Trouble With a Cowboy (19 page)

"Jacie,
look at me."

Her
lips firmed into a straight line while she held back the three little words she
couldn't say to him. Seconds later, she lifted her gaze to his.

"Tell
me what's bothering you."

"It's
nothing, Tucker, really. I'm just realizing this little fantasy we've created
over the last couple of weeks is almost over." She lifted one shoulder in
a shrug. "No big deal. It makes me a little sad. That's all."

"Let's
not think beyond tonight. All right? We are here to enjoy ourselves. Tomorrow
we'll head for home and worry about things then." He stood and came around
the table to pull out her chair. "We'll finish up with the awards tonight,
spend the morning naked in bed and figure the rest out later. I've already paid
for late checkout, so we can leave later in the afternoon."

The
awards didn't take long at all. She won third place and got a healthy check and
Tucker made the rounds of those present for the handshakes and slaps of
congratulations. A few men even made arrangements with him for breeding already
for the next season.

When
they returned to the room, he tried everything to get her out of the funk she
had gotten lost in, from trying to make her laugh, to teasing her until she
couldn't stand it anymore and begged him to make love to her.

In
the wee hours of the morning, she lay on his chest staring out at the
flickering lights of the Vegas Strip. His slow, even breathing told her he
slept, but she couldn't. Tomorrow would be the beginning of the end. Once they
arrived in Littleton to pick up her trailer and meet the driver who would take
over the rest of his trip to Austin, it would be over. She would make the rest
of the trek home to Tennessee, alone.

"I'm
sorry, Tucker," she whispered, pressing her lips to his chest so he really
wouldn't hear her. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." One lone
tear, slipped from her eye and down her nose. "I'll walk away because I
love you."

* * * *

Morning
sun streaked through the curtains on the window, dragging her from a fitful
sleep. She groaned and rolled over, only to find the space next to her empty
and cold.

"Tucker?"

"In
here," he called. "I was about to wake you up. Breakfast is here. I
figured we could eat and be on the road in a couple of hours."

Great. He's in a hurry to get rid
of me.

"Sure,"
she replied, crawling from the bed and sliding on the white robe.

The
food smelled wonderful. Crisp bacon, fluffy eggs, toast, hash browns and strong
coffee lay spread out on the dining room table.

"My
lady," he said with a smile as he held out her chair.

She
tried to smile in return, but she couldn't find it in her heart. Sadness and
loneliness surrounded everything now making it difficult to even function.

When
they had finished breakfast, they silently packed their belongings and she said
a soundless goodbye to the room she had been able to pretend in for the last
several days.

They
returned the rental car keys to the concierge desk and walked out to her truck.
The truck turned over with a twist of the key and she took a deep breath in
order to focus. The next couple of days she would give everything to him to
build memories to sustain her for the long days to come.

Within
an hour, they had the bull and her mare loaded into the trailer and she pulled
the truck onto the highway headed for Littleton, Oklahoma. Macy curled up in
Tucker's lap and went to sleep.

"You're
awfully quiet," he said, opening up the conversation as his hand swept
over the cat's fur.

"Just
thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing
special."

"Not
even us?"

"There
is no us, Tucker. There is you and me and we'll be parting ways day after
tomorrow when I drop you in Littleton."

"What
if I said I wanted there to be?"

She
snapped her head around so fast, her neck cracked. "You don't mean that.
Neither one of us is in love with the other and I won't settle for less. I
can't. We've had a good time over the last couple of weeks, but we both knew
going in, it would be a short term thing. You'll be going home to your ranch,
raising your cattle and doing whatever else it is you do and I'll be on the
road running back and forth along Interstate forty, trying to stay out of the
ditches."
 
Yeah. He might buy that.

"You're
right. It's been fun, but we both need to move on."

Those
words were the last thing she wanted to hear.

Her
cell phone jingled in the pocket beside her seat.
Pam
, came up on the screen.

"Hey,
baby girl. What's shakin'?"

The
first smile she had been able to muster, spread across her face. "Hey,
Pam."

"You
rollin' this way?"

"Yep."

"You
stoppin' here tonight? Could use some company."

"We
can I suppose." She glanced at Tucker and he nodded stiffly. "Sure we
can, Pam. It would give the animals a break and make it easy enough to roll on
into Littleton tomorrow evening."

"Sounds
good. I'll get some food on and see you about five?"

"Yes,
ma'am."

"You
got that hunk of a man with you?"

"Yes,
Pam. Tucker is in the cab with me."

"Well,
good."

"Talk
to you in a few hours."

She
snapped the phone shut and slid it back into her pocket.

"Are
you going to stay with me in the trailer tonight?" he asked, his voice a
little husky.

"Do
you want me to?"

"Of
course, Jacie. I never said I didn't want to still make love to you."

The
lump in her throat almost choked her, but she couldn't tell him no. The need to
have his arms around her drove her past reason and past the guard on her heart.
If it would be the last night she would make love with him, then so be it. She
would give him everything she had and pray he didn't see through the façade of the
nonchalant attitude she carried.

The
five hours it took to get to Pam's felt like forever, but then not long enough.
She wanted this trip to go on because in the end, it meant walking away from
Tucker.

Christmas
lights glowed as they made the turn into Pam and Jack's driveway. Sometime in
the last two weeks, Jack had put all the lights up. Her friends went all-out
with their decorations. Santa Claus and his reindeer rested on the rooftop, a
huge snow globe sat in the front yard with carolers inside and they had enough
lights to brighten the darkest night.

Jacie
backed the truck up to the gate so they could let the animals out, and then set
it up near the electrical outlet like they had done before. By the time
everything was set, Pam stood on the porch with a big grin on her face. Tears
stung the back of Jacie's eyes as she walked into Pam's hug.

"Oh,
honey. It'll be fine."

"Thanks,
Pam. Have you got some good home cookin' for us? I'm kind of tired of eating
out."

"You
bet. I made a nice roast with potatoes, gravy and vegetables. I hope you're
hungry."

"
Starvin
'," Tucker answered, stepping up on the porch.

"Nice
to see you again."

"Thanks,
Pam. I hope we aren't intruding."

"Never!"
Pam waved him off with a flip of her hand. "I love company. Come on in,
grab some coffee and sit a bit. Dinner will be ready in a jiffy."

"Anything
I can do to help?" Jacie asked, hoping she could have a moment to talk to
Pam alone."

"Sure,
honey. You can make the gravy."

Jacie
poured Tucker some coffee and took it to him in the living room. "Thanks,
darlin'."

"You're
welcome."

He
brushed his lips against hers but she couldn't muster the energy to even return
his kiss. His eyebrows dipped over his eyes and he cocked his head to the side.
"Everything okay?"

"Yeah.
Fine," she replied, turning toward the kitchen.

The
kitchen door closed behind her and Pam asked, "So what's up with you and
Mr. Gorgeous in there?"

"Nothing,
why?"

"Please,
baby girl. I know you better than that. He's done wound himself around your
heart, hasn't he?"

Jacie
dropped her gaze to the countertop. "Yeah."

"Oh,
honey," Pam murmured, wrapping Jacie in her warm embrace. "Everything
will work out. You'll see."

"I
hope so, Pam, but I can't see how. Tucker doesn't want any kind of a
relationship. When I drop him in Littleton tomorrow evening, it will be over
and done with."

"I
think he cares more for you than you are giving him credit for. I saw the way
he looked at you."

"Lust
is what you saw. Nothing more."

"I'm
not so sure."

"I
am." Jacie grabbed the whisk and stirred the gravy. "Let's drop it,
okay?"

Several
moments later, they called the men in for supper. Her host and hostess kept the
conversation lively through dinner although it seemed her and Tucker didn't
have a lot to say.
 

After
they had finished eating and Jacie helped Pam clean up, she and Tucker said
their goodnights and walked silently toward the trailer. She stopped to grab
Macy from the truck.

"You
know if you don't want to sleep in the trailer with me, you don't have
to," Tucker said as they reached the door and waited for her to step inside.

"I
want to."

"You
sure don't act like it, Jacie. It's almost like you can't wait to get away from
me."

Without
thinking about the consequences or how her heart would break tomorrow, she
wrapped her hand behind his head and pulled his mouth to hers, earning her a
growl and a hiss from Macy squished between them. The low growl he emitted told
her of his desire and it matched her own. She wanted this man—needed him with
everything inside her and if tonight was going to be the last time she would
have to make love with him, she would throw heart and soul into it.

She
tugged him inside, shut the door and led him into the bedroom as Macy crawled
onto the back of the couch and hissed her displeasure.

"Make
love to me, Tucker. One last time," she whispered against his lips.

"But—"

She
silenced him with another kiss. Slipping her tongue between his lips, she
captured his moan inside her mouth. Hands roamed, fingers skimmed, clothes disappeared
and mouths sought each other with every second. Tonight she would remember
forever.

They
fell across the bed in a tangle of arms, legs and bare skin. No words were
needed. This would be all touching, tasting, smelling and memorizing all of
him.

His
lips moved from her mouth to her ear. He nibbled on the lobe with his teeth for
a moment before he slipped down to the soft skin beneath her ear. His journey
continued over her shoulder and across her chest to taste her breast. Lips
suckled and pulled. Her back arched toward his mouth as a whimper escaped her.
First the right breast, then the left. When his mouth moved to the other, his
fingers took their place.

Seconds
later, his tongue flicked the bellybutton ring at her navel.

Breath
hitched in her throat as he continued down to between her parted thighs. His
tongue brushed over her clit, driving her desire higher. Tonight there would be
no teasing. Tonight he made her come hard with hardly any foreplay at all, but
he made sure she had two orgasms before he slid his hard cock deep into her
waiting center. She wrapped both legs around his hips, desperate to hold him
close.

Soft
moans and deep groans mingled in the silence only to be broken as he whispered,
"Come for me, Jacie."

Toes
tingled. Heat crawled up her legs. Her pussy throbbed with every thrust of his
hips until the whole thing centered low in her belly and burst through her middle
like an aerial firework on the Fourth of July.

Tucker
growled his own release moments later, and then collapsed on her chest as he
buried his nose in her neck.

"Are
you all right?"

"Hmmm,"
she murmured, stroking his shoulders with her fingers.

He
rolled off and pulled her close. "Shit."

"What?"

"I
need to flip on the heat. It's cooling off in here now that we aren't
generating our own heat." He kissed the top of her head and scooted out of
the bed. Light from the huge floodlight outside played across his features,
outlining every valley and crevice of his muscles. Need and desire sizzled down
her back. The man could turn her on without doing anything at all.

"True."

Once
the heat came on, he crawled onto the bed with her, pulled the blankets up and
snuggled in for the night.