Cowboys & Bosses

by Piper Sullivan

  “Oh,” she nodded in slow exaggeration, “is that what’s happening? Because it looks to me like denial.”

  I ignored that, shaking out pumpkin guts a little harder than I needed to in an effort to get the frustration out of me. I couldn’t think about Jack and his deep ocean blue eyes, or his strong arms that couldn’t be contained by any t-shirt known to man. Instead I thought of something unpleasant.

  “How close are we to being done with decorations?”

  “The pumpkins are it. I’ve recruited Jack and Tanner to add cobwebs and ghosts and all the scary stuff. I’ll show you the kids room when we’re done out here, it’s great. Super scary.” Sage had decided to make it a community wide party which meant everyone would show up, with their kids, and the party would last all night.

  Great. “And the booze?” Because if I had to endure the busybodies in town asking when I’d find a nice young fella to settle down with, I would need copious amounts of alcohol. Since the bar would close early on Halloween I would be able to have a few beers without worrying about counting the register with a fuzzy brain.

  “I placed the order in Houston so I’ll need you to pick it up because I can barely fit behind the wheel these days,” she said giving her belly a loving rub.

  “That’s fine, since I’ll need to go get a poncho to cover me up from the ridiculous costume you bought for me.” I glared, but Sage was completely unaffected.

  “You’re gonna look hot in it and you know it.”

  “I might, but only because I’ll get to see you in your costume.”

  Deep chocolate brows furrowed in confusion that quickly morphed into wariness. “But I don’t have one yet.”

  “You didn’t think I’d let my pregnant best friend go without a costume for her own party, did you?” I should have felt bad for the mischief, for enjoying her discomfort as much as I did, but if I sewed my whole costume together it wouldn’t be bigger than the bandana Jack had tucked in his back pocket when he worked the farm.

  “Um, no?”

  “Of course not. It’ll arrive today or tomorrow, and you’ll love it. I swear.”

  Her face turned a hilarious shade of pink. “Fair is fair, I suppose. I just hope it doesn’t make me cry.”

  “Ha! I’m not falling for that Sage, you’ll love it and you’ll look great in it. End of.” She would love it and I wished I could see her face when she pulled it from the box.

  Sage looked at me again with that soft, sympathetic look on her face and I groaned. “Are you really certain that living with Jack is safe?”

  I barked out a laugh. “Yes, I am. If he saw me as something more than the sexless friend of his little sister, then something would have happened already. So trust me, I’m completely safe.” As much as I wished it were different, each day I told myself the truth. One day soon it would sink in.

  “Yeah but Jack is pretty great. Living with him will be difficult, and what about when he brings women home?”

  “Opposite side of the house Sage. What he does is his business and vice versa.” I knew it would happen, and I just hoped that I was well and truly over him by the time that happened.

  “I have a feeling things are about to get really interesting,” she rubbed her hands together, full of glee and mischief.

  Worst of all, I had a feeling Sage was absolutely right.

  Jack

  “Are you upset we’ll have to share the west wing of the main house?” I knew Sierra would say she wasn’t upset, but I’d seen the look of abject horror on her face when she realized the east wing was, at least temporarily, uninhabitable. I just didn’t understand why it was such a big deal.

  “It’s fine Jack. It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve lived together and shared a bathroom.”

  Her words sounded good, but she kept her gaze trained out the SUV window, on the flat ranch land we passed on our way out of Lucky Flats. Her shoulders, her whole posture was defensive.

  “Only now there will be less giggling, I hope.” The first time she’d caught me without a shirt on, she’d squeaked, turned bright red, ran out of the house and refused to return for hours. After that she’d openly stared. In my teenage bravado, I’d only walked taller, prouder.

  “Probably,” she said, and finally turned big almond shaped green eyes my way. “Unless you have a tramp stamp or something, in which case I reserve the right to giggle my ass off.”

  “Fair enough. But for the record I would never get a tramp stamp.”

  She shrugged. “You wouldn’t be the first drunk servicemember to come away with an unfortunate tattoo. You know I’m perfectly capable of driving to Houston on my own, right?”

  I nodded. Sierra was more than capable of doing most things on her own, and from what I could see of this adult version of her, she rarely asked for help with anything.

  “I do, but this way I can flex my muscles and carry some heavy shit, maybe earn some brownie points with my new roomie.”

  She laughed, but her heart wasn’t in it. “I won’t turn down extra muscle, I just want you to know that I would have made it work on my own.”

  “Of that I have no doubt Sierra.”

  She gave a short nod and turned back to the scenery flying by along the mostly empty road. The silence felt right, not forced or uncomfortable. Probably because we knew each other well, despite my absence all these years, we were still mostly comfortable around each other. She pretended that she didn’t still have a thing for me, and I pretended like I didn’t notice the knockout she’d become. And we both ignored the unspoken words of the letters she’d sent me overseas.

  “Do you have a costume yet? Because we can stop for one after we get the booze.”

  “No thanks. I’ll just wear my uniform.” I hated dressing up for any occasion and Halloween was the most ridiculous reason.

  She groaned and shook her head, hand landing hard a little too high on my thigh. “Jack, come on. As hot as you look in that uniform, why not go for Rambo or something a little less somber. Besides, for you it isn’t a costume, it’s a uniform that means something to you. Something important.”

  Damn she was right. I hated that she knew me so well, that anyone did really. Sierra knew me better than my own sister, probably because she spent so much time watching me as a girl.

  “Fine, Rambo it is then.”

  “Good. If I have to attend this thing at least there will be man candy.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She turned and flashed that sultry smile that said she’d just been thinking about sex, and I sucked in a breath and white knuckled the steering wheel. “Man candy, you know, hot delicious morsel of delicious man for the eyes?” She blinked several times, her gaze eating me up. Like man candy.

  “I don’t know if I feel objectified, or something else.” I knew exactly what I was feeling, and what I wanted to do with that feeling growing behind my zipper.

  “Be flattered Jack. You’ve worked hard to be something worthy of female objectification.” Her laugh sounded again and dammit it sent a jolt of lust straight to my cock. I leaned forward to crank up the stereo. Drowning out the sound of her laughter would help calm my body and bury thoughts of her down deep. Where they belonged. “Okay then,” she mumbled and turned back to the changing scenery now that we’d entered the tangle of cement known as Houston.

  I hated city traffic, so thick and congested with everyone driving about thirty miles an hour. But since we were here already we took advantage, loading the alcohol for the party and our house, into the back of the truck before heading to several more stores for necessities. I needed jeans because they were perfect and durable enough for ranch work, but like most men I hated the idea of shopping and once I found my size I just grabbed four pairs of the same and paid.

  Finding Sierra after she’d wandered off turned out to be more of a hassle than clothes shopping. I checked inside several stores that sold home items, electronics and even perfume and couldn’t find her. Then I heard it, that husky laugh that work
ed like a siren’s song, and followed the sound until I found her inside a lingerie store.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?”

  She looked up with a saucy expression and shrugged. “What does it look like Jack? I’m shopping.” She held up two garter belts, both in different shades of green. “Which one do you think is sexier?”

  Shit how did I answer that question? The black and green one screamed sex while the other was sexy in a cute kind of way. “The green and white one,” I told her gruffly.

  “Great, thanks!” She dropped the white one back into the bin and kept the black one and that’s when I noticed the little basket she had filled with colorful pieces of silk and lace. All I could do was imagine her wearing every item. For me.

  “That’s not the one I chose,” I protested.

  “I know. I asked because I knew you’d choose the least sexy one.”

  “That was plenty sexy!”

  “Seriously? It looks like a gag gift for a teenage girl and I’m not a teenager, or your sister.” She slipped behind a heavy curtain before I realized what was happening. “Come in if you want,” she called out with a smile in her voice. “I could use your opinion.”

  That would be borrowing more trouble than I could ever pay back and I took a few steps back, away from that damn curtain. “I’m good out here.” It turned out that it didn’t matter where I stayed because Sierra was determined to make me lose my mind.

  “What do you think?” She asked the question about one hundred times for every damn thing she tried on. The yellow camisole set, the blue negligee, the black nightie and the red corset.

  “I think you’re trying to prove a point and you have. But just so you know, I definitely don’t see a sister when I look at you.” Then I stalked off to wait for her outside before I did something we’d both end up regretting.

  “I’m hungry,” she said as she stood in front of me holding two bags that I knew were filled with lingerie. “What do you feel like eating?”

  You. The thought came quickly and burrowed deep until there was no getting rid of it. But as a Ranger I learned to exercise iron clad willpower, and I would use it now before things got out of hand.

  “I’m easy.”

  “If only,” she mumbled and walked away, leaving me to follow or watch.

  I swear I only watched for a minute, but by the time I caught up with her she’d gotten a table at a Mexican restaurant at the end of the strip of shopping centers. “I haven’t had a burrito in a while.”

  She smiled and hid behind the menu, letting quiet settle between us. She ordered a margarita and carne asada nachos while I enjoyed a steak and lobster burrito. “God that’s so good!”

  This woman was definitely no teenager and definitely not my sister, as my body could attest each time she took a bite of her food. By the time the meal was over I felt like I needed a cold shower. Or a hot willing woman. “Eating with you is definitely an experience.”

  “Thanks,” she said in a tone that didn’t sound all that sincere, but I let it go because I didn’t want to complicate things between us. By the time we made it back to the car, the air between us sizzled. Crackled like the air right before a dry Texas thunderstorm.

  “Oh!” Leaning inside the back seat to adjust her bags she nearly fell over and I reached out, grabbing her waist which was a big mistake because it brought her round ass into direct contact with my cock. We both froze at the connection. The awareness. My grip tightened and my cock stood up to take notice of the warm feminine flesh tempting him awake. “Jack,” she moaned.

  “Sierra,” I moaned back as her scent teased my nostrils and sent another shot of lust right through me. I nibbled her ear, drawing another moan from her and making me wonder what in the hell I was doing right now. But that was simple, I was being transfixed, enchanted by a sorceress with endless curves, miles of soft skin and the sexiest goddamn moan in the world. Without another thought, I spun her in my arms so her back pressed against the back seat of the car and I stood between her legs, letting my cock press against her. My mouth, eager for a taste of her, went straight to her neck, kissing and licking and nibbling her collarbone as she made sounds that had my dick straining against my zipper to break free.

  I knew I needed to stop, but I couldn’t. She tasted too damn good, felt so good with her legs wrapped around me so my cock was cradled perfectly between lush, plump thighs. She groaned and I swallowed it, grinding my hips into her and relishing the way she gripped my arms, panted in my ear. We were as close as two people could be with their clothes on. In public. Shit! We were in public. I pulled back and stared at Sierra. “Sorry.”

  “I’m not,” she told me with a dazed, satisfied smile.

  “Sierra,” I said, needing her to understand what this was and what it wasn’t.

  “Relax Jack, I know it didn’t mean anything and won’t lead to anything. It was still a pretty damn great kiss though.” She licked her lips as if hungry for one more taste and slid away between me and the car, patting hair that my fingers had just messed up.

  I couldn’t help but smile in pure male satisfaction. “It was that,” I told her, as relief tore through me.

  She must have heard it because she gave me a sad smile over her shoulder and jumped into the passenger seat without a word.

  The two-hour drive back to Lucky Flats was silent. Pensive and full of sexual tension, but as quiet as a cemetery at midnight.

  Sierra

  “I can’t believe this is what she bought for me.”

  I sounded like a broken record and I knew it. When your pregnant best friend thinks that a sexy Leprechaun is the perfect Halloween costume for you to wear in front of the man who kissed you until you were on the brink of orgasm, talking to yourself was perfectly acceptable.

  I felt naked. No, I felt less than naked in the skirt that barely covered my big ass and the vest straining across my breasts. But I’d stick out more without a costume so I gave myself another long look in the mirror, shrugged and grabbed my keys. I could probably walk home since the properties shared boundaries, but with my lack of clothes and amount of creepy crawlies I could encounter through the waist high grass, I didn’t want to take any chances. Plus the heat inside the car was nice.

  The drive was quick and I parked close to the house before going in search of Sage. “There you are, Ariel.”

  Sage turned and scowled at me in her costume. “A mermaid? A damn mermaid costume, Sierra! I can’t be sexy in this thing and mama is getting laid tonight,” she rubbed her belly.

  I laughed and took in her costume. “Mermaids are crazy sexy and with those pregnancy boobs you are definitely getting laid tonight.” Too bad I couldn’t say the same for myself. “You look great.”

  “Thanks. Come on.” She grabbed my arm and we finally joined the party in full swing. “Wow look at this turnout!”

  “Oh please, did you really think this town would pass up a chance to party on Halloween? And on the M&M no less?”

  “It’s always a worry when you throw a party, but I knew you’d be here,” she sniffled and wrapped her arms around me. “Thanks and by the way you look so hot right now, I kind of want to touch you inappropriately.”

  “Thank you. I think.” I still felt self-conscious, but standing here talking to Sage made it feel better. And then I felt it, a zing of awareness and I knew Jack was close. I spotted him off near the fire, three different women in outfits as small as mine vying for his attention. “We kissed the other day.” I just blurted it out. But hanging on to that secret for three days had been hard enough.

  “What? You and Jack…kissed?” She leaned in close, whispering because every gossip in town was on the ranch tonight.

  “Yes. And it was sexy and hot and intense. And hungry.” I sighed and let my shoulders fall. “And it can’t happen again.” His quick apology and the long, tense car ride home had told me as much. “It was great but it was an ending, not a beginning so please don’t get any ideas.” It was bad enough th
e man apologized after the single greatest kiss of my life, having his sister put more ideas in my head was not a smart plan.

  “Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me.”

  I nodded and filled a cup from the keg. “Because I am. That was the best kiss of my life and it had to come from the one man on the planet that wants nothing to do with me. I need to forget it ever happened and find someone to sleep with. Tonight.”

  “Or,” she added quickly, stealing my beer to make sure I was listening, “maybe that kiss means he wants more than a little something to do with you.”

  “He probably wants to fuck, Sage. Sorry but it’s true, and if we weren’t living together maybe I’d take one night with him, but right now that would just make things unreasonably complicated.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do. Besides he’s got quite the fan club growing over there, which means I’m headed over to the dance floor to dance until my feet hurt. Find me when you’re ready to eat.”

  “Have fun!”

  That’s exactly what I planned to do. It didn’t matter that I grew up with every man here tonight, dated a few and refused to date the rest. I could still kick up some dust with Bobby Salter from the auto shop and line dance with Tom Wilson. Hell, I could even swing dance with old man Willoughby while his wife gossiped with the other church ladies. And that’s exactly what I did for most of the night, danced in my tiny skirt while I laughed with men I’d known my entire life.

  It wasn’t quite getting laid, but it was more fun than I thought it would be. Between dancing and cocktails, I hardly felt the chill and I only looked at Jack about a dozen times. And it hardly stung that every time I locked eyes on him there was some scantily clad woman in his arms. Or on his lap.