She shrugged. “If Marc and I get serious enough to move it to the bedroom, then we—you and I—are done. Like I said, I like it one-on-one.” She started to slide from the couch and stopped. “In fact, the same deal your way. If you start seeing someone—wait. You’re not involved with anyone right now, are you?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Great. Then when and if you do get involved with anyone, just say the word and we’re done. Okay?” She stood and looked down at him. “No harm. No foul.”
Her searing gaze was like staring into the blazing sun. Okay? He was stunned. Bumfuzzled, as his grandpa used to say.
“Before I decide one way or the other, I want to make sure we’re clear on a few points. We have no future. There is no us. No long-term happy-ever-after. This isn’t a fairy tale, Paige. It’s real life.” He hated sounding so hard, so brusque, but she had to understand he had nothing to offer her. “If we do this, it’s just sex. Not making love or any other pretty label you might want to put on it. If it lasts through the summer, fine. We’ll go our separate ways when you leave for school. If either of us wants out before then, it’s over. No questions. No tears. No regrets.”
Her smile might have faltered for just a second and a look of uncertainty might have flashed across her face, but just for a second. Then she seemed to regroup.
“Fine,” she said.
“Fine. Let’s both sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow.”
She gave him a short head bob, turned her back to him and walked away. “Oh. And you owe me an orgasm,” she said over her shoulder as she took the first step down.
Fuck a duck. Bad, bad idea.
And yet a very interesting idea.
Chapter Ten
Paige skated down the stairs to her room after making the most outrageous proposition of her life. Her heart jackhammered her chest wall. Had he seen how absolutely terrified she’d been the whole time? Her teeth had been chattering so hard during oral sex that at one time she feared she’d bite him. For him to say he’d think about it? That didn’t do much for her confidence.
And another sticky wicket was Travis’s one thousand dollars per month. She hadn’t deposited or cashed the checks from April or May. Honestly, she’d only agreed to take the money because she’d still been so mad at Cash for moving into her house. She and Leo had both received sizeable inheritances when their parents died, enough that she could attend graduate school without taking out a student loan, but not enough to set her up for life. She’d still have to work. Her parents hadn’t had that large of an estate to pass down.
She sighed. Decision made. Tomorrow, regardless of Cash’s answer, she would return those checks to Travis and ask him to send no more.
Once she’d climbed into bed, her mind turned into a vicious bitch, taunting her with different scenarios of how he would reject her again. The worst one was of him laughing while telling others about her desperate attempt to get him to sleep with her. She tossed and turned like a pig on a spit.
The annoying jangle of her phone alarm woke her at nine. The last time she’d looked at the clock it’d been close to four, so she’d gotten at least a few hours of sleep. In the harsh reality of daylight, embarrassment took root inside her. How would she be able to face Cash this morning? What would she say? Should she just pretend everything was normal and wait for him to broach the subject? Or take the bull by the horns and ask for his answer?
As luck would have it, she didn’t have to make any decisions. When she got to the kitchen, the coffee was waiting along with a note.
P
Dad called early this morning and I had to go over to Bar M to help set up for today. I’ll see you there.
C
p.s. I’ve made a decision about our discussion last night.
Super. He’d made a decision but didn’t want to leave it in a note. That did not bode well. Obviously, he was going to say no and wanted to tell her in person so he could explain.
Damn.
She wadded up the note and tossed it in the trash. A swell of disappointment swamped her soul. And as badly as she didn’t want to cry, she couldn’t hold back. Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her face. She swiped at them with her hand, angry at Cash for rejecting her again and furious at herself for caring that he had.
After a good ten-minute pity party, she washed her face at the kitchen sink, dried it and got out the ingredients for another coconut cream pie. A glance in the refrigerator told her Cash had eaten coconut cream pie for breakfast before leaving. There was no way she would take a half-eaten pie over. And as long as she had the oven hot, she also baked a blueberry cobbler to take.
She spent the rest of the morning running a vacuum and dusting and cleaning up the mess she’d made in the kitchen. At two, she loaded cookies and pies into her car and headed over to the Bar M.
Traffic was surprisingly heavy on their little back road. When she turned into Bar M, she saw why. Parked cars lined the drive from the road to the house. Since there was no way she could carry all this food that distance, she drove on up, intending to unload and drive back down to find a parking place. As luck would have it, she pulled in behind a sheriff’s department car. Marc Singer opened the driver’s door and climbed out.
“Am I glad to see you,” she called out the window.
He pivoted at her voice and smiled. “Hi, Paige. Glad to see me, huh?” He headed back to where she parked. “Need a hand with something?”
“Please. Can you carry in these for me?” She handed him the two pies while she got the large container of cookies. “It’ll save me a second trip.”
“Happy to.” He balanced a pie in each hand. “What kind?” He nodded to the foil-covered dishes.
“Coconut cream pie and blueberry cobbler.”
“You’re awesome.” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “You remembered that blueberry cobbler is my favorite.”
No. She didn’t even remember a conversation about blueberry cobbler. “Let me know if you enjoy it.” She looked at him with a puckered brow. “I thought you had to work today.”
“I am at work. Since it seems like most of the county is out here, the sheriff stationed me in the area. Last year, there was a heck of a fight between a couple of drunks over which one was more patriotic.”
They both laughed.
“So will I get to see you later?” Marc asked. “Maybe we can eat some of this blueberry cobbler together.”
Once again, Paige’s heart took off at a race-walk pace. “Maybe. I’ll look for you.” They walked into the house and set their offerings on the counter. “Thanks again for your help, Marc.”
He kissed her cheek. “I’ll catch up with you.”
As he was brushing her cheek with his lips, the kitchen door opened and Jackie Montgomery entered. “Excuse me,” she said with a grin. “I’ll just go out and knock before I come into my kitchen.”
Marc chuckled while Paige felt a hot flash rise in her neck.
“Looking good, Jackie,” Marc said. “I’d be giving you a kiss too but I’ve seen Lane’s right hook.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Please. I’m old enough to be your mother,” she said, but Paige could see she was flattered by Marc’s words.
“I’m gone.” He turned toward Paige and brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”
As soon as he left the kitchen, Jackie looked at Paige. “Sorry for the interruption.”
“You didn’t interrupt anything. I promise. Marc was just helping me bring in stuff from my car.”
Jackie arched an eyebrow. “Can’t say that I’m disappointed then. I was kind of hoping you and Cash were getting together.” She sighed. “I’d really love to see that boy settle down and get happy.”
Paige gulped. She wasn’t sure how to respond but was saved when Olivia, Cash’s sister, wa
lked in.
“Okay, Mom. Here’s the stuffed potatoes. Mitch is behind me with buns. Hi, Paige. How’s it going?”
Latching on to the reprieve, Paige smiled. “Hi, Olivia. Going great. I’m just going to head outside to mingle. Talk to you later.”
She made her escape before she blurted out that she and Cash would never get together because he didn’t want her.
The area around the house was packed with people milling around. Across the yard, her brother, Leo, stood talking to a woman Paige didn’t know. He waved then kept talking to his female friend. All around her were people she’d come to know over the past ten months. All the Montgomerys, of course. The Milholens and Rowes from church. The town librarian, Susie Wilson, who was talking animatedly with Frank White, the town butcher. Paige made her way through the crowd, stopping to say hi or inquire about children and then moving on.
“Looking for me?”
Turning toward the voice, she smiled. “Hi again,” she said to Marc. “No, but your timing is great.” She slipped her arm through his. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Sure. Here?” He made a head gesture to area around them.
“No. Let’s step to some place a little more private.”
He led her out of the crowd and around a tall privet hedge. “This better?”
“Yes.”
“I’m hoping you’ve asked me here to tell me where we’re going this weekend.”
His words sent a ripple of regret through her. Why couldn’t she fall for someone like him?
“No. Not exactly.” She squeezed his arm then pulled hers free.
“There’s someone else.”
She shrugged. “Yes and no.”
He shook his head. “Cash isn’t exactly a roommate, is he?”
“No, he’s just a roommate.”
There must have been something in her expression because Marc touched her cheek with his fingers. “But you want more than that with him, right?”
“I don’t know,” she said on a long exhale. “I think I do.” Their gazes met. “I’m sorry, Marc. It’s just not right for me to keep seeing you when my heart is focused elsewhere.”
He caressed her cheek and she found herself leaning into his touch. “I’m sorry too. I hope you find what you want.” He gave her a sad smile and then kissed her. “I wish it was me.”
“Me too.”
“If anything changes, know that I’ll be waiting. I won’t wait forever but—”
“Excuse me? Am I interrupting?”
Paige jumped and whirled around. Cash stood at the end of the hedge looking quite pissed off.
“No, not at all,” Marc replied, his voice calm and collected.
Paige, on the other hand, was far from calm or collected. “Oh, hi. We were, um, just talking.” The shaky, squeaky tone of her voice had her flinching with embarrassment. But why should she be embarrassed? First, she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Second, he didn’t have any claim to her since he was totally going to blow her off. And third…well, she couldn’t think of a third, but still.
“If you’ve got a minute, roomie, I’ve got something I want to show you.”
Paige glanced at Marc.
“Go on. I think we’ve finished our conversation anyway.”
“Thanks, Marc. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Cash grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him.
“Where are we going?”
“Just wait. You’ll love it.”
No one appeared to notice as she was shanghaied and tugged through the crowd toward the barn. People just smiled or gave a nod of hello. This is probably how people got kidnapped every day. Nobody noticing, except to wave.
“Cash.”
“Wait.” He continued their trek until they reached the barn doors. Opening a door, he gestured her inside. As soon as she was inside, he followed and shut the door behind him.
“Best people-watching spot on the whole ranch,” he said. “C’mon.”
She followed him to a ladder. There, he placed a small stool at the base. “Go on. Climb up.”
She moved her gaze up the ladder. “Hay loft?”
“Yep. Go on. Climb. I’m right behind you. Use the small step if that’ll help with the first rung.”
“Please. Give me break. I don’t need that.” Grabbing hold of the third rung, she hit the first step on the ladder and shimmied up into the loft with ease. Below her, she heard a clank and a thud as though Cash were moving things. But in a moment, his head popped through the opening and he joined her.
“Over here.” He walked over to an opening used to load or unload hay from the loft. He pushed open the door. Spread out below was Bar M Ranch. Guests laughed and drank as they walked and mingled on the immediate property.
Paige stood in the opening, holding on to the frame and took in the scene below. “Oh. This is awesome.”
“I know.” Cash stood behind her, his position an identical pose. The heat from his chest radiated to her back, and for a moment, Paige closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation.
“Being the youngest sucks sometimes,” Cash continued, “like when I couldn’t go to one of my brothers’ parties because I was too young. So I’d climb up here and watch.” He chuckled. “Oh, the education I received.”
She glanced over her shoulder into his silver-blue eyes. “Do tell.”
“I’ll not only tell you, but later I’d be willing to demonstrate some of that learning,” he said with a pump of his eyebrows. “For now, let’s see who we know.” He pointed to the left. “That’s your brother. Do you know the woman he’s talking to?”
Paige focused on the woman Leo had cornered. “No. Who is she?”
“Local debutante. Elsie Belle Lambert. I think she divorced husband number three last year. Could be four,” he said with a shrug. “I lose count. She’s on the husband prowl. You might want to warn Leo.”
“Forget it. I stay out of his love life.” She looked across the yard. “Who’s that?”
Cash followed Paige’s pointed finger. “That’s Reno Montgomery. My cousin. The woman he’s talking to is Magda Hobbs, Mitch and Olivia’s housekeeper.”
“I recognized Magda. That’s why I asked.”
He rested his chin on her shoulder. “Darren, his brother, is around here somewhere, I’m sure.” He leaned to the right. “There he is.” He pointed at a dark-haired man dressed like everyone else in jeans, boots, snap shirt and hat. “He’s talking to his sister, KC. Do you know her?”
“I’ve met her. Don’t really know her.”
As they watched the tableau playing out below, Cash’s lips caressed her ear as he spoke. “There’s another reason I brought you up here.”
“Oh?” Her heart and lungs began vying for fastest rate.
“I wanted to give you my answer to your proposition last night.” He turned her to face him. “I would have at breakfast if Dad hadn’t called me over so early this morning.” Lacing his fingers through hers, he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Not that there was anything to think about. We were both quite clear that this fling, or sex, or whatever you want to call it, is temporary. Neither of us is looking down the road at a future together, right?”
She nodded. “That’s right.” She was such a liar, liar pants on fire that it was a divine miracle the straw around them didn’t burst into flames.
He leaned forward and kissed her. At first it was a soft kiss, a tender meeting of lips. Then he pulled back and caught her gaze. “You saw the scars on my legs last night. There’re more on my chest and back. They’re ugly.”
“I don’t care, Cash.” She reached out and jerked the snaps running down the front of his shirt. Sliding her hands between the open edges, she glided her palms across the muscles and sinew of his chest to his sides, th
en walked her fingers down to the ridges of his abdomen. “We all have scars. Yours just happen to be on the outside.” She leaned over to trace the tip of her tongue along the scar on the right side of his abdomen until she reached his belly button, where she used her tongue to outline the edges.
Cash sucked in his breath as he simultaneously sucked in his abdomen. Threading his fingers through her red tresses, he pulled her back up to his mouth for a hard, wet and deep kiss. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, running it around in circles, licking the inside of her cheek, her teeth.
Paige groaned, which seemed to excite Cash. He gently pushed her onto her back into the hay scattered on the floor.
“Wait. What if someone can see us?”
“Only if they’re in a hot air balloon,” he said, nibbling around the edge of her chin. “But scoot back two feet if it makes you feel better.”
She laughed but scooted back a couple of feet. Then she shoved him off her. She grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulled it up and off and tossed it over a bale of hay.
“Hold on. Let me grab something that’ll make this a little more comfortable.”
Cash stood, walked to the other end of the loft and brought a blanket back with him.
“Aren’t you the smart one,” Paige said, toeing off her boots. “That hay itches like crazy. I was getting ready to put you on the bottom.”
He laughed as he spread out the blanket. “This ain’t my first rodeo.” He yanked his shirt off and tossed it on top of hers. Then he dropped to his knees beside her, catching her face in his hands. “You are still the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever known.” He kissed her, following her onto the blanket until he was on top.
He started with her mouth and worked his way down her body. He kissed and nibbled his way down her neck and chest until he reached the top of her bra. Catching the tip of her breast in his mouth, his hot breath seeped through the thin lace. She shivered and rolled to the side so he could reach the clasp in the back. A flick and the bra’s band loosened. Cash shoved it up and wrapped his lips around her nipple, sucking and drawing it deep into his mouth using his tongue to work her flesh. Paige became lost in the suck, draw, lick, suck, draw, lick of his delicious mouth.
Texas Twist (Texas Montgomery Mavericks) Page 15
