“Where did you learn that?” he asked with a growl. “My gosh, Marissa, you’re setting everything on fire.”
And that was her intention.
“If you think that’s good,” she warned, “just wait.” She kissed his chest, letting her lips trail down and down and down until she was at his navel.
“If you wanted to go slow, this isn’t the way to do it,” he growled.
“I don’t care how we go as long as we get there.”
“Marissa,” he groaned, and pulled her on top of him.
She heard him pick up something on the nightstand and realized he must have put a condom packet there.
When he kissed her again, as if tonight were the only night left until the end of time, she let herself live with the kiss, live with the fire, live with the desire. Then she acted on it. She closed her hand around him and guided him into her.
He said gruffly, “I want our eyes wide-open this time. I want to see what I do to you, and I want you to see what you do to me. No masks, no quick kiss or goodbye afterward. This time we’re going to deal with this, Marissa, the way we should.”
She wasn’t sure she wanted to do that. She was afraid to talk about the future. She might even be a little afraid of the future.
“Make love to me,” she said to Ty, as she took him deeper. This was a taste of heaven—joining her body with his until they reached the sublime, or something even better—a union that was unbreakable, a union that could last.
Marissa accepted Ty’s passion and returned it. She was his equal and she felt like it as he groaned and murmured her name. She watched his face as a dark flush crept over it, as his brows drew together and sweat beaded on his forehead. She wondered what emotions he was seeing on her face, and for a moment felt self-conscious. But then she didn’t care. This was the two of them in the throes of raw desire, witnessing the truth in each other’s eyes.
When his final thrust took her over the edge of desire into rippling pleasure, she knew her truth. She loved Ty Conroy, with all of her heart.
Afterward, as he lay his forehead against hers and they both closed their eyes, she wondered what his truth was, and if her Cinderella fairy tale had any possibility of coming true.
* * *
Excitement hummed all over the Cozy C the following day. It wasn’t just generated by Marissa’s night in bed with Ty. That had been heart-swimmingly wonderful, though doubts still plagued her. Did he want her to stay at the Cozy C only to keep Jordan close? Was she as important as his son? Were they?
Ty hadn’t told her he loved her. He’d only shown her how hungry he was for her.
Even wonderful sex wasn’t a substitute for love.
Ty had been distracted this morning, and she suspected his thoughts weren’t about last night. He was concerned about the next few days and the trail ride and camping trip he might not be ready for. She was worried, too, but couldn’t let it show.
Hannah had come over to help them get ready, although the cook Ty hired was going to take care of all the meals for the guests. She and Hannah decided to bake cookies and muffins for that something extra. The men could take the baked goods along, making meals around the campfire just a bit more inviting.
Hannah watched Jordan as Marissa took hot pans of baked cookies from the oven.
“He’s going to be all right,” she said in a motherly tone.
At first Marissa thought she was talking about Jordan, but then she realized Hannah was talking about Ty.
“I don’t want to let him know how much I’m concerned.”
“I know you don’t. Eli’s concerned, too. But Ty’s been riding for more than a month. He knows his limits and what will happen if he pushes them.”
“He hates using a mounting block.”
“Eli says he has a portable one he can pull up onto the saddle after he’s mounted. He has that special saddle, too, that’s easier on his knee, and Goldie isn’t difficult or in any way headstrong. Trust him, Marissa.”
Could she trust Ty in oh, so many ways? Hannah seemed to be encouraging her to do just that.
When the huge SUV rolled in later that afternoon, Ty was there to greet it, looking like the ultimate cowboy in his Stetson, chambray shirt, jeans and boots. She and Hannah unabashedly peeked out the window.
After a few moments of conversation, however, Ty came to the door and motioned to her. She went to the screen door.
“Is Jordan still sleeping?” he asked.
“Yes, he is.”
“I can watch him if he wakes up,” Hannah offered.
“Great,” Ty said. “Why don’t you come along and show the men the guest cabins. Would you mind doing that? You’re great at that kind of thing. I’ll get Clint, and then give them a tour of the barn.”
“I don’t mind at all.” And she didn’t. If Ty was trying to make her feel part of the Cozy C, he was succeeding.
Hannah gave her an encouraging smile as Marissa snagged her jacket from the peg by the door and went outside to greet the men with Ty. There were five of them staying in two of the cabins, three in one, two in the other. They had declined to share the bunkhouse, which made Marissa and Ty both think that roughing it might not come easy to them.
Ty introduced her to Colin Brannigan. He had gray hair, black-rimmed glasses and seemed to be the oldest of the five men.
“Colin is CEO of Brannigan Incorporated. It’s a software company specializing in gaming,” Ty explained.
“You probably don’t know much about that,” Colin said with a laugh as he studied Marissa.
“You’re right,” Marissa acknowledged. “But I’m willing to listen...and learn. I’m sure as my son gets older it’s something he’s going to try to convince me he should be doing.”
Colin gave a nod as if he liked her answer.
The other men—Mike, Sean, George and Brad—were all pleasant enough and insisted Marissa call them by their first names.
Ty told them, “Clint, my foreman, will see to your bags while I show you around.”
“No cable in the cabins, I suppose,” Brad remarked offhandedly.
“No cable,” Ty agreed. “I told Colin that when he first emailed. But after the tour you can settle in, and then we’ll have dinner in that small barn over there. Afterward we’ll light a campfire, have some coffee and Marissa’s brownies, then you can all tell me about where you’re from and what you do. It will be good to turn in early tonight, since we’ll be heading out after breakfast around 7:00 a.m.”
“What time is breakfast?” Sean asked.
“Around six,” Ty said. “Can you handle that?”
Sean laughed. “Heck, yes. I have to be on the commuter train by seven back East.”
“Come on,” Marissa said. “I’ll show you to your cabins. The refrigerators are stocked and there’s a coffeepot and snacks if you’re hungry after your trip.”
“No food on the plane,” Mike grumbled. “Yes, we’re hungry after the trip.”
In addition to the sweets, she and Hannah had made up two trays with an assortment of cheeses and meats with crackers to accompany them. There were veggies, too, in case any of the men were watching their diet.
The men had questions as they walked to the cabins. How big was the Cozy C? How many horses did they have? Did they grow any crops?
She told them, “Since Ty took over management, things are changing. He’s thinking about leasing some of the property to growers. He’s added a few horses and one of them is pregnant. She’s due to foal after New Year’s.”
“That’s something my kids would like to see,” Mike said. “Would you have anything for kids to do here?”
“We can supply board games and outdoor activities like horseshoes, croquet, badminton. But the real entertainment is in the hiking, spotting a deer or a jackrab
bit, or following the trail to a watering hole for wild mustangs.”
“There are some of them around here?” Brad asked.
“More up north,” she responded. “But there’s a herd that wanders around here, too.”
The men seemed to mull this over as they went to the first cabin that she’d decorated in rusts, deep blues and reds—the colors of the Navaho blanket that hung on one wall. A fold-out sleeper sofa sat underneath it covered in deep blue denim. Most of the wood furniture they’d found at the thrift store, but it suited perfectly with its distressed nature and even antique bearing.
When Brad spotted the trays of cookies and cheeses and meats on the counter, he said, “This is nice.”
Just the effect she and Ty had wanted.
After Colin, Mike and Brad settled in the first cabin, and Sean and George in the second, Ty appeared again.
“Do you think you’ll be comfortable?” he asked them.
“Home away from home with better scenery,” Mike said, and they all laughed.
Ty motioned toward the big barn. “My uncle’s there ready to introduce you to the horses. I’ll be there in a minute.”
After the guests started walking that way, Ty pulled Marissa into the second cabin. “How did it go?”
“I think they were pleased, maybe even impressed.”
“That’s your doing,” Ty complimented her. “You’ve put the cozy in Cozy C.”
She knew that look in his eyes. She knew what he was thinking. They could have a tryst in one of these cabins, just for a change in venue.
He grinned at her. “I guess we can’t try out the beds when we have guests ready to use them. But it’s something to think about when they leave.”
“You have a bed. I have a bed.”
“You can never have too many beds or too many places to enjoy each other like we did last night.”
Was he going to say it? Was he going to tell her what he felt?
But then he went on to say, “I’ll be thinking about that the whole time I’m gone. If I had you in my bed tonight, I wouldn’t get any sleep, and I need it for tomorrow.”
She’d been thinking about what would happen tonight if he’d pull her into his room again. But she understood how he had to prepare mentally as well as physically for the next few days.
She slid her arms around his neck. “There’s always the night after you get back.”
When he kissed her, she thought she felt something more than passion in the kiss. But maybe she was deluding herself. Only time would tell.
Chapter Twelve
When Marissa returned home from work on Wednesday, she expected Ty to be there. She expected their vacation guests to be ready for a meal in the small barn near the bunkhouse, and then packing up their things to go home tomorrow.
However, when she came into the house with Jordan waving his arms in greeting to Eli, Eli’s face looked a bit haggard.
“Is Ty back?” she asked, hoping Eli’s answer would be, Of course. He’s down at the cabins with the guests.
But that wasn’t Eli’s answer.
Ty’s uncle answered tersely, “Nope.”
“He hasn’t called in?”
She knew cell phone coverage was spotty the farther Ty rode from the ranch. But on the return trip, the closer to home he traveled the better it should be.
“Do you think that boy’s going to call and worry us with something?” Eli asked rhetorically.
“Like we aren’t worried now,” she said, setting Jordan on the floor so she could unzip his jacket, remove it and let him run toward his bin of toys.
Eli had no sooner stopped speaking than his cell phone buzzed from his pocket.
“I’m still not used to this dang thing,” he said.
Eli didn’t even check the number before he answered. “Ty, is that you?” A moment later, Eli glanced at Marissa and gave her a nod.
“Why aren’t you back yet?” he demanded. “You were supposed to be here around noon. Okay, okay. You’ll explain when you get here. How long?”
Eli wrinkled his nose as if the reception was lousy. “Okay, I’ll tell Jerry your boys will be ready for a big meal. What? He might have to postpone it? Okay, okay. See you when you get here.”
“What’s wrong?” Marissa asked, keeping an eye on Jordan but her attention on Eli.
“I’m not sure exactly. He said he’ll explain when he gets here. I have a feeling something didn’t go right. He said he’s okay,” Eli added. “But I don’t know what that means.”
Neither did Marissa. Okay could mean anything from he needed ice on his knee to he’d need an appointment with his orthopedist the next day.
She worried, and then she worried some more, all the while preparing a meal for her, Jordan, Eli and Ty that she didn’t know if anybody would eat. She kept it simple, lots of macaroni and cheese in the slow cooker, a veggie tray with a ranch dip. She grabbed a bag of potato chips from the cupboard and placed a batch of cookies on a tray, covering them with plastic wrap.
She glanced around at the Christmas decorations, the Nativity set on a corner table, the angel on the mantel, the Christmas tree.
What if Ty had gotten hurt? What if—
Clint came to the back door and called inside. “They’re back. I can see them on the hill.”
She had about ten minutes to compose herself. Ten minutes to pretend she hadn’t been worried every day since Ty had been gone. Ten minutes until she gave him a kiss he wouldn’t soon forget.
* * *
Ty was concerned for his guests, glad he’d taken his lawyer’s advice about liability insurance and wide range coverage. Horses and greenhorns didn’t always go together.
He got Brad settled in the truck, excusing himself for a few moments to stop in at the house. He had to see Marissa. Even with the makeshift sling on his arm, Brad didn’t seem out of sorts as he regaled Clint with anecdotes about their trip.
Ty mounted the steps to the kitchen and went inside. Marissa was feeding Jordan supper. He went straight to her, took her in his arms and gave her a resounding kiss.
She kissed him back as if she’d missed him, too. After he broke away, she asked, “How are you?”
“I’m fine. I don’t have time to talk now. Brad took a spill and I need to get him to the urgent care center and have that arm x-rayed. I don’t want him flying out of here with anything wrong with him.”
“But you’re okay?”
“I’m good. I paced myself as well as them. We took breaks to see the scenery and hike. They liked the campfires and talked my ear off. This is going to work, Marissa—it really is.”
He could tell she wanted to ask about his leg so he answered her before she had to ask. “I’m sore. I need ice. But there will be plenty of time for taking care of it after everybody leaves.”
He lifted the lid on the slow cooker and took a whiff. Then he winked at Eli. “Don’t you eat it all till I get back.”
“Wouldn’t think of it,” his uncle said with a ghost of a smile.
Ty knew he needed a shower and couldn’t wait to get one. But Brad was his responsibility and he was going to accompany him to the urgent care center.
Still, crossing to Jordan, Ty looked him straight in the eye. “Have you been a good boy for your mom?”
“The best,” she answered lightly.
Ty kissed his son’s forehead, nodded and said, “I’ll see you later.” He went outside again, the fatigue from the past two days just dropping away.
* * *
Two hours later, Ty was back at the Cozy C and Brad was getting some leftovers at his cabin.
No broken bones, thank goodness. His guest had to keep his arm in a sling for a couple of days but flying back home tomorrow wouldn’t be a problem. After Ty bid his guest
s good-night, he returned to the house, eager for supper, that shower and a night with Marissa in his bed.
However, when he got to the kitchen, Marissa’s expression was as serious as it had been earlier before he’d explained he’d physically handled the camping trip. From the monitor, Ty could see Jordan was in bed so he knew there couldn’t be a problem with his son. Eli was nowhere in sight, so he must have turned in.
“Ready for supper?” she asked, faking a smile.
He took off his hat and put it on the rack. “I should get a shower.”
“You might want to make a phone call first.”
There was a note in her voice that alerted him that that’s what her expression was all about. “What phone call?”
She nodded to a notepad on the counter. “I took down the information. That man you talked to at the horse auction called.”
“Mr. Carrington called?” And as soon as he asked, he began to suspect what this might be about.
“He said he called your cell phone but it went to voice mail.”
“I didn’t have a signal out there. And I haven’t had a chance to check my calls since I got back.”
“You might want to check your email, too,” she suggested in a flat, even voice. “He has this great job lined up for you as a rodeo promoter. He said he emailed you the particulars. But you need to give him a call. He needs your decision by the new year.”
That gave him two weeks to decide. Decide? There was nothing to decide, was there? Still, he knew he should look over the information. He knew he should consider all of his options.
Marissa was studying him intently. “You’re going to call him, aren’t you?”
“It would be the polite thing to do.”
“You’re also thinking it might be easier than taking vacation guests on trail rides and worrying about them getting hurt.”
He didn’t want to feel defensive about this, but he did. He tried to keep his own tone even. “This isn’t about easier, Marissa, it’s about the best life for everybody. Donaldson’s offer is nothing to sneeze at. Unc could be comfortable till the end of his years, and if I had a job with a good income—” He stopped abruptly. Thinking out loud wasn’t a good thing around Marissa. He shrugged. “I need to think about all of it carefully.”
The Cowboy's Secret Baby (The Mommy Club Book 3) Page 16
