Beauty and the Bull Rider

by Victoria Vane

  “Yeah. I’m interested,” he replied. “I’d much rather we tried without test tubes or petri dishes, but I’ll do it your way, if that’s what you really want.”

  She bit her lip, wondering if she was about to make a huge mistake. “I’m thinking that maybe we could try it the natural way. But don’t get too excited, cowboy,” she quickly added. “This doesn’t mean I’m going to jump in bed with you at the drop of a hat.”

  “How about if I just dropped my jeans instead?” Although his remark was playful, his eyes ate her up.

  “Very funny.” She tried to keep her tone light, even as she battled her fears.

  Zac’s show of humor vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. “So how are we gonna go about this exactly?”

  “How about we start with dinner?” she reminded him softly. “I believe you promised to feed me.”

  Zac knew by the change of subject that he’d pushed Delaney too hard. It was time to ease back. “I did at that,” he replied lightly.

  He took her back into the barn to the pair of tethered horses. The bay with the scar nickered to them. The palomino echoed the greeting. Zac untethered the Palomino and handed Delaney the reins. She accepted them with a puzzled look. “I thought you were going to make me dinner?”

  “Everything’s ready and waiting,” Zac said. “We could have ridden the ATV, but I thought you’d enjoy the horses more.”

  Her face lit up with a smile. He liked seeing her smile and hoped to inspire a whole lot more of them. “You’re right about that,” she said. “I haven’t ridden in ages. I still keep a couple of horses, but I never have time for pleasure rides. Where are we going?”

  “You’ll just have to wait and see,” he replied with a teasing grin. He’d spent the whole day planning this. He hoped the rest of his efforts wouldn’t disappoint her. “You need a leg up?” he asked.

  “No. I can manage fine,” she replied.

  He watched appreciatively as she boosted herself up and into the saddle. He followed suit and they departed the ranch at a jog. Once Delaney seemed comfortable with her horse, he urged them into a lope. Although she hadn’t been raised with horses, she sat one like a natural. The beauty queen was a quick study, and she was ballsy too when she had to be. He liked those qualities. A lot.

  They rode for about half a mile to the edge of the small man-made lake. Since it was stocked, he figured Tom must have built it for fishing. He pulled up his horse and Delaney drew alongside, her eyes gleaming with pleasure. “It’s beautiful,” she gushed at the vista of shimmering waters.

  “The view’s even better from the other side,” Zac said. “I came across this a couple weeks ago when we rounded up some strays. C’mon.” They rode side by side to the opposite shore, where he’d set up camp. Zac dismounted and then reached up to assist her.

  “I don’t need help, Zac,” she protested.

  “I know that, but it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides, it’s a great excuse to put my hands on you.”

  She looked hesitant, but then dropped her reins and reached for his shoulders with a smile. “If that’s the case, who am I to argue?”

  It warmed his insides every time she smiled. It warmed him even more to lift her down and hold her in his arms. She fit so perfectly there, as if she had been made just to be held by him. So he took his damned sweet time letting her go. He could feel her begin to relax into him by slow degrees. He lowered his face toward hers.

  Her breath hitched and then she abruptly broke away. “Should we tie the horses?” she asked.

  “Let’s unsaddle them and turn them loose,” he said. “The grass by the lake is green and lush. They won’t wander far.” Once freed, the horses gave a snort and trotted off a few yards, where, just as Zac predicted, they began cropping the grass. Delaney’s face lit with delight at the picnic site complete with china, silver, and stemware he’d pilfered from the house, and a blanket to sit on.

  “I can’t believe you did all this!” she gushed.

  “I won’t take all the credit,” Zac said. “I had some help from Rosa.” He handed her two wineglasses and opened the bottle of Rioja. “I admit I was counting on the view compensating for any shortcomings with the dinner.”

  “You were right about that,” Delaney said. “I’d eat spam out here and be happy.”

  “Spam? Dang!” He slapped his thigh. “I didn’t even think of putting that on the menu. I hope you like this stuff.” He poured the dark, fruity liquid into her glass. “I’m not much for wine.”

  He watched her nose wrinkle as she sniffed. “Smells wonderful,” she replied and took a sip. “Rioja’s an unusual choice.”

  “I thought it would go with the dinner.” He didn’t tell her he’d found it on the Internet.

  “Oh yeah?” She wandered toward the Dutch oven sitting on a bed of coals. “So what are we having?”

  “I asked Rosa to make your favorite food.”

  “She made tamales?” Delaney looked surprised. “Rosa must really like you.”

  “What’s not to like?” he replied with a look of mock affront.

  “I don’t know,” she countered playfully. “Are you looking for me to inventory your charms, Zac?”

  “I think I’d rather take a detailed inventory of yours.”

  Delaney met his gaze with an arched brow. “Sure looks like you had something real close to that in mind. Blanket. Check. Wine. Check. Romantic setting. Check.”

  He tossed his untouched glass to the ground and jammed his hands into his pockets. “You think I brought you out here to seduce you?”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Check.”

  “I want more than sex, Delaney. I want this to be different . . . to be more . . . for both of us. . . .”

  “And if it isn’t?” she asked, breathlessly.

  “Why would you even think that?”

  “Because I’m afraid you’re setting your expectations too high,” she said, her blue eyes clouding. “I wasn’t enough for Ty. . . . Why would you think I’d be enough for you?”

  “Because I’m not Ty. What more can I do to prove it to you?”

  All of a sudden her wariness made perfect sense. It wasn’t so much mistrust of him as her own insecurity and feelings of inadequacy. He silently cursed Ty for doing this to her. The pain in her beautiful blue eyes made Zac want to pound his best friend into dust.

  He stepped into her space and took her face in his hands. “Is that what you believe? That you were at fault?”

  Her eyes misted. “We had a home, but my husband was never there. He didn’t want me. I wasn’t enough to hold him.”

  “It wasn’t you. It was Ty. He had a problem. It was more than he could handle.”

  “I’d like to believe it was only that, Zac, but he’s with someone else now. And he seems happy. I couldn’t make him happy.”

  Zac was overcome with a powerful urge to kiss her. So he did. Slow and soft, long and deep, taking his time to explore and savor the sweetness of her lips. She didn’t fight it. Didn’t pull away this time, but melted into him like frost beneath a rising sun. “I want to make you forget him, Delaney. Right now I want to make you forget everything in this world but me.”

  “That shouldn’t be too hard,” she replied softly. “He’s nothing more than a memory, and that memory is fading fast.”

  Zac’s eyes darkened with desire as he drew her into his arms. Unlike the first time, there was no tenderness in this kiss. His mouth claimed hers with a burning passion that instantly ignited her own. She twined both arms around his neck and threw herself recklessly into his kiss. Slick and swirling his talented tongue tangled with hers. Zac was commanding, yet also so very responsive to her every sound and signal—a damned good sign of things to come.

  They never stopped kissing as his hands anchored on her hips and he lowered her to the ground. She shivered as he ran the backs of his fingers down her neck to the hollow between her collarbone. He moved lower, cupping her breast, and caressing her hardened nipple w
ith his thumb. She released a moan into his mouth as she arched into his hand. He rooted into her neck as his other hand slid under her shirt, and then trailed his searing mouth down her throat.

  Her breasts screamed to be free. She reached behind to unhook her bra. He tugged her shirt up and over her head, exposing her breasts fully to his view. He buried his face between them with a guttural sound while his large, calloused hands alternately squeezed and caressed.

  Abandoning any pretense of reluctance, she raised her arms, offering up her nipples for his delectation. He seized one with his teeth, giving it a sharp tug. The simultaneous sensation of pain and pleasure made her cry out. She clutched his head to her breasts, urging him to feast his fill. She knew she should stop this before it got out of hand, but her reasoning vanished with the gasp he sucked out of her lungs as he drew her nipple deep into his mouth.

  Delaney indulged in blissful sensation as Zac moved down her body with hot, hungry kisses; long, languorous licks; and sharp, stinging nips that alternately made her whimper and moan. He lingered at her navel, laving lazy circles as he tugged at her jeans. She shut her eyes in anticipation as he peeled them slowly off her hips. Would he? God, she hoped so. It had been so painfully long since she’d experienced that kind of pleasure.

  “Yes.” She released the word in a long hiss at the first swipe of his hot, wet tongue through her silk panties.

  “Thought you’d like that,” he said with a smirk hovering over his mouth. He tugged her panties down and planted his mouth on her again, sucking and licking her mound.

  “Oh God! Please don’t stop.”

  His hands caressed up the length of her thighs to join his mouth, tracing her slick folds while he continued to torture her with wicked lashes of his tongue. Her mind reeled with sensation as her climax coiled deep in her belly. The moment he breached her passage she exploded with a shriek. Her climax tore through her body like a tornado, releasing eight years of sexual suppression, and leaving total devastation in its wake. Her orgasm had left her panting and spent, but it wasn’t enough. It hadn’t relieved the bone-deep ache to feel him moving inside her.

  “Please, Zac.” She reached out for him, working to free his belt.

  He grabbed her wrist and drew back with a regretful head shake. “No.”

  “No?” She stared back at him, incredulous. He was refusing? “What do you mean, no? You don’t have protection?”

  “It’s not that,” he replied. “I told you I want this to be different. When we do this I want it to be just you and me, without a barrier of latex between us. So we’re gonna wait until I’ve been checked out to make that baby you want.”

  But . . . but I want you,” she whispered, feeling almost like crying.

  “And God only knows how much I want you. Knowing you want me too only makes it all the sweeter.” He cupped her face in both hands. The passion in his eyes and tension in his body were unmistakable. “But this time it’s gonna be all about you.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Zac tugged on his jeans, willing away a raging hard-on, but it did nothing to alleviate his discomfort, especially when Delaney lay curled against his chest wearing a soft, sated smile. He wished they could spend the whole night out here together, stargazing and making love. That would be as close to heaven as he could imagine. As if reading his mind, she snuggled into his chest and hooked her leg over his with a sigh.

  “You’re tempting fate now, Delaney. Just ’cause I resisted once, doesn’t mean I’m strong enough to do it again.”

  She shook her head with a teasing smile. “Ain’t gonna happen until I know you’ve got the goods.”

  “I’ve got ’em all right, sweetheart,” he replied with a smirk. “And I’ll be more than happy to give ’em up.”

  Her smile vanished. “So we’re really going to do this? We’re going to be baby partners?”

  “Baby partners?” He grimaced. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

  “What else should I say? I don’t know if there’s even a word for what we’re doing, is there?”

  “I don’t know ’bout that. There’s lots of words for what we’re gonna do, and lots of ways to do it. You hungry?” He hoped dinner wasn’t ruined. Rosa would skin him alive.

  She grinned. “Starving.”

  “Me too.” But his hunger wouldn’t be satisfied by Rosa’s famous tamales.

  He rose, retrieved her T-shirt and bra, and handed them to her. “If you wanna put yourself back together, I’ll fix us some plates.”

  While Delaney dressed, he located the wineglasses he’d dropped. Thankfully, the thick carpet of grass had cushioned their fall. He filled them again, handed one to Delaney, and then turned his attention to the Dutch oven. Steam and the mouth-watering aroma of Mexican spices greeted his nostrils as he lifted the lid. He carefully removed the bundles wrapped in cornhusks and offered the first plate to Delaney.

  Her eyes rolled back at the first bite. “I love these. Have you ever tried them?”

  “Not Rosa’s,” he said.

  “Then what are you waiting for?” she urged him with a grin.

  He hated seeing women pick at their food. Delaney relished hers. He liked that about her. She took another big bite of tamale. Her moan of pleasure made his dick twitch. He shifted his stance, seeking some relief, a vain effort when all he could think about now was how it was gonna feel to be inside her. He sat down on the blanket beside her and took a bite of his food, but his mind was too preoccupied to enjoy it.

  “So how exactly is this all gonna play out?” he asked.

  “How is what gonna play out?” she replied, fork poised.

  “The baby making.”

  “Well, it’s pretty simple, Zac. First you’re going to go and get a fertility workup, similar to what I had several months ago. There would be little point in pursuing this if there were any fertility issues.”

  Fertility issues? Zac watched her mouth moving, barely comprehending her words. He’d read somewhere years ago that the average man ejaculates two hundred million sperm in one load. He wondered why it took so many of the little fuckers to get the job done. What if his seed wasn’t up to snuff? That would be the ultimate humiliation.

  “When was your last physical?” she asked.

  “Physical?” Zac laughed. “Can’t even remember. I only go to the doc shop for repair work.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Don’t you get STD testing?”

  He grimaced. “Haven’t needed to for quite some time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  His mouth compressed. “I haven’t had sex with anyone in months.”

  “Months?” she repeated dubiously.

  “Yeah. Six or more.”

  “Six whole months?” She released a dry laugh. “For the record, it’s been over seven years for me.” The moment she said it, she looked like she wished she hadn’t.

  “Wait a minute.” His gaze snagged hers and held it. “Are you saying you haven’t been with anyone since Ty?”

  She slowly shook her head. “Nope. And no one before him either. I’m a one-man woman, Zac.”

  Holy shit. One man? And celibate for seven years? In his world, she was practically a virgin. The idea excited and terrified him all at once. He didn’t know why he was suddenly so nerved up. Maybe it was just the idea that what he wanted most was finally within his reach. Delaney was practically his. He was scared shitless that he’d somehow fuck it up.

  “Maybe now you can understand why I’ve had reservations about you and me,” she said.

  “Do you think I’m not nervous about this too?”

  “Why would you be nervous?” she asked.

  “Maybe I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you?”

  “Based on my experience to date, I doubt that very much,” she replied with a hint of a blush.

  “I’m not talking about sex, Delaney. I’m gonna make damn sure you enjoy every minute of that. I’m talking about the rest. This is all new for me, and I want to get it right.” />
  “Me too, Zac,” she whispered back.

  He took a sip of wine, wishing like hell it was whiskey. Sipping seemed such a pussy way to drink after a lifetime of doing shots. “You still didn’t answer my question about how we’re going to go about this,” he said.

  She paused between bites. “Ah. I didn’t think that part needed a whole lot of explaining. If everything checks out okay then we’ll . . .” She rolled her eyes. “You know.”

  “Wait a minute. You’re saying as soon as I get my results back we’re going to have sex?”

  “Not exactly. We need to wait until the time is right.”

  “And how are we supposed to know that?”

  “As it turns out, I have an app for that,” she said.

  He took another drink and coughed. “A what?”

  “An app.” Placing her plate on the blanket, she retrieved her iPhone from her belt holster and began tapping and scrolling.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Consulting my Fertility Friend,” she replied. “According to the app, my next window of opportunity begins in six days.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “We need to have sex,” she replied. “As much of it as possible until I’ve ovulated.”

  Did he hear that right? He shook his head, wondering if he was delusional. “Let me get this straight. First you won’t let me touch you, and now all of a sudden you want us to go at it like rabbits?”

  “I want to conceive, Zac, so we need to strike hard while the iron is hot. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Hell no!” He shook his head with a laugh. “Believe me when I say I’m completely committed to holding up my end of this bargain.”

  She looked up with a frown. “Six days doesn’t give much time to get you vetted.”

  He grimaced. “Hell, Delaney. Couldn’t you at least try to be a little less clinical about this?”

  She laughed. “Does that really bother you?”

  “Of course it does,” he answered.

  “I’m sorry, Zac. I’ll try to be more sensitive. Speaking of which . . . I need to ask a really personal question.”