Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (16 page)

“I’m coming,” he called out, voice
a bit gruff.

Wish I had,
her mind added.

Was that good or bad? She didn’t
know. God, she was so confused. And completely turned on. Not a good
combination.

This was insane. They were fully
clothed, and yet, she’d been close.
Really
close to going off, and
judging by the bulge she’d felt and the gruffness of his tone, he’d been there,
too.

“Good,” Cole said from the doorway.
“Because we require a giant’s expertise out here,”

So did she.

Kerri continued to clutch the
doorframe with one hand and straightened towels with the other, while she hoped
she brought what resembled a smile to her lips.

Forget looking at them. Either of
them. It wasn’t happening. Thankfully, it wasn’t required because the men
disappeared a second later.

She slowly slid to the floor.
Holy
crow
. That was nuts.
And exhilarating
. She’d felt desired. And
heaven help her, she loved it.

Which wasn’t good. No. No. Not good
at all. They couldn’t just become lovers. Their families where lifelong
friends. It would be too awkward. And they certainly wouldn’t become more. How
could they? She wasn’t staying in Texas, and Connor had made it perfectly clear
he didn’t trust city girls. No, they didn’t have a future together, no matter
how strong the attraction.

And he apparently concurred a
little while later when they sat down to eat. Though he was polite and didn’t
ignore her, he also barely made eye contact. Which actually, made her breathe a
little easier. She was caught somewhere between embarrassment and need. And she
didn’t like it at all. His non-attention helped her gain her perspective.

They were friends who were
attracted to each other. No harm in that.

“Well, thank you for such a
wonderful lunch, Kerri,” Kade said, pushing back from the table after eating
his plate clean. “I hope you enjoy your new place. If you don’t need me for
anything else, I have to get back to the ranch.”

“Me, too,” Connor said before she
could reply.

Kevin smiled, rising to his feet.
“Me three.”

“You’ve got that right.” Cole
snickered. “Sometimes you do act like you’re three.”

Kerri laughed and rose to her feet with
everyone. “Thank you all so much for your help.”

“Yeah,” her sister said. “We
appreciate the use of those muscles today.”

“Well now, you girls feel free to
use me anytime,” Kevin offered, devilment backing the twinkle in his blue eyes.

Cole stepped closer to Jordan. “The only one Jordan will be using is
me
,” he said, kissing her sister full
on the lips. “But, since I drove, I guess that means I’m leaving, too.”

Kerri gave them each a quick hug,
and a half hour later, as she made her way downstairs with her sister to
interview the next designer, she was still pondering her body’s reaction. She’d
hugged four very impressive, very handsome cowboys, but her body had only
tingled when she’d made contact with Connor.

“Chemistry,” Jordan said as they stepped outside to wait for the east coast designer. “Don’t you agree?”

It took Kerri a second to back
pedal through her sister’s words. She got nothing. Darn. She’d completely zoned
out.

“I think that’s what’s been missing
from the one’s we’ve interviewed,” Jordan continued.

Ah, yes, chemistry...with a
designer
.

Kerri caught on. “Yeah, I think
you’re right. Chemistry is important.”

It was also very dangerous when it
came to a certain brown-eyed cowboy.

C
ole’s bachelor party
was in full swing, two nights before the wedding. A night Connor had been
dreading.

He hated stag parties ever since
his second attempt at marriage had been ruined by one. An excuse for the groom
and his buddies to have a bit of raunchy fun had lost its appeal. But since he
was the best man, it was Connor’s duty to see his little brother had one.

Kevin and Kade were generous enough
to offer up their ranch for the festivities, and Kevin had even helped to
procure the entertainment. A fact that admittedly made Connor nervous. He
shrugged. Too late now. The party had started. He put on a game face for his
brother’s sake, but he already couldn’t wait to leave.

Kerri had made a big batch of chili
and three dozen chicken enchiladas, which the men obligingly devoured. All
Connor had to do was take care of the snacks and drinks. He’d gotten off easy.

Having made it thru the food, which
was like the cook—mouthwatering delicious—he was leaning back against the bar
in the Dalton’s den watching his brother open up prank gifts. Tonight would be
different. Tonight would be fun. He was not going to think about Kerri and her
sexy body, or prior bachelor parties. This was all about Cole. He was going to
enjoy his younger brother’s long deserved happiness.

Kade passed him a beer and settled
next to him. “I have to admit, I’m a little nervous to see what my cousin added
to that pile.”

Connor eyed the gifts littering the
coffee table in front of Cole. “You and me both.”

With Kevin, there was no telling
what he’d wrapped, but they were about to find out as the groom-to-be read the
prankster’s name on the card attached to the gift in his hand.

“Why am I suddenly afraid,” Cole
said, looking warily at his smiling friend.

“Cause you’re a wuss,” Kevin replied,
smile broadening. “You know, if Jordan tires of you and needs a real man—”

“I’ll be sure to contact your
cousin,” Cole countered, causing the guests to whoop and shout and turn to Kade
with big grins.

Connor watched his buddy stiffen
next to him. Yeah, Kade was as happy as he was to be there. He couldn’t help
smiling, though. His little brother had landed a good zing to Kevin.
Apparently, Kade agreed because the guy relaxed a second later and lifted his
beer.

“Happy to help,” his buddy said. “I
always pick up my cousin’s slack anyway.”

“Yeah, I got your slack right
here.” Kevin made an obscene hand gesture and the guys laughed.

Kade snorted. “No you don’t, or
you’d be using two hands.”

The laughter got louder and Connor
found himself joining in. He’d forgotten how much fun it was to listen to the Dalton’s spar. God, it was good to have Kade back, and he could see that sentiment mirrored
in Kevin’s eyes.

“Now I’m really worried about
opening this,” his brother said, unwrapping the odd shaped gift to reveal a set
of handcuffs.

Damn, they looked real.

Cole grinned at his buddy. “I think
you know she already has a set.”

“Yeah.” Kevin nodded. “This is for
backup. Besides, it can’t hurt to have two.”

Wait. Jordan uses handcuffs?
He
glanced at Kade who raised a brow, then turned back to look at his smiling
brother.
Jesus.
Yes, she must if Cole’s blissful expression was anything
to go by.

And that expression remained on his
brother’s face by the time Cole got to the last gift. “It’s from Jordan,” his brother announced, face alive with excitement.

Connor smiled. He wasn’t surprised.
Jordan would never miss out on contributing to Cole’s fun.

“Come on, open it,” someone
shouted.

“Yeah,” another agreed. “What is
it?”

Everyone leaned closer and waited,
the room suddenly quiet as Cole reached into the gift bag.

C
onnor watched as his
brother lifted out the sexiest damn piece of lingerie he’d ever seen.
Hot
damn.
It was sheer white net and crisscrossed lace with the back cut out
and a g-string and garter and stockings...and damn, if it wasn’t the other
Masters sister he pictured wearing the sexy number.

And she looked good, too. Damn
good.

“Your brother’s one lucky
son-of-a-bitch,” Kade mumbled before drinking his beer.

Connor nodded, thankful his buddy
had dragged his mind away from thoughts of Kerri and white lace. He was so not
going to go there.

Lifting his beer to his lips, he
acknowledged he was halfway through the night. Only the stripper and movie
remained.

The worst parts.

A second later, the doorbell rang.

Oh great. Let’s jump right in
then.

“Ah.” Kevin smiled. “Right on time.
That would be the entertainment.”

Cole’s gaze fastened to his from
across the room as Kevin rushed to get the door. Connor shrugged.

“Kevin was in charge of
entertainment,” he told his brother.

Cole made a face. “I’m suddenly
afraid again.”

Kevin returned with a pretty blonde
in a tan raincoat. “Everyone, this is Charity.”

Connor barely held back the smirk.

“Hi, Charity,” the men chorused.

She smiled and said hi, her blue
eyes clear and bright as she pulled an iPod from her pocket and set it on the
coffee table near the lingerie and handcuffs.  

“And this is the groom-to-be,
Cole,” Kevin told her, slapping Cole on the shoulder, forcing him to sit down
when his brother made to stand. “No need. You just relax and enjoy, buddy.”

Connor and Kade chuckled at the
look of fear on Cole’s face, but his brother was a good sport. He smiled and
settled back in his seat, waiting for the show.

The blonde promptly sat on his
brother’s lap, laid her head on his shoulder and made a remark about a baby and
a diaphragm. Connor had no idea what she was talking about, but the look on
Cole’s face as he threw his head back and laughed told him that his brother
certainly understood the joke that had Kevin and the guys from McCall
Enterprises in stitches. They were all laughing uncontrollably.

He exchanged another look with
Kade. His buddy raised a brow and shrugged. Good. He wasn’t the only one who
had no damn clue what was so funny.

A smiling Kevin came over and
explained an office visit Jordan had made last spring when Cole had refused to
take her calls.

Connor couldn’t catch his breath,
he was laughing so hard. Damn, he would’ve given his right nut to have been in
that boardroom last year. Leave it to Jordan.

“Oh man, you should’ve seen your
brother’s face,” Kevin said, glancing at him and Kade. “He looked like he
wanted to either strangle her or kiss her. It was priceless.”

Yep, leave it to Jordan.
God, she was so good for his stubborn brother.

“Cole should’ve known better than
to piss off a Masters,” he said with a shake of his head and smile still on his
lips.

“True,” Kevin agreed, then turned
to walk toward the stripper. “Well, time to get this show going.”

He helped Charity to her feet, and
she slipped out of her shoes then ditched her raincoat to reveal a belly
dancing outfit.

Okay. They were actually going to
get something different than a biker chick routine. Connor watched the blonde hit
the play button on her iPod and soon the sound of a flute, symbols and drums
filled the room.

So far, Kevin had done pretty good.

After dancing an exclusive dance
for Cole, she started another routine, swaying and jiggling around the other smiling
men. Connor was finishing his beer when the blonde turned her attention to
Kevin who eagerly danced with the woman.

The guy had moves, he had to admit,
almost as good as his own. Almost. When she started dancing seductively in his
direction, Connor watched in amusement as the cute little blonde gyrated her
hips in front of him, but when she didn’t move on to Kade, he raised a brow.

“You know,” he began, as she tried
to put a bright pink scarf around his neck but couldn’t reach and ended up
putting it around his waist instead. “I’m not the groom,” he finished with a
smirk.

She smiled up at him. “I know, but
he said you would enjoy the dance more than he would. So, who am I to complain,
cowboy?” She winked while shaking her goods, jingling the chains around her
neck and hips.

Connor glanced at his brother. Cole
gave him a puckish grin and raised his beer.

Yeah, ah, no thanks
. Not
that she wasn’t pretty, because she was, and stacked, but he wasn’t interested.

Which should’ve alarmed him.

Normally, he would’ve been happy to
enjoy all the delectable delights the blonde in front of him possessed, but for
some reason, he wasn’t in the mood. Probably due to the premise of the party
and past party nightmares. He refused to believe his reluctance had anything to
do with a certain dark-haired, dark-eyed cook.

“That’s right nice of you,
darlin’.” He tipped his hat then clamped a hand on Kade’s shoulder. “But this
is the guy who deserves some attention.” The look Kade gave him had Connor
smiling. Time for his buddy to enjoy life. “He just got back from Iraq.”

“Oh.” The blonde’s eyes lit up, and
she swayed to Kade, managing to wrap that pink scarf around his friend’s neck.
“I’m always happy to take care of our troops.
Extra
care.”

Deciding his buddy was in good
hands, Connor left the room for more beer, even though there was plenty behind
the bar. Best to give the girl room to work. He knew from Kevin that Kade hadn’t
been out with anyone yet. So, yeah, it was past time his friend got some pleasant
action.

 When he returned from the kitchen,
the stripper was gone and so was Kade. Good. Maybe this party wasn’t so bad.

“Okay. It’s movie time.” Kevin
grinned, and as the men cheered, Connor groaned inwardly.

And maybe it was.

It had been during this activity at
his second bachelor party that things had gone astray. Big time. The guys had rented
the video,
Tiffany does Texas
, picking it out purposely because the girl
had the same name as his fiancée. The joke had turned out to be on him when he
watched in horror as images of his future wife and several men came on the
screen. He’d been devastated.