“Hey.” He caught her shoulders as she tried to spin away. “Wait a sec.”
She tried to knock his hand away. “Let me go, Zane. Seriously. You crossed a line there, and—”
“I had to see,” he said, his voice urgent. “Let me explain.”
There was something about the tone of his voice that got her attention. She paused, eyeing him warily. “What?” She seriously doubted there was a reasonable explanation, but for some inexplicable reason, she wanted him to have one. Until now, he’d made her feel safe. She’d trusted him. It had felt good, and she wanted it back.
“When I was on the tour, women were always all over me,” he said, not releasing his grip on her shoulders, forcing her to stand and listen. “They wanted a chance to be with the superstar. I had one woman claim that I’d gotten her pregnant, even though I’d never even had sex with her.”
Taylor blinked, startled by the unexpected revelation. “Really?”
“Yeah. Her friends all swore she’d gone back to my hotel room with me. The only thing that saved me was a video in the hall outside my room that showed me going in there alone that night. These women were the type who hadn’t given me the time of day when I was a dirt-poor kid with no home. Now that I was famous, they all wanted to have sex with me. I had to know if you were like that. I thought—” He shrugged. “I heard you tell Mira how there was no chance you were going to have sex with me. I needed to know if that would change once you knew who I was.” He searched her face. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I just can’t deal with women like that anymore. I didn’t want to get in that bed with you tonight if you were going to twist it to your advantage in the morning, regardless of what actually happened.”
He didn’t try to hide his exhaustion, and her heart tightened. She could tell he was being honest, and she doubted he was a guy who revealed his vulnerabilities very often, if ever. His explanation made sense. Her fear and distrust of him dissipated, but at the same time, she felt a vague sense of disappointment. “So, you actually have no interest in getting me naked? Is that what you’re saying?”
He stared at her, and then a slow grin appeared. “I gotta be honest, Taylor, getting you naked has been on my mind since last night.”
Heat coiled around her. “So what would you have done if I’d said yes?”
“I would have walked away.” His response was so automatic that she knew he spoke the truth. As much as he wanted her, his emotional baggage was so heavy that he would have gotten out of the bed and left if she’d been the type of woman he was accustomed to.
She lifted her chin. “So, you want me only as long as you can’t have me. Is that what you’re saying?” She met his gaze. “I hate games, Zane. I really do.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” He released her shoulder and lightly clasped her chin. “I’m attracted to you. But my aversion to being used trumps everything else. But since we have that cleared up, I can now go about trying to seduce you and actually mean it.”
Her heart began to hammer again, just like it had on the bed. “Don’t kiss me. I mean it. I can’t climb in that bed with you if I’m going to have to worry about what might happen once you get in there.” She searched his eyes. “I’m not a one-night stand, Zane. Don’t treat me like one.”
He paused, his tempting lips only inches from her mouth. “You said you don’t like commitment.”
“I know, but…I mean…” God, how did she put it into words? “I don’t do sex without commitment, but I don’t want commitment.” As she said the words, she realized how stark it made her sound, how empty it made her life sound. “I just—” She touched his chest. “Last night was wonderful,” she said softly. “I didn’t worry about anything. It was just us, and it was safe and sensual and…”
“You felt safe with me?” He sounded surprised.
She nodded, sort of embarrassed by her comment. “I mean—”
“No. It’s perfect. I want to give that to you.” He lightly pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You don’t need to say anything else. Go to bed. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I just need to shower.” He pulled back and winked at her. “Unless you want to join me in the shower?”
She had a sudden image of water cascading over his chest. “Stop.”
He grinned. “Harmless teasing, darlin’. I’m not going to do a single thing to that sexy body of yours until you beg me to.” He turned away and headed toward the bathroom, unfastening his belt as he walked. “I’ll leave the door unlocked in case you change your mind, though.” He gave her a cheeky grin, then toed the door shut, leaving it ajar ever so slightly.
Taylor let out a breath and leaned against the kitchenette stove. Zane was trouble. She had no doubt about that whatsoever. He was sexy as sin, and he knew it. But at the same time, his vulnerability about being used for his fame had been genuine and endearing. He was still fit and strong, clearly in condition to be riding bulls, but he’d referred to it in the past tense. Why had he walked away when he was at the top of the game?
The shower turned on, drawing her attention back to the present. She stared at the wooden door, sort of shocked by how tempted she was to take him up on his offer. She needed a shower, too. It had been a long time since she’d showered with a man. Bathing with a guy wasn’t just about sex. It was more intimate than sex, a sharing of personal space, kind of like how snuggling in bed had been, only with nakedness and streams of water cascading over bare flesh.
She closed her eyes. Why was he tempting her so much? As she’d told Mira earlier, she was fine being alone. She didn’t miss having a man in her life, and she didn’t need someone else to love her in order to feel complete. But Zane, with his vulnerability, his cockiness, his potent sexuality, and his tenderness, was making her crave the kind of physical and emotional intimacy that she’d worked so hard not to need.
She wanted him to make love to her. There was no way to deny it. If he tried tonight, she didn’t know if she could say no. But Mira was right. If she had sex with him, it would complicate things for her emotionally, and she couldn’t go through that again. She would regret it in the morning if she gave in tonight.
With a sigh, she walked across the room to her suitcase, which was tucked in the corner. After making sure the shower was still running, she quickly stripped out of her boots and clothes. She pulled on the same camisole and leggings she’d slept in last night, but paused with her long-sleeved tee shirt in her hand. If she were sleeping alone, she wouldn’t be wearing it. But it made her feel safer, not from Zane, but from herself.
The shower went off, and she jumped, quickly dragging the shirt over her head. By the time Zane walked out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, she was waiting by the door, toothbrush in hand, fully covered from her neck to her ankles.
But when Zane walked out and his gaze burned over her, she suddenly felt like she had absolutely nothing on whatsoever.
“Love those stretch pants,” he said, his voice just the tiniest bit rough.
She swallowed. “They’re comfortable.”
His gaze went to her tee shirt. “You going to be hot in that, darlin’?”
“Probably. Are you going to be cold wearing only your underwear?” She couldn’t fail to notice that he had an erection, and the realization made heat pool between her legs, but she refused to look anywhere but into his eyes, which were smoldering with so much heat that it didn’t really help matters.
He grinned. “No chance of that. Body heat is a powerful thing. I promised no sex, but I also promise you that I’ll be wrapped around you all night long.” He cocked an eyebrow. “If that’s okay?”
She smiled, touched by his hesitation. “Yes, that’s okay.”
His grin widened. “Well, then, brush those pearly whites and get that hot little ass of yours into my bed soon, will you?”
She laughed, and poked him in the chest with her toothbrush. “I was here first. It’s my bed.”
He caught her hand and presse
d a searing kiss to her knuckles. “Our bed, then. Be quick. I miss your body.” His gaze was burning into her. “And I mean that.”
She swallowed. “I can tell.”
Neither of them moved, his hand still wrapped around hers. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her, then he dropped his hand and turned away, releasing her.
She took a deep breath and fled into the bathroom, but it took several minutes for her heart to stop pounding. How on earth was she going to sleep with him all night and keep saying no?
But she had to. She knew she did.
Chapter 6
Her hand was on his cock, and his self-control was just about at its limit.
Zane clasped his fingers more tightly behind his head, his biceps taut as he stared at the ceiling of the bunkhouse. The faint light of the moon illuminated the knots in the ceiling as he counted the small wooden circles, trying to think about anything other than the woman sleeping on top of him.
He’d woken up an hour ago in the middle of the most erotic dream he could recall having, one that involved him, Taylor, and a whole lot of nakedness. He’d found himself on top of Taylor, his cock hard as rock, his face buried in the curve of her neck. Her hands had been tangled in his hair, and her nipples had been hard against his chest, but her steady breathing had told him that she was still deeply asleep. Her body had been soft and incredible beneath his, and it had taken several moments for him to wake up enough to realize what was going on.
When he’d figured it out, he’d rolled off her immediately like a good guy. Unfortunately, she’d followed him all the way across to his side of the bed. Still dead asleep, she’d wrapped herself around him, somehow slid her hand underneath his shorts and wrapped her fingers around his cock, as if he were her security blanket and she needed him for comfort.
And there she’d stayed for the last hour, her steady breathing against his neck like a hot wind of desire on his flesh. His entire body was rigid with need, and his cock was hurting from being so hard for so long. He’d sworn off women a long time ago, and it hadn’t been difficult, because he’d had no interest in breaking his vow. All the shit he’d dealt with as a bull rider had been enough to cure him of the need to sink himself into a woman, unlike most of the other guys who seemed to think that the more women they could nail, the better life was.
And yet, Taylor had shredded every last resolution. He hadn’t even kissed her yet, but his need for her was growing exponentially by the hour. He didn’t like sleeping with women, but all day long while he’d been out on the range dealing with broken fences and learning about the horses Chase had on the ranch, he’d been thinking about the moment that he was going to crawl into bed with her tonight. While Chase had been talking horses, Zane had been fantasizing about how it would feel to have her body wrapped around his. Yeah, he’d been thinking about sex, but he knew sex was a long shot, and he’d been okay with that. He’d just wanted to be with her.
But now, with her fingers encircling his cock and her body so relaxed and soft against his, the stakes had changed.
She moved slightly, nestling deeper against him, and her fingers tightened on his cock. Shit. He grimaced and stared more intently at the ceiling, trying to find more knots in the wood to count. He clamped his fingers behind his head so tightly that they were beginning to ache. “Seventy-six,” he muttered, trying to distract himself with his own voice. “Seventy-seven.” There was another one in the corner, a small one, he hadn’t seen yet. “Seventy-eight.”
But it didn’t help. Nothing was helping. His penis was like a steel rod, and the nerves ignited each time she adjusted her grip on him. Her tee shirt had slid upward, which meant her bare stomach was against his side. She’d thrown her thigh over his so that her knee was between his legs, and she’d slipped her foot underneath his thigh, tucking herself in. She smelled faintly of something flowery and feminine, but it was so subtle, layers deep beneath the simple scent of woman, of her, of promise and seduction.
He was half-tempted to get out of bed and head to the bathroom to give himself a little release. Normally, he’d do that in a heartbeat, but he didn’t want to move. As painful as it was to lie there and not be able to do anything about the need amassing inside him, he didn’t want to move. He liked having Taylor on top of him. He liked the way she trusted him enough that in her sleep, she didn’t feel the need to protect herself from him. He wasn’t going to lie, it was sexy as hell that when her inhibitions were erased by sleep, that her instinct was to wrap her hand around his cock. Despite her protests, there was something hot between them, and it was definitely mutual.
If he got up, she might slide back to her side of the bed for the rest of the night. Yeah, he could go after her and wrap himself around her, but having her being the aggressor changed everything. She wanted him. She trusted him. She needed to touch him. That shit felt really good, and he wasn’t going to screw up by his need to get relief.
So, he didn’t move.
She didn’t either.
When dawn finally began to streak its golden rays through the small windows, Zane hadn’t slept for even a minute, his cock hurt like hell from being hard for so long, and his entire body ached from holding so much tension in it.
He was pretty sure it was the best damn night of his life, and he was never going to forget it.
***
She was in over her head. She knew it.
Taylor strode toward the ranch house, keeping her head high and refusing to look around as she walked. Refusing, specifically, to look for Zane. She’d awoken slightly several times in the night just enough to snuggle deeper into the heat of his body and bask in the feel of his body against hers. Each time, the best feeling of contentment had filled her, and she’d fallen back asleep.
But this morning? She’d woken up to an empty bed.
No note. Nothing. Just alone.
She was used to waking up alone, but this morning, she’d felt so achingly empty to find Zane gone.
That kind of reaction to his absence wasn’t good. Not good at all. Of course he’d be gone already. They were on a ranch, and he’d probably been out the door before dawn to ride with Chase. There was absolutely no reason to expect him to lounge in bed with her, or to have left her some sweet note, and yet she’d been sort of crushed anyway.
She couldn’t afford to need him, or anyone. Her survival depended on her being okay with a solo life, but Zane was breaking through her resolves at warp speed, even though she hadn’t even kissed him.
This had to end. No more sleeping in the bunkhouse. She’d get a hotel room, or something. But even the mere thought of moving to a hotel made her sad, not just because of Zane, but because she’d come out here to be with Mira, not to cloister herself in a hotel room, like she did almost every other night of her life.
Resolutely, she lifted her chin as she neared the house. She was not going to let Zane drive her away. She was here for Mira, and no man was going to interfere with that. She’d just drag one of those dusty mattresses out and sleep on that. Situation solved.
She smiled, feeling better as she pulled open the front door, looking forward to breakfast with Mira. Some girl time would be great. She could talk to Mira about Zane and—
Conversation stopped, and five faces turned toward her as she stepped inside. At the kitchen table, visible from the front door, were Mira, Chase, Erin, Zane, and a man who looked enough like Zane and Chase that she was willing to bet it was Steen. The table was littered with nearly-empty serving plates, and the scent of bacon and fresh bread filled the air. It looked like a genuine down-home breakfast, filled with warmth, camaraderie, and family. Longing swept over her, quickly followed by a discomfort and awkwardness. There was so much intimacy in the room, and she wasn’t a part of it.
Mira waved at her, not getting up from her seat between Chase and Erin. “Hey, girl! You just made it! We saved a couple pieces of bacon for you. Pull up a chair.”
“I’ll get one for her.” Zane stood up quickly, f
lashed her a smile that eased a little bit of the tension in her body, and then he disappeared around the corner.
“Um, okay.” She walked into the kitchen, aware that conversation had stopped, as if her presence had derailed it. She managed a smile at the man she didn’t know. “You must be Steen.”
He stood up immediately and leaned across the table to shake her hand, his face creasing into a warm smile. He was wearing jeans, cowboy boots, and a crisp plaid shirt. “Steen Stockton. It’s great to meet you, Taylor. Mira has been so excited about you coming.”
“Thanks.” His grip was warm and strong, his hands slightly roughened from all the work he’d been doing on the house. His eyes were a brilliant blue, just like Chase’s, and he had the same angular jaw as his brothers. “It’s great to be here.”
“I got a chair.” Zane walked back into the room, carrying what looked like a hand-made wooden chair. Had one of the brothers made it?
“Put it there.” Mira pointed to a spot between Chase and Steen, close to where Zane was standing.
He obediently set it down, holding it out for her. He gave her a private smile as she sat down, and her heart fluttered in response. “Thanks.”
He nodded, and retreated back to his seat on the other side of the table.
Taylor helped herself to some cold eggs, a couple pieces of bacon, and half a muffin. Everything was cold, and everyone’s plates were empty, making her realize that breakfast had been going on for quite a while. Why hadn’t anyone come to get her? She bit her lip as she started to eat. The conversation swelled again, a rapid-fire exchange as everyone made plans for the day.
“Chase and I are headed into town to do some shopping,” Mira announced. “We really need to finish furnishing the baby’s room.”
“Steen and I are heading into town too,” Erin said. “We’re picking up more stuff for the house and the clinic. You want to meet for lunch?”
“Totally.” Mira grinned at her. “Maybe we could go shopping for clothes after lunch?” She patted her belly. “I need a couple more tops. I can’t fit anything over my belly anymore.” She beamed at Chase. “You and Steen can do some man stuff.”
A Real Cowboy Rides a Motorcycle Page 6
