Howdy, Ma'am

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  “No, I didn’t know. When’s your birthday?”

  “June 28th.”

  “Really?” Caulder chuckled.

  “Yes. When is yours?”

  “June 28th.”

  “No way! For real? Another of your jokes?” Velia sat on the edge of her chair facing him.

  “Yes, no, I mean, for real, ma’am.”

  “I fit some of my characteristics but not all of them. Well, most of them. I’m a home body, but you know I like to travel.”

  “I’m a home body but have to travel,” said Caulder. “Now, I have to make home where I lay my head. You’ll soon find out what it’s like.”

  “You forget I traveled for awhile. I know exactly what it’s like. I’ve lain in the tall weeds in the Serengeti to photograph lions and been in airboats in the Everglades to videotape alligators in their natural habitat. I’ve been to Moscow to photograph food in the best restaurants and cafes. I’ve choked on sand while sitting on top of a camel in the dry Arabic desert hoping to keep grit out of my cameras.” Velia slapped her hands against the arm rests. “And look, I didn’t get a shot of the most perfect sunset.”

  “Whoa there, missy. This isn’t the contest or competition. Tomorrow will be the contest.” He pointed upward. “Look, shooting stars.”

  “Two! I don’t think I’ve ever seen two at a time. Twins!”

  “Do you ride?”

  “Ride what?” Velia rolled her eyes at her silly question and took a drink of wine. She reached for the bottle but changed her mind. “Better not have any more. You might take advantage of me in my buzzed state.” Her giggle rolled on and on.

  Caulder grasped her hand. “I hope you’re not serious. I’m a total gentleman and I told you there was nothing to worry about if you stayed. Even if you were so drunk I had to carry you up the stairs, you’d still be safe.” He stopped and looked to the ground. “Damn, I hate when I make promises like that.”

  Velia giggled some more. “Oh, the wine’s getting to me.”

  “You’re Italian…wine doesn’t get to you. You’ve probably been drinking it since you were born.”

  “Not that early, but yes, it does get to me. I can prove it.” She giggled again. “Do you like opera?”

  “You’re right. You’re really proving it.”

  * * *

  He settled back in his chair, smiling because he loved the banter, and discovered he enjoyed a lot about the evening. Especially having her sitting beside him and hearing her laughter. Inhaling her sensual scent added to his pleasure. He could have a lot of fun with her. If only there was more time before the season started. Spending time with each other would give them a chance to get to know one another, and they wouldn’t be strangers by time February came along. It would soon be time for them to leave together.

  Together…

  What would it be like traveling with her? Soon, life would turn serious, and his role would be the bull rider, and hers would be his photographer. Everything would be businesslike. He could only imagine having a partner to share the good and bad times with on the road, one of his pleasures when…no, he wouldn’t think of that time. One way or another he’d make the best of the season, and do what he could do to make it the best for Velia.

  Velia shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “It gets cold in the mountains,” she chortled.

  Caulder broke from his muse, shaking off the thought of them together. “This is the foothills. That’s why it’s called Catalina Foothills.”

  “You’re so funny, Caulder. I know.” She shivered again, turning toward him. “Wait, then why are there cliffs, and the highway went higher?”

  “How about I tell you tomorrow?” Caulder stood and picked up the wine bottle, holding his other hand out.

  She looked up at him. “You have to tell me who owns this magnificent home.”

  “It belongs to Paulo Correia, a bull rider. He’s one of the older guys who is probably doing his last season of riding. He’s part American Indian, part Brazilian, and a past champion. You’ll meet him. Include him in some shots.”

  “I’ll include all of them. Especially the cute ones! Oops, did I really say that?”

  “Yeah, you sexy thang. You can photograph the cute ones, and there are a lot of them.”

  “Really?”

  “Wait right here while I put the bottle and glasses down.” He rested her hand on the balustrade. “Don’t move till I get back.”

  “I don’t usually drink this much. You made me.”

  He smiled. “I take all the blame.”

  “Thank you.” A hiccup slipped out, and she giggled again.

  After setting the bottle and glasses down, Caulder wrapped his arm around her waist. “Come on, let’s go to bed.” He grinned when her eyes widened. “You know what I mean.” He helped her up one step at a time. When they got to the top, he escorted her down a long hall with gold wallpaper and a huge picture of a bullfighter, red cloak and all. The whole wing was built with rich wood, and the floor hosted red and black carpet runners. The polished hardwood floor shone with the light from the wall sconces.

  They stopped at a sturdy door and Caulder opened it, allowing her to step inside ahead of him. He marveled at her as she did a slow circle in the middle of the room. He looked at the layout through her eyes, never noticing much about it before. It was light blue on the walls, and a satin blue comforter covered the bed with tan, gold, and blue pillows of several different shapes and sizes. The pale green, girly ruffle and matching pillow covers contrasted the blue of the comforter.

  The dresser and chest looked homemade, with knotty pinewood polished smooth. Feminine pictures lined the walls with girls on swings and Spanish ladies in fancy dresses holding fans. Rich decorations were too flamboyant for him, but something any woman would probably love. Give him a picture of a raging bull and he’d be happy. Velia sat on the bed, so high she almost slid off the slippery satin. Caulder did all he could not to burst out laughing, or run to her rescue.

  He went to the other side of the bed and brought a two-step bed stool around. She raised her feet to it and rested her elbows on her knees. “This is nice. Thank you for convincing me to stay.”

  “You’re welcome, ma’am.”

  “It’s cute the way you call me maaa’yam.”

  She feigned an accent, and Caulder snickered at the way she tried to imitate him. He didn’t have one even though he looked the part of a western cowboy.

  She cocked her head. “What’s so funny?”

  He opened the curtains. “You can look at the stars as you fall asleep.” He looked through the window toward the east. “Look, the moon is rising and you can see it right from the bed.”

  “What am I sleeping in?”

  “The bed you’re sitting on.”

  “No, silly, what am I wearing?”

  Caulder ran his gaze over her entire body, hesitating before saying anything. “I can think of something, but its best I keep it to myself. I’ll bring you a shirt. Will a shirt work?”

  “I won’t know until I try it on.”

  “It’ll work,” he said, turning to leave.

  “Bring it on.”

  “Okay.” He grinned as he left the room. He wasn’t gone more than a couple minutes and returned with a blue, chambray shirt. “Here you go?”

  “You wear it?”

  “No, you wear it.”

  She laughed so hard her elbows slipped off her knees and she almost fell off the bed. “I asked if you wore it before.”

  “Oh!” He chuckled, and the more she giggled, the happier he got. “I grabbed it off my doorknob. Why, do you want a different one? I wouldn’t mind hanging around to see what it looks like on you.”

  “Shame on you!” She gave another silly laugh. “No, I kind of wanted to smell the cologne you had on. It smells enchanting, you know.”

  “Is that right?” He slowly unbuttoned the first two buttons to his shirt.

  He heard Velia suck in a breath. Looks like alcohol
weakens her control. He watched her, watching him unbutton his shirt, and her expression didn’t hide how much she savored each fleck of his exposed skin.

  He ambled to the bed, clutched her shoulders, and then lowered his hands to her arms and pulled her up against him. Standing on the bed stool, she was almost at eye level. He cupped the back of her head and brought her face against his chest.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and took a deep breath.

  He held her closer and nuzzled his face into her hair, brushing it away from his face so he could rest his cheek against her head. He clenched her soft tresses between his fingers, moaning low against her ear. “This feels terrific.” He took a deep breath. It had been so long since he held someone, felt warmth from a woman’s skin. Another breath and he knew if he didn’t pull away he might go against his word. A gentleman yes, but he was also a man, and his yearning body responded, but for the first time in years, his soul wanted to feel love.

  “It does feel good. I think it’s the wine.” Velia sighed and pressed closer.

  Caulder attempted to pull away. “I better leave.” He waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. She didn’t release her hold on him either. Her cheek was still pressed against his chest, and he wished to hold her a few more minutes. But he pulled himself away.

  He found it hard to gaze into her eyes for long. He stared off into the distance. Whether subconsciously or not, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and drew her into another embrace. Tonight he couldn’t get enough.

  He whispered, “I see the moon rising.” Caulder turned her toward the window. “There it is.” He took her hand and led her to the blue velvet, cushioned window seat.

  Velia let out a deep breath. “The moon is dazzling. It’s so large, like I’m closer to it here than in Chicago.” She turned toward him. “Thank you for asking me to stay. I needed this night.”

  “I know.” He stood behind her and slid his fingers along her hair. He bent forward and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Velia Armano. Sleep well.” He headed to the door to leave.

  “Caulder?”

  Slowly, he turned, filling his lungs with a deep breath. “Yeah?”

  “Where’s the bathroom?”

  He released the breath he held and swallowed hard. He licked his parched lips. Her scent lingered on his skin. “Turn right and it’s across the hall.” He hesitated. What did he expect from her tonight? What were his true intentions?

  “Thank you.”

  Once again, he turned to leave.

  “Caulder?”

  He stood still, almost hoping she would ask him to stay. He didn’t turn around. “Yes?”

  “Where is your room?”

  “Keep going past the bathroom and it’s on the left.”

  “I just wondered. Good night.”

  He took a quick look over his shoulder. She sat in front of the window, the moon behind her, framing her still body. Her hair shimmered as the moonlight caught the highlights. He trembled, hoping it was only on the inside, for he didn’t want her to know she moved him as she did, but on second thought, he did want her to know.

  He walked back to where she sat at the window. He grasped her arms and pulled her against him. Her eyes, wide and glassy, stared into his. He looked deep into them then dropped his gaze to her lips. They were so full and she moistened them with her tongue, whether out of habit or nervousness, it didn’t matter. He kissed her with a vengeance. His tongue skimmed along the soft flesh of her bottom lip, but he didn’t try to probe inside her sensuous mouth. Too much of a struggle to pull away, so instead, he continued kissing her, urgently, wholeheartedly, lost until he felt her hands against his chest.

  He pulled away and gazed into her eyes. One more time he had to kiss her before turning to go. He glanced back, staring at her without saying a word.

  Caulder closed the door and walked back to his room, wasting no time to be alone. If he stopped, it would give him too much time to think about going back. He wanted to rip her clothes off, toss her to the bed, and have wild sex with her until he was satiated, until he made up for the last two years of celibacy, knowing even now how intense they would be together.

  He leaned against the doorjamb. It had felt like an eternity, and he hadn’t thought he’d ever feel this way again. He opened the door to the balcony and went outside. The dusty air hit him in the face like sandpaper, yet, it was dry and cold. The moonlight shone against his face, and he closed his eyes and let it bathe his skin. Arousal still encompassed him. “Damn, it’s been forever since I’ve wanted another woman like I want her.”

  He pictured his beautiful wife, but only for a moment. His child—he could almost feel her arms around his neck as she kissed him goodnight. A tear slipped out as he remembered the night he got the call.

  His wife would have wanted him to move on.

  Caulder dropped to the chaise and sat back, surrounded by the black night, twinkling stars, and a bittersweet moon. It was Velia who came to his mind. Velia with a warm body and lips as soft as butter, with breasts so exquisite he longed to squeeze and lick until she trusted him as a man. But she surely wasn’t interested in another relationship, even though he felt her guard drop when she was in his arms. Somehow he’d work through this. Somehow he’d forget the scent of her beguiling perfume.

  * * *

  Velia settled into bed. He had kissed her so passionately. She touched her mouth with the pads of her fingers. “So warm,” she whispered. She licked her lips. “Tasty...I want more.” His lips were full and soft, warm against hers—and it was one of the best kisses she ever experienced—but she had to stop him when he did.

  Oh, God! The need overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes, and she inhaled deeply, inhaling his sexy scent, still lingering on her skin. His warmth and tenderness tonight was almost more than she could bear.

  With one more glass of wine, she wouldn’t have been able to prevent what could have happened. She felt secure. Something she hadn’t felt in a man’s embrace for a long time. And she wasn’t drunk enough not to know his kisses weren’t the only thing she needed.

  Chapter Eleven

  The morning sun burned through the window at eight o’clock. Velia opened her eyes, arched her back, and brought her knees to her chest in a fetal position. She rolled to her back and tried to focus on her surroundings. She remembered Caulder’s kiss last night. Slowly, she turned to look at the other side of the bed. She released a sigh, glad he wasn’t there, but almost hoping—

  She drank a lot of wine last night and wondered why since she didn’t usually drink much. Her lips curved into a smile as she remembered again. His kiss amazed her. His lips, the softest, most fervent lips she’d ever kissed. One thought led to another. She remembered his scent. His skin against her cheek proved to be so erotic to her senses when he unbuttoned his shirt and brought her against him. My Lord, he smelled good without the cologne. His masculine scent mixed with the fragrance made it better, all man. His kiss—somewhere between erotic and loving almost caused her to strip her clothes off and climb all over him. “I wanted to kiss him some more,” she whispered. “And kisses weren’t the only thing I wanted.”

  She raised her hands above her head and grasped the headboard. Obviously decorated by a woman, the room garnered sensuality adding to the moment. It would be exciting to meet whoever owned this house. While living in her Chicago loft, she often dreamed of living in a home this elegant, in the country. Caulder might own a house like this somewhere. For now, it was time to stop daydreaming and confront the morning.

  She opened the door and ventured down the hallway to the bathroom, another exquisite room. The tub, patterned after the old style with the claw feet invited her into a hot, bubbly bath, but not now. The only kind of bath they made a hundred years ago, but this stood new with pretty pink porcelain. The floor was white marble, and the tile on the walls matched, but in different patterns with streaks of pink, mauve, and green. The shower was large and a total walk-in surrounded with
glass doors. A skylight opened up to the magnificent blue sky above. She would love to jump in the tub before leaving, just to relax and steal away for an hour.

  Leaving.

  She should be leaving. Here she stood in a stranger’s bathroom wearing nothing more than a man’s shirt. Caulder wasn’t a true stranger now as she spent time getting to know him. She liked what she knew so far which brought her back to the kiss. What could she do about a kiss that already happened? They couldn’t have a working relationship with love on the side, with sex or lust on the side. It wouldn’t work. She didn’t want a relationship. It had already been decided she would go on with her life alone. A relationship less than a year after Justin could not happen.

  She’d have to set Caulder straight today.

  When she came out of the bedroom, she ran right into the man himself. She stood dumbfounded, watching his eyes rake over her.

  “Damn, you look good in my shirt. Why don’t you just keep it?”

  “I can’t keep your shirt.”

  “Okay, I’ll save it for when you show up without something to sleep in again.”

  “I’ll be carrying my luggage the next time I’m with you. I’ll be prepared because I’ll be working.”

  Caulder took hold of her shoulders. “About last night...”

  “Yes, about last night…” She removed his hands, remembering last night, his clutch on her shoulders led to a kiss—the kiss.

  “Did you see the moon after the lights went out? I walked outside and looked at it from the balcony. You should have seen it later after it rose higher. Man, as yellow as a pat of butter.”

  “I think I went right to sleep.” She folded her arms, shivered. “Do you mind if I get dressed?”

  “Well, yeah—”

  She met his lecherous gaze. “Caulder.”

  “Okay, I’ll start the coffee. Meet me on the patio. It won’t be bad outside this morning.”

  She waited until he got to the stairway before walking back to her room. But when she got to the door, she noticed he stepped back up to the top and continued to stare. Ducking into the bedroom, she slipped her jeans on under the shirt and went down in her stocking feet.