Cowgirl Dreamer (Dalton Boys Book 10)

by Em Petrova

  She was so freakin’ screwed.

  She had to get her head on straight—had the afternoon alone with the horse and a small group of fifty head of cattle to do it.

  Noble walked out with only a crooked smile tossed her way as farewell.

  It was enough to send her body into a tizzy. What an idiot she was. If her sisters could see her right now, they’d be shaking with laughter. Gracie, the hard-ass sister, the girl who didn’t let any man close, was standing here trembling for a cowpoke who was her rival.

  For all she knew, he was trying to steal her concentration so she’d mess up and have to leave the Blackburn.

  Even as the thought surfaced, she pushed it away.

  I can’t think about it now. I can’t think about anything but my job.

  While she carefully approached the young horse and earned its trust enough to saddle it, her mind was a blur. She was overthinking everything right now, and she had to stop it. There was no room for a relationship in her life, not that Noble was even offering one. So far they’d shared some stolen kisses and one night of passion on a hill with a spectacular view. He wasn’t asking for a commitment from her and wasn’t offering one of his own.

  It was attraction and animal lust they’d shared, pure and simple.

  She led the horse out of the barn and began to walk it around the paddock. Being new to how things worked, it did try to buck the saddle more than once. She was patient, clicking her tongue to soothe it, and pretty sure it had all the kicks out of its system and was ready to ride.

  She mounted with no trouble at all, and Langtry was waiting for her on the edge of the field. He nodded as she approached.

  “Took ya some time. Everything okay with the horse?” He tipped his head toward the mount.

  “She bucked a bit to try to teach me who’s boss.”

  He chuckled. “She does that. She’s one of the feistier ones. Don’t let her get away from ya out in the field.”

  “I won’t.” She adjusted her grip on the reins, and they set off.

  She’d never taught a horse to work a herd before, but she was excited for the challenge. Langtry had the dogs with them too, and the horse had yet another thing to get used to. Gracie took note of how Langtry watched her every move. Sometimes his brow would crease when she made the wrong decision and others he’d nod at a job well done.

  By the time they had the herd moving, she felt much more comfortable with the horse. But that meant she had more time to think, and thinking wasn’t a good thing—not right now.

  She didn’t want to consider what Noble had planned for when they met up later.

  No, she was not meeting him. Period.

  She’d gotten herself stuck in the quicksand for sure this time and had no one to blame but herself. By giving in to his advances, she’d only shown him she was open to more.

  But it had to end.

  Right?

  When her mind wandered to another encounter with him, she found herself restless in the saddle. The horse reacted to the movement, and she had to still herself and give more commands to keep the mount under control.

  At least she thought she had it under control.

  It happened too fast for her mind to even grasp. A dog circled the herd, and her horse bunched beneath her. She hit the ground hard, the air whooshing from her lungs.

  Her mind blanked for a moment, but when the hooves landed next to her ear, she automatically rolled onto her side. Her hearing came back all at once, and she heard the low of cattle and hooves, the barking of dogs and Langtry hollering.

  “Dalton!” He landed next to her and placed his hands on her shoulder. Hovering over her, he searched her face. “You all right?”

  Her mouth worked as she attempted to draw air back into her deflated lungs. She sucked in, barking like a seal several times before finally breathing easier. Langtry slipped his hands under her back and helped her to sit up.

  “Did you hit your head?”

  She had no idea what she’d hit. She’d taken plenty of falls in her life and still never could quite make out what had happened in that moment.

  “Gracie, are you all right?” he asked.

  She nodded and worked her feet beneath her. When she stood, she wobbled a bit but reached for her horse’s reins.

  “Take a minute before getting in the saddle,” he advised.

  She patted the horse’s side and tried to collect her thoughts while assessing her physical state.

  Nothing broken though she’d bear a few bruises. Her face burned with embarrassment—the last thing she wanted was to look incompetent in front of Langtry.

  She talked to the horse and then swung back in to the saddle.

  Langtry stared at her. “You good, Dalton?”

  She nodded.

  The rest of the day passed without incident and she’d almost forgotten her mishap, but the minute they reached the main ranch, Langtry nodded to Vin. “This one needs more training before it works the herd again. Dalton got thrown.”

  She ducked her head, aware of several sets of eyes on her—and one of them was Noble’s.

  She hurried to unsaddle the horse and brush it down. All the while, she felt his gaze on her. She was about to scream, when he was called out to work on some task or other, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  As soon as dinner rolled around, she made sure to distance herself from the man. He gave her the space she demanded, but he looked at her far too often. Then Langtry announced they deserved a few hours off and he was treating them all to beers down at the cowboy bar.

  She almost groaned. She just wanted a shower and her bed. She was actually stiffer in the joints than she cared to admit. If she didn’t show her face at the bar, they’d think her weak.

  They all changed into fresh clothes and piled into trucks. She managed to slip into Langtry’s truck and Minich did too, so she heard all about his day’s work. She remained silent during the drive, nodding and replying only when necessary.

  When they pulled into the parking lot, the country music drifted out through the doors, and she heard the telltale stomp of line dancers.

  Normally, she’d be all in on the dancing. She and her sisters went out whenever they could, and she loved it. But she couldn’t let loose in front of these guys the way she could with her sisters. They had to respect her come morning, and how could that happen if they looked at her like a sexy woman out on the dance floor instead of a cowpoke?

  As she entered the building, Noble edged up behind her. Langtry led them all to the bar and ordered a round of beers. Was it her imagination or had she felt fingers working over her braid?

  She turned and caught Noble so close that she could reach out and touch him.

  Dammit, she needed to think on how to fix this situation—and fast. She couldn’t have him hovering over her all the dang time.

  He downed his beer and ran his tongue over his lips, gathering the foam there. Reaching around her, he slammed his glass on the bar. “Dance with me, Dalton.” It wasn’t a request—it was a command.

  Chapter Seven

  He didn’t wait for an answer—he already knew it’d be no. Noble took her by the elbow and steered her onto the crowded floor.

  As soon as they stepped into line, the song changed, and it was one he knew and could show off to.

  Grinning, he began to move. The footwork was nothing without the hip gyrations, so he made sure Gracie got a good look at what he had on offer.

  She stared at him for a long moment, people nearly bumping into her when she didn’t move. Then she came alive and started to dance too.

  Sliding right and left, moving up with clicks of her boot heels on the dance floor. Her long braid fell over her shoulder as she slithered forward in a heel dig. When they all turned to the right, he got a damn good view of her round ass in tight jeans shaking it for all it was worth.

  The woman drove him crazy no matter what she did. Swinging her leg over a saddle, sweating through fence repairs or riding him with
slow churns of her hips, she hit all the high points for him. She was the whole package.

  His Wranglers grew tighter with each moment that passed. When the song ended and morphed into another, he reached for her hand. As they two-stepped around the floor, he caught sight of the guys from the Blackburn watching from the bar. A single glance at Langtry’s face showed him the man’s knowing look.

  Noble didn’t care. There wasn’t a rule that said he couldn’t date the cowpokes.

  He stole a look at Gracie’s face. She was having too much fun to notice Langtry’s expression, and he was thankful for it. Noble didn’t want her pulling away.

  The clomp of boots had the patrons of the bar cheering them all on. Noble stepped up his game and earned some hoots and hollers in return.

  To his surprise, Gracie mirrored his move, rolling her hips. When she got some catcalls and wolf whistles, Noble bit back a possessive growl.

  Gracie danced a bit closer. “Whatsamatter, cowboy? Can’t handle it?”

  “Can you?” He spun and gyrated, showing his ass to the ladies standing along the dance floor. The screams that followed had Gracie spinning away from him.

  He chuckled low in his throat. She definitely wasn’t as unaffected as she let on.

  The song ended, and the first slow strains hit his ears. He caught her by the hand before she could whirl off the dance floor like he knew she would. He yanked her close enough that she bumped into his chest.

  “Noble, we can’t dance together.” She tried to pull free.

  “It’s just one dance, Gracie. Then I’ll go dance with that pretty brunette standing over there watching me for the past two songs.” He tipped his head toward hers till their hat brims bumped.

  Gracie shot a look at the woman. Guessing from the woman’s face, it wasn’t a very nice look.

  “Just relax,” Noble crooned. “It’s just a dance.”

  “But the guys—”

  “Will tease me and not you. I can handle the guys.” He captured her stare. The depths of her eyes had him tumbling headlong… he felt he was falling straight into her soul. Tenderness mingled with her true feistiness, and dammit, he was forced to admit he was in love with her now.

  The realization hit hard. He felt he’d just been thrown off a bucking bull.

  The woman had wheedled into his heart, even with all her attempts to send him packing. He saw through her tough-girl act. She didn’t really want him to leave her alone, and he had no intention of doing so.

  He twirled her, steering her around the dance floor away from the bar where the men from the Blackburn sat sipping their beers. Tucked out of sight, Noble planted a hand on her lower back and brought their hips together. The slight bump ignited a heat in his groin that spread throughout his whole system.

  “Damn, I wanna kiss you, woman,” he ground out.

  “Don’t you dare!” Alarm hit her features, and she looked around.

  “They can’t see us. Just one kiss, darlin’.” He pitched his voice low at her ear.

  She shivered, and he pulled her tighter so their bodies were one unit.

  “Gracie.”

  “Stop saying my name like that!”

  He rumbled a laugh. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Just stop!”

  He spun her again, just to keep her off balance and clinging to him. When he dipped her over his arm and pressed a soft kiss to the pulse pounding in her throat, she grabbed his hat off his head and smacked him with it.

  He yanked her upright, laughing, and settled his hat once more. “You can’t pretend nothing happened between us.”

  “We’ve been over this, and it’s such a bore. When is this song ending, anyway?”

  “Want me to let you go and I’ll switch you out for the brunette?” He was purposely taunting her just to see if there was a flash of jealousy in her eyes.

  Damn if the woman didn’t try to hide it from him by ducking her head.

  He pinched her chin and brought her gaze up to his. “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought.”

  They swayed slower. His heart was thumping a might faster than any beat of a song, and he didn’t hesitate.

  He kissed her.

  The brushing of their lips was sweeter than honey, infused with more emotion than he ever thought possible.

  “I’m fallin’ for you, Gracie,” he murmured before deepening the kiss.

  Suddenly, she brought her knee up sharply between his legs, hitting him square in the junk.

  The breath exited his lungs on a grunt of pain, and stars flashed behind his eyes as the pain of her ball-crushing knee jerk almost sent him to his knees.

  He stumbled back from her, and she stood there huffing with anger.

  “Don’t ever say something like that to me again.” She whirled on her boots and stalked off the dance floor.

  * * * * *

  After Noble had told her he was falling for her right there on the dance floor, she hadn’t believed she could be angrier.

  But she was wrong.

  Now she was seething.

  He’d taken her horse. The one that’d thrown her the previous day was gone from the barn, and she knew exactly where it was—under Noble Watkins’ ass.

  Letting out a growl of frustration, she heard a step behind her.

  “Knew you’d be angry at Watkins for takin’ that horse. I saw it in your eyes yesterday after it tossed ya that you’d be wanting a second round just to prove you could best it.” Langtry reached for the hoof pick hanging on a nail on the wall.

  “Damn him,” she bit out.

  “So you’re not feelin’ so cozy with Watkins today, I’m guessin’.”

  “Hell no. Where’d he take it?”

  “Sent him out to the herd same as us yesterday.”

  She said a very unladylike word that brought smile creases to Langtry’s face.

  With a shake of her head, she attempted to toss off her irritation. After all, ranch life wasn’t simple and there weren’t any rules. There were plenty of other horses she could work with today.

  She went out to the paddock and spent some time selecting the feistiest horse she could find. What an irritating man Noble was. Why she’d ever slipped up and allowed him to touch her, she had no clue. It wouldn’t happen again.

  Then he’d had the audacity to say that… that thing… to her on the dance floor.

  Her mind continued on a loop most of the morning, though she managed to remain focused enough to complete her work. When the sun got high in the sky, Langtry called a halt for lunch, and they headed back to the main ranch for a meal.

  The moment she spotted the cocky set of Noble’s shoulders, she strode right up to him, grabbed him by the arm and kept walking.

  He let out an infuriating chuckle and tripped along behind. “You only had to ask and I’d sneak away with ya, Gracie.”

  She whipped around, nailing him in her angry stare. “I don’t want to sneak away—I want to know why you took my horse this morning.”

  He narrowed his gaze on her, and damn her body for reacting to the heat of his stare. She yanked her gaze from his and looked at the buttons of his western shirt instead. No, that wasn’t any good either—the way the denim strained over his pecs reminded her of touching him.

  Drawing a deep breath, she focused on his face once more. “Well?” she prompted.

  “I wasn’t aware it was your horse. It didn’t have your name on its side.”

  “Don’t get funny with me. You took that horse to try to show me up because you knew it threw me yesterday.”

  His face softened, and he closed his eyes a moment. When he opened them again, the hazel depths gleamed. “You’re right. I knew you’d want a go at it again.”

  “But you took it anyway!”

  “Yeah. I like you without broken bones.”

  She let out a half scream of frustration. “I suppose you’ve never been thrown off a horse?”

  “’Course I have. It’s part of the job.”

  “You
shouldn’t have taken the horse.”

  He drew a deep breath as if fighting for his own patience. “Woman, you’ve tested me the past few days. What you pulled on that dance floor—”

  “No—what you pulled on that dance floor.” She stepped up to him, getting right in his face. So close, in fact, that she caught his leathery scent.

  Too late, she realized her mistake.

  Too late, because his mouth was on hers, and she threw her arms around his neck. He nudged her lips with his tongue, and she opened to him on a gasp of desire.

  Stupid body had a rope severed between it and her brain. She had zero control over her fingers grabbing at his shoulders or her head angling for him to deepen the kiss.

  He backed her up against the wall of the outbuilding they were near and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked into the bulge in the front of his jeans. Need spammed her system, and she could barely draw a breath without feeling Noble was the one giving her air.

  He churned his hips, grinding against her neediest spot. Their shared groan filled the air.

  “I know a place,” he rumbled between sweeping passes of his tongue.

  “Not the bunkhouse.”

  “No.” He captured her gaze, letting her slide down his body till her boots touched ground. When he wrapped his fingers around hers and started walking, she followed.

  As soon as they stepped into the barn, she dragged him to a stop. “Not here. Someone’s bound to come in.”

  “Trust me.” He tugged on her hand. At the rear of the space, he pushed open a door. She’d just believed it to be more storage for tack, but it had a bed and a shelf where a cowboy could store his belongings.

  “It’s the old foreman’s room,” he explained. “I found it and mentioned it to one of the older guys. He told me that the Blackburns added on to the bunkhouse, giving the foreman his own space.”

  She eyed the bed, still made up with an old quilt. “It’s not the penthouse suite.”

  Noble grabbed her around the waist and lowered her to the mattress. “Darlin’, I’d give you the penthouse, a mansion or even a castle if I could.”