How to Wrangle a Cowboy (35 page)

Chapter 43

Lindsey was doing her best to make small talk with Shane, but she felt hot and flushed, and she couldn’t help stammering. Surely he knew she was thinking about the way their naked bodies had fit together, skin to skin, yet he kept his distance.

Maybe something was wrong. She thought through recent events and couldn’t find the problem. Maybe she could draw it out of him.

“We’ve had quite a day,” she said. “Grace driving my car and going missing, Stormy stealing my underwear…” She gave him a sideways, joking smile. “Didn’t you say once that the ranch ran smoothly?”

“It does.” He frowned, miming deep thought. “There was a day back in 2012, I think, when everything went right.”

So he could see the humor in their minor disasters. That was good.

“Did you mark that day on the calendar so you can celebrate the anniversary?” she asked. “Because ‘smooth’ isn’t a word I’d use for my experience so far.”

She felt the shift in the air before she saw it in his face. His eyes took on a predatory gleam, and he moved quickly, with animal grace. He was sitting beside her before she knew what had hit her.

“It can be smooth. I’ll show you.”

Those eyes were fixed on hers, just inches away, and she felt like a woodland doe held spellbound by her stag. This man made her feel beautiful and strong, fragile yet powerful. It was a heady combination, and she couldn’t help leaning into him just enough to catch the scent of him—sawdust and hay, clean laundry and hardworking man.

“Let me show you how it could be.”

When he kissed her, his mouth tasted of mint and a hint of chocolate, and his hands set every nerve alight as they swept through her hair. He bunched it in his hands, then let it flow through his fingers like water again and again.

Looking into his eyes, she remembered the fields spreading out toward the sunset on her search for Grace, the long, curving country roads on the way to the Red Dawg. Who would have thought there was a place like this still left in the world? And who would have thought there was a man to match it, one as elemental and strong as this rugged, rocky land?

They kissed again, meeting and melding. She stopped wondering if what she was doing was right and just moved, like grass bending before the wind.

But then he pulled away, bowing his head as if something in him had broken.

“I was going to just talk.” His voice was ragged and hoarse. He reached for her, running his hands down her sides once, then twice, making her shiver. “I told myself I’d just teach you about ranching. We’d get to know each other that way.”

She gave him an impish smile. “Teach me about cowboys instead. That way I’ll get to know
you.
”

“Yes.” He said the word on an intake of breath, so solemnly that she knew he was saying yes to far more than her bit of humor. He was saying yes to
her.
To something more than sex.

Maybe, just maybe, he was saying yes to love.

Covering her mouth with his own, he kissed her deeper, harder, more desperately than before. The feelings that rose in her were impossible to express; she could only stroke her hands over the broad muscles of his back, over his chest, over his hips and thighs and…

“Maybe we’d better go inside for this lesson,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.

“Where’s Cody?”

“At his grandparents’.” She could feel him smiling against her lips. “Staying the night.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined this was a regular thing, like he’d said before. She pretended she’d come home after settling Grace, come home to Shane, and now they’d go to bed, like they always did.

“Okay.”

The two of them stood in unison and the porch swing rocked back, then hit the backs of their legs. Laughing, Shane caught her around the waist, sweeping her into his arms and spinning her in a heady half turn around the porch. He looked down at her, smiling, and she realized she’d never felt so happy in her life.

“Come on,” he said. “You’re right. It’s time for you to learn all about cowboys.”

* * *

Shane Lockhart made love like he lived and worked—hard and honestly, with no filter between his heart and his actions.

Lindsey could feel something shimmering in the air between them—a warmth that meant there was far more than friendship drawing them together.

An inner voice sounded a warning.

You should wait. You should get to know him first.

She hated that inner voice. Had it ever steered her right? It had told her Rodger was the right man to marry. It had told her that Daniel was somehow alive inside her, long after his small heart had ceased to beat. It had told her to wait to come back to the Lazy Q, even after she split from Rodger. And then it had told her Shane Lockhart was a con man.

Said con man carried her into the cabin and looked down at her so seriously she wondered if he was hesitating too. Was he always so serious? Was he always the solemn protector of the Lazy Q, watching over her and Grace, or could he lighten up once in a while?

The more she thought about it, the more important that question became. Passion was important, but there were different kinds of passion. Different levels. And Lindsey liked a little variety.

Glancing around, she spied his laptop on the big farm table, along with some invoices and scrawled notes. The table looked sturdy and smooth, inspiring her with a reckless thought.

“So, teacher.” She ran one finger down his arm, tracing the curve of his muscular biceps, and tilted her head toward the table. “Is that your desk?”

He looked down at her, a little stunned, and nodded.

“You were going to teach me all about cowboys, remember?”

“I was, wasn’t I? So I’m the teacher and…” He grinned. “Oh, I like that one.”

“Me too.” She unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. “Teach me
everything.
”

* * *

Shane stared down at Lindsey, who licked her lips and crossed her slim legs at the ankles. He’d made a promise to himself, but her light tone had broken through his passion—a passion that seemed to grow darker and more desperate every day, awakening something warmer and more vibrant. He didn’t want to give in to the side of himself that wanted everything from a woman, the part that took without giving. Lindsey wasn’t some floozy he’d met at the Silver Dollar Bar. She was an integral part of his life, whether they made love or not.

“Do you need time to put together a lesson plan?” She grinned, undoing another button.

He laughed. It was obvious she wasn’t expecting anything from him that he wasn’t prepared to give, and even more obvious that she was open to imaginative lovemaking—something the girls from the Silver Dollar never seemed to understand.

“Okay,” he said. “The first thing you need to learn about cowboys is this.” He spun her around and slammed the door to the cabin with one quick kick. “We’re strong.”

“I know that.” She ran her hand down his arm again, squeezing his muscles. He was glad he’d spent so much time bucking hay bales and digging postholes. His muscles weren’t the unnatural bulges men got from spending all their time in a gym; they were natural and real. And strong.

Relief and lust washed over Shane in equal parts as he deposited her gently on the table. She swung her feet a little, looking up at him and biting her lip. It was a look that made him feel powerful and in charge.

Kissing her, he let himself go, thrusting his tongue in her mouth like he’d wanted to all along. She responded just the way he’d hoped, writhing against his body and kissing him back with gentle but skilled flicks of her tongue.

To his surprise, she leaned back, stretching her arms over her head. The motion made her back arch and forced her breasts against her plaid Western shirt to the point where the top snap did exactly what it was supposed to do—it unsnapped.

God bless Western shirts. He didn’t know who’d figured out that snaps were better than buttons, but it made him happy he was a cowboy.

He leaned over her, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders. She squirmed a little, just enough to pop another snap on that shirt. She wasn’t wearing much underneath, just a thin, stretchy bra that made her arousal obvious.

He ran the tips of his fingers over the nub of one nipple, then pulled the taut fabric aside and bent his head to lick and suck. Lindsey’s breath quickened, and she wriggled herself to the edge of the table until the heart of her was pressed to the bulge in his jeans.

His cock twitched with anticipation, urging him beyond thought, beyond purpose. All he could do was feel, do, and touch. Grabbing Lindsey’s shirt in both hands, he tore the snaps loose and then lifted the bottom of her bra over her breasts. She cupped them in her hands, offering them to his hungry mouth. Her arousal made them mouthwateringly perfect, and he loved the salty taste of the faint sheen on her skin.

Still tormenting her breasts with his mouth and tongue, he reached down and unbuckled her belt, then undid her jeans and thrust his hand down her flat belly until he reached the hot, wet sweetness below. He paused in his appreciation of her breasts to watch her face.

He’d never seen a woman so honest about sex and how it made her feel. Her head was thrown back, her eyes closed in ecstasy. Her hair swirled across the tabletop, blending with the grain of the wood, and her lips, moist and pink from his kiss, were slightly open. She arched her body in taut desperation, struggling to bring her breasts back to his attention.

He obliged, squeezing one at a time, making the nipple even more taut and hard. Lindsey drew in a quick breath and he was afraid he’d hurt her, but then she moaned her approval as he slicked his tongue around the swollen areola and flicked it across the bud before sucking it hard into his mouth. His tongue continued to swirl and flick, and she gasped, rocking her body with desperate need, pushing and bucking and swiveling her hips against his.

He lifted his head to switch breasts, and she opened her eyes to look at him for one heartbeat of a moment. What he saw in her eyes was need, red-hot and ready, and as he dipped his head to treat her other breast with the full force of his attention, she reached down and tugged at her jeans, pulling them down enough to give his fingers free access to her sweet, wet center.

He kissed her, slipping his tongue into her hot, waiting mouth as he stroked her. He let two fingers open her for a third that sought her center, gliding inside, then slipping out. Glancing down, he marveled at the way she opened for him, begging to be taken any way he wanted.

Chapter 44

Lindsey had thrown all caution to the wind, giving Shane everything—and getting far more than she’d bargained for.

Who would have thought a small-town cowboy would be better at pleasing her than a sophisticated surgeon? Rodger had claimed his fingers were magic, but he’d never touched her the way Shane was touching her now. She could feel passion building, spiraling up and up, to a height she’d never reached before.

Just as her emotions were about to spill over, Shane stopped. Groaning, she propped herself up on her elbows. She was about to ask him to find a condom when he knelt on the floor and she collapsed, craving his touch beyond anything she’d ever felt.

But that wasn’t what he had in mind, apparently. Much to her disappointment, he carefully removed her boots, then her jeans and panties while she struggled to catch her breath.

And then he was there, right there, and she wondered what he saw has he looked up the length of her naked body and into her eyes. She was in fairly good shape, but she was no gym queen. There was a slight swell to her belly, and the swell of her breasts wasn’t as large as she’d have liked.

He smiled, as if reading her thoughts.

“You’re beautiful.” He said it on a breath, as if he was overcome by the sight of her, and she lay back, knowing she had nothing to be worried about. Shane Lockhart liked her just the way she was.

But all this time, she hadn’t done a thing for him except writhe and moan under his skilled hands and mouth. She was completely naked, spread out like a banquet on his kitchen table, and he was still in his striped shirt, his Wranglers, and even his boots.

She tried to sit up so she could unbutton his shirt, but he took her thighs in his big hands and spread her legs, making it impossible for her to do anything but lie back.

“Later,” he said. “First I want to taste you.”

“But—”

“I’m the teacher, remember?” He gave her an evil grin, and there was a spark in his dark eyes she’d never seen before.

She felt a little afraid as she lay back, looking up at the neatly grooved pine ceiling, feeling the rough boards of the table under her bare backside. Her nipples ached with wanting, despite all the attention they’d received, but when he blew a soft breath on the wet, waiting slit between her legs, she trembled with anticipation.

“Shane,” she said. “You don’t have to…”

But she gasped and forgot what she’d meant to say. He was everywhere, thoroughly exploring her secret terrain, finding the spots that made her body hum. He slid one finger inside, then two, and worked them in and out in concert with his tongue. She felt herself rising on a hot tide of pleasure until she was completely unmoored from the real world.

And then she flew up, up, out of the clouds and into the sunlight, slamming into the sky. Her body pumped and writhed as she cried out his name. She felt so good, she truly thought she’d die—but she was safe here, with Shane taking her to the heights and then holding her there, pressing her to his chest with his strong arms as she sobbed and trembled.

She felt safe. She felt worshipped. But most of all, she felt loved.

* * *

Shane felt a wave of tenderness so deep he couldn’t let go of Lindsey. Resting his chin against the top of her head, he breathed in the scent of her. It was something flowery that might be her shampoo, a blend of grass and hay, and the slightest hint of horse and saddle leather, all overlaid by a heady hint of sex. She shuddered against him, helpless in his arms, and he wished he could hold her forever.