Santa Wore Spurs

by Various

"They do?" Again, he didn’t think they were talking about a cedar or a pine.

  "Yea, to be brought into a home and given a place of honor, dressed up in finery... oh, yeah, not every tree is so lucky." She stopped at one growing next to a fallen log. After a few circles and a lot of hmmmms, she announced, "I like this one. What do you think?"

  Cade made a show of inspecting the cedar. About eight foot tall, it had a nice shape, was pretty full... uh-oh...until he walked to the back and saw a gap wide enough to house a good-size raccoon. But knowing her criteria, he figured this flaw made the cedar even more impressive. "Looks good to me." He held up the hatchet. "So, is this the one?"

  "Yes, let’s go decorate it! Then, we’ll sit in front of the fire and look at the lights."

  As he chopped it down and loaded it up, he knew what he would be doing under the tree. Cade planned on unwrapping his Christmas present early. "How about if you look at the lights and I look at you?"

  * * * *

  "Let me pick you up."

  Abby gasped as he held her up so she could place the star in the top of the tree. "Beautiful!"

  "Yes, you are." He deliberately let her slide down his body. By the time her feet hit the floor, he had her mouth under his, her bottom cupped in his hands and his cock was hard as a rock between them. "I want you, Abby-girl. I’ve thought about loving on you all day."

  "You have?" He’d made some comments, but their history of joking around had made her wary of taking him literally. They’d had a good time stringing lights, hanging balls, arranging a thousand bits of tinsel at just the right angle and just the right branch. And all the time he’d worn the Santa Claus duster, his hat and spurs that jangled as he walked. He didn’t realize it, but the time and attention he was giving her was the sweetest gift she’d ever been given.

  "Oh, yeah." He skated his lips down the side of her neck and nipped her on the soft flesh next to her collarbone. "Will you let me?"

  Her breathing became labored and her blood pressure spiked. "Let me freshen up real quick, okay?" Before he could answer either way, Abby sped away.

  "Hurry back. I’ll be waiting." Impatiently, he thought. While she was gone, he set the stage. Digging in the closet, he found a soft blanket and a few throw pillows. He dimmed the lights, put an extra log on the fire and lit a few candles. Then, he shucked his clothes, laid down on the blanket and waited.

  Meanwhile in the bathroom, Abby stared at herself in the mirror. "You know, Abby, if we’d known you were gonna get this much action, we would’ve stocked up on some sexy sleepwear." All she could come up with was a short black nightgown with spaghetti straps. At least it was cut low in the back and front. Maybe she looked okay. Now, if he’d just go along with the rest of her plan. "I wish I had courage pills." Abby checked in her medicine cabinet, but the closest she could come up with was Midol and that wouldn’t help a whole lot. "Oh, well, here goes."

  She was nervous. Like a teenager, she ran down the hall and into the living room. He was gone. "Dang, he escaped."

  Cade chuckled. "Escaped? Do I look stupid to you?"

  Abby grabbed her heart. "God, you scared me." She stepped closer to the couch and peeped over it. "Nope, you look naked." God, he was naked. And handsome. And hung.

  "Get over here, Abilene." Cade felt his heart pounding. She’d never know what this meant to him. He’d loved her for so long. And she loved him, or at least she loved him enough to save his life. That had to count for something.

  Cade was an eyeful. Abby couldn’t stop staring. Just surveying his big body sprawled out on the rug made her weak in the knees. God, he looked like a centerfold for Playgirl. She’d always loved the way he looked. His Native American blood only made him more attractive in her eyes. His skin glowed golden in the firelight. Eyes black as night bore into her heart with a heat so intense, she felt as if her whole body was on fire. "Can I be on top?"

  Her question from out of nowhere made him laugh. Didn’t she know he could deny her nothing? "I’m at your mercy, Abby. Consider me at your service." She came to him hesitantly, moving closer. Long graceful bare legs drew his touch. He ran his hand up her calf and cupped the back of her knee. "You’re so soft." Cade felt his cock fill to bursting. Since he’d strolled through her door a few days ago, he’d been a walking erection. He sat up and drew her down, anxious to taste her lips.

  Abby was lost in the sensation of his mouth on hers, his palms gliding up her bare back, sending shivers through her body. "Help me. Show me how." She couldn’t think, she could only feel.

  "My pleasure." Cade arranged her on top of him. "I’m so much bigger than you. You can just lay up there and play all you want."

  He was right. Abby felt free. The curves of her body fit perfectly into the planes and angles of his. She settled herself, connected to him from breast to thigh, her legs lying in between his. Placing her hands on either side of his face, she stared into his eyes. The glow from the embers gave her just enough light to see his expression. If she didn’t know better, she’d say it was filled with love, but that would be a complication she didn’t know how to deal with. Second chances at love weren’t granted to everyone, only a lucky few, and luck had never been her strong suit.

  For an unfathomable amount of time, he let her kiss him. Every lick and touch and caress tugged at his heart. She was gaining confidence, taking her pleasure while giving him more than he ever thought possible. When her lips began blazing a trail down his neck to his chest, he knew he had to get in on the act. "Sit up, just a bit."

  She did, and with shaking hands he pulled the straps of her gown down over her shoulders so he could cup her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her taut nipples. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and closed her eyes, better to savor the pleasure he was so generously bestowing. Chills skated over Abby’s body as the arousal began to rise. Unable to just take, she wanted to give, so she dipped her head to kiss him, still leaving room for him to tease her tits.

  "You are so delicious, Abilene."

  Abby shivered in delight and gratitude. "I don’t think I can wait. I’m super excited."

  Her husky voice and sweet confession made him desperate to be inside her. "Lift up; I don’t want you to expire on me."

  She giggled and he laughed. God, he loved having a good time with her. The black gown was bunched around her waist, hanging to about mid-thigh. He was careful to preserve her modesty, he just wished he could tell her that whatever she was hiding didn’t matter a hill of beans to him. Taking his cock, he held it, so she could impale herself. "Oh, I love the way you feel. You do Texas proud, Big Boy."

  Cade laughed. "I love you. You realize that, don’t you?" She didn’t answer, but he excused her because she was working her way down his shaft, taking him inch by inch and the look on her face made him damn glad he was a man.

  She hadn’t heard him right. There was no way she had heard him right, so she just stayed silent. "Cade, Cade, Cade," she prayed his name. Being filled to the brim, stretched to the max was ecstasy.

  "Are you all right?"

  "Much, much better than all right," she breathed as she threw her head back.

  "That’s what a cowboy likes to hear." Cade was hypnotized. The woman was a goddess. Her elegant neck was lusciously exposed, those perfect breasts were tilted up and her hair was cascading down her back and tickling his thighs. "Are you ready, Rodeo Queen?"

  "More than eight seconds, please."

  "No problem, Doll, I’ll accept that challenge. How many orgasms do you want?"

  "As many as you can give me, Tallbull."

  She smiled at him and he growled. "Damn. Hold on, Abilene. This is gonna be a wild ride." Cade took over, lifted her and started pushing up. As he helped her find her rhythm, he began thrumming her nipples, massaging her breasts, reveling in the little mewls and whimpers coming from her lips.

  Abby braced herself on his chest as she rocked back and forth, over and over. The sweet friction intensified the building tension humming in her pussy. "Fe
els so good," she whimpered. He pumped up hard and she began to lose her mind. Two strokes later she came so good, her hoarse cry echoing in the room.

  Cade never let up. Instead, he took her by the hands and pulled her forward, changing the angle so he could increase the rhythm. "Again. Cum for me again, Abby."

  Never let it be said she let Cade down. He was taking her with incredible passion, touching places within her she hadn’t even realized were there. "Damn." She panted as tremors of pure fire tingled through her body.

  "Good?" He prided himself in his stamina, but Lord this woman excited him. He held her tight as he hammered into her, determined to throw her over the cliff one more time.

  "God, yes." She gasped as she lost control for the third time.

  The fluttering grip of her sheathe on his cock triggered his explosion and Cade held her tight as he pushed up, emptying himself within her. He pressed his face into her neck, breathing in her scent, loving the little sounds she made. There was no doubt; this was the best damn sex of his life.

  Chapter Eight

  "You knew you had to go to the Bachelorette party, Sis. Pam’s gonna be our sister-in-law, whether we like it or not." Trace was always the peacemaker.

  "I know. I just wasn’t happy about it. It’s been a long day, so I just made an appearance and came home." Abby flounced wearily on the couch, glancing at the clock. It was nearly nine P.M. and she still wore the short little party dress she’d worn to the club. She’d cooked all afternoon before going to the party, determined to give them a good Christmas despite the madness. Chocolate cake, coconut cake, mince pie, pumpkin pie, potato salad, ham, turkey—she had gone all out. It was December 23rd and the Kings were used to eating well for the holiday. The only thing she lacked was a big pot of gumbo for Christmas Eve supper. Even though they were well able to hire a cook, Abby wasn’t ready to give up control of the kitchen.

  "You should see the set-up we’ve got. Justice outfitted the deer camp into a man-cave hideaway. He has everything men could want to make them happy: big screen TVs, a kick-ass sound system, kegs, catered BBQ and shrimp. We’re meeting here and riding over together. People are already gathering. The party will go on ‘til daybreak."

  "There was a stripper at Pam’s party. Will you all have them?" She didn’t like to think about some gorgeous floozy taking off her clothes in front of Cade, especially when she’d refused to do it for him. He’d made it pretty clear he didn’t intend for their relationship to digress, even saying he loved her which made Abby nervous. Surely, it was passion talking. She’d tried to envision a scenario where all of this would work out, and she couldn’t.

  "Of course we’ll have strippers, lookers, two of them—Candi Cream and Ginger Ice. I booked them myself."

  "Oh, my goodness!" She laughed. "We only had one. Get this…Dr. Cocktapus!"

  "Ha! Did you get wound up in his tentacles?"

  "Ewww." Abby made a face. "I managed to steer clear of him. Where did they come from? There aren’t any clubs around here. Did we have them flown in along with the Beluga caviar?"

  "No, I think they came down from Dallas." All of a sudden Trace drew serious. "Can I tell you something?"

  "Of course." Abby sat up. "You’re my favorite brother."

  "I knew that," he answered with confidence. Then, he leaned closer. "Trevor and I are interested in the same girl."

  "No!" Abby almost fell off her chair. "Really? Tell me about her."

  Trace shook his head. "Well, we don’t really know much. She’s a little on the mysterious side."

  "How? I thought you two had a code so this wouldn’t happen."

  "We do." Trace looked a bit miserable. "This girl slipped through the crack. I met her at the Hex Rally on campus and she bowled me over. We talked for a few minutes. I even kissed her."

  "What’s her name?" Abby smelled the air. "My cookies!" She raced over to the oven and pulled out a batch of double chocolate chip.

  "Her name is Macy. Long blonde hair, big blue eyes…" Abby laughed when Trace’s eyes glazed over, lost in the memory.

  "What about Trevor?"

  "He came home from Austin City Limits and declared he was in love, but when he showed me her photo on his phone, it was Macy." Trace grabbed a cookie from the pan and yelled when it burned his fingers.

  "If you’ll give me a second, I’ll get you a cool one." Abby wanted to tease her brother about his romantic entanglements, but she could see he didn’t consider it a laughing matter. "So, how are you two going to work it out?"

  "I don’t know. Neither one of us wants to step aside. We may have to duel over her."

  "There’s no contest. Macy is into me." Trevor sounded sure of himself as he sauntered into the room. "Abby, you’ve got a letter and a package. Someone left it up at the main house."

  "Good." She closed the oven door, set the hot cookie sheet on a rack and came over to see if it was what she’d been hoping for. While she was tearing the envelope open, she looked at her brothers. They were joking and laughing. She was relieved. Fighting over a woman had torn up plenty of sibling relationships.

  "Where’s Cade?" Shiloh asked as he came in the room, lured by the smell of fresh-baked goodies.

  "He’s with Jase. They’re checking out a new colt Shalimar delivered this morning." Quickly, she scanned the letter and breathed a sigh of relief.

  "What’s that?" The twins were looking over her shoulder. "Damn." Trace grabbed the piece of paper from her hand. "Cade is being inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame?"

  "Yes." Abby grabbed the document back. "He’s three times World Championship Cowboy, seven time NFR qualifier and has two PRCA Championship Steer Roping titles."

  "One would think you were his agent or cheerleader…or something…" Trevor drawled. "Did you nominate him?"

  "Yes," she said slowly. "Our family has nominated several people in the past, you know that."

  "Don’t get defensive," Trace teased her. "You don’t have to explain."

  "No, I don’t." She quickly put the package under the counter. She didn’t want her brothers to know she’d ordered special commemorative items with the COWBOY HALL OF FAME inductee info engraved on them. Abby intended them to go under the Christmas tree for Cade. A smile warmed her face as she remembered what they’d done under the tree last night.

  "Can we tell him?" Shiloh asked with a grin, knowing her answer already.

  "No!" Abby didn’t get any more of a protest out because the door opened again. This time it was Jase and Cade. Abby wasn’t surprised all the brothers were congregating at her place. They were hiding. The main house was full of wedding guests, some of them strangers.

  Cade’s eyes sought her out immediately. She’d been up and out of bed before him this morning, needing to travel east of Nacogdoches to check out a herd infested with EHD, a hemorrhagic condition caused by a biting fly called a midge. She’d treated the cattle and taught the rancher how to modify the bank structure of his ponds to discourage the breeding of the insect. Cade had called her, telling her that would be the last damn time she sneaked off without waking him up. The memory made Abby smile. She didn’t know where all of this was headed, but she was definitely enjoying the ride.

  "I want to talk to you." He mouthed the words to her from across the room and her heart rate sped up.

  "Okay," she answered silently.

  "Isn’t it time to go? I’m ready to party!"

  "Yea, I have a surprise for you in the truck." Shiloh slapped his brother on the back.

  "What kind of surprise?" Jase looked intrigued. "Is it a woman?"

  The brothers shook their heads, amused. "I think you have your hands full, don’t you?"

  "It’s something you’ve been wanting a long time, a handmade saddle by Dirk Lancaster."

  Jase stood, stunned. He knew what this meant. The cost wasn’t the issue. It was the rarity. Lancaster only made three saddles a year and they were some of the finest craftsmanship in the country, inlaid silver and meticulous engravings.
"I don’t know what to say. Thank you." He hugged Shiloh. "I can’t wait to see it." Turning to the others, he teased. "So, what are you all giving me?"

  "A hard time, that’s what." In just a few moments, they were headed out. But Cade didn’t join them.

  "Aren’t you going?"

  "No, I’d rather be here with you. Jase understands. We need to talk."

  Oh, brother. He was moving toward her—slowly. There was definitely something on his mind. Stalling for time, she asked, "Does Jase seem happy to you?"

  "Truthfully? No. But it’s not my place, nor yours to interfere. We might not fully understand their relationship."

  "I know, I just want him to be happy." Abby held on to the back of the couch. He walked up to her, slipped an arm under her knees and picked her up. She held on to his neck. "What are you doing?"

  "Making myself happy." In a moment they were sitting on the couch, and she was in his lap.

  "What’s wrong?" He looked so serious. Abby felt small in his arms. If she were surer of herself, she’d love to run her hands over his shoulders and arms. His mouth was so kissable. She braced her hands on his chest and studied his expression.

  "Nothing’s wrong. I just want to clear the air."

  Oh, no. That couldn’t be good. "About what?"

  "Us."

  There was an ‘us’? "Alright."

  Cade took her chin in his hand and Abby’s breath hitched in her throat. "I know why you’ve been hiding from me. I know what happened in the fire."

  Abby felt herself crumple. Immediately she removed her hands from his body and started to get up.

  "No. You’re not going anywhere."

  Abby felt her body flush with mortification. "I don’t want to talk about this."

  Cade crushed her in his arms. "God, if only I had known! You thought I was in that burning barn? You ran into hell to save me?"

  Abby didn’t know what to say. She let her arms creep around his neck. Was he crying?

  "Do you know what it does to me to think you were hurt and in pain and I wasn’t told?" He buried his face in her hair. "I left that day thinking you and I had a future to look forward to. Don’t you realize I’ve loved you all of my damn life?"