in the morning
.
Hell
,
she
’
d
wondered what he looked like at night, naked
.
That had been
one of
the question
s
costing her sleep
.

She tip-toed over to the sofa, peered down
,
and took a deep breath. Clay laid spread eagle, work-hardened arms flung out across the mattress like some offering to a
g
od
—or goddess
.
His brown hair was tousled and those fringed eyelashes f
eathered
his
high cheek bones.
She took in his
s
traight, sculpted nose
,
firm full lips
,
and
the
dark shadow of hair
that
dusted his strong jaw line.
Her gaze traveled to his chest where
sun-kissed
skin
was
stretched taut
over
muscle. He looked like a
sculptor
’
s
masterpiece, lean, hard
,
and buff.
Eye
candy to her sweet-starved brain.

She followed the
thin line of dark hair
that ran
down the middle
of his
toned
stomach
.
I
t
disappeared under the
tented
blanket
that covered
the
treasure
trying to
pok
e
through
.
Her hands itched to pick up the edge of the fabric and
discover
that treasure
for herself.

She stepped closer, desire warring with reason
.
Before a winner could be declared, a strong arm encircled her waist and
brought
her tumbling down onto that
firm
abdomen.
She fell with a squeal
as
s
mooth skin and tight muscles greeted her. Whitey scrambled from the bed.

“
Come here, darling.
”
Clay
crooned the words as he wrapped both arms tightly around her and pulled her up to him. Before she could think
,
he
’
d rolled
over
her
.
T
he only things separating them were her denim skirt and the thin cover, now bunched at his hips.

“
I
’
ve missed you.
”
He feather
ed
little kisses along her neck
.
Waves of delicious tingles rolled through her.

She didn
’
t try to resist. A long firm length prodded her thighs
.
Unless he
’
d taken a hammer to bed with him last night, the man was hard and ready
.
The wetness between her legs said she was too.

But this was insane
.

“
Clay, don
’
t
,
”
s
he managed to eke out between signals from her body telling her to let it ride.
Fortunately
, her brain was on duty this morning.

Like she had thrown a switch, he released her and rolled
o
nto his back
, pulling the covers along with him
.
He covered his eyes with the back of a hand
.

“
I know you want it, Dusty
.
Why won
’
t you let me give it to you?
”
Frustration
edg
ed
his
words.

H
e was right
.
She did want it
.
“
I don
’
t know.
”
It was the only answer she could give
.
Something was preventing her from answering the call of every part of her body.

“
I
’
d make it good for you, honey.
”

“
Clay, it
’
s not that.
”

He sat up in one fluid motion,
the blanket barely covering his lap.
“
What is it then?
”

She shrugged.
She was struggling to attach a name to it
,
too.
But i
f the guy didn
’
t get some clothes on, there might be no need for this conversation.

He bunched the edge of the cover in his hand.
“
I
’
ve told you I
’
d like to see where this goes.
”
He stared at her, his big blue eyes making her
pulse jump
.

“
It
’
s me
.
I
’
ve things to work out, Clay
.
Maybe it
’
s too soon.
”

He took a deep breath and with a growl,
threw the cover back and
rose out of the bed
.
H
is
erection
st
u
ck out
, long
and thick
,
and aimed at her
.
She gasped
and shut her eyes
,
but the sight of him in all his glory
was
one she
’
d never forget
.
The man was magnificent
.

“
I
’
m taking a shower,
”
he said
. She heard the sounds of
feet slapping against wood
.
“
A cold shower.
”

She shouldn
’
t have
peek
ed as he took the stairs two at a time
,
but she couldn
’
t help herself
.
He looked like a wild animal as he
climbed
, his
heavy shaft
waving from the motion
.
Heaven help her. They
’
d never fit together.

* * *

Why hadn
’
t Dusty fallen into his bed like every other woman? He must have done something wrong.

He let the water from the shower spray over him
.
Warm
water, cleansing water.
The flowered shower curtain fluttered from the pelting of the drops
.
He lathered
the
soap and began to scrub.

He tried to clear his mind, but Dusty wouldn
’
t let him
.
He saw her image, sitting on his lap, her core nestled against his hard
length
, her nipples erect
,
pushing through the thin fabric of her top
,
and her thighs squeezing his hips. Her kisses had branded him like a hot iron
.
And then she
’
d jumped off of him as if
she
’
d
gotten burned
.
T
his morning she
’
d said no outright
.
Stopped him cold when he
’
d had an erection that was close to painful.

What the hell was he going to do? He wanted her,
and
not just physically
.
H
e wanted more
with
her
. H
e wanted to be closer to her, share her secrets,
soothe
her fears. He
’
d felt a connection with her, a bond
.
Hell, he
’
d never confessed to anyone that he spoke to his father
.
But with her it
had
seemed natural, safe.

Y
et
with the
situation being what it was, how could he offer more
?
Until he raised the stud fee, he was in no condition to get serious about a woman. Hell, he
’
d never
even
thought about getting serious
.
It had seemed
there
’
d always be time
.
He was only twenty-seven
.

Who was he kidding?
He was
n
’
t
exactly a young cub anymore.
He had
friends
younger than him who were
on their second kid.
So why
should settling
down seem such a distant prospect and the stud fees such a formidable obstacle?

He didn
’
t know if she was the one
.
He
’
d never even asked
that
question before
.
H
e sure wanted to find out
.
Except
that
she
’
d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him
.
Jesse had been so right
.
Dusty
was the kind of girl you married
.
The kind you courted
.
The kind you brought home to your mother
.
That Bradley must have been an idiot. And thank God for that.

Somehow, he had to get
her to take a chance and see where
things between them went
.
If it took several more trips to
Langley
in order to convince her, he
’
d make them
.
B
ecause this could go all the way
.
S
he could be the one
.
He
’
d find out, no question about that.
He
’
d never gone after
something he wanted and come up empty
.
And in the most important issue of his whole life, the woman he might
actually
marry
,
he had
no intention of setting a new precedent.