The Big Girl's Guide to Buying Lingerie: A Cowboy Love Story (Bluebonnet, Texas Book 4)

by Amie Stuart

  The thoroughly aroused look on her face was a sight to behold. Eyes closed, head tilted back, breasts heaving, mouth open in an “O” as she panted and intermittently bit her lip. His sac tightened and his cock swelled in response to her obvious enjoyment, her low husky moans and her musky scent.

  Then Eve hit enough of an incline to catch his attention and he grabbed onto Jade and checked to make sure they were okay. The movement shifted his fingers inside Skye's silky walls, and she clenched his fingers even harder. With a lusty groan, she abandoned her provocative pose and threw her arms around his neck, pulling herself further onto his lap and riding his fingers a little more aggressively.

  He shivered and nuzzled her neck, his cock throbbing painfully at the feel of her teeth nipping his earlobe.

  He was through playing. “Ready?”

  “Yeah,” she wailed.

  “Hang on to me.”

  She tightened her arms around his neck and he freed himself from his sweats.

  “Jade, can you hear me?” he ground out from between his teeth. She felt so good pressed up against him he could barely think. “Pay attention.”

  “I...I am. Hurry!”

  “I’m gonna lift you up and you make sure you land in just the right spot. Okay?”

  She nodded and reached down with her free hand, wrapping her fingers around his cock. He lifted her enough for her to guide him inside her and let her slide down the length of him with a shiver and a sigh of intense satisfaction that matched hers. Rowdy paused to focus on where they were, assuring himself they were in no imminent danger. Then nudged Eve and smiled as she picked up her pace.

  She did all the work.

  And he and Jade were in total sync. He kept a firm grip on her so she wouldn’t hurt herself and plunge too deep, but her hips rocked against his. Her teeth sank into his shoulder and he grunted, a shiver slicing down his spine. Above him, the moon was huge and nearly full. A harvest moon registered somewhere in the back of his sexually numbed brain.

  He gasped for air, closed his eyes for a brief moment. He’d never in his life felt anything so incredible. Jade on his lap. Her arms around him, a light breeze cooling the sweat on his back. And the most absolutely perfect rhythm. Her thighs tightened and her fluttering turned into low level ripples, signaling her impending orgasm.

  Rowdy couldn’t think. All he could do was feel. Her body pressed tight against his, her lips on his shoulder biting and sucking at the tender spot at the base of his neck. The sound of his own harsh breathing, his balls occasionally brushing the quilt only to tighten, and his cock swollen and hot, buried deep inside Skye.

  He’d never felt so close to heaven.

  “Rowdy,” she crooned her voice almost tearful.

  “Huh,” he gasped.

  She pressed her lips to his neck and clutched a handful of his hair. “I’m dying.”

  “Wanna stop?” Please God, no. He was about to have the biggest, most intense orgasm of his life. He tightened his grip on her ass, ready to lift her off if she said the word.

  “No!”

  “Good.” He smiled and slid his fingers lower, to the juncture of her thighs, near where they were joined.

  “I wanna come,” she wailed softly in his ear.

  “Can you?”

  “I think.”

  “Whenever you’re ready, Skyebaby.” He nudged Eve again so she’d pick up her pace, but not so fast she’d break into a trot. He was in no position to pay attention to anything faster than a walk. Otherwise, he’d lose control and kill them both for sure.

  The faster pace coupled with her heat nearly pushed him over the edge, and he moaned, a loud ragged sound. “Now?” he ground out from between clenched teeth.

  “Oh my God!”

  He kneaded the tender nerve-filled area between her thighs, unsure how much longer he could hang on. He’d waited for this for hours—days. “Hurry, honey. Come for me, Skye.”

  “Rowdy,” she wailed again. “I can feel it. Oh God.”

  So could he. The ripple of her mini-orgasms were pushing him closer to the edge. His balls were now painfully tight. He gave Eve another nudge. Jade bucked against him and squealed, almost unseating them both as she found her own rhythm, squeezing his cock and pumping her hips furiously as her orgasm hit her.

  That was all he needed.

  He let her and the horse do all the work as he came with a long hoarse shout, his head buried in her neck.

  Jade's aftershocks and Eve’s continued movement nearly drove him insane. He wanted to pull her off the horse and stretch out in the tall grass, using their blanket as a bed, but they didn’t stop. With another ragged shout, he pulled Eve to a stop and turned her. She shifted uncomfortably beneath them at the antics of her two riders.

  His harsh breathing filled his ears, and he thought his heart would explode in his chest. They were both slick with sweat and something else. Rowdy could feel the heat of Jade's tears on his chest as he gently lifted her off of him and adjusted his sweats. The reality had surpassed his fantasy, but another ride like that just might kill him.

  He wrapped an arm around Jade, who sagged against him, then grabbed a handful of mane, kicking Eve into a fast walk. They didn’t speak all the way back to the oak tree where they’d left their shirts. He couldn’t have spoken even if he’d wanted to. He paused long enough to grab them, and then guided Eve back to her pasture. Once they reached their destination, he kissed Jade’s temple and gave her a firm squeeze before he climbed down. Her quiet worried him, and she looked like a stiff wind could blow her over. “Can you get off?”

  She shakily nodded, then stood trembling beside him in the tall grass while he helped her dress and fed Eve some sugar cubes. Even Jade responded enough to give her a long “thank you” scratch along her neck before she whinnied and set off in the direction of her daughter and granddaughter.

  Tucking Jade's bra in the pocket of his sweats, Rowdy gently helped her over the fence. He kept a firm grip on her all the way across the road and helped her into her seat, even strapping her seat belt on.

  “What happened to the house?” she muttered, finally focusing on him.

  Rowdy frowned in confusion at her words, not at all what he’d expected to hear. “Gas explosion,” he whispered, pushing her hair back from her face.

  “Oh.”

  “Skye, you okay?” He leaned inside and caught her eye again.

  She gave a little shaky laugh and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “That was amazing.”

  He nodded in reply. It had been beyond amazing. “Why don’t you stay the night at my place?”

  He didn’t want her driving home so late, or so he told himself.

  THE DRIVE BACK to his house was quiet and thankfully short. Once they were inside, he led the way to the bathroom so she could clean up, and then went to get a T-shirt for her to wear. At the sound of the shower running, he stuck his head in the bathroom door. “Hey!”

  She pulled the curtain back and gave him a wide-eyed look of surprise, made worse by the dark shadows under her bloodshot eyes. “Sorry, but my legs itched from the grass.”

  He smiled and held up the T-shirt, setting it on the counter beside the sink. “Want some company?” She stared at him, her mouth working a bit, and he added, “Just to shower. I’m too damned wiped for round two.” She hesitated a moment longer then nodded and smiled.

  “Gimme a minute.” Rowdy stripped, glancing at himself in the mirror. He had two hickeys on his shoulder. He grinned. He hadn’t had one of those since high school.

  In the shower they washed each other and played, he teased and kissed her until she seemed to snap out of her daze. They climbed out and fell into bed, too tired to do more than spoon. And sleep.

  Around seven, Rowdy woke up, cranked the air conditioning down and crawled back in bed. Jade was sound asleep on her stomach, preventing any more of snuggling. The next time he woke up, the clock read eleven. He was overtired, barely able to move, and he had long unused muscles scream
ing in protest after the previous night’s antics. Jade snored gently beside him. So much for round two, but it had been worth it.

  Grinning to himself, he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead before sliding from the bed. He relieved himself, brushed his teeth, and threw on some clean clothes to go in search of food. His ‘fridge was sadly empty. The best he could hope for was coffee with questionable milk. Even the sugar needed a pick to chip a chunk off. With a sigh, he grabbed a wrinkled, stained menu from beside his phone and called Mae’s Diner, ordering the Sunday Special for two—pork chops with all the fixins and two large iced teas. Mae’s served good home cookin’ like your mom might make—if ya had one.

  Back in the bedroom, Skye had rolled over on her back. He considered waking her up, but she looked so peaceful, the least he could do was let her get a few extra minutes of sleep while he went for their lunch.

  Rowdy took off across town, ignoring the half-full church parking lots and bells ringing in favor of the ATM at his bank. Then he swung back toward the center of town. Mae’s sat just off Main Street at a “Y” in the road.

  He left Mae’s whistling a few minutes later, a big bag of food in hand and two large sweet teas. The smell of fresh baked yeast rolls—he’d gotten extra because they were his favorite—pork chops and mashed potatoes teased him on the short drive home.

  In the kitchen, he found Jade standing at the counter, a cup of coffee in hand, a pile of his mail in front of her. Fliers from the looks of it. He’d gotten a whole wad of them on Saturday and thrown them there in his haste to get out the door.

  “Who’s sending you inmate mail?” she asked with a puzzled smile.

  Them and a letter from Charlene. Shit.

  Rowdy was thankful he still had his sunglasses on. At least she couldn’t see the shock in his eyes, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t hear his heart beating. He swallowed, stepped further into the kitchen, and closed the door behind him. “I forgot I left that laying around.”

  He set the bag on the counter next to the sale ads and slid his sunglasses off, dropping them beside the food and keys.

  “I wasn’t trying to be nosy. I was just flipping through the ads while I fixed my coffee and it fell out.”

  “That’s okay.” The big red stamp announcing it was “Inmate Mail” glared at him accusingly, and his brain refused to work.

  Finally, he forced himself to meet her eyes. What he saw there only reminded him they had no business being more than a fling, no matter how bad he wanted more. She had the soft-eyed look of a woman in love. The same look Betti got with Ty and Susie with Kane. And she stood holding a letter from his sister, the jailbird.

  He opted for brazen and casual. “It’s from my sister,” he replied, while pulling Styrofoam containers of food from the bag.

  “Oh.” She dropped the letter on top of the fliers. He snatched the envelope up and flung it at the trash, but it bounced off and landed on the floor.

  “You’re not gonna read it?”

  He reached into the cabinet, above the coffee cups, and grabbed a paper plate, then poured the bag of yeast rolls onto one and set it on the tiny table. “I got chocolate cake for dessert.”

  He turned to face her again, crossing the small space to the kitchen counter and picking up the containers full of food. “There’s tea. And no, I’m not gonna read it. Silverware’s in the top drawer.”

  He ignored the startled confusion on her face as he turned back toward the table. Behind him, he heard a drawer open and close, then she joined him. Jade silently set silverware down beside his hand and sat in the chair next to him. “You didn’t want me to know your sister was in prison?”

  “I didn’t think it was important.” He opened the container and forked up a mouthful of potatoes, nearly scalding his mouth, then with a scrape of his chair, he stood and got the margarine from the ‘fridge.

  “Well, I think it is...if we’re going to have a relationship.”

  “Relationship?” He forced out a harsh bark of laughter and ripped open a roll and buttered it. Refusing to allow himself to look at her. Rowdy Yates didn’t have relationships. His heart pounded so hard he could barely catch his breath.

  “Yeah. I thought...I’d like to try.”

  “My sister’s in prison.” The bite of pork chop he broke off and shoved in his mouth tasted like sand.

  “No shit?” She opened her own lunch and took a bite of mashed potatoes. “Does it bother you? Her being in prison? I suppose so, since you threw her letter away.”

  Jade's calm tone irked him. Rowdy snorted, unable to look at her. “All she does is preach, for Christ sake.”

  “About?”

  He finally managed to swallow the bite of pork chop he’d been chewing and answered. “God, forgiveness, how she’s changed, shit.” He shoved another bite between his teeth and forced himself to chew before he started ranting.

  Skye studied him for a minute before standing and retrieving their tea. She set his down at his elbow but didn’t sit back down. “I want to read it.”

  Rowdy nearly choked but somehow managed to finish chewing, swallowed and took a sip of his drink, mulling over his options. If he said no, he’d look like he had something to hide. If he said yes, he risked her finding out everything. But at this point, did it really matter? “Sure, go ahead.” His attempt at sounding good-humored and unconcerned failed miserably. Even to his own ears.

  He listened to her retrieve the letter from the floor and tear it open. She rejoined him and he continued to slowly eat, praying he didn’t choke on his food. One of his favorite meals had taken on a death sentence.

  “Well, it’s short,” she softly commented a few minutes later. With a sigh she laid the two white pieces of paper on the table, on the far side, away from him and began eating. They might as well have been printed on neon yellow paper. They mocked him and he struggled against the juvenile urge to snatch them up and rip them to shreds.

  “What’s she in for?” Jade popped a forkful of fried okra in her mouth and chewed, her green eyes crystal clear.

  There was no malice, or disgust, just curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat, or in this case, the relationship. “Armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah.” He grimaced and sipped his tea, giving up any pretense of eating.

  “Sure you don’t want to read it?”

  She sounded so matter-of-fact. He struggled with a reply, unsure if he wanted to know what Jade had read. Worried about how much she might have learned.

  “Or I could read it to you,” she added softly, tilting her head to the side and watching him intently.

  He slowly nodded. Maybe hearing her read it would make his sister’s pap go down easier.

  She sipped her tea and picked the letter up.

  Dear Rowdy,

  Peace and blessings upon you. I hope all is well and bright with you.

  He sighed and bit back a snort.

  I’ve tried for over a year to get through to you. Sometimes I think banging my head against my cell wall would be easier. You obviously aren’t ready to listen but, when you are, I’ll be here. I love you. Even if I am a lousy big sister.

  In the meantime, I won't write you again. I would ask you to please contact Mom. She says she hasn’t heard from you in a dog’s age. Tim keeps me up to date about you, so at least I was able to tell her that you’re okay. I hope you don’t mind but she seemed so worried. Even if you won’t speak to me, I hope you’ll at least call her or something. I know how close you two once were, so I understand why you’ve shut her out.

  You know, I used to be jealous of you. I always thought they loved you best because you were a boy. Now I realize Daddy could never love either of us. And Mom did love us both—but different. I guess this is a plea on her behalf as well as my last letter. I really think she needs to hear from you.

  I know it must seem like I’m in a horrible place, and I am, but Rowdy I’ve truly found myself here. I know who I am, I can
forgive myself for all the stupid mistakes I made—from getting pregnant, to running out on Tim and Rene, to the poor convenience store clerk I robbed. I was so busy wallowing in my pain I didn’t realize how I’d let it consume me. It hasn’t been easy. Some days are horribly hard. I still cry a lot and get frustrated but on the inside where it really counts, I’m better for all of it.

  I guess I was just too eager to share with you. You know you don’t have to be religious to forgive yourself or find peace or happiness. And just because you got religion doesn’t mean you have peace or happiness. Ha! I made a funny. That’s enough. I’ve rambled on again when I swore I wouldn’t. I’ve read this four times and just think I’ll leave it all and pray you know what’s in my heart. Please always know that I love you, and please consider getting in touch with Mama, but I won't bother you again.

  Yours in love and faith,

  Charlene

  “So you don’t talk to your sister? Or your mother, do you?”

  “No.” He didn’t know whether to feel relief at knowing Charlene wouldn’t write again or sadness. Suddenly, he felt incredibly off kilter. Rowdy blinked, trying to clear his head. He had no clue what he wanted. From Skye, his sister, his mother or himself.

  “And your mom.” Her gentle voice made him want to shout, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her again.

  “I haven’t seen her in nine years.”

  “Since your dad died?”

  “She sold the house and moved south, to Baytown.”

  “And left you here all by yourself?”

  “No!” He jabbed his fork in the potatoes and picked at the last half of his roll. “She left me with Tim so I wouldn’t have to change schools. Now, can I finish my lunch?” He pointed at his plate with his fork, hit with a fit of temper. His mom hadn’t even asked him what he wanted, just came home one day and told him he was moving in with Tim. So why did he feel the need to lie to Skye about her? To protect himself or Liv? To get Skye to back off.