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Cowboy of Her Dreams

Page 7

by Kira Barcelo


  “Especially not Stone,” Ashley corrected.

  On reflex, he almost landed one well-aimed swat on his catty girlfriend’s bottom. He was close enough to do it, too. Considering all she was wearing over her ass was that skimpy bikini bottom, the swat would’ve smarted but good, and he would’ve gotten his message across loudly enough: You’d better behave yourself.

  But he’d never spanked Ashley. He’d never known how she would react to that, being from the land of sensitive, metrosexual males, i.e. Hollywood. Besides, there was something about it that wouldn’t have felt right. Spanking Jenna, on the other hand, had felt right. Fun, too. He did notice, however, Tom’s eyebrow arching at Ashley’s remark.

  “There’s a lot bigger names than both of us,” Stone concluded. “But, well, we’d best leave you two alone.”

  That was a gamble on his part. At that moment, he and Jenna exchanged glances. He thought for sure that she knew he was pleading with his eyes for her to ask him to stay, that she didn’t want to be alone with her muscular, good-looking visitor. Yet the one who spoke up first was Tom.

  “You don’t have to leave, Stone. I’m not staying. Got a lot to do, too. But I did want to ask Jenna—even though I know it’s a spur-of-the-moment thing, but Jenna’s a cool girl, she don’t mind being spontaneous—if she’d like to go out tonight.”

  “Oh? Go out tonight?” Jenna glanced at Stone.

  “Gosh, isn’t that nice?” Ashley purred. “I think we should tag along. Kinda like a double date. Now wouldn’t that be fun?”

  Stone grinded his teeth. She was really pushing for that spanking now. He forced a smile after tugging her warningly against him.

  “Now, honey, I don’t think Jenna and Tom really want us tagging along. Besides, we don’t know what they’re doing, Ash.”

  “That’s easily remedied. Tom…” Ashley leaned forward, showing even more of her fabulous cleavage. “…gosh, honey, what did you have in mind tonight?”

  Tom’s eyes danced under the brim of that hat. “I was thinking about going out to our favorite place. Juicy sirloin burgers, cold beers.”

  “Hmmmmm, keep talkin’, now! Of course, you realize I’ll have to spend extra time on the treadmill, working that off this figure of mine.”

  Flirting. The little hussy was openly flirting with that cowboy. Oddly enough, though, Stone wasn’t jealous; he felt disrespected, but he wasn’t jealous. Both Jenna and her beau seemed to understand she was doing that, too, which made it even more embarrassing for Stone.

  That wasn’t the first time she’d pulled a stunt like that, either. She was treading on very thin ice.

  “Try some good, old-fashioned hard work. That burns even more calories,” Jenna snipped.

  Ashley wrinkled her nose at her nastily. “Oh, you know, sweetheart, try dressing like a girl sometime instead of looking like one of the scruffy hands.”

  “All right, ladies.” Tom laughed. To his credit, he gently pulled Jenna back when she moved forward in a threatening, girl-fight-prep manner. “I don’t think a double date would be such a hot idea.”

  “It could be,” Stone said quietly. Truth be told, he didn’t want Jenna alone with her sometimes-boyfriend.

  Tom shrugged. “Well, there’s dancing in this place, too. Once the band gets there. I’ve been working pretty hard and I know Jenna has, too. I figured we could use a fun, relaxing night. Say I swing by here about—oh, seven sounds good?”

  “Seven sounds perfect,” Jenna agreed.

  “That’s short notice but…yeah, I can do that,” Ashley said, looking worried.

  Stone turned a stern eye to her. “You’ll be ready on time. Tom, we’ll see you at seven.”

  “Great! It’ll be fun. See ya tonight, Jenna.”

  “See ya, Tom, honey.”

  With a mischievous smirk, Jenna cast a side glance at Stone before moistening Tom’s lips with a kiss. Stone thought for sure the room had turned red, and that he’d be spending the night eating his heart out with jealousy.

  Something was wrong. As big a flirt as Ashley could be, he’d been jealous, but his jealousy had never burned even half as much as it was burning right now. Had he been alone, he would have broken every bone in his hand from punching one of the walls, just to get rid of all that pent-up frustration. His acting talent came in handy, because he was able to pretend he was fine when Tom patted his shoulder in a friendly gesture before heading out the door.

  “Welcome home, man,” he said with an earnest smile. “We’ll have a great time tonight, won’t we?”

  The dress wasn’t something Ashley would wear while strutting down the red carpet for the Academy Awards, but it was the prettiest and most feminine set of threads Jenna could find on such short notice.

  Stone had understood when she’d asked him if they could put off looking at the books together until the next day. She hadn’t gone into much detail, only saying that if they were going out for the evening, which was unexpected anyway, she needed a new pair of shoes for the occasion.

  She bought shoes, all right—but her main reason for going was to get that dress. Jenna could have chosen a longer style, too, except she knew who she was up against. She could guess what Ashley would come up with from all those suitcases she’d brought with her to the ranch.

  So her dress, a lovely shade of blue, was shorter in the front than in the back, giving a peek at her legs. It was one of those dresses that showed off a size six figure and left one shoulder bare. Jenna accentuated that feature by draping her hair to the other side. For the first time in a long time, she wore some eyeliner, mascara, a touch of blush and a thin layer of lipstick that made her lips look fuller.

  As she might have guessed, Ashley had set out to steal the limelight. The dress she’d selected looked like it was made entirely of black lace, and it was about the length of a tunic. Maybe shorter. It had long sleeves and her back was bare all the way down to where her bottom would have begun, about an inch further down. Her hair was huge and teased and her face looked like it had been done by a makeup artist, bringing out all her best features, including her high cheekbones.

  Her black leather heels gave her a smooth, almost catlike walk that had every male’s head turning in her direction when they entered the restaurant. Jenna’s stomach sank when she saw one woman tug hard on her man’s ear to stop him from practically drooling at the Hollywood siren who’d entered the room. She heard someone else whisper, “Hey, look—that’s Ashley Covington, the girl on TV!”

  “That girl’s very beautiful, but you’d think she’d have some manners by now.”

  Jenna had been drowning her sorrows in an overly sweet slushy cherry drink when Tom dropped that bombshell.

  After dinner, everyone had opted to go to the amusement park rather than to hang around and dance. The multicolored lights on the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel lured them in, along with the fact that it was after hours. Less kids and more of a teen-to-older crowd populated the grounds at that time.

  “I didn’t think you noticed,” she told him. “So you don’t think she’s the perfect woman anymore?”

  “The perfect woman? Hell, no!” Tom chuckled. “She’s a good-looking woman, I’ll give her that. The way she talks to you and Stone, well…seems to me he should take that young lady over his knee and tan her backside. I don’t think that’s Stone’s style, though.”

  “Oh, it’s his style, all right.”

  “How’s that?”

  Jenna blushed. She’d been thinking out loud and gotten caught.

  All in all, it had been a miserable night, with her and Tom seated on one side of the table at the restaurant, Stone and Ashley on the other. Her star-studded nemesis had spent the evening hanging all over Stone—nibbling on his ear, eating no more than a bite here and there of her meal for fear of wrecking her strict diet. All that, and making cutesy faces at Tom, to boot.

  “You should spank her,” she suggested.

  “Oh, believe me. I’d be willing to turn that cut
e little ass as red as her nail polish. But that’s not my place.”

  She swallowed hard. “I don’t want Stone to spank her.”

  Both Stone and Ashley had chosen to ride the Buccaneer. Tom was prone to motion sickness, so Jenna had stayed behind to keep him company. With the ride moving so rapidly, it was difficult for her to spot them. She took another sip of her refreshment, which had given her brain-freeze before it started to melt.

  “That’s interesting, darlin’. You want me to spank her, but not your boss.”

  “He’s not my boss. His dad was my boss.”

  “Jenna, Stone owns the ranch now. He’s the boss.”

  “He might not be staying. I don’t think his fiancée cares much for living out here. Lindsay Falls isn’t exactly her speed. We don’t have enough malls for her taste.”

  “Doesn’t matter. For as long as he’s here, he’s the boss. But I’m more interested in…” Tom grinned. “Why it’s okay or me to spank that woman but you don’t want Stone to do the honors. He spanked you, didn’t he?”

  What a crazy conversation that was turning out to be! Jenna focused her attention on the ride, which had begun to slow down.

  “Look, honey. We know each other a long time.” Tom took her by the arm, but not roughly. “You can tell me the truth. I’m not stupid. I can tell something’s going on between you.”

  “Between us? What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I see the way you look at him. You don’t think I notice, but I do. And I notice the way he looks at you, too. He’s a respectful sort. He’s trying to be respectful to me, but you and I, Jenna—we’re more friends than anything else.”

  That admission came as a relief to her.

  “I would never hurt you, Tom,” she said.

  “I know you wouldn’t, honey. And I would never hurt you. And I’ll always care for you.”

  “Same here!”

  Jenna reached up, giving Tom’s neck an impulsive hug.

  “But you have feelings for him, don’t you?” he asked gently, with her still in his arms.

  “I do.”

  “You know he’s got them for you, too, right?”

  “No, I don’t know that. He’s engaged to that—that spoiled brat. But in answer to your question before…yes. Yes, he did spank me. Twice.”

  “Twice?” Tom released her, letting his hands drift down loosely to her waist. “Woman, you didn’t learn the first time? I know you can be pretty willful, but, hell—”

  “Uhhhh, excuse us. We’re back.”

  Spinning around on her heel, Jenna came face-to-face with Stone and Ashley. She blinked, seeing Ashley limping and her hair in disarray. Though Stone’s arm was through his fiancee’s, he was scowling at Jenna.

  “What happened to you?” Jenna asked.

  Ashley clicked her tongue. “I stumbled getting off that stupid ride. Tore the heel clear off my shoe. There goes twelve hundred dollars!”

  “Twelve hundred dollars? For a pair of shoes?” Tom whistled. “Ashley, honey, that’s a lot of money.”

  “Hmmm. Maybe for a little country bumpkin like her,” came the actress’s snide remark. “But I have to keep up appearances.”

  Stone yanked her closer to him, his voice low and even.

  “The next time I hear you say one mean thing to Jenna, well—you just wait till we get home.”

  Ashley’s eyes widened. “Is that a threat?”

  “No, not a threat. It’s a warning. A warning you’d best heed unless you want those expensive panties of yours taken down before I give your rear a spanking you’re not likely to forget.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “A spanking? You’d spank me?”

  “Damn straight. Keep talking to Jenna the way you’ve been talking to her. Keep sassing me. You’ll be too sore to sit by the time I let you off my lap.”

  Ashley’s face reddened with that rise in her temper. Behind Jenna, Tom put in his own two cents under his breath.

  “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” he murmured.

  “Oh, really?” she snapped at him. “You and Jenna would both like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “Now, honey, I can’t speak for Jenna. Personally, I think you’re probably a very sweet gal, deep down. Probably as sweet as you are beautiful.”

  Jenna noted a change in Ashley’s expression.

  “But you think I deserve to get spanked?” she pressured Tom.

  Jenna was proud of her friend for not backing down to Her Royal Highness. He straightened his shoulders and looked her straight in the eye, his tone calm.

  “I think you’re spoiled. You’ve been spoiled by that Hollywood lifestyle. That said,” Tom paused, letting those words sink in before telling her, “I think the girl you used to be isn’t totally gone. She’s probably buried just right under the surface.”

  Discreetly, Jenna tried to check out Stone’s expression. Though she hadn’t noticed, he’d been watching her for a few moments. The look in his eyes was one of longing before he forced away his gaze.

  “I need to be up early tomorrow,” he told Tom. “I’m sure that’s true of you, too.”

  “It is. I think this date’s over.” Tom smirked. “Hope it was fun for everybody.”

  Jenna watched Stone react to Tom curling his arm around her waist. Her heart skipped a hopeful beat at his grimace.

  “Oh, yeah. Lots of fun,” he muttered, more to himself.

  CHAPTER SIX

  That night almost seemed like a bad case of Murphy’s Law: Everything that could go wrong, did.

  They’d decided to take only one vehicle, with everyone piling into Tom’s SUV. Great, roomy ride…and strong, too. A smaller car might not have withstood the accident as well.

  It could have been worse. The deer, a large buck, had been moving quickly, prancing unexpectedly from the woods and right smack in the middle of the narrow road. Had Tom’s reflexes not been as fast as they were, they would have hit and injured the poor creature, possibly killing it and totaling the car.

  Yet in swerving out of the way, the car had skidded wildly off the narrow road to the left, banging loudly against a tree when it finally came to a stop. It all happened so fast, Jenna had no time to react. She froze but heard Ashley shriek in the backseat and Stone saying, “Easy, easy—here we go!”

  After the initial daze that comes after an accident, Tom turned to her first.

  “You okay, Jenna, honey?” he asked anxiously.

  “Fine. Shook up, but fine!” She offered him a shaky smile, then looked over her shoulder at the backseat. “Stone, Ash—you okay back there?”

  “We’re fine,” Stone spoke up. “Everything’s fine, baby.”

  In all the commotion, Jenna hadn’t noticed what had just happened. On the other hand, she realized she’d called Ashley by Stone’s nickname for her. She hadn’t meant to make a friendly overture but chalked it up to having been in a potentially dangerous situation together.

  “I can’t open this door, Jenna,” Tom told her. “Can you get out and I can hop over the console, or…?”

  “I can get out. Let me do that and I’ll help Ashley and Jenna,” Stone said from the back.

  “Baby? What’s up with that?”

  To Jenna’s ears, the demanding question sounded halfhearted, as if Ashley was too tired to fight but still making the attempt out of pride. She didn’t have time to do much more, because in the next few seconds Stone was pulling her—and unceremoniously, at that—from the backseat. Jenna didn’t turn around, only smiled to herself as she heard some very unladylike grunting coming from behind her as a one-heeled Ashley was freed from the car and set on her feet.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Stone asked her.

  “I’m fine. But…I wanna go home!”

  Jenna expected her to stomp her foot. Obviously, the night hadn’t gone all that well for Ashley, either. Having to compete with another woman, then looking very unglamorous yet overdressed as she stumbled off an amusement park ride and limped around on one
heel, only to be in a minor accident after that. Not a magical night for a gorgeous movie star to be out, apparently.

  Her own door was hauled open. Stone reached a hand into her.

  “Here. Let me let you,” he murmured.

  She could have gotten out herself, though it wouldn’t have been easy. There was no road shoulder, only a slight dip between the asphalt and the tree, so the right side of the car was slightly elevated. Stone took her hand but then reached in with both arms to take her by the waist. He paused when he righted her onto her feet. Behind her Tom was already crawling over the console to make his way out of the vehicle.

  Jenna stood gazing at Stone, who stared unblinkingly into her eyes.

  “You can take your hands off her waist now!” Ashley spat the words out behind him. “And with us out here in the wilderness, how far are we from that stupid ranch?”

  Stone narrowed his eyes at her. “You have some respect. It’s not a stupid ranch. That was my dad’s. And his father’s before him.”

  “Okay, whatever. How long is it going to take to get back there?”

  “This isn’t exactly the wilderness. We’re not that far,” Jenna said. “It’ll probably only take us fifteen minutes or so to get there.”

  Ashley let out a string of obscenities. Both Stone and Tom, who was gingerly moving around the front of the car to inspect the damage, glanced disapprovingly at her.

  “Fifteen minutes! That’s a long-ass time to walk like this!” she sputtered.

  “Ash, just take both of those shoes off,” Stone said.

  “Take them off? And do what? Walk barefoot all the way back to that old house?”

  “Yes. Unless you carry a spare pair of shoes. It might be easier.”

  “Easier to get a splinter. Not one of your brighter ideas, Stone Farrell.”

  Jenna was more concerned about her friend.

  “How bad is it, Tom?” she asked.

  He gave his head a shake before stepping back around the car.

  “Not as bad as I thought. That’s the good news.” He smiled and plucked his cell from his jeans’ pocket. “Bad news is, body work’s expensive. I got insurance, of course, but I might as well just pay for it on my own. Better than letting my rates go up, huh?”

 

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