Cowboy Defender

by Carla Cassidy

  At eight o’clock they turned on a crime drama show and the first signs of the storm sounded overhead. Distant thunder could be heard above the volume of the television.

  “Sounds like we’re going to get some rain,” she said.

  “We can use it. So far it’s been a fairly dry spring.” He moved closer to her on the sofa. “You know when this show is over I’m going to demand my payment for my work today.” He spoke the words slowly, his voice slightly deeper than usual.

  A delicious warmth swept through her body. She stared at the television, but couldn’t have said what happened next in the show they were watching. All she could think about was being in his arms again and kissing his delicious lips.

  By the time the crime drama was done the storm was upon them. Thunder boomed overhead and lightning lit the night skies.

  “Want to watch another show?” she asked.

  “No.” He stood and stretched with his arms overhead and then dropped them and held out a hand to her. His gaze slid to her lips and paused there, and a slow smile curved his mouth. “I’m in the mood to get paid. Are you ready to pay me for all my hard labor today?”

  She hesitated, unsure that her legs would hold her considering she was suddenly breathless. Then she nodded, took his hand and allowed him to pull her up off the sofa and close to his chest.

  Leaning into him, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “There, you’re paid,” she said.

  He laughed, his eyes sparkling brightly. “That doesn’t even pay me for my first hour on the job.”

  She knew what he wanted and she wanted to give it to him. She wanted to give him a kiss that would weaken his knees and make him as breathless as she already felt.

  Raising her arms to wrap around his neck, she touched his lower lip with her tongue and then covered his mouth with hers. He released a startled gasp and tightened his arms around her waist.

  She was the one who deepened the kiss by swirling her tongue with his. He moaned, the sound a guttural growl in the back of his throat that sent her senses reeling.

  He finally tore his mouth from hers and trailed kisses down the length of her neck. “Miranda.” Her name was a fevered whisper near her ear. “I want you. I want you so badly.”

  This was the moment for her to stop things if they were going to be stopped. She knew there was a possibility he was going to break her heart. She also knew that making love with him would probably mean way more to her than it would to him.

  But there was no part of her heart or mind that wanted to call a halt. She raised her head and looked into his beautiful blue eyes. “I want you, too,” she whispered.

  His eyes deepened in hue and he covered her mouth with his in a searing kiss as a roll of thunder sounded overhead. When he ended the kiss he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs to the bedroom where he’d been staying.

  He set her down next to the bed in the darkened room, and when lightning momentarily lit it she saw the raw hunger on his features.

  Delight shivered up her spine. She had never felt this way about a man before, as if he was the food she needed to eat, the very air she needed to breathe.

  She pulled her T-shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor. She was eager to be naked and in his arms, and to that end she quickly continued to undress as he did the same.

  Within minutes they were both naked and in the bed, their legs tangled together as they kissed. Her skin loved the feel of his as her hands stroked up and down his broad back. Muscles played beneath his skin and she delighted at the feel of them.

  His hands were everywhere...caressing her back and then tangling in her hair. Each touch stole her breath away as all her nerve endings came alive after being dormant for years. She’d never, ever felt this way before; she’d never felt so utterly alive before.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered after a bright lightning flash.

  His hands moved to cover her breasts and she gasped in pleasure as his fingers captured her nipples. He followed with his mouth, his tongue dancing and playing with first one turgid peak and then the other. The lightning outside had nothing to do with the electricity that sizzled through her.

  He kissed her again, the kiss dizzying her senses. It was impossible to think of anything but him. His hands were hot against her skin as he caressed her back...her breasts...and her hips.

  When his hand moved down her body to touch her as intimately as a man could touch a woman, she once again gasped in delight. He knew just how to stroke her, what pressure to use and how to move to bring her the most exquisite pleasure.

  The flames inside her burned hotter and hotter until she thought she might spontaneously combust. Then came the magnificent waves of her orgasm, which left her weak and crying out his name over and over again.

  He scarcely gave her time to recover. He grabbed a condom from where he’d placed it on the nightstand and rolled it on, then poised himself between her thighs. His pretty-boy features looked savage, wild in the flash of lightning that lit the room. Thunder boomed and rain pelted the windows, but all she cared about was Clay.

  “I can’t wait, Miranda. I need you right now.”

  To answer him she arched upward and grabbed hold of his taut buttocks. He eased into her and she shuddered with a new pleasure.

  He began to move against her, into her with slow, smooth strokes. But as he increased the speed her passion once again rose. Faster and faster he moved and higher and higher she climbed until she reached a peak and then fell over it, gasping and sobbing as sweet sensations swept through her.

  He immediately stiffened against her and cried out her name as he reached his climax, as well. He held himself above her on his elbows and took her lips in a gentle kiss that misted her eyes with tears. Then his gaze warmed her as he stared down at her. “That was beyond amazing,” he whispered.

  “I agree,” she replied, still breathless from what she’d just experienced.

  She had never felt so loved as she did in this moment. It was as if she had waited all her life for Clay. He kissed her one more time and then rolled off her and onto his feet. “I’ll be right back,” he said and went into the bathroom across the hall.

  She stared at the ceiling overhead as a distant rumble of thunder sounded. The storm was moving away, although a soft rain continued to fall and pattered against the window. She felt like dancing in the rain, a joyous dance of complete fulfillment.

  Clay came back into the bedroom and crawled back into the bed with her. “It’s still raining,” he said as he pulled her back into his warm embrace.

  “I know... I was just thinking that I’d like to go outside and dance in it.”

  “We should go over to Halena’s house. Rumor has it she dances naked in the rain,” he replied with a chuckle.

  Miranda laughed as she thought about the colorful Choctaw woman. “I wonder if she wears a hat?”

  “I’m sure she does. She probably has special little rain hats just for the occasion.” He leaned up on one elbow at her side and trailed a finger down the side of her face. “And speaking about special...this...us...is special.”

  His words spilled a happiness, a joy through her and she knew in that moment that she was completely in love with Clay Madison.

  Was it possible she really was the Juliet to his Romeo?

  * * *

  She wanted to see him up close. She desperately wanted to talk to him. But she knew what was going on with Miranda Silver. She knew the woman was in trouble. She just hadn’t thought about him moving in with her.

  She should have made her move earlier. With Clay cooped up in Miranda’s house all day and all night, talking to him had been impossible. She had been parked down the street day and night, just waiting for an opportunity...waiting for the right moment to act.

  Now, sitting in the rain down the block from Miranda’s home, sh
e tried to figure out what her next move would be. She had a feeling she’d only have one shot at getting what she wanted. It was imperative that she got it right.

  Chapter 10

  They made love again just after dawn. It was a slow, languid loving-making that left Clay more satisfied than he’d ever felt in his life.

  Afterward, when she left his bed to start her morning, Clay remained stretched out on the sheets that now smelled of her sweet fragrance. It made him reluctant to rise and face the day.

  Making love with her had been some kind of wonderful. He’d felt more intimately, more emotionally connected to her than he had to any other woman he’d ever been with.

  She is the one.

  The words thundered in his head.

  And scared the holy hell out of him.

  She is your Juliet.

  The voice in his head thundered once again.

  He frowned, suddenly confused by his own feelings. Wasn’t this what he wanted? A woman who would intrigue him with her thoughts every day of his life? A woman who would stir a passion inside him, not only to make love with her, but also to share his laughter and his dreams?

  That’s how he felt about Miranda, so why did the idea of making a future with her scare him so badly? Why was he reluctant to even acknowledge the depth of his feelings for her? It didn’t make any sense.

  The scent of freshly brewed coffee and frying bacon finally roused him to sit on the edge of the bed. It was time to get dressed and go downstairs.

  Time.

  He felt like maybe he just needed a little time to process everything going on inside his own heart. His feelings about her had jumped into his brain so suddenly.

  He chided himself. Hell, it was just in the last couple of days that she’d been able to smile at him without a touch of wariness in her eyes. She couldn’t be the one if she didn’t want to be the one. Just because she’d gone to bed with him didn’t mean she was in love with him.

  He took a quick shower, got dressed and headed down to the kitchen where she stood in front of the stove. Clad in a short pink terry robe and with her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail she looked utterly charming.

  He must have made a noise because she whirled around, and when she saw him a beautiful smile curved her lips. “Good morning.”

  “Back at you,” he replied and walked over to the counter where the coffeepot was located.

  “I hope you’re hungry. I’ve got biscuits finishing up in the oven and gravy ready to go with the bacon and eggs.”

  “Wow, sounds like a feast. Anything I can do to help?” He poured himself a cup of coffee.

  “Just stay out of my way. You’ve cooked so many breakfasts for us, now it’s my turn to cook for you.” She turned back to the stove and began to remove the bacon from the skillet.

  “I’m glad to see you feeling so much better.” He sat at the table.

  “I feel so good I feel guilty about not going in to work tomorrow. It’s the last day of school, and even though I’m not teaching, I’d really like to show up there for a couple of hours just to say goodbye to everyone for the summer.”

  He frowned thoughtfully. “I guess we could arrange that. I could drop you off, and while you’re at the school I could head back to the ranch and check up on things there.”

  Actually he wouldn’t mind a little time away from her to sort out his thoughts and feelings where she was concerned. He had to figure out why, if he really thought she was the one, the idea scared him so badly. Was it because he feared that she wouldn’t feel the same way about him?

  Thankfully, she wasn’t a woman who needed to chew over what they had shared the night before and again that morning. As they ate breakfast she talked about the summer plans she had for Jenny and Henry.

  “They always do two weeks of the day program at the Community Center in July. They really enjoy that,” she said. “They do all kinds of crafts there.”

  “Jerod always works at the center for those two weeks,” Clay replied, referencing one of the other cowboys from the Holiday Ranch.

  She smiled. “The kids all adore Jerod even though he can be stern with them.”

  “Yeah, he’s definitely one of the good guys. I like to believe that all of us lost boys grew up to be good guys,” he replied.

  By the time they finished breakfast and she had showered and dressed for the day, Clay once again felt the need to distance himself from her.

  Minutes later he was outside and pushing her lawnmower to cut the grass, a task made slightly difficult due to the rain the night before. He kept himself busy outside with yard work for most of the morning.

  He went in at noon to eat lunch and then was back outside using clippers to cut back the bushes around the house. As much as he loved being with Miranda and the children, he’d missed being outside.

  Since the moment he had arrived on Cass’s ranch, he’d enjoyed being on the back of a horse with the sunshine on his shoulders. If he got to the ranch tomorrow for a couple of hours, the first thing he intended to do was get on his horse, Rowdy, and ride the range.

  He was a cowboy who had never really wanted to do or be anything else after Cass had mentored him and he grew older. And he was perfectly satisfied working for Cassie on the Holiday spread. If he and Miranda did make a go of things, he would still want to work the ranch during the days and then come home to this house with Miranda and the children to spend the nights.

  As he worked on the lawn he kept his gaze shooting around the area, wanting to make sure that nobody got close to the house or somehow sneaked up on him.

  Miranda’s attacker was never far from his mind. He felt the tick of a clock deep in his chest, a clock counting down to another assault.

  An acid attack...then car sabotage...what might come next? A bomb thrown through the window? A sniper on the roof of a nearby home? Dammit, who in the hell was behind the attacks?

  He set down the clippers he’d been using and looked up and down the street. There was only one car parked against the curb down the block. He didn’t know who the black sedan belonged to, but he’d seen it parked there almost every day that he’d been here. It had Texas plates so he assumed somebody was visiting from out of town.

  A familiar truck appeared, coming down the street. As it pulled up to the curb Clay grinned and walked to the passenger window.

  “Hey, Tony. What’s up?” Tony Nakni was Mary’s husband and one of Clay’s “brothers” from the ranch.

  “I’m in town getting supplies and thought I’d swing by here. We miss seeing your ugly mug at the ranch.”

  Clay laughed. “You only wish you had an ugly mug like mine,” he replied.

  “So, how are things going here?”

  “Good. At least, nothing bad has happened since the car accident, although I’m always on the lookout for trouble.”

  Tony frowned. “Dillon still hasn’t figured anything out?”

  “There’s nothing to help him figure it out. No clues, no real suspects, it’s frustrating as hell.”

  “All the cowboys at the ranch have been trying to figure out who might have a problem with Miranda, but none of us have been able to name a single person. Thinking about all the women you’ve dated in the past gave us all headaches and so we just gave up.”

  “Ha-ha.”

  Tony grinned. “So, how are things going between you and Miranda?”

  It was Clay’s turn to frown. “Confusing.” He hesitated a moment and then continued, “I think she’s the one, Tony, but I’m also thinking maybe I’m not really ready for it like I thought I was.”

  Tony looked at him in surprise. “I thought you wanted to find the woman who would be the woman in your life. For the last year that’s what you’ve been talking about. Why don’t you think you’re ready for it?”

  Clay hesitated again before replying. He wasn’t about
to admit to Tony that he was scared and didn’t really know what he was scared about. “I don’t know what’s going on with me,” he finally said.

  “What about Miranda? How does she feel about you?”

  Clay thought about the passion she had shared with him the night before and her warm smiles this morning. “I think she’s falling for me.”

  “Then you should be happy,” Tony replied.

  “I know, and there’s a part of me that is, but there’s another part of me that just wants to escape.” He frowned again, feeling as if he was baring his soul. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.”

  “Clay, I know it’s tough to put your heart on the line, but take it from me, the risk is worth it. I was scared to death to risk giving my heart to Mary, but I’m so glad I did because I can’t imagine my life without her now. If you think Miranda is falling for you, then you’d better figure it out fast.”

  “I know,” Clay replied. “It’s just...it’s all happened so fast.”

  Tony laughed. “That’s the way it happens. All of a sudden you realize you’re crazy in love.”

  Clay grinned at his friend. “Right now I just feel crazy.”

  The men visited for a few more minutes and then Tony left and Clay went back to clipping bushes that really didn’t need his attention.

  What in the hell was wrong with him? He cared about Miranda more than he’d ever cared about another woman, so what was holding him back?

  At five o’clock he went inside for dinner. The house smelled of lemon polish, cleaners and garlic and tomatoes. She’d obviously been as busy inside the house all day as he had been outside.

  “Something smells delicious,” he said as he entered the kitchen.

  “Homemade spaghetti meat sauce,” she said. She gestured to the table. “It’s all ready to serve.”