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

by Piper Sullivan

  “So, Andreas, what would you like to do for the summer?”

  He looked to Sasha for an answer and she nodded. “I want to go on a safari!”

  A safari. Of course he wanted to do something completely outrageous, but I wondered if I could make it happen. There were almost three full months before Rafael and Harper’s wedding, so with some creative scheduling I could make it work.

  “Okay, let’s do it. Sasha I hope your passport is up to date.”

  “Yes it is, but don’t you want to do this with Andreas? Just the two of you?”

  “But Sasha you have to come!”

  I could always count on my boy to do the dirty work. He flashed big puppy dog eyes at her and I watched her instantly soften.

  “You know I can’t say no to you, sweet boy.”

  “So you’ll come?” She nodded and offered him the last spicy wing, both of them giggling when he bit it right form her hands. “Thanks Sash,” he said around the chicken.

  She winked and I knew this would give me everything I wanted. Her in my bed, and eventually, full custody.

  ***

  “Why are you doing this?” Sasha stood in the middle of the kitchen, hands fisted on her hips that were encased in a tiny pair of denim shorts. I licked my lips at the sight she made. Angry. And sexy. And pissed.

  “Doing what?”

  “Forcing me to go on these activities with you and Andreas? As you love to point out to me, he is your son.” Mossy green eyes sliced through me and her chest heaved.

  “Yes, but he loves you and he would have more fun if you were with us.” That’s the truth of the matter. If I stood a chance at getting to know Andreas, she would have to be with us. “Are you saying no?”

  “No because you know I wouldn’t do that to him. But you need to ask me first instead of assuming I’ll just go along.”

  “Is that not your job?”

  She sucked in a breath and I realized I’d made a mistake. “Do you want to use that argument with me, Antonio? Really when I’ve arranged my life completely around him? Watched him around the clock and never asked for any time off? Is that what you’re going with?”

  “Well-,”

  “Whatever Antonio, I don’t want to argue with you. I guess I’m going to San Diego with you and Andreas.” She turned and stomped away giving me a delicious view of her tight round ass.

  “Sasha?”

  “What?” She whipped around, angry and frustrated, but underneath those layers I saw desire. She still wanted me and that only intensified my lust, despite her inexperience and how things had gone down between us.

  My cock grew beneath my zipper and I quickly closed the gap between us. “Thank you for coming with us.”

  “You’re welcome,” she bit out and spun away, running up the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her.

  I smiled and went back to the kitchen and uncorked a bottle of wine. I would give her fifteen minutes to calm down, settle back into whatever she was doing. Then I would make my next move. Her fiery personality was more intriguing than I initially anticipated. I found that a mad Sasha was a beautiful sight. Maybe it had to do with her striking red hair, like Samson it was where her spark, her passion was derived. I had given her space, nearly a week of it. Okay, so almost a work week, but the more she avoided me the more I wanted her.

  Tonight, I would have her again.

  But not all of her.

  Grabbing the wine and two glasses I made my way upstairs to the balcony where I knew I’d find her. I knocked on the glass door. Gently, so as not to raise any suspicions. “Hey what’s,” she looked over at me, “up?”

  “Expecting someone else?”

  Her gaze narrowed, but I saw the smile she fought so hard against. “I think you know I was. What’s up?”

  “May I come in?”

  “Why?”

  “I want to talk. Please.”

  She studied me, looking for deception. But she wouldn’t see any because for once, I was being sincere.

  “Sure.” I stepped on to the balcony quickly before she changed her mind.

  “It’s nice out,” I held the wine up. “Let’s sit out here.” Luckily there was just a wicker two-seater for us to share.

  She plopped down on the seat, feet up on the twisted iron railing. “What are we talking about?”

  I poured two glasses and handed her one. “You should have told me.”

  “Told you what,” she asked innocently, as though she doesn’t know what I’m talking about.

  “Sasha. You should have told me it was your first time.”

  “Oh that,” she said and tilted the glass to her mouth, nearly emptying it. “Would it have made a difference?” Those big green eyes looked up at me, vulnerable and curious.

  “I would have still done it, but I would have had more finesse. Made it more pleasurable for you.”

  “More?” Another big sip. “It was fine. I mean, I liked it.”

  I bit back a smile at her words. I knew exactly how much she’d liked it because I couldn’t forget how tight she sheathed me, milked me dry. Hell, I dreamed about it.

  “I know you did. But I owed you more. You deserved more.”

  “Well there’s nothing to be done about it Antonio. I guess you’ll have to live with knowing you weren’t the perfect lover once in your life.” I refilled our glasses while her eyes challenged me.

  “But see, that’s where you’re wrong Sasha. I don’t have to live with it. And neither do you.” I raised my glass, eyes doing their best not to look down the low-cut V-neck gown she wore. “To second chances.”

  She hesitated but eventually touched her glass to mine. “Are you upset?”

  “Yes, but it’s not why you think. I want you to have a pleasurable view of sex and I may have been too rough that first time.”

  “You weren’t.”

  Maybe I was being too subtle. “I’m going to please you properly tonight. Only you. Got it.”

  “Antonio, you don’t have to do this.”

  “Say yes Sasha.”

  “I don’t know what I’m saying yes to. And since you’re not trying to get me to shut up I don’t know why you want to do this.”

  Okay I deserved that, so I decided not to fight her on it. “I told you why. Say yes.”

  She weighed her options, every emotion she felt showed on her face. Indecision. Wariness. Desire. Caution. “Yes.”

  I didn’t give her a moment to reconsider, stealing both glasses and setting them on the ground so I could pull her onto my lap. Fix her right where I wanted her. “Say it again,” I commanded, biting her bottom lip.

  Her tongue slid alongside my lips and I gasped. “Yes,” she said when she had my attention. “Yes.”

  That’s all I needed to hear. My tongue swept into her mouth, teasing and tasting like the first time I ever had sorbet. She was smooth and sweet, and just a bit tart, and it sent all the blood racing straight to my cock. Her hips rocked against me while her tongue delved into my mouth as passion swirled around us. I could feel her desire as it grew and turned into something hot, something out of control. I could only think of one word. More.

  Sasha ripped her mouth from mine, sucking in air and staring at me like she couldn’t believe what was developing between us. Well neither could I. “That was…,” she trailed off, fingers caressing her lips like she was trying to trap my taste on her lips.

  “Yeah, it was.” There was no point denying it. I stood, forcing her to lock her legs behind me, and took us into her bedroom. “That was a one of a kind kiss, sweetheart.”

  She fell onto the bed and her legs parted gently. I pulled off her shorts, revealing a pair of sheer white panties that gave me the perfect glimpse of the red strip between her legs. “It was certainly pleasurable,” she answered shyly, trying to close her legs but I held them open. Wide open.

  “I hope you’re not attached to these,” I asked and waited a beat for her refusal, then I tore them off and shoved them in my pocket. I do
n’t know if it was her inexperience, or if it was some caveman impulse from thousands of years ago, but seeing her pussy all pink and swollen, slick with arousal, it made me want to claim her in every way. “Now that’s a gorgeous fucking sight. You’re so wet for me.” I ran a finger between her plump wet folds, letting the warmth envelop me. She had a pretty pussy that made my mouth water.

  Sasha’s breath hitched at my touch, her green eyes glazed over with desire. So dark and bottomless, so trusting but unwilling to ask for more. I slid one finger into her heat and groaned at the tight, wet fire pulsing around my finger. “Yes,” she groaned, tossing her head back and forth.

  “You want more Sasha?”

  “Please.”

  Damn, the sound of her begging made my cock so hard I needed to free it, so I did. Sexy little Sasha begging for what I did to her. I added another finger, stretching her and loving the breathy cries she made at my touch. I could get her off just like this but that wouldn’t prove my point, or further my cause. “Tell me what you want Sasha.”

  “You.”

  Good enough for me. I dropped down on the floor and hooked my arms around her hips to pull her forward. That wet pink pussy glistening in the moonlight calling to me. My tongue shot through her folds, teasing her clit while she writhed and shook beneath me. She tasted good, like tangy honey and I couldn’t get enough of her. The way she wrapped her legs around my neck and gripped my hair told me she not only liked it, she was enjoying herself. She moved her hips against my mouth, crying out when I did something she liked, and moving faster when I did something she didn’t.

  I liked this feisty passionate Sasha who rubbed my face in her arousal as I sucked on her clit, rolled her hips when my tongue fucked her. “Yes, Antonio.” She cried my name over and over while I invaded her body, tugging my hair and then her own nipples. What a tempting fucking sight she made. Replacing my tongue with fingers so I could send her up and over the edge, I pulled her clit between my teeth and tugged just enough for her to fall apart. She whimpered over and over and fuck, my cock was so hard I couldn’t stop. Though my mouth slowed, I continued to lick and suck and lave until she begged me to stop.

  Sasha reached for me, but I wouldn’t fuck her. Not tonight. I kissed my way up her body, stopping at all the good spots on my way to her mouth. Trembling and panting at the touch of my lips, she shivered when I made a pit stop at her nipples, giving them all the love they desired. I moaned when I finally took her mouth, letting her taste herself on my tongue.

  “I could do that again.”

  She gasped when I pressed my cock against her. “I could let you.”

  “All you have to do is ask Sasha. This is about you.”

  Without a word, she took me in hand and tugged, running my cock through her thick, juicy arousal. “Is this about me too?”

  “Fuck yeah.” I was breathless and she grinned, feeding my cock into her body and I was powerless to stop her. “But tonight isn’t about this.”

  “Not even if I want it to be?” She didn’t wait for an answer, just dug her heels into my ass so I sank deep. “Yes.” The word came out on a hiss and I had to hold myself completely still so I didn’t blow my load too quickly. But if I thought that first night had been a fluke, a distortion of chemistry, I thought wrong. She felt amazing, and I was in too deep to hold off. Things were explosive from the start and I had to get myself under control.

  “Sasha,” I gritted out as her hands roamed my body, making me grow impossibly harder. “Fuck.”

  “Please Antonio,” she begged and I pulled nearly all the way out before sinking in again. Slow and deep, I fucked her so slow that by the time we were close we were slicked with sweat and out of breath. It took everything I had to wait for her, leaning forward to take a nipple into my mouth and sink my teeth into it. The little bit of pain mixed with her pleasure did the trick and her body convulsed with my name on her lips. Like a prayer.

  I reared back and grasped the inside of her thighs, spreading her wide so I could plunge deep. So deep I was pretty sure I might end up lost in her. Again and again I drove into her. When I felt the telltale tingling in my spine, my strokes came faster and faster as I frantically chased her pleasure with my own. And her name fell from my lips as I took a last leap from the ledge. My whole body vibrated, it trembled on top of her at the power of our coming together. The force of our pleasure.

  I couldn’t remember the last time I came so hard. So thoroughly. “Sasha, what a treat you are.”

  “I’ll say,” she grinned before nervous laughter bubbled out of her, body still wrapped tight around mine. “You feel so good.”

  “So do you. And in a few minutes, we’ll do it again,” I smacked a kiss to her neck. “And again.” Another to the side of her breast. “And again,” I finally landed on her mouth.

  A few minutes came even sooner.

  Sasha

  I was in trouble and I had no clue what to do about it. A week in San Diego on a dude ranch with Andreas and Antonio had been more than my poor starved-for-affection heart could take. The boys had gotten to spend a lot of time together, and I’d stepped back, giving them the space they needed to form their own relationship. At times it was hard, but watching them feed the baby goats, laughing and covered in dirt, gave me a feeling of pride I had no right to have. It gave me hope that maybe Antonio was ready to be the father Andreas needed him to be.

  Of course, the moment we slid into the beach house garage at home, he slid right back into workaholic overdrive. He’d eaten dinner with us before retiring to his office for the rest of the night with no explanation.

  The next day he was gone by the time we came down for breakfast and he hadn’t returned in time to say goodnight to his son. That just made things all the more confusing in my mind, because as unfortunate and stupid as it was, I felt myself falling for him.

  How could I not when he was trying to drive me insane? Though he kept things platonic in front of Andreas, another night of ecstasy took place in San Diego and we couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. That just made it all the more confusing. How could I have fallen for a man who stayed away from his son, yet made time to crawl into my bed? I blamed the sex. It blew my mind, turned me inside out, and made rational thought impossible. And that’s before the whole, he’s my first lover aspect of it all.

  Yeah, I was in big trouble and I had a feeling heartache was headed my way. And it would be all my fault.

  I admit a thrill ran through me that a man like Antonio couldn’t get enough of me, an aspiring pastry chef straight out of foster care. Couldn’t keep his hands off me. Yeah that felt pretty amazing even though I knew it couldn’t last. It wouldn’t last. Since Miriam’s death he hadn’t stayed with a woman more than a couple months, and I didn’t think I’d be the woman to change his playboy ways. But it would be nice while it lasted.

  Not that I was under any illusions that it would be anything more than a temporary distraction. Since he lost Miriam Antonio didn’t take relationships seriously. He used his charm, his looks and his money to get women who knew the deal. They wanted a few nights of fun, a fancy dinner and something pretty to wear, and he wanted sex.

  I kind of felt like a cheap date when I thought about it like that. He hadn’t done any of those things for me, and I’d given in easily. Probably too easily, but I didn’t have the experience to resist a man like Antonio and he knew it.

  The more of myself I shared with him, the harder and deeper I fell. It was time for a retreat of epic proportions which would be damn near impossible with two weeks in South Africa scheduled and then another two weeks in Estamillo.

  New plan. Bury my emotions for the next month and then retreat.

  Antonio

  I stood in the entryway of the kitchen watching Sasha and Andreas, heads huddled together like they were planning a military takeover. He smiled up at her with adoring eyes, and she looked at him with love shining in hers. They laughed together, both sets of hands kneading some type of dough,
over something she’d whispered to him. My heart ached as I watched the tenderness between them. I wanted that with Andreas and nothing seemed to be working.

  I also didn’t feel the same urgency to get her to sign the papers and that worried me. I needed to have the security full custody provided, and I refused to ever risk not having my son with me. Everyday. This was why I focused on my empire. Business was easier than family and emotions. Less messy and complicated. And I knew the moment I spoke the words I had to say, I would have to deal with a lot of emotion.

  “Hey guys I have some bad news.” Just as I expected their smiles dropped like lead, postures tensed waiting for what I would say. “I’ve just spoken to the family and we’ll have to skip our safari for now. We’re needed in Estamillo by the end of the week for all the wedding festivities. I’ll try to schedule it for after the wedding.” Sasha’s face remained impassive, but disappointment shined in Andreas’ blue eyes.

  “Okay. Thanks for telling me.” Andreas returned to kneading the dough with his little hands. His whole body practically vibrated with anger that I could do nothing to soothe.

  “When are we leaving,” Sasha asked, face as blank as ever.

  It didn’t matter that this particular sin was due to no fault of my own, I still bore the brunt of it because of all my past transgressions. I knew when I spoke to Mother that this would happen, but I could handle being the bad guy. I did it well. “Day after tomorrow.” The day before we should have been leaving for South Africa.

  I sat on the other side of the counter and watched them roll out the dough and then cut out cookies shaped like suns. Sasha’s soothing voice walked him through every step and the little boy often looked up to her for reassurance. It took an hour before all the cookies were baked and decorated. “We make a good team,” Andreas said smiling up at her as though I wasn’t even in the room.

  “We sure do. Now it’s time for the captain of this team to taste our treats. You do the honor,” she said as she handed him a small plate.