Stony Creek Cowboy [Stony Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) (4 page)

“What does one wear for dinner with a new neighbor who makes you drool?” she asked the mastiffs. Not surprisingly, there was little response other than Madison lifting her head. As Billie wasn’t offering any food items, Maddy plopped her head back down and joined her buddy in a snorefest.

Billie went upstairs and stared into her sumptuous new bedroom. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined Jackson lying across the bed with only the sheet covering him to his waist. The tenting of the soft material gave little confusion as to his need. His need for her. Then he…

Ugh, knock it off, Billie! she thought to herself. She really needed a man. It had been far too long without sexual comfort that only a man could bring. Her need for pleasure had led to several burned out vibrators in the years since Matthew had passed. She would have to try to control herself better than this. Jackson probably had several women throwing themselves at him at a time. She knew that being new in Stony Creek and being its newest physician meant that a proper decorum was required. Damn, it was a hard image to uphold. Oh well. She would give it her best to try to be “friends” with her new neighbor.

She selected a soft, deep-red, knit V-neck top and paired it with khaki skinny pants that fit into brown riding boots. A silver necklace and bangles completed her hopefully casual but appropriate look.

After going back downstairs to check on the parts of dinner that weren’t cooked fully yet, she noticed the time. The clock said six thirty. Thirty minutes. It felt like an eternity. Looking around at her dining room table, set beautifully with a tablecloth she managed to find in her boxes, Billie felt pleased. Although there were wrapped items and boxes everywhere, she managed to put enough antiques and personal items out so the room felt like it belonged to her.

Suddenly menacing growls erupted from the foyer. Crazed barking caused her to jump out of her reverie. Her babies were her built-in security system. Weighing in at two hundred and ten and one hundred and seventy pounds respectively, Zeus and Madison normally made her feel safe and comforted. However, at that moment, she jumped out of her skin. Billie rushed to the front window to see what had happened to cause the uproar amongst her normally very docile dogs.

Not expecting anything or anyone to be there, Billie gazed out with little reservation. Suddenly a chiseled face peered back at her through the glass. Billie stumbled backward in fright, tripping over two boxes and some large throw pillows.

“Shit!” came Jackson’s response from outside on the porch. Jackson barged right through the front door in an attempt to see if she was hurt. Zeus and Madison apparently didn’t care for this large, virile man entering without leave from their mistress. Combined with Billie crying out from her fall, the dogs turned their anger toward the man who had caused the distress. The menacing growls continued as they stood their ground, not allowing Jackson to move to help Billie up.

Shoot, she thought.
The only family I have left is going to run off the only friend I have out here.
They were very loyal and defensive dogs, but they seemed only to respond and listen to her.

“Sit. Now,” were the words firmly spoken from the cowboy. Billie watched in fascination from her unladylike position on the floor as her two bodyguards, amazingly, listened obediently to Jackson. She also took note of her body’s immediate response to the terse command. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit how arousing his dominance and control was.

Billie’s mouth hung open just gaping at the scene in front of her. “What are you doing down there?” joked Jackson with a gentle laugh.

“Well, I was following your orders!” she saucily replied right on cue. This cause a surprised look from Jackson that was followed by a devilish smile.

“So, if I just give you a command in the future, are you going to follow without question?” was his reply.

“I guess we will just have to see,” she said with a smile.

Jackson extended his hand and gently helped her up. She lost her balance slightly and swayed into his side. He slid an arm around her waist, which caused light shivers through her breasts. “I am sorry. I keep falling around you. Maybe you have some sort of gravitational pull.” She laughed. Billie felt silly and much like an immature girl for a moment. Good lord, he smelled delicious, like a mix of soap and spicy aftershave. She could feel her toes curl in her boots.

Control, she could maintain control. She smiled shyly and invited him in. Wearing a white pearl button-down shirt, with the cuffs rolled up, he looked like a model for a cowboy calendar. A pair of Wranglers never looked good in New York, but here…she felt faint.

“I didn’t know what sort of wine you liked yet, so I brought you a merlot and a chardonnay.” I intend to find out lots of interesting information about you tonight, Dr. Rothman, he thought. “Holy hell, Billie. Pardon me, I didn’t mean to swear, but it smells like heaven in here. What are you going to pleasure my taste buds with this evening?”

Billie paused for a moment and decided to give the proper answer instead of the naughty images roaming freely through her head. They were the ones where Jackson suddenly leaned down to run his lips just below her ear and licked gently.

Bustling around, she took out two wineglasses and corkscrew. “I would rather show you than tell.” She laughed. “Please sit on down and let me work. You can pour us some merlot in the meanwhile.”

“My momma would take a switch to my backside if I didn’t help you, Billie,” he said with a devastating smile. “I was raised better than to let a lady, so kind to cook me a meal, do all the work.”

A sad smile lifted the corners of Billie’s lips. “Actually, Jackson, I would appreciate it if you would just sit and let me serve
you
. It has been so long since I have had an opportunity to do so, and it sort of makes me feel….normal again.”

“What do you mean normal?”

“My husband, Matthew, passed away several years ago and he liked when, as he said, a woman acted like a woman. Truth is, I really enjoyed making him happy that way. It is sort of sexist but there it is. I am a sexist woman,” she said almost proudly.

“How can you think you are sexist when you must work harder professionally than most men? He laughed out loud. “However, I don’t think I would suffer any pain if it would make you smile to do this for me. Most men secretly get the hots for women who want to serve, Billie.”

“I am all yours.”

Trying to keep his thoughts clean was becoming difficult as she started shuttling the platters of marinated skirt steak, garlic mash potatoes, roasted Italian asparagus, and candied carrots to the table. He couldn’t control his eyes caressing her amazing backside as she moved gracefully back to the counter by the kitchen. Her breasts sure looked decadent in the top and his hands sweated with the need to run his palms over their softness. Running them over his pant legs instead, he murmured, “To new neighbors,” while raising his wineglass. Billie smiled back at Jackson and took a sip from her glass.

“This is delicious! Thank you. I completely forgot about wine with dinner.”

“Cut yourself some slack,” he said laughingly, his eyes twinkling. “You just moved in today. I cannot believe I let you cook me dinner when you probably haven’t even unpacked your cooking pots.”

“After what you did for me today, there is little I would ever deny you, Jackson,” she said with an unintentional breathiness. “Okay, my hero, dig in.”

Jackson tore his eyes away from her face and put the first bite in his mouth. “Good god, woman. I am so going to marry you!” he mumbled. With an ungentlemanly gusto, he started eating with enthusiasm. She was a woman who could really cook and with an ass that was just made to fuck. How would he maintain a proper distance? Gwen had never liked cooking, which was okay. He didn’t marry her so she could slave for him, but there was just something about sitting down to a meal with a beautiful woman who enjoyed feeding him what he would enjoy. It made him want things again. Things he really didn’t want to feel for another woman. Truth be told, he never felt strong feelings for her and from the way she cavorted around town now, he suspected she had never felt it either.

Shaking off the darker thoughts, he sat savoring the incredible skills of the woman sitting across from. “Where did you learn to cook like this? Most people do casseroles and the like around here. This is just heaven, Billie.”

“Everyone has a hobby I guess,” she said, unable to keep her pleasure at his compliment from showing. “I worked pretty hard during the week but on the weekends, I would practice my skills in the kitchen. It just gives me so much pleasure. Matthew worked so many weekends. I think it kept me from getting lonely.”

That last statement had Jackson wondering what kind of fool man her husband was if he could ignore the beautiful woman across from him who cooked like an angel.

As they finished the meal, they shared stories of their past. Billie told him of how she always wanted to play doctor growing up, while Jackson told her of how he felt bonded with the land he worked. As they discussed the town’s history and the funny and unique residents that resided there, she looked up at him. Not for the first time that evening her heart did a series of small flutters. His gaze ran warmly over her features as he said, “I meant what I said. That was one of the finest meals I have ever been privileged with. Thank you, Billie. I know you must be exhausted from the drive and settling in. I truly appreciate it.”

“Well, then I suppose mentioning that I made my favorite dessert would be out of order?” she questioned him.

Like a starving man, he wished she would slowly undo the buttons on her shirt and delicately show him his dessert, but instead he heard himself say, “So, what would your favorite be, Billie?” Please say me, he thought, chuckling to himself.

She got up, and, with a small skip to the counter, brought over her offering. A warm, heavenly scent of apple and cinnamon wafted up to Jackson’s nose. “Tell me that’s not apple pie.”

“Okay, it’s not apple pie.”

Jackson laughed heartily. “May I please have a big slice? I promise to help clean up this feast and even offer you a reward.”

Billie had several ideas of what he could offer but was feeling so languid after the meal she decided to keep them to herself. “What sort of reward?” Instead of an answer, she was met with silence. She looked up at her cowboy, stunned to see him chewing with his eyes closed and a sexy smile of bliss across his face. It made her hot to see him in the midst of such enjoyment, even if it was only from her pie. “Jackson?”

“Oh sorry! This pie is really delicious. It needed to be savored with my eyes closed. You know, some things are just meant to be appreciated that way.” Billie wondered what else Jackson enjoyed that way.

As they finished off their third glass of wine, Billie felt the warmth fan out from her belly to her limbs. Jackson helped her clear the last of the dishes to the sink and stood closely to her. She could feel his gaze on her backside as she loaded the dishwasher. Tingles began to run up her spine.

Jackson’s heated gaze devoured the curves in front of him. She was built the way he thought a woman should be. Lush breasts that met the gentle curve of her waist made his hands itch to run his fingers lightly down her sides. His hands were halfway to cupping her ass when he turned to grab a dish towel on the counter. As he moved in closer, he reached around her, brushing her arm, reaching for a pot to dry. His mouth went dry and he felt momentarily light-headed as blood rushed to his groin. Shit, how was he going to hide his arousal? He tried to focus on the work at hand, but her sexy, sweet scent kept coming back to him.

Suddenly she turned around, not realizing how close he was. She placed her hands on his rock-hard chest for balance.

Jackson swiftly inhaled, feeling like he was being branded. Much like earlier in the day, he was bemused at his reaction. His breathing became slightly uneven and his dark gaze looked down into her sensual eyes.

“And now for your reward, my lady.” Butterflies tingled over Billie’s stomach as she heard the words that left his lips. He drew her by the hand to the couch. Jackson sat her down and gave her a wolfish grin. He pushed one dog in one direction on the floor and another in the opposite. What was that man up to, she wondered? As he set about making her first fire in the fireplace, she watched his muscles flex with pleasure in her gaze. It was proving very difficult not to look at Jackson like a man she was interested in. As though feeling her eyes, he turned and gave her a wide smile.

“To compliment the chef for such a prized meal goes a much coveted but rarely delivered massage from one Jackson Powell. I must warn you not to share the details of the experience as it may make a large percentage of the populace salivate with pleasure. I wouldn’t want to have to defend you from other jealous females, Billie,” he joked.

“That sure I will love it, are you?”

A very simple, “Yep,” was all she heard. She lay facedown on the pillows he had arranged in front of the fire. “Do your best, Mr. Powell, and I may be convinced to cook for you again.”

“I live to please,” was his only reply.

Jackson couldn’t believe that he had actually maneuvered his gorgeous prey into allowing him to touch her.
I will try to behave
was the mantra that he kept repeating over and over. His large, warm hands started to slowly knead her shoulders.