Her Cowboy Groom (Blue Falls, Texas Book 5)

by Trish Milburn

  Owen pressed against her, and she didn’t even mind the feel of the rough planks of the wall against her back. The delicious feel of flesh on flesh erased everything else around them. He kissed her as if she were his lifeblood, and her hands drifted down until they found their way below the top of his jeans. Telling herself that for tonight she wasn’t going to allow herself to think, only feel, she started working his belt free as he ravaged her mouth. Again, he captured a breast and tongued her until she was in danger of exploding. She unzipped his jeans and filled her hand with the thickness straining to break free.

  Owen bucked against her hand and brought his mouth to her ear. “Are you sure about this?”

  She nipped his ear with her teeth. “Stop talking and take me.”

  After he grabbed their discarded clothes so no one would happen upon them, his hands went to her hips. He lifted her off the hay bale and into his arms. With her legs circling him, he carried her into the small room off the main part of the barn. When he set her on her feet, they wasted no time shucking the rest of their clothing. But when she stood in front of him completely naked, he looked at her with such a combination of reverence and hunger that every inch of her skin tingled.

  He skimmed his hand lightly over her cheek. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Positive.” At his look of concern, she ran her thumb over his lips. “I don’t expect anything beyond tonight, but I do want this.”

  He kissed her again, and it didn’t take long for the demanding hunger to come back. When he guided her to the cot covered with a patchwork quilt, she took a moment to appreciate the beauty of his body. The muscles that came from hard work were covered with taut flesh that she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget.

  When she stretched alongside him, draping her leg over his, it was the best feeling she’d had in a very long time. They kissed some more, but it didn’t take long for the heat to build back to the boiling point. Owen reached over and took his wallet out of his jeans, retrieved a condom and sheathed himself. She told herself not to think about why he had that condom at the ready, to just be thankful that he did. Because she wanted Owen Brody inside her. With that in mind, she rolled atop him and rubbed herself against the long, hard length of him.

  Owen’s hands gripped her hips as she teased him until he growled again. She loved that sound, the way it vibrated something inside her. Not able to wait any longer, she lifted herself and slowly took him in. Owen closed his eyes and stilled. She watched as his chest moved with his breaths. Wanting to taste that flesh again, she bent forward and licked him like he was an ice-cream cone.

  When she bit his nipple, he bucked inside her. It sent a jolt of undiluted desire through her body, and she rocked against him, taking him in as far as she could. That was all it took to shatter any semblance of self-control either of them had. Owen’s hands tightened on her hips as she slid back, then impaled herself on him again.

  She lost herself in the increasing pace of their lovemaking, the thundering of her heart, the incredible feel of Owen’s powerful body as he rolled her onto her back and appeared to be as swept up by the sensations as she was. The need for release built inside her, causing her to close her eyes, throw back her head and bow her body up against his. Her climax hit her in a shuddering wave, and it seemed to trigger Owen’s, as well. Owen helped sustain that awesome feeling until they were both totally spent and then he collapsed beside her, drawing her close to his side.

  Her heart continued to hammer in her chest for several moments, and when the reverberation of it lessened in her ears, she could hear Owen’s ragged breath, as if his lungs were having trouble remembering how to function normally. That sound, the knowledge that she’d done that to him, made her smile.

  “You look happy.” He sounded surprised, which in turn surprised her.

  She slid her head on the thin pillow enough that she could look into his eyes. “Shouldn’t I be?”

  He lifted his hand to her cheek, then smoothed some of her tousled hair away from her face. “It’s just nice to see.”

  Maybe he didn’t realize it, but there was enough tenderness in his words and his expression that it sent a jolt of fear through her. She could not fall for Owen Brody. She wouldn’t let herself. Down that road only lay more heartache, and she’d had enough of that for a lifetime. Plus, it was probably just the rush of endorphins playing havoc with her brain. After all, what kind of sense did it make to even think about falling for someone so quickly after she’d been about to pledge her life to another? She needed to focus on enjoying what was between her and Owen for what it was, satisfying physical need, and nothing more.

  She ran her hand up over his chest and smiled. “I would think you’d be used to seeing this look on a woman’s face.”

  “I don’t sleep around as much as people think.”

  “Maybe you help perpetuate that belief by not getting serious with anyone.”

  The light in his eyes dimmed, and Linnea wished she could take back those words even though she had no idea why they’d bothered him.

  “Maybe.” He rolled onto his back and stared at the rough board ceiling.

  She propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. “Did I say something wrong?”

  Owen met her eyes. “Nah.”

  “Now, why don’t I believe you?”

  He smiled a little. “You have a suspicious nature?”

  “If only that were true. If not for Michael’s wife showing up to tell me the truth, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’d be hours away from getting married.”

  His forehead scrunched before realization lit in his eyes. “Your wedding was supposed to be tomorrow.”

  “Yeah. But instead of being at my rehearsal dinner, I just had some mind-blowing sex.”

  His mouth curled into a satisfied grin. “That right?”

  She skimmed her hand across his flat stomach. “And I wouldn’t be opposed to having more.” When she cupped him, his hips lifted to press against her.

  “And I’m more than happy to oblige.”

  She giggled when he wrapped his arms around her and rolled atop her again.

  After they made love a second time, they curled together and fell asleep. It was sometime in the middle of the night when she woke and realized she needed to go back to the house if they both didn’t want to do some explaining in the morning. She dressed as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t disturb him. Before she headed for the door, she paused to watch him sleep. His incredibly sexy body made her own hum so much that she wanted to crawl back into bed and wake him up for round three. But she needed to walk away while this was still just them scratching an itch.

  Still, she watched him a few moments longer, remembering how incredible he’d made her feel and wondering what memory she had dragged up that he hadn’t shared. Had he cared for someone more than anyone had ever expected? A sliver of jealousy hit her, telling her that she shouldn’t linger any longer.

  She froze when the door squeaked, but Owen didn’t move. He appeared to be so deep in sleep that it would take the ringing of a gong right next to his ear to wake him. She smiled at that as she eased out into the main alley of the barn. When she reached the entrance, she paused. Apprehension rose, threatening to choke her, as she looked out into the deep darkness of the night. What seemed like a short distance between the barn and the house during the day felt as if it had expanded tenfold when cloaked in shadows and possible hiding spaces for Michael. She didn’t think he’d show up at the ranch again, especially not after the altercation at the music hall earlier, but she wouldn’t swear to it. It made her sick to think she’d almost said “I do” to a man she hadn’t known at all.

  She tried not to think about it as she hurried toward the house, her heart beating fast. She didn’t want to dwell on her mistake and the even bigger one she would have made if Danielle had not shown up when she had. When she slipped into the house as quietly as she could, she wondered about Danielle and how she was doing. She h
oped Michael’s wife divorced him and took him for all he was worth. She normally didn’t like vengeful divorce settlements, but Michael had taken the cheating spouse to a whole new level.

  She shoved thoughts of Michael from her mind as she eased down the hall, holding her breath until she was safely inside the guest room. After changing into her pajamas and getting into bed, she couldn’t stop thinking about Owen, naked and asleep out in the barn. When she closed her eyes, she could still feel his hands on her body, smell his scent on her skin. She’d intended the sex to be a one-time thing, but as she lay there in the dark, she realized that she wanted him even more than she had before he’d relented and taken her to bed.

  That, more than anything else, told her it was time to put some distance between her and Owen Brody.

  Chapter Nine

  What had he done? That was the question that kept playing on repeat in Owen’s head as he stared at himself in the mirror the next morning. He’d woken barely early enough to make it back into the house before his dad and Garrett woke up. After the shower and shave had finished waking him up, he still couldn’t believe he’d given in to his body’s cravings the night before and taken Linnea to bed. What kind of man did that to a woman who’d just been through what she had?

  But she’d seemed to enjoy their time together every bit as much as he had.

  That didn’t matter. She was in a bad spot right now, and he should have been the stronger party. But damn if he hadn’t loved the feel of her skin next to his, her feminine scent, and seeing her come alive as he’d made love to her. He started to harden just thinking about it, and he had to grip the edge of the sink to keep from walking straight to her room and sliding into bed with her.

  “Damn it.” They’d been lucky not to be caught the night before. He sure as hell wasn’t going to have sex with her in the house when his dad and brother were within earshot.

  A knock sounded at the door. “You talking to yourself in there?” Garrett’s voice sounded amused.

  Owen ignored his brother as he pulled on his jeans and opened the door.

  “Don’t you look cheerful this morning?” Garrett said as Owen walked past him.

  When Owen flipped him the bird, Garrett just chuckled before going into the bathroom. As Owen passed the guest room door, it opened to reveal Linnea standing there in a pair of skimpy summer pajamas consisting of shorts and a top with spaghetti straps. He didn’t know why that sight made him go rock hard when he’d seen her completely naked the night before, but it did. Before he could corral enough brain cells to continue on down the hall, Linnea reached out and grabbed one of his belt loops to pull him inside the bedroom. As he was too surprised to respond appropriately, the next thing he knew she was closing the bedroom door and pressing her body next to his.

  She smiled up at him. “Good morning.”

  He gripped her shoulders and pushed her away. “What are you doing?”

  She flinched at his question, and her smile dimmed. He wanted to curse himself for causing that reaction.

  “I’m sorry. I thought you had a good time last night.”

  Though he knew he should keep his hands to himself, he lifted one to one of her bare shoulders. “I did, but you said it was a onetime thing.”

  “No, I said it was a no-strings-attached fling. I didn’t say anything about it being just last night.”

  He shook his head. “This isn’t a good idea, Lin. You’re going to wake up one morning and regret it.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  He was surprised by how much he wanted to believe her, and that in itself was dangerous. He did not form those types of attachments, at least not anymore. And especially not with his sister’s best friend. To do so had disaster written all over it.

  “I’m not what you’re looking for.”

  “How about you let me decide what I want?”

  He had to get out of this room before she wore him down. “I’ve got work to do.” Hoping that no one saw him, he jerked the door open and fled to his own room.

  Unwilling to let himself stay near temptation, he volunteered to take Cletus to the vet, since he’d been acting under the weather. He didn’t know who was going to stay around the ranch to keep an eye out for any unwanted reappearances by Michael, but it wasn’t going to be him. Because for some reason, Linnea made all common sense take a hike.

  While Dr. Franklin, the vet, checked on Cletus, Owen kept himself busy getting a few supplies from the hardware store, doing the grocery shopping and finally stopping by the Primrose for some lunch.

  “Hey, baby brother,” Chloe said with a wave from where she was sitting at a table with Elissa and her aunt Verona. When he sank onto the one empty chair at the table, Chloe asked, “Who’s with Linnea?”

  He shrugged. “Either Dad or Garrett. I had to bring Cletus to the vet, run a few errands.”

  “How is Linnea doing?” Verona asked. “Such a sad thing to happen to such a sweet girl.”

  “Pretty well, considering,” Chloe said. “I’m thinking about throwing a little surprise party for her birthday. It’s this weekend.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Elissa said. “Get her mind off that ass she was engaged to.”

  “Invite some eligible bachelors.”

  Elissa looked at her aunt as if she’d lost her mind. “Really? I’d think the last thing she’d want anything to do with right now is a man.”

  “Just because she had one bad experience doesn’t mean the right guy for her isn’t out there somewhere. Maybe even here in Blue Falls.”

  “Lord,” Elissa said with a roll of her eyes. “Single men are going to become an endangered species around here soon with the way you’re trying to pair everyone up.”

  “I don’t see you complaining about how it turned out for you.”

  “And I wasn’t coming off the mother of all breakups, either.”

  Owen thought his head was going to explode from all the chatter. Why had he sat down?

  “I still maintain that her meeting the right guy will be the cure for what ails her.”

  When Verona glanced at Owen, that was the last straw.

  “I’ve got to go pick up Cletus.” He thought he saw a knowing smile on Verona’s mouth, but he pretended he’d seen nothing of the sort.

  “Don’t tell Linnea about the party,” Chloe said as he stood.

  “I understand the word surprise, you know.”

  Before Verona figured out how to rope him into walking down the aisle, Owen hurried toward the door. He was outside with his stomach growling before he remembered why he’d gone into the Primrose in the first place.

  * * *

  LINNEA LOOKED UP from her laptop when she heard Owen’s truck slow at the turn into the driveway. He’d spent the better part of the day away from the ranch, and while she had no doubt he actually was doing everything Garrett had claimed, she also knew it was a good excuse to avoid her.

  Fine. If he didn’t want to share any more intimacies with her, she’d respect that. Though a part of her was convinced that he wanted a repeat of the previous night as much as she did. But she wasn’t going to push it.

  So when he parked, she didn’t even look his way. Instead, she kept going over the financial reports Katrina had sent her. Linnea’s personal life might be a giant mess, but at least her business was doing really well. She paused to daydream about how she could make the store space in Blue Falls into something just as exciting as her Dallas shop.

  She looked up as Owen lifted Cletus from the front seat of the truck and set him gently on the ground. Roscoe jumped up and waddled down the steps, then crossed the yard to sniff Cletus.

  Linnea couldn’t help but smile. “I think Roscoe missed his buddy. He’s been lying here sighing all day.”

  Owen crossed his arms as he watched the doggie reunion. “These two don’t know what to do without each other. Silly dogs.”

  “I think they’re adorable.”

  Owen squatted and petted both the dogs. “Yeah. Gu
ess we wouldn’t know what to do without them, either.” He finally looked up at her then. “Do you have pets?”

  “No, never have. Mom’s allergic to cats, and she always said dogs were too much work. I think that’s why I always liked coming out here with Chloe. I like animals and have never had any.”

  He grinned. “Just not horses.”

  “Let’s just say I admire them from afar.”

  Were it not for the fact that she knew what every inch of Owen’s body looked like now, their conversation would feel almost like old times, before they’d given in to their mutual attraction. But she’d never be able to look at him the same way again.

  Something changed about the way he was looking at her, and she wondered if he was thinking about them making love. Did he want to indulge again as much as she wanted to? She nearly asked him before she remembered her promise to herself to respect his wishes.

  “Well, I better get to work,” he said as he stood.

  “Training horses today or riding the range?”

  “Guess I better ride out, since they’re shorthanded today.” He looked around. “Who stayed behind?”

  “Nobody. I told them I’d be fine.”

  When he looked upset that she’d been left alone, she tried not to read too much into it. “I can’t have a bodyguard all the time. I won’t have one when I go home.”

  “At home, you’ll be within yelling distance of neighbors if you need help.”

  “Michael may be upset and trying to get me to come back to him, but he won’t do something too drastic.”

  Owen pinned her with an intense gaze. “Are you sure about that?”

  She opened her mouth to respond but found she couldn’t swear to being sure. After all, she would never have believed Michael would lie to her in such a brutal way, and yet he did.

  Without saying anything else, Owen shook his head and stalked off toward the barn. Not in the mood to work anymore, she took her computer inside. But being in the house felt confining, so she walked out to the corral to watch Owen work with one of the horses he was training for barrel racing. As she leaned against the fence, it struck her anew how incredibly good Owen looked astride a horse, as though it was where he was meant to be. She could get used to seeing that every day.