Cowboy Save Me: By Judith Lee (Tiller Brothers Book 1)

by Lee, Judith

  “You will lie in bed and know what I am doing. I want you to feel yourself before you go to sleep. I want you to know our time is coming when we will be alone and you will be the only one in the world for me. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  His mouth closed over hers and his arms tightened around her as he followed through with his words. Cody pulled her into his lap. His head changed the angle of his kiss in an effort to capture her very soul. He wanted to kiss her so deep she would never want to kiss another man, or remember any other man before him. She moaned and rubbed her body against him. Suddenly, he felt it in his heart that it is was their predestination to be together. The human instinct to mate was stronger than he had ever felt before. He couldn’t get enough of her.

  “That’s my girl. Let the pleasure seep into your very core. I want you so bad.” He kissed a line to her shirt where he unbuttoned her blouse and unhooked the front closure of her lacy bra. His mouth found her torrid pink tips. He felt her skin sizzling and he wanted to suck her so hard that she would come without his even touching her clit. It rattled him how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. Her breasts tasted slightly salty and her scent was driving him mad with want, his need for her pounding in his loins.

  While he changed from one nipple to the other, tugging, biting and sucking, his hand unzipped her jeans, and his hand slid down under her panties to her woman’s core. At first his fingers just ran softly back in forth over her pussy hair. He wished he could see it. He knew it would be copper red like her hair, and more than anything he wished he could breathe in her natural perfume and essence. He wanted to smell her pending orgasm. His fingers dipped into her cream and he parted her so that her clit was beneath his fingers.

  His mouth went to her lips again and he plunged his tongue deep into her as his calloused thumb circled gently around her nub. He wanted so bad to be pushing his tongue into her womanhood. She was wreathing and moaning and pulling his hair with her fingers.

  “Oh Cody…Oh Cody, I didn’t know it could feel this good.”

  He lifted his face to look into her eyes. You’ve never been pleasured before?” he asked almost shocked.

  She lowered her head and whispered, “No”.

  It made his heart soar to know he would be the first. He slid several fingers in and out of her vagina while his thumb started moving faster on her clit and her wet juices made it easy to move quickly without hurting her. He could feel her climbing higher, her breathing short and raspy. When he started feeling her spasms he clamped his mouth over her lips to capture her screams. She collapsed on him and he slowly pulled his fingers from her still throbbing core.

  He lowered his mouth to just above her nipple at the swell of her breast, and started sucking deeply on her tender flesh as his hands caressed her back. She whimpered, and he pulled back and looked at her face. She had tears in her eyes. “Did I hurt you darlin’?” he whispered reverently.

  “No, Cody, I have just never felt so…I don’t know. It was wonderful.”

  You are mine. I’m never letting you go. And he gently kissed her. Stopping only long enough to pull her clothes back together before he lifted her in his arms, kissing her as he walked quietly through the front door and carried her to Dakota’s bedroom door. He opened it and put her on her feet, kissed her cheek and gave her a gentle push into the room.

  When he closed the door, he whispered, “Good night darlin’.”

  He knew he hadn’t been exaggerating to her about what he was going to be doing in the shower. He needed some relief fast, before he forgot his parents were asleep in the next room, and he went in and finished what he had started. Something had changed in him tonight. He no longer just wanted a woman to ease his needs; he could see a future with this woman. She would fight him for her independence but he would be relentless to capture her, to keep her his forever.

  Chapter Six

  She stood in front of the bathroom mirror and gently touched the mark Cody had given her. It felt like he had branded her as his own. How could that be when she had only known him such a short time? Did she care about him, she asked herself? God, I do care, but I’m scared. I don’t want to be hurt again. Cody was not the settling down kind of man. She was just a diversion for him having to quit the rodeo and for whatever else was going on in this house that was so filled with sadness.

  The morning sun filled the bedroom as she dressed. What was she going to do? She needed to put some space between them so she could think. It had surprised her that she had let Cody take control last night. But it was different than the anger Marcus had always shown her when he took her. Cody had even asked her permission. The sexual heights she had reached still buzzed in her pussy. Her skin was aglow.

  She needed to talk to her mom and she called home to Laramie to see if they had made it back from the cabin yet. The phone rang and rang. She was about to hang up when her mom answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Oh mom, I’m so glad you are home. I need you so much.”

  Her dad got on the other line, and she told them about Marcus and how she was staying with Cody and his family. After they discussed all the options, her dad finally convinced her she should come home for a few days. He was coming to get her and he would be there in a few hours.

  Even though part of her desperately wanted to stay with Cody with his arms hugging and protecting her, she knew it was the right thing to do. She would go meet with her counselor again in Laramie. Her mental health needed to be strong if she was going to have to face off Marcus. And in her mind this was going to happen. The asshole needed to be stopped.

  Afterwards, she called her boss and finally told him what was going on, and her boss said she had two weeks’ vacation and some sick time coming and that now would be a good time to take it and not to worry, that she would have her job back. He made her feel valued and Tammy appreciated that right now. She quickly dressed and tentatively walked into the kitchen, not sure if Cody would be there waiting for her. It was a little after 7:00 am.

  Beth Anne was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, her eyes were shiny. Tammy knew she had been crying. She rose up and gathered Tammy into her arms and set her down at the table.

  “I can already see what a good influence you have on my son. When he left to go do the chores and start the ranch hands on their tasks, he seemed very at peace. I haven’t seen him that way for a long time.”

  “Thank you. We barely know each other, but I will admit there is something special between us; I can’t seem to stay away from him.” She smiled weakly. “He has been so good to me. You all have.”

  “Oh honey, sometimes it doesn’t take very long to know you’ve met the person you have been waiting for and time doesn’t really matter. You just know. It was that way with me and Josh.”

  A tear slipped from her eye.

  Tammy reached over and touched Beth Anne’s hand. “I know it none of my business, but is something wrong? Is there anything I can do? Your family has done so much for me.”

  After a few minutes, Beth Anne got her emotions under control and looked into Tammy’s kind eyes. “We asked our children not to talk about it with anyone and I’m sure that’s why Cody hasn’t told you yet, but I’d like you to know. This way maybe you can help Cody through this terrible time.”

  She spoke after a few minutes, “Josh has cancer, a brain tumor. He fell off his horse last week, and hit his head. I made him go to the hospital and they did a cat scan and that’s when they found the tumor. The doctors here said they couldn’t do anything for him because of where it was growing and they didn’t give him long to live.”

  Beth Anne continued, “When you look at him, he seems fine right now, other than the headaches, which is why it’s so hard for the family to accept what is happening. We are leaving today to go to Casper to get a second opinion. Josh is pretty stubborn and he doesn’t want the boys to change their plans for him. As if they wouldn’t all drop what they were doing in a blink
of an eye to stand by him. So far they are all respecting his wishes, except Cody. He says he was going to quit any way and he is just as stubborn as his father.”

  “Oh Beth Anne, there must be something they can do,” Tammy looked stricken.

  “We are hoping the doctors in Casper are more optimistic. And if they can’t help, we won’t give up. I love him too much to give up…” and she started crying again.

  Tammy rose from her chair and she went over to Beth Anne and put her arms around the petite woman. What could she say? This was terrible for Cody’s mother and the whole family.

  Finally, after a few minutes of gently sobbing, she rubbed her eyes and said, “Damn, I need to get it together. I need to be the strong one now. It’s always been Josh taking care of me and seeing to all my needs like I was a china doll or something. Don’t get me wrong, he knows I’m a strong woman, but it’s just his way. ‘Spect that’s the way Cody will be too.”

  Josh came into the room and looked lovingly at his wife, “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just telling Cody’s pretty lady here what’s up.”

  He looked at her and kindly smiled at Tammy. “She needed to know. There’s something special cooking between them.”

  “Thank you Mr. Tiller…”

  “Josh.”

  “Okay Josh. I think the best thing I can do right now is to go home and see my mother and father. I finally got ahold of them and they are pretty worried. It seems like every one here needs some time to get a handle on what is happening. I’m sorry I can’t stay and help Cody but in the long run, I think he needs some time and space to accept whatever is going to happen. Your family doesn’t need the ‘Marcus’ drama in your life right now. I will pray for you Josh.”

  “You need to go to your parents if that’s what you need to do, but I want you to know you are always welcome in this home.”

  “Your whole family has been so kind.”

  Matt and Cody walked into the kitchen. The both stopped to look at the scene that was playing out in the kitchen.

  “Is everything okay?” Cody asked.

  “Cody, your mom was just telling me about your dad’s illness. I’m so sorry.”

  He nodded at her and looked to his mom and dad to see how they were handling things this morning.

  “You leaving, soon?”

  “Yep, car’s all loaded. We’ll call as soon as we get there.”

  Cody and Matt both went to their dad and hugged him. Tammy saw tears in Cody’s eyes. She was thinking maybe she should stay a few days.

  “Where’s Jenny? She’ll want to say goodbye.”

  His mom looked at him, “I thought she was with you, she’s not in her room.”

  Cody muttered under his breath and pulled out his phone and dialed his sister’s number. While it was ringing, he turned at the sound of an engine driving up outside and looked out the door.

  The sheriff and Jenny got out of the truck. They all went outside to see what was happening. Jenny had bruises on her face and a sling around her shoulder. She ran to her mom and put her arm around her.

  The sheriff mumbled, “I wanted to call, but Jenny wouldn’t let me. Said there was too much going on right now and she didn’t want me to call you until she could talk to you in person.”

  “What happened, Jenny? Had you been drinking?” Cody asked.

  “A little, but honestly not that much. One moment I was driving home, and the next thing I knew the truck was in the ditch. I don’t know what happened. I only had two beers and that shouldn’t have caused me to lose control. I even ate before I came home. I couldn’t get the truck door to open so I had to wait for someone to find me. My phone flew out the window.”

  “Oh my God, are you alright?” her father asked gently touching her head.

  She said yes, just a few bruises and a sprained wrist, but she was sorry that Cody’s truck, which she had borrowed, was a mess. They all walked into the house.

  The sheriff grabbed Cody’s arm and pulled him to the side. Tammy saw this and she also stayed.

  “Someone in a red vehicle hit the back of your truck. We could clearly see the paint on the back bumper.”

  Tammy sucked in her breath. “Oh my God, it was him. He must have seen me with you.”

  She started hyperventilating. Cody stood stunned. Then he became angry and hit his fist into the wall.

  “Sheriff Roberts, I need you to take me back to my condo right now please. My dad is coming to get me to take me to Laramie. I can’t put this family in jeopardy any longer.” She turned to Cody, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry… please tell your family I am so sorry.” She quickly opened the door, and grabbed her purse off the table by the door.

  Gaining some control, he walked over and put his arm around her. “Shh, its’ not your fault. Stay here, we’ll take care of you.”

  “I can’t Cody, I can’t. Thank you for everything. I have to do this on my own.” She kissed his lips gently and slipped out of his arms, and walked to the sheriff’s car and got in. She didn’t even care about the few clothes she left behind. She just wanted to get away from here fast. Her guilt was eating her up and turning her into a sobbing neurotic mess again and she wouldn’t allow Cody to see her like this again.

  The sheriff looked to Cody trying to gage if that’s what he wanted, but all Cody did was stare at Tammy in the car.

  After a few moments, Cody ordered, “Have someone stay with her until her dad picks her up.” Then he slowly turned and walked inside the house.

  She was beyond crushed with what she had brought to this kind generous family. Her dad would take her back to Laramie and protect her. Cody and his family would resume their lives and deal with their father’s illness. Maybe she would see Cody again. She hoped she would but she didn’t know if he only wanted her because of the grief and pain he was feeling. Everything was all mixed up, and the only thing she knew for sure was that she hated Marcus with all her soul.

  ***

  He watched her drive off from the kitchen window. This was a shit day. She was probably right. They were burning too hot for each other right now and he was losing focus on his family. He had responsibilities that needed to be handled like getting his mom and dad off to their appointment, arranging to have his truck towed in, and finishing the morning chores. The world seemed to be spinning in slow-motion. He needed to get grounded and step up as the man of this house while is dad was getting cured. That’s the attitude he needed to take to get him through these next few days.

  “Mom and dad, I think you should take Jenny with you, she can keep mom company, while you are having all your tests done. I’d feel better knowing she was safe with you while Tammy’s lunatic ex-husband is still around trying to do damage.”

  His parents agreed. Cody got on the phone and arranged for a second room for his sister. “I’ll follow you into town when you leave, to check on the truck, and pick up a few supplies.”

  On the way into town, he saw his truck smashed by the side of the road. Looks like he was going to get a new truck. Add one more thing to his list. His parents got on Highway 59 and waved back at him. He stopped by Bud’s garage and arranged to have his truck picked up then stopped by Walmart and picked up groceries and other supplies. He found himself heading by Tammy’s condo and parked up the street. A deputy was helping her bring a suitcase bag to the car where an elderly gentleman was waiting, which must have been her father. She wrapped her arms around her dad, and he could see him talking to her. She turned and shook the deputy’s hand and got in her father’s car.

  They drove off, and all Cody wanted to do was jam the truck in gear and chase after her. It was hard to let her go. How had she become so important to him in just a few days? Surely it had to be more than lust.

  Cody pulled his phone out of his hip pocket. Will you text me when you get to Laramie. You know I’m going to worry about you.

  His phone pinged back. I’ll text you when I get to Laramie and I’ll call you at bedtime if that’s okay with you?


  Cody smiled. He texted back. Honey, we’re thinking alike, I was going to call you but you call me when you get settled down. Gonna miss you. He hit send.

  Me, too. She wrote.

  He relaxed his hands, put the phone in his pocket and grabbed the steering wheel, and slowly did a U-turn in the street and headed home.

  The fences needed mending, the colts needed to get acquainted with a bit and some leather straps, a few new calves needed shots, and he needed to look over the books. The ranch hands would pitch in and pick up the slack with his dad and brothers gone. They had never been gentlemen absentee ranchers, all of them had worked as hard if not harder than anyone on the place. All the members of his family pulled up their sleeves and got the jobs done. That’s how they were raised, and it seemed there was always something that needed mended or cared for so he was going to have his hands full.

  He was glad Matt would be there for a little while before he went off to college. Matt had been working right along his dad for the last few years when he wasn’t in school and could tell him if there were any pressing matters that needed attended to and could keep him company at night while they worried about their father, and maybe help keep his mind off Tammy.

  In a way it was like he’d never left the ranch to hit the rodeo circuit for all those years. In fact during his trips home to the ranch between rodeos he’d never missed a beat. He jumped right in and started doing all the ranching chores he’d grown up doing. The ranch ran smoothly. It was just different now because his dad wouldn’t be there and he would be in charge. He believed he was ready for that responsibility and knew the ranch hands would give him his due respect, but it was still all new to him.

  Jenny had never had any desire to go to college so she had been doing the books and the payroll. If she didn’t get home in time, he’d probably have to take the ranch employees’ time cards to the accountant to have him help write the checks and file all the necessary government forms. But the ranching part was in his blood and he knew what to do.