Dakota Love Me: Tiller Brothers Book 2 (3 page)

Dakota took her hand and walked her over to a dollar machine.  “Sit here Tammy and put the money in this slot.”  She did as he told her.  “Now let’s bet the maximum so all you have to do is push this red button right here.”

The three wheels spun around and around and ended with three red sevens on the same line.  There was an American flag through each seven’s middle with a ribbon with the word “triple” weaving through the flag.  The machine started flashing lights and making the loudest bells and dinging noises Georgia had ever heard.

“We won!” Georgia shouted and the dollar amount at the top of the slot machine started showing their winnings, slowly increasing by hundreds of dollars.  She jumped up and threw her arms around Dakota and kissed him.  She pulled back smiling and laughing, and Dakota reached down and pulled her back into her arms and resumed the kiss.  The kiss went on and on with the bells and the dinging going off in the machine behind them.  When the machine noise finally quieted down, everyone was applauding them but they weren’t paying any attention to anyone in the room but each other.  Dakota’s tongue was inside her mouth and he was growling again.  She was clinging to him.

Someone tapped Georgia on the shoulder.  “Excuse me ma’am.”  She pulled back and looked at the casino attendant, her eyes trying to focus.  Her eyes were glazed and she had forgotten about her winnings. “I need you to sign this IRS form and this voucher and take it over to the cashier for the distribution of your eight thousand dollars minus the IRS share, of course.  Are you staying here?”

“Yes,” she answered still in disbelief.  He quickly talked into his phone and told the cashier they were on the way over.

“They will be able to give you the money in cash or even put it in the safe for you.  I’ll have a guard escort you over.  Congratulations.”

Dakota took her hand.  She was blushing and laughing and jumping up and down.  “You can leave me twenty dollars for breakfast anytime you want.  And we have to share this money.”

“Oh no, all I want is for you to be my guest this week to all the events, but you can buy dinner tonight,” he said to her in a heartfelt and excited voice.

“You’re on.  Thank you Dakota.  I’m through gambling though. I will never win this much money again in my life and I don’t want to give it back to the casino.  Do you think that is okay?”

He smiled at her innocence.  “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

She handed the completed IRS form and the voucher to the cashier.  They asked for her id and if they could announce her winnings and take her picture to put on their winner’s board.”

“Would it be alright if you didn’t do that?  I’m a single woman and really don’t want my name announced.”

“Of course it will be alright, Ms. Cooper.  We have upgraded your room as part of your winnings.  You’ll now be in room ten fifty-five.  Stop by the front desk and you can pick up your key card and there will be a bottle of complimentary champagne in your room. ”

Georgia spoke, her voice still shaking, “Can you deposit the money in my checking account except for five hundred dollars, which I’ll take with me.”   They said they could and she gave them her checking account information.

“Where to now my lucky lady?”

She did a few more jumps in the air, and grabbed his hand.  “I know this is crazy, but I’d like to walk over to the Thomas & Mack Center where the rodeo is going on and check on my horse.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.  Any other woman would have said let’s go shopping, but you are one of a kind.  It’s a long walk.  You want to take a shuttle?”

“Sure, then we’ll have more time to explore Las Vegas.”

They had watched some of the barrel racing as Georgia had some friends who had made the finals.  After checking on her horse, and making sure her saddle was secure they took the shuttle back to the strip.  They watched a fashion show which was located across the street from the exclusive Wynn Resort.  Dakota enjoyed watching Georgia as she drooled over all the cowgirl fashions which were always a big crowd pleaser during the NFR.  Then they switched to night gowns.  He especially loved the lingerie that he knew would look so sexy on her.  She didn’t want to buy anything and just wanted to enjoy the show.  They just sat and drank beer and enjoyed watching the tourists as well as the show.  One beautiful honey colored silk night gown caught Dakota’s eye and he envisioned Georgia in it.  He excused himself for a minute and went up to a cashier and bought it for her and asked it to be sent to her hotel room.

They went into the Paris and went up to the Eifel Tower and then looked at all the shops.  Georgia really loved the ceilings that looked like clouds and sky.  After the Paris they went to the Venetian and took a Gondola Ride and Georgia was like a little kid.  She was enjoying herself so much.  Through it all, Dakota held her hand and stole a kiss or two.  They talked about everything; favorite places they had been, their favorite foods and movies…about how their ranches were different, but mostly they talked about family.

The evening found them at the Wynn.  Georgia loved the flower tiles on the floor and the glass balls hanging from the ceilings.  They decided to eat at their luxury restaurant and sat at a table facing the water pond.  At first they worried that they weren’t dressed up enough, but with the NFR attracting so many cowboys to Vegas, the western more relaxed wear seemed to be accepted.  After dinner they found a night club featuring country music and danced until about eleven. 

Dakota really liked the slow dances when he got to hold Georgia and nibble on her neck and listen to her make those crazy sexy noises that she made.  It just felt right having her in his arms.  He noticed that she was looking a little tired.  She had gotten up early to go do her race.  The stress of that event was finally catching up with her.  They had stacked a lot of doing into the afternoon and the evening.  Since he had had very little sleep the night before he decided they needed to head back to the Caesar’s Palace.

In the elevator he held Georgia in front of him and pulled her back close to his chest.  He ran his hands up her sides to stroke under her breasts as he nibbled on her ear.  “You look beautiful.  I had so much fun with you today I can’t wait to spend tomorrow with you.”

She turned and smiled at him, “It was one of the best I’ve had in a long time.  Thank you Dakota.”

They exited the elevator and he walked her to the door.  He pulled her in his arms and kissed her like he had wanted to since they had kissed that morning at the winning slot machine.  She was running her fingers through his hair and making little purring noises.  He pushed her back against the door and lifted her body placing her woman’s core next to his swollen cock. 

“I want you so bad, but I am leaving you now.  I’ll see you tomorrow at the exercise room at seven, okay honey?”  He sat her back on the ground.

“Dakota come in and have some champagne with me,” she ran her fingers over his cheek as she looked into his eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t want too, Georgia, but I promised I would let you get to know me better.  I know our relationship started out with an explosion of heat, but I want to court you proper and show you how much I respect you, so darlin’, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He took her key card and gave her a quick kiss before he opened the door and pushed her inside and closed the door.  He stepped away from the door and took a deep breath.  He wanted to pound his head on the wall.

I’m so stupid
.

He wanted to go with her and continue what they had started this morning but he wanted more than tonight with her and if it killed him he was going to court her proper, well as least as long as he could hold out. And if she kept returning his kisses with so much heat, it would be sooner than later.

***

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the door. 
Damn, why did I act like such a prude this morning
?  She wanted Dakota more than she had ever wanted anyone.  She was happy he had shown her respect and that he wanted to court her, but after today she felt she knew him better than any man she had ever known.  Maybe he wasn’t just a womanizing cowboy.  Maybe there could be a tomorrow or even an ever after with Dakota.  She wanted a Cody and Tammy kind-of-love. 
Damn, I want that.  Is it possible?
  She still had her doubts. Good God just look at him. 
He’s on a whole other level of gorgeousness
.  Why he even looked at her, she didn’t understand.

Georgia still wasn’t sure they could have that kind of a bond, but she wanted to give it a try.  Another night of love-making with Dakota would have been unbelievable, but the fact that he wanted to date her first and get to know her better was a good step in building a relationship that could last.  She liked him a lot and wanted to see where this connection would go, but she doubted she would last long without making love to him. She was afraid the next time she saw him; she’d be doing the jumping.

She turned and looked at her new room.  Her luggage had already been brought up.  It was definitely an upgrade and it had a stunning room view of the whole strip with a small balcony.  The champagne was chilling in ice and the bed was turned down. The sheets looked like silk. On the bed was a box.  She opened it up and saw it was one of the night gowns from the Fashion Show that she had liked and there was a note from Dakota. 
I’ll be dreaming of you in this tonight.  Sweet dreams. Yours, Dakota.
She laughed feeling giddy.  What a beautiful gift.  Of course it was too personal, but then again she’d already made love with him.

Her cell phone binged.  She opened the phone and saw it was a text from Dakota.
Georgia I just wanted to say good night.  I had a wonderful day with you.  And even though leaving you was one of the hardest things I have ever done, I do want you to know you are a special woman and I never ever thought of you as anything else.  See you tomorrow at 7:00 in the gym.

She quickly wrote back,
Thank you for a wonderful day.  It was one of the best days of my life, well except for the race and my mother-in-law’s bad attitude, but you more than made up for that. The night gown was beautiful.  I love the honey color.  Wish you were here to see me in it
.

A few seconds later her phone binged again.  Georgia smiled and read the incoming text. 
You’re killing me.  I want to turn around and head back up to your room but I am a man of my word.  Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.  Night honey.

Night Dakota.

Dakota was waiting outside the door to the exercise room with a huge grin on his face.  They were both wearing their NFR rodeo contestant shirts they had been given in their welcome bags.  Tammy had on leggings and Dakota was wearing long shorts.

He kissed her in greeting and hugged her.  “You smell so good I could eat you...hmmm.”

No one else was there.  He figured everyone else had hangovers and were still in bed.  He grabbed them some towels by the door as they walked over to the equipment.  She chose a bike and he jumped on the treadmill.  They talked about their plans for the day and she asked him if he would have breakfast with her family.  They were supposed to meet about eight.

“I’d love to Georgia, but if your mother-in-law acts up don’t be surprised if I accidently spill something on her.”

“You wouldn’t?” she laughed.

“Probably not but I’d like too, does that count?”

They got into their work out and Dakota started running as fast as he could at the highest speed.  They weren’t talking but it didn’t feel strange or uncomfortable.  When a half hour was up, they wrapped towels around their shoulders and drank the cold bottles of water that were provided in a bucket full of ice.

“I’m going to go into the changing room and take a quick towel bath.”

Dakota’s eyes lit up.  “Can I help?”  What she didn’t’ know was that he was dead serious.

She whipped a towel at his chest.  “Steady there big guy…I’ll be right back.”

Dakota relaxed and continued to hydrate.  He was fighting going into the ladies changing room and pulling that t-shirt over her head and licking off all her sweat.  Even sweaty she smelt scrumptious, like oranges.  He wanted to eat her up starting at her toes. 
Can my cock get any harder
?  He had been in a state of arousal since he had seen her get off the elevator yesterday. 
Has it only been a day?
 
Feels like a week
. He knew he liked her; hell maybe was even falling for her.  He had never abstained for any woman before. In the past if a woman hadn’t been interested, no sweat, there were a dozen more waiting for him at the end of the autograph line at the rodeo, but none of them held a candle to her. There was just something about her that drew him to her like flypaper or super glue.  He laughed…
oh she would love that analogy
.  Maybe that’s why he liked her so much, she made him smile just thinking about her.

“What’s so funny?” Georgia said as she came back into the room.

“Nothing much, I just realized how much I liked the way you make me smile.”

She reached up on her toes and kissed him gently, “That was a nice thing to say.  There are definitely things about you I could get used to.”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that.  You think we could skip the breakfast and zip up to your room.   I can think of a few dozen things that you could get used to.”

“Now there’s the cowboy that I know and love so much.”  He knew she was teasing, but hearing her say those words made him want to jump up and down and shout
finally! Mine
!

They didn’t have time to change so they walked to the restaurant where she was supposed to meet her father and stepmom.  He weaved his large fingers into her smaller fingers as they walked through the casino to the restaurant.  Their hand size difference didn’t seem to matter, they just seemed to fit. Perfectly.  He wasn’t into omens but each connection made him wonder where this thing between them was going.

Her parents weren’t there yet so they got a table for four and ordered coffee and orange juice.  It was easy to talk with her, and he loved the way she giggled when she was telling him a funny story.  Between his smile and his perpetual hard on, he was afraid he might do some permanent damage.  He hoped she would be convinced soon that he was capable of being in a serious relationship.  She had the power to hold him forever and she didn’t know it yet.

Justin and Sharon walked in the door to the restaurant.  Some rancher near the door jumped up and started shaking Justin’s hand and talking to him.  Sharon just rudely ignored the person and headed toward the table.  When she got there she snapped her fingers at a waiter and demanded coffee in a privileged voice.

Dakota rolled his eyes when she wasn’t looking.  Georgia shook her head at him.  He lifted up his coffee cup and acted like he was wobbling it close to her step mom.

“Dakota,” she whispered.  “Be nice.”

Sharon swung her head back around as if noticing them for the first time.  “You look terrible Georgia.  Couldn’t you get a shower before you came to breakfast?”

“We were working out in the gym and didn’t have time.  How did your night go Sharon?” she asked politely.

Sharon primped her hair and smiled.  “It was very nice,” she looked back at her husband with a smile on her face.  “Just what we needed…in fact it was so nice I think you should go home and watch the ranch and let your father and I stay in your room.  After all he did pay for it.”

Justin came and sat down and kissed Georgia on her cheek.  He looked at Sharon and said, “What were you saying about Georgia going home to the ranch?”  His eyes didn’t look too happy.

“Since Georgia was saying how much she missed the ranch, I told her she should go back home and you and I could stay in her room you already paid for and see some more shows.  It was so much fun.”

Both Dakota and Justin glared at Sharon.  Georgia looked at her lap. 

“Dad, I…”

“Don’t say another word pumpkin, this is your week and the hotel room was my present to you for making the NFR,” he looked harshly at Sharon.  “Georgia didn’t you text me that you already had tickets to several concerts and that you were going to watch Dakota’s bull ride on Friday?”  Again he glared at Sharon. 

“Dad it’s okay, if you want to stay…you don’t get very much time alone with Sharon and I would be happy to drive back to the ranch.  I have some bookkeeping that needs to get done, that I have put off since I have been traveling this year.  I’m sure Dakota can get someone else to go with him.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Dakota said in a low growl.  Now she had made him mad.  He knew she was trying to give her dad and stepmom space to work out their problems but for shit sake, he wasn’t giving her up so soon.

“But Dakota…”

“Enough Georgia,” her father said, “you are going to stay here and enjoy your special week and that is final.  Sharon, I don’t know where you came up with such a ridiculous idea.  Last night was fun, but you know I like being home at the ranch.”

Sharon eyes turned icy, “Well you have no problems going to watch Georgia every time she competes.  What about spending time with me?  I am your wife or have you forgotten?” she demanded.

If looks could kill Justin was about to strangle her.  “We will talk about this later.  I’m hungry and we’re going to have breakfast with my daughter and her boyfriend and head home,” he turned his back to his wife dismissing her and smiled at Georgia and Dakota. “So it sounded like you two had fun yesterday?”

Dakota settled back and relaxed and possessively draped his arm over Georgia’s chair.  He had never wanted to kiss a man on the cheek before, but he had come close when Justin had put his foot down with his bitchy wife. 

“I forgot to tell you the most fun news yesterday I won eight thousand dollars in a dollar slot machine and they upgraded my room and gave me a complimentary bottle of champagne, which I haven’t drank yet,” she smiled and looked at Dakota.

“Hot damn! I wish I could have been there to watch that.” Her father pounded his hand on the table.

“Georgia you should really watch your excessive gambling.  It’s not a very lady-like thing for you to do.” Sharon piped up as she sipped her coffee, clearly in a bad mood.

“That’s the coolest part, I just bet one time a maximum bet with twenty dollars that Dakota gave me and I won on the first time.  I can just imagine how upset the other gamblers would be with me if they knew I just hit one button and won so much money,” she laughed still not believing her good luck.  “I tried to share it with Dakota, but he was having nothing to do with that but I bought him dinner.  I thought that was a pretty good deal,” she laughed again, “for me anyway.”

Dakota smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss without even thinking. 
Yeah, like superglue
.  When she smiled like that, something warmed him inside.

They ate their breakfast with Georgia replaying all the things that she and Dakota had done yesterday. Dakota couldn’t wait to get her alone again.  Her dad seemed like a great guy, but watching and listening to Sharon scowl and make snide remarks at everything Georgia said was enough to make Dakota want to strangle her himself.

“I have a question for you Mr. Cooper?”

“Call me Justin, son.”

“Okay Justin, how did you and your wife pick out Georgia’s name?  I know she was born in Wyoming.”

Justin smiled, reliving his memories of his daughter being born.  “That’s an easy one, her mother was born in Makon, Georgia and I was lucky enough to find her and steal her away to Wyoming.  She missed the south but said she never wanted to live anywhere else but our ranch in Wyoming.  So when Georgia was born, I wanted her to have a piece of the south with her forever so we named her Georgia.”

“Dad that story always makes me cry,” she wiped her fingers under her eyes.

“Well maybe your daughter can move to the south and get a job there.  You spent enough money on her education for her to become a Doctor and she hasn’t even used her degree yet,” Sharon snapped and she got up and stormed out of the restaurant.

“I’m sorry,” Dakota said, “I didn’t mean to…”

“Hell, you didn’t know.  I’m sure you have guessed that my new wife and I aren’t seeing eye to eye on things right now,” he looked at Georgia. “I think I made a big mistake with this marriage and I’m going to have to rectify it soon. Things are going to have to change or…” he ran his big hands through his hair. “I don’t want you to think you aren’t welcome home, and you can bring Dakota anytime, too.  The ranch is as much of your home as it is mine.  We’ve worked hard together to make it successful.”

“Sir, I think I’ll leave and give you and your daughter some alone time before you go home,” he got up to leave, but Justin grabbed his arm.

“Stay Dakota… I have a feeling you are going to be in my daughter’s life even if she hasn’t figured it out yet and you should know what’s happening.”

Dakota looked at Georgia for her permission.  “Please stay,” she said.  He reluctantly sat back down.

“When you told me to start dating, I didn’t want to look for someone who was like your mother.  I knew I could never replace her, and somehow I ended up thinking with my dick… pardon me, darlin, I mean…thinking with other parts of my body and not my heart.”

She blushed but reached over and held her dad’s hand.  “Are you sure dad?  Maybe I am getting between you two and I haven’t given you a chance to smooth out the rough edges.  I’m sure all new marriages go through problems.  I wouldn’t want you to leave her because of me.”

“I think I knew things weren’t so good about a week into the marriage when she started pushing for me to adopt her son so he could run the ranch, and she started remodeling and buying new furniture without even consulting me.”

Dakota kept quiet.  He thought it took a lot of guts for Justin to realize and admit he had made such a monumental fuck up.  Looking at Georgia holding her father’s hand made him realize that she was the woman he wanted to keep forever.  Oh his dick was screaming that he wanted her, but he mostly saw what a kind heart she had.  He knew she would have sacrificed her happiness for her father.  Dakota wanted that same kind of loyalty and love for him.

After her father said good bye and left, Georgia sat there quietly sipping a new cup of coffee.  Dakota took a deep breath, “You okay, hon?”

“Yeah, I think so.  When I was going to CSU in Fort Collins to get my dual bachelor’s degrees in animal science and biology, it wasn’t so bad because I would go home often, or dad and mom would come and watch at one of my rodeo events. When mom died we needed each other. I wanted to quit school but dad wouldn’t let me.”

“Georgia, how did your mom die?”

She started crying and laid her head on Dakota’s shoulder.  “Some days it seems like it happened yesterday.  I was home on summer break.  We were riding out to see where dad was repairing fences when a rattle snake spooked our horses.  She was thrown.  It took me forever to find my dad so we could get help for her. When we finally got her to the hospital they said she was in a coma.”

Dakota’s heart broke for her.  His own father’s loss was so recent he knew exactly how she felt. He ran his fingers through her hair.  “It’s okay you don’t have to talk about it.”

“I don’t mean to bring back sad memories for you, too,” Georgia whispered.

“A really smart woman told me I needed to just take it a day at a time.  We can do this together.”  He reached for her hand.

He loved the way she turned to him and held him.  He wanted to be there for her.

“She was in a coma for a month.  During that time the physical therapists came and worked with her legs and upper body.  They showed me how I could help her do the exercises.  I liked doing that for my mom.  It made me feel closer to her,” she took a deep breath.  “She passed away one morning before dad and I had got back to the hospital.”