A Cowboy for Christmas

by Cat Johnson

  Bonner thrust hard a few more times and then came with a shout. He collapsed over her, his body heaving as he fought to catch his breath.

  Casey ran her fingers over the tattoo on his shoulder. It read John Boyd, Father, and the date listed was nearly ten years ago. She didn’t ask about it but somehow she felt as if she knew so much more about Bonner after seeing it.

  She wanted him to know something about her too.

  “Bonner. I’m on the pill because I was having some problems, physically, and the doctor thought it might help. It’s not because…of any other reason.” No boyfriend. No fuck-buddy even. Just little old her. Available. Make that very available.

  He lifted his head like it was an effort and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Whatever the reason. I’m very glad.”

  Bonner pulled out and rolled off her. Naked except for the grey socks with the red cuffs he still wore, he walked to where he’d dropped the bags when they’d first come in. Even the socks didn’t diminish the beauty of him, from the adorable dimples in his white ass, to the dusting of dark hair that led down from his flat belly to the tempting length between his legs.

  Bonner bent over and reached into his bag to take out a small towel. He came back to her and pressed it between her legs, holding it there for a moment before wiping her clean. No man had ever bothered to do that for her before. It was all a little bit awkward, but actually, kind of sweet of him.

  “I should have carried water back from the pond and heated it on the woodstove before we did anything. That way you’d have warm water to wash up.”

  “There was no way we could have waited for you to do all that.” Casey shook her head.

  He smiled. “You’re probably right about that.”

  Standing, he balled up the towel and tossed it back toward his bag. When he turned back toward her, his smile had disappeared. He drew in a long breath, letting it out slowly as he bent and pulled on his boxerbriefs.

  Casey frowned at the sudden change in his demeanor. “What’s wrong?”

  Squatting by the stove, he shoved some paper and twigs inside. He met her gaze only briefly, before avoiding it again to focus on lighting a match. “I did exactly what I promised myself we wouldn’t do.”

  “Bonner, it’s okay.”

  He shook his head and swung the door of the stove shut as the paper inside caught fire. “It’s like I let the old man down.”

  “He’ll never know. And even if he were to find out, we’re both single consenting adults. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Well yeah, according to the pastor at church we did, but I wasn’t no virgin before this so that’s not what’s bothering me the most.” His gaze found hers. “It doesn’t matter if the old man knows or not. I know, and I let myself down.”

  She braced herself on one elbow. “You’re not exactly making me feel real good about this right now, Bonner.”

  “Has nothing to do with you. It’s me I’m disappointed in.” He opened the door and tossed two small pieces of wood into the stove. After securing the door, he came back to the bed and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry I made you feel bad.”

  Bonner kissed her with as much fervor as he did before beating himself up about what they’d done. She felt him start to grow hard again against her. When he finally pulled back, she ran her hands down his arms.

  “After what you’d said, I was afraid you wouldn’t want to touch me again.”

  “That wouldn’t help any.” He shrugged. “Milk’s already been spilt.”

  She glanced down. “Yeah, it has, so to speak.”

  Bonner shook his head and finally laughed. “You’re so clever.”

  “I try. Now how about we spill some more?”

  “All right, but this time, it’s my way.” He stood and with a hand on each of her hips, flipped her over so she was facedown on the mattress.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What made the first time my way?”

  “Women like it face to face. Every man knows that. It’s fine with me, but this is the way I like it best.” He punctuated his final word with an open-handed slap against her ass cheek.

  Casey jumped. “Ow.”

  “Mmm, come on. That didn’t really hurt.” He leaned low over her back. “I bet I can make you forget all about it.”

  Spreading her legs a little wider, Bonner slid his cock into Casey, forcing a sigh from her. He rocked his hips forward and drove deeper as he stroked the globes of her ass with his palms. “Beautiful.”

  She tried not to be insulted he’d delivered the compliment to her ass rather than her face. It was hard to feel anything except him, stroking slowly into her. He bumped her G-spot with each stroke. Casey sunk down lower, pressing the side of her face against the blanket while her ass poked high into the air for Bonner’s taking. It changed the angle of his entry. She bore down, clenching her muscles, making the sensations shooting through her even more intense.

  Bonner must have felt it to. He groaned in response. His hands moved over her ass, until he spread her cheeks wide with his thumbs. She felt the chill as he exposed her anus to the cold air of the cabin.

  “Damn, you feel good.” He increased the speed of his thrusts and pressed one thumb inside her ass.

  Casey drew in a sharp breath at the sensation. She felt the trickle of warm, slick saliva hit her tight hole, and then he pushed the single digit deeper while still rocking into her. He opened her wider and worked his other thumb into her ass. She moaned and pushed her butt higher.

  “You like that?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  Bonner groaned as he pressed his fingers deeper. “I’d love to take you like that. One day.”

  “Yes.” She grit the single word out between her teeth.

  Bonner groaned in response and pumped into her pussy faster.

  His words had held the promise that they’d be together again, after today. She liked that idea. She imagined him doing it, taking her exactly the way he wanted. Flipping her over. Slippery with lube, sliding first his thick fingers inside and then the wide head of his cock, stroking in and out of her ass. She’d never wanted that before with any other man, but she sure as hell wanted it with Bonner.

  Casey lost track of time until his strokes sped to a crescendo before he drove hard and held himself deep, pulsing inside her again before he collapsed. For the second time that day, Bonner had her pinned to the bed, panting above her. She didn’t mind a bit.

  He rolled to his side and pulled her back against his chest. “There’s no way we’re heading home today.” The warmth of his breath brushed her hair as he spoke, his head just above hers, his arms wrapped around her.

  “Good.”

  “Canned chili okay for dinner? Pickings are slim here.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  Bonner let out a snort. “You’re a good liar.”

  Casey turned in his arms to face him. “Except for the few times a year I visit my parents or my sister, I live on gourmet take-out from some restaurant or another in the city, but never once have I ever had a hot cowboy cook me chili over a fire while I snuggle under a wool blanket, exhausted from countless orgasms. So it does sound perfect.”

  “Since you put it that way...” He laughed.

  “There is one thing.” Casey hesitated. “Um, what do we do about a bathroom?”

  Bonner chewed on his lip, looking like he was considering how to answer. “Well, there’s the outhouse.”

  “Outhouse.” She didn’t like the sound of that.

  He nodded and got up, but she didn’t miss his grin.

  “Go out the door and around back. It’s about a hundred yards behind the cabin. You can’t miss it.” Casey’s eyebrows shot high as Bonner bent down and grabbed her boots off the floor. “We’re alone up here so no need to get dressed except that you might get chilled, but you better at least put on your boots. Snakes. Oh, and don’t forget this.”

  Bonner reached for a shelf and handed her a ro
ll of toilet paper.

  She stood, taking the boots in one hand and the toilet paper in the other, and stared at him. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

  It wasn’t really a question. She knew the answer, but she could have done without the man who’d just given her the best sex of her life looking so smug about the situation.

  “Sorry.”

  Casey sighed. “Fine. But I’m wearing your shirt to go outside.”

  She scanned the floor and found it. Casey picked it up and read the label. “Maverick Western? One of the perks of the job?”

  “The old man gave me a whole dang case of the same exact shirt for Christmas last year after I was bitching I’d torn mine on the barbed wire while fixing some fencing.”

  “Ah, that explains a lot. I thought you just had a strange obsession with wearing blue plaid. So that’s not why your nickname is Blue? I’d had a whole scenario worked out in my mind.” Casey sat on the edge of the mattress and tugged on her boots.

  “No, it’s not.”

  “If you don’t tell me the reason the guys call you Blue, I’m just going to make one up, and I can assure you, it likely won’t be flattering.” She stood and slipped on Bonner’s shirt.

  “The nickname’s not a big deal. I came out of my mama with the cord around my neck and my father called me his little boy blue. That’s all.”

  She frowned at him. “That’s not that big of a deal.”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “I never said it was.”

  She sighed and decided she’d have to deal with his aversion to being called Blue later. Now, she had to pee. She buttoned the shirt. It was long enough on her to make a decent dress. She retrieved the toilet paper off the bed where she’d laid it and turned to find him watching her and smiling. “What?”

  Bonner grinned broader. “You look good in my shirt.”

  “Yeah, well, I might just keep it then.” Why did that thought give her a little tingle?

  Bonner shrugged again. “Go right ahead. I have more.”

  “Fine. I will.” With that she realized she still had the humiliation of the outhouse to face. She strode out the door with as much dignity as a woman wearing not much more than cowboy boots, a man’s shirt, and carrying a roll of toilet paper could.

  The dog trailing behind her adding to the surreal feel of the situation, Casey could hear Bonner chuckling until after she’d closed the door and turned the corner of the house. Then she saw her first outhouse.

  Standing outside of the tall skinny building, its door still closed, Casey eyed the wooden structure. She glanced down at the dog. “Misty, you think there’s spiders in there?”

  The dog’s pointed black and white speckled ears perked up as she sat, tail wagging. With her strange eyes, one blue and one brown, she watched Casey.

  Casey briefly considered sending the dog inside first to scare away any animals. She reached out and flung the door open fast, and then jumped back in case any sort of creature rushed her. When nothing came out, she took one step forward and peeked inside.

  It was pretty dark in there. She supposed she could pee with the door open so she’d have some light to see anything coming at her. She took a step in and peered at the wooden seat. There could be all sorts of bugs nesting under that thing. Maybe she’d be better off squatting behind the building than inside it. But wait, hadn’t Bonner mentioned snakes?

  Casey was just deciding the best course of action, the lesser of two evils, when she heard Bonner’s laugh. With each passing second she became more certain that though she’d thoroughly enjoyed the cowboy inside, having to actually live like a cowboy and use this outhouse was pure crap—no pun intended.

  She turned back to face the cabin and saw him, fully dressed right down to the blue shirt that matched the one she had on. He leaned against the corner of the cabin, his hat pulled low, leather chaps strapped to each leg. She would have found those chaps incredibly sexy if he weren’t laughing at her so hard he had to wipe at his eyes.

  Casey crossed her arms. “This isn’t funny. There could be deadly black widow spiders inside there. Or, or, worse. Like scorpions. Or copperhead snakes.”

  “Don’t worry.” Grinning, he strode toward her. “Rat Snake or a rattler maybe, but I never found a copperhead in these parts. And scorpions are nocturnal and it’s still daylight, so you’re fine.” Bonner pushed past where she hovered in the doorway and stepped inside the small building. He lifted the wooden seat. “See. Nothing in there that shouldn’t be in there.”

  “What about underneath? It could be hanging there waiting to bite me in the butt.”

  That brought on another bout of laughter, until Bonner literally had to wipe the smile off his face with one hand. He sobered enough to take each of her arms in his grasp. “Look. I’m very fond of that ass, and I wouldn’t let you do anything to jeopardize it. Okay?”

  She glanced at the hole again, then back at him, not convinced.

  “Okay, how about this.” Bonner glanced around them and then picked up a stick. He used it to bang hard on the wooden seat. Nothing came running up at him. Then he sat, still fully clothed, on the seat himself. He stood and turned his backside to face her. “Any deadly critters hanging off my ass.”

  “No.”

  “All right then. Your turn.”

  “You had your jeans on.”

  He physically steered her into the building. “I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

  She wasn’t sure she was onboard with that idea. She’d wanted that door to stay open so she could see and make a quick escape if necessary, but not with Bonner standing right there. Sure they’d had sex, twice, but peeing in front of a man was something you didn’t do until you were dating for a really long time, or living together, or married. Or maybe drunk.

  He sighed. “What’s wrong now?”

  “Turn your back…and cover your ears.”

  His brows rose high. “Should I sing la-la-la too?”

  “Please, just do it. This is stressful enough.”

  “All right.” Shaking his head at her, he turned and covered his ears. “Go on. Get to it.”

  Talk about pressure.

  Finally, she got done what she’d needed to do, and though she’d lived through the peeing, she couldn’t help but consider if she could avoid doing it again before they got back to the ranch tomorrow. Probably not. That was a long time away. With a sigh, she grabbed her toilet paper roll after almost forgetting where she’d hung it on the big nail sticking out of the wallboard.

  She adjusted Bonner’s shirt and said, “Okay. I’m done.”

  He nodded. “Good. Now I’m gonna have to go look for the stragglers.”

  “And leave me here?”

  “Well, I can find them and bring them back here quicker on my own, but if you’re afraid to be alone, I can take you with me.”

  “I’m not afraid. It’s just…I don’t have my cell phone.”

  “Yes, I know.” He smiled again. “But if I go alone, I’ll be able to get ‘em back here within an hour. Then we can decide if you want to head home today and try to beat sunset, or stay and leave at first light tomorrow. Since you don’t seem to like the facilities, I thought you may want to get back to the ranch sooner rather than later.”

  She glanced back at the outhouse. “Okay. Go on your own.”

  Bonner nodded. “I put wood in the stove so you should be okay ‘til I get back.”

  Casey certainly hoped so. He turned toward the horses, when she took one step after him. “Bonner?”

  He pivoted back. “Yeah?”

  “Hurry back.”

  He grinned. “I will. Promise.”

  She watched him saddle his horse. She stood in front of the cabin like some pioneer woman as he rode away. He even took the dog. She was all alone. As cut off as if she were actually living back in the pioneer days. With a sigh, Casey turned back and went inside the cabin. The fire had made it warmer inside. It wasn’t too bad. It would be better with Bonner here though. Sh
e glanced at the bed. They’d made quite the jumble of it.

  Casey straightened the bottom blanket and then folded the top one, laying it on the end of the mattress. She tried to decide what to do next to kill the time.

  Missing her tablet computer, she was at a loss for something to do. Her gaze landed on two cans of chili Bonner must have left on the table. What the hell. Might as well take this experience all the way. Casey found a can opener and a spoon and for the first time in years, began to cook dinner.

  All right, she couldn’t really call it cooking since all she did was open a can and put it in a pan on the woodstove, but she did add a log to the stove just to make sure the fire kept going, so that increased the degree of difficulty. Cooking without benefit of electricity or gas, that was pretty impressive if she did say so herself.

  She’d just stirred the chili in the cast iron skillet, much like the Maverick Western one she owned in New York except this one looked like it had actually been used, when she made out the faint sound of a dog barking.

  Misty. Casey couldn’t help but smile. Bonner was back. She strode to the door and out onto the porch.

  The sun’s rays as it sunk lower in the sky highlighted the cloud of dust in the distance. Through it she could make out about half a dozen cows, running, while Bonner rode behind them. As they got closer, she could see Misty as she wove from side to side behind the herd of cattle, barking and nipping at their hooves. But it was the figure on horseback, the man who occasionally swung a rope and yelled to the animals, who drew and held her attention once again. She couldn’t keep her eyes off Bonner. God, he was extra sexy when he was doing cowboy stuff.

  The scene before her was like a Western movie come to life. No, more accurately, Casey felt as if she’d stepped into an episode of the Cowboy Cody show. She was the little woman holding down the homestead waiting for her man with a hot meal and even hotter sex. While he was the man riding home after a long time away tending the herd at the summer pasture.

  By the time Bonner had slowed the herd to a walk and funneled them into the fenced in area bordered on one side by a pond, she was ready to tear his clothes off and mount him on the front porch. As he carried a bucket of water to the cabin, and she saw his smile and the color in his cheeks from the ride, that idea was sounding better and better to her.