Cowboy Up (7 page)

Getting out of the creek while wearing soggy jeans and a T-shirt was tricky, but she managed it right as Clay appeared. Of course he’d show up while she was in the middle of making a fool of herself. He’d put his shirt on but hadn’t fastened the snaps, so his glorious chest was still fully visible when he hurried forward and the breeze caught and parted the material.

“What happened?” He offered his hand to help her up the embankment.

“Would you believe I was pushed by a moose?”

“I thought I heard something crashing through the trees when I got out of the truck. You must have scared the hell out of him.”

“Oh, yeah.” Emily found solid footing and paused to shove her dripping hair out of her eyes. “I had him on the run, no question.”

Clay released her hand and stepped back to survey the damage. “I have a blanket in the truck.”

“That would be nice.” A blanket sounded good right now, but it could lead to…several things. She decided not to think about the various options, for fear she’d become invested in one of those outcomes.

Now that she was out of the water, her clammy clothes felt icky and cold. If Clay hadn’t been right there, she would have peeled them off, but she wasn’t supposed to be doing anything that could be construed as sexual. Removing clothes could easily be interpreted as an invitation.

In truth, she wouldn’t mind making such an invitation, if only her conscience would check out for a while. She was shivery and he looked warm and cozy. More than that, she could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he still wanted her, and that was reassuring, considering that she must look like a bedraggled mess.

He gazed at her a moment longer, and then glanced around. “Where are your boots and hat?”

“Over by that log.” She pointed to the spot, but her wet jeans were so heavy she felt cemented to the ground.

As if he understood that completely, he walked over and grabbed her stuff. “Hold these.”

She took everything, and before she realized what he had in mind, he’d swept her dripping self up in his arms and moved off through the trees as if he carried women all the time. She felt silly being thrilled by such a macho gesture, but her romantic, little heart loved it.

Still, she was a modern woman with modern sensibilities. “You don’t have to do this,” she said as he tromped through the underbrush, crushing leaves and twigs under his boots. “I can walk.”

“No, you can’t. Going barefoot in the forest is a really bad idea, and your jeans are so wet you’d probably stain the leather of those top-of-the-line Ropers. I can’t stand to see a good pair of boots suffer.”

She laughed. “So this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with my boots.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that once I get you to the truck, you’ll want to take off those wet clothes and wrap up in the blanket. I have a strong suspicion that somewhere in that process, we’re going to get very friendly.”

Desire slammed into her with the force of a medicine ball in the gut. She glanced up at him, but all she could see was his very determined profile. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Probably not, but there’s an air of inevitability about it. Besides, no one should go through life believing that an orgasm is no different than a sneeze. That’s just pitiful.”

7

C
LAY HAD APPROACHED THE CREEK
with the best of intentions. Emily was absolutely right that any sexual move on his part would raise the stakes. In the afterglow of the amazing climax she’d given him, he hadn’t cared. But digging a fire pit and hauling rocks tended to steady a guy and help him face reality.

In his case, facing reality meant staying away from Emily Sterling. Now that he had his degree and a great job, he was ripe for commitment, but his dream girl would love ranching and specifically love the Last Chance. Sarah Chance had already told Clay that he could have a little plot of ranch land whenever the domestic urge hit.

He could see that day coming soon, although he hadn’t dated anyone since moving back to Jackson Hole. He might want to remedy that so that he wouldn’t be susceptible to a beautiful woman like Emily—the wrong woman who’d shown up at the right time.

His mind had been clear and focused until he’d arrived to discover that she’d fallen into the damn creek. His mind was still clear, but it was focused on an entirely different goal. As he carried her back to where he’d parked the truck, he tried to imagine getting through the next thirty minutes without touching her naked body. Sadly, he wasn’t that strong.

If only she didn’t want him as much as he wanted her, then maybe he could have ignored this opportunity. But she did want him. He could tell by the way she wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and pressed her body close. Her heat penetrated her wet clothes so thoroughly that he wouldn’t be surprised to see steam rising as he strode through the woods.

“I’m turning into a lot of trouble, huh?” She shifted her weight and snuggled against him.

He stifled a groan as his cock responded. “Yeah, you sure are.”

“Would you believe I drove over here to spread sunshine and love?”

“Yep.” The navy blue pickup came into view. “You spread quite a bit of it when you unzipped my jeans this afternoon.”

“You’re really not going to forget that, are you?”

“Never.”

“Never? Oh, come on. Aren’t you being a little too dramatic?”

He walked around to the back of the truck. “Emily, a guy might forget a woman’s birthday or the loaf of bread he was supposed to bring home from the store, but he’ll never forget a spectacular blow job.”

“Oh.”

“That’s my Guide to Guys tip for the day.” He paused at the rear of the truck. “Now just sit tight on the bumper while I get the blanket.” He eased her down to the chrome-plated surface. “Is it too hot?”

“No, actually, it feels good.”

He imagined warmth working itself through her wet jeans to the part of her body he was personally focused on. The warm bumper might give her a jump start on pleasure. “I’ll take your boots and hat.”

She handed them over and glanced up at him, her green eyes mischievous. “So it was spectacular, huh?”

He met her gaze. “You’ve set the bar pretty high, but that’s okay. I’m up to the challenge.” As he walked around to the cab and deposited her hat and boots inside, he wondered if she’d been able to tell that he was just plain
up
, period. The prospect of caressing her until she came apart in his arms was causing his johnson some discomfort, but without condoms, he’d have to ignore that side effect.

“I’ve never agreed to a thing, you know,” she called out from her perch. “I can ride home in the truck bed so I won’t get the seat wet. No blanket required.”

He took that for token resistance and grabbed the old wool blanket from behind the seat. “Emmett would never forgive me.” He carried the blanket to the back of the truck. “But it’s up to you. Is that what you want?”

She’d finger-combed her wet hair and she looked like the winning contestant in a wet T-shirt contest. For all the good her bra and shirt were doing her, she might as well be naked. That idea sounded good to him.

“I don’t want to get you in trouble with my dad,” she said. “Or get me in trouble, either, for that matter. Let’s face it, I’m here for the short term. With your…background, that makes me a liability to…to your mental health.”

Clay sighed. “So you’re worried about me because I was a poor foster kid, is that it?”

“Well…yeah.”

“Do me a favor and forget that, okay? I’m not an emotional cripple, and I can handle this situation just fine.”

She gazed at him. “All right.”

“So now we’re back to you. What do
you
want?”

“What I want is to get out of these miserable clothes ASAP. But even if I take them off now, they won’t magically get dry in time, so what have I gained?”

He smiled. “Something I can guarantee you’ll never forget, either.”

“You’re incorrigible.” Her reprimand didn’t have much punch to it, especially considering the glow of excitement in her green eyes. “You and I both know I can’t go back to the ranch wearing nothing but a blanket.” She swung her bare feet back and forth.

He noticed purple toenail polish and realized he liked that she was playful when it came to such things. “Sure you can, especially if you have on underwear. And in this heat, your bra and panties will dry in no time.”

“You mean while I’m wearing them?”

He didn’t mean that and she damn well knew it, but he’d play the game. “They’ll dry a hell of a lot faster draped over the tailgate.” He held her gaze so that she wouldn’t mistake his meaning. While her underwear dried, he’d be doing his level best to make her very, very wet.

“You’re seriously suggesting I walk back into the house wrapped in a blanket?”

“Why not? You fell in the creek and then used the blanket to protect your modesty while you took off your shirt and jeans so you wouldn’t get the upholstery all wet.”

“And you think everyone will buy that?”

“In the first place, you might be lucky enough to make it upstairs without being seen. Even if you are seen, it won’t matter as long as you treat it like an accident you had to handle in the best way you could. But I can guarantee that if I haul you home in the back of the pickup, I’ll hear about it from your dad. That’s not how a cowboy treats a lady.”

She studied him for several seconds. At last she seemed to come to a decision. “How does a cowboy treat a lady?”

He let out a long, slow breath. “Let me show you.”

“But what if somebody comes?”

He just grinned. No need to say a single thing.

“I didn’t mean it like
that
. What if somebody shows up here while we’re…involved?”

His heart hammered in anticipation. She was considering it. “Highly unlikely.”

“Then…yes.”

Glory, hallelujah, he’d won. He might regret this later, but at the moment he was filled with jubilation. She would go along with the plan, and his insides did a victory dance. He started forward, but she held up her hand like a traffic cop.

“I’ll take care of the beginning stages.” She reached for the hem of her T-shirt and, to his delight, peeled it off over her head. Because the shirt was so wet, he’d known in advance that her bra was a white lacy affair that offered a tantalizing glimpse of her nipples, tight as wild raspberries under the confining lace.

Even so, his heart hammered at the prospect of touching her there, of drawing a taut nipple into his mouth and rolling it with his tongue… He was so mesmerized by the prospect that he almost missed the T-shirt when she tossed it at him. But he’d played basketball at a community youth center when he was a kid, and his reflexes were still decent. He caught the wadded-up shirt in one hand.

“It feels so great to have that gone!” She stretched her arms over her head. “Now for the jeans. If I stand on the bumper, will you help me get them off?”

He laughed. “Oh, yeah.” He realized that somehow she’d managed to turn the tables on him. He’d intended to seduce her, but it seemed to be going the other way. “But stand on the same spot where you’ve been sitting, so the chrome won’t be so hot.”

“Good idea.” Swinging her legs up onto the bumper, she took hold of the tailgate and pulled herself to a standing position with her back to him. “I’m steadier turned this way. If I hold on, can you just—”

“You bet. Glad to help.” Laying the folded blanket on the end of the bumper and his hat on top of that, he reached around and worked at the metal button, that didn’t want to go through the wet buttonhole.

“If you’ll hold on to me, I can try,” she said.

“Nope. I’ve about got it. There it goes.” He took hold of the zipper, which wasn’t easy to deal with, either, but at last he was able to slide the jeans over her hips.

Only thing was, her panties wanted to come along for the ride. What the hell. She’d planned to take them off anyway.

As he exposed her smooth skin, she sucked in a breath.

“Can’t help it,” he muttered. “Everything’s stuck together.”

“Mmm.”

His pulse quickened. She had such a curvy, tempting backside. Before he’d quite realized what he intended to do, he’d leaned over and pressed his mouth against her cool skin.

“Clay…”

He couldn’t tell whether she’d said his name as a protest or a plea. But when he flicked his tongue over the same spot, she whimpered in a way that removed all doubt. Green light. He nibbled and kissed his way across the small of her back as he moved to her other silken cheek.

The scent of arousal called to him, and he slipped his hand between her thighs. She was still trapped in her jeans, so he didn’t have much room to maneuver, but he couldn’t resist. There. He found her moist entrance and her hot trigger point.

Her ragged breathing told him that he could make her come in seconds. But that wasn’t his plan. He didn’t want her to climax while tangled in wet denim. So he teased her lightly, all the while placing kisses on her delicious bottom. Then he withdrew his hand and savored the impatient noise she made in the back of her throat.

“Not yet,” he murmured as he peeled her jeans and panties down to her ankles. “Step out.”

She did, and he shoved them aside. They fell on the ground, but he was past caring about that. “Turn around. I’ll help you.”

He steadied her by holding on to her waist as she pivoted on one bare foot and found purchase with the other. He would never forget the sight of her purple toenails as she braced her feet on the chrome bumper.

Slowly his gaze traveled upward, past her tanned, shapely legs to a spot that had never seen the sun, the golden triangle that marked his ultimate destination.

She swallowed. “Clay, I’m feeling a little shy. Maybe we should—”

“Shh. Let me look. You’re so beautiful, Emily.” Her decision to stand on the bumper had accidental benefits he hadn’t realized until now. By reaching back to grasp the tailgate, she’d angled her lace-covered breasts forward, and they were at the perfect level.

Heart racing with excitement, he glanced up at her. “Now this is what I call a tailgate party.”

Her shallow breathing and flushed cheeks revealed her excitement, even though she frowned at him. “So help me, Clay, if someone shows up I’ll kill you.”

Holding her gaze, he unfastened the front clasp of her bra. “Want to move into the cab?”

“Yes…” She moaned as he smoothed back the lace and cradled her breasts in both hands. “No…I don’t know.”

He began a slow massage as he leaned in to kiss her full lips. “When you do, tell me.”

Her eager welcome was his answer. She kissed him with enough enthusiasm to make him dizzy. Desire pulsed through him with such urgency that he fantasized spreading the blanket on the ground, unfastening his jeans and taking her.

Gasping and fighting for control, he drew back and looked into green eyes wild with passion. “Damn, Emily.”

She gulped for air. “We should stop.”

“I know.” He brushed her rock-hard nipples with his thumbs. “I can’t.” He kissed her again, thrusting his tongue deep as his cock strained against the fly of his jeans.

She groaned and pushed her breasts against his palms, reminding him that she had other delights he’d promised himself. He never expected to have this chance again, and he didn’t want to miss anything. Reluctantly leaving the pleasure of her hot mouth, he kissed his way down to her breasts.

“I want you,” she said, her voice breathless. “I want you so much.”

He circled her nipple with his tongue. “I know.”

“Are you sure…” She panted as he tugged on her nipple with his teeth. “You really don’t have any…”

“No.” He licked a path over to her other breast.

She groaned again. “I need you.”

“I’m here.” Still teasing her quivering breasts with his mouth, he reached between her damp thighs. She couldn’t have his cock, but she could have this. As he pushed his fingers in deep, she tightened around him in response.

Aching with needs he couldn’t satisfy, he stroked her steadily. The liquid sound mimicked the rhythmic beat of mating, and yet it wasn’t. She was so wet, so responsive, so perfect. And he’d never know the joy of sliding into that pulsing channel. He’d never join with her in the way a man was meant to unite with a woman.

Her soft cries grew faster and more desperate, and he increased the pace. As she came, her contractions squeezed his fingers and her warmth bathed them in the sweet nectar of release. He stifled a groan of frustration.

He’d spent a good part of his life wanting what he couldn’t have. Now it seemed he’d have to add Emily Sterling to the list.

T
HE MOST INTENSE ORGASM
of Emily’s life was followed by boneless languor, and she gratefully accepted the help of Clay’s strong arms as he eased her down from her precarious perch and carried her around to the passenger side of the truck. She felt like a rag doll as he leaned into the cab and deposited her carefully on the seat.

Moments later he was back with the blanket, but she couldn’t imagine wrapping herself in it while she was still glowing like an ember. She tucked the blanket beside her tilted head and against the seat, and looked out the windshield at the trees that surrounded the front part of the truck. Clay had pulled it partway into the forest, probably to shade the cab.

The back, however, had been open to the meadow, and that’s where she’d chosen to let Clay give her an orgasm. Now that she’d done it, she wondered if that explained why the experience had been so intense. She’d never allowed herself that kind of sexual adventure in the great outdoors.