Crazy Little Thing Called Love

by Jess Bryant

  “Hi Bluebell.” Maddie responded.

  He didn’t greet her. He couldn’t get his brain to work when her breasts bounced under the yellow sundress. She was all shiny and summery and beautiful.

  “Maddie! Your hair looks great, what’d you do to it?”

  The two women exchanged a hug and Maddie beamed proudly, “You are so sweet. I had Jenny Sue put some highlights in it and cut some layers. Zach here didn’t even mention it until I pointed it out.”

  Bluebell tipped her gaze up to meet his with a smirk, “Oh you know how men are, they wouldn’t notice the nose on their faces if women weren’t around to point it out to them.”

  “You are so right.” Maddie nodded thoughtfully, “Hey do you want to get lunch sometime? I could really use some girl talk since Molly’s in newlywed land and MIA.”

  “Sure. I’ll stop by the diner sometime soon and we’ll make plans.”

  “Oh you’re just the best. It’s so nice to have you back in town.” Maddie gave Bluebell another tight hug before pulling back and focusing on him with a serious expression, “It was really nice running into you. Next time, I really want to get your opinion on that thing Zach. Thanks for listening; you’re a really good friend.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  He watched Maddie flip on her heel and stroll away. Her freshly cut and colored hair bouncing with each step. He hadn’t noticed she was wearing a cute little sundress too. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her in anything but jeans and t-shirts. Strange.

  “A really good friend?” Bluebell pulled his attention.

  “Yeah, apparently I’m a really good listener.”

  “Uh huh and just how often does Maddie run into you?”

  “Way more often than I’d like.”

  “Well that’s not very nice.” Bluebell admonished as she tipped her sunglasses up on top of her head with a lazy smile, “I think its pretty obvious little Maddie has a big ol’ crush on you cowboy.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Oh, I think it is.”

  “No. Trust me. It’s not.”

  “As we like to say around here, she was melting all over you like homemade ice cream in August.”

  “I’ve never once heard anyone use that expression.” He chuckled when she turned her accent up a couple of notches, “And like I said, she doesn’t think of me like that.”

  “Oh.” Bluebell looked thoughtful for a moment, “How does she think of you then?”

  “I believe her exact words were as a much, much older big brother.” He groaned.

  Bluebell blinked her big blue eyes up at him once, twice and then her shoulders started to shake and the laughter poured out of her so hard she gripped her side.

  “I’m glad you think it’s funny.” He frowned.

  In response Bluebell gasped for air, “Oh it’s hilarious.”

  “I’m not that much older for God’s sake. I’m only thirty-six. It’s not like I’m an old man.”

  She covered her mouth with her hands and made an effort to reign in her laughter, “Oh, come on, you have to admit it’s funny. You thought she was hitting on you too didn’t you? You cradle-robber.”

  He frowned as she started laughing again, “I am not a cradle robber.”

  “You so sure about that?” One of those perky eyebrows shot up and she did a face so full of shock he almost bought it, almost. “I had no idea you were so much older than me.”

  “You done laughing at me yet?”

  “Nope.”

  He tried to give her his deadliest glare. His mean face had scared his little brothers into submission more than once. She just kept right on laughing so he gave into the grin that he couldn’t shake and kissed her right there in the front aisle of the hardware store. It was a light kiss, his lips against hers for a split second, just to shut her up.

  “What are you doing here?” He nipped her bottom lip as he pulled back.

  “Shopping of course.”

  “Good. You can keep me company.”

  Blue followed Zach as he headed down another aisle in the hardware store. Her eyes couldn’t help but take in his broad shoulders beneath a black t-shirt any more than she could avoid noticing the way his jeans rode low on his hips and cupped his ass. He looked a little dirty, a little scruffy and a whole lot sexy again, or as she was coming to realize, always.

  “What’re you doing in Griff’s?”

  Looking for Zach. She’d been randomly roaming the streets of Fate looking for something to do and he’d seemed like as good an option as any when she’d noticed his big black Ford in the parking lot. Still, she wasn’t going to say that so she lied.

  “Bobby asked me to stop over and see if his order was ready yet.”

  “Uh huh.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as if he knew she was lying so she changed the subject.

  “What’ve you been up to?”

  “Working on the house. I ran out of supplies and needed a few things.”

  They lazily strolled down the aisle as he pushed the cart past a row of lighting fixtures. There were energy efficient bulbs and neon lights. There were even a couple of black bulbs.

  “Still working on the bathroom?”

  “Yeah I’m building new cabinetry.”

  “Have you laid the tile yet?”

  “No, I have to get the cabinets in first so it’ll line up right.”

  She didn’t miss the tug of a smile at the corner of his lips when she said “laid” but she pretended she did. She shouldn’t have sought him out but the lure of the man had been impossible to resist. He was so big and dark and in the small confines of aisle two of the hardware store she could smell the musk of sweat and hard work on him, wanted to lick it off him like she’d never wanted anything in her life. She needed to go.

  “My mom said she saw you the other day at the diner.”

  “I thought that was her when I stopped by to get a latte but I wasn’t sure.” She followed him around another corner instead.

  “You remember to compliment her on my eyes?” He grinned, a flash of white teeth and charm.

  “Can’t say that I did.”

  “Pity. She’d have been awfully amused I’m sure.” His big hand slipped into hers, cupping her palm, warm and rough at the same time as he ducked through a swinging door.

  Suddenly the bright overhead lights of the store were gone, replaced by the dimness of a few stray bulbs. The room they’d entered was dark and deserted. Aisle upon aisle of cardboard boxes rose up around them. They were in some sort of back room and her skin tingled with possibilities.

  “Are we supposed to be back here?”

  “Sure. I need a part Griff didn’t have out front.”

  He tugged her after him and she went willingly despite not believing him for a minute. It would be safer if she kept talking. She just needed a topic that wasn’t the least bit sexual.

  “Your mom was having lunch with someone. It looked like a date so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  His hand fell away from hers and he frowned, “Who was she with?”

  “I think I heard her call him Frankie.”

  The string of curses that filled the back room would have made a sailor proud. She bit back a smile. She’d had a feeling he might not be keen on the idea of his mother on a date.

  “You know the guy?”

  “He works at the ranch.” He paused, his hands going to his hips, “Or at least he used to.”

  She stifled a laugh, “You can’t fire the guy for dating your mother.”

  “The hell I can’t.”

  “Has your mom dated a lot since your dad passed away?”

  “Occasionally, but she usually keeps it to herself. She doesn’t trot them out in front of the whole town and she definitely doesn’t date guys half her age.”

  “Frankie’s half her age?” She perked a curious eyebrow.

  “Try a few years older than me.”

  “Wow.” She couldn’t help but laugh that
time, “Your mom is a cougar. Way to go Mrs. West.”

  “Don’t start.”

  “I’m impressed, that’s all. I hope I have that kind of game when I’m that age. Hell, I’d like to think I had that kind of game now.” She snorted.

  “Yeah aspiring to cougardom seems like a nice goal.”

  She stuck her tongue out at his sarcasm, “Beats being a cradle robber.”

  “Sounds a lot like the same thing.” He shrugged one big shoulder and turned to sort through a box on the shelf.

  End of subject. No more talking about his mother. It was as simple as that. He was a closed book, a book with a heavy padlock and no key in sight. She should have known better but she kept pushing anyway.

  “How’d your parents meet?”

  “Same way most everyone meets around here, they went to school together.”

  “High school sweethearts?”

  “No. They never dated in high school, didn’t get together until a few years after.” He smirked, “Actually, the way I heard it my dad’s high school sweetheart was Liza Beth Montgomery.”

  She gaped, “What?”

  “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the stories.”

  “A couple, here and there… but I didn’t know if they were true. Daddy never talks about it.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Tell me the story?” She found herself grabbing his arm. “Please?”

  She’d never heard the story of how her parents got together. She’d never asked her father. Like most everything else he didn’t like to talk about her mother. She got the occasional tidbits, like how she’d loved bluebell flowers but rarely anything insightful. Everything she knew about her mother came from foggy memories and second-hand accounts from near strangers. It seemed this was going to be no different.

  “Not much to tell really.” He shrugged.

  “Zach. Please.” She didn’t let go of his arm.

  He stared down at her like he wasn’t going to answer for a long second. She held her breath. His eyes moved over her face before he sighed.

  “The way I heard it, your mom and my dad had been together all throughout high school. There was talk of combining the ranches once they were married. Everybody thought they’d end up together.”

  “What happened?”

  “Life? Love? Who knows really, Lyle Carter went to work at the Oaks and she dumped my dad. The next week she was dating yours. They never spoke again. End of story.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” She shook her head.

  “Why?”

  “Because it doesn’t make sense for her to choose my dad if you look anything like yours.” She managed a small smile.

  He chuckled, “She could have had anybody she wanted. To hear this town tell it Liza Beth Montgomery was the prettiest girl in town. She was head cheerleader, sang in the church choir and looked like an angel.”

  “Yeah. That’s sounds like mama.” Her chest tightened and she stared at her feet.

  “You’re a lot like her.” A big hand tilted her chin back up so she had to look into his handsome face again.

  “No.” She shook her head, “I’m not.”

  “You really need to learn to take a compliment baby-doll.” Zach frowned.

  “You really need to keep your promise not to lie to a girl.” She shot back.

  “Damn you’re frustrating.”

  His green eyes had gone dark around the edges and she shivered in her skin. Heat lit up her veins when he looked at her like that. No, scratch that, heat lit up her veins just being in his presence. But him, looking at her like he wanted to devour her, was too much. How they’d gone from talking about their parents to this she’d never know but she wasn’t about to question it. This was why she’d sought him out and there was no use denying it.

  “You should definitely stop talking to me then.”

  “Oh I intend to.”

  His mouth was on hers before she could even suck in a breath of air. It was a surprisingly soft kiss, lips meeting and massaging in slow eroticism His big hands wrapped around her waist, pulled her tight against his chest. His pelvis ground against her stomach, his erection pressing hard as he ground into her.

  Her hands found the hem of his shirt and slid beneath to touch the warm, hard ridges of his abdomen below. He was so masculine, so big and strong. He was just what she needed.

  “I’m probably smelly from working all day.” He grinned against her lips. “Sorry.”

  “I don’t mind.” She trailed her lips along the rough five o’clock shadow on his jaw. “Really.”

  His chuckle was low and dark near her ear, “As much as I want to fuck you in a semi-public place, anyone could walk back here and catch us. You weren’t too fond of that idea a few weeks ago.”

  She had to smile at his thoughtfulness. As much as he might want to think he was a bad guy he really wasn’t. He had issues to be sure but who didn’t? She was a little drunk on him, not falling for him drunk but wanting him and not caring about much else than the feel of his skin against hers drunk for sure.

  “Zach, I’ve had a rough couple of days and I really want to use you to forget about my problems.” She pulled back to look up at those soft green eyes, “Do you mind if I use you?”

  He lowered his forehead against hers, “Not at all.”

  “Good.” She breathed in his distinctly male scent, “Do you want me?”

  “Like crazy.”

  “Then stop talking and take me, right here, right now.”

  He kissed her then and she melted into a puddle under his skillful touch. Lust pooled low in her belly and she opened her mouth to take his tongue inside her. She wanted way more than just his tongue inside her but she’d take this for now. He was so good at this. She kissed him back, desperate to forget her problems for just a little while, desperate for a distraction, desperate for him.

  He could touch her and make her forget everything else. He filled her body, filled the lonely parts that ached deep down inside. She needed him more than common sense should have let her. She wasn’t allowed to need him.

  Wanting him was one thing, wanting his touch and his taste and his big hands on her but needing him wasn’t practical. That’s not what this was. She knew it and she didn’t care, not right now, not when he was the only thing that made her feel alive.

  He pushed her dress up and his hands slipped beneath to caress her ass at the same time his mouth rained down her neck. He nipped and sucked and teased and her head fell back on a moan as he pushed the straps of her sundress down and exposed her naked breasts. His mouth was on her, driving her crazy as he sucked her nipples and ground his erection against her stomach.

  She loved the way he touched her, loved the way he kissed her. She wasn’t stupid enough to love him but she loved the way he made her feel. Sexy, wanted, needed, he could do that to her and the power behind those feelings nearly made her come before he ever drove inside her. In a haze and rush, he unzipped his jeans and sheathed himself. She had no idea where the condom had come from and when he lifted her up in one smooth move to drive inside and fill her up she didn’t care.

  Her back against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist, she gasped his name as he pumped into her. The look of pure lust in his eyes had her panting. He held her tight, his big hands gripping her thighs, holding her steady for his rapid thrusts. He stroked all the best parts of her with every movement and it took every ounce of control she could squeeze to strangle a cry of absolute bliss.

  A big, overpowering orgasm worked its way under her skin and exploded in a ball of fire. It rained down on her, scorching her body and torching her soul. It burned her down and destroyed her and when it was over all that was left was the feeling of pleasure and the smile on her face.

  The overhead fan whirled in a lazy circle, sending fresh air down to cool the hot touch of skin against skin. Zach found himself stroking Bluebell’s bare hip, wrapping his arms around her and hauling her back against his side when she tried to
slip out of his bed. She was tangled in his sheets and his bed had never looked so good. He didn’t want her to leave just yet.

  “Aren’t you tired?” Her sweet giggle against his chest made him grin.

  “Nope.”

  “You are insatiable.”

  “Yep.” He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled into him.

  He couldn’t get enough of her even after their marathon afternoon of sex. The fact that he’d screwed her standing up in the back of Griff’s Hardware store had been crazy but it still hadn’t been enough. He’d insisted she come back to the ranch with him where he’d had her again in his newly restored shower to wash off the sweat of a long days work and their semi-public sex. After, she’d offered to make him dinner and he hadn’t been able to think of a reason she shouldn’t stay.

  Maybe he’d have been able to if she hadn’t been wearing nothing but her panties and one of his ratty old t-shirts. She made his shirts look good. She looked sexy in her dresses but he liked her better in his clothes.

  “I once cooked dinner for Stephen Jones.” She’d said while she pulled a pan from the cabinet over the top of the stove.

  “Who?”

  “Stephen Jones, Jerry Jones’ son.” She rolled her eyes at him like he was an idiot.

  He was certain he was. He couldn’t pay attention to what she was talking about when she was prancing around his kitchen in hot pink panties. If she was clothed he might have been able to pay attention to the story about how Stephen Jones had come to be in her apartment. But she wasn’t.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t know who Stephen Jones is.” She looked up at him and sighed, “COO of the Cowboys, son of Jerry. You do know of Jerry Jones right?”

  “Of course I know who Jerry Jones is.” He scratched his head and tried to pay attention to her lips instead of her ass.

  “Good. I was afraid I’d have to revoke your Texas citizenship if you didn’t.” She grinned and kept on chatting about the loser boyfriend that’d worked in the Cowboys office and was friends with the billionaire’s son.