All I Want for Christmas Is a Cowboy

by Jennifer Ryan

  Caleb bent and kissed her on the side of the neck. “Do you like it?”

  Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. Touched beyond words, she didn’t know what to say. Overwhelmed and incredibly happy, she placed her hand over his on her stomach and gave it a squeeze.

  “This is amazing.”

  “You’re amazing for putting up with me these past months. What you did for me last night . . . I needed to sleep and shut down and not think. With you, I could let go.”

  She turned to face him, standing so close her breasts brushed against his chest with every breath. The tension between them burned as hot as the fire behind her. She reached up and touched his face, tracing her fingers over his cheek and jaw, down his throat to rest on his chest.

  “You look better today.”

  “I feel better, thanks to you.” He took her hand and kissed her palm. “Let’s eat dinner. I got your favorite dessert.”

  As much as he wanted her—and she knew he did—he wanted to give her this night. Not just a simple dinner date, but one he’d planned and executed especially for her. He’d seen to every detail and prepared everything just the way she liked it. The man had been paying attention even when she thought at one time he barely noticed her. She didn’t want to deny him, or herself, this opportunity to sit and eat and be together as a couple, not just friendly companions. They’d stepped past the invisible line they never crossed last night. She’d seen Caleb at the limit of exhaustion, hurting and trying to hide it. He’d stopped pretending they were and would always remain only friends. She took a second to bask in her victory and pressed her lips together to hide the smile.

  “What is that look?”

  “Nothing. I’m happy, that’s all.”

  He drew her by the hand to the table and held out her chair. She sat and draped her napkin across her lap. He brought the large bowl of pasta. The garlic bread smelled amazing, and luckily had survived the broiler. Before he sat, Caleb poured her a glass of wine and she took a sip. He took the chair at the head of the table next to her. She smiled. He didn’t want to sit all the way across from her. No, he’d set the table so they sat close.

  She reached over and put her hand on his. “This is really wonderful. All of it. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

  He held the pasta so she could scoop a portion onto her plate before he did the same for himself. He filled her salad bowl and his own. She grabbed two slices of garlic bread for herself and put two more on his plate. He smiled. She smiled. Everything felt right and they settled in and took the first bite.

  She closed her eyes and let out a satisfied hum. “This is so good.”

  “I think you’re just hungry. It’s one of three things I can cook well.”

  “What are the other two?”

  “Steaks and baked potatoes on the grill, and omelets.”

  “You do cook an awesome steak.” He and Jack manned the grill many nights, but she didn’t mention her brother. Tonight, she wanted to keep things just him and her. She sensed he felt the same way. “I can’t wait for the omelet,” she added, giving him a seductive smile.

  He swallowed hard, getting her reference that he might be here to share breakfast with her in the morning.

  “So, dear, how was your day?” he asked, teasing like they were an old married couple. “What’s the gossip down at the beauty parlor?”

  She laughed, and it felt good to share this moment with him. “It’s not called a beauty parlor anymore. It’s a salon.”

  “That’s just another word for high-priced haircuts.”

  “You never complained when you came in.”

  “That’s because you were touching me.”

  “You don’t have to pay for a haircut to get me to touch you.”

  The smoldering heat in his eyes blazed as his gaze held hers for several racing heartbeats. She loved the rush of heat, searing its way through her system and straight to her belly. She squirmed under his intense stare. He looked away first, taking a bite of his meal and chewing thoroughly.

  She held back a laugh, enjoying the flirting immensely.

  “Mrs. Little came in today.” She took a bite of her salad and grinned.

  Caleb took the bait and asked, “What color streaks did she get today?”

  “Cotton candy pink to match her pedicure. I have to say, it’s my favorite color on her. Makes her striking white hair stand out.”

  “How old is she again?”

  “Eighty-three. I hope I’m as adventurous and daring at that age.”

  “You will be. You love life.”

  “I don’t see any reason to wallow, when having fun is so much more enjoyable.”

  “That’s one of the things I love most about you.”

  Love?

  He didn’t mean it. It’s an expression. Still, her heart skipped a beat and thrashed in her chest, hope welling up inside her until she had to swallow it back.

  “Which coat did she wear today? The blue one with the purple feathers?”

  Summer focused on him again and tried not to think about love and happy endings. “With pink hair streaks? Not a chance. She wore the white.”

  “With the white fur trim?”

  “I like that one.”

  “Me, too.”

  They shared another smile. He poured her more wine and she took a deep sip, letting the warmth settle through her system. The evening wore on as they sat together at the table sharing conversation about the people they knew, their work, movies, and family. When he spoke of his brothers, his face lit up with happy memories of them together on their family’s ranch.

  “You miss them.”

  “I miss the way things used to be. We’ve all grown and gone our separate ways.”

  “But they all live in your hometown.”

  “My two older brothers are back in town. Dane, the youngest, is riding the rodeo circuit. Last I heard, he’s in Texas.”

  “Well, you’ll see them soon.” If she had her way, he’d see them for their wedding.

  “I told you last night, I’m staying here.”

  “I’m glad you are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go for a visit.”

  “Are you coming with me?”

  “Are you asking me to?”

  “I just did. My mother would love to meet you.”

  Meeting his parents made her nervous, but she squashed the butterflies, wanting more than anything to belong to Caleb and his family.

  “She must be something to raise four boys.”

  “You remind me of her in some ways.”

  “How so?”

  “You’re kind and easy to be around. You smile even when no one is looking. Under everything you have a strength and determination that gets you through everything. You’re tenacious.”

  “You like that about me.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “When you want something, you don’t stop.”

  “You didn’t want me to stop. Not really.”

  His big hand settled on her thigh. He rubbed it up to her hip and squeezed, his eyes locked on hers as the ripples of pleasure surged through her system. Everything emptied from her mind, except her sole focus on the warmth of his hand on her.

  “Don’t ever stop.”

  Wanting me went unsaid, but she heard it loud and clear.

  “Never.”

  Chapter Ten

  CALEB WANTED TO kiss her and never stop, but he’d planned this night so carefully. He wanted to give her everything. Make this a perfect date. Ask her for another. Treat her like the special gift she was in his life. She deserved more than one night of dinner and flowers before he seduced her into bed. As much as he wanted her, he’d drag her there if his resolve didn’t hold up. She deserved better than him rushing her. He’d give her all the time she needed to decide, because once she did, he’d never let her go.

  The attraction between them had been building since the day they met, but he’d held himself in check and her at b
ay. He wanted to pull her close and love her forever. He hated waiting. It made him edgy and impatient.

  He gave in to his baser need and slid his hand back down her thigh and leaned in and kissed her softly on her rosy lips. A man would die drunk and happy on her kisses. Sometimes, she did in fact make him dizzy.

  Reluctant, but ready to devour her, he pulled away and stood to put some space between them. “I’ll get dessert.”

  Dishes clinked and rattled behind him as she cleared the table. He put dessert on plates and took his time, breathing deep to calm himself and not think about making love to her. By the time he finished and left the kitchen, she settled on the sofa in front of the fire, her glass of wine in her hand, and his set on the coffee table. She sat peacefully, her eyes on the flames. He settled next to her, their thighs brushing. He could have scooted over, but he liked being next to her.

  She took her plate and used her fork to take a bite of the creamy cheesecake with raspberry and chocolate sauce. Her eyes closed and she made that soft little moan like she did at dinner. He wanted to slide his tongue over her breast and make her sound like that again and again.

  “Good?”

  “Rainy days in front of a fire with a book are good. This is amazing. My favorite.”

  “You order it any time we eat out. You even have raspberry chocolate ice cream bars in the freezer.”

  “Only because if I eat cheesecake every day I’d weigh a ton.”

  “Well, you’ve got at least a few days’ worth of dessert in the fridge.”

  “I’ll eat a piece for breakfast with my coffee.”

  He laughed around another bite. “Maybe I’ll come back and make you that omelet, so I know you’ve had something good to eat.”

  “You should just stick around and make sure I don’t have a midnight snack.”

  He wanted to, but held firm to his plan. “I thought we’d take this slow, spend a decent amount of time dating and get to know each other better.”

  She placed her plate on the table and took his and did the same, despite the fact neither of them had finished their dessert.

  “You think too much. When I look at you, when I think about you, there is nothing inside me that wants to be decent.”

  “Summer.”

  “Yes.”

  That simple word held a world of meaning. The devil in him jumped for joy and prodded him to leap. She leaned into him and pressed her lips to his. Every thought in his mind shut off, except the fantasies he’d dreamed of night after night alone in his bed. He kissed her back, but didn’t touch her. He kept his hands on his thighs until she kissed her way along his jaw to his ear and whispered, “Take me to bed.”

  A military man, used to carrying out orders, he had no trouble following hers. He wanted her too much to deprive himself and her of what they wanted most, to be together, despite his best-laid plans.

  Summer let out a yelp when Caleb wrapped his big hands around her waist and hoisted her into his lap. She straddled his thighs, and his mouth took possession of hers and he devoured it, sliding his hands up her sides, his thumbs caressing the sides of her breasts in soft half circles.

  “Last chance, sweetheart, because in a minute it will be too late.”

  “It’s already too late,” she answered, tilting her head back while he kissed a blazing trail down her neck to her chest. His big hands covered her heavy breasts and squeezed. It didn’t ease her need, but made her want more.

  Caleb wrapped his arms around her back, slid his hands down to cover her ass, and stood up with her legs wrapped around his waist. She laughed and leaned back and looked at him.

  “I love it when you laugh,” he said.

  She traced his face with her fingertips. “I love how you make me feel.”

  “I love you.” The words came out gruff and filled with emotion. They sank into her heart and filled it.

  “Show me.”

  His lips found hers even as he moved to the stairs and started up them. His hands held her bottom firm against him. She squeezed her legs around his waist to keep him close.

  “You are so strong,” she said against his lips.

  He used all that strength to wrap her in a hug that made her feel safe and surrounded by his love.

  He stood beside her bed in the loft. She let her legs drop down his sides, so she stood on her own. He held her hips loosely in his hands and stared down at her.

  “I want you so bad. I’ll try to be gentle.”

  “Don’t be,” she said, practically daring him with a smile.

  “Ah, sweetheart, how did this happen?”

  “Some things are meant to be.”

  “Yeah, like this.”

  She expected speed and urgency. Instead, he took his time and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Their gazes locked, he reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head as she raised her arms to help him. When her hands came down, she reached for his t-shirt and stripped him of it. His gaze dipped and he stared at her breasts. She didn’t feel self-conscious, but beautiful under his appreciative stare. It didn’t take long for him to reach for the button and zipper on her pants. She wiggled her hips to help him slide them down her legs, taking them and her shoes off at the same time.

  Once he had her nearly naked in front of him, he lost the battle to take his time. She felt his urgency in the way he jammed both thumbs into the sides of her panties and pulled them down her thighs. Unable to stand, she fell back onto the bed, giving him the perfect opportunity to drag the swatch of lace right off her feet.

  He came to her then, leaning over her, crowding her until she had to fall onto her back. He smiled like the big bad wolf ready to eat her up. He practically did. His head dipped and his breath caressed the inside of her thigh a second before his lips touched her skin and his tongue flicked out to taste. She melted into the mattress, closed her eyes, and savored the feel of his mouth and those big hands caressing every inch of her body.

  Caleb trailed kisses up her thigh and over her hip. He wanted to plant his face between her legs and feast, but he had far more ground to cover before he indulged his baser needs. He loved her flat stomach and licked a circle around her belly button and up the center of her to the annoying barrier that hid the bounty of her breasts. She moaned when he slipped his hand around her back, massaging and caressing as he went to find the catch on her bra and release it, so he could finally see her completely naked below him. He pulled the offending barrier free and let it sail across the room. Leaning over her on his hands, his feet still planted on the floor, her legs dangling over the edge of the bed, he scanned her body from her gorgeous face to her creamy thighs.

  “You are so beautiful.”

  “You’re overdressed.”

  She reached for his button and fly, releasing them and his hard cock. Her fingers locked around him, pumping up and down, stoking the fire burning inside of him. He wanted to slide between her legs and bury himself deep in her heat, but not yet. He played the explorer, mapping her body with his hands and mouth.

  Her hands never stopped touching him, roaming over his arms and chest and around his back. She came up off the bed, and he stood before her as she slid his jeans and boxer briefs down his legs. Hindered by his boots, he reached down and pried them off. Not easy, off kilter, tied up in his jeans. Her hands raked down his back, sending a shiver of heat and need through his system. Free at last, she pulled him down on top of her, and for the first time, he let his body slide over hers. She gasped as his skin touched hers. He sank into her, his mouth finding hers in a searing kiss. Cradled between her thighs, he rocked forward and nudged her entrance with the head of his cock, but pulled back even as she tilted her hips to take him deep.

  Summer let out a frustrated grunt, but it died on the exhale she let loose when his tongue licked down her throat, sending a shiver over her skin. He planted openmouthed kisses down her chest to the valley between her breasts before one hand clasped her breast and he took the hard tip into his mouth and suckl
ed, his tongue sweeping out to taste and drive her wild.

  “You taste as good as you smell. Raspberries in spring.”

  “I’m Summer.”

  “You’re mine.”

  To prove it, he slid one hand down her side in a long, hot sweep, turned it over her hip, found her center, and pressed one long finger into her slick core. His palm cupped her mound as he worked his finger in and out. His mouth never left her breasts. Within seconds, he had her writhing under him.

  Two could play this game. She spread her hands wide over his back and smoothed them down over the corded muscles, down past his hips to his fine ass. She grabbed both cheeks and squeezed. He moaned against her breast and sucked harder, sending a shaft of heat to the very place his hand worked, driving her to the crest before he slowly pulled out and rubbed ever so gently over the sweet spot he’d found when she grinded against his palm. She smoothed one hand over his hip and dipped it low in front and found his hard shaft. Fingers locked around him, she caressed and stroked until he tore his mouth away from her hard nipple and rose above her on both hands. The heat in his eyes made her shiver.

  Caleb grabbed his jeans, pulled the condom from his wallet, tore the wrapper open with his teeth, and tossed it away. Summer took the condom from him and sheathed his hard cock in one fluid motion that nearly sent him over the edge.

  She lay below him, ready and waiting, her face soft and open. Her eyes dreamy and certain as he lowered himself to her. The head of his cock nudged against her heat, sinking in an inch. Gazes locked, he tried to go slow.

  “I love you.” She hadn’t said the words back to him when he told her how he felt. He thought he didn’t need the words because he knew how she felt. The certainty in her voice, the emotion in her eyes so clear to see, he lost it and drove hard into her.

  He did need the words. He needed her to know she belonged to him, because he already belonged to her. He had from the beginning, and though he’d fought it, he’d always known you can’t fight the inevitable.

  He moved over her and in her, loving the feel of her skin against his. Not enough. He wanted more. Leaning on one hand, he reached down and drew her leg up and wide, giving him better access to drive into her harder and deeper. She moaned and gasped when he sank into her and rubbed his hips against hers. She spread her legs wider. He sank deeper, driving both of them to the crest before slowing his pace and making her urge him for more. He gave it to her because he needed more of her and those hands that never stopped roaming over his chest and around and up his back and shoulders. Never passive, she gave as much as he did, and he fell under her spell.