The Christmas Cowboy Hero

by Donna Grant

  Whatever resistance she had left evaporated before Clayton’s lips claimed hers.

  Chapter 17

  Clayton watched the sun rise from beside a barn, his thoughts on Abby. It had nearly killed him to stop at just one kiss the night before. But the entire weekend lay before them.

  And he intended to make use of it.

  Since his parents were early risers, he’d already talked to them about hiring Abby. Both had agreed with his decision. He hadn’t been sure what he would’ve done had even one of them been uncertain. Thankfully, that hadn’t been an issue.

  “You sure are tying Abby to the ranch nicely,” his dad said as he came to stand beside him.

  There was a nudge on his arm. Clayton looked down and saw the mug of coffee that he quickly accepted. When he lifted his gaze, his father was staring at the pink sky.

  Clayton brought the cup to his lips, but before he drank, he said, “I suppose I am.”

  “A man does that when he sees something he wants.”

  “Yep.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Clayton was silent as he contemplated the question. “It’s the one thing I am certain of.”

  “Then don’t let her get away.” His father turned his head to him then. “Don’t think we’ve not seen the change in you since she began coming here. She’s done what we couldn’t. We might have brought you back, but she made you whole again.”

  “What if she doesn’t want me?”

  His father grinned. “She does, but if you’re still worried, my advice is to tell her your darkest secrets. Let her in, son. Show her everything. She’ll either accept you or she won’t.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Damn, but this weather feels good,” his father said and closed his eyes as he lifted his face. “After all the cold days, a warm one every now and again is nice.”

  Clayton could only shake his head. The Texas weather could turn on a dime. Though the temps were in the upper fifties right now and forecasted to be in the sixties mid-day, a surprise cold front could move in and drop everything into the forties quickly.

  His father opened his eyes. “I guess you’d better sneak me back inside before your mother sees me.”

  Clayton looked over his shoulder to find his mother standing on the porch with a hand on her hip, glaring at Ben. “Too late.”

  “Damn,” his dad murmured, his face wrinkling in consternation.

  “Benjamin East, get your fine ass back here. Your eggs are getting cold.”

  Clayton watched his father break into a huge smile. He leaned close, and in a conspiratorial voice said, “Apparently, I’m no longer house bound.”

  “Don’t push it, or she’ll strap you to the bed,” Clayton warned.

  “Don’t give her any ideas.” His father took a couple of steps and paused. “Hm. That might be fun, though.”

  Clayton shook his head, a smile on his face as he watched his father walk back to his mother before they disappeared—arm in arm—into the house.

  His gaze lifted to the window of Abby’s room. As if his thoughts summoned her, a slim hand moved aside the curtain before she appeared. She looked over the ranch before her gaze dropped.

  The moment their eyes met, it was like being kicked in the stomach. But that’s what Abby did to him. She excited him, moved him. She made him yearn and ache once more.

  With a soft smile, she vanished behind the curtain again. Clayton sped through his morning chores and returned to the house as Abby entered the kitchen.

  “Good morning. How’d you sleep?” he asked as he gave her a once over. He liked the pink plaid flannel button-down she wore, and he really liked how it was tucked into her jeans, allowing him to see her curves.

  She smiled. “Very well.”

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  “Before or after I work on the books?”

  He’d known she was going to say that. “I can’t talk you into taking the day off, can I?”

  “Afraid not.”

  “That’s too bad,” he said as he set his mug down. “I’ll give you until lunch. But after that, you’re all mine.”

  Whatever she’d been about to say was interrupted by the arrival of his parents. While his mother insisted on making Abby breakfast, Clayton slipped out. It was either leave then or not at all. And since Abby felt as if she needed to work, he’d only slow her down if he were near.

  So, he’d let her work so she didn’t feel guilty. But after, he wasn’t going to let her anywhere near the office. Not for the rest of the day, and not on Sunday. He didn’t intend to tell her that, though. She’d discover it soon enough.

  Clayton walked to the barn where Brice and Caleb were following Shane everywhere he went and listening to every word the ranch manager had to say. And Shane loved every minute of it.

  By mid-morning, the chores were done, and the workers, along with Shane, Brice, and Caleb, were gathered around a paddock as Clayton led out a horse. He called Brice over first and taught the teen how to put on the saddle blanket, saddle, and bridle. Only then did he allow Brice to climb atop the sorrel gelding for his first lesson in riding.

  Caleb could barely contain his excitement when it was his turn. And he’d been paying attention. Clayton didn’t have to tell him much as Caleb readied the buckskin mare. Both boys took to horseback riding naturally.

  When lunchtime came, they dismounted with great reluctance. It was only the promise of more riding that got them off the horses. The tack was removed and hung up, and the horses brushed and let out to pasture.

  Clayton was just as ready to get to the house as the boys, but not for food. He wanted Abby and their afternoon. During the meal, she and his parents listened intently as Brice and Caleb described their first lesson.

  The meal seemed to stretch on forever. Clayton couldn’t remember ever being so anxious about anything. When lunch was finished and the kitchen cleaned, he took Abby’s hand and led her to the barn.

  Diamond was already saddled and waiting next to the bay. Abby halted and looked at him, her eyes widening as a smile formed.

  “Are we going riding?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She was grinning eagerly when she walked to Diamond and stroked the mare’s neck in greeting. “In the paddock like my brothers, right?”

  “No.”

  “But, Clayton, I don’t know how to ride.”

  He brushed Diamond’s mane from her forehead. “This mare is one of the gentlest horses we own. There’s no other one I’d put you on. Diamond will take good care of you. And so will I.”

  Abby met his gaze. “You only live once, right? I trust you.”

  That’s all he needed to hear.

  He helped her get her foot into the stirrup before she threw her other leg over the horse and gently sat down. She reached over and secured her right foot before she sat up. Clayton then taught her how to hold the reins in both hands as well as how to move them in order to get Diamond to turn, stop, and back up.

  In less than thirty minutes, they were headed away from the barn on horseback. He glanced over at Abby to find her grinning. She looked at him and laughed merrily.

  “I’ve always wanted to ride,” she admitted.

  “You can ride Diamond any time you want.”

  She shook her head. “You’re too nice.”

  “Maybe I just like you.”

  Abby’s gaze slid away, but the smile remained. He took her to one of the best spots on the ranch. It had an amazing view and offered some seclusion.

  They stopped and looked down into the ravine. The sound of water reached them even ten feet up. He dismounted, and Abby followed.

  “Wow,” she said as she looked down at the water and then over the undulating hills. “I didn’t think anything could be prettier than the area around the house. I was wrong. This place is.…”

  “Magical,” he supplied.

  She turned her head to him and nodded. “Yes. Magical.”

  Clayton untied the blan
ket at the back of his saddle and handed it to Abby. Then he loosely secured the horses’ reins around the pommels of the saddles and let them graze. They wouldn’t go far, and even if they did, they’d return with a whistle.

  When he turned around, Abby had spread the blanket and was sitting on it with her hands clasped around her knees. Her eyes were closed, and the sun beamed upon her as if spotlighting her beauty.

  Clayton didn’t need any help noticing her. He’d seen her loveliness from the beginning. Though he didn’t want to interrupt her, he had to get closer. The ride over had been pure torture with their knees brushing occasionally.

  “Sit,” she murmured.

  He lowered himself, stretching his legs out and leaning back on his elbows. He couldn’t take his eyes from her.

  “This is what I needed.” She turned her head to look at him. “How did you know that?”

  “I didn’t. I wanted to take you to one of my favorite places. And I wanted you alone.”

  Her lips tilted up in a grin. “Alone?”

  “Yeah. To do this,” he said as he reached for her, dragging her down on top of him as he plundered her lips.

  He groaned as her mouth opened for him. Whatever thoughts he had of going slow vanished at the first taste of her. He rolled her onto her back and settled between her legs while blood rushed to his cock.

  The need to be inside her, to connect their bodies was so great that he had to fight not to tear her clothes off. Then, to his shock, she yanked his shirt out of the waist of his jeans and pressed her palm against his side.

  A heartbeat later, her hands moved between them as she began unbuttoning his shirt. As soon as it fell open, he yanked it off. She sat up, her eyes devouring him as her hands slowly roamed over his body.

  “My God, you’re gorgeous,” she murmured.

  He tensed when her hands ran over one of his many scars, but she didn’t so much as pause at them. She stared hard at his tattoos but said nothing about them either.

  “A warrior and a cowboy.” She looked up at him, her blue eyes darkened with desire. She then knocked off his hat. “I don’t think there’s anything you can’t do.”

  He slid a hand around the back of her neck and held her as he lowered his head to kiss her. Their tongues dueled, the desire rising higher with each touch and taste. Before he laid her back, he slowly unbuttoned her top and gently opened the shirt. It was his turn to marvel at the stunning woman before him.

  She wore a nude bra with black lace cupping her full breasts. Unable to help himself, he ran a finger from her neck down into her cleavage. Her eyes closed as her chest heaved. He pushed her shirt over her shoulders and watched it fall down her arms. Then he reached around and unhooked her bra.

  The moment the glorious mounds were freed, his balls tightened, and his mouth watered. Dusky nipples hardened into tiny pebbles beneath his gaze.

  He cupped a breast, testing the weight of it in his hand before he ran his thumb over the tight nub. She moaned, her head dropping back. Seeing her with such a look of pleasure on her face made him desperate to watch her as she came. He wanted to bring her ecstasy, to have her shout his name as she found her release.

  She gripped his arm and raised her head to look at him. But he wasn’t finished with her breasts yet. He still had the other one that begged for attention.

  Their gazes held when he bent and took one nipple into his mouth. When he began to suck, her breathing became erratic. He laid her back on the blanket and settled over her, moving from one breast to the other. While his mouth sucked one nipple, his hand pinched and rolled the other. With each swipe of his tongue, her moans grew louder, her hips slightly rocking against him.

  He groaned as his cock swelled, eager to be inside her and feel her wetness surround him. To have her body clamp down on him, milking him as they climaxed together.

  She sunk her fingers into his hair the same time he reached for the waist of her jeans.

  Chapter 18

  Desire raged, and need consumed her. Abby couldn’t catch her breath, but she didn’t care. The feel of Clayton’s hands and mouth on her felt too good.

  The sensations rushing through her halted all thought, making her feel each swipe of his tongue and caress of his calloused hands. The awareness of his touch and his breathing was incredible.

  How had she forgotten desire and passion? The sizzling, inconceivable tightening low in her belly as her need mounted so quickly, she was already on the verge of an orgasm—and he’d only touched her breasts.

  With quick fingers, he unbuttoned and lowered the zipper of her jeans. The air that brushed against her hot skin made her suck in her stomach. She began to tremble, but not from the cool breeze. No, it had everything to do with Clayton’s hand splayed across her stomach and his fingers inching lower to her sex.

  Her breath locked in her lungs when his hand slipped beneath the waist of her panties and moved lower. When he cupped her, she jerked, the air rushing past her lips as she moaned.

  “My God,” he murmured huskily and sucked harder on her nipple.

  Then, suddenly, Clayton was gone. Abby forced her eyes open while trying to control the tide of desire that bombarded her. It wasn’t until he took her foot in hand and unzipped her boot that she realized what he was doing.

  While he removed her footwear, she began to push her jeans over her hips and kick them off, along with her panties. Then, she was on her knees, helping him yank off his cowboy boots. Her fingers wouldn’t work right as she fumbled, trying to unbutton his jeans. It took him helping her before they finally knelt naked in the sunlight.

  She had run her hands over his chiseled chest earlier, taking in the hard sinew and rigid planes. Now, she let herself see him—his tattoos and all the scars from his battles.

  Her palms had found many of the scars before. Some were small, some large and jagged. She couldn’t imagine the pain he’d suffered with each of them. Yet it wasn’t what defined him. He didn’t allow it.

  She glided her fingers across the tribal tattoo that ran over his left shoulder and down his forearm as well as across part of his chest. An oval scar marred the ink slightly. A bullet wound that had been so close to his heart.

  Her head tilted to look down. She bit her lip when she glimpsed his arousal jutting between them, thick and hard. Even more scars were on his thighs. It just proved that he didn’t hesitate to do what had to be done, even if it meant putting his life on the line.

  When she raised her gaze to his face, it was to find his lips gently curved while he looked at her as if she were the most precious thing in all the world.

  It made her heart skip a beat.

  “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said as he slowly ran his hands up her arms, touching her reverently.

  She couldn’t think of the words to reply, so she decided on action instead. Abby pulled his head down. The moment their lips met, his hands grasped her hips and brought her against his cock.

  Her head dropped back when his lips moved along her jaw and then down the column of her throat. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly even as she sighed when his teeth lightly scraped along the skin of her shoulder.

  His muscles moved beneath her hands as he lifted her until she wrapped her legs around his waist. She cried out when it brought his arousal against the sensitive flesh of her sex.

  The next thing she knew, she was on her back with Clayton’s hands braced on either side of her head as he leaned over her. She wanted him inside her so badly that her brain stopped working.

  With his pale green eyes watching her, he circled her nipple with his finger, coming closer and closer, but never touching her before moving on to the other breast.

  The torture was exquisite and made her ache for him. When she reached for his cock, he quickly caught her hands and captured them above her head with one hand.

  Excitement drummed through her as she impatiently waited for him to touch her.

  * * *

&nb
sp; Abby was like a feast laid out before him, and Clayton couldn’t decide where to partake first. But since they had all afternoon, that meant he could have her every way he wanted.

  He let his eyes roam over her body. So soft. Her curves were mouth-watering. He’d never liked the girls that were stick figures. He wanted a real woman with all the amazing curves that came with such a beautiful body.

  His perusal stopped at the juncture of her thighs. Her legs were still spread as he knelt between them. Her triangle of dark curls beckoned, as did the sight of the swollen, pink flesh of her nether lips.

  When he’d cupped her before, her back had arched, and she’d let out a low moan that made his cock jump. What would she do when he teased her clit or sunk a finger inside her? His body shook just thinking about it.

  He glanced up at her to find her blue eyes hooded as she watched him. Her lips were parted, and her chest rose rapidly. He glided his hand down her side to the indent of her waist and over the flare of her hip to her thigh.

  Her breath hitched when his hand moved across her belly to the triangle of curls at the junction of her thighs. Clayton held her gaze as he slowly caressed downward and lightly swirled a finger around her clit.

  She bit her lip, her body tensing. It only took one more swipe before she whispered his name as her eyes rolled back in her head.

  The way her hips rocked in time with his finger mesmerized him. He was so focused on bringing her pleasure that he didn’t realize she was close to climaxing until her body jerked and she let out a cry.

  He didn’t relent in his teasing, though. While in the middle of the orgasm, he thrust a finger inside her. And then nearly came himself when he felt her body clamp down on him.

  Clayton clenched his teeth and began pumping his hand. Her screams grew louder as he felt another orgasm claim her. The pleasure on her face and the way her body flushed were things he’d never forget.

  To see her head thrashing side to side and hear her moans was exactly what he needed. But he also knew he would never get enough of her.

  Unable to hold back any longer, Clayton withdrew his fingers and quickly pulled the condom from his pants. Once it was on, he positioned himself at her entrance. Then he pushed inside her. Her tight, wet heat nearly sent him careening toward his own climax.