All Night with the Cowboy

by Soraya Lane

  She was holding her book steady and she didn’t turn, but he knew she was listening.

  “Whatever your reason was back then, you made it. I’ve made you out to be the villain all these years, but it was your decision, and the past is the past.”

  “Thanks.”

  “It’s not quite me forgiving you, but it’s probably the best my ego can deal with.”

  She smiled—he could just make out the way her mouth curved at the side. “Right now, I’ll take whatever I can get.”

  Tanner lay back, wishing that Lauren would take that pretty mouth and find her way to him. Or even better, climb aboard and show him exactly why he’d missed her so much.

  * * *

  Later that day, Lauren was watching Tanner from her bed. She was stretched out, still in her bikini from sunbathing earlier, lying on the crisp white sheets. She’d advised him to take a nice long, slow walk along the beach, barefoot, to help his muscles and build up strength, and she’d decided not to go with him. Strolling with him, listening to the waves, the sun on their skin, and the temptation of his body so close to hers … she knew right from wrong, but the moment he was up in her space, she didn’t exactly trust herself.

  Her phone vibrated and she reached for it, smiling when she saw it was her sister. She’d been texting back and forth earlier with Casey, but now her sister had probably found out and would be demanding her own updates about what was happening. She could just imagine the two of them gossiping on the phone or firing off text messages about her. Lauren grinned when she read the message: So how’s beauty and the beast?

  Instead of messaging her back, Lauren decided to FaceTime Hannah as she stared out the glass, still focused on Tanner. He’d already walked past twice, but he’d stopped and was stretching now, just like she’d told him too.

  “He’s hardly the beast,” she said when her sister picked up, her face appearing on the screen as she grinned back at her.

  “Oh my god, you’ve already slept with him, haven’t you?” Hannah sighed. “I knew you two wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off each other. How long did it take? Two seconds or two minutes?”

  “Definitely longer than two minutes,” she teased, lying back on the bed.

  Lauren laughed. Maybe he was a bit of a beast. He pulled his T-shirt over his head, and she watched as he moved to the edge of the pool. His golden skin was tinged darker, especially over his shoulders, but she knew that he’d just turn a darker shade of tanned and would never even look burnt throughout the entire vacation.

  His back was muscled, same as his chest, and she longed to explore that chiseled skin with her fingers. She guessed his abs had been even more defined before the accident, but for a guy who’d had the better part of two months in a hospital bed or in a cast, he looked damn fine. She turned the screen so Hannah could get a glimpse of him.

  “He’s a gorgeous specimen of man, I’ll give you that,” she said.

  “Yeah, I know. Definitely no beast here, except for his attitude sometimes.”

  “That’s what Mom used to call him, you know,” Hannah said. “She’d watch the two of you roar off on his motorcycle, you clinging to him as he gunned it down the road, and she’d mutter beauty and the goddamn beast.”

  “How have I never heard this?” she asked, standing and moving closer to the glass when Tanner slid into the pool and disappeared into the water, her screen facing her again. She touched her palm to the cool surface and tracked him with her eyes for a second before turning her focus back to her sister.

  “Don’t know why I didn’t tell you back then, but after it ended you made us all promise to never mention his name again. What’s it like over there? Is the island amazing?”

  “It’s incredible,” Lauren said, giving Hannah a tour of the room as she spoke, then pushing the door open and holding the screen outside. “The house we have is incredible, it even has a private pool that faces the beach, and once I have Tan back up and moving properly again, we’ll be able to explore the island better.”

  “‘Tan’?” Hannah repeated. “We’re back to calling him Tan now?”

  Lauren quickly retreated back into her bedroom, not wanting Tanner to hear. “It’s just a name. Old habits die hard.”

  “All old habits or just the name?”

  Lauren laughed. “Don’t be silly. You know how I am with my work. I haven’t slept with him and I have no intentions of going there.” If only saying it was as easy as doing it—or not doing it.

  “I know, I know. You’re possibly the only woman on the planet who refuses to date hot, single ballplayers.”

  “Hey, if you were trying to get the respect of their wives and your bosses, you’d do the same.”

  “Sweetheart, after all the time you’ve been working there, I think it would be okay to date just one of the single guys. You know, no one will ask you out again if you keep on turning them down.”

  Lauren stood again, finding it hard to settle. “How are the kids?”

  “Great. They’re messy and loud and fun, same as always. But it’s you I want to hear about!”

  Lauren could hear them in the background, but Hannah was in the kitchen so the kids weren’t in sight. She stood at the door again, watching the water ripple and smiled when Tanner rose out of the water. He saw her there but didn’t smile or hold up his hand. He just shook the water off, droplets falling from every part of him. He was so gorgeous. He might be arrogant and he might still hate her for what she did, but right now she was certain she’d never wanted something, or someone, so badly in her whole life.

  She filled her sister in on Vomo, telling her more about the island, the gorgeous food, and everything else—except getting up close and personal with Tanner.

  “Bula!”

  Lauren put her finger to her lips and listened. Tanner had obviously come inside, because he was talking to a man and she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She opened the door.

  “What’s going on?” her sister muttered.

  “Sorry, I just heard someone arrive.” Lauren’s eyebrows shot up when she realized what was going on. “It seems we have a butler and he’s just arrived with champagne.”

  Her sister burst out laughing. “Shoot me now! You’re on a luxury island and you have a freaking butler, too?”

  “Seems like it,” Lauren said, gratefully holding out her hand as Tanner came toward her with the champagne, shrugging his shoulders as if to say “Well, why the hell wouldn’t we?”

  “I’ll call you another day,” Lauren said. “Miss you.”

  “Go drink champagne and have fun,” Hannah replied with a laugh. “Bye!”

  * * *

  Tanner passed Lauren the glass of champagne and wondered what she was thinking. She’d become very good at guarding her expression, and that wasn’t something he was used to, not from her. When they’d been younger, it had seemed like every thought that had passed through her head he’d been able to read on her face.

  “He’s left us some canapés too,” Tanner said. “The only thing he forgot to leave was the bottle.”

  He sipped the champagne. Not usually his drink of choice, but he wasn’t going to complain.

  “Cheers,” Lauren said, holding up her glass and clinking it to his before taking a sip. He watched as she swallowed it down.

  “You know,” Lauren said, “I was going to tell you tonight that we should skip the alcohol while we’re here, to help with your recovery, but I’m thinking that maybe my rules were a little strict.”

  Tanner grinned. “Yeah, I think we should focus on the whole relaxation part of the trip.” He could think of some other great ways to relax too, but given her reaction after the kiss, he was going to keep those thoughts to himself. For now.

  “Want to go sit outside?” he asked. “Seems a shame not to soak up the last rays of sunshine.”

  She moved in front of him and he followed her out, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the change in light.

  “Who were you talki
ng to before?” he asked, before realizing his question hadn’t come out quite right. “I mean, you sounded like you were having a laugh. I don’t actually need to know if—”

  “Cue the jealous ex-boyfriend?” she asked, before laughing and shaking her head. “It’s fine. It was Hannah actually. She was just recounting some things from the past that Mom and Dad used to say about you.”

  He cringed. “Do I even want to know? Damn, your dad used to give me this look, like he’d pull out a shotgun and shoot me right there on the spot if he could.”

  Lauren’s grimace matched his. “Yeah, I remember.”

  “And your mom?” He downed some more champagne. “Lord, did she want me dead! I could tell from the way she looked at me, like she wished she could just scream at me not to put my filthy paws on her baby girl.”

  Lauren looked unsure, almost awkward as she clutched the champagne flute and dropped into the lounger by the pool.

  “What? Don’t tell me that’s what she actually used to say to you about me?”

  “You really want to know what she used to call us?” Lauren asked, looking guilty. “Hannah just told me, I swear I never knew until now.”

  “Hit me with it.”

  “Beauty and the beast,” Lauren said, hand over her mouth like she couldn’t believe she’d told him. “I just about died.”

  “Geez, what a cruel mother, calling her own daughter a beast.”

  Lauren’s eyes widened. “Tanner! I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the beast in the story.”

  Tanner laughed so hard his sides hurt, pain rippling between his ribs as tears streamed down his cheeks. Lauren was laughing hard too, wiping at her cheeks and splashing her champagne over her pretty top.

  “I guess I would have felt the same if my daughter had come home with a motorcycle-riding seventeen-year-old.”

  “Yeah, I know, but still,” Lauren said.

  “Still what?”

  Her cheeks flushed pink, but she didn’t elaborate. Instead she changed the subject. “You know, I could get used to having a butler. This is definitely the life.”

  Tanner didn’t push her, but he did walk back inside and dial their butler. When he came back out and took up residence on the lounger beside her, Lauren gave him a quizzical look.

  “What were you just doing?”

  “Telling our butler to bring the bottle this time, and arranging for dinner to be brought up for us. I thought we’d stay in tonight.”

  “Because you want to keep me prisoner in this exquisite house?”

  “Maybe,” he replied. “Or maybe my body hurts like a goddamn freight train just ploughed headfirst into me, and I can’t face the idea of walking to the restaurant.”

  Her look was one of sympathy, but in all honesty he wasn’t sure which part of his response had been truthful. Maybe he did want to keep her all to himself. It was strange how being away from his normal life had made him more accepting of being around his former flame.

  “Tanner,” Lauren said as she stretched out, leg flexing as she pointed her toes. He noticed that her skin was already looking more golden than when they’d first arrived. “What was your reaction when Mia suggested we work together?”

  He finished his drink and set it down on the low table between their loungers. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

  “I do.” He watched as she took a way more delicate sip, not the big gulp that he’d just done to finish his champagne. “Because I can tell you for sure that it took a bit of convincing to get me to say yes, and I wasn’t the one who’d…”

  “Had their heart broken?” he asked, chuckling. “I looked her in the eye and said ‘Lauren goddamn Lewis.’ Or something like that. Anyway, I flat out said no, and she told me to check my bullshit because I needed to work with the best, and the best was you.”

  She was quiet a long moment, and when their butler arrived and called out, bringing them their champagne and telling them that their food would be coming soon, Tanner thanked him and poured more Veuve Clicquot into their glasses.

  “So we still have a bit of catching up to do,” he said, settling back down. He tried to position himself so that it didn’t hurt, but no matter how he moved, some part of him ached.

  “We need to strap you up before I have too many drinks,” Lauren said.

  “Once we finish the bottle,” he teased. “Then your elbows poking into my muscles won’t feel so torturous!”

  “Like I use my elbows,” she muttered, but he could see her smiling behind her glass.

  “Seriously though, what’s been happening? Have you been married? Divorced? Any kids?”

  She gave him a withering look. “I wouldn’t be chilling on an island with you right now if I’d had kids in the past ten years. As for the other two questions? No and no. You?”

  “Nope. I’ve been keeping my options open, you know, practicing while I try to find the right girl.” Only he’d had the right girl and she’d managed to get away. Did he tell her that no one had ever been able to live up to the memory he had of her?

  “That’s gross.”

  “Bet you haven’t exactly been a saint.”

  “Um, compared to you? I’d to be lucky to have made my way through an entire box of condoms since I met you, but I’m guessing you’ve been keeping Durex in business.”

  “How long have you been working on that one-liner?”

  Lauren held up her glass. “Oh, I’ve been working on that one for hours.”

  They sat in silence awhile longer, polishing off the bottle before Lauren set down her glass and rose.

  “I need to work some magic on you before I get too drunk.”

  Tanner looked up into her eyes. “Hmm, not sure if I trust you. I think you’re buzzed already.”

  She rolled her eyes and walked into the house, coming back with a bag that he guessed contained her strapping and supplies. She pointed to her table, which was still set up.

  “Lie down and stay still,” she ordered.

  Tanner did as he was told, more relaxed than he’d been the first time around when she’d massaged him. This time she focused on slightly different parts of his body, rubbing into his muscles and pushing deep, and then strapping him up and making him look like she was trying to cover up as much of his skin as possible.

  When she’d finished his lower half, she paused at his wrist. “Is it okay if I do a little work on this now? I’m worried about how badly you might have damaged all the ligaments and soft tissue here and it could end up being the most problematic of all your injuries.”

  He turned his wrist over, palm open and facing the sky. “Do your worst, doc.”

  Her fingers were warm and firm as she pressed into him, working his forearm and then down to his hand. When she looked up at him, bent down beside his lounger, her hair falling forward over her shoulder, eyes so big and brown as she gazed up, he felt something instead of him fall apart. All these years he’d tried to hate her, thought he had hated her—but hate wasn’t the thing he was full of right now, far from it.

  She broke their connection, her fingers moving again when before they’d paused, softly against his skin. She cut and pressed the strapping firmly, supporting his wrist as he stayed still, not moving a muscle.

  When she’d finished, her fingers hit pause again, not leaving him. And when she looked up, even more wide-eyed than before, he still didn’t move. Lauren slowly rose, only halfway, and her hand hovered before moving to his shoulder. Tanner swallowed and waited, until she slowly, slowly bent down. Her hair fell against one of his cheeks as she pushed her palm into his shoulder with more force. For a second he wondered if he’d read the situation wrong, thought perhaps she was just leaning in to massage his shoulder, until her mouth finally found its way to his and she kissed him. Her lips gently brushed against his in a barely there touch, moving back and forth, tasting him, teasing him so bad. Tanner fought the urge to raise his hands and touch her hips, wishing he could coax her down to sit astride him, his fingers itching to wind
around her long locks and anchor her in place. But she was the one who’d made the move, and he wasn’t going to push his luck. If she wanted to be in control, then dammit, she could be. And he didn’t know if the table could take it.

  Just as he expected the kiss to deepen, for her to lean into him and dip her tongue into his mouth, she pulled back, fingertips stroking down his cheek. With her other hand she tucked her long hair behind one ear.

  There was a gentle knock at the door followed by an enthusiastic “Bula!” from their butler.

  “Dinner is served,” she whispered, leaving him lying there as she rose and disappeared.

  Chapter 9

  LAUREN watched Tanner rise and head off to bed. It had been a strange day. She’d thought their time together would be tense; that they’d fight or have such a weird animosity between them that it’d be hard to know what to say and how to behave around him. But oddly enough they’d fallen back into step, and she was finding it hard to piece together the fact they’d gone so long without seeing each other.

  The truth was, she knew why they weren’t fighting, and it was because of what hadn’t changed between them. They’d had chemistry like she’d never imagined possible when they’d dated, and it hadn’t disappeared. It was the same reason she’d never had any other relationships, because she’d just never felt that same physical connection with any other guy. Life had been good to her, it simply hadn’t given her mind-blowing sex or the rush of adrenaline from a man that she’d experienced before with Tanner.

  She thought about heading to the beach for a walk in the dark, with the lit torches to guide her, but decided against it. She considered going outside and lying in a lounger for a bit, to enjoy the gentle sound of lapping waves, to maybe pour the last of the champagne—their second bottle—into her glass and curl up on the sofa with her book. But there was only one thing she truly wanted to do, and now that it was in her head …

  Lauren emptied the rest of the bottle and drank slowly as she tried to muster some courage. Was he stripping off his clothes right now in his room? Was he naked beneath the sheets? She gulped, shutting her eyes and remembering the feel of his skin beneath hers when she’d been massaging him, or the soft, sensual push and pull of his lips against hers when they’d kissed.