Her Uniform Cowboy (Harland County Series Book 3)

by Donna Michaels

  “Easy, honey.” His large hand covered her belly, thumb nudging under the band of her panties. “I meant every gorgeous inch of you.”

  She stilled. He thinks my stomach is gorgeous? Brandi lifted up to watch, shocked to find he was indeed enjoying her body. And though she knew she should probably lie back down, she didn’t. Couldn’t. Her gaze refused to leave the man loving her curves.

  He placed hot, open-mouthed kisses across her abs to nestle and nip where her hip and waist met. Then he continued down her legs, dragging her panties with his fingers until they joined her bra on the floor. Straightening, the hunky man stood at the edge of the bed and gazed down at her completely bare and unhindered body.

  He swallowed hard. And she watched in amazement as his chest heaved as if he had trouble breathing, sweat glistening on his skin, covering those gorgeous muscles with a sexy sheen.

  “You, Brandi Wyne, are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Don’t ever let me hear you say otherwise.” His voice was low but firm. “This is what you and your gorgeous curves do to me.”

  With that, he shed the rest of his clothes and stood naked before her…gloriously naked and fully erect. Holy hell. Her stomach fluttered. She’d never had more than six inches before. Kade Dalton was definitely bigger than six inches.

  Her mouth literally watered…and other places closer to the magnificent man. “You are beautiful,” she told him, sitting up, reaching for him. “I need you inside me.”

  “Not until you tell me you’re beautiful.”

  She snickered. Like that was going to happen.

  “I’m serious,” he stated and grabbed her hand to tug her off the bed and into his bathroom. “Now look.”

  He twisted her around to face the vanity…and mirror. Really? He wanted to bring a mirror into this right now?

  “Look at yourself, Brandi.” He stood behind her, running his hands down her sides until they rested on her hips. “Look at how you go in and curve out. A guy wants something to hold onto. Something soft and warm.”

  After she talked her stomach into settling down, she tried to see what he was seeing. Yes, she had curves. Yes, she went in at the waist. Yes, she was soft…because she never made the time to work out.

  But then she noticed his fingers and how they splayed her hips…and how she saw his hips behind her, and his chest and shoulders. And she realized, if she could see him, that meant…she wasn’t as wide as she thought.

  Her gaze met his in the mirror. “Go on, Brandi. Say it.”

  “I-I’m not as fat as I thought.”

  His eyes closed and jaw clenched before his gaze found hers again. “Good, but that’s not what I said.” He traced a hand up over her stomach, then ribs, brushing the swell of her breast with his thumb. “How does that look to you?”

  The contrast of her curves and smooth skin against his hard, tanned ridges was…

  “Beautiful.” She swayed into him, body quivering at the feel of his erection poking her ass and back.

  He cupped her breast with one hand and slid the other hand between her legs. “And this?”

  “Beautiful.” Her voice shook.

  She grabbed his hips and pressed back, reveling in his muttered curse. In a blink of an eye, he twisted her around and set her on the counter. She squeaked when her heated skin met the cold surface. Taking advantage of her opened mouth, he kissed her deep, and frantic and oh so hot, his tongue pressing against hers. And his hands, those talented hands skimmed down her body and legs, then lingered between her thighs to stroke until she quivered.

  “I’m done,” he said, fishing a condom out of a drawer, only to curse when she helped him slowly roll it on. “You’re killing me.”

  She smiled. “I know the feeling.”

  Positioning himself between her legs, he grasped her hips and slowly entered the tip. Oh, damn, he felt good. So gloriously good. Their mutual sound of approval echoed around them. And after her body had a chance to adjust to his size, he pressed the rest of the way in.

  “Hell…yeah…you feel incredible,” he murmured, chin up, eyes closed, skin tight across his face as his expression held somewhere between ecstasy and pain.

  She hugged his hips with her thighs, her body quivering around him as she laced her ankles behind his fine ass and drew him in further. His eyes snapped open and a wicked smile crossed his face.

  Lordy, she nearly came undone just looking at him.

  “You want more, do you?”

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  “Lean back a little.” He bent to kiss a path up her throat, slowly thrusting in and out. “Hold onto the counter. I’m not going to last long. You feel too damn perfect.”

  Doing as she was told, Brandi gripped the edge and fought to hang on. The position allowed for a better angle and heat gathered inside at a crazy speed.

  “So damn perfect,” he said silkily, one hand squeezing her hip and ass, while the other cupped her breast.

  Empowerment rushed through her body. The man made her feel like a size two supermodel—admired and accepted—when on a good day, she was lucky if she fit in a single digit dress. She was beginning to realize her perception of her weight and dress size might be off. Perhaps it was all right not to be in the single digits after all. The sexy, gorgeous guy currently enjoying her non-petite body would seem to concur. Enthusiastically.

  He took her mouth in a hungry, demanding kiss that left her hot and shaking. Yeah, he was definitely enjoying this every bit as much as she was. And his stamina? Damn, she couldn’t get over his endurance. She couldn’t get over his talented hands and lips and incredibly, delicious, thrusting parts.

  On the brink, she never felt so alive and on fire, and wished it could last forever. But she was close. Too damn close. So when he skimmed a hand down her chest and pinched her nipple, she broke the kiss and cried out. And as she burst for the second time that hour, she transferred her grip to his shoulders and held tight. Kade let out a low, sexy sound, thrust one last, deep, thrust and followed her over that edge.

  Several hours and sexcapades later, Brandi opened her eyes to see dawn creeping in through the curtains with a slice of light hitting the floor. She stretched and felt the warmth of the sleeping man next to her, and what seemed like every muscle in her body. Chances were, she wasn’t going to walk straight, but she didn’t care. A smile tugged her lips as she recalled their raid on the kitchen and how Sheriff Stamina took her on the window seat in the bay window. She’d briefly worried about being seen, but the stables were all on the side and front of the property. And frankly, the man made her feel too damn good to care.

  Then their fun moved to the game room before ending up back in Kade’s bedroom, where they had sex in the shower. Jordan was right. A bench seat, a certain height off the ground, would’ve been ideal last night. And since she’d never just had sex before, she let things get a little wild and crazy, discovering she didn’t care to be shackled, and didn’t really like handcuffing him, either. She enjoyed his hands touching, ravishing her body.

  Glancing at the clock, she swallowed a groan and slid out of bed, careful not to wake the sexy guy who more than earned his slumber. What would he think about the night? Had the sex really been as good as she thought? Now that the light of day had arrived, trepidation began to show its ugly head. What if she had only imagined his enjoyment?

  Her gaze fell on the naked man, half on, half under the covers. Long and lean, ridges she kissed and licked until he cursed and buried himself deep inside her trembling curves. God, he was gorgeous, and perfect. She turned her attention to her naked body. Not gorgeous, not perfect, but attractive enough to turn the hot sheriff’s head, and make him call out her name several times.

  Yeah, he enjoyed their night.

  Feeling pretty good, she gathered her clothes and wondered if maybe they could do this sex thing again. But then she reached for her shoe, which had somehow gotten stuck under his duffle bag.

  His Army duffle bag.

  Th
e liquid heat flowing through her veins cooled in an instant. He was a soldier. Their world revolved around discipline and rules, and carried strict expectations. She was not getting caught up in that again. Been there, done that, too many times. She was supposed to find and date a guy who was not in the military.

  As great as the man made her feel, Kade was disqualified.

  No matter. He’d told her he didn’t want a relationship, either. And even if he hadn’t, she’d seen it in his eyes. No. Last night was just sex. And only for last night. She’d leave it at that and store away the good memories.

  “Now there’s a sight for sore eyes.”

  Brandi squeaked, and turned around, clutching her things. Leaning back against the pillows, arms tucked behind his head, the handsome man watched her with a lazy smile.

  Her face heated, and yes, dammit, other parts, too.

  “Kade, sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “You trying to sneak out?”

  “N-not really. Just time to go.”

  Ah the hell with it. She dropped her clothes on the bed and began to get dressed. Butterflies swarmed her stomach at the sound of his intake of breath. She didn’t dare glance at him or her no second date, no military rules would fly out the window.

  “You sure you don’t want to hang around for breakfast?”

  Her pulse hiccupped. “Actually, I do. That’s the problem. This was supposed to be just one night of sex. If I stay, that makes it two…and is liable to change things. And we both want to stay away from the ‘r’ thing.”

  The light started to fade from his eyes. “True.” He sat up. “How about we have an actual breakfast, then?”

  “Thanks, but no,” she said, slipping her shoes on before she stood. “I’m just going to check on my horse, then get home and change before I’m due at Jordan’s for work.”

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  “No,” she rushed to say. “I—I think we should just leave it here.”

  Being near him would…well, it wouldn’t be safe. For whom? She wasn’t sure.

  He frowned, and for a scary moment, she thought he was going to protest, his chivalry too deeply engrained. But his expression cleared and he nodded. “Okay. Suit yourself.”

  She rushed to the door, then stopped and turned around. “Thanks for…uh…”

  Words failed her at the moment. Seemed wrong to leave without thanking the man for making her feel good about her curves, and well, just satiated and so completely damn satisfied.

  “The sex,” he replied, small smile tugging his talented lips.

  She smiled back. “Yeah, the sex.”

  “Any time, hun.” He winked. “You weren’t the only one who enjoyed it.”

  She nodded, feeling a little bit great.

  “You ever feel the need for more, you know where to find me.”

  Yeah, like that was going to happen.

  She left the smiling, naked, sexy-as-sin man and headed to her horse’s boarding stall. Smart one, Wyne. You just walked away from a morning of wild, satisfying sex with a hot as hell sheriff. She really needed her head examined. And was contemplating that very thing as she stepped into the stable and ran smack into another hot-as-hell Dalton.

  “Careful, darlin’.”

  “Sorry, Kevin,” she said. “I—I…what are you doing here?”

  “Yeah, see that’s the funny part. I live here.”

  She curbed the urge to smack him, but gave in to the pull of his fun nature and smiled back. “I know that, silly. But I thought you were in Houston with some flight attendant.”

  He wasn’t supposed to be at Shadow Rock, catching her with Kade.

  “I was. The night is over. She’s on her next flight and I have the day off, so there was no need to stay in Houston.”

  Okay, so he technically didn’t catch her with his cousin…or did he?

  Her mind raced through the events of last night. Dear Lord, Kevin hadn’t been home when they…

  “Relax, darlin’. I didn’t see anything you and my cousin did.”

  She sighed inwardly. At least that was something. Bad enough he knew. She stiffened. Wait. Wasn’t he the one they said gossiped like a little girl? Shoot. Great. Now everyone was going to know.

  “And I didn’t hear…much.” His blue eyes sparkled, and she had no idea if he was teasing or telling the truth, until he pointed to her dress. “You wore it yesterday. Doesn’t take a genius…”

  Ah, crud. She glanced at her outfit. Idiot. “Yeah.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t sweat it, darlin’. I think it’s great that you and Kade are together.”

  “We’re not together.” She shook her head. “It’s nothing like that. We just…it was just...”

  “Sex?” He chuckled. “Sure it was. Call it whatever you want, but you, Brandi, are good for my cousin.”

  Okay, she didn’t think she wanted to hear this.

  “Actually, you’re great for him. He needs someone strong yet understanding. He hasn’t been right since that last deployment.”

  Yeah, she definitely didn’t want to hear this. Her mind was already working on scenarios. She didn’t want to care. And drawing concern into the mix was just too dangerous. Besides, they didn’t have a damn relationship.

  “We all know it. He took the death of that soldier pretty bad,” Kevin continued, his words knotting her stomach. “He won’t talk to anyone. Even Connor couldn’t get through to him. So, I’m happy you’re here for the stubborn jerk.”

  So, that’s what put the haunted look in the sheriff’s eyes when his guard was down. Her heart squeezed tight. Brandi knew Kevin meant well, but she was not the answer to Kade’s problems. He needed time and professional help. She’d seen a lot of soldiers going through the same thing back home. Back east. This was now home.

  She shook her head and expelled a breath. “Look, Kevin. There’s nothing going on between me and your cousin.”

  “Right.”

  “If he’s having problems, then he needs better help than anything I could give.”

  “Right,” he repeated.

  “I’m serious.”

  “So am I.” The blue-eyed cowboy grabbed her face and kissed the top of her head. “You’re perfect for him. Don’t change.”

  And with that, he left. Disappeared. Was no longer in the stable. She blew out another breath, glanced around and realized they’d just held a personal conversation out in public. Thank God the nearest person was clear across the stable.

  Since the Casanova cowboy was kind enough to point out she was wearing yesterday’s clothes, Brandi decided to head home and change before she ran into someone else. It wasn’t like she was going to ride her horse in a dress, anyway.

  Fighting a smile, she slipped into her truck and immediately noticed her purse sitting on the seat with the windows down. Jeez. The damn, sexy sheriff had her so off balance yesterday, she’d left it here all night. A quick glance at the contents set her fears to rest. Nothing missing. She grabbed her phone and checked for calls, hoping none of her family decided to pick last night to check up on her.

  One missed call. One voice message.

  Her heart hit her ribs as she clicked the screen. Her thyroid doctor.

  She breathed a little easier. He most likely called about last week’s routine ultra sound and blood test results. She clicked on the message.

  “Hi, Ms. Wyne, it’s Doctor Chang. I’ve gotten your results back. You’re levels are good, and the ultra sound shows no change in the size of your goiters. But I think it’s time to do the biopsies we discussed.”

  Biopsies.

  Brandi knew the word inside and out. She’d spent too much time in hospitals when her mom had undergone all kinds of tests and procedures. Nothing worked. Catherine Wynne had still died from cancer.

  The knot in her stomach tightened. Yeah, she knew biopsies. Just never had one done on her. Since the goiters—little nodules on her thyroid—had shrunk from the medication, she’d hoped that was enough. Swallowi
ng was no longer an issue. But the doctor was right, they had discussed the possibility—well, probability—of having the procedure done. She’d just foolishly hoped that by not thinking about it, the inevitable wouldn’t happen.

  After jotting down the appointment time and information for pre-registration, she shoved the paper and phone in her purse, and sat back. Well, that sucked. What a rotten way to end a pretty amazing night.

  The sun was rising in the sky, peeking through the trees, casting shadows through the fence in a serene display of nature. A half-dozen horses trotted in a green pasture to her right, already

  seeking out the shade on the beautiful warm summer morning. Her gaze turned to the rescue barn and the lone mare grazing in a special pasture. Shadow Rock was so peaceful and tranquil. The perfect place to heal. She hoped to God it helped its owner. The mare certainly seemed to be doing well.

  She stilled. Wait. How did the horse get out? Brock wasn’t home yet.

  “Everything okay?” Out of nowhere, Kade appeared at the side of her truck.

  She jumped, hand flying to her chest as if that would keep her thudding heart inside. So that’s how the horse got out.

  “Oh, yeah,” she lied, doing her best not to look the man in the eyes. He was too damn astute. And she was fine, or would be as soon as she had some time to herself. And made sense out of the reason she’d had the sudden overwhelming urge to cry when he appeared. “I just got…” Her gaze shot to her phone and she drew in a breath.

  No. She was not bringing him or anyone else into that vortex. She’d gone through it with her mother. No way would she put Kade or any of her friends through that kind of not-knowing hell.

  Besides, they weren’t anything more than friends, and chances were she was fine.

  She set her shoulders, lifted her chin and turned to him. “I’m good. I just got sidetracked. But now I’m late. Have a good day.”

  And with that, Brandi reversed out of the spot and didn’t look back, her body on autopilot as she drove home.

  If you considered Sunday the beginning of the week as printed on all calendars, like the one Kade stared at now on the feed store wall, then his week had started off fantastic. Too bad it’d gone downhill ever since.