Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series)

by Donna Michaels

  And what better subject than the man whose lips had barely touched hers last April, hardly giving her a chance to respond before he ran away? She needed redemption. Deserved redemption. Would have her redemption, darn it!

  Besides, it’s only a kiss. Nothing more. And there were others there. They weren’t alone. She could do this. She would do this.

  Mind made up, Kerri set her shoulders and walked to him. Baby steps. She could do this, she told herself again.

  Connor just sat there, lazy amusement lighting his expression as he looked up at her, daring her to run.

  She didn’t. This needed to be done, as much for him as for her. She’d probably be sorry later—would definitely be sorry later when her mind was clearer. But with her anger still lingering, she drew on the strong emotion and forced herself to use Connor as a guinea pig to her ‘recovery.’

  Talking her knees out of buckling, barely, she looked down at the smug cowboy and sighed. “I take it you’re not going to stand?”

  “No.” His dimples appeared.

  Bugger.

  From the corner of her eye, Kerri could see her sister shake her head and heard her say, “Big mistake, cowboy,” under her breath. Jordan knew the strength of Kerri’s backbone.

  At least someone did.

  Ignoring everyone, Kerri sat right down on Connor’s lap causing him to unfold his arms and stare at her through startled eyes.

  Good.

  Unexpected move number one.

  Aware that his arms were at his sides, and he appeared to deliberately refrain from touching her, Kerri decided her goal would be to make him touch her. Once he did, she could break the kiss.

  Now, if only she knew how to make him touch her. She had no friggin’ clue. With the exception of Kevin, the last person she’d kissed didn’t even like women. How in the world to get a virile man like Connor to break his control was way out of her repertoire of experience, and exactly the challenge she needed.

  Heart hammering in her chest, palms sweating, she told herself this kiss wasn’t about what Connor wanted her to do to him…it was about what she wanted to do to Connor.

  Finding herself face to face with the potent man for the first time in her life, she felt less intimidated. He no longer towered over her. They were…equal.

  She liked equal.

  Clearly waiting for her next move, he sat still, spicy aftershave tickling her nose, and she was so close she could see every gold fleck dancing in his brown eyes as amusement sparked with heat. When the warmth of his exhale hit her face, a swarm of butterflies settled low in her belly. Massive ones. Huge. The size of mutants.

  But she refused to lose her nerve. Raising her chin and ignoring the incessant beating of her heart, she removed his Stetson and handed it to Kevin.

  “Here, hold this for Connor,” she said without looking at the dreamboat cowboy. “He doesn’t need it right now.”

  Right now. Right. Because she was going to…what?

  Lordy, what am I doing? She had no idea, but refused to panic. Go with your instincts.

  Okay. Right. Instincts.

  Her hands itched to touch him, so she palmed his chest and slowly ran her fingers upward to his shoulders, loving the feel of sinew and muscles rippling beneath. Darn man was walking testosterone wrapped in hard strength.

  Even though he still hadn’t touched her, Connor’s eyes had darkened, so she took that as a sign she was doing something right. Please God, let me be doing this right. Using her need as a guide, Kerri ran a finger up the bare flesh of his neck, over his jaw then down to his chin.

  Holy smokes, the man was hot. Heat emanated off the cowboy like an L.A. sidewalk in mid July. And she could feel him, all of him. She was very aware of the bulge poking her cradled butt.

  The strangest urge to squirm and rock into him shook through Kerri. So she did.

  He stiffened. “Kerri.” His sexy tone was too low for the others to hear, but she heard the warning.

  Holy sugar, he made her want things…things she couldn’t name.

  Completely unable to breathe, she ignored that minor annoyance and brushed her finger over his lower lip, watching, enthralled as his pupils grew large as she very slowly moved her face closer.

  But he still made no move to touch her.

  Didn’t matter. It was no longer about him. It was about her. She needed to taste him. Now.

  Holding his chin in her hand, she lightly ran her tongue across the seal of his lips, and Alleluia, he growled.

  Growled.

  In an instant, she was crushed to him as one large hand spanned her shoulder blade and the other held the back of her head, breaking her clip like she’d broken his control.

  If Kerri had been firing on all cylinders, she would’ve jumped to her feet and celebrated her victory. But her cylinders and brain cells, and even stark reality, shifted out of focus as he deepened the kiss.

  Her whole body tingled and felt alive. She’d never been kissed like this before—like she was the most important thing in the universe. Worshipped. Needed. Desired. Connor’s mouth was hungry and firm, his tongue touching hers, and judging by the increase in the bulge she was now sitting on, the cowboy wasn’t as allergic to city girls as he claimed.

  City girls…

  Reason returned to her muddled brain with a thud. She abruptly ended the kiss and scrambled to her feet, thankful her boneless legs somehow supported her. One look at his desire-laden eyes, however, and she nearly sat back down for some more.

  Thankfully, Kevin cleared his throat.

  “Do you want this back now?” he asked, handing her Connor’s hat.

  Sanity returned and brought with it the reason she’d agreed to kiss Connor in the first place. To prove to him, and herself, she was desirable and…and…for now that was enough.

  Baby steps.

  Kerri placed the Stetson back on the unbridled cowboy’s head, then with shaky fingers, took his chin in her hand, forcing herself to complete her redemption. “Never underestimate the back bone of a young city girl again, Connor McCall.”

  With a wink, she spun around, and ignored the snickering happy couple to her right.

  Cripes, she’d forgotten they were even there. Oh well, it would certainly be an engagement party they’d remember.

  She wasn’t likely to forget. Ever. Her mouth still tingled, and she had no idea how her legs were working. Must be the new heels.

  As Kerri walked past Kevin, the blue-eyed cowboy grumbled about her not kissing him like that. A smile tugged at her mouth because she knew she now wore the same smug expression she’d just succeeded in wiping from Connor’s face.

  It hadn’t gotten any easier. Not one damn bit.

  A whole week had passed since Kerri had settled onto his lap and proceeded to kiss the tar out of him. What had been with that? Connor wondered as he sat behind his desk at the ranch.

  He was supposed to be entering this week’s expenses into the computer, but he’d only gotten as far as booting up the laptop when thoughts of a brown-eyed, brown-haired cook with her sinfully delicious kiss entered his mind.

  Again.

  It was his fault. He shouldn’t have let it happen. Sure, he knew instinctively she’d knock him for a loop. But had he known she’d taste so damn hot and willing and…and so hot, or feel so soft and curvy and…and hot, hell he never would’ve goaded her into that kiss.

  Never.

  But he had. And she had, and damn, he couldn’t get the incredible feel of her supple curves, or the sweet, sensual taste of her out of his head. All week, she’d haunted him, fueling fantasy after fantasy he had no business having of his former childhood neighbor.

  But he had.

  And dammit, now he was hard. Again. He swiped the hat off his head and tossed it far across the room onto a leather couch before shoving a hand through his hair. Cripes. It was going to be a long two months.

  As if agreeing, his computer dinged, breaking the silence of the room. He glanced at the screen and expell
ed a breath, easing some of his tension in the exhale.

  It was Kade.

  Connor immediately accepted the invitation to Skype. Thank God he’d been sidetracked by thoughts of Kerri or he might not have been online to get the unexpected call.

  Kade’s image filled the screen. His buddy was in his Army fatigues, hat and wrap-around-sunglasses in his hand, giving Connor an unobstructed view of his friend. He looked good. Tired and a little dusty, but otherwise, good.

  “Hey, buddy,” he said.

  “Hi, Connor.” His friend cracked a smile. “Got a new look, I see. Suits you.”

  Connor frowned at the smirking face on screen. “What new look?”

  Kade pointed to his own hatless head. “If you’re going for an I want to pull my hair out look, I’d say you’ve nailed it.”

  Glancing at his image in the small box at the top right corner of his monitor, Connor saw what had his friend grinning. Thanks to his raking fingers, the hair on top of his head stood at odd angles. He laughed and smoothed it down with a swipe of his palm.

  “You’re just jealous ‘cause I have hair,” he teased, motioning to his buddy’s high-n-tight military cut. “This is about as short as I’ll go. Couldn’t handle that peach fuzz you’ve got growing on your head.”

  Kade hadn’t had long hair since his teens. Once his best friend had joined the National Guard, the long-haired rebel had disappeared, and the short-haired, upstanding, responsible citizen had emerged.

  “Believe me, you wouldn’t want it longer than this during the summers here.”

  “It’s not summer there now, though,” he said dryly.

  Kade nodded. “True. But it is regulation. Maybe you’ve heard of it? A guideline, parameter, rule. Oh wait, never mind. Connor McCall doesn’t follow rules, he breaks them or makes his own.”

  “Damn straight,” he agreed, and they both laughed.

  God, it was good to hear. Tough enough to go on one deployment, but four? Connor appreciated Kade’s sacrifice and that of all the troops, but how much more did his buddy have to give? Hell, how much more did his buddy have left to give?

  Not much. Kade hadn’t been the same since his first deployment and each time he came back there was a noticeable piece missing. Kade had always been good at hiding his feelings and emotions. Except from him. Connor could always tell by the slight stiffening of his friend’s shoulders—like he was bracing himself, shoring up to weather a storm.

  Ever since they were kids, when Kade’s father had died, then his mom ran off with some rodeo clown and later also passed away, Kade had mastered the art of concealing. His buddy had been eleven when his Aunt Sarah had taken him in. It’d been the best thing that could’ve happened to him, and Kade would readily agree. Living on Shadow Rock, then eventually running the ranch had given his buddy a sense of purpose. A mission. And Kade Dalton was all about missions.

  Still, he hoped to God his friend didn’t re-enlist when his contract was up after this tour.

  “We got your mom’s holiday care package.” Kade’s deep tone broke through Connor’s dark thoughts. “Please thank her for us. These cowboy boot stockings were a big hit,” his friend informed, holding up a brown leather sample.

  Connor smiled. “I’ll tell her. She and Mrs. Masters have been working hard on them the past few weeks.”

  “Everyone especially loved the little package of dirt they had tucked into the tips,” Kade said, holding up a tiny clear bag of Texas soil. “It’ll be nice to have a piece of home with us for the holidays.”

  “That was exactly their thoughts, and exactly what they did,” Connor told him. “They went to your ranch, and your cousin Jen and nephew Cody helped out. Every speck in those bags came from Shadow Rock.”

  Connor watched as emotions skittered across his buddy’s normally passive face, before Kade cleared his throat and nodded.

  “That was right nice of them. It’s much appreciated.”

  “Glad you liked it. I’ll be sure to tell them.”

  “You do that,” Kade said, then cocked his head. “We still on for the trail ride?”

  “Absolutely,” Connor answered immediately.

  Every time Kade returned from deployment, he and Connor saddled up and hit the trail hard, camping out for a few nights on Shadow Rock land. This allowed Kade some private time to adjust back to civilian life and let go of some of the darkness that always followed him home. Connor could always judge the severity of the deployments by how long his buddy wanted to ride.

  “How many nights you figuring?” He watched his buddy closely.

  Kade inhaled and ran a hand through his barely-there hair before releasing his exhale. “Five would be great, but with the wedding so close, let’s make it three.”

  Jesus. Five? Connor knew something had happened this tour. And he knew when, too. Mid July. Their Skyping had become less frequent, and there’d been a haunted look behind Kade’s eyes ever since.

  “Okay, three it is,” he said, deciding not to prod.

  His buddy gave a curt nod as if in thanks, then cocked his head. “So…Cole and Jordan, huh?”

  Connor leaned back and smiled. “Yeah. ‘Bout damn time, too.”

  “You weren’t kidding about the transformation. I barely recognized him last month when he asked me to be in the wedding.”

  “I know. It’s great to have my little brother back.” Connor had had enough of the dark times, the dark Cole. It was nice to finally have him excised.

  “Jordan’s doing,” Kade correctly observed. “She always did bring out the best in that guy.”

  “Definitely.”

  “He’s lucky. She’s a good woman.”

  Kerri’s smiling face flashed through Connor’s mind. He quickly pushed it back. She’d occupied more than enough of his thoughts this past week. “She sure is.”

  “Okay.” Kade’s tone turned curious. “I’ll bite. Who is she?”

  “Who’s who?”

  “The woman you’re trying not to think about.”

  How the hell did he know that? “You’re imagining things.”

  “Right.” Kade folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. “So just how pretty is Kerri?”

  Dammit, Cole. “My brother needs to keep his mouth shut.”

  A rare smile lifted his friend’s lips. “He just wants to see you happy and thinks Kerri’s the right fit.”

  “Well, he’s wrong. I don’t do city girls.”

  “No, you do city girls, you just don’t try to marry them, anymore.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not going to do this city girl.”

  Jesus, why the hell was he talking to Kade about having sex with Kerri? Why were the words Kerri and sex even in the same damn sentence? He needed to have his head examined. What the hell was he thinking?

  About having sex with Kerri.

  “She’s that pretty, huh?”

  Pretty? God, Kerri was gorgeous. Breathtaking. With her soft, silky hair and doe-like eyes. Damn, he could get lost in their warmth and—

  Kade’s chuckle stopped him mid thought.

  “Ah, man. You are so whipped. You might as well hang it up now.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? Whipped, my ass.”

  Kade’s damn smile widened. “Oh, buddy, if you could’ve seen your face when I asked if Kerri was pretty. It got all dreamy and serene.” His friend’s high-pitched tone echoed between them.

  “Bite me.”

  “Sorry, dude.” Kade snorted. “You’re not my type.”

  Connor flipped him the bird. Now Kade was laughing out right.

  Shaking his head, he released a breath and his agitation disappeared. It was great to see his friend so relaxed. He appeared younger, the hardened soldier look disappearing as amusement took him.

  Big difference from the tired and tight features that had pinched Kade’s face at the beginning of the call. So what if it was at Connor’s expense. Hell, they could make fun of him all night if it kept the spark
of light in his buddy’s gray eyes.

  “Seriously, Connor, why not just ask Kerri out?”

  He shook his head. “Why bother? She’s only staying until the wedding. Hell, she’ll probably be gone the day after.”

  “So?”

  Connor frowned. “What do you mean, so?”

  “Is there a law that says the two of you have to have a relationship?”

  “No.”

  “Is there a law that says you can’t have a fling?”

  “Well, no, but this is little Kerri Masters, for God’s sake. I can’t have a fling with her.”

  “Why not? She’s got to be what? Twenty-six?”

  “Seven.”

  “Connor, twenty-seven isn’t young, and she’s divorced, so she’s not a virgin.”

  Connor’s heart stopped and squeezed at the same time. He knew these things. Even thought the same several times, but to hear them spoken out loud knocked him hard.

  “And from what Cole tells me, Kerri’s attracted to you, too. Though, Lord knows’ why. She used to be so sensible.”

  Connor flipped Kade the bird a second time, and his buddy’s laughter filled the room.

  “You’re developing a twitch,” Kade said after he sobered. “You should get that looked at.”

  “Yeah, I’ll think about it if it still happens when you’re home.”

  “It had better be taken care of, and same goes for the itch a certain city girl needs to scratch.”

  Right. If only.

  Connor had no idea why his men and Kade thought Kerri would be willing to have a fling. She’s too sweet, and, well, uptight. He could never see her agreeing to such a suggestion.

  But he had to admit, it sure was interesting that several people seemed to think otherwise.

  Kerri was more than happy to see the year end. It was time to put the bad things behind her and concentrate on the good times.

  Why an image of Connor jumped, no…lumbered into her mind, she had no idea. He wasn’t a good time. Okay, yes, yes he most certainly would be a good time. If she was willing. More importantly, if he was interested. But she wasn’t and neither was he.

  Then why did his gaze follow her as she mingled at the Dalton’s New Year’s Eve party? And why had she agreed to come?