Cowboy Up

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “Yes, I do. Now that we’ve had this experience, and we’ve talked everything out, we both understand how we need to behave toward each other.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Oh? And how is that, exactly?”

  “Friendly, but not too friendly, if you know what I mean.”

  “I might.”

  “Accomplishing this job together will prove that we can interact without any hanky-panky.”

  “Fine. But you’re not allowed to talk about how good you are at sucking… things.”

  “I promise not to discuss my sucking expertise.”

  “Good. The tables and benches are right over here.” He started off, his long strides putting distance between them as he headed for a corner of the barn.

  She picked up their hats and her gloves from the front seat of her car and followed him. She hoped they’d averted a disaster. He’d swept her away with that kiss, and if he hadn’t called a halt, no telling what would have happened.

  Yes, he’d made the first move, but he was a guy. Guys were conditioned to make the first move. She hadn’t stopped him, and she could have. She should have. Clay had the body of a Greek god, but he could also have a heart of glass. She’d do well to remember that.

  Emily turned out to be a good and efficient worker. She did her share of the loading and made a couple of good suggestions for how to fit everything in. Once again, she’d surprised him by pitching in so eagerly. If he didn’t know about the monthly checks she took from Emmett, he’d think she was a great person, someone he’d like having for a friend.

  Maybe he’d have an opportunity to ask about those checks, because that was the piece of the puzzle he didn’t understand. He couldn’t blame her for preferring the beach to the ranch. She’d been raised to think that way. But taking money from her father when he obviously wasn’t a wealthy man — that made no sense at all.

  Thinking about her accepting financial aid helped a little bit as he tried to ignore the enticing little droplets of sweat that rolled down her throat and into her cleavage. He reminded himself about those checks when she leaned over the tailgate and stretched the denim covering her delicious backside. She didn’t have to do anything special to turn him on. Just looking at her got him hot.

  He shouldn’t have kissed her. Then again, the kiss might have worked to his advantage if he hadn’t enjoyed it. Just because a woman was beautiful didn’t mean she could kiss worth a damn. At least that’s how he’d justified what had probably been a stupid move on his part.

  Now he knew that she could kiss. She’d also informed him she could do other things with her mouth, things that he didn’t need to be thinking about. Of course he couldn’t seem to think about anything else, especially when she stopped to drink water from the canteen he handed her and fit her mouth around the opening. Damn.

  He’d focused on the task at hand as best he could, and at last the truck was loaded. While Emily filled up the canteens, he tucked a couple of shovels in the back. He didn’t know if she’d want to help dig the fire pits, but he’d offer her the chance. She seemed to enjoy physical labor.

  Too bad for Emmett’s sake that she didn’t like ranching, because she had the kind of attitude that made for a good hand. She cheerfully accepted hard work and adapted to whatever conditions she found herself in. She didn’t seem to mind getting dirty, either, which totally surprised him.

  As she walked back to the truck with both canteens slung over her shoulder, he moved around to the passenger side and opened the door for her.

  She turned that wonderful smile on him. “That’s just so nice, Clay,” she said as she climbed in. “I didn’t realize how much I like having a man hold my chair and open my door for me.”

  “Give Sarah the credit. She won’t tolerate sloppy manners from the men on her ranch.” He felt guilty being praised for gentlemanly behavior when he’d taken full advantage of his position by the door to enjoy the snug fit of her jeans as she climbed in.

  Under the circumstances he should be treating her like a kid sister and avoiding any sexual thoughts whatsoever. Yeah, right. She’d turned him on the first time he’d met her, and nothing had changed. If anything, it had become more intense.

  God, he should never have kissed her. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t been thinking — that was the answer. He’d walked over to her car and seen her sitting in it with her eyes closed and her hands clenched around the steering wheel.

  Instantly he’d worried that she was sick, and with Emmett gone, he was in charge of keeping her in good shape. But then she’d opened her eyes and he’d known right away that she wasn’t sick. No, she was sexually aroused, and it didn’t take a genius to know he was the lucky guy who’d created that situation.

  They’d managed to feed each other’s fires until he couldn’t stand it another second. He shouldn’t have reacted that way, and he should probably regret that he’d shoved aside his misgivings and kissed her. But he didn’t regret it. That kiss was the way kisses should always be — a trip to the sun and back.

  He made sure she was tucked inside before he closed the door of the truck. Then he walked around to the driver’s side. He’d left the keys in the ignition, a common habit around the ranch. Sliding in behind the wheel, he began to understand the mess he was in.

  Just sitting next to her in the cab was going to be torture. The air conditioning didn’t work in this truck, and the heat from her body amplified the impact of her perfume. A whiff of sea and sand mingled with the scent of a healthy, sexy woman to create an aromatic cocktail that could get him drunk in no time.

  Maybe with the windows down, he’d manage to survive the trip without pulling over and reaching for her. He started the truck.

  “How far is the spot where we’ll have the cookout?”

  “Not far.” But with her sitting right next to him, it might turn out to be the longest damn drive of his life.

  Chapter Five

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been on this road.” Emily focused on the scenery, which somewhat distracted her from the virile cowboy in the driver’s seat, the one she longed to kiss again, but would not.

  So instead she admired the wildflowers that created a carpet of purple, yellow, and white in the meadows they passed. She watched flocks of birds fly away at their approach, and rabbits hop into the underbrush by the side of the road. She’d been on trail rides with her dad, but she’d been so determined not to like Wyoming that she’d missed its beauty.

  Ahead of them, the snow that still remained on the summit of the Grand Tetons glittered in the sun. She’d never been here in the winter and never tried skiing, although she had friends who loved it. She’d avoided finding anything positive about Jackson Hole, and that was a shame.

  “So Emmett never took you out to the sacred site?” Clay had to talk over the noise of the engine and the tables and benches rattling in the back.

  “No, I would have remembered that.” She felt sad that her father hadn’t mentioned the landmark, but she didn’t blame him. She hadn’t been particularly enthusiastic about any of the local attractions, so why should he? Maybe she was finally old enough to realize that she didn’t have to keep harping on her love of all things California. By now, her dad got it.

  “This road leads to the site.” Clay avoided a particularly deep rut. “We’ll have the cookout in the meadow east of there.”

  “What’s sacred about the place?”

  “There’s a big flat rock about the size of a parking space there. The stone is gray granite with white streaks of quartz through it.”

  “Sounds pretty.”

  “It is, especially when the sun or the moon shines on it. Then the quartz sparkles.”

  Emily laughed. “That works for me. I like shiny, sparkly things.”

  “We’ll stop on the way back so you can take a look. Back when Archie and Nelsie were alive, the Shoshone used to worship on that spot, so they’ve always been allowed on the property. But I don’t think the Shoshone have been ther
e for years.”

  “So it’s for religious services?”

  “Well, not exactly.”

  “What, then?”

  He glanced over at her. “You’re from California, so you should be into this. According to the Shoshone legend, if you have an issue to resolve or uncertainties in your life, being on that rock will give you clarity. Morgan’s parents — have you met Morgan?”

  “Not yet. Tomorrow night I’m supposed to meet everyone.”

  “Anyway, her parents are into all the New Age stuff, so Morgan knows about it, too. She says that quartz is supposed to be a powerful crystal.”

  “I’ve heard that. One of my surfer friends is into crystals.” Emily could think of at least two issues she wouldn’t mind having clarity on. Her purpose in life would be one. The other one was sitting next to her. “Have you ever tried it?”

  He didn’t answer right away, which told her that he probably had tried it and didn’t want to admit that he had.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I’m from California, remember? The land of woo-woo. I just want to know if this rock works or not. I could use some clarity in my life.”

  “I came out here a few months after I’d landed the job working for the Chances. I wanted to know if it would last.”

  “The job?”

  “I suppose, but I wanted to know more than that. A job was one thing. But I was starting to become attached to the people — Sarah, Jonathan, Emmett. I wanted to know if I’d finally…”

  She sensed this had been an important moment for him and he didn’t share it with many people. She felt honored he’d even considered sharing it with her. “Finally what?” she prompted gently.

  He blew out a breath. “If I’d finally found a home.”

  Her heart ached for him. Of course he’d longed for some permanent place that would always welcome him. That was the thing he’d been denied his whole life. “Did… did the sacred site give you some kind of answer?”

  “Sort of. Something that had been knotted up in me seemed to relax, and I took that to be a good sign. Then a raven flew over and pooped on my shirt.” He laughed. “I’m not sure what that was supposed to mean.”

  “That’s easy. Shit happens.”

  “Maybe that was the message. Anyway, the Chance family, along with Emmett, have given me a home base, so whether the rock was telling me that or not, my life has worked out so far.”

  “I’m glad. You know, if my dad had been willing to move to Santa Barbara like my mother wanted him to, he wouldn’t have been here when you came to the ranch.”

  He looked over at her. “You mean like that saying that things happen for a reason?”

  “Sort of, yeah.”

  “That hardly seems fair.” He frowned. “I don’t like the idea that you had to give him up so that I could have him.”

  She was tempted to say that Clay might have needed her dad more than she had, but she decided against it. Most men didn’t like to appear weaker than a woman, even psychologically. “In any case, if he couldn’t be with me, then I’m glad he was here for you.”

  Clay drove along silently for several minutes. Finally he spoke again. “Do you believe that saying?”

  “Which one?”

  “That things happen for a reason.”

  She thought about it. “I guess I do. For the most part, anyway. Why?”

  “Then please tell me why you and I have run into each other again this summer. If there’s a reason besides torturing me with things I can’t have, I’d love to know what it is.”

  He spoke with such feeling that she was taken aback. “Am I really torturing you?”

  “Not on purpose, I’m sure. Wait, I take that back. Your comment about your sucking ability was absolutely on purpose, and I’ve been tortured by that ever since.”

  “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “So now you realize it, when it’s too late to do anything about it.”

  She leaned back against the headrest and controlled the urge to smile as a very naughty idea came to her. “Maybe it’s not too late.”

  “Oh, yes, it is.” His tone was heated and tinged with desperation. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve already had this discussion. From now on we’re going to be friendly, but not too friendly. In other words, it’s too late.”

  She couldn’t stop herself from grinning. This could be a real adventure, something she’d never offered a man in quite this way before. And it wouldn’t count as an actual fling. “Come on, now, Clay. What’s a little oral sex between friends?”

  He swerved to the side of the road and hit the brakes so hard the load in back rumbled in protest. “What?”

  She turned her head to gaze at him. “Think of it as a friendly gesture to keep you from going off the deep end. You just admitted that I’m torturing you.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Since it’s my fault for putting that thought in your mind and now you’re struggling with sexual frustration, then it seems only fair that I relieve your condition so that you can continue on about your business.”

  He stared at her, his eagerness evident in the strained fabric of his jeans, but his gaze was wary. “What… what about our plan not to get involved with each other?”

  “I’m not proposing marriage, or even an affair.” The more she thought about this, the more she liked the idea. “I’m simply offering a solution to your problem. Nobody ever has to know.”

  “I can’t believe you’re saying this.”

  “Can you believe I would do it?”

  His breathing quickened. “Yes, I sure as hell can, and that’s what’s driving me insane. I’ve had an X-rated movie going in my head ever since you broached the subject in the barn.”

  Taking off her hat, she set it on the dash. Then she unbuckled her seat belt and turned toward him. “I should never have teased you with that remark. Let me make it up to you.”

  “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  She glanced at his crotch. “You’re being outvoted.”

  “No surprise there.” His chest heaved as he dragged in a breath.

  “It’s a reasonable solution.” She rested her hand on his thigh and felt the muscles bunch. Excitement churned through her at the thought of what she wanted to do. “And it won’t take long.”

  He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “That’s a given.”

  Slowly, as if approaching a wild animal, she reached for his zipper. “You need this, Clay.”

  “Yes,” he murmured. As the zipper rasped in the stillness, he groaned. “Yes.”

  He couldn’t believe he was allowing her to do this, but the way she’d explained it made some kind of crazy sense. She was responsible for his inflamed state, and she’d suggested helping him out by performing exactly what she’d hinted was her specialty. If he didn’t take that pleasure now, he’d never have another chance.

  She was right that no one ever had to know. He’d suffer through slivers under his fingernails before he’d tell anybody about this. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned as she fumbled her way through the unveiling, and then… oh, man.

  This was frickin’ incredible. Her warm fingers wrapped around what felt like the most intense hard-on he’d ever had in his life. She’d volunteered to ease his pain, and only an idiot would pass up the opportunity.

  Grateful didn’t even begin to describe his state of mind. But when her breath whispered across the head of his cock, he had no state of mind. He had no mind, period.

  He braced himself for contact, tightening his hands into fists and clenching his jaw. He’d always prided himself on his control, and he’d need every bit of it when she… ahhhhh… heaven. Her tongue. Licking. Stroking. Teasing. So good, so very, very… good. She deserved those bragging rights.

  Someone moaned. Could’ve been him. He wanted to open his eyes. Didn’t dare. And yet, he wanted to see, wanted the visual. To keep forever.

  Had to risk it. Had to look. Holding his breath, he watched
the golden top of her head as she lowered her mouth down over his cock. Her hair curtained her face, tickling him as she lifted up again, curling into her mouth, getting in her way.

  She pushed the damp strands away. Then she tried to pull her hair back with her free hand, but it wouldn’t stay. She made an impatient sound low in her throat.

  The vibration from that sound nearly made him come, but he conquered the urge, because he knew what needed to be done. Unclenching both fists, he scooped her silky hair back and held it at the nape of her neck.

  And now… now he could watch. Her cheeks hollowed and her eyelashes fluttered as she moved rhythmically up and down, up and down, up… his control slipped a notch… and down… up… she did something with her tongue and he gasped… down… once more… and up… blood rushed in his ears… now.

  With a ragged cry, he came, his cock pulsing inside her warm mouth. She sucked more vigorously as she swallowed, and swallowed again. Pleasure rolled over him in waves so strong he was afraid he might pass out.

  But he didn’t, and gradually the world came into focus and he slumped against the seat. A raven perched on the hood of the truck and stared at him. Good thing a bird hadn’t flown in the open windows of the cab, although he might not have noticed. A bear could have tried to climb in and he might not have noticed.

  Emily released him gently with lingering kisses, and then she tucked his johnson carefully back into his jeans. He realized he was still gripping her hair, caveman style. He let go and she sat up.

  “Emily, that—” He sounded like a rusty hinge, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “That was unbelievable.”

  She smiled and combed her hair back from her face. Her green eyes sparkled and her lipstick was gone, but her mouth was rosy from all that activity. “Better, now?”

  “You have no idea.”

  “See how easy that was? Problem solved, and nobody has to be the wiser.”

  “You can damned well count on me not to say anything.” Now that he was recovering from his state of bliss, he noticed that although his breathing had returned to normal, hers hadn’t. The rapid rise and fall of her breasts brought his attention to another fact — under her T-shirt and bra, her nipples were standing at attention.