Dearest Cowboys Box Set

by Mia Brown

  I smiled. “Yeah, you always kept to yourself.”

  She nodded at the description. “That sounds like me.”

  “You were incredible out there. I remember sitting on the edge of my chair when I watched you perform.”

  “I’m glad I did well, then. Sometimes I wonder if I was just young and stupid back then.”

  I frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  “Well, I used to go out there without any fear. But the older I got the more afraid I got of things. Maybe I just became a little bit wiser to the world. The more you know, the more you realize that life isn’t all fun and games. It’s something to take seriously, and there are a lot of things to be afraid of. I hate to admit it, but I’m afraid all the time. I don’t feel like I’m the same girl as the one who used to be a champion barrel racer. I feel so different from her.”

  “You should never give up on your fearlessness. It’s a great characteristic of yours. Not many people have that,” I said. “And I disagree with you; I think you still have it. You just don’t seem to know it, that’s all. And you don’t need to be a barrel racer to be fearless.”

  She smiled. “Wow, this took a turn. We’re so serious. It’s nice talking like this. I don’t get to do that with a lot of people. I know we joke around a lot, but it’s nice to know that we can also have conversations like this. I didn’t actually realize how much I kept to myself up until now.”

  “Well, if you can’t talk to your husband, then who can you talk to?” I teased.

  “My horses?” she said.

  I laughed. “That’s true. They do make fantastic listeners, don’t they? I agree with you, though. It is nice to talk. I have my friends, but it’s not the same. Joe and I can never be too serious for too long. It’s just not the sort of relationship we have with one another. I’m not sure why it’s taken us so long to do this. Before this, would you have considered us friends?”

  “Hmm, friends? I’m not sure. We were more than acquaintances. I’ve known you for a long time. But we didn’t hang out all that much or chat like this. So, we weren’t really friends, either. Somewhere in between, I guess.”

  “Pity, we missed out on a lot of years,” I said.

  “Yeah, we did. We’re sure making up for it now, though. I mean, we’re living together. We clearly don’t know how to do things halfway.”

  I laughed. “No, we don’t. Well, this is fun.”

  “It is. Anyway, I’m only using you so you’ll keep taking me to this restaurant,” she said. “I hope you know that I expect to come here again in the next few days.”

  “Naturally,” I said. “Expect nothing less.”

  She grinned. “I better get another dress, then. I can’t keep wearing the same thing. People are going to think that I have no clothes.”

  “That dress looks amazing on you,” I said. “I wouldn’t care if you wore that for the rest of your life.”

  She blushed. “My sister will love you for saying that. She’ll also love me for demanding that she take me out for more dresses. I definitely can’t keep wearing it. But thank you for the compliment.”

  “You do realize that you could wear anything and still look good, don’t you?”

  She laughed. “Even my overalls?”

  “Oh, especially your overalls,” I said. What I didn’t tell her was that I had been having dreams of her wearing her overalls lately with nothing else on underneath. I now thought of her like that every time she wore them, which was starting to become a problem for me.

  “Liar,” she said.

  “Cassidy, you’ve got no clue, do you?”

  She frowned. “Clue? About what?”

  I shook my head. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  She smiled and batted her eyelashes at me, and I knew that she thought I was only saying these things because we were in public. I decided to let her think that, because it was probably the only way I would be able to flirt with her. I saw someone I knew nearby and I waved at them. Then I turned my attention back to Cassidy, and lightly trailed my finger up and down her arm. She looked at me in surprise, but she didn’t turn away.

  She obviously thought that I was doing this because I had seen a friend. What she didn’t know was that the friend had turned away and was not looking at us at all. Tiny goosebumps appeared on her arm despite the warmth of the restaurant, and I was sure I saw her gulp. I felt my body stir at the feel of her against my skin, and I knew that I was in deep, deep trouble. I knew that I wanted to be with her more than anything in the world. I also knew that I was probably going to try and get her to sleep with me that night. I wasn’t sure if she would, but I knew I was going to try. Nobody had ever turned me on as much as she had.

  Twenty-One

  Cassidy

  Houston was being extra flirty with me at the restaurant, almost like he had been at the wedding. The whole thing was driving me crazy, but it was also confusing me. He ran his fingers up and down my arm, and I thought I was going to go crazy from lust. All I wanted was to take off his clothes right there in the middle of the restaurant. Of course, he wasn’t actually flirting with me, which was something I had to keep reminding myself.

  Houston had only just seen someone he knew, and he was playing it up for them. That was all. I just wished he wasn’t doing such a good job of it. If Houston treated his real wife like this one day, then she was in for a treat. Why did the idea of him with another woman make me so uncomfortable?

  I knew deep down that I was playing with fire. I knew that part of me wanted to be with him, and a part of me wished that all of this was genuine. I knew that I was actually very lonely and that I’d missed out on having someone with me. I knew that I had never felt this way before. I also knew, however, that it was all fake, and that my emotions were based on a relationship that wasn’t even real.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Houston asked when everything was done. “Or should we just have coffee at home?”

  I liked the way he said home. He’d started saying it this week, and I wondered if he even realized it. Last week he would always refer to my place as ‘your house,’ but this week he’d suddenly switched to calling it home. I had thought of pointing it out, but I didn’t want him to stop saying it.

  “Home is a good idea,” I said. “This place may do everything perfectly, but I think we make better coffee.”

  He grinned. “Don’t you mean, I make better coffee?”

  I laughed. “You really do. I don’t know what you do to make it so good. So yes, how about we go home and you make coffee for me?”

  He chuckled. “You’re so demanding,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “But yes, anything for my lovely wife.”

  At that exact moment, the waiter came by and told us what a lovely couple we made. Houston took my hand and told the waiter that he was the luckiest man in the world.

  I smiled. “No, I’m lucky. I managed to bag this hunk of a man.”

  The waiter grinned. “The two of you look at each other like you’re the only people in the room. Trust me, I see a lot of couples here every night, and I wonder why they’re even together. This is so nice to see. You’ve given me hope that love is possible.”

  “Oh, love is definitely possible,” Houston said, and looked at me with so much passion in his eyes I wondered how he could fake it so well. If Houston was ever looking for another job, he should definitely consider acting.

  We stood up and Houston put my coat around me then took my hand as we walked to the car. I was sad that the night was over.

  “Did you have a nice time?” he asked when we got inside.

  I nodded. “You know, I had one of the best nights ever, Houston.”

  “You did?” he asked with surprise.

  I smiled. “I did. Thanks for spoiling me. Your real wife is in for a treat one day.”

  He smiled but didn’t say anything, and we drove home in silence. I wondered what he was thinking about because he definitely seemed lost in thought. Bu
t then again, so was I. It had been an odd few weeks, that was for sure. We got out the car and made our way inside. I sat in the living room, got the fireplace ready, and waited for Houston to return with the coffee. When he got back, he had no coffee in his hand. The only thing he had was a big smile. He sat down, and I frowned at him.

  “No coffee?” I asked.

  “I’ll make you coffee. First, I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  He took my hand, and I flinched. It seemed normal when he did something like this in public, but the fact that we were at home with nobody to see us made me feel strange. What was going on and why was my heart beating so fast? I noticed that despite this I didn’t pull my hand away from him.

  “I wasn’t playing it up in front of people tonight,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The way I was flirting with you. That was all real.”

  “I…I don’t understand.” I felt flustered, and my face was hot. I was sitting by the fire now, so I hoped he would assume it was only because of that and not because he was the one making me feel this way.

  He smiled. “I really do think that you’re fearless. And I really do happen to think that you’re the most beautiful girl in the world. Seriously, Cassidy, you are gorgeous, and I don’t know why you don’t know that.”

  I was shocked. Was he really saying all these nice things to me? Did he actually mean them?

  “I’m not. But…well…thank you,” I said. “Everyone likes getting compliments.”

  “I’m not just making it up. It’s just you and I here, Cass. I’m being serious. Look, I know that we’re not married. Like, for real. And I know that we’re not going to be doing this forever. But it’s been a pretty stressful time for both of us while I figure out how best to end all of this. So, here’s what I’m thinking,” he said, and I noticed that he suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

  “Why don’t we have some fun until everything’s figured out? I mean, we’re doing such a good job at pretending, we might as well take it a step further and do what a real husband and wife would do.”

  I stared at him in surprise, trying to figure out if he was being serious or not. He couldn’t be? Surely not?

  “I’m serious,” he said, as if reading my mind.

  I pulled my hand away from his and punched him in the arm.

  “You’re ridiculous,” I said.

  “Why is it so ridiculous? I think you’re gorgeous, Cass, and I’m having a tough time being around you. All that touching tonight drove me up the wall. If you don’t think of me in that way, that’s fine, and I’ll back away. But…don’t you think we deserve to have a bit of fun?”

  “You’re…being serious?” I asked in surprise. I felt angry at him for even making this suggestion, but I couldn’t deny that a part of me felt excited, too. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about this all night. I’d spent most of the week trying desperately not to think about him in that way. It was easy when I thought that he wasn’t interested in me.

  He grinned. “I’m being serious. It’s up to you. I’ll make the coffee after.”

  I wanted to stay angry at him, but instead, I burst out laughing. He really had some nerve.

  “So, let me get this straight…you’ll make me coffee if I sleep with you?”

  “It only seems fair,” he said.

  I looked at him then, and I was reminded once again of how attracted I was to him. Sleeping with him one more time wouldn’t hurt anyone. Anyway, I’d been thinking about doing it again since the first time. I was desperate to see if it had only been so good because we were drunk. If the sex was bad, then I would finally be able to put it out of my mind forever. So, in a way, I was only helping myself by doing this.

  “You know, you’re just lucky that I want coffee so much.”

  His eyes widened. “That’s a yes?”

  I stood up and turned around. “That’s a yes.”

  Houston jumped to his feet and slowly unzipped my dress. The realization of what was about to happen hit me as soon as the dress fell to the floor, and I gasped. He undid my bra and pulled down my panties, and I stood there while he kissed my neck and moved his hands around my body. I closed my eyes and allowed him to feel me.

  The sensation of his hands and his mouth, along with the warm fire on my skin, was almost too much to bear. At that moment I didn’t care whether or not we would regret this. All I cared about was how good it felt to be with him again. He swung me around, and I was surprised to see that he was naked, too. I had no idea how he had managed to get rid of his clothes so quickly. His body was just as good as I imagined it, and I reached out now to trail my fingers over his chest.

  “Been working out, I see,” I said.

  “Well, I’ve got to look good for my wife.”

  He was good at this, and I tried to put all my doubts and fears aside. For just this moment I wanted to be that fearless girl again. The barrel racer that he had watched in awe. I wanted to be her again. His mouth found mine, and we kissed, his hands on my back as he pulled me in toward him. He was tall, and he had to bend down to kiss me, but I liked this. He picked me up with ease and took me to the bedroom, stopping to kiss me along the way.

  When we got to my bedroom, he placed me down on the bed and stood there watching me. For a brief second, I thought he was going to tell me that he had changed his mind. Instead, he licked his lips and told me once again how beautiful I was. I believed him.

  Sober sex with Houston was different from drunken sex with Houston. But it was only different because this time I couldn’t just use the alcohol as an excuse for how good it was. This time I knew for sure that the alcohol didn’t matter. We were fantastic in bed together, and I had a feeling we both knew it. Houston turned me on in a way that no man ever had. He just had to look at me and I felt weak in the knees.

  He was very good in bed, fast and hard when I wanted it most, and slow and passionate in between. A few times I thought I was going to lose it, and the idea of it being over almost brought me to tears. There was something about the fact that we weren’t going to be doing this forever that made it so devastatingly beautiful. It meant that I wanted to savor every part of him just in case it was the last time I would be seeing him this way. Though much of the experience was intimate and soft, with deep, passionate kisses and lots of touching, there was even laughter and very sexy fun which made for such an awesome experience. I felt totally comfortable with Houston and like I could be completely myself, and I don’t think I had ever experienced that with any man before.

  On top of everything else that I was feeling, I was also having a blast. Houston was a lot of fun in bed, and very naughty. He constantly had a mischievous glint in his eye, and it was clear that he didn’t like to only do things by the rules. He liked to switch it up, and even I was impressed by his creativity, which wasn’t limited to just the standard missionary position. We did 69, which had me constantly on the edge of an earth-shattering orgasm, and I rode him for a bit (to his delight, as he watched my pert breasts bounce up and down while I rode his hard cock like only a champion barrel racer could) until he finally unleashed his load inside of me while we were doing it doggy-style (which was a lot of fun, by the way!)

  Afterward, we lay in bed together, panting and trying to catch our breath. The window was open and a cold breeze was coming into the room. But we both lay there on top of the covers completely naked as we waited to cool down.

  “That was a lot of fun,” I admitted.

  He chuckled. “I’m glad to see that we don’t need alcohol to have mind-blowing sex,” he said.

  I smiled and felt happy that he had said that. The sex had been incredible for me, and I had hoped that it was the same for him. I was a lot less experienced than him, so it was good to hear that he had enjoyed himself, too.

  “So…uh…we should probably end this soon, Houston. You need to tell your dad that we’re not together,” I said, even though a part of me did
n’t want to. “We’re not married, and this whole thing has gotten out of hand.”

  He sighed. “I know. I agree. Okay, we’ll figure something out soon. I promise.”

  “But, if you want, up until then, I’m more than happy to keep doing this,” I said. The words surprised me.

  “You are?”

  I chuckled. “As often as possible, in fact. Might as well make the most of it.”

  He grinned. “I like the way you think. Now, let me make you that coffee.”

  “Oh, good. I mean, that was the only reason I slept with you tonight…” I teased.

  And as he got up to get me coffee, I lay there wondering what I was doing. This was going too far now, but I had no idea how to stop it.

  Twenty-Two

  Houston

  Two days had passed since I’d slept with Cassidy, and I wasn’t sure if it was ever going to happen again. The sex had been incredible; almost too incredible. I wasn’t sure how anyone was going to ever live up to that again for me. I wondered if she felt the same. We’d fallen asleep in her bed that night, and the following morning things hadn’t been as awkward as I had thought they would be.

  That night I even wondered if we would do it again, but she didn’t say anything, and I didn’t want to be the one asking again. I was going to speak to my father later that week. I’d already asked him if I could come over, and I was finally going to break the news to him. I was dreading it, but I knew that this couldn’t go on forever. Enough time had passed for me to tell my father that we had at least given it a go.

  I looked at the clock beside me and sighed. It was time to get out of bed, but the bed was so comfortable that I was having a hard time leaving. I was just about to get out when the door opened, and Cassidy walked in wearing her gown. She didn’t say anything, but she walked over to the bed with a small smile playing on her face.

  Then, she dropped the gown to reveal that she had nothing on underneath, and she climbed into bed beside me. I pulled her toward me and kissed her, grateful that she had come to me. This time, the sex was slow and gentle, the only sound a soft moaning coming from the two of us. I smiled when it was over.