Second Round Cowboy (Second Chance Series) (15 page)

Stryker dug into his pocket
and extracted a handful of coins. He laid them out in front of Lilly and her eyes lit up. “There should be enough here to play five games.” She grabbed as many coins as she could and started toward the play room. “She seems better today. I think Tessa is helping her.”

“Tessa seems like a great therapist.” Leslie watched Lilly drop a few coins in
to one of the machines.

“
She’s great,” he said.

“What if she would have suggested
that you not come and see me for help?”

H
e shrugged. “I would have still come. I knew it was right.” There wasn’t a sliver of doubt in the depths of his piercing blue eyes. Relief spread through her.

“
It’s none of my business, but it’s a dangerous combination to mix pleasure with therapy.” She moistened her bottom lip. He blinked, opened his mouth as if to say something but snapped it shut when the waitress brought their drinks.

When the server
was gone, he shook his head. “Tessa and I have only gone on a couple of dates and that was before she started seeing Lilly. And how did you know?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t know for sure, but i
t wouldn’t take a genius to decode the way she looked at you and how she touched your arm while you two were talking. Attraction was written all over her features.”

“We just dated—
”

“You don’t owe me an
explanation. I just want what’s best for Lilly and it could get a little sticky.” She brought her glass of sweet iced tea to her lips and drank.

“I have Lilly’s best interest at heart, if that’s what you’re worried about.” There was
a slight raise in his tone.

S
haking her glass, the ice clanked. “I know you do. I’m not suggesting otherwise.”

“Are you jealous
?” One brow lifted.

“Of course not
.” Her laugh sounded more like the croaking of a frog. She cleared her throat. “I have no reason or right for those emotions. Tessa seems like a very nice person. I can’t resent you for finding her attractive. What’s not to like? She’s beautiful, smart and seems to have a talent at working with kids.”

He nodded. “Just like I can’t
resent the fact that you were dating too, but it sure as hell isn’t the easiest thing to swallow.”

His
frankness surprised her. “So you’re admitting that you’re jealous?”

“No reason to deny it, right? You
and I…well, we have history. I was the first cowboy to touch you, to bring you pleasure, and I guess that gives me some sort of unstated right to feel protectiveness.”

“Maybe it’s the instinct within you? You were a bit overly protective at times.
”

His jaw tightened. “Really?
” He lifted his own glass to his lips and downed the beverage.

“
At times, sure, but that’s your character.”

“I’m not sure it’s a flaw or asset. Maybe it could go both ways.”
He shrugged.

“When Bobby Malone swatted me on the behind and you hit him in the nose
, he knew never to touch me again.” She swept her finger through the condensation on her glass.

“Bobby Malone needed a lesson.
At twelve, he was a pervert and he grew into a jerk. He’s been in and out of jail.” He sniffed.

“I think
, even then, you had a crush on me.” She laughed.

“Hell yes I did.”

“Then I’ll confess, as I got a little older, I fantasized about you. My daydreaming was almost the death of me, one time in particular. I was sixteen and my hormones were like hot wires. Anyway, you were in the cafeteria arm wrestling. I’d gotten all heated while watching you and forgot I was eating. I can’t remember who struck me hard on the back, but the chicken came up and shot into Miley Brown’s tray. That girl never spoke to me again.”

He laughed. “You never told me that story.”

“And risk blowing your ego up more? Maybe one day I’ll tell you all of my darkest and deepest secrets.” She wriggled her brows.

His gaze narrowed. “What makes you think I don’t already know all of your secrets?”

“Trust me, you don’t.” She licked her bottom lip. “I never did tell you that Miley and I kissed once. We were curious what it felt like so we tried. Her lips were soft and tasted a lot like bubblegum. It wasn’t bad, but it never compared to your kiss.”

He shifted in the seat. “It’s a good thing the table covers my legs. I think I hear the teeth bursting in my zipper.”

Leslie could have drowned in his heated gaze. Bliss washed over her as she realized there was no place on earth she’d rather be.

“It also explains why she never had a boyfriend, but lived with the woman who coached baseball.”

“Miley is…?” Leslie had no clue.

He nodded. “Yes she is. So apparently she liked the kiss more than you.”

        Later that evening, Leslie had tucked Lilly into bed, reading her a story until she fell asleep. Stryker was out working on the ranch and wouldn’t be back until late. After cleaning, doing a load of laundry and watching a sappy movie, she clicked off the TV. She checked her phone for messages—nothing.

Her muscles were a bit tense. She poured herself a glass of wine, drank it then took
a shower in Stryker’s bathroom. The spray of hot water was heavenly over her body, not to mention the fact that she could smell his strong body soap and shampoo made her miss him even more.

U
sing her own feminine wash, she scrubbed her body with the purple loofa Stryker had said Lilly picked out.

Finished, she shut off the water, dried off and didn’t bother dressing before she went into the bedroom
. Since she’d crawled out of his bed that morning, she’d anticipated the moment when she’d crawl back in with her cowboy.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d
lain there, drifting in and out of slumber, before she heard his booted footsteps as he made his way up the stairs and down the hall toward her. Her stomach fluttered as she situated her body in what she hoped was a sexy Marylyn Monroe pose—breasts out, tummy tucked in and one leg angled.

The
door opened and she watched him enter the moonlit shadows. She could see him, but his eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet. Her heart raced and her breathing sounded loud in her ears. She tried her best to relax.

He moved across the floor and flicked on the table lamp.
His gazed locked with hers and then raked over her naked form. A deep growl sounded from deep within his chest. “Damn, a man could get used to greetings like this.”

“After a perfect day
, I thought we deserved dessert in bed.”

“I like the way you think, sweetheart.” Something in his gaze made her nipples tighten and
her skin quiver. Goosebumps marred her flesh as she grew eager to have him close. He slid one boot off, then the other, and it thumped across the floor. “Always have liked your adventurous side.”

Anticipation growing, she controlled her need to slide across the bed and grab h
er cowboy. He started unbuttoning his flannel shirt and her senses heightened. She enjoyed the feeling of having her own private stripper as he dragged the material from his brawny shoulders. She hoped he was ready to engage himself in a night of hot sex because after years of a dry spell, she couldn’t seem to get enough and he seemed more than willing to fill her every need.

Pants unsnapped…zipper released…jeans pushed down strong, powerful legs…and she all but salivated. Her fingertips ached to rip the boxer briefs off his tight ass
, but she reminded herself that they had all night. She couldn’t help that she desired him between her thighs, yet it couldn’t hurt to play a little hard to get.

“Let’s see the package.” Her voice gave away her
urgency.

He tucked his thumbs inside of the elastic
band and moved his underwear downward. Growing impatient, she smoothed her palm over her tingling breasts, along her stomach and stopped at her aching core. Her juices moistened her fingers and she heard the sharp intake of his breath. They held gazes as she circled a finger around the throbbing nub.

“You’ve been waiting a while?
” His husky voice spoke of his inner havoc. He tore a hand through his thick hair and settled a heated stare on the apex of her thighs.

“I can’t get enough.” She brought her wet finger up and crooked it, motioning for him to come to her as she spread her legs wider.

He climbed onto the bed, the mattress sinking under his weight and she shifted. He took her hand into his and brought her digits to his mouth, licking the cream from each. Her insides quaked as she became wetter.

“Your taste
is addictive.” He plucked her up and she found herself atop him, straddling him between her thighs. His large erection teased the lips that craved his satisfaction.

The
man still resided inside of her heart—she couldn’t deny the truth. He consumed places only he could explore—places where only he was invited to discover.

His hard tip nestled inside
of her and she circled her hips, drawing him deeper, seducing him with her body. He closed his arms around her and pulled her closer, bringing their mouths together. Tongues dueled as they met each other’s passion. He tasted of mint and it made her heady. She took his lower lip between her teeth, nibbled and played, before licking the gently assaulted skin. A growl penetrated his throat and she lapped it up with another kiss.

She sat up straight and his palms found
her breasts. He fondled each mound, caressing heated flesh and rolled his thumbs across the pink tips. She moaned and bent her head to one side. Her long hair fell over her shoulder, tendrils sweeping across her sensitive skin.

“You’re fucking beautiful, darlin’.”

She chocked back a sigh as she realized how crazy she still was about him, even after years of separation. At the moment wasn’t probably the best time for the revelation, but she knew her heart and what it was telling her. She loved him, from his coal black locks to her painted toes—she was in love.

Her timing sucked. She was between crying and screaming.

He must have read her unease. He looked at her in curiosity. She couldn’t allow him to see her emotions; she needed to protect the innocence of her passion. She blinked away any signs of disorder and smoothed her hands over the taut planes of his chest and abdomen.

“I love this—the way you fit inside of me. The way you drive me across
edges of ecstasy.” Not one man should be equipped with such virility.

He grasped her hips as she rode him, swirling her pussy around his cock. She lowered her body against his and kissed his neck, leaving a trai
l as she made her way to his ear, suckling the lobe until he jerked.

In one quick motion, he maneuvered her ont
o her back and he was above her, bodies still connected. “Yes!” she whimpered.

His eyes glowed like blue granite and his long lashes swooped along the tops of his
tanned cheeks. She moved her hands around to his back, liking the feel of his warm, smooth flesh as she pulled him closer. The tips of her nails scraped him and she resisted the urge to dig.

“I needed this, baby.” He stroked her insides with smooth, long pumps. She kissed his shoulder and inhaled his musk scent. “A man could never grow tired of this—of you.”

“Who knew it could only get better,” she whispered.

He lowered his mouth to her chest, licking one pert nubbin and then concentrated on the other. He lifted his head. “
Perfect breasts.”

They weren’t much more than a handful, but he’d always told her how he liked her
thirty-four A’s. He was a charmer and was skilled at making her feel beautiful, even on her worst days. Once upon a time, back when fantasy still lived in heart, he was her best friend, lover and hero. He probably still was.

“My God. You smell like cotton candy. The kind we’d get at the county fair.” He licked a moist trail between her breas
ts and back up to her collarbone. When he lifted his head, one corner of his mouth was curved, a mischievous grin that she remembered from when he was a kid.

He impelled her and she took all of him into her tight
channel. She brought her hips up and met his, together they matched a rhythm that soon left them panting. She planted her nails into his toned muscles, fearing she would draw blood, but his groans of satisfaction told her he liked the infliction. A bittersweet ache throbbed in her pussy and she was close—so close that she couldn’t hold back. “I’m cumming.”

His body jerked and his back stiffened. His neck arched as
he released.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE MIDDAY SUN baked Stryker’s bare back as he pounded another nail into the railing. He stood up straight and swiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He looked up into the blue sky and squinted at the brightness.

He dropped the hammer onto the grass and went to sit under the shade of a
n oak tree with a bottle of ice cold water he’d gotten from his cooler. He deserved a break. He’d been out working on the fence since daylight and he guessed it was around noon.