Cowgirl Up (32 page)

“That
commute would suck.” Roger waved a hand. “I’ll just buy you out. That’ll give
you some cash to start out with too.”

“Thanks.
I really appreciate it.” Cody sighed. “If she wasn’t so attached, I’d drag her
out here in a heartbeat.”

“We all
make sacrifices for those we love.” Roger stared at him for a long moment, then
inclined his head with a small grin. “Looks like we get to welcome another
member of the family.”

“
After
I get my ducks in a row.” He
pinned his father with his gaze.

“Yeah, yeah.
After. I get it.” Roger wrapped his arm around Cody’s neck and gave him a
squeeze. He released him, then started meandering back toward the house. “You
know, the jewelry store where I bought your mother’s engagement ring is still
open over in Flat Creek.”

Cody
smiled to himself, thankful his father seemed to understand and accept his
decision. “I’ll check it out.”

“I’ll
talk to Elise. When she takes Trinity to town for their girls’ day, I’ll make
sure they stay well away from there.”

Cody
arched an eyebrow. “Going shopping for rings with me?”

Roger
smiled big. “Hell, yeah. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Cody
rolled his eyes, then laughed. He’d never imagined wedding ring shopping with
his old man, but somehow it seemed right.

Movement
next to her woke Trinity. She opened her eyes, blinked, and took a moment to
recall where exactly she was. Cody’s house in Oklahoma. The facts flooded her
mind as her brain kicked into gear. While not late, judging by the location of
the sun, the morning had gotten a good start already.

Luckily,
she didn’t need to scramble around in order to feed a half dozen horses
impatiently waiting for their breakfast.

Harsh
breathing and a muted cry drew her attention. Flipping over, she found Cody
facing her, his face scrunched up in pain, while his whole body twitched and
jerked.

Nightmares.
She’d expected he suffered from such. Pretty much everyone who had been to war
had them, from what she’d heard. A horrible side effect of their service to
their country.

He
mumbled in his sleep, his lips thinning as he moaned, the sound filled with
pain.

Immediately
concerned, she watched him for a long moment wondering what to do. “Cody?”

He
didn’t respond.

Gently,
she placed a hand on his arm, then trailed it upwards to cup his cheek, trying
to ease the horrors she saw in his features. “Cody? Wake up.”

His
eyes remained closed.

“Cody?”
She spoke louder then rubbed his cheek. “Wake up.”

Everything
happened in a blink. One second she rested on her side, the next she found
herself flat on her back, staring up at Cody as he pinned her to the mattress,
her wrists shackled by one of his hands. Startled, but not afraid, she arched
an eyebrow at him. “Don’t tell me you’re bondage kinky.”

His
pupils dilated before he blinked, then appeared to wake enough to focus on her.
His gaze raked her, noted his position, and instantly rolled off. “Shit. I’m
sorry, Trin.” He sat up on the side of the bed and scrubbed his face with his
hands.

She
followed, needing to soothe and comfort the man she loved. Make him understand
that she would stand in the trenches with him, through thick and thin. Scooting
over to sit just behind him, she kissed the old scars covering his back. “It’s
okay, Cody. Really.”

He
twisted to look at her. “No it’s not. I could have hurt you.” Remorse and worry
dulled his eyes.

Smiling
softly, she shook her head. “No you won’t. First of all, I’m not a frail doll
you have to worry about breaking. Secondly, even when you woke up, you went for
containment, not violence.”

“So?”

“So,
I’d worry if your initial reaction was to start throwing punches. You didn’t do
that. You just held me down until you could figure out what was happening.”

“Which
scared you.”

“Not
really.” She traced his earlobe with her tongue while lightly running her hands
over his back.

For a
long moment he stared at her, as if trying to evaluate her level of
truthfulness.

Boldly,
she ran one hand up his thigh and lightly stroked his rapidly rising cock. “I
thought you’d gotten a wild hare and your kinky side came out to play.”

A ghost
of a smile hovered on his lips. “You think I have a kinky side?”

“Uh-huh.”
She measured his length, impressed as always by his thickness and size.
Granted, she didn’t have much experience in the sex department, but Cody still
appeared above average to her. Amazing that they fit together as well as they
did.

He
turned around to face her, reaching up to cover one of her breasts, then strum
the nipple. “You’re not upset?”

“Upset
that you have some interesting fantasies you haven’t mentioned to me yet? Nope.
I figure those little rewards will pop out now and again.”

He
snorted. “I meant the way I manhandled you.”

She
grinned. “Manhandle me all you like. I love the feel of your body pressing
against mine, the feel of yours hands petting me.”

A quiet
moan escaped from his lips. “You’re deliberately changing the topic.”

She
tilted her head. “We’ve already established that you didn’t hurt or scare me. I
trust you. I love you. The fact that you have nightmares now and again isn’t
going to send me packing.
Ever.
”

Concern
flashed across his face. “You say that now…”

“Cody
Winters. Hard-headedness is not always a good trait.” She nipped his shoulder,
then met his gaze steadily. “I
love
you. We’re in this for the long haul. The fact you have nightmares, maybe even
flashbacks, isn’t a surprise. We’ll work through them.
Together
.”

For a
long moment, Trinity feared Cody would turn away, heap the whole load on his
shoulders, and try to shield her from the aftereffects he suffered.

He
bracketed her face and stared at her with an expression so intense, so filled
with love and want, her stomach flipped in delight. “I don’t know what I did to
deserve you.”

Trinity
leaned into his touch. “Ditto. Get this through your thick skull. You’re stuck
with me.”

He smiled
softly. “Okay.”

“Good.
Now that we have that settled…” She pressed her fingertips to his lips, smiling
when he kissed them. “So, Mr. Kinky, what ideas did you have in store for this
morning?”

His
eyes sparkled. “A few of them.” Hunger filled his tone.

“A
few?” She drew a line from his chin, down his chest, and straight for his
jutting shaft. “Going to draw straws or what?” She peeked up at him from under
her lashes, outrageously teasing him. Never before had she considered herself a
flirt, but Cody, naked in the bed, brought out her hussy side.

“Nope.”
He pushed her gently back until she lay supine on the bed. “Stay there. Just
like that.” With a nifty move, he sprang off the bed, opened a bedside table,
grabbed a foil packet, and rolled on the condom. Task complete, he returned,
covering her completely with his body, careful to keep his weight off her with
most dispensed to his forearms on either side of her shoulders.

His
chest rubbed her aching breasts with every breath, the sensation so
titillating, she immediately went into libido overdrive. She lifted her legs, wrapping them around
Cody’s hips in an effort to get even closer. “Oh, my.”

Cody’s
lopsided grin added fuel to her fire. “Like?”

“Oh,
yeah. The only thing that would make this better…”

Lazily,
Cody pressed into her body, joining them inch by slow inch.

Trinity
sighed, then whimpered as he kept going. And going. He finally lodged at the
deepest recesses of her core, farther than he’d ever been before. The newfound
feeling of complete fullness notched her that much higher.

“All
right?” Cody paused and stared down at her, their faces inches apart.

She
grunted with the effort to wiggle, to move, to find the right path straight to
rapture. “More than that. It’s…”

He
levered backward, then pushed in again, hitting dozens of hot spots along the
way.

“More.”
Frantically, she clung to him, gripping his back in an effort to stabilize in a
world of rampant arousal and exploding lust. “Oh, God. More.”

Cody
must have gotten the hint because he set a moderate pace with short jabs, each
one landing him deeper than the last.

Trinity
arched her hips, tightened her legs, and mewled with each hard thrust. She
pressed her lips to his throat and kissed a trail up to his lips. Whimpers
carried. Belatedly, she realized they emerged from her as she urged Cody to
greater power and speed. Straining, her world narrowed down to the man covering
her and the delicious pleasure he poured on her.

He
groaned.

Trinity
felt as much as heard the sound. She turned her head and nibbled on Cody’s
shoulder, unable to remain still with such spears of fire igniting her raging
desires to previously undiscovered heights.

“Fuck.”
Cody peppered her face with kisses. “So fucking good. Better each time.” He
surged deep, their bodies slapping together each time.

“Cody…”

“Right
here, Trin. Come with me. Let me watch you come.”

Something
broke loose inside Trinity at his words.

She dug
her nails into his back and braced herself for the storm about to explode. She
yelped, tilted her hips, then screamed as strong, hot, tidal waves ripped
through her body. Stars blinked before her eyes as her core clamped and clung
to Cody’s cock, milking him with clenching contractions that drew out her rapturous
bliss.

Cody
threw his head back with a great shout, then growled. “Oh, fuck.” He ground his
hips against hers, maintaining their connection and his deep penetration.

Time
passed before Trinity could find the strength to even open her eyes. When she did,
she found Cody staring down at her with a satisfied grin on his face. “Hi.”

He
chuckled and brushed her lips with his. “Hi.”

She
blew out a deep breath and took inventory. Cody’s erection still resided deep
inside her, but the fullness had faded. Shivers raced through her body as she
settled into the languid aftermath of the best sex she’d ever had.

“Cold?”

“Not
even close.” Lowering her legs back to the bed, she stretched out her overused
muscles.

He
nuzzled her cheek, then kissed her again. “If this is the way we’re going to
work through my nightmares, I like it.”

Trinity
smiled, very pleased with her man. “I’m glad. Because you’ve turned me into a
sex addict.”

“Mmmm.
Sex addict has so much potential.”

Trinity
rolled her eyes. “Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that. Your ego is big enough
already.”

Cody
grinned ruefully. “That’s not the only part of me that’s big.” He rocked
against her, adding a demonstration to his statement.

Her
breath hitched. He had a point. A very large one.

She
wrapped her arms around his neck and sealed her lips over his, giving him a
sample of the passion he’d awakened inside her.

“Before
you go in, sit with me a minute.” Cody patted the tailgate of his truck.

They
had gone out to eat for dinner, stopped by the local ice cream shop for
milkshakes to go, and driven directly to his house. All after she spent the day
with his mother while he and his father visited a nearby jewelry shop.

Cody
grabbed Trinity’s waist and gave her a boost. Once she settled, he plopped down
beside her, picked up his treat, and sipped.

Trinity
eyed him before a wide smile broke out. “You remembered.”

He
arched an eyebrow. “You mean your goal after the finals? Drinking a milkshake
and looking at the stars?”

She
nodded.

“I
wouldn’t forget such a dream as that.” He smiled at the joy he spied on her
face, knowing he’d put it there. Wrapping her hand in his, he turned his
attention to the night sky. “I used to look up at the stars now and again in
Afghanistan. Odd, how they looked the same no matter I was half a world away.”

“Were
they a comfort or make you all that much more homesick?” Trinity asked quietly.

“Both,
I guess.” He shrugged. “Most of the time we were too busy to have much time to
miss home.”

Trinity
scooted closer, leaning her head on his shoulder. “You’re a brave man, Cody.
Something special.”

He sat
his drink aside, jumped down from the tailgate, and stood in front of Trinity.

She
watched him with curiosity and love shining in her blue eyes.

His
breath caught. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it back home from war. When I was
injured, I thought getting back on my feet was my biggest battle to date. Then,
I came home, found that I had changed, and nothing seemed to fit any more.
Nothing I tried seemed to calm the restless feeling. Until you came along.” He
cupped her cheek and continued. “I couldn’t wait for the weekends when I could
see you, spend time with you. You offered me peace and understanding. I hoped
you could see past my scars, accept them, and me.”

“I do,
Cody. Truly. They remind me of your courage, your determination, and sacrifice.
I hate that you were hurt, but I love you for you. Scars, sexiness, and expert
lover in all.”

Her
words surrounded him with warmth on the temperate night. “Sexy, huh?”

“Yep.”

“You
turned me on from the first rodeo. Each time I saw you, I wanted you all the
more. Big time.”

She
grinned impishly.

He
laughed. “Yeah, even that foot rub had me so hot and bothered, I just about
spontaneously combusted in that chair.”

“That
would have been horrible. To lose the guy with the best hiney in the region.
All the women would suffer from a deficiency of eye candy.”

“Uh-huh.
They can look, but I’m only interested in your touch.” He traced his thumb over
her cheekbone and pushed ahead, eager to get to the finale. “I see how much you
love Legacy, all the stallions back at the farm. You glow with happiness
there.”