Mr. Accidental Cowboy_Jet City Matchmaker Series_Dylan

by Gina Robinson

A bedside lamp was turned on low. The outer curtains were open, revealing the city lights beyond through the privacy gauze of the inner lining curtains. There was a mint on each sumptuous set of pillows, and a red rose draped across them. A bottle of champagne chilled in a silver ice bucket on a table set for two by the window. A delicious array of handcrafted chocolates was artfully arranged on a plate.

  I raised an eyebrow. Not that Dylan could see it. I pointed to the rose. “You were expecting company?”

  He laughed. He was good at hiding it, but I detected a trace of nerves and embarrassment. “Damn that Cam. This is the honeymoon suite.” He studied the table and shook his head, softly swearing beneath his breath at this Cam person again. “My buddy Cam got me good. Now I see why he wanted me to have the room.”

  He shook his head. “He ribbed me about Ashley thinking I had the best match and the best chance of success. Sorry.” His voice was full of awe. “I can’t say I disagree. About having the best match, I mean.”

  I smiled. “I got that.”

  “The ballroom is a venue for lots of weddings that go late into the night. Bridal couples often spend their first night here when the wedding celebration goes late into the night. This looks like the honeymoon package to me. When someone books the room, the staff must set it up like this as a default.” He sighed. “Or Cam pranked me.”

  I shrugged. “Chocolates and champagne don’t offend me.”

  He grinned, tossed his duster over the back of a chair, and set his cowboy hat on the dresser. He was still masked, and so was I.

  I pulled my purse off my shoulder and set it next to his hat, glancing at him in the mirror above the dresser. Sometimes the only way to get an answer was to be direct. I turned to face him. “Masks on or masks off?”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Do you know who I am? Do you want to?”

  I nodded and slipped out of my shoes. “I know who you’re supposed to be. I know who I think you are. I like the man I’ve met tonight. Is that the answer you’re looking for?”

  I took a step toward him and began slowly unbuttoning his shirt. With his boots on, he was a good six inches taller than I was. Oh, the pleasure of those six inches. It made me feel normal and average. Crazy that being average made me feel sexy. When was the last time I’d been out with a guy taller than I was? With a man who made me feel small and feminine?

  I kissed his neck as I unbuttoned the last button of his shirt, pulled it free from his pants, and let it fall open. He wore a white tank top undershirt, just like the character he was portraying. “I know what the space cowboy you’re dressed like would do. You’re dressed like him right down to your undershirt.”

  “Authenticity in cosplay is key.”

  “Is it?” I looked up into his eyes. “I’ve seen the episode at the ball. Your space cowboy would leave the mask on because mystery is sexy. And who wants to destroy an illusion? Tonight’s a fantasy. There’s time tomorrow for reality and explanations. For plain talking, as your cowboy would say. Why complicate things now?”

  He pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. A man who knows how to kiss is as delightful to find as a man who knows how to dance. I let him lead, opening my mouth to him when he teased my lips with his tongue. Sucking his lip, pressing myself to him.

  Cowboys are easy enough to undress. I had no problem maintaining lip contact as I slid his shirt off his shoulders, revealing firm biceps and taut shoulders. His undershirt came off next. The old, soft Dylan that the other guys made fun of during games of skins versus shirts teams was long gone, and now would have been the envy of most of them, if not all. My fingers itched to touch him. There was no reason to deny myself. I ran my hands over the hard planes of his chest and his ripped abs.

  He was still beneath my touch, breathing shallowly as I admired his body and caressed him, kissing him where I liked. Licking him. Pausing to suck his nipples.

  Finally, he murmured something obscene about restraint and limits, grabbed me, and spun me around to face the mirror, my back toward him. He held me by the waist, staring at the back of my laced corset.

  I looked back at him over my shoulder. “Stumped, cowboy?”

  “I’m pretty good with costumes, but how the hell did you get into this one and how do I get you out?”

  “I had help getting in,” I said. “Help that involved a lot of breath-holding and a foot at my back. It’s complicated.” I turned and cupped his face in my hands. “Maybe it’s best to leave me in the top half.”

  Wearing a mask made me bold. “This lower part comes off easily enough.” I slid my pants off while undulating and doing a move from the bachata. I stepped out of them, revealing a tiny pair of thong panties.

  I slipped my fingers into the waistband. “These shouldn’t be too much of a barrier for you.” I pointed to the bed. “Take off your boots.”

  He grinned. “Whatever you say, ma’am.” He sat, pulled them off, and tossed them aside. Before I could help him, he unzipped his pants and slipped them off, along with his underwear, producing a condom between his fingers as if by magic. He held the condom up. But that wasn’t the thing that was up that caught my attention. Dylan was as amply endowed as I’d imagined. Big man, big pleasure.

  I took the condom from him and whistled softly. “Quality brand.” I ripped open the wrapper.

  “Only the best.” He grabbed my hand. “This is against the rules.”

  “Is it?” I pulled the condom from its wrapper and slid into his lap, facing him with my knees one either side of his hips, his big, beautiful erection between us. “Five dates. That’s the rule, isn’t it?” I slid the condom onto him and stroked him. “Why, I feel like I’ve known you forever, cowboy. Since we were children, at least. Feelings got to count for something on this planet.”

  If you stretched the facts a bit, we had been on five dates. I watched him make the same mental calculations.

  “Funny thing about that.” He grabbed my thighs. “I feel the same way.”

  “Good. We’re in complete agreement.” I pressed my forehead to his, rose on my knees, pulled my panties aside, and slid onto him. The best way to do a big man was on top. It put me in control of the thrust. It was a good thing my knees were on the soft mattress—they went completely weak. “Mmmmmm.”

  He took my face in his hands and kissed me. I rode him slowly and kissed him passionately, working my hips as if dancing the bachata the way I’d wanted to all night—full contact, full passion, no holds barred. He ran his hands down my neck, over my shoulders. He held me tightly at the waist, undulating with me.

  I wanted to savor this moment. I wanted to ride it forever. I was wild with want. I was full of paradoxes and full of him.

  If love was a dance, we were dancing it. Every move we’d feigned during the dance, we made with full, naked contact now—touching, exploring with our hands, mouths, and lips. After all the tease of the dance, we were lovers at last, free to act on our impulses, safely hidden behind our masks.

  He fell onto his back, pulling me with him. He looked up at me. “You’re a beautiful sight.” He thrust up.

  I gasped.

  While I was distracted with pleasure, he rolled us over.

  “This is a beautiful view, too.”

  Making love with a man who looks at you while you move together is sexy and intimate in a way I wouldn’t have imagined. Most of the men I’d had sex with had been too lost in their own pleasure to care about staying connected to me. Dylan was different. His eyes held mine, even though he couldn’t be sure of it.

  His thrusts were powerful, but measured, as if he was afraid of being too rough with me. His gentleness wasn’t something I was used to, either. Most of the men I’d dated just assumed a big girl like me could take anything. I was touched.

  I wasn’t a screamer, but I liked to murmur and moan to show my appreciation. But even if I’d wanted to, I would have been unable to hold my moans in. This was where I wanted to be. This was the man I wanted to be with.

  He w
as so gentle and slowly rhythmical, so considerate and patient as he brought me toward climax that it took me some time to realize he was holding back.

  I cupped his face. “Let yourself go, cowboy.” I arched up and kissed him.

  That kiss pushed us both over the edge into sublime waves of pleasure. The power of my climax shook me all the way to my soul. Or so it felt.

  When it was over, he gently collapsed on me, holding the bulk of his weight off me.

  I held him to me and stroked his hair. His mask scratched at the bare skin of my shoulder, but I didn’t care. I barely felt it.

  We lay in contented silence. This was the way things should be.

  Finally, he lifted his head. “Champagne?”

  “I was thinking chocolate.”

  12

  Ashley

  Laura and Dylan disappeared before the evening was over. They could have gone to one of the onsite restaurants for an after-dinner drink and some quiet conversation. But judging by the way they’d been dancing and looking at each other, I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that. The most obvious answer was that they’d gone to Dylan’s room. And were breaking the rules.

  Look, yes, I’d made the rules. But the rules were based on many years of very good relationship research done by accredited researchers. I wanted the most of this relationship for Dylan and Laura. By the most, I meant I wanted it to last a lifetime. I was worried they were blowing it. Okay, bad terminology. That they were lessening their chances of success. Stacking the odds against themselves.

  Despite my earlier euphoria over so many successes, and the overall success of the ball, I was in an anxious mood when the ballroom finally emptied, the tabs were closed, the bills were paid, the staff were sent home, and Lazer and I retired to his room for the night at the Millennium’s top floor. We had a corner suite, which was a good thing—fewer neighbors to hear us fight.

  Lazer was still in his dark and stormy mood, a mood I had little experience with and wasn’t sure how to handle. The sad truth is that I can coach clients how to behave in just about every situation, but being personally on the defensive? I was too close for any real perspective.

  “I wish you’d just talk to me,” I said to Lazer when the door was shut.

  He untied his tie and tossed it away. It landed near the window and lay limp on the floor. “I don’t think you want me to talk right now. I’ll say something I regret.”

  I set my crown on a table next to a vase of roses that was supposed to be romantic but looked ridiculous in this angry atmosphere. The last thing on either of our minds was romance.

  I clutched my purse. “Maybe I should just go home, then. Give you your space and time to cool off.”

  “That won’t do any good. I won’t cool off. I’ll stew and get angrier.” His gaze was fierce.

  I glared at him. “Then what’s the solution? You won’t talk. You don’t want me to leave. So we just cross our arms and glare at each other all night for as long as it takes?”

  “You know what this is about.”

  “Why don’t you just say it?” I slammed my purse down again. “Knox. This is about Knox and your stupid jealousy. I don’t know what it is with you. Ruck was never jealous when I danced with Knox. If Ruck could trust his brother in arms, I don’t see why you can’t.”

  “Knox isn’t my brother in arms. Ruck was a fool. Ruck shouldn’t have trusted him either. The perfect Ruck.” He spat the words out and let out a loud sound of disgust. “I’m tired of being compared to a dead man, an idealized version of a guy I can never compete with. A man I can’t ridicule. Never speak ill of the dead, especially an honorable military man who died in the service of our country.” Lazer’s voice rose with each word, louder and louder. Angrier and angrier. “How do I compete with a hero? Hell, two heroes? One who lost body parts.” His chest rose and fell.

  He reached out and grabbed my arm. “Ever think that Ruck wasn’t as perfect as you remember? Maybe Ruck was fallible. Maybe Ruck was blind to the fact that Knox wants you.” Suddenly his voice dropped. “But I sure the hell am not.”

  I met his fierce look and took a step into him until we were almost nose to nose. “In case you haven’t noticed—I’m a relationship expert. You’re off base.”

  “Care to bet on that?” He grabbed me by the arm. “Because I’m not. I love you. I trust you. I want you by my side.” His voice broke with his anger. “It’s him I don’t trust. I don’t like being jealous. Believe it or not, I’m not the jealous type.”

  He was telling the truth—he usually wasn’t.

  “But I know when another guy is trying to move in on my territory, and Knox is. You can’t see it because you can’t believe it. Your past and his loyalty to Ruck is blinding you.”

  I wrapped my arms around Lazer and pressed my head to his chest while he stood stiff and uninviting. “I love you too.” As I traced his chest, he relaxed and his attitude softened. “I don’t want to fight with you. That’s not what I had in mind for tonight, King of My Heart.”

  Lazer sighed, wrapped his arms around me, and pressed me tightly to him. “Me either.”

  I cupped his cheek and kissed him lightly, gauging his response. His anger was draining away. He wanted to make up.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Yeah. Me too.” He rested his forehead against mine.

  “Let’s make up, then.” I spun around in his arms to face the mirror and bent over, sticking my butt into his hard crotch. I undulated like the flowing, curving, watery moves of a slow bachata, holding his gaze as I slid my tights off and ground against his crotch with a challenge in my eyes.

  “Fuck.”

  “That’s exactly what I had in mind.” I made kissy lips to him in the mirror. “Are you going to keep me wet and waiting?”

  His eyes were dark as he grinned. He tossed his jacket off, untucked and unbuttoned his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and pulled his pants off. He was erect and as ready as I was.

  “You’re still wearing your mask,” I said.

  “And so are you.”

  “I like it this way.” I bent and extended my butt to him. There was no need to go up on my toes. I was still in my heels.

  He reached around and pulled one of my breasts free from my costume.

  “Mmmmmmm.” I closed my eyes as he played with my nipple and entered me with a sudden thrust.

  Sometimes hot, quick sex is all you need. This was one of those times. But what was I going to do about Knox?

  *

  Laura

  I didn’t finish my champagne. We each only had one chocolate.

  “If I eat more,” Dylan said, “my trainer will make my life hell working it off. I’ve already eaten too much today.”

  I got the impression he was trying to make it clear that he didn’t have any intention of putting his weight back on anytime soon. But the main reason we ate so little is that we cuddled and talked and watched the city lights twinkle.

  Dylan still had a killer wit and sense of humor. He was still on the quiet side, a man of few words, but he had no trouble talking to me. We avoided mentioning knowing each other before and just talked about where we were now. He told me about developing the dating app with his friends, selling it for millions, and working on a new project with them.

  I told him about my engineering work, my friends, my aspirations. He was encouraging and asked intelligent questions.

  He was fiercely loyal to his friends, even though he told me funny stories about them. Lazer, Cam, Jeremy, and Austin seemed like guys I’d like to get to know. They had some crazy adventures together. I understood better now the relationship between Lazer and Ashley and Dylan. And why it was so important to Ashley to see Dylan well matched.

  All in all, I was floating—no thanks to the champagne, even.

  Finally, though, I had to go. It felt too soon to spend the night, and I had things to think about and digest.

  “Do Ashley and Lazer have a suite here too?” I asked.

 
; Dylan grinned. “Lazer miss out? What do you think?”

  “Okay. I’ll take that as a yes.” I glanced at the time. “It’s late. Do you think the ball’s still going?”

  “It was supposed to end at midnight.”

  I frowned. “Yeah.”

  He grabbed my hand. “Are you going?”

  I nodded. “This has been wonderful, but—”

  “You could stay for breakfast…”

  I raised an eyebrow, even though he couldn’t see it. I pointed to my mask. Yes, we still wore them. I was almost afraid to take it off. “Sleeping in a mask will be difficult.”

  He grinned. “Who said anything about sleeping?”

  I laughed.

  “The guys and I are used to partying all night.” He sounded hopeful.

  I sighed. “Sadly, I’m not. Getting up early every morning for work has made an old lady out of me. Early to bed, early to rise. Besides, I think staying with you will be a dead giveaway to Ashley that we broke the rules.”

  “Ask me if I care.”

  I smiled. “I admire your bravado, but—”

  He nodded. “All right. I get the point. Can I get you a car?”

  “I parked in the lot.”

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  I nodded. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” I’d have to feel safe with a guy as big as he was. And he was a gentleman. That hadn’t changed.

  He nodded back as I got my purse. He took my arm.

  I put a hand on his shoulder as we reached the door. “Do you hear that?”

  “What?”

  “Voices in the hall.”

  He put an ear to the door, frowned, then cautiously opened it a crack and peeked out. He shut it to almost closed, watching with an eye through the slit until I heard a door slam. “Good call. That was Ashley and Lazer. They’re in their room now. The coast is clear.”

  I smiled and took a step forward.

  He took my hand and held me back. “Can I see you again, Odette?”

  This was, of course, what I’d been hoping to hear. I nodded. “With or without the mask?”

  He grinned. “I’m thinking without. Otherwise we’re going to draw some stares. And I’d like to see your eyes. I imagine they’re beautiful.”