Shoulda Been A Cowboy: Rough Riders, Book 7

by Lorelei James

  “Look at me.”

  Obeying Cam’s gruff command, she stared into his fiery eyes while her pussy pulsed around his skillful fingers and saw her satisfaction and lust reflected on his face.

  “That’s it, princess. Give it all to me.”

  After the last throb faded, Domini wanted to bury her face in the side of his neck. Lick the salt from his skin, familiarizing her senses with his taste, drown in his scent. Memorize every intimate detail about him.

  But Cam had other plans. He fumbled for the handcuff key. A soft snick sounded and her arms were freed. The cuffs plopped on the couch cushion and he urged, “Put your hands on my shoulders.”

  Domini wished Cam had ditched his shirt, allowing her a chance to explore the sculpted muscles of his chest. But when he widened her knees and pressed his cock into her cleft, she forgot about everything except the sensation of the hard length of his shaft grinding against her clit. She countered his rocking motion, sliding down as he thrust up, increasing the friction.

  Cam plunged two fingers into her pussy from behind, stroking with unerring accuracy the hot spot inside her vaginal walls that sent heated shivers of need spreading outward.

  Panting, mindless, she lost herself to the moment. The smooth, fast glide of his velvety cock against her swollen sex. His greedy mouth sucking on her throat.

  They rocked in tandem. In opposition. He nipped, licked and rubbed on her neck like a gigantic cat. A hungry cat if the scrape of his teeth from her earlobe to her nipples was any indication.

  But Domini liked that he hungered for her. She liked his unintelligible mutters that sent tingles racing across her bare skin. She liked everything about being with this man.

  Her belly tightened in warning. Gripping his closely shorn scalp, Domini tipped Cam’s head back and smashed her mouth to his, kissing him crazily as her second orgasm hit.

  He swallowed her cries and his rhythm never faltered as he rode out the storm with her.

  Just as she was about to rip her mouth free, a shiver worked through Cam like he’d been zapped with an electric current. Hot liquid spurted on her belly as he came with a drawn-out groan. His hips bumped up three more times, slowed, and stopped.

  He nestled his forehead in the curve of her neck and breathed hard. She breathed hard.

  Her whole body shook with the glow of two fantastic orgasms. Would Cam run if she told him he was exactly the type of lover she’d been searching for?

  Probably. Especially since he’d played it cool for months after that steamy kiss.

  Yet, another part of her wondered if he’d run if she didn’t say anything. If she didn’t reassure him that she didn’t want this to be a onetime thing.

  Take a chance. Tell him the truth.

  Domini hitched her shoulders back. Her smile died and her hopes fell when she noticed Cam’s face read pure panic.

  In fact, he stayed frozen, not even looking at her face.

  She ignored the urge to flee. Instead she slowly swung her left knee over his lap and rolled to her feet. Keeping her back to him, she tried to figure out what she’d done wrong.

  Why do you always assume you’re to blame?

  When Domini faced Cam, she noticed he’d already yanked his pants up and was hastily stuffing the handcuffs in the leather pouch.

  Maybe Cam was just distracted and he’d murmur something sweet and normal when he wasn’t so flustered.

  But it seemed to be a long wait.

  Almost nervously, Cam rubbed the top of his head and glanced at his watch. “Wow. I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  Lame excuse, Cam.

  Domini retreated to her bedroom for a robe, allowing Cam time to get his head in order. He stood by the door when she returned. If he’d worn a hat, he’d be wringing it in his hands.

  “I better get home and see if Keely has destroyed my house.”

  “I understand.” Liar. “Drive safe.”

  “Thanks. Remember to lock up after me.”

  “The second you leave, the door will be shut, locked, and I won’t reopen it for you, Deputy. Not even if you beg.”

  Cam frowned at her rare sarcasm but didn’t comment. “Good. I’ll see you.” And he was gone.

  After Domini slammed the door and flipped the locks, she listened as he lumbered down the stairs. She pressed her head to the cool wood frame until she heard him land safely at the bottom. Stairs gave him fits with his prosthesis, not that he’d ever admit it.

  Maybe he’s the type of man who won’t ever admit anything, especially his feelings.

  The outer door shut. She listened. Sure enough. Cam tested the outside doorknob to make sure the door locked behind him.

  Why was he so concerned about her safety if he didn’t care?

  Because Cam McKay is a cop. He cares about everyone’s safety.

  The truth of that statement didn’t sit well with her.

  Domini trudged into the bathroom and didn’t like the confusion and bleakness staring back at her from the mirror.

  Her hair was a tangled mess. Her lips were swollen from giving Cam a blowjob and his harsh, deliciously wicked kisses. Marks from his razor stubble scored her chest. He’d even sucked a big purple hickey above her collarbone. Under other circumstances, with Cam standing behind her, kissing his passionate marks, she might’ve laughed. Or begged for more. But now? She just looked used.

  Used. Right. Cam didn’t even want to have sex with her. He got off and he got gone.

  Why?

  You’re defective. He knows it. He doesn’t want to get tangled up with you because it can’t go anywhere. So if he comes back for more, retain the upper hand. Keep it casual.

  Come back. Right. Cam had left so fast he’d probably scorched her carpet.

  Better burn marks there than on your heart.

  True. She clicked off the light and crawled in bed.

  Domini hadn’t scheduled herself to work in the diner the next day. But after spending part of the morning at the park with her friend Nadia’s son, Anton, while Nadia ran some mysterious errands, she knew she’d go stir-crazy sitting in her apartment, obsessing over Cam’s retreat.

  Cooking appeased her. She waited until the lunch rush ended and snuck into Dewey’s kitchen.

  “Just can’t stay away, can you?”

  She smiled sheepishly at Beatrice, her second-in-command.

  Beatrice set her elbows on the steel prep counter. “Please tell me you’re whipping up goodies full of chocolate and sugar.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Goody! Lucky me.”

  “No, I’m lucky to have you and that sweet tooth as my secret taste tester.”

  “Almost as good as having a secret admirer.” Beatrice winked, casting a look over her shoulder. “Lemme know when you need me to lick the spoon.”

  Creaming butter and powdered sugar together released a familiar sugary scent, way better than any expensive aromatherapy. Domini sifted the dry ingredients into the industrial mixer. She poured in white chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips and hand stirred the thick mixture, keeping the consistency between cake batter and cookie dough.

  She dumped the mix into a rectangular cake pan and set it on the middle rack of the smallest oven. She grabbed a saucepan, determined to nail down a souped-up version of mole sauce she’d been messing with for months.

  After the timer dinged, she deposited the brownies on a wire rack to cool. She’d finished the sauce but wasn’t sure if she’d gotten the proportions equal. She yelled, “Bea, could you please come here?”

  Beatrice peered around the corner. “You bellowed?”

  “Yes.” Domini waved a spoon coated with dark sauce. “Taste.”

  “At your service.” Beatrice popped the spoon in her mouth. She swallowed and licked her lips. Then her face became fire-engine red. She sputtered, “Too much chili powder!” and raced for the sink to gulp from the stream of water.

  Domini sighed. “Sorry. I always screw this up.”

  �
��I know the feeling,” came from behind her.

  She whirled around.

  Cam.

  And didn’t he just look good enough to eat? Talk about hotness and sweetness perfectly proportioned. He wore faded jeans and a black tank top that showed off his beefy biceps, triceps and bulging pectorals. His hands were jammed in his back pockets and he watched her with a guarded expression.

  “What do you want?”

  “Domini!” Bea gasped. “What on earth is wrong with you?”

  Yeah, snapping was so unlike her, but she couldn’t quell the surly feeling.

  Beatrice wiped her mouth on her apron. “She’s always testy when things don’t turn out the way she’d hoped.”

  “Kinda sounds like the way my night went last night,” he said softly, never taking his eyes from Domini’s.

  Her heart beat as fast as a mixer on high speed.

  “Beatrice, could you give us a couple of minutes?” Cam asked.

  “Sure. I’ll just be out front icing down my tongue.” She flounced off.

  When Cam remained quiet, Domini said, “Why are you here?”

  “I’ve been waiting in the dining room for you for over an hour,” Cam said. “You ignoring me?”

  “Hard to do when I didn’t know you were here.”

  Cam edged closer. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were avoiding me after the shitty way I acted last night.” His gaze dipped to the collar of her shirt. “I’m here to apologize.”

  “For what?”

  “For what?” Cam’s brow furrowed. “I think it’s obvious.”

  “It’s not obvious to me, so why don’t you explain it?”

  An incredulous look appeared only to be replaced with an irritated one. “What? You expect me to grovel?”

  “No. I expect nothing from you, which is why it’s so ironic that I’m disappointed.”

  “Now wait just a damn minute—”

  “Just go.” Stupid chili pepper powder must’ve blown in her face; her eyes smarted with tears. She sidestepped him, muttering, wishing she was the type of woman who could rant and rave and throw things to relay her frustrations.

  Cam wheeled her around, boxing her between his body and the steel door of the walk-in cooler. “Will you at least let me apologize before you storm off and start swearing at me in Ukrainian?”

  “That was Russian.”

  “So I’m an idiot all the way around, okay? Look, I’m sorry…” His gaze lingered on her neck. “I’m so goddamn sorry I was such an animal and marked you last night. First thing. You deserve better than a man who mauls you.”

  Her stomach swooped at the self-recrimination in his words. “Cam—”

  “This is why I stayed away from you, Domini. You’re so soft and sweet. And I’m too—”

  “—much man for me to handle?” she supplied.

  Cam’s eyes narrowed. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I. At any point last night did I say, ‘Cam, you’re hurting me.’”

  “No. But—”

  “Do you think I am incapable of being honest with you? Do you think I am so desperate for your touch that I would allow you to…hurt me?”

  “Dammit. You’re twisting my words.”

  “No, I am being honest. And you still don’t get it, do you?”

  “Get what?”

  She searched his eyes. “The only thing that upset me about last night was that you left again.”

  He stared at her with complete confusion. But he didn’t back away. “Really?”

  “You know I’m not very bold, which means I’ve been waiting to see if you would make a move on me. And when you finally did, and I saw the passionate, demanding side you keep hidden because you think I can’t handle it—”

  “You can’t handle it.”

  Domini snapped, “You haven’t given me a chance to prove otherwise, have you?”

  “Whoa. I didn’t mean—”

  “Yes, you did. You assumed. Did you consider I have needs and desires that you might not be able to meet?”

  Cam’s face slackened with shock. Then his male pride leapt to the surface all hot and dangerous and in her face. “Oh, princess, don’t go there. I can satisfy all your needs and desires and then some.”

  “Prove it.”

  A pause followed as Cam looked at her. Almost as if he was seeing her for the first time. Then Cam framed her face in his large, rough hands. “You deserve a man—”

  “—who makes me come so hard I see stars?”

  “Domini.”

  “Cameron.”

  He muttered, “I’m so goddamn tired of fighting this.”

  “So don’t fight it.”

  The soft brush of his lips over hers was in direct contrast to the heat in his eyes. “All right. You win.”

  “I think we’ll both be winners, Cam.”

  “You’re coming home with me right now.”

  Cam grabbed her hand and strode out the front door, towing Domini behind him. He opened the passenger side of his truck and loomed over her. “You’re sure you want to get involved with me?”

  “It doesn’t sound like I’m the one having doubts.”

  “I’m not.” He bent to kiss the hollow of her throat. “I still say you’re too good for a broken war bum like me.”

  “Trust me, Deputy, I know a thing or two about being broken.” Domini didn’t wait for his response before she climbed in.

  Chapter Four

  Domini mashed herself next to Cam in the cab. The air from the open window blew wisps of her silky hair across his cheek, teasing him with a reminder of her fragrant softness. It was damn close to heaven being alone with her, with dust kicking up behind them and miles of grazing lands on the horizon in front of them, beneath the cloudless Wyoming sky.

  She hadn’t said much on the drive out to his place. Most women would be compelled to fill the quiet with mindless chatter. Not Domini. Her silence wasn’t unsettling. In fact, Cam found it comforting.

  Cam parked on the concrete slab in front of the garage and shut the truck off.

  Domini faced him and smiled softly.

  Every time she gazed at him as if she could read his soul, his breath stalled in his lungs.

  “Thank you for the moment to clear my head.”

  “No problem.”

  “Are we going to talk first? Or…”

  “Or what? You think I’m gonna truss you up and fuck right out here in the truck? Give me some damn credit, Domini. I do have some damn restraint.”

  “Too much restraint sometimes.”

  In another bout of silence between them, his dog yipped along the fence.

  “Gracie,” he yelled out the window. “Hush. We’ll be there in a sec so you can sniff her and make sure she’s not a threat.”

  Domini’s whole body went rigid beside him.

  “Are you afraid of dogs?”

  “Yes. You probably think it’s silly—”

  “Hey.” Cam bent his head to peer into her alarmed eyes. “Nothin’ silly about it. I’ll keep her in the yard if it’ll ease your mind.”

  “If you do that, the dog will have another reason to hate me.”

  “Luckily Gracie doesn’t hate anybody.” He smiled. “Just let me know when you’re ready to meet her, okay?”

  “You aren’t going to assure me she is the best dog ever and I will immediately love her?”

  “No. Although she is the best dog ever, I’m serious about not pressuring you about her. I know what it’s like to have that ‘just get over it’ mentality thrust at you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Cam’s gaze descended to her lips. He couldn’t resist stealing a kiss. Her mouth was so warm and supple moving beneath his that he stole another one. And another.

  She sank into him, welcoming his attentions with a dreamy sigh.

  After several long, deep, wet kisses, he playfully nipped her bottom lip. “Let’s take this inside.”

  She paused at the base of the stairs. The bottom was di
vided into two sections. Half was a set of steps, half was a wheelchair ramp. “I’ve never seen you use a wheelchair.”

  “That’s because I don’t use one.” Ever.

  “Then why have a ramp?”

  “It’s a daily reminder I could end up in a chair if I don’t work hard every damn day at staying out of one.”

  “Did you build it?”

  Cam shook his head. “Blake did at Colt’s request. Right after I got back to the States and was discharged.”

  “Did Colt think you wouldn’t walk again?”

  “No. But he knew I needed a place that was accessible just in case.”

  She curled her palm over the handrail. “It must be nice to have that kind of unconditional support from your family.”

  “I guess. But living around all of them can drive me nuts.” Domini didn’t avert her eyes as Cam ascended the stairs, and oddly, her scrutiny didn’t bother him. He opened the door. “After you.”

  Domini ducked under his arm and stopped on the edge of the carpet, taking it all in.

  Cam tried to see his refuge through her eyes. His cousins Chet and Remy West had gutted the inside of the house after he’d purchased it from Colt and Buck. Any resemblance to the infamous Boars Nest party house had been completely eradicated.

  The structure of the living room hadn’t changed much, besides replacing the sagging bay window with a newer, larger window. Modern track lighting ran along the center of the ceiling. The rectangular room was anchored at one end by a gigantic flat screen TV and a stack of audio/visual components, and on the other end by a fireplace. A wood coffee table was centered between reclining chairs and a plush, oversized couch the color of tobacco.

  “This is awesome. Did you pick out the colors and the furniture and everything?”

  “Keely helped. Said she didn’t want me living in a man cave with white walls, a TV and cheap bean bag chairs.”

  Domini laughed.

  “Come see the kitchen.”

  The wall between the formal dining room and the kitchen had been demolished, creating one large open space. New appliances, pine cabinetry, bigger windows and tile flooring showcased modern amenities, yet the eat-in breakfast bar uniting the two areas retained a rustic, country feel. A sliding glass door led to an enormous covered deck that wrapped around the entire backside of the house.