Caribbean Cowboy: Under the Caribbean Sun, Book 4 (7 page)

As she inched her car closer, she couldn’t see a soul in the twilight. Harm’s giant black truck sat at one side of an expanse of bare dirt and an old pickup that looked like it had given up on the other side. She parked the car, her headlights illuminating the space. Makeshift furniture sat on the left of the campfire, and to the right she saw him.

Naked.

Her heart jumped at the sight of his broad back, bare ass. He stood in a half barrel, water showering down from somewhere above him. A pair of jeans rested on the arm of a chair, a straw cowboy hat on the seat and worn boots on the ground beside it. He turned and shaded his eyes against the glare of her headlights. Maybe she could just turn tail and run.

And then he smiled that sexy grin and she knew she’d been made. Janny turned off the car and killed the lights, shoring up her resolve to do what needed to be done. Find out exactly why Nik Hansen was on her island.

Hot damn. Nik let the last of the water drain from the solar shower bag and pushed the water out of his short hair. He hadn’t imagined Janny would find him within hours of arriving home. Had to be a good sign. It meant she hadn’t had her fill of him yet.

He’d planned on looking her up once he’d had a chance to truly shower and shave. Out here, he rinsed off just enough to stand himself when he crawled into the bed of the truck at night. And because he thought it a bit wasteful to use clean water to make compost tea. Nik stepped out of the half barrel and onto the pile of rocks he’d collected. He grabbed his towel off the chair and rubbed down his head, shoulders, back. He wanted to give her the opening line, but she didn’t seem to have the words. He wrapped the towel around his waist and turned to watch her walk toward him.

Now that was a beautiful woman. Her wild curls rivaled with the serious expression on her face. Once she reached him, she squared her shoulders, yet she cocked one curvy hip to the side.

“Did you miss me, Princess?” He licked his lips as he took her in, from her sandaled feet to the sway of her red sundress.

“The only thing I missed was your last name, Nik Hansen.” Her pale eyes sparked in the firelight.

Why did it sound like an accusation? “It was in the wedding program, and I had to stand still and smile for lots of pictures.”

“You said Holly was your best friend.”

“I am her best friend. I’m on a rock in the middle of the Caribbean Sea because she needed me here. If that isn’t a best friend, I don’t know what is.”

“That’s a brother.”

“Nope. She has eight of us and I’m the only one here.” He kept the towel in place while he slipped back into his boots to make the walk to the truck bed.

“What are you doing here?”

“Me? I’m cleaning up. Things out this way get pretty dirty.” He winked, loving the way her shoulders jumped. Oh, yeah, she’d come for him, all right.

“Whoa there, cowboy.” She held up her hands like he was robbing her train. “I’m only here to make sure you don’t think anything like what happened at the wedding is going to happen here.”

“You came all the way out here, the day you get back, just to tell me that?”

“I don’t want any confusion.”

“Like how you told me that if I ever visited Holly, I ought to look you up?”

“I never dreamed you would.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe you.” He leaned against the side of the truck, watching the flickering firelight lick over her body. “You dreamed it. I’m literally the man of your dreams, Janny.”

Her throat undulated as she swallowed. “That was a fantasy, and this is my reality. I don’t even know who you really are. You’re a different person every time I see you.”

“I’m better as myself than playing a role.” He couldn’t help the wink. It made her breath hitch. Without touching her, it was the best he could do right now. He stretched out his arms. “This is me, at least right now. I’m gambling that I can raise cattle on limestone, but I’m going to try harder than anyone ever has before. I’m happiest when I can turn dirt and sunshine into food. I never thought I’d be piecing together a ranch between beaches, but on an intellectual level, it’s fascinating. My team at the university has become a virtual think tank.”

“I’m confused. You work at a university?”

He nodded. “When I left for college, I went to learn how to run fish hatcheries, since fishing was all I knew. Once I learned about food animal ranching, I never looked back. We’re standing on what will become my doctoral thesis. I hope. If this project works, the economic impact on Anguilla will be huge.”

“The cowboy professor.” She gave a choking laugh. “Of course you are. I don’t know why I’m surprised.”

“Me either. Who did you expect to find out here tonight?”

She sighed, her shoulders drooped and the strap of her sun dress slipped. “I was hoping for a bumbling biker with more money than brains.”

“High expectations there.”

“I’ve had my share of disappointment, and I don’t want to get in line for another helping. I thought I’d come out here, you’d be wrong somehow, and I could file away our time in Alaska under lessons learned.”

“Really? That’s why you drove out here tonight?” He grinned when she studied her sandals. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

He opened the truck door and grabbed two bottles from the mini fridge in the center console. Harm’s truck had more add-ons than he’d thought possible. With a twist of his hand, he opened the bottles and turned. He offered one to Janny, but she shook her head.

“I don’t drink on Anguilla.”

“Ever?” He took a long pull from his bottle and the bubbles burst down his throat.

“Very rarely. And never if I have to drive or might get called in to work.”

“Fair enough.” He offered her the bottle again. “It’s mineral water.”

“A cowboy drinking fizzy water? You expect me to believe that?” She took the bottle from the bottom, probably so she didn’t risk touching him.

“Holly puts it in the truck fridge whenever I’m at her place. Her maternal instincts are in full effect.”
Shit
. He shook his head. He’d been so good at keeping the secret, but Janny threw everything off.

“Relax, I’m her doctor.” She lifted the bottle to her full lips and took the kind of long drink that had him thinking of other things.

“Good, because she wants it to be a surprise. She’ll skin me if I ruin it.” He leaned against the truck again.

“If I’d have known you were her brother, nothing would have happened between us.”

“Lucky for us, I was too focused on you to draw up a diagram of my family tree. But before you harp on that again, you didn’t volunteer that you’re Harm’s sister. If I’m the kettle, you’re the pot.” Her blue eyes went impossibly wide. “I get that it is some kind of secret. I’ve had hours out here alone to do nothing but think. What I don’t understand is why everyone ignores the obvious. Even your father.”

“He is not my father, he’s just Sebastian. A world-class bastard with years of practice ignoring me.” She took another swallow and stared off into the darkness. “Who told you?”

“No one. I spent a lot of our time together staring into your eyes. I’d recognize that color anywhere.”

Her hurt at the mere mention of it radiated from her. “I’m not going to deny it. That’s his forte. But shared DNA doesn’t mean we’re a family.” Her sigh wrapped around him like a fist.

“That’s for damned sure. Do the guys know?”

She looked up at him and pasted on a fake smile. “Harm does, probably because he was old enough to remember on his own. Sebastian never bothered to mention what he did to my mother to his other sons. He’s planning on telling them his version, wanted to at the wedding.”

“Which was why you were arguing with him. Thank you for that. Holly deserved a wedding that was about her.”

Her smiled lifted, turning genuine. “You actually get it. How is it you understand and you don’t even know me?”

“I don’t know, I think I know you pretty well. Considering.”

“Considering we didn’t spend much time talking.” Janny tilted her head to the side and rubbed her bare arms.

“Is that why you came out here? To talk?” He waited a beat, trying to draw her out, but she didn’t take the bait. “Or did you come out here for something more?”

She shook her head. “This is my home, my island. I have an impeccable professional reputation here, and I’m proud of that. I needed to make sure you understood that.”

“So vacation flings are your thing?”

She wrinkled that cute little nose. “Are you judging me?”

“I don’t know. Did you play out any fantasies in Greece? Or Boston?”

“If you want to play armchair psychologist, we can discuss how often you change your appearance to play a role.”

He pushed a hand through his shorn hair and smiled. “The haircut is courtesy of my old man, but this is me. Everything else was your imagination. Not that I had a problem with it.”

“The only
problem
is if you came to this island expecting me to keep playing the game.”

“No, that’s not it.” He took her half-full bottle and set it on the ground with his own. He closed the distance between them and stood so close he could breathe in that haunting scent of lavender he remembered too well. “Things got real intense, real fast with us. Physical chemistry like that is overwhelming. At least for me. I wanted to chase down your airplane. Do you know how crazy that is? And I already know enough about you to know any reason you have for being an Anguilla virgin is a moot point.”

She rested both hands on her lush hips this time. “Okay, listen—”

“No, I’m not done. I pride myself on being strong minded and independent, and yet I can’t stop thinking about you. And you came out here to pick a fight, when all I really want to know is have you been thinking about me too?”

Everything in his life disappeared as he waited for her response. Anticipation clung to the air as she studied her sandals. She looked up at him with a heart-rending tenderness that lifted the weeks of doubt that had been sitting heavy on his shoulders.

“Nik, what happened in Alaska doesn’t mean there has to be more to it. I don’t know what to think about it all, what it means. It was intense.”

“And mind blowing.” A grin played at her full lips and he knew he had her. “Come watch the stars with me.” He rounded the side of the truck to the open tailgate. He’d been fine to toss a bedroll in the back, but Holly had insisted that if he wanted to stay out at the property, he’d have a decent place to sleep. He grinned at the mattress that filled the truck bed, complete with dark green sheets and plump pillows. “I do my best thinking when it’s just me and the stars. They have all the answers.”

“I doubt that.” She let her arms relax by her sides.

“Have you ever listened?” He patted the bed made up in the truck.

“That sounds like cowboy for come up and see my etchings.” A grin played at her lips.

“Come here.” It was a demand, not a request. He remembered she liked to play games, play a role. Funny, he doubted she liked to be told what to do out of bed. But she’d wanted to be claimed by the cowboy, and he’d be damned if he forgot a thing like that.

She drew a circle in the dirt with the toe of her sandal. “Nik, listen—”

“Now.”

And she started toward him. Not stopping until she was close enough to whisper, “I don’t want anyone finding out we had a…thing in Alaska. If people found out how I acted—”

“We acted.”

“Right. They’d have an opinion about that. And my reputation here, I can’t let that happen.”

“You didn’t mention it to your best friend?”

“Denied it. Walking off with you to piss off Sebastian is something I’d do. Having an affair with a stranger is not.”

He nodded. “She doesn’t know about
Bedded by the Bad Boy?
Taken by the Tycoon
?”

She shook her head. “I read eBooks.”

He reached for her, taking her hands in his. “
Claimed by the Cowboy
can stay just between us.”

“It’s better if we keep that chapter closed.” She squeezed his hands, then released them and glanced at the bed made up in the back of the truck. “Are you staying out here?”

“I’ve stayed in worse.”

“But there are crabs and goats and iguanas—”

“I can take care of myself.” He closed the distance between them, until the thin cotton of her sundress and his damned towel were the only separation. “And you too.”

He tilted up her chin with a finger and forced her to look him in the eye. Her ice-blue gaze flamed his desire. She pulled her full bottom lip between her teeth, and he knew what she wanted. To be claimed.

He grabbed her arms and lifted her to sit on the open tailgate and took advantage of her surprise to step between her legs.

Chapter Six

Janny’s responsible world retreated, leaving her cowboy in control. She gave in to his relaxed power, the long, lean frame and corded muscles. He’d become an all new fantasy. Tanner, stronger, with a different kind of rugged edge. He leaned closer, and she parted her lips for his kiss. But instead of claiming her lips, he gripped her waist, lifted her up and tossed her upon the edge of the mattress. She clamored backward to find space to think, but before she made it to the pillows, he’d joined her, leaving the towel behind.

She’d never found such freedom in submission, never relished in her own lack of control, but the demand in his dark gaze sent her mind to another place. Where there weren’t consequences, or even reason. Only awareness of how he’d become the hunter, and she the prey. Her breasts felt heavier, her nipples tight and erect. Her whole body wanted to feel the weight of him over her, and then his special brand of pleasure, so deep she’d scream in release.

“Oh, Princess.” His gravelly whisper gripped her tighter than his hands on her bare thighs. “This is going to be even better than we remember.”

She gasped as he grabbed her panties and yanked them down, stripping her of her flip-flops at the same time. He moved faster than she thought possible, returning to pull her dress over her head and off before she thought to protest. Not that she wanted to. She wanted to be right here, with his hot mouth against her neck, his calloused hands on her breasts as he lowered her to the pillows. He hadn’t even kissed her, and yet she melted into a puddle of want beneath him.

He smelled of earth and sea, soap and man, and the heady mix filled her head like an opiate. She stretched to open herself to him, her arms overhead, her legs parting until his erection nestled heavily against her core. She rolled her hips, taking in the friction as the stars blurred above her.

“You want it bad, don’t you, Princess?”

She moaned her way through a nod while he took a nipple into his mouth and teased the tip with his teeth. He pulled away, going somewhere, but she couldn’t tell because she’d long since closed her eyes. She heard the tell-tale crinkle of the condom wrapper, the rustle of sheets as he pulled them aside.

“Tell me what you want.” His hot breath curled against her ear.

Speaking seemed beyond her abilities. She tried, but what came out was more animal than anything. His heavy presence returned, gripping her ass and lifting her hips to his mouth. She reached out, trying to anchor herself down, but surrendering the moment his tongue touched her clit. She pressed her thighs against his shoulders, crossing her legs behind his head and arching into him.

Bad. She wanted it bad. And now. She’d come so many times in the last two months pretending this exact scenario. Nik’s skilled mouth between her thighs as she climbed higher and higher and then plunged into the pleasure pool, enjoying every moment. She only wished he’d use his hand, dip his fingers inside her and coax her climax in the way only he ever had. But he didn’t. He just kissed and licked and sucked until she pinched her own nipples in frustration. She ground against his face and chased release, so close and yet deeply in need of him inside her.

She’d craved his cock for two months, and as talented as he could be with his tongue, she wanted that heavy heat with her, touching her and taking her places she couldn’t go alone.

“Fuck,” she answered quickly. “I want you to fuck me.”

He sucked her clit one last time before his rough palm clamped over her mouth, smelling of earth and sex. “Shh, Princess. You’re a lady.”

That hand covering her mouth, his cock gliding inside her inch by tantalizing inch until he was buried to his balls and the way his body pinned hers to the mattress all combined to release her from the last bit of her control. She’d been claimed by her cowboy, body, mind and soul. And the moment he ground his pelvis against hers, she choked on her orgasm, the climax wrenching from her in violent spasms. Her body shook, writhing beneath his as he hushed her, riding every wave she gave.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered against her ear as she gulped air, trying to come down. He released his hold on her mouth, lowered her hips to the mattress and pressed even deeper into her. Almost too deep. She tried to lift her hips to give him more room, but he didn’t move. “What shall I do with you now, Janny?”

She raised her head to kiss him and show him exactly what she wanted more of, but he pulled back. He crossed his shins over her legs, holding her in place. She hadn’t realized the restraint he’d used before, the care he’d taken. She saw it then, the power she’d given him again. He could ride her hard in this position, be in complete control of her body, her safety. She never wanted to be vulnerable to anyone, and yet with him, she couldn’t help herself.

“Have I claimed you, Princess?” His sex-scented breath teased her face.

“Yes.” She arched her back and pressed her breasts against his chest. His coarse hair teased the tips and she sighed in pleasure.

“I wish there was more than the moonlight.” He rocked against her, a slow tease of friction. He nuzzled her neck, whispering behind her ear, “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

He nipped her earlobe. “Came here, you minx.”

“Mmm hmm.” She moved with him as much as she could, rocking together like waves as the tide rushed in. She pushed one hand into his short hair while the other trailed down his muscled back to grab his firm ass.

She pressed him tighter, urging him to press deeper, move faster. Something, anything to take her over the edge one more time. But he kept up the friction, winding her tighter and tighter until she took his butt in both hands, digging her short nails into his warm skin.

“Stop teasing me,” she said between clenched teeth.

“It’s not a tease, Princess. I promise I’ll take you there.” He lifted his head and smiled down at her. So damned in control she wanted to scream.

“Say my name.”

“Claim me, cowboy.” She raised her head to take his lips, but he held off.

“Already did.” He pried her arms off his body and pinned them to the mattress with his hands clasped around her biceps. Never letting up on that too-slow rocking he’d started forever ago.

She tried to squirm beneath him, but he held her firm. The sensation of being powerless only heightened her arousal. With her upper arms held down, she moved her hands to grab his thick forearms. She stared up at him, inching closer to the point where begging would be inevitable.

“Say it, Princess.” He seemed so calm, as if he could rock her like this all night. Damn him.

“Make me come. Please.” She closed her eyes, letting the fantasy take over. Until he stopped moving. Her eyes shot open. He couldn’t possibly stop now.

“Game’s over, Janny.” Above her in the near darkness, she couldn’t make out his expression.

“No. What are you doing?” She tried to grab at the tendrils of pleasure, but with him holding her down and so heavy atop her, nothing happened. And nothing was going to happen until he let it. A curl of trepidation twisted with excitement low in her belly. He slid his hips back and she gasped. “Please, don’t stop.”

“Who do you want, Janny?”

Her mind scrambled, sensations crashing into her from everywhere. “You, I want you. Nik, please.”

He ground his hips down, pressing her into the mattress. He released her arms, cradling the back of her head in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers. And rocked her world in a whole new way. He reset the beat of her heart in time with his thrusts, his breathing matching hers. The way he held her legs down with his meant that his cock dragged over her clit with each powerful thrust.

She arched, as tight as a bow. She slid her hands around his broad back, slick with sweat. His corded muscles flexed and released beneath her palms. The heat and darkness swallowed everything but them, their bodies riding the wave of pleasure alone in the universe. Her body pulled tight, her breath stalling in her chest as she closed her eyes and fell under his spell. Completely and without reservation.

Her climax clutched her heart, stopping it for a moment before the moment exploded. Ribbons of satisfaction rippled through her, waves of bliss moving through with each spasm of her inner muscles. As steady as gravity, he rode the waves of her orgasm, taking them farther into the abyss.

She couldn’t speak or ask for mercy, and she wanted none of it. She wanted this, this all-consuming feel of him above her, within her, riding her higher until that control he held so tightly broke.

His breathing quickened and then his body quaked above hers, his voice roaring as he plunged deeper, burying himself inside her while he ground out his own orgasm. He collapsed onto her, his gasps sounding against her ear like a marathon runner two steps past the finish line. After a half dozen deep breaths, he pushed up and stared down at her.

“Thank you.” He smiled, and then rolled off her to dispose of the condom. When he turned back, he brought a sheet with him and covered them both as they stared at the stars twinkling overhead.

“My pleasure.” She’d started to doze before he spoke again.

“I think this is where I ask how many more of these fantasies you have, and if they require I go shopping.”

“I’m not looking for any more fantasies.” His words hit her like a slap of reality. Of course he was still playing the game. What man wouldn’t be? She knew better than most that men say anything to get what they are after. She’d just wanted Nik to be different. She sat up, pawing at the twisted sheets for her clothes.

“Everyone is, Janny.” He sat up beside her.

“Listen, I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone else to know about this. We have a lot of people in common, and that’s a lot of conflicting loyalties. I’m not interested in—” She’d give anything for night vision and the ability to leap into her car from here.

“Ah, this is the I’m-not-interested-in-a-relationship, cowboy. Just a ride when the mood strikes.” He held up what had to be her panties.

She grabbed them from his hand. “It’s not like that.”

“It feels like you got what you wanted and now you’re done.”

After pulling the sheet over her lap, she wriggled into her panties as if he weren’t intimately acquainted with her goods. “I’m just not ready for public scrutiny. Yesterday, I never thought I’d see you again, and I need some time to think about what this all means.”

He reached behind him and came up with her dress. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m supposed to create some kind of cattle and poultry operation out of dust and sand. Chasing you would seriously derail this project.”

“Chasing me?” She held out her hand, waiting for the dress.

“There’s more between us than a few tumbles in the hay. I want to find out what it is.” He tossed her the dress and lay back down.

“I want that too, but I’m not ready for an audience. You can probably guess what my mother’s reputation was like after Sebastian was done with her. And I’m a doctor, so I’m determined to make sure the people here respect me. I don’t date, at all. I need this to go a little slower.” She slipped the dress over her head and tried to smooth her hair. No doubt, she had that freshly fucked look she didn’t need anyone to see.

“How much time do you think you’ll need?”

“I’ll let you know.”

He shook his head. “You might not want to take too long. I might be able to act a part when it comes to getting naked with you, but I’ve been told I’m a pretty terrible liar.”

Her heart gave a squeeze. What if she really could have her desires and her reputation too? “I’m not saying we have to keep our distance completely. You’re alone out here, and I don’t have a roommate…”

“You’re a real humanitarian, Dr. Baird.”

She scooted to the edge of the truck bed and paused, the entire evening seeming too perfect, too easy. “We’re okay? To see each other and not, you know…”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “You understand I’m a guy, right? You and me and no drama is my dream come true.”

“Mine too.” She jumped off the tailgate and then swooped down to snag her flip-flops. “So I’ll see you around?”

“There’s an engagement party Saturday night. You can invite me over after.”

“I’m planning on missing that one. But I’m up for after.”

“Think you can get me out of it?”

“Can you use the excuse of bringing a new life into the world?”

“Not unless someone brings me a pregnant cow.”

Female voices twittered up the stairs as if a flock of birds had taken residence in his sister’s kitchen. Nik paused at the top of the staircase, listening to see if he could grab breakfast in the kitchen or should exit out the front door. And then the lilting sound of Janny’s laugher made his decision for him.

He bounded down the floating planks of the staircase, still not sure how his sister managed to feel at home in a house that seemed to come straight out of an architecture magazine. Maybe that’s what Harm’s money bought—designer furnishings and magic beans.

In the kitchen, he shot straight for the coffee. He preferred it black and rich, but Holly did something with cinnamon he still hadn’t gotten used to. Janny sat between Kristin and Saskia at the long marble bar. All conversation had ceased when he’d walked into the room.

“Is it even?” He ran a hand over his newly shorn hair.

Holly pulled a face. “I wouldn’t give you a bad haircut.”

“You have before.” He leaned against the bar. “Tell me the truth, Sass. Did she scalp me?”

The redhead let out an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but she’s cut off all your hair.”

“Damnit, Holly.” He chuckled then nodded at Janny. “When did you get back to the island, Janny?”

“Last night.” Her crystal-blue gaze dropped to her coffee cup. Lucky for her, Holly had opened the fridge, because his sister would have read that tell from a mile away.

He cleared his throat and turned to Sass. “I need a favor.”

“It’ll cost you.” She leaned her elbows on the countertop, her freckled cheeks lifting in an impish grin.”

“I can pay in compost or manure, your choice. You need to keep Joe busy today so he can’t sail us to Scrub Island.”