Cowboys Like Us (12 page)

“In my current state, with all the blood drained south, I’m not sure I would have thought of that.”

“I almost didn’t. I was going to wait here in the dark until you came back.” She walked over to Josie’s desk and turned on the green glass lamp there. “Steve might wonder why we didn’t turn on a light, too.”

“Good thinking, once again.” Logan heaved a sigh. “Okay, I’ve cataloged a list of every game-winning home run the previous season. I’m calmed down enough to walk out there.”

“Want to stop for a drink?”

“No.”

“So I’ll just say that we wanted to check to make sure he’s doing all right. You should walk over to the bar with me, in fact, just to be friendly. For all he knows, you’re headed back to the ranch and need to make a quick trip to the bathroom before you make that drive.”

“Steve doesn’t strike me as the dim-witted type. I doubt he’ll think I’m going back to the ranch if I walk in from the office with you.” His heated glance touched every part of her. “Especially if you have a couple of snaps undone on your shirt.”

“I do?” She looked down and quickly fastened them. “When did you do that?”

“Just now, I guess. It was so automatic I didn’t realize what I was doing.”

“And I was so aroused I didn’t notice that you’d done it.” She met his gaze. “I think we’d better get ourselves upstairs, and fast, but we need to look casual doing it.”

“Fine, but don’t expect me to juggle any martini shakers.”

She laughed as she moved toward the door. “I won’t. But before you leave town, I want you to teach me how.” She was proud of herself for tossing out a carefree line that included a mention of his inevitable leaving. More comments like that would help her stay focused on reality.

“I don’t like thinking about that.”

Then don’t go.
But she wouldn’t say that, because he’d made his position clear when he’d turned down Peter Beckett’s offer.

Her hand on the knob, she turned back to him. “But you should keep it in mind, Logan. You will be leaving.” By the time she unlocked the door and walked into the bar, she was much more in control of herself.

If she intended to play this game, she needed to be.

L
OGAN FOLLOWED
C
ARO
out of the office and tried like hell to look as if he had no sexual interest in her whatsoever. He kept his distance, and gave his best impression of a nonchalant cowboy saunter as they approached the bar.

The room was empty except for Steve, who seemed delighted to see them. “Business is slow,” he said. “I guess everybody partied hardy last night and now they’re staying home.”

“That happens,” Caro said. “So you’re feeling better?”

“Way better.” He grinned. “Rough night, but it was over fairly fast, so I think it was food poisoning, after all. Did you do something fun with the time off?”

“Sure did. Logan and I went riding.” She kept her attention firmly on Steve.

Logan appreciated that. If she’d looked at him, they both would have been swamped with memories of their afternoon together, and no doubt it would have shown on their faces.

“Nice.” Steve glanced at Logan. “Have you been on a horse much?”

“Nope. I came off of this one today, but I’m none the worse for wear.”

“Didn’t reinjure your knee, I hope.”

“Fortunately not. Hey, if you two will excuse me, I need to head back to the men’s room.”

Steve’s eyes didn’t flicker. “You bet. I just cleaned it. Nothing else to do.”

“Thanks.” Logan wove his way through the tables to the tiny hallway that led to both bathrooms. He had cash in his pocket, and with luck, the condom machine would decide to dispense condoms tonight.

But after five minutes of fiddling with it, he was still empty-handed. Because the bar was deserted except for Steve and Caro, he couldn’t risk banging on the sides of it the way he had before. He was forced to walk back out and over to the bar.

“Still no customers, huh?” He glanced around. “Seems like a waste to keep the place open. How soon would you normally close?” If he could get rid of Steve, then he could manhandle that condom machine. Or maybe there was a key to it somewhere. He’d take the thing apart, if necessary.

Steve checked the Budweiser clock on the wall. “Another half hour or so. But you’re right. It is a waste. Unless you two care to order something? It’s on the house.”

“No, thanks.” Logan controlled his impatience. “I really should be leaving.”
And going upstairs with this delicious woman.
“I’m not the person in charge around here, but I can’t believe Josie would care if you locked up early.”

“No, she probably wouldn’t.” Caro either sensed there had been a problem with the condom machine or was simply going along with his suggestion. “I can’t call to ask, because I’m sure she’s asleep by now. Knowing Josie, I think she’d want us to use our own judgment. There are no customers to offset the utility bill, so let’s lock up.”

“Sounds good to me,” Steve said. “If you’ll turn around the sign on the door, Caro, I’ll close out the register and be on my way.”

She started for the front door, but turned back toward Steve. “You know what? I can take care of it. You’ve been sick, and although you may feel better, I’ll bet you could use the extra sleep.”

Logan could have kissed her. Well, he’d wanted to do that, anyway, but he really had the urge now that she was on the get-rid-of-Steve bandwagon. “Yeah, we can handle everything,” Logan said. “Take off, buddy.”
And I mean that sincerely.

Steve glanced at Logan, and his eyes registered a lightbulb moment. “I do believe I’ll take you up on that. I’ll just head on out the back door, then.” As he passed Logan, he lowered his voice. “Hope you didn’t need the condom dispenser, ’cause it’s empty.”

“Oh.”

“Nobody got more in, either. I checked.”

“Oh.”

“Good luck, buddy.”

“Thanks.” Well, damn. Not only were there no condoms, but good old Steve knew what was going on. Logan had predicted he’d figure it out, anyway. Josie also knew, and so did Jack, and word would spread from there. Soon the whole town would know that Logan and Caro were lovers.

Until this moment, Logan hadn’t fully understood the consequences of that. The town would know, and then he’d leave. Although Caro had said she was going into this with her eyes wide open, was she, really?

He wondered if she’d considered that a certain percentage of those who knew would assume she’d been the plaything of a famous man and then been dumped when he was tired of her. He’d experienced firsthand the sour feeling pity left behind, and he didn’t want that for Caro. Without thinking this through, he’d set her up in the victim role. And he didn’t know how to fix it.

She came up behind him and wrapped both arms around his middle, mimicking the way he’d held her earlier when they were in Josie’s office. “Am I guessing right that the condom machine is a problem?”

“According to Steve, it’s empty and nobody ordered more. He checked.”

“I see.”

Logan took hold of her hands and eased out of her grip so he could turn and face her. “And I owe you an apology.”

She laughed. “For failing to acquire condoms? That’s not your fault.”

“No, not that.” He took her by the shoulders and kneaded them gently. “For failing to realize that when I leave, a lot of people in this town will assume you’ve been dumped, no matter what either of us say.”

“I don’t—”

“You can claim not to care, but you deal with the population of Shoshone almost every day. Are you prepared for the pitying looks? The veiled allusions to the guy who broke your heart? The cracks about sports stars who go through women the way other people go through a package of Twinkies?”

“Like Twinkies? Really?”

“Well,
I
don’t, but plenty of guys do. I mean, yeah, I’ve had a few one-night stands in my life, but generally I—hell, this isn’t about me. It’s about you living in a small town where the word will now be out about…about us.”

“I knew that when I decided to tell Josie,” she said quietly.

“I wish you’d said something. I’m from the big city, where nobody cares unless it’s juicy enough to make the tabloids. I didn’t stop to think what bringing it out in the open with Josie would do to your…not your reputation, exactly, but you will get those who think you’ve been done wrong.”

Her smile was soft. “Then I’ll tell them I kicked you to the curb.”

“I hope you do! I hope you tell them that I begged you to let me stay, but I had a ton of bad habits that you couldn’t tolerate anymore. Say that.” He squeezed her shoulders. “Promise me you’ll trash my rep after I’m gone.”

“I can’t do that. You’re coming back to build bunk beds. You don’t want people snickering behind your back when you’re buying screws and nails and lumber and stuff.”

“You’re not taking this seriously at all, are you?”

“No.”

“You should.”

“I should not.” She reached up and pinched his cheek. “Because they won’t pity me. You’re like a rock star, Logan!”

“Oh, for God’s sake. I am not.”

“You are in this tiny burg. The women will envy me and want to know if you’re as good in bed as you look like you would be. I’ll just smile and let them eat their hearts out. The men will figure I must be hot stuff if I attracted the attention of a professional ballplayer, even for a few nights. Don’t worry about me, okay?”

“I can’t help it. This is uncharted territory for me, coming into a small town and getting involved with you. I feel as if I have to protect you.”

“Well, you
do,
which brings us back to the condom issue.”

“I wasn’t talking about that kind of protection.”

“I am.”

“So are we driving to Jackson to find a twenty-four-hour pharmacy?”

“We could. Or…” She moved closer and rubbed her hand over the fly of his jeans. “We can get creative.”

His happy cock leaped to immediate attention. “Like how?”

“The bar is loaded with all sorts of interesting items. You should know. You used to be a bartender.”

As the possibilities slowly unfolded in his fevered brain,
his body tightened in anticipation. “Are you suggesting we grab a few supplies and take them upstairs?”

“We’ll have to figure out a way to ring them up and pay for them, but, yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting.” “Whipped cream?”

“For starters. And flavored liqueurs.”

His johnson began to ache. “I’m in.”

“I thought you might be. Let’s go raid the pantry.”

Fifteen minutes later they’d locked up the bar and climbed the stairs with their purchases.

“This could be messy,” he said.

“I plan on it.” She moved around the kitchen and living room, lowering shades.

“I don’t want to get anything on that handmade quilt.”

She braced one palm on the kitchen counter as she tugged off her boots. “That’s why we’re going to do it in here, instead.” She glanced at him. “Are you planning to get naked or not?”

“I am.” He pulled up a kitchen chair and sat down to take off his boots and socks. “But I have dibs on the first round. I have plans for the butterscotch schnapps and the cherries.”

“I have plans for the whipped cream.”

He paused in the act of pulling off his second boot as his penis responded to that statement by swelling with enthusiasm. “I can only imagine, and once you start licking whipped cream off my cock, it’ll be all over. That’s why I’m going first.”

“But you’re so slow.” She flicked off her bra and shucked her panties before walking over to him. “I’m finished and you’re still mostly dressed.”

“So I see.” Reaching for her, he pulled her down to his lap. “I’m still a city boy who’s not used to boots and jeans.”

“I’ll help you.” She straddled him, nudging her damp curls against the ridge of his fly.

“Much more of that kind of help, and you won’t need the whipped cream.” He spanned her waist and slid both hands up and around until he was cradling her breasts. “Mmm.” He stroked his thumbs over her tight nipples. “I might not need the butterscotch schnapps, either. Lift up a little bit for me.”

Putting her feet on the floor, she rose up so that her nipples were even with his lips. “Like this?”

“You read my mind.” Slowly he drew in one firm tip and rolled it between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. They had all night this time, and he intended to make the most of it…or as much as he could without condoms.

So he would feast on the wonders of her body, with garnish and without. As he showered attention on her breasts, her breathing grew shallow and she began to quiver. She had such an erotic nature. She might give him credit for being good in bed, but she was the most responsive woman he’d ever been with.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he licked and massaged, nibbled and sucked. On impulse he reached between her thighs and rubbed his thumb over her clit. Just like that, she climaxed, arching her back and gasping his name.

Kissing his way upward to her lips, he lowered her to his lap.

If only he could lower her onto his cock, which strained against his jeans.

Logan feathered kisses over her parted lips. “You’re easy to please, Miss Caro,” he murmured.

“Not…” She gulped for air. “Not always.”

“No?” He stroked her sleek backside as she sat on his jeansclad thighs.

“You…turn me on.”

“That’s good news.” Logically, he should want to believe she was like this with any man, because then it would be
easier to let her go. But his possessive male instinct roared with pleasure knowing that her reaction to him was unique.

She took a shaky breath and looked into his eyes. “I want your shirt off.”

“Then take it off.”

Sliding both hands into the open neck, she yanked, and the snaps popped all the way down. “There.” She flattened her palms against his bare chest. “I haven’t spent nearly enough time touching you, either.”

He hoped he could take it while she did. Her slow massage was sexy as hell, especially when she leaned down and began to play with his nipples. He had to admit they were more sensitive to her touch than to any woman’s before her.

He moaned and shifted her weight so that she wasn’t bearing down on his increasingly interested pride and joy. She was getting him riled up with nothing more than a chest massage and some attention from her hot little mouth. Incredible though it might seem, she might be able to make him come like that.

But he wouldn’t allow it. When she reached for his belt buckle, he stopped her. “Not yet.”

“But I want to—”

“I know, and you will.” He lifted her off his lap and stood. “But first…” He glanced around the kitchen, planning his next move. The table was out, according to Jack. But the kitchen counter was fair game. He approved of the rounded edge on the laminate. That should suit his purposes nicely.

“Here.” He circled her waist with his hands and placed her on the counter, thanking all those sessions in the gym for the upper-body strength that allowed him to do it without dropping her. That would have put a real dent in the mood.

As it was, she seemed sort of impressed that he could swing her around like that. She gazed at him in obvious anticipation. “What now?”

“Butterscotch schnapps time.” He pulled the bottle out of the bag, along with a jar of long-stemmed maraschino cherries. “Lean back against the cabinets while I mix up a little something special.”

Putting her hands behind her, she relaxed against the oak cabinets while she watched him.

“You said I could get creative, right?”

“Uh-huh.” She ran her tongue over her lips.

He fished some cherries out of the jar and laid them in the lid. “Every time I made a buttery nipple for a customer, I wanted to make a real one.”

“That’s why you wanted—”

“The butterscotch schnapps. Yep.” He opened the bottle. “Hold still.” Tilting it, he allowed a little to drip on each breast.

She shivered. “Cold.”

“That’s because you’re so hot.” Lovingly, he smoothed the schnapps over her nipples. As they tightened into hard little nubs, she closed her eyes and whimpered. “That feels sinfully good.”

“You’re not garnished yet.” Picking up a cherry, he tied the stem around her nipple.

She gasped. “What are you…ohhh, wow…” She closed her eyes again. “Funky. I like it.”

“Not done yet.” He tied the other one securely. And then he began to lick and nibble, both her and the cherries.