The Cowboy Next Door: Includes a bonus novella (Montana Strong Book 2)

by R. C. Ryan

  “Brothers. And that makes you an expert on men.”

  His silly grin had her cheeks flaming. She forced herself to walk to the kitchen and open a cupboard door. “I noticed you have these cupboards stocked with boxes and cans of food.”

  “Emergency supplies. We never know when we could be stranded up here. Even when the lowlands are sunny and bright, a blizzard can happen in these hills in early spring and even in late summer.”

  “Thank heaven for emergency supplies.” At a glance her hopes lifted. At least there was plenty of food, and that was something she could be comfortable discussing. “I guess I could open a can of soup.”

  Sam nodded. “Whatever you’d like. Just so it’s hot, and there’s plenty of it.”

  He stirred the ashes and added another log while Penny rummaged through the cupboards.

  She carried a pan to the fireplace and set it on the heating rack. In no time it was steaming hot. She replaced that pan with a flat griddle, and carefully turned sandwiches as they browned and the thick slabs of gooey cheese melted and sizzled.

  A short time later she carried a tray to a low table Sam had moved in front of the fireplace with a wooden high-backed bench positioned alongside it, softened with a plaid afghan.

  “Life doesn’t get much better.” Sam eyed the food. “Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.”

  “Actually, grilled ham and cheese.” She nodded toward the kitchen. “I found a canned ham and thought, after all that wood chopping, you’ve probably worked up a mean appetite.”

  “You got that right.” He dug in, sighing from time to time as he devoured the meal.

  She started to get up. “I’ll make more.”

  “No.” He put a hand on her arm. “That was just right.” He sat back, staring into the flames. “You’re amazing, Money.”

  “Another compliment? What’s it about this time? That my soup and sandwiches could win prizes over any made by top chefs? Or maybe they’re simply the best in the entire universe.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.” He couldn’t stop the smile that split his lips. “I was just going to say it can’t be easy for you to cook over a fire, but you did it like you were born to it.”

  She laughed. “Maybe I haven’t had to cook over an open fire, but I was definitely born to work.”

  “Yeah.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “I admire that.”

  She arched a brow. To hide her pleasure, she adopted a trace of sarcasm. “And yet another compliment from the smooth and oh-so-sexy cowboy.”

  “Sexy?” He latched on to the single word. “You surprise me. I thought mean Miss Money didn’t even think about such things.”

  “Did I say sexy? I meant stinky. I’m sure you’re a little ripe from all that wood you chopped.”

  “I’ll let you be the judge of that.” He stood and caught her hand, dragging her to her feet. As he teasingly wrapped his arms around her, he pressed her face to his neck. “Go ahead, little missy. Inhale nice and deep, and let this stinky old cowboy know what you think.”

  She couldn’t help laughing at his silliness.

  Hearing it, Sam joined in.

  But in the blink of an eye their laughter died.

  Penny was aware of the press of his big hand at the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair. Aware, too, that she’d already tasted the salt of his skin. A taste that lingered on her lips.

  The rush of heat was instantaneous. A pulse of need began deep in her core, and without a thought to what she was doing, her arms were around his waist, and her lips were moving along his throat.

  It took her a moment to realize that he’d gone completely still.

  She lifted her head to steal a glance at his face.

  The look in his eyes was so hot, so fierce, she started to step back.

  His arms tightened around her, holding her close.

  His voice was little more than a strained whisper. “I hope you aren’t going to ask me to pretend this didn’t just happen.”

  “I…” When her voice wavered, she lifted her chin. “No. I won’t try to hide from it.”

  “That’s you, Money. Honest, even if it kills you. Right?”

  She held her ground.

  “A word of warning. I may look strong, but I’m just a man. A man who’s been on the brink of something…something I can’t define since you first came into my life, but it feels a lot like madness. You should know that I’m barely holding on. So either you walk away right now, or…” He drew her fractionally closer, until she could feel him in every pore. “We let this happen.”

  She swallowed before whispering, “And you need to know I’m not what I pretend to be. I’m not frigid, or always in charge. And right now I’m just a woman. A woman, thanks to you, who’s on fire. If you try to walk away, I may have to resort to begging.”

  In the silence that followed, he let out a long, deep sigh and rested his forehead on hers. “Thank heaven for answered prayers.”

  “I should explain something.” She avoided his eyes. “I’m not very good at this. The few times…”

  “Shhh.” He framed her face with his hands and pressed soft, butterfly kisses over her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose. When she pursed her mouth, a slow smile curved his lips and, unable to resist teasing, he kissed her chin instead.

  “Oh you.” Laughing, she brushed her mouth over his.

  His laughter died as he took the kiss deeper, then deeper still, until they were both struggling for air.

  Suddenly he lifted his head and gave her a smoldering look before reaching a hand to the buttons of her shirt. When she tried to help him, he took her hands in his. “No. We’ve fought this long enough. Let me indulge my fantasies. One of them is to undress you.”

  Without a word he slid the shirt from her shoulders and let it drop to the floor at their feet. Beneath the rough shirt she wore a simple white cotton bra. With quick movements he unhooked it and tossed it aside.

  His eyes narrowed. “You’re so beautiful.”

  She smiled. “I don’t care if you’ve said that a thousand times before. I don’t care if you mean it or not. Right now, I feel beautiful.”

  He lifted her face and forced her to meet his steady gaze. “Money, trust me. Those aren’t just words. And I don’t toss them around casually. You’re the most beautiful, the most amazing woman I’ve ever known.” He ran his hands down the soft column of her neck, across her shoulders, all the while staring into her eyes.

  Without warning he scooped her up and carried her across the room to a bunk. He laid her down with a tenderness she’d never known.

  Seeing the way she trembled, he surprised her yet again. Instead of hot, passionate kisses, he held his own needs at bay as he pleasured her with long, slow kisses, soft as snowflakes, and featherlight touches.

  As she relaxed in his arms, he showed her a side of him she would have never expected. A careful, tender lover.

  With great care he finished undressing her, before tossing aside his own clothes.

  When they were lying flesh to flesh, he ran a hand down her arm, then up again, his rough fingers caressing the softness of her arms, her face, tracing the curve of her eyebrow, the slope of her cheek.

  At first she lay very still, absorbing his gentle touch in every pore of her body. But as he continued running nibbling kisses over her face, her throat, her shoulder, need rose within her and she found herself wanting to do the same with him.

  Tentatively she reached her hand to his shoulder, feeling those corded muscles she’d admired.

  “You have such an amazing body, Sam. You’re so strong.”

  “And you’re so small and slim. So perfect. At first, I thought you were fragile. But now that I know you, I see such strength in you.” He traced the outline of her mouth with his tongue before kissing her. Against her mouth he whispered, “I promise you, I won’t hurt you.”

  She blinked. “Even if they’re just words, I love hearing you say them.”
<
br />   “What will it take for you to believe me?”

  She shook her head. “It just seems so easy for you to say them. But I don’t need to hear the words.”

  “I need to say them.” He leaned up on one elbow and ran soft wet kisses down her throat. “I’ve watched you work until most women would drop from exhaustion. But not you. What drives you?”

  She gave a dreamy smile. “Survival, I suppose.”

  “I’d know a thing or two about that.” He drew her close and covered her mouth in a long, slow, lazy kiss until she wrapped her arms around him, giving herself up to the pleasure.

  Aware of the subtle change in her, he traced the slope of her shoulder with his mouth and heard her sigh.

  Growing bolder, she ran her hands up his back, down his arms, across his chest.

  When he did the same, he felt the sudden jolt that shot through her system, alerting him to the deepening of her arousal. He thrilled to the quick, shuddering change in her heartbeat. He lay a hand over the spot, then followed with his mouth.

  Her entire body arched upward as his lips and fingertips teased her, moving over her at will.

  “Sam…”

  “Trust me, Money.”

  And she did. As his lips and fingertips continued their ministrations, his name was torn from her. Her body trembled and her breath shuddered when she suddenly reached the first shocking peak.

  Though he was half mad with need, he was determined to hold back and treat her with the care she deserved.

  With a patience he’d never known before, he gave her no chance to recover as he took her even higher.

  Now free of all those self-imposed restraints, he watched her lose herself in the pure pleasure of the moment.

  This was how he’d imagined her. Leaving all the cares of her world behind. Wild with need. Joyful. Without a thought except this moment, this place, this passion they were sharing.

  When at last he entered her, he fought to be gentle. But as she opened to him, and began to move with him, he forgot everything except the bright, blinding need for her.

  The storm raging outside their little cabin was forgotten. All that mattered was the storm raging inside them. A storm that was all fire and need, heating their blood, their very core, until they were consumed by it.

  Heartbeats thundering, breathing labored, they moved together, climbed together, until at last they reached a shuddering, shattering, all-consuming climax.

  “Money.” When Sam could find his voice, he murmured her nickname against the soft, damp flesh of her throat.

  “Mmm?”

  They lay, wrapped around one another, their bodies slick, their heartbeats slowly beginning to return to normal.

  “I thought you said you were no good at this.”

  She touched a hand to his cheek. “I’m not…I wasn’t…It’s never been like this before. I guess…I guess you’re a good teacher.”

  He laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time his heart felt this light. As though he’d spent a lifetime crossing a barren desert, only to come upon an oasis paradise, complete with a banquet of delights and a delectable goddess to feed his every need.

  “You’re incredible.”

  “You’re not bad yourself, cowboy.”

  “I believe, in the heat of passion, you said I was sexy.”

  She sighed. “I may have slipped and said something like that.”

  “Uh-huh.” He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to the palm. “I know you don’t trust my compliments, but I think you’re sexy as hell.”

  “I’ve been called a drudge and a bossy tyrant. Never sexy.”

  “You’ve been hanging with the wrong crowd. Believe me, I know sexy when I see it.” He leaned up on one elbow and pressed kisses down her neck, across her shoulder. “Since we have all the time in the world, there are so many things I want to show you. To share with you.”

  “I’m sure you’ll need a little more time before you can…show me more.”

  “Want to bet?” He gave her a lazy grin. “You already owe me a hundred dollars. Want to go for two hundred?”

  “I owe you?”

  “I bet you that you’d be asking to play. And you did.”

  “I told you I don’t hold with gambling.”

  “So. You’re back to being serious and somber.” He laughed and dragged her on top of him.

  Her hair spilled around him, tickling his chest. With a laugh of pure delight he dug his fingers into the silken strands and drew her face down to rain kisses over her pouting lips.

  “Money, stick with me and in no time I’ll have you not only gambling, but doing all kinds of fun things you’ve never even imagined.”

  “Fun things?” Despite her best intentions, she found herself giggling. “Aren’t you just a little worried about the work we’re missing?”

  His lips curved in one of those dangerous smiles that had a way of tugging at her heart. “We’re trapped in the mountains in a blizzard. The trails are slick and hazardous. We have no choice but to hang out here and find ways to fill the hours.”

  As she arched her eyebrow, he wiggled his brows in return, like a mock villain. Suddenly, he rolled them both until he was looming over her. “I’m betting we’ll find a hundred ways to amuse ourselves.”

  She put a hand on his chest, holding him at bay. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you ordered this storm just so you could win a bet.”

  “Maybe I did.” He shot her a smug look before running hot butterfly kisses along her throat.

  He paused and stared into her eyes, seeing the dazed expression in them. “Admit it. You’re starting to believe in me, aren’t you?”

  “I hope I won’t regret this in the morn—”

  His hot, hungry kiss stopped her.

  And then there were no words as they lost themselves in a storm of their own making.

  Chapter Eighteen

  In the midnight hour Penny lay in the warmth of Sam’s arms, feeling thoroughly loved. The only light in the little cabin came from the glowing embers on the grate.

  They’d spent the hours alternately loving and talking. Now that they had shared such intimacy, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to talk about things they’d never shared with another.

  Penny’s voice was barely a whisper in the night. “I remember being so afraid when my mother died.”

  “You had a right to be scared. You were only a kid.”

  “Yeah. But if losing my mother wasn’t enough, it was my dad’s reaction that had me even more scared. He changed after Mom died. Some days he didn’t get out of bed. Other times he went into town and didn’t come home for days. I didn’t know what was happening until the sheriff’s deputy brought him home one day and I overheard him telling my dad he had to stop gambling.”

  Sam went very still. “Your dad gambled?”

  She nodded. “Until there was no money left. Then he just seemed to give up on life.”

  “What did you do?”

  Her voice trembled. “I never told anybody. I told my brothers our dad died of a broken heart.” She sighed. “And maybe he did. He was never the same after my mom was gone. I’m sure that’s what drove him to gamble.”

  “No wonder you’re so worried about Curtis.”

  “I’m scared to death he’ll end up like Dad. So deeply in debt he can never crawl out. And then he’ll just give up.”

  “Then you need to tell him.”

  “How can I do that after all this time? He’ll hate me for keeping the truth of our father’s problem from him all these years.”

  “Penny, you were a kid yourself. And you were only trying to shield your brothers from more pain.”

  “But keeping it from them is the same as lying. And I told them there was never a good reason to lie.” She took in a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this. I’ve never told another soul about my dad’s weakness. I’ve always felt so ashamed.”

  “It wasn’t your weakness, Penny. And don’
t be too hard on your dad’s memory. He was just trying to cope with the loss of the woman he loved.”

  Sam saw the tears shimmering on her lashes and gathered her close. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” Her words were whispered against his chest, stirring a fresh flame deep inside him.

  “For sharing that with me. I know what a private person you are. I know that wasn’t easy.”

  “You’re easy to talk to, Sam. I don’t know why. You just are.”

  “The reason is simple. I care about you, Money.”

  And then he showed her, in the only way he knew, just how deeply he cared.

  Embers sparked in the fireplace, and flames cast shadows on the ceiling.

  Penny’s fingers played with the hair on Sam’s chest. “Becca told me you and Ben and Finn were so wild and tough, half the town thought Mac was crazy to adopt the three of you.”

  “My brothers and I thought so, too. After all, we’d broken into his house while he was away, and when he confronted us, we were ready to fight rather than face the authorities.”

  “Why were you running away?”

  “After our folks died, the county sent us to live with a distant relative we’d never met. He had no wife or kids, and resented our disruption of his life. But I guess he figured we’d be cheap labor. He worked us like dogs. One night, after he was asleep, I crept downstairs and helped myself to his favorite ice cream. He walked in and caught me and hauled me out to a shed and locked me inside. It was cold and dark, and I was barefoot, with nothing but thin cotton pajamas. I figured I could tough it out until I saw feral eyes looking at me in the darkness.”

  Penny’s hands tightened on Sam’s. “Eyes? What were they?”

  “Rats. The shed was used to store feed for the stock. I was lying on the sacks of feed to stay warm.” He gave a dry laugh. “When I realized what they were, I screamed and hollered, but nobody came. That’s when I realized I was on my own. I felt my way around the walls until I found a pitchfork. Then I slipped between the sacks and sat shivering, waiting for one of them to come close. I fell asleep still holding that pitchfork. But it helped me realize I wasn’t helpless. I could fight back.”