Stone Cold Cowboy

by Jennifer Ryan

  “Did you change your mind, or are you just trying to kill me?”

  His deep voice resonated through her. The slight tilt of humor in his lips made her smile softly. She pressed her lips to his, thinking it just a test. A way to see if they fit, connected on a deeper level than the pull she already felt toward him.

  The second her lips touched his, fire lit through her system. She pulled back, surprised that such a simple thing could spark such deep and overwhelming need. The same fire she felt flashed in his golden-green eyes.

  “Once wasn’t enough.” This time, Rory pulled her back in and kissed her, wrapping her in his strong arms. Cocooned in his warmth, she hooked her arms around his neck and pressed her body down the length of his. He engulfed her and she felt protected. Safe.

  The fire sizzled through her when his tongue swept along hers in a soft sweep that was undemanding. The man knew how to take his time. She appreciated that he didn’t rush, but let the intimate moment stretch.

  He ended the kiss with a soft brush of his lips to hers. It took her a second to open her eyes and look up at him. God, the man was handsome at a distance. This close, he was so damn hot she wanted to lean in and kiss him again.

  “We should go.” He didn’t move.

  She didn’t want to go anywhere. She’d like to stay right here with him in the bubble of closeness they’d created where nothing else mattered except the two of them.

  She leaned back, putting some distance between them so she could cool her heels and take a breath without feeling him do the same, despite how much she enjoyed it. She got that whole magnetism thing now.

  He let her go, sliding his hands down her back and taking her hands. He stepped back and pulled her off the step. “Come on. Let’s go have some fun.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I was having fun.”

  He opened the truck door. She hopped in and turned to face him. He leaned in the door. “You are trying to kill me.” He kissed her again. Just a friendly, we’re-not-done kind of thing. “I was right, once wasn’t enough.”

  “I was wrong about you. You’re nothing like what I thought.”

  “I’m sorry I gave you the wrong impression. I’m trying to show you who I really am.”

  “You’re off to a really good start.”

  Rory kissed her again. Not just because he could, but because he needed to. She looked so lovely sitting in his truck, her hair falling in waves, framing her beautiful face, her eyes locked on him. Her soft lips melted below his. She tasted sweet and tempting. She truly was turning into an addiction. Now that he’d started kissing her, he never wanted to stop.

  Her hand pressed to the side of his face. “We should go,” she said against his lips.

  He pulled back. She leaned forward, following his exit. The smile on her face, the laugh that bubbled up when he playfully shoved her back and closed the door between them made his gut tight and his own laugh burst free.

  He pointed his finger at her. “You’re dangerous.”

  She laughed again, covering her mouth with her fingers. He rounded the truck and slid in behind the wheel. He started the engine and pulled out of her drive, headed straight to town with Little Big Town’s “Pain Killer” playing on the radio. Yeah, a little dose of Sadie sure did make everything all right.

  He reached across the seat, took her hand, ignored the instinctive flinch, and linked his fingers with hers, trying not to think about the reasons why she shied away for those tiny moments before she overcame the jolt of fear that asshole Derek instilled in her. “What do you want to see tonight?” he asked to distract her and keep her focus on him.

  “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what’s playing. I work so much, it’s been about six months since I went to the movies.”

  “Really? You don’t have a string of hot dates lined up behind you?” He was teasing, but he also wanted to know if he had some competition out there.

  “You’re the only hot date I’ve had in . . . If I can’t think of how long it’s been, then that should tell you it’s been a long time. Luna and I caught that Leonardo DiCaprio movie a while back.”

  “What was up with that look she shot Colt when she came to pick you up at my place?”

  “All I know is that she used to date Colt’s friend. Then something happened with the guy and Colt.”

  “Do you know what?”

  “No. She won’t say. I guess you’ll have to ask Colt.”

  “He’s a vault. I asked him about it the night she came by. You’d have thought I asked him to relive his worst nightmare by the look on his face.”

  “I relive mine every night.”

  Rory squeezed her hand. “Having trouble sleeping?”

  “It won’t go away. Sometimes I find myself drifting off during the day. I get sucked back to that day, the fear, the knowing I’m going to die out there alone.”

  Rory felt the shiver from her body race up his arm. “I think about it, too. I dream about you hanging there. I know how it turns out. You’re fine, but it still wakes me in the night and leaves me cold. I need to see you. I need to know you’re all right.” More than he wanted to admit, but there it was. He thought about her all the time.

  He hated that she was still suffering, still fearful after what that asshole did to her.

  “The cops still haven’t found Derek. Aside from your brother stopping by your place today, no one has seen him.”

  “They’ve got to have a secret place where they’re cooking the drugs.”

  “When did your brother get into drugs?”

  “After my mother died. I found him stealing booze from the house, drinking in the barn. He started smoking pot, which led to him selling it, pills, mostly oxy and Ecstasy. Last year, he got busted for possession with the meth. I had no idea he was making it.”

  “That’s some serious shit.”

  “Believe me, I know. I’ve seen him at his worst, but I still remember the scared little boy who ran into my room in the middle of the night afraid of monsters. The day they stole the cattle, I could tell he hadn’t slept in a couple of days. He was going to crash hard. I’ve been thinking about it. If he’s cooking and stealing the cattle, the two things have to be located close to each other.”

  Rory eyed her across the seat. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because he’s drugged-up stupid. He’s not going to put himself out or work hard to do anything. He owes money, so the easy and convenient thing to do was steal your cows. He’d get between seven and ten grand for the small groups he took. The herd, I don’t even want to think about what that cost you. Not just in the animals themselves, but the offspring you would have had from them.”

  Rory didn’t want to think about it either. The theft put a dent in his family’s business. It wasn’t hard to remember it wasn’t her fault, but the anger still rose up inside him. He tamped it down and focused on what she knew about her brother. Maybe they could put the pieces together to figure out where he was hiding and put an end to his drug manufacturing and distributing in and around their town. The growing problem needed to be nipped in the bud before they had a full-blown epidemic.

  “So you think this place is near my land.”

  “It makes the most sense. From what you and your brothers told me, the smaller number of cattle he stole off the back road went on for quite some time. The larger theft only took them across all that land because they couldn’t get the cattle trailers up that road.”

  A four-by-four and a small trailer could make it, but a huge tractor trailer, no way. Rory should have asked her about this sooner. It might have saved him losing the last five cattle taken. That road ran across the back side of his property. He thought about what else was back that way, anywhere that Connor and his buddies could set up a trailer, any abandoned cabins, sheds, or barns. Nothing came to mind, but he didn’t use that part of the property often, so nothing struck him. He’d have to get Ford and Colt to ride out with him soon.

  “I lost you.” Sadie s
queezed his hand to get his attention.

  “Sorry.” He pulled into the movie theater lot and parked. “I was thinking about where your brother might be hiding out. My brothers and I will check it out.”

  Sadie turned in her seat and gripped his hand tight. “Rory, let the cops check it out. Connor isn’t dangerous, neither are his two friends, Dumb and Dumber, but Derek . . . You saw up close and personal what he’s capable of.”

  Yeah, Derek still terrorizes her even when he isn’t here.

  Rory didn’t want her to worry about him, but he appreciated it. He liked they could talk about everything, but right now, he just wanted to have a good time. “Let’s leave this alone for now. We’re supposed to have fun.”

  Rory opened the door and stepped out, pulling Sadie along the seat to follow him. When she reached the end of the seat, he let loose her hand, tucked his hands under her arms, and plucked her out of the truck, setting her down in front of him. Her hands rested on his biceps. She squeezed his muscles and smiled up at him, the light of appreciation sparkling in her eyes. She made him feel appealing. Women stared at him all the time. He got from the flirtatious smiles and suggestive glances that women liked the way he looked. Still, no one in recent memory made him feel like, while they appreciated the way he looked, it went a lot deeper.

  Sadie pushed on his shoulders to make him turn away and gave him a push. “Come on, cowboy. You said we’re going to have fun, so let’s get to going.” She closed the truck door behind him.

  He hit the lock button on his key fob and took a few steps toward the theater. Just to tease and have some of that fun he talked about, he asked, “Are you staring at my ass?”

  “If you’re walking, I’m watching.”

  He’d said the same thing to her. He turned back to her laughing and smiling. He couldn’t remember smiling this much or feeling this light in a long time.

  “I need to send the Levi’s company a thank-you letter.”

  “Who do I thank for that skirt?”

  She executed another turn, smiled, and smoothed her hands over her hips. “What? This old thing?”

  He held his hand out to her. “Come here.”

  She took his hand, and he pulled her in for a quick kiss.

  He kept things light and walked beside her, holding her hand on the way to the ticket booth outside the theater. “There are three movies playing within twenty minutes of each other. Which one do you want to see?”

  “I get to pick? This is setting a dangerous precedent, don’t you think?”

  “Only if you pick the chick flick.”

  “Which you’d sit through just to spend the evening with me.” She batted her lashes at him, messing around.

  “Yes. Of course I’d have to find something to do when I got bored. You’ll probably miss most of the movie.”

  She laughed. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

  “You can do whatever you want to me.”

  She looked away, a pretty blush glowing on her cheeks.

  He’d made her nervous. He didn’t want to do that, so he dialed it back. “Really, whatever movie you want is fine with me.”

  “So we’re down to the superhero action flick or the historical drama. It’s really no choice at all.”

  She walked up to the ticket guy and asked for two tickets to the newest Avengers movie.

  “Have I told you how much I like you?” He bumped her shoulder and handed the money over to pay for the tickets.

  “How much?”

  He leaned down and kissed her softly. “More than that.”

  She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. “We need popcorn. No butter. Unless you like butter, then we have to get separate tubs.”

  “No butter.” He liked it salty, not soggy.

  “Great. My kind of guy.”

  “I guess I am.” And that felt so right. Now if he could make her his woman.

  “I don’t drink soda, so I’ll have an iced tea.”

  “Really? No soda?”

  “Too sweet.”

  Rory ordered the tub of popcorn and two iced teas. They walked to the theater, and he handed over the tickets to the usher, whose eyes nearly popped out of his head when he caught sight of Sadie in that damn sexy skirt. He wasn’t the only guy Rory ended up glaring at to keep their distance from his date.

  He followed Sadie to their seats in the middle of the theater, several rows up past dead center. She liked to be up high, but not at the back. She knew what she liked and didn’t mind letting him know or doing what she wanted. She didn’t just go along. He appreciated a woman who knew her own mind.

  They watched the opening trailers, laughing when they bumped hands reaching for the popcorn. So in sync it happened nearly every time. A quarter way through the movie, Sadie propped her feet on the empty seat in front of her, leaned into him, rested her head on his shoulder, and held his hand through the rest of the movie. He laughed when she jumped during a few of the more intense scenes. She punched him in the shoulder for spooking her as the background music intensified and the scene built for the bad guy to attack the good guys. She didn’t settle back into him, so he reached over and pulled her close. She settled in with an “I’ll get you for that.”

  The movie ended, but they didn’t get up right away. Instead, they sat together, holding hands, watching everyone else file out.

  Sadie sighed and leaned away from Rory. “I really enjoyed the movie, but it’s late, and I’m sorry to say, I need to get home and check on my dad.”

  He kissed her forehead, completely understanding her worry. He stood and pulled her up beside him. He walked from the theater to his truck, holding her hand, thrilling at the heat still radiating inside him and the connection they kept building between them.

  She climbed into the truck and pulled her legs in, smoothing her skirt down her thighs. He meant to close the door. He really did. Instead, he reached for her, gripping her thighs, turning her back toward him, and used his other hand to tilt her chin up so he could kiss her. He had to kiss her.

  Her hand fisted in his shirt at his shoulder and she tugged him closer. He couldn’t get close enough with her skirt keeping him from spreading her legs and pulling her hips to his. He gave in to his need to touch her, sliding his hand down from her jaw to her neck, tracing her throat with his fingertips and down over her chest. She changed the angle of her head and took the kiss deeper. He trailed his fingertips over the top of her breast, then laid his palm over the soft globe and squeezed.

  She sighed and nearly undid him altogether.

  So soft. So sweet. So his, but he reined it in, sweeping his thumb over her hard nipple, sliding his hand up over the soft mound, back up her chest and throat to her silky smooth cheek. He ended the kiss with a soft brush of his lips to hers, pressed his forehead to hers, and just breathed her in.

  “Dangerously addictive,” he whispered, trying to hold on to his control.

  “Yes, you are.” She smoothed her hands over his chest and up to his face. She held him away from her and looked up at him. “I’m glad you asked me out.”

  “So am I.”

  He stepped back, gently touched his hand to her legs to get her to turn back into the truck. This time, she didn’t flinch even a little bit at his touch. Her hair fell down her back in waves. He reached for one of the wavy locks and let it slide through his hand over her chest. The back of his hand brushed softly over her breast a second before her hair fell free. Her breath caught and her eyes widened with surprise at his touch, then blazed with heat. He closed the door even though he wanted to have her right there on the front seat of his truck in the middle of the parking lot. He rounded the hood, taking a deep breath to cool off, and hopped into the truck beside her.

  Sadie shimmied over to him. No hesitation, just the same need to be close that he felt for her. The quiet drive home never felt uncomfortable. In fact, she sat beside him, holding his hand in both of hers, tracing his fingers in an absent way that showed him she liked bein
g with him. He really liked being with her. So much so that he was thinking up a thousand and one ways to see her again.

  CHAPTER 11

  Sadie sat bolt upright and squeezed Rory’s hand. “Stop the truck.” She turned to him and grabbed his shoulder. “Stop. Stop right now.”

  Rory slammed on the brakes and pulled off the road.

  The lights from her home shone in the distance, but that’s not what caught her attention. She’d been staring out the window, wishing on stars, high on the happiness she felt after such a great evening with Rory. Then she spotted a shadow in the field and panicked.

  Sadie grabbed the handle, pushed the door open, jumped out, scrambled through the barbed wire fencing, and ran. She sprinted across the field as the shadow stumbled. It seemed to take forever to reach her father, but when she did, she held him by the shoulders and looked him over from head to toe.

  “Dad, what are you doing out here?”

  “I can’t find her. She’s not in the house. I thought she came out to see the stars. She loved looking at the stars.”

  Sadie let out a frustrated breath, the fear ebbing inside her. Rory ran up and immediately reached out to brush his hand down her hair. The relief in his eyes that she was okay touched her.

  “Dad, Mom isn’t here. Let’s go back to the house.”

  “I have to find her.”

  Sadie took her father’s too thin face in her shaking hands. “Dad, do you see me?”

  The fog of uncertainty cleared from his eyes and turned to a fear she hated to see in their depths. “Sa-Sadie.”

  Tears clogged her throat, but she blinked them away from her eyes. “Yes, Dad. It’s me. You’ve been wandering again.”

  Her father turned his head this way and that. “I . . . I got confused.”

  “It’s all right. I’m here now.”

  “My feet hurt.” Her father stared down at his bare feet.