Catch Me a Cowboy (Wattle Valley, #1)

by Jacquie Underdown

  ‘I didn’t know that.’

  ‘It’s hard to have a real conversation when there’re cameras around.’ And equally as hard not to kiss her silly when they got a rare moment in private.

  She sighed. ‘It makes it tough.’

  ‘But you are both patient enough and intelligent enough to persist through it,’ said Mum.

  Wil looked at Emily and chuckled. ‘Yes. We have our road bumps, but we’ll get there.’

  Chapter 34

  After breakfast, Emily stood with Wil on the front lawn of his parents’ property. The morning was sunny and bees buzzed around the blooming flowers that adorned the garden’s trees. Wil’s family was wonderful—epitomised everything she hadn’t had growing up. Not since she was fifteen anyway. And before her father left for good, there was obvious friction between her parents and it trickled down, affecting the family dynamic and mood. Always tension. Always stress. Always an undercurrent of fear that it would implode at any moment and life would shoot off in another trajectory. Eventually, it did.

  Sitting there at the breakfast table with all of them, chatting away, Emily had felt sadness alongside her happiness. Sadness, because she ached to have that for herself. She hadn’t realised. She knew she wanted a husband and inevitably children, but to have parents, sisters, nieces and nephews all seated together at a table was everything she craved. It strummed her heartstrings, producing the most beautiful melancholy melody.

  It frightened her to want something so much. It scared her more to want someone so much. That realisation stung her on the tongue when she woke this morning and she had no choice but to swallow that bitter truth. She wanted Wil. Every which way. Anyhow.

  And it seemed now, she wanted what he had as well. His family. His lifestyle. All of it. She could slot right in beside him and be happy.

  But to do that, she would have to give up everything she had ever known—her life in Melbourne, her career, everything. Could she do that? Right now, looking into Wil’s handsome blue eyes, she could. She was ready—biologically, emotionally, spiritually. This candid, charming, dirty talking cowboy was worth the risk. But when it actually came to the crunch, could she give it all up for him? That, she didn’t have the answer for and wouldn’t until, and if, that moment came.

  In the meantime, she needed more experiences like this with him. Where they could be themselves. Be open and intimate.

  ‘Can I meet you later, Wil?’ she asked.

  Wil grinned and those dimples of his flashed. ‘I’d love that. Do you have anything scheduled today?’

  Emily shook her head. ‘No, we are all free until the group dinner tomorrow.’

  ‘I need to help Dad for a while, then I’ve got a meeting with Andrea this afternoon, but after that is wide open. And no more meeting under the tree. You are to come to my place.’

  Emily’s stomach squeezed to hear those words. She wanted to be alone with him, in his home with him. She nodded. ‘How?’

  ‘I’ll meet you under the tree at five, but I’ll have the ute a little distance away to drive us home. Then I can drive you back, later on tonight. I’ll cook us dinner.’

  Emily smiled. ‘Sounds great.’

  He leant in and pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and held his waist, pulling herself against his chest. He smelt like sunshine and goodness and honest work. He opened her mouth with his lips and slipped his tongue in to slide against hers. Breathing deeply through his nose, he cupped her jaw and deepened the kiss.

  She tasted his tongue, caressed his waist with greedy palms and fingertips, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt. Remnants of sensation from the other night under that tree where he made her come without even taking their clothes off, without any penetration of fingers on her most sensitive area, and arousal flooded her body.

  It took all her discipline to pull away before she embarrassed herself in front of his family who still sat inside, but could come out and see them groping like teenagers at any moment.

  She looked into his blue eyes, heavy hooded with arousal, and grinned. Hands still at her cheeks, he met her gaze for a long silent moment, then whispered, ‘I’m going to make you come again, Em.’ His whisper sounded very much like a growl and it hit her directly between her legs.

  Her chest rose and fell, as she contemplated his proposition. But perhaps proposition wasn’t the right word. Statement, demand, order, were all much more suitable terms. Emily opened her mouth to speak, but no words transpired.

  He smiled cheekily and kissed her forehead. ‘Lost for words?’ He drew his hands away from her face and she nodded in reply to his question.

  He laughed and kissed her lips quickly. ‘Come on. I best get you back before the other ladies send out a search party. I’ll get Cheree to drop you back, so as not to draw too much attention.’

  Emily nodded, but sounding through her brain was, I’m going to make you come again, Em. She wanted that so much she ached.

  ‘I want to make you come too,’ she whispered, barely audible, but loud enough that he heard it. The smile fell from his face. He stepped closer, his chest rising and falling along with his deepening breaths.

  ‘Yeah?’

  Oh God yes. She nodded.

  ‘How do you plan on making that happen, Em?’ His voice was deep and gravelly.

  The breath in her lungs grew thin. She shrugged. ‘A number of ways.’ With her hand, with her sex, with her mouth.

  Closer he stepped until they were chest to chest and his hard shaft nudged against her tummy. She leant in tighter, pressing against him. A low groan streamed from his lips. ‘More than once, you mean?’

  A small smile shaped her lips and she nodded.

  ‘Feeling greedy?’

  For him, she was. ‘Yes. Very.’

  He licked his lower lip as he stared into her eyes. ‘How am I going to be able to work while thinking about you all day long?’

  Emily smiled. ‘I’m sure you’ll manage.’ Herself, on the other hand. She was going to be trapped in a small cottage with five other women and nothing much to do. She was going to go stir crazy until five o’clock came around.

  Cheree dropped Emily back at the sleeping quarters a little before eleven.

  Tatiana strutted down the hallway, dressed in the shortest skirt and highest heels Emily had ever seen. Her hips rocked from side to side as she strode towards her, and Emily wondered why Wil wasn’t head over heels for this woman.

  ‘We are heading in to town today. You need to hurry and get ready if you want to join us.’

  Emily shook her head quickly and pressed a hand to her forehead. ‘I’m sorry, I … ah … have a really bad headache. I’m just going to spend the day in bed. But thanks for asking.’ She couldn’t risk arriving home late and missing her date with Wil.

  Tatiana frowned. ‘Okay. We’ll be back later this afternoon.’

  Becky came down the hallway, along with the other women. ‘Who dropped you here?’ asked Becky, brow furrowed.

  ‘Just some farmhand I saw on my walk. I told her I was getting a migraine, so she offered to drop me home.’

  ‘A pregnant farm hand?’

  Emily nodded. ‘Yes. Pregnant doesn’t mean crippled.’

  Becky nodded. Tatiana shrugged. ‘Okay,’ said Tatiana. ‘We’ll see you later.’

  Emily went to her room. It was going to be a long wait until five o’clock, but she was grateful for the hours of solitude. From her luggage, Emily pulled out her mobile, switched it on and dialled Xanthi.

  ‘Hi. How are you?’

  ‘I’m doing fantastically,’ said Emily, grinning as she laid back on her bed.

  ‘Tell me all about it.’

  Emily filled her in on everything since their last phone call. Xanthi squealed excitedly when Emily told her about the encounter under the tree.

  ‘Oh, my, fucking, God. He’s like some freaky sex god.’

  Emily laughed. ‘I was kind of thinking that myself.’

  ‘I am so jealous. Do you
know that? Not only do I have to see his sexy face on a billboard every day, but now I’m going to look at it knowing that he can make women orgasm without using any of his appendages.’

  Emily laughed again.

  ‘I’m going to get Geoff to try that out on me.’

  ‘It’s worth it.’

  ‘So what else?’ asked Xanthi.

  ‘He talks dirty.’

  ‘What the? You’re killing me here. Like how dirty? Blushing blue dirty or just sort of dirty?’

  ‘I do blush. But it’s not too blue. At least, not yet. Who knows what he’s capable of. But, holy freaking God, it gets me as hot as hell.’

  Emily told Xanthi about meeting his family and her plans to rendezvous with Wil tonight at his house.

  ‘So it’s full steam ahead?’

  Emily smiled and switched the phone to the other ear. ‘Yeah. There was a little setback last night, but I think it solidified the feelings I have for him. It made me recognise how I truly feel.’

  ‘Setback?’

  Emily explained about the “kiss” and Wil’s explanation of the event.

  ‘It’s a tough environment,’ said Xanthi.

  ‘So tough. Harder than I ever thought it would be. I assumed I’d arrive here, and there’d be a little flirting, perhaps some kissing, but no emotions. It’s so much more than that. And I’m not the only one. All these women have fallen for him. I can tell. It’s fierce competition and the more I like Wil, the harder it is to remember that this is a show and there are other contestants who want him just as much as I do.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said Xanthi. ‘And he has to pretend like he’s interested in all of you.’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘They start airing the show next Monday. I’m curious to see how they portray you all.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Emily. ‘The directors have been fairly ruthless. They’re after ratings, no doubt.’

  ‘That’s the scary part. Make sure you call me again after your private date with him tonight.’

  ‘I’ll try, but I may not get a chance until tomorrow.’

  ‘Okay. Whenever you can fit me in to your schedule,’ she said with mocking sarcasm but ended with a laugh.

  ‘I’ll do my best. Love you.’

  ‘Love you too. And good luck.’

  Emily ended the call and laid there for a moment staring up at the ceiling. She had a smile so wide across her face, her cheeks hurt. I’m like a lovesick kid. I’m goo-goo gaga over this man.

  She jerked when her mobile vibrated with a message. Her heart sped up as she lifted the screen closer to her face to read it.

  WIL: I can’t stop thinking about you. Dad is ready to strangle me for having my head in the clouds and not on task.

  Emily typed back a quick response.

  EMILY: Me too. See you at 5.

  The girls hadn’t arrived home when Emily crept across the field towards the tree. She had left a note on her door for the others not to disturb her as she was trying to sleep off her headache.

  Wil, dressed in jeans and a checked shirt, was already waiting for her as she neared. His car was parked another five hundred metres away. Wil smiled when he saw her and she grinned wide back.

  What a gorgeous man he was with his stunning blue eyes, strong jaw, and big broad body. Her tummy tugged as she neared him, knowing that the smile on his face was for her. That he was here, waiting under a tree, sneaking around, for her. All for her. She took a deep breath when he held his hand out and she grasped it, adoring his warm, rough skin against hers. How unbelievably lucky she was.

  The sense of bliss to be near him, to be spending the afternoon with him, surged through her body like effervescent bubbles. She stepped in closer and pressed her lips to his. ‘Hello,’ she whispered when she pulled away.

  ‘Hi,’ he said and leant in for another kiss. She closed her eyes and relished the sensation of his lips. The slight prickle of stubble on his face. The smell of earth and soap and man.

  ‘Your dad didn’t end up strangling you?’

  Wil shook his head. ‘No. I escaped, barely.’

  Emily laughed.

  Wil, hand in hers, led her across the long grass to his car. The sun was setting behind the mountains in the distance casting an orange and pink glow across the sky. The breeze that blew in was growing colder with the hint of night time on its wings.

  Emily breathed in the scents that surrounded her and giggled. Bliss was riding her blood through her veins.

  ‘You’re in a good mood,’ he said.

  Emily looked across at him as she stamped across the field. ‘I am. I feel high.’

  He laughed. ‘I know what you mean.’

  ‘I didn’t expect this, Wil. I have to be honest here. I didn’t think I’d have any feelings for you when I signed on to this. But you are the opposite of everything I supposed you’d be. And I do have emotions.’ She pressed her free hand to her heart. ‘Right here, I feel you.’

  His hand squeezed tighter over hers and he stopped walking. Standing before her, he placed his hand on her jaw, his fingers lightly resting at her nape. ‘I love to hear you talk like that.’ His lips met hers with a fierceness he hadn’t showed her before. Resting his forehead on hers, he said, ‘I could end this show now. I’ve found what I need. You.’

  That was what she wanted to hear from him. Those words meant everything to her, yet some little part in the back of her brain clicked when she heard them. A nervous current swelled inside. It was okay for her to feel as she did for him because it was only herself that would be heartbroken later. But for him to feel so strongly about her too, she couldn’t handle breaking his heart. And that’s what she did. That’s what she always did.

  No. Wil is different. This time, I will be different. She was not going to be that same, untrusting, ridiculous person she had been her entire adult life. What she had with Wil was great. Better than great. She was not going to ruin it because of some unconscious, irrational self-sabotaging habit she possessed. He deserved better than the person she once was. And she deserved more from herself too.

  Lifting a hand to his face, she stroked down the length of his cheek, his jaw, feeling the rough stubble beneath. ‘Do you feel the same way?’

  He nodded. ‘Without a doubt.’

  She kissed his lips, just once. ‘Good.’

  They kept on to the ute, climbed inside and drove to his house. Apart from the roiling anticipation in her belly, she was comfortable to be spending the evening with him. In this moment, there was no game show, no other women, only her and Wil and an intimate date at his house.

  They pulled up outside of his farmhouse. Wil jogged around the car and opened Emily’s door. Taking her hand, he helped her out and kissed her cheek as her feet touched the ground. ‘I’m falling hard for you, Emily Wolfe,’ he whispered in her ear.

  Emily smiled. Her legs weakened beneath her. There was the swooning again that shouldn’t exist, but most definitely, irrefutably did. In the distance, an engine sounded and grew louder as a car motored along the dirt track that sliced along the length of the property and led to the contestants’ quarters. Emily ducked down quickly behind the car, so she was out of sight.

  Wil laughed as he looked down at her.

  ‘Do you think they saw me?’ she asked.

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. They weren’t looking this way.’

  When the engine grew softer in the distance, she stood. Her cheeks were hot. She replayed that scene over again in her mind and her shoulders shook as laughter threatened to escape. The mocking grin on Wil’s face was what undid her. She burst into laughter, knowing how ridiculous it was for a thirty-year-old to be creeping, ducking, and hiding. ‘I’ll be so happy when we no longer have to do this sneaking around anymore.’

  He took her hand and drew her to him for a kiss, a quick peck on the lips. ‘Me too. Now let’s get inside before someone does see us.’

  The full impact of the size of Wil’s house was apparent without the i
ntrusion of lights, cameras and production crew. Quiet. Homely. A big house for one man to live in on his own. He must feel that space pushing in on him like Emily had when she was in her apartment.

  Wil led her through to the lounge, where he had wine and cheeses waiting on the coffee table. The fireplace was lit, dousing the room in a warm orange glow. They sat close together on the couch. Wil poured them a glass of red wine each.

  He held up his glass to hers. ‘To moments of privacy.’

  Emily chuckled as she chimed her glass to his. ‘Yes. May there be plenty more.’ She swallowed a mouthful and rested her glass on the table. ‘You must notice the quiet. Here on your own?’

  He held his wine on his lap, hand cupping the curve of the glass. ‘Yes. I thought I didn’t mind the silence and my own company until I was reminded of what it could be like to share this space.’

  She smiled. ‘With twenty beautiful women traipsing through here, you’d have to get used to it pretty quick.’

  He shook his head. ‘No. I’m only talking about one woman, Em. You. You’ve reminded me that it’s so much more pleasurable to have company.’

  She nodded slowly as she reached for her glass, needing to hide the warmth in her cheeks. Taking a sip, she looked at him from over the rim. He was so sexy it drove her wild. But to complement that with more charm than she’d ever encountered, overwhelmed her mind and senses.

  ‘Thank you. That’s very sweet,’ she said.

  Wil leant back against the couch, relaxed. ‘So what did you get up to today?’

  She smiled. ‘Absolutely nothing. The girls went out and I had the place to myself. It was a nice break.’

  ‘What would an ordinary day consist of for you in Melbourne?’

  Emily sipped at her wine. ‘Work. Sometimes a date on the weekend. Or dinner with friends. Drinks on a Friday afternoon if I don’t have late appointments or an open house too early Saturday morning. Then if I’m feeling really adventurous, snuggling on the couch with Fifi to watch a movie together.’

  ‘Fifi? Is she a … friend?’

  Emily laughed. ‘No, she’s my cat.’

  ‘So you’re a cat person?’

  ‘I like cats. But I find Daisy cute too.’ She smiled. ‘When she’s not jumping at me in the dark.’