Rough Rider (19 page)

“Hey, Mom!” Cody looked up. “Think you can help me with my spelling words?”

“Sure thing.” Janice smiled and ruffled his red hair before sitting down beside him.

“How was your day?” her mother asked Janice.

“Interesting. Cody would have loved it. Dirk and I rode up the mountain and brought down some missing cattle. His dogs, Toby and Tallulah, found them for us.”

“Really? What kind of dogs are they?” Cody asked.

“Catahoula Leopard dogs.”

“They're part leopard?” Cody asked.

“No, silly. But they do have spots.”

“Can I have a dog?” Cody asked.

“Make an A on your spelling test, and maybe we'll talk about it.”

“But I hate spelling!” he replied sullenly. “Spelling sucks!”

“Cody. You watch your mouth.”

He hung his head. “Sorry, Mom. I'm just no good at it.”

“Then you need to work at it more. You can't get good at anything without practice, Cody. Just like riding horses.”

“I sure like horses better than spelling…or math…or reading.”

“All right, I get it.” Janice laughed. “I didn't like school much either at your age but had to keep my grades up in order to compete on the rodeo team.”

“Can I do that too when I get bigger?”

“Sure you can,” Janice said. “Which leads to some news you're gonna be real happy about.”

“What's that?” Cody asked.

“The Knowltons invited us all out to the ranch on Sunday. Dirk said to come out early 'cause he has a horse for you to ride.”

Cody's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “For real?”

“Yeah. He's a big sorrel named Red Man. Now, let's get to work on your spelling.”

* * *

Janice could hardly remember the last time she'd put on a dress, or eaten out at any place that required reservations. Even though there wasn't a place in the whole state of Montana where jeans weren't welcome, Dirk's parting words inspired a desire to “wow” him. Although she was once a clueless cowhand, her years of waitressing in Vegas had taught her the value of a feminine appearance.

She rifled through her closet for a little black dress she'd bought after Grady had qualified for his first world championship. There was a sponsored big pre-event party for the bull draws and she'd wanted to do him proud, but he wasn't the only male who'd taken notice when she'd worn it. Although the dress was several years old, the sheath style still worked, and—more importantly—it still fit, albeit a tad tighter through the hips and boobs. Her matching pumps were also a bit outdated, but she doubted anyone in rural Montana would notice.

She pinned up her simple French braid into a chignon and then applied a touch of makeup, knowing this was a version of her that Dirk had never seen before. Would he like it? At the sound of his truck pulling in the drive, she stepped in front of the mirror her heart pounding with sudden self-doubts, but she had no time to change her mind. She exited her room and descended the stairs, feeling far too much like a nervous schoolgirl on prom night.

She was on the landing when he entered. He wore a crisply pressed dress shirt in a shade of blue that set off his icy colored eyes and a pair of snug-fitting jeans with knife-edge creases. He looked up the staircase in a sudden double-take that made Janice freeze in her tracks. Her pulse raced as his gaze swept slowly over her. His mouth curved into a slow wolfish grin that heated her from the inside out.

She descended the rest of the stairs on shaky legs. Dirk met her at the bottom step. His arm came around her waist and his lips brushed her cheek. “My, my, Red,” he murmured in a tone that promised very wicked things. “You take my breath away.”

His words made Janice acutely self-conscious, but she still managed a flippant reply. “You don't clean up so bad yourself, cowboy.”

“Where's Cody and your mama?” he asked.

“Mama's arthritis is acting up real bad and Cody's upstairs playing video games,” Janice said. “I'd call him down here but you're already gonna get more than your fill of him on Sunday. He's beside himself with excitement.”

“I'm looking forward to it too,” Dirk said.

His reply surprised her. “You are?”

“Sure. I'd like to get to know him better. I haven't been around a lot of kids, but I like 'em well enough.”

“Well, be prepared. Cody'll talk your ear off. He's not the least bit shy and has a mind of his own. He hasn't quite learned when to back down on an argument and is always getting called out by the teachers for it.”

“He might suffer for it now,” Dirk said, “but it'll play to his advantage later in life.” He glanced at his watch. “We'd better be going. Our reservation's for eight thirty and it's an hour's drive.”

* * *

Janice began peppering him with questions almost as soon as he pulled onto the highway. “Where are we going?”

“You'll see when we get there,” he replied.

When he turned north on 287, she remarked, “There's nothing in Whitehall, and Bozeman's a good ninety minutes away.”

“Yup,” he agreed.

“We going to Belgrade?” she asked.

“Nope.” Dirk shook his head.

“Manhattan maybe? I've heard Land of Magic's really good.”

“It is at that,” he concurred with a nod.

“So that's where you're taking me?”

“Wrong again.”

“C'mon, Dirk! Quit tormenting me and spill it.”

“No way. Anticipation is half the pleasure. Besides, I'm having way too much fun torturing you.”

Janice huffed.

He chuckled and flashed a teasing grin. “Guess you don't read many mystery novels, do you, Red?”

“No. Haven't read much of anything since high school, but why would you say that?”

“'Cause you can't stand suspense. Bet you talk during movies too, don'tcha?”

“Maybe,” she replied.

“I'll have to remember that.” He gave her a teasing leg squeeze. Then his hand rested there. She laid hers on top of it.

“Bet I can make you talk.” She slid her skirt up a few inches.

His mouth firmed. “I don't think so, sweetheart.” He shook his head, determined not to give an inch, but she gave him several more—inches of bare thigh that is.

“You
sure
you don't want to tell me where we're going?”

She guided his hand a little higher. She wasn't wearing panty hose. Her skin was silky smooth. He got a whiff of vanilla mixed with just a hint of feminine arousal. He inhaled deeper and shifted in his seat. His gaze briefly strayed from the road to meet hers. “I don't think you want to continue this, Red. Not if you're hungry, anyway.”

“I'm hungry all right.” She licked her lips and slid his hand a little bit higher. “Matter of fact, I'm about starved, but I always like to think about what's on the menu ahead of time. Don't you?”

He didn't have to. His mind had been stuck in that one gear almost from the moment she'd shown up.

He snatched back his hand and pulled off the road, cutting the ignition and yanking her across the bench seat. He groaned in surrender as his mouth claimed hers for a searing kiss.

She opened to him with a soft moan and their kiss deepened, their tongues dueling, every slick stroke sending surges of sensation rippling through him. She guided his hand deeper between her thighs. He jolted in surprise when his fingertips came into direct contact with her wet sheath. “No panties, Red?”

She flashed him a half smile. “Call me optimistic. I'd hoped to get lucky tonight.” She squeezed her thighs on another soft moan when he sank his fingers inside her. He released her to adjust the seat, sliding it all the way back, but there still wasn't room to get her on his lap.

“Fucking steering wheel's in the way,” he growled. “Put yours back. All the way.”

Her gaze widened. “Right now? In the truck? What about our dinner reservation?”

“Guess we're gonna be late. I warned you where this was headed.”

“But somebody could see us!” Janice cried with a look of panic.

“You started it, Red. You're gonna have to finish it.”

“I don't think so, cowboy,” she replied. “You're gonna have to deliver on that steak dinner first.”

He mumbled a stream of curses. “I never counted you a cock tease, Red.”

“I'm not a tease,” she protested. “You just said yourself not a minute ago that anticipation is half the pleasure.”

“Anticipation? I've lived like a fucking monk for the past four years. If you think I'm gonna drive the rest of the way with a stiff dick, think again.”

“I'm sorry 'bout that, but you're gonna have to feed me first.”

He started the truck up with another mumbled curse.

“How far away are we?” she asked a minute later.

“Still thirty ball-aching minutes,” he ground back.

“You know,” she began with a sly smile, “if this really is such an unbearable trial for you, maybe I can alleviate your discomfort.” She unsnapped her seat belt and slid closer, her hands working deftly on his belt, then popping his fly button. “Of course, I'm pretty sure this is all kinds of illegal.”

“What the hell are you—” He sucked in a breath as she eased his zipper down and slipped her hand inside his jeans, wrapping her fingers around his swollen dick.

“Keep driving, Dirk.”

He was rock-hard and finding it harder to keep his eyes on the road as she slowly jacked him up and down, squeezing and stroking.

“Better?” she asked.

“Damn, Janice,” he hissed. “You're gonna kill me.”

“Oh, I doubt that.”

Next thing he knew, her head was in his lap. Her mouth and hot, velvety tongue were moving up and down his shaft, rasping along his length, circling his head and lapping at the slit, turning his mind into jelly. The lines on the road blurred when she closed her lips around him, sucking him into the hot wet cavern of her mouth.

Holy
shit!
He released one hand from the wheel and curled the other around her nape. She drew harder with her lips, working him deeper into her throat. Her lips and throat muscles contracting, milking him. He was drowning in sensation, in mindless pleasure. He was losing it fast. Maybe he was already lost. Either way, it felt so fucking good to give himself up to her.

His balls contracted. His hands squeezed the wheel. He was panting with the effort to hold back. He pulled off the road again as the urge to come swelled inside him.

“You gotta stop now, Red…right fucking now…unless you plan to finish me off.”

“Oh, I'll finish you all right.” She sucked him even deeper, swallowing harder.

His eyes fluttered shut as his orgasm came crashing over him, his cock pulsing in a long series of body-wracking eruptions that left him physically spent.

A moment later, he opened his eyes to gaze down at her through a helpless haze. Her soft brown eyes met his and her mouth curved into that slow, shy smile that always crushed his lungs and left him heaving for breath.

* * *

To Janice's dismay, Dirk was quiet the rest of the drive, almost too quiet. Although she'd managed in only a couple of weeks to penetrate his first lines of defense, the question remained whether he'd ever let her all the way in.

They pulled off I-90 at the Trident and Three Forks exit and then headed toward town. “Three Forks?” Janice asked. “What's in Three Forks?”

“You'll see,” he answered her cryptically.

A few minutes later he pulled up in front of an elegant white clapboard building. “The old Sacajawea?” she declared in surprise. “I thought it closed years ago.”

“It did. But then a new owner bought it and completely restored the place while you were away,” Dirk explained. “It's now on the register of historical hotels, and the food is top-notch. Good as anything you had out in Vegas.”

He handed her down from the truck and then led her through an elegant foyer to the entrance to Pompey's Grill. Greeting Dirk by name, the maître d' guided them to a cozy booth near the massive stone hearth where a welcoming fire blazed. The hotel restaurant was dark-paneled, candlelit, and intimate, the perfect setting for a romantic dinner.

The maître d' smiled. “Your server will be with you momentarily with a wine list.”

“I'm not much for wine myself,” Dirk remarked to Janice, “but they have a respectable selection if you'd care for a bottle.”

“Not for me, thanks.” Janice gave an embarrassed smile. “I admit I'm more of a beer girl.”

Their waiter arrived almost instantaneously to present the wine menu and take their drink orders.

“A Blue Moon for the lady and I'll take a Bud,” Dirk said.

“Very good. Would you care to hear tonight's dinner specials?” the waiter asked.

“Sure.” Janice nodded.

“For starters, we have a crab harumaki, which is a Japanese-style spring roll with red crab, fresh cilantro, napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and fresh ginger, served with a spicy ponzu. Our entrée this evening would be the USDA Prime dry-aged American Kobe tenderloin, locally supplied from the Flying K Ranch.” He presented the full menus. “I'll be back in just a moment with your drinks.”

“The beef is from the Flying K?” Janice cocked her head in surprise.

“Yup.” Dirk nodded with pride. “Been doing a bit of test marketing in some local places. I hear it's become one of their most popular entrées.”

“That's fantastic!” Janice exclaimed.

He beamed back at her. “I admit I'm encouraged. I'm working on something even bigger now. I have some serious interest from a gourmet foods company, but I can't hope to bid for the contract until I can show that I can meet the demand. That means growing the herd, which will require more investment in breeding stock.”