His Cowboy Heart

by Jennifer Ryan

  “What are you doing?” Her tiny feet dangled over his arm.

  “Taking you to bed.”

  “It’s not even dinnertime.”

  “I didn’t say we were going to sleep.” He set her down beside the bed, but kept one arm wrapped around her. He set the bottle of lotion on the bedside table and pulled the covers back all the way to the end of the bed.

  She slid her hands up his bare chest, pressed her naked body close to his, and rocked her belly against his hard length. He hissed in a ragged breath, leaned down, and kissed her softly, sliding his tongue past her welcoming lips and reacquainted himself with her taste, though it never seemed to leave his lips.

  “Ford.” His name on her lips pressed to his sent a wave of heat rushing through him.

  He reined it in and gently laid her back on the white sheets. She raised her arms, inviting him to come to her, but he held himself over her. He traced his fingers up her arm and along her collarbone, detouring at her throat. He skimmed his hand down her chest and over her breast. She arched into his touch. He cupped her breast, pinching her tight pink nipple between his index and middle fingers, massaging the firm mound in his palm. Her eyes fell closed and she sighed.

  He feasted on every line and curve of her body, softly touching every inch of her with his fingertips until she melted into the bed.

  He slipped his hand around her hip and cupped her bottom, his fingers spread wide. He pulled her over to lie on her stomach. She kept her arms close to her sides, her hands near her face.

  “Ford?” she questioned why he didn’t lie over her and make love to her.

  He leaned down and kissed her shoulder, not caring one bit about the scars beneath his lips. The contrast between her front and back was striking, but he’d long since stopped being surprised by the marks.

  “Trust me.”

  Her eyes closed and she relaxed into the mattress with every stroke of his hand over her back and down over the soft slope of her bottom.

  He grabbed the lotion off the bedside table and squirted a generous amount into his hand. He rubbed his hands together to spread it evenly and warm it a bit, sat beside her, laid his hands on her shoulders, and rubbed the lotion into her skin, massaging the tight, gnarled scar tissue to help keep it pliant and prevent it from pulling against her skin.

  “You are amazing.”

  He smiled and kept working her back. “Will you say that when I leave my socks on the floor?”

  “No,” she answered honestly. “But I will always think overall that you’re amazing.”

  “Everyone’s got a flaw, right?”

  “Well, if the worst thing you ever do is leave your socks on the floor and think you can fix everything on your own, I can live with that.”

  “Will you live with me?” He hadn’t intended to ask her now. Someday. Soon. But the words left his mouth before he really thought about it. He waited for the need to take the words back to strike, but instead he held his breath waiting for her answer, hoping she’d say yes. Knowing that if she did, his life would change for the better.

  She rolled to her side, leaned up on her arm, and stared at him, her head tilted in that way that spoke of disbelief. “Are you asking me to move in here?”

  “I’ll settle for that for now.”

  “You seriously want me here? All the time?”

  “Yes.” That came so easily. Why were the butterflies in his stomach still swirling? Why didn’t she just say that one word and put him out of his misery?

  Tears flooded her eyes. “I never expected this. Not after . . .”

  “I love you, Firefly. Is it so hard to believe I’d want you with me all the time?”

  “With the way that I am, yes.”

  “Just say the last word again.”

  She pulled her mouth back into a line, unsure of what he wanted her to say, until it dawned on her. She smiled softly and said, “Yes.”

  He let out a heavy breath. “Good. That’s settled.” He leaned down and took her mouth in a searing kiss, sealing the bargain. He slowed things down, sliding his body down the length of hers. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he stared down into her vivid green eyes. He didn’t have the words to tell her how much she meant to him. So he showed her.

  Her lips were soft below his, hungry for each of the kisses he pressed to them before he dove in for something much more tempting. Her body rolled toward his, her hips pressed against his. She arched into him, rubbing her belly against his aching cock. He slid his hand around her side and over her bottom, his fingertips diving deep to caress her soft folds.

  She moaned into his mouth. He slid one finger deep into her wet center. She slid her foot up his calf, pressing her thigh up and over his, opening to his urgent caresses as his finger slid in and out of her tight core. He used his body to press her upper body back and kissed his way down her neck and chest to the tight bud begging for his kiss. He licked the tip, then sucked her softly into his mouth.

  God, she tasted sweet.

  “Ford,” she called to him, her small hand rubbing down his chest, over his stomach, and down until she wrapped her fingers around his hard shaft and stroked him up and down.

  Unable to endure the sweet torture for long despite his attention on her pink-tipped breast, he grabbed her hand and moved it back to his chest. He took her mouth in another hot, wet kiss, his tongue sliding along hers as he stroked her soft folds, sent one finger, then two deep into her, his thumb softly rubbing that tiny nub that made her body coil before it snapped with release.

  He wanted to be inside her when she found the pinnacle of pleasure he desperately wanted to give her and grabbed a condom out of the drawer. He sheathed himself, distracted by Jamie’s hands roaming over his back and arms. He loved that she never stopped touching him, never stopped participating, and always loved him.

  Settled between her thighs, he joined their bodies in one smooth thrust. She sighed and he stopped, savoring the feel of her body locked around him. He slid out slow and back in with another long sweep of his body into hers. He lost himself making love to her slow and easy, the intensity unlike anything he’d ever felt. He didn’t need to rush. Didn’t want to, not with her hand softly stroking his skin, sliding down his back, and gripping his ass.

  She pulled him close with each thrust and he buried himself deep in her welcoming warmth. He rubbed his hips against hers, creating a sweet friction against her clit, then pulled out and plunged back in, doing it all over again. Her body tightened around his and he thrust deep, faster, harder until they were both racing toward that blissful peace and, with her, a connection he’d never felt in his life.

  He fell to her side, not wanting to crush her under his weight when she’d been so sore today. He held her close to his chest for long minutes while their breathing evened out and they enjoyed being locked in each other’s arms.

  “I’ve got to go out and take care of the horses, but you get some sleep.”

  She snuggled in close and held him to her. “Stay until I fall asleep.”

  He kissed her on the top of the head and her body softened next to his.

  “Thank you for saving my granddad.”

  Her lips pressed to his chest in a soft kiss, then she was out. He held her for a few minutes, just staring at her in wonder, memorizing every slope and plane on her pretty face.

  He slipped out of bed, trying not to move or awaken her. He stood staring down at her in his house, in his bed, and smiled. She’d said yes to moving in. They were finally going to have the life they’d talked about so long ago. The life they both wanted. Nothing and no one would get in the way this time. He’d make sure of it. And if Tobin tried to mess things up again, Ford would take care of him, too.

  Chapter 30

  Tobin tossed his cell on the coffee table. Jamie didn’t answer his call. Again. Tobin picked up his heavy work boot and chucked it against the front door. The loud thump didn’t ease the frustration and hurt Jamie’s absence inflamed.

  He braced h
is hands on the back of the couch and hung his head between his tense shoulders. All the time they spent together, the stories they shared, the memories they created . . . and every time she chose that damn cowboy over him. It hurt, slicing a deep river of pain from his heart to his soul.

  He slammed his hands down. What did he expect? She never looked at him the way she looked at Ford. She never would. Memories were all he’d ever have with her now. A sad ache throbbed through him with every beat of his heart.

  He needed to preserve the tenuous friendship they shared before she ended up hating him. Time to cut his losses before things got worse.

  He rounded the sofa and picked up his cell again and shot off a text.

  TOBIN: Come home we need to talk I’m leaving

  He curbed the intense urge to leave right now before everything went south.

  He wanted to say goodbye.

  He needed to see her one last time, despite the risk of triggering her memory.

  His fingers wrapped tightly around the phone and ached as he fought his frustration and impotence when it came to fixing this and making it all go away.

  He’d thought her memory gone forever, that he’d come here and in their shared grief they’d lean on each other and finally be together. But it wasn’t meant to be. Despite his best efforts to keep Ford busy and out of the way, Ford’s support had allowed Jamie to recover far too many fragments from a day Tobin wished he could forget, too.

  He felt sorry for Jamie. He wanted to help her.

  But helping her meant disaster for him.

  Growing up he’d never had anyone to watch his back. He’d had to look out for himself—and that’s exactly what he planned to do now, before it was too late.

  Chapter 31

  Jamie set the jug of sun tea back in the fridge. She downed half a glass and set it on the counter when her phone buzzed. She read Tobin’s text. Her stomach tied into an aching knot. She couldn’t put him off forever. Not when he was staying in her house. Guilt tightened the knot in her gut for leaving him there alone instead of facing him and the problem head-on.

  Neither of them was in a good place. They’d fed each other’s emotional turmoil. No wonder things had ended badly.

  Except Tobin had intentionally pushed her buttons and tried to break up her and Ford. She didn’t know exactly why, but he was an asshole and no friend for doing it.

  If he was responsible for the mishaps and fire here at the ranch, he was dangerous, too. She could never prove he did it, but just the suspicion was enough to make her never want to see him again.

  She needed to get her stuff and him out of her house.

  Well, not her house anymore. Her body heated with the memories of how Ford brought her home the other night and showered her with love. In the midst of him helping ease her physical pain and making love to her like she was the most precious thing in his life, he’d asked her to move in. Not after they’d made love and in the heat of passion, but in a very calm and intimate moment they’d shared. She still couldn’t believe it.

  The hope she discovered still existed inside of her when Ford came back into her life welled up, tightening her chest.

  “Where’d you go, Firefly?”

  Ford stood ten feet away just inside the front door staring at her. The look on his face made her smile. He wasn’t quite sure about approaching her. She hated that he still had reason to be cautious.

  She picked up her glass to show him she was in the here and now. “Back to bed with you.”

  That made him smile and move into the room. “Oh yeah? Any one moment you’re replaying in that dirty mind of yours?”

  “Your sexy ass in my hands comes to mind. There are so many more good things to remember.”

  “Yes there are, like this morning when I had your legs wrapped around my head and my face buried in your—”

  “Ford.” The blush scorched its way up her breasts and rose up to her hairline, making her hot. Or maybe she was just hot for him.

  He wrapped his arms around her middle and picked her up, nuzzling his nose in between her breasts. She wrapped her arms around his head, tried to laugh despite his hold on her ribs, and hugged him close.

  “You’re suffocating me.”

  “I’ve only been here for a day and half and already I’m suffocating you,” she teased, giving him a playful smack on the shoulder.

  He slid his hands to her sides and tickled her to let him go. “I meant that literally.”

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and took his face in her hands. His arms banded around her again to hold her in place. “Did you really ask me to move in and mean it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, then we need to go to my place and pick up some things because I’m out of clean clothes.”

  Ford tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, though they filled with mischief. “Silly girl, you don’t need clothes if I keep you naked and happy in my bed.”

  “But who will feed the horses?”

  “Good point. Zoey’s looking for some chow, too.” He set Jamie back on her feet and nudged her toward Zoey’s bowl with a swat on the ass.

  She filled Zoey’s bowl, gave her a butt rub, then turned back to Ford just as he downed the last of her glass of iced tea.

  “Hey, that was mine.”

  “I thought we shared everything now.” The grin sent a wave of tingling heat through her belly.

  “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “I love having you here. Means I can do this anytime I want.” He leaned down and kissed her softly, rubbing his big hand over her hip and down to cup her ass and pull her close. He nuzzled his nose against hers and smiled down at her. “Don’t forget we’re going to dinner tonight at Rory’s. Granddad wants to see you again.”

  “I’m so glad he’s home.”

  “He’s probably not. He loves Bell and flirting with the nurses. Rory said he found Granddad asking for one of the volunteers’ numbers. A sweet lady named Ruth, I think he said.”

  “In a couple of months he can flirt with the nurses again when his grandbaby arrives. I can’t believe you’re going to be an uncle.”

  Ford smiled. “Me neither, but I can’t wait.”

  “Are you looking forward to having a baby of your own?”

  His gaze turned to the sprawling land out the window. “Someday.”

  She needed to know if he didn’t want one now because he didn’t think her mentally capable of taking care of a baby, or if he didn’t trust her. “When do you want to have a baby?”

  “I don’t have an exact date, Jamie. When we’re settled in here and you’re better.”

  “What if I don’t get any better than I am right now?”

  Ford reached out and cupped her face in his big, rough palm. “Jamie, honey, you know that’s not what will happen. You will get better and stronger.”

  “What if I don’t?”

  “You’ve made so much progress these last weeks. You work at it, it will happen. I know you want it. You don’t quit.”

  “I don’t want to hurt anyone again, most especially you.”

  “Keep working with Dr. Porter. Do your physical therapy. Give it time. And give yourself a break when things don’t go the way you want.”

  She pressed her forehead to his chest.

  “Maybe it feels like you have to have everything right now because you’re afraid it will all disappear again.” He tilted her head back so she looked up at him. The sincerity in his eyes touched and warmed her heart. “I’m not going anywhere. You are moving in here. We are going to be together always.”

  He sounded so sure. So reassuring. She set aside her worries and tried to do what he and Dr. Porter kept telling her to do, stay in the moment. In the here and now.

  Where things were really good between her and Ford.

  She leaned up and kissed him softly. “You better get cleaned up if we’re going to dinner at your brother’s place. I’ve got my appointment with Dr. Porter.”
/>   “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes. I’m glad we can talk about these things.”

  “You can talk to me about anything.”

  “I know. I’m unsettled because I need to resolve things with Tobin when we go to my place. Once he’s gone, I can focus on me and my future with you.”

  “Then let’s get it done.” He rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks, bent, and kissed her forehead. “I’ll take a shower while you have your session. I really am proud of you for sticking with it and working so hard to be well.”

  She leaned into his hand. “I’m excited about living here with you.” She gave him a mocking frown. “Though you may not be when we bring my stuff from storage here.”

  Ford rolled his eyes. “I guess it was too much to hope all you had was your clothes.”

  “I had my own apartment off base. Don’t worry, I don’t have more than the basics.”

  “Do the basics include fifty pairs of shoes?”

  “Maybe.” She gave him a thoughtful look. “Maybe more,” she teased.

  “God help me.”

  “You asked me to move in. You can’t take it back now.”

  Ford’s computer chimed with the call from Dr. Porter.

  “That’s for you, honey.” He gave her a quick kiss and a pat on the ass to move her along to the living room sofa where his laptop sat on the coffee table.

  She flopped on the sofa, clicked to accept her call, but kept her eyes trained on Ford.

  “Don’t think I don’t know you’re staring at my ass,” he called over his shoulder with a chuckle in his voice.

  “I like the view,” she called back.

  “Hello to you, too,” Dr. Porter chimed in, drawing her attention to him. “You’re smiling again.”

  “I can’t help it when I’m with him.”

  “Where are you?” he asked, looking past her at the different furnishings.

  “Ford’s place. I’m moving in here.”

  “Well, that was fast.”

  “Too fast?” she asked.