Cowgirl Up and Ride (32 page)

Three knocks sent her scurrying to the door. She flung herself into Cord’s arms the second he stepped inside.

“Oh God. You’re here. You’re really here.”

Cord kicked the door shut and just held her. He tipped her face back to look into her eyes. “Before I kiss you, before I touch you, let me say this: I love you. Sweet baby Jesus. I love you so damn much.” He kissed her with a mix of tenderness and passion that had tears springing to her eyes.

When she broke away, she whispered, “I love you too.”

“Then marry me, AJ. Not because we’re compatible, or because you are a born ranch woman, or because you’d make a good mother. Marry me for me. Marry me because I’m a selfish bastard and I want you to be mine forever. Marry me because I don’t know if I’ll survive the rest of my life without havin’ you by my side every damn day. Please say yes, baby doll. Make your home with me. With us. Make me the luckiest man in the world.”

“Yes.”

Cord kissed her again.

All the need and hunger that’d been dormant inside her ignited like a brush fire. She tugged him toward her bedroom.

He gently dug his bootheels into the carpet. “Nuh-uh. No hanky-panky until you’re wearin’ my ring and you’re my wife.”

“But—”

He lifted an eyebrow. “That’s one.”

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“Can I have the swat now? I’ll even take my skirt off. Shirt too.” Her hands went to the buttons on her blouse.

“Amy Jo. You ornery cuss. Keep them clothes on.”

“I missed you. I want you. I don’t wanna wait.” She nipped his chin and scraped her teeth down his throat. “Bet I can getcha to change your mind.”

“Probably. But we ain’t got much time, so there’s two things we hafta talk about first.” He reached inside his suit coat pocket and removed an envelope. “Your mama gave me this to give to you.”

“What is it?”

“I have no idea.”

AJ opened the letter and her heart caught at the familiar formal handwriting:
Sweetheart-I’m glad Cord finally knows the truth about what you did to keep our ranch going.

I’m thrilled he’s asked for permission to marry you and I know you’ll be happy to be
home in Sundance where you belong and with a man who loves you like crazy.

You’ve no idea the guilt your father and I felt about how you worked so hard and got
nothing in return but more work. In hindsight, we knew what we did was wrong. There’s
no way to make up for the lost time now, except to offer you this check as “back wages”

and hope it eases the way for you to start your own business. You earned it. I’m so proud
of you for finishing school. I miss you. Bring your new hubby and son up for a visit after
you get settled. Congratulations!

Love you, baby girl,

Mama

She glanced down, in utter disbelief, at the check for thirty-five thousand dollars. “I don’t understand. Where did she get the money?”

“Our buyout was very generous, AJ. But I had nothin’ to do with this.” He pointed to the check. “I ain’t gonna argue that you earned it. You shouldn’t argue either.”

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Lorelei James

AJ’s mind was already whirling. She could rent that storefront space in Sundance she’d been eyeing. Heck, she had money to renovate even if the loan from the state didn’t come through. She looked up at Cord. “Do you know if that space in the Sandstone Building next to Macie’s restaurant is still up for grabs?”

He shook his head. “Afraid not. It’s spoken for.”

“Shoot.”

Cord put a finger under her chin. “By you. I leased it in your name, AJ, last month.”

“Why? Did you know Mama was gonna give me this money?”

“No. I know you. I have faith in you. I know how good you are at givin’ massages and so will everyone else in the county. Even if you wouldn’t have gotten this unexpected windfall, I figure the state of Wyoming ain’t dumb enough not to fund your business. I didn’t want you to miss out on the space you’d set your heart on.”

“Really? You did it for me?”

“There ain’t nothin’ I wouldn’t do for you.” Just as he bent down to kiss her, the door opened and Keely and Colt burst in.

“Did she say yes?”

“Of course she said yes. The woman’s been in love with me since she was five.” He whispered, “I’ve got a lot of catchin’ up to do.”

Keely squealed and AJ smacked Cord in the arm before Keely squeezed her tight.

“We’re really gonna be sisters now. This is so cool! So, you guys ready?”

“Ready for what?”

Cord cursed.

“You haven’t told her?” Colt grinned. “Typical.”

He sauntered over and hugged AJ. “Welcome to the family. I’m gonna enjoy teasin’

my bro about bein’ a cradle robber for a long time to come.”

AJ looked at Colt. He looked fit and healthy, even when a sense of wariness surrounded him that hadn’t been there before. She whirled back around and faced her intended. “Tell me what?”

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“That we’re goin’ to Vegas. Tonight. To get married. Thought I’d surprise you. Colt and Keely are standin’ up for us.”

She stared at him, stunned.

Which caused him to babble. “Come on, baby doll. I love you. You love me. I don’t wanna wait. You told me when we talked about gettin’ married on the phone the past coupla weeks that you didn’t want a big weddin’ ceremony. Colt and I got three days before we’re needed at home. Keely said she’d kill me if she didn’t get to see us tie the knot. Ky’s stayin’ with my folks, though it’s makin’ him mighty antsy waitin’ for us to come home. I thought we could get hitched, and spend the night in the honeymoon suite of a swanky hotel. Then we’d come back here, pack your stuff and you could come home with me for good.”

She continued to stare at him.

“Ah, hell. Are you mad?”

“No. Just trying to wrap my head around the word
home
and
you
in the same sentence.”

Cord’s eyes softened. “Same thing, in my opinion.”

She melted. The feeling of rightness, of inevitability, flowed over as sweetly as it had when she’d been a young girl. But unlike then, she now knew real, true love earned through trial and error was better than any one-sided fairy tale love from afar.

“You guys gonna stand here makin’ goo-goo eyes at each other? Or are we goin’ to Vegas?” Keely demanded.

“Whatcha say, cowgirl mine?” Cord asked.

She grinned at the man she’d love for the rest of her life. “I say it’s about damn time.”

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About the Author

To learn more about Lorelei James, please vis
it http://www.loreleijames.com/
. Send an email to
[email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to
join in the fun with other readers as well as Lorelei.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/loreleijamesgang.com

Look for these titles by Lorelei James

Now Available:

Rough Riders

Rode Hard, Put Up Wet

Long Hard Ride

Dirty Deeds

Running With the Devil

Beginnings Anthology: Babe in the Woods

Coming Soon:

Rough Riders 4:
Tied Up, Tied Down

A bad marriage is like a fierce thunderstorm on a fragile field of wheat. Will a proud Texas cowboy and a stubborn Boston-bred lawyer find shelter from a real summer storm long enough to rebuild their love?

Second Wind

© 2007 Dee S. Knight

Cocky cowboy Rafe Walker doesn’t plan to meet a beautiful woman in designer jeans and ostrich boots at the rodeo, but the beauty catches his gaze just before the gate opens for his bull ride. Talk about losing focus! With one glance, his thoughts are of sex-scented sheets, not hard, sawdust-covered dirt.

A city girl like her would never fit in on his ranch, but a weekend in Dallas? Yes, Ma’am, she’ll do just fine. Little does he expect a ride wilder than with any bull. She grabs hold of his heart and his hottest fantasies and holds on tight.

Cathy Fitzgerald, raised in a wealthy eastern family, half falls in love with the rakish cowboy after one impulsive weekend of wild sex. She returns to Boston, breaks off her near engagement and waits to hear from Rafe. After months of silence, he surprises Cathy with a proposal. It’s a shock to both of them when she accepts, and moves to his ranch in nowhere, Texas.

They soon find that passion alone can’t sustain a marriage. Rafe’s pride and Cathy’s long hours at work breed distrust and broken hearts. Giving their marriage its second wind will take an act of nature.

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex and graphic language.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Second Wind:

“I’m going to kiss you, Miss Catherine Fitzgerald. Is that all right?”

He stepped closer before she had a chance to say yes. She set her cup on a stack of boxes. He tossed his into a nearby trash can, never having taken a sip. Her hands walked up the front of his shirt and over his shoulders to meet at his nape. His hands fit neatly at the small of her back. He pulled her to him.

He was tall, but on tiptoe her body meshed with his in all the right places. Firm, warm lips met hers. When his tongue demanded she open to him, she did. His flavor burst in her mouth, spearmint and heat, as he boldly explored.

Raising his head, he looked around with heavy-lidded eyes. He walked across the yard, dragging her beside him. After a quick glance, he threw open a stall door and slipped inside. Moments after closing the gate, he lifted her, fitting her over his erection, scraping her breasts against his chest. She dug tunnels through his hair with her fingers, knocking his hat on the straw where he’d dropped her Stetson. Hungrily, she pulled his lips back to hers.

She whimpered. He moaned, licking the inside of her mouth as though she were the sweetest treat he’d ever had. The grind of his hips suggested what he wanted and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He took two steps to back her up to the inside wall.

She twisted, rubbing her crotch into the bulge that seemed ready to burst through zipper and button and double stitching the jeans ads bragged about.

Rafe tore his mouth away even while they dry humped against the stables. She buried her face in his neck, oblivious to anything around them, ignoring all but the rising tide of incredible sensations spiraling outward from low in her belly. Her hips had a life of their own, slamming into his, grinding, rubbing, stroking, denim to denim, heat to heat.

His breath bellowed against her ear, sending tendrils of hair flying. “God, I want you.”

He smelled of dirt and animal and raw masculinity. His neck was gritty with dust.

She didn’t care. Her tongue streaked a path up the cords of straining muscle to his earlobe. She nipped it.

“Yes.” One word escaped, all she could manage as he shifted slightly and hit the right spot to send her over the edge. She gasped and held her breath, her head thrown back. Pinpricks of light flew across the blackness inside her lids.

Her nipples, sensitive and erect, pushed against the confines of her chambray shirt.

The softness she’d admired when she bought the shirt that morning now seemed rough as sandpaper on her breasts. She should have worn a bra, but her small breasts rarely needed

the support. Now the additional sensitivity helped prolong what had been an intense orgasm all on its own.

Finally, she came back to herself. Rafe’s labored breathing matched hers, though the bulge in his jeans hadn’t diminished. He let her slide down his body and then rested his forehead on her head. The sounds of people walking by penetrated her hearing and bright flames of mortification heated her cheeks.

“You’re hot, Catherine Fitzgerald. I think I was in high school the last time I did what we just did. And unlike you, Becky Thomson didn’t get off on it back then, though I shot off like a firecracker.” He grinned down at her. “Guess turn about is fair play, though I sure would like to feel a little relief too.”

She’d never done anything like that before,
never
. Not with her high school boyfriend to whom she’d lost her virginity, and not with the society lawyer to whom she was practically engaged back home. She’d had orgasms before, sure, but not with the primal passion she’d just experienced with this man she’d known about fifteen minutes.

A piercing blaze had ripped through their clothing, without any touching or foreplay.

“I hardly know what to say, Mr. Walker. This should be so embarrassing.”

He stroked her hair, twirling a strand between calloused fingers and staring at it in awe. “Call me Rafe. I think it’s accepted etiquette for two people who humped like rabbits to use each other’s first names.”

“Humped…?”

“Umm-hmmm.” He held her hair to his nose and breathed in. “Like rabbits. Though I think usually Mr. Rabbit isn’t still hard and aching when they finish. Jesus, you smell good. Really good.”

“You smell like bull, Rafe.”

He burst out laughing and stared down at her, his dimples like shining beacons, calling to her. “You are all dusty and mussed. And so pretty I can hardly stand it. Come back to the hotel with me?”

“I don’t even know you.”

“I think we knew each other the minute you smiled at me across the ring just before the gate opened.”

“I did not smile at you.” She fingered his collar, thinking how much she’d like to be touching him instead of his shirt.

“Oh yes you did. I never flirt with strange women.” She cast him a doubtful look so he added, “Not when I’m about to bull ride. But you…you were different. I knew right away we’d get together.” He leaned down to her ear. “And I’ve never done this before.

My partner’s pleasure has never been so important. Come back to the room with me.

Let’s do it again only right this time. Let me make you feel good, Catherine Fitzgerald.”

One tempting heiress. Two sexy cowboys. Three means fun beyond her wildest dreams—

until her Cord starts to unravel.

Take Me

© 2007 Mackenzie McKade