Although she hated the idea of him kissing anyone else. Really hated it, if she was being honest. She’d probably examine that thought later, but not now. Not when Jason’s hands were exploring her body, causing her pulse to race as if it was a rocket headed to the moon.
The heat and pace of things increased with each of her breaths, which were also coming more quickly. Jason’s hand skimming over her thigh just about did her in, and he must have realized it because he suddenly rolled away long enough to put on a condom. Then he was back while she was still contemplating if she’d ever breathe normally again.
Jason kissed a trail from her collarbone up to her ear. “I want you, Sloane.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” she said, her heart beating as if she’d just climbed straight up Grand Teton without stopping.
Then he was easing her legs apart and placing himself between them. Their gazes caught and for a moment she thought she saw more in his eyes than pure desire. He maintained eye contact as he eased his way inside her.
It was Sloane who broke that eye contact when her eyes closed and she pressed her head back into her pillow as he filled her with a hot, throbbing fullness that almost made her peak before they’d even really gotten started.
Sloane’s fingers dug into the muscles of Jason’s back as he made love to her.
“You feel so good,” he said.
She wanted to tell him the same but didn’t think words existed that could adequately describe how she felt at the moment. Instead, she showed him—with her hands, her mouth, with little sounds and all of her heart.
Chapter Fourteen
The sliver of light coming through the curtains illuminated Sloane’s face and the way her blond hair lay in disarray around her. He’d caused that disarray, and he had to admit that he was proud of that fact.
His body still ached for her, but he wasn’t willing to wake her. She deserved her rest after driving up from Blue Falls and two rounds of enthusiastic sex. If he had his way, they’d have plenty of time to enjoy each other again after she woke.
A quick glance at the clock told him dawn wasn’t far away. If she was anything like him, she was going to wake up ravenously hungry. He liked the idea of serving her breakfast in bed, so he eased out from under the cover, grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom.
The hot water felt good against his aching body. Some of it was the sweet ache that came from really good sex, but there was also the persistent ache that came from years of wrestling steers. The goal of winning the Finals was still front and center, but behind that was something he wondered if he’d just been ignoring for a while. Rodeo life wasn’t as fun as it once was. If he was being honest with himself, there were some days that he dreaded heading to an arena to compete. Once there, he’d stand with his foot propped up on the pens, his arms draped across the top, and wonder what life was like for people who lived and worked in one place.
People like Sloane.
As if thinking of her conjured the reality, she slid back the shower curtain and stepped naked into the shower with him. His gaze drank in the sight of her, from her sleep-tousled hair to the breasts that made him instantly hard and all the way down her long legs.
“Well, good morning,” he said, his voice rough.
Color rose in her cheeks. “Good morning.”
He lifted one of his wet hands to her cheek. “You’re blushing again.”
“I’ve never done this before.”
He pulled her close. “I’m glad you did, though I didn’t intend to wake you up. You looked so pretty sleeping.”
She laughed. “I’ve seen myself in the morning. Pretty is not the right word.”
He ran his hand over her hair. “You were to me.”
Sloane trailed one of her fingers along his wet biceps. “You look pretty good in the morning, too.” She lifted her gaze to his, even though he got the impression it wasn’t easy for her to do. “I might just have to have you for breakfast.”
Red-hot desire made record time traveling from his brain to another part of his body that was more than ready for round three.
“Showering isn’t what’s on my mind right now.”
She gave him a wicked grin. “Good.”
They made love in the shower, and they weren’t quiet about it. After they both reached completion, they almost slipped and fell. Sloane snorted a laugh after they prevented the crash.
“Well, that would be embarrassing, falling and breaking a bone while naked in the shower,” she said.
He pulled her wet, warm body flush with his. “After that, it would be worth it.”
* * *
SLOANE DIDN’T RECOGNIZE her life at the moment. After making love with Jason in the shower, he’d playfully ordered her back to bed while he went to get breakfast. She’d expected pastries and coffee from the hotel’s continental spread or possibly a sausage and egg biscuit from the fast-food place across the street. What she hadn’t dreamed about was him returning with two bags full of containers and a bouquet of brightly colored flowers. He was making it harder and harder to imagine having to go their separate ways soon.
“Are we expecting company?”
He lifted a brow at that, and she realized how kinky that sounded. She pointed at the bags.
“Seems like an awful lot of food for two people.”
“I, for one, worked up a healthy appetite,” he said as he placed the bags on the end of the bed, then leaned down to kiss her. “Plus, this way we don’t have to leave for sustenance all day.”
“All day?”
He grinned. “You got somewhere better to be?”
She opened her mouth to give him a teasing response. Instead, the truth came out.
“No.”
He gifted her with another quick peck on the lips, then sank down beside her and began pulling out all the containers and opening them. When he was finished, a buffet of eggs, meats, pancakes, French toast and fruit lay before them.
“You bought enough to feed my entire family.”
“Hardly. Remember, I’ve seen your brothers eat. You, too.”
“Why, you...” She grabbed a pillow and swatted him with it.
He laughed before tackling her and devouring her with a kiss that almost made her forget about breakfast.
Almost.
She pushed against his chest. “You’re not distracting me while all this food gets cold.”
They ate as if they hadn’t consumed food in a week. Good thing she’d worked off all those calories beforehand or she might not be able to fit back into her jeans after the breakfast spread.
“So you want to tell me why you ditched me last time but decided to show up here yesterday?”
She didn’t immediately answer, instead taking a bite of bacon and trying to decide how honest to be. He didn’t let her silence or bacon eating distract him from his question. The truth poked at the inside of her brain, demanding to be set free. Could she really tell him?
“Sloane?” Jason’s voice held a note of concern.
“I like you, a lot, and that scares me.”
“I scare you?”
She shook her head. “Not how you might think.”
Jason stretched out on his side facing her, and she considered a quick seduction to avoid having to say more. But then he twined his fingers with hers, and as scary and mind-boggling as it was, she didn’t think she’d ever felt closer to anyone.
“It’s not easy for me to trust people.” The rest of the truth was right there on the tip of her tongue, but she worried that speaking it would be what finally sent Jason running for good. They were having a good time, a great time, together, but the reality was that it couldn’t last. So admitting that an increasing part of her wished that it could was just setting herself up for the kind of pain s
he was trying desperately to avoid.
But wasn’t she going to experience that pain whether or not she divulged the facts of her past?
“Someone hurt you.” He didn’t phrase it as a question.
She hesitated for a long moment then nodded.
“Who? I can arrange for him to get a box of horse crap in the mail.”
His response was so unexpected that she barked out a laugh. “Oh, that’s even better than the busted nose Ben gave him.”
Jason caressed her thumb with his own, and it was insane how much that simple touch thrilled her.
“What happened?”
Sloane resisted the urge to flee, instead sinking back against her pillows. After taking a deep breath, she said, “I had a boyfriend back in high school, Blake. We were pretty serious. At least I thought so. I thought we might even get married one day, but right after we graduated I told him that I thought I was pregnant.” She swallowed against the sudden, painful lump in her throat. “And this guy who I loved, who I thought loved me, told me it wasn’t his problem and promptly left town.”
Jason’s thumb stopped caressing when his grip tightened on hers. “Crap is too good for this guy. Your brother had the right idea, although this Blake deserves more than a busted nose.”
Sloane couldn’t help the ill-advised surge of hope that maybe Jason wasn’t just a passing fling, that some miracle would happen and he’d surprise her by staying.
“Did you really think I could be that horrible, too?” Jason asked.
“No, but I’m not good at letting myself trust someone again. I know the deal with Blake happened a long time ago, and I know not every guy is a class-A jerk like him. Still, the last time I tried dating anyone for any length of time, let’s just say that didn’t improve my trust issues any. So...” People had a habit of leaving her if she cared too much. Her mother. Her father. And Blake.
Sure, she’d been surrounded by a loving family since she’d been adopted, and none of them had abandoned her. But for some reason Blake’s abandonment had broken something in her, more so than she’d evidently realized.
Jason moved closer and trailed his fingers across her forehead then along her jaw. “I would never deliberately hurt you like that.”
Not deliberately.
She shoved that distinction aside, trying not to think about it too much, as they talked about his upcoming competition schedule, the anniversary party his sister was planning for their parents and her first efforts at creating artwork with ranch animals.
“A local gallery owner wants to have a show for the paintings,” she said, still not quite believing anyone in their right mind would even consider buying “artwork” made by cows and horses.
“That’s great. I’ll have to pull out my best jeans for that.”
She chuckled at that image. “You’re off the hook for the crazy art show. You’ll no doubt be risking your neck in some arena with all the buckle bunnies hoping to get lucky with you.”
Jason wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. “You’re the only buckle bunny I want. And you never know. I might just surprise you.”
What did he mean? That he might show up at the art exhibit’s opening? She couldn’t get her hopes up that she’d even see him again after today. That was going to hurt once she left and headed home, but she flatly refused to ruin her time with him by dwelling on it now.
When he kissed her, she tasted the maple syrup he’d had on his pancakes. “You taste sweet.”
“So do you.”
She got the feeling he wasn’t talking about syrup or the powdered sugar from the French toast.
After a round of lovemaking, during which they managed to kick several of the food containers onto the floor, she once again fell asleep in Jason’s arms. When she woke, their bodies and the sheets were tangled up like strands of spaghetti. Sated, happy spaghetti. She could stay like this forever.
A casual glance toward the window revealed that the light was waning. She hadn’t stepped foot outside all day, and she didn’t mind. It hit her suddenly how late it was, and she shook Jason.
“Wake up. You’re going to be late.”
He opened his eyes a slit, barely enough to see her as he threw his arm over her naked waist. “For what?”
“The rodeo, silly. You’ve got to compete soon.”
He surprised her by not leaping out of bed and racing for his clothes. Instead, he opened his eyes more fully and stared at her.
“What are you looking at?” She reached up, wondering if she had an award-winning case of bed head.
“Something way more appealing than wrestling a steer.”
“Jason—”
“Just kiss me.”
Before she could respond, his mouth plundered hers and she felt her resistance dissolve as she sank back onto the bed.
“You’re going to lose all the points you’d get from this rodeo.” And she knew how much his making the Finals meant to him and his family, especially his dad.
His hand skimmed down her ribs to the curve of her hip. “I’ll make it up later.”
She tried to protest again, but his hands and his mouth were so convincing that he’d rather stay in this hotel room with her than take another step toward his ultimate goal. She hoped he didn’t regret the decision later. She hoped she didn’t, because his abandoning a chance to improve his national standing made her want to believe in a commitment that most likely wasn’t there. She couldn’t allow herself to get her hopes up only to have them dashed.
No, she’d enjoy this weekend, and then she’d go back to her normal life. Hopefully having gotten Jason Till out of her system.
* * *
JASON STILL FELT Sloane’s lips on his, the softness of her skin beneath his fingertips, the enthusiasm of her body’s response to his touch. She’d been on the road back to Blue Falls for two hours, and he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He still couldn’t believe he’d ditched the competition the night before, but the truth was, he didn’t regret it. He’d do the same thing all over just to kiss that woman again.
He arrived at the barn where Travis had taken Jason’s horse after he’d disappeared Friday night.
“Well, look who decided to grace us with his presence.”
Jason looked up to see Bo smiling at him as he stood next to a couple other cowboys. “Boys, I think I finally rubbed off on Jason here. How else to explain his no-show last night? That tasty blonde, am I right?”
Jason’s jaw tightened and his hands formed fists at his sides. He didn’t want Bo or anyone thinking Sloane was just a weekend fling. She was so much more than that.
But what, exactly?
He didn’t know the answer.
“Bo, sometimes you’re a complete ass.”
His friend looked taken aback at the verbal attack, but Jason didn’t stick around to hear Bo’s response. He hitched up his trailer, loaded his horse and drove away.
His phone rang as soon as he got on the interstate. Thinking it might be Sloane, he was surprised to hear his mother’s voice on the other end of the call.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes, why?” But he suddenly realized why she was asking.
“You didn’t finish the rodeo this weekend. I worried that maybe you were hurt.”
“No. I just...felt like a night off.” He knew that was a lame excuse as soon as he heard himself say it, but there was no taking it back. To cover up his botched explanation, he asked, “Why isn’t Dad the one asking me this?”
“He’s feeling a little under the weather and is sleeping.”
“Is he okay?”
“Fine. Just a stomach virus that’s going around.”
“Is that Jason?” his father called from the background.
“You’re su
pposed to be sleeping,” his mother replied.
In the next moment, his dad was on the other extension. “Tell me you didn’t miss competing because of a woman.”
Jason thought about doing exactly that for about half a second before he realized how his dad’s tone irritated him. “I can’t do that, Dad.”
“You know every single competition is imperative, right? I thought you were serious about making the Finals.”
“One rodeo isn’t going to make or break my chances.”
“It might.”
Jason bit down on an uncharacteristic angry reply. “Sorry, but I’ve gotta go. Getting into some heavy traffic.”
Which was a lie, but it was better than going off on his dad. Especially when the man wasn’t wrong. Every rodeo did count, and he did want to make the Finals. But as he gripped the steering wheel harder than necessary, he wondered if he wanted that for himself or for his dad?
As he stared at the highway in front of him, he also wondered if maybe his own dreams were changing.
Chapter Fifteen
Over the course of the next week, Jason called and texted Sloane so many times she lost count. They chatted about everything from what they were eating to her preparations for the art exhibit to how much time they’d spend in bed when they saw each other again.
That’s how Jason always put it—when, not if. She was beginning to think maybe they were a couple without either of them ever actually saying it. And no matter how many times Jason texted her, she always experienced a little jolt of excitement when a new message arrived.
There was no longer any doubt in her mind. She was falling for him, and she really hoped that he felt the same. Unless she was colossally wrong, all the evidence pointed in that direction. He’d even told her more than once that he was going to make sure to attend her art exhibit opening. Even though she wasn’t the artist, she had to admit the idea of the exhibit made her really nervous. It would be great to have him there beside her.
Her phone rang and she smiled, expecting it to be Jason. But when she looked at the screen, it was Elise, one of the caseworkers she worked with on the camps.
Her Texas Rodeo Cowboy Page 15
