A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe

by Jessica Clare

  She was astonished to hear that. “He doesn’t think I’m his.”

  “Please. He treats you like some guys treat their wives . . . or mothers.”

  “No!”

  Jason shook his head. “Sage, baby, you can’t see it because you’re too close.”

  Baby? She was his baby? A warm, delicious flush moved through her. “But—”

  “Think about it. He has you baking for him. You run errands for him. Has he ever had you water his plants? Help him clean his house? Asked you to help him with laundry?”

  Sage stared at Jason, stricken. “He has asked to me pick up his dry cleaning regularly.”

  “Do you bring him lunch at work?”

  Oh god, she did. Her hand flew to her mouth. Was she that much of an idiot that she’d never seen it? When everything was put together like that, it all sounded like things a wife or significant other did. She’d always just done little things for him that she thought other female friends would do for guy friends.

  Jason gestured as if to say, See? “He probably comes to you and complains about things Becca does because he knows you’ll support him.”

  He did. Oh god, he did all the time. She gave Jason a horrified look. “I can’t believe I’m such an idiot.”

  Jason shook his head and squeezed her hand again. “You’re not. You’re just trusting, Sage. And that part about you never dating anyone? It didn’t make sense to me . . . until I met Greg. I totally wouldn’t put it past that guy to make it clear that he’d staked a claim on you, even if he never went after it.”

  What a horrible thing. And she’d been so lonely and miserable and . . . Greg was using that to his advantage. “Can we go?” she whispered, her stomach lurching. “I feel sick.”

  “I shouldn’t have said anything.” Jason’s mouth thinned.

  “No, I’m glad you did. I’m glad someone finally did.” Wasn’t it a big joke around town that everyone called her Greg’s “keeper”? Heck, she’d even paid his water bill for him when he forgot, just so he wouldn’t have late fees.

  And now that she had a boyfriend, he was suddenly texting or calling her constantly. He was showing up to her office “just to talk” more and more often, and most of those talks had to do with how he wasn’t sure if he should marry Becca. Was he . . . using her? For emotional support and cookies?

  That ass.

  Gritting her teeth, she picked up her phone and put him on ignore. “Greg can wait.” She’d go to his wedding, cling to Jason’s arm, and then do her best to distance herself from Greg. If he wanted emotional support, he needed to go to his fiancée for that sort of thing, not her.

  And Becca sure as hell could make him cookies.

  And pay his water bill.

  And pick up his dry cleaning.

  “I really am an idiot,” she blurted, burying her face in her hands.

  “No, you’re wonderful. It’s not your fault he’s using you.” He paused. “Well, it’s a little your fault.” And then he grinned to take the sting out of his words. “But now you’re aware of what he’s doing. And you’re with me. He had his chance.” He pulled out his wallet and threw a stack of bills on the table. “Come on. It’s getting late and I need to get you home.”

  “Oh.” Was he ending their date because he was disgusted with how Greg used her? “All right.”

  They got to their feet, and when he held his hand out for her, she hesitated. But she could feel the eyes of others in the bar watching them, so she slipped her hand in his anyhow.

  He immediately pulled her against him and leaned in close. “I can tell what you’re thinking with that look, Sage.”

  “What?” She tried to smile.

  “You think I’m trying to get rid of you.” He shook his head slowly, grinning. “I’m a selfish man, because I want to get out of here and have some private time with you. That’s all. Dinner’s over, but our date isn’t.”

  Oh.

  Oh. She couldn’t stop the smile that beamed across her face. And when he smiled back, it felt like her whole world was right.

  She hugged Achilles against her on the drive home, and when they pulled into her driveway and he parked the car and then just gave her a long, steady look, she melted.

  “If this dog wasn’t in the car with us, you’d be in my lap right now,” he told her, reaching over and toying with a strand of her ponytail.

  Sage had never wanted to fling a poor dog out of a truck before, but she wanted to now. “We can go inside and hang out on the sofa,” she told him, breathless. “Maybe have a cup of coffee and watch some Netflix.”

  He arched a brow at her in the darkness. “You asking me to Netflix and chill?”

  Lord, she was, wasn’t she? “You don’t want to?”

  “Oh, I want to.” He reached over and ruffled Achilles’s ears. “Just wondering if you’ve got something to keep this guy busy while we get comfy on the sofa. I’m not sure I want him thinking I’m eating your face.”

  She giggled at the mental image. “We can always smear some peanut butter inside a jar. That used to keep my dad’s dogs busy for hours.”

  “Sold. Why don’t I take care of your cattle while you put on some coffee?”

  “All right.” She knew that was probably code for him wanting to check the perimeter to make himself comfortable, and that was okay. If that was what he needed to relax, she didn’t mind waiting. Heck, she’d wait all night for him if she had to. “Do you need to be back at the ranch soon?” She glanced at the clock on her phone—it was past ten, and she knew he got up early.

  “I do. Doesn’t mean I don’t plan on kissing you until your panties are wet first.” He gave her a heated look and then got out of the truck.

  Oh lord, just hearing him say that made them wet. She squeezed her thighs together tightly until he came around to her side of the truck and opened the door for her. Sage didn’t know how she managed to walk to the house without turning into a puddle, but she succeeded somehow. In a daze, she moved around her kitchen, putting on coffee, setting out fresh cookies for Jason (because he’d once mentioned that oatmeal raisin was his favorite, so she’d made a whole batch of them), and slathered the inside of an empty mason jar with peanut butter for Achilles. She peeked out the window, expecting to see Jason doing his perimeter checks, but to her surprise, he was coming back from the barn already. No perimeter check? And he’d been so calm tonight. Achilles’s presence was helping. She was so thankful that she added another spoonful of peanut butter to the jar for that good boy.

  Jason came inside the house, and she jumped a little to hear the door shut, her nerves getting the better of her. She smoothed a hand over her ponytail, hating that she’d spent the last few minutes getting out cookies and making coffee when she should have been checking her hair for strays or freshening her makeup. What if she was messy looking? Oh no—what if she had a stray jalapeño in her teeth? She ran her tongue over them nervously. He would tell her, right?

  “You know we already kissed,” Jason told her as he came inside. “At the beginning of the date. If it makes you this nervous, we don’t have to kiss again. We can just watch something on TV, like you said.”

  “Oh no, I’m fine,” she told him, hating the anxious wobble in her throat. This was her first make-out date and she was highly aware of the fact that twenty-nine was rather old to be as inexperienced as she was. She held the peanut butter jar out to him mutely. “I just get wound up. Don’t mind me.”

  “So you do want to kiss?”

  Gosh, her cheeks were hot. She tried to say something simple, and it just came out as a squeak.

  “Beg pardon?”

  Cruel man. “If you’re going to make me say it out loud, yes.”

  He grinned wide at her, his eyes crinkling in the corners and causing her pulse to start between her thighs again. “Just wanted to hear you say it out loud.�
�� He bent down and touched Achilles’s head, fondling the soft ears before offering him the peanut butter jar. Her heart ached when the dog gave him the saddest look and then gently licked the jar before looking at Jason again, as if for approval. Poor thing. She kept forgetting that he truly was a rescue, and he’d probably been abandoned himself. Maybe he needed Jason as much as Jason needed him.

  “Let’s bring that into the living room,” she told him. “So the jar doesn’t roll all over the tile floor and make a ton of noise.” Plus, it felt wrong to push Achilles into another room just because she wanted to kiss Jason. After all, she was planning on doing a lot of kissing him in the future, and the dog would just have to get used to it, right?

  They headed into the living room with two cups of coffee and a tray of cookies, and she turned on Netflix and looked for something appropriately boring. When Miracle on 34th Street popped up, she clicked it on and sat delicately in the middle of the couch, uncertain. Why was she so on edge? She’d held Jason’s hand and slept curled against him the other night. He’d spent lots of time alone with her before.

  Except now it was a date.

  And that made everything different. Before they were just friends. Now she was his.

  She held her coffee cup in her hands but couldn’t drink it. Her throat felt tight, and she was nervous, watching Jason instead of the television as he looked over at Achilles when the dog started to lick the jar. For a man that didn’t want a dog and resisted the idea every time someone suggested it to him, he sure was an attentive owner. She hoped that the bond between him and Achilles continued and that in a few weeks, maybe he’d approach Annie about keeping the dog. And wouldn’t that just settle everything neatly into place?

  But then Jason sat down next to her and pulled her against him, tucking her against his side, and she had to bite back the little sigh of pleasure that threatened to erupt. How many times had she wanted so desperately to be with someone like this? To curl up on a sofa together and just be in each other’s presence? To lean on each other? She’d been alone through so much that now she was a little terrified of wanting too much. That maybe if Jason realized how desperate she was, how pathetic, he’d run away and she’d be left alone all over again. Except this time it would be worse, because she now knew what it was like to share deep, hot, wet kisses with a gorgeous man, to have him fill her with longing and need and leave her wanting more.

  Sage shifted uncomfortably on the couch, aware of her body’s responses to his nearness.

  His hand was on her shoulder, his thumb rubbing at her collarbone through her sweater. Just that small touch was making her antsy, because it was a promise of so much more . . . so much more that she wasn’t getting. Man, just a few kisses and she’d suddenly turned into the world’s most impatient woman. It was like, now that she had the potential of caresses and kisses and hour-long make outs, she didn’t want to waste any more time. So she slid a little closer to him, hoping it wasn’t too obvious.

  “I had a nice time tonight,” Jason said in a low voice, watching the dog frantically work at the peanut butter–covered jar. He idly rubbed Sage’s shoulder again and then stroked her arm. “Even if we didn’t go anywhere special.”

  “I had a wonderful time, and it was special to me.”

  He turned to look at her and smiled. Oh, she loved that smile. It seemed like he smiled more and more with every day that passed, and that made her so happy. “You’re easy to please.”

  “Or I just like being with you.”

  Jason took her hand in his, and her heart gave a tiny little flip. Were they going to kiss again now? But he only rubbed her knuckles, and the small touches were making her crazy. She wanted to fling her arms around his neck and plant her mouth on his, but she wasn’t brave enough to do that yet, so all she did was nudge a little closer. “So when do I get to see you again?” he asked, his gaze flicking to her mouth.

  Kiss me, she silently implored. They were snuggled up on the couch, after all, and he had one arm on her shoulders and the other in his lap, and it seemed like the easiest thing in the world for him to just lean in and press his mouth to hers . . . but it wasn’t happening.

  Then again, they’d kissed earlier tonight to get it out of the way, so maybe that was all she got? A pang of disappointment struck her. She’d just have to wait for more make-out time, then . . . Sage didn’t want to seem too greedy or desperate, so she’d let him lead. “Well, the wedding is next Saturday. So I guess . . . then? I’m sure Greg and Becca won’t mind if you bring Achilles, by the way. I’ll make a cute bow tie for him, and they’ll love it.”

  Jason leaned back, studying her with those intense eyes. “You don’t want to get together, say, tomorrow night?”

  Oh, she did. More than anything. Heck, she was of half a mind to tell him to stay over tonight, just because she didn’t want him to go. She also didn’t want to seem too clingy, though, and had no experience in how to handle these things. “Of course I do. I just didn’t want to take up your time. I’m sure it gets boring being around me constantly—”

  “Don’t be so sure of that. I like spending time with you.” And his fingers moved over her knuckles again. Goose bumps prickled up her spine, and her nipples hardened against her sweater. Oh mercy, in a minute she was going to start panting. “I don’t care what we do. I just like being around you.”

  Sage melted against him. It was getting hard to think with his fingers tracing little patterns on her skin, but she tried to focus. “Um, I was going to go shopping tomorrow night . . . pick up a few last-minute presents for some coworkers. Did . . . did you want to come?” He’d turned her hand over and was teasing the palm, and god, had she been turned on before? She was about to come undone now.

  Why wouldn’t he just freaking kiss her already?

  “Absolutely. Okay if I bring Achilles? He needs to be my shadow until Annie gets back.”

  “Of course,” she said, breathless and distracted. They’d figure something out.

  “Can I ask you something?” When she absently nodded, he continued. “Are you trembling because you’re nervous?”

  Was she trembling? Sage looked down at her hand, resting palm up atop his thigh. She was twitching all right, but it wasn’t from nerves. It was from sheer arousal. She was practically humming with need. “I’m not nervous,” she admitted, then slowly met his gaze. “It’s just all very . . . intense.”

  “Does that mean I can kiss you again?” He glanced at her mouth. “Tell me no if you don’t want that.”

  “I want that,” she said quickly. Oh, she wanted that. “Please.”

  “Good. That makes two of us, then.” He leaned forward and touched her cheek, tipping her face gently as he moved in to kiss her.

  Sage bit back a moan the moment his lips touched hers. She’d been daydreaming all through dinner about more kisses, and this was the fulfillment of so many dang fantasies that she nearly cried with the pleasure of it. A whimper escaped her, and Jason only chuckled against her mouth. That was okay. She didn’t care as long as he kept kissing her. She loved the feel of his lips on hers, how he managed to make every brush of his mouth on hers feel new and exciting. His tongue flicked against her mouth, and she leaned back against him, sinking into the kiss as their tongues mated and played against each other.

  She didn’t know how long they kissed. The world outside seemed to drift away until her world consisted purely of Jason’s lips, Jason’s mouth, and the feel of Jason’s body pressing against her side. He took her hand from his thigh and put it to his neck, and she clung to him, biting back another moan as his tongue swept deep into her mouth. It was like he was licking her.

  And she felt every lick right down to her core.

  This time, she couldn’t stop the moan that built in her throat. She shifted against him, restless, as his mouth devoured hers, the faint stubble on his cheeks rasping against her skin in the most delicious way
. Heat throbbed all through her body, and if he put his hand on one of her aching breasts right about now, she’d fling her sweater off so he could do with her as he liked.

  Jason lifted his mouth and then pressed his forehead against hers. “I should get going soon.”

  Hot disappointment rushed through her. “Oh? Oh, okay.” He didn’t want to stay and kiss her some more? Because she felt like she could kiss him forever.

  He nipped at her lower lip, making her whimper with need again. “You keep making those sexy little sounds and it’s driving me crazy, Sage.” He pressed another light kiss to her mouth, then continued. “If I stay any longer, I’m going to have a hell of a time controlling myself.”

  “And . . . that’s a bad thing?” she asked, breathless. She was okay with him losing control. Heck, she was more than okay with it . . . she craved it.

  He chuckled, and she felt liquid heat ripple through her at the sound of his sultry laughter. “It is a bad thing, because I don’t want to rush things with you.”

  “I want to go on the record and say that I’m one hundred percent fine with rushing things,” she whispered, reaching up and tracing her finger along that delicious, stubbly jaw. Was it strange that she wanted to lick it? Because now that the thought was in her head, she couldn’t get it out of there. He looked positively lickable, she decided.

  He took her hand and kissed the palm, grinning at her. “Just trust me, all right?”

  “One more kiss before you go, then?”

  Jason arched an eyebrow at her and then groaned and pulled her back against him again. The second “kiss” turned into a fiery storm of multiple kisses, and by the time he finally let her up for air, they were both panting. “Damn it,” he murmured. “Leaving you is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “Then don’t leave.”

  “I’m determined to do things right,” he told her, and kissed her one more time, just because. When he eventually got to his feet, she noticed that the front of his pants strained with his erection, and she felt a curious sense of pride. She’d done that. She’d made him that hard.