The Sweet Shoppe: Cowboy Up Read online

  It took him a second to realize that she was waiting for him to answer. Her hand hadn’t repeated that motion, and she stood staring at him. She was naked, wet, her hair plastered against her head, and he couldn’t get over the sight of her or the fact that she was there with him. She cocked her head to the side and smiled up at him, and he realized she was waiting for his answer. He nodded, not able to get the words out of his mouth.

  She started working his cock in her hand again, their skin slick with the shower water, making it easy for her to work him over. Every three or four pumps, she would swipe her thumb over the tip, but the anticipation of not knowing when it would happen was almost as thrilling as the touch itself. Leaning his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes and allowed her to push him closer to the edge.

  Each time her hand moved, it brushed against his belly. His muscles tensed as more blood rushed to his groin. He was moments away from spurting all over her hand, and he didn’t care. He wanted to come, but before he could, she pulled her hand away.

  Irritated to be so close and have her move away, he opened his eyes to argue -- but she was already sliding down to her knees in front of him. He swallowed hard as she opened her mouth and took his cock in.

  Nick watched as her lips wrapped around him. Inch by inch, slowly, his cock disappeared into her mouth. When he was finally in as far as he could go, she pulled her head back, sliding her tongue along the length of him until she reached the end. Then she swiped her tongue over the tip. She continued her movements, and somewhere along the way she’d cupped his balls, squeezing them at just the right moment, prodding him along. He took her head into his hands, threading his fingers through her damp, heavy locks. His balls drew up, blood heated, and the last of it rushed to his groin. He was close, so close --

  Nick jerked awake just as he came, his hand on his cock, cum spurting out and soaking his cock and hand. His heart thudded against his chest, his body throbbing as the tension eased from his muscles.

  Jesus, it’d been a long time since he’d had a wet dream that intense. He could practically feel her breath on his skin, her lips on his dick ...

  When his heartbeat returned to normal, he climbed out of bed and went to shower himself clean. As he turned on the water, his thoughts roamed back to the dream -- the sights, the smells, the expression on Linda’s face as she took his cock between her lips ...

  He looked down as his shaft went hard again. Leaning over, he turned the water completely to cold before stepping in.

  Chapter Six

  Linda brushed a nonexistent piece of lint off her shirt as she sat in the kitchen drinking her coffee. She couldn’t get past the dream she’d had the night before. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought she’d been drugged. Dreams like these were just not ... normal for her. Oh, she had sexy dreams, but she never once woke up knowing exactly what it felt like to suck on Nick’s cock. Hell, she’d swear she knew the taste of his cum.

  “Up early this morning?”

  His deep voice rumbled over the crowd of kitchen workers, jerking her out of her thoughts. Heat stole up her neck into her face. Dammit. She was a woman grown. Not some little teenybopper who’d been caught watching Porky’s. It wasn’t like she hadn’t performed that act before.

  She glanced up at him as he strode into the room. Nick never just walked anywhere. He walked with purpose, pride. As a girl, she’d often fantasized about him as a Comanche warrior. It all had to do with his stance, the way he carried himself. Nothing had changed, except he’d grown his hair longer, which she just loved. Today, as usual, he’d pulled his silky strands back and tied them at the base of his neck.

  “Ahh, I was out like a light last night. Not used to going to sleep so early.”

  He poured himself a cup of coffee and then sat down next to her at the kitchen table. Dammit. She didn’t need him so close. Especially with the memories of that vivid dream still fresh in her mind and him so near she could smell the fresh soap from his shower.

  “Wanna ride me?”

  Her breath caught in her throat and she choked. “What?”

  “Wanna go for a ride with me?”

  Swallowing, she calmed her heart. “Ahh, no. I need to get some stuff done in the office. Don’t you have a class or something?”

  “Nope. I take Wednesdays off.” He sat back in his chair and studied her. His brow wrinkled as he frowned. “Come on, Linda. You haven’t been up on a horse since you got here. You know you want to.”

  She did want to. More than she should. Not that riding was a bad thing, but wanting to go riding with Nick was ... bad. It was very bad, and very tempting. She did want to go, and maybe, if she got out of the office, she would clear her head. Too much time confined inside was probably her problem. Nick was attractive. Okay, he was a stud, but it wasn’t like he usually affected her this deeply.

  “Tell you what. Let me email the new web designer, and then I’ll meet you outside.”

  “Web designer?”

  “Yeah, your website sucks.”

  Before he could say another word, she was up and moving to the office. As soon as she finished her work, she ran upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, and was back down in less than ten minutes, changed into jeans for the ride.

  The West Texas heat punched her in the face as she stepped out the door. Even though it was still early in the day, the temperature had to be close to the mid-eighties. She stopped, sucked in a breath of hot, dusty air, and let it out on a cough.

  Deep, warm, masculine chuckling caught her attention. “A little hot for you, city girl?”

  She turned her head and almost melted at the sight in front of her.

  Nick strode toward her. She’d seen the worn straw cowboy hat on him more than once, but she’d nearly forgotten what he looked like dressed for a ride. A blue cotton T-shirt stretched over his muscular chest, emphasizing his defined pecs. Her gaze slid down his body, and her knees almost gave out. Jesus, he was wearing chaps. Even in the heat, she knew he preferred to wear them, but dammit -- did he have to do it to tempt her? There was nothing particularly sexy about them, except the fact that they accented one part of his anatomy she’d dreamed about the night before. If the memory from her dream was even halfway close to reality, she figured she’d be a lucky girl to get him into her bed.

  She sighed as she walked down the steps to meet him.

  “Got a hat?” His voice was abrupt and not as teasing as his last question. Knowing him to be moody at times, Linda just ignored it.

  “Uh, no, I forgot. I put on some sunscreen.”

  He shook his head, said something about asinine city women under his breath, and brushed past her. As he did, his shoulder grazed hers, and she swallowed as a rush of heat tingled down her spine. He barely touched her, but she could already feel her nipples hardening. She was just lucky he hadn’t noticed. A couple minutes later he returned, still muttering under his breath, slammed a hat down on her head, and then walked past her to the horses.

  She swallowed her comments because they would have involved various places he could shove the hat, and walked to the mare he’d selected for her. Once she mounted, she relaxed immediately. It had been years since she’d ridden, but her body hadn’t forgotten and immediately fell into the rhythm of riding.

  Nick shot her a look over his shoulder, for what reason she didn’t know. It was filled with irritation and ... arousal? No way. He wouldn’t want anything to do with her. All he wanted was free accounting and then to get her out of there as quickly as possible. Still, she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to the mean look. Because even an angry Nicodemus McCabe was a toe-tingling, want-to-eat-him-up-with-a-spoon, he’s-so-gorgeous Nick.

  * * * * *

  Nick scowled at Linda as she pulled alongside of him. She ignored him, as she had all morning. She’d been too much into the ride to take much notice of him anyway.

  He’d forgotten how much she loved to ride. Her father had always said she’d been a natural fro
m the time she could walk. He’d thrown her up on the horse, and with barely any instruction, she’d taken to it. Nick had never understood how she could walk away from the ranch, from the life they’d grown up in.

  But, he thought moodily, she’d had bigger and better plans. He glanced at her again and thought about her seat, her posture. She was born to ride. He should’ve gotten her out on a horse sooner, but he’d lost track of time, and before he knew it, she’d been there almost a month.

  When he’d seen her this morning, all he could think of was the dream he’d had and how much he wanted to spend time with her. Stupid, because spending time with her was dangerous. What was worse was the way she’d looked at him when she walked out of the house. Jesus, she’d looked like she wanted to lick him up one side and down the other. After the dreams from the night before, he didn’t need that. He needed distance. Which, thanks to his damn mouth, he didn’t get.

  And watching her on the horse -- he’d forgotten how arousing it was to watch her ride. Not many women who came to the ranch had her skill. Each time he looked at her, his mind would conjure up images of Linda straddling him, riding him ...

  His dick throbbed, and grimly he decided it was time to head back. Riding around with a boner was not only embarrassing, it was downright painful.

  “Linda, we have to head back.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him and frowned. “Do we have to?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I have to get some things in town today that hadn’t come in yesterday, and you need to get last month’s sheet tallied.”

  She pouted and -- Good God, he wanted to kiss those lips. Not one woman in the world could pout like Linda and turn him on. Usually it had the opposite effect, but damn near everything she did turned him on.

  With a sigh, she reined in her horse and followed him without another comment. When they reached the ranch, she dismounted and turned her mare toward the barn to go brush her down. Just what he fucking needed -- to spend more time with her while they tended the horses. He needed out of her company and fast.

  Before he could offer to take care of the horse, the door to the house opened and Dennis yelled out to her.

  “Linda, you have a long-distance phone call. Some guy named Charles.”

  She didn’t say a word, just stood there, the glow from a satisfying ride quickly draining, leaving her face pale in the midday sunlight. Nick assumed this was the boyfriend.

  “I guess I should take that.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  She shook her head and sighed. “No, Charles would just keep calling if I didn’t.”

  She looked like she’d rather spend another year on the ranch than talk to Charles. But he knew Linda was probably right, so he said, “Go on. I’ll take care of the grooming.”

  Her solemn green eyes studied him for a second or two. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded, and she headed to the house. With each step she took away from him, he fought the urge to call her back. He wanted the right to tell her not to talk to an asshole who’d abused her trust. But he didn’t have the right. He never would.

  And for the first time in his life, Nick wondered why he wanted it so damn much.

  Linda rushed through the door and hurried to her office. She wanted to give Charles a piece of her mind, the jackass. Anger boiled low in her stomach. The fact that he had the nerve to call her! By the time she reached her office, though, Dennis was standing by her desk, shaking his head.

  “Sorry, Linda, I think he lost reception. He was on a cell phone.”

  She bit back the growl threatening to choke her. She didn’t want to take out her anger on Dennis. “That’s okay. If I know him, he’ll be calling back soon.”

  But after waiting ten minutes, she couldn’t stand herself any longer and headed upstairs to clean up and change. She returned just fifteen minutes later, grabbed a bottle of water, and headed to her office for work.

  Thirty minutes later, she was up to her eyeballs in the last month’s bills and tallies and was ready to scream. Nick’s filing system made the federal government look organized. She ruthlessly categorized another expenditure and then stopped for a second. The last few years on the job had been boring, to say the least. Nothing challenged her. But this, she thought, looking around at all the little pieces of paper with Nick’s scribbles, was fun. She’d forgotten she liked challenges. She liked to be tested. And her ideas were already bringing in more money, as their website was going to do when it was redesigned.

  Before she could figure out just what it all meant, there was a sharp knock and then the door opened. Nick glowered down at her, his frown fierce.

  “So what the hell did Chuck want?”

  In a split second, her anger was back. “And what the hell business is it of yours?”

  He stepped into the office, shoved the door shut, and stalked to her desk. “If you run off and leaving me hanging, I won’t buy your part of the ranch.”

  She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and gave him her meanest look. “Well, you’ll still be making money, so what difference does that make?”

  He didn’t say anything. He tromped around her desk, grabbed her by her arms, and lifted her out of her chair. Her face was level with his. She could smell the scents of the ranch -- horses, leather, man -- all wrapped around her, and her head spun.

  “I don’t know.”

  And then he kissed her. Hard. For a second she didn’t respond; she couldn’t, because she was too stunned. Then a moment later, her mind and body both surrendered to the kiss.

  She opened her mouth, and his tongue stole inside. He released her arms, slipped his around her waist, and pulled her against his body. His very hard body. Linda tilted her head to one side and slid her arms up, over his shoulders and then around his neck.

  Pulling back from her mouth, he trailed hot, wet kisses down her neck to her collarbone. His hand stole up to her breast, and he rubbed a thumb over her nipple. It pebbled immediately. Her mind spun; her body heated. But not just from present actions. Memories of the two dreams she’d had about him intruded into her consciousness, weaving a spell that made it difficult to resist.

  His hair tickled just beneath her chin, and she sighed. She reached behind his head and undid the leather strap he used to tie it back. Throwing the tie down on her desk, she gathered his long hair in her hands. It slid between her fingers, dark as midnight, silky to the touch -- she’d loved his hair forever.

  He growled against her neck and then rose, his face level with hers. “Damn, that feels good.” The deep satisfaction in his voice sent a rush of heat along her nerve endings. She wanted this. His cock was hard against her belly, and she knew, without a doubt in her mind, just how he would taste in her mouth. She wanted to rip off his clothes and do gloriously naughty things to him.

  But before she could, the phone rang, making both of them jump apart like disobedient school children.

  Her heart was beating hard against her chest. She caught her breath and picked up the phone.

  “McCabe and Wheeler Ranch.”

  “Hey, Linda, babe -- is that you? This is Charles.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Hello, Charles.”

  The name of her ex on Linda’s lips irritated the living hell out of Nick. Her tone was cool, not even a bit flushed. And he was standing there with a boner you could hang a hat on.

  “I’ve been busy.”

  She frowned, then noticed he was watching her, so she turned her back on him. Anger and pain twisted in his gut, in his heart. She could act like a cat in heat one second, then treat him like a dirty stable boy the next. Dammit, it wasn’t right. She behaved as if nothing had happened, that she hadn’t been close to letting him take her on the fucking desk.

  He drew in a deep breath and pulled himself back. He should be thankful. Screwing Linda would be a class-A fuckup. They didn’t need the mess of a relationship other than the one they had.

  He watched her stand tall, her spine straigh
ter than a broom handle. His gaze traveled down to her full, rounded ass, and his dick twitched. Man, he wanted her like that. He wanted her bent over her desk, naked, screaming his name. He shook his head, but the image wouldn’t leave him. His hand shook as he lifted it to brush back his hair.

  He had to get out of there. All he could think of was her, the way she tasted, the way she felt against him, the feel of her fingers threading through his hair.

  Without another word, he turned and left her office. He licked his lips as he strode down the hall, and shit, he could still taste her. Hell, he could smell that damn lavender perfume she liked to wear. His body was hot and hard and ready to go, and she was in there talking to her ex-boyfriend, probably making plans to leave. He decided to cool his head and his body with a trip to town. Maybe by the time he got back, Linda would be packed and ready to go, and he could say good riddance to her back.

  But as he slid into the cab of his pickup, he couldn’t stop the burning in his chest, or the feeling that disaster loomed nearby. He pushed it aside and headed to town. He didn’t need complications, didn’t need prissy, hard-to-please women, and he definitely didn’t need Linda.

  Linda sighed when Nick finally left her alone, and tried to ignore her body, which hadn’t stopped throbbing.

  “Listen, Charles, I have no reason to want you back.”

  There was a beat of silence. “What do you mean? You got fired; you have nowhere to live.”

  “And I want nothing to do with you.”

  “Jesus, you’re living on that Godforsaken ranch you despise. I would think you would be begging me to take you back.”

  Anger lit through her. Her dissipating arousal added to her ferocity. “Listen, Charles, I don’t want you back. And for your information, I don’t need you. I’m doing just fine on my own.”

  He snickered. God, she hated the sound of it. And, she realized, she hated him. No, not hated, but he irritated the hell out of her. What the hell had she ever seen in him?