Josh's Justice, Cowboy Romance (Bad in Boots, Book 4)

by Michelle, Patrice

  Except for the few papers she’d seen on his desk, Sabrina just realized how utterly immaculate Josh’s place was. She’d take a “neat freak” over a slob any day.

  The back side of the main room held a foosball table in one corner and a poker table in the other. Her gaze followed the wrought iron spiral staircase against the center of the far back wall of the house. The staircase led to a small sitting area that overlooked the living space downstairs. It had a huge picture window, which probably had a gorgeous view of the woods behind the house.

  On the far wall of the main floor, two doors led off on either side of the room, presumably to Josh’s bedroom and a guest bedroom.

  She bit her lip, wondering where she was supposed to freshen up. She felt sticky from the walk up the drive earlier. When her gaze landed on a door off to her immediate left, she saw a sink and smiled. Tugging her backpack strap higher, Sabrina walked into the bathroom to change clothes.

  * * *

  Josh’s body ached for release while anticipation coursed through him. Sabrina’s responsiveness set him on fire. The fact she let him take control revved him up, but he was the one who felt completely wrapped up in her. He couldn’t wait to get back to his house, but he had to dial his desire back some. He’d scare the hell out of her if he yanked her into his arms and carried her straight to bed the moment he entered his house. He forced himself to a slower pace as he walked Ace to the stables and opened the stall door.

  After he pulled his horse inside and hung the saddle, he rifled through the saddle’s pouch and retrieved his cell phone. Dialing Renee’s direct line at the police department, he waited for her to answer.

  “O’Hara speaking.”

  “Renee, this is Josh. Just wondering how the interrogation went with the guy who was caught last night. Did he confess to attacking Sabrina?”

  “Nothing yet.”

  Her evasive tone irked him. He had to know the answer for sure. “So are you saying you still think it was him but he just hasn’t confessed yet?”

  “No.”

  “Wow, you’re just full of information, aren’t you?”

  She sighed on the other end. “It’s an investigation, Josh. I shouldn’t even be talking to you about it. I’m hanging up now.”

  “Wait! C’mon, Renee,” he cajoled. You can tell me.”

  “I’m not at liberty to say.”

  “Do you still skinny dip in the lake on the far side of the Masterson’s estate? Oh, I think that you do.”

  “That’s really low, Josh,” she hissed, then lowered her voice. “How do you know about that?”

  He smiled and leaned against the stall’s doorway. “I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

  Another big sigh came across the line. “Fine. We have to look at all scenarios, all motives. Considering the fire occurred while Colt and Elise were out of town… well, we have to investigate all possibilities.”

  “Such as?” he prompted, anxious for her to get to the point.

  “We checked to make sure the homeowners’ insurance hadn’t been increased on the Lonestar property, up to and including a rider for additional fire hazard insurance.”

  “You’re investigating insurance fraud?” he asked, incredulous. “I know it’s been determined that the fire was set by the lantern, but that could’ve happened by accident when Sabrina was attacked.”

  “It could’ve been an accident,” she agreed. “But as I said, we have to look at the possibility the person who attacked Sabrina wasn’t the man we have in custody. The fact the stable door was locked points to premeditation. Based on our inquiries, Colt and Elise are clean on any recent changes to their homeowners’ insurance, but we’re still probing to rule any other scenarios out.”

  “You’re barking up the wrong tree, Renee.” Josh didn’t bother to keep the harshness from his voice. “Keep me posted when the convict confesses.”

  “I wouldn’t hold my breath. He’s not talking. Okay, Josh, your turn. Who knows I skinny dip?”

  She sounded so expectant; he couldn’t keep the grin from his face. “Dirk.”

  “Dirk Chavez! Ohmigod, has he been watching me?” she asked, horrified.

  “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him.” It was hard but Josh managed to suppress his amusement. Renee had always been known as a prude in school. The discovery she was less inhibited than she let on was entertaining. “Keep me in the loop on the investigation. I may be able to help.”

  “Will do.”

  Josh ended the call and left the stables, heading back to his house. As he mounted the porch stairs, his cell phone began to vibrate. Thinking it was Renee calling back, he was surprised to see Colt’s name on the caller ID.

  “Hey, Colt. How’s Elise’s dad doing?”

  “He’s a tough bull. Doing better now. Elise and I wanted to see how Sabrina was doing.”

  “She appears to be fine.” Josh tried to sound casual when all he could think about was spending time alone with Sabrina. Better to get this out of the way now. “Actually, she’s staying with me for a couple of days. So if Elise needs to reach her, tell her to call my cell.”

  “Elise will be glad to know Sabrina’s being watched over. Tell her we’ll be home as soon as we can. Oh, and Josh, do me a favor and keep an eye on the ranch, will ya? I don’t like being gone with no one there watching the place. You know Jackson’s ways.”

  “Sure thing, Colt.”

  He was just about to hang up when Colt said, “One last thing. We appreciate you looking out for Sabrina, but you’d better not hurt her or you’ll have me to contend with.”

  Josh set his jaw, then answered, “I told you I’d keep her safe, Colt. The rest is none of your damned business.”

  Chapter Six

  Sabrina slipped into her black and white floral patterned miniskirt and a white fitted v-neck sleeveless summer sweater. Its vee plunged low, revealing her cleavage, small as it was. She inhaled and turned sideways, puffing her chest out, then shrugged at her less-than-voluptuous silhouette. If the man wanted large boobs, he’d have to look elsewhere. Nothing on her body fell in the “supersize” category.

  Checking her image in the mirror once more, she slid the rubber band out of her long braid and shook out her hair. As she ran her brush through the thick, black mass, now wavy from the braid, she smiled at the sensation of her hair flowing behind her. Because her hair was halfway down her back, she usually pulled it up to keep it out of the way. Running her fingers all the way to the tip ends of her hair caused her thoughts to shift to one of the last conversations she had with her old boyfriend.

  “Why don’t you just cut it all off?” Jeremy had asked one morning while she pulled her hair up.

  She let the clip lock onto the hair piled on her head. “I just can’t bring myself to part with it, I suppose.”

  “Seems like a nuisance to me,” Jeremy said, shrugging like he could care less.

  Shaking her irritation away as she came back to the present, she met her green gaze in the bathroom mirror. “Ready to go headlong, Bri? No reservations, no hang-ups. Just you and Mr. Sex-on-Wheels…doing well, almost-sex-on-a-horse and wherever else we can think of.” Which wasn’t such a bad idea, she thought with a grin as she turned and walked out of the bathroom.

  The pep in her steps slowed as she made her way back into the main living area of Josh’s home. With its rich earth tones, deep blues and shades of maroon, it really was a very homey house—the kind of house she could see herself living in. Don’t even go there, sister. It’s just that thinking about having guilt-free sex with Josh would make more sense in a hotel room, not his warm, cozy home.

  She almost turned around in her high-heeled sandals and hightailed it back to the bathroom to change clothes into something less revealing until she spotted Josh leaning against the fireplace. His elbow rested on the wood mantel and he was staring out the large picture window.

  The sound of her heels gave her presence away. Josh turned and his teal green gaze burned a slow, l
ingering path down her chest to her legs and then back up. “You changed.”

  “The heat of the day made me feel all rumpled, so yeah, I changed.”

  His appreciative smile faded slightly and he spread his hands. “Since you’re all dressed up, would you like to go out somewhere? We could go to Rockin’ Joes and dance if you’d like.”

  Not tonight! She glanced around his home. “Right here is great. You have a gorgeous place.”

  “I have an idea.” Josh pulled off his hat, then tossed it on the coffee table. He picked up a remote from the table and hit a couple buttons.

  Music began to flow throughout the house. A slow song full of soul.

  He set the remote down and started toward her, his pace sure, unhurried. He looked entirely too sexy for his own good with rolled up shirtsleeves revealing corded, muscular forearms and hard working hands that she knew from experience could be so very gentle. With each step he took, his belt’s large gold and silver buckle accentuated his slim hips and long legs. The man literally made her mouth water. Sabrina swallowed and her heart rammed. God, was she in trouble.

  Josh’s expression shifted from determined to intense as he closed the distance between them and captured her hand. Pulling her to the center of the living room, he wrapped an arm around her waist and stepped right up to her. As the music thrummed its seductive rhythm, Josh began to move, turning her around.

  “We’re dancing?” she asked, relaxing a little.

  He nodded, his hand splaying along her lower back. “One of my many talents.”

  She held his gaze. “Let’s see, sharp shooter, horse whisperer, damsel rescuer, and now,” she paused as he twirled her around then pulled her back into his arms, “excellent dancer.”

  “Told you so,” he said, adopting a smug smile.

  “And modest too.”

  Josh smirked, eyes darkening as he tugged her even closer. “Never claimed that one, darlin’. Not once.”

  They danced to a couple more songs and even though the music ended Josh kept dancing as if it hadn’t. Sabrina smiled and tapped his chest. “Um, the music stopped.”

  Josh finally stopped moving and released her, but he didn’t move away. His gaze lowered to her mouth, then he shifted it back to her eyes. “I could make steaks. Are you hungry?”

  Sabrina shook her head. “I’m not really hungry right now.”

  When Josh’s gaze strayed to her mouth once more, she bit her lip and took a step back. “Are you hungry?”

  “Ravenous.” His eyes flashed to hers, flaring with heat as he stepped toward her.

  Sabrina took a few steps back, enjoying the out-of-control feeling of being stalked by Josh. When the backs of her shoes hit the wall’s wooden baseboard, she tried her best to control her rapid breathing.

  Josh put a hand on the wall above her head and pressed up against her body, sliding his jean-clad thigh between hers as if he had every right to put it there.

  Sabrina stared at his chest until his finger lifted her chin so she had to meet his gaze.

  As his thumb traced her lips, her chest rose and fell to her rapid heartbeat. But when his fingers slowly feathered down her chin and then her throat, continuing to descend lower, she held back the urge to pant, but damn that’s exactly what he made her do. She wanted this…him…that much.

  The sensation of his work-roughened finger tracing the vee of her sweater, touching her bare skin while his gaze held hers, made it hard not to shake.

  “Touch me, Brina,” he said, his tone gruff and full of desire, the teal shade in his eyes turning the color of a churning, stormy ocean.

  Sabrina pulled the snaps open on his shirt, then slid her hands under the open flaps and laid her palms against his warm skin. When the muscles underneath her hands flexed, the power behind his hard-working body was more than intoxicating. It was addictive, she thought as she explored his corded chest, then slid her fingers down his abs.

  At the same time she ran her hands around his waist, Josh’s finger brushed the swell of her breast, then slowly dipped in between the cleavage her bra created.

  Sabrina sucked in her breath as he added another finger and the corner of his lip quirk upward. His movements were slow and seductive right up until he bent his fingers, hooking them around her bra and yanked her forward.

  She let out a surprised gasp and her hands fell to his belt loops. All she could do was hold on as he cupped the back of her neck and arched her toward his descending mouth.

  Josh’s lips brushed slowly along hers once in a teasing, sexual dance before his mouth claimed hers in a hot, passionate, possessive kiss. While his tongue slid against hers, his hand spread over her breast, cupping it. When she sighed at his touch, he took advantage of the break in their kiss, biting at her lower lip as his thumb rubbed across the hardened bud through her bra, teasing her, taunting her, making her want him more.

  Desire swirled from her breast down to her lower belly and Sabrina gripped his hips, pulling him closer, moaning against his mouth. Josh growled low in his throat and dropped his hands to her rear, cupping her in a tight hold. He slid his thigh higher until he hit her center, then pulled her against him, breasts to chest, hips to hips.

  She cried out when he pushed her against the wall and replaced his thigh with his body. He rubbed his erection against her entrance through their clothes, rocking his hips in a slow, erotic thrust as his lips lowered to her throat.

  “Damn, you jack me up, Brina. I’ve never wanted a woman as much as I want you,” he rasped against her throat. His fingers flexed on her rear as he lifted her body off the ground so he could fit himself fully against her. She moaned as he ground against her, buckle, jeans and all.

  “The feeling’s entirely mutual,” she breathed out, gripping his muscular shoulders. The buckle pressed against her lower belly, its cool pressure stimulating her heated skin. Rough jeans rubbed against her sensitive thighs and thin underwear, while knowing hands slid up the back of her bare legs. The tactile sensations and her amped up anticipation combined with the smell of leather to create the ultimate sensory aphrodisiac. Her sex throbbed and her breasts ached as she clutched his shoulders. Wrapping her legs around his trim waist, she met each jerk of his hips with counter pressure ones of her own.

  “Oh God, Josh, I’m going to lose it if you don’t stop now,” she hissed out as her body tightened with her impending climax.

  “I sure as hell hope so, baby. It’ll be the first of many,” he said, his voice darkly promising. She felt his hot breath on her neck and heard his own breathing increase.

  When he bit lightly on her throat, Sabrina shattered. She clung to his shoulders as her orgasm slammed through her, shocked by the realization that having sex with her clothes on could be so heart-stoppingly erotic and seductively sensual. Josh didn’t stop moving against her until her gasps of delight quieted and the only sound in the room was their heavy breathing.

  Sabrina laid her head back against the wall while Josh dropped his forehead to her heaving chest. She ran her hands through his thick, wavy hair, holding him close. Her movements released the masculine scent of his shampoo. She smiled, loving that his hair felt as soft as she thought it would.

  He’d surprised her when he didn’t immediately try to get her naked and in his bed. Instead, he’d given her what she desired without taking what he obviously needed. The unselfish gesture melted her heart. Without thinking, she bent and kissed him on the top of his head.

  Josh pressed his lips against the swell of one of her breasts, then lifted his head, his gaze focused and full of new purpose. Straightening, his hands clasped her buttocks to hold her against him as he walked over to the sofa. He kissed her on the jaw before putting his knee on the couch to lower her onto the cushions.

  Standing up, he held her gaze as he pulled off his shirt. Sabrina’s breathing kicked up at her first sight of his fully naked chest in the light of day. Wide-shouldered and lean-hipped, the man stole more than her control. He took her breath away. When he
started to lower his body over hers, she put her foot up, pressing her sandal’s heel against his chest. She lifted her eyebrow. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  Josh looked down at her shoe and with a sinful smile ran his fingers up her leg until he reached the buckle of her sandal. Once he’d removed it, he lifted her other ankle. While he unbuckled the strap on her other shoe, Sabrina set her bare foot on his chest.

  There was something so sensual about the pad of her foot resting on his warm skin. She wiggled her toes against the hard surface and smiled when he winked at her.

  Shoes removed, Josh encircled her ankles with his fingers. His hands felt so big against the small bones, his action reminded her just how much larger he was than her. Josh’s teasing expression turned serious as he slid his hands along her calves. When he reached her thighs, a hungry look settled on his face. He massaged the sensitive insides of her legs and slowly pushed them apart.

  The sight of his nostrils flaring as he stared down at her panties, made Sabrina’s belly clench in excitement. She held her breath and her heart began to hammer as his fingers brushed against her damp underwear. “So responsive,” he murmured, the expression on his face full of desire and thoroughly focused as he touched her through her underwear. Her pulse began to thunder in her ears when his thumb began to rub the highly sensitized flesh in small circles.

  He acted like he was in complete control while she felt like she would fly apart at any moment. Sabrina wanted him to feel as out of control as she felt, so she arched up and grabbed his belt buckle with one hand and his package with the other and lifted herself slightly off the couch, teasing, “You’re just as responsive.”

  Her aggressive action had surprised him and Josh’s breath came out in a ragged hiss. Closing his eyes for a brief second, he placed his hand over hers, then slid her hand along his rock-hard erection.

  When she curled her fingers tighter, applying pressure, his eyes snapped open, full of raging desire. “No, not yet.” Pulling her hand away, he reached under her skirt, saying in a gruff tone, “Lift your hips, baby. I have to taste you.”