“I want you in me.” Her voice is raspy with need.
I chuckle—which sounds kind of funny given that I moan at the same time. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
The woman is dripping wet. I have no doubt that she’s ready, but teasing her is so much fun.
She groans loudly, fully turned-on but also ready to curse me a thousand times. I laugh again, roll the condom on, and guide her onto my cock.
She lowers herself inch by inch, taking me in deep, pushing me further toward exquisite, mind-numbing pain. Once I’m fully seated inside her, I settle my hands on her hips. Her arms go around my neck, and I show her the slow pace I need.
She doesn’t fight it. Nor does she beg me to go faster and harder and faster. If anything, she seems to crave this pace as much as I do. Her heated gaze remains locked on mine as we move closer, closer, closer to the edge. The intensity of what we’re doing is nothing like anything I’ve experienced before.
We keep going, wrapped up in the moment. I never want it to end—but at the same time, I’m hungry for the much sought-after release.
I don’t know how long we’ve been moving like this before Violet’s inner muscles tighten around me. It feels like forever, and it feels like it’s not long enough. The tingling in my lower back becomes more intense, and the grip of Violet’s heat is sweet torment.
“Oh. God. TJ.” Her words shudder on a groan.
“I’m right with you.” That’s the last thing I manage to say before an orgasm barrels through me, sending me to the constellations that I wish I knew the names for.
Not a bad way to go, if you ask me.
But as I return to the woman in my arms, a startling revelation burrows itself into my heart.
I’m falling for the one woman who is off-limits to me.
Falling for the woman who has no interest in staying in Copper Creek. Falling for the woman who doesn’t feel the same way about me that I feel for her.
Well, isn’t that just fucking fantastic?
18
There’s nothing like having a revelation knock you on your ass. Especially when said revelation is in the magnitude of “I’m falling for my best friend’s sister” or “Austin is going to fucking kill me.”
But either way, it’s official—I’m in my new happy place, and I’m in no rush to leave just yet.
I inhale the soft perfume that is all Violet and lightly kiss her naked shoulder. The salty dampness is a welcome reminder of what we just did.
Violet makes a move to climb off me. I slip my arms around her and tighten my hold. “Sorry, you’re not going anywhere. I’m quite comfortable like this.”
She laughs. “What about the condom?”
“I’m sure it’s comfortable, too.” Because why wouldn’t it be?
She laughs again and once more attempts to get off my lap. This time I let her go…only because I know what she’s talking about. She already has one child who wasn’t planned—a child without a father.
It’s not like she’s looking to be knocked up again.
And I’m not looking to become a dad.
I stand. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
She settles in the bed and pulls the covers to her waist. I quickly dispose of the condom and rejoin her.
She curls up against me and rests her head on my chest. “So what happened to your ex-girlfriend—the woman my grandmother was positive you were going to marry?” Her tone is soft, almost hesitant, her breath warm against my skin.
I’m about to brush off her question with a non-answer because Katherine is not something I wish to talk about with Violet or anyone else.
So why don’t I?
Because life is a give and take. If you want something, be prepared to give something else in return. And I want to know about the asshole who knocked Violet up and left her to raise their child alone.
“The last I heard, my ex-girlfriend is married and living in Silicon Valley.” I stroke her shoulder. “Turns out not everyone is suited for small-town life.”
Violet finally glances up at me, her eyes wide with an emotion that I can only describe as sadness. “She broke up with you?”
“You seem surprised.”
A light blush spreads from her neck and covers her cheeks. “That’s not what I mean. I’m just surprised because you’re a great guy, TJ. And I don’t just mean it because you’re hot.”
My mouth tugs up to one side. “You think I’m hot?”
“Of course you’re hot. You wouldn’t have been selected for the show if you weren’t.”
“They didn’t want me because of my intelligence? Wow. That’s mighty shallow of them.” I playfully pinch her ass.
She chuckles. “Well, if some of the contestants are any indication, the producers were definitely not interested in brainpower when it came to the selection process.”
“That bad, huh?”
“From what I saw of the cowboys, yes, some were lacking in the intelligence department. Or they came off that way during the two days I spent with each of them. Maybe that’s the producers’ way of making it easier for the audience to narrow their choices down to eight.”
“You only spent two days with the other cowboys?” That’s news to me. I just assumed she had spent the same amount of time with them as she had with me.
“That’s all I had time for. The camera crew stayed with each cowboy for the week. And there was more than one onsite team doing the filming, so several cowboys each week were videotaped.”
I cup her face with my hand and run my thumb against her lower lip. “Well, for the record, I’m glad we got you for as long as we did. And also for the record, the show is a piss-poor way of finding a husband.”
Violet grins. “Try telling that to the target audience. I guess it’s different when you’re not the one at risk of marrying the wrong person.”
“I was dating a woman who claimed to love me but who was also willing to throw herself at Noah. You can’t get much more in the ‘wrong person’ department than that.”
Violet’s eyes go as round as Thor’s oat bucket. “She was cheating on you with your brother?”
“Not according to him. But the fact that I caught her kissing him didn’t bode well for her.”
“I can’t believe your brother would do that to you.” Her tone is soft and pained and I-want-to-kick-him-in-the-shin protective.
I move my shoulders with a barely there shrug. “He claims he did it to prove that she wasn’t right for me.”
“He’s got that right. But I can’t believe you’ve given up on finding love just because of one woman. Not everyone is like her.”
“What can I say? I’m a quick learner.”
She looks down at the bedding and plucks an invisible thread from it. “Did you love her?”
“I thought I did at the time. But after what happened, I realized I never really did.”
Violet’s gaze meets mine again. The kickass attitude might have vanished, but the pain in her eyes is still there. “You’re not the only one who has screwed up when it comes to falling in love with the wrong person or believing you’re in love with them. Only in my case, I ended up with a baby in exchange for services rendered.”
I thread our fingers together on my stomach. “What happened?”
“I met Mark at a photo exhibit I was participating in. He was really impressed with my work and invited me out for coffee. He was a few years older than me, but he seemed nice, so I went out with him.”
“Even though he could’ve been a serial killer?”
She smiles her Do-you-really-believe-that? smile. It’s the one normally accompanied by some serious eye rolling. “I wasn’t that much of an idiot. An idiot for falling for his lies? Yes. An idiot for putting myself in a dangerous position with a man I didn’t know? Not so much. We always met in public places in the beginning. I Googled him, and he didn’t show up on any Wanted posters of serial killers.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” Austin
would’ve run a background check on the man if he had known. And probably would’ve scared the crap out of him just to be certain.
“We started spending more and more time together as friends,” she says. “Then things progressed, and eventually we became romantically involved. Which I now realize wasn’t really romance. It was just two people fucking, and one of them was too stupid to see the truth in front of her.”
“What truth?”
“Turns out the asshole was married.” Her mouth twists into a half smile. It’s a sad smirk, a wish-I’d-known-better smirk. “And I only found this out by accident, when I saw him and his wife together at the mall. And for someone who had a dirty little secret on the side, he sure looked cozy with her.”
“And then you dumped his sorry ass?” I ask as I contemplate the likelihood of getting caught dumping horse manure in his vehicle. Let’s see him explain that to his wife.
Violet nods. “Yes, faster than he could come up with another lie.” This time the smirk isn’t so sad. It’s filled with satisfaction.
“Was this before or after you found out you were pregnant with Deacon?”
“Before.”
“What did he say when you told him?”
She sits up, letting the sheet pool around her hips, possibly to distract me from my question. “I never told him.”
I frown. “Even though he should be paying child support?”
“It doesn’t matter. What is done is done.” And then, as if to shift the topic, she says, “You asked me the other day why I didn’t bring Deacon home to visit. It was because I was ashamed. Not of Deacon, but of what happened. Because I was an idiot and fell for the wrong man. Austin and Granny understood. They didn’t like it, but they understood. I think they were just hoping that eventually I’d change my mind.”
I push myself up to sit. “Well, at least there’s one good thing to me being on this ridiculous show. Now you know you don’t have to be ashamed. Everyone loves having Deacon around. And for the record, you’re not an idiot, Violet. You’re sweet and amazing. You just trusted the wrong guy. And yes, it matters about the child support. It was his sperm—that makes Deacon his responsibility.”
“Yes, but what if he tries to take Deacon away from me? I couldn’t risk it. Besides, the man is a liar. I didn’t trust him after what he did to me. How can I know for sure that he won’t hurt Deacon? I can’t. My son deserves better than that.”
I’ve got no answer for that. “So what are you planning to tell Deacon when he asks about his father? Because at some point, you’ll no longer be able to tell him that a stork delivered him in the barn while you slept.”
Yes—that’s exactly how my grandmother explained it to me when Jake was born. Even when I was sixteen and knew better, she stuck with that story.
Violet bursts out laughing, and her cheeks turn adorably flushed. She was there the day my grandfather overheard Granny tell me that. She was also there a few minutes later when he quite graphically explained how babies came to be. But instead of explaining it in human terms, he explained how cattle fucked.
I’m not sure which of us was more traumatized: Violet or me.
“I don’t know,” she says. “That might buy me time. It’s probably better than believing his father never wanted him.” A wide grin takes over her face, and she giggles. “Or I could tell him Santa’s reindeer ran over his father because his father was on the naughty list. I’ll never have to worry about Deacon misbehaving after that.”
I grin back at her. “Sounds like a plan. Or maybe you’ll marry a man one day who loves Deacon as his own and it won’t matter.”
“Ha! As if that will ever happen.”
I open my mouth to ask her why not but don’t get that far. Austin’s and Jake’s voices can be heard coming toward my room.
Shit.
Jake’s voice is the louder of the two, as if warning me that my best friend is about to kick my ass. My stomach quickly drops like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat who missed the trapeze bar.
I survey my room for a good hiding spot. “Quick, in my closet.” The words are a hurried whisper.
“Why?” she whispers back, her gaze on me and not on the doorway to impending doom.
With my eyes, I show exactly why. My gaze settles on her spectacular tits. Fortunately, my cock has the good sense not to get excited by the view.
She yanks the blanket up to cover herself.
If only it were that easy.
“Austin can’t find you in here. Especially not naked in my bed—unless you wish to witness my murder.”
The frown deepens. “What difference does it make if I’m naked in bed with you? It’s not like your brothers care. They’re not going to murder you because we were having sex.”
I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t think she’ll appreciate it.
She raises her chin in stubborn defiance. “I’m a grown woman, TJ. I get to decide who I sleep with, not my brother.”
Since she’s not cooperating, and I prefer my package to remain where it is, I have no other choice. I pull the blanket over her head to muffle her protest.
“You know what? I think TJ might be sleeping.” Jake says it loud enough to wake up a hibernating bear.
“This is important,” Austin says.
Praying Violet won’t harm me more than her brother most definitely will, I hoist her off the bed.
A small yelp slips from her lips, the blanket already yanked off her head.
“Shh,” I whisper and carry her to my closet. This time she does exactly as I asked.
I lower her feet to the floor.
“I just need you to stay in here until he’s gone,” I say, a man-sized amount of pleading in my voice.
She makes a move toward the door. I block her with my arm.
“Violet, just trust me when I say he’s not going to be happy about me being with you this way. I don’t want to hurt my best friend by betraying his trust in me.…”
I place my finger against her lips to stop what I have a feeling she’s about to say. “But I also can’t keep away from you even though I know I should. God knows I’ve tried.” I replace my finger with my lips for a brief kiss. “So please stay in here until he’s gone, and I’ll satisfy you in bed any way you want. Whatever it takes. For the rest of your time in Copper Creek.”
She pretends to think about it for a second. I can hear the two men draw closer to the room, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. The closet door is muffling the sound.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, cowboy. But you do realize my clothes are still out there, right?”
Not good. Not good at all. Especially if Austin recognizes her dress. “Stay right here. I’ll get them.”
I give her a quick yet thorough kiss, then step from the closet, pulling the door shut behind me.
But before I can close it all the way, my bedroom door swings open. Fuck-a-rific.
“Any reason why you didn’t knock?” I grunt out the words caveman-style.
As if pulled by a magnetic force, my gaze drops to Violet’s clothes on the floor.
“Am I interrupting?” Austin asks.
I look up in time to see Austin’s gaze jump from the clothes on the floor to the bed and then back to me.
Yeah, about that…
“Why? Are you gonna arrest me for having sex?” My tone is amused and easygoing—the opposite of how I feel.
He surveys the room. “Where is she?”
“Who?”
Austin steps across the carpet to the pile of clothes and nudges Violet’s panties with his shoe. “Unless these are yours, I’ll venture a professional guess and say they belong to the woman you just had sex with.”
“And what if they are mine?” Yes, because that was such a brilliant response.
Unseen by Austin, Jake gives me the thumbs up sign for “Man, you’re royally fucked now.”
Static crackles from the radio on Austin’s shoulder and I hold my breath, willing for him to be called away
on an urgent call. His deputy alerts him to a herd of sheep wandering through downtown Copper Creek.
Close enough.
Austin confirms he’s on his way and ends the call. “That’s the third time in a month,” he says to Jake and me. “Jeffery keeps forgetting to shut the gate to his pasture.”
Old Man Jeffery has been forgetting a lot of things lately. “Hopefully he remembers to put on his pants this time,” I say. “He gave Gertrude quite the shock last time he had to round up his sheep.”
Jake laughs. “She didn’t stop talking about it for weeks after that. Nor did she let poor Jeffery forget about it.”
Austin moves away from the clothes. “You don’t by any chance know where Violet is, do you?” he asks me.
“At Grandma Meg’s is my guess.”
He shakes his head. “Already tried that. Granny figured she’s out with a man.” And from the way his hands tighten into fists, he’s imagining them around said man’s neck. Lucky me.
“Or she could be with Aubrey and Sophie.”
“I’ll swing past their places after I deal with the sheep situation.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” And I’ll make sure Violet is at Aubrey’s when he shows up. Because the last thing I need is for Austin to believe his sister is seeing someone while she’s here for the week. That will only make him more determined to track down who the man is.
Austin walks out of my room. Jake throws me a shit-you-were-lucky smirk over his shoulder and follows him.
Don’t I know it? Old Man Jeffery is about to get a bottle of Jack for saving both me and my package.
I shut the door behind them and slouch against it for a second.
Right, I need to get Violet out of here in case Austin decides to come back. And then I’m installing a lock on my bedroom door.
Violet pokes her head around the closet door. “I guess I should be getting back to Granny’s now.”
“Why does she think you’re seeing a man while you’re in town?” I ask as she walks out of the closet, the sheet wrapped around her like a toga.
She reaches for her panties on the floor. “It’s probably just wishful thinking. She’s no doubt hoping I’ll fall in love with someone in Copper Creek and stay here. She loves having Deacon around.”
Cowboy Most Wanted (Copper Creek Book 1) Page 14