Learning the Ropes (10 page)

“Give me a bottle of Jack,” he said as he stepped up to the counter and pulled out his wallet.

“ID?” Chris didn’t recognize the clerk and dragged his driver’s license out for him to inspect. He rang up the liquor and soda as Chris spotted a bag of licorice at the register.

“That, too.” He reached for the bag, remembering how Alicia used to love the candy.

Chris scooped up the bag and went back to the truck. Ali gave him a quizzical look but refrained from commenting and he set the bag on the floorboard.

“No peeking,” he ordered. They drove to her parents’ house in companionable silence, with the radio the only sound in the cab. Chris pulled into her parents’ driveway and reached for the bag. “Come on.”

He rolled down the windows and climbed out of the truck, leaving the radio playing quietly. He dropped the tailgate and jumped into the bed of the truck as she came around to the back and looked at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Trust me,” he said, holding a hand out to her.

Ali took his hand, allowing him to help her into the back of the truck before he pulled a can of soda from the bag and popped it open, taking a long drink before handing it to her. “Hold this.”

She didn’t say anything as he opened the whiskey and poured a copious amount into the can of soda, pushing it toward her before repeating it with his own. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope.” He winked. “Just like the old days. Oh, and I got you these.” He pulled the candy from the bag.

She laughed and sat down in the back of the truck, leaning her back against the hard metal body of the cab and pulling a piece of licorice out. “This brings back memories. The only thing we’re missing now is Sydney.”

“And a muddy field.”

“Or a squealing pig to paint,” she added.

“We did cause more than our share of trouble,” he agreed as he leaned back beside her. “Like the time we borrowed my dad’s truck and headed to the river.”

“You mean stole,” she corrected.

He laughed. “He’s still convinced he just didn’t hear us ask to use the truck.”

She sighed and looked up at the sky. “Life was so much easier back then.”

Chris wondered at the sadness he heard in her voice and followed her gaze. The sky was clear and, away from any street lights, thousands of stars sparkled overhead like diamonds, the half-moon illuminating her upturned face.

“Can I ask you a serious question, Chris?”

“Sure,” he agreed, watching her take a long swallow of her drink. “But I get to ask you one first.”

Chris couldn’t tear his eyes from the slim column of her throat as she raised the soda can. She was so beautiful. He could just make out the faint pulse in the side and felt the shudder of desire skitter through his gut as he thought about kissing the smooth skin, making him forget what he’d been about to ask. She brought the can down and looked at him, expectantly. When he didn’t finish, she went ahead.

“Why’d you stop coming around?”

Chris knew he couldn’t tell her the truth. He could hardly confess that, after his sister’s wedding and seeing Ali’s face light up, it had become too difficult to be around her without pursuing her—hell, without touching her—and it had just been easier to go on the road. Traveling with David had given him plenty of time and space to figure out what he really wanted in life without those brown eyes he could drown in staring at him every day. He was free to really live and experience all the rodeo circuit had to offer. If he’d stayed, he’d have given in to his desire and lost her friendship completely.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just got so wrapped up in getting to the top I didn’t have time for anything else.”

She frowned, her fingers tracing patterns on the can. “Or anyone?”

“You weren’t supposed to still be here.” The words tumbled from his lips before he realized what he was saying and cleared his throat, forcing himself to look at the sky again. “I mean, when you were queen, you were planning on heading to vet school the next year.”

“Yet here I am, still living with Mom and Dad.”

“Yeah, why?” He looked over at her, his eyes sliding over her face as she stared up at the stars. “If I remember right, you had big plans, Ali.”

She frowned again and stared into the can, making him feel guilty for causing the smile to slip from her perfect lips. “I got accepted to a program out of state and I was going to go but I couldn’t afford it. I knew Mom and Dad couldn’t pay for it.” She shrugged and finished off the soda. “Sometimes the things we want just aren’t meant to be, I guess.”

He took the empty can and set it aside, offering her another. She popped it open and took a drink before pouring the whiskey in herself. Chris pulled the bottle away from her, wondering if she even realized how much she’d just put into the soda.

“Weren’t there scholarships you could’ve gotten?”

“Maybe,” she said and shrugged before dropping her head against his shoulder and crossing her ankles in front of her. “But I could tell Dad didn’t really want me to go and they needed me here. Then I started to second-guess whether it was really what I wanted. I was winning barrel races, so here I am.” She rose to her knees and grabbed his bicep, her voice suddenly excited as soda sloshed out of can and into the bed of the truck. “Did I tell you about the place I want to buy, just outside of town?”

He smiled down at her, humoring her. He could tell the liquor was starting to take effect because she was beginning to talk quickly, her words starting to slur a bit. Unlike David, her tipsiness made her affectionate and adorable. “No, you didn’t.” He set his drink aside, barely touched.

Ali nodded, her hair falling over her shoulders, surrounding her face like a dark cloud. “It’s a big spread, a few hundred acres. Dad could finally train his own horses.” She sighed and plopped back onto her butt awkwardly.

She wanted to buy a place for her parents? Ali laid her head back on his shoulder as she continued to dream out loud.

“There’s enough room that I could train barrel horses and give riding lessons, maybe take in some boarders and Dad can use the rest of the property to breed and train cutting horses.”

Chris slid his arm behind her, around her shoulders, and she curled herself against his side. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this comfortable with a woman, content to just listen to her talk and share her innermost thoughts. Well, his brain was comfortable, his body itched to move, draw her into his arms, feel her curves against every inch of him, but he forced himself to hold the need under a tight rein.

“What about you?” Her voice was husky, sultry, and filled with genuine interest in his desires. It was nearly his undoing.

She tipped her head back to look at him, the heat from her skin warmed him where she curled against his chest, the can resting on top of his thigh, her hand just inches from his throbbing groin. He could barely string two coherent words together when she shifted and her breast brushed against his side. Her lips parted as she waited for his answer and, damn, if he didn’t want to kiss her right now. She was so soft and sweet, gentle and kind, with just enough fire to keep life interesting and keep him on his toes.

You’ll break her heart.

The thought hit him like a bucket of cold water. He was
not
the kind of guy Ali needed or deserved. She was telling him her dreams, dreams that included settling down and buying a ranch. Permanency, daily routine, and that was something he never wanted—a daily grind.

Down boy,
he warned himself, almost forgetting the question she’d just asked. Chris cleared his throat, praying she didn’t notice his erection or how he clenched his hand to keep from touching her.

“I’m not really at the ranch these days and, when I am, it’s only long enough to help Dad with something specific until he hires a new manager for the ranch. David and I are working on getting enough together to start a rodeo school. Something where we have a ranch but travel, doing clinics.”

“Don’t steal my property,” she teased, poking him in the chest. “I’ve saved almost enough for the down payment.” Her face fell and her lip protruded slightly in a pout. “That’s why I needed the win today.”

Chris knew most of what she said was the alcohol loosening up her usual reservations. Normally, she’d keep her worries to herself and, with most women, he wouldn’t want to know their deepest concerns. But with Ali, he couldn’t help feeling protective. He wanted to comfort her and reassure her. It pained him to see her doubt herself.

“Have you even asked your dad if it’s something he wants?” She looked up at him again, which caused her to slide farther down his chest. The alcohol was beginning to slow her reactions and he caught her. “Whoa, easy there.”

Chris shifted so they could lie down, letting her use his bicep as a pillow while Chris lay on his side, facing her, his hand at her waist. His brain rang out with warning bells—move away, don’t touch her, drive home, get himself out of this—but his body quit listening. His fingers burned where they lay against her skin but he didn’t want to pull away. His gut twisted as need circled, spreading throughout him, taunting him, tormenting. It would be so easy to ignore his good sense right now, to bend his head and take those full pouting lips into a kiss that he was sure would be incredible, to watch her eyes darken with desire instead of worry. His fingers twitched against her satin skin and her fingers curled against his chest, clutching his t-shirt.

And then he saw the tears in her eyes. Concern filled him.

“Ali, what is it?” He forced himself to move his hand from her waist, from the glorious temptation offered him, to brush away a tear on her cheek. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t know if it’s what he wants. He always said he did but what if he changes his mind. And he’s getting older. I see the toll it’s taken for him to run the Diamond Bar. He can’t do it forever.” She gulped air as the tears continued to fall unchecked. He’d never seen Ali cry in all the time he’d known her and it broke his heart to know she was this worried. “What will they do then? They won’t have a place to stay if I can’t get this ranch soon.”

“Honey, your dad is still doing just fine. He’s got a lot of years ahead of him. Bradley isn’t going to let him go or kick him out.” Chris chuckled softly and brushed another tear away with his thumb as she hiccupped. “You’re getting worked up over things that are a long way off.”

“But they aren’t.” She shook her head in denial. “Do you know how long it’s taken to save this money up to get this place? If I don’t get it now . . .”

“There are other places, other ranches,” he reassured her. “Relax. Everything will work out. I promise.”

Her eyes met his. “You can’t promise that. You’ve got everything, Chris. The property, the money backing you, the family, the security. There’s nothing you want that you can’t have.”

Was that how she saw him? A spoiled, rich kid who didn’t know what it was to want something and not get it? She had no idea how badly he wanted her but was denying himself because he couldn’t sacrifice what they’d built over the years.

“You might be surprised,” he muttered, staring into her eyes. She looked up at him and he could read her confusion.

He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t hold back any longer. With her staring up at him, so trusting, so open, and so damn beautiful, how was he supposed to resist her? Chris dipped his head, barely touching his lips to hers. He shouldn’t have done it. He should hate himself for taking advantage of the fact that she’d been drinking and wouldn’t even remember the kiss, let alone most of this night, but he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t want to.

He’d wanted to kiss her this way for as long as he could remember and he wasn’t disappointed. Her lips were soft and, when his lips brushed hers in a light caress, she gasped slightly. He knew he should pull away, send her inside, and pretend this never happened. That’s what a friend would do. Instead he tasted her, tentatively plucking at her lower lip with his mouth, breathing her in. Dear God, help him. Other than her surprise, she was open beneath him, her fingers curling against the hard wall of his chest, as his hands found her waist again, desperate to touch the skin exposed by her shirt.

He had to stop this now. She was his friend, his sister’s
best
friend, not some groupie he could leave behind in the morning. Hating their circumstances, he drew back with painstaking slowness, need throbbing in him, centering in his loins. “Ali, I’m sorry, I—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his thought as her hands found his jaw and pulled him back to her, curling her fingers around the nape of his neck, her tongue sneaking past the barrier of his lips. The touch sent white hot flames of desire licking at his resolve, destroying it with the simple touch. His hand slid up the back of her shirt, gliding over her smooth flesh, his thumb brushing the lace along the side of her bra as his tongue plunged into her mouth.

Ali was unlike anyone else, like candy with a kick. Even the taste of her was sweet. Soda and whiskey. Sweet and sultry. And it wrecked him completely. One kiss would never be enough. He dragged her closer to him, groaning as she arched against his chest, his thumb brushing the curve of her breast. His heart stopped beating as she sighed against his lips, her head dropping backward, exposing her neck to him. He couldn’t remember any of the reasons he should stop as he accepted all she offered, letting his lips find the sensitive curve at the hollow of her throat before nuzzling the soft shell of her ear. Her curves fit against him like a part of him he hadn’t even realized was missing.

“Ali,” he growled, his hand moving to cover her breast, his thumb brushing over the tight peak through the thin material. She arched against him, her fingers digging into the corded muscles of his back, her nipple pressing against his palm through the lace, shocking his senses.

What in the hell are you doing?

This was Ali and she was as far from sober as he’d ever seen her. One of them had to keep their wits and, thanks to his stop at the liquor store, he’d made sure it wasn’t Ali. He couldn’t betray her trust and take advantage of her this way, even if it caused him physical pain to stop kissing her perfect mouth. Chris eased away from her slowly, brushing back a strand of her hair that fell between them. The ache in him grew to gargantuan proportions as he separated himself from her with a hand on her upper arm. She whimpered softly against him, pressing her lips to his jaw. He was going to have to think fast if he wanted to repair the damage he’d done to their friendship, praying she was too far gone to remember anything come morning.