“Them cowgirls and cowboys who paid money to compete in it didn’t think it was small-time,” Chase said hotly. “Jesus. When did you get to be a rodeo snob, Tell?”
“Don’t you talk to me about bein’ a snob, Chase.”
Chase focused on Georgia. “Who’d you get to fill in as a judge on such short notice?”
“Deck Veldekamp.” She felt Tell’s angry eyes trying to melt her face.
“So because Tell backed out, you—”
“Had to beg my ex-husband to help me? Yeah.” She looked away. “Which was humiliating because Deck knew Tell was the one who cancelled on me at the last minute. Oh, and so did the rodeo committee secretary, so it was an all-around fabulous day.”
Tell’s learning to grovel curve was short because immediately he was in Georgia’s space, forcing her to meet his hangdog gaze. “Shit, Georgia. I’m sorry. So sorry.”
She stared at him coolly.
“I never thought… Goddammit. I’m such a fuckin’ bastard for doin’ that to you.”
“I’d guess you’re pretty fucked,” Chase said cheerfully. “Lyin’ to your woman for personal or business reasons is never a good idea. And from where I stood in the bar tonight, you looked awful close to cheatin’ on her, too, with some of them horny toads known as bunnies.”
“Not. Helping,” Tell said through gritted teeth. “Why don’t you get the hell out of here before I lose my sense of humor.”
“Fine. I’ll go. But remember, Georgia. I owe you a good PR turn. Just name it.”
“While that’s generous, Chase, it’s not necessary.”
“It is partially my fault Tell wasn’t at the Pine Haven Rodeo. I asked Verna to bump one of the judges and requested Tell as a replacement. I had no idea he had other judging duties lined up for today.”
Silence.
“Of course the only reason I got the gig was because of you.”
Tell’s embarrassment softened her temper. Why hadn’t she considered it would still bother Tell to be in his cousin’s shadow? That if he had the chance to step out of it and into the spotlight, he’d take it?
Georgia wanted to look at the gravel beneath her feet or the streetlight or the stars above—anything but the misery in Tell’s eyes. But she forced herself to stay firm.
“So, cowboy, what do you want to apologize for first?”
Georgia was asking him. Like he had a clue. Wasn’t like he could ask the self-centered teenage boy he’d reverted to for advice.
Man up. Think.
“Tell?”
He didn’t reach for her, as much as he wanted to. “Can we go someplace where I can explain in private?”
Her eyes flashed a warning. “I don’t want an explanation, I want an apology.”
“I mean to give you an apology. Even if it takes all night.”
“If by takes all night, you’re thinking that you and I will get naked and have wild sex—”
“It doesn’t. I mean, yes, I wanna have wild sex with you all the fuckin’ time.” Shit. That hadn’t come out right. Tell shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step back. “I swear. I just want to talk.”
“We can’t go to my house because my mom is staying with me.”
Was that part of the reason she’d been so scarce this week? And why hadn’t he known? Because you got your feelings hurt and you’ve been sulking. “How about my place?”
“Fine. I’ll meet you there.”
The short drive would give him time to figure out what the hell to say to her.
He opened the windows in his trailer to let in the cooler night air. He poured two glasses of tea, setting a sugar canister and a spoon beside hers. By the time he’d changed clothes, she was coming up the drive.
His heart beat as loudly as her knocks on the door.
“Hey. Come in.”
She kicked off her shoes, making herself at home like she always did. After stirring three spoonfuls of sugar into her tea, she sat in the corner of the couch with her feet tucked under her.
Tell gulped half his tea, wishing it was whiskey, and perched on the coffee table across from her. “First off. I’m sorry for bailing on the Pine Haven Rodeo. It won’t happen again.”
“Because you’re only scheduled for three more rodeos in conjunction with Barb Wyre PR?”
“No. Because it was a shitty thing to do. You deserve better after all you’ve done for me. I can’t apologize enough, Georgia.”
“Keep going.”
“And if I’d known Chase was pullin’ the strings in Upton, I definitely would’ve been in Pine Haven.” He set her tea on the side table and took her hands in his. “I’m sorry you had to call Deck. Was he a prick to you?”
“Not bad, actually.”
“Good.” Tell rubbed her knuckles on his cheeks. “I missed you this week.”
“Same here.”
“Really? Didn’t seem like it.”
A tiny frown line appeared between her eyebrows. “Why would you say that?”
“I didn’t see you Monday. You didn’t come to Ziggy’s Tuesday night.”
“But I did ask you to come to my place.”
“True. But you stood me up Thursday night.”
“You know that wasn’t intentional,” she said softly.
“Do I? Because I went lookin’ for you. And I saw you cozied up in a booth with the movers and shakers in Sundance. Every one of them slick dudes was flirting with you. Made me crazy. I knew if I stuck around, I’d end up in a bar fight with one of them, so I took off.”
Her eyes cooled. “If you were there, then you know I wasn’t flirting back.”
“All my brain saw was those successful guys. And how freakin’ beautiful you are. And then I wondered what the hell you’re doin’ with me. I figured you had the same thought and were finding new people to hang out with as a way of ending it with me.” He had to look away. Christ, he’d already said too much.
Georgia’s fingers were firm on his chin as she turned his face toward hers. “It was a business meeting over cocktails. Not my idea. And trust me, it wasn’t fun. Even though I had to pretend it was.”
“So if I would’ve interrupted your meeting to remind you of our dinner date?”
“I probably would’ve kissed you. Just like this.” Her lips met his in a hard kiss. Then her grip on his chin tightened. “As long as we’re on the subject, what was up with you and those rodeo groupies? Were you hanging out with them to make me jealous? As a payback for the jealousy you felt Thursday night?”
Feeling his cheeks heat, he jerked his chin out of her grasp. Then he pushed to his feet, grabbed his tea and retreated to the kitchen. Tempting to pour a slug of Irish in it.
“Tell?”
Her soft voice was directly behind him, but he didn’t turn around.
“Talk to me. Please.”
He hated to talk about this stuff. He hated acknowledging that he had personal insecurities, so why point them out to others? But for some reason, laying himself bare to Georgia wasn’t as unnerving as shutting her out. She might not understand, but the fact she was here meant she cared on some level.
A fact Chase had shoved in his face. His cousin had been lying in wait for him by his pickup, grabbing another chance to chew his ass. Reminding him that one good woman was one in a million, but Tell didn’t have to go through a million women to find her.
Sometimes Tell hated that fucking bastard.
Mostly because he knew Chase was right. Tell had found that one woman in Georgia. And he hadn’t mustered the guts to let her know how he felt. But maybe showing her that he could talk about his feelings and shit would be the first step.
Tell inhaled a slow breath. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be so deep in someone’s shadow you disappear? That’s how it is with me when it comes to Chase. He’s the star. Here, there and everywhere else. I’m not sayin’ he doesn’t deserve it. He’s always had the talent, the women, the fame, the money, the charm, the good looks. I pale in compariso
n to him on every level.
“Chase let me tag along to rodeos when I was fifteen or sixteen. Didn’t matter if it was because he felt sorry for me because of my family situation, or that I was nowhere near him as far as ridin’ skills. I felt cool…until some asshole tossed off a stupid comment about I wouldn’t be allowed to hang around with Chase if I wasn’t his poor, wannabe, butt-ugly relative. I didn’t have the life experience to let it roll off me, so it ate at me.”
“I can imagine.”
“It wasn’t just my cousin’s ridin’ skills I envied. He always had all these women around him. So the night this older chick was all over me and I thought I was hot shit. I had the moves, right? Come to find out, she was one of Chase’s castoff bunnies. She wanted to fuck a McKay, and since Chase was unavailable she made do with me. I never wanted to feel second-best again. But I have. So many times. So today I wanted him to see that I had my own posse. I wasn’t that scrawny kid stuck with his seconds.”
A gust of wind blew so hard it rattled the screen door.
“Has that been a big life goal of yours? To have your own pussy posse?” Georgia asked without sarcasm.
Tell spun around, ready to deny it, but something in her eyes curbed his intent to lie. “Not my only goal, but a pussy posse was definitely one of them.”
“Did you reach it?”
“A long time ago.”
“Thank God you crossed that one off your bucket list.”
Thank God she wasn’t pissed off and throwing things at him. “I’m sorry, Georgia. I was a fuckin’ idiot today. Remember when you told me that selling advertising to my relatives had nothin’ to do with me personally? This is sorta the same situation. Me flirting with those women had nothin’ to do with you personally. And you hafta believe I didn’t plan on takin’ any of them women up on their offers.”
“I believe you. I surprised myself by how much I wanted to challenge them all to a hair-pulling, eye-scratching cat fight.”
Nice boost to his ego that she had been jealous. He rested his chin on top of her head. “So are we okay?”
“I guess. Once again we dropped the ball on that adult relationship thing.”
“Yeah. Fightin’ with you sucks. I hate it. I’ve never been in a relationship long enough to fight.”
“Now I feel special.”
You are special. So special it scares the crap outta me.
“But I’ll point out the weeks we’ve had fights is when we haven’t spent time together.”
“A simple solution would be to spend all our free time together.”
“Mmm.”
“Georgia, darlin’, will you stay with me tonight?”
She tipped her head back to look at him. “Yes, but no sex, remember?”
“Are you really gonna hold me to that?” Tell feathered his thumb over the pulse point in her neck. “I haven’t touched you all week. It’s makin’ me crazy. I’ve been thinkin’ about the wild, raunchy, kinky things I wanna do to you.”
“Then another night will allow you to add to those fantasies, won’t it?”
He groaned. “It might kill me.”
Georgia laughed softly. “You’ll survive. We’ll find something else to keep us occupied.”
“Like what?”
“You could teach me how to play poker.” She held up her hand. “Not strip poker.”
“Spoilsport.”
“Or we could watch a movie. Heckle bad TV shows.”
“Would that include makin’ out on the couch and letting me at least cop a feel?” Tell waggled his eyebrows with such exaggeration she giggled.
“You’re such a guy.”
“And I can prove it. Three or four times at least.” Then he blew in her ear and felt her shiver from head to toe. “Am I changing your mind, sweetness?”
She shook her head. “As much as I love slipping between the sheets with you, I just like being with you. You make me laugh. You’re easy to talk to. And you don’t treat me like a dumb cheerleader.”
“Who the hell ever said that to you?”
“Lots of people. Not just kids at school. I heard someone say it was a good thing I was a pretty girl because I’d never get by on my brains.” She smiled sadly. “One time Smitty made that kinda crack around RJ. My brother clocked Smitty so hard he broke Smitty’s glasses. So you’re not the only one with self-doubts, Tell. As much as I’d like to pretend I overcame it, some of those attitudes and comments have stuck with me.”
“Why is it we have a better memory for the bad things that are said?”
She shrugged. “Maybe because it makes us appreciate it more when someone says something nice?”
He smooched her nose. “You’re so smart.”
The sweet-smelling scent of woman roused him.
Handy that she wasn’t wearing panties.
Tell squinted at the clock. Four thirty. He had to start chores in another hour anyway, so he may as well use this time to his advantage.
Georgia slept on her side, curled into a ball.
He slipped his fingers beneath the hem of the T-shirt she’d borrowed, finding her warm, soft skin. When his hands began the thorough ascent of her spine, her back bowed and she made a humming sound. A sound which traveled straight to his dick.
“Georgia,” he whispered, breathing in the heady scent of her hair.
“Mmm?”
“It’s morning. Do you know what that means?”
“We went to bed too late?” she murmured sleepily.
“No.” His mouth found the shell of her ear and he followed it with his tongue. “It means I can make love to you since night is over.”
She half-rolled into him, tangling their legs and rubbing her smooth, muscular calf over his. “But I’m tired.”
“I’ll wake you up.” He kissed the corners of her eyes. Her temples. The edges of her smile. “I want you like this. Warm and sweet and barely awake in my bed.”
“M’kay.” She rose up enough to ditch the shirt. “You always have such great ideas.” Then she rolled onto her back, keeping her arms above her head and her eyes closed.
Tell nuzzled the outside curves of her tits, inhaling the fragrance of her skin first thing in the morning. The underswell tasted tangy—of her sweat and sleep. He sucked a tiny love bruise on the upper curve, then he focused his attention on her nipples. Sucking. Licking. Biting. Pinching. Pleasing himself with her body and turning her into a squirmy, sighing mass.
His fingers trailed over her slit, finding her core hot and wet. He swirled those digits into the sweet cream.
“Someone’s awake now,” he murmured and tapped her hip. “Turn over.”
“Someone likes to take me from behind,” she murmured back as she rolled onto her belly.
He made a place between her legs and hiked up her hips. His hands roamed over her arms, her strong back, her hips and her ass. Goddamn she had the finest ass. He scattered kisses down her torso. Tracking the line of her spine from her shoulders down, pressing openmouthed kisses in the dimples of her ass. He rubbed his morning whiskers on her cheeks, then traced the crack to her tailbone, loving the hitch in her breath when his tongue dipped down to circle her anus.
Then he caged her body beneath his and aligned his cock. His need to rut on her nearly overtook him as he slid home. But he paused just to breathe, just to absorb this perfect union of bodies as he made love to her. Savoring her every moan. Savoring every connection of his hard flesh into the softness of hers.
All at once he ramped up the tempo. Pounding into her. Going primal at the visual of his big, rough hands gripping her ass cheeks. His rigid cock disappearing into her wet and welcoming cunt.
Georgia pushed her hips back, taking every slamming thrust.
He could go for hours in the morning, so a quick rise to orgasm caught him off guard. He released a soft snarl as jets of hot come shot out of his dick. White spots, black dots all danced behind his eyelids, and he kept up the rapid rhythm until he felt dizzy and realized he’d been h
olding his breath.
That’s when he also realized he hadn’t worn a condom.
Falling onto his hands, he sucked in air and didn’t bother to try and stay the trembling in his limbs. “Dammit, Georgia, I’m sorry. I forgot a condom.”
“It’s okay. I’m on the pill, so we’re protected.”
“Thank God.”
He pushed back to his knees and gently rolled her over, knowing she hadn’t come yet. Running his palms up the outside of her legs, he stopped to span the sexy curve of her hips. Then he moved his hands up her belly, molding her compact ribcage, squeezing those plump tits and cupping her slim shoulders. “So perfectly beautiful. Everywhere.”
“I’m not dreaming?”
“No. But bein’ able to touch you like this, anytime I want? Is a dream come true for me.”
Georgia wreathed her arms around his neck. “Are you always such a sweet talker at the butt crack of dawn?”
“I could learn to be. If we did this every morning to start the day out right.” He shoved his cock in deep on the first stroke.
“Yes.” She arched. “I love that you’re still hard. Even after you come.”
“You do it to me. I can’t get enough of you.”
“Good. Because I’m so close. Don’t slow down.” She moaned when he angled his pelvis, brushing over her clit.
Tell buried his face in her throat. “It’s there, baby. I can feel your pussy tightening around my cock.” He panted as he rammed into her hard, bottoming out with each thrust. “Take it.”
Georgia’s body arched so much he could only see the tip of her chin as she unraveled. Her nails were digging into his ass so deeply he knew he’d bear gouges on his butt cheeks.
That’s when he fused his mouth to hers and lost himself in the taste of her kiss. That’s when Tell knew he’d do anything to keep her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hello, walk of shame.
With her mother in the house.
But worth it. So worth it.
Georgia tiptoed up the stairs, noticing the door to the guest bedroom was closed. She stripped and crawled between the sheets, drifting to sleep with a smile on her face.
Kissin' Tell: Rough Riders, Book 13 Page 27