by Talty, Jen
He climbed on the bed, trying not to rustle it too much. “So, Kitty. What is your full name?” He took one of the sausages, heaving half of it in his mouth, leaning over the plate as the onions and peppers slipped out of the bun.
She handed him a napkin. “Cat Renee O’Doole.”
“Nice Irish name,” he mused, reaching out and tucking some of her hair behind her shoulder.
“I’m about as Irish as they come, ‘tis I am.”
He laughed at the perfectly played accent. “So, tell me. What are you studying?”
“Education. Specifically, early childhood development.” Her skinny fingers plucked out a yellow pepper, popping it into her mouth.
He had half a mind to suck that vegetable right out.
“What does that mean exactly?” He fluffed the pillows, leaning back. His hand tangled in her red locks.
“I want to be an elementary or preschool teacher.” She took a lady-like bite of her food, pushing herself against the pillows, stretching out her legs, the tray of food and beer between them.
“If you don’t mind me getting personal—”
She held up two fingers. “You just gave me two orgasms, and you think I mind personal?”
God, she was going to be the death of him. “Point taken.” He swallowed, taking a small sip of courage. “You’re what, twenty-seven?”
She nodded.
“Why haven’t you finished your degree?” It wasn’t any of his business. In a few days, he’d get on a plane and head back to Idaho, only taking with him a memory…
Of the best he’d ever had.
“I didn’t go to college after high school, and while my ex hated the idea of me working, he put up with me going to college, part time.”
“Put up? Fuck. He’s an asshole.”
“He is that, but this had more to do with some manly misguided ego,” she said.
“I’ll repeat what I said the other day. You should have taken his money.”
“I’m doing fine without it. I’m hoping to be done with my undergrad by next summer if everything goes as planned.”
His heart skipped a beat. He’d been born dirt poor and understood having to settle. He’d been one of the lucky ones that not only had he had a lucrative career as a bull rider and cowboy, but his mentor had taken him in, given him a job, and now that ranch belonged to JW, and it more than supported him and his siblings. Now if he could just get his riding school off the ground, he’d be happy. “You’re a good woman, Kitty O’Doole. But I’m damn glad you’re going after your dreams now.”
“I’m still young, so I don’t feel like I’m all that behind.” She dropped her half-eaten food on the plate, wiping her hands with a napkin, then tilted her head. “How old are you?”
“I’ll be thirty-five on my next birthday.”
“When is that?” she asked.
“New Year’s Eve.”
“And now it’s my turn to get personal,” she said.
“Yeah, because I only had one orgasm. We might have to do something about that.” The comfort level he shared with Kitty he’d never had with Bella. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been this relaxed in the presence of a woman. Not that he didn’t have a fair amount of confidence, but women always made him twitch, even the one he’d loved.
“I might be able to take care of that if you tell me what you do for a living.”
“That’s actually a loaded question.” He took the tray and set it on the floor next to the bed and sipped his beer. It was nice not to have someone know who he was. Not that he was a well-known celebrity, but in his circle, he was about as famous as they came. “Currently, I’m a ranch owner and trying to get a bull riding school off the ground, but I also hold a world record regarding my time on the backside of a bull.”
“A bull, as in a real live thing with horns?”
He nodded, letting out a slight laugh. Kitty had a way of making him feel like he was just some regular guy. Not the man who’d spent a month in the spotlight trying to prove his innocence, and even when he had, still got treated as though he’d beat a woman.
Something he’d never do.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know much about the sport, but I imagine it’s quite dangerous.”
He took her hand, placing it palm down on his side. “I’ve broken just about every rib I have. I’ve dislocated both shoulders. More than once. I’ve torn my ACL and have had three concussions.”
“Please tell me your bull riding days are over.”
“Mostly. I still compete in some shows and exhibitions.”
She set her longneck on the nightstand and turned. “Now I’m going to be really nosey, but is bull riding how you made your money? Or were you born into it?”
“Why do I get the feeling that rich people, because of your ex, offend you?”
“Offend isn’t the right word, and I’m sorry if I’m prying. You owe me nothing, so no biggie if you don’t answer.”
“I don’t mind talking about it.” He laced his fingers between hers, staring at how they fit together like his favorite leather bull riding gloves. “My parents and grandparents were ranch hands on the ranch I own now. I was born a ranch hand and poor, but the man that used to own it took a shine to me the second he saw my first bull ride when I was six. He offered my family residence on the ranch, and we took it.”
“Six years old?” Her eyes grew wide with shock and concern.
He smiled, kissing the back of her hand. “Both my parents were bull riders, but they never made it to the level of success I had, and I owe that to my mentor, Chuck Holland. He taught me everything I know. I broke my first world record when I was sixteen.”
“That’s amazing. Your parents must be so proud.”
“I’m sure they would have been. They died in a train crash when I was fifteen.”
She gasped, covering her mouth. “Shit. I’m so sorry.”
“It was difficult to lose them so young, but my grandparents and Chuck made sure my siblings and I were well taken care of.”
“Is your grandfather still alive?” She nibbled on her fingernail, her green eyes glimmering concern and kindness.
“He died a few months before my grandmother.”
“And Chuck Holland?” she asked.
He should have clammed up, considering she seemed to be taking his entire past to heart. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel bad.
At least she didn’t pity him.
“He died three years ago. Having no family of his own, he left my siblings and me the ranch.”
She palmed his cheek. “You’ve suffered a lot of losses.”
He nodded. “I wish I could bring them all back, but I’m grateful for the time I had with them.”
She twisted her body, straddling him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. Her gaze pierced through his soul, taking his breath away. “You’re a special man,” she whispered right before her rosy lips brushed over his. Then like a feather floating in the air, she dabbled his chest with sweet kisses.
“Nothing special about me.” He gathered her hair, gently pushing it to the side.
Her eyelids fluttered as her tongue made a trail down the center of his stomach, making his muscles tense and twitch. He sucked in a breath when her deft fingers unhooked his pants, rolling them over his hips and down his legs.
He hissed when her tongue darted out of her mouth, flicking over the tip, a slight smile forming on her lips.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.
“Name’s Kitty,” she said, stroking him in a slow, circular motion, staring at him with those sea-green eyes.
“You’re driving me mad, Kitty.”
“That’s the point.” With her gaze locked on his, she took him into her hot mouth. Her lips glided over him like hot steam coating a mirror. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she devoured him, making his pulse skyrocket.
His chest rose up and down with each labored breath. Curling his toes, he forced himself to remain still. She was
as soft as a silk robe and as hot as the summer sun.
He reached toward the nightstand, fumbling for a condom. “Come here.” He tugged her hair, her fingers replacing her mouth.
Shoving her on her back, spreading her legs, he smiled at her perfectly pink womanhood with just a trickle of hair curling above her tight nub. Her nipples poked against the fabric of his shirt. Her smile sent him right over the edge.
He drove himself inside her with one long, hard thrust.
“Oh, God,” she muttered, arching her back, welcoming him inside.
“Name’s JW.”
She reached up, clasping her hands behind his neck, shoving her tongue deep in his mouth, grinding her hips.
Losing all control, he slammed himself into her, moving the bed with every plunge. He swallowed all her moans, sucking on her luscious, quivering lips, praying her body would shudder long before his did.
He ripped open her shirt, popping off at least two buttons, twisting her nipple with his thumb and forefinger, desperate for her gratification. She indulged him with a soft, decadent groan that grew louder with every stroke until she cried out his name, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist.
She trembled as his climax spilled out, sending one throbbing shockwave after the other across his muscles. His chest surged forward, lungs burning, unable to catch his breath.
He eased his weight onto his elbows. For the next five minutes, they rocked gently against one another, kissing each other tenderly until she completely relaxed under him, letting out a long sigh.
“I have a craving for chocolate cake,” she whispered.
“I’ll call room service.”
“Now I’ve died and gone to Baltimore heaven.”
Chapter Six
JW slipped from the bed and made his way to the living room. He left the bedroom door open so he could peek in and watch the red-haired beauty sleep. For a half a second, he felt like a creeper, but then Kitty sighed and rolled to her side, showing off her muscled thigh.
It would prove challenging to get her out of his blood. As soon he returned to Idaho, he’d have to dive into work. That might make the days go by without too many flashes of his short-lived affair with Kitty.
But how the hell was he going to get through the nights?
After making a pot of coffee, he flipped open his laptop. He might be on vacation, but he still had a ranch to run and bull riding school to deal with. He scanned his emails until he found the latest contracts for the purchase of Luke’s ranch.
JW clutched his chest as a sudden burn spread across his body. Bella had used Luke, plain and simple. She’d told JW in an email shortly after she admitted he never hit her, that she was trying to get JW’s attention and that she never meant for things to go that far.
She even tried to tell JW that Luke had forced her to have sex with him, but JW knew that was total bullshit and called her on it the one time he’d been in the same room with her after his arrest. Her father had told JW that had he been more attentive to his little girl, she would have never cheated.
Talk about fucked up.
He picked up his cell and found Luke’s phone number. Before he hit the call button, he made sure the contracts were on his computer screen.
The phone rang three times. “Do you have any idea what time it is here?” Luke asked.
JW glanced at the time flashing on his phone. “Seven and don’t tell me you’re not awake.” He took a sip of his coffee, slightly shocked he’d slept in so late. Then again, he and Kitty hadn’t drifted off until close to three.
“Your sister already woke me up.”
JW coughed. “What’s she doing out there this early?”
“She dropped off the signed contracts. We figure, the faster we do this, the less likely Robert will find a way to stop it and put the final coffin in my financial problems.”
JW’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach. While the purchase of Luke’s ranch would make a massive difference in his family’s business, it sucked that he was putting Luke out of his. “I’m sorry, I haven’t read all the reports; how bad is your situation?”
“Stop right there. You’re not giving me a handout,” Luke said with tightness in his voice. “We came to a fair price for my property. The rest of it is my problem, not yours.”
“I wouldn’t insult you like that. I just want to know what Robert and his daughter have done.” JW wondered if he would ever be out from under the destruction that family had brought to him, his family, and his friends.
A long silence filled the airways.
“Robert has the horse breeding business and my riding school.”
“How did that happen so quickly?” JW asked.
“After he started spreading rumors around about me and my business, he demanded I pay him everything I owed him, and when I looked at the fine print, he could call in the loans at any time. I couldn’t pay; he took over.”
“Even with the money for the ranch?”
“I could have paid it off, but honestly, I don’t want it anymore. Half the employees have walked off, and I get the satisfaction of you kicking his sorry ass off your land.”
JW chuckled. “I will enjoy doing that.” But he wouldn’t enjoy watching Luke have to pack up and move. “You can stay on as long as you want.”
“I’m out of here next month. My sister has been bugging me for years to spend more time with her and her kids. Well, now she’ll have me full time.”
JW adjusted his chair and clicked open the files his sister had sent over. She’d been all but defending Luke ever since JW had found him screwing his fiancée. JW cut his sister a lot of slack when it came to Luke. There was nothing worse than not having your love returned, but once Luke and Bella hooked up, Georgia Moon should have written him off.
But she hadn’t.
“This is a crazy question, and I’m not even sure why I’m asking it. But how the hell did you end up in bed with Bella Brothers?” No sooner did the question fly from his mouth, did he find the answer in the documents from his sister. “Well, fuck me, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what? That I had a secret affair with Bella before you did? I didn’t see the point. She and I were on again off again until you pulled that bull off of me right before he crushed my head. She couldn’t deal with the fact I might be crippled, and frankly, I couldn’t deal with her anymore. We had been broken up for a year when you and she hooked up.”
“Why did you sleep with her that night? Georgia Moon swears that was the only time when Bella and I were together.”
“It was, though not for lack of trying on Bella’s part.”
JW took a long sip of his hot, bitter coffee, letting it burn his throat. He wasn’t mad, or even hurt anymore, at least not by Bella, but he’d be lying if he said Luke’s betrayal didn’t still sting.
“I have no excuse or valid reason. When Bella wants something, she comes after it, and she and her father wanted my land and my business, and they nearly got it all.”
“Jesus,” JW muttered. “And to think I nearly merged my school with his.” He balled his fist. “You should have warned me that Bella didn’t love me and that she was just doing her father’s bidding.”
Luke laughed. “I didn’t know about you and Bella until it was too late. Anything I said about her, you took it the wrong way. Besides, I didn’t know how they operated until you were arrested. They didn’t start coming after my business and land until you and Bella made your big relationship announcement.”
JW pinched the bridge of his nose. “None of this explains why you’d go to bed with her again.” Why did he keep asking the question? He glanced into the bedroom. Kitty lay on her side with a pillow between her legs, her hands tucked up under her sweet face.
“I thought if I gave her what she wanted, she’d be able to get her father to back off on collecting on the loans early.”
JW took in a deep, calming breath. For the last three months, he wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, Bell
a had loved him.
But Bella loved one person.
Herself.
“You should have to come to me with your problems.”
“I should have done a lot of things differently, but I didn’t. What’s done is done. Florida will be a good move for me.”
“I hate that they are running you out of town,” JW said.
“Don’t be. I’m looking forward to being with my sister. Oh, not that you care, but I’m sure you heard all about Bella and her new career.”
“Georgia Moon mentioned something.”
“Yeah, well, she’s got herself some agent or manager, and he’s starting to book her some gigs across the country. I can’t figure out what the payoff is for her or her dad, but if I were you, I’d keep her at least in your radar. It might appear that they have backed off, but take it from me, neither Robert nor his daughter know how to back away from anything.”
Kitty rolled to her back, stretching her arms overhead and sighed.
“I’ll take that under advisement. Be well, Luke.” The last thing JW wanted was to be in a foul mood when Kitty graced him with her presence. “If you need anything, let me or my siblings know.”
“Will do.”
The line went dead.
JW snagged another mug and poured a cup of coffee for Kitty. He rested it on a tray with some fruit, a couple of pastries, and two mimosas. He’d never had one but figured why the hell not.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he said as he set the tray on the bed. “Sleep well?”
She brushed her unruly hair out of her face and scooted to a sitting position. “What time is it?”
“Just after ten.”
“Shit. I have to get going soon. I’m working noon to eight tonight.”
“So, should I have an early dinner at the bar or a late one with you?” JW rested his head in her lap and enjoyed a gentle scalp massage while he gazed into her sultry green eyes.
“I know where you're going with this.”
He laughed. “My time is limited and call me crazy, but I want you sleeping in this bed again tonight.”
“You are crazy, but I must be right there with you because I’m contemplating it.”
