by Nancy Bush
“Emmy, I can’t stand up on Pokey. It’s not good for him. I’m too big.”
“Then another horse. I want to see!”
“I was a barrel-racer. Trick-riding wasn’t something I did much.”
“But you can do it, can’t you?” she kept after Sammy Jo. “You can!”
“Yeah, I guess I can.”
“Then do it!”
An infantile part of herself wanted to perform. Like in seventh grade, when she’d shown the prissy girls in her class how to slide underneath the belly of a running horse without getting hurt. Of course, that was after she’d been trampled once and broken her arm in two places, but she hadn’t mentioned that to her impressed friends.
Nope. She wasn’t going to pull that stunt again.
“Sorry,” Sammy Jo told the little girl, hauling her onto Pokey’s broad back.
Emmy stayed seated but she squirmed and jiggled and bopped as if to some music of her own. Sammy Jo circled around several times and came to a stop in front of Cooper and the other women.
“So you give a rodeo-riding lessons,” he said to Sammy Jo. His first direct conversation. Was he feeling as awkward as she was?
“Yup.” Sammy Jo still couldn’t meet his gaze as she helped Emmy off the Shetland and watched the little girl duck through the fence.
“Maybe I should take a course.”
He was baiting her, the monster. She glanced up, her green eyes cool. “Sure, why not? Anytime you feel like it.”
“Now why does that sound like a challenge?”
‘Cause maybe it is.
It annoyed her that every remark she made fueled his amusement. Burning, Sammy Jo refused to say anything more, but Tess had no such compunction.
“You know, you ought to take lessons. I think Sammy Jo could teach you a thing or two.”
Sammy Jo stared at her friend in horror. She’d been debating on telling Tess about what had happened between her and Cooper; she needed a confidante. But now she knew she couldn’t. Tess insisted on playing matchmaker between her and Cooper even though she knew Sammy Jo was still “engaged” to Brent.
“Is that right?” Cooper asked.
“I don’t think Sammy Jo teaches adults,” Bev said quickly.
It took every ounce of willpower Sammy Jo possessed, but she managed to keep from giving Bev the rough side of her tongue. Ginny looked as if she wanted to kill Bev, too. Good. Let the two of them duke it out.
“Can I talk to you up at the house?” Sammy Jo asked Tess, forcing a sweet smile.
“Sure thing.”
Tess grabbed Alex’s hand as Sammy Jo climbed the fence and dropped lithely to the ground beside Bev, Ginny and Cooper. With long strides, she put distance between herself and their little group. Tess had to half run to catch up.
“Do you mind?” Sammy Jo demanded in a furious whisper when they reached the back porch. She shot a glance toward Cooper. Ginny and Bev had hung back, their faces turned up to Cooper, silently begging him to notice them.
“You like him,” Tess declared. “It’s written all over you.”
“I think I hate him.”
Tess laughed and Alex, hearing her mother, removed her thumb and laughed, too. “You can hardly stand them,” Tess said, jerking her head in Ginny and Bev’s direction. “You’re eaten up with jealousy.”
“Just because I don’t fawn over him like they do? Give me a break. By the way, I noticed you finally got his name right.”
“Sammy Jo, listen to yourself. You want some advice?”
“Never.”
“Tell Brent it’s over. It was all a mistake. And then, let things happen with Cooper. He wants it, too.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sammy Jo grumbled.
“Let me ask you this—who would you rather sleep with? Brent or Cooper?”
“Tess.” Sammy Jo shot a meaningful look toward Alex who was sucking happily on her thumb, her gaze fixed on Pokey.
“Think about it.” Tess gave Sammy Jo a hug, then walked around the side of the house.
Sammy Jo stared after her. Shouting, she said to the remaining group, “I’ve got some work to do. You all can hang out as long as you like.”
With that, she opened the creaking back door and walked into the house. They didn’t take the hint. Long after she was inside, and peeking through the curtains, they were all still standing by the rail. She could see the way Ginny and Bev fought for Cooper’s attention, even though she couldn’t hear a word. And Cooper just ate it up. Just ate it up.
She eyed the width of his shoulders through his denim shirt, the sexy way his jeans hugged his hips, the way his hair curled against his neck beneath his hat. “How could I have ever slept with him?” she demanded in a whisper to the empty room.
The phone rang. Sammy snatched it up in relief. Anything to get her mind off Cooper.
“Hi, there,” Brent greeted her fondly.
Guilt pierced her soul. “Brent,” she responded dully.
“I went down to the Corral offices today and put our marriage announcement in. It’ll come out in next week’s edition.”
Sammy Jo drew in a breath. Her mind went blank.
“You still there?” Brent asked.
“Um…yeah.”
“I hope you’re not mad.”
She laughed shakily. Mad? She was stark raving bonkers.
“I hate to push you, Sammy Jo. But when are we getting that marriage license? And truthfully, I’m going to need to see about your finances, so I can talk to Matt Durning myself and get him to halt the foreclosure.”
“Brent, I’m not sure about this.”
“About what?” he asked, his voice growing sober.
“About everything,” she said guiltily.
“Sammy Jo!”
Her hand tightened around the receiver. She felt like a heel.
“I’ll come by tonight,” he said quickly. “We’ll talk then. Don’t back out on me now, darling. You signed a contract, remember?” he added, an attempt at humor that fell flat. “I love you, Sammy Jo.”
She guessed he expected her to say the words back. She wanted to, if only to make him feel better. But no sound issued from her throat and Brent hung up. Brent, whom Cooper had accused of planning to sell the Triple R out from under her. About that, Cooper was horribly wrong. The situation was much worse. Brent wanted her for her not for her property.
Replacing the receiver, she drew a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes, bitterness welling up inside her, a bitterness she had no right to feel. When she opened her eyes again, she realized Cooper was standing at the back door, watching her. Her heart jumped. Had he heard her conversation with Brent?
“Where’re Ginny and Bev?” Sammy Jo asked.
“They left.”
“Too bad.”
He pulled open the screen door and strode in uninvited. Sammy Jo gazed pointedly at him, silently demanding what he thought he was doing.
“Do you even want to know why I stopped by?” he asked.
“To see Bev?” Sammy Jo guessed. “Or maybe you just want to harass me.”
Clearly he didn’t like her tone. “If I wanted to see Bev, I’d go to her place, not yours.” A beat. “And, yes, I did come to harass you.”
Sammy Jo turned away, making herself busy at the sink, washing some peaches for Lettie that really didn’t need to be washed. She hated his tone. It’s seductive lightness. A soft, bantering flattery she couldn’t afford to succumb to. “Maybe I don’t feel like being harassed tonight. Could you come back later in the week?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the other night,” he said, ignoring her sarcasm.
“Really?”
He chuckled, and she ground her teeth, wishing he didn’t find everything she did so amusing. In a more sober tone, he said, “It shouldn’t have happened.”
She said carefully, “On that, we agree completely.”
“I guess there’s a first time for everything.” The self-de
precating humor in his voice made Sammy Jo’s heart do strange little flips.
However, his next words chilled her blood. “Have you told Rollins about what happened yet?”
Sammy Jo fought back a sharp intake of breah. She checked her watch. “Oops, time’s up. No more harassing today.”
“Don’t want to talk about it, huh?”
“Nope,” she admitted. “And now, I’ve got things to do. So, if you don’t mind, why don’t you vamoose, so I can do them?”
“You haven’t told him.”
“I haven’t told him yet. But I will. And now I’m through talking.” Sammy Jo pointed toward the door. “Why don’t you go find Ginny or Bev or some other warm body?”
“Because I want you.”
His bold confession stopped her cold. “Excuse me?”
“I want you,” he repeated, mouth twisting. “I don’t want to, but I do. I’ve been thinking about you all week. It’s about all I do.”
Her lips parted in amazement. He was telling the truth. Wasn’t he? Or was this part of some elaborate plot? Sammy Jo wished she could trust her instincts, but ever since Cooper had come into her life, that particular internal compass seemed to be permanently out of whack.
“Cat got your tongue?” he asked to her in silence.
“Well, this is all really interesting, not that I believe it for a minute,” she added hurriedly, just in case he was setting her up. “But since I’m marrying Brent, it’s not important.”
“You’re not marrying Brent.”
Her heart beat heavily, darn near deafening her. “He’s coming over here tonight.”
“And you’re telling him it’s over.”
Had he overheard her conversation with him? Or was he clairvoyant on top of everything else? Stubbornly, she clung to her lie, needing it for reasons she couldn’t quite explain. “I have to marry Brent.”
“Have to? Why?”
“You know why.”
He crossed the room to her. Sammy Jo twisted to give him her back, her heart beating double time. Facing out the window, she inhaled as his arms suddenly surrounded her waist, warm and strong and strangely possessive. The thrill of it was electric.
“You want the Triple R. I’ll give you the Triple R,” he murmured into her ear.
“How? What do you mean?”
Slowly he turned her around. She caught the sensual fire in his blue eyes and her body responded immediately. “I’ll pay off your loan,” he said, his gaze locking on her mouth.
“Why?”
“Because I want you,” he repeated.
His mouth found hers, hard, his tongue thrusting deeply. Sammy Jo’s eyes closed. She tried to fight the sensation, her hands gripping his arms for support, but it was impossible. His palms spanned her waist, fingers digging into her flesh as if he could scarcely contain himself. It shot thrills to her toes. Her heart pumped hard. A shiver went down her spine. All Sammy Jo’s good intentions melted away like rivers to the ocean.
“Kiss me,” he ordered roughly. “I want you to kiss me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Yes, you do.”
She shook her head, the hair tumbling around her shoulders. His thumb rubbed her lips and she made the mistake of looking up. Yes, she wanted to kiss him, but she couldn’t. She hated him. She hated him. Hated him…
Her mouth was oblivious to her thoughts. It tilted upward, ready, eager, responsive. His lips pressed against hers and Sammy Jo reveled in the taste of him, the texture. Her hands sought the warm skin at the back of his neck, curling around possessively, dragging him closer.
“You want me, too,” he said hoarsely.
She kissed him of her own volition, her mouth feather-light, drawing out the sensation. Then she kissed him harder. Cooper groaned, his hands sliding over her hips to cup her buttocks, drawing her into direct contact with his hardness.
“Say it,” he whispered.
Sammy Jo squeezed her eyes tightly closed.
“Say it.”
“I want you.”
His mouth curved into a smile of triumph. Bemused, Sammy Jo thought dimly that she should distrust that smile, but her senses were too swamped with desire. She craved his touch. And somewhere, distantly, she recognized that only Cooper could exact these feelings.
“We can run this ranch together,” he said. “We can make it what you’ve dreamed of.”
“We?”
“We. Us. You and I.” He buried his face in the silken tangle of her hair.
Sammy Jo surfaced slowly from her sensual daze. “Are you talking about a partnership?”
“A partnership. I like that.” He scooped her into his arms and Sammy Jo realized he intended to take her into the bedroom. Halfway there, at the hallway door, she clamped her fingers around the archway molding, stopping Cooper in his tracks. Reality was difficult to suspend for too long, even under Cooper’s expert sensual attack. “What kind of partnership?”
“You ask too many questions,” he teased, and the blue, sexual flame in his eyes almost drove the doubts from her mind.
Almost.
“Do I have to pry those fingers loose?” he asked, arching a seductive eyebrow.
“Cooper…”
“Shh. Whatever it is, it’ll keep.”
Sammy Jo’s grip relaxed ever so slightly. Cooper’s gaze held her captive. Her body ached. This was dangerous. Truly dangerous. Every instinct she possessed screamed against it. Except the most basic instinct. The one that wanted possession.
“I don’t know….” Her voice sounded as unsure as she felt. “About what happened the other night…I just don’t know.”
Cooper gently tugged until her grip loosened completely. Slowly he carried her into her bedroom. Sammy Jo knew she could protest at any time and he would stop, but she couldn’t bring herself to.
He laid her down on the bed. Trigger growled low in her throat from her seat at the foot of the rocker in the corner. “It’s okay,” Sammy Jo warned the dog. “Go on, now.”
With great reluctance, Trigger got to her feet. She eyed Cooper and Cooper eyed her right back, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “She’s never minded me before.”
“Maybe she feels what’s happening.”
“Think so?”
“I don’t know.”
Cooper slipped loose the top buttons of her shirt, his eyes watching hers so intently that something inside melted her into a warm pool of desire.
“Do you know they call you the Princess in town?” His lips twitched.
“Among other things.”
“One of these days, you’re going to have to show me how you ride.”
The double entendre wasn’t lost on Sammy Jo. She narrowed her eyes. “Keep talking, cowboy.”
He laughed, pressing her onto the bed. She couldn’t fight a smile, and Cooper, spying those dimples, kissed each one. Then he lay atop her and wiggled wildly until she was laughing hysterically.
“Stop!” she cried. Trigger bounded into the room and growled furiously. “No, you silly dog!” Sammy Jo laughed, shoving the Border collie’s head away. “You know she’s not going to leave us alone,” she said to Cooper.
“Maybe we should lock her out.”
“Ummm….” Sammy Jo was having definite second, third and fourth thoughts. As if reading her mind, Cooper got up to move the dog, but Sammy Jo rolled over to take Trigger from him.
He waited, leaning negligently against the bedstead as Sammy Jo scolded the dog even while she scratched Trigger’s head, then led the collie into the kitchen to find her a biscuit to crunch down. When Sammy Jo came back to the room, her head was down. Then she looked up at him sexily from lowered eyes.
His breath caught. Did she know what she did to him? Did she guess her power? He wanted to drown inside her. She made him lose his head completely and forget sanity. Why? he wondered, lost. Why?
Perching on the bed beside him, she said, “This is a mistake.”
“No, it is
n’t.”
The glance she sent him was full of confusion. He understood. He felt confused himself.
Sammy Jo shook her head. “I think I’ve lost my mind.”
“Good.”
He reached for her, dragging her to him until her face was scant inches away, her long limbs tangling with his. Those lush, emerald eyes stared at him doubtfully.
“Partners?” she asked.
“Partners.” He wanted to trace the line of her lips with his tongue.
“You’re not expecting me to sell you part of the ranch, are you?” she asked suspiciously.
“I know you wouldn’t do that. I’m not going to even ask.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
She was completely serious. He kissed her mouth, tugging gently on her bottom lip with his teeth. “I like what’s going on right now.”
Sammy Jo pulled away slightly, a frown deepening her expression. “You already told me you don’t want marriage.”
“There’re no strings attached to this arrangement.”
“So you want a mistress?”
Her tension transmitted itself to him. “You really like labels, don’t you?” he demanded, exasperated.
“Well, isn’t that what you’re saying? You want a mistress?”
“For God’s sake, Sammy Jo. Stop being so literal.”
“You’re going to buy off my mortgage just so you and I can be together like this?” Her eyes flashed dangerously.
Cooper felt just as dangerous. “Like this? Like about to make love?”
“You call it making love, but it sounds like something else to me.”
“Oh, yeah?” The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Damn the woman. She always made everything so difficult. “Let me get this straight, it’s okay to buy a husband, but making love to a business partner is out of line? Am I getting this right, Sammy Jo? I feel like I’m getting this right.”
She looked away, her lips pressed tightly together. “I don’t know what this is,” she finally admitted. “At least Brent cares about me. He even told me he loved me. But you’re not in love with me. I’m just available and desperate and…and…you want a sex buddy.”
“A sex buddy,” he repeated in a low, intense tone. He got to his feet. “That’s right. That’s what this is. I want a sex buddy.”