Gnome On The Range (20 page)

Dex’s eyes flared at my sudden interest. He was still close, our conversation intimate enough not to be overheard. “You submit to me in every way, every sexual way, and I’ll make you come. Hard. Every time. Once my ring is on your finger, I’ll train your body to be constantly aroused. You won’t have time, or want to do anything else but pleasure me. I doubt I’ll even let you get dressed the first few weeks.”

Somehow Dex’s dirty talk sounded creepy, not arousing. And I was super creeped out. I
liked
to wear clothes.

“This is um…a lot to think about.” Truest statement I ever made. “But I want to know more about you. About your work, your ranch.”

Dex must have felt he’d given a good sales pitch toward marriage as he’d returned to his dinner. After taking a few bites of meat, he asked, “What do you want to know?”

“I heard about the poor man that used to work at your ranch. You know, the one I asked about when I first met you?”

“Right,” Dex said, bitterly. “I heard about that, too.” I could practically see Dex take a step back emotionally.

Change tactics! Think!
I reached out and placed my hand on top of his, pinned him with my gaze. “I just worry that something like that might happen to me if I lived with you. Someone was murdered!” I tried to sound like a complete wuss.

Dex brought my hand up to his lips, kissed my knuckles. “Thanks to you I learned Mr. Moore stole from me and was obviously involved in criminal activity. If someone hadn’t already killed him, I assure you, I would have taken care of him myself. No one messes with my ranch, with what’s mine.”

I could tell that was all I was going to get from Dex about Morty. Which was nothing. Crap. He’d turned all possessive and was smart enough to know I was fishing for information if I asked more.

We finished our meal and Dex walked me to my car. It was almost dark, the sky a deep purple. The air was surprisingly cool. I opened the door and turned to him. He’d moved in close, pinning me between the open door and his body. I could smell his cologne, feel his body heat. “You’ll consider all we talked about?”

I nodded. My palms were sweating. My heart pounded in my ears. He was too close, in my circle.

“I’ll call you later this week. Dinner again? This time at my house.”

He didn’t give me an opportunity to answer. His lips found mine before I had a chance to say no. I’d never kissed a man with a mustache. It was odd, ticklish. Like kissing a man and a caterpillar at the same time. Definitely weird. His mouth was warm on mine, tender. It wasn’t a possessive kiss, surprisingly gentle considering his size, his dominating personality. I thought about how it must be hard to keep a mustache clean when you ate soup. Was it hot having a mustache? My mind wandered, clearly not into the kiss.

I didn’t pull back, didn’t push him away either.
Practice date. This was a practice kiss
. Would I ever kiss another guy with a mustache? Was this my last mustache kiss? It was brief, no tongue. Pleasant. And pleasant wasn’t the word you wanted describing a kiss with a man. Unless it was your grandpa.

I wanted the zing I’d discovered with Ty. When I kissed Ty I forgot everything, forgot even to breathe. Ty! The image of him popped into my head and made me pull back from Dex. I felt my stomach do a somersault with guilt at letting Dex kiss me. I wanted Ty’s mouth on mine. Only Ty’s.

“I…I have to go,” I murmured, lost in my thoughts of that sexy fireman.

Dex stepped back, let me get in my car and close my door. I let out a deep breath and drove off. I was definitely in over my head with Dex. He wanted to marry me and have mustache kisses the rest of my life. This was bad. Really bad. I had to figure my way out of this. But not tonight. I wanted Ty and I wanted him…now.

***

An hour later, Ty knocked on my door and took in my outfit. His jaw tightened. He pushed past me and into the kitchen. “Russell Hosanski was at Gilly’s and said he saw you. With a man. Based on what you’re wearing, it must’ve been some date.”

Oh crap. “Who is Russell Hosanski?” I asked. Damn small towns. Of course he’d find out. What had I been thinking? Unless Dex and I had a picnic in the woods, someone who knew me was bound to be around.

“Works B shift at station two.”

I followed him into the kitchen. “That doesn’t explain how he knows me.” My hands went to George the Gnome and fiddled with him, my finger running over the pointy hat.

Ty rolled his eyes. “I told him the same thing. He finally admitted to being a customer of Goldilocks on occasion.”

“Ah.” That clarified everything.

He made a circular motion with his hand. “So, Gilly’s?”

“Yes. Gilly’s.”

He went to my fridge, pulled out a beer, popped the top and drank half of it in one swallow. He wore his fire uniform, although he must’ve dumped all the electronic paraphernalia off at home because his belt was gizmo free.

“So who was this
date
?”

“Drake Dexter. He has a horse ranch down by Ennis.”

I wasn’t going to share the fact that he was the same man from the horse auction at the fair. Definitely a bad idea right now.

We stared at each other. It was blatantly obvious Ty was jealous. His body was tense. He practically ground his teeth to dust when I’d said Dex’s name, making the guy real for him.

This was so cool
!

I’d never been the kind of woman who made men jealous. Now I had two men interested in me. Dex wanted to marry me and make babies. He also wanted to take away my own free will and keep me naked all day. The only thing I knew for sure about Ty was that he cared about me, wanted me, and was not planning on taking over my life. The idea of being naked all day with him didn’t freak me out at all. In fact, it made me hot all over. Zing!

“It must have been some date if you wore that,” Ty grunted his response. “Is he still here?” He looked over my shoulder toward the living room.

Now it was my turn to overreact. I had planned to tell him I wanted to have sex with him right this very minute. Now, I just wanted to be pissy. “No, he’s not in there. The bedroom actually. You caught us just before he ripped my clothes off.”

“Funny,” Ty said sarcastically. He ran a hand over his face.

“You’re jealous because I went out to dinner with another man!” Okay, screw being pissy. I just wanted him. I fisted my hands at my sides ready to either punch him in the face to knock some sense into the man or pull him in for a kiss. I took a step closer. The nearer I got, the more turned on I became. Something about arguing made my adrenaline, and other juices, flow. Made me want to rip the uniform off his hot body.

He felt enough for me to be jealous! It sounded kind of stupid, but it felt wonderful. Ty was being possessive and not in a creepy, chain-me-to-the-bed sort of way. My heart might burst with joy and excitement. Need. I’d never had that happen before. I felt like a teenager, but wiser.

Ty’s feelings probably came from the genetic makeup of his ancestors, the caveman. He needed to beat his chest, stake his claim. Mine were newer to me. I just learned I had power over a guy, over Ty. Who needed a box of Goldie’s toys when I just needed confidence in myself to make it happen?

“Hell, yeah, I’m jealous.” Ty shook his head. “I want you to go out with me, have my friends mention seeing you on
my
arm. Do I feel threatened you went out with another guy?” He shook his head. “There’s some reason why you did, I just don’t know what it is yet. I know enough about your past to know you’re not a cheater.” His eyes raked over me in my new dress.

The light bulb went off. “Oh.” I smiled at him. A full wattage smile. “You’re jealous because I wore this,” I moved my hand in a sweeping gesture over my new dress, “for another guy. It bothers you I put effort into a date with someone else.”

“You look really hot in that dress. But if the guy you were with needs that dress to get him interested, he’s not the guy for you.” He pointed his beer bottle at me. “You don’t need to wear that to turn me on.”

I angled my head to the side. Looked at him. Really listened to his words. Goldie and Kelly had been right. I’d needed an update to my wardrobe. But they’d been wrong about part of it. I’d needed a makeover for
me
, not for Ty. Ty wanted me just as I was, uninspiring clothes and all.

“I know.” All my doubts, my insecurities about getting close to a man were gone. Poof! Just like that. Knowing Ty liked me for me, not for a smokin’ dress, was all the help I needed to let go of that last little bit of insecurity.

The slow burn for him had grown to forest fire proportions. I thought about what Kelly had said about answering the door naked.

I took a deep breath. It had been years and now, it was Go time. With a man in uniform.

“You know?” He looked confused. “Know what?”

I slowly undid the top button at the front of my dress. Ty’s eyes dropped to watch my hands.

“You’re the kind of guy who goes for a little…less.”

He cleared his throat. “Less?”

I undid the next button. “Less clothes.”

He swallowed. “Less is good.”

And the next until enough buttons were undone that I could slide the dress from my shoulders. Ty’s eyes stalled at my lace covered breasts when the dress dropped to the floor. I stood there in front of him in only my newly purchased red lace bra and panties and my strappy heels.

“Holy shit,” Ty murmured.

His eyes raked over me and I felt my nipples harden. I was unbelievably nervous under his scrutiny, but the look on his face got rid of that. Fast. I was starting to get to know Ty’s various expressions but this one was new. I recognized it as pure, unadulterated lust. Completely out in the open. No hiding it to keep me from chickening out.

And it looked damn good on him.

His pupils dilated to make his eyes even bluer. A muscle ticked in his jaw. The fingers of his free hand were clenched at his side. I took in the front of his pants. Hello! Ty had a Whopper Dong of his own.

“You’re right. Less is fine with me,” he replied as he placed his beer bottle roughly on the counter, and then took the two steps that separated us. One finger lightly brushed over my breast above the red lace.

I sucked in a breath. Fire!
Fire!

His hands moved up to tangle in my hair as he pulled me into a kiss that was all tongue. Worked for me.

It sent a lightning bolt of need straight south. There was the zing again that had been missing when Dex had kissed me.
This
was the difference between Dex and Ty. Dex who? Once I felt the zing, there was no going back. And I intended to go all…the…way.

I tasted beer, smelled it as well as soap and something I recognized as pure Ty. He slowly backed me up into the fridge and leaned into me. Ty’s hot body pressing into me from the front, cold steel against the skin on my back. I gasped at the shock.

Ty spun us around until my butt was against the kitchen table. “Sorry,” he muttered between kisses. He grabbed my hips and lifted me up so I sat on top without breaking the kiss. His hands pushed my knees apart so his legs fit between mine. I felt open and exposed and oh so good.

My hands moved to frantically work the buttons on his uniform shirt while his reached around behind and unhooked my bra. The straps caught at my elbows.

He broke the kiss for his first glimpse of my breasts, to watch his hands cup them, his thumbs brush over the hard nipples. Then he traded his hands for his mouth, sucked on one nipple. Then the other.

“Um.” I had a thought, but it was gone. He looked up at me through his lashes. The thought was back. “Remember when you told me that guy looked at me like I was a piece of meat?” He didn’t say anything, so I continued. “You have that look right now.”

He gave a quick grin and with one yank he pulled my hips so they were at the edge of the table. I cried out in surprise. Another yank and my brand new lacy panties were a scrap on the floor.

“So you’re saying I should have a taste?”

“Um,” I said again as I leaned back on my elbow. His mouth moved lower, made a path with his tongue to my belly button while his hands pushed my knees wider.

“Like this?” 

His mouth moved lower still and his tongue went for a ride up one side of me and down the other. HOLY CRAP! I hadn’t felt a Super Zing like that in…I couldn’t remember ever feeling a zing like that. My head fell back and I saw the red spaghetti sauce stain on the ceiling Zach made when he was two. I would never look at that mark in the same way again.

“Oh my God!”  The tips of my ears tingled. I took a few deep breaths trying to get enough oxygen to my brain so I didn’t pass out.

I pulled on his ears and Ty came up for air. He had that crazy grin on his face.

“I need you inside of me. Now!”

Ty stood back up and I had to have my hands on him. I roughly spread his uniform shirt to reveal his chest, lightly matted with hair that tapered in a line down to his pants…and beyond. I ran my hands over his hot skin, reached around to his butt and pulled him into a kiss. I could feel the hair on his chest tickling my breasts, making my nipples ache. Much lower pulsed with need while my fingers fumbled with his belt buckle. I all but cried with frustration when I couldn’t get it open. Ty took over, undid the button and unzipped his pants in record time.

I had to have him in my hands. I reached inside his boxers and pulled his erection out into my palm. He was big. Big enough to ruin me for all dildos in the future. I slid my hand gently up and down. Once, Twice. Now it was his turn to gasp.

“Shit.” He pulled back out of reach of my hands. “This is going to be fast. And we’re going to do it here,” he told me as he pushed on my shoulders so I lay back on the table once again.

I was naked, sprawled across my kitchen table with Ty’s fiery gaze raking over me. He’d been too far south to look at me before. He ran one palm from my neck, between my breasts, his long fingers brushing tauntingly over a nipple, past my navel and lower still. One finger, then two slid inside. Yes! I made some kind of sound in the back of my throat and my eyes rolled back in my head.