Cowboy Up (Coming Home #3)

“And what did you do when she touched what isn’t hers anymore? When she touched what’s mine?”

I look back at her, shocked by the brazen words, still expecting to see her anger but there isn’t any to be found. Her eyes are dancing but no longer spitting fire. Curiosity, maybe, but her trust in me is clear as she waits for me to explain.

“I grabbed her wrist and told her never to do that shit again, but whether she actually heeds that is another story.”

Caroline nods, lifting one hand to run through my hair as she studies me. She repeats the process again as the silence ticks on before leaning forward and pressing her lips to mine in a quick kiss.

“Does she know you’re seein’ someone?”

I nod, my grip tightening just a hair, her body pressing more firmly against mine. “I told her, and seein’ as I said I was buildin’ the future I hadn’t wanted with her with you, I’m thinkin’ she got the point. I made sure she knew that not only do I dislike her disrespectin’ the woman I’m buildin’ a life with, she doesn’t have a chance of makin’ that life with me.”

Her eyes, which were locked on my lips while I spoke, jumped to mine. “What?”

“What part, darlin’?”

“I’m not sure,” she gasps.

“Caroline,” I murmur with a smile.

“Well,” she starts, scooting her bottom closer and rubbing against me, smiling when I groan. “I’m not happy that happened, but I think I like knowin’ that you said all that to her. She doesn’t deserve your kindness after what happened, even if it makes me a bitch to say so. I mean, I understand if you told her that to get her off your back and all. We haven’t really put titles on us or anything, I mean. Is that what was botherin’ you? That I might think you wanted for us what she hoped to get from you before y’all broke up?”

“I think it bothers me more that you think I wouldn’t want that.”

She deflates in my hold, just a tiny bit. “You were clear when we talked about it how you felt about marriage. Even if we were at that point where we’d be talkin’ about it, I know where you stand.”

“Stood, Linney. I’m not standin’ there anymore.”

“What?” she breathes.

I smile, leaning my face closer, and take her mouth in a deep kiss. She grabs ahold of my hair, pulling slightly, and sighs into my mouth. I kiss her slow, moving my tongue against hers in lazy glides. Her hips start moving against mine in a dance of pure torture. Each time she presses forward, I thrust up off the bed, and it doesn’t take much of that for us to become too breathless to continue kissing.

“One of these days,” I tell her as I roll her onto her back, “I’m gonna have a talk with you about our future.” My hips lift and I reach between us to guide my cock into her body. “And darlin’, I’m gonna have one hell of a different way of explainin’ my thoughts for our future than I did back then. Until that time comes, you just let me love you slow and fuck you bad.”





13


CAROLINE


“Close” by Ryan Kinder

- -

The second he starts moving inside of me, I know this is different than any other time. Our night at the motel had been fueled by lust and the mystery the darkness created. It had been frantic, both of us knowing we only had that night. Earlier, in the shower it was just as rushed, but driven by the need our tantalizing past few weeks. This though . . . this is a profound kind of coupling. With every slow thrust I can feel the words he knows I’m not ready to hear. But, as I look up into his clear eyes, I hope he can see what I’m not ready to say.

I’m quickly becoming dependent on what’s building between us, and after hearing what he just said, I know I’m not alone.

I could go the rest of my life with nothing more than what he’s giving me now as long as I continue to feel wholly and completely adored by him. I might not have tons of experience with relationships, but I do know what we share is special. He hits a spot deep inside me and I push my head back on a moan.

With each lazy thrust into my body, I feel him battering down the remnants of the walls I’ve put up. With each precious kiss, he promises me a future without hurt. When he looks deep into my eyes and plunges into me, I clamp down and come so hard it steals my breath. And when he starts picking up speed, taking me harder, I drag my nails down his back and feel my orgasm bleed into a second. With my moans echoing his, his come shoots into my body, and I know I’m going to give him every bit of myself until he has it all.

I close my eyes with a smile, my legs falling from their tight hold on his hips, and rub his back lazily.

“You hungry?” he questions when my stomach’s grumbling breaks the afterglow.

I hum my answer, but don’t move to actually do something about it and let him go. We both groan as he slips free.

“Come on. Let me feed you, darlin’,” he jokes with a smile when my stomach continues talking.

He tosses me one of his shirts with a handsome smirk, watching me closely as I cover up. I can only imagine the blush covering my body under his watchful gaze, but it isn’t from feeling shy. When he groans a complaint over losing the sight of my naked body, I feel the heat of arousal and pride knowing I can make a man as perfect as Clayton Davis come undone like that.

I push my hair out of my face and smile up at him. He says something under his breath about never letting me wear clothes again before pulling his jeans over his own nakedness. He has to tuck his still-hard length down before zipping them up, leaving the button undone.

“That can’t feel good,” I muse, pointing out the impression of his erection clear through the worn denim.

“It’s not, but if I don’t get us both fed, I won’t have the energy to do anything about it later.”

“You sound like I’m a sure thing,” I joke.

“Prayin’ you are, darlin’. I’d live in that sweet pussy if I could.”

I gasp, swatting his abs. He only smiles bigger and pulls me to my feet, kissing me hard. When we finally manage to leave his bedroom and get some food, it’s almost nine at night. I have no idea how two hours passed so quickly, but I shouldn’t be surprised by his stamina. I know from our first night together he can go until I pass out from his lovemaking.

“I think I’m goin’ to sell when the rebuild is finished,” I tell him after taking the last bite of my sandwich.

He doesn’t look away, frowning slightly.

“I’ve been thinkin’ about it a lot these past few weeks and, well, I don’t really want to be livin’ forty-five minutes away anymore. I used to think bein’ that far from Pine Oak was a good thing, but now, not so much.”

His face gets soft when my explanation sinks in. “What are you thinkin’?”

“The buildin’ next to the hardware store is openin’ up. The lady who owned it doesn’t want to deal with the trouble of ownin’ a business now that she’s gettin’ older, so I was considerin’ opening back up there.”

“Miz Jordan’s? The florist?”