Dearest Cowboys Box Set

by Mia Brown

  She regarded me with suspicion then. “You were very rude. Why do you speak to me like that?”

  “Are you in love with Will?” I blurted out. So much for keeping my cool.”

  “What? Am I in love with Will? No. Should I be?”

  “You’re not? I thought you liked him?”

  She frowned. “You did? Well, I don’t. I mean, I don’t think so. There’s nothing there. He’s a nice guy but I don’t think there’s anything there.”

  “Good.”

  “Good?”

  I stood up, put my box of pizza down and walked up to her. I was suddenly hungry in a whole new way. I stood right in front of her and nodded.

  “Good.”

  “I don’t understand…”

  Suddenly, before I had the chance to stop myself, I leaned forward and placed my lips on hers. For a moment she even kissed me back. Then she pushed me away, and slapped me hard across the face.

  “Ow. Okay, fine, I deserve that,” I said as I rubbed my cheek.

  I expected her to kick me out but instead she licked her lips, and then over to me, pushed me against the wall, and kissed me.

  Seventeen

  Dallas

  I had no idea what had come over me. One minute I was slapping Blaze and the next I was pushing him against the wall. The only thing I knew for certain was that my body was responding to him in a way I wasn’t used to, and I wanted nothing more than to be with him. It was as if I had no more control over my thoughts. I hated this guy, and yet I wanted him. When I pulled away we stared at each other, both of us surprised by what was happening. I had a small window of an opportunity to stop myself, but I knew I didn’t want to. Instead, I pulled him to the living room, pushed him onto the sofa and sat on top of him to kiss him again. I wasn’t sure where I was getting this sort of confidence from but it wasn’t exactly unpleasant. I liked being so close to him. I liked the way my body felt against his, and the way I could feel his excitement building up. I liked his lips on mine. I liked that he hadn’t shaved so his rough stubble rubbed against my soft skin. I pulled off my shirt and realized I wasn’t wearing a bra. I had forgotten that he had arrived while I was wearing my pajamas. Had he known I wasn’t wearing a bra this whole time?

  Blaze’s hands reached out to caress my nipples and I groaned in pleasure. I leaned forward so he could place them in his mouth and I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the feel of his tongue on me. I pulled off his shirt and I smiled in admiration at his body. Blaze was incredibly well built. He looked like someone who spent their time outdoors which was strange considering he was a lawyer. I wished he would quit this corporate job and continue with his ranch work. He had the body for hard work. I trailed my fingers over his torso.

  “Not bad,” I said. “Not bad at all.”

  “Oh yeah? You like what you see?” he said.

  “Shut up. Don’t talk. You’ll ruin it,” I said. I didn’t need him to charm me. The more I thought about what I was doing the more I was going to want to stop, and I really didn’t want to stop. Not when my body felt so good.

  He laughed but didn’t argue. Instead he pulled me in for another kiss and I was taken aback by his passion. Suddenly he flipped me over and lay me on the couch. He pulled off my shorts and the my underwear, and I lay naked in front of him. He stood up to take off his own clothes and I watched with pleasure as I took in the rest of his naked body. My body shivered. I had never wanted anyone more in my entire life. It had been a frustrating few weeks and I wanted nothing more than to surrender into bliss.

  “Do you have a condom?” I asked him. Say yes, say yes, I pleaded. If he said no I would have to ask him to leave and I wasn’t sure if this would ever happen again.

  He grinned. “Of course I do.”

  As he went to fetch I tried not to think about what his words meant. Of course I do. Had he planned on seducing me all along? Or did he have a condom on him at all times for all the women he happened to come across? Neither option was great and I tried not to think about it further. Instead I watched as he slipped the condom on and then smiled as he finally came back to kiss me. While he kissed me he used his fingers inside me and I groaned in pleasure. I was already ready for him and I was close to begging him to come inside me. Thankfully I didn’t have to beg. When he entered me I completely forgot about all the bad things that had happened during the week. I even forgot about how much I hated him. I closed my eyes and simply enjoyed the moment. It wasn’t too difficult. Blaze was damn good at this. A little too good actually. This was definitely a one time affair but it was going to be hard not to do this again. I bit my lip and moaned as he pushed inside me. When I came I dug my nails into his back and shivered with pleasure. I felt him come too and I was glad. As much as I didn’t like him, I did actually want him to have a good time with me.

  However, the moment it was over I wanted to run away. It was as if I had lost myself in the moment and completely forgotten who I was or what I was doing. Or, most important, who I was doing it with. I looked around for my pajamas and my underwear but they were in various parts of my living room, which meant I would have to walk naked in front of Blaze to get them. This seemed like a ridiculous problem to have considering I had just slept with him, but it didn’t make it any easier for me.

  “Can you close your eyes?” I said to him.

  “Uh, sorry?”

  “Can you close your eyes?” I said again. “I need to get changed.

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  He chuckled then closed his eyes. “Okay, eyes are closed. You may find your clothes.”

  I darted across the living room to gather my things and quickly got changed, but when I turned back I saw that Blaze was watching me.

  “What the hell? I asked you to close your eyes.”

  “And I did. You just didn’t say for how long.”

  I groaned. “Whatever. I’m going to the bathroom.”

  I headed to the bathroom in the hopes that Blaze would be dressed by the time I got back. It was rather disconcerting to see him sitting in my living room without any clothes on. What’s worse was that he didn’t seem at all embarrassed by it. I looked at myself in the mirror and groaned. My nipples were fully erect and you could see them clearly through the fabric of my pajama shirt. Had they been like that the whole time? No wonder he’d tried to kiss me at the start. I lifted the shirt up and rubbed at them, but that only seemed to make matters worse. Instead, I hurried out the bathroom and made my way to my bedroom. I found a gown and wrapped it around. Much better.

  When I got back to the living room Blaze was dressed and already eating his pizza. He smiled when he saw me.

  “Well, I’m even more hungry now. Come on, take a seat. Dig in. This pizza is delicious. A little cold, but still tasty.”

  I stared at him. He was acting like we hadn’t just slept together. I had no idea how to be normal in a time like this. “Uh, sorry, I think I’m going to head off to bed,” I said. “Thanks for coming over.”

  “You kicking me out?” he asked.

  “Uh, yeah, sort of,” I said. “I’m a little tired.”

  “I thought you were hungry?” he said.

  I shook my head. “No. I’m just tired.”

  He gave me strange look then, but got up. “Well, okay then. Uh, so, tonight was great,” he said.

  I nodded. “Have a great evening,” I said which wasn’t really the right response to what he had just said but my head was far too busy with thoughts to think of a proper reply right now.

  Blaze looked like he wanted to say something but seemed to change his mind. Then he leaned over like he was going to kiss me and I hurriedly moved my head away and looked elsewhere.

  “Well, goodnight, Dallas,” he said.

  “Goodnight, Blaze.”

  I waited until I heard his car pull away and then I flopped onto the sofa in shock. Had I really just slept with a man I hated? I wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that I had slept with him or the f
act that I had enjoyed it so much. All I knew was that it couldn’t happen again. My gaze fell on the pizza box. I was starving. I opened the box and switched on the TV, and ate the entire thing while watching a movie without really watching it at all. Unfortunately, as much as I tried to think about other things, my mind kept wandering back to Blaze and how good it had felt to have him inside me. I sighed. Maybe it was only because I hadn’t done that in such a long time. Just because I had enjoyed it so much didn’t mean that I actually liked the guy. Did it? I shook my head. No. I definitely didn’t like him.

  Did he like me? That was another question I didn’t have an answer to. Why had he asked me about Will? Was he jealous? Is that why he was so nasty to me when Will was around? I had no idea what was going on. If Blaze really liked me he wouldn’t be helping Steve to evict me. No, Blaze was just a typical man who wanted sex and nothing else. It annoyed me that I had just allowed it to happen. I should’ve put him in his place and said no. Instead I was just like all the other girls he probably slept with.

  Eighteen

  Blaze

  I slept surprisingly well the night before. I didn’t expect to sleep at all, but I ate the pizza on the way home from Dallas and then hopped straight into bed and fell asleep. When I woke it was early and for a while I lay there wondering if I had simply imagined the night before. I could still smell her on me. Dallas. I had actually slept with Dallas. I still couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I had gone over. I hadn’t expected her to let me in, but I most definitely hadn’t expected her to sleep with me. Kissing her hadn’t been a part of my plan but it hadn’t so easily. I thought of the way she’d slapped me at first and I chuckled. It had hurt, but what she had done after had definitely made up for it. I sighed with happiness. I got up and made my way to the shower. When I got out my phone rang and I rushed to get it thinking that it might be her. It was Tyler, inviting me over for breakfast.

  “Mom went a little crazy on the food this morning so I thought I’d see if you wanted to come for breakfast. We can go for a ride too. I think Marty might actually be up for it. But if he’s not then he’ll probably still appreciate a visit from you.”

  “I’ll be right over,” I said.

  “Really? I thought I was going to have to beg you.”

  I laughed. “I do actually like coming over to the ranch you know. I like it a lot. Also, I don’t have any food in the house.”

  I had devoured the pizza on the way home the night before. I had been starving before my meet up with Dallas but famished when it was over. I usually only ate half the pizza so that I had half for breakfast the next day, but there was no way I was able to keep some. I was glad to have an excuse to visit my family, although I probably didn’t need an excuse. My mother would welcome me with open opens at any time.

  I headed over to the ranch. It was a relatively cold day, but the air was still and I was pleased to see that they had set up the table outside. They had a nice big kitchen to eat at, but there was nothing better than eating outside when you were at the ranch. The place just lent itself to an outdoor environment. My mother smiled when she saw me.

  “Blaze I’m glad you made it. Your father and brother have been laughing at me because I’ve been cooking so much, but I can’t help myself.”

  “And trust me,” I said as I leaned in to hug her. “I’m grateful for it. Hi, dad,” I said to my father who was sitting with his newspaper at the table.

  “Hi, Blaze. Good to see you again.”

  “How are you feeling?” I asked.

  He smiled. “Stronger than ever,” he said. He always said this, even when it was obvious that he wasn’t feeling strong, but today I could tell that he meant it.

  “Mom, can I help you with anything? Where’s Tyler?”

  “Tyler is on the phone with some girl,” she said.

  “Oh yeah? Who is it?”

  “Oh, I have no idea. You know what he’s like. He has all the girls after him.”

  “Such a charmer,” I said.

  “Gets it from your father,” my mother said.

  “We’re a charming family,” my father agreed. “Nothing we can do about it.”

  I laughed. “Come on, let me help you mom. Can I at least carry some stuff out?”

  “Yes you can. Thank you my boy.”

  I helped my mother bring everything out and we all sat to eat. Tyler still wasn’t there and my mother insisted that we wait for him but every now and again my father and I would pick at our food when my mother wasn’t watching. It was impossible not to pick at bacon when it was all you could smell.

  “Ah, finally, now we can eat!” I said when Tyler finally arrived.

  He took a seat. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” he said. “You shouldn’t have waited for me.”

  “Trust me, that was all mom’s idea,” I said. “So, who is the lucky lady? I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

  “I don’t. She’s just this French girl I met the other day. She’s here on holiday with her family and I offered to show her around. We had the most amazing day. She’s so sweet. And so very French.”

  I laughed. “I always thought you would end up with a foreigner. So, how long is she hear for?”

  “Only a week. So I have to make the most of my time with her. I’m picking her up later and taking her out for lunch. Then I’ll bring her back here to ride one of the horses. She’s even gone out and bought herself a cowboy hat.”

  I laughed. “Ah, to match yours, how sweet.”

  “I told you she was adorable.”

  “So just one week. That’s sad,” my mother said. “Can’t she stay longer?”

  Tyler shook his head. “Nah, it’s not too bad. I’m not sure she’s girlfriend material anyway. So this works out just fine.”

  “Oh darling, you shouldn’t mess around with girl’s hearts like that. What if she really likes you? You’re going to break the poor girl’s heart.”

  Tyler laughed. “No, I won’t. She said she’s interested in someone back home anyway.”

  My mother groaned. “So why is she hanging around with you then?”

  “She just wants someone to show her around town. That’s all. It’s purely friendship,” Tyler said.

  “Well, okay then, I guess that’s fine. That’s nice of you.”

  It was only once we were finished having breakfast and Tyler and I were walking over to the stables where he told me the truth.

  “You’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?” I said.

  Tyler laughed. “Actually, I’m not, but I’m trying to. I mean, I’ve only got one week with her. I might as well make the most of my time. But she’s unfortunately not giving in to me just yet.”

  “Well, you better make sure you give her the time of her life today.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Oh hey, Marty does look better,” I said. “But I’m not sure I want to ride him. Maybe I should give it another week. I don’t want to make things worse. The poor guy can’t exactly talk and tell us how he’s feeling. I’d hate to ride him if he wasn’t yet ready for it.”

  “Want to ride another horse?”

  I shook my head. “No, I think I’m just going to sit here for a while so that Marty has some company. You can ride if you want though, I don’t mind.”

  “Nah, I can ride later. I’ll sit here with you. So, what’s up with you?” he asked.

  I turned to look at him. “What do you mean? Nothing is up with me.”

  “You’re acting different,” he said.

  “I am? In what way?”

  “I don’t know. I just get the feeling that something happened. You’ve been very smiley today.”

  I laughed. “Are you trying to tell me that I don’t usually smile a lot?”

  “Well, you don’t really.”

  “I’m happy to be here. It’s a beautiful day. The food was incredible. The coffee was amazing. Marty is feeling better. What’s there not to smile about?�
��

  “You met someone didn’t you?” he asked.

  “Can I not just be happy for no reason?”

  “No. You can’t. And you do realize I’m going to keep on at you until you tell me. You’re not fooling anyone.”

  I chuckled. Tyler and I might be very different, and we might be different ages, but he’d always known me better than everyone. “I slept with Dallas.”

  Tyler gasped. “What? Are you serious?”

  I nodded. “Yep. Last night. Trust me, I barely believe it myself.”

  “So my plan worked after all,” Tyler said.

  “Your plan? You had a plan? What are you talking about?”

  Tyler grinned. “Remember when I asked you to meet me at that horse sanctuary but then conveniently forgot to tell you that I had to leave early? Well, I did that so that you and Dallas could spend some time together.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Well, you said you liked her, and I figured it was worth a try. I’m glad to see it worked.”

  I laughed. “It did. But not in the way that you probably think. Will was there too. He was also looking for horses. And I got so jealous of him being there. I mean, I wasn’t even sure if there was anything going on between him and Dallas, but I didn’t like the easy way they spoke with one another. So, when Will left, I was very rude to her. I wasn’t nice at all. When I got home I thought about the way I had treated her and I felt so guilty about it. I was also starving and had no food in the house. So I got some pizza and went over to her house. I got one for her too. I figured it was worth a shot.”

  “And that actually worked?”

  “Not at first. Took me a while to even get inside. Then I tried to kiss her and she slapped me.”

  Tyler burst out laughing. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh but that’s hilarious.”

  “And it hurt too. I thought I was surely going to get kicked out after that but suddenly she was kissing me back. And then one thing led to another. Look, I’m not fooling myself here. I don’t think she likes me. I think it was more hate sex than romantic sex and I am pretty sure she regrets doing it.”