COWBOY TAKES A WIFE, THE

by Milburn, Trish

  Devon rolled to face him, allowing the sheet to drift lower to show him a tantalizing swell of breast. His mouth watered to taste it again. Smiling, he took a lock of her hair between his fingers and brought it to her nose. Her forehead wrinkled and she rubbed at the tickling.

  Unable to help himself, he laughed. The sound woke her, and at first she looked at him with sleep-heavy eyes. It made her all the more sexy, and he grew hard with wanting her again.

  “Were you tickling my nose?” she asked, sounding drowsy.

  “What will you do if I say yes?”

  She sprang on him so fast, he yelped.

  “See if you’re ticklish.” Suddenly, her questing fingers seemed to be everywhere, trying to find his ticklish spot.

  Well, he had one, but he would make her work harder than this to find it. Cole rolled her onto her back, pinning her hands above her head on the pillow. He chuckled at her look of frustration.

  “Not fair,” she said.

  “Neither is how beautiful you are when you wake up.”

  “Oh, now you’re just lying. I’m sure I have crazy bed hair and probably pillow creases on my cheeks.”

  He dropped a soft kiss on her lips. “You need to learn to take compliments better.”

  She didn’t say anything in response, simply looked up at him with a spark of desire flickering in her eyes. “Make love to me again,” she whispered.

  It was so out of character for her, so tender, so honest that it caused a pang in his chest. But he gave her what she wanted, what they both wanted. It was slow, fulfilling but also...sweet. He wondered if this had been a good idea when he had the thought that he was going to have to guard against really falling for her. Against opening himself up the way he’d sworn he never would again the moment he’d signed the second set of divorce papers.

  After they both reached completion, he pulled her close. He told himself not to think about how good it felt to have her there in the crook of his arm, how he could get used to it. He’d learned from his mistakes. This time, he was taking it one day at a time and not thinking about what the next might or might not bring.

  “This is nice,” Devon said, her warm breath drifting across his chest.

  “Yeah, way better than wearing that suit.”

  She leaned back and looked up at him. “You looked very handsome in that suit.” A saucy-looking grin spread her lips. “Though I have to say I also prefer you out of it.”

  “That right?”

  “Yep.”

  “I feel the same way about your dress.”

  They kissed some more, then fell into a comfortable, drowsy silence. Though he hated to move away from her soft warmth, he knew he had to.

  “I need to go.”

  “Really?” She seemed to catch herself then pulled away from him. “Oh, right. Your mom.”

  Something about her reaction tugged on his heart, making him want to pull her close again and not let her go until the sun rose. But she was right. Even though they might really be dating now, he didn’t want his mom getting ideas about a wedding and grandbabies. And he might be a grown man, but he still didn’t feel right spending the night at a woman’s house while he lived under his mother’s roof.

  Even so, as he slipped from the bed and dressed, aware that Devon was doing the same, a strange sense of wrongness settled on him. Had he made a mistake taking things further with her, knowing that she wanted to get married someday?

  Well, she still could. Most likely their relationship would run its course with one or both of them initiating the gradual separation. But unlike most of the other women he’d shared a bed with, he found himself hoping they could remain friends.

  Devon slipped from the room as he was tying his shoes. When he stepped into her living room, he spotted her feeding her cat in the kitchen. He leaned on the doorway between the two rooms.

  “Is she still ticked off?”

  Devon looked up at him and gave him a small smile. It was such a simple, quick expression, but damn if he didn’t grow warm inside.

  “She’s got fresh food and water now. She’ll get over it.” She scratched the cat’s head between the ears. “She knows how good she’s got it.”

  Devon didn’t touch him as she accompanied him to the front door. “I had a nice time tonight.”

  He paused just inside the door and turned her to face him. “Me, too.” He ran the backs of his fingers down her silky cheek. “We should do it again sometime.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “What do you say to going on a trail ride tomorrow?”

  “I have to work.”

  “Call in sick.”

  “Um, I own the place.”

  “Then you can have Mandy work so you can spend the day with a devilishly handsome man.”

  She smiled, and damn if the light in her eyes didn’t make his heart flutter. “Know where I can find one?”

  He captured her in his arms and pressed her body close to his. “You’re a funny one.”

  Still hungry for her, he lowered his mouth and savored the feel of hers. He deepened the kiss when she melted into him. Though it nearly killed him, he pulled away and took a single step back.

  “See you tomorrow, beautiful.”

  With a final quick kiss, he stepped out through the door. All the way home, he fought the powerful urge to turn around and find his way back into Devon’s bed, into her arms.

  * * *

  DEVON SAT IN her car outside the rear door of A Good Yarn. Though she’d gone over it at least a thousand times in her head, she had no idea what she was going to tell Mandy about what had happened the previous night. Because there was no way Mandy wasn’t going to ask. Devon just didn’t know whether she should be entirely truthful, especially since she knew that what was between her and Cole would be over sooner or later. It could be over already, as far as she knew, especially after she’d texted him earlier to ask for a rain check on the trail ride. She’d told him she needed to work on some things for the opening of the Arts and Crafts Trail but that she’d call him later to reschedule.

  She’d wondered if he’d take it the wrong way, that she was no longer interested in being with him. The reality was that she needed time to find her equilibrium after the previous night. Being in Cole’s arms had been... Ecstasy was the only word that truly captured how she’d felt.

  When it had taken him several minutes to respond, she’d begun to wonder if perhaps he’d satisfied his desire and was already pulling away. He’d texted back eventually, saying he’d been in the shower. The image of water running over that magnificent body of his had caused her core temperature to rise several degrees. He’d teased that he supposed he could find something to do to take his mind off where he’d rather be.

  For a moment, the way he’d responded had given her hope for something more. But as she had before agreeing to take the next step with him, she reminded herself it was only temporary. There would come a day when they wouldn’t see each other, wouldn’t text, at least not as anything more than friends. She certainly hoped their friendship wasn’t a casualty of them making things physical.

  Well, she’d deal with that when the time came. She’d known going in what she was getting herself into.

  She grabbed her purse and made her way inside. As expected, Mandy nearly accosted her when she stepped into the store.

  “How did it go? Did he trip over his own feet at how beautiful you were?”

  “What, a girl can’t even have her morning coffee before she’s attacked?”

  “I know you had coffee before you left your house this morning,” Mandy said. “You would have driven off the road otherwise.”

  The downside of working with your best friend—she knew everything about you, including your caffeine schedule.

  “It was nice,
” Devon said as she made her way past Mandy toward the front of the store.

  “Oh, no. You’re not getting by with a throwaway response like that.”

  Devon stopped at the end of the checkout counter and braced her hands against it. And then she spilled the beans. Every...last...bean.

  Mandy squealed in response, a sound so high-pitched Devon was glad the store wasn’t open yet and that might have perked up the ears of all the dogs in town.

  “How was it?”

  Devon gave her friend a deliberately confused look. “It?”

  “You know exactly what I mean.”

  Devon couldn’t stop grinning. “It was fantastic. Better than any daydream I’ve ever had.”

  Mandy, so excited she appeared to be vibrating, pulled Devon in for a tight hug. “I’m so excited for you.”

  And that’s when reality came crashing down. Devon stepped away from Mandy and took a fortifying breath.

  “It doesn’t change the fact that Cole doesn’t want a serious relationship. We’re keeping it casual, and when it’s over, it’s over.”

  Mandy just stared at her as if she’d told her the earth was actually shaped like a triangle and humanity was descended from cats. “You agreed to that?”

  Devon hesitated a moment before nodding. “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to be with him, even if it’s not for long. I had this feeling deep in the pit of my stomach that I’d regret it.”

  “But you won’t when he walks away and you’re still in love with him?”

  Devon wanted to deny she was in love with Cole, but she couldn’t.

  “I know that will hurt, a lot, but...I want this. I need it.”

  “Maybe now that you’re together for real, he’ll change his mind. Work to make him see how good he’d have it with you. You’re not the same as the women he’s been with before.”

  Devon took Mandy’s hands in hers and gently squeezed. “I won’t pressure him into something he doesn’t want. I need you to trust me on this, and to let it be.”

  Mandy looked like she had lots more to say, but she held herself in check.

  “Thank you,” Devon said.

  “I don’t like it, and I hate the idea of you opening yourself up to heartbreak like this, but it’s your life. I guess you’ve had enough of people trying to tell you how to live it.”

  As Mandy moved toward the back of the store to unpack a new shipment of shopping bags with the A Good Yarn logo on them, Devon turned and watched the comings and goings along Main Street. She needed a few minutes to once again bury the worry about how she would get through eventually losing Cole. She’d told Mandy that she wanted to enjoy every moment with Cole to the fullest, and that’s exactly what she intended to do.

  * * *

  WHEN DEVON LEFT the store at the end of the day, Cole was leaning against her car. She startled at the sight of him somewhere she hadn’t expected. And then her heart soared that he still wanted to see her enough to be there. Throughout the day, she’d mentally coached herself about how to handle every scenario she could think of, including never being near Cole again. She was glad she didn’t have to put that particular plan into action.

  “You lurk behind stores often?”

  Cole smiled and pushed away from the car, then walked lazily toward where she stood.

  “Only yours.”

  When he reached her, he pulled her into his arms then backed her against the wall of the building. His mouth came down on hers, hungry, insistent. The same desire she’d ridden the night before came back just as strong, if not stronger, and she kissed him with everything she had.

  “Get a room!”

  Devon jerked away from Cole so quickly, she banged her head on the building.

  “You okay?” he asked as his hand came up to the side of her head, ready to check for injury.

  “Yeah.”

  The sound of laughter drew her attention down the line of stores. India waved at them as she headed for her own vehicle. Devon’s cheeks flamed.

  “You know, that’s not a half-bad idea,” Cole said next to her ear, causing her blush to go critical.

  How quickly they’d gone from pretending to heated kisses and desire that burned like wildfire on a parched prairie.

  “Open the door,” he whispered.

  She had to be crazy, but she did exactly as he said. Once they were inside the storeroom and he’d turned the lock behind him, he captured her mouth again and she moaned at the delicious tingling sensation dancing across her skin. Everything happened so fast. One moment they were kissing, and what seemed like the next she was half-naked, sitting astride him while he sat in her cushy chair where she sometimes knitted or worked on the store’s books.

  When Cole slipped inside her and she began to rock against him, it was as if she was having an out-of-body experience. She’d never known this person lived within her, the wanton who was enjoying the spontaneous, naughty bit of lovemaking. Though she knew Mandy had gone to visit her mom, the small possibility she might walk in and find them was both frightening and thrilling at once.

  Good grief, who was she becoming? Or had she been this person all along and never had the opportunity to discover it?

  When she finally reached her climax, she cried out. Cole peaked right along with her, and afterward she fell forward into his arms.

  “I can’t believe we just did that,” she said against his neck. “I will die of mortification if someone heard.”

  Even though she couldn’t see his face, she had the distinct impression he was smiling. What they’d just shared was one of those guy badge-of-honor things, she supposed.

  “That was way better than a trail ride,” he said, a rumble of a self-satisfied chuckle in his chest.

  She swatted him. “You are a bad influence.”

  “Nah. You like it.”

  She couldn’t argue with that because he was right.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cole opened the box and pulled out one of the business cards. He shook his head at the image of his nowcompleted horse sculpture, his name in bold print and his contact information. Never in all the years he’d lived had he imagined he’d be the type of guy with a business card. Not much call for them when you were riding bulls for a living. But if you wanted to get the word out and drum up buyers for your artwork? Yeah, you needed business cards and a website, both of which Devon had helped him create over the past week.

  Somehow she’d found time between her own work and his penchant for pulling her into kisses so hot he’d swear he was going to have scorch marks from his lips to his boots.

  The past week had been nothing short of awesome. For the first time since he’d returned home after retiring, he truly felt alive again. He had his art, life on the ranch he loved, and looked forward to seeing Devon every day. It didn’t matter if they were helping each other prepare for the upcoming weekend’s big launch of the Arts and Crafts Trail, eating pizza while sitting by the lake or enjoying each other in bed, she made him smile and forget this wasn’t the life path he’d chosen in the first place.

  “I like seeing that smile on your face.”

  He looked up from where he stood on the front porch holding the box of cards to find his mom sitting on the porch swing. He hadn’t even noticed her when he’d pulled up. As it tended to be lately, his head was too filled with Devon Newberry.

  “Got my new business cards. Looks like I’m all legit.” He strode to the swing and handed her a card.

  “Very nice. Though that doesn’t surprise me.” She gave it back to him. “That girl cares a great deal about you.”

  “We have fun.” He had to give his mom something, but not too much. Despite the fact that he and Devon were really dating now, he didn’t want his mom thinking that it would lead to something more. They would bo
th eventually move on.

  At least that was the plan. Over the past few days, he hadn’t wanted to think about that eventuality. But then, no one said it had to be anytime soon. As long they both were having a good time, he didn’t see any reason to cut things off.

  “I think it’s more than that, and you’re just too afraid to admit it.”

  His mom’s words had a bit too much ring of truth in them, so much so that it made him antsy and wonder if the whole situation was a mistake.

  But how could something that felt so damn good be a mistake?

  Not wanting to seem defensive, he simply ignored her comment. “Heard from Cooper this morning. Said he tweaked his knee last night but he’s going to power through tonight. He’s darn close to making the cutoff for the Finals.”

  The sigh coming from his mother likely served a dual purpose—worry that her second son was riding hurt just as his older brother had and the fact that the older brother was totally ignoring her efforts to make him believe he was...what? Falling in love with Devon? He was pretty sure he’d used up his lifetime’s allotment of believing that.

  “Don’t you hurt that girl,” his mom said, her voice more stern than before.

  “Mom, Devon knows this is a casual thing.”

  “Does she?”

  “Yes.” At least she said she did when she’d agreed to dating for real. He had to take her at her word. And if it proved otherwise, well, he’d figure out how to deal with that when and if the time came.

  Wanting to abandon this topic altogether, he went to drop the cards and the rest of the mail on the table just inside the door and then headed for the barn. Just in case the Arts and Crafts Trail turned out to be successful and those driving it didn’t skip him altogether, he had some tidying up to do.