9781631051289TemptedbytheCowboySullivan (22 page)

He knew having sex with her could be bad for her
physically, but
emotionally, he wasn’t sure. He
didn’t do emotions very well. He wasn’t sure if his own could handle a
breakdown from her if it occurred, but he would tough it out. She would need
him tonight. Her emotions would be fragile with the torture her ex dealt out
. Holding her close might help when things came to a head.

Chapter Sixteen

They made the short trip to the burger joint and ordered
what they wanted. As they waited for their food to come, he took her hands
between his. A kiss to each fingertip made
his cock
stand up to take notice.
Down boy.
“How are you feeling?”

“Sore.”

“What about what’s going on in that brain of yours?”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“Baby, you just went through something that would fuck up
someone’s emotions even on their
best day. I know
what happened had to have brought back a lot of memories.”

She grasped his hands like a lifeline as her knuckles
turned white. “Charles didn’t abuse me physically before. Apparently, he was
holding back that little bit of information from
me
when he was fucking with my head. Yes, it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around
it right now because I didn’t see this coming. I should have. Many times when
someone abuses on an emotional level, the physical is there too, but he didn’t,
at least not in
the past.”

He gently rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand until
her death grip eased.

“Easy, baby.
I will never let
anyone hurt you again. He’s gone.
Dead.
He can’t hurt you
anymore.” Why he brought this up here, he wasn’t sure. He shouldn’t have. “I’m
sorry. We can talk about this later when we are alone.”

“Okay. I’m going to need to talk, Jason. I’ve got to let
these emotions out and I don’t want to do it
here in
the restaurant.”

“It’s fine.” The waitress brought their food, easing the
plates onto the table in front of them. Peyton took a deep breath and dove into
her food like a starving woman. Jason squirted some ketchup on his plate for
his fries as he k
ept an eye on his woman. She needed
him to be strong for her and he would be. “Let’s talk about something else for
now. We can get into the emotional turmoil when we get to the hotel. When would
you like to get married?”

“Are you sure you want to marry
me?”

“I love you, Peyton. Of course, I want to marry you.”

“How is your family going to feel about you taking on such
a project?”

“My family will love you. My mother already does from what
she’s told me even though she will want to get to know you better.”

“What are they going to say? We haven’t really known each
other very long.”

“Long enough to know I
want you in my life.
When I found your car at the doctor’s office and didn’t
know where to find you, my heart settled in my stomach. I knew then I loved you
because I couldn’t think of my life without you in it. If
I’d lost you, I would’ve gone nuts. You are the most important person to me.”

“Have I told you I love you?”

“Yes, but I like hearing it. Up to a few months ago, I
thought finding the perfect person
for me was
impossible. I told myself I would stop using women for my own pleasure. You
were a test of my abilities because you wanted to have casual sex. I gave into
that mentality even though it went against what I’d vowed to change, because I
wanted you
so badly, I would have done anything to
have you.” He smiled as her eyes widened. “I’ve been watching you for several
months while you worked the bar, trying to figure out a way to get closer to
you. When you showed up at the
muddin
’ party with Aaron, I w
anted to rip his throat out.”

She laughed. “You did?”

“Yeah, because I thought for sure you were going home with
him and he would be getting what I wanted.”

“You only wanted me for sex?”

“No, well yeah.
Sort of.”
He popped the last of
his hamburger into hi
s mouth. While he chewed, he
tried to decide how to tell her at first he wanted sex, but after he’d gotten
to know her, it had turned into more. “You see, all I’ve ever known with a
woman is sex. I hadn’t wanted anything more until you, but when I thought
of you with Aaron, I wanted to be him. I wanted what he was
going to have. I didn’t know what type of relationship you had with him and it
bugged me. When you got into the fight with him and turned to me, it was like
my entire world lit up. This is why I r
esisted so
hard when we first started talking that night. I realized I wanted a little
more from you than just sex. I wanted to hold you, touch you and love on you
all night. I wanted to wake up next to you in the morning so I could see the
sunlight touch
your hair. I wanted your eyes to light
up when you saw me like they do now. You are my world now, Peyton.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and he reach across the table
to wipe it away. “Sorry.”

“Why are you crying?”

“Because I never thought I’d find a love l
ike yours, especially with a cowboy. You’ve tempted me
beyond reason to let love find us. I never thought I would fall for a cowboy.”
She laughed as she wiped another tear with her napkin, smearing ketchup across
her cheek.

“Why not?
You don’t like cowboys
, but you live in Texas?” he asked, laughing with her as he
reached over with his own napkin to wipe the red from her face.

“I’ve certainly learned to love one cowboy—you.”

“Good, because I love you so much, I can’t think of anyone
else anymore.” He pushed
his plate away. “All
finished?”

“Yes.” She bit her lip as a frown settled across her brow.

“What’s wrong?”

“What about Sheila?”

“What about her?”

“She said she’s pregnant with your child.”

“I found out from her the other day, she’s only two months
along
or so she says. There is no way she’s pregnant
with my child. We weren’t together in the right time frame.”

“Thank God.”

“Ready to settle in for
the night?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go find us a room then. I want to hold you.”

After they finished paying the check, t
hey walked back out to his truck and he opened the door for
her. As soon as she was settled in, he went back around the front to the
driver’s side. They would have a nice room. No
dive dump
for them tonight. If
he could swing the softest bed in the city, h
e would.
“Where do you want to stay?”

“Nothing too expensive,
Jason.
You need to save your money.”

“We’ll have a nice room for the days we are here and I’ll
hear no more about it. You deserve something nice.
Maybe a Jacuzzi tub?”

She smiled and he got the
impression
she liked the idea of a whirlpool tub in their room. He kind of did too. Maybe
she’d let him fuck her in it.

He pulled out his phone to check on some hotels nearby. He
loved a smart phone. He found a Marriott nearby so he headed in that directio
n. They were usually a good bet for nice rooms even though
they might not have the jetted tub. “We’ll go here first and see if they have
something.”

“Are you sure? Those are expensive.”

“Nothing is too good for my girl.”

“I think you’re going to spoil me s
omething terrible.” A smile eased up the corners of her mouth.

He loved to make her smile, moan, groan or scream. Man was
he in trouble. This not having sex with her would kill him slowly. “I get to.
You’re my woman now.”

They pulled into the hotel and he
looked up at the high-rise.
This should be
perfect.

When they walked through the lobby, he saw all the marble
accents and wondered briefly if his wallet could afford a room here for a
couple of days, but decided it didn’t matter. She was worth every
penny. “Do you have rooms with whirlpool tubs in them?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I need one for two nights, please,” he told the man behind
the desk. He swore his credit card groaned as they swiped it for the charges.

“Are you sure about this, Jason? That’s a lot of
money.”

“Very sure.”

“You are in twenty-four forty-five. It’s a suite on
twenty-fourth floor.”

“Thank you,” Jason said, as he took the key card.

“Do you have luggage?”

“No.”

The clerk’s eyebrow rose. “I see.”

“This was an unexpected trip. We’ll be doing so
me shopping in the morning.”

“Very good, sir.”

They headed for the elevator to go to their room. “I feel
so cheap. That guy thinks this is a hook up.”

“Don’t worry about him, baby. We’ll get some clothes for
both of us and a suitcase. It doesn’t matter wha
t he
thinks, it only matters what we know.” He grinned as he slipped his arm around
her waist, trying not to touch the sores on her back. “We can do some
engagement ring shopping too.”

“I can’t believe we’re going to get married.”

He lifted her hand to his
lips
and kissed her palm. “Believe it. I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too.”

The door opened to the twenty-fourth floor. As they walked
down the carpeted hallway, he was in awe. There were only three doors along the
whole thing. The deskman had
said it was a suite, but
holy shit! He found their door,
then
swiped the key before
he pushed it open. “Wow.”

They walked inside and let the door close behind them as
they stood with their mouths open at the grandeur of the room.
“Oh my God, Jason.
This i
s gorgeous!” She walked around touching the marble with her
fingers, the crystal on the lamps and the cherry wood tables. “Look at this
view!” A large bank of windows looked out over the city. “I’ve never seen
Austin like this.”

“Me either, but I can imagi
ne you
against these windows with your hands braced against the glass as I fuck you
from behind.”

“If you aren’t going to do it, don’t tease me like that.”

“But just think, tomorrow it’ll be better with the
anticipation.”

“Asshole.”
She laughed as she
spun
around and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I
love you.”

“I love you too. Shall we get some sleep?”

“Yeah.
I find I’m really
tired now that things are calm.”

“Good. I hope you can rest without nightmares or anything.”

“If you hold me, I should be fine.”

He eased the tank top over her head, revealing her bare
breasts. “Did she get some sexy-ass underwear?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her breath coming out in short,
panting bursts of air. “I want you.”

“I want you too, but for now and tonight, I’m just going
hol
d you.”

“But…”

“No, buts, darlin’.
You need to ease into
this again. You had a rough time.”

“I know what I want, Jason.”

“I know, but we just rest tonight. I have a feeling you’re
going have a rough night.” He stripped off his shirt and T-shirt. She touche
d his chest, earning herself a moan from his lips. He loved
when she let her fingers walk along his skin. He grabbed her hands to stop the
motion.