by D'Ann Lindun
Obviously, he still loved the woman-child.
One more time she’d fallen for a man who was in love with someone else. At least Kennedy found out before she slept with him. She shuddered to think how bad she’d have it if they’d finished what they started in her car.
She parked the ORV and entered the mansion. No one seemed to be around. She went into an empty bathroom and washed the tears from her cheeks. She didn’t want to talk to Cowboy about Liam, and if he saw her crying, he’d want to know why.
When she exited the bathroom, Cowboy appeared from the kitchen. He grinned when he saw her. “Hey, babe.”
“Hi. Where’s Montana and Lael?”
“She’s nursing upstairs.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Liam around?”
“I don’t know. He’s with his girlfriend, I guess.” She fought to keep the hurt and anger out of her voice.
“Yeah, she showed up here, said Liam was expecting her, so I let her in.” He gave her an odd look. “Everything chill?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” She moved past him, into the kitchen, where she poured a glass of wine.
He followed her. “You don’t sound so good. Want to talk about it to old Cowboy?”
“No, but thanks for the offer.” She sipped her chardonnay. “I hired a chef for you. She’ll be here in the morning.”
“Great.” He grinned. “I’m already sick of grilled cheese.”
She set her drink on the counter. “Do you want me to make you something?”
“Nah, I’m good.” He opened the fridge. “Sit and talk to me while I fix a sandwich.”
“About what?” She settled onto barstool and watched him rummage in the fridge, find his ingredients and build a sandwich. “How’s Montana?”
“Great.” He grabbed a beer and settled across from her. “Just tired. Lael screamed all night. She’s got my lungs.”
“Oh, no. How come she cried?”
He shrugged. “Colicky.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry.”
“I called the doctor,” he said. “She said it’s normal and not to lose my shit at every little thing.”
Kennedy chuckled. “I think all first-time parents panic. I know Daisy did one night when Violet had an upset stomach. Luckily, Clay knew what to do.”
“How are they?” He bit into his sandwich.
“Good. I need to call Daisy tonight. She and Clay are between rodeos, so she’ll be able to Skype.” Her best friend would cheer her up, know what to say about Liam and his supermodel girlfriend. Were they making love right now? Getting back together? Kennedy’s stomach turned and the wine she’d consumed soured.
“Say hey for me,” Cowboy said.
“I will.” She twirled her glass. “Your book is almost done. Just needs last minute touches. I think I’ll leave around the first of September.”
He pushed his meal away and stood. Moving around the counter, he took her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll miss you, Kenny.”
Her throat clogged and she closed her eyes. He was a good friend and she was lucky to have him in her life as such. “I’ll miss you, too.”
A noise alerted them someone was there.
Kennedy opened her eyes and saw Liam. He stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.
She stepped out of Cowboy’s embrace. “Where’s your girlfriend?”
He moved closer. “She left after I told her to leave and never come back.”
Cowboy looked between them. “Looks like I’m in the way here.” He picked up his sandwich and beer. “See you two kids later.”
After he left, she stared at Liam. “I imagined you’d be wrapped up in Whitney’s loving embrace about now.”
“Like you were in Cowboy’s arms?” He sounded jealous. “You in love with that guy?”
“We’re just friends,” she said, realizing she spoke the truth.
“Really?” He lifted a brow. “Seemed like more when I walked in.”
She flinched. Cowboy belonged to someone else. He’d found his soulmate. Her newfound feelings for Liam had made her realize her love for Cowboy had been just a silly crush. “Not true. Don’t make this about me. You’re the one who was enveloped in a naked girl’s arms, not me.” She waved a hand. “You know what I mean.”
“If you would’ve stuck around, you would’ve seen me toss Whitney out on her bare arse,” he said.
Hope flared in her chest. “Why?”
He stepped closer. “Because she’s not the girl for me.”
“She’s not?” Kennedy’s voice squeaked.
“No.” He took her hands in his. “Turns out there was never a baby. The whole thing was a lie.”
Kennedy’s mouth opened and she snapped it shut. “What?”
“She made it all up to make me pay for not wanting to get married,” he said. “No pregnancy. No abortion. All untruths.”
“My God,” Kennedy breathed. “That’s vile.”
“Yeah.” He grimaced. “I’ve been dragged to hell and back, all on a selfish girl’s whims.”
“I’m so sorry,” Kennedy said.
“I’m not.”
“What? Why?” Kennedy couldn’t believe he’d said that.
“If she hadn’t opened my eyes to what a good woman looks like, I wouldn’t have seen what I have standing in front of me.” He released a hand and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “Someone worth loving.”
She turned her cheek into his caress. “Liam, I—”
He silenced her own declaration of love with a kiss. Hard. Passionate. Filled with pent-up need. She opened her mouth under his assault. Their tongues twisted together in a pre-mating ritual old as time. She wrapped her hands around his jean-clad ass and pulled him tight against her pelvis. His hands cupped her face, heat from his palms searing her cheeks.
“Oh, for God’s sake. Get a room.” They broke the kiss and turned to look at a grinning Cowboy. “That spot’s reserved for me and Montana.”
“Ewwww.” Kennedy moved away from the counter and grabbed Liam’s hand. “Come on. I have a perfectly good bed.”
Cowboy’s laughter trailed after them as they left his house.
~*~
Kennedy led Liam to her bedroom and stopped at the door. “Are you sure you’re over Whitney? I don’t want to be your rebound fling.”
“We were done a long time ago. I never want to see her again.” He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close. “You, on the other hand, I’d like to see as much as possible.” He tightened his grip. “I’m leaving on tour soon. Will you come with me?”
“I’d love to,” she said immediately.
A wide smile split his face and she caught her breath at his stark male beauty. The man was stunning to look at, but more importantly, he had a good heart. She took hold of his wrists and danced him toward her bed.
Their lips locked together as they fell onto her mattress. He kept his weight from landing on her by holding himself up with his palms as his long body covered hers. He rolled away from her and sat up, stripping his shirt and throwing it on the floor. His boots and jeans followed.
Kennedy could’ve stared at his amazing male physique all day, but anxious to feel his skin next to hers, she pulled her sundress over her head and let it flutter to the floor. Dressed in bra, thong and platform sandals, she felt a little like a naughty magazine centerfold.
When she reached for the front clasp of her bra, he gently moved her hands aside and unfastened the scrap of ivory silk, then pushed it aside. Her nipples stood at attention, begging for his hands and mouth.
He did not disappoint, bending his head to suck most of her breast into his mouth. She cried out and arched into his ministrations. He drew deep, his teeth grazing her sensitive nipple. Kennedy wished the sensation would go on forever and grabbed handfuls of his long hair to hold him in place.
While he tormented her breasts, changing back and forth, his hands slid down her waist, to her lace thong. With one quick jerk, he tore the e
xpensive lace free from her body.
Nude, except for her sandals, she lay back and allowed his weight to settle between her thighs. Wet heat flooded her sex as his stiff cock pressed against her pelvic bone. She bucked under him in an unconscious effort to get him to enter her.
He ripped his mouth from her breast. “Hold on, baby. I gotta get a rubber.”
She’d been on the pill since the tenth grade, but she’d save that topic for another time. Maybe they’d have kids someday, maybe not. But after his experience with Whitney, she wanted him to trust her with his whole heart before she suggested condom-free lovemaking.
All thoughts of the past disappeared after he retrieved the condom, knelt on floor, grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He ran his hands up and down her calves, making her legs shake. When he moved his palms over her knees, to the inside of her thighs, she clenched her fists and bit her bottom lip.
Sliding his palms up, until his hands reached the apex of her thighs, he reached under her bottom and lifted. She gasped as his mouth covered her mound. His tongue sought her ultra-sensitive clit and flicked over it until her entire body vibrated.
“Liam.” She tossed her head from side-to-side.
In response, he sucked her harder.
A scream ripped from her throat as the sensations swirling inside her became too much to hold back. She grabbed his shoulders and held on as ripple after ripple circled through her. They hadn’t subsided before he sheathed himself with the latex and moved over her.
She grabbed his slim hips as he slid his cock inside her body. Even with the condom between them, the heat of his penis scorched her insides. She wrapped her legs and crossed her ankles over his ass as he plunged deep into her.
His scent enveloped her as his body merged with hers. Rich cologne, the scent of musky man filled her senses. She smoothed her hands over his slick back, closed her eyes and allowed him to consume her.
He moved his mouth over hers, his tongue invading her mouth.
Every ounce of her being felt enveloped up in his essence. As if they were one—body, heart, soul. Her stomach clenched, tightening. Lower, her walls tensed around his erection as he plunged deeper with each drive.
He dragged his mouth from hers and whispered in her ear. “Baby, your pussy feels so tight around me.”
“Ummm.” Her response was more of a gurgle than a word, but it was all she could manage through a clogged throat. She nipped his shoulder and tasted warm skin and salty sweat.
The tremors racing through her body seemed to originate from between her legs, spreading outward in every direction until her entire being quaked. The orgasm rocked her, shook her harder than the first one.
Liam’s body tensed as he buried himself inside her again and again. He cried her name as his release came. “Kennedy!”
She raked her nails across his back, marking him as hers.
He shuddered a final time, then kissed her hard.
After a few moments, when her breathing slowed, Kennedy linked her fingers behind Liam’s neck and looked into his eyes. “I love you, Liam Steele.”
“Not as much as I love you.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “Forever.”
Her heart swelled. “That’s a long time.”
“Eternity’s not long enough to show you how much I worship you, Kennedy Donovan.” He kissed her again.
She gave herself to his kisses knowing she’d found the right man at last, her rock star.
~The End
Author’s note:
Please watch for Daisy’s story coming late this winter in a boxed set tentatively titled: Ladies Love A Rodeo Man.
Rock Steady
Rock Steady
Can rock and country blend to make beautiful music?
Black Mountain, Colorado, is the last place country music newcomer Maura Whittaker expects to fall in love with a sexy rock guitarist. The last man she gave her heart to smashed it like an old guitar.
Dalton Stone isn’t looking for more than a drink when he walks into a small-town bar. A hookup with a groupie made him a single father. But when a beautiful country music singer catches his eye, Stoney has to trust his heart not to betray him again.
DEDICATION
To Suzan Hatter, Jamie Bennett and Brenda Dyer, because they know what it means to me to love a rock star!
CHAPTER ONE
Stoney wanted to barf.
All this lovey-dovey shit was getting to him. He loved Cowboy like a brother and he liked Montana, but their never-ending PDA and everyone toasting to the happy couple was getting out of hand. As best man, he’d made an epic speech. Now all he wanted was some peace and quiet where he could brood in private.
He wasn’t going to get it here.
People swarmed like bees. Montana must’ve invited the entire town of Black Mountain and Cowboy must’ve brought half of L.A. with him. Stoney had even caught a glimpse of Cowboy’s dad at one point, but lost him in the crowd.
The other members of the Silver Star Band were nowhere to be found, busy mingling with other musicians, actors and everyday Joes. They weren’t performing tonight; Cowboy had asked his Black Mountain neighbors, country music superstars Dillon Travers and Shiloh Jamieson, to play for the reception.
“Hey, Stoney.” The speaker was Adrian Devereaux, one of Cowboy’s backup singers. Today, she wore a tuxedo without a shirt and mile-high heels. Her spiked hair was dyed like a skunk with a white blonde stripe down the center of her coal black Mohawk. She nudged him with her elbow. “You okay?”
“Fine,” he grunted.
“Don’t sound so happy,” she teased.
He looked around, then at the mountains in the distance. “What’s so great about any of this? Cowboy leaving L.A. to live in the sticks?” He waved his empty glass in a circle. “I’ve never seen so many Stetsons in one place before.”
“Cowboy’ll be back in L.A. to record with us,” she reminded him gently. “Or we’ll come here.”
“I know, but it’s not the same.” He sounded petulant and he knew it, but the idea of his friend living two states away left him feeling lost. Maybe it was time to do what he’d been considering for a long time—make a solo album. He knew he’d have Cowboy’s blessing as long as he didn’t sneak behind his back like his ex-wife and best friend had.
“Nothing ever stays the same,” Adrian said. “And if you try to make things static, you only get hurt.”
“Thanks Mother Zen,” he muttered. “I need a drink.”
“Talk to you later. Hang in there, babe.” She slapped him on the shoulder and went to talk to the hunting guide they’d met last fall. Although the busty blonde was straight, Adrian had a not-so-secret crush on the other girl.
Stoney looked around for a likely hook-up, and although there were dozens of beautiful girls milling around, none caught his immediate fancy. He must be getting old, or cynical, or both. Or maybe he was just tired of banging chicks who had no interest in him, the man. Or maybe it was because two years ago, he’d been careless and fucked a groupie without protection. Now, he had a daughter he rarely got to see because her mother kept him constantly in court.
Shaking off a wave of despair, he stood and wove his way through the crowd. A few people spoke to him, and he nodded, but he didn’t stop to chat. He hated to bullshit about nothing.
He needed space.
All these people were making his skin itch. Usually he liked crowds, thrived in them. But, today he felt smothered. Maybe it was everywhere he looked, he saw happy couples, like the front man for The Big Six band—Shane Reynolds—who had his arm around a striking girl with jet-black hair and ice blue eyes. Maybe it was the pole-axed expression on Shane’s face when he looked at her, or the way his hand curved possessively around the girl’s slender waist that told Stoney she was far more than a quick piece of ass.
Another time, Stoney’d stop and shoot the shit about music, flirt with Shane’s gorgeous girl and congratulate the singer for his new tune rocking it a
ll over iTunes. Today, he just lifted a hand and nodded a greeting.
This party was scheduled for Labor Day weekend. Cowboy and Montana had chosen Saturday for their wedding date, but invited his band to stay for the entire weekend to ride horses, fish or just laze around. Slow down and take it easy. In theory, it sounded fantastic and the rest of the band was jacked about the mini vay-cay. Stoney just wanted to get on a plane and fly back to L.A.
To what?
An empty house and nobody to talk to?
Hell.
He looked around. His friends were here. Over the years, he’d narrowed his circle to the band, a few other musicians, stagehands and roadies.
A waiter passed with a tray of champagne and he grabbed one of the crystal flutes. He lifted it to sip, but instead dumped it in one of the lilac bushes. He wanted to drive and the mountain roads around here could get a guy killed if he didn’t have a clear head.
Inside, he found Montana nursing her baby. A gaggle of women he didn’t know surrounded her. Most of them were her friends from Black Mountain. He’d been introduced, but couldn’t remember any names. Almost all of them had an infant or toddler hanging off them, too.
This party was a far cry from the backstage all-nighters the band used to throw, complete with porn stars and groupies eager to get one of the guys in bed. Some of them hadn’t been after one of the guys at all. Adrian’d had her share of flings, too.
A wave of melancholy washed over Stoney. He didn’t want to be that wild anymore, but he didn’t want to be where Cowboy was, either, tied down to a wife and kid. If he had a perfect world, he’d be able to see his daughter on a regular schedule without the constant drama Nicole brought to every visitation.
God, what had he ever seen in her?