9781631051289TemptedbytheCowboySullivan (2 page)

“Run?”

“Yeah.
You came to get down
and dirty, didn’t you?” he asked, his hands on his hips. One eyebrow cocked
over his eye right before a panty-melting grin spread across his lips. He dove
for her, pressing his shoulder into her abdomen as he lifted her off the ground
before he strolled for the mud pit.

She reached down to smack his taut ass, realizing just how
tight his butt was.
Holy hell!
Her long hair swung
back and forth, blocking her vision as the catcalls flew.

“Get her, Jason.”

“Hey, Peyton.
Takin
’ a bath with
Jason?”

She felt her face flush hot. “Put me down.”

“Nope.”

His boots hit the edge of the mud pit, with both feet
sliding until they went down into the water. He’d tried to bring her back over
his shoulder before they landed, only to hit a dirt mound in th
e middle. This caused him to lose his grip until she landed
directly on top of him, her face to his crotch and her legs cradling his head.
The crowd roared. Jason laughed and she couldn’t help but laugh too no matter
the precarious place her face brushed a
gainst.

The shape of his cock stood proud, outlined by the tight
wetness of his jeans.

“
Havin
’ a good time down there?”

“What? Shit.” She scrambled off him to land butt first in
the mud.

The whole crowd got into it by jumping into the pit with
them. A hug
e mud fight ensued with everyone throwing
globs of sludge at each other until the entire group stood dripping from head
to toe.

The parental unit stood on the sidelines laughing until
they bent over at the waist.

Peyton crawled toward the edge, only to be
pulled back in by her boot. When she twisted around, Jason
was grinning at her like a fool. Dirt smudged his cheeks and dripped from his
hair as his shirt lay plastered to his chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Out?”

“Nope.”
He dragged her back in
until they were stuck in the middle of the dirt party
again. Someone pushed him from behind, propelling him toward her until she
thought he’d land directly on her, drowning her in the process. Right before he
landed, he braced himself with his arms so he
didn’t
squash her, but it brought them in close proximity from nose to toes.

She lost herself in his eyes until he slowly bent his head,
closing the distance between them for what she really hoped to be a
light-me-on-fire kiss.

Right before he brought the
ir
mouths together, one of his brothers tackled him, throwing him off of her.
Damn it!
She pushed herself to her elbows, grimacing as the mud
squished under the pressure. She laughed as she watched the entire crowd sling
mud every which direction at each o
ther.

Two of the Young brothers grabbed their parents to drag
them into the fray. Everyone got into it, even the wives or girlfriends of the
boys already paired up. Mesa jumped in with both feet, Terri threw a big mud
ball at Jeff, and Paige pushed Jacob d
own even though
he took her with him into the mud. They seemed like such a happy family.
All of them.
Something she wished
she’d had growing up.

Her mother had been a single parent from the time of her
father took off when she was a child. She’d never had
siblings so she didn’t know how to act around a lot of people sometimes. She’d
always felt it must have been her fault her father left. He didn’t love
her…didn’t want her or something. She’d only been two when he’d taken a
business trip and never came bac
k. She didn’t want to
find him, never wanting to know the truth behind why he took off like he did.
Her mother didn’t discuss him. There were never any pictures. She didn’t even
know what he looked like anymore.

Enough feeling sorry for myself.
I’m going t
o enjoy this time
with a family even if I’m not part of it.

The party died down as everyone worked their way out of the
mud pit and started for their vehicles to head home. The sun started to go down
over the horizon, bringing with it the inky blackness of
the night way too soon. The
Youngs
usually had a bonfire
with their
muddin
’ parties, but since
everyone was head to toe in mud, they decided to forgo it this time and have
one at the house should anyone want to clean up before they came by.

“I’ll take you
home to change if
you want to come back for the bonfire.”

“I would appreciate the ride, but I don’t think I’ll come
back.”

“Why not?”
Jason asked, wiping a
smear of mud from her cheek.

“Even though it was a lot of fun hanging out with your
family, I just
don’t fit in with the family thing.”

“Sure you do. You’d get along great with Mesa and Terri.
Isn’t Paige one of your friends?”

“Yes.”

“Then there you go. You’d fit right in.”

She cocked an eyebrow.
“Really?
I’m not the good little girl, perfect
housewife and mother type.”

“Good. I kind of like the wild ones.”

She braced her hands on her hips. “Are you coming onto me,
Jason Young?”

“Is it
workin
’ ‘
cause
I can really turn on the charm if it’s
not.” He grinned
as she laughed.

“I’d be obliged if you’d take me home.”

“Sure enough, darlin’. Let me change clothes and I’ll be
happy to take you.” They walked to his truck in silence as she took in the mud
slung all over the sides.

“How do you keep the mud from getting
inside when you’re all muddy yourself?”

“I have blankets to put on the seats until I get home, but
they are leather so it’s a quick wipe off anyway.” He grabbed the blanket out
from behind the seats to spread it out.

“Good thinking.” He helped her into the
jacked up truck with a hand on her butt. When she turned
around to scold him, he just grinned. She rolled her eyes. Being mad at that
handsome face wouldn’t go very far so she didn’t try.

Once he sat behind the wheel, the engine roared to life
with a dist
inctive growl that settled low in her
belly. She loved the rumble of a diesel engine.

They pulled out, bouncing along the rutted road until they
made it to one of the ranch gates where he could get out onto the small
highway. “We’ll head back to my place s
o I can
change.”

“Sounds fine.”
She wasn’t sure she
could handle being in his house while he changed clothes and not jump him. All
the looks he was giving her had her wound tight and ready to bust loose. If she
could just get home without him touching her,
she
could relieve some of the pressure with her friendly battery operated boyfriend
until she could possibly scope out someone else.
Why don’t I bust this dry spell with him? I’m sure if I
propositioned him, he’d be willing.
A one night
stand with a hands
ome cowboy wouldn’t be so bad,
right?

Within minutes, they were pulling through a side gate of
the ranch she hadn’t known existed.

“You live out here?”

“Yeah.
I built this place
over the last couple of years.”

They pulled up slowly toward a wood frame, two story log
cabin.
“Even though you don’t have
a wife or steady girlfriend?”
Wow. It’s beautiful!

“Yep.
I used to stay in one
of the bedrooms upstairs in the main lodge, but it got kind of noisy with the
tourist
s, so I got me a log cabin kit. I’ve been
building on it. The outside is finished, but I don’t have any
landscapin
’ or anything. It’s not
finished on the inside yet, although I have my bedroom and bathroom done.”

“You’re living out here then?”

“Yeah.
I’m s
lowly doing things when I have time away from my duties at
the ranch. Do you want to see the inside?”

“No!” She cleared her throat. “I mean, no. I’m head to toe
in mud. I don’t want to get your floors dirty or anything.”

“You could shower here and I could
wash your clothes.”

Wow, the opportunity to have Jason Young all to herself in
his house almost overwhelmed her. No other women around.
No one hanging on his every word.

“What do you say? I’ll even share the shower with you if
you want.”

“Oh you are so te
mpting.”

“I only want what is best for both of us, darlin’. When you
have clean clothes and showered, we can go back to the bonfire.
No hanky
panky
unless you are
feelin
’ the burn.”

“What if I say yes?”

“To what?”

“All of it. I wouldn’t mind
ridin
’ you
like a
wild stallion.”

His sexy-ass grin reappeared. “If you are propositioning
me, babe, I’m ready, willing and able to take care of your needs all the way
around the clock if you want to.”

“Let’s check out your bathroom then and we’ll see where it
leads.
”

The moment the engine cut, he was around the passenger side
of the truck, pulling the door open with a yank. He scooped her up from her
seat into his arms, hurrying for the cabin. “Uh, you forgot to shut the door.”

“Crap.” He walked back and used her boo
ted foot to push it closed.

Seconds later, he fumbled with the key to the door lock.
“Let me.” She took the keys from his hand to open the door. Even though the
house wasn’t finished, what he had done amazed her. A large stone fireplace
encompassed one wal
l to her left. Although it wasn’t
lit currently with the warmer temperatures of the early summer months in
Bandera, she could see him sitting in front the flames reading a book. Okay,
maybe not reading a book, but reclining in his naked glory on a fluffy r
ug just waiting for a woman to rub him all over.

She blinked as he set her down on her feet.

“Strip it off, babe.”

“Right here?” she asked as he plucked a couple of buttons
loose down the front of her shirt.

“Yeah.
I mean this way we
won’t carry the mud t
hrough the house and I can put
your clothes in the washer right now.”

Self-consciousness swamped her. This would be the first
time he’d see her naked and she wasn’t sure what he’d think. She wasn’t slender
like a lot of women. She had curves, bulges and
even
some cellulite. What about her tattoos and piercings? Would he find them sexy
or disgusting? She covered her breasts with her hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never undressed in front of you before.”

“I know.” He grinned. “I can’t wait to see what treasur
es you’re
hidin
’ under there.”

“How do you feel about tats?”