Cowboy Command

by Olivia Jaymes

  Seth glanced up at the still clear sky. “I was hoping Kansas City, Missouri, but there’s a winter storm threatening. We may need to pull over for a day or two and wait it out.”

  “Can we get ahead of it?”

  He liked the way her mind worked. She was full speed ahead. “We might be able to if I can stay awake that long to drive.”

  “I can help you drive.”

  Seth turned on his turn signal for the exit before answering. “I’m not sure that’s such a great idea. Have you every driven anything this big before?”

  “No. Have you?” Her eyebrows were raised in question.

  “Well, no. But I’ve driven trucks hauling a horse trailer so I’m more experienced.” It sounded lame even to him.

  “How much experience do I need to keep it in the right lane? I promise I won’t even pass anyone. Let me drive.”

  She was challenging him and his mind was whirling trying to think of a good excuse for her not to drive the RV, other than he was a male chauvinist who didn’t think women were good drivers.

  “I’ve never seen you drive.”

  She rolled her eyes at him as he pulled in to the combination gas station and convenience store. “I have a driver’s license. Actually, I have three. One in Katie’s name, one in Presley’s name, and one in Missy’s name. That’s one more than you have.”

  He sighed heavily, knowing he was beat, but not wanting to give in too easily. “We’ll see. I may not get tired.”

  She smiled triumphantly. “You’ll let me drive. I can’t do any worse than some of the people on these roads. They’re crazy.”

  He was probably crazy as well but instead of saying something that was going to get him relegated to sleeping on the couch, he pulled up to the diesel pump and put the motor home in park.

  “I’m going to fill up. Stretch your legs while you can. If we’re going to get to Kansas City, we have a long drive ahead.”

  Presley headed to the convenience store, probably to use the facilities and stock up on snack food, or maybe grab a magazine. Seth went into the store to pre-pay since he was using cash and by the time he came out again, a county sheriff’s cruiser was pulled into the pump next to his.

  Seth tried not to even look its way, going straight to the side of his own RV and starting the pump. He watched the numbers whirl but kept a close eye on the cop putting gas in his own vehicle. Seth wiped at his brow, sweaty despite the frigid temperatures. He didn’t know if the Feds realized Presley wasn’t in Harper yet, but once they knew, they would be sure to put a BOLO out for them. He pulled his hat down further over his eyes and cursed the size of the gas tank. It took too fucking long to fill it.

  “That’s a beaut you got there.”

  Aw, fuck it. The deputy was talking to him now. Seth’s heart was pounding but he schooled his features and smiled. “Thank you. It belongs to my in-laws. We’re taking a little vacation.” Seth was glad he’d rehearsed questions and answers with Jared.

  The deputy laughed. “Hell of a time to be taking a vacation. Ever heard of summer?”

  Seth tried to laugh along with the lawman. “It’s tough to vacation in the summer. Besides, I like the snow.”

  The deputy looked around appreciatively at the snow piled up where the plows had been through. “Must say I do too.” He walked up to the RV and patted it with a smile. “What kind of mileage you get in this thing?”

  Seth leaned against the side of the vehicle trying to appear nonchalant when he really wanted to grab Presley and drive away as quickly as he could. “About ten miles per gallon, give or take. It’s pretty bad.” Where the hell was she anyway?

  The older man shook his head and laughed. “Hell, I remember when I was a kid my old man’s Chevy got about the same and he didn’t have a can on board.” The deputy gave him a hopeful look. “Don’t suppose you’d show me inside? I’ve never been inside one of these fancy dancy ones. You got TV in there? I saw a satellite on top.”

  Seth grew up in a small town and wasn’t surprised by the request, but he felt his stomach twist in fear. The cop seemed innocuous enough, completely unaware of who Seth was or what he was doing, but there was always that small chance he was being played. Still, he couldn’t think of one legitimate reason to say no.

  “Sure. Let me finish this and I’ll show it to you.”

  They chatted about the weather while Seth finished pumping gas, then he led the way into the interior of the RV, his heart pounding so loud he was sure the deputy could hear it. “This is the living room and kitchen. There’s a bedroom back there and a bathroom. It’s pretty comfortable. Plenty of room for just the two of us.”

  The deputy whistled as he took in the flat screen television. “Nice. Very nice. I won’t invade your privacy by looking at the bedroom but I’m sure it’s as nice as this. Maybe someday when I retire the wife and I will get something like this and travel around the country.”

  Too bad that day and moment wasn’t right now. The lawman appeared to taking his time, looking at every detail, in no hurry to leave. Seth was sweating up a storm in his heavy jacket and wasn’t sure how to move this along when Presley opened up the door.

  “Hey, I got us more sodas— Oh, I’m sorry.” Seth saw the flash of fear in her expression but to her credit, she hid it quickly. She smiled at their visitor. “Hello, I’m Missy.”

  Seth took the bag of snacks from her and set it on the counter while the deputy held out his hand with a grin. “I’m Otis McRae. Nice to meet you. Your husband was kind enough to show me around this palace on wheels. Very fancy, I’ll say. He says it belongs to your parents.”

  If she was surprised by that statement, she never let it show. “It does.” She pointed to his badge. “Are you in local law enforcement here, Mr. McRae?”

  Otis beamed with pride. “I am. Twenty-two years on the job. Hoping for twenty-two more.” He looked around the room. “I best let you two head on down the road. Drive careful now. There’s bad weather coming our way. Which way are you heading?”

  “South,” Seth answered quickly. “New Orleans. We’re visiting friends.”

  Otis’s head bobbed. “Never been but I heard it’s nice. Good luck and happy driving.” The deputy climbed out of the RV and headed for his car. Seth felt the roar of blood in his ears as he sagged against the refrigerator. Presley pressed a hand to her forehead.

  “What was going on in here?”

  Seth wiped at his brow. “The deputy pulled up and started a conversation. Then he wanted to see the inside of the RV. He said he’d never seen one this fancy. Son of a bitch.” Seth groaned as the full horror of what could have happened hit him. He could have lost Presley to the Feds and ended up separated from her, unable to keep her safe from the leak inside the agency.

  Presley wrapped her arms around him while his heartbeat returned to normal. She patted him on the butt with a smile. “Close call, but we’re fine. We need to get on the road or Tanner and Logan will be halfway to Kansas City before we even get to Denver.”

  Seth took a deep breath and nodded. Presley was right. They were fine, and as long as he kept alert they would stay fine. He couldn’t afford to relax for even a moment. Presley’s life hung in the balance.

  “Let’s get going then.” Seth straightened and headed to the driver’s seat, only to have Presley beat him to it.

  “Let me drive.” Presley gave him a beguiling smile. He shook his head and jerked his thumb toward the passenger seat.

  “No way, honey. I’m in control of this vessel today.”

  She pouted but relinquished the seat easily. She’d probably just been busting his balls for fun. “Maybe we should sing or something. Do you know Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall?”

  Seth started up the engine and pulled out in to traffic. “Never heard of it. Maybe if you sing it to me, I can pick it up.”

  He should have known not to challenge his Presley. She launched into the song at the top of her lungs. This was going to be an interesting drive for su
re. He’d never met anyone like Presley Lawson.

  A feeling of sadness came over him, sending a pain directly to his chest. When she was gone, he would never meet anyone like her again.

  * * * * *

  It was almost one in the morning when they pulled into an RV park outside of St. Louis. They’d had to drive over twelve hours to get ahead of the winter storm but they’d made it, exhausted and ready for bed. Tanner and Logan had turned around a few hours past Denver when it was clear the weather was turning bad. If they didn’t turn around then, they were going to be stuck for a few days. Presley and Seth had bid the lawmen farewell at a rest stop on US Ninety. She’d miss the comforting presence of knowing they were around but she trusted Seth to keep her safe and alive.

  He was now curled up behind her, a portable furnace, keeping her warm. Presley could feel his heartbeat against her back and his breath on her shoulder. He was idly stroking her skin.

  “Can’t sleep, honey?” He pressed a kiss to her hair.

  “I’m almost too tired to sleep. Isn’t that weird? I’ve heard of that but never experienced it myself until tonight. I’m exhausted but my mind is wired.”

  “It might be all the sodas and coffee we drank to stay awake.” Seth chuckled and she felt the vibrations on her skin. She loved his deep, husky voice, especially in the morning when he was still half-asleep, his eyes heavy-lidded until he’d had his coffee.

  She turned in his arms and pressed her head to his chest. “I was scared today.”

  His arms tightened around her. “At the gas station, when we saw the deputy?”

  She nodded her head, her cheek rubbing the sprinkling of gold hair on his chest. “If we were separated I don’t know what I’d do. I trust you. I don’t know who else I can trust.”

  Seth rubbed her back. “If they separated us, I would get back to you. Know that. I would get one of my lawmen friends to help me. I would find you, honey. I will always find you.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “You mean something to me. More than anyone has ever meant. I want to tell you that, Seth. If something happens to me, I don’t want you to think that no one loves you.” She took a deep breath, ready to plunge off a cliff. She was the queen of bad decisions and this one was probably the mother of them all. “I love you.”

  He tilted her chin up but it was too dark to see his expression. He captured her lips in a kiss that took her breath away. It was slow and sweet and told her he wasn’t unhappy she’d declared herself. He rubbed his stubbly cheek against hers.

  “I love you, too.”

  She pushed at his chest. “That’s not why I said it. I wasn’t trying to get you to say it. I just wanted you to know in case they find me and kill me.”

  Shit, saying it sounded bad. She didn’t want to die.

  “Nothing’s going to happen to you as long as I draw breath, Presley. I mean that.”

  She believed him and it scared her. She squeezed her eyes closed and a few tears escaped down her cheeks. Love shouldn’t be this painful.

  “It doesn’t change anything. Somebody’s trying to kill me and when this is over—”

  Seth pressed his fingers to her lips, his hand warm. “I know. We don’t need to talk about it or anything. We have now. Fuck, it’s more than I thought we would have. I sure as hell didn’t intend to fall in love with you and I know you sure as shit didn’t intend to fall in love with some cowboy sheriff from Harper, Montana, but here we are. I made a promise to you and I won’t break it, honey.” His voice was urgent and it made her heart hurt so badly she thought it might burst into a million tiny pieces. She now knew what they meant by heartbreak. “Let’s be grateful for what we have now. Nobody knows what the future holds, right?”

  She didn’t answer him. Talking would get them nowhere. Instead she ran her hands up his chest and down his muscular arms, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. Her mouth sought and found his and she plunged her tongue deep into the cavern of his mouth. He tasted like the mint of his toothpaste and she rubbed his tongue until he groaned, his arms wrapping around her fully and his body rolling hers under him.

  God, she loved this. She loved feeling his big, hard body on top of hers. It made her feel feminine and sheltered and she reveled in that, letting her fingers explore the dips and ridges of his body while he explored her mouth. She was fascinated with the differences in their bodies, his so strong and hers so delicate.

  Her palms glided over his wide shoulders, down through the silky, golden hair on his chest, over his hard, flat stomach, then around to his tight, muscular ass, gripping him and pulling him closer so his hard cock nestled between her legs. She breathed deeply of his scent, spicy and clean. He smelled like a man should, not sweet, but like the outdoors he was so deeply a part of. She pulled her mouth away and licked at his neck before nipping it with her teeth gently.

  She was already wet and slick for him and she rubbed against the hardness in his boxers, the friction sending frissons of arousal through her body and making her toes curl. Seth cursed and his hands slid under her T-shirt, tugging it over her head before his fingers curled around the elastic of her panties, dispensing with them deftly. She didn’t care where he had tossed them, too lost in the pleasure he was evoking with a simple touch. Her hands pushed down his boxers, needing to touch him.

  His head dipped and his mouth captured an already beading nipple in his mouth. Seth took a wrist in each hand and pressed them to the mattress so she was helpless under his erotic assault. His teeth scraped the sides of the hardening bud and she gasped at the heavy arousal building in her abdomen. Her pussy clenched with need and she arched her back, inviting his attention.

  His tongue snaked out and circled the peak, driving her crazy with need. She pressed herself closer to his hard cock and he chuckled at her predicament, knowing what she wanted but obviously determined to make her wait. He repeated the nipple torture on her other side and she struggled in his gentle but firm hold. She wasn’t going anywhere unless he released her wrists, and the thought amped up her excitement tenfold. She was desperate to come now, heated blood flying through her veins and electric sparks playing in sensitive nooks and crannies.

  “Seth!” She cried out as his mouth blazed a hot, wet trail over her quivering abdomen. He moved her wrists from beside her head to the sides of her hips then to her inner thighs, but never lost control of them. With his shoulders pushing her legs apart and her arms trapped at her knees, she was thoroughly and completely under his control. He insinuated himself further, pressing her legs even farther apart, his hot breath on her clit. The room was dark and he wouldn’t be able to see the honey dripping from her slit, but he could smell her arousal easily. It was perfuming the bedroom with sex and musk.

  She tensed, waiting for the first touch of his tongue. When it came, she shuddered with pleasure as it traced a pattern around her clit, but never directly on it. He’d restrained her too well with his body weight for her to be able to move her hips to get more of his tongue. She had to take his teasing and licking, sending her tip-toeing on the edge of orgasm but never going over. She’d asked for a dominant man and Seth delivered in every way imaginable.

  White lights danced in front of her eyes when he finally closed his mouth over her clit and sucked, releasing her wrists so she could grab onto the blankets. It sent her flying into the night, tumbling and rolling through the stars. She heard herself call his name, aware of her own breathing and heartbeat, as she came down to earth reluctantly. Her eyelids fluttered open but the room was still dark. Presley could hear Seth’s ragged breathing as he rummaged in the nightstand for protection.

  The crinkle of the wrapper and the snap of the rubber had her reaching for him, needing the contact of skin on skin. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he plunged inside her in one deep, satisfying stroke.

  “Fuck, honey, you’re so fucking tight and hot.” Seth’s voice sounded like ground glass. He hovered over her, pulling out almost all the way before pressing forw
ard until he was in to the hilt. His cock stretched the walls of her cunt and ran over her sweet spot, sending her to the precipice again almost immediately. He thrust so deeply she thought she could feel him between her ribs. She grasped his shoulders to help steady the spinning room but each stroke simply sent her higher and higher, her body tensing and coiling, waiting for release.

  She ground her pussy against his cock, her clit getting kisses from his groin. That was all it took for the climax to shatter her. She felt as if pieces of her body were fracturing into shards of light, spinning around the room, then coming back together in a completely new form. She felt changed, transformed by their lovemaking. There was no doubt of their feelings for one another. They’d been laid bare in the most elemental way possible between a woman and a man.

  Seth’s orgasm came closely after hers. He buried his face in her neck, biting gently at the sensitive skin, making her shudder and quake. His cock seemed to swell even larger inside of her and she could feel the heat of his seed, despite the barrier. She felt something primitive inside her wishing there was nothing between the two of them.

  She ran her hands down his back, now covered in sweat. Their breathing was ragged and she could feel the racing of his heart against her own. Neither one of them wanted to move, but Seth did reluctantly, pulling from her swollen flesh with a kiss to her lips.

  He was only gone a moment before he returned to drag her into his arms so her head was cradled on his chest. She heard the heavy thud of his heart under her ear but sleep still wouldn’t come and she was perversely grateful. She wanted to stay awake. She didn’t want to sleep and lose a moment of being held in his strong arms. This was truly heaven and hell and she didn’t want to miss a minute of it. Dawn would come soon enough and remind them of all the things they needed to do.

  Tonight she would simply lie in Seth’s arms.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next day, neither one of them mentioned their declarations of love. It was as if they’d made a silent bargain to agree the words had never been said, although Presley would never forget her rush of emotion when Seth told her he loved her. She doubted she would ever forget no matter how old she lived to be. It was the first time in her life she had loved and allowed herself to be loved in return, not for any other reason than it felt natural and right. Seth wasn’t her mother or father or anyone who was supposed to love her. He loved of his own free will with no obligation.