Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? (4 page)

Lauren thought about pretending she hadn’t heard him and then remembered her promise. Sighing, she lifted her butt and allowed her skirt to shift upwards, exposing the back of Gray’s hand between her legs. She studied the contrast between his dark suntanned flesh and her pale thighs. His fingers flexed against her and she almost purred.

With slow deliberation, she undid another couple of buttons, displaying the tops of her breasts. Her nipples thrust hard through the cotton. Grayson groaned and slid one long finger inside her.

‘How many buttons do you have left?’

Lauren looked down, concentrating on the feel of his probing, callused finger. ‘Three.’

Grayson let out a breath. ‘That’s lucky because I have three fingers left to slide inside you.’ He ran the edge of his thumbnail across her clit. ‘I need my thumb for this beauty.’

She opened another button as he doubled his presence inside her and she arched her back into his touch. His next question made her open her eyes.

‘Have you made love with anyone since Las Vegas?’

Lauren wriggled restlessly as his hand went still. ‘No, I haven’t, have you?’

‘I haven’t wanted to touch another woman. I had the best sex of my life with you.’

She sighed as he grunted his approval and increased the tempo of his thrusting fingers. She undid another button. Her blouse was almost undone, the breeze from the windows exposed her breasts in between ripples of butter-soft cotton. His third finger joined the others, widening her even further, making her moan.

Grayson’s frank confession made her feel powerfully female. Her body grew warmer, throbbing against his fingers, making her want him, making her remember the wild night she’d spent with him in Las Vegas. She released the last button and deliberately pulled both sides away from her breasts. Grayson made a low sound as he slid his fourth finger inside her. Under the pressure of his thumb, her pussy pulsed a slow sultry dance of need.

Lauren only opened her eyes when she realised Grayson had shut off the idling engine. He leant towards her, his expression intent, and kissed her hard on the mouth. She brought her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

After he pulled away, he brought his fingers to his mouth and slowly sucked them. Lauren watched as he got out of the truck, came around to her side and lifted her into his arms. Half carrying her, half backing her up, he manoeuvred her up the steps, through a screened door and a mud room, into what appeared to be a kitchen.

Her back hit a work surface. Grayson stopped. ‘This will have to do. I can’t wait any longer.’

He put his hands around her waist and lifted her onto the tiled countertop. Lauren squeaked as her bare skin hit the cold smooth surface. Grayson gave her no time to do anything as he balanced her on the edge of the counter and pushed her knees apart. She tried to remember to breathe as he struggled to pull down his zipper and his cock sprang free.

He splayed his hand over her butt and the tip of his erection pressed insistently against her already aroused flesh. She tried to relax her inner muscles, knowing he was big and wanting him inside her as quickly as possible. The sensation of being stretched and filled was almost unbearable. Looking down, Lauren realised he had a way to go. He pulled back and thrust again.

‘You can take it all, darlin’, I know you can. Let me inside.’

Lauren let out her breath, kicked off her shoes and walked her feet up his thighs until she reached his hips. With a satisfied grunt, he rocked forwards and filled her completely. Lauren screamed, grabbed at his hair and came so hard that she thought she’d died. Whatever anybody said, she knew that size did matter.

His tongue filled her mouth, jabbing in the same vigorous pattern as his cock. Five hard deep thrusts before he came, and Lauren felt his hot come at her very centre. After a while she opened her eyes to find herself staring up at a painted white ceiling. The back of her head was cradled in one of Grayson’s large hands. He lay over her, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

‘Does anyone live here with you?’ Lauren whispered, suddenly aware that she was half-naked in a very public place.

Gray’s chuckle was smothered against her skin. ‘I have a housekeeper who comes in most days but I gave her the weekend off. The ranch hands have their own cook and kitchen behind the other barn.’

He placed one hand flat on the counter and levered himself away from her. She bit her lip as his cock shifted inside her.

‘This wasn’t how I planned it, Lauren. I intended to be the perfect gentleman and wait until you asked me to make love with you.’ Grayson grimaced. ‘How about we start again? I’ll give you a tour of the house and barn, and then we can grab some dinner. I’m sure you’re hungry after your early start.’

Reluctantly, she unclasped her leg from around his thigh and allowed him to pull her upright. She wanted him again and all he could talk about was food? Her displeasure must have shown in her expression. He grinned as he lifted her down.

‘We haven’t finished yet, darlin’. As we go around the house you can pick the next place you want to make love in.’

Lauren attempted to smoothe down her skirt and buttoned her crumpled blouse. ‘Don’t you mean have sex?’

Grayson’s smile died and he stared levelly back at her. He shrugged. ‘If that’s want you want to call it, go ahead.’

Lauren ignored him, suddenly feeling as if he’d put her in the wrong. She looked around the open-plan kitchen and tried to change the subject to something she understood.

‘Your house looks brand new. How long have you lived here?’

Grayson leant against the countertop, his arms folded across his chest, his jeans still unfastened. ‘I built this house two years ago, so everything’s relatively new.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Were you expecting some run-down old shack or did you think I lived in a trailer surrounded by barbed wire and cows?’

Lauren pretended to laugh. ‘Of course not. I just wasn’t expecting this.’ She gestured vaguely with her hand. The open layout and stark simplicity of the kitchen and family room beyond reminded her of her parents’ beach house near Half Moon Bay. She wandered through to study the stone fireplace on the far wall.

The couch was a deep red brown, large enough to sleep on and accompanied by two matching chairs. Cherry-wood floors complemented the rich colours and large picture windows. A Navajo rug added its glorious patterned design to the sun-burnished effect.

Grayson dropped a hand on her shoulder. ‘I reckon the couch would be a good place to “have sex” don’t you think? Perhaps I’ll shoot me a bear and have a nice rug for you to lie naked on in front of a roaring fire.’

Lauren closed her eyes as his thumb worked on the tangle of muscles in her shoulder. She leant back and came into contact with his hard chest. ‘I think I’d like that.’

He kissed her exposed neck. ‘Would you care to see the rest of the house or do you want to stop here? I’m a very adaptable host.’

Lauren smiled then and moved out of his range. ‘I’d love to see the rest.’ She headed back through the pristine kitchen. ‘Do you have an office here or is it just bedrooms?’

She paused at the first door and Grayson pushed it open. The hum of a waiting computer, printer and fax machine greeted her and a warm stale blast of machine-heated air. His office was a model of efficiency and incredibly tidy. A variety of books and files ranging from farming to stocks and shares lined the walls. Lauren looked back at Grayson who remained in the doorway.

‘Is this all your own work?’

Grayson gave an embarrassed smile. ‘I’m a bit of a neat freak. I have to have everything organised or I can’t work. It drives everyone nuts.’

Lauren tried to control her surprise. She’d feared that Grayson, like many so-called cowboys, might be living hand to mouth, trying to ignore the demands of the real world. Instead he had an apparently prosperous ranch and the intelligence to realise that technology held the key to his future prosperity.

She stared out of the window at the white picket fence, which unfurled down the driveway like an unending ribbon. It had been a mistake to come here. Before, she’d been able to think of him as just a sex object. Now he was trying to show her the real man and part of her was afraid of that. She didn’t want to like him. She didn’t want to feel so . . . connected.

To cover her confusion, she backed out of the office and rushed to open the next door along the corridor. A plain white bathroom suite confronted her and she hurriedly moved on. She ignored the remaining two doors and headed to the last at the end of the passageway. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the master bedroom.

The room was a good size. It contained little furniture apart from a big old-fashioned four-poster bed and a dressing table. A large antique gilt mirror hung opposite the bed, reflecting a softer image of the impersonal room. The bedlinen was white crisp cotton and so were the drapes.

‘If you’d like to get cleaned up, Lauren, there’s a bathroom through there and plenty of closet space. My architect insisted on adding large walk-in closets to my design. She said the future Mrs Turner would thank me for it.’

Lauren kept walking through to the bathroom, which was furnished with a cream-coloured hot tub and double shower as well as the usual items. Before she could shut the door, Grayson followed her in, his expression serious.

‘Don’t you like it?’

She stared at his reflection in the mirror wishing he hadn’t mentioned the future Mrs Turner. ‘It’s lovely. I’m just overtired. It’s been hectic at work for the past few weeks. I had to find a whole set of nineteen-fifties kitchen props for a last-minute theatre production.’

He moved across and stood behind her; his fingers sifted through her hair and gently released the pins. ‘I know how you feel. We’ve just finished harvesting and that’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day seven-days-a-week job.’

She closed her eyes and allowed his strength to surround her. What was it about Grayson that made her want to surrender her body to him without a quiver of doubt?

‘How about we take a nap?’

Grayson’s soft suggestion seemed like a wonderful idea. Lauren nodded and started to take off her blouse. By the time she’d undone the cuffs and slid the sleeves down her arms she could feel Grayson’s arousal pressing into her back. Smiling, she bent forwards, pushing her butt into his groin, and slithered out of her skirt.

His hands slid to her hips and held her hard against him as she reached up to remove her pearl necklace.

‘No,’ he said, ‘leave it on.’

Lauren opened her eyes and turned to look at Grayson who lay sprawled on his back. True to his word, they’d actually slept, cocooned together in the big old oak bed. Golden beads of sunlight peeped through the cracks in the drapes like amber teardrops and then disappeared along with the setting sun.

‘I know what’s been worrying me about your house.’

Grayson cracked open an eye and lazily regarded her, one hand behind his head.

Lauren frowned down at him. ‘Apart from the family room, you have nothing personal here. It’s as if you don’t really consider it your full-time home.’

She thought of her parents’ mansion where her father had obsessively documented every minor event in her life with a photograph or framed certificate. Even her own apartment held a few prized possessions and treasured photographs.

Grayson yawned, his shoulder muscles rippled in the golden light. ‘I only moved in a couple of years ago. I’ve got all that frou-frou stuff in boxes in the garage.’ He rubbed his hand over his chest. ‘One of my old girlfriends decorated the family room for me. I just haven’t had time to bother with the rest of it.’

Lauren studied his unconcerned expression. How could he think such things were unimportant? She knelt up to confront him. ‘Don’t you know that your living space is a reflection of your personality?’

Grayson shrugged. ‘Then I guess I lack a personality. I like white. It’s easy to keep clean, hides the dust and everything matches.’

Lauren raised her eyebrows. ‘Why do men say that? I suppose I should be grateful you didn’t go the other way and decide everything should be black. It’s a shame you don’t live closer. I have so much stuff in storage at work – that is if you like retro.’ She dropped a kiss on his lips. ‘You know, a woman’s touch and all that.’

Grayson grabbed her hand and wrapped it around his shaft. ‘Something else would appreciate a woman’s touch, if you’ve got the time.’

Lauren squeezed harder and Grayson groaned. ‘If you can put up with my decorating advice, I’m sure I can fit you in.’ She knelt between his legs and bent her head, allowing the soft silky strands of her hair to drift over his thighs and groin. A bead of pearly moisture appeared and she flicked out her tongue to catch it.

She loosened her grip as he grew larger. She slowly swirled her tongue over the tip of his erection, breathing in the scent of aroused male and the faint hint of leather. He caught her around the waist.

‘Do you want to see the rest of the ranch?’

Lauren regarded him through her tousled hair. Her mouth was just a breath away from his engorged flesh. She pursed her lips and blew. He shivered and rocked his hips until his cock thrust against her mouth. Sitting back, she stretched, knowing his eyes were glued to her naked breasts, and enjoyed the corresponding pooling of heat between her thighs.

‘I think I’d like that, Grayson.’

She leant forwards and kissed him, sliding off the bed as he reached for her. When he growled and unfolded his long frame, she made a run for the bathroom. He caught her in front of the mirror, pulled her into his arms and kissed her so thoroughly she had to lean against him for support.

‘Do you have a pair of jeans?’

His question surprised her. ‘Of course I do, doesn’t everyone?’

He smiled then and indicated her small overnight bag. ‘I meant in there.’