Cowboy's Barmaid: A Small Town Military Romance (Lucky Flats Ranchers Book 2)

by Piper Sullivan

  “I hope you brought your appetite,” I called out as I climbed the steps.

  “I definitely did,” she answered back, voice quiet and breathy.

  “Good…fuck me, Sierra.” She’d taken a shower and now lay spread across my bed wearing nothing but a come-hither smile.

  “Do you know how sexy it is to see a big strong cowboy serving me breakfast in bed?” I shook my head, speechless at the sight of all that gorgeous creamy skin on display.

  “No. Tell me.”

  Lush pink lips curved into a seductive smile as one hand snaked down her belly before settling between her legs, stroking her swollen, damp sex.

  “Sierra,” I growled. Her answering smile put my feet into action and the breakfast tray was left on the tall dresser by the door while we spent a few more hours learning how much Sierra loved to be served in bed.

  I happily obliged.

  ***

  “Oh my gosh Jack, I love your costume!” Sage wrapped her arms around me, round belly pressing into mine as she laughed and cried, her emotions a jumbled mess. “I can only guess who painted your chest,” she smirked.

  I looked down at Sierra’s handiwork. She’d been quiet as she painted the fruit all over my torso and I knew something was wrong. Despite her smiles and laughter the day before, she’d been subdued all day and even now she sat at a table full of people, turned slightly away and staring up at the stars. “You’d be right. Is this Thanksgiving enough for you?”

  She laughed and nodded. “I thought maybe you’d come as a cowboy,” she rolled her eyes. “Or whatever the heck Mason is supposed to be.”

  Yeah, I wasn’t even touching that. He was supposed to be a pilgrim, but the short pants made him look like a pilgrim boy. “Well everyone dressed up just as you requested.”

  “You make me sound like a tyrant.”

  I laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You are a little pregnant tyrant with those tears falling at the drop of a hat. Who’s gonna say no to that?”

  At least she had the grace to blush. “Fine, but I can’t help it. If anything, you should blame Mason for doing this to me.”

  I rolled my eyes and covered her mouth before she could go into details. “Sage, for the love of god.”

  “We’re married Jack, it’s not like you don’t know we have sex.” Familiar blue eyes laid me with an annoyed look before they were replaced with concern. “What’s up with Sierra?”

  I followed her gaze back to where she still sat. I wish I knew what was up with her. She’d as good as admitted that something was wrong but dammit, why couldn’t she just tell me? Why did women have to make shit so difficult? “I’m not sure. She won’t tell me.”

  “I’m sure we can both guess.”

  Yeah. “I didn’t pressure her to do anything Sage so don’t give me any shit. What the hell?”

  “You deserved that. I wish I could hit you harder,” she said and punched me again. “Of course you didn’t pressure her, you didn’t have to. She’s wanted you forever.”

  Yeah and clearly that crush had turned into something more for her and she struggled with it. “I have no control over that.”

  “Maybe not, but you knew that when you agreed to share the ranch. And your bed.”

  Sage’s glare pissed me off. “She’s a grown woman Sage, and when she said she could handle it, I took her at her word.” That was a piss poor excuse I know, but it was all I had.

  She gave my arm a sympathetic rub like she knew something I didn’t. “I just hope this doesn’t all blow up in your face Jackie.” She laughed when I glared at her use of the nickname she’d used as a baby. “If you cost me my best friend, I’ll be forced to kill you. Good luck,” she sang and walked away.

  Sierra was a beautiful woman, but tonight in her sexy little pilgrim romper that showed off every one of her curves and shapely legs, she was breathtaking. And as usual, she didn’t realize the effect she had on the people around her. The addition of the bonnet only gave her a hint of innocence I knew she didn’t possess. I wanted to strip her out of every stitch of clothing—minus the bonnet—and have my way with her.

  But I couldn’t, not when she looked so sad and lonely. “Hey.”

  She blinked and looked over, expression sad but trying to hide it. “Hey.” Even now she had so much on her mind that she was lost in her thoughts in the middle of a party where damn near the whole town was present. Something weighed heavy on her mind, and the truly terrifying part was that she hadn’t sought out Sage’s advice. “What’s up?”

  I took the seat beside her and gathered her hands in mine. “I wish you would tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I wish I could, Jack. Soon.” She stood and began to walk away. I followed her, catching up and clasping our hands together.

  “Sierra.” My voice sounded anguished to my own ears, but I needed to know.

  “Let’s go home?”

  I could tell by the gleam in her eyes she intended to distract me with sex. I might let her if for no other reason than she’d be too sated and pliable to get out of after a few orgasms. “Okay.” We stopped to check in with Sage and Mason and I watched closely as the women stepped away to talk. “What do you think that’s about?”

  Mason shrugged. “If I had one guess I’d say the status of your relationship with Sierra.”

  Yeah that would have been my guess too. “Yeah well, wish me luck.”

  “You’re gonna need it,” Mason assured me, laughing as I took Sierra’s hand and helped her into my truck. The drive home felt long. There was a tense silence between us, but I used it to gather my thoughts.

  Sierra entered the house before me and began to undress. “I want you to make love to me Jack. Right here. Right now.”

  “You sure?” I had to ask, because as usual when we were together, my cock was hard and throbbing and there was just one place he wanted to be. And with her standing a few feet away in nothing but her bonnet and boots, it was all I could think about.

  She nodded. “Absolutely sure.”

  I closed the gap between us and our mouths collided, a tangle of tongues and teeth mashing and clicking, eager to taste and touch. To feel every touch. Her hands were on my chest, sliding down in a slow, sensual glide that lit every nerve ending on fire. Small delicate fingers yanked my button free and tugged on the zipper while her mouth continued to make love to mine, teasing me until I was blind to nothing but pleasure.

  She broke the kiss to shove my pants down, lowering herself until she was eye to eye with my cock, already weeping for her. She flicked her tongue out and stole the moisture before taking me deep in her mouth, tongue swirling while her hands stroked me. “Sierra, baby. Please.” But she kept up the steady pressure until I thought I might explode then and there. “Sierra,” I growled and tugged her hair.

  She looked up with lust heavy lids and kiss swollen lips, wet from my cock and I couldn’t stand it. I picked her up and sat her on the arm of the sofa while her hand stroked me, fed my cock into her body until I we were one. “Yes,” she hissed and crossed her ankles behind me. “Jack.”

  Her green gaze never left mine as I pounded into her slick heat and she begged for it, urged me to go faster but I couldn’t. My strokes were slow, steady and deliberate. I wanted her to feel what I was doing to her, how well I knew her body. “Look at me.”

  Her eyes popped open so full of emotion it nearly unraveled me. I couldn’t take it and I spun us around until I sat on the couch with her on top of me, gravity pushing the rest of me deep inside of her. “Jack,” she moaned.

  “Show me.” The flash of fire in those green eyes told me she knew exactly what I was saying. Her hips began to undulate, slow and intense. Hands on my shoulders, our gazes seared into one another as she brought us both closer and closer to ecstasy with every roll of her hips.

  “Jack,” she warned and tightened around me, moving faster and faster, changing to a fast up and down motion when the slow roll no longer got the job done.

  “I’m here w
ith you, babe.”

  She nodded and glued her mouth to mine, kissing me senseless while she pushed us over the edge into a powerful orgasm that shook us both and sent a loud roar out of me as I spilled into her. “Sierra.” I moaned into her ear, pressing kisses to the side of her neck, swelling with pride at the shiver my kisses sent through her.

  She collapsed against my chest after the crescendo of her orgasm, breathing heavy as my hand danced along her back. Her breathing changed and my breath caught in my throat. So much was different this time, between us. It was slow and intense. It felt like something, but I couldn’t say what because I had never experienced anything like this before. Not even with Sierra. “Jack.” Her voice cracked with emotion and my stomach dropped.

  “What is it?”

  “I think we should call it,” she whispered.

  “Call what babe?”

  Her voice hitched and loud, painful sob came out. “This. Us.”

  What? “Why?”

  She pushed up and laid me bare, with the pain in her eyes. She took a shaky breath and her shoulders fell. “Because you’re never going to give me what I want, and I can’t ignore it anymore.”

  I cupped her face, knowing the answer, but hoping against hope it was something else as I held her. “What is it, Sierra? What can I give you?”

  Her hands cradled my face, holding me like I was precious to her and in that moment, I felt it. “Jack I’m in love with you. Can you give me your love?”

  I opened my mouth to say something—no fucking clue what exactly—but nothing came out. No words. Not a sound. Nothing.

  She nodded as tears began to fall, swiping them away as she carefully separated our bodies. Standing tall she kept her gaze on me. “That’s why Jack. If we keep this up I’m only going to fall deeper in love with you, and you never will.” She leaned over me and closed her eyes, giving me one final kiss that was sensual and loving, sorrowful and sad. “Good night.”

  I watched her go, completely naked, up the stairs, desperate to follow her but knowing it would do no good. I wasn’t sure I could give Sierra love, hell I wasn’t even sure I knew what love was. Not really. I loved Sage and Mason but that was a brotherly love. Even Sierra could be put in that category, but I no longer thought of her as my kid sister’s best friend. She was a woman of her own, sexy and independent. She was my friend. My lover.

  I had feelings for her, but even after her tearful words, I couldn’t put them into words.

  And I didn’t know if I ever would.

  Sierra

  “So, you are still alive. That’s good I suppose.” I froze at the sound of Sage’s voice. A week had passed since her party, since that crazy emotional night at the ranch with Jack and like the coward I was, I scurried off to my old apartment above the Double Barrel.

  She’d caught me at the worst time. Bent over the toilet and emptying the contents of my stomach, which was exactly nothing. Because everything I ate came right back up within the hour. I glared at her over my shoulder. “If you’re not sure, why are you here?”

  Familiar blue eyes narrowed moments before her whole face crumpled with hurt. “Because you’re my best friend and I love you. At least you were and I did, but now I’m beginning to wonder. What’s going on?”

  After flushing and rinsing my mouth, I turned to Sage’s hurt blue eyes and angry stance, and tightened my robe in a protective gesture. “What do you mean? I’m a little sick.”

  “You’re never sick,” she accused. “And Jack said he hasn’t seen you since the party.”

  He was probably thrilled that he now got the entire ranch house to himself. “Well as you predicted things ended, and I wanted some time to myself.” Apparently so that I could spend every free moment obsessing about the damn man and why he didn’t want me.

  Sage looked around and saw exactly what I saw. A bare bones apartment with nothing more than a cot with an air mattress on top and a threadbare recliner. It was all I had left after the move, and I didn’t relish moving it all back. Why did I think this would end well? “But there’s nothing in here!”

  “I’m aware of that Sage. I eat at the bar and I shower and sleep here.” It was boring and lonely, but at this stage in my life it was exactly what I needed.

  “You paid a lot of money for that house and you’re just giving it up?”

  “I’m not giving anything up. I’m licking my wounds if you really must know, okay? I knew it would happen and I thought I could handle it. Obviously, I was wrong.”

  So incredibly wrong that there hadn’t yet been a level of wrongness created to encompass it. But I was still standing—when I wasn’t bent over the toilet, or a trashcan—which meant I could handle it and move on. Eventually.

  Sage’s whole demeanor shifted into sympathetic best friend mode, for which I was grateful. Because I really needed my best friend. “Aw, honey I’m sorry. I wish things had worked out differently.” She shook her head. “I really thought they would. Jack seemed so into you.”

  Tears pooled in my eyes and one blink sent them straight down my cheeks. “Naw, I’m just really good in bed.”

  She laughed as I hoped she would and hugged me tight. “Then share the secrets with the rest of the class.”

  “Oh please, whatever you’re doing worked out much better for you. Trust me.”

  “You’re in love with him.”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “I never expected he would love me back, you know? But he didn’t say anything, just stared at me like I was going to boil his bunny.” That was the worst part, that wide-eyed, mouth agape look, like I might produce rings and a priest from my back pocket. “But now I know, and when it stops hurting, I’ll be over it.”

  “I really am sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You tried to warn me.” Not that it made me feel better. Actually it made me feel worse, but I chose to keep that to myself. I turned toward the bedroom and went completely still. I needed to get dressed and get out of here, but I wouldn’t be able to do that without Sage sniffing out the reason. “I need to get dressed. Do you need a ride back to the M&M?”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “No, I just have errands to run and I know you can’t drive right now, so I was trying to be nice. I’ll try not to be.”

  Arms crossed in a pout, she followed me to the bedroom. “You’re grumpy. Can I go with you? Tammy is at the house with the kids and I’m going crazy not being able to leave the ranch.”

  There was no way to get out of this without hurting my best friend’s feelings and with her being all pregnant and sensitive I just couldn’t do that to her. “If I say yes-,”

  “If? I’m your best friend, you can’t say no.”

  I rolled my eyes and went on. “If I say yes, I need you to be my best friend today. Not Jack’s sister. Can you do that, no matter what?”

  “You’re scaring me Sierra.” She rubbed her belly, a comforting gesture that told just how worried she was.

  “Can you do that?”

  “I don’t know,” she began hesitantly.

  “Then I’ll drop you at the ranch, unless you have a ride back?” I didn’t mean to be a bitch to Sage, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this from Jack until I was ready to tell him. I didn’t blame her for it, but I needed to look out for myself right now. At least until I figure out how to handle this situation with Jack. I finished dressing and grabbed what I needed before helping Sage down the steps. “This is too many steps for you to climb. Please don’t do it anymore.”

  She let me help her into my truck with a huff. “I can’t tell if you’re worried or you’re just trying to keep me from stopping by like I used to.”

  “Oh please,” I told her as I cranked the engine to life. “You’ll be too busy to drop by anyway, but I am genuinely worried. Like I always am.”

  “I’m sorry Sierra but you’re being weird. Secretive, and I’m worried that I’m going to lose my best friend because of a broken heart.”

  “You won’t lose
me.” It might be weird for a little while, or maybe longer with the baby, but I would never let Sage go.

  “Then why…oh never mind.”

  We drove in silence, leaving Lucky Flats proper behind in favor of the rural, ranch covered part of town. I enjoyed the silence despite Sage’s fidgeting beside me. She was worried and probably a little pissed off that I was keeping something from her. We never kept anything from each other. Other than the letters I wrote to her brother while he was overseas, but that wasn’t a secret. I just hadn’t shared it with her. Or anyone.

  “Oh. Me. God.”

  I slammed on the brakes and turned to her. “What’s wrong? Is it the baby, are you in labor?”

  “What? No.”

  “Then why did you scare the hell out of me just now?” I moved the car to the shoulder and stared. Glared.

  She stared at me for a long time, pointing her long finger right into my shoulder. “You’re pregnant.”

  “What? No!” It came out as half-hearted as ever.

  “It makes sense now. You puking in the toilet and not wanting me to tell Jack what’s up. You’re knocked up, spill!”

  I could keep pretending, or I could take this accidental outing and talk about it. “Yes.”

  “That’s it? I want all the details.”

  “I’m not really sure which position got me pregnant if that’s what you want to know Sage.”

  She smacked my arm. “When did you find out? What are you gonna do? Where are you headed today?”

  “A few weeks ago. Keep it, and the doctor.”

  “But Doc Nilsson’s office is the other way,” she pointed towards the only ob-gyn in Lucky Flats.

  “Not going to Nilsson Sage. If I do the whole town will know before my feet get out of the stirrups.”

  “You’re not going to tell Jack?”

  “Not until I’m ready to tell him. He’s not looking for any kind of commitment, and I need to figure out what I want and what I’m going to do before I tell him.”