Boots and Wishes: Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 8 (9 page)

Audrey threaded her fingers in his thick black hair and dragged him farther up to the tuft of hair covering her most sensitive spot.

Jackson chuckled, his warm breath stirring her hairs. “Eager little thing, aren’t you?”

“Damn right,” she agreed through gritted teeth, her breath caught and held until he finally parted her folds and stroked her there.

Digging her heels into the mattress, she lifted her hips, positioning herself closer to his mouth, wanting more. “Please. Do it again.”

“Your wish is my command.” He licked a long, sensuous stroke along the length of that bundle of nerves, setting them off like firecrackers, bursting one after the other in rapid succession.

Audrey tipped her head back and moaned, the tension pulling tight as she neared the edge.

One more stroke and she launched into the stratosphere, tingling sensations erupting from her core outward, spreading to the very tips of her extremities. She rocked her pelvis, savoring every bit of her orgasm all the way up to the last shudder. When she fell back to earth, she dragged Jackson up her body, anxious to complete the magic with him coming inside her, hard, hot and wet.

But he wasn’t in a hurry. Resisting her efforts to pull him onto her, he slowly worked his way up her torso, stopping to suck a beaded nipple into his mouth, rolling it around on his tongue and then nipping playfully.

“Ouch!” Audrey slapped his shoulder lightly.

“Does that hurt?” He backed away.

“Yes.” She offered him the untouched one. “Please do the other the same way.”

He laughed and complied, tonguing, nipping and flicking until she grabbed his buttocks and brought him the rest of the way home.

When he slipped inside her, she sighed. “I love it when you make love to me. It’s magic from the moment you touch me to the moment we fall asleep in each other’s arms.”

“Sweetheart, if I’m making you sleepy, I’m not doing it right.” Jackson thrust into her and withdrew all the way to the tip, teasing her.

Audrey raised her buttocks off the mattress, not wanting him to sever their connection. “Please, give me more.”

He bent her knees and guided them up toward her ears. Then he feasted his gaze on that most intimate of connections where his shaft entered her. His eyes flashed and he held her legs as he pumped into her, his hips moving faster and faster.

Audrey lost track of the last breath she took, her body recovering from her previous orgasm in time to peak again on Jackson’s final thrust.

He threw his head back and slammed into her, burying his cock until his balls bumped against her anus. Holding her thighs, he remained inside her for a full minute, his member throbbing against the walls of her channel.

She’d never felt more complete than when she made love to him.

When he released her legs, she wrapped them around his waist and drew him down to her, his cock still thick inside.

Jackson lay over Audrey, careful not to crush her. So gentle and caring.

Audrey loved this man more than she ever thought she could love one individual. Perhaps she was better off not getting pregnant. How could she possibly have enough room in her heart for anyone else? She sighed.

“I’ve never been happier,” she whispered. “My life with you is perfect.”

“And mine with you.” Jackson kissed her and rolled to his side, taking her with him. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Chapter Nine

“Are you ready for us to open the doors?” Charli shouted across the bar to where Audrey stood beside the giant Christmas tree they’d erected on the edge of the dance floor, beside the stage.

Audrey took Jackson’s hand and nodded. “Yes. Open them.” She couldn’t wait to show Jackson the gift she’d bought him.

Christmas Eve at the Ugly Stick Saloon was always a happy, lively occasion when everyone in the tri-county area seemed to congregate at the bar for the best Christmas Eve party in the state of Texas.

This Ugly Stick Christmas was even more special because Audrey had learned a valuable lesson over the past year. She learned that she was one of the luckiest women in the world to have Jackson in her life, and that she shouldn’t get so caught up in wishes that she didn’t see the blessings right in front of her.

Beth was working with Clayton Chance, and her divorce would be final by the beginning of the new year. Her soon-to-be ex-husband was in jail on arson and aggravated assault charges. His career as an attorney and any aspirations toward political office were over, and if he got out of jail, he wasn’t to come anywhere near Beth or Mia ever again.

Audrey had finally found the perfect gift for Jackson, and she could hardly wait for him to open the small package she’d placed beneath the tree.

Though she was happy, she hadn’t been feeling on top of the weather for the past week. She assumed she’d gotten a case of food poisoning or a stomach bug because she couldn’t keep food down and her stomach was always in a state of upset. With the most minor of smells, she’d be running toward the bathroom to toss her last meal.

Jackson had been busy with the ranch, with the delivery of a new colt and with helping the twins settle their new stallion in the barn. He’d also helped Beth move into a rental house in Temptation, where she and Mia would be closer to the stores and Mona, who’d insisted on babysitting in the evenings when Beth worked at the Ugly Stick. And Beth was going to school online during the day to become a nurse.

After having Beth and Mia in the house for almost three weeks, Audrey had fallen head over heels for the tiny Mia. Beth had asked her and Jackson to be Mia’s godparents.

Once Beth had saved enough tips, she put a deposit and the first month’s rent on a house in Temptation, a cozy little cottage with a white picket-fenced yard that would be perfect for Mia to play in.

Audrey hated to see them go, but knew Beth needed to learn how to be on her own. On moving day, she’d insisted on Beth taking the baby crib and dresser to furnish Mia’s room in her new home.

Since she and Jackson had given up the idea of having a baby of their own, she saw no need in having a nursery. After the rush of Christmas and the New Year, she’d paint the walls a neutral color and turn the room back into a guest bedroom, erasing the sad reminder of their inability to have children. She assuaged her sadness with the thought that maybe someday Mark, Luke and Libby would grace them with nieces and nephews.

The bar filled quickly with all the people Audrey knew and loved. Many of them had found each other at the Ugly Stick and came to give thanks for the bar and the magic it seemed to bring them.

Lacey and Nick McBride arrived, carrying a large potted poinsettia.

Lacey set the plant on the stage, kissed Audrey on the cheek and Jackson on the lips and winked. “I didn’t think Audrey would mind. She knows you love her.” She wiped the lipstick off his lips and turned to a frowning Nick. “And I love you, babe. You should know that by now.”

“Yeah, but I’d rather you saved your kisses for me.” He pulled her tight against his side and captured her lips with a passionate kiss, bending her over his arm with a dash of cowboy drama.

When he brought her back upright, her eyes were glazed and her lips slightly swollen. She cupped his ass and ground her pelvis against his crotch. “Well. We said our hellos and Merry Christmases. Let’s go back home to bed where you can make all my wishes come true.”

Audrey laughed at Lacey’s openly sexual advances. It was just like her to be so blatant. And the quiet cowboy she loved flushed a ruddy red.

Nick shook his head, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I’m not ready to go. I want you good and hot before we head home.” He grabbed her hand and swung her out on the dance floor into a buckle-rubbin’ tight hold that left no room for air between them.

Kendall Mason and Ed Judson arrived, carrying a big wrapped box between them. Jackson hurried to take Kendall’s end, and together the men laid the huge box beneath the tree.

Audrey shook her head. “What’s with the giant present?”

Kendall gave her a secret smile. “It’s a surprise.”

“I hope it’s not for me. I gave you extra bonuses to spend on yourselves, not me.”

“It’s a gift and it would be rude of you to refuse it, so hush,” Kendall said with a stern glance at Audrey. “Now let me get to work or these people will start yammering for their alcohol.”

“Jackson, Mark, Luke and I will be serving tonight. It’s a party for all our friends and family. And you, Kendall and Ed, are family.” Audrey hugged her. She’d watch the young woman blossom from an immature college co-ed to a wonderfully vibrant woman with Ed’s love and attention. The man never knew what hit him when Kendall decided he was the man for her and set out to prove it to him.

Isabella, Gabe, Sean and Tanner O’Brien arrived, laughing and hugging each other as they joked about something that had happened on the drive over from the Rocking O Ranch. Their father Jonathon brought up the rear with his daughter Molly on his arm.

Audrey sucked in a deep breath, already tired though the evening had just begun. And she had so many people to serve. Yet she smiled and greeted the O’Briens with a warm welcome. “I’m so glad y’all could make it.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Isabella hugged Audrey. “It’s been a wonderful year and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with the people who mean the most to us.”

“That’s right.” Gabe kissed Audrey’s cheek. “If you hadn’t had the good sense to hire Isabella, Sean, Tanner and I wouldn’t have met her and we wouldn’t be expecting a baby now.”

Audrey’s eyes rounded and she struggled for only a moment with the green-eyed monster of envy before letting it go. “I’m so very happy for you,” she said, and meant it. “When is it due?”

“Late June.” Isabella patted her still-flat tummy. “Hopefully before the summer gets too hot.”

Audrey could tell by the color in her cheeks that Isabella was thrilled. “You are absolutely glowing.”

She snorted softly. “I wasn’t for the first two months. I couldn’t eat, sleep, sit or stand without throwing up. Every little smell made me nauseous.”

“Thank goodness she’s past the morning sickness,” Sean said.

Tanner laughed and patted Isabella’s bottom. “Now she wants to eat
everything
.”

Audrey laughed. “You’re eating for two. Don’t let anyone deprive you of that luxury.”

“I’ll gnaw their arms off if they try.” Isabella winked and turned to her three men. “Who’s going to ask me to dance first?”

Gabe, Sean and Tanner all answered as one. “Me!”

All four of them eased onto the dance floor, leaving Jonathon and Molly.

“What do you hear from Jesse and Ella?” Audrey asked Jonathon.

“They are staying in New York City over the holidays. Ella’s show runs into the new year. Since she’s the new kid on Broadway, she doesn’t want to ruin her chances by taking time off. And she’s saving up her favors to ask off when Isabella has her baby.”

Audrey turned to Molly. “What about you? No date?” She glanced around the young woman as if searching for a hidden man.

Molly shrugged. “No date.” She looked around the saloon. “Seems like I need to come to work at the Ugly Stick to fall in love. Every woman you’ve hired has found the cowboy of her dreams here.”

“Say the word.” Audrey smiled. “I’ll put you to work.”

Molly shook her head. “It’s tempting but, no, thanks. I’m not in the market for a cowboy.”

Jackson chuckled. “Just when you say you’re not looking or wishing, stuff happens.” He hugged Audrey. “I wasn’t really looking when I found Audrey.”

Audrey snorted. “Oh, you were looking all right.”

“Well, how could I not when you were stripping for me?” He kissed her and slapped her fanny. “Come on, we have guests to feed and keep liquored up.”

“Audrey!” Lucky Albright entered with Trent and Isaac Moore on either one of her arms. She lifted her hand and waved, tripped over her own boots and nearly took Trent and Isaac down with her. Smiling awkwardly, she righted herself and hugged Audrey. “Thank you for inviting us to the party.”

“Wouldn’t have been a party without you.”

“Hopefully I won’t burn down the place.” Lucky winked. “Oh wait, someone else beat me to that attempt.”

“We’ll try to hold off on the twisters while she’s here,” Trent teased.

“Lately, we keep the twists in the sheets.” Isaac draped an arm over Lucky’s shoulders and nodded toward the dance floor. “Wanna dance?”

Lucky sighed. “I have two left feet.”

“Then they will match my two right feet just fine,” Isaac said.

“Just a minute.” Lucky held out a package to Audrey. “This is for you.”

“Really? I’m feeling like I didn’t come prepared. The invitation said no presents.” Audrey accepted the gift. “But thank you.” She set the package under the tree, shaking her head as Isaac and Trent led Lucky out onto the dance floor in a lively Cotton-Eyed Joe.

“Why are they all bringing gifts? I don’t have anything to give them.” Audrey leaned into Jackson, her eyes misting. She must be getting close to her time of the month. Lately she was getting overly emotional about everything.

Mona Daley and Grant Raleigh arrived carrying covered dishes and a brightly wrapped package.

“Hey Audrey, Jackson. I brought my mother’s best spinach dip and some chicken wings. I wasn’t sure what you’d have here, and I know my man loves to eat.” Mona stepped up to her and waved the dip beneath her nose.

“Thank you, Mona—” The scent of sour cream and spinach wafted into Audrey’s nostrils and turned her stomach inside out. She clapped a hand over her mouth and swayed.

“Are you feeling okay?” Grant frowned. “You’re looking a bit pale.”

Audrey fought the urge to purge and nodded, dropping her hand. “How are you since your accident, Grant?”

He stood straight. “Almost like new, except for the occasional twinge in my rib cage. The doc said I could go back to bull riding in a couple months, if I wanted to.”

Mona was already shaking her head. “Over my dead body.”

Grant grinned. “I know, sweetheart. I have better things to do staying right here with your live, and might I add, very pretty body.” He nuzzled her neck and made her giggle.

“Oh sorry.” Mona pulled free of Grant long enough to hand the brightly wrapped package to Audrey. “This is for you.”

“I have everything I need,” Audrey protested. “And I didn’t get anything for anyone.”

Charli stepped up to her and slid an arm around her waist. “Audrey, you’ve given everyone so much. Let us do a little for you.”

“Y’all are too nice.”

“No. We love you and want you to be happy.” Charli handed Audrey a mug of cider. “Here, you look like you could do with a drink.”

Still leery of the stability of her stomach, Audrey accepted the drink and raised it to her lips. One sip of the cinnamon-and-apple-flavored liquid and her stomach rebelled. This time, there was no stopping it. She broke free of the people around her and ran for the bathroom, making it into a stall before the contents of her belly shot up her throat. After a few minutes, she stood and flushed the toilet, feeling remarkably more human.

“Better?” Charli stood outside the stall with a wad of wet paper towels in her hand. “Here, you might need to apply this to your face.”

“That bad?” Audrey touched her cheeks.

“No, but it’ll feel good.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I must have caught a bug or something.” Audrey frowned. “Maybe I should go home to keep anyone else from getting it.”

“Oh, honey, I don’t think any of us will get what you have.”

Before Audrey could ask her what she meant, Charli handed her a glass she’d pilfered from the bar. “Rinse your mouth and come back to the party. It won’t be the same without you.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

Charli held Audrey’s hair back from her face while she splashed water over her cheeks and rinsed her mouth. When Audrey straightened, she said, “Thanks, Charli. You’re a good friend.”

“Damn right I am. And only a good friend would know when something’s different.”

Audrey tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see. Now come on. We have a surprise for you.”

Charli hooked Audrey’s arm and led her back into the main bar.

Bunny, Cory and Jack had arrived and waved at her as she passed.

Charli refused to let her stop to say a proper hello, hauling her straight to the Christmas tree. Jackson stood there, a secret smile twitching around his lips.

Audrey’s brows pushed together. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on?”

Jackson nodded and winked.

Charli raised her fingers to her lips and blew a sharp, ear-splitting whistle, cutting through the chatter and laughter.

Everyone turned to face the Christmas tree and the three of them standing there.

Audrey’s cheeks burned as all eyes focused on her expectantly. “Thank you, Charli, but I really didn’t have a big speech prepared.”

Charli grinned. “That’s okay. I do.” She turned to the crowd. “As you all know, Audrey is like the grand dame for collecting strays—human strays, that is—in such a way that everyone who has come to work at the Ugly Stick Saloon has found their way back to a healthy, happy life. In the process of rebuilding our lives, we’ve found love and companionship that makes us that much richer and more complete.”

“I’m not responsible for all that,” Audrey protested.

Charli nodded. “Yes, you are. You have the biggest heart of anyone around here and have brought us together as a community. We all wanted to show our appreciation for you and just how much you mean to us. Thus the gifts.”