A Cowboy for Christmas (14 page)

Bonner moved above Casey, slow, easy, in the early morning light of her bedroom. He dipped lower and kissed her mouth. She felt the new grown stubble on his face that made him look so rugged. Unlike at the ranch, he shaved everyday here. She missed seeing the shadow on his chin. She missed his cute ass encased in jeans too, since he’d worn a suit every day.

But she sure hadn’t had to miss his sexy as hell bare ass… They’d been like teenagers the past week, having sex in every room of her apartment, both day and night. Though he hadn’t given in to her teasing and done it in the office… Yet.

After having him in her bed every night over the past week, the thought of being alone tomorrow night brought a tear to her eye. She brushed it away and he stilled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Casey. Tell me.”

“You want to talk now?” She forced a laugh, and glanced down to where they were joined.

“Yes. You’re crying while I’m making love to you. Something’s wrong.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it so just ignore me and keep going. Okay?” She swiped at another tear as it escaped and ran down the side of her face.

“No. I’m not going to keep going while you’re crying.”

“You have to because this time tomorrow you’ll be at the airport. It’s now or never.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“It’s because I’m leaving.” He sighed and pulled out. He rolled to lie next to her. “I don’t know what to say or do, Casey. I have to get back to the ranch. Tell me how to fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix. You live in Colorado. I live here. I’ll see you when you’re here for your meetings or when I’m there for my work. If you want to see me, that is.”

“Of course I want to. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Is that what you want? To…do this when we can?”

“Yes.”

No.

Casey hated the idea of only being with Bonner a few days a month. She hated the thought of saying goodbye to him, over and over again. If they continued like this, she’d be saying it a lot. And what if he met someone there in Colorado and got serious with her?

He reached out and brushed a hand over her cheek as another tear trailed down. “Then why are you crying?”

Good question. Casey Harrington didn’t cry over men. Hell, she didn’t cry about anything…well, except that final scene in that one Christmas movie.

“I don’t know. PMS?” Getting her emotions in check, she grabbed his hand and kissed the palm, then rolled over on top of him. As she slid his cock inside her, she leaned low. She rose up then slid back down. “I bet you can cheer me up though.”

His eyelids drifted partially closed. “I’ll surely try.”

Bonner reached for the bedside drawer containing her secret stash. He’d discovered it yesterday and given her quite a workout with one of the toys he’d found inside. Casey’s pulse sped as she waited to see what he’d pull out now.

He glanced at her. “Tell me what you want.”

Her breath came a little faster. “Anything you want.”

He groaned and flipped her onto her back. “You might want to reconsider that answer.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m sticking to it.”

Bonner pulled out a vibrator and a tube of lube. “You sure about that?”

Casey swallowed hard, anticipating all the many things he could do with just those two objects. “Yes.”

“Good.” He smiled. “Roll over.”

She did as he’d asked and heard his sharp intake of breath. Even after being together all week, he still reacted to her body. What woman wouldn’t melt at that knowledge? Or from Bonner’s touch, which always seemed to be exactly where she needed it, when she needed it.

He slid the toy inside her and pushed the button that made it vibrate against her clit. Her eyes drifted closed at the sensation, but the toy alone was nothing compared to the feel of it in combination with the tip of Bonner’s lubed finger pressing into her ass. She groaned and pressed higher, forcing his finger deeper.

She heard Bonner curse under his breath and smiled, rocking back and forth as the vibe teased her closer to orgasm. “I want you inside me when I come.”

“Yes.” Bonner fumbled behind her.

The next sensation she felt was that of the wide head of his erection replacing his finger. Lubed and slippery, he breached the tight ring of muscles and slid deeper. The combination of the vibe and Bonner sent Casey into an orgasm that had her crying out into the pillow so the neighbors wouldn’t hear. She heard Bonner, pretty loud himself as he plunged deep until he buried his face in her shoulder. He came and then collapsed on top of her.

Still shaking and breathless, Bonner’s weight heavy against her back, Casey decided she could do this. They could do this. They would have to. They’d enjoy each other when they were in the same state, then concentrate on their respective jobs while they were apart.

It really was perfect. She was focused on her career right now anyway. She couldn’t have designed a better arrangement.

So why did her heart hurt so badly at the thought of him leaving tomorrow?

* * * *

The line moved. Jody and Casey, with Jenna and Courtney ahead of them, took one step forward. They stopped and Casey sighed. “We could come back later.”

“Patience, Aunt Casey.” Jody sent her a smile. “We’re almost there.”

Attempting to see the holiday windows at Saks Fifth Avenue on the day before Christmas Eve had not been a good idea. There had to be a hundred people lined up within the maze of ropes and stanchions set up on the sidewalk in front of the store to keep them orderly. This may be fun for tourists, out-of-towners like her sister, but for Casey, who walked these streets daily, it was simply annoying.

“Fine.” She sighed. “But we better keep our eye on the time so we don’t miss our reservation.”

High Tea at The Plaza and then a shopping trip to FAO Schwartz had been a holiday tradition for Casey and her sister since her nieces had been infants in a stroller.

“We won’t miss it.” Jody sent her a sideways glance. “Why didn’t he just stay for Christmas and then fly back?”

The question would have seemed totally out of the blue if Casey didn’t know for a fact she was acting like a miserable bitch today, and the reason was because she’d dropped Bonner at the airport this morning before meeting her sister at Grand Central.

Her chest felt so tight, it hurt to even breathe deeply. “He can’t be away from the ranch for too long. And he knew I had plans with you for Christmas.” Besides, Casey knew he considered Mrs. Jones, Dakota and Justus family too. Of course he’d want to be home with them for the holiday.

“You know very well you could have brought him to any family event, including our girls day out today. You know at least one of them would have freaked out to meet a real cowboy in person.” Jody glanced at her daughters.

The girls were occupied with counting the number of people in front of them so Casey could speak freely. “Yes, I know. But no way in hell was I going to subject Bonner to Mom. And it’s not like we’re dating. We’re just…” There was no way to hide it. Casey had canceled Bonner’s reservation at the hotel the first night knowing he’d be in her bed every night anyway.

“Yeah, I know.” Jody raised a brow. “What I don’t understand is why?”

Casey laughed. “Why? Have you seen him?”

Jody rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I meant why aren’t you two more? Why can’t you have a relationship? You’re obviously compatible. He seems more than interested in you. You’re practically glowing when you talk about him. So why not?”

“Um, hello? Do you realize how many miles there are between Colorado and New York?” More than just miles separated them. Bonner and Casey lived in different worlds. City and country. Though Bonner had made the transition to the corporate world beautifully this week, she knew a part of him would die should he ever move to the city permanently. And he was in charge of the ranch too. He needed to divide his time.

Casey glanced between the buildings and spotted the huge evergreen set up at Rockefeller Center. Its colored lights and the star on top twinkled in the grey December light. She loved this city, especially at Christmas time. The line advanced another foot. The pushy group of people behind them bumped into Casey, and she realized there were things she didn’t love about it too, especially at Christmas time.

“Plenty of couples make a long distance relationship work. Some are even bi-coastal. At least Colorado is only half-way across the country.” Jody continued talking. “I don’t know. I just think you should at least talk about it. And you should have planned to spend Christmas together. You still could.”

“He’s already in the air by now.”

“So? Join him. I can’t think of a more beautiful place to spend the holiday than on a snowy ranch in the Colorado mountains. You should just go.”

Casey frowned at her sister. “Are you crazy? It’s the day before Christmas Eve.”

“Exactly. You can be there by Christmas. Get yourself to the airport and on a stand-by list.”

She shook her head. “Every flight is going to be packed.”

Jody waved her hand dismissively at that. “We’re in a recession. You can’t tell me every single seat on every flight to Colorado will be booked. You’re one person. They’ll slip you in. Now, when Kent, the girls and I fly to the ranch to visit you for the holidays next year, of course I’ll make reservations well in advance. I wouldn’t expect them to accommodate a family of four on a last minute flight.” Jody smiled.

The scene she’d set of what Casey’s life could be like this time next year had her heart fluttering. She hadn’t known it until now, but she wanted that. A real home. A family. Bonner. Even kids of their own.

“What if he doesn’t want the same thing? What if he’s happy with what we have? You know, just—“ Casey glanced to see where the girls were before whispering “—casual sex.”

Jody let out a laugh. “From what you’ve told me, this man is anything but casual. Just go. What will it hurt to spend the holidays together and see how things feel? I’m not saying you should give up the lease on your apartment and change your driver’s license to Colorado. Just go and see.”

A sense of urgency pressed like a physical weight upon Casey. “I should get to the airport as soon as possible if I want to have any hope of getting there by Christmas.”

“Then go.”

She paused. “You and the girls—“

“—will be just fine. I may not be the city girl you are, but I can get us to the Plaza and then back to Grand Central.” Jody pulled Casey into a hug. “Say good-bye to them and then get the hell out of here. Go get your cowboy for Christmas. You’ve been waiting a long time for him.”

Teary-eyed, Casey laughed. “Yeah. I have.”

Funny how things worked out. Twenty-years after her only wish for Christmas had been the Cowboy Cody doll, Casey was finally going to get what she wanted, but even more, because unlike Cody, Bonner was very real.

Casey somehow managed to hail one of the few available taxicabs—years of being a New Yorker gave her an advantage over the tourists in that area. Though the holiday gridlock had traffic moving so slowly, she probably could have walked faster. By the time she was back on her block, she was agitated and keenly feeling the time crunch. She had to throw a few things in a bag and get to the airport.

She was feeling so rushed, it wasn’t until she paid the cab and had started up the stairs outside her building that she saw Bonner sitting on the top step. His coat was buttoned up and pulled close to this throat, his hat tipped low over his face. It was a strange and wonderful sight. She sprinted up the remainder of the steps. He was here, but for how long?

“Hey.” Bonner stood. “I couldn’t leave.”

“Was your flight canceled?” She reached out and grabbed his hands, cold from waiting outside for her.

“No.” He kissed her and she nearly stopped caring about the answer to her question. Finally, he pulled back. “I called the ranch and the boys seemed all right without me for a little longer, so I called Dean. I asked him to change my return flight and to send me a car and driver at the airport. I figure if I’m going to be the president of Maverick Western, I could take advantage of the perks every once in a while.”

“Wow. I’m really glad you did.”

“Me too.” He tilted his head toward the door. “Can we go inside?”

“Of course.”

He glanced at the sky. “There’s a storm coming. There’ll be snow before morning.”

“That would be nice, but it never snows here in the city for Christmas.” She could barely breathe but she managed to answer.

“Feels like snow.” Bonner shrugged.

Casey was shaking so badly, with excitement, or adrenaline, or just from being near Bonner, she could barely get the key in the door. Finally, she had them inside, upstairs, and in her nice, warm apartment.

Once inside, with the door shut, Bonner peeled off his coat. He tossed it onto a chair and pulled her close. “I couldn’t seem to leave you.”

She laughed. “I was coming home to pack a bag and try to get a flight to be with you in Colorado. I couldn’t stand the thought of being away from you for Christmas. Or ever.” She needed him to know that.

Bonner shook his head. “We make quite a pair, don’t we? City girl. Country boy. We can’t live together, but we don’t want to live apart.”

“We’ll make it work. You’ll be in New York monthly visiting headquarters. I’ll fly to you in Colorado whenever I can. At least once a month, maybe more.” She had plenty of frequent flier miles to use up.

“I guess. It’s not exactly the ideal situation.”

“No, it’s not.” Casey wanted to fall asleep in his arms each night, and wake to him making love to her each morning, not just a few times a month.

“Casey, I don’t know much about this corporate stuff, but I have a question. Why are the offices in New York and the warehousing in New Jersey when the company was founded in Colorado?”

Keeping hold of his hand, she led them to the sofa and took a seat. “Well, I guess when they made the decision it made sense. When Maverick Western began shipping overseas, as well as importing materials for production, it made sense to put the manufacturing and shipping facilities in Jersey.”

From his seat next to her, Bonner shook his head. “Why are we importing materials? Why aren’t we using things from right here in the U.S.?”

“I don’t know. That decision was made years ago.”

“Probably the few years Jake’s son, Junior, worked for the company right after college. Before he left and went to a different company.”

“No wonder Jake left control to you.”

“I guess.” He shrugged. “You know, Mrs. Jones said something to me the night of Jake’s wake. She said to look to the past to make decisions for the future. Why can’t we go back to the way things were originally when John Maverick founded the company? Even if we do have to ship things farther to get them to and from Colorado, it would be Americans we’re putting to work doing the trucking. That’s a good thing. No?”

“Yes, it is a good thing. But accounting would have to crunch the numbers. Even after the initial cost of the move, it might cost the company all of its profits to have the facilities in Colorado.”

Bonner shook his head. “I haven’t been here long but I’ve noticed one thing. Things cost ten times as much here as they do back home.”

Casey considered that. “You may be right. The cost of having production and warehousing in the mid-West might be considerably less. However many years ago when they made the decision to move to Jersey things were much cheaper there than they are now, I’m sure. But closing the Maverick facilities wouldn’t be a popular move. There’ll be backlash from laying off all the East Coast employees if you close them.”

“We could make the transition slow and even after it’s done, we could still maintain a smaller distribution and shipping center here on the East Coast. Maybe even open it up once a year to the public, as like an outlet center to get rid of overstocks and any old stuff to make room for new products. Folks like that kind of thing, don’t they?”

“Yes, they do.” She smiled. “You have a better head for this than you give yourself credit for.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I feel so far out of my world I can’t even tell you.”

“Kind of like how I felt on a horse, or in the outhouse?”

He let out a short laugh. “Yeah, kind of like that, except you only had me watching, and I was already on your side. I’ve hundreds of employees and a few million customers worldwide watching me. I’m sure quite a few of them are just waiting for me to fail.”

“Nobody’s waiting for you to fail.” Casey gave his hand a squeeze.

Bonner cocked a brow. “My dear Maverick cousins are.”

“Than it will be extra satisfying to rub it in their faces when you succeed.”

Bonner laughed. “Now, now, that attitude’s not exactly in keeping with cowboy code is it?”

“No, but it is in keeping with the New York code. You’re in my world for now, and even though I may not be so great at riding a horse, I am excellent at swimming with the sharks. I’ve been preparing for a challenge like this my whole life. If you decide this move is what you want, I can get you and Maverick Western through this transition and we’ll come out on top. Trust me.”

“I wonder if Jake knew. If that’s why he hired you when he did.” His face took on an expression of sadness.

“Knew what?”

“That he didn’t have much time. His doctor had been warning him his health wasn’t good for a while. And the lawyer told me the will naming me had been drawn up in October, right about the time he hired you. It’s like he suspected he didn’t have long. He’d known that I’d need help.” His blue gaze captured hers. “That I’d need you.”

Her heart warmed. “Maybe he did know. We won’t let him down, Bonner. Trust me on this.”

“I do.”

His sincerity had her eyes misting with tears. Casey deflected the overwhelming emotions with work. “My head’s already spinning with plans for the new marketing campaign. Taking the company back to grass roots. Moving the facilities back to Colorado where it all began. A focus on products made with American materials by American hands. Jake was an imposing character, but you… Bonner with you as the face of the company, every woman will want you and every man will want to be you. And since they can’t, they’ll do the next best thing—buy Maverick products.”

Bonner shook his head as a cocky grin bowed his lips. “Now wait a minute. Who says all those women can never have me?”

“They’ll have to get through me first.” Casey narrowed her eyes at the idea.

He stood and pulled her up off the cushion and wrapped his arms around her.

“But you’ll be in New York and I’ll be in Colorado…” Still grinning, he let the sentence trail off suggestively.

“Or I could be in Colorado. Even if the executive offices remain in New York, with the focus of the corporation moving to Colorado, it makes sense the head of marketing would too.” It was so clear to her now. She loved the city, but she loved Bonner far more. And all the good parts of New York would be here at her disposal whenever she wanted. All she had to do was book a plane ticket.

“You’d do that? Move out west?” There was no more joking. His tone was deadly serious.

“In a heartbeat. If, of course, you, as the new corporate president, invited me.”

“As the new corporate president, I’d never force you to move for your job. But as just me, the guy who can’t get you out of his head, who may never sleep again unless you’re next to him, I’d like nothing more than for you to move to the ranch and never leave.”

The happiness threatened to bubble over. “Well, I might have to leave sometime, for meetings back here.”

“That’s fine, because I could come with you.”

“Yes. You could.” Traveling together. Enjoying the ranch while she was there with Bonner. Showing him around the city while they were here. It sounded like heaven.

Bonner cradled her face in his palms and stared into her eyes. “I’m so in love with you.”

Tears formed in Casey’s eyes. “I’m in love with you, too.”

He smiled before lowering his mouth to hers. The kiss seemed even sweeter because Bonner loved her.

She had to know something before she could let herself completely enjoy Bonner. “When do you fly back?

“I had Dean book it for December twenty-seventh. I wanted to be with you for Christmas.”

“I’m really glad about that.” Jody had been right, it looked as if she’d finally get her cowboy for Christmas. Casey glanced out the window and what she saw made her look twice. “Bonner.”

“Hm?” He was more occupied with kissing her neck than anything else.

“Look outside.” Amazed, she watched as the biggest, fattest flakes of snow she’d ever seen drifted past her window.

He pulled back, glanced at the window and then was back pulling her to him and nuzzling her ear. “Told ya.”

A cowboy and a white Christmas. Casey smiled. She must have been a very good girl this year.

The End