Montana Moonshine (Montana Cowboys Book 1)

by Vi Summers

  “Lou...”

  “Louisiana,” she interjected in a tone that made my blood turn to ice. She whispered her name once more before sniffing and unbuckling her seat belt.

  I gently brushed my fingers against hers in the hope it would thaw the ever-growing glacier between us.

  “Darlin’, talk to me.”

  “There’s nothing else to say, Brandon. Enough was said tonight.”

  The dejection in Lou’s voice had me so confused. Surely Wyatt’s mom’s comments hadn’t got to her this much.

  “I don’t get it,” I murmured.

  Back at the party, I thought tonight was going to end a whole lot different than how it was panning out. I was still trying to catch up with the change of pace.

  When Louisiana turned to meet me head-on, the softness in her expression had been replaced with the same closed-off anger she aimed at me when she first arrived.

  “Why don’t you just take me inside and fuck me like the slut everyone thinks I am?”

  Her verbal attack made me physically recoil. “Where the hell is this coming from?” I exclaimed. “If you’re upset about me kissing you earlier, you need to tell me to back off.”

  Her eyes shone with tears and her teeth clenched. “It’s not that, but it is my own fault. I never should have fucked with Jolene’s head and-”

  My heart plummeted. “Wait! What does Jolene have to do with this?”

  Louisiana ducked her head and reached for the door latch. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “The hell it doesn’t.” This time, my grasp was firm when I reached for her arm. “It matters a whole damn lot.”

  She tugged away, and all but threw herself out of the vehicle. I followed without missing a beat, my determined strides quickly eating up the distance as Louisiana rushed for the house.

  “I got what I deserved, Brandon,” she called over her shoulder, obviously thinking I was further away than I was. “And now the entire countryside knows exactly what I am; a dirty liar who deserved to have her son taken away.”

  The sobbed words punched the air from my chest and left me suffocated with rage. Lou’s fingers desperately tugged on the door handle, increasing in anguish when the lock held firm. I reached between her body and the lock just long enough to insert the key and twist, then stood back as she pushed through and ran for the stairs.

  Pocketing the keys and blindly flicking the door closed, I raced to catch up to her, my face in line with the hem of her dress as it billowed in her wake.

  I managed to get halfway into her room before she attempted to slam the door closed, and I grunted when it knocked me against the doorjamb.

  “Louisiana, please talk to me, darlin’. No one knows about your son, so why on earth would they bring him up?”

  My blood pressure was through the roof. I hadn’t told anyone about Ollie—not Wyatt, or Jake, or Rory, or my parents. The only way for it to have been leaked was through Louisiana telling someone, or directly from the Sheriff’s office. Worry weighed in my gut as I thought back over my recent conversation with Sheriff Wilson—about my request to allow Lou special access to her son earlier than the contract stated.

  Wilson had been wary and had neither supported nor denied my request, and now that left me uncertain of how private that phone call had really been.

  “No one brought him up, but Jolene made it very clear that felons like me should never be allowed to breed,” Louisiana angrily air quoted.

  I let out an agonized growl as if the words were a physical blow. “Lou, please, come here.”

  Opening my arms but not moving closer, I literally ached to hold her and assure her that it would all be okay. Instead, she shook her head and inched away with dejection in her eyes. Both may as well have been a slap to the face.

  “I can’t, Brandon. I just… can’t.”

  With a sorrow-filled expression and tears streaming down her cheeks, she looked every part the broken woman I’d caught glimpses of. She’d hidden it so well until now.

  “You can, sweetheart.” I dropped my hands in defeat, then scrubbed one over my face. “Can I make you a drink?” I didn’t add that I needed a stiff two-fingers of my best moonshine.

  Louisiana simply shrugged off my offer and stood in front of the window with her back to me. I didn’t need a clear view of her face to see she was exhausted and overwhelmed—the hunch of her shoulders alone voiced her inner turmoil.

  I forced myself not to reach for her. Instead, I murmured a suggestion before quietly closing the door behind me.

  “Take a shower, darlin’. A hot chocolate will be waiting for you when you’re good’n ready.”

  My hands trembled as I descended the stairs. I felt like I was floating despite the weight in my heart. It was meant to be a fun night out. Instead, it turned into a storm I feared there was no coming back from. My good intentions had created a backlash sharper than the crack of a whip, and the thought of me having lost the chance I thought I had with Louisiana was just as piercing.

  . . .

  I was two sips into my second glass of moonshine when I heard my name faintly being repeated inside.

  “Outside, darlin’,” I called from the porch swing, where I soaked in the tranquility of the spring night.

  Louisiana’s footsteps tracked closer, and the front door pushed open. The moment she appeared, I could already tell she was infinitely more relaxed than half an hour ago.

  “Can I join you?” she murmured.

  As if I would ever deny her.

  Flicking the blanket off half the swing seat, I waved her over. Gone was the pretty dress and high heels that left a worthwhile dent on my credit card. Both were replaced with sleepwear that was just as alluring. I tried not to gawk at the tendrils of her blonde hair falling from the small bundle on top of her head, or salivate from the sweet fragrance on her skin as she settled beside me.

  Lou tucked the blanket around her without a word. I eyed her in the moonlight while trying to breathe away the tightness around my lungs. I was beginning to fall for this girl hard.

  She turned and offered a weak smile. It made my stomach flip all the same. As if remembering the drink in my hand, I took another small sip, then leaned over to pick up the hot chocolate I’d made for her.

  “For you.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t think you’d make one…”

  I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to come down, hence the travel mug to keep it warm. But for what it’s worth, I’m glad you did.”

  Louisiana smiled around the lip of the travel mug before taking a sip, letting out a sigh afterward that had me shifting in my seat.

  “I like you, Lou. A lot.”

  More than I should. More than I’d realized until tonight. And much, much more than I ever liked the other women I’d dated.

  “I like you too,” she whispered.

  I shook my head and chuckled bitterly. “I’m not sure that you get it, darlin’. I like you a whole lot more than I should. I don’t know when or how or why—all I know is that you’ve got me feeling things I’ve never felt before. I don’t know what that means for the long run, but no matter what happens after your time here comes to an end, I need you to know that I’m fallin’ in love with you, Lou.”

  Her stare was as wide as a barn owl’s. The words that formed behind her pretty blue eyes slipped from her mouth as nothing more than a breathy exhale.

  I chuckled and turned my attention back to the clear liquid resting on my thigh. “Close your mouth, darlin’. The moths will fly in. And trust me, the dust on their wings really sticks to the roof of your mou-”

  “I’m falling for you, too.” Louisiana’s whisper stopped my rambling, and I did a double-take.

  “But I can’t let this go anywhere, Brandon. I’m so sorry, but it’s not just me I need to think about. There’s Ollie and my life with him. And then…” She swallowed thickly while she paused. “Then there’s you with your life out here.”

  Fuck, I
didn’t think my chest could burn so much. It wasn’t what she said, it was how she said it; true sorrow splintered her voice as she held back more tears.

  I took a deep breath, the biggest I’d taken all day. “What if we tried? Out here, us all together…”

  Louisiana scoffed. “You haven’t even met him yet.”

  I made sure my gaze didn’t so much as contemplate shifting from hers. “What if I want to?”

  “Brandon…” She blinked hard.

  My hand rose to cup the back of her neck. When she didn’t resist, I guided her closer. Her warm, chocolatey breath fanned over my mouth and had my tongue begging to get a taste of what I craved.

  “You set the pace, darlin’, and I’ll match it. I’m a patient man.”

  Her inhale hitched and her eyes dropped to my mouth. Her body trembled under my touch. She made my body hum in the same way.

  “I can’t believe I’m gonna say this,” she murmured, “but it’s gotta be slow. I gotta know I’m doing the right thing.”

  I put a little distance between us until she fisted my shirt. “I know I said slow, but you owe me a kiss, Brandon.”

  “I don’t know that I do. I mean, I did kiss you already tonight…”

  A giggle left Louisiana’s mouth before she tugged roughly on my shirt. Our lips crashed together with a ferocity that put me off balance more than physically.

  All the other times I’d kissed her, we started slowly and coaxed the fire to life from nothing more than sparking embers. This time, we collided with the heat of an out-of-control wildfire.

  Our drinks instantly became forgotten, as did the night around us. When her hold eased, I lifted Louisiana by the hips and settled her on my lap.

  Fingers wove through my hair and tightened as her tongue moved against mine in a frenzy that drove me crazy. I roamed my hands between her sleep pants and top, unable to hold back a groan. The smooth expanse of skin teased me, begging me to trace higher. Louisiana pulled her lips from mine and tilted her head back with a gasp.

  “Christ, darlin’.” I growled as my erection hardened between us. “It pains me to say this, but you need to pump the brakes a little. If it were up to me, I’d have you upstairs already-”

  I cut off with another groan when her lips came back down on mine and imploded my hunger all over again. Cupping her breasts, I all but sobbed when I realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. She was making it much too hard to take things slow… It was sheer fucking agony.

  “I don’t think I can stop,” she breathed.

  All alcohol left my system, leaving behind a clarity so sharp I faltered. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to hear Louisiana say those words. Gripping her ass with both hands, I matched the fervor of her kiss while pulling her hard against my erection and grinding upwards.

  “You’re gonna have to spell it out for me, sweetheart, because I’m in a complicated position and I need you to be calling the shots this time around.”

  “This time, huh?” Lou panted. “You’ve already made up your mind, you’re just wanting me to give you the green light.”

  The devilish glint in her eyes had me humming an approval into the soft skin of her neck. A single nip was all it took for the first plead to pass her lips, nothing more than a whisper.

  “More.”

  Setting my hand on the back of her neck, I secured her to my body and rose to my feet, ignoring the falling blanket and the drinks I kicked over in the process.

  “Say it,” I growled, frozen mid-step and ready to carry her inside.

  “Take me to bed, cowboy.”

  “Good enough for me.”

  I rushed forward and fumbled with the door. Louisiana’s laugh was loud in my ear, and it was the best damn song I’d ever heard. I thought I’d lost her tonight and wasn’t taking my chances again.

  I hadn’t thought I had too many stairs before now, and thank fuck Jake was out of town because the amount of cussing, laughing, and pausing to make out against the wall would have roused his suspicions.

  As it was, I hardly took a breath between tossing Louisiana on my bed and stripping out of my clothes. After helping with hers, I found myself positioned over her body with my dick working through her heat.

  “Protection,” she gasped.

  With a cuss, I tore myself off her and dug through my bedside drawer with more desperation than I was proud of. I rolled on that condom at record speed, because Christ, I was borderline frantic to have her after weeks of trying to ignore the chemistry between us.

  Nudging her knees higher, I resettled between them and looked down at the most beautiful woman I’d ever met.

  “Hey,” I breathed, finding myself locked in a momentary lull of surreal calm where Louisiana stared up at me as if I’d hung the moon and stars just for her.

  “Hey,” she breathed back, her eyelids heavy with need.

  “Ready?”

  She nibbled her lip. “It’s been a while, okay?”

  I nodded and began easing into her, watching her reaction closely for winces and pain. A groan rumbled deep in my throat as I filled her and thrust gently a few times. Drawing out, then gripping her thigh, I tugged it over my hip as I slid back in. As a drawn-out moan wove from Louisiana’s mouth, the squeeze around my dick intensified.

  “Fuck, you doin’ that on purpose?” I growled through clenched teeth, barely keeping control.

  “No. I told you it had been a while.”

  I couldn’t believe how responsive she was, and it sent my arousal through the goddamn roof.

  Pushed up on extended arms, I watched her writhe and arch with my movements. Her heart-shaped lips parted, and each pant spurred me on.

  I groaned as her body squeezed around me, each ripple of pleasure stronger than the last. The room blurred until Louisiana was all I could see, feel, hear, smell, and taste. She consumed me and brought me to my knees harder than I thought I could ever fall.

  My need spiked when her nails frantically clawed at my skin, leaving behind burning trails that fueled the fire in my belly. I gritted my teeth and fucked harder when her breathy words began to tumble out.

  Fuck.

  Yes.

  Brandon.

  Oh God.

  Time stood still. She arched and squeezed her eyes closed, coming around me with a burst that left me seeing stars. Ripples and spasms shocked over my erection until there was no way I could hold off any longer.

  She cried out when I locked her in place and thrust hard the last few times before coming so hard, I swear I left my body.

  The room filled with our labored pants and residual groans as we both rode the remainder of the highest of highs.

  In contrast to minutes ago, Louisiana’s fingers gently grazed over my shoulders, leaving ripples of goosebumps behind.

  “Christ, that was over too damn fast. I wasn’t prepared for that.” I puffed a laugh and smoothed my hands up her body in regret that I hadn’t taken my time.

  “Holy fuck, I wasn’t expecting that.” She stretched in the most luxurious way. “Can we do it again?”

  Her blue eyes were wide and intense. And the hell I was saying no.

  I smirked down at her. “As if you have to ask, darlin’. I plan on making a pig of myself tonight.”

  I discarded the condom haphazardly on the floorboards beside the bed. I had much more pressing matters to attend to—tasting the skin on Louisiana’s neck for starters.

  . . .

  “Hey, boss?” Jake knocked, then pushed my bedroom door open without waiting for a reply. “Shit,” he hissed, and halted in his tracks.

  The only thing that moved were his eyes; they flared wide and flicked between me, Louisiana, and the floor where the evidence of our sexcapade lay forgotten about.

  “What, man?” I snapped. He was never back from Helena this early on a Sunday morning off!

  He thumbed over his shoulder and didn’t so much as attempt to hide an amused snigger. “The Sheriff’s here. Seriously, I leave ya’ll alone for one
night, and-”

  “Get out!” I roared.

  Jake threw his head back and laughed as he did as I demanded, but the closed door did nothing to block out his laughter.

  I began to untangle myself from Louisiana’s limbs, then froze when Jake’s laughter came back.

  “Want me to stall ‘em?”

  “Yes, dammit, Jake. Stall him!”

  While muttering under my breath and pulling on the first item of clothing I found on the floor, Louisiana began giggling.

  “What’s funny, darlin’?” I asked, focusing on the zipper and button on my jeans.

  Her laugh turned into a little snort. “Nothing. Just happy.”

  Now that made my heart miss a beat; the feeling was very much mutual.

  Edging toward the window, I cracked the curtain just enough to snag a peek at the sheriff—purely to make sure Jake wasn’t messing with me. All elation congealed and plummeted into the pit of my stomach.

  “Uh, Louisiana. You need to get up. Like, now!”

  I heard her gasp. I hadn’t meant to say it so harshly, but I was panicking in a big way; Wilson had come through for me, and it was bad goddamn timing.

  Chapter 20

  Louisiana

  Brandon’s tone sliced through my peace and made me bolt upright in his bed. I ignored the satisfying pangs of pain between my legs and wrapped the cover around me as I stood.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He turned from the window wearing a pale expression that instantly made me feel sick.

  “What is it?” I demanded and flew forward.

  Despite Brandon trying to shield me from looking through the gap in the curtains, I caught a glimpse of the scene in the yard, and my heart painfully splintered.

  The man I’d spent the night with instantly became forgotten as I sprinted into my room and pulled on a fresh set of clothes. I didn’t bother with my hair, or brushing my teeth, or even using the bathroom.

  The house blurred as I ran down the stairs with Brandon hot on my heels, saying words I couldn’t hear, let alone comprehend.