Cowboy Up: A Contemporary Romance (The Cherry Series Book 1)

by Luna Starr

  We ate the rest of the meal like that, my hand in his.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Summer

  I was just washing my hands when Rue came in, ahead of Marlene and the kids. I grinned and waved a wet hand at her. “How was town?”

  She frowned at me. “Tell you later.”

  I tipped my head. That didn’t sound good, but I knew better than to ask in front of our guests. Tom and I had just come in after setting up half a dozen jumps for me on a flat piece of land that he’d found a couple hundred yards beyond the arena. I was hoping to get a chance to ride Aria over them but tonight was my first shift at the café, so Aria was going to have to wait. I was torn between wanting a slow enough night that Sharon would send me home early and having a crazy busy night that would leave me with a pocketful of tips. God knew I needed the money to pay for Aria’s food.

  Rue dropped her jacket and purse at the door, then came over, retying her hair into a ponytail as she did. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, eyeing the pork chops in the sink. She kissed my cheek heartily. “I wasn’t sure if you’d remember we were having pork tonight.”

  I looked away, embarrassed at how much I wanted her to notice my effort. “Well, I figured what was the point in making a meal plan if we didn’t use it?”

  She kissed me again. “That’s my girl.”

  I let Rue order me around so that we had dinner on the table in under thirty minutes. I didn’t see Marlene or the kids until we rang the dinner bell, then I got caught up in the excitement of hearing all about their trip to town and the exciting things they’d done and seen.

  I wanted to ask questions about what Brady and Rue had been up to during the trip, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it, especially with everyone sitting at the table. Tom and Brady were deep in conversation, talking about the condition of the cows and about Tom’s suggestion that we keep them in for one more day before pushing them back out to pasture. I was curious about their conversation but I could ask Tom to fill me in later.

  Marcus and Max kept me entertained during the entire meal but I kept noticing how Tom continued to glance over at me, seemingly whenever he could. It was almost unnerving, but at the same time, I liked that he was watching me. I liked it a lot.

  I hurried and finished clearing plates and Rue sent me off to get ready for work. I dressed quickly in my uniform which happened to be a cute pink dress which was short and fitted, but not overly so. I left my hair down and threw on some lipstick, blush, eyeliner and mascara. Then I jogged down the stairs and came up short before I smashed into Tom as he turned the corner. His eyes widened as soon as he saw me and he pushed his hat up as he took stock of me.

  “Wow.”

  I blushed and looked away. Something about the way he noticed me always caught me off guard. I twisted my fingers together and stepped around him, promising myself that I wasn’t going to be taken in by those damned blue eyes again. “Bye,” I said. “I’m off to work.”

  “Hey.” He looped his fingers gently around my elbow and tugged me closer. I could feel the heat of him and I was suddenly nervous that someone might walk in on us.

  “Hey yourself,” I answered as I separated myself from him.

  “Can I drive you?”

  “If you want to, but then you’ll have to come pick me up too. And I doubt you’ll want to do that because it’ll be late.” My eyes darted to his knife-trimmed fingernails settled in the crook of my arm.

  “I don’t mind.”

  A shiver rolled up my spine as part of me wished he’d declined. But the other half was thrilled he wanted to make the effort. His fingers fell away from my arm and we walked to his truck together.

  He opened my door and once I was seated comfortably, jogged over to his side. The ride into town was pretty quick and I noticed that neither one of us said very much—just making small talk that annoyed me to no end. I just hated feeling anxious and uncomfortable around him.

  “I’ll be done around eleven or maybe sooner if it’s slow,” I offered, once we reached the café. “I’ll text you once I know.”

  “I hope you get off early,” he answered with a shrug.

  “Why’s that?”

  He smiled that devilishly boyish grin at me. “Because I’m dying to taste that beautiful pussy of yours again.”

  I felt myself go every shade of red as Tom chuckled at me. He lifted his hand in a quick wave and then gave me a secretive smile that instantly turned my insides to mush. I smiled back and then hurried through the front door, inhaling deeply in hopes that my heart would slow down.

  When I walked in, Sharon was fixing her hair and reapplying her too-orange lipstick. It really didn’t go with that fire-red hair of hers, but I doubted she cared.

  “Hey, darlin’.”

  I smiled and hung up my purse. “Hi.”

  “Ready for your first night?” She glided over and put an arm around my waist, pulling me close. “I was gonna teach you all the ropes.”

  I laughed. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

  “Nonsense!” She showed me the time clock with its archaic punch system and then gave me a quick tour of the restaurant, introducing me to cooks, and wait staff and dishwashers along the way. “We’re all like family,” she kept saying. Everyone was really nice and I couldn’t have asked for a better pool to be diving into, headfirst.

  The café was about half-full and Sharon gave me the run-down on how the hostess’ split up the tables. It was basically one for Sharon and one for the other waitress, Kenzy. “I’ll keep you close at my side for the first half of the night, then I’m turning you loose on customers.”

  The way she said it sounded like it was a huge treat, but I was already sweating, thinking about having to handle it all on my own. I really wanted to make her proud. I smiled and nodded even though my knees were trembling. Kenzy waved as she went by with drinks for one of her tables and I barely had time to respond before Sharon took off to tend to her section. We checked in with every table and she had me run drink refills while she put a new order of onion rings into the wheel above the cooks.

  Three hours flew by. I had no idea how many tables we handled, but it felt like a thousand. My feet were hurting and I was exhausted. Before I knew it, the closed sign was showing in the window. I started filling the salt and pepper shakers and rolling silverware so Sharon would be ready for the first customers the next day.

  Sharon brought over a giant chicken sandwich and a dripping-with-cheese bacon burger and sat down. “Which one ya want?”

  I bit my lower lip. God, they both looked so good. “Burger?”

  She slid it over. “Thank goodness! I was about burgered out.”

  I laughed and piled the last set of silverware in the big bucket.

  “So, you comin’ back tomorrow?”

  I took a bite and a dribble of grease ran down my cheek. I dabbed at it and nodded, then swallowed. “For sure. This was great!” I really meant it. Life at Brady’s was awesome, but here, it was different, fast-paced. They both had a definite appeal, but there was something about the café that was just really welcoming. Plus, there was the whole making money aspect of it.

  We all pulled together and finished up quickly, then Sharon was showing me the door. “Have a good night, bug.”

  “G’nite, Sharon.” I laughed that I was already picking up her accent.

  Tom was waiting in the parking lot, arm slung out his open window. “Hey, good lookin’. Need a lift?”

  I stopped at his door and curled my fingers over the opening, close but not touching him. “Maybe. You goin’ my way?”

  He tipped his head and leaned out the window, making an overt scan of my bare legs and short skirt. “Definitely.” His voice was a growl that tickled my ears and I skipped around the truck and climbed in, all the while reminding myself that Tom and I needed to be friends again… just friends.

  “You make some decent money?” As he asked, Sharon flipped the outside lights of the café off, dr
enching the parking lot in shadows.

  “Oh, I didn’t even count it yet!” I answered, legitimately excited. I pulled the wad of bills out of my purse and started counting them.

  “Well?” Tom asked once I was finished.

  “Eighty-nine dollars!” I beamed back at him. “Doesn’t sound like that much but that alone will almost cover Aria’s feed!”

  He inhaled swiftly and without any warning, he was suddenly right in front of me, his fingers wrapped around the nape of my neck. The space between us vanished as he pulled me closer and his lips found mine. I clung to him to keep my balance, but as he deepened the kiss, I was lost to the assault and slipped my hand through the thick hair at the back of his head. He growled against me, rolling his tongue over mine. He must have taken a shower right before coming to get me, because he smelled like Irish Spring soap and his hair was still damp.

  When we finally came up for air, my heart was pounding.

  “Sorry,” he said with a smile that said he was anything but.

  I sucked in a big breath as I berated myself for not pulling away. How were we going to be friends when the tension between us was this obvious?

  “You’re just too much for me to resist,” he continued.

  I smiled and lifted my face. “You give the best apologies ever.”

  He let go of me and threaded our fingers together. “You want to go straight home, or you okay if we take a detour?”

  The way the blood was pumping through my body, I wasn’t going to get to sleep for a while. But there was a voice in the back of my head that told me I needed to stop this. “Detour,” I answered as that inner voice of mine started yelling at me that I was making a mistake with Tom and one that I would live to regret.

  Tom laughed and started the truck, then headed in the opposite direction from the ranch. “How was your first night?”

  I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Crazy. I don’t know how Sharon stays so composed always.”

  “Lots of practice.”

  “I guess but I’m not sure I’ll survive long enough to be that good.”

  He took my hand and held it on the seat between us. His fingers were firm and warm and I liked the way his thumb settled across mine. “Sharon wouldn’t keep you around if you couldn’t hack it. I’m sure you were awesome.”

  I smiled at him and even though I was sure he was just saying nice things to be kind, I still liked hearing them. “Hope you’re right.”

  He pulled our interlocked hands up to his lips and kissed the back of mine. “Count on it.”

  I wasn’t really paying attention, so when he pulled into a parking lot of what looked like a random playground, I was a little surprised. “This was your detour?”

  He turned off the truck and got out, tugging me behind him. “Hang on, before you diss it.”

  I scrambled out of the truck, tugging at my skirt to keep from flashing him. “I’m really not dressed for this.”

  He walked toward the playground, but took a left through a wooded section and I squinted, trying to make out the big black beyond the tree line. It could have been a pond or a giant soccer field, I couldn’t tell from where I stood. The moon wasn’t up yet, so his face was thrown into shadow as we walked further away from the parking lot lights. The paved walkway ended, but he led us over the grass. My feet started hurting again.

  “If you’d told me we were going on a hike, I would have worn different shoes,” I teased.

  He turned and looked at my little heels, then bent down and scooped me up in his arms in one swift motion. I squealed and wrapped my arms tight around his neck and he took off running, laughing as I tightened my hold.

  When we emerged from the trees, I heard the sounds of water lapping gently against the edge of a tiny pond. “Wow, this is so pretty!”

  “I found it a while back and wanted to come check it out again at night,” he answered as I wondered how he’d come across such a hidden place. Had he brought some other woman here? My breath caught in my throat as I considered it.

  Above the pond was a dock and before I knew it, Tom was carrying me to the edge of the dock where there was a railing on one side and a short bench. He lowered me, then sat on the end of the bench and settled his back against the railing, then patted the bench between his legs. “Come here.”

  I bit my lip and shifted. “I don’t want to get dirty.” It was a lame excuse, but I was suddenly aware that we were very alone, and we hadn’t bothered to talk about anything that had happened between us.

  He tugged on my middle finger and drew me closer, then pulled me down, fluffing my skirt at the last second so it was my bare butt that hit the wooden bench instead of the fabric. Luckily, the bench was worn smooth so I didn’t have to worry about splinters. I slid closer, nestling myself between his thighs.

  “Look,” he said as he motioned to our right.

  The moon was full, yellow and round over the highest peak of the mountain, and my breath hitched in my throat as soon as I saw it. The silver light spilled across the lake and cut straight across the water to where we sat. The crickets and night creatures were quiet like we were all in awe of something that happened every night, but were still mesmerized all the same. Tom’s fingers tightened over mine and I relaxed into him as I wondered what would become of us, if there really even was an “us.”

  “That’s beautiful,” I whispered.

  “I thought you might appreciate it.” Then his lips grazed the back of my neck, sending a thousand prickles of need racing across my skin. The heat of his thighs pressed into mine and I wanted to settle deeper against him, but I was also very aware of the solidity of his erection pressing against my left butt cheek. His lips traveled across my exposed skin and I fought the urge to release the first button from my dress so he could taste more of me. His hands rubbed the length of my forearms and slipped to my waist. I let my own hands fall to his thighs and I was shocked at how warm and firm they were. I rubbed slowly down to his knees and back up.

  “You’re so sexy.” His voice was husky and breathless as his fingers tightened on my ribs. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind,” he continued. “Goddamn, I swear I think about you constantly.”

  “Hmm. And what do you think about, exactly?”

  He laughed. “The look in your eyes when I’m thrusting inside of you, the noises you make when you’re coming, the taste of your pussy.” He took a breath. “And if I’m not thinking about fucking you, I’m thinking about how goddamn gorgeous you are and how I feel like I’m a lovesick puppy half the time I’m around you.”

  Warmth and happiness welled up within me as soon as he finished his sentence. The crickets started again in a soft serenade and I lost myself to his touch. His fingers traced my ribs then slid up and covered my breasts. I sucked my lower lip and ground my hips until I heard his hiss of breath. I shouldn’t have been encouraging him, but everything about him felt so good. His fingers tightened on my breasts and I arched my back as my nipples stiffened. No matter what was going on in my head, my body wanted him, needed him.

  His touch softened and I turned, settling myself so I was on his lap, legs dangling off one side. His lips grazed mine and he kissed me like he had all the time in the world. I loved those lazy kisses of his, even though I was ready to go full throttle and take it to the wild frenzied level that was making my heart pound.

  “I bet your panties are drenched,” he whispered in my ear. “And I’m really eager to find out if I’m right.”

  “So find out,” I answered. I inhaled deeply when he brought his fingers underneath my skirt and delving under my panties, started rubbing my slit up and down before teasing my clit.

  “Yep, soaking wet cunt,” he ground out, his cock rock hard in his pants. “Climb on top of me.”

  I didn’t say anything but eagerly straddled him as he unzipped his pants and pulled his donkey-sized dick out. It was sticking straight out, eager to plunge into my wetness. And I was ready. My pussy was stinging deep in
side, the feeling I got whenever I wanted Tom to fuck me. I ground my wet snatch against his throbbing cock, enjoying being in charge.

  He gripped me by either of my hips and then shoved his pelvis up, ramming his huge cock into me as I threw my head back and moaned. And then I slid down the entire length of him and started riding him, rubbing my clit into his stomach as I took his whole monster prick inside of me.

  “That’s it, baby, ride that fucking cock,” he breathed at me.

  “God, I fucking love it when you talk dirty to me,” I whispered back as I gripped a fistful of his hair and pulled, wanting him to know that I wanted it rough, hard.

  “And I fucking love it when my cock is buried so deep inside this little virgin cunt.”

  “Mmm, you love it that you popped my cherry, don’t you?” I demanded between breaths as I fucked him.

  “Yes, and I want you to promise me that my dick is the only dick that’s going to ever be inside this juicy little pussy.”

  I laughed, deciding to play a game with him. “I’m not sure I can promise that, Tom.”

  He frowned. “Why’s that?”

  “Because you aren’t fucking me hard enough.”

  He chuckled as he lifted me up and then placed me back on the bench on my knees. My upper body leaned against the chair back as he spread my legs and gripped me around the stomach, holding my ass up into the air.

  “You’re going to regret saying that, baby,” he whispered. “Because now I’m going to fucking destroy that little virginal cunt of yours.”

  I groaned out because his words turned me on to no end. Before I knew it, I was lurching forward as he slammed his whole enormous length into me and then he fucked me like he’d never fucked me before. Hard. Harder than hard. He gripped my hair and slammed that donkey cock deep inside of me, pulling out and ramming me even harder as I moaned against him. My legs started to quiver as a second or so later, an orgasm seized me and then I felt a splash of water come shooting out of me.

  “Oh my God,” I started, instantly feeling embarrassed that I might have just peed on him.