Cowboy Love on Hold [Love: The Cowboy Way 1]

Love: The Cowboy Way 1

LUXIE RYDER

Copyright © 2011

Chapter 1

“Hey!”

Kimberley Williams tightened her grip on Wade Gardener’s arm, her gaze fixed on the man strolling ahead of them on the wooden veranda lining the storefronts, waiting for him to turn around at the sound of Wade’s voice. But he didn’t. A gentle tug pulled her attention back to the man at her side, and she looked up to find him smiling down at her.

“I was talking to you.” Wade leaned in and brushed his mouth against her ear, sending a tingle racing through her body right down to her toes. “If you weren’t so busy staring at that guy’s ass, you’d have heard me talking at you for the last five minutes.”

She pulled away, surprised by his words and ready to tell him she’d been doing nothing of the kind, but even as she shook her head, she could feel a heat growing in her cheeks. Wade’s gray eyes twinkled with mirth, the edge of his wide mouth quirking up into a teasing smile and, as usual, Kimber was putty.

“Okay, I was staring, but not for the reason you think. That guy... the way he walks reminds me of someone.” She gestured down the street, towards the tall, rangy figure about to step out from the shade and into the heat of a stifling New Mexico afternoon. Dressed in the cowboy uniform of jeans, T-shirt, and a Stetson, he strode out into the sunshine, legs a little akimbo like he’d lost his horse. It should have been funny, but it wasn’t. It was just plain sexy.

Wade chuckled under his breath. “There’s a Clydesdale somewhere without a rider, huh?” Kimber elbowed him in the ribs, about to remind him for the millionth time in their eighteen years together that he wasn’t quite as funny as he thought he was, but the smile had slipped from his face, his eyes narrowing as he reassessed the guy. “He sure looks familiar, now you come to mention it.”

Her stomach lurched as the blond stranger stopped in front of another store and ran his hand across the back of his neck in a gesture that could only belong to one man. “Oh, my God! It’s
—
”

“Brandon!” Wade beat her to it, shouting out the guy’s name loud enough for the whole of Catron County to hear. Brandon turned towards them, his gaze wary until it found first Wade and then her. A slow grin spread across his face, and he shook his head in disbelief as Wade bore down on him, arms extended. The two men collided in a tangle of hats, laughter, rough hugs, and swearing.

“Brandon Reed, you son of a bitch! Where ya been all these years?”

“Wade! What the hell are you two still doing living in Chelwood? Didn’t you always dream of practicing law at one of those big multinationals in Albuquerque?”

“I took over Dad’s place when he died, just after you left town. Mom wanted to move into the city, but she couldn’t do it unless I agreed to run the ranch, so what choice did I have, right?” Wade turned, reaching for Kimber and dragging her forward, his brow creasing when she resisted. He turned to Brandon, as if feeling the need to explain her reaction. “She’s as shocked to see you as I am.”

“Hey, Kimber,” Brandon said, his eyes watchful as she tried, and obviously failed, to give him a convincing smile. “Damn! You haven’t changed a bit.” He spread his arms wide, waiting for her to give him the kind of greeting he deserved. She hesitated only for a second longer, and then stepped into his embrace.

Brandon’s scent and warmth took her breath away, the sensation evoking memories she thought she’d buried long ago. He tucked her head under his chin in a gesture that felt as familiar as breathing to her, and suddenly, she felt like she was eighteen again, crying against his chest and clinging to him as he told her he was leaving town forever and that he wanted her to forget him. Kimber pulled away before the urge to cry became real tears and fixed her gaze on his nose, unable to handle what she might see in his eyes.

“How...how have you been?” She forced the words past the lump in her throat, her hand reaching for Wade’s as she tried to ground herself by touching the man she was still madly in love with.

Brandon looked down, his gaze fixed on the tip of his boot and his jaw clenched. “Not good.”

Kimber stared into his face, ashamed at her reaction to him now that she could sense something was very obviously wrong. She kept hold of Wade and reached out to grab Brandon’s hand, too. He raised his head, and Kimber gasped when she saw the tears misting his eyes and a tremor in his lip. “Oh, my God, Brandon, what’s going on?”

“It’s my mom...she died.” His voice, barely more than a husky whisper, faded away to nothing.

Her own feelings no longer mattered as she watched the man she had once been in love with mourn the death of the only family he had. Reaching up as high as she could, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to her shoulder. Brandon clutched at her, his fingers holding her tight and his whole body shaking, no doubt wracked with the kind of anguish she knew he wouldn’t want to show in public.

“Aw, man...I’m so sorry, Buddy.” Wade stepped up beside them, placing a hand on Brandon’s shoulder and giving him a gentle shake, the other caressing Kimber’s back. Cocooned by a solid wall of muscle when the two men, both at least six inches taller than her, hugged each other briefly, she ignored the spike of lust surging through her body. They didn’t embrace for long, and when it ended, the warmth of their bodies was replaced by a cold wave of shame crawling over her skin.

“It must have been sudden. We haven’t seen her in a while, but last we heard she was doing okay.” Wade seemed a little stunned by the news.

Lost in the thoughts and feelings assaulting her, Kimber had forgotten that he’d practically grown up in Mrs. Reed’s house. Wade and Brandon had met in first grade and had been almost inseparable until the day Brandon had shocked the hell out of everyone and joined the army. Kimber and Brandon were the ones who were dating when she was first introduced to Wade.

Brandon straightened up and adjusted his hat, his gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. “Yeah, she was. Turns out, she had a bad heart.” He sucked in a ragged breath. “Nobody knew. I mean, how could they—she’d never been sick a day in her life.”

Kimber found her voice. “So you’re in town for the funeral?”

“I’ve been here a few days. I got here just before she...you know. Luckily, I had a chance to say goodbye.” Brandon cleared his throat, trying to steady the tremble in his voice. “The funeral is on Friday, but I’ve got a few things to do yet, like contact her friends and sort out the legal stuff...”

“You’re doing it all on your own?” Brandon nodded, and Kimber felt stupid for asking the question. Growing up, the only people he’d ever had were his mother and his best friend Wade—and Kimber, too, for a while.

“Well, you’re not alone anymore.” Wade wrapped his arm around his friend, steering him away from the store and pointing to a shiny black pickup parked at the curb. “Finish up whatever it is you have to do in town and meet us back here in an hour. You’re coming to our place for dinner.”

“Can’t do it today, Wade. I’ve got so much still to organize.”

“What about tomorrow? You got anything planned then?”

“I’ve got a meeting with the lawyer back at the ranch at lunchtime, but nothing after that.”

Wade nodded. “It’s a done deal. I’ll be heading by your place around two. I’ll pick you up then.”

Brandon looked as if he was going to refuse, but Wade’s chin lifted, and anybody who knew him as well as Kimber and Brandon did knew there was no point putting up a fight. He agreed reluctantly, his gaze fixed on Kimber, as if trying to gauge her reaction. Brandon gave her a brittle smile, promised he’d see them both soon, and then turned and walked away.

Kimber watched him leave, wondering why a pang of guilt at the thought she was betraying Brandon left her almost breathless. She allowed Wade to take her hand again, but the feeling didn’t last long, which was just as well because Wade seemed set on seducing her for the rest of the day. He barely kept his hands to himself while she was picking out some new underwear in the store, and she joked about threatening to call security to keep him from following her into the changing room. He’d claimed he was simply offering to “help make sure it all fit.”

The drive home was no less chaotic, with Wade suggesting they pull over into every quiet side road and sheltered spot so he could have his way with her body. She fought him off until they reached the house, but by then, she was as crazy for him as he was for her. They never made it to the bedroom. Wade pounced as soon as he shut the front door. He tore the shopping bags from her hands, dumped them on the bench and then spun her away from him, making her lean against the wall as he slid up behind her. His teeth grazed her neck, and his hands burrowed beneath her T-shirt to scoop her breasts in his hands and hold her hard against him.

Kimber groaned when Wade’s touch caused more heat and moisture to flood her already throbbing pussy, her muscles quivering in tiny, almost electric spasms. She didn’t know what the hell had gotten into Wade, but she was glad it had. Making love with him was always great, but it had been a while since he’d wanted urgent, dirty sex with her.

Wade pressed his lips against her ear, his breath warm against her sensitive flesh. “You want me to fuck you here…right out in the hall?” He chose that moment to slide his thigh between hers and rub against her. Kimber could do no more than gasp and nod her consent. Wade wasn’t going to let her get away with that. “You want it? You ask for it.”

He flipped open her jeans and thrust his hand inside, his fingers finding her clit before she could prepare for his touch. Kimber’s mind went almost totally blank, and then, for some reason, she thought of Brandon and the time they went to third base, and Brandon was touching her in the same way. She struggled to push the memory out of her brain, and when Wade panted in her ear that he would stop if she didn’t tell him what she wanted him to do to her, she latched on to the sound and feel of him, her body going rigid as his caresses intensified.

“Fuck me, Wade…I want you to fuck me. I want you inside me—now!” He swore and ground his hard cock against her ass while his hands continued to drive her crazy, one rubbing her bud relentlessly, the other buried inside her bra, rolling and plucking at her nipple with his fingertips. He grunted in approval and bit the curve of her neck, grinding his erection into her again.

“Oh, I’m gonna fuck you, baby, but not quite yet. First, I want to see you come for me.” His fingers left her clit for a second to delve inside her folds and spread some of her wetness over her flesh before he pressed them to her bud again and rubbed harder and faster than before. “I want you to come hard, crying and shaking and screaming my name.”

Kimber’s legs began to shake. “Oh, God! Yes, Wade, fuck yes. I’m coming…”

Her hands left the wall, and she surged backwards, pressing her body against his when the first spasm of her orgasm hit. Her knees turned to jelly, and if it wasn’t for his hands buried inside her clothing and holding him to her, she’d have sunk to the ground. He thrust his thigh further between hers, as if balancing her on it, and lifted her feet from the floor. Kimber’s body weight shifted down to rest on the place where her pussy met Wade’s leg, and she screamed as her climax intensified at the pressure, reaching over her head and tearing at handfuls of his hair. He hissed in pain, but didn’t stop or let go until he’d drawn out every last bit of her orgasm from her quivering flesh.

Kimber let go of him and collapsed against the wall, her palms pressed flat on the wood paneling as she struggled to take a full breath.

“Ouch,” Wade said, and she could hear him rubbing his head.

Kimber let out a husky croak that was meant to be a laugh and looked over her shoulder. “Serves you right. That’s what you get for messing with me. Maybe you’ll be more careful next time.”

Wade shifted her forward so she stood on her own feet once more. “Who’s talking about next time? I haven’t finished messing with you this time yet.”

He tugged her jeans and pants down her legs to pool at her ankles and then stepped back and pulled down his own. His erection sprang free, long, thick, and glistening with the evidence of his arousal. Wade leaned over Kimber as she bent at the waist, urging her to place her palms on the wall once more. His hands slid under her body, caressing her torso and abdomen while he aligned his pelvis with hers. Tightening his hold on her, he grasped her hips and held Kimber steady as he slid the first thick inch of his cock inside her pussy. She moaned and surged back to meet him, greedily sucking him in.