Riding the Line (3 page)
With a groan he stripped off his jacket and shirt and splashed lukewarm water over his grimy skin. The soap smelt of peaches but he didn’t care. At least he’d be clean again. He filled the basin with water and lowered his head. Behind him, the door opened and hit his ass, shoving him face first into the water.
‘I’m sorry, are you OK?’
Dakota raised his head, eyes streaming, and reached blindly for a towel. After a few moments of hawking, spitting and general mopping up, he managed to look at Jane.
She was staring at his naked chest.
‘Knock next time, will you?’
He smiled to show he wasn’t really mad. Her gaze slid up to meet his and he realized he could finally see her face. Her eyes were dark brown, her skin slightly olive and her mouth a perfect ‘O’. She looked vaguely familiar. She reached out a hand and stroked his chest. Despite his tiredness, his body tightened with anticipation.
‘You have a great body. Do you work out?’
He blinked at her. ‘What?’
She kept her hand on his flat stomach. ‘I said, do you work out or are you naturally ripped?’
‘I ride bulls for a living. I have to be fit or I’m dead.’
Uncomfortable with her scrutiny, he took a step back, difficult in such a small space. ‘Are you ready to eat?’
She blushed and stuffed her hand back in her pocket. ‘Yeah, whatever.’
‘I’ll just grab a clean T-shirt.’
‘Don’t bother on my account.’
She spoke over her shoulder as he followed her out into the main room. He found his duffle bag and hunkered down beside it to search for a shirt. Hell, was she coming on to him? Had he totally misjudged her? She sat back down on the bed, her body posture dejected. Dakota found an old white T-shirt and pulled it over his head.
‘Look, if you’re hoping to earn some money here . . .’
She shot to her feet and stormed across to him. He stood up as well, unwilling to let her tower over him and flinched as she poked him in the chest.
‘I am not a whore!’
‘I didn’t say you were. I just want you to be clear about what’s going on here.’ He met her gaze. ‘I’m offering you a place to sleep tonight, that’s all. I’ve never paid for sex and I don’t intend to start now.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘So you must still be a virgin, right?’
Even though she was deliberately getting in his face, he caught the note of desperation in her voice.
‘Yeah, that’s right. I’m saving myself for marriage. It’s all the rage with us cowboys, now. That
Brokeback Mountain
movie was one hell of a wake-up call.’
Brokeback Mountain
movie was one hell of a wake-up call.’
‘You’re not at all funny, you know.’ She held his gaze, her luscious lips tightly pressed together as if she was afraid to speak again.
‘Are you sure about that?’
She stepped back, wrapped her arms around her waist and sat down with a decided thump on the bed. He turned his back on her and continued to sort out the stuffin his bag. He put his toothbrush and shaving gear in the bathroom and filled up the coffee jug.
After setting the coffee to brew he busied himself putting out the meager contents of the shopping bag. Occasionally he glanced at his silent companion. Why did he feel as if he knew her? Was she one of the buckle bunnies who followed the rodeo cowboys from venue to venue and fucked as many of them as they could?
She didn’t seem the type and yet she was definitely familiar. He opened the bag of barbecue chips and crunched on a handful.
‘Do you follow the rodeo circuit, Jane?’
‘The what?’
‘The rodeo. You know, cowboys, horses, cattle, that kind of thing.’
‘Why on earth would I want to waste my time doing that?’
He fought a smile. She was getting spunkier by the minute. Why had he ever thought she was in need of his help? He continued to munch on the chips, held the bag out to her and shrugged as she shook her head.
‘Because you look familiar.’
‘I get that a lot.’
‘So you don’t follow the rodeo and this isn’t some fiendish plan to get me alone and steal my soul or my horse or something?’
She looked down her nose at him, her disdain obvious.
He sighed. ‘Eat something. I got Twinkies.’
Robyn sniffed. ‘Twinkies are bad for you.’
‘Hell, I know that.’
She fought to ignore the twinkle in Dakota Scott’s eyes as he tried to tempt her to eat. How did he have the nerve to pretend to be nice after suggesting she was a prostitute?
‘Don’t you know that Twinkies are going to be the only thing that survives a nuclear war, along with the cockroaches?’
She stared at him resentfully. There he went again, trying to be funny when he’d not only ignored her attempt to come on to him, but made out he was some kind of whiter than white boy scout goody-goody. He never paid for sex, so frickin’ what? Did he think he was so attractive that every woman he met had the hots for him?
Trouble was he might be right. When she’d seen his muscled torso in the bathroom she’d had no choice but to reach out and touch his glorious chest. She set her jaw. She had to keep him interested enough to let her tag along with him when he left.
She fixed a smile on her face and crawled across the bed to sit on the corner closest to him.
He stopped unwrapping his Twinkie and studied her. ‘You going to eat something now? The sulk is over?’
‘I wasn’t sulking.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I have a temperature and a headache. It’s no wonder I’m feeling a little off-balance.’
His expression softened and he reached over to squeeze her hand. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. Hell of a situation to find yourself in.’
Tears crowded her throat. Damn him for being nice again. She wanted him to be a conceited jerk who deserved to be taken down, not a thoughtful considerate guy. He handed her a paper napkin.
‘Here, have some chips and a Twinkie. You’ll feel much better once you’ve got some sugar and salt inside you.’ He stood up. ‘I’ll get the coffee.’
She watched him pour out the coffee, his movements smooth and graceful for such a tall guy. The thought of fucking him was even OK. Sex was still the only thing she had to give him. She’d just have to try a more direct track.
‘So you’re a cowboy, right?’
‘Yeah, you found me out.’ He glanced at the door. ‘What was it that gave me away? The boots, the spurs or the hat?’
She smiled despite herself. ‘How about the hay sticking out from your ears?’
He winked. ‘Nice one. But, yeah, that’s what I do, along with some other things.’
‘Where’s your horse?’
‘Tommy’s on my brother’s ranch having a week off along with the other guys. I usually have at least two horses with me when I travel, sometimes three. I was just glad the horse part of the trailer was empty when I came to a dead stop just outside town today.’
Robyn ate a chip, ate another one and then a third. God, they were good and her favorite flavor.
‘How about you? What do you do?’
She swallowed so hastily, she coughed on the crumbs. ‘Oh, a bit of this and that, mainly for my family business.’
‘Which is what?’
‘Based in Los Angeles.’
He frowned. ‘I can’t say I like that city. It’s so huge and it takes for ever to get anywhere on the freeway. My brothers live further up the coast in San Francisco and Oregon.’
‘And where do you call home?’
‘It depends. Up until recently I would have said Arizona, that’s where my mother and stepdad live, but now I’m looking to set down my own roots and have my own home.’ He drank his coffee, gestured at Robyn to drink hers. ‘It depends what happens in the next six months as to where I end up.’
She stared at him. How nice to have such quiet confidence and self-assurance. She had no idea where she’d be tomorrow, let alone in a year. Panic and anger clashed uneasily in her stomach. She clutched her plastic cup so hard, coffee spurted out of the top.
‘So are you heading back to Los Angeles?’
Robyn just stared at him. Was she? Did she really want to go back there and deal with the ruins of her life and her family’s indifference? In reality she knew she had no choice. She had to return and face up to her responsibilities. She took a deep breath and put her coffee down. ‘I’m heading wherever you’re heading.’
‘What?’
She leant closer, laid her hand on his knee. ‘I’m willing to do whatever you want to make you keep me around.’ She slid off the bed and knelt between his thighs. ‘Absolutely anything . . .’
Chapter Three
‘Holy shit!’ Dakota leapt to his feet spilling coffee and crumbs everywhere. He glared down at Jane. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
She looked up at him, her expression one of injured innocence.
‘What do you think I’m doing?’
He sat back down. ‘Nothing I asked for, nothing I want.’
‘You don’t want a free, no-strings-attached blow job?’
His cock did and stirred in anticipation. He forced his mind back to cold showers, injuries he’d sustained while riding, bleak winter landscapes. It didn’t work.
‘Listen, Jane or whatever your name is, I’m tired. All I want to do is get some sleep and be ready to leave as soon as those guys fix whatever is wrong with my truck.’
‘It’s Robyn.’
He frowned. ‘What?’
‘My name is Robyn.’
Her hand slid up his thigh again and he clamped one of his over it.
‘Whatever your name is, I still don’t want you.’
She started to cry, the tears falling down her frozen face. He wanted to howl. Why did women do this? Didn’t they know how unfair it was? Hell, of course they did.
‘Don’t you find me attractive?’
‘I don’t know you well enough to say that.’ Her lip trembled and the speed of the tears increased. He hastened to continue. ‘I’m sure you’re a beautiful woman and that someday some guy will make you very happy, but it’s not going to be me.’
‘But I don’t want to be happy. I want to make you happy.’
Her fingers moved again, came to rest perilously close to where his disobedient cock yearned to be serviced. He slammed his hand over hers again, cursing silently as he rubbed against his own half-aroused flesh.
‘I’m perfectly happy just as I am, thanks.’
She moved closer until her mouth was only a couple of inches away from the fly of his jeans. He tensed as she pursed her lips and let out her breath.
‘You sure look like you could do with a blow job.’
He gave up the struggle to restrain her hand and resorted to grabbing her by the shoulders and forcibly lifting her on to the bed. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, and her tears miraculously disappeared.
‘You do want me.’
‘Nope, my cock might because he’s got no sense, but I don’t.’
She cupped her breasts and rubbed her thumbs over her nipples. Dakota swallowed hard as his shaft throbbed and thickened in his jeans.
‘Why are you doing this?’
She licked her lips, her gaze considering. ‘Because I want to and because you’re here.’
He backed away until his shoulders hit the door frame of the bathroom. ‘Sex should mean more than that, shouldn’t it?’
‘Why? What’s wrong with two people whiling away a few hours fucking?’
Dakota folded his arms across his chest. Damn, he felt like her parent or something. Where had she learnt such crap? ‘If you don’t know the answer to that, I can’t help you.’
She knelt up, her hands balled into fists, her expression incredulous. ‘You think you’re too good for me, don’t you?’
‘No, I’m tired, I want to get some sleep and that’s it.’
He turned away from her, went into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He sat down on the toilet seat. What should he do? Hide out here for a few hours until she either went to sleep or left in disgust? God, what a disaster. He really should steer clear of women; he obviously didn’t have what it took to deal with them.
He scowled down at his jeans, ran an impatient hand over his erection. He might as well have a shower and take care of his disobedient cock while he decided what to do next. He turned on the water and checked the lock. No way did he want her coming in and giving him a hand.
He pictured her on her knees before him, taking him into her mouth, and bit back a groan. What difference would one night of anonymous sex make? He knew it was common these days of fuck buddies and casual relationships, but somehow it didn’t sit well with him.
Maybe she was right and he was a big prude who thought he was better than anyone else. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the tiny shower. Better she thought that than he had sex with her when she was so vulnerable. He soaped his cock, which didn’t agree and kept his hand moving until he knew he had to come.
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