The Last Cowboy Standing

by Barbara Dunlop

  She didn’t feel remotely self-conscious. She wanted him to see her. She wanted him to touch her. She wanted to make long, slow love with him tonight. Maybe she was being hotheaded and impulsive. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  She peeled off her bra, and he sucked in a tight breath.

  “How did this happen?” he mumbled.

  “I was born a girl.”

  “Thank goodness for that.”

  “You’re overdressed,” she prompted.

  He lifted his gaze to hers. “Can I just sit here and stare at you?”

  His words brought a smile to her lips. “For how long?”

  “Forever.”

  “Sure,” she told him, leaning down to kiss his mouth. “But we’ll miss the wedding.”

  “What wedding?”

  As she kissed him, she pushed off his jacket. It pooled on the bench behind him, and he freed his hands. She went to work on his tie, then the buttons of his shirt.

  His hand closed over her breast, and she fumbled with a button, a moan escaping from her lips. His palm was warm, her breasts cold and the contrast was unbelievably arousing.

  “I want you,” she told him. “So very much.”

  “Oh, Danielle,” he groaned. “I don’t know how to be without you.”

  He ripped off his shirt, wrapping his arms tightly around her, drawing her bare breasts to his skin. He kissed her again, his mouth on hers, tongue delving.

  A sense of urgency overtook her.

  She got rid of the rest of her clothing and his in record-breaking time, and then, they were one.

  His hands slipped up her skirt, cradling her hips, pressing her down then lifting her up, synchronizing her to the rhythm of his body. Warmth radiated from their joining. Pleasure skipped across her skin. She kissed him desperately, while her hands kneaded his shoulders, then his back, then his buttocks.

  “Don’t stop,” she told him. “Keep going forever.”

  She wanted the sensation to go on and on. She was happy and safe. Travis’s arms were strong around her. There was no yesterday, no tomorrow, nothing else mattered except the two of them together.

  His thumbs slipped along her thighs, up to where their bodies joined. She gasped and jolted at the sensation, her head falling back and her toes curling in her shoes.

  “Forever’s not possible,” he told her through gritted teeth.

  “Now,” she cried out. “Right... Now...”

  He groaned his release, and her climax cascaded through her. Her body convulsed around his, as warmth bathed her skin in pleasure.

  She went limp, falling against him, her head on his shoulder, unable to move.

  He anchored her close, massaging her bare skin. Then he reached for his suit jacket and draped it around her, cradling her in the warm cocoon.

  When she finally found the strength to raise her head, he touched his forehead to hers.

  His tone was low, almost reverent. “You rock my world, Danielle Marin.”

  She drew back, blinking, making a show of gazing around the gazebo. “There’s still a world out there?”

  His chuckle was deep. “I wish there wasn’t.”

  She met his eyes, unfathomably beautiful. Something shimmered and bloomed inside her chest, and for a split second she feared she might tear up.

  He smoothed back her hair. “Will you date me now?”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “I guess I’d better date you now.”

  “For starters, do you want to be my date at a wedding? There’s a bit of family drama in the background, and a crowd of hundreds, but otherwise it should be fun.”

  “I would love to be your date at a wedding. I’ve got a really great dress.”

  He sobered.

  So did she.

  Unable to help herself, she leaned forward and kissed his mouth, gently to start. Once, twice, three times.

  His hands came up, palms cradling her face. His jacket fell away, and she leaned against him, got lost in his kisses, wrapping herself around him all over again.

  “What is this?” she gasped when they finally came up for air.

  He buried his fingers in her hair. “I have no idea. But it’s getting stronger.”

  * * *

  The wedding came off beautifully, a sunny, fall day with flowers still blooming in the garden beds. Danielle loved Lisa’s strapless, A-line gown, of white chiffon. It had a sweetheart neckline, and the snug bodice was accented with sparkling beads. Her blond hair was pulled back in a causal knot, held there by a jeweled comb. She carried a small bouquet of white roses and purple iris. Alex looked incredibly handsome in a black suit with a crisp, white shirt, his purple tie matching her bouquet.

  Danielle had sat next to Travis in one of the front rows, where he’d surreptitiously held her hand, stroking his thumb across her knuckles while the couple repeated their vows beneath a flower and white chiffon decorated arch.

  Dinner was sumptuous and impressive. But as soon as the formality of the first waltz was complete, Travis claimed her hand and guided her onto the dance floor. A few dozen other couples joined them, and they were swallowed into the crowd.

  As he drew her into his arms, Travis sighed heavily in her ear. “I’ve been waiting for this since you left me last night.”

  “It’s a tough life,” she gently mocked, parroting his words from yesterday.

  “Tell me you missed me, too.”

  “I missed you, too,” she admitted.

  They’d said goodbye in the mansion’s back foyer last night, each retiring to their respective rooms. She’d lain awake half the night thinking about him, missing his arms around her, wondering where she and Travis went from here.

  “I need to sleep with you tonight,” he told her now.

  She eased back to admonish him. “Aren’t you presumptuous.” Even though she wanted exactly the same thing.

  “No,” he swiftly denied. “I mean, not that. I mean, yes that, but only if it’s what you want. What I mean is sleep, literally. I want you in my arms all night long.” He drew her back against him. “I’ve realized nothing else is good enough.”

  As much as she’d love to spend the night in Travis’s bed, she felt compelled to inject some reality into the conversation. “I don’t see how we manage that.”

  “Not here,” he agreed.

  “But we are here. And so is everybody else. One of the joys of that humongous family of yours.”

  “A hotel,” he suggested.

  “Oh, that’s discreet.”

  “We could go back to the ranch.”

  “Wouldn’t that seem a little odd, us leaving together on a two hour drive at midnight?”

  “Maybe,” he allowed, going silent.

  “I feel like it’s prom night,” she muttered.

  “Backseat of my car?” he offered on a lighter tone.

  “I don’t think it’s going to work out tonight, Travis.”

  They might be able to get away for an hour or so, but there was no way they could disappear for the entire night.

  “It has to work out,” he insisted.

  “There’ll be lots of other nights,” she reassured him.

  He drew back. “Are you serious?”

  Her stomach lurched in regret, her skin prickling with embarrassment. That was entirely the wrong thing to say. What was she thinking? She struggled to think of a way to turn the words into a joke, dial them back.

  “Will
you promise me lots of other nights,” he asked her. “Because I can convince myself to give this one up, but only if I know there’ll be others.”

  “Where is this going, Travis?” she forced herself to ask him. “What exactly do you want?”

  “I want to spend time with you. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.”

  Her entire body relaxed. “I want to spend time with you too.”

  “That’s good.” He pulled her close again, kissing her surreptitiously at her hairline. “That’s very, very good.”

  The music drew to a close.

  “Travis,” came Maureen’s cheerful voice as she sidled up to them. “Come dance with your mom.”

  “Love to, Mom,” he answered warmly. “Don’t go far,” he whispered to Danielle as she drew away.

  She nodded her agreement.

  Her heart singing along with the music, she all but skipped off the dance floor. Dating Travis was complicated, but when they cut through to the heart of their attraction, it was also very simple. They liked each other, so they’d find a way.

  She was thirsty, and so went in search of a bar.

  The connected rooms of the mansion were crowded with guests, but the mood was joyful, and people smiled and nodded as she passed by. She was starting to recognize a few of the faces and feeling less like an outsider. She realized she was truly enjoying the evening.

  A uniformed bartender greeted her as she approached one of several rollaway bars set up around the perimeter of the hall.

  “Soda and lime,” she requested.

  “Coming right up.” He deftly flipped a clean glass, filling it to the brim with ice.

  While she waited, she heard Mandy’s voice nearby. “Caleb hadn’t even thought of it.”

  Danielle leaned back, craning her neck, catching a glimpse of the ice-blue, satin bridesmaid gown.

  “So, it was Travis’s idea?” came Katrina’s voice. “Because that’s sort of dangerous.”

  “I thought so, too,” Mandy returned, as the bartender dropped a lime slice into the glass. “Caleb said that Travis was adamant he had to hire her.”

  The bartender filled the glass with soda water. “Here you are, ma’am.” He handed it to her.

  Mandy kept speaking. “Something about keeping her out of D.C.”

  Danielle stilled.

  But Mandy wasn’t finished. “She had a killer job offer there.”

  “What I don’t get,” said Katrina, “was how it’s Travis’s business at all. I mean, I get that he’s attracted to her. But you know his track record. Why would he interfere in her career? And why would he drag Caleb into it?”

  Danielle’s stomach clamped down hard. She knew she had to announce herself. She had to tell the two women she could overhear. She forced herself to move back, to where she could see them.

  “It’s not at all like Travis,” Mandy agreed. “But I think it worked out for—” Her gaze caught Danielle’s, and her eyes grew huge. “Danielle,” she sputtered.

  Katrina whirled, her mouth forming an O of shock.

  “I’m so sorry,” Danielle quickly put in, hearing an edge of hysteria to her own voice. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just...” She gave a vague wave toward the bar. “I was...” She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do.

  The only thing for certain was that Caleb had hired her as a favor to Travis. He didn’t want a company lawyer. He didn’t need her on his payroll. He’d been helping out a lifelong friend who wanted to sleep with her. And who’d decided he had some kind of a right to interfere in her life.

  “I’m sorry,” she quickly finished, turning to rush away.

  “Danielle,” Mandy called from behind her.

  Danielle didn’t look back. She plunked her full drink on the tray beside the bar and carried on through the front foyer, escaping outside to the fresh air.

  She had a credit card in her handbag. She had some cash, a comb, a lipstick and a couple of tissues. It would do until she could have her other things delivered.

  She trotted down the front stairs. The air was chilly against her bare arms, and through the thin dress, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered right now is that she got away, away from Travis, away from Caleb, away from their families and her humiliation.

  Her new job was a fraud. And she couldn’t go back to the old one. She’d left Milburn and Associates on bad terms, and she’d turned down Nester and Hedley. She had absolutely no prospects. She honestly didn’t know where she went from here.

  A hotel first, she supposed. And then she’d need to update her resume. On the bright side—

  Her breath caught and her chest tightened painfully. She couldn’t seem to come up with a bright side.

  * * *

  The second Travis saw the expression on his sister Mandy’s face, he knew something was wrong.

  The song was ending, so he quickly excused himself from his mother, crossing the dance floor to meet Mandy. Katrina was hovering behind her.

  “What?” He glanced from side to side, trying to identify the source of the problem.

  “It’s Danielle,” Mandy blurted out.

  Travis’s stomach clenched hard. “Is she hurt?”

  Mandy swiftly shook her head. “She’s fine. She left.”

  His fear was replaced with confusion. “What? Why?”

  “She overheard us. Well, me. She overheard me talking about her job at Active Equipment.”

  Travis still didn’t understand. “She had work to do? Now?”

  “No.” Mandy drew a breath. “She heard me say you’d talked Caleb into hiring her.”

  Travis’s world went still. Then a roaring sound started in his ears. “You didn’t,” he rasped.

  “I’m so sorry,” Mandy continued. “I think.” She swallowed. “She might have heard me say you wanted to keep her out of D.C.”

  “Where’d she go?”

  “Through the front door.”

  “When?” Travis demanded, his feet already moving toward the exit.

  He didn’t hear Mandy’s answer. He elbowed his way through the colorful, laughing crowd. People spoke to him, but he didn’t answer. The sounds and sights of the reception blended together, incomprehensible and meaningless. The only message that mattered was inside his head. He had to get to Danielle. He had to explain.

  He burst through the big door, sprinting to the street, glancing one way and then the other.

  He spotted her, half a block down, under a streetlamp, marching along in her blue dress and high heels, the crystals sparkling in the light.

  “Danielle,” he called.

  Her shoulders stiffened, but she kept walking.

  “Danielle,” he repeated, breaking into a run. “Stop.”

  This time, there was no reaction. She completely ignored him.

  His strides ate up the sidewalk, and he quickly caught her. “Danielle, please, let me explain.”

  She lifted her chin and increased her pace. “You don’t have to explain a thing.”

  “Stop,” he pleaded.

  She stopped and turned on him. “No.”

  “Let me tell you what happened.”

  “I know what happened. You got Caleb to manipulate me. You couldn’t keep me out of D.C. by yourself, so you made him do it for you. You are a self-centered, unbridled control freak.”

  “I am not a control freak, I—”

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” she
demanded, eyes blazing under the light.

  “I want what’s best for you,” he insisted, knowing it was entirely true.

  “You don’t get to decide what’s best for me. Randal doesn’t get to decide, and you don’t get to decide.”

  “Randal’s a selfish jerk.”

  She jabbed a finger against Travis’s chest. “And you are exactly like him.”

  “I am nothing like him,” Travis growled.

  “Really?” she demanded. “He wanted to sleep with me, so he found me a job in D.C. You wanted to sleep with me, so you found me a job in Lyndon Valley. Tell me right now, what’s the difference?”

  The difference was that Travis wanted what was best for Danielle. Randal wanted what was best for Randal.

  She didn’t wait for him to answer. “The difference is, you’re worse, Travis. Because you actually ruined my career. I have no job. I had two, count ’em two solid, viable, well-paying job opportunities, and you made me blow them both.”

  “You have a job at Active Equipment.”

  “Don’t insult me. That’s a sham.”

  Caleb’s voice interrupted. “It’s a real job, Danielle.”

  Her eyes darted past Travis to where Caleb had caught up to them on the sidewalk.

  “Not you, too, Caleb,” she rasped. “I trusted you. I thought we had—” Her voice broke.

  Caleb stepped forward. “You can trust me.”

  “You can trust me, too,” Travis felt compelled to put in. “I might have suggested—”

  “Stop talking,” Danielle ordered him in a stone-cold tone.

  She looked at Caleb to include him as well. “Both of you stop talking. This is my life. You don’t get to mess with it.” She took a backward step away from them. “I’m leaving now.”

  Travis made to follow. “No.”

  Caleb grabbed his arm to stop him.

  Travis struggled to shake off the grip. No way, no how was he letting Danielle leave like this.

  “Take a car,” Caleb told her, waving one of the sedans forward. “Take it to the Sunburst Hotel. Active Equipment has an account.”

  “I’ll pay for my own hotel room,” she snapped.