Rocky Mountain Rebel (32 page)

That was right about the time one of the sheep got
real
up close and personal and took out the back of her knees. Vicki grasped the wood slats frantically, catching herself from falling.

Joel dropped everything to trap her hands in place. “Whoa, don’t blow it now.”

She hauled herself up, climbing to the top and staring him down. “Interesting choice of words…”

He frowned, offering her a hand as she made her way over and rejoined him. “What mischief you got planned?”

Enough. She peeked around cautiously, but it seemed to be only them and sheep. “How long before your brother comes looking for you?”

“Never. He’ll just head into the house after he’s done. Why?”

She tugged him into the next empty stall. “Because I want to give you your Christmas present.”

Joel laughed as she planted a hand on his chest and backed him toward the wall. His pupils dilated as she dropped to her knees, hands reaching for his waist.

“Oh, darling.”

“See, I’m nice.” Vicki loosened his belt and popped the buttons on his fly. “I’m not making you wrestle anything.”

“You’re gonna be wrestling something in a minute…”

They both smiled. Joel leaned back on the solid wood and opened his legs wider around her.

Of all the sexual lessons she’d learned, this was one of the most sheer, out-and-out fun. Pulling his cock forward and feeling the heavy weight in her palm. Sliding her fingers up and down his girth and watching his face tighten with pleasure.

It was power in its purest form, to take a strong man like Joel to his knees in bliss.

She leaned forward, still looking up at him from under her lashes. She applied one small lick to the end of his cock as if he were an ice-cream cone, and was rewarded with a shudder.

So. Much. Fun. Teasing him with her tongue, rubbing the sensitive spot right under the head she’d learned drove him mad. Wrapping her lips around the tip for a second to get him good and wet then sucking hard as she popped off.

“
God
, Vicki.”

He thickened in her grasp. She waited for him to make the next move. It was becoming a bit of a game, because he didn’t seem to know every time she gave him a blowjob, he eventually caved and did the same thing.

And she loved it.

Vicki pumped her fist faster. Squeezing harder than she’d thought safe, but he’d taught her how he liked it. Worked her mouth over him until he was nice and wet, and she could take more of his length. She hadn’t managed to do any of that deep-throat stuff yet, but he didn’t seem unhappy with her attempts.

Joel threaded his fingers through her hair, and she hummed, earning a harder thrust.

“Sweet mercy, woman. When you do that, I feel it all the way to the back of my brain.”

With a mouthful of cock she wasn’t about to ask which brain, but the quip still made her smile.

He caught hold of her then so it was no longer her moving over him, but him in control. Vicki opened wide and brought her tongue into play as best she could, sucking when he dragged his hips back.

So gentle, even as he fucked her mouth. Saliva slicked his length, escaping to moisten her cheeks. The taste of his seed snuck onto her tongue as his breathing sped up.

“So damn good.” Joel stroked a hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I ain’t lasting long. You want to swallow? Decide fast.”

This time she did. Instead of pulling back to watch him finish himself—spraying into his own hand or over her chest like he’d done in the past—she held him tighter.

“Ease off,” he ordered.

Guided by his hands she leaned away enough his cock rested on her lower lip. She went to town with her tongue as he stroked himself rapidly. And when he gasped, the first shots of come exploding from his cock, she surrounded him again and swallowed him down as far as she could go.

“
Fuck
.”

It was all over but for the shaking. Joel lost control and let her take care of him.

“You killed me.” Joel cupped her head, his cock continuing to jerk in her mouth as she played with his softening shaft. “Goddamn killed me dead.”

She was still trapped, nose to his groin, the scent of sex in the air around them. Joel stroked his fingers free, released her and pulled her up to lean on him as he sprawled against the wall.

“Let me remember how to walk. I think you sucked my brains out my dick that time.”

Vicki laughed. “Merry Christmas, Joel.”

He smiled down at her. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Vicki opened the oven and pulled out another cookie sheet of finger food, transferring the hot tray to the counter top and stepping away to allow Tamara Coleman to load the wonton wrappers onto serving bowls.

“It’s people like you who give the Coleman family a rep for incredible parties.” Karen Coleman lifted the lid on a Crock-Pot and breathed in deeply, letting loose a moan of pleasure. “God, do we have to share? How about we stay here and eat all night instead of going into the living room with the greedy lot of them?”

There was already enough of a crowd in the tiny kitchen, Vicki wasn’t sure what Karen meant. “Tamara’s apartment is nice, but it’s not made for occupancy of…well, how many are there in the clan?”

Tamara pushed her glasses up her nose. “Don’t bother trying to count. It’s not the actual blood relatives, it’s the number of friends, lovers and other mischief-makers they bring with them that adds up.” She turned to her sister. “Still don’t see why you didn’t accept Dad’s offer to hold the party at the Whiskey Creek Ranch. We could have all fit much easier.”

Karen scooped the last spoonful from the pot and stuck a bunch of forks into the bowl. She sighed. “Right. You know very well if we’d had it there, we’d never get out of the kitchen. At least here we can leave if we want to.”

The loud beat of the New Year’s party music reverberated through the apartment, spilling through the door as Matt entered to grab more soda from the fridge, and another cousin, Steve, shouted after him to bring out the rum.

Tamara ducked out of the way, passing the plates she’d filled to Steve before turning to nod at her sister.

“True. I’d forgotten that part. Not living under his roof makes it much easier.” She grimaced at Vicki. “Sorry. Dad’s old-fashioned. The fact I’m a woman living in the evil city, let alone that I have my nursing degree makes him all kinds of crazy.”

Vicki nodded, wrapping her brain around another form of family. With no dad in the picture, ever, she hadn’t considered the ramifications of having a dominant male figure in her life. “Wow. I…didn’t think that still happened.”

Karen leaned back on the counter. “Dad means well, in his stifling, misogynistic, cave-man way.”

Tamara pulled the meatballs from her sister’s hands and tilted her head toward the living room. “You’re the one putting up with it on a daily basis. You’ve got more masochist tendencies than Travis.”

Vicki laughed at that description of Travis. Yeah, right. He was one hundred percent, grade-A bossy male, but it wasn’t her place to discuss what she’d noticed in Ashley and Travis’s relationship.

She washed her hands and got ready to head back into the party to find Joel when Karen tugged her sleeve. “Hey, if you don’t mind. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.”

Drat. Here was one of those incredibly awkward moments. Doing things with the Colemans meant running into Joel’s cousin at times, and over the past month the questioning glances cast at her and Joel had grown more intense. Vicki didn’t know if the little tidbit regarding her horse issues had gotten loose or what.

Her response had been to avoid Karen as much as possible, which tonight, obviously, wasn’t going to work.

Karen brought her into the quiet hallway leading toward Tamara’s bedroom. “Feel free to tell me to mind my own business at any time, okay?”

Vicki loosened her teeth off her bottom lip where she’d been chewing it. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, of course not. Well, when I offered you the position with the trail rides, I didn’t know you and Joel were seeing each other. Trust me, I am all for us women deciding what’s best for our lives in terms of work situations. I still want you to be involved, but at the same time, I don’t want you to feel you have to stick to a commitment we only made verbally in the fall.”

The fluttering in her stomach ensured Vicki wasn’t going to eat any more of her own treats tonight. Would her and Joel’s friendship mean the end of her ticket out of Rocky? “You still want me involved. Like the position is still open?”

Karen nodded slowly. “I don’t want to be the cause of trouble between you and Joel, though. I mean, he’s kind of stuck here in Rocky, with his ranching and all, and if you’re gone… Long-distance relationships are not easy.”

Wow. Here was a situation she’d never thought of. “Well, thanks, but I think we’ll be okay.”

Her reassurances didn’t seem to make it any better. Now Karen was out-and-out frowning. She cleared her throat. “Again, you can tell me to go to hell, but I have to say it. I hope you’re not leading him on.”

Oh jeez, this was going from bad to worse. “No, really, things are okay between me and Joel. He knows my plans for the spring, and he’s good with it. Really.”

Karen’s disapproval was sharp enough to cut. “He’s one of the gentle ones in the clan. Don’t break his heart, okay?”

Vicki smiled. “I don’t think there’s any worry of that.”

“You don’t?” Karen tipped her head in the direction of the party. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and, girl, he is completely gone.”

Karen was obviously a romantic. Or Joel was doing a better job of acting than they thought. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She got away without any more of an inquisition, taking a deep breath before heading into the jam-packed living space.

Joel spotted her immediately, leaving the group he’d been chatting with. He crossed the room with his long-legged stroll that ate up the distance between them like it was nothing.

He tucked her under his arm, the smile on his face warming her with its familiar heat. “You finish getting ready all those goodies you insisted on bringing?”

She nodded. “It was only right to bring something, and you know I like cooking. I’m glad I could contribute.”

“They’re glad you could contribute,” he joked. “I would have brought a couple bags of chips and some dip.”

“You would not.”

He smiled as he reached for a glass. “You want anything with it?”

She’d given up that lie. Alcohol wasn’t necessary for her to have a good time. “Just the Coke, thanks.”

He settled them in a clear space on a love seat, and she leaned into his side. The place was more crowded than anything she’d attended, and yet a lot more comfortable than she’d dreamed possible.

Of course, considering the majority of people in the room were Colemans or their friends had something to do with that. Over the past month, most of the town folk had stopped making snide comments to her face. Didn’t mean they had changed their opinion, but at least they weren’t airing those particular thoughts as often or as loudly as before.

A musical laugh rang out from the front door and she stiffened in her seat.

It couldn’t be.

She leaned forward to peer through the crowd, but too many bulky bodies stood between her and her target.

Joel played his fingers over her shoulder. “What’s up?”

“I thought I just heard… No, it’s impossible.”

He lifted a brow. “What?”

She heard the laugh again and jumped to her feet. Damn being short. If she could have crawled on the furniture to get a better view, she would have.

Joel stood as well, trying to follow her gaze. “You’re not being very party-like right now. It’s tough to win at Eye Spy when I don’t know what I’m looking for. Oh
fuck
…”

“Yeah.” He’d pretty much summed it up. Sarah was at the front door, and she had her arm draped over Jesse’s elbow, her body pressed intimately close.

Fuck.
Fuck
.

Vicki’s first response was to hide.

The second was a familiar flash of anger. Brazen bitch. Her sister didn’t do anything without an agenda. “You don’t mind if I go see what the hell is going on, do you?”

Joel was at her side as they worked their way across the room. “Don’t think this is yours to fight alone.”

“I don’t want to fight, I want to cause massive pain and then never have to see her again in my life.”

“Sounds good to me. The causing-massive-pain part, only I get dibs on Jesse.”

Joel stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her from getting close enough to Sarah to rip her ears off. His bulk also blocked Jesse from moving any farther into the room. “This is unexpected.”

“Just dropping in on a family event. We won’t stay long. Other things to do.” Jesse grinned, his smirk less attractive than she’d remembered. It was as if his eyes had grown colder. “Of course, you both know Sarah.”

Joel pointed back the way they’d come in. “Outside, Jesse. Let’s talk without an audience.”