Why not Wyoming? (Wyoming Wilds Series Book 1)

by Anneliese Brand

  “Don’t look so nervous. It’s not business. Valarie wanted to meet you. See what I get for trying to be a good husband?”

  Annie smiled in relief.

  “I honestly do love your writing. I just re-read them all. I was laid-up for a couple of weeks after a nasty fall, and Neal brought home your entire list with the updated covers. Beautiful, by the way. He said it was something to keep me occupied, but I think it was subtle sucking up,” Valerie said.

  “I should’ve salted the porch when I left for work,” Neal confessed.

  “Ouch,” Annie said with a wince.

  “Anyway, I really was hoping you’d sign my copy of Mackinac Monday so I can add it to my collection. I don’t want to keep you from your boyfriend. Cami told me that he flew in just for this. What a sweetheart. He looks like a big teddy bear,” Valerie said handing over the book and leaning in. “I have to ask, is he the inspiration for those scintillating sex scenes you write? Is he your muse?”

  Annie choked, remembering their flirtatious conversation in the hall at the lodge. Her eyes sought CJ’s across the room. He was staring right at her, and that grin was all for her. Valerie didn’t know they were new. What the hell. “CJ’s always up for research. I couldn’t ask for a sexier muse.”

  Clutching her vase of calla lilies, Annie nudged under the arm holding the pizza box and snuggled against his side with a shiver. He dropped a kiss on top of her head. Her place was only a mile or so from the hotel and just across the Grand River. It was even fancier than he’d expected. The numbers continued to climb as they ascended into the tower of steel and glass. The subtle jabs at the party were starting to make more sense.

  The apartment they stepped into was about as far from his cabin as you could get and still be on Earth. Black, white and shades of gray met his gaze. Annie flipped on the recessed lights. It didn’t get any better. It felt…almost sterile. Sure there wasn’t a lot of decorative stuff sitting around his place, but women usually had stuff. He set the pizza and the gift bag from the party on the sleek island top and traced a finger over a dark vein in the pale stone as he looked around. Splashes of deep purple struggled to give the place warmth. A purple and chrome toaster, one of those single cup coffee makers, eggplant colored stoneware on open kitchen shelves, pillows and a throw blanket draped over the back of the couch did their best, but nothing about the place meshed with his vision of Annie.

  “Let me take that. I’ll put it in the bedroom,” she said, sliding his carry-on off his shoulder.

  She walked through the living room and disappeared down a hall. He stepped closer to the floor to ceiling windows. Annie was right, the river view was pretty. There were some trees and a walking path along the bank, a welcome reminder of Mother Nature in the big city. He itched to step out on the tiny eight-by-eight balcony for a breath of fresh air but wasn’t sure if the door had an alarm. A snow covered table and a couple of comfortable looking chairs filled the space. He wondered if Annie ever sat out there or entertained.

  The sound of her voice drifted down the hall, but he couldn’t make out the words. He glanced at pictures and through open doors as he followed the sound. There was a bathroom in classic black and white. Even the pictures were black and white as he continued down the hall. A dramatic shot of Crystal. The serious likeness Annie used on her book cover. A laughing bearded man and a younger version of Annie, her happiness leaping from the photo to grab CJ’s attention and heart. Trees surrounded them, giving no hint of where the picture may have been taken, but this had to be her dad. A couple of closed doors, and then a picture of Annie and a woman that could only be her mother. It was easy to see what Annie was going to look like in ten or fifteen years. Arms thrown around each other’s waist, they stood among jagged rocks and tufts of tall grass with nothing but water behind them. Annie’s smile was wide and genuine, not trying to hide her fangs. She was beautiful.

  The last door revealed Annie’s boudoir. Another wall of windows dominated the room making it appear endless. Right now, it was an endless disaster. It looked like her closet had exploded. Clothes and hangers littered the floor and dripped off the wrought iron bed that also held his bag and her open suitcase. Purple and white gauzy material crisscrossed the top of the bed, creating a latticed canopy before spiraling down the four posts. More muttering came from an open door to his right. Annie emerged with an armload of clothes that she flung at the bed. Half of it landed back on the floor. She threw her arms up and the words were clear this time.

  “Why tonight?”

  “Need some help?”

  She whirled, nearly tripping over a plastic hanger that had wrapped around her bare foot. Now dressed in fuzzy lilac pajama bottoms and a soft long-sleeve t-shirt, this looked like his Annie. Her face flushed a lovely shade to match the décor.

  “You weren’t supposed to see this.”

  “You already told me all your grown-up clothes were on the closet floor.”

  “Hearing it and seeing it are two different things,” she said, leaning over to free her foot.

  He picked up a hanger. A slinky black dress dangled from one strap.

  “You don’t have to help.”

  “You didn’t have to help with the stalls.”

  “Manure is better than this,” she grumbled.

  CJ chuckled.

  “Besides, I love horses.”

  He stepped closer and leaned down to kiss her nape.

  “And I love you.”

  Her shoulders hunched slightly at the unexpected touch, but a smile instantly lit her face.

  “Chaos and all?” she asked, tilting her head so he could kiss the side of her neck.

  “Mmmm hmm,” he hummed. “At least this room feels like the Annie I know.”

  “My bedroom and the office are the only two rooms I didn’t let my aunt touch.”

  She shivered and leaned back into his chest as he found that spot behind her ear. He took a deep breath, inhaling her musk body spray. If he let this go much further the clothes on the bed were going to get really wrinkled. He nuzzled her ear.

  “The sooner we clear the bed off the sooner we can finish this.”

  His words prompted a race to put the room and closet to rights. Unfortunately, a different hunger won out when they were done. Annie shoved half a piece of pizza into her mouth and moaned happily.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “A couple bites of cheesecake and a crappy piece of fudge weren’t cutting it anymore.”

  “You didn’t like the fudge?”

  “Oh, the Mackinac fudge is delicious. Just my luck, the one piece I managed to grab in that madness was some sort of dark chocolate.”

  “Not your favorite I take it.”

  “It is some sort of blasphemy to spit chocolate out in a napkin.”

  “Mental note made, no dark chocolate,” he said, nodding sagely.

  Annie grinned around a mouthful and nodded. “Thank you.”

  “You said your aunt decorated your apartment. Would that be Crystal’s mom?”

  “Yeah. Aunt Viv’s an interior designer.” She looked around the open kitchen and living area. “Apparently bohemian chic isn’t appropriate after a certain age. So a couple of years ago, she redecorated as a birthday/Christmas gift. My input was to choose the accent purple.”

  Shoving the crust in his mouth and grabbing another piece, CJ mulled that over. It was a nice gift, but presumptuous and pushy. He shrugged. That fit with what he’d seen of her family so far.

  “So where does this Angie that crashed the party fit into the family tree?”

  “She’s one of the nuts.”

  He choked and took a quick drink of his pop. Annie’s grin was unrepentant.

  “I kind of gathered you two weren’t close,” he said dryly.

  “You could say that. She’s always been a snooty little bitch that has to knock other people down to make herself feel better,” she said, real dislike replacing the teasing. She shook her head. “I know, don’t hold back. Tell you how I r
eally feel. Um…as far as where she fits in, my dad had two sisters, Crystal’s mom, Viv, and Angie’s mom, Marilyn. Everyone lives in the Grand Rapids area.”

  “It’s good to have family close by.”

  “Sometimes it’s good to have family close by,” Annie corrected. “When they resent you for something you’d give back in a heartbeat, it’s not so great.”

  Raw pain twisted her features. There weren’t a lot of things that could cause that visceral of a reaction.

  “Blood money,” he muttered mostly under his breath, but she heard him and nodded.

  He didn’t think she was going to say anything more as she licked pizza sauce off her thumb and looked around for a napkin. Disaster averted, she sighed.

  “My parents’ deaths created some bitterness in the family. Feelings got hurt. Aunt Marilyn is the oldest. She was offended that Mom and Dad made Aunt Viv’s husband the executor of their will. My uncle is smart and level headed. He gets overshadowed sometimes with Viv and Crystal, but he’s a good guy. Anyway, that was the first slight. The second was naming him and Viv guardians. It didn’t come to that because I was eighteen, but it was enough that they were my parents’ choice. Then, my parents weren’t wealthy, but between the house and stuff, life insurance, and a settlement with the trucking company, Marilyn thought the family should get something. That bred resentment toward me, and my uncle, who was just following the terms of the will. At the same time, they were fighting over which family I was moving in with.”

  “No wonder you were feeling overwhelmed and chose to get your own place,” he said, remembering her confession at the lodge.

  “It was a lot to deal with,” she said, picking at the napkin. “Any real animosity with Angie started then as well. She actually called me lucky. Like losing both parents at eighteen is hitting the jackpot.”

  CJ shook his head, trying to figure the family out. “Were you close as kids?”

  “Not really. While my grandparents were alive, the family tried to play at being close. You know, we were there every holiday and got together in the summer for cookouts. Since we were the only three girls, we ended up lumped together. Crystal and Angie had more in common. They both competed in the pageants from the time they were babies. As you’ve seen, they’re both gorgeous. So, that was a big rivalry, both between them and their moms.”

  “They’re not that great.”

  “Yeah, because girls that aren’t that great become Miss USA,” she replied with an eye roll, but leaned over to give him a quick kiss to show she appreciated the compliment.

  “So, what? You had to decide who was the fairest of them all and Angie drew the short straw?”

  Annie laughed. “That wasn’t up to me. Crys obviously did better at the pageants, winning Miss Michigan and then Miss USA. That pissed off Angie and Aunt Marilyn who has bragged from day one that Angie’s features are more symmetrical than Crystal’s. Hell if I know what that means, but I will say Crystal’s personality is a hundred times better. Angie is just mean.”

  “And that’s why she showed up at the party tonight? Just to get under your skin?”

  “Pretty much. If I’d invited her, she’d have dissed me by saying she had better things to do.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. People like that made no sense.

  “Is my family dysfunction giving you a headache?” she asked.

  “Not at all. Just thinking it’s her loss.”

  “Thanks. And thank you for everything tonight. I still can’t believe you flew all the way here just to hold my hand.”

  He caught her hand and drew her into his lap.

  “I’m glad I did. I loved listening to you talk about what you do. Your love of writing shone through and you forgot you were in a crowd.”

  “Cami said you’re good for me.”

  “No one, not even you, gives you enough credit.”

  She kept her head down, playing with the buttons on his dress shirt. How could she not see how great she was? He smiled as she smothered a yawn against his shoulder.

  “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get some sleep.”

  Annie yawned again and groaned as she slid off his lap.

  “I can’t believe I’m this tired,” she said, picking up the empty pizza box.

  “Stress will do that, and I don’t think either one of us slept well last night.”

  Hitting the stiff cardboard on the edge of the island, she folded the pizza box and stuffed it in the trash.

  “I didn’t want to close my eyes and wake up to have it be over.”

  The fear was something he’d shared lying in the dark. CJ pulled her back into his arms.

  “It’s not over. We got this,” he said kissing her forehead.

  She looked up at him, uncertainty and hope swimming in the amber gaze. Tucking her head under his chin, he looked around for the light switch.

  “One day at a time, beautiful. One day at a time.”

  Sunlight streamed through the wall of windows, dragging Annie from sleep. Squinting against the assault, she grabbed for the comforter and rolled. Her nose smacked something solid. She blinked at the male bicep in front of her. Pressing her lips to the warm skin, she smiled. He was really here.

  Blinking the sleep clear, she studied CJ’s broad face in the morning light. He looked relaxed, his forehead free of lines. His dark lashes fanned against the top of his full cheeks in sleep. She’d never noticed how long they were. Her man had beautiful eyes. The faint woodsy scent of the beard oil they’d found him teased her nostrils. The plush swell of his bottom lip called, making her long to kiss him. She smiled against his arm again and he stirred. Blue eyes opened and his lips curved in a lazy smile.

  “There’s my famous author,” he said, his mellow baritone deeper with morning rust.

  She felt a light blush but smiled remembering the same words the night before.

  “Hardly, but I have to admit last night made me feel special.”

  “That party was pretty fancy.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of the party, but that was nice too,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

  CJ’s arms wound around her, dragging her up on his chest.

  “Funny how we both forgot how tired we were.”

  “You make me forget a lot of things when I’m in your arms.”

  His hand wound in her thick hair, dragging her lips down to his. Annie melted into his kiss, savoring the play of his mouth and the tickle of his beard over her skin. CJ’s tongue tangled with hers before gliding across her teeth, flicking the canine. Teeth. Shit. She hadn’t brushed her teeth last night or this morning. Pizza with onions; her morning breath had to be revolting. Murmuring an apology, she tried to pull back. CJ’s fingers tightened on the back of her skull, tongue tracing the shell of her ear.

  “My morning breath cancels out yours,” he whispered.

  How did he read her mind? His warm hands slipped under the hem of the shirt she’d pulled back on last night. She shivered as fingers walked up her spine, dragging the soft cotton with them. His lips and tongue were working that spot behind her ear that made her motor purr. She lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck and he took advantage, pulling the shirt off over her head.

  “Sneaky,” she breathed.

  “One of my smoother moments,” he mumbled with a chuckle.

  Thumbs hooked in the waistband of her striped boy cut panties, rolling them off her hips and down full cheeks to bunch at the back of her thighs.

  “Now what’re you going to do?” she teased, nibbling his ear lobe.

  The words barely cleared her lips before he twisted, rolling her underneath him. Dimples and baby blues flashed at her before he disappeared under the comforter. Her underwear flew out a second later, followed by his boxers. Popping back out of the covers, he kissed her passionately.

  “All obstacles cleared.”

  She squeaked and laughed as he wrapped her in a bear hug and rolled her back to the top. One of his big hands splayed over her bare bottom
, molding her hips to his. Annie gasped into another kiss. Someone had woken up ready. CJ groaned as she slid over his hard length. His other hand caressed down her back to join its partner. Blunt fingers sank into her butt, rocking her so she slid over him time and again. The coiled heat in her belly fanned to life. Rubbing, she whimpered. Oh, God. This was the way to wake up.

  Shuddering, she sat up a little, intensifying the friction. Nipples hard from the tease of his chest hair, her breasts ached. She cupped them to stop their jiggle and CJ groaned. Her eyes flew to his face. There was no doubt he was focused on the girls. He nodded at the questioning tilt of her chin. Biting her bottom lip tentatively, she squeezed, twisting her nipples lightly. His gaze remained locked on her hands, breath coming harsher. The reaction sent a thrill of power through her. As ridiculous as it was, CJ made her feel sexy.

  “Absolutely beautiful,” he gasped. “Don’t stop.”

  A flush crawled over her skin. She felt like one of her heroines. Thighs tightening on his hips, she followed the rhythm his hands were setting and continued the show. She shook her head, mouth opening in a silent cry as pleasure pulsed through her. Nope, this was way better than fiction.

  Grinding and rubbing like two horny teenagers, sweat slicked their skin. Feeling a trickle between her boobs, Annie cursed silently. This wasn’t a book. No glistening for her. Strong hands urged her up on shaky legs. It only took a moment for her overheated brain to figure out what he wanted, and that she wanted it too. Wrapping her fingers around him, she carefully lined things up. This was no time for clumsiness. She flinched, shuddering violently as his tip brushed over her clit.

  “You okay?” CJ panted, actually managing to look concerned.

  “Way okay,” she promised.

  Her thighs shook. The feeling of inching down him was like nothing she’d ever felt. Seated, she stilled, just enjoying the fullness. CJ’s hips rolled and she gasped in pleasure. Hands still gripping her, he guided their movements. Her fingers curled against his stomach at the sensations shooting through her. She whimpered. That was so perfect. The tempo picked up, harsh panting and the slap of skin the only sound beyond the roaring in her ears. It felt way too good. She shook her head pleadingly.