Emily Langley loved the tall, dark Irishman… even the part that annoyed the crap out of her—his overprotective streak—but she’d work on not letting it bother her. The rest of the package fit, and she was smart enough to know that men like Tyler Garahan didn’t walk into her life more than once in a lifetime. Deciding it was time to prove to the blonde, and anybody else in the room with ideas that involved tying a short rope around the tall, dark Texas cowboy, that he was spoken for, Emily walked toward Tyler.
He looked up and their eyes met. She smiled and ran the tip of her tongue along her top lip. Her man’s eyes darkened as desire burned bright in his gaze. Oh yeah. He was worth the fight and then some. She pushed through the crowd to stand beside Tyler and stared at the angry blonde until she knew she had the woman’s full attention.
Tyler looked down at her. “I can explain about the other day—”
“I’m listening.”
“Hell, Em,” he said, taking off his hat and raking his fingers through his hair. “I thought I could bribe her with ice cream to keep her out of my life.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Hell, darlin’,” he said, “I can’t hardly think straight when you’re around.”
She hooked her arms around Tyler’s neck. With a look and a tug, he was hers for the asking. When she had his lips right where she wanted them, she brushed hers across his, a tantalizing, teasing taste of the man she would continue to fight for… dirty if she had to… because she wasn’t going to lose her man over a blonde bimbo and a misunderstanding.
“I’d have to be dumb as dirt to let you walk out of my life, Tyler.”
Desire shimmered and an emotion she hoped to see shone back at her. “You’re one smart woman, Emily Langley.”
“Loco maybe,” she admitted, “but my mamma raised me to use my wits.”
“Lucky for me, you paid attention.” Tyler bent his head and took her lips in a soul-searing kiss that branded her as his in front of everyone.
When he tucked her in at his side, Emily couldn’t resist the verbal jab, “Langley women don’t back down from a fight.”
“You bitch!” Claws out, jaw clenched, Linda Lee launched herself at Emily.
She braced herself. This is gonna hurt!
But the expected impact never happened. Tyler anticipated his ex’s move, curled his body protectively around Emily, and spun so his back took the brunt of the vindictive woman’s body slam.
Before Emily could react, the lawman had the blonde cuffed. “You have the right to remain silent—”
She didn’t need to hear the rest to know that disaster had been averted. She would have stood proud and tall, and taken her lumps, but Tyler had taken that decision out of her hands.
“Thanks,” she rasped. “I owe you.”
His grin was positively wicked. “I’m sure I can think of some way to even things out. We can talk about it later.” His smile turned her inside out.
“I think that can be arranged.” Lord, she didn’t just love this man; she needed him. “Have I showed you what you can do with a mug of hot coffee and a cup of ice?” she whispered.
He looked thoughtful, bent down so only she could hear, “Who gets to drink the coffee?”
She smiled and burrowed deeper into his embrace. “I do.”
His eyes darkened with desire. “What’s the ice for?”
“For me to cool you off after I heat you up.”
Tyler’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “It sounds like I’d probably die from ecstasy, but I was wondering if you’d want to finish up your other fantasy before we tackle a new one.”
Emily’s smile could have been her silent answer, but it was too important to him. He had to ask, had to be sure. “I need you to tell me, Emily. I want to make sure we’re both on the same page, and you’re just as willing as I am to take our intimacy to the next level.”
“Tyler, I’m so in love with you, it scares me.”
He hugged her tight to his heart, and she could feel him trembling. “I was afraid to hope, scared you’d be mad that I took Linda Lee out, even if it was to try to talk sense into her to tell her it was over between us. I just got too distracted by your charms and forgot to tell you.” He paused, “God, I’m so glad you love me, Em, because I love you too.”
He leaned back and locked gazes with her. “Does this mean you’re ready to share that gooey sweetness with me?”
“A smart man like you got it in one.” When his eyes narrowed at her, she tugged on his arm. “Yes. Yes and yes!”
She turned around to look for Jolene and noticed her standing by the front entryway talking to Jake. “Hey, Jolene!”
Her cousin looked up, saw the two of them, and smiled. “You punching out now?”
Emily looked up at Tyler and nodded.
“See you in the morning.”
Tyler wrapped his arm around Emily and started hauling ass toward the staircase. “Can’t you walk faster?”
Caught up in his urgency, knowing the reason for it, she shook her head.
“I can fix that.” Tyler swept her into his arms and took the stairs two at a time.
“I guess you’re not as tired as I thought you’d be.”
He grinned but didn’t take his eyes off the stairs. “It isn’t easy hauling a woman upstairs after spending the day ripping out and planting new fence posts, and then working my butt off on stage in front of a raucous crowd, but I aim to please.”
Emily turned her face against his broad chest and breathed in his scent… outdoors… clean with just a hint of whatever spicy soap he’d used before coming to work. “I’ll see if I can take your mind off your rough work schedule, Tyler.”
His arms tightened around her as he strode through the doorway at the top of the stairs and turned toward her bedroom. “I’ve got a lot on my mind,” he rumbled.
“I don’t mind working hard to get what I want,” she purred.
From the way his eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared, she knew he was ready, willing, and able for action.
He hadn’t put her down yet, but she couldn’t say that she minded. His strength was another thing she really loved about her man. “Impatient?”
“Hell yeah.” Setting her down in the middle of the bed, he stepped back and started to unbutton his shirt.
“What about the coffee and ice cubes?”
He tossed his shirt aside and reached for the hem of her tank top. “That fantasy will have to wait,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her bared cleavage. “I’ve gotta hankering to taste you again.”
More than willing to help him get what he wanted… what they both wanted… she reached around behind her and unhooked her bra. Her breasts spilled into his waiting hands. His grin sent a thrill all the way down to her toes. He pushed her back against the bed, unbuttoned then unzipped her jeans, and dipped his tongue in her belly button. Slowly sliding it up, he licked his way north, then abruptly turned left before he reached her breastbone.
His lips nipped and his tongue flicked across the flesh on the underside of her breast, circling ever closer to the peak that ached for his touch, tormenting her until she writhed and arched toward him, offering herself.
He pulled back and ran his hands from her waist up to her ribs letting his thumbs brush across her nipples. They hardened at his touch.
Words formed in her brain and exploded into tiny particles of fractured thought as his mouth replaced his hands.
“God, you’re responsive.”
Speech still beyond her, Emily managed a throaty rumble.
“The thought of how sweet you’re going to taste when you trust me enough to love you this way has been driving me quietly crazy. ”
“But you never said anything.”
“What was there to say? You needed to trust me and wanted to wait. I can be patient if I have to be.”
Emily wanted to respond, but he’d moved his attention to the side of her neck, pressing moist kisses on a tantalizing path stretchi
ng from beneath her ear to her shoulder.
“The wait’s been driving me crazy.”
She shuddered in surrender and opened her heart and her body.
***
Tyler’s gut clenched at the sight of Emily in the throes of passion. She was a goddess! Fiery waves spilled over her shoulders, cupping her breasts, brushing against his jaw as he dipped his head to taste, to sup from her lush well of generosity. Switching to her other shoulder, he worked his way up to that sensitive spot at the base of her neck.
She moaned, thrashing beneath him.
He pushed her shoulders back against the bed and swept his hands beneath her, lifting her hips, sweeping her jeans and the tiny scrap of lace off of her, freeing her. Awed by the beauty of her, he shook his head. She was his for the asking. He’d already tasted her cherry-sweet lips and the bounty of her buttercream skin, time to get to the honey-sweet center.
Cupping her taut backside, he lifted her to his mouth and let his tongue and lips show her what he held in his heart.
Her fingers bit into his shoulders, her thighs tightened against him as she raised herself up, allowing him to touch the very heart of her.
He devoured her, feasting until she cried out his name.
“Hold on, darlin’,” he rasped. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy the ride.”
He straightened up, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the foil packet he’d need to protect her.
“Need any help?”
He shucked his jeans, smoothed on the condom, and leaned over her. “Nope. I’m good.” He lifted her hips again and slid home.
Her hands cupped his butt, then clenched hard when he tried to pull out. “Easy,” he rumbled. “I’m not leaving… just getting down to business.” He thrust forward, and she lifted her hips to receive him again and again, building toward what they both wanted.
He drove into her, arching his back, holding her hips flush against him, calling her name as he came in a blinding flash. Gasping, he held her to his heart and traced the letters TG on her sweat-slickened back.
Branded… she was his!
He eased them onto the bed, pulling her on top of him, not willing to pull out of her just yet.
Her breathing gradually slowed, matching his. Tyler tightened his grip on her and reveled in the wonder of the woman in his arms. She’d believed in him when the odds had been stacked against him. She trusted him when anyone else would have turned and walked away.
She was a spitfire—a generous lover who’d captured his heart and seared his soul branding him with her initials deep inside of him. As he drifted off to sleep, he reveled in the knowledge that he wasn’t ever going to let her go.
Chapter 20
“You get lucky last night?”
Tyler looked over his shoulder at his brother and grinned.
“Damn, bro,” Dylan grumbled. “I think you should let me and Jesse have a turn working at that bar. You shouldn’t be the only one getting laid; it’s just not right.”
Tyler wisely kept his mouth shut and shook his head.
But his brother was like a dog with a juicy knucklebone. “Grandpa taught us to share.”
Tyler snickered. “He sure as hell didn’t teach us to share women, Dylan.”
Dylan shoved his brother out of his way and led his horse into the corral. “He would have if he’d thought about it.”
Tyler laughed and stuck his foot out. Dylan went down hard on his knees but used the momentum to tuck and roll, springing up, catching Tyler off guard. “You want to negotiate who gets to take a turn going to The Lucky Star tonight, Ty?”
As quick as that, the brothers glared at one another, tempers simmering. Tyler slowly rose to his feet, hands loose at his sides, knees bent ready to take his brother out with a flying tackle. He tensed, preparing to spring.
“You two going to fight and waste these longnecks I popped open for you?”
“Jesus, Jess,” Dylan ground out. “Just hold on… don’t drink mine; it’ll only take me another minute or so to convince Ty to let me fill in for him at work.”
Jesse snorted, tipped his head back, and took a long pull from the beer in his left hand.
Tyler eyed the ones still gripped in Jesse’s right hand. The dark brown glass was slick with moisture. Nothing better on a hot day than a cold beer. He and his brothers preferred the longneck variety. “Damn.” He was tired and thirsty, but sleep was a long way off, and as much as he enjoyed pounding on his brother, he could fight with Dylan anytime.
He reached for the beer and took a long pull. “If you knew what I did at work, you’d change your mind.”
“Yeah right,” Dylan tipped back his head a chugged half the bottle.
“You do lay your life on the line every night, big brother,” Jesse quipped.
Tyler’s guts tied themselves into a knot that would hold a calf hog-tied. They have no idea. Maybe it was time to fess up and share the burden not being honest with his brothers had become. Just get it said. “I strip for money.”
Dylan choked mid-swallow and beer shot out of his nose.
Jesse snickered. “Don’t waste the beer.” He turned to Tyler. “That a fact?”
Tyler could feel his face flame with embarrassment. It wasn’t something he would joke about. They were his brothers, damn it; they should realize that. “You think I’m telling tales?”
Dylan had finally stopped coughing and was wiping tears from his eyes. Tyler couldn’t remember if snorting beer hurt, so he figured the cuss was laughing at him.
What had you really expected, son? “Like I’d make something like this up.”
“It’s a regular honky tonk,” Jesse said, watching him, “just like over in Wichita County, with kids shooting out the front of the place on a weekly basis.” Jesse waited for him to agree.
But Tyler couldn’t lie. He was tired of trying to shield his brothers from the truth to save the family name and reputation. Shaking his head to clear it, Tyler asked, “You been there lately?” He waited for an answer, knowing neither brother had had time to go into town since he’d started working at The Lucky Star. They were working their fingers to the bone, dead tired falling into bed at night, same as he was. The only difference was that he got undressed before he finished his shift at the bar.
His brothers just shook their heads and walked away. “Telling tales just like Grandpa,” Dylan muttered. “It’s your turn to rustle up supper, Jess,” he called out over his shoulder as he strode toward the ranch house. “It’s Lori’s night off.”
Jesse called out, “Yeah, yeah, coming!” Turning back toward Tyler, he looked as if he wanted to ask him something.
Tyler waited, but Jesse ended up shaking his head and walking away.
“I told ’em, Grandpa.” Tyler sighed. “And they accused me of telling tall tales.”
At least you tried to come clean, the voice in his head sounded firm. That counts for a lot in my book. Tyler kicked at a clump of dirt with the toe of his boot. It exploded on contact. “We need rain.”
Grandpa’s voice was oddly silent. Garahan men knew when to talk and when to keep silent. Obviously, it was time to ride it out. His brothers would either keep ragging him, busting his chops about stripping for a bunch of women… redheads at that… or they’d leave him alone.
Right now, Tyler couldn’t say which he preferred, but he had hoped to talk to his brothers. A group of teenagers were running wild on the western border of town, roughing up other kids, shooting up the fence posts and signs hanging at the entrance to half a dozen ranches between Pleasure and Mesquite. Ranchers don’t take kindly to having their property shot up. He and his brothers would probably do serious damage to anyone who took out the huge wrought-iron brand hanging on the gate to the Circle G. Timmy better not be running with that crowd or he’d skin him alive.
Finishing off the rest of his beer, he followed his brothers inside. He had just enough time to eat and get cleaned up before heading into town, to the job he hated and the woman he loved.
***
It had been a good day… with a great beginning. Her gaze flicked from the crowd up to the man on the stage, reliving the morning and the sweet love they’d made.
His gaze met hers, and it heated and lit a fire inside of her. Doing a hip swivel thing that would have rivaled Elvis had her thinking of how good it would feel if they were locked together instead of yards apart, with women hooting and hollering in between.
Tyler licked his lips and her belly clutched. From the look in his eyes, he knew he had her full attention. His eyes darkened and the hint of desperate, dark desire pulled her in until she thought she’d drown in the twin pools of deep dark brown.
Later, he mouthed.
Her eyes widened and a shiver raced up her spine. He saw it all and flashed his killer grin right before he tipped his hat at her.
Scanning the crowd, relief washed over her when she didn’t find the blonde they’d forcibly removed from the club the night before. No scenes, no distractions. Good; she planned to spend the night doing some distracting of her own. But right now, it was time to focus on working, or else she’d spontaneously combust. That thought had her grinning and turning back to let her eyes feast on the man who’d turned her heart inside out and her world upside down.
He reached for the rope coiled on the chair in the middle of the stage. Emily walked closer, admiring the smooth, easy motion of his hands as he lifted the knotted rope above his head in circular motions right before he let it go into the crowd.
Maybe she could convince him to teach her how to throw a lasso. It might add just the extra bit of spice to what she had in mind for her cowboy tonight. She had two more fantasies that they hadn’t tried… hot coffee and ice cubes, and the silk scarves and the bedpost. As he reeled in the woman he’d been told ahead of time to lasso, Emily shook her head. It was time to stop thinking about what she wanted to do to Tyler and start thinking about collecting the receipts and getting the night deposit ready to drop off at the bank. With ten minutes to closing time, whatever receipts for drinks Gwen would be serving before last call could wait to be deposited with tomorrow night’s receipts.
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