by Kristi Gold
“We’ve all been there before.”
She leaned back and braced herself on her elbows. “I prefer not to go there again. Do you have a spare toothbrush?”
“Yep.” He pointed at the sliding door across the room. “In the bathroom. That’s Jenny’s doing, too. She stocked the place with everything any guest would need, male or female.”
“She didn’t happen to put a gown in there, did she?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then can I borrow one of your T-shirts? Otherwise I won’t have a thing to wear.”
Damn. Just when he’d gotten his mind off seeing her naked. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”
He took off down the hall at a fast clip and, when he reached his bedroom closet, tugged a faded blue rodeo T-shirt off the hanger. On the way back, he gave himself a mental pep talk on the virtues of keeping his hands to himself and his mind on honor.
Georgie sent him a sleepy smile when he reentered the guestroom. “That was fast. Hand it here.”
Austin almost froze in his tracks when Georgie began to fiddle with the collar at the back of her neck. Honor and virtue went down the drain when he imagined the front of the dress dropping to her waist. Maria’s cautions went unheeded when he fantasized about putting his hands on her. And to make matters worse, she came to her feet and turned around, giving him a bird’s-eye view of her butt. “Can you help me with this?”
Man, he’d love to, but probably not in the way she’d meant. “Help you with what?”
She held her hair up with one hand. “This bow thingie. It’s in a knot.”
His gut was in a knot, and that would be the least of his problems if he came anywhere near her.
He could do this. He could help her with the kink in her collar and ignore the one building below his belt buckle. Good thing she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head.
After tossing the T-shirt on the bed, he studied the twisted bow and worried over what would happen if he managed to get it untied. “Just hang on to the dress.”
“Of course I will,” she said, her tone hinting at irritation.
He’d been known for his steady hands, but he actually fumbled with the tie for a time before he had it undone. “There you go. All set.”
Without warning, Georgie spun around and somehow managed to whack him in the jaw with her elbow. He hadn’t been at all prepared for the accidental blow, nor had he expected his inadvertent attacker to frame his face in her palms. “I’m so sorry, Austin. Did I hurt you?”
Oh, yeah, he was hurting, but it wasn’t from getting smacked. Right there, in his field of vision, a man’s biggest fantasy, and in his case, worst nightmare—a pair of bare breasts. Tempting, round breasts close enough to touch. He’d seen breasts before. He’d seen hers before, several times, although they looked a bit fuller than he recalled. He’d touched them before, with his hands and his mouth. Damn if he didn’t want to do that now.
“Austin?”
He forced his gaze back to her face. “You forgot something.”
She glanced down, then back up and her eyes went wide. “Oops.”
The next oops came when he noticed that look, the one she’d always given him when she’d wanted a kiss. But maybe that’s only what he wanted to see. Regardless, he had to maintain some control. Be a true gentleman. Hang tight to his honor.
And that plan went right out the window when she pulled him down to her lips. That’s when caution gave way to chemistry. She started walking backward, taking him with her. and before he knew it, they were on the bed, facing each other with their legs twined together. He managed to remove his jacket while they continued to kiss like there was no tomorrow. She worked the buttons on his shirt and slipped her hand inside. He slid his palm slowly up the back of her thigh and continued on until he contacted a skimpy pair of silk panties.
Completely caught up in his need, Austin planted kisses down Georgie’s neck and traveled to her breasts. He circled his tongue around one nipple before taking it into his mouth, using the pull of his lips to tempt her. She answered by running her hands though his hair and moving restlessly against him.
He wanted more from her. He wanted it all. But he couldn’t have it unless he knew she wanted the same. On that thought, he raised his head and sought her eyes. “Before this goes any further, convince me you know what you’re doing.”
Unfortunately the interlude ended as quickly as it started when Georgie broke away, scrambled to her feet and pulled the top of her dress back into place. “Apparently I don’t know what I’m doing since I swore this wouldn’t happen again,” she said, clear frustration in her voice.
Austin rolled to his back, draped an arm over his closed eyes and tried to catch his breath. “You started it.”
“You didn’t seem to be complaining.”
“I couldn’t complain with our tongues in each other’s mouths.”
When he heard the sound of a slamming door, Austin opened his eyes, expecting to discover Georgie had left the premises, if not the house. Instead, he noticed the bedroom door was still open, but the one leading into the bathroom had been closed.
Austin sat up and rubbed both hands over his face in a futile effort to erase the memories of their encounter. He figured he might as well leave now since he doubted she’d come out unless he made a quick exit. Obviously he’d been wrong, he realized when she walked back into the room wearing only his T-shirt and no smile.
She folded her arms around her middle and leaned back against the wall next to the door. “I’m sorry. You’re not to blame for my behavior.”
Regardless of blame, the damage to his libido had already been done. “I need to apologize to you. After two of Jenny’s drinks, I should’ve realized you’re not in charge of your faculties.”
She crossed her arms around her middle and raised her chin. “I wasn’t drunk.”
“Okay. Tipsy.”
“Maybe, but I’m quite sober now.”
And he was still so jacked up he could pull that too-big shirt up over her ruffled hair and take her up against the wall. “And I’m betting you’re tired. Have a good night. See you in the morning.”
He turned on his heels and almost made it to the door before she asked, “Where are you going?”
Straight to hell if he faced her again. “To bed.”
“I thought we could talk awhile.”
He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to get back down to business. “I’m pretty worn out,” he said without moving.
“Come on, Austin. You’re a night owl just like me.”
He’d be hooting up a storm—or howling like a coyote—if he got anywhere near her again. “Georgie, I’m fairly sure if I stay, I wouldn’t want to use my mouth to talk, especially since you’re half-dressed.”
She laughed. “You’ve seen me in a bikini. Actually, you’ve seen me wearing nothing.”
If she kept talking that way, she’d see the evidence of what those memories did to him. What she’d done to him a few minutes ago. He had one hell of an erection and no place to go. “I think it might be better if I go to my own room.”
“Man up, Calloway. You’re not a teenager anymore. You can have an adult conversation with a woman without any other expectations.”
Under normal circumstance, that was a given. But with her...
Dammit, he was up for the challenge, up being the operative word. Still, he vowed to prove to her he could be mature in spite of the noticeable bulge below his belt buckle. In an effort to calm down, he ran through a mental laundry list of a few times he’d been in pain. His first broken rib during one rodeo. When Maria made him eat spinach. The day Abby had him served with divorce papers.
That did it, or so he thought until he faced Georgie again. The T-shirt hit her well above the knee and hung off one shoulder. H
e could see the outline of her breasts and that’s exactly where his gaze landed again, and his imagination kicked into overdrive.
“Austin.”
He finally tore his attention away from her attributes and came in contact with her scowl. “What?”
She pointed two fingers at her eyes. “Up here.”
“Sorry,” he muttered, although in some ways he wasn’t.
Georgie dropped down onto the bed and patted the space beside her. “Sit for a few minutes.”
She really expected him to remain upright after their recent make-out session? Yeah, she did, and so would his stepmothers. With that in mind, he perched on the edge of the mattress, keeping a decent berth between them. “So what’s on your mind?”
“Us,” she said as she stretched the hem of the shirt to her knees. “Everything we’ve been through over the years.”
He smiled. “We have been through quite a bit.”
“And during all that time,” she continued, “our friendship always meant the most to me.”
Now he got it. She was about to deliver the “let’s be friends” speech. “Yeah, we’ve always had a good friendship, and some really friendly foreplay in the bed of my truck.”
She playfully slapped at his arm. “You know what I mean. I’m referring to all those instances when we were there for each other, like the time I made an A minus in Mr. Haverty’s class.”
“Oh, yeah. You nearly had a nervous breakdown over that one. What about the time you helped me pass calculus?”
“And biology and world geography and, I believe, algebra one.”
“You never had to help me with athletics.”
“True enough.”
They paused to share a smile before Austin said, “Now that we’ve established we’ve been friends for a long, long time, is there another point to this conversation?”
She studied her hands and twisted the silver ring round and round her little finger. “That’s what I want from you right now, Austin. That’s what I need from you.”
Damn. “Fine. You’ve got it.”
She leveled her gaze on his. “Problem is, I’m not sure you’re capable of being only my friend.”
Anger sent him off the bed to face her. “You’re being freakin’ unfair, Georgie. We were friends long before we were lovers.”
“I just don’t know if you’re willing to go back to that. I’m not sure you can.”
He might be willing, but that didn’t take away the wanting. “I damn sure could be only your friend, and I’ll prove it.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
Hell if he knew. “From now on, when I see you, I’ll only shake your hand.”
That earned him her smirk. “If you say so.”
“I say so.” Starting now. He stuck out his hand. “Hope you sleep well.”
Ignoring the gesture, she rose from the bed and damned if she didn’t draw him into a hug. She then stepped back and smiled. “See there? You managed to accept a friendly show of affection and you didn’t even try to cop a feel. Maybe I’ve underestimated you.”
Yeah, she had, because it had taken all his fortitude not to grab her up and toss her back onto the bed. “I’m a lot stronger than you think, Georgie.”
“Only time will tell, Austin. And I hope you get a good night’s sleep, too.”
“Not hardly,” he muttered as he headed out the door and down the hall.
Being only friends with Georgia May Romero could be the biggest mountain he’d ever had to climb, but he was determined to do it. He would find some way to show her he could be the man she wanted him to be, even if it might do him in during the process.
To postpone the inevitable test of his mettle, he hoped that when he woke up in the morning, he’d find her gone.
Five
Before she went home, Georgie sought out an energy boost and the means to wake up after a restless night. She padded into the deserted upscale kitchen on bare feet, wearing Austin’s oversize T-shirt and suffering from a mild hangover. She retrieved a cup from the gray cabinet and located the canister of dark roast on the white-quartz countertop, right next to the fancy coffeemaker that looked as if it might require a barista degree to operate it.
After two attempts, she finally figured out the formula and waited for the stainless carafe to fill before she poured the brew into the mug. Normally she preferred cream and sugar, but black coffee seemed more appropriate under the circumstance.
She leaned back against the center island, clutching the cup and worrying over her behavior after stupidly finishing off two high-powered cocktails the night before. But she couldn’t blame her complete lack of control on the booze. Not when the situation involved a sexy cowboy.
How could Austin still affect her so strongly? How could she forget how he’d flitted in and out of her life without a second thought? More important, how could she disregard that he’d fathered her child and still didn’t know it?
She had to tell him soon. When and where remained a mystery yet to be solved.
“Mornin’.”
Georgie glanced to her right to see Austin trudging into the room, his hair slightly damp and his jaw blanketed with whiskers. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt, but at least he’d had the wherewithal to put on a pair of faded jeans that rested a little too low on his hips to be deemed decent. She didn’t need to see the slight shading of hair centered into his broad chest or the flat plane of his belly or that other stream of hair that disappeared into his waistband. She definitely didn’t need to look any longer, but she did.
Bad Georgie. Bad, bad Georgie.
Austin seemed oblivious to her blatant perusal of his body and continued toward the coffeemaker to pour a cup. He briefly brushed against her shoulder and gave her a good whiff of manly soap as he turned to face her. “I thought you’d be gone by now, or at least dressed.” He topped off the comment by raking his gaze down her body and back up again, slowly.
She experienced a sensual electric shock down to the bottom of her soles. “I just needed to wake up a bit before I drove. I’ll be leaving very soon.”
He sent her a sleepy grin. “Don’t go on my account, unless you have appointments.”
She took a sip of coffee before setting the cup on the counter. “Only emergencies on Saturday and so far I haven’t had any.”
“I could always put you to work in the barn.”
He could do a lot to her in the barn that had more to do with pleasure. He already had. “I still have some boxes I need to unpack and some things to put away. I didn’t have a lot of time to do that in the past two weeks since I dove right into work.”
“Do you need help?”
If he stepped through her doorway, she’d be too distracted to get anything done. Not to mention he would notice all the signs pointing to a child in residence. “I’ll manage, and I really need to get out of here.”
Austin leaned a hip against the counter. “Before you leave, I have a proposition.”
Oh, brother. “I believe we established there would be no more of that last night.”
He looked highly incensed. “It’s not that kind of proposition. I’m talking about my second favorite pastime—a trail ride on open land. Just you and me and total freedom.”
She didn’t dare ask about his first favorite pastime, although she suspected it was a toss-up between calf-roping and carnal endeavors. “Does that include prancing naked on the prairie?”
He released a low, sexy laugh. “No prancing on my end, and since it’s going to be in the forties, naked won’t be happening for the sake of my dignity.”
Georgie suddenly longed for summer. “It’s been a while since I’ve ridden for pleasure.” When he smirked and opened his mouth to speak, she pointed at him. “Before you make some suggestive
comment, I’m referring to horseback riding.”
“I didn’t have one dirty thought rolling around in my brain.”
“Yeah, sure.”
He winked and smiled. “Just so you know, it’s been a while since I’ve ridden just for the heck of it. We could have a good time. As friends.”
The friend part still concerned her. “When do you propose we take this ride?”
He forked a hand through his dark hair. “We’d leave out this afternoon and come back tomorrow.”
She raised both hands, palms forward. “Wait a minute. You’re talking about an overnight trip?”
“Yeah. We’re gearing up for the opening of Texas Extreme, so I thought I’d map out the best course for the trail ride for beginners.”
“You can’t do that in an afternoon?”
“We’re going to be taking the guests on an old-fashioned campout, complete with a chuck wagon. We might even herd a few cows.”
As much as Georgie would enjoy the getaway, warning bells rang out in her head. “Couldn’t you ask Dallas to go with you?”
“Nope. Dallas is freaking out over the baby coming in less than a month. He barely leaves Paris’s side.”
That made sense, but still... “What about Houston or Worth?”
“Houston’s busy chasing the dream and Worth, well, he’s busy chasing women.”
She was down to her last option. “That still leaves Tyler.”
“He left this morning to check out a couple more pack mules for the trail ride and I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”
Georgie narrowed her eyes. “If you expect me to ride a mule, my answer is definitely no.”
His grin arrived, slow as sunrise. “Do you have a problem with my ass?”
She slapped at his arm. “You’re so comical this morning.”
“Thanks, and for the record, I don’t expect you to board a mule.”
“Good to know, but my mare isn’t ready for a trail ride. She’s still pretty skittish.”
