12-Alarm Cowboys (180 page)

Because he really wanted to fuck her. Hard and hot and balls to the wall. But she wanted to ride him.

Like a cowgirl.

He hoped she knew what this cost him, giving up control, containing his need. He had every expectation he might not survive.

His hunger for her was a raging blaze, his need a blistering ache. And it was more than a physical desire. It was so much more.

He gritted his teeth as she slid down, impaling herself on him. And then, God help him, she
explored
. Fucking explored. Squeezing him. Shifting from this position to that. Circling him. Testing.

Each move was an agony of bliss.

Oh, it was fascinating watching her reactions, tracking every expression as it rippled over her face, but Jesus, she was killing him. When it became more than he could bear, he put his hands on her hips and tried to move her in some semblance of rhythm, but she resisted, and when he shot a look at her—surely not one of sheer unadulterated desperation—she grinned.

“Please,” he huffed. “Please.”

Her expression became solemn. She set her palms on his chest and leaned closer. “Is this the way a cowgirl rides?” she whispered in a taunting voice. It might have been a seductive voice, but it sounded taunting to him. But then, her breath teased him beyond sanity.

“No,” he ground out.

She pouted.

“She rides faster.”

“Like this?” Bracing on him, she moved her hips back and forth.

And ah. Ah.

“Faster.”

She complied. Thank God in heaven above, she complied, speeding up, whipping him into a frenzy, bucking, fucking and then, finally kicking into a feverish pace that stole his breath and fractured hers.

Every muscle in his body tightened, clenched, surged. She worked him harder, faster, until sweat drenched them both. She closed on him, an exquisite clutch, and his vision went red. Relief and rapture warred within him; they both won.

She shuddered over him, around him, working his orgasm and drawing it out, softening it, prolonging it until he forgot who and where he was and no longer cared.

When she collapsed on him, gasping and sighing, he held her, reveling in the slick feel of her chest against his. He held her and soothed her and murmured nonsense into her hair.

And somewhere, deep in his mind, one thought rang.

Please, God. I don’t ever want to let her go.

‡

W
hen Lisa awoke,
she was wrapped in a warm, hard cocoon. That rumbled. It took a minute for her to realize she was still in Cade’s arms, pillowed on his chest, and the rumbling sounds were his snores.

She had no idea why the fact that he snored made her smile. She’d never liked snores before. His made her want to nestle closer. As she did, his hold on her tightened, but he didn’t wake.

She lay like that for a while, enjoying the peace of the moment, reveling in the feel of his bare skin against hers. As she replayed their tryst in her mind, her body heated. It had been glorious and wild and unrestrained. She’d never been filled so completely, never come so splendidly.

Moving slowly, she levered up and studied his face in the shadows. In repose, relaxed in sleep as he was, he seemed younger, playful, boyish. Vulnerable, perhaps.

That thought hit her hard in the gut, though she didn’t know why. They were both grown-ups. They’d agreed this would be a casual fling. No strings attached. There was no call to worry she might hurt him, but the prospect of doing so, ever, gouged at her. That, and a sense of guilt that she was using him—this gorgeous, valiant, magnificent man—to scratch an itch.

Resolutely, she thrust the guilt aside.

If she was using him, he was also using her. They were using each other. And no matter how her conscience felt about that, she couldn’t deny that what they’d shared had been the most mind-blowing experience of her life. She had no intention of walking away. Not now. Not until she’d had her fill of him.

Not until he’d had his fill of her.

She thought about waking him up, exploring him again, but he looked so peaceful she couldn’t bear to. Besides. There was always tomorrow.

She thought about leaving, going back to her room, but she couldn’t bear to do that either. Instead, she eased back down onto his chest and, as his arms closed on her again, he mumbled something that might have been her name.

She fell asleep, there in his arms, to the rumble of his snores, and she didn’t awaken again until morning.

“Dude! Where the
hell are you?”

Lisa shot up in bed as a deep bellow echoed through the room and the door flew open and smacked against the wall. Stunned, she peered through the tumble of her hair at the man standing in the entrance to Cade’s bedroom.

It took a second for her to realize it was Cody. And he was staring at her. Her chest, actually.

Mortification washed over her as she realized she was naked. With an
eep,
she yanked up the sheets.

Cody’s lips worked. He forced his attention to her face. “Ah… Good morning, Lisa.”

A civil response was beyond her. Aside from which, her heart clogged her throat, so she simply glared.

“Sorry to, um, intrude, but Cade’s late.”

Lisa glanced to her side, where he should be, but found nothing but a dented pillow. The door to the bathroom opened and he stepped out and her pulse hitched. All thoughts of her embarrassment, of his brother, and her nakedness fled.

Good glory, he was gorgeous.

He wore only his jeans; his chest was bare and bronzed and beautiful. He was in the process of scrubbing his hair with a towel, which for some reason she found adorable. More adorable yet when he peeped out at her and grinned.

And then he stilled. His gaze shot to his brother. The grin morphed into a glower. “What the fuck?”

Cody smiled. Or maybe it was a smirk. “Good morning to you too.”

“What the hell are you doing in my room?”

Cody fluttered his lashes. “Did you forget we had a meeting with Andy?”

Cade looked at the clock and winced. “Shit. I did.”

“He’s waiting.” It was annoying the way Cody tapped his watch.

“All right. Fine. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“I can wait here.”

Cade snarled.
Snarled.

Cody laughed and held up his hands. “Okay. Okay. I’m leaving. But hurry up or I’ll have to come back and fetch you.” He turned to leave, but then he paused and shot Lisa another smirk. It didn’t last long. Cade slammed the door in his face.

“God, I’m sorry about that.” He shot her a remorseful look. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, slipping from the bed and hunting for her clothes. Oh, where the hell were they?

“He has no concept of privacy. And he wonders why I wanted the room farthest from his.”

She found her bra and slipped it on. And there, thank God, her blouse. It took a while to find her jeans. Her panties were nowhere to be seen. She didn’t care.

By the time she was dressed, he was as well, but he didn’t leave. Didn’t hurry off to the important meeting. He came to her and took her in his arms and studied her face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m great.”

“Good.” He kissed her then, softly and gently. “Last night was amazing, you know.”

Beneath the warmth of his gaze, her embarrassment faded. “It was.”

“I’d like to continue this.”

“Me too.” Her lips curled of their own accord. “But next time?”

“Mmm hmm?”

“Let’s lock the door.”

“So…”

Cade glowered at his brother as he stepped into the office. He didn’t care for his brother’s smirk. “Not a word, Cody. Not a word.”

“Did I say anything?” That smug grin widened.

“Unless you’re hankering for a match to that black eye, you better zip it.”

“I wasn’t going to say a word.”

“Good.”

“Just that she’s got damn fine…”

Cade narrowed his eyes and growled.

“Features.” There was no call for Cody to laugh. Then he sobered and clapped Cade on the shoulder and said, “Look, bro. I’m happy for you. I know how much you like her and damn it, you needed…somebody.”

It was difficult maintaining his ire in the face of such sincerity. That was the thing about Cody, he could be a complete ass and then turn around and say or do something that was actually human. “Yeah, well, thanks.”

“I hope it works out between you. I really do.”

Cade grunted his response. He hoped so too, but he didn’t have a lot of hope. Lisa had made her position more than clear. Even though last night had been amazing, and she’d admitted as much, that didn’t mean she was inclined to change her mind about them. He couldn’t help but remember the bitterness in her tone when she explained why she’d decided to avoid romantic entanglements. She’d been hurt and hurt a lot. The only real way to win her over would be to show her that he wouldn’t do the same. And everyone knew it was impossible to prove a negative.

The best he could do was try to keep her in his arms as long as he could and hope for the best.

The meeting with Andy was interminable. The forecasters were predicting a heavy spring rain and they needed to work out the schedule for moving the cattle in the back forty to higher ground before it hit. There was a plethora of other issues that seemed to go on forever. Normally, Cade enjoyed this kind of work, but today he was restless. He could only think of Lisa. He wanted to find her and talk to her. Maybe kiss her again.

By the time the meeting ended, he was cranky and hungry. He’d missed breakfast after all. He headed for the kitchen and, while it was filled with the wonderful scent of cinnamon, and there were apple muffins on the counter, there was no sign of Lisa. He hunted for her all over the house—from the library where she’d been yesterday, to her bedroom—but couldn’t find her.

Grumpily, he clomped down the porch steps and over to the shop.

The sound of laughter stopped him in his tracks. It was her laughter and it was musical. Like a Greek sailor following the call of a siren, he turned and followed the entrancing sound. She was in the barn, in one of the back stalls, where Daisy and her puppies were ensconced.

Cade leaned on the gate and stared down at Lisa, who sat cross-legged in the hay. She was covered with squirming puppies all wriggling and scrabbling, trying to lick her face. It was such a beautiful sight, so intrinsically Lisa, it made his chest clench.

She looked up and saw him and their gazes tangled. “Hey you,” she said and then she grimaced, because one of the more amorous pups took the opportunity to stick his tongue in her mouth. Cade should be jealous, but he couldn’t bring himself to be. Besides, her hacking and gagging was hysterical.

“You have some admirers,” he said.

She chuckled and peeled a couple of the hounds off, but before she could stand, several more piled on. “They are adorable.”

No. She was.

“Do you need a hand?”

“Oh, please,” she gusted.

He stepped in the stall and helped her extricate herself from the mass of wriggling fur. It took a while for them to exit the stall without letting any of the pups escape. As she stepped out, she brushed off her jeans. Then she glanced up at him. “Is your meeting over?”

“Finally.”

“And what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

Technically, he should start working. Riding the fences or joining the crew as they hauled out feed. Cody mentioned he was planning to replace the alternator on one of the ATVs they used to run the ranch and he wouldn’t mind a hand.

Cade didn’t want to do any of that.

“How about a ride?”

Lisa’s eyes widened. “A ride? On a horse?”

The way she said it, one would think he’d suggested riding a walrus. Or a dragon. “They’re quite tame. We use them for the parties.”

“Cade, I don’t know how to ride.”

“I’ll show you.” He hooked his thumbs in her belt loops and tugged her closer, kissed her. “Come on. It’ll be fun.” And they’d be away from the ranch house. There might even be privacy.

“Okay.”

She watched as he saddled up two mounts—Champion, his favorite, and Kate, a gentle mare. As he worked, he gave her a quick lesson on horses, including the most important tip—never come up behind them without letting them know you’re there. He’d learned that one the hard way as a boy.

When he finished, he helped her mount and waited at her side as she found her bearings. Only when he was certain she was comfortable did he mount up himself. He shot her a grin. “Are you ready?”

She sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” There was trepidation in her tone, and she clutched the reins as if her life depended upon it, but she valiantly gave Kate’s side a gentle kick as he instructed and the horse moved forward. It was only a step, but she
eeped
…and then she laughed.

He loved that about her. She might be scared to death of the enormous beast, but she was brave enough to try a new thing.

As they headed out of the stable yard and into the field surrounding the compound, it became easier for her. By the time they reached the woods, she was riding like a pro. Well, maybe not a pro, but she was definitely more at ease.