Cocky in a Cowboy Hat (Crossroads Book 3)

by Em Petrova

  “I…thank you, Aidan. It means a lot.”

  His gaze traveled over her, and though his face was mostly in shadow, she felt the caress of his eyes against her skin.

  Without warning, he stood and reached for his shirt buttons.

  Her mouth fell open. What was he…? Was he…stripping?

  He nimbly worked down his buttons until the shirt hung open to his navel. Then he flicked aside his belt buckle.

  Liberty squeezed her thighs together at the striptease of all stripteases. Hot interest spread through her belly like melted butter. Speechless, she watched him peel his shirt off his broad shoulders and drape it over the lawn chair. He faced her again, holding her stare, almost daring her to say something about what he was doing.

  She looked to the bubbling surface and right back to him. She almost choked on her tongue.

  The man dropped his jeans, pushing them down the thick bulge in his underwear, over his hips and let them fall to the deck. He stepped out of them. In one stride, he reached the edge of the hot tub.

  Liberty skirted along the side to get out of his way, but he stepped in directly next to her and crowded her into the corner.

  Breathing hard, she fought to make sense of his actions. She found it hard to believe he simply decided to relax in the hot depths and reap the benefits after a hard day of beating his body with work. But she could be misreading him entirely. That moment where he grasped her by the hips while chopping wood. When he trapped her against the truck.

  She turned to him.

  He zeroed in on her lips.

  “Aidan.”

  His throat worked. “Fuck it.” He reached for her at the same time she threw herself at him.

  He threaded his fingers into the length of her hair, tugging the strands even as he captured the point of her chin in between his thumb and forefinger. Harsh pants passed through her lungs as she stared at his stubbled jaw, his perfectly formed lips that appeared impossibly hard.

  She clung to his shoulders, anchoring herself to his broad chest.

  “I’m gonna kiss you and hope you don’t hate me.”

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t hate you.”

  “Then I’m gonna kiss you and hope I can stop.”

  With no response to that, she tilted her face up. When he swooped in and slammed his mouth across hers, a faint moan erupted from her throat. He pressed down, applying the perfect balance of tenderness and insistence.

  Her mind blanked at the first taste of the man. At some point he’d sipped a beer and she tasted the crisp notes on his lips overlaying the musky flavor of man. She swiped her tongue over his mouth, and at the same moment, they parted to each other. Their tongues shot out to tangle together. The rumble of his growl vibrated through her, making her clench her fingers into his shoulders.

  He angled her head and dived in deeper, taking their kiss up a notch. Passion froze her for a second, and she seemed unable to move, locked to Aidan’s mouth, riveted to his body.

  When he teased the tip of his tongue along her upper lip, she gave in to the need and moved onto his lap, straddling him. Through wet cotton, she felt the ridge of his erection press upward into her pussy. She moaned out, and he tore from the kiss.

  Staring at her, panting, he rasped, “Liberty.”

  Her stare wandered over his throat where his pulse hammered and to his angled jaw shadowed with coarse hairs. She continued upward, learning the planes of his face, nose and finally landed in the icy pools of his eyes.

  “I shouldn’t be doing this.” His voice sounded like sandpaper roughed across her nerves.

  “We definitely didn’t negotiate this.”

  He nuzzled her nose with his. Her stomach dipped low, and she shifted against him. Her pussy stroked along his hard cock, and they shared a groan.

  “You can’t move like that, baby.” In direct opposition to his statement, he slipped his fingers from her hair, over her nape and down her spine. Each glide of his hand molded her to him in a brand-new way, until wet skin stuck to wet skin. When he grasped her by the hip, there was no earthly way she could remain still in his lap. She rocked, and he took her mouth again.

  Kissing had never been very good for her, but kissing Aidan proved to be a whole other experience. Since coming to the ranch, she’d experienced a lot of firsts, but this was by far the best.

  He sucked on her tongue, and she shuddered in his arms. As she ran her hands over his biceps, forearms and up to explore his chiseled chest, she lost all her reservations about holding back. Hadn’t she come here with a promise to herself to live her life to the absolute fullest?

  Gliding her hands down his chest and kissing him in the hot tub was the hottest moment of her life. She swiped her tongue over his, lifting another noise from his chest. She could become addicted to that vibration against her nipples and did it again.

  Suddenly, he broke the kiss, leaning to stare into her eyes. Desire lay heavy in the depths of his. Slowly, he dragged his thumbs up her bare stomach, the undercurve of her breasts and then stroked across her nipples. Gut-clenching need took hold of her, causing her to breathe faster.

  “Could you…see my body the other night in the hot tub?” she whispered.

  He curled his fingers around her upper arms. “Enough to lie awake and hard half the night.”

  She dragged in a gasp at his words. “I couldn’t sleep either. I kept hearing you rolling in bed and thought…” Her cheeks heated from more than the hot water.

  He cupped her face and took her mouth again in a long kiss that told her he knew exactly what she’d been thinking that night.

  Her insides pulsated with want as he dragged her into the caress. The faintest pressure of his fingertips on her spine had her rocking slightly. Her clit tightened beneath her panties and each brush against his ridged cock had her spilling juices.

  When he raised his head and pierced her in his heavy, intense stare, she shivered. “I can’t sleep with my ranch hand.”

  “I can’t sleep with my boss.”

  He dragged his thumbs over her nipples again in that same achingly slow pass. “Christ, I want to. Liberty, you’ve been driving me crazier each day.”

  Had she? She caught him staring at her more than once, and there’d been a few moments in tight spots between them. But the idea that he’d spent days and days in this state…

  She felt as if the air had been sucked from the atmosphere and her temp rose higher. What did she have to lose? If she didn’t grab onto this chance of a night of passion, she might never get another in her entire life, with Aidan or anybody else.

  If things got weird after, well…she’d walk away and leave the ranch behind.

  Boldly, she slipped her arms around his neck. “Aidan, I want you. Don’t turn me away.”

  All at once, he gripped her ass and stood with her. Water sluiced off their bodies, and he climbed out of the hot tub. In a few strides, he crossed the deck with her in his arms. Cool air blasted across her skin, but it didn’t do a thing to alleviate the desire scorching through her veins.

  He released his hold on her ass long enough to open the glass door, step inside and shut it behind them.

  “What about turning off the hot tub?”

  “Later.” He latched onto the side of her throat as he navigated the rooms of the house. His hot lips working over her neck sent ribbons of heat shooting through her limbs, and she clung to him to keep from passing out.

  In the hallway between their bedroom doors, he paused.

  “Your bed or mine?” she asked.

  “Mine.” His voice sounded as though he forced out the syllable. “I want to smell you on my sheets afterward.”

  A thrill hit her belly, and she crushed her mouth over his as he burst into his room with her in his arms.

  Chapter Seven

  As he peeled the wet cotton off her body, leaving her glistening with wetness in his bed, he let out a groan. “I knew you’d be like this, baby.”

  She sucked in sharply
as he skated his lips across hers, down her chin and continued to her throat. While he blazed a path to her breasts, she raked at his back, and damn if the idea of wearing those tiger stripes of redness on his skin didn’t turn him on more.

  She looped her ankle around his ass and pressed into his cock. The mushroomed head swelled against her slippery hot folds. Fuck, what he wouldn’t give to forego the barrier of a condom and sink into her tight heat.

  Her skin pebbled with goosebumps beneath his lips as he continued around her nipple. When he sucked the point into his mouth, he watched the bliss cross her beautiful face. He’d known she’d be like this, all right—arching beneath him as he drew throaty moans from him. Hell, he’d experienced enough dreams about it in the days they worked and lived together.

  What he was doing right now already cost him his sanity. The thing that concerned him more was how intimacy would affect their relationship. He didn’t want her to leave because of him.

  Hovering over the tip of her nipple, he caught her stare. “Liberty, if we do this…”

  “Don’t you dare stop, Aidan!”

  The force of her tone struck him as humorous, and he chuckled as he took her nipple between his teeth again, gently worrying it back and forth. She issued a soft cry, arousing him more. He loved that she knew what she wanted from him and how to get it.

  As he sucked on her nipple, he walked his fingers over her body, learning each curve and dip. The hollow of her hips edged into a womanly flare that’d been torturing him day and night. Now to put his hands on them… His cock gave a hard throb, and precum pooled at the tip.

  Using the flat of his tongue, he skimmed it down between her breasts all the way to her navel. She dug her fingers into his scalp as he moved lower and lower. The scent of her arousal only heightened his need to take her, make her scream, make her his.

  Where the possessive streak came from, he didn’t know. But he wasn’t dwelling on it right now when there was a tight, juicy clit right before him ready to be sucked.

  He licked the hardened bundle of nerves.

  Liberty’s hips came off the bed, filling his mouth with pussy.

  He went nuts—licking, lapping and sucking on her clit, gliding his tongue between the seam all the way to her dripping hole. He spent long minutes delving his tongue into the hot juices and savoring her musky sweet taste. Fuck—he hadn’t had this in so long he’d forgotten how good it felt to pleasure a woman with his mouth.

  “Aidan!” Her harsh rasps and the spill of juices on his tongue alerted him to how close he’d brought her to the edge of insanity. He scuffed his jaw along her inner thigh, and she bucked.

  Spreading her thighs wider, he fit his jaw against her pussy while he sucked on her clit. Batting it with his tongue. Drawing curlicues around and around until her stomach dipped inward and she tensed.

  A rough, raw cry burst out of her as her flesh spasmed against his face. Her clutch on his hair went lax as she squirmed with every pulsation of her release. While she was still gasping, he shot up her body and took her mouth even as he fumbled in the nightstand drawer for a condom. The stash had been there a while, but he had enough to get them through this night.

  She pressed on his shoulders, and he rolled into the sheets. Then Mizz Liberty Baker took control. She straddled him, took the condom from him and rolled it slowly over his hard length.

  He ground his teeth at the feel of her nimble fingers against his dick, but he clung to control until she seated the rubber at the base. She kissed his neck, over his chest, exploring with her tongue and garnering moans from him. She cupped his balls in one hand, lightly toying with him. His cock bobbed in the air, and she captured it in her grip, giving it one long pump.

  The glint in her eyes when she saw she could give him pleasure too…hell, had he ever felt his heart thump like this before?

  He grabbed her waist and seated him over him. “Sink over me, baby. Take my cock.”

  They’d gone straight from a fledgling friendship to dirty talk in the span of an hour. Holding her gaze, he watched her face change as she slowly filled her pussy with his cock.

  His balls throbbed with every long heartbeat that stretched between her sliding down his length and clasping all of him inside her body.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, going still on him.

  His throat worked. “Fuck, baby. Ride me.”

  She knew how to take instruction and when to buck the system—she did both at once. Jerking her hips up and down at the same time clenching him with her inner walls and plucking at his nipples. He palmed her ass and helped her. When she slammed down on him, they shared a wild moan.

  The woman liked it hard—he’d show her hard.

  He flipped her over, threw one of her ankles over his shoulder and penetrated deep at the same instant he claimed her lips. He felt what could only be described as an earthquake in his core—if an earthquake caused a volcanic eruption. Molten need splashed through him, taking up his entire body and mind.

  Soft cries escaped her lips, and he tore free to meet her stare.

  “Come for me, baby. Now!” The command did something to him, because there was no holding off another second with Liberty. He plunged into her one last time as the first spurts of cum shot from him.

  His growl of pleasure mixed with Liberty’s breathless scream.

  He never expected the rush of tenderness that flooded in, let alone for it to happen milliseconds following their orgasm. Braced on his elbows, he looked into her eyes and saw the same wonder burning in hers.

  What the hell just happened? He felt as if he’d been struck by lightning or been run over by a train. When she reached up to brush the hair off his forehead, he found himself closing his eyes to the warmth spreading through him.

  She dragged him in deeper as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him to her.

  This was like no sex he’d ever known before. Typically after emptying his balls, he got up and went about his life, giving very little thought to the woman afterward. He hardly cared if he’d ever see her again.

  Not only could he not ignore Liberty after this…but he didn’t want to.

  He held her close, breathing in her sweet scent as they recovered from the demands they’d made on each other. The fact she matched him stroke for stroke wasn’t lost on him. She hadn’t lain there limp while he did all the work. She took what she wanted as well as gave.

  Hell. Now what?

  She skittered her lips over his shoulder. The pattering touch sent a jolt of desire to his cock again.

  He shot her a grin. “Round two?”

  Biting her lower lip, she nodded.

  * * * * *

  Liberty rubbed the towel over her wet hair and reached for her shirt. Even the slightest movement sent a twinge through her muscles, reminding her of how thoroughly she’d been loved all night long. It seemed as if Aidan had a GPS of her body and found every little spot that would drive her craziest…and he knew all the best places to eat too.

  She found herself smiling as she dried the excess water from her hair.

  Four times might be a new record for her, and it spoke of Aidan’s stamina—as if she expected anything less of the hardcore rancher.

  Her insides still felt puddled whenever her mind drifted to all they’d done together until the light of dawn touched the sky. Countless positions, innumerable orgasms. She’d sucked his cock until he forced her to stop, flipped her face down and pounded her from behind while rubbing circles over her clit.

  She yanked on her shirt and quickly hurried through the rest of her routine so she could hurry up and get to the chores. Part of her felt jittery with the urge to face Aidan in the daylight. Would things be different between them, or would she see the same glimmer in his eyes as she had last night?

  After she ran the brush through her hair and hung her towel over the edge of the hamper to dry, she finished dressing in jeans and her shitkickers. She grabbed her phone and spotted a message flashing across the scre
en.

  Account transfer complete.

  Transfer? What? She swiped her screen and used her thumbprint to unlock the phone so she could see her banking app. The only transfer that could take place would be in her checking account, and she hadn’t purchased anything or done mobile banking in several days.

  When she brought her account up, she stared down at the numbers. Too few numbers. Exactly half of the numbers that should be there.

  Frantically, she opened the account and checked the transactions. Sure enough, half the money had been transferred from her account into another. But whose?

  She didn’t need to recognize the account numbers to string together two thoughts and come up with the answer.

  Redding.

  Tears built in her throat. That no-good nasty…worm of a man…had stolen from her! She pushed a scream through the salty lump clogging her airway.

  The divorce was final! He’d taken everything from her kitchen oven mitts to part of her sanity. He sure as hell had a nice-sized portion of her confidence and soul. Now he stole money that her grandfather had willed to her?

  No damn way. The man wouldn’t get away with it.

  She stormed to the bedroom door and whipped it open. She needed to call her attorney immediately as well as the bank to demand to know how her ex managed to hack into her account and make a funds transfer.

  She raced outside to gulp in deep breaths. Another scream built in her throat, and she didn’t realize she expelled it until Aidan came running around the house. He mounted the porch steps in one giant leap and stopped right in front of her.

  He gripped her by the upper arms. “Are you hurt? What’s the matter?”

  Her mouth opened and closed. The words lodged there.

  Concern loomed on Aidan’s face. “Liberty, tell me what happened.”

  She held up her hand with the phone still clamped in it. “My ex.”

  Aidan’s expression hardened. “What did he do? Is he threatening you?”

  The tears that promised to break free did so in a tidal wave of pain, frustration and fury. Aidan grabbed her up and led her to the porch swing. She bent forward around her anguish while he crouched in front of her and tried to help.