It's All About That Cowboy

by Carly Bloom

  Casey lifted his head and watched her while still working magic with his fingers. “Can I—”

  He was talking to her. She’d seen his mouth move, but it was so freaking hard to hold her focus. “Can you what?” she gasped.

  “Can I…”

  “Hmm?”

  “Jess, I want inside you.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Please.”

  His finger slipped inside. Followed quickly by another. And then his mouth was on hers, forceful, but not crushing, and he was exploring—with tongue and fingers—slowly and intentionally, as if he had all the time in the world.

  Jessica thought she might lose her mind. She wasn’t in the mood for a Sunday drive. She was excited. Starved. Impatient. And he was torturing her. It was delicious torture, but still torture.

  She ran her hands down Casey’s back and gripped his very firm butt in an encouraging way. He responded and ground against her, harder and faster, as if he’d picked up on her sense of urgency. One of his legs was over hers; the other one was—where was the other one? Probably on the ground. The chaise simply wasn’t big enough for the both of them.

  Casey kissed her neck. Sucked on it. When was the last time Jessica had petted and made out with someone? She reached between them and felt the hard length of him. He whimpered into her neck and rubbed himself frantically against her as the chaise lounge squeaked and squawked.

  They were both hot and sweaty and panting like animals, and this was…fun.

  She hadn’t felt this excited, crazy, and free since the last time she’d made out with Casey Long.

  Casey stopped moving and slowly pulled his hand away. The only sound was the humming of the pool pump and their haggard breathing.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I told you I wanted to taste you. All of you.”

  She watched as he brought his fingers to his mouth, licked them, and then closed his eyes as if he’d just tasted heaven.

  Oh boy. That was hot. And she knew what was coming next. Or at least she hoped she did. She unbuttoned her shorts and slid down the zipper. Then she raised her hips, and Casey pulled off the shorts, along with her panties, in one fell swoop. No time for modesty now. Jessica’s hormones were in the pilot’s seat, and they were going full throttle.

  Without even a hint of hesitancy, Casey hoisted her legs up and over the armrests of the chaise. “Still pretty flexible, I see,” he said with a grin.

  Jessica gasped as the cool night air kissed her sensitive flesh, and then Casey kissed it, too.

  Goose bumps. Tingling. Humming.

  Was it the pool pump? Or was it her?

  “Oh, Casey…”

  It was definitely her.

  Casey moaned in answer and continued what he was doing. Plus a few other things with his fingers. Like pinching her nipples.

  “So good,” he mumbled against her. The vibration of his voice almost did her in. “So.” He licked her lightly. “Damn.” He licked her again. “Good.” He thrust his tongue inside her, and that was all it took.

  Fireworks exploded behind Jessica’s eyes as her body spasmed. Her toes curled. Her fingers tingled. She’d thought women who described their orgasms in that way were exaggerating. But it turned out, she’d been having inferior orgasms.

  Casey held her in a gentle suction until she couldn’t take it anymore. She gently pushed his face away, and he rose above her, gazing into her eyes.

  “Was that okay?”

  She nearly laughed. “Better than okay. You’ve learned some new tricks.”

  “Would you like to see some more?”

  “What else have you got up your sleeve?”

  Casey rose to his knees and unbuckled his belt. “Actually, it’s in my pants.”

  Chapter Nine

  Casey couldn’t believe this was happening. What had started off as him heading to his great-aunt’s funeral had ended with him crouched behind a fence and shrubbery having sex with the literal woman of his dreams. One who happened to be an ex-cheerleader. And judging by the position her legs were currently in, she could still do the splits.

  He was doing several things he could be arrested for, including destruction of property, because there wasn’t any way the chaise lounge would survive the night.

  It was by far the best day he’d had in a long time. Possibly in forever.

  “Do you have a condom?” Jessica asked.

  Shit. The question had the effect of a dart piercing a balloon. He patted his pockets even though he knew he didn’t have one. “I don’t think—”

  Jessica snapped her legs shut.

  “Jesus. Hold on. Don’t do anything hasty.”

  He looked around helplessly, dick out like a flagpole, as if a condom would materialize out of thin air.

  “Do you have one, or not?” Jess asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Oh no! Are you serious?”

  “I didn’t think to grab one on my way to my great-aunt’s funeral.”

  Jess sat up. Pulled her bra back down over her delicious, bouncy breasts. She was shutting down the party, and Casey didn’t blame her one bit. How could he? But he was still mighty frustrated and damn near ready to explode.

  His hands shook as he leaned over and snagged her shorts with the panties inside and tossed them to her.

  “Thanks,” she said, standing up and slipping them on. “I’m sorry—”

  “Don’t apologize, Jess. I’m glad you had the wherewithal to think about protection. I was, well, you know. Out of my ever-loving mind.” And he still was. It was pretty obvious, too, since he was standing there with his dick out, although it had definitely lost some of its enthusiasm. He started to zip up.

  “Don’t do that,” Jess said, licking her lips. “There are other ways to have fun.”

  Casey raised an eyebrow and stopped zipping.

  Jessica sat on the chaise, and its legs gave out. She grunted as she bounced on her butt.

  Casey snorted. And then Jess started to giggle. It rolled through him and tickled his ribs as he fought off the urge to join in.

  “Come here,” she said, rising to her knees and still smiling.

  “Jess, you don’t have to do this,” Casey said. “I’m fine. I’ve had a great time. Really.”

  Getting her off had been way more than a great time. He really didn’t need to do anything more.

  Jessica smirked at his hardening dick, which begged to disagree. She crooked a finger. “You’re giving yourself away.”

  Casey took a step toward her—the lady had given him an order and he wasn’t about to disappoint her—but over the humming of the pump and the pounding of his pulse in his head, he thought he heard footsteps.

  Dammit. He put a finger to his lips while shoving his dick in his pants.

  Sure enough, someone was coming. Casey looked over his shoulder to see Tyler Murphy peering over the top of the fence.

  “Hey, Sheriff Long, is everything okay?”

  Tyler was a busboy for the restaurant. He was also Casey’s neighbor’s kid. “Yeah, Tyler. Everything’s fine.”

  He glanced back at Jess. She was wild-eyed and putting herself back together while trying to back into the shadows.

  “Be careful, Jess—”

  Too late. Jessica stepped back and tripped on the broken chaise lounge. Casey lunged and caught her, and when their eyes met, she started to giggle again.

  Casey got an idea.

  “This young lady has had a bit too much to drink. I heard her wandering around back here.” He looked intently at Jess. “Feeling better now, ma’am?”

  Jessica crossed her arms and faked a hiccup. “Yes, Sheriff,” she slurred. “Much better.”

  None of that explained why Casey wasn’t wearing a shirt, and Tyler didn’t look 100 percent convinced. But what the hell was the kid doing back here anyway? Casey sniffed in the boy’s direction and picked up the faint, skunky odor of marijuana. “Did you come out here to check on the pump?” he asked. “Because
that’s a weird chore for a busboy.”

  Even in the dark, Casey could see the whites of Tyler’s eyes as he caught on to the position he was in. The kid probably came out here regularly to toke up. If Casey felt like looking, he was pretty sure he’d be able to find telltale signs of previous activity. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were stems and papers scattered about.

  Tyler seemed to come to the same conclusion. “Uh, I was just out here collecting cups and shit—uh, sorry—from around the pool and I thought I heard—”

  Casey raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms over his bare chest.

  “Thought I heard this lady being sick or something.”

  Jessica fake-hiccupped again, and Casey nearly busted out laughing. Everybody understood each other then.

  He nodded at Tyler. “I’ve got it under control.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tyler said with a smirk. “It sure looks like it.”

  “Get on back to work,” Casey said.

  Tyler saluted, turned, and loped back off in the direction of the hotel.

  Casey picked up his shirt and slipped it on. Jess still had her hand over her mouth, but it wasn’t containing her giggles very well.

  “Get some control over yourself, woman,” Casey said with a wink. “Or I’ll throw you in the drunk tank.”

  “We don’t have to call it quits, you know,” she said. “We can go somewhere else.”

  “Nah. I think we should quit while we’re ahead. I had a really good time.” He looked at her little T-shirt, her shorts with the top button still undone, and her mussed-up hair. “A really good time.”

  “So, let’s keep going. Swing by the Rite Aid and pick up a pack of condoms, head to your place, and get busy.” She wiggled her hips.

  God. It sounded so easy. And he loved how eager she was. But it was late, and there were other things to consider. “As much as I’d love to, I can’t just waltz into the Rite Aid with you to buy condoms. For one thing, I’m the sheriff.”

  “Sheriffs don’t have sex?”

  “They do it discreetly.”

  “Oh, is that what we were doing?” One corner of her mouth curled up. “Being discreet here in the shrubs behind the pool pump?”

  Damn. That crooked little grin. He’d love to wipe it off her face with a kiss.

  “And the Rite Aid is closed anyway,” he added. “They roll up the sidewalks around here pretty early.”

  He picked up the broken chaise. “I’m going to toss this in the Dumpster behind the restaurant,” he said. “And then I’m going to help a poor drunk lady get back into the hotel safely.”

  Jess pouted.

  Those lips. He wanted to drop the chaise and tackle her to the ground. But he couldn’t. For one thing, no condom. For another, he had an early day tomorrow.

  “Are you going to come watch me and JD rope at the rodeo? It’s for a good cause, and I’m really hoping you’ll stick around awhile.”

  Jessica twisted a strand of hair around her finger, a habit that took him straight back to high school. But then she looked at him and smiled.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “You think about it real hard.”

  “Will you be wearing chaps?”

  “I’d get laughed out of the arena.”

  Jess looked bitterly disappointed. “That’s too bad. I like chaps.”

  “I’ll wear chaps,” he blurted. “If it means you’ll come.”

  He swallowed.

  “To the rodeo,” he added. “Not just, you know, come.”

  They both busted out laughing, again. Silly, uncontrollable, insane laughter. They stopped when they literally couldn’t breathe anymore.

  “I really, really like chaps,” Jess said.

  She licked her lips. Licked her damn lips like she was thinking about him in a pair of chaps and nothing else.

  “And I’ll also have a handy dandy rope, if that turns you on.”

  She squeezed her thighs together, realized she’d done it, and unclenched them with a sly little grin that said she knew he’d noticed.

  “What time does the Rite Aid open tomorrow?”

  “Now, darlin, tomorrow is Sunday. It’s closed. You can’t buy condoms on the Lord’s Day. It’s bad enough that you’re even thinking about it.”

  “Oh, I’m thinking about it, Casey Long. We might have to drive to the nearest town to hit up a Walmart.”

  “That could be arranged,” Casey said. “After the rodeo.”

  Jessica bit her lip, and Casey got up right close. “I might have to tie you up so you don’t leave again.”

  The blush that lit up Jess’s cheeks said she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. Casey was going to be in for a long, sleepless night.

  * * *

  Jessica lathered up in the shower. The smile on her face was starting to make her cheeks sore, but she couldn’t get rid of it, no matter how hard she tried. Not that she was trying very hard.

  Hard. Holy cow, Casey had been hard. She felt awful that she hadn’t been able to return any favors and do something about it. But they’d been caught!

  Her smile got even wider.

  She’d been like a teen again. A dumb, horny, risk-taking teen.

  She hadn’t risked anything in twelve years. Not for her own happiness, and not for love.

  Love. She did not love Casey. But dang it, she definitely had a major crush going on. It felt just like old times.

  Yep. She was definitely a kid again. Although a kid would have insisted this crush was something more. Because it felt like her world was going to end on Monday when she had to go back to Houston. And because the thought of not seeing Casey again hurt just as much this time as it had the last.

  Only this time, she wasn’t going to leave with any secrets. Wade Long couldn’t hurt her. People could talk if they wanted, but she was taking Hope to the rodeo tomorrow. It had been wonderful to see old friends today. It would be even better to see them tomorrow.

  * * *

  Casey sat at the bar. He’d wandered around the pool after dropping Jess off in the lobby—she’d refused to let him walk her to the room—picking up the cups and napkins and trash that Tyler had missed.

  The bar was empty and they were closing up shop, but Casey was a Long and the sheriff. He could stay as long as he wanted. He wouldn’t do that though. He didn’t believe in tossing his weight around with the family name. He’d just shoot the shit with the bartender until the kid was done drying glasses.

  “Hey, Zeke, who does the purchasing for the pool furniture and whatnot around here? I accidentally broke a chaise lounge and I’d like to replace it.”

  Zeke picked up a glass from the washer and began drying it off. “Stella will know what to do about the chaise. Although she’ll just tell you to forget about it.”

  Stella was the general manager, and Zeke was probably right. It would be best for Casey to just replace it himself.

  Casey sucked down the last of his beer and pulled out his wallet.

  “On the house, Sheriff. You know that,” Zeke said.

  “Bullshit,” Casey said, slapping some cash on the counter. “I’d better get home. Early day tomorrow for the rodeo.”

  “You and JD roping?”

  “Yeah. We don’t stand a chance, though. I heard a lot of the Rancho Cañada Verde cowboys are entering.”

  Zeke laughed. “You’re going to your asses kicked.”

  “I know. But it’s for Hope House. I’m happy to have my ass kicked for little Dalton Reed and his friends.” He stood up and stuffed his wallet back in his pocket.

  “Hold on, Sheriff,” Zeke said, digging beneath the counter. “You know that lady you were with earlier? The one who was here at the bar?”

  Casey crossed his arms. “Jessica Acosta. What about her?”

  Zeke held up a slim leather wallet. “She left this when she followed you out the door.”

  Wow. Good thing Zeke found it. Although in Big Verde, most people would turn it in. It was just one of the thi
ngs he loved about the people of his town. “Thanks, Zeke—”

  Zeke’s face broke out in a grin. “I guess she forgot all about it while y’all were busting the chaise by the pool pump.”

  “Damn Tyler Murphy,” Casey muttered.

  Zeke laughed and handed over the wallet. “She’s in room 204.”

  Casey’s pulse sped up. He’d get to see Jessica again, even if only for a few minutes. “Thanks.”

  He left the bar and climbed the ornate staircase in the lobby. When he got to room 204, he stopped and took a deep breath. He was still riding the high that came from messing around, and he had a partial boner to prove it. But what was making him sweat was something much deeper. It had been so satisfying to tell Jess about his life, how he’d pulled himself together and gone to college, become a cop, and then finally been elected sheriff. It was as if he’d worked all this time just to be able to someday look her in the eye and tell her he’d done it. He’d become the man she’d always known he could be.

  I knew you could do it, Casey.

  Of everything they’d said and done tonight, those words had been the sweetest. He was a better man because of Jessica Acosta. No doubt about it. He’d been a hellion who gave his family fits. Drove his teachers insane. Irritated the hell out of the fine folks in town who saw him as an entitled, spoiled brat.

  But Jessica had seen something else in him. He’d thought she was crazy. Believed she just had a good girl crush on a bad boy. But at some point, he’d decided to become the guy she thought he was. Even after she left, or maybe because she’d left, he kept trying. And he’d done it.

  He squared his shoulders. Made sure his shirt was tucked in. And then he knocked.

  The door opened. And it wasn’t Jess who answered. Or her friend, Carmen.

  It was a little girl. “Hi!” she said.

  “Hi yourself. Is your, uh…” He tried looking over her shoulder into the room, but she’d only opened the door about six inches.

  “Who are you?” the child asked.

  He wanted to ask her the same question. “I’m Casey.”

  That seemed to be all she needed to hear. She opened the door wide, and Casey peered in, but still didn’t see Jessica.