Learning the Ropes (11 page)

Chris smiled down at her, giving her his most rakish grin, and arched a brow. “Well, that was something we’ve never tried before.”

Chapter Seven

A
LICIA BLINKED, TRYING
to focus and let her fuzzy brain catch up with her body, still vibrating with pleasure. She wasn’t sure if she was more shocked by the fact that Chris had just kissed her or her reaction to it. It sobered her quickly. She’d never known a kiss that felt like this—like the world had just tilted on its axis while explosions went off inside her, melting her every bone. Her entire body felt like it was made of Jell-O, quivering as his fingers trailed over her ribs back to her waist. She fought the urge to beg him to kiss her again, to touch her again. Heat rose over her cheeks as she realized what she’d just done, what she’d allowed. She wasn’t sure what to say now to his nonchalance.

Of course he’s nonchalant. This is what he does.

Alicia willed her body to move but with the weight of him over her hip and his hand at the waistband of her pants, she was stuck until he shifted. Alicia cleared her throat and forced a quiet laugh. “I guess I can cross this off my bucket list.”

She saw the relief flicker in his eyes at her words and felt her heart break a little knowing she was just a stand-in for him. Any woman would do as long as she was warm and willing. She was no better than the buckle bunnies he took home after every rodeo. Just one of hundreds, nothing special, even if he
had
known her for years. What made her think this might be different, that she might be something special?

As much as she wanted to be angry at him, she was far more disappointed in herself. She knew his reputation and Chris never claimed to be something he wasn’t. He hadn’t pretended this was anything more and she was a fool for believing, even for a moment, that the kiss meant anything to him. Chris was a one-night-stand kind of guy and, for some reason, she’d forgotten that fact. She couldn’t let him think it meant anything to her.

“Not bad but I don’t see what all the fuss is about.” She attempted to give him a cocky grin, which was hard to do while she was still lying in his arms. If he thought she was too tipsy to remember, she could pretend none of it ever happened. Maybe then she could pretend he wasn’t actually taking a sliver of her heart with him, the way she’d managed to pretend for years that he was nothing more than Sydney’s brother.

“Ouch!” He clapped a hand over his heart, arching a brow but laughing. “It’s a good thing I’m confident in my kissing abilities,” he teased, his eyes dropping to her mouth as his lips spread in a sexy grin. “Unless you want to try again?”

She hoped he was kidding, even as she prayed he wasn’t. There was no way she could kiss him again and keep her body under control. She bit her bottom lip hard to keep from asking him to repeat the kiss.

Chris groaned and rolled off her, lying on his back and tucking his right arm under his head, letting her continue to rest her head on the other. He laughed quietly as he looked sideways at her. “How is it that you don’t have guys lined up for miles?”

“What?”

“You’ve got to realize what you do to a guy when you look at him that way, with those big brown eyes, and bite your lip?”

She sat up, bracing a hand against his chest, and looked down at him. “When I what?” He couldn’t possibly think she was leading him on, teasing him.

“If you want me to kiss you again, Ali, all you have to do is ask. I’m happy to oblige.”

She pushed herself to her knees, using his chest for leverage as dizziness overtook her. “I think once was enough. I think I’d rather kiss Beast.” She crawled out of the truck bed and stumbled, surprised when he caught her arm, righting her.

Her eyes skirted past him to the two empty soda cans in the back of the truck beside the bottle of whiskey with nearly a third of the bottle gone. She hadn’t really drunk that much, had she? She swayed unsteadily.

“Easy, cowgirl. Better let me help you inside.”

She shoved his chest, frustrated when he didn’t budge. “Don’t try to give me that knight-in-shining-armor crap you pull. I’m not one of your bunnies. I can do it myself.”

“Sure you can.”

He was patronizing her and it was pissing her off. She jerked her arm from his grasp, falling against the tailgate of the truck. “Let go, Chris.”

She fell backward and he caught her before her rear hit the ground, pulling her up against him. She twisted, trying to break his grip on her, and her elbow contacted with something hard and solid.

“Ow! Will you stop fighting me and let me help you?” He curled one arm around her waist, pulling her up against his chest, and rubbed his eye with his free hand.

“I think you’ve helped enough,” she whispered, staring at his throat, not wanting to meet those blue eyes. She had no doubt he’d see the hurt she was trying to hide.

Before she could protest, he scooped her into his arms and carried her toward the house as if she didn’t weigh anything, not stopping until he reached the door. Dizziness overtook her but she wasn’t sure whether it was being in his arms, curled against his chest, or the alcohol. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder, cursing herself for her folly.

“I sure hope it’s unlocked,” he muttered.

“Hmm, Dad never locks it when I go out,” she murmured against the expanse of skin just above the neckline of his t-shirt. He still smelled like the coconut drink Delilah had spilled on him but there was a musky scent that was all Chris and she inhaled. “Oh, everything is spinning.”

“Been a while since you drank this much, huh?”

She nodded, the movement causing another wave of nausea, and she buried her hand into her hair, against her temple. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Let’s get you to the couch.” Chris settled her on the worn sofa before he disappeared into the kitchen. She could hear him rummaging through the cupboard before the faucet turned on.

“Here.” He pressed a cool glass of water into her hand, set a large mixing bowl on the floor beside her, and pressed her shoulder back so she lay propped up against the cushions. He laid a damp washcloth against her forehead and dropped two aspirin in her other hand. “Take these and finish that glass of water. It should help with the hangover you’re bound to have tomorrow.”

She did as he ordered as he sat beside her on the edge of the cushion. “I’m sorry I let you drink this much. I didn’t mean for you to get sick. When you finish that, I’ll get you to your room.”

“No,” she said, waving a hand at him. “I’ll sleep here. If I move again, I
will
throw up.”

How was she supposed to stay mad at him when he was being so sweet to her? She took another sip of the water, avoiding looking at him. Chris brushed her hair back from her forehead and adjusted the washcloth.

“Still dizzy?”

“A little,” she admitted.

“Try putting one foot on the floor.” He reached for the blanket draped over the back of the couch and spread it over her. “Finish the water,” he instructed. “The sooner you get to sleep, the less sick you’ll feel.”

She drank the last of the water and closed her eyes, willing the nausea to subside. “Done this a few times?”

He chuckled. “Just a few. Go to sleep, Ali. I’ll see you in the morning.” The last thing Alicia remembered as she drifted off were his hands gently removing her boots and belt before the calloused pad of his thumb caressed her cheek.

C
HRIS WOKE THE
next morning to the sizzle of frying bacon, the scrape of a spoon in a pan, and a monstrous crick in his neck. He rolled his head forward, stretching the stiff muscles and running his hand over the back of his neck, massaging the knot at the base of his skull. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and arched his back, glancing beside him at Alicia sleeping peacefully on the couch.

Common sense had told him to leave once she’d fallen asleep, to get as far away from this situation as quickly as he possibly could. Instead, he’d removed her boots, massaging her tiny feet. When she sighed softly, he felt every part of his body jerk to attention. He rose when she whispered his name, touching her face with his fingertips, fighting the urge to kiss her one more time. What could it hurt? She wouldn’t remember it. But in the end, he’d only pressed his lips to her forehead before sitting beside her, ready to help if she woke and got sick.

He looked over at her, curled into a fetal position. Her mussed hair was tousled over the throw pillow and her mascara from last night was smudged under her eyes. In spite of it all, she was still gorgeous. Women paid top dollar to look as good made up as Ali naturally did. She had no idea how rare she was, but that unique quality was one of the things Chris adored about her, and what scared him most.

He brushed her hair back from her face but she didn’t even stir. At least she’d made it through the night without getting sick. He picked up the empty bowl and her water glass and took them into the kitchen.

“Morning, Cristobel.”

Jessie was far too cheerful for this early hour of the morning, especially considering there was a man sleeping on the couch next to her daughter, even platonically. He saw Noah sitting at the table reading the paper.

“Sorry about keeping Ali out so late last night,” he apologized.

“And bringing her home drunk,” Noah added.

“That, too,” he agreed, having the decency to be ashamed. “Although that didn’t happen until after we got here.”

Noah gave him a reproving glance over the paper. “The two of you always did cause trouble when you got together.”

“Sir, I can promise you, we weren’t getting into any trouble. In fact, I brought her back early to avoid it.”

“Cristobel, don’t you worry about this sour puss. Sit and eat.” Jessie patted his shoulder and slid a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her husband.

“Don’t go to any trouble for me, Jessie, but I will get myself a cup of coffee, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, but don’t be ridiculous. You sit and eat. There’s plenty.” She reached for a coffee cup and poured the steaming brew, setting the mug in front of him. “Is she still sleeping?”

Chris nodded and sipped the coffee, grateful for the anticipated jolt of caffeine to his groggy brain. He thanked Jessie for the food as she slid a heaping plate in front of him. He’d just taken a bite of the salty bacon when he heard a knock at the door.

Noah looked up from the paper again, rising to look out the kitchen window. Chris could just make out a Mercedes pulling away from the end of the driveway, speeding off. He knew only a few people frivolous enough to drive a car like that to a horse ranch. If David had Delilah drive him to Ali’s house, he was going to pummel him before David could get off the front porch.

“Would you excuse me for a second?” Jessie was about to protest when Chris hurried to the front door, opening it just as David was about to knock again.

He stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. “You’ve got some brass ones.”

“Why doesn’t it surprise me to find you here this early?” Chris could see David’s mood hadn’t improved.

“Someone had to bring Ali home last night.”

“And stay?” David wasn’t going to be deterred. “What happened to your eye?”

“What’s wrong with my eye?” Chris moved down the steps toward his truck and twisted the mirror so he could look at it. A deep purple bruise surrounded his eye. He touched the swelling at his brow bone and remembered Ali flailing when she almost fell. “It was an accident.”

“Sure it was.” David cocked his head to the side. “Are you sure she didn’t pop you for trying to put a few moves on her?”

“Things aren’t like that between me and Ali.” Chris didn’t want to talk about how he got the black eye, or what happened after he’d brought Ali home last night. “Who was that dropping you off? Or do I even want to ask?” Chris shook his head as David ran a hand over his unshaven face.

“Look, I came to apologize to Ali. I don’t owe you an explanation.” David turned back toward the house.

“You think?” Chris grabbed the truck keys from his pocket and slapped them into David’s hand. He just wanted to get David to leave before Ali woke. She didn’t need to deal with this along with a hangover. “Go to my parents’ place. I’ll be out there later today. Ali can give me a ride.”

“What’s going on? I thought you were going to Chris’s house last night.”

Chris sighed when he heard Ali’s voice from the front porch. He hadn’t even heard her come outside and wondered how much of their conversation she’d overheard. He saw David look at him suspiciously before turning to Ali.

“Ali, I want to apologize for last night. I had an argument with my dad before we went out and I just . . . I guess it bothered me more than I thought it did.”

Chris clenched his jaw at David’s contrite apology. David certainly wasn’t offering the information about who he left the bar with or how Delilah dropped him off this morning. David sure didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to correct Ali’s assumption about where he stayed last night. Chris watched Ali, curious to see if she was buying David’s apology as he leaned against the side of the truck casually. David made his way up the porch steps to where she watched him, wide-eyed.

“Can you forgive me?” He reached for her hand.

“It’s fine, David. I think last night we were all a bit out of sorts.”

She shook her head and slid her hand from his grasp, waving him off as she looked past David and met Chris’s gaze. His brows shot up his forehead in surprise. She
did
remember last night, and from the look on her face, she regretted every bit of it. Disappointment coursed through him, even as he reminded himself that it was for the best. Nothing could ever last between him and Ali. It was better to walk away now, before anyone got hurt.

“Did I do that to your eye?” She brushed past David and moved to Chris’s side, carefully touching the side of his bruised eye.

He reached for her hand. The touch was enough to ignite sparks of desire in his belly, and below. He dropped her hand but not before David saw his reaction and narrowed his eyes.