9781618857279MakeMineaCowboySullivanNC (19 page)

The
supper bell clanged downstairs. She stood, stretching her back until it popped,
relieving some of the pressure at her spine from sitting without moving in the
hardback chair. Her stomach rumbled reminding her she’d missed lunch. Even
though she’d heard the bell earlier, the book wouldn’t release her long enough
to go eat. Now, she regretted not going even though it would have meant seeing
Joel.

Ah,
the life of a writer. Caffeine and snacks at the desk. She couldn’t remember
how many times those things had been her sustenance for days on end while she
fought to finish a book before the deadline.

The
rumbled of voices downstairs reminded her of supper.

“Well,
I can’t avoid him for the meal unless I sit somewhere else.”

She
grabbed her key, opened the door, and shut it before heading down the stairs to
join everyone for the evening meal.

Laughter
met her ears as she reached the bottom stair and looked out into the expanse of
the dining room. The rain had stopped, finally allowing the sun to come out
later in the afternoon, lightening everyone’s mood. Several women sat at one
table laughing and passing around a bottle of wine. They didn’t serve liquor at
the ranch, but you were welcome to bring your own.

The
family sat at their regular table and several of them called out when they
noticed her standing in the entryway. She waved before she got in line to get
her dinner plate.

Where to sit.
Where to sit.
She glanced around hoping to find the women from earlier in the group, but no
one looked familiar. The book club must have left right after her chat with
them.
Too bad.
She would have enjoyed talking books
with them a little longer.

Warm
breath tickled her ear, sending goose bumps down her arms. Joel. “No escape,
little bird. You’ve been avoiding me.”

“No
I haven’t. I’ve been writing.” Well, both were the truth. She had been writing,
but also avoiding him like his mother suggested.

“Good.
I’m glad you’ve been busy. I’ve missed you today. It was kind of lonely riding
by myself. I thought you were going to ride with me.”

She
swallowed hard. “I have to strike while the iron is hot.”

“Oh,
the iron is hot, mi’lady.”

“I
thought you didn’t want to see me.”

“I
never said I didn’t want to see you and now that my whole family knows about
us, we don’t have to keep it a secret.”

“Your
whole damned family!” Everyone turned to look at them as embarrassment flushed
her cheeks with heat. “Great. Just fucking fabulous,” she grumbled under her
breath.

“Sorry,
darlin’, but apparently they all heard you come in last night and me peel out
of the driveway.”

The
young woman dishing up the roast beef winked as she placed the meat on her
plate. The next woman smiled while she put mashed potatoes next to the meat.
Just fucking great. Everyone does know about
Joel bringing me back to the ranch. They couldn’t know we slept together, but
they are all assuming as much from their behavior.

“I
don’t want to talk about it.”

“We
need to, Mesa. It’s important.”

“Leave
me alone, Joel. I’m here for research and to write, not hook up with a hot-ass
cowboy for a few nights.”

“Hot-ass?”

She
exhaled sharply, rolled her eyes and headed toward the opposite end of the
dining room. One of the tables near the door was empty so she took it. She
didn’t want company tonight anyway. The moment she sat down, the bench across
from her scraped the floor as Joel took the seat on the other side.

“Why
aren’t you eating at the family table?”

“Because
I want to talk to you.”

“I
thought we’d said everything there needed saying. You didn’t want your family
to know about us. Well, we apparently took care of that last night. There isn’t
any need to further our association. You got what you wanted.
A lonely, plump, not so attractive woman to fall into bed with you.
You’ve marked your bedpost, I’m sure.
One more in the sack
for Joel.
Great. Good for you. You can chalk it up to experience because
I’m done.”

“Why
are you so upset?”

“Because
I don’t like being used, Joel, and I feel like you did nothing more than use
me.”

“Didn’t
you use me a little, too? I mean, we had a good time last night. Obviously, you
needed me and I needed you. We both got what we wanted.”

“We
both got…you seriously think that?”

“Yeah.”

Anger
rushed through her so fast her head began to feel funny. Like she’d been
swimming and stayed under too long. Her ears burned as she glanced down at the
plate in front of her. Not wanting to ruin her own dinner, she grabbed the edge
of his plate and unceremoniously dumped the contents of his dinner into his
lap.

She
grabbed her own plate and walked over to a table where a couple sat alone
talking quietly.
Let him stew.

Watching
from the corner of her eye, she saw him slowly scrap the roast beef, gravy and
mashed potatoes from his lap back on to the plate. Once his lap was
sufficiently cleaned off, he dumped it into the washbasin where the dirty
plates go, and stomped out of the lodge, slamming the door behind him.

That should teach him not to mess
with me.

Mesa
slowly put the spoon in her mouth, avoiding eye contact with any of his family.
The whole dining room finally resumed talking after the blow up, but they
seemed quiet and subdued. Well, it didn’t matter whether their whole affair
made the rounds of the entire ranch. She wasn’t staying there much longer
anyway. Soon she would be home, in her own bed, curled with up her cat and her half-gallon
of chocolate chip ice cream eating her cares away. The situation would be a distant
memory just like them making love. Would she forget? She hoped, in time.

Several
minutes later, Joel returned in clean clothes but he didn’t get another plate
of food. He walked straight up behind her, grabbed her hand, and forced her to
her feet.

“What
the hell are you doing?”

“We’re
having this out, right now.”

“I’m
not going anywhere with you.”

“Yes,
you are.”

He
tugged her along, practically dragging her up the stairs to her room. “Key.” She
stubbornly narrowed her eyes. “Give me the key, Mesa, or I’ll strip you
bare
until I find it, right here in the hall.”

“Fine,”
she growled, pulling it from her front jean pocket and handing it to him. “I
don’t want you in my room.”

“Too
fuckin’ bad, baby doll, because I intend to make you listen to me.”

He
opened the door and literally pushed her inside before he slammed it closed.
“Strip.”

“Excuse
me?”

“I
said strip. Do it now.”

“I’m
not taking my clothes—”

He
grabbed her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. “I’ll do it for you then.”

“What
the hell, Joel!”

“Take
it off.”

“No.”

“Fine.”
He grabbed her pants, popped the button and shoved them down around her ankles
so
fast,
she didn’t know what hit her.

Within
seconds, she stood in nothing but her bra and panties. Desire pooled in her
belly.
How fucking sick is that!
“All
right. You have me in nothing but my bra and underwear. I’m not stripping down
to nothing. Take it or leave it.”

“All
right. You can keep them unless you start arguing with me again. If you do, I’m
taking those too.”

“Fuck
you.”

“Only
if you ask nicely.”

“You
son of a bitch. Why can’t you just leave me alone? I don’t want anything more
to do with you. You’re a user, Joel, and I don’t want to be part of your game
anymore.”

“Stop.
Just stop, Mesa. Listen to yourself? Do you hear what you’re saying?”

Tears
rolled down her cheeks unchecked. She didn’t want to cry but she didn’t have a
choice. His cavalier attitude hurt her heart. When did she start caring about
this rotten asshole? “I hate you.”

“No
you don’t,” he whispered, stopping in front of her to wipe the tears from her
cheeks. “That’s our problem. Neither of us hates the other, but we don’t know
what else to call it.” He kissed her cheeks before he brushed his lips against
hers. “God, you taste like Heaven and Hell wrapped up in a single package. What
am I gonna do with you, darlin’?”

He
kissed her again, pushing his tongue into her mouth tentatively like he was
waiting for her to give into her feelings and return the kiss.
Why am I giving into this, him? God, I hate myself
for wanting him.

She
grabbed fistfuls of the front of his shirt and pulled the edges apart, buttons
pinged off each surface they touched in their flight across the room. He lifted
his head, staring down into her eyes, his crystal clear blue eyes bright with
lust.

“That’s
it, Mesa. Take what you want.” He pulled at his belt buckle, unhooking it from
the loops as she worked his shirt from the waistband of his jeans.

His
jeans and boxers hit the floor while he toed out of his boots. She worked frantically
at the clasp of her bra until it came free. The next second her panties hit the
floor at their feet and he grabbed her around the waist to fling her onto the
bed.

“I’m
gonna fuck you hard.”

“Too
much talking.” She pressed her mouth against his as she ground her pelvis
against his hard flesh. “Tell me you brought a condom.”

“In
my wallet. Let me get it.”

He
left her side for a moment, taking his heat with him while he searched his
wallet for the protection they both needed.

“How
long has that one been in there?”

“Quite
a while actually,” he said sliding the latex over his engorged cock.

“I
wanted to taste you.”

“Later.
I need to be inside you.”

She
closed her eyes and sighed a happy sigh when he positioned his cock at her
opening and slowly slid deep into her pussy.

“Fuck,
you feel fantastic.”

“Deeper,
Joel. Please.”

She
pulled her legs up to her chest, opening herself for his deep thrust. He didn’t
disappoint as he slammed his pelvis against hers, pushing everything he had
inside her much deeper than he’d been before. Each thrust pushed her across the
bed until he grabbed her hips and held her still.

“Come
for me, Mesa. Squeeze me until I explode. I wanna feel your heat.”

With
a small thought in her brain, she grabbed the pillow from the bed and put it
over her face as she screamed his name at the top of her lungs.

Within
seconds, he growled her name while he shot every bit of his cum into the end of
the condom.

He
laid his head on her chest as the air sawed in and out of his lungs in a deep
pant.

“Was
that makeup sex?” she asked with a giggle.

He
chuckled a dry laugh before he peeked up at her through his gorgeous lashes. “I
guess you could call it makeup sex. After all, we were having a pretty big
fight.” He kissed her quickly. “I’m sorry.”

“Me
too.”

He
slipped out of her and disposed of the condom in the small trashcan near the
bathroom door. “I hope everyone in the dining room didn’t hear us.”

“I
tried to be quiet but it’s kind of hard with you.”

He
grinned a silly grin. “I’m glad I make you lose all control.”

“Yes,
you do cowboy.” She frowned.

“What’s
the frown for?”

“What
are we gonna do, Joel? This can’t possibly work into anything beyond a few fun-filled
days before I go back to California.”

“Let’s
take it slow. Okay? I don’t know what’s goin’ on here either, but I like you a
lot, Mesa, and I don’t like fighting with you. We have a good time together.”

“All
right. Slow. Got it.”

“Would
you show me what you’ve written today?”

“No!”

“Why
not?”

She
chewed her lip. There wasn’t any way she could show Joel her new book since it
paralleled what had happened to her on the ranch. “I never let anyone but my
editor read my stuff until it’s been published.”

“But
I want to read it.”

“Not
until it’s done. I don’t know what the ending is going to be yet and I don’t
want to spoil it until I get there. I only wrote about five thousand words
today so the whole plot has a long way to go development-wise before it’s done.
I never know how they are going to turn out until I’m finished. And even then
there’s times when I change my mind about parts.”

“All
right, all right. I won’t look then.”