Bet Your Boots

by Starla Kaye

  “I don’t belong in that practice anymore. It’s not what I want. Actually, it never was what I wanted. Mother arranged it.” She squeezed her thighs together and tried to encourage him to do more.

  It was getting harder to concentrate on more than plunging into her, but he still wasn’t ready. He wanted more answers, needed to know more about this woman he loved. He nuzzled the back of her neck. “Why do you let your mother rule so much of your life?”

  “She doesn’t, not really. Although she still tries to,” she mumbled into the pillow she clutched. “I even think she’d like to spank me sometimes. It’s been hard for her to accept that I’ve grown up.”

  Cole rubbed against her swollen lips once more. “You’re definitely grown up.”

  “I still get spanked. By you.” She pushed her bottom up at him. “An adult really shouldn’t still be getting spanked.”

  “Not necessarily true.” He’d used up his limited supply of patience and moved back to lift her hips slightly. “How about we save more discussion for another time?” He put his cock head to her lips and then drove deep.

  She shoved back and forced him deeper. “This is what I’ve been waiting for. Oh, yes!”

  Chapter Eleven

  “What are you going to do about Mandie?” Rusty asked, watching Cole take his first try at breaking in a horse since his accident over a month ago.

  The early July day was hotter than Hades but this chore needed to be done. Cole held tighter to the reins than he normally did. It would take him a while to be comfortable at doing this job again. But his body had healed up and it was time to get back to business. He’d been babying himself for too long and had been distracted by Mandie too long as well.

  The sassy little mare trotted around the arena and Rusty kept pace with them on his own horse. “Are you going to answer me? About Mandie?”

  “What’s there to do? We’re getting along just fine and I don’t see that changing.”

  The truth was he didn’t want it to change. The two of them got along better than he ever had with another woman. It scared him a little. He kept waiting for her to realize he was only a rancher and that his life was nothing like hers had ever been. She talked every once in a while about liking to eat in nice Italian restaurants, going to movies, and enjoying shopping. Those conversations always put him on edge. Sure, he could take her to those places, but it wouldn’t be very often. It sickened him to know she’d get tired of life on a ranch before long.

  “So you’re going to have a long-distance relationship when she leaves the end of next month?” Rusty pressed.

  Cole’s stomach churned. He didn’t want to think or talk about any of this. Eventually he’d have to, though. “Guess we’ll see what happens.”

  “You could ask her to stay.”

  “This isn’t any of your damn business, what Mandie and I do.” Cole guided the mare away from Rusty.

  The woman they’d been discussing walked to the arena fence and waved at Cole, although he saw the tension in her expression. He’d told her he would be doing this today and she’d been worried. She hadn’t tried to talk him out of it, but she’d hugged him extra tight when they’d gone their separate ways this morning. He was sure going to miss those hugs.

  “I thought you were going into Junction City with Victoria.” He hadn’t exactly been thrilled that his sister had come for another visit yesterday.

  The mare made a small attempt at bucking and he tensed. His body automatically remembering what had happened recently. He eased up on his knees and she settled down. But he glanced at Mandie and saw the color had drained from her face.

  “I’ll be fine. She’s nothing like Beelzebub,” he reassured her and thanked the good Lord she wasn’t.

  “I know. It’s just….” She raised her chin and forced a smile. “I know you will.”

  Victoria yelled from across the yard, “I’m ready! Let’s hit the road, Doc.”

  Mandie started to turn away and then focused on Cole once more. “I’ll expect to find you in perfect condition later. No broken bones. Not even very many bruises. Understand?”

  Rusty was grinning like a fool nearby, but Cole didn’t care. Her concern for him warmed his heart. He still had trouble getting used to a woman really caring about what happened to him. Well, other than his aunt and his sister. “I’ll let you inspect me later.”

  Her eyes sparkled with anticipation and now her smile was sensual, promising. She nodded and walked away, giving an extra sway to those sweet hips.

  Rusty rode closer. “You’re a damn fool, Cole.”

  Cole didn’t answer, knowing he probably was. But other than knowing she cared about him in certain ways and enjoyed sex with him, he’d never heard her say anything about loving him or wanting anything permanent. He hadn’t said the words either. But he did love her.

  * * * * *

  It was late afternoon by the time Victoria and Mandie drove back up to the ranch house. They had shopped until Mandie had dropped. Her friend was a world-class shopper, but Mandie’s heart really hadn’t been in the adventure. She hadn’t liked leaving when Cole was still breaking in that new horse. What if he fell again? She’d never been able to get that out of her mind, even though Victoria had told her repeatedly her brother knew what he was doing. And those were the first thoughts that went through her mind as they approached the house.

  “See, he’s just fine,” Victoria pointed out and waved over to where Cole and Rusty were talking with a couple of other ranch hands near the arena. “You’ve been Little Miss Worry for nothing.”

  Mandie felt relief wash over her as well as embarrassment for obviously having worried needlessly. “It’s a good thing you don’t believe in saying ‘I told you so.’”

  Her friend just smiled. “I’m glad he finally has someone who worries about him, besides Aunt Bessie and me, that is.” She looked at her pointedly and shifted into park in the rented Lexus. “I’ve had my eye on this really great maid-of-honor’s dress.”

  “What? Good grief, Tori, you’re so jumping ahead of things!” Mandie’s heart raced in panic. “Just because we’ve been… well, living together…doesn’t mean…”

  “Doesn’t it?” Victoria tossed her a frustrated look and motioned her out. “I don’t know who is slower about dealing with their feelings: you or brother dear. Him, I understand. He’s a guy and that says it all, in my opinion. You, on the other hand, deal with people and their feelings for a living.”

  Mandie stepped out of the car, relieved that Victoria was going into town to stay the night with another old friend. They’d danced around the subject of her and Cole’s relationship for too many hours now. She was tired of trying to defend something she didn’t wholly understand.

  Cole was striding in their direction and he took Mandie’s breath away. His long, muscled legs were eating up the ground. The blue shirt he wore had the sleeves rolled up to reveal tanned forearms. He wore his hat tipped low and his dark hair brushed the shirt’s collar. But it was the crooked smile that captured her attention.

  “You’re devouring him with your eyes,” Victoria stated, sounding smug . “Tell me again how that doesn’t mean you’re in love with him.”

  Mandie hadn’t said that, because she was pretty sure she was soul deep in love with the handsome rancher. There were just so many issues keeping them apart. They’d only talked about having a summer fling, no ties. Of course, he’d gotten testy about the word fling, but he hadn’t mentioned anything permanent in all the time they’d been together. As love battle scarred as he was, no way was she going to say anything to scare him off. The first step was up to him.

  “Aren’t you late for meeting your friend?” Mandie closed the car door and stepped away, ignoring Victoria’s frown.

  With a roll of her eyes, Victoria backed out of the driveway and drove away, waving at her brother as he walked closer.

  “All that time shopping and you didn’t buy anything?” Cole asked. His gaze locked with Mandie’s.
>
  Heat flamed in his eyes. She knew him well already. He wanted her, now. Desire ignited within her and wanted to strip him right here. Her voice was husky as she said, “I didn’t need anything.” She laughed. “Your sister made up for my lack of purchasing, though. The trunk is full. She singlehandedly kept the mall in business today.”

  “Sounds like Tori.” His chest rose and fell slowly while he swept his gaze up and down her from the denim skirt and tank top to the short red boots she wore. “You still up to checking me for bruises?”

  Warmth curled inside her, centering low in her body. “Got time for a really thorough check?”

  “All the time you need.” Then he surprised her by giving her a bear hug, making her giggle in delight.

  “What’s this all about?” She usually initiated the hugs, so this was a pleasant turn of events.

  “Just felt like it.” He took her hand and led her to the house.

  Mandie followed along eagerly, worried at the same time. Something felt desperate about the moment. Yet she wanted him too much to question his apparent urgency to make love with her. Soon, though, soon they needed to seriously talk about things.

  * * * * *

  Almost two weeks later and they still hadn’t had anything close to a serious discussion about what was happening between them. Added to that frustration, Cole had left yesterday for another horse sale and she wasn’t sure when he’d be back. Her new group of clients weren’t coming until tomorrow, so she was a little on the bored side. Sure, she could be working on figuring out what to do about her partners, who were calling her almost daily now with one complaint or another. But she wasn’t in the mood for thinking about them. She needed a challenge, something to totally distract her.

  With that in mind, she changed from shorts into jeans and slipped her boots on. Her stomach felt queasy, but she was determined to give that riding business another try. If she was going to be around a ranch… No! She was doing this because she didn’t like failing at things and she was tired of being scared around horses. Which she wasn’t so much anymore, as long as they were on the other side of the fence from her. It was time to move past that ridiculous childhood fear!

  She marched out of the house and across the ranch yard. Rusty and one of the ranch hands were standing by the stable talking, so she headed straight for them. Surely one of them would help her.

  Both men smiled warily as she approached them. Rusty must have caught the determined look in her eyes because he looked worried now. “Afternoon, Doc.”

  “I want to try riding Jezebel again,” Mandie stated before she could change her mind. She ignored the way her knees were beginning to feel a little wobbly, the way her palms were sweating.

  He shook his head slowly. “Cole won’t like it.”

  She tipped her chin up. “Cole isn’t here. I’m an adult. I want to learn how to ride a horse.”

  It took another ten minutes to convince him that she was solely responsible for whatever happened, that she wouldn’t sue the ranch or Cole or anyone else should something happen. The other man had quietly disappeared, clearly not wanting anything to do with this situation. Rusty had looked like he wanted to disappear, too, but he toughed it out. Finally, defeated, he saddled the older horse and led both Jezebel and Mandie into the arena.

  “Maybe if you patted her nose a bit, made friends. It would help you both.” He held the reins and nodded toward Jezebel. She’d never seen a man look nervous.

  “Friends. Right. Good idea,” Mandie said on little more than a whisper.

  She sucked in a steadying breath and inched closer to the mare whose back was level with her chin. Her hand shook as she reached out to touch the horse’s nose. She felt the softness beneath her fingertips and calmed down. Jezebel’s long head bobbed slowly as if she appreciated the touch.

  Mandie jerked at the horse’s action and then felt foolish. She carefully touched Jezebel again.

  “Are you sure about this?” Rusty asked. He’d seen her reaction and looked even more concerned than before. He glanced toward the ranch road, probably hoping to see Cole’s truck headed this way.

  No! she wanted to say, but instead she smiled. “Definitely.” She counted to ten and drew in another breath. “Okay, let’s do it,” she said on a sigh. Buck up, Doc, you can do this.

  “Cole is going to ream me a new one for this.” Still, Rusty lifted her up until she could swing her leg over the saddle.

  The ground seemed so far below, miles away. Her heart thudded so loudly she worried Jezebel would pick up on it and do something crazy. The horse didn’t move. Mandie tried to relax, but her heart only raced faster with each second she sat there.

  Determined not to back down now, she eased one foot into a stirrup and then the other foot. Beneath her legs, Jezebel stood as if frozen in place.

  Rusty handed her the reins, appearing ready to pull her off the saddle with the slightest encouragement. “I wish you didn’t look as pale as death.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be fine.” That’s right. You can do this. She repeated her mantra again.

  Then Jezebel inched forward without Mandie having done anything.

  Mandie’s eyes widened and she gripped the reins so tight her fingernails dug painfully into her palms. “Why’d she move? I thought I had to make her move,” she said in panic.

  “She barely moved.” He blew out a breath and reached for her. “This isn’t going to work if you’re already this frightened. Let’s get you down.”

  “No!” Her shout of defiance caused Jezebel to shuffle forward a couple of feet.

  “I can do this,” Mandie said in a quieter tone, a nervous tone. But fear already had a hold of her. She felt sick, faint.

  The sound of a tires crunching on gravel from the ranch road drew their attention. She recognized Cole’s big pickup and stiffened. Uh-oh.

  Beside her, Rusty shook his head. “Shit! We’re both in trouble now.”

  Things happened quickly after that. Cole drove right up next to the arena, threw open the door and leaped out of the cab. He slammed the door, staring murderously at Rusty.

  Jezebel jerked at the door slamming.

  Mandie reacted by squeezing the horse’s sides with her knees, which signaled Jezebel into movement.

  Cole stomped closer and pulled the gate open. “Get her off! Now!”

  Rusty scrambled after Jezebel and the usually docile horse got skittish.

  Panicked, Mandie managed to drop the reins. She tried to get hold of them again, but instead only managed to alarm the horse.

  Jezebel did an awkward hop-trot for half the distance of the arena before stopping.

  Mandie had had all she could take and wanted down immediately. She wriggled and kicked her feet free of the stirrups and then lost her balance. She started sliding sideways off the saddle and would have fallen if Cole hadn’t torn past Rusty to get to her.

  He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her down and holding her plastered to him in a hug so tight she couldn’t breathe. He glowered at Rusty, “You’re fired.”

  She sucked in a breath and tilted her head back enough to meet his angry eyes. “No, he’s not,” she protested indignantly. “This was my idea. He tried to talk me out of it.”

  Rusty, now standing next to them, gave her a gentle smile. “Cole tells me that every time he’s pissed about something.” Then he snagged the reins and began leading the once again docile Jezebel away.

  Mandie wiggled until she had loosened Cole’s tight hold on her. This was one very frustrated, angry man. The first incident of her being panicked on horseback had made him demand a promise from her that she’d never get on another horse while here at the CW. At the time, she’d eagerly agreed. She shouldn’t have because it only made her situation worse now. She’d worried him and gone against a vow to him. She’d disobeyed him. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that trouble lie ahead.

  “I just wanted to—“

  “To scare ten years off my life? To d
o something crazy ass stupid, something you’re gut-deep frightened of?” He shifted back to pin her with a look that warned of consequences coming soon.

  Rusty led Jezebel out of the arena without a word.

  Alone with her annoyed lover, Mandie tried to distract him. “You’re back early.”

  “Apparently not soon enough.”

  “Cole, I…I…” She couldn’t form an entire sentence of defense.

  “We’re going to discuss this good and proper.” Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, he pulled her to him again and kissed her. Kissed her as if he might not ever get another chance to do so.

  When he released her, he nodded toward the house. “Wait for me in the great room. I need to have a word with Rusty and put my truck away.”

  “Don’t blame Rusty. I talked him into this. I’m the one responsible.”

  “He should have said no and meant it.” Cole thinned his lips for a second and blew out a breath. “But you, sweetheart, will be paying the price for going against my wishes.”

  A half hour later Cole sat on one of the leather sofas in the great room, fury and fear still washing through him. He’d nearly come to blows with his best friend, but they’d be okay. Rusty had apologized all over the place. Eventually. Mandie, though, was going to get the brunt of his frustration, right on her sweet butt.

  She’d tugged her jeans and panties down as he’d ordered and stood before him, worrying her lower lip. It was time to get on with this. He took her hand and guided her into position over his lap. She scooted forward until her hands flattened on the carpet. She had only given a flash of resistance, her guilt for worrying him making her do as he’d asked.

  He looked at her bare bottom a second, creamy now, soon to be red and hot. “You are never going to try that again!” His hand landed with a biting Smack!

  She yelped. “But….”

  “I said never.” He spanked her repeatedly without even the hint of warm-up. He was seriously pissed. “My heart can’t stand the strain.”