Angel’s stomach flipped. Flying forward, stopping inches in front of Timothy, she glared at him, ire stiffening her spine. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not marrying you—not today, not this year, not ever!”
Rowdy took her arm. “Go back to your party, Angel.”
She spun around. The annoyance on his face took her by surprise, and her heart plummeted. Did he think she’d asked Timothy up here? “Rowdy, I—”
His glare caused her throat to close up.
While his eyes skimmed her breasts, he grabbed Timothy and gavehim a shove toward the staircase.
She flounced away. The door to her bedroom shut with a bang and Angel practically ripped the buttons off the yellow dress as she tugged them open. After lighting a lamp, and no longer concerned about cleavage, she snatched the first dress she came to—a blue one with a collar so high the lace rubbed the bottom of her chin.
The swish of the door had her spinning about.
Tight-lipped, Rowdy eyed her from head to toe.
Her emotions were a tangled web. She wanted to scream for him to get out, and at the same time beg him to understand. “I—” she started.
“Maybe if you weren’t dressed like a saloon gal that wouldn’t have happened,” he snapped.
Her ire blazed up again. “What?”
“Milner. What did you expect?”
Stunned beyond reason, she gaped at him.
“Your git-up had every unmarried man downstairs—and some married ones—drooling.” Rowdy ran a hand through his hair, mussing it, and let out a long, heavy sigh. “Damn it, Angel, don’t you know how beautiful you are? One look at you and men grow weak in the knees. They start arguing with their own common sense.”
“I—” she said again, then stopped. Concern filled his silver eyes. The tenderness she saw practically knocked the air out of her, and sent her heart dancing in her chest at the same time.
He stepped closer. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head, glancing at the blue dress clutched to her breasts. “I got blueberries on my gown. I had to change.”
Without taking his eyes off her, Rowdy reached behind him and closed the door.
The action ignited the demanding, sweet need inside her. Taking one step and then another, she didn’t stop until her nose practically touched his chin. Wanting him to know the truth, she whispered, “I dressed like that for you. I wanted to nudge you.”
“Nudge me?”
She nodded. “Liza said I needed to nudge you in the right direction. Into noticing me.” Liza had actually said “into realizing how much he cares,” but Angel wasn’t willing to reveal too much of what the other woman had said.
A smile flashed across his lips, but he squelched it. “Angel girl, you’ve had me hanging on the edge for the last year.”
His admission had her hopes soaring. She laid a hand on his forearm. “That gown had the lowest neckline, and Liza gave me some rouge powder—”
“I noticed.” He ran the tip of one finger along her collarbone. “Did Liza tell you that sometimes what a man can’t see is more enticing than what he can?”
Angel swayed. The blue dress fluttered to the floor, exposing her tightly tied corset, and the air grew so thick it was hard to breathe. She swallowed, searching for something to say. “I wish I’d have known that before I destroyed my closet.”
He let out a husky chuckle.
Her insides were on fire. She reached up and ran a finger along the fine line of his jaw. “I’ll remember it in the future. But right now, I have to thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“I—”
She silenced him by tilting his chin down. “Shhh,” she whispered against his lips.
The merger was slow and steady, and consumed her from head to toe. His lips were like warm honey, satisfying her hunger, while promising a more rewarding feast with every touch.
When Rowdy pulled away, she collapsed against him, licking her lips. He grasped her bare upper arms and spun her around. “Get dressed, Angel girl.”
Unwilling to let him push her away so easily this time, she leaned back against his hard, powerful chest, absorbing his heat. “Hold me, Rowdy. Just for a minute. Please.”
His hands slid beneath her arms and glided across her stomach. Her heart soared, and she closed her eyes, nestling the back of her head against his shoulder. He tightened his grasp, folding his forearms beneath her breasts. At that moment, she knew paradise.
The point of his chin ran along her the side of her neck. The touch made her moan, and she laid her hands on his arms.
“You need to get dressed.” His breath tickled her ear.
She nuzzled his cheek with her head. “Why?”
“So you can go back to your party.”
“I’d rather stay here. With you.”
His eyes went to her chest. The thin lace trim of her corset exposed how the tips of her breasts had hardened with anticipation. His intake of breath sent a wave of delight through her system. “Can’t.” His lips brushed her cheek. “You have a houseful of guests.”
She wished everyone would just disappear. Leave her and Rowdy alone. Completely alone. That wasn’t about to happen, so she asked, “Were you drooling?”
“Yes, Angel, I was drooling.” His hands roamed over her torso, gently caressing her stomach and rib cage. The tips of his thumbs brushed her nipples, making her breasts quiver and sending an intense heat to throb between her legs. “Still am,” he whispered.
Tightening her core muscles, heightening the pleasure there, she declared, “Good, because I am, too.”
He cupped her breasts, one in each wonderful palm. She arched her back, absorbing the touch fully. His lips ran along her bare shoulder before his fingers slipped down her sides to settle on her hips. “Get dressed, Angel, before we do something we shouldn’t.”
She pressed her backside against the swell of his groin. “There’s nothing we shouldn’t do, Rowdy.”
“Well, we can’t. Not right now, Angel girl.”
A second later the door opened and shut. She spun around, but he was gone. Her body, sizzling from his touch, slumped, and she sank onto the bed. The room was a mess due to her earlier dressing session. Rowdy would think she was a terrible housekeeper….
Her mind snapped into gear. Housekeeping wasn’t what she needed to be concerned with. Snatching up the blue dress, she pulled it over her head.
Brushing her hair, she took a moment to check her reflection in the large oval mirror on top of her dressing table. Her cheeks were flushed, but other than that, there were no telltale signs that her body ached with need. She had to get rid of the partygoers.
Grabbing the yellow dress, she flew to the door.
Rowdy leaned against the far wall. He grinned and nodded toward her bedroom. “You left the lamp lit.”
She backtracked, blew out the flame and then pulled the door shut as she exited again. He stepped forward, meeting her in the center of the hall.
The grin on his face made her smile. “Why did you follow me up here?” she wondered aloud.
He touched the tip of her nose. “Because you’re my responsibility.”
“Responsibility.” She mulled that over, determining it would do—for now.
He looked as if he expected her to say more. She held up the yellow dress. “I have to get this in cold water before the stains set.”
Rowdy took her arm and led her down the back stairs.
When they entered the kitchen, she paused. “Why is the house so quiet?”
“I don’t know.” He glanced toward the door that led to the front entrance, then into the parlor. “J.T. was still breaking the strings on his fiddle when I went looking for you.”
Angel moved to the doorway. Rowdy’s spicy scent, floating around her as he leaned over her shoulder to look into the far corners of the empty rooms, sent her senses whirling all over again.
She pivoted and stepped around him, stopping near the table laden with an array
of food, plates, and the almost empty punch bowl she suspected Emerald, Tanna’s husband, had spiked. An excited hoot followed closely by a giggle sounded on the back porch. “Maybe they’re leaving,” she said hopefully.
Rowdy followed her. They paused at the back door, staring into the dark night. “Can you see anyone?” he asked.
A muffled, “Oh,” followed by a grunt sounded before two people stepped out of the shadows.
“We’re playing hide and seek,” Tanna said, with her arm looped through her husband’s.
“Hide and seek?” Rowdy repeated.
Angel shook her head, sighing. “It’s a parlor game.” Which meant it would have to end before she could send everyone home.
Chapter Six
“Played many parlor games, McGuire?” Emerald asked.
Frowning, Rowdy glanced at Angel. She looked about as thrilled to hear about a parlor game as he was.
Tanna moved forward, grabbing Angel’s arm. “Emerald, you tell Rowdy the rules while Angel and I hide.” Tanna pulled her down the steps.
“I have to put my dress to soaking.” Angel stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes settled on Rowdy. “Before it stains.”
He stepped forward, ready to rescue her from Tanna’s grip, but the other woman wrenched the dress from Angel and plopped it into the rain barrel sitting below the eves of the porch roof. “There. It’s soaking. Come on.” She tugged Angel away so fast Rowdy couldn’t hear what she said, and Emerald grabbed his arm, stopping him from following.
“Give them a minute to hide,” he said. “The women hide and the men find them. And then…” Emerald shrugged. “You can figure out the rest.”
Rowdy lifted a brow.
Emerald, an odd name for a man with blond hair and blue eyes, laughed. “Hide and seek isn’t just for kids, McGuire.” He slapped Rowdy’s back. “Come on, I think they headed for the barn.”
Rowdy shook his legs, trying to make more room in his britches. He couldn’t take much more. The little escapade upstairs had brought him close to his breaking point. He’d been hard and throbbing since first seeing Angel’s breasts threatening to escape the yellow gown. Timothy Milner had seen them, too. The man had been drooling from the moment he walked into the house.
Seeing Milner sneaking up the front steps right after Angel had gone up the back made Rowdy feud with himself. Part of him said leave them be, that the two were suited for each other. The other part, which had him barreling up the stairs, had said… Well, he really didn’t know what it said, other than he wasn’t about to leave Milner and Angel alone.
The sky was blacker than the inside of a pot with the lid on, and Rowdy, walking beside Emerald, stumbled on something in the yard. He caught himself before the other man noticed.
Milner was an ass. Angel should refuse to marry him. She deserved a whole lot better than the likes of him. The man had no idea how to treat a lady.
Rowdy stopped walking, since the barn door stood open before him. Emerald had disappeared, but Rowdy hadn’t noticed until now. Nor had he detected the sounds of night all around—cattle mooing, the hoot of an owl, the far-off call of a coyote, the faint screech of the windmill churning in the breeze.
His back stiffened. Other sounds filtered to his ears as well. An excited but faint hoot, followed by hushed giggles. Evidently Emerald had found Tanna. Rowdy swallowed a lump the size of a coal train and walked into the barn.
What would he do when he found Angel? He sure as hell couldn’t kiss her—not with the way his loins throbbed, screaming for release. Dragging his hand through his hair, he let out a growl. The devil was probably chipping ice right now—hell had to have frozen over. Nothing was different. He was still Rowdy McGuire and she was still Angel Clayton. But the moment he’d seen Milner trying to kiss her, he’d accepted the inevitable. He was in love. And there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Nothing changed the fact that he’d never be the refined gentleman she deserved, but right now, he would trade his soul to be such a man.
He moved into the barn and stopped near Templeton’s stall, instinctively knowing that Angel was hiding beside her horse. Rubbing the animal’s nose, Rowdy all of sudden felt as childish as the game, and whispered, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
Her giggle was so soft, so sweet, that he cracked a genuine smile. Without making a sound, he lifted the latch and shouldered past the animal. Templeton swung his head around and pushed Rowdy farther into the stall.
The space was empty, but draped on the top board was a clump of material. He picked it up. Recognizing the blue dress, he glanced over the rail. “Angel?”
The hay rustled.
Rowdy sucked in his stomach at the way his loins bucked. In a swift bound, he climbed over the wall and lowered himself onto the pile of sweet smelling hay.
“Now that you’ve found me,” she whispered, “what are you going to do with me?”
He really had no choice. Right now he had about as much control over his body as he did over a tornado. He knelt down and ran a finger along the curve of her smile. “Kiss you.”
“Mmmm. Please do,” she whispered.
The moment they connected, his lips to hers, the world exploded. The muted darkness heightened his desire, and the way her charming body responded to his touch made his hands go wild, stoking the curves of her breasts and the flatness of her stomach.
Even though they’d been separated for only a few minutes, it was like he’d been gone for a lifetime and just found his way home. Her body seemed so familiar. He knew every spot that wanted his touch. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers thrust into his hair. She parted her lips and he deepened the kiss, craving the taste of her.
His body quivered as Angel’s response mirrored his. The kiss went on and on. It was as if he’d dived into a deep, rapid river and couldn’t quit swimming until he reached the other bank.
When he lifted his head, gasping for air, she arched her spine. “I can’t breathe, Rowdy. Please loosen my stays.”
He had no choice but to do what she asked. With his gentle tug, the bow came loose, and he worked his way through the crisscrossing pattern the little string made up her back.
Angel stretched, sighing. The movement forced the material to slip downward, revealing the loveliest breasts ever created. He stroked one, amazed by how his touch brought the nub to life. He kissed it, then the other one, valuing each one with deep down gratitude. His hands slid down her back, into the waistband of her pantaloons. Unexplainable pleasure seared his fingertips as they met the silky skin of her bottom.
She tugged his shirt out of his waistband. “I want you, Rowdy, more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”
Her whispered confession was like fuel on a fire. Heat swirled in his veins, and he stretched out on the hay, easing her flat on her back beside him. She ran her fingers under his shirt, teasing his skin with the ends of her fingernails.
He ran kisses along her shoulder, and licked her with the tip of his tongue. “Aw, Angel girl,” he whispered against her skin. “What am I going to do with you?”
She undid the last button and pushed his shirt wide. Her soft, warm lips skipped across his chest. “I told you earlier.” She suckled his skin for a moment before whispering, “Love me.”
His shaft jolted, and so did his heart. He did love her. Always would. Holding in his confession and focused on pleasing her, he trailed kisses down her neck, along the edges of the glorious mounds he’d been admiring all night, and slid a hand to her hip, then downward. Powerful pleasure shot up his arm as his palm cupped the juncture between her legs, and her hips thrust forward. Gently, his fingers swirled beneath the material of her pantaloons, teasing her.
Her body was so perfect, made for loving, and he continued to kiss and explore her breasts while his hand fondled her. When he sensed the pinnacle of her awaking desire, he entered her with one finger.
The moist heat of the connection had his entire body throbbing. She arched, encouraging his finger
to go deeper. A storm of spiraling sensations overtook him. It was an excitement he’d never experienced.
Angel kissed him deeply, digging her fingernails into his chest. It was a heavenly torture. Her hips swayed with his hand, creating a steady motion that led the way to higher delights. One of her roaming hands paused near his waistband, and when it cupped his crotch, his hips bucked. She massaged him through his britches. The pleasure and sweet torment of touching and being touched continued, showering him with thrills and gratification he’d never known existed.
Her body tensed and she tightened her thighs, holding his fingers deep inside her. “Rowdy!” she gasped.
“Shh.” He kissed her deeply while stroking her core as she quaked and shuddered. His body responded, reeling with her release.
When her tremors lessened, she sank into the hay, sighing heavily. “Good Lord, Rowdy, what on earth was that?”
A pleasant mist surrounded them. The smile on his lips couldn’t begin to express the happiness dancing inside his chest. He folded both arms around her and nipped her earlobe. “That’s being loved, my Angel.”
After the air around them grew mellow and still, she whispered, “Can we do it again?”
“Not right now.”
She snuggled closer. “Why?”
“Listen,” he whispered in her ear. Laughter and conversations floated through the darkness from the yard.
Angel sighed and ran a finger along the side of his face. “Maybe they’ll all go home now.”
He pulled her to her feet and, after brushing the hay out of her hair, helped her put on the blue dress. The outside voices made repercussion of his actions pour into his mind. “Angel,” he began.
She pressed her finger to his lips. “Don’t say a word, Rowdy McGuire. Don’t you dare say a word.”
He bit his tongue and took her hand, leading her out of the barn. People mingled and talked, mainly couples walking arm in arm. He squeezed her fingers.
Her Midnight Cowboy Page 4