Cowboy Town (14 page)

“Thanks for putting yourself out there for me,” I murmur.

“It’s not just about that, darlin’.  I don’t like playing games.  I like upfront and honest – letting it all hang out.”

“Okay.  Just, for the record, I don’t like playing games either, unless there’s a deck of cards involved, or alcohol.” I tell him.

He pulls me into him and bursts out laughing, burying his face in my neck as he does.

When he stops laughing I take his head in my hands so he is looking directly into my eyes.  “Jackson, this
thing
between us, is it, uh… will you be, um.  Are we… exclusive?” I stutter.

“You bet your sweet ass we are, darlin’,” he replies immediately. 

“Oh, okay.  Good.” I say relieved.  As least I know where I stand.  That makes me feel a lot better about things.

“You got any plans in four Saturdays?” He asks suddenly.

“Not unless I’m working,” I reply.

“Talk to Doreen, ask her not to roster you on the Saturday or Sunday – fifteenth and sixteenth.”

“Why?”

“It’s Brunette Rodeo.  I want to take you.  Jeremy and I usually go up.   Both of us ride in the open events.”

“Ride?  Ride what?”  Surely he means the horses or something and not a thousand kilograms of bull.

“Bulls, Ace,” he grins.

“Oh god,” I groan, “You can’t ride bulls.  Have you ever watched Eight Seconds?  You’ll get hurt.”

“It’s only the open bullride, darlin’, we’ll be alright.  So you gonna come?”

“I guess,” I mutter sullenly. 

“God you’re adorable.  The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”  His eyes have turned intense and cloudy as he looks at me with veneration.

“Really?” I squeak out.  I’m feeling slightly uncomfortable with his compliments but that doesn’t mean I don’t like hearing them fall from his mouth.

“Soft kissable lips,” he murmurs before leaning in to touch his lips to mine. “Smooth, perfect golden skin,” he says as he runs his tongue up my arm, across my shoulder and over my collarbone.  “Deep brown eyes that I can get lost in.”  He whispers so seductively in my ear that a shiver ripples through my body.  Biting on my lobe, he continues, “Breasts made to fit my hands,” he cups my breasts, “And nipples that beg to be devoured.”

Oh god.

“All of that coupled with your personality – you can bring a man to his knees,” he admits softly.

Oh god.
  That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.

I don’t know what to say.  ‘Thank you’ sounds a bit lame after everything he’s just said, but I can’t think of anything else.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“No need to thank me, darlin’.  I’m only telling you the truth.”  He kisses my mouth and then cuddles me to him.  I think I fall asleep with a big, stupid, goofy grin on my face, but I don’t even care.

Chapter Seven

The next morning Jackson has to leave early so he can get back to the station in time for his workers to arrive.  I lie in bed and let my memory drift back over the night.

The kisses started out soft and slow but they soon turned urgent as desire warmed our bodies.  Laying me back on the bed, Jackson loomed over me and kissed down my neck and then he slid my shirt over my head, tossed it on the ground and resumed his kissing.  Taking a nipple into his mouth, he nipped it with his teeth – not hard enough to cause pain but hard enough to send a bolt of pleasure straight between my legs and then he soothed the sting with his tongue.  His hand trailed down my stomach until he found my slickened center.  Running his fingers through the wetness he groaned before plunging two fingers deep inside me.  Using his thumb, he manipulated my clit as he stroked the inner wall of me.  I knew it was coming when my breathing started to hitch.  He knew as well because his circles on my nub increased in pressure and pace.  Faster and harder he rubbed until I was screaming my release.  My hips jerked off the bed as I rode his hand, drawing my orgasm out.  Before I’d even finished pulsating, he flipped me over and positioned me.

My arms are stretched out in front of me; my hands gripping the sheets.  My stomach and breasts are flat on the bed.  My knees are bent and tucked under while my ass is in the air.  I felt Jackson crawl up the bed behind me and kneel between my opened legs.  His hands trailed patterns lightly over my ass and down the backs of my thighs.  “Please,” I mewl.

“Soon, Ace,” he whispered, still teasing me with me his soft caress.  I shifted my hips in the hope that he’d touch me where I needed him but he deprived me again.  He positioned his cock at my soaking entrance and slid all the way in.  “Oh god,” I whimper.  He slowly withdraws and the sunk in again.  “Fuck.  So fuckin’ good, baby,” he grits out through clenched teeth.

“Faster.  Please, baby, fuck me faster,” I begged.

“You’ll take it the way I’m gonna give it to you, baby.  And tonight, it’s gonna be slow,” he growled as he unhurriedly thrust into me again.

Gradually, I felt the burn start to build.  It consumed me until I could no longer fight it back.  I convulsed around him on a long, drawn out moan.  His pace started to quicken and I heard his breath hitch.  I knew he was close so I squeezed my muscles tight around him.  He slammed into me once more before emptying himself inside me.  He collapsed over me and I took his weight, lowering my knees so I was flat on the bed.  He kissed my bare shoulders repeatedly, softly.  I sighed in contentment.  Sex with Jackson just keeps getting better and better.

Oh god!  My eyes snap open and my hand jerks away from stroking my folds.  He finished inside me.  He’s never done that.  All the times we’ve done the wild thing, he’s pulled out and spilt his load on me.  Last night, he finished inside.  Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I went off the pill when I was travelling.  My script ran out and I didn’t bother trying to find a doctor or medical center to refill it.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.  I do the only thing I can do.  I pick up the phone and dial.

“Hello,” a sleep voice greets me.

“Jules, it’s me.  I have a problem.  I slept with Jackson and-,”

“Yay! That’s fantastic news.  Was he good?  Did he look after you or leave you hanging?  He doesn’t look like the kind of guy that would leave a girl hanging, so I’m betting he took care of you.  So happy for you, babes.”

“Yeah, I’ll fill you in with the details later but Jules, last night when we did it again, he didn’t pull out.  You see, every other time we’ve done it he didn’t come inside me but last night he
did.
  Oh god, Jules.  What am I going to do?”  I wail.

“Nothing sweetie, don’t stress.  You’re on the pill, remember? 

“No! No, no, no, no.  No, I’m not.  The script ran out while I was travelling.  I never got it refilled.   What if I fall pregnant, Jules?” I panic.

“Sweetie, the chances of you falling pregnant from one time are like, zero.  Or, not really zero, but close enough to it.”

“Unh-unh,” I frantically shake my head even though she can’t see me, “Remember Magdalena Cordoscova from school?  She claimed she’d only had sex with Bryan Simpson one time when she fell pregnant when she was sixteen.”

“Oh, yeah.  Well, maybe that was one off.  Just don’t stress about it until you know whether there’s something to stress about.  Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.  It’ll be fine.  I mean, if I am I’ll deal, either by myself or with Jackson.  It’ll be fine.”  I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince but it didn’t matter.  Like Jules said, there was no use worrying about something when I wasn’t even sure there was something to worry about yet.

“So, tell me how things are going between you two?”

“It’s good, Jules.  No, it’s
great.
  He took me up in a helicopter and flew me to his favorite place on the Station so we could watch the sunrise together.  And, he can cook.  Like, really well.  He introduced me to his mum and dad; they came to dinner as well, along with Jeremy and Oscar, his four year old nephew.  He wants to take me to Brunette Rodeo in a couple of weeks, and get this Jules – he and Jeremy are going to ride in the rodeo.  Bulls, Jules.  They ride fucking
bulls.
  I’m gonna freak my shit, I just know it.  Look what happened to Lane Frost.  My god if that happened to Jackson…  I wish you could come for the rodeo,” I pout.

I hear a sniffle on the other end of the line.  “Jules?  What’s wrong?  Are you okay?  Jules?”

“Yeah, yeah,” sniffle, “I’m fine,” sniffle, “It’s just, It’s been a long time, Edie, since I’ve heard you so happy, babe.  I’m just happy.” 

This time the sniffle came from me.

“Jules,” I whispered.

“Happy for you, honey.  I’ll see what I can do about Brunette Rodeo. Text me the dates when you get a chance, okay.”

“Will do.  I better let you go.  Talk to you soon.”

“Love you, Edie.”

“Love you too, Jules,”

I end the call and decide to push all thoughts of potential babies and pregnancy scares from my mind with a coffee from the Coffee House.

I order from Ava and after making small talk, I take my regular seat outside.

“So, news is spreading like wildfire around town about you and Jackson,” Ava says as she sets my coffee down.

Oh crap!
  I’d totally forgotten about Ava having feelings for Jackson.  I’d meant to talk to her about it but I’d been completely caught up in my own life and forgotten all about it.  I was such a shit friend.

“Listen, Ava, I’m really-,”

“I’m so happy for the both of you,” she claps her hands together, “You’re such a nice person, and it’s about time Jackson had a good woman in his life to make him happy.”

“But I thought... Ava, the other week at the pub when Jackson walked in, you … I thought that maybe you … that’s why I told him to dance with you …” I manage.

“Oh, Edie,” she gasps, “You didn’t think I had feeling for Jackson, did you?”

“Well, yeah.  He walked in and you perked up.” 

“No.  No, definitely no.  I perked up because-,” she pauses to pull a chair out and sit down next to me, “-I was hoping Jeremy would be with him,” she whispers.

“
Jeremy?”

“Shh! Yes, Jeremy.  It’s a long story and maybe with a lot of alcohol, I’ll tell it to you one day,” she’s still whispering.

We quickly discuss Brunette Rodeo and I find out that Ava is going as well – she goes every year – so we plan to meet up and keep each other company.  After that, Ava goes back to work, I suck down my coffee and head back to my cottage to clean and do laundry.

The next month passes quickly and the weekend of the Brunette Rodeo is upon us.  Jackson and I haven’t spent a night apart since our first date.  If I’m working a night shift, he meets me at the cottage.  If I work a day shift, I stay at Binowee Station.  The more I’m with him, the more I like him and all indications point to him feeling the same way.  Jules was able to get the Friday and the Monday off work, so she flew up very late last night.  Jackson insisted we stay at his place while Jules was in town because he had the room, and he didn’t like the idea of Jules sleeping on the couch (because he would be sharing my bed with me).  So Jackson drove us to Darwin Airport to pick Jules up and we arrived back at the house around midnight.  Jackson went straight to bed, while Jules and I stayed up for a few hours talking and having a few wines, because even though we were both tired, we had a lot of catching up to do. 

We’d only gotten a few hours of sleep when Jackson woke us up with a breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup and coffee.  We ate quickly, stopped in to pick up Jeremy (Oscar was staying in Darwin with his grandparents for the weekend) and shot off to Brunette in Jackson’s Land Cruiser wagon.  It’s a perfect match for his Ute – both are dark navy, and a perfect match for my RAV4. 

Jackson and Jeremy helped Jules and I set up our camp chairs and picnic blanket and left us with the esky while they went to finalize their registrations for the rodeo. 

“Hey,” Ava called as she dumped her camp chair and esky down with ours.  “Where is everyone?”

By ‘everyone’ I’m guessing she meant Jeremy.  I had filled Jules in about my mistake last night which led to me filling her in about Ava’s secret crush on Jeremy.  I didn’t think Ava would mind though, because Jules wasn’t about to take out an advertisement in the
Pine Creek Daily
.

“The boys are over doing their registrations,” I point in the direction they left.

We spend the afternoon watching the different events, including bare back bronc riding, calf roping and even steer wrestling.  We drank wine, ate marinated pork spare ribs and roast beef and Swiss sandwiches (which Jackson had packed) and of course we checked out the cowboys.  It was dark by the time the open bull riders were called to the back of the chutes and I was feeling pretty relaxed thanks mostly to the wine I had consumed.  Jackson bent down to take my lips in a swift, soft kiss before he went back to warm up.

“See ya in a bit, Ace,”

“Be careful, please,” I murmur.

“Always, baby.”

He turns to Jeremy and says, “Time to cowboy the fuck up, brother.”