Once with a Cowboy: Loving Day Collection (One Night Only Book 1) (8 page)

Chapter Six

One Week Later…

              Ty hauled the last of the chairs up on the tables before he surveyed the rest of the bar. The Loving Day party had gone off without a hitch. Close to a hundred people had shown up and they’d managed to get the cake on short notice, despite the bakery’s popularity. He had promises that they would be back for the Stanley Cup playoffs which would keep the bar busy. All of that buoyed his hopes for the future of the Ice Rodeo Sports Bar. The only problem remaining was Nessa. It had been a week since the fight at his ranch and a few days since her interview with Briar. Due to the crush at work, they hadn’t had time to talk about anything beyond stock, issues with customers and schedules.

              He hated the distance between them but they both needed time to think. The time away from her hadn’t dissuaded him from wanting a relationship with her; it had only strengthened his desire to be with her. After hearing about her asshat of an ex and her parents, all he wanted to do was show her that there were good people and she deserved to be loved, and was. His only problem: time. He just hoped she didn’t think he was no longer interested in her because of the lack of communication.

              Bruce came over. “Hey, boss, I’ll lock up. Why don’t you head off?” He nodded toward Nessa who was wiping down the bar. Something she’d been doing since they closed the door. She glanced up at them and then looked back down.

              “Looks like she wants to talk to you.” Bruce nudged him towards the counter.

              Time to face the music. Ty headed in Nessa’s direction. “Did you drive or do you need a lift?” His face flushed and he wanted the earth to swallow him up at how gruff his voice sounded.

              He cleared his throat and tried again, ignoring Bruce’s muffled chuckle behind him. “Do you want a lift?”

              “Yeah, my car is in the shop.” She threw the rag aside. “Let me grab my purse.”

              Her features were guarded and he didn’t blame her. Before this they hadn’t gone a few hours without talking and now silence. He felt like he was missing a limb. This was a start. His quick glance over at Bruce showed the big man giving him a thumbs up. Ty rolled his eyes and shot him the same sign before following Nessa to the back to the employee’s locker room where she was shrugging into a light sweater, her purse sat on the bench.              

              “So how have you been?” He rocked on the back legs of his chair before settling down on his feet. To buy himself some time, he pushed up the brim of his hat. He studied her, absorbing every minute tick of her face and every body movement.

“Fine, tired, doing okay. You?” She didn’t meet his gaze.

              “Nessa? Look at me.”He waited for her to comply, hoping she wouldn’t try to sidestep him.

              Nessa lifted her chin, her dark brown eyes met his, her full lips thin, features guarded. “What?”

              “I know we didn’t like the way we ended things at the ranch and after a week, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really don’t want to lose you. We have a lot of work ahead of us, that is, if you want to be with me.” He watched her nostrils flare and eyes widen. Her pupils grew large and her lips parted.

              The pink tip of her tongue darted out, drawing his attention to her now shiny mouth. His palms tingled to touch her skin again. Unable to resist, he reached out and cupped her face. His thumb stroked the softness of her plump bottom lip. “I missed talking to you, honey. Missed being with you, not just intimately, not just sex but just being around you; the banter, the smiles, the hugs, feeling that connection with you. It’s been hell without you, baby.”

              She covered his hand with hers, leaned her head into his touch, the corners of her eyes crinkled. She gifted him with a small smile. “I missed you, too, cowboy. Take me home, Ty. We need to talk.”

              She picked up her purse and tugged him to the exit. “Come on.”

              He went willingly, enjoying the contact once more. Her warmth seeped up his arm to fill his chest, arrowing down his torso to fill his groin and legs. Despite her short stature, he let her pull him out of the building and into the parking lot where he tugged on her arm to stop. “Whoa, there, Nessa, there’s something I need first.”

              Before she could protest, he pulled her to him until she settled against his body. She tilted her head back, gazed up at him with something akin to amusement and relief in her eyes. “What?”

              “I need to know what you’ve decided.” Before they could go forward he wanted to know before they got to her house.

              “You’ll see when you get there. Can you be patient, cowboy?”

              He found no answers on her face except a smile that gave him hope. “Okay, fine. I’ll wait until we get to your place.” He ducked his head and placed a kiss on her lips. As soon as he made contact, he didn’t want to move. His hand slipped to her ass, molding his palms around the fullness, giving each globe a squeeze before moving to hold onto her hips. Her mouth was warm, soft and tasted of cotton candy. “Mmmm.”

              He pulled back on a sigh. “Damn it, get you home first.” He said it more to himself and his half saluting cock than to her.

              “Good.” She lifted on her tiptoes for another swift kiss before she darted around to the passenger side of his SUV.

              He got into the vehicle and unlocked her side. Once they were settled, he started up the car, and headed for her home. Silence fell between them and the cozy sensation he’d had once he’d reunited with Nessa dulled around the edges as her words said in the heat of the moment echoed around in his head. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he clenched his jaw in frustration. He didn’t like being left in the dark about her decision but he also didn’t enjoy realizing they had a long way to go before things would be fine between them. The momentary relief at connecting with her fizzled out. He exhaled.

              “I hate this. I hate not knowing what you’ve decided and I hate that I don’t think you trust me or can accept my love for you.” He let the words come out without thinking about them.

              She reached over and placed a hand on his thigh. “I hate it, too. Well, that I was raised the way I was and I don’t trust easily. As for my decision, you’ll understand why I’m making you wait until we get to my house.”             

              He bit his bottom lip to keep from pushing her.

              “I know, but you’ll have to wait a minute or two longer.”

              He glanced at her before refocusing on the road, not seeing the brick buildings, the neon signs touting still open business or the tall glass and steel structures of office buildings as the car ate up the distance between the bar and her rental. By the time they entered the residential part of the city, with only a few businesses here and there to be seen, nervous energy jittered along his arms and legs.             

“Pull into the driveway.” He flipped the turn signal and followed her direction

              The house looked the same. A simple bungalow with pale blue siding, white trim, and a brick base, the newly done driveway sat empty, the garage’s windows were dark. A light burned in the living room, showing off the neatly trimmed yard in feeble illumination. Nothing seemed different from the outside. He shut off the car and unlocked the doors. Nessa retrieved her keys from her purse and scrambled out without his help. Her heels clicked up the walkway to the front door. She got through the entryway in record time but didn’t go inside. Her foot tapped a staccato beat as her gaze settled on him. “Come on, hurry up!”

              The next door neighbor’s door squeaked open. “Nessa, that you, hon? I got your mail.” A woman in curlers, a house coat, slippers and full makeup on came shuffling towards them. “Oh, my! Is this your man?” She gave him the once over while she walked towards him, waving a letter as she went. “Mailman delivered this to me by mistake.” She stopped in front of them, but not near enough for Nessa to grab the envelope.

              “And what a hunk of man he is.” She reached up with her free hand and unzipped the robe showing off a glimpse of cleavage.

              Ty gazed over the woman’s head at Nessa, pleading filled his eyes.

              “Thank you, Mrs. Newton. This is my boyfriend, Ty. He and I are going to bid you good night.” Nessa rushed over and pulled the letter out of Mrs. Newton’s grasp before going over, taking hold of Ty’s hand and pulling him around her neighbor towards the front door.

              Mrs. Newton fluffed her curls, only to have her eyes widen and her face flush. “Well, you should come by more often, sugar, and see me when I’ve got all my face on.” She waved him off. “Good night. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

              Nessa shut the door on her neighbor and guided him through the next entryway. Once shut, she grunted. “This isn’t even my mail. She just wanted to come over here.” Nessa set the envelope on the side table along with her keys.

              Ty stood in her living room and took it all in. There were pictures on the walls, furniture he’d only seen stuffed into a spare room placed around the space. He blinked. There were figurines placed on a mantel of the fireplace. Understanding slowly dawned on him. She’d done it, she’d unpacked her stuff. Happiness filled his heart.

              “I signed a two year extension on the house, so for now…I’m here.” She shrugged out of her sweater and hung it up. “I mean, I plan on staying…in Texas, well here.” She moved around him and settled on the sofa that now had pillows on it and a pair of matching chairs winging it on the left and right.

              “You unpacked?” His heart hammered out a rapid tattoo as he took it all in. A balloon of hope inflated as he absorbed her words.

              “Yeah, the girls helped me; well, not at night…we got a little drunk…it was my night off. Anyway, it’s not all unpacked. A lot of the heavier stuff still needs to be put somewhere but we managed to do the first floor. I was hoping…well…if we’d started talking again and you still wanted to be with me, that you’d help me?” Her voice lilted at the end.

              He studied her face. Shyness made her seem younger and more innocent. Guarded hope shown in her eyes. “I know what you said before but…”

              He shook his head and her face fell, a frown tugged her full lips down.

              “Baby–” he stalked over to her and lowered down until he was on his knees in front of her, “—that’s not what I mean. What about Briar?” Her unpacking boosted his hope for the future but he had to know about the job offer. Someone as intelligent as Nessa couldn’t just be let go like that. Briar would be, in his opinion, insane to allow that.

              “Oh, Briar is letting me act as a freelance consultant for her firm so no moving. I can work here on any project I want and I promise it won’t interfere with the bar or our partnership, if that’s still on the table. I can always video conference with the other team members so distance isn’t a problem.” She grabbed his hands and gave them a squeeze. “I want this to work. I’m not good at relationships, I don’t know what I need to do but I’m willing to work as hard as I need to and more because you’re worth it.”

              Ty let out a whoop, stood up, bent down and gathered her up in his arms for a full body hug. He pressed a kiss on her lips and pulled back. “That’s all I ever wanted, honey.”

              “Awesome, now can we go shower? It’s been a long shift and we both need to clean off before I allow you on my nice clean sheets.” She wrinkled her nose.

              “Oh, you don’t like the smell of stale beer and deep fried goodness with a dash of sweat?” He rubbed his nose against hers.

              “And we’re only going to sleep. As much as I’d love to get sexy with you, I’m worn out.” To prove her point they both let out a yawn.

              “Fine.” He placed her on her feet only to scoop her up in his arms and carry her to the second floor master bedroom.

              She snuggled into his shoulder. “I love you, Ty. I’m so thankful you took a chance on me and that you trust and love me. I’m really lucky.”

              “Yeah, you really are.” He laughed.

              She slapped his chest.

              “But really, I love you, honey, and I’m glad you did walk into my life and that you’re willing to be a true partner to me in all things in my life. Now about that bacon lube….”

* * *

A few weeks later…

“Um, honey, you sure this is what you want?” Ty tugged on the padded cuffs attached to another set of cuffs to the spokes in her headboard.  His legs were spread and bound. “When I said I’d be at your mercy, I wasn’t expecting that you’d take me literally.”

A droplet of sweat trailed down his hairline before dropping off his chin. He focused on breathing, taking air in through his nose and blowing it out of his mouth slow and steady to lower the pace of his rapid heartbeat.

“There–” the bed jostled before settling down, “—and yes. Don’t worry, I won’t push you. Just trust me, please.”              

She paused. He lifted is head and gazed down his body to the end of the bed. Wearing nothing but his old jersey, hair pulled back with tiny curls framing her face. No make-up, eyes luminous and a seductive smile on her lips. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you trust me?”