Wrangled and Tangled (26 page)

The unrestrained sound of her pleasure, seeing her half-dressed, stretched over her desk—it was too much. He pounded into her snug pussy, coming so strongly the orgasm rocked him from his heels to his eyelashes.

He slumped over her, bracing his palms on the desk next to hers, gasping for air. As he nuzzled the back of her head, the scent of sex and flowers returned him to reality.

“Was there an earthquake?” she panted. “Or did we just shake the rafters?”

“You definitely shook me.” He slipped his cock free and turned Tierney into his arms. “Thank you for takin’ the edge off, but sweetheart, I’m not nearly done with you today. You . . .”
Consume me
. “Are too much temptation for me to resist.”

“Will I see you later?”

Not needy. Not expectant. Not accusatory. Just a simple question. “Yep.”

“After you chat up the guests. I could... cook.” She seemed very focused on the buttons on his shirt.

Renner tilted her face up. He loved the soft way she looked after she’d gotten off. “Want me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself.” Her kiss was sweet, but firm. “Now shoo. Since you’ve handled my distraction problem I might be able to get some work done.”

How hard could it be to throw a couple of pork chops in a pan?

Plenty hard, she found out.

She burned them to a crisp. While she was tending that fiasco, the potatoes boiled all over the stove. The only part of dinner she hadn’t managed to ruin? The salad. Simply because even she could rip open a bag of lettuce.

So Renner looked a little perplexed seeing her shivering on the living room floor, polishing off a bottle of cabernet.

“Tierney? Why are all the windows and doors open? It’s twenty degrees outside.”

She waved distractedly with the bottle. “The smoke detectors were beeping. I thought it’d clear the air faster since the wind blows so freakin’ hard in Wyoming. The smoke is mostly gone now.”

“Smoke from what?”

Tierney squinted at him. “Did you know that pork chops can actually catch fire?”

That factoid seemed to startle him.

“The potatoes . . . let’s just say burned cheesy potatoes could be used as tile grout.” She swigged directly from the bottle. “Or what’s that stuff they slap on the outside of houses?”

“Adobe?”

“That. Except it’d be yellowish orange instead of red. Or in the case of my potatoes—black.” Tierney closed her eyes in total mortification. “I hope the burned food thing doesn’t remind you of your ex-wife.”

“That’s what worries you?”

“Maybe. If you haven’t guessed by now, my attempt at dinner was monumentally fucked.” She hiccupped. “Bet you thought after I whipped up the brownies and saved the day I’d be an excellent cook.”

“You can’t cook?”

“No, I cannot. The brownies were a fluke.”

“So you lied to me?”

Without looking at him, Tierney held her thumb and index finger apart about two inches. “I just stretched the truth a tad.” And wasn’t that a true statement on more levels than was wise to contemplate when she’d been hitting the bottle.

Renner’s fingers caressed her cheek. “Why?”

“Because I didn’t want you to think I’m a dork who can’t cook a simple meal. But the truth is: I am a dork. I can decipher financials from ten companies at one time, but I cannot follow one recipe card.” She opened her eyes. “I’m sorry. Not only did I flambé dinner, I drank all the wine to calm my nerves after I had to throw my smoking pans in the snow and now I’m a little tipsy.”

He smiled. “So you are human. Good to know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Tierney, darlin’, you’re intimidating as hell. You rarely make mistakes. You seem to know everything. It’s sweet that you wanted to impress me. It’s even sweeter yet that you failed. Hell, I’m impressed that you even bothered to try.” He adjusted her glasses. “And I like you tipsy. I bet you’re cuddly as a kitten.”

“You confuse me.”

“Good.”

That statement confused her even more.

“I’ll shut the windows so we don’t freeze to death.” Then he took her hands and pulled her to her feet. “You hungry?”

“Why? Can you cook?”

“Not worth a damn.”

“Oh.” They stared at each other. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable moment.

He gently asked, “I see the wheels churning in that big brain. What’s going through your pretty head?”

“I don’t know how to do this.”

“I know. To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve done this too.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You do know I’m not talking about cooking, right?”

“Yes, I caught that.” Renner grinned. “You get more literal when you’ve been drinking too. It’s cute.” He traced her lips with his thumb. “No pressure. Let’s just hang out.”

Tierney flattened her palm on his chest. Then both palms. Would she ever quit marveling at his hunky, muscle-bound body? Probably not. Now that they were lovers, would Renner just let her touch him however she wanted? Actually, when she really thought about it, he’d been a little stingy giving her equal opportunity touching time.

“If you don’t quit lookin’ at me like that, I’m dragging you to bed.”

“Okay. Can I take your shirt off this time? Slowly? And kiss you all over? Because I really really like your body. A lot. A whole lot. I could spend days touching you.”

Renner groaned. “How about if you hold that thought and we snuggle up on the couch? It’s still damn cold in here.”

Once she and the big cowboy were cuddled together beneath a fleece blanket, his chest to her back, their legs entwined, she sighed. “This is toasty.”

His warm breath stirred her hair. “Wanna take bets on how long before you’re snoring in my arms?”

“I could think of a couple of ways you could keep me awake,” she purred.

“I’ll take it under advisement for later.”

“So what are we supposed to do? Just lie here and think happy thoughts?”

He chuckled. “You don’t have much downtime in your life, do you?”

“
More here than I did in Chicago.” Tierney brought his knuckles to her lips for a kiss. “Although, I do find myself watching the sky change and drinking in my surroundings in ways I never have before since I moved here.”

“The way you say
moved here
almost sounds permanent.”

I wish.
“Why did you move here? Was it really just owning your grandparents’ land that brought you to Wyoming?”

“Initially. I had great memories. Didn’t know what it was at the time, but I felt such a sense of community.”

“I get that too. Weird, isn’t it?”

“Didn’t get that growing up in the big city?”

“It was hard to get to know your neighbors when fences and security systems surrounded each house. I’m not boohooing my childhood as a poor little rich girl.”

Renner caressed her arm. “Were you happy?”

“I guess. I didn’t know any differently. My mother died when I was four and my sister Harlow was two months old. My father remarried when I was eight. By my ninth birthday I was at boarding school. Spent summers at camp. Between the ages of thirteen and fourteen . . . I didn’t see my father at all.” Her stomach still turned queasy when she remembered the blank look on his face because he hadn’t recognized her.

“My mom died when I was young.” He stroked her hair. “Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if your mother hadn’t died?”

“I used to. Those thoughts mostly cross my mind when people accuse me of being detached. I wonder how different I would’ve turned out if I’d had someone in my life showing me affection.” She cringed.

“Didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Tierney.”

“You didn’t. It makes me realize I want more than just sex with you.” When Renner stiffened, she rolled over to face him. “Not a wedding ring. More meaning . . . I want to be able to touch you, hug you, kiss you when we’re alone. Like this.”

His too-blue eyes were as tender as his smile. “Just when I’m sure I’ve figured you out, you throw me a curveball. I’m tryin’ to say this in the least sexual way possible, but any time, any way you wanna touch me, feel free.” He teased her mouth with his, each gentle smooch becoming longer. “I like bein’ with you, Tierney. You truly are something special.”

Despite the clichés and the internal warnings not to moon over him, the first man she’d slept with, at that moment, Tierney couldn’t help it. She fell a little in love with him.

Chapter Twenty-one

T
he night was glacial and Janie was so glad to be cuddled against Abe, hating that he’d had to go out in this nasty weather, especially after he’d nearly frozen to death a week ago.

Abe hadn’t come home after doing a cattle check during which snowfall had turned into a full-blown blizzard. Unable to reach him on his cell, she panicked, calling Hank. He’d tried to get her to stay put while he checked for his brother, but Janie insisted on going along.

After two hours of inching through pastures and over snowdrift-covered fences, they found Abe. He’d high-centered his pickup. Both the battery in his truck and his cell phone were dead. Abe knew not to battle the elements, remaining sheltered in the cab of his truck. He’d dressed warmly, but subzero temperatures for six hours had chilled him to the bone. Hank had to carry Abe out of the cab and to his truck.

They returned to Hank’s house so Lainie could determine if Abe needed medical attention. The storm became so bad the roads were closed and Janie and Abe ended up spending the night at Hank and Lainie’s. Took hours before Abe thawed out. Janie never left his side. She held him through the teeth-chattering shivers and the pain when his limbs warmed. When he’d finally fallen asleep and she realized he was going to be okay, without permanent damage, she let her tears fall.

Yet even the scare wouldn’t change anything. Cattlemen were a breed apart, more concerned for the lives of the animals they cared for than for their own safety. He wouldn’t stay safe inside when the wind was raging and the snow flying. Abe’s compassion was one of the things she loved most about him.

But since that incident, life with Abe in the Lawson household had changed. She knew the reason for Abe’s change from casual to possessive—when she admitted she feared for his life and understood how helpless he’d felt after the car accident. That brutal honesty opened the door to his true unrestrained affection. Even when neither spoke of how long they’d continue to play house without promises.

Still, Janie felt Abe was holding something back from her. And because she loved this new openness, she wouldn’t let her questions go unaddressed another day.

“Abe?”

“Mmm?”

“You asleep?”

“Uh-huh.”

She elbowed him. “I’m serious.”

“Janie. I’m whupped. You wore me out.”

“So if I said I was ready for another round of rambunctious sex? Would that wake you up?”

They were spooned together so she felt his dick twitch against her backside. “Okay. Now you’ve got my interest. What’s up?”

“I want to know what really happened between you and Nancy.”

Abe groaned. “You really want to talk about this
now
?”

No better time than when they were curled together, satisfied from a bout of good lovin’ and drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms. “Yes. You demanded the down and dirty details about how I ended up with a loser like Dave. I told you. It’s been a couple of weeks since I brought this up. Don’t think I’ve forgotten you haven’t told me anything about her.”

The way his body went on full alert Janie wondered if she’d just opened a big old can of worms.

“How detailed you want me to get?” His breath tickled her ear. “Because I can tell you stuff that’ll make you look at me in a whole different light.”

He had to be bluffing. She scoffed, “Doubtful. But take your best shot.”

His rumbled, “Remember you said that,” sent the hair on the back of her neck on end in a deliciously powerful shiver.