One Good Cowboy

by Catherine Mann

  He glanced up to see her head thrown back, pushing into the pillows. From the flush blooming over her skin he knew she was close to coming apart. He understood the urgent sensation well and slid the rest of the way up to take her lips, his erection nudging against the slick core of her. Ready. For him. Just as he was ready for her, only her, always her.

  With a hoarse growl, he thrust deep inside her.

  Gasping, she grabbed his shoulders. “Stone, wait.” She gripped harder, her fingernails digging into his flesh. “What about protection?”

  He arched back to look into her eyes. “Aren’t you on the pill?”

  “Not anymore,” she said. “Once we broke up and it was clear we weren’t going to reconcile, I stopped taking it.”

  She’d thought about reconciling with him? For how long? How many opportunities had he missed to get her back only to lose her because of stubborn pride?

  Have her back?

  Wasn’t this just about sex now?

  All thoughts too weighty for him to consider with his brain muddled from being buried to the hilt inside her again.

  He hadn’t packed condoms.... And if they discussed this much further it was going to lead to a serious mood buster of a conversation. He rolled off her with a groan of frustration.

  Johanna sat up with a gasp. “Wait.” She snapped her fingers. “I saw some in the honeymooners’ welcome basket on the bedside table.”

  Crisis averted. Thank heavens the staff had assumed they would need the romance special basket. He stayed on his side while Johanna raced into the living area, and yes, he enjoyed the hell out of the view. He’d dreamed of her, but fantasies couldn’t come close to the reality of being here with her.

  The sound of rustling carried from the next room before she returned. Grinning, she held a condom in one hand and a plump pear in the other. She sank her teeth into the fruit and tossed him the square packet. He snatched it out of midair then grabbed her wrist to tug her back into bed with him.

  Laughing, she settled on top of him and pressed the pear against his mouth. He took a bite, then set the fruit aside to have her. Johanna. His again.

  He flipped her onto her back and thrust inside her. Gasping, she closed her eyes and welcomed him with a roll of her hips. Her legs wrapped around him, her heels digging in and urging him deeper, faster, leaving no room for misunderstanding. She wanted him, too, with the same hungry edge. He kissed her hard and insistent, the taste of pear mingling with the sweet warmth of her.

  He knew her body as well as he knew his own. He’d made a point of learning each sensitive spot and how to tease her pleasure higher. And she’d done the same for him.

  Touch for touch, they moved in synch with each other. Her hands roved a restless path until perspiration dotted his forehead in spite of the ocean breeze gusting through the window.

  Wind chimes sang louder and louder as if kicked up by a spring storm. He whispered in her ear about husky fantasies built during nights apart, silver links binding them together, jewels hidden and found. Her panting replies—her yes, yes, yes riding each gasp—stoked the fire in him higher until his whole body felt like molten metal in a flame.

  And just when he thought he couldn’t hold out any longer before the heat consumed them both, Johanna flew apart in his arms. Her cries of completion rolled free, as uninhibited and natural as the woman in his arms. The sweet clamp of her body pulsing around him sent him over the edge with her.

  As wave after wave crashed over him, he held her closer, absorbing her aftershocks as he slowly came back down to earth again. His arms gave way, and he rolled to his side, taking her with him.

  With the wind kicking up a humid breeze and rain pattering outside, he willed his galloping heartbeat to return to normal. Except his hammering pulse wasn’t cooperating. With each slug against his ribs, he knew.

  He couldn’t give Johanna up again, but there wasn’t a chance in hell she would stay with him if she knew the worst of what he’d held back, the reason he absolutely could not fulfill her dreams and become the father of her children.

  * * *

  Johanna woke up to an empty bed.

  She stretched under the Egyptian cotton sheets, the scent of lovemaking mingling with the ocean air blowing in through the window. Barks also echoed from outside along with the rumbling bass of Stone’s voice shouting a ramble of “fetch” and “good girl.”

  The sun climbing high into the sky told her she’d slept in, not surprising since they’d made up for lost time throughout the night. In bed, in the shower, moving into the kitchen for food, then making love against the counter.

  Her body carried the delicious ache of total satiation. Although she knew the moment she saw Stone, she would want him all over again, and she couldn’t help but want to look her best. She shoved her hands through her tangled hair, which must be a complete mess since she’d gone to sleep with it still damp.

  A quick glance at the clock had her rolling to her feet and racing to the bathroom. A fast washup later, she wrapped her hair and body in fluffy towels and opened the closet.

  The packed full closet?

  She stared at all the clothes that hadn’t been there the night before. Tags showed they were all new and in her size. Stone had been busy. He’d ordered her a whole new wardrobe for the rest of their trip. He’d heard what she said about feeling uneasy and in his own way he was trying to ease that worry for her.

  The barking dogs gave her only a moment’s warning before Stone walked into the bedroom. So much for dressing up. She secured the towel around her and tugged the other off her head, shaking her hair free.

  She skimmed her fingers along the rack of clothes. “You didn’t have to do this, but thank you.”

  “Glad you’re happy.” He captured her hand and pulled her close. “And just so we’re clear, it doesn’t matter to me what you’re wearing. In my eyes you’re magnificent.”

  “Thank you.” She arched up for a kiss. “You’re one good cowboy, Stone.”

  “I’m trying, lady, I’m trying.” He kissed her good-morning thoroughly before easing back. “I did hear what you said about going to formal functions before, and it’s killing me to think you ever felt uncomfortable.”

  “I know a person’s worth doesn’t have anything to do with their bank balance.”

  “Damn straight.” He dropped to sit on the foot of the bed, pulling her into his lap. “I imagine that’s part of my grandmother’s plan here, too, giving me a reality check when it comes to family values.”

  Her heart fluttered in her chest. He couldn’t possibly be changing his stance on a family. Could he?

  Afraid to wreck the moment by pushing, she changed the subject. “There’s quite a range of clothes you’ve bought for me.” She pointed to a rack with everything from jeans and slacks to sundresses and a couple of longer gowns. “Where else are we going?”

  “My grandmother has a wide range of people lined up, even a couple of backups if someone doesn’t work out.”

  She snagged an ice-blue lacy dress. “This looks fit for royalty.”

  “You’re perceptive,” he said with a grimace.

  She rolled her eyes, certain she must have misunderstood. “Really? Royalty, in addition to a former secretary of state.”

  “Really.”

  She froze, realizing he was serious. “All right,” she exhaled, sagging back against his chest. “If Sterling is going to the political powerhouse couple, that leaves Pearl and Ruby. Which one’s getting the tiara?”

  “Ruby. Enrique Medina lost both of his Rhodesian ridgebacks this year to old age. He and my grandmother are friends. He’s even the one who recommended contacting General Renshaw about Sterling.”

  Royalty. Honest-to-God royalty. Nothing would surprise her about this family again. “What about Pearl? Is she going to the
Pope?”

  Stone snorted on a laugh. “I’m sure he’s one of Gran’s backups.” He kissed her nose. “Seriously, though, I don’t know as much about the last family other than that they live on a ranch in Montana.”

  “Are the formal gowns for the jewelers’ convention that you mentioned?” Her stomach gripped at the thought. Even with the fancy clothes, she was still a farm girl who felt most at ease in her jeans, with braided hair and a horse.

  “I canceled that. The variety of dresses are so we can go out to dinner somewhere nice. Just the two of us, to thank you for coming along this week to ease my grandmother’s mind. Regardless of where we go from here, I will always be grateful for all you’ve done for Gran.”

  She couldn’t help but be surprised again over how he was revealing more to her on this trip than she’d ever understood about him before. Had he suffered as much from their time apart? Or had confronting mortality with his grandmother’s illness brought down some walls? Either way, she couldn’t help but be drawn in by this man.

  He tipped her chin for another kiss, one that couldn’t go any further with the day slipping away, but God, she was tempted. Because she couldn’t help but think these changes were too good to be true.

  * * *

  An hour later, Stone opened the hatch on their rental SUV to load up the dogs for their drive over to the Landis-Renshaw compound. Ruby loped into the back and he lifted scruffy little Pearl in, as well, a mesh barrier keeping them from taking over the front seat. He’d stowed their luggage in a cartop carrier. They looked like a regular family on vacation.

  He rubbed the kink in his neck from lack of sleep, but he wouldn’t change a moment of their night together.

  The waves glistened under the power of the noonday sun and he wished they could just blow off his grandmother’s plan and stay at the cottage for the rest of the week. He and Johanna had connected, just like in the past, and he was working hard to reassure her. Maybe he was deluding himself into hoping she could overlook the bigger issues if he corrected some other problems in their relationship.

  To what end?

  Did he really expect they would ride off into the sunset together? He had to be honest with himself and admit he wanted her back in his life on a permanent basis. But being equally honest, he wasn’t sure that was possible no matter how many closets full of comfy clothes and easygoing outings he came up with.

  The beach cottage door opened, and Johanna stepped out with Sterling cradled in her arms. She’d chosen a simple flowery dress, loose and classic. But she looked good in everything she wore. His assistant had ordered everything and assured him the task would be easy. Johanna had pulled her hair back in a jeweled clasp—a Diamonds in the Rough piece. And of course she wore his grandmother’s horseshoe charm.

  He struggled to resist the urge to scoop her up, carry her back inside and peel the dress off her. Instead, he held out his arms. “I’ll take Sterling.”

  She shook her head, her ponytail sweeping along her spine the way his hands ached to do. “I’ll hold him. I’m feeling sentimental about saying goodbye to him. I keep thinking about the day your grandmother got him as a puppy.”

  He closed the back hatch and walked around to open her door. “I always think of you as being there for the horses. I forget sometimes that caring for the dogs falls under your job description, as well.” He leaned in the open door. “It will be tough for you to say goodbye to them, too.”

  “I don’t have pets of my own...so yes.” She stroked the Chihuahua-dachshund mix. “I have become attached. But your grandmother is wise to make sure they’re placed. Too many animals end up at shelters when their owners pass away or go into nursing homes.”

  “We would have taken them all for her. She has to know that.” Not a chance in hell would he have dumped Gran’s pets at the shelter. He closed the door, perhaps a bit more forcefully than he’d intended, but the reminder of a world without Mariah cast clouds over his day.

  He walked around the hood and took his place behind the wheel. He swept off his Stetson and dropped it on the console between them. Starting the car, he pulled his focus back in tight before he landed them nose first in a sand dune. Navigating the beach traffic was tough enough.

  Johanna’s hand fell to rest on his arm as he passed a slow-moving RV. “Clearly, Mariah has a plan in mind for them, and for your future, too. Never doubt for a second that she loves you.”

  He glanced at her. “She loves you, too, you know.”

  “Thank you—” she smiled “—but it’s not the same. I’m not family.”

  “I’m not so sure.” His hands gripped the wheel tighter, settling into their lane along the ocean side road. “She was mad as hell with me when we broke up.”

  “Why was she angry with you?” Johanna sat up straighter. “I was the one who ended our engagement. I made that abundantly clear to everyone.”

  Had she made the breakup public to spare him blowback from his family? He’d been so angry at her then, he hadn’t given thought to the fact that a public breakup actually cast him in a more sympathetic light. He’d been too caught up in his anger—and hurt. “Gran said I had to have done something wrong to make you give back the engagement ring. And she was right.”

  The breakup had been his fault, and nothing significant had changed. He still didn’t want children, and watching her cradle the dog, he couldn’t miss her deep-seated urge to nurture.

  He felt like a first-class ass.

  Johanna adjusted the silver collar around Sterling’s neck. “I’m sorry if I caused a wedge between the two of you.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” he insisted, steering onto a bridge that would take them to their barrier island destination. “I’m an adult. My relationships are my own problem.”

  “She’s trying to matchmake, sending us on this trip together.” Johanna traced the top of his hat resting between them.

  No kidding. “I’m sure that was a part of her plan, no matter what she said, but the rest is still true.” Miles of marshy sea grass bowed as they drove deeper into the exclusive beach property of Hilton Head, the South’s answer to Martha’s Vineyard. “She doesn’t trust me to see to the dogs, and she’s right. I would have screwed it up.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” Johanna said with a confidence he didn’t feel when it came to this subject.

  “I wouldn’t have been as thorough as you’ve been.” He’d been impressed and surprised during the meet and greet with the Donavans. “I wouldn’t have even thought of half the things you’ve done to make sure Gem’s in the right home and that the transition goes smoothly for her.”

  “Gem’s going to miss your grandmother.” She swept a hand under her eyes and he realized she’d teared up. “There will be grieving on his part as well.”

  “Are you trying to make me just skip the rest of this trip and take the dogs home with us? Because I’m about five seconds away from doing that,” he half joked. “In fact, much more of this and I’ll even snatch Gem back.”

  She responded with a watery laugh. “Don’t you dare. The Donavans are a fantastic family for Gem, as Mariah clearly already knew.” She reached into her bag and pulled out dog treats. She passed two over the mesh to Pearl and Ruby, before offering another to Sterling. “They’re not cutie pie little puppies anymore, and placing an adult dog can be difficult. And we definitely don’t want someone taking in the dogs in hopes of gaining favor with your grandmother.”

  Protectiveness pumped through him. “I wouldn’t let that happen.”

  “Of course not. You’re a good man.”

  “Such a good man my grandmother has to test me and you dumped me flat on my ass,” he said wryly.

  She scooted closer, slipping her hand to the back of his neck. “I miss the happy times between us. Last night was...incredible.”

  What an
odd time to realize she was “soothing” him the same way she soothed Sterling, using her dog whisperer ways on him. “So you do acknowledge it wasn’t all bad between us.”

  “Of course it wasn’t all bad,” she said incredulously.

  “Specifics.” He might as well use this time to get whatever edge he could.

  “Why?” Suspicion laced her voice. “What purpose will it serve?”

  “Call it a healing exercise.” And the hope of figuring out a way to have more with her tomorrow.

  “Okay, uh...” Her hand fell back to the dog in her lap. “I appreciate the way you support my work. Like the time I’d already pulled extra hours on my shift, but the call came from a shelter in South Texas in need of extra veterinary help for neglected horses seized by animal control. You drove through the night so I could sleep before working.” Her mouth tipped in a smile, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “Then you didn’t sleep. You rolled up your sleeves and helped.”

  He had to haul his gaze away from the beauty of her smile before he rear-ended the car in front of them. “We accomplished a lot of good together that day.”

  “We did. And I know it was you who encouraged your grandmother to help sponsor this year’s big charity event to help save the wild mustangs.”

  He shrugged, her praise making him itchy. “We needed a tax write-off.”

  “You’re not fooling me.” She swatted his arm.

  He searched for the right words. “My family has worked hard and been very lucky. We’re in a position to do good.”

  “Not everyone makes the same choices as your family. I don’t even know that I’d fully thought about it in such concrete terms until now. Your grandmother instilled solid values in all of you.”

  “Very diplomatic of you not to mention what my mom or Amie and Alex’s parents could have shared.” Diplomatic and astute.

  “I’m sorry that your mother couldn’t be a true parent for you.”