Worth the Trouble

by Becky McGraw

  "Quiet, you're gonna scare the fish away," Rocky chastised, then lifted her chin and held her rod back then swung it forward letting the line fly out into the water. It landed with a plunk near the middle and she said indignantly, "You won't be laughing when I hook into Big Bubba."

  Rocky found a sturdy forked stick and drove it into the mud, then leaned her rod in the fork to wait. Ethan gasped a few times then asked in a weak voice, "Is that a friend of yours?"

  "Catfish, biggest one in here, he's a legend," she told him smartly then sat back down beside him. She leaned back on her elbows and asked, "You gonna sit there all night, or you gonna fish?"

  "You were supposed to teach me how to do it correctly," he told her and laughter rumbled out of his chest again.

  "Quit yanking my rope and bait your damned hook," she grumbled. "You know you've been fishing before."

  "A time or two, but only offshore fishing for sharks. A totally different type of fishing for sure. We didn't slap the squid and rays around before we baited our hooks."

  Rocky grinned at him then said, "Bet you didn't spit on them either. You probably would have caught more."

  "I'm definitely paying attention to the master here, darlin'," he told her then dug a worm out of the bucket and smiled as he put it on the blanket and slapped it into submission before he slid it on his hook.

  "Don't slap them so hard," she corrected then added, "You don't want to kill 'em, just temporarily stun."

  "Yes, ma'am," Ethan replied then stood and expertly cast his line out near hers. Like she had, he found a forked stick and rested his rod on it then sat back down and leaned back on his elbows. "So we just sit here and watch the poles?"

  "Yep, if it wiggles and bends you have a bite."

  Ethan rolled over on his side to prop his head on his hand. "And what do we do while we wait?"

  "Watch out for coyotes," she recommended teasingly.

  He scrambled up to sit again, looked at her intensely, then asked with concern, "Are there coyotes out here?"

  She snorted then replied, "Hell yeah, and probably cougars and bears. That's another reason I wanted to start the fire."

  "Do you have a shotgun with you?"

  "Never leave home without one. No worries, I'll protect you," she assured him with her tongue in her cheek.

  "I knew there was a reason I liked you so much," he said with a chuckle.

  "Can I ask you something, Ethan?" she asked wanting an answer to the question that had bugged her from the get go with this handsome, charming man.

  "Sure, anything," he replied.

  "Why me?" If he answered it correctly, maybe another of her concerns about getting involved with him would go away, that he had just pursued her because she was convenient.

  "Why you what?" he repeated then laid back down on the blanket resting his arms under his head, a position that brought back memories of his sexy oil-slick body that day she had spied on him during his massage in the spa. Quicksilver desire shot through her and spread along her nerve endings.

  "Why do you want me? I'm not exactly a feminine city girl, which I'm sure you're used to being with. I have the social skills of a hermit crab, don't wear makeup or dresses, and my sister got the beauty in the family."

  "Your freckles and competency turn me on," he told her seriously, then added, "And the fact you don't mind getting dirty is a major turn on," he glanced at her and smiled, before continuing, "Nothing scares you, you have courage in spades, and your legs make me want to wrap them around my neck and hang myself with them. Don't shortchange yourself either, sweetheart, you are one of the most naturally beautiful women I've ever met."

  Pleasure at his words flowed through her, but she was afraid to let herself believe he meant them. She had been down that road and had been burnt. Rocky snorted and shook her head. "You're a bullshit artist, has anyone ever told you that?"

  "Can't say they have, because I don't bullshit," he said looking at her directly. The moonlight sparkled in his eyes when he finished, "If I say something, it's because that's how I feel...and it's true."

  Rocky swallowed down the emotion that surged up into her own throat. "Thank you," she finally said.

  "Why is it so hard to believe that I feel that way?" he asked curiously. He leaned up on his elbow to stare at her intently, as if trying to read her thoughts.

  "Most guys like you, good looking and smooth-talking city boys, prefer shiny and sparkly women who know how to be women, not rough around the edges country girls. I've been there, and have seen it for myself. That's not me, I am who I am, take it or leave it."

  "Is that what this is all about?" he asked with a laugh. "Some asshole hurt you, so all men are the devil?"

  "Not exactly, I'm just a firm believer in once burned, twice shy," she told him.

  "Tell me about him," Ethan invited then eased back down to listen.

  "I'd rather not talk abo--" she started, but he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

  "Tell me about him, Roxanne," he repeated squeezing her hand again. "He obviously meant something to you, or you wouldn't still be carrying around insecurities he put there."

  She huffed out a breath and pulled her hand from under his then sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "His name was Ashton Pence and I met him in college. His family had money, and he wouldn't know which end of a horse to avoid," she began.

  "City boy then?" he inserted.

  "Inside and out...good looking and smooth-talking too," she added with a snort.

  "Go on," Ethan encouraged quietly.

  "He was pre-med and I was pre-vet. We dated six months or so, and I was the best thing since sliced bread until he met my sister. According to him, he loved me, but after he met Leigh Ann, he asked why I couldn't be more like her, more feminine. Told me to get her to give me some tips, because if our relationship progressed where he thought it was going, being a doctor's wife would require that I act and dress like my sister. When I didn't change, he hit on Leigh Ann. Needless to say, that ended things and I switched to equine science to graduate earlier, then got the hell out of Dallas."

  "He was a blind, pompous ass, Roxanne. Money doesn't buy sense," Ethan told her. "Trust me when I tell you that not all men think like that, even city boys."

  "Most men do think that way. When my sister walks in a room, men's tongues roll out like a red carpet for her," she told him with a snort. "Me, not so much, but I don't give a damn. Like I said, I am who I am, and I'm not changing."

  "Your sister is uncommonly beautiful, but you are the total package, Roxanne. You have substance in addition to being beautiful. Physical beauty is nothing without that. When the beauty fades, what's left? Just what's in here," he said then tapped a finger between her breasts.

  A twanging sound caught her attention and her gaze swung to the fishing rods. Ethan's rod was bent in half and the stick it rested on was almost out of the ground.

  "Fish!" she yelled then lunged toward the rod, but her feet got tangled and she tripped, landing with an oomph on her stomach.

  Ethan jumped up to grab the rod, but the pull on the pole was so great, he lost his balance. Wobbling comically, he fought to steady himself and hold onto the rod. He staggered to the edge of the water reeling the line, but his legs gave out, and Rocky held her breath as she watched him fall face first into the water with a loud splash.

  Scrambling up to her feet, she waded into the water to help him, but he came up suddenly and the top of his head clipped her in the chin. Stunned, she fell back into the water herself then came back up sputtering.

  "You got the pole?" she asked breathlessly as she swiped her hair out of her face.

  "Hell yeah, I would have drowned before I let it go, that's a big damned fish!" he said with a chuckle then turned toward her and she saw he was still yanking and reeling.

  "Holy hell, let me go get the net," she muttered then waded out of the lake to slosh up the hill to the truck. She grabbed the net and went back down there, just as Ethan lifted the line
out of the water and she gasped at the size of the fish on the end of the line. It was one of the biggest catfish Roxanne had ever seen in her life, it must have weighed twenty pounds or more, at least.

  He turned toward her, holding his catch up proudly.

  "Roxanne Baker, meet my new friend, Bubba Catfish. I think this means I win, sugar," he said smugly.

  She shook her head and told him, "That might be a relative, but that's not Bubba." Whatever the fish's name, Rocky knew she had just lost their fishing contest, and it chapped her ass. But there was more than one way to skin a catfish, she thought evilly, her hands going to the hem of her tank top, as she added, "And you have to get him on the bank for it to count. You're still standing in the lake, sucker."

  Life was all about choices, and Ethan Cassidy was about to have to make one. In one smooth motion, Rocky pulled the tank top over her head, then toed off her sneakers and began unbuttoning her shorts.

  Ethan stood waist deep in the muddy water with his mouth hanging open, as she slid her underwear down her legs and unhooked her bra. By the time she dropped it on top of her underwear, the fish was almost submerged in the water again, along with his pole.

  Rocky grinned at him and then took off running. At the edge of the water, she dove out past him. He reached for her but missed, and she plunged under the cool water feeling it caress her naked skin as she swam underwater toward the middle of the lake.

  When her lungs started burning, she pushed upward and took a deep lungful of air as her head broke the surface. Spinning around she scanned the bank to find Ethan, but he wasn't anywhere to be found and worry crept up inside of her. When he grabbed for her had he gone under and not resurfaced? Did his legs get stuck in the mud?

  He was hurt and not one hundred percent physically, so it could have happened. Panic hit her in the chest and she kicked hard back toward the bank, but didn't go anywhere. Steel bands wrapped around her waist and she was dragged back under the surface. Cool, wet naked skin slid against hers and she took a huge gulp of water.

  Rocky struggled to free herself, but couldn't, so she was glad when he kicked and their heads popped out of the water. With several coughs, she cleared the water from her lungs then grated, "You almost drowned me, fool!"

  He held her against his hard body and treaded water, then kicked toward the bank, swimming until his feet evidently touched bottom. Hers were still a few inches shy of touching, and he still hadn't released her.

  "You made me lose my fish," he informed grumpily. "What you did was cheating."

  "What? I went swimming, that's not rulebreaking," she argued, then told him with a smug laugh, "All's fair in love and fishing, Ethan. That's the first rule of fishing."

  His arms loosened around her, but instead of letting her go, his hands slid down over her hips and he gripped her butt. Pulling her tight against him, he fit the head of his rock hard erection in the cradle of her thighs. Hot electricity shot through her carrying liquid desire to every cell in her body.

  "Okay, so this would be fair game too then," he drawled in that deep sexy voice, his hot breath whispering over her lips, before he closed his mouth over hers.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Fish and fishing competition totally forgotten, Rocky held onto Ethan like she was a drowning woman and he was her only hope of salvation. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she rubbed herself against him in long slow strokes, making the water around them lap at their bodies. With every stroke, her breathing ratcheted up another level and his kiss got hotter, more desperate.

  His fingers dug into her flesh and he moaned, then his hips matched her rhythm. The slow steady friction between their bodies had her reaching for the release that was fast approaching. His hips stilled, then he dragged his mouth from hers. In between gasping breaths, he told her, "We need to get out of this water...."

  "Yes," she huffed then when he didn't move, she realized he was not going to be able to carry her out. Rocky unclasped her legs and slid down his body, until her feet rested on his, then with one last kiss, she took his hand and led him toward the bank.

  When they reached the shallows, she stopped so he could keep his balance in the sucking mud, but when they reached firm ground, she pulled him the last few steps to the blanket. In a tangle of arms, legs and lips they fell onto the slightly scratchy blanket.

  Ethan's hands were everywhere, burning a trail of fire wherever he touched her. He rolled them, so he was on top of her, then took her hands and held them above her head.

  "Got to slow down," he breathed in and out a few times, then finished, "I've waited months to have you again, I'm not rushing it."

  Emotion clogged her throat and she wasn't able to speak, so she nodded. Ethan released her hands then rolled away and his eyes tracked over every inch of her body.

  "Beautiful," he whispered gruffly, then kissed her cheek, before his lips found hers again. This kiss was like the one in the spa that night, slow and inviting. He sampled her lips like he was savoring each taste, committing it to memory, fanning the flames inside of her with each pass of his lips over hers.

  His warm palm rested on her stomach as he kissed her and mentally she urged him to move it either up or down to help extinguish the ache he was creating inside of her. When he finally moved his hand slowly upward, she sucked in a breath as tingles of anticipation skittered through her. It seemed like forever until he reached her breast, but it was only seconds before he was cupping her, and her nipple hardened anticipating his touch there too.

  He kissed her deeply, then pulled his lips from hers to kiss across her cheek, down her throat to her collarbone then her shoulder, the top of her breast, and finally his hot mouth closed over her breast.

  The feeling was so good, so intense, Rocky moaned long and low in her throat, and she felt his smile against her skin. His tongue skirted around her nipple then he sucked her deeply. Her back arched off the blanket and she shoved her hand into his wet hair to hold his head to her. Ethan rolled her other nipple between his long fingers, then sucked her again and Rocky felt the tug all the way at her core.

  For endless minutes, he worshipped her breasts driving her to the brink of insanity, then his hand moved south, and tingles followed its path over her skin. The closer his hand moved to her center, anticipation built between her legs and a slow dull throb started there.

  "You're driving me insane," she told him breathlessly, squirming beneath him.

  He released her nipple with a pop, then lifted his head to meet her eyes.

  "You've been driving me crazy for a year, baby, it's time for a little payback," he grumbled, but tempered it with a sexy smile that hit her in the center of her chest. Ethan held her gaze, and his hand brushed across her hip to her upper thigh, before he cupped her mound and rested his fingers on her folds.

  She whimpered and moved her hips against his hand, because she needed him to touch her there. Slow was one thing, what he was doing amounted to sensual torture.

  "Touch me," she whispered, her voice a low and needy plea.

  Never in her life had Rocky needed something more, someone more. Ashton had never taken the time to build the anticipation, he went straight for the finish line, usually leaving her in the dust behind him. Ethan was taking it to the other extreme and nearly driving her out of her mind with need.

  "So impatient," he said with a chuckle and quickly dipped his fingers inside of her, before finding her core where he made slow rhythmic circles.

  "Mmm..." she murmured, her eyes drifting shut to enjoy the waves of pleasure radiating through her body.

  "Look at me, Roxanne," he demanded and she opened her eyes.

  Instead of breaking the magic spell he was weaving, seeing the passion glittering in his eyes sent her stumbling toward a release so intense she could barely breathe. Ethan threw his leg over hers and spread her legs wider, then increased the pressure of his fingers at her center, "No more hiding, sweetheart," he whispered. "I want to see you want me."

  "I do," she tol
d him brokenly then sucked in a sharp breath when all the shards of pleasure inside of her converged and slammed into her so hard she was left shaking and stunned.

  He slowly guided her back down to Earth, and when the last tremor faded he kissed her deeply then lifted his head and whispered, "Beautiful."

  When she reclaimed her senses, Rocky pushed against his chest, then shoved him over onto his back. "Put on your seatbelt, Ethan Cassidy, because it's your turn now," she warned.

  He laughed when she straddled his waist, but that laughter quickly faded when she put her hands on his rock hard abdomen then slid down his body to cover his erection with her wet folds, Slowly, she began moving her hips over his steely length and excitement ratcheted up in her too with each forward motion that sent his tip against her core. Ethan moaned and his hands dug into the sides of her thighs.

  Very near another orgasm, Rocky threw her head back to savor it, but gasped when his hands dug into her hips and held her still.

  "Whoa, cowgirl...slow down, I'm about to lose it," he told, his breathing erratic as a tremor passed through his body.

  Her drugged senses cleared and embarrassment shot through her killing the pleasant euphoria. "I got carried away, I'm sorr--"

  Ethan growled and put a finger over her lips to keep the words in her mouth. "Don't!" he hissed then grabbed her and rolled her under him. He was damned sick of her apologizing. "You didn't do a damned thing wrong. I loved what you were doing--too much."

  Hell, he'd almost come like a teenager, before he ever got inside of her.

  The need to be inside of her body, feel her heat close around him was too great for him to let that happen. There would be time later, he hoped, for fast and furious, this time he wanted to savor this moment.

  And he didn't have a condom on either, otherwise he would have just slipped inside of her and let her ride him. The thought had entered his mind, and it had been damned hard for him not to do just that.

  Only the memory of the close call he'd had with Sarah a couple of months before his accident had stopped him. The tense waiting after that experience was not something he ever wanted to repeat.