Authors: J.J. Ranger
The cowboy chuckled, drawing her attention to his face again. Dark stubble framed a strong jaw and outlined perfect lips. Brown eyes twinkled, the corners crinkling with humor.
“I’m Dane.” He extended a large hand.
She eyed the hand and swallowed hard. Grasping his fingers, she said, “Sara.” Again she studied him. “Dane. Do you happen to be a Dumen?”
His chest puffed out and his grin broadened. “Our reputation precedes us?”
“Actually, my cousin, Shannon, told me about your family. Something about heartbreakingly sexy.”
“You don’t say.” The gleam in his eye sent her tummy into flutters.
Flirting with him came much easier than she’d anticipated. Especially when he gave her that crooked grin. Just his smile made her wet.
“Hmm. What was it?” She tapped a finger against her chin. “Oh, yes. If you want a sexy cowboy who can turn your world upside down, you want a Dumen.” Sara allowed her gaze to travel the length of him, lingering on the bulge outlined by his chaps. “Very tempting.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’ve got to get back to the festivities. It was nice meeting you, Dane. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
Walking away before he could respond, she forced her heart to calm its erratic beat. By nature, she was not a tease. In fact, because of the attention her mother received as a stripper, Sara tended to shy away from giving men any kind of impression. But that type of attitude wouldn’t do this weekend. Determination added a little extra swing in her step.
Take that, cowboy
. As she’d promised herself, the next four days would be the time to experiment, to fulfill her inner fantasies.
Sara crossed the gravel parking lot to the lodge. Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned to see Shannon headed her way at a fast clip.
“There you are,” she greeted her cousin.
Shannon looked up, startled, her face beet red. She darted a glance over her shoulder then stopped. “Hey, Sara.” She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. “Did you get moved into the guest house okay?”
Sara eyed her suspiciously. “Honey, are you okay? You seem nervous.”
“I fell into his penis!” she blurted and quickly covered her face with her hands.
Sara burst out laughing. “You did what? Whose penis?” Her poor cousin. She could only imagine the humiliation.
Shannon moaned. “Dillon asked me to hunt down Dustin, so I did. And I landed face first against his penis. Oh, my God.” She moaned again.
Sara couldn’t help but laugh again. “That’s one way to get reacquainted.” She patted Shannon on the back. “I’m sure it isn’t as bad as you think.”
Shannon peeked at Sara through her fingers. “Right. Because that’s how everyone says hello to their ex-lovers.” She dropped her hands and took a deep breath. “At least we got the first awkward meeting over. Now we can spend the weekend ignoring each other.”
Sara snorted. “Right. He’s going to let you ignore him after you kissed his cock hello.”
“Sara!”
She chuckled. “Stop worrying about it. It happened, it’s done, and you should move on.”
Shannon raised an eyebrow. “Hmph. Okay, enough about me. How was the trip? You found the house? Aunt Steph let you go without too big of a scene?”
“Mom asked me to reconsider, then decided I needed to spread my wings. I have strict instructions to call every weekend. If I miss a phone call, she’s going to call out a search party.” She hooked her arm through Shannon’s and guided her toward the lodge. “The guest house is perfect. I promise I’ll find my own place soon. It’s just nice to have somewhere to put down roots for a little while.”
Shannon waved the words away. “Psh. You can stay as long as you like. I’m happy to have you close.”
A horse whinnied bringing to mind the sight of Dane in the saddle. Firm thighs, broad chest. Heat flooded Sara’s cheeks. “You grew up with the Dumen brothers, right?”
Her cousin nodded. “Pretty much, yeah.” She regarded Sara with shrewd eyes. “Uh-oh, which one?”
Sara’s eyes widened, and she put on her best innocent expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Ri-ight. For you to bring them up, you had to have met one that caught your attention.”
Busted. “Dane. But we only talked for a minute.”
Shannon smirked. “That’s all it takes. Didn’t I warn you? Don’t make eye contact because those boys are lethal.”
“He was very charming but I didn’t rise to his bait. I simply told him I needed to get back to my weekend and walked away.”
“You didn’t.”
The mirth in her cousin’s voice made the butterflies in her tummy nosedive.
“Oh, baby girl, you just waved a red flag in front of the bull.” Shannon patted her hand. “If I know anything about these boys, once you issue the challenge, they’ll take you up on it and then some.”
“But I didn’t issue a challenge. I walked away.”
“With a hitch in your gitty up, I’m sure.” Shannon chuckled. “That gauntlet was thrown down as sure as if you’d demanded he toss you over his shoulder and take you to his cave. Just remember—”
Sara narrowed her gaze. “I’m not stupid enough not to use protection.”
“Good to know,” Shannon said with another laugh. “But that isn’t what I was going to say. I was going to remind you that I want to be in the wedding party.”
“Fat chance of that happening.”
They climbed the steps and entered the lodge, Shannon’s laughter ringing through her ears and leaving trepidation in its wake.
****
Dane leaned against the fence post, his booted foot propped on the bottom rung, watching Sara Piermont strut back to her cabin. She didn’t have to introduce herself, he’d know that family resemblance anywhere. Hell, he’d practically grown up with Shannon, and Sara looked enough like her cousin. Long dark hair, curves that made a man’s hands yearn to touch them.
At first, he’d thought she was shy, but her blatant invitation threw that idea out the window. She might appear quiet, but he’d bet she was firecracker just waiting for the right moment to crackle and surprise.
His dick swelled and ached, pulsing with each sway of her ass. Something about her lit a fire deep in the pit of his stomach.
Blaze stuck his head over the fence and butted his snout against Dane’s cheek. The horse snorted, tickling him with hot breath.
“You like her, huh?” Again, Blaze snorted. “Yeah. Me, too.”
So maybe he wasn’t going to get a weekend of fishing and relaxing, but he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to see how far Sara was willing to go. She wanted a fling, he could do a fling. Hell, he would rock her world.
Chapter Two
There’s nothing wrong with a single woman going out for a drink. It’s not like I’m going to dance on the tables. Ooh, sorry, Mom.
A grin creased Sara’s lips. Like her laidback mother would take offense at anything.
Though I wouldn’t mind giving Dane Dumen a lap dance.
After dinner, the other women had gathered around the campfire. She didn’t feel like socializing. Not with Shannon’s warning still buzzing in her brain. Jumping into her car, she drove to town, found a parking spot, and walked into the bar.
She knew taunting Dane with her desire for a weekend fling was not a smart idea. But did she honestly think he would take her up on the challenge? Not really. Why would he be interested in a school teacher who, for all he knew, was only going to be around a few days?
She bellied up to the bar and settled on a wooden stool, making eye contact with the bartender, a beefy guy who looked like he could bench press a truck and not break a sweat. His neck was the size of a tree trunk.
“What can I get you?” His voice was as rough as his exterior and didn’t have the same calming effect of Dane Dumen’s smooth baritone.
“Shot of whiskey and a draft.”
He gave a brusque nod and filled her order. When he put the shot in front of her, she downed it. The whiskey burned a path down her chest and settled in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t much of a drinker—didn’t care for the taste of most liquor—but needed the liquid courage if she ever hoped to go through with her weekend fling plan.
She chased the shot with a swig of beer and drummed her fingers on the scarred wooden surface of the bar. Her gaze travelled around the crowd, picking out possible conquests. A burly cowboy with a full beard sat alone in the corner nursing a beer. From this distance, he appeared decent looking, but then a woman approached and was greeted with a full contact lip lock.
Strike him off the list.
She didn’t want competition.
“See anything you like?” a voice murmured in her ear.
Her heart threatened to leap from her chest. “Are you following me?” She pinned Dane with a glare, but couldn’t help notice how the black T-shirt stretched across broad shoulders, straining around large biceps. He was much bigger than she thought. Those loose button-down shirts hid all the wonders of the cowboy.
The corner of his mouth kicked up, and he took a swig of beer. “No, I’m not following you. This is my town, remember?” His gaze dropped to her lips, lingering just a second before he met her gaze again. “Besides, I got here first.”
She wanted to smack that smartass smile off his lips. Her breasts ached, and she pressed into them with her forearm. “Yeah, well, it’s my town now, too.” Dammit, she hadn’t meant for that to come out.
He bent a little closer, his mouth just inches away. “Darlin’, you can’t claim a town just because you visit.”
Sara leaned forward, offering him a view of cleavage. She licked her lips, slowly, seductively. “Really? Pity.”
His hand snaked out and cupped her hip. Heat burned up her torso into her nipples. They hardened to tight buds beneath her forearm. Her heartbeat kicked into high gear. She blamed it on the alcohol and not his nearness.
“You sure you want to mess with these locals, City Girl? Maybe you should go back to the ranch and play with your girlfriends. It’s safer there.”
Her eyebrow rose a notch. “I never told you I was from the city.”
He huffed out a chuckle, those light eyes burning into her. “I know Shannon and all about her family from Las Vegas. I also know her little cousin took a new job at the local elementary school.”
Her breath hitched in her throat. Lord, she hoped he didn’t know everything. She may want to experiment with her sexuality, but she didn’t want the parents of her new students to think she was anything other than a great teacher. She didn’t want to be judged because her father owned a strip club and her mother was its main attraction. She’d had enough of that bullshit growing up.
Her steely resolve dissolved. “I…Would you excuse me?” She slid off the stool and out of his hold to scurry into the bathroom at the back of the bar.
Safely behind closed doors, she gripped the marble countertop and willed her nerves to calm. A glance in the mirror showed no color in her face, and her eyes glistened.
Come on, Sara. Pull yourself together. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Who cares if he knows about the family?
They weren’t pimps and prostitutes, and it wasn’t like her mother did anything but dance. Hell, Sara hoped she looked half as good as her mom did at fifty.
Dane gave out signals he would be a willing partner, so why not let him in on the game?
She splashed a bit of water on her face and was about to go out and face Dane again when the door opened and he walked in.
****
It took Dane less than thirty seconds to decide to follow her. He slipped through the door and checked to make sure they were alone.
Her reflection frowned at him. “You realize this is the women’s restroom, right?”
Her eyes were suspiciously bright. Had she been crying? He felt like an ass for upsetting her, though he wasn’t really sure what he’d said to cause her angst.
Those pouty lips and come-hither bedroom eyes just begged for attention, and he’d be damned if he let any of those jokers in the bar near her. Not when she was wedged so firmly under his skin already. He hadn’t been kidding when he said it’d be safer for her back at the ranch. There he could keep an eye on her, make sure she didn’t end up with some guy who could really hurt her.
And why the hell did he care about her getting hurt? She wasn’t his
anything
. Damn, listening to Dustin wax poetic love for Shannon was starting to rub off on him and turn him into a pussy. He didn’t care how many grandchildren his mother wanted. He wasn’t ready to get married.
Realizing she was waiting for him to speak, he gave a lazy grin and lifted his shoulder. “I’m up for an adventure.” And he hoped she was, too.
Sara grinned, and the brilliance took his breath away.
She locked the bathroom door, barring anyone else entry and crooked her finger. “Well, let’s get to exploring.”
Shit, yeah. Let’s go exploring.
His cock swelled and strained against his fly. He could already see her pouty lips wrapped around him, shiny with saliva. He moaned and backed her against the wall next to the counter.
With a fierceness that surprised him, Dane captured her lips in a searing kiss. Her mouth opened, drawing him in. Tongues tangled, tasting and teasing. His dick pulsed. He wanted more. He lifted her shirt, revealing a scrap of lace bra cupping two perfect breasts. Holding them in the palms of his hands, he brushed the pads of his thumbs over the beaded nipples. With a quick snap of his fingers, he unfastened the front hook and her breasts popped free. Lowering his head, he sucked first one bud and then the other. She tasted like peaches.
Sara put one stillettoed foot on the vanity stool, and the green flirty skirt rose higher on her leg, high enough to show the creamy, pale skin of her smooth inner thigh.
He ran his hands up her legs to grab her hips. Damn, they fit perfectly in his hands. His chest contracted when he found she wasn’t wearing underwear. With a jerk of his wrist, the skirt flipped up revealing a neatly trimmed pussy, with a small patch of light brown hair above her clit. His mouth watered. He wanted to taste her. Bending at the knees, he slicked his tongue over her clit. She gasped and grabbed his head, knocking his hat askew.