Cowboys Like Us

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  While she applied lotion, she tried to guess how many men were out there besides Noah. She finally identified three. One was Brandon, the groom. Then there was Clint, who seemed to be the idea man, and a third person named Greg, who sounded like the joker of the group.

  “I don’t care if you want to use the place,” Noah said at last, “but personally, I think it’ll be a lot of extra trouble to bring in the entertainment.”

  Keely wondered what he’d do if she popped out of the closet and offered to take care of that for the boys. Have a heart attack, most likely. It was a fun concept, though. Noah was such a sitting duck for stunts like that. She’d have to be careful not to overdo it just because it was so easy to shock the pants off of him—literally. She rubbed lotion on her other foot.

  “Noah’s right,” said Brandon from the living room. He seemed to be the organizer. “Maybe we can just come back here to hang out afterward and drink ourselves silly.”

  Now, that could put a real crimp in her plans. She wondered if Noah would come up with something to kill that idea. After all, she had just given him a dramatic glimpse of what he could look forward to once they were alone tonight.

  “That would be okay, I guess,” Noah said.

  Keely grimaced. He must be having another attack of conscience and wanted some built-in safeguards to keep him from acting on his urges. Corrupting Noah wasn’t going to be quite as easy as she’d first thought.

  She untied the robe and slipped her arms out of the sleeves so she could put lotion on her upper body. As she smoothed it over her breasts she thought of Noah’s calloused hands caressing her. She was looking forward to a repeat of that experience.

  “Then let’s plan on coming back here,” Brandon said. “We’ll start the evening at that topless bar we picked out and then head back to the hotel. Oh, and these are the clothes Clint and I came up with for you, Noah. Two pairs of jeans and three shirts.”

  “You’re sure you guys don’t need them?” Noah asked.

  Keely cupped her breasts and closed her eyes. She wanted to hear that voice of his murmuring in her ear. Soon. She’d figure out how to get rid of his friends tonight.

  “I always pack too many clothes,” Clint said. “Besides, Sharon and me are gonna be enjoying that saltwater beach. I bought some bathing trunks, and—”

  “Trunks, my ass!” Greg chortled. “You bought yourself a Speedo, boy. You are into the Vegas lifestyle, big time!”

  Clint laughed. “Why not? Hell, I can wear those cowboy duds anytime. This weekend I’m gonna be a beach bum.”

  Keely wouldn’t mind seeing Noah in a bathing suit, come to think of it. She might have to include a shopping trip in her evening plans.

  “And you make a great beach bum, old buddy,” Brandon said. “Listen, we need to get down to the tux-rental place.”

  “I have to hand it to you, Brandon, for staging this shindig in a Vegas hotel,” Clint said. “Tux rental, bridal shop, florist, chapel and reception hall, everything together in one building. When Sharon and I got married we ran all over the damn place.”

  “I remember,” Brandon said. “I ran all over the damn place with you, and Greg and Tina’s wedding was no better.”

  “Tell me about it,” Greg said.

  “Okay, guys. We gotta boogie,” Brandon said again, sounding a little more impatient.

  “Can’t we see the bedroom and bathroom first?” Greg asked.

  “If we make it quick.” Brandon said. Footsteps sounded over the bamboo footbridge. “I’d love to know what this room goes for per night.”

  The closet was getting a little warm, Keely thought. Or maybe she was heating up the space with her lusty thoughts about Noah in a bathing suit.

  “They don’t charge for these kinds of rooms,” Greg said, the sound of his voice coming closer. “The guys who stay here are the ones who fly in by private jet and drop thousands at the tables. Something you clowns can only dream about.”

  “Excuse me?” Clint said. “I did pretty good in the casino last night.”

  “Oh, you were awesome,” Greg said. “That bucket of nickels sure impressed Tina and me. Any minute now they’ll roll out the red carpet for a big spender like you.”

  “At least I had a bucket of nickels, while a certain cowboy I could mention had a whole lot of nothing in his bucket,” Clint said.

  Keely decided against putting the robe back on for fear she’d start sweating. She leaned her bare back against the wall, which was smooth and cool. Ah, that was better.

  “Wow, will you look at this bedroom?” Brandon said. “It even smells good in here. Like raspberries.”

  She smothered a giggle.

  “And the crime of it all is that Noah is staying solo in this layout,” Greg said. “Hey, Noah, maybe you should look around tonight and see if there’s anybody worth bringing back for the weekend.”

  Sitting up straighter, she listened for his response.

  “I don’t think so,” Noah said.

  She relaxed back against the wall.

  “What do you mean, you don’t think so?” Clint said. “This is Vegas, cowboy. Vegas girls. You’re the only one of us who’s free to sample. We were counting on you to perform for the group so we can get some secondhand thrills.”

  “I guess you’ll have to get your thrills someplace else,” Noah said. “I’m not in the mood.”

  Liar, liar, pants on fire, Keely chanted softly to herself.

  “How can you not be in the mood?” Greg said. “This place cries out for a hot interlude with a temporary babe.”

  “Yeah,” Clint added, “and you didn’t exactly avoid that kind of experience when you were on the rodeo circuit.”

  Keely blinked. Noah had hot interludes on the rodeo circuit? That didn’t fit her picture of him at all. Although the idea of him getting it on with another woman made her peagreen with jealousy, she was dying to know the details.

  “Yeah, I remember a certain lady in Cheyenne,” Brandon said. “You two were holed up in that motel room for forty-eight hours at least. And there was that little gal in San Antone, the barrel racer. And then at the Pendleton Roundup, you—”

  “Never mind,” Noah said, sounding very tense. “No point in dredging up ancient history.”

  “Well, damn.” Greg sighed. “Obviously our buddy Noah is over the hill.”

  “I am not! I just—”

  “The facts speak for themselves,” Greg continued. “We need a moment of silence, boys, for the late, great Noah Garfield. The guy’s in Vegas and he can’t get it up.”

  “Maybe he’s not dead yet,” Brandon said. “Maybe staying in this passion pit will inspire him to regain his former glory.”

  “God, you would think so, wouldn’t you?” Greg agreed. “Look at that bed. It’s criminal to sleep alone in that bed. And right across from that great bed, you’ve got mirrors on the closet doors.” He sighed again. “I had mirror sex once. It was great.”

  “You had sex with a mirror? Are we talking self-gratification for the Gregster?” Clint asked, laughing.

  “No, I had sex with a woman in front of a mirror, lamebrain. And no, it wasn’t with Tina, so I’d appreciate keeping this discussion between us.”

  “Always is,” Brandon said. “Listen, y’all take your bathroom tour and then we’re outta here. Time’s getting short.”

  “Wow.” Clint’s voice echoed slightly in the tiled bathroom. “That tub’s big enough for six Playboy bunnies. And look at this! Suds in the tub! Noah, did you just take a bubble bath?”

  Keely clapped a hand over her mouth. She’d forgotten that somebody might notice that.

  “A bubble bath?” Greg said. “Noah Garfield? This I gotta see. Oh my God. Looks like somebody took a bubble bath. Come to think of it, there was a towel on the bedroom floor. So the evidence mounts that a bubble bath was indeed taken. And the occupants of this suite are Noah Garfield, and…well, nobody, so the incriminating finger points to you, old buddy.”

  “Gotta b
e Noah,” Brandon said, laughing. “No wonder you didn’t want us up here, bro. Did you hide your rubber ducky? I don’t see it anywhere.”

  The laughter grew louder and the comments more crude.

  Finally Noah’s voice rose above the hubbub. “You morons should try a good soak in the tub once in a while,” he said. “Clears the mind.”

  “It wrinkles your privates, is what it does!” Greg said. “Maybe that’s your problem, son. Too many bubble baths. Only good time to take a bath is when you have somebody in there with you. I can’t see the advantage in sitting there by yourself. Well, unless you’re into that.” More laughter followed.

  “This has been most edifying,” Brandon said, “but we really have to leave. Want me to put these clothes in your closet, bro?”

  Keely froze. Then she fumbled around frantically as she tried to put her arms in the sleeves of her robe without making any noise. She couldn’t seem to find the armholes.

  “You can just leave them on the bed,” Noah said quickly.

  Keely tried harder, but the robe was hopelessly twisted.

  “The shirts are on hangers,” Brandon said. “I might as well—”

  “Okay, then I’ll do it,” Noah said.

  Keely sagged against the closet wall with relief.

  “Sheesh. You always were a bossy son of a gun,” Brandon said. “Here.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate the loan of the clothes.”

  Keely held herself very still as the closet door slid partly open. She found herself staring up at Noah’s crotch as he blocked the opening with his body. She had the biggest urge to whisper peek a boo and give him a little tickle on the zipper of his fly, but she controlled herself.

  His gaze flicked down to where she sat, and she waggled her fingers at him. His quick gasp told her he’d noticed that she’d slipped out of the robe. No doubt he thought she’d done it on purpose to torment him, but this time she was innocent. Well, sort of innocent.

  Abruptly he hooked the hangers over the rod and shoved the door closed so hard she was afraid he’d crack the mirror.

  “Boy, that raspberry smell sure is strong,” Clint said. “They must have hung one of those sachet doo-dads in the closet.”

  “Must have,” Noah said. “Come on, let’s go.”

  She waited until there was nothing but silence outside the closet door before she shoved it open and crawled out, leaving the bathrobe in a heap on the closet floor. Grinning, she stood and stretched, all the while wondering what Noah was thinking about right now. Naked women in closets, most likely. The cool air felt great on her skin, and she decided that this suite was made for walking around naked. She crossed the footbridge into the living room.

  So Noah had been a wild man out on the rodeo circuit. That made her mission to corrupt him even more important. He’d moved home to the ranch, shouldered all those responsibilities and lost his spark. It was encouraging to know that he used to have a spark. And she was just the girl to rekindle it.

  This hotel suite was the very place to light such a fire, she thought as she surveyed the cushions spread everywhere. But she needed some more ammunition. Originally she’d planned a quick trip to her hotel to get the rest of her clothes, but they weren’t naughty enough for what she had in mind. This hotel would undoubtedly have a couple of shops that would be perfect for the occasion, and she could pick up Noah’s bathing suit at the same time. But first she had to find out if Noah had thought to leave her a key.

  They hadn’t had time to discuss where he’d put the extra one. Considering his condition after she’d dropped her towel, he wouldn’t have been able to focus on such matters, anyway. But she hoped he’d thought of it before he left.

  Ten minutes later, she stood gazing out the sliding doors to the terrace and fanning herself absently with the empty key folder. The key wasn’t anywhere. He’d probably taken both keys without thinking about it. Or maybe he had thought about it and didn’t want her venturing out yet. Either way, she didn’t intend to let the lack of a key stop her. She’d simply have to go find him.

  Until she went shopping she’d have to make do with the dress she had, but she longed for fresh underwear after that nice bath. Finally she decided to rinse out her panties and dry them with the hair dryer. She could skip the bra. After all, she was in Vegas, as Noah’s friends had pointed out more than once.

  She touched up her makeup with supplies she kept in her purse, put on her slightly damp panties and pulled her dress over her head. Then she released her hair from its topknot and finger-combed it into place. Time to go find the Romeo of the Rodeo Circuit.

  SHE’D ENDED UP NAKED in the closet, after all, Noah thought as he stood in the tux-rental shop and buttoned the vest he’d be wearing as a groomsman. Now all he could think about was how she’d looked. He should have guessed she’d be in there putting on her raspberry lotion.

  When he’d opened the closet door he’d been hit with a double whammy, a naked Keely and the overwhelming scent of raspberries. How he’d managed to close the door and walk out of the bedroom as if he were a sane person, he’d never know. He could still see her there in the dusky interior of that closet, smiling at him and wiggling her fingers in greeting.

  She was a devil woman. And she wanted to tempt him the way she’d tempted others before him, but it wasn’t going to work, damn it. Somewhere he’d find the strength to resist and demonstrate to her that at least one man valued her for something besides sex. He would show her there was another path she could take and that her spectacular body didn’t have to dictate her future.

  But he’d have to be careful. He’d nearly cracked when she’d dropped that towel. If he were completely honest with himself, she’d been the one to call a halt, not him. If she’d given him even the slightest encouragement, he would have aborted his plan and been all over her. He knew it and he suspected she knew it, too.

  That damn raspberry lotion wasn’t helping, either. He couldn’t very well tell her not to use it if that’s what she liked. And he wouldn’t want to be responsible for the dry air damaging that soft skin. That satiny, golden, sweetly freckled…

  “Yo, Garfield!” Brandon clapped him on the back. “Just two more buttons and you’ll have that vest together. Work with me, man. Button, buttonhole. That’s it. I think you’ve got it now.”

  Noah’s neck grew warm with embarrassment. No telling how long he’d been standing there staring off into space. “Can’t a guy take a moment?” he said. “These weddings are big medicine. I’ve got some deep thinking to do.”

  Brandon laughed. “That sounds like my line. Anyway, you’ll have plenty of thinking time later, when we all have a beer in our hands. Right now we have to find out if your monkey suit fits. Here’s the coat.”

  Noah stuck his arms in the coat Brandon held for him. “Why does everybody always get rigged up like this for weddings?” he asked.

  “Because it gets the women hot,” Greg said as he adjusted the lapels of his coat. “Right, Brandon?”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “It’s true.” Clint checked out his reflection in the three-way mirror. “Chicks can’t resist a guy in tie and tails.”

  “If you say so. You all could pass for city slickers, if that’s what you’re after.” Noah grinned as he watched his three friends walk around in their rented finery. Looking at them now, nobody would guess that Clint and Brandon were two of the finest bareback riders in the country and that Greg could rope and tie a steer faster than almost anyone on the circuit.

  Clint and Brandon were as close as brothers, but they’d never pass for biological brothers. Clint was tall and blond and Brandon was short and dark-haired. Greg, a freckle-faced redhead, had developed a slight beer belly now that he’d reached his thirties, but he was strong as an ox.

  “I think I look like a high roller,” Greg said, sucking in his stomach. “Maybe this getup will convince somebody to give me a suite on your floor, Noah.”

  “This from a guy who bombed out on nic
kel slots,” Clint said.

  Immediately Greg wanted to debate the possibility of a system for playing slots. Noah tried to concentrate on the conversation, but Greg’s mention of the suite had derailed him. Once again all he could think about was Keely.

  He could even smell raspberries. Amazing how a scent could stay with you like that, even when the source was… Wait a minute. He turned toward the door of the tux shop and, sure enough, Keely had just walked inside.

  She didn’t look at him. His heart raced as he wondered what she was up to. If she’d meant to blow his cover, she would have come right over and greeted him. Instead, she wandered around the shop gazing at the displays, while his three friends stared openmouthed at her.

  He couldn’t blame them. With her tousled hair and short, flirty dress, she was a traffic stopper, all right.

  The clerk hurried up to her. “May I help you with something?”

  She turned her high-wattage smile on him. “I’m getting ideas.”

  Noah would bet the ranch on that one.

  The clerk nodded happily. “When is the happy occasion?”

  Keely’s glance flicked ever-so-slightly in Noah’s direction. “Soon.” Then her attention swung back to Noah with more purpose. “And, you know, that’s quite a bit like what I had in mind, right there.”

  Noah forced himself to breathe normally as she came toward him. He didn’t have to look to know that his buddies were watching intently.

  Her green eyes held that sparkle of devilment that was pure Keely. “Very nice,” she said, giving him the once-over. “Would you turn around, please, so I can see how it looks in back?”

  He really didn’t have a choice. He turned.

  “Yes,” she murmured. “Exactly what I’m looking for.”

  He faced her again and hoped the red in his face didn’t clash too much with the dove-gray coat. “I need to get changed.” He winced at the obvious catch in his voice.