A Knight In Cowboy Boots

by Quint, Suzie

“Too small? You’re kidding me! Can’t you … ? Anyway?” Maddie’s face reflected his own frustration.

  “In spite of the bill of goods you women try to sell us men, size does matter. If the condom don’t fit, it’ll come off as soon as … things get interesting.”

  Maddie’s eyes dropped. She seemed to feel the disappointment as keenly as he did. He caressed her once from shoulder to hip, his gaze followed his hand’s path, as he gathered his willpower once again to leave her there, a naked, sexy princess waiting for her studly prince. And all he needed was a proper-sized condom to make all her dreams come true.

  She lifted his eyes to meet his. The look there rocked him back. He stood and walked away from the bed.

  “What are you most afraid of—an STD or pregnancy?”

  Her question spun him around. His mind refused to examine why she’d asked it, but his heart started to pound.

  “Do I need to worry about an STD?” he asked.

  “No. Do I?”

  “Not with me.” Zach pulled air deep into his lungs. “That only leaves the worry about knocking you up.”

  The world seemed to be holding its breath as their gazes met and held.

  “I think the risk is … ” Maddie licked her lips nervously, “pretty minimal.”

  It felt like the blood paused in Zach’s veins, then with a rush, it surged through his body, heading for southern climates. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken this kind of gamble. Whenever it had been, he was certainly older now and more responsible.

  But he wanted her as bad as he’d ever wanted a woman in his life, and God help him, the thought of having her with no barriers, to really feel her …

  Zach found himself standing at the foot of the bed. “Are you sure?”

  “Are you going to put me out of my misery or not?” The words were brazen, but the look on her face was unsure. As if she wasn’t sure he’d want to.

  Yeah. Like that was a problem.

  His hands shook so much that getting out of his clothes gave Maddie plenty of time to change her mind. He half expected that but when his eyes found hers again, he knew she wouldn’t.

  Maddie laid back, retreating in front of him, as he again crawled onto the bed, her legs spreading as he covered her body with his.

  The time for foreplay was past. She breathed shallowly through parted lips as he slowly cleaved her warm flesh. She was warm and wet in a way that never penetrated a condom, and he had no intention of rushing through this unexpected gift. Zach braced his forearms on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. Neither of them flinched away from the intimacy of his languorous thrusts or the probing gaze they shared. Zach felt as though his soul was as naked to her as his body.

  The world narrowed to the two of them and time disappeared, leaving no before or after, no sooner or later, as he rocked his hips, plunging again and again into her satiny depths, savoring the feel of her soft flesh giving way to his hard lust. He was so lost in her, he didn’t notice when their tempo began to increase; infinitesimally at first, gradually quickening.

  Their movements grew urgent. Zach wanted to push that back, to hold onto where they’d been just seconds before, but his need had moved on, and retreat was out of the question. Maddie kept pace with him, feeding his hunger with hers. Their rhythms matched so well it was impossible to tell which of them was setting the pace.

  Maddie’s back arched, her neck extending as her head tipped back. Her breasts brushed against his chest. He watched her eyelids slip close until just a sliver of her iris showed, and she caught her breath. The sight of her unguarded face on the edge of orgasm compelled him to restrain himself.

  Her nails dug into his back seconds after she started making little whimpering noises. Zach felt his control slipping, shredding, breaking at last. He slammed into her, flesh to flesh, pumping his seed into her dark, warm depths.

  *

  Zach would have loved to spend the afternoon in bed with Maddie, but Jesse had other ideas. They’d undoubtedly been lucky as it was.

  Maddie seemed in no hurry to have him leave. Zach wondered if she knew what kind of plans he had for Jesse’s afternoon nap. He didn’t see how she couldn’t. Every time she came within reach, he touched her, and as often as possible, in unchaste places. She started calling him a sex fiend after the first half dozen times. He couldn’t seem to help himself, but he didn’t try very hard since she smiled when she said it.

  He could, of course, have gone out for condoms before Jesse’s nap, but he figured whatever damage they might have done was already done, so he saw no reason not make the most of this rare opportunity.

  When the time came, he watched from the bed as Maddie put Jesse down and place the screen strategically between the bed and the crib. Zach understood at least part of the reason she drew him so strongly. Growing up in the Bible belt had had an impact on him. When he bedded a woman who secretly thought sex was dirty or sinful or wicked, his own residual guilt surfaced. In spite of Maddie’s recent attempt to distance herself, he didn’t sense anything but a healthy sexuality from her.

  For the second time that day, their clothes ended up on the floor. Maddie straddled him as she pushed him down onto the bed.

  “You sure you wanna do this?” Zach asked. “I’ll get a lot of depth with you on top.”

  She leaned over to kiss him. “You haven’t hurt me yet.”

  Zach groaned with pleasure as she lowered herself onto him. She rocked up and back a few times, seating him deep inside her.

  “Ride ‘em, cowgirl,” Zach muttered.

  Maddie grinned in response. “Yee-haw.”

  The words were barely out of her mouth when the front door opened. A freckle-faced girl with strawberry blonde hair was several steps into the room before she saw them. “Holy shit!”

  Pandemonium engulfed the bed. Maddie dove into Zach’s chest, her startled scream shrill in his ear, as he grabbed a fistful of the bedspread to drag over the two of them.

  Maddie gathered up the other side of the spread as she slid off Zach. Bunching it up in front of her breasts, she struggled to cover all the vital areas before she said, “Peggy! What are you doing here?”

  When Maddie called her name, Peggy blushed redder than her hair and spun on her heel. Speaking over her shoulder, she said, “I thought you wanted me to sit for you. Didn’t you say you were covering the last half of Pete’s shift tonight?”

  “Oh, crap. I forgot.” Maddie started to scramble off the bed but bounced back when the spread Zach was laying on refused to stretch that far. “Shit, I’m going to be late.” Caught with no good choices, she glanced at Peggy’s back before dropping the spread and scurrying to the wardrobe. The open door blocked Peggy from seeing anything above Maddie’s knees, but there was nothing wrong with the view from the bed. Zach rolled onto his side, the bedspread strategically draped over his hips, and propped his cheek on his palm to watch.

  He’d known since puberty that he was an ass-and-legs man. As she hopped up and down, trying to get a leg into a pair of black slacks, Maddie only demonstrated she had the qualities he found most appealing.

  Across the room, Peggy started babbling about how someone had been going out the front door as she was coming in and how sorry she was for not ringing the bell to warn Maddie she was on her way up, and how sorry she was to have just walked in, but she knew it was Jesse’s nap time, and she hadn’t wanted to disturb him, and how she’d never had any reason to expect that Maddie might be getting lucky …

  Maddie appeared to hear none of it as she pulled a raspberry and pink print shirt from the armoire then turned, looking around wildly for a second before her eyes found what she sought near the bed. She shot Zach a pleading look. He scooted over to the edge and stretched until he could hook his fingers around a strap of the bra she’d so hastily discarded earlier.

  She mouthed a “Thanks” when he tossed it to her.

  Zach continued to watch as she put it on then leaned over to adjust her breasts i
nto the cups. It wasn’t anywhere near what he’d been hoping the afternoon would bring, but it wasn’t a bad consolation prize. Aside from how quickly she dressed—something he would have bet no woman he’d ever known could do—he liked that she was too distracted to realize the show she was giving him.

  “You can turn around now,” Maddie tossed at Peggy as she closed the wardrobe. She skirted the bed, scooping up Zach’s jeans as she passed and throwing them at him. Maddie picked up the brush on top of the dresser, flung her hair forward as she bent, and began attacking her mane. Zach sighed with contentment.

  Jesse started fussing in his crib as the commotion finally woke him.

  “I’ve got him,” Peggy said. She hauled Jesse out of the crib and held him against her chest. “Is he the roses guy?” Peggy whispered loudly, as though Zach couldn’t hear her. From the grin on her face, he suspected he met with her approval.

  Maddie tossed her hair back as she straightened, revealing a pinker-than-usual complexion. “Uh—yeah. Peggy, this is Zach.” She pointed the hairbrush from him to the grinning girl. “Zach, Peggy. She’s a neighbor. And Jesse’s sitter.”

  “I’m guessing there’s going to be more roses in your future,” Peggy predicted with a grin, the memory of her own embarrassment obviously already fading into the distant past.

  Zach silently blessed her for the inspiration. Flowers never came to mind unless he needed to apologize, but if anyone deserved them just because, it was Maddie. Especially after the day they’d just had.

  “I’ve got to put on makeup,” Maddie mumbled, heading for the bathroom with Peggy on her heels.

  Zach took the opportunity to pull on his jeans. Down on his hands and knees, he searched under the bed for his socks.

  “What a hunk!” he heard from the bathroom, followed by Maddie shushing the girl. Zach grinned to himself as he put on his shirt.

  Socks in hand, he sat down on the bed. His boots came next.

  “You ready, Zach?”

  He chalked up another point for Maddie. A new land speed record for applying makeup.

  “Yeah. Here’s your bag.”

  “Are you going to button your shirt? You look like you’ve been mugged.”

  He let Maddie see a lustful twinkle in his eyes. “Oh, I have been. There ain’t no buttons left to button.”

  “Ooh, Maddie!” Peggy said. “You go, girl.”

  For the first time since Peggy walked into the room, Maddie stopped short. “You can’t walk into the hotel like that.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got another shirt in my room.”

  “But you can’t walk into the hotel like that,” she persisted.

  Zach wasn’t sure where her distress was coming from unless it had to do with Rachel figuring out what they’d spent the day doing. He opened his mouth to reassure her again but stopped when she walked slowly across to the wardrobe and pulled out the last hanger. It held a faded blue work shirt like the ones he wore on the ranch.

  She held the shirt against herself, and he would have sworn she breathed in the scent of it for a moment before she turned and offered it to him.

  “Here. You can wear this.”

  “You sure?” Zach asked, his hand closing around the hanger. He didn’t know why he asked, except it seemed as though she didn’t really want to part with the shirt. He was even more sure when she held onto the hanger as she considered the question. Not understanding the undercurrents of her emotions, he waited until she pulled her hand back.

  “Yes. Leave your shirt. I’ll find the buttons.”

  While she dug in her purse for her car keys, Zach sniffed the shirt. It smelled of sweat but only faintly, as though time rather than washing had faded the scent, but it fit well enough when he shrugged into it.

  Twenty minutes and one hair-raising car ride later, they entered the hotel lobby. Zach intended to find his sister as soon as he walked Maddie to the bar, but Rachel was already there, having a drink with Claudia. He had thought the heat of his anger was past, but it flared at the sight of her. That was the only excuse he could think of for catching Maddie’s hand as she started to walk away from him.

  She looked expectantly at him, obviously thinking he’d say something. Instead, he pulled her around to face him and caught her face between his hands. With his legs braced wide, he gave her a hard, possessive kiss. Maddie’s eyes were wide and a little glazed when he broke away. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Go to work.”

  Zach wanted to add that he’d be there when she was done, but in spite of the day they’d had, he wasn’t certain she’d changed her mind about seeing him.

  She caught his sleeve. “Zach, let it go.”

  He looked down at her, but he couldn’t read her thoughts in her face. “I can’t.”

  “It’s not that big a deal.”

  “It is to me.”

  Her hand fell from his sleeve. She stepped behind the bar to relieve Pete, but he could feel her eyes on him as he turned toward Rachel and Claudia’s table.

  Rachel’s head was turned toward Claudia, but the space between Zach and his sister had the charged feeling that usually preceded a thunder storm.

  “Evening, Claudia.”

  “Zach,” she acknowledged him cautiously.

  Shifting his gaze to his sister, he let a measure of his anger show in his eyes. “We need to talk.”

  “I’ll go.” Claudia sounded relieved to be excluded.

  “No,” Zach said as she started to rise. “You stay. Rachel and I are going to her office.”

  He was gratified to see Claudia flash a sympathetic look at his sister before he turned to lead the way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maddie refused to meet Pete’s eyes as she stepped behind the bar. What was Zach thinking, kissing her like that in front of everyone? Then she saw him at his sister’s table, his normal casual stance replaced by one that could only be called looming. For a moment, she was angry. Of course. It hadn’t been about her at all. He’d kissed her like that to send his sister a message. Then she realized the kiss was only the method of delivering the message that she was under his protection. Maybe she should be angry, Maddie thought, but somehow she no longer was. There was enough peril in her life that no one else could protect her from. If Zach wanted to fight his dragonlady sister on her behalf, Maddie decided to let him. Any doubt she had about the ability of the gentle man she knew was quenched when she saw the uncompromising look on his face as he led his Rachel from the bar.

  “Looks like you’ve found yourself a knight,” Pete said. He’d delayed his departure to watch the opening volley between Zach and Rachel.

  “I hope I don’t cause a rift between them,” Maddie said.

  “Don’t you worry too much about that. You might be the match that’s set off the gunpowder, but Zach’s been chaffing under Rachel’s domineering ways since I’ve known him.”

  Maddie felt a little reassured at Pete’s words. She expected Zach to reappear after his confrontation with his sister, but as the time stretched, she began to wonder if Rachel had beaten him down. The woman had a lot of ammunition, most of which Maddie had personally given her. Like shooting Zach the night she met him.

  Maybe it was just as well, Maddie thought, trying to console herself. What was it about the man that, as soon as they were alone, had her taking off her clothes?

  Maddie froze in the middle of loading glasses into the dishwasher as she suddenly realized where the heat of their passions had taken them. What had come over her to take the risk of unprotected sex? She couldn’t even blame Zach since she was the one who had suggested it.

  It had all started with that East Texas drawl, but she no longer heard echoes of Vince when Zach spoke. Zach had slipped past Vince’s shadow and become his own person in her eyes.

  Reluctantly, Maddie admitted that the risk had heightened her excitement. She also admitted to herself that when she’d made the suggestion, she had not been of sound enough mind to calculate just how “min
imal” the risk really was.

  Clearly, the stress of the past months had driven her insane.

  She stopped and counted back to figure out where she was in her cycle, breathing a cautious sigh of relief when her calculation came up on the side of safety. With the stress of the past months, it wasn’t a sure thing, but it was as sure as anything in her life lately.

  *

  Zach watched Rachel take her seat behind the desk. If she thought she was going to fortify her position, she was in for a disappointment, but being Rachel, she didn’t wait for his assault.

  “Where have you been all afternoon? I was starting to worry she’d shot you again and left your body in some alleyway.”

  Zach refused the bait. He planted his fists in the middle of her tidy desk and leaned toward her. “You upset Maddie today. Do you even know when you’ve crossed the line?”

  “What? It’s not okay for me to worry about my baby brother?”

  He had to give her credit; she didn’t act the least bit cowed, having him hanging over her. Not that it was going to do her any good.

  “I’m a grown man, Rachel. It’s not your job to worry about me. It’s especially not your job to upset the woman I’m seeing.”

  “For pity’s sake, Zachariah. She carries a gun—”

  “This is Texas. Half the population packs.”

  “Half the population doesn’t go to a strange man’s room and shoot him!”

  “We been through that. I ain’t going there again, and it’s got nothing to do with this morning anyhow. How come it’s so damned hard for you to admit you screwed up?”

  Rachel’s lips tightened. In spite of the glare she returned, Zach realized he’d hit a nerve. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was ashamed of her earlier behavior. Maybe she was, but that didn’t do any of them any good if she wouldn’t acknowledge it. That he had to fight her for it suddenly made him furious. He lifted one hand and stabbed his finger at the desk to punctuate his demand.

  “You owe Maddie an apology, and I expect you to deliver it before she gets off tonight, no ifs, ands, buts, or maybes.”