Must Love Cowboys

by Cheryl Brooks

  “You aren’t scared, are you?”

  The echo of his earlier question cleared my mind. “Not scared, exactly. Just a little out of my element.”

  A chuckle rumbled in his chest, soothing my ruffled nerves like a balm. “You aren’t the only one.”

  Frowning, I took a step back. “Seriously?”

  “Of course. Here I am, trying to figure out how, after all the horrible things that have happened in my lifetime, I could suddenly get this lucky.”

  I hadn’t thought of it that way, but sooner or later, everyone’s luck was bound to change. “The law of averages, perhaps?”

  “Maybe. Remember what you said about not looking a gift horse in the mouth? I’ve been telling myself the same thing all evening, and I still can’t believe I’m here with you.” As if to prove the reality of it all, he tightened his hold on me. “But you’re real. Sweet, warm, and adorably sexy.”

  The kiss that Nick had interrupted earlier began anew—as warm and intoxicating as hot chocolate laced with rum. From where our lips touched, a thrill began, then slid to my heart before spiraling downward to my core, igniting pangs of desire that probably wouldn’t be satisfied.

  Bad timing.

  He lifted me off my feet and into his arms. A few steps later, I was lying on the bed, amazed that I couldn’t feel the seam between the two mattresses. They must’ve padded it somehow.

  Such resourceful fellows…

  Wyatt’s lips were on mine again. Soft and seeking, loving yet undemanding. As always, his kisses obliterated any resistance. I longed to open to him and welcome him inside.

  After kissing his way across my cheek, he hesitated, his lips hovering over my ear. “Am I right in assuming those were menstrual cramps you were having this afternoon?”

  His question snapped me out of my blissful state. I may have fibbed about having cramps, but the presumed cause was real enough. “Yeah. Sorry. Blame it on Mother Nature.”

  “At least we know my lack of protection last night didn’t cause any problems.”

  A tiny giggle escaped me. “I’m not sure a pregnancy would faze anyone but me at this point. Everyone else seems to have decided you and me are a done deal.”

  “But we aren’t a done deal, are we?”

  My heart dropped at least two inches within my chest, stretching every major blood vessel like a bungee cord before snapping back into place.

  Fortunately, he kept talking, eliminating the opportunity for me to say something I might later regret.

  “You have a choice, Tina. You’ll always have a choice. I don’t ever want you to feel like you don’t.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.” Despite the speed with which everything had happened between us, he obviously wasn’t going to force the issue. “The same goes for you. The guys may have booted you out of the bunkhouse, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay here.”

  He sucked my earlobe into his mouth, sending goose bumps skittering down my neck. With a slow exhale, he let go. “I’m here because I want to be.” His voice was like the rumble of distant thunder, deep and rough. “And the way I feel right now, I always will.”

  As declarations of undying love went, it wasn’t bad. However, I wasn’t ready to make that decision yet, and I was very glad it hadn’t been made for me. He was right about the importance of choices. A pregnancy at this stage could be disastrous for both of us.

  “I want you to be here too,” I said. “No pressure.”

  Another kiss averted anything else I might’ve said, which was fine with me. The time for words had passed.

  I slid a hand down his back to delve beneath the waistband of his briefs. I’d fondled his buns while he was washing dishes with this very thing in mind. Cupping his muscular buttocks in my palm, I squeezed him, hard.

  His subsequent groan was all the encouragement I needed. I pushed his underwear down as far as I could, and he took them the rest of the way.

  Gotta love a naked cowboy.

  I was emboldened by the knowledge that this was my show tonight. He couldn’t take the initiative, so it was up to me. I liked that. Liked knowing I could make him groan and sigh. Trailing my fingertips over his buns, I gave them another squeeze before moving on to even better things.

  His cock was hard and hot in my hand, and as much juice as he was pumping out, I doubted I would need to break the seal on my brand-new bottle of lube. I was going to suck him first anyway. I hadn’t done that yet, and I was dying to give it a try.

  I stroked the length of his shaft, marveling at the velvety feel of smooth skin stretched over firm flesh. Needing more, I pushed him onto his back and made a dive for his groin.

  Despite his strangled-sounding “Oh, God,” he certainly wasn’t trying to stop me.

  Not that he could.

  I gave the tight head a lick, enjoying the salty taste of him and the slick fluid welling up from his slit. Opening wide, I slid my lips over his cockhead, taking him in as far as I could. His cock was big and warm in my mouth, and it didn’t take me long to get creative, licking up and down the shaft before going back to sip the juice from the head. Saying it wasn’t bad was a gross understatement.

  I not only liked it, I loved it.

  Any cramps I might’ve had were superseded by an ache that had its origins in passion and desire. If he had insisted on actual intercourse, I wouldn’t have objected; I would have tucked a towel under my butt and yanked him inside me in a heartbeat.

  But that was something new lovers probably didn’t do. It was too intimate, too…knowing.

  I trailed the back of my hand over his balls, delighting in the tickle of his scrotal hair against my skin. Reaching down, I cupped them in my palm, feeling their weight, wanting nothing more than to suck them until he begged for mercy. I kissed my way down his length until springy curls brushed my cheek.

  Oddly enough, Wyatt didn’t smell like a man who had been in the saddle all day. In fact, I caught a whiff of something—cologne, perhaps—on the soft skin where his torso met his thigh. A smile tugged at my lips as I leaned closer. The scent was subtle, as though he’d placed an infinitesimal drop of spicy fragrance precisely where he had known I would find it.

  Was it enticement or reward? I didn’t know and didn’t care. I fully intended to suck him until he came in my mouth whether he expected it of me or not. His enjoyment was important to me, but this was something I suspected would give me as much satisfaction as actually being nailed by my big, handsome cowboy.

  Between his drooling dick and my saliva, I had no trouble getting him wet enough to suck a nut into my mouth. Wyatt’s gasp of surprise was followed by a guttural groan of pure pleasure, a response which served as both encouragement and reward. I continued on, stroking his cock while caressing his scrotum with my tongue. After a bit, I fisted my hand around his shaft and took up a steady rhythm, rotating my palm over his slick cockhead before plummeting to the base and back again.

  Tingles washed over my skin as he slid a hand from my shoulder to the back of my head. Tangling his fingers in my hair, he lightly massaged my scalp as though attempting to return the favor by caressing the only part of me he could reach.

  Anxious to savor more of his juice, I released his testicle and turned on my side. With my head pillowed on his stomach, I aimed his delicious dick at my lips and sucked him in. His hips rose in response, driving him in deeper still. My subsequent moan must have urged him to continue, because he kept on, each thrust becoming increasingly forceful until he was actually fucking my mouth.

  Without warning, the orgasm I never expected to have began coiling up inside me like a cobra threatening to strike. I only hoped I could hang on long enough for Wyatt to reach his own climax because that was one event I did not want to miss. He had to be close; his cock was unbelievably hard, the flange catching my lips on the outstroke. As his pace slowed, I slackened my hold on h
im, letting it happen, letting him come.

  Seconds later, his back arched and an inarticulate sound issued from his throat as his cock pulsed against my tongue, filling my mouth with his cream. I had barely begun to swallow when my own orgasm detonated, making my previous episode of “cramps” seem like a mere hiccup in comparison.

  Apparently, there were orgasms and then there were orgasms.

  Wyatt’s cock slipped from my mouth, and from where I lay sprawled on top of him, I caught the next spurt of semen across my neck. My mind went blank as wave after wave of gut-clenching ecstasy passed through me, rendering me oblivious to my surroundings, save for the erratic rise and fall of his chest.

  Slowly, the spasms began to subside, and I rolled onto my back, my uppermost arm flopping bonelessly onto the sheet. “Holy cow, that was good.”

  He let out a breathless laugh and patted the top of my head, ruffling my hair. “Glad you liked it. For a second there, I thought you were gettin’ kinda grossed out.”

  “No way,” I insisted. “That was absolutely fabulous.”

  In the past, I had always found that “Have a happy period” marketing strategy for feminine products to be rather annoying. Now I was beginning to suspect whoever came up with that little gem of having been fortunate enough to have a guy like Wyatt around to help her through it.

  Nah. Prob’ly not.

  Either way, I doubted I would ever refer to my monthly visit from Aunt Flo as “The Curse” again.

  Chapter 21

  I awoke the next morning with a man in my bed.

  So many new things were happening to me, things most women my age took for granted. Every one of my high school chums had married. One had even tied the knot before graduation. I’m sure there were plenty of guys in my college classes who hadn’t found the right woman, but they were geeks like me. Shy. Introverted. Nervous around the opposite sex.

  Would I still be nervous around men with whom I wasn’t sharing a bunkhouse? Maybe. That was one test I had yet to face, although I certainly would when I went back home.

  Or would I? I had no job to return to. No apartment. No reason not to stay and cook for this gang of cowboys for the rest of my life. But did I really want that? Was it even possible? Calvin would undoubtedly be ticked if I stole his job, and now that he was out of the hospital, Angela might not want to keep me on the payroll.

  Yet another decision that will probably be made for me.

  Truth be told, I was getting a little tired of being on the receiving end of those kinds of decisions. Wyatt had told me I had a choice. I liked that idea. I could kick him out of my bed and send him back to the bunkhouse if I wished. I didn’t want to, but knowing I could made a huge difference.

  Rolling over, I sat up. Ophelia looked up at me from her post on the doormat, her tail wagging in greeting.

  “Good morning to you too,” I said. “Need to go out?”

  Wyatt spoke up from his side of the bed. “Probably not. I let her out a little while ago.”

  Yet another first. No one had ever done that for me. At least, not within recent memory.

  “Thanks.” I was about to ask if he’d had trouble sleeping when I recalled that he had always been the one to answer my cries for help during the night. “You must be a really light sleeper.”

  “Yeah. Unlike you.”

  I turned toward him to protest, but one glimpse of his tousled hair, sleepy eyes, and boyish grin nearly detonated another orgasm. “Not my fault I was dead to the world.” My comeback wasn’t as snappy as I would’ve liked, but given the circumstances, I didn’t think it was too shabby.

  Chuckling, he ran a finger down my arm. “I slept better than usual myself.”

  “No nightmares?”

  “Not a one,” he declared. “Just sweet dreams about this beautiful blond who gets off on sucking my dick.”

  “Hmm…well, don’t let it go to your head.”

  “I might if I’m the only one to have that effect.” His gaze intensified, seeming to delve past my eyes to discover my thoughts. “Am I?”

  This from a man who could make me climax simply by walking into the room.

  “So far,” I replied. “Actually, that was a first—and not just the orgasm.”

  “Meaning?”

  Dean had already figured out the truth. It was only a matter of time before Wyatt reached that same conclusion.

  “You were my first.”

  His mouth formed a soundless O, and for a long moment, all he did was blink. “I don’t get it. You’re beautiful and sweet and sexy as hell. Why—”

  “I’m a computer geek, Wyatt. I thought I’d made that clear.”

  “What? You mean geeks never have sex?”

  “The shy ones don’t.”

  “You must’ve hung out with some real idiots,” he said with a slow wag of his head. “I can’t imagine any man not falling for you.”

  “It’s sweet of you to say that, but Dean was the closest thing I’ve ever had to a boyfriend, and we didn’t get that far.”

  As a long silence stretched between us, his satyr-like frown returned. “I’m not sorry I’m your first, but I hurt you. Didn’t I?”

  “Maybe a little,” I admitted.

  “You should have said something. I wouldn’t have—”

  “Been quite so rough?” I touched his cheek. “Wyatt, sweetheart, you didn’t do anything I didn’t want you to do. I’ve been waiting all my life for that moment, and my wildest dreams were nowhere near as fabulous as the reality.”

  He drew in a breath. “I’m glad you feel that way. You aren’t the only one whose wildest dreams were put to shame. In many ways, that was a first for me too.”

  My jaw dropped. I couldn’t imagine a man like Wyatt not being sought after by every single woman within a hundred-mile radius, perhaps even the subject of a determined chase. He was the kind of man most women dreamed about. Strong, dependable, and astonishingly sexy. Completely nonplussed, I just sat there for a few seconds. Then I decided I had to know.

  “Okay. Spill it. If that’s true, I’m guessing you’ve never been married, but you have to at least have had a girlfriend.”

  He shrugged. “I’m not saying I’ve never had sex. I dated a few girls in high school—even made the mistake of sleeping with one of them. I had a nightmare that freaked her out like you wouldn’t believe. I never tried it again. Until now. It was…different with you—like it really meant something instead of just going through the motions.” His expression grew wistful as he added, “And you’re right. I’ve never been married. Not even close. After a while, you stop looking.”

  We had more in common than I ever would have guessed. “I can relate to that. I might’ve ogled a few hunky firefighters, but I never expected them to return the favor. Shy girls like me tend to be invisible.”

  “You’re not invisible, Tina,” he said. “Not to me or any cowboy on this ranch. We’re all crazy about you; it’s hard to believe we’ve only known you for a week.”

  Actually, I’d been there less than a week, but I saw no need to split hairs. I smiled, shaking my head. “I never would’ve thought we would get along so well. You guys made me nervous as all get-out in the beginning.” Anticipating his next question, I added, “And no, there aren’t any past traumas to explain my shyness. I just didn’t inherit the flirting gene.”

  “Does that mean your mom’s a flirt?” His teasing smile took any sting out of his question. “Or was it your father?”

  “No—well…they might’ve been when they were younger. I really don’t know for sure. Neither of them is anywhere near as shy as I am. I mean, they found each other and had kids and everything. ” I debated whether to add more to that, opting against it before ultimately deciding it was something I needed to get off my chest. “I never thought that sort of life was even possible for me. But being here with you,
I feel almost…normal.”

  “Same here,” he said. “Normal. Boringly, predictably normal.”

  I shot him a grin. “Doncha just love it?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he said with a sage nod. “Being different is highly overrated.”

  As both of us burst out laughing, I suddenly realized how happy I was. Deliriously so, like the heroine of a romantic movie, dancing the night away with the man who brought out the joy in her. I’d always been in the background, far too quiet and shy to join in the fun. Now I was giggling my head off while a handsome and completely naked cowboy pulled me back down on the bed and ruthlessly kissed me.

  The banging on my bedroom door was a minor event, and even Nick’s shouted, “I’m starving! Will somebody please fix me some breakfast?” didn’t bother me.

  I did, however, respond. “Keep your shirt on, Nick. I’m coming.”

  The sexual connotation of what I’d just said struck Wyatt and me at the same time, resulting in another spurt of laughter. Still giggling, I sat up and put on my slippers, then reached for my robe.

  I could get used to being normal. Especially if it meant getting a rear view of Wyatt every morning as he headed toward the bathroom. The soft morning light accentuated the curves and planes of his body, the broad perfection of his back, which tapered to narrow hips, muscular thighs, and buns to die for.

  Oh, wow…

  I glanced down at my flannel pj’s. Wyatt might appreciate it if I returned the favor now and then. Unfortunately, I’d never been comfortable wandering about in the altogether, and I hadn’t made a habit of it even when I lived alone. Given the minimal privacy of the bunkhouse, I probably shouldn’t start.

  It would be different if Wyatt and I had a place of our own—

  Whoa, Tina. Don’t go there yet.

  Without the benefit of a fairy godmother, our happily ever after was still a long way off. We barely knew one another. Could a lasting love be forged in such a short time? I doubted it, although the possibility certainly provided food for thought. If we ever decided to make a life together, would it be on the Circle Bar K? Living in the bunkhouse was fine now, but raising kids in that environment would pose quite a challenge.