A Cowboy to Marry

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  He lifted his head. “I want to take it slow.”

  Libby flashed a sultry smile and kissed him again, seeming as enthralled by the free-flowing desire between them. “So do I.”

  Tenderness surged through him. He wanted to honor and cherish her in a way she truly deserved. And that meant taking his sweet time pursuing her. He wanted to give her all the consideration and latitude that she had so obviously been missing. “You know what I mean.”

  She looked up at him with misty eyes, making no move to pull away. “I know what would be wise, and I know what I want,” she murmured, her heart pounding in cadence to his. “And they aren’t the same things at all.”

  She kissed him once more, surrendering even as she was seducing.

  Gathering her close again, he gave in to the feelings surging inside him. He kissed her long and hard, slow and deep, reveling in their burgeoning passion. Until he felt her trembling and drew back once again, wanting to make sure. “Libby…”

  She arched against him. “Make love to me, Holden. Right now and right here. And I’ll make love to you….”

  The steadiness in her voice and eyes was all the invitation he needed. He swept off her sweater, her bra, her jeans. With her help, he dispensed with his shirt. Bare-chested, he stroked his hand down her body, charting the dips and curves. And still they kissed, the connection getting hotter and more erotic. Libby was wild in a way he could never have imagined, free and sexy and celebrating what they felt.

  She made a muted whimper of pleasure when he captured her breasts. Luxuriating in the silky texture, he palmed the softness of the feminine globes and rubbed the erect tips with his thumbs, caressed them with his lips and tongue.

  Determined this night would be every bit as memorable as he could make it, he moved back to her mouth, putting everything he had into the kiss. Her lips were pliant beneath his, giving and testing, her body soft and surrendering.

  Aware that nothing had ever seemed as right as this, he set about exploring the rest of her. Removed her panties. Slid a throw pillow beneath her head, and stretched out beside her on the rug, knowing that every moment they delayed, their mutual gratification would be multiplied tenfold.

  Libby locked eyes with him and reached for his fly. “I want you naked, too.”

  Not about to let himself get ahead of her, he chuckled. “In due time.”

  With a mixture of tenderness and primal possessiveness filling his soul, he kissed his way from the nape of her neck, across her breasts, to her navel.

  The need he wanted to see glimmered in her eyes.

  Feeling a little like a conqueror who had just captured the fair maiden of his dreams, he moved lower still. She gasped as he found the silkiest, sweetest part of her, the softness of her body giving new heat to his. Loving the fierceness of her response to him, he kept right on tantalizing her, until at last she fell apart in his arms. Satisfaction rushed through him, along with raw, aching need.

  He moved upward, rubbing his chest against her bare breasts, savoring the feel of her budding nipples, then took her mouth in a slow, hot mating dance.

  Libby moaned and shuddered once again. “Holden…” The sound was part praise, part plea.

  Her palms slid around his back, massaging the muscles on either side of his spine, then dropping to the waistband of his jeans.

  “Naked,” she repeated insistently.

  He grinned as she rolled him onto his back, moved over him and divested him of his jeans and briefs.

  He caught his breath as she straddled his hips and moved slowly, provocatively lower. Found him with her hands and lips, kissing and caressing him in all the ways he had fantasized her doing. With her hair falling across his abdomen, she enticed him further, whispered playfully, “See? This is nice, too.”

  “Really nice,” Holden agreed.

  And then there was no more waiting. For either of them.

  Not about to climax without her, and needing to possess her, he pulled her upward. He shifted her onto her back and stretched out over her, taking control once again.

  “We can try something else later. Right now, I want you this way.”

  Her head fell back in an age-old gesture of feminine surrender that heightened the excitement between them even more. “I want you this way, too.” Murmuring in pleasure, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and lifted her hips to his.

  “I’m glad we agree.” He penetrated her slowly, sliding his palms beneath her, lifting her and filling her as she opened herself up to him even more.

  And then they were one, kissing each other hotly, moving urgently, coming together again and again until there was only this moment in time. This heat. This passion. This connection that neither one of them had expected to find.

  Thrills swept through them, again and again, until there was nothing but this gift as they writhed together. Until there was no more denying their ardent yearning for each other, no more delaying the inevitable. Spirits soaring, they succumbed to the swirling pleasure.

  And Holden knew what he hadn’t before. He no longer saw Libby as his rebound romance, but as the woman he wanted—the only woman for him.

  “COME WITH ME,” Holden urged early the following morning, as Libby gathered up her belongings and prepared to head back to her house.

  “I already told you I was planning to attend. Your mother sent me an email invitation for the brunch.” It was going to be held at Shane and Greta’s ranch. The only people who were attending, aside from herself, was their immediate family.

  She hadn’t been slated to go as Holden’s date, Libby thought as she sat down to pull on her boots. More like an “informally adopted” member of the family. This was part of her and Greta’s strategy to take some of the responsibility of looking after her from Holden’s shoulders.

  And had Libby not followed her own swiftly building desires and made hot, passionate love with Holden, the strategy might have worked.

  Regret that she hadn’t exactly done everything she could to make sure Holden was relieved of his feelings of guilt and responsibility toward her filled Libby’s heart.

  She was being selfish again. Reaching out to him, letting him be her lifeline and a way out of her own residual grief and loneliness. When what she should have been doing was helping him extricate himself from the promise he had made to her late husband.

  Holden held out his hand to assist her to her feet. “I want us to go together.”

  Together, they headed down the stairs to the foyer. “And make a statement,” Libby guessed, not sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she was as thrilled by the possessive note in Holden’s low, sexy voice as she had been by the way he’d made love to her.

  On the other…she had become involved with Percy far too swiftly, and look how that had turned out in the end. Holden had done the same thing with Heidi. Again, with disastrous results.

  When it came to relationships, going slow seemed to be necessary for success. What she and Holden had done the night before—passionately making love and then falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms—was anything but cautious.

  Undeterred, Holden helped her into her coat. “I want everyone to know we’re dating.”

  Libby adjusted her scarf around her neck. “They already know that.”

  He lounged against the banister as she searched for her keys. “They knew we were on…and then off.”

  “And now we’re on again.” Flushing at her presumptuousness, Libby abruptly stopped talking. The last thing she wanted to do was take too much for granted here and end up being a burden to him in much the same way she had been to Percy. Belatedly, she looked at Holden in apology and amended, “Through the holidays, anyway.”

  The inscrutable look was back on his face. “How about as long as this works for both of us?” he suggested amiably, after a moment. “No need to put a time limit on it.”

  As he sauntered closer, Libby struggled not to notice how sexy and self-assured he looked.

  He took
her in his arms. “And, instead, let’s take it one day at a time.”

  Which would give him an out, should he want one, she supposed. It was sort of a guarantee she wouldn’t become a burden, once the initial excitement of their sexual coupling passed, and she was more than okay with that.

  Telling herself she was doing this as much for herself, as for him, Libby murmured, “Okay.”

  “DON’T YOU LOOK PRETTY today,” Greta told Libby two hours later, when she and Holden arrived at the Circle M for brunch.

  Libby hugged Holden’s mother warmly. “Thank you.” She felt as if she was glowing, inside and out. And not just from the lovemaking. It was the sense of family she suddenly had, too. The knowledge she no longer had to be alone.

  “Holden, you look happy, too.”

  He winked. “I am happy, Mom.”

  “I can see that,” Greta said thoughtfully, giving her son a meaningful look.

  Seconds later, they were surrounded by the rest of the clan. Hugs and hellos followed.

  Holden went off for a word with his dad, ostensibly to help him empty ice into big, stainless-steel tubs, but it was clear more was going on than that.

  Emily frowned at the tense exchange, visible through the kitchen window. “What’s going on between Dad and Holden?”

  Jeb’s wife, Cady, shrugged. “No clue.”

  Hank’s wife, Ally, kept a poker face. “I’m not sure, either,” she said eventually.

  Maybe not, Libby thought, studying Greta’s careful, polite expression. But Holden’s mother knew something.

  Even if she wasn’t about to reveal what, in front of Libby.

  Just that quickly, the warmth Libby had felt when she’d joined the family gathering faded.

  She’d had a glimpse what it would be like to be a McCabe. But she was a far cry from ever really being part of the clan. No matter how hard Holden’s mother was trying to bring her into the fold.

  “What happened?” Holden asked later, after the gathering had broken up and they were driving back to her house.

  Libby turned to him. “Maybe you should tell me.”

  HOLDEN HAD KNOWN it was a bad time to talk, but his dad hadn’t wanted to put it off. Holden turned his glance away from the wheel of his pickup long enough to ask, “You saw me outside with my dad?”

  Libby folded her arms in front of her. The action served to emphasize the lush curves of her breasts beneath her open coat and Christmassy sweater. “All the women did.”

  That didn’t necessarily mean anything.

  Pink color sweeping into her cheeks, Libby continued her inquisition. “Was your father warning you not to get involved with me?”

  “Is that what you thought?” Holden asked in surprise.

  Her lips set in a feisty pout, she tossed her head. Strands of silky hair, already tousled from the wind, swished about her shoulders. “It would make sense.”

  “No, it wouldn’t,” he told her frankly, glad they were nearly at their destination so he’d be able to stop driving and focus all his attention on her. “My dad likes you. He wants to see me married again, and so does my mom.”

  Arms still folded militantly, Libby settled deeper into the bench seat. “Then…?”

  Struggling to contain his own emotions, Holden turned on his left signal light. “I asked him—and my uncles—to do me a favor.” Obviously, not a good move on his part. Holden slowed his truck as they reached the town limits. He grimaced, bracing himself for the fireworks ahead. “I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

  She released an indignant breath, looking so pretty that all he could think about was kissing her again. “Tell me anyway,” she demanded.

  He stopped at a traffic light. “I asked them to talk to everyone they knew in the business community throughout the state and find out what they could about Jeff Johnston.”

  Libby shifted toward him, clearly interested, her eyes narrowed in cool speculation. “And?”

  “He’s clean, as far as his dealings go. Everything in his process is legal and aboveboard.”

  Intimacy simmered between them. “I could have told you that. I had the dealership attorney, Claire McCabe, do a background check on Johnston before I ever even entertained the idea of selling to him.”

  Holden knew they were headed into dangerous territory. “There can be things about a person that don’t show up in a background check.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Such as?”

  “He’s known to be a very tough negotiator.”

  Libby tilted her head and gazed over at Holden. “That hasn’t been my experience. In fact, to date he’s been more than willing to work with me, even agreeing to keep the Lowell name on the business.”

  The change in traffic light forced Holden to move on. “Don’t you think that’s odd?” He waved at a friend manning the Salvation Army holiday donation bucket in the corner.

  Libby waved, too, then turned to scowl at Holden. “Jeff realizes the Lowell name is synonymous with quality. He knows full well that customers are going to be wary enough about the change, without altering the name and logo, too.”

  Holden couldn’t argue.

  “And,” Libby continued heatedly, “this is a way to keep the memory of Percy and his ancestors alive in the hearts and minds of all the people they served over the years.”

  Holden turned again and headed toward the dealership. “I can’t see that sentiment meaning much to a tycoon in the making like Jeff Johnston.”

  “It may not, but it means something to the employees who work at Lowell Ranch Equipment, and Jeff realizes what an integral part they all play in the success of the dealership. Our customers depend on the relationships they have built with our sales and service staff members.”

  Holden did not deny the personal touch went a long way. But there was also ego involved. He approached the driveway to Libby’s home and turned into it, pulled up close to the house and cut the engine. “According to my dad, Johnston has put his moniker on everything he owns.”

  “Well, not in this case. Besides,” Libby said, “with the plans Jeff has to build up the business by adding an internet component, he’ll probably make much more than I do now. As will all the employees, since they’re going to own five percent of the business, once the deal is set.”

  Holden only wished negotiating a deal of that complexity was easy. “So you’re not in the least bit worried…”

  “You don’t have to worry,” Libby declared. “I’ve got this handled.”

  Easier said than done, Holden thought, as he and Libby gazed at each other with mounting emotion. Especially given the promise he had made to Percy, and Holden’s own private need to shield her from harm.

  But that was a story for another day. Right now, he needed to keep them spending time together. And there was only one way to do that.

  Chapter Twelve

  Libby stared at Holden as if she couldn’t possibly have heard him correctly. “His and her Christmas trees?” she repeated.

  Holden knew he was pushing it, but if Libby really was going to leave Laramie and relocate elsewhere after the sale of her business and home, his time to woo her was limited. Too limited. He gestured expansively. “We already have his and her wreaths.”

  She angled her head, clearly unconvinced. A wealth of consideration came and went in her bemused expression. “I know you mentioned getting one from your ranch earlier, but given the time crunch…what’s wrong with getting them from the Kiwanis lot?” she challenged softly.

  He leaned closer, inhaling her seductive cinnamon perfume. She was dodging intimacy again. “Where is the fun in that?”

  Without warning, the sparkle was back in her green eyes. She planted a gloved hand in the center of his chest, successfully holding him at bay. “I suppose,” she said drily, “you’re going to tell me?”

  Holden wished he could do a lot more than that. But knowing he was going to have to be a lot more patient if he wanted to make her his, he said, “For maximum holiday enjoymen
t, we need to obtain our trees the old-fashioned way. Unless—” he paused and peered at her through narrowed eyes “—you’re not up to the task?”

  Libby glared at him. “Excuse me?”

  “Well,” Holden drawled, enjoying matching words and wits with her, “it could be a little arduous.” He puffed out his chest and flexed his muscles, then made a show of studying her much more feminine and slender form. “Trekking through the fields to the woods.” He made another show of studying her legs. “Locating the perfect trees for each of us. Chopping them down, dragging them back. Yeah.” Holden let his gaze drift slowly over her midriff before returning with taunting deliberation to her face. “You’re right. Such rigorous physical activity on such a beautiful winter afternoon probably is a little much to expect you to do.”

  “Please.” Libby rolled her eyes and released her seat belt. “I am certainly up to the task. All I need is a proper pair of boots and warmer clothing.”

  Because she said she would be “just one sec,” Holden waited in the truck while she dashed inside. Five minutes later, she came rushing back out again.

  Gone were the dressy sweater and slacks she had worn to brunch. In their place were a nicely worn pair of midnight-wash jeans, cream-colored thermal underwear beneath a trendy red-and-black buffalo-plaid flannel shirt and a vest with a marled sheepskin lining. She had tucked a flat-brimmed, dark brown Stetson on her hair and put rugged, shearling-lined boots on her feet.

  She looked incredibly sexy—all fine Texas woman—striding toward him. Holden felt his heart thump in his chest.

  Damn, but she was beautiful.

  And until now, so underappreciated.

  He promised himself she would never feel like a “ball and chain” to anyone again.

  LIBBY HADN’T EXPECTED TO have such fun, driving and hiking all over Holden’s ranch. But as they climbed fences, navigated rocks and traversed the rugged terrain where he taught and trained his cutting horses, she found herself laughing more and more.