Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (29 page)

Christ, her hands were everywhere,
sliding under his shirts and over his skin in a frenzy that had him groaning
and needing more.

She broke the kiss and blinked up
at him. “Are we safe here?”

He nodded, reaching for her. “Yes.
It’s private.”

“Good.” She took off her hat, then pushed
him onto the hay pile and followed him down. “The chili wasn’t the only reason
I’m here.” Her hands fisted his shirts and lifted them while she licked a path
up his chest.

“Oh?” He was having trouble
concentrating on her words. His mind barely registered the hay poking his back
as he gripped her sweet ass and rocked against her. He was so damn aroused, he
could barely think and almost didn’t hear her reply.

“Yeah. I’m here to make us even,”
she said against his abs a second before her hands made quick work of his belt
and zipper, and had his jeans and boxers down to his knees. “Much better.”

His heart literally stopped, then
jumped orbit when she gripped his throbbing erection and made the sexiest
purring sound he’d ever heard.

He must’ve died and gone to heaven.
This was insane. He was supposed to taste her…not…

“Kerri,” he groaned, trying to grab
her shoulders and lift her up, but she pushed his hands aside.

“Oh no, cowboy.”

She glanced up at him with the
sexiest, wickedest grin on her lips and he nearly came right then.

“It’s your turn to lay there and
take it.”

Kerri’s warm breath washed over Connor’s
aching arousal a moment before she licked him and kissed the very tip.

A deep, guttural sound rumbled in
his throat as she ran her tongue down his length. He gasped.

“Kerri…”

“Relax,” she said before her mouth closed
around him.

Ah, hell yeah, that feels good
.
So damn good. He laid back, squeezed his eyes shut and tried to hold on as long
as possible. But he knew it wouldn’t be long. Hell no. It’d been almost two
weeks since he’d been inside her warmth, and this was exquisite.

Opening his eyes, he watched as she
went down on him, over and over, her hands gripping his hips. She felt
incredible, and watching her kneel between his legs, hair brushing his skin,
mouth hot and wet on his erection, was like something out of his fantasies.
Better than his fantasies.

And, Jesus, she knew his rhythm.

Heat skittered down his spine. His
body tensed. Damn, he was close. He lay back, trying to hang on. Wanting to
enjoy the erotic, incredible things she was doing to him with her tongue for as
long as possible, but when she made that same sexy, purring sound as before, it
vibrated around him and he was done. Hands on her head, he thrust up into her
warmth and growled out her name as everything tightened, and he exploded.

His heart rate was still somewhere
in the outer atmosphere when he opened his eyes and watched her rise to her
feet, her expression so serene, so satisfied you’d swear she was the one who’d
just had her boots knocked into the next county.

He held his hand out to her. “Come
here,” he said between breathes. “I don’t know what you did to me, darlin’, but
my bones seemed to have melted away.”

She laughed as she crawled up his
body and set her forehead to his. “Hi.”

God, she’s adorable.

Able to at least move his arms, he
cupped her face and stared into her beautiful, happy gaze. “Hi,” he replied.
“And thank you. But, Kerri, I don’t want you to ever think you have to worry
about keeping us even.”

She pulled a piece of hay from his
hair and tossed it aside. “Yes, I do. You’re the one who has to learn to take
once in awhile. You give so much in everything you do. It’s time you got to
take...and to realize you’re not the only one with a magical tongue.”

She leaned down and kissed him,
long and deep, and he crushed her close, loving how she fit against him. His
heart gave a little jerk and snagged. Who would’ve thought a city girl would
understand him so well?

His hands sought her warm, soft
skin, and he skimmed over the curve of her waist, around the front to brush her
quivering belly. She was sweet. But when he slipped his hand inside her pants
she stiffened then rolled off him.

“Oh, no.” She shook a finger at him
as she stood panting a few feet away. “What part of
take
don’t you
understand?”

He groaned. “None of it. Come on,
darlin’. Let me take care of you.”

She seemed to have trouble
standing, but dammit, she didn’t come back.

“Sorry,
darlin’
,” she said,
straightening her clothes, checking her hair for straw. “You have work, and I’m
meeting Brandi in a half hour to discuss a few menu items, so…” She paused to
swipe her hat off the ground, dusted it off, then shoved it on her head. “It’s
my turn to leave all pent up.”

He stilled. “Are you wet?”

She sucked in another mouthful of
air and nodded. “Oh, yeah. Big time.”

He groaned. “Damn it, Kerri, come
here,” he said, trying to reach for her, but his useless damn legs felt like
lead. “Let me see.”

She laughed. “No can do. Got to go.
Next time, we’ll have to make sure we’re both taken care of.” She tipped her
hat at him. “Bye.” And left.

“Kerri,” he called and watched and
waited, but she never came back. He blew out a breath, and a moment later he
chuckled.  Damn, sexy woman tells him she’s wet then leaves. He put his arms
behind his head, laid back and closed his eyes.

Who does that?

Apparently his sinfully sexy cook.

“S
old! To the man with
the longhorn tattoo!”

Kerri heard the announcer raffle another
basket while she waited nervously in the back. The morning of the fair was
unseasonably warm and brought in a good crowd.

She’d arrived with Cole and Jordan.
They’d helped her cart her chili and the basket. She hadn’t expected Connor to
offer to give her ride. After all, they weren’t an item. But she had hoped.

And she wasn’t going to think about
it right now. Her basket was up next.

Kerri sucked in a breath. She was
expected to go out there and stand as if on display while people bid on her
goodies. Kerri didn’t know if she could do it. After all, she wasn’t Jordan.

Sure, she had enough confidence in
her food, it was in herself that she lacked. Although, she had to admit, she
felt better about herself since Lance’s visit, and a heck of a lot better
thanks to Connor’s…whatever you call what he’d done to her, and for her.

Fluttering commenced in her
stomach. She hadn’t seen the sexy cowboy since she’d left him half naked in the
loft last week. Even now her body heated at the image of him laying back, shirts
pushed up, jeans down, muscles
—
and other parts
—
gleaming, thanks to her. Just the thought that she’d put
that look of pure satisfaction on the virile cowboy’s face was enough to make
her wet, and had her inner feminine goddess beaming.

Kerri couldn’t believe how lucky
she’d gotten when Connor had pulled her up into the loft. She’d gone to the
ranch hoping to find a way to even their slate, and he went and provided it for
her. Perfect opportunity, and she took it…and him.

She smirked. Yeah, she’d gotten
lucky...and so had he.

But dealing with this challenge was
different. This was public. People. Strangers.

As if sensing her dilemma, Jordan came to her rescue.

“Stop worrying. You got this. Just
go out there and have fun,” her sister said, placing her hands on Kerri’s
shoulders. “Besides, you’re doing this to raise money for the children at the
rehabilitation center. It isn’t going to hurt if you cause a little mayhem
amongst the single cowboys in the process.”

Kerri groaned. “Jordan, I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can, and you will. Plus,
you’re allowed to plug the restaurant, too. The raffle committee said it was
fine.” Her sister smiled with all the confidence Kerri was currently lacking.
“Thing will be fine. You already know Duke is going to bid on your basket.”

They’d bumped into the realtor on
the way in, and he’d told Kerri point blank he planned to win her basket. She’d
gotten a weird vibe from the guy today. He didn’t seem like the same man who’d
taken her to Gulfport. Hopefully, someone else would win.

“And I spotted Connor out there,” Jordan informed with a grin. “This will give you an opportunity to strut your stuff. Drive
him crazy. Or am I wrong in thinking your one-time-thing with him has turned
into multiples?”

Her sister was fishing. And correct,
darn her.

“Maybe.” Kerri smirked. Her sister
was good. Jordan knew what buttons to push all right.

She squared her shoulders, and with
a determined lift of her chin, headed for the makeshift stage.

“And here she is, Ms. Kerri Masters,
the owner and creator of all the delicious aromas that are coming from this basket.”
The announcer, a jolly man with a straw cowboy hat smiled broadly. “Not only is
she a wonderful cook, but she is beautiful to boot, as I’m sure you young men
have already noticed.”

Okay, see? It was one thing to
boast about her cooking. That was good. She could do that. But when the talk
centered on her, she turned nervous. Uttered stupid things. Blushed. Like now.
Darn it.

With her face heating, Kerri kept
her chin high and bravely scanned the crowd in front of her.
Jeez
, there
were a lot of people in the tent. She spotted Connor right away. Tall and big
and hot. She warmed at the sight. He stood out. Hotly. And the urge to walk
straight up the aisle and press into his sexy body was surprisingly strong.

She forced her gaze to the man next
to him. His best friend wore fatigues with his hat in his hand. Another hotty.
Several women were eyeing Kade like the cowboys were eyeing her. Hungrily.

Since Kade had told her at his
ranch the other night that he didn’t have drill this weekend, he must be
working one of the military stands. There were a few; one for recruitment, one
for veteran support, and another for rehab. Whatever the case, women couldn’t
take their eyes off him. Kerri held back a grin. The guy was oblivious.

She wished she was.

Both Connor and Kade folded their
arms across their chests and smiled.

At least
they
were having
fun.

It took her a moment, but she noticed
Emma, her parents and the McCalls smiling encouragingly at her. Cole and her
sister gave her a thumbs up, and she grinned when she realized they were all
wearing T-shirts advertising their new restaurant.

“Now, this lovely lady has packed
this basket full with a feast fit for a king…or should I say a hungry cowboy?” the
announcer joked as he looked over the paper she’d been required to submit,
naming the contents of the basket. “Well, fellas, the winner of this basket is
in for a treat. It seems this here little lady is the cook for the newest
restaurant in our county. The grand opening is next Saturday. What is the name
of it, sweetheart?” He held the microphone in front of her.

 “It’s called
Texas
Republic
or
Texas Pub
for short.” She smiled, then feeling more confident because
she was talking food, Kerri took the microphone. “And what’s in the basket is
just a small sampling of what will be on the menu.”

“Are
you
on the menu?”
someone shouted, causing the crowd to hoot and a certain tall, sexy cowboy to
scowl.

Kerri smiled. “Nope. Sorry, I just
cook it,” she replied, then continued with her pitch. “Every Friday night
Texas
Pub
will feature local talent, and on Saturday will have live bands and
plenty of dancing, so be sure to come in and check us out for some good food
and good fun.”

Still smiling, she handed the
microphone back to the jovial announcer, pleased with herself for managing to
get in a good plug for the restaurant.

“Sounds good to me, folks. I’ll
certainly be there,” the announcer said, then inhaled and smiled. “You don’t
have the pleasure of smelling the delicious aroma coming from this basket.” He
motioned toward the table where it sat along with her cooler and blanket. “But
trust me, it is smelling mighty fine.” He grinned. “Now, let’s just see what’s causing
it.” And he held up his paper and began to read off the contents. “Lemon-Lime
Chicken, onion and bacon crostatas, red potato salad, grilled peppers and
apples, crusty French bread, cheese, banana slices, grapes, cherry pie, and the
one that’s got me curious, champagne soaked strawberries.”

The crowd moaned and groaned their
approval after each dish was mentioned. They especially liked the
strawberries.   Kerri grinned. That was a personal favorite of hers, too.

“And as if that wasn’t good enough,
Ms. Masters has also made a batch of Casa Grande Sangria to wash all that
wonderful food down.” The jolly man held the list to his chest and sighed. “Wooweee!
I tell ya, if my wife wasn’t in the audience today, I would’ve bid on this
basket myself.”

The crowd chuckled and Kerri smiled
her thanks. She was glad he liked her list, but she really, really wanted off
the stage. Too bad she had to stand up there and wait until he hollered,
Sold
.

Her heartbeats quickened as he
opened the bidding.

“Remember now, people, this money
is going toward those children and their gymnasium and much needed
rehabilitation equipment for returning veterans. So, who will start the bidding
at fifty dollars?”

“One hundred dollars,” Cole called
out from the front of the crowd, receiving a poke from Jordan.

“Two hundred,” Duke offered from
the side.

“Five hundred,” Connor spoke up
from the back.

Kerri’s heartbeats quickened as she
caught the determined gleam in his eyes.

Oh, yes…she’d love to share the
basket with him. Heck, she’d love to share
more
than the basket with
him. Okay, so she already had, but she was hoping for more shared orgasms.
Cripes. Her face heated. What was wrong with her? This was certainly not the
time to be thinking those thoughts.