Texas Men (8 page)

His parts were poking at the blanket, and Tara moved in front of the bed to hide the fact. “If you two are satisfied…” she ground out between clenched teeth.

“Sorry to barge in, ma’am,” Joe said, giving Cody one last glance and a wink.

Logan shook his head, his grin splitting his face. “Got a key for those handcuffs?”

“’Fraid we lost it sometime last night,” Cody drawled. “I’m sure we’ll find it soon.”

Joe and Logan tipped their hats and turned, soft, masculine laughter following them out of her house. When she’d finally gotten her anger in hand, she turned to Cody. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Those two are going to have this all over the county before noon.”

“They won’t tell a soul.”

“Why would they do something like that?”

“They were just havin’ some fun at my expense.” His brows pulled closer, deepening the shadows in his eyes. “Tara, don’t you think it’s time we stopped sneakin’ around?”

Tara blinked at the moisture welling in her eyes. “Where did you put that key?” she asked, her voice sounding ragged to her own ears.

He held it up between the thumb and forefinger of his free hand.

She held out her cupped palm, accepting the key, and then tossed it over her shoulder.

His eyes widened. “Why’d you do that?”

“Guess I’m not done having a little fun at your expense.”

“Tara…”

She shook her head, sniffing to clear the tears clogging the back of her throat. “Because you don’t seem to care that everyone and their mother’s gonna know we’ve got something goin’ on, why not give them something to really talk about?”

“What are you planning to do?”

Tara climbed onto the bed, still wearing her robe, and settled her spread legs around his hips. “I’m gonna keep you here until you admit I’m the only woman for you, cowboy.”

Cody’s lips twitched. His half-lidded gaze traced a path from her breasts to her pussy. “You’re the only woman I want.”

Tara wrinkled her nose. “You said that too quick to be convincing.”

His gaze locked with hers. “I mean it.”

Tara stilled, all anger bleeding away. A poignant glimpse of hope breaking through the angry cloud. “No other women?” she asked and then gruffly amended, “For as long as this lasts.”

A muscle along his carved jaw flexed. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

“I’m serious, Cody.”

“I love you, Tara Toomey.”

Her lips trembled. The woman who never cried over dusty cowboys fell over his chest and snuggled her cheek against the corner of his shoulder, tears leaking from her eyes. “I love you, too.”

“Is that why you raised that paddle last night? Were you tellin’ the whole world how you felt?”

She nodded. “I thought it would get me in less trouble than tackling the woman who bought you.”

His chest shook with soft laughter. “Might have been worth it to see.” He kissed her hair. “Want me to find that key?”

Tara nuzzled his chest with her cheek. “I’m fine. Just like this. I want your arm around me.”

The one arm he had free hugged her closer. “I’ve got you, baby.”

“You really are going to have to work on a new nickname. I’m old enough to be your mo—”

“Not even. I’m thirty-two.”

“Jesus. Now I feel much better,” she said, wincing.

“Age is just a number.”

“Says someone who’s still in his prime.”

“You really think you’re old?”

She lifted her head. “Only when I look at you.”

“I don’t see it.” His eyebrows drew together; his gaze was soft. “So you’ve got a few wrinkles. So do I.”

“I might not be able to give you babies. And I know you’d miss that.”

“You never know. Maybe you just need some young sperm swimming inside you.”

“Elegantly put.”

“I’m not a talker.”

“No, you’re a lover.
Mine
,” she said with a firmness he couldn’t help but notice.

“Yours. Got it. Guess you’ll have to keep that chain and lock me up every night.”

“I kinda liked the way it felt on me,” she admitted ruefully.

“I liked the way you looked,” he growled. “Every part of you open to me. Helpless. So damn wet.” His sex stirred against her, proving his words.

“Promise me something?” she said, raising her head.

Cody’s gaze tangled with hers. “Anything.”

She shook her head. “Not until you’ve heard me. Doesn’t count if you don’t know what I’m gonna ask.”

“Ask.”

Tara swallowed and then let him see everything she felt reflected in her expression: unconditional love and acceptance. “Don’t stay any longer than you want. Not for me.”

The muscles of his throat flexed around a swallow. “I promise, Tara.” She gave him a soft smile and started to lay her head on his chest again, but he lifted her chin with his thumb. “My turn.”

Tara read the shimmering tenderness in his gaze, and happiness unfurled like a budding rose.

“Marry me.”

A
hot breeze toyed with a strand of hair lying across her breast, but Sarah Michelson wasn’t about to flick it away now. She was already in deep shit and wondering whether she should pour on the syrup and sweet-talk the two officers striding her way.

She’d been driving her bike without her headlight, following the pale gray thread of road she’d driven since she’d graduated to adulthood until she hit the winding canyon and had to flip it on. A quick drive-by of the bar, and she would have proven she was still the reigning bad girl of Honkytonk.

Then she’d seen the glint of metal at the side of the road and throttled down.

Damn, who knew she’d run into a speed trap on little ole Amman Road?

“Ma’am, I’ll need to see your license and registration.”

Sarah squinted against the spotlight aimed at her from the squad car parked beside the sawhorse barrier and shot a glare at the deputy who’d halted beside her. That glare was signature “Sarah” and would have had most men backing up half a dozen paces. To his credit, Joe Chavez didn’t flinch, but neither did he crack a smile.

So that’s the way he wanted to play it. She could pretend there wasn’t a thing unusual about this particular traffic stop, too. “Officer, I seem to have misplaced it,” she said, dropping her voice to a sultry purr.

“Forgot a few other things as well,” the other deputy, Logan Ross, drawled, coming close enough she could make out his features in the bright light.

What were they—a tag team?

Two police cruisers, blue lights strobing, and a barricade with orange lights seemed overkill for a simple traffic stop. Of course, she’d probably given them fodder for sly jokes at the station house for months with this stunt.

While she might pretend nonchalance, a hint of where this was going would do a lot to quell her rising anxiety. But so far, they were letting her sweat. Where Deputy Chavez’s face didn’t betray an ounce of humor, Ross’s lips were pressed together in a thin line as though he fought a smile.

Time to bait the trap.

“I was in a hurry when I left the house,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder just to make sure Deputy Ross got an eyeful of what her hair had covered.

“Ma’am, you’ll need to step away from the bike,” Deputy Chavez broke in.

If Ross’s slow perusal was a balm to her pride, Chavez’s stony expression was the pinprick slowly deflating her confidence…which kind of turned her on.

However, if she moved off the bike, he’d see the wet spot on the leather—and how embarrassing would that be?

“Whenever you’re ready,” Deputy Chavez growled. “Refusing isn’t an option.”

“Why? You gonna frisk me?”

“I don’t think I have to,” he said with a sharpened edge to his voice. “I can tell you’re not carrying.”

“What gave it away, Deputy?” she said, flashing him a smile she hoped would thaw his icy reserve.

“I’ve got an eye for concealed weapons.”

“Then you obviously missed a couple suspicious lumps,” she said, drawing out her words in the sexiest whisper she could manage.

A muscle flexed along his strong, square jaw. “Do you want me to search you?”

“I wouldn’t want you to give me any special favors on account of who my daddy is.”

“Wouldn’t think of it,” he said silkily. “Wonder what the judge is going to say when we bring you in.”

Up to that point, Sarah had thought the two men were just having a little fun at her expense, but Chavez’s face didn’t show a flicker of what was really going through his mind. For the first time, she wondered if she wasn’t going to be able to talk her way out of this after all. “We don’t have to wake Daddy up for something so minor, do we, boys? Can’t we work something out?”

“What do you have in mind, kitten?” Deputy Ross murmured.

Her gaze swung from Chavez’s impassive face to Ross’s. His smile was appreciative, something she could work with. Maybe he’d be willing to convince his friend to let this incident slide right under the carpet.

“I don’t know, Deputy Ross. Neither of you have been in Honkytonk long. You don’t know how things really work in our little town.”

“And you want to help us out? Hear that, Joe? Sarah here is worried about us. Sounds mighty neighborly of you, Sarah.”

“Logan…” Deputy Chavez said, his deep voice rising in warning. “Go run her plates.”

“Sure. This is your bust.” His gaze flickered over Sarah’s chest, and a grin split his face.

Sarah narrowed her eyes at him until he sauntered back to his squad car.

Alone with Chavez, she took a deep breath, looking at him from beneath the brush of her eyelashes to see if his gaze followed the movement of her chest.

Nope, his gaze was locked on her face. Deciding that maybe she should give him a little cooperation before she completely pissed him off, she kicked down the stand and climbed off her bike, knowing she was giving him an eyeful of her moist pussy—which, again, really turned her on. “Look, I know this looks bad.”

“This looks like you’re racking up multiple misdemeanor counts, Miss Michelson.”

No hesitation. No clearing his throat because she’d shocked or pleased him. Damn, he was a tough nut to crack. “Honestly, it’s just a little harmless hell raising.”

The deputy shook his head, his expression turning downright grim. “Ever seen a person lay a bike down on pavement? Seen what road burn can do a person’s skin?”

Was he worried about her skin? She shook her head and stepped closer until only a few measly inches separated his Kevlar-cloaked chest and her beaded nipples.

“Ever seen what can happen when a head hits the pavement without a helmet?” he continued.

“It’s not against the law to ride without a helmet.”

“It is against the law to ride buck naked in public.”

She quirked one side of her mouth up. “But I’m not completely nude.”

His chest rose, swift and hard. “Cowboy boots and chaps don’t cover the important parts.”

Sarah let her gaze sweep his body in a slow once-over. She lifted one brow when she locked with his dark brown eyes. “So you did notice my ‘parts.’”

“I notice everything, Miss Michelson. This time you went too far.”

She cocked her head to the side. “How’d you know about this ahead of time anyway? You had time to get a roadblock up.”

“Do you think this is all about you?” he said evenly. “Maybe we were here stopping drunk drivers.”

“On this little horse trail of a road? Come on, who ratted me out?”

Deputy Chavez’s jaw flexed, but otherwise he didn’t betray any emotion. The man had to be made of stone. “A concerned citizen phoned in.”

She snorted. “Concerned—my ass. It was just someone who didn’t want to lose a bet. Don’t be a killjoy. Don’t you ever do something just because it’s fun?”

“Ma’am, pardon me for saying this, but your daddy should have spanked you more when you were a child.”

“Daddy would never raise a hand against me.”

“Well, he didn’t do you any favors.”

All this talk about spanking was getting her flustered. Her face grew warm; sweat beaded on her upper lip. She licked it away and tilted her head, widening her eyes to let him see a hint of worry. “Look, there’s no reason for us to get into a fuss. There must be something I can do to make this right.”

“You can. You can turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

Her breath huffed. “You can’t be serious.”

“As a heart attack.”

“No warrants on that bike, Joe!” Deputy Ross called out, approaching them again.

“Of course there’s not,” Sarah huffed. “It’s my goddamn bike.” Deputy Chavez’s expression tightened, and she knew her attitude wasn’t helping matters one bit, so she tried another tack, forcing her mouth into a tiny smile that never failed to make men melt. “Deputy, isn’t there some way for us to work a trade? Something you want that will make you forget all about this?”

His gaze narrowed, landing on her lips. “What do you have in mind?”

She bit her lip to make sure his attention stayed there. “If you go easy on me…I’ll be easy for you.”

Deputy Ross’s low, rumbling chuckle was encouraging.

“Let me get this straight,” Deputy Chavez said. “Are you offering me sexual favors in exchange for me forgetting about the ticket I’m getting ready to write?”

She eyed him with suspicion. “Not if it means you’re just gonna slap me with more charges.”

“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah…” Something in Ross’s softly stated words warned her she was pushing his buddy a little too far.

But she wasn’t the patient sort, and Deputy Chavez was a challenge she couldn’t back down from.

Why’d he have to be such a handsome man? If he’d been butt-ugly, she might have stood a chance at charming him. She’d like nothing better than to offer the deputy something he’d never have a hope of getting if he didn’t already have a face that could make any woman wet.

Darker than Deputy Ross, with tawny skin, black hair, dark, hooded eyes, and a large, muscular frame that could sink a woman’s body deep into a soft mattress when he covered her, she could barely withhold a deep, lustful sigh just looking at him.

Surely there was a way to cut through his starchy reserve.

Maybe she could try reasoning with him rather than seducing him. “Look, this doesn’t have to be a big deal. How about you just let me turn my bike around, and I’ll go on home? No harm, no foul.”

“It’s a little too late for that,” Chavez said.

Sarah’s hands fisted by her hips, and her chin tilted. “Please. I don’t want to end up on my daddy’s docket.”

“Should have thought about that before you decided to take a ride on the wild side.”

“You see there?” she said, again biting her lower lip to call his attention to everything he was passing up. “That’s the problem. It’s not like this was premeditated. I didn’t decide. I didn’t think about it ahead of time. Danny Dawg dared me and then had the gall to bet the bar I wouldn’t have the nerve….”

The slow shake of his head told her he wasn’t swayed by her lame-ass argument.

“Argh!” she growled and stomped her foot.

“Turn around. Give me your hands.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, pretending she wasn’t growing concerned. Her dad would have a cow if he knew she’d planned to ride naked past the Honkytonk bar because of a bet. However, she couldn’t think of another argument, because her breaths were quickening with her panic. She jerked around and put her hands behind her.

“Logan, why don’t you move those barricades out of the way?”

Deputy Chavez clipped two manacles around her wrists but didn’t step away immediately. A long, pregnant moment stretched her nerves tight as the heat radiating from his body warmed her backside.

“You change your mind?” she asked, her voice shaking, all bravado draining away.

“I’m going to do you a favor,” he said quietly, his breath lifting the fine strands of her hair beside her ear.

“What kind of favor?” she whispered back, her heart starting to race because she sensed he was relenting…and because he stood so close his scent teased her senses. Coffee and musky man.
Yum.

“I’m going to drive you back to your place and leave you with a warning.”

“That sounds more than fair,” she said softly.

“And you won’t give me any more trouble from here on out on my watch, you hear?”

“You mean forever?” she said, unable to suppress the disbelief in her tone. Didn’t he know he was asking the impossible?

“Yeah. As long as I’m here. No trouble.”

“I can try, but I can’t promise you a thing beyond tonight. Shit happens around me. I don’t plan on getting into trouble, but somehow I end up on a highway in my birthday suit and a pair of boots….”

“If you don’t stay out of trouble, you can count on the fact I’m gonna know about it.”

“You have people watching me?”

“You can bet on it.”

Sarah swallowed hard. “Because I’m a troublemaker?”

“Because I’m staking a claim.”

Goddamn, he did not just say that. Did he know he was waving a red flag right in front of her nose? “I’m not property. I won’t be
staked
.”

“Funny, I thought that was what you were asking me to do when you were trying to bargain with me.”

She swallowed again. Despite his arrogant claim, her body didn’t seem the least bit offended. Fact was, pleasure slid right down her inner thighs. “Deputy?” she whispered.

“Yes, Miss Michelson?” he said just as softly.

“I have a confession to make.”

“Confession’s good for the soul. So I hear.”

“Glad you think so….” She paused and wet her lips, this time because her mouth was dry. “I’m carrying.”

“You slide a weapon somewhere I can’t see?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sarah…” A deep breath fluttered across her cheek. “I’m not playing games with you tonight. I’m on duty.”

“I won’t tell. I don’t think your friend will either.”

Footsteps crunched from the direction of the other squad car. “Man, you have to search her now,” Logan said. “She says she’s concealing a weapon. Um…I have to go gather up the flares.”

A low groan sounded behind her. “Little witch! Spread ’em,” he said, nudging apart her feet until her stance was wide. Cool air licked between her legs and carried the scent of the arousal gathering along the folds of her sex.

“Ah, God,” she said and bit her lips because his large, warm hands landed on her shoulders, and she thought she might just melt into a puddle.

He started at her neck, lifting her long hair, thumbs skimming beneath the thick fall, pressing deep enough she sighed and tilted back her head. Then his hands glided over her shoulders, down her left arm and then her right. Hands skimmed her back and slid around her waist to smooth upward and check beneath her breasts.

Her breath caught, and his hands paused, thumbs nudging the tender undersides.

“Nothing hidden here,” he murmured.

“Not curious about whether they’re real?”

His breath deepened, and his hands cupped her breasts, lifting them to deliver a squeeze. “No foreign objects there.”

Sarah smiled and then gasped as thumbs flicked her tightly beaded tips, but he didn’t linger. His hands slid to her sides again and then to her hips, sinking lower to cup her buttocks. When fingers glided between her legs and slid through the fluid smeared on her inner thighs, they slowed.