Dangerous Curves Ahead 2 (Cowboy / BBW Erotic Romance) (3 page)

Dylan began
complaining from the backseat, "Aunt Jenna, this park doesn't look like
fun."

Jenna turned
to her nephew, "We're just dropping off Krista and then we're going to the
park."

I dragged my
eyes away from the sight of Jake approaching. "Oh no you're not! Jenna,
this time you’ve-"

Jenna
flashed me a warning look. "Hold it. Out of the car before you start
complaining."

Not wanting
to scare the children, I hopped out of the car before Jake got too close.
"Jenna, this is ridiculous, even for you. How could you do this to me? You
better get me out of here right now!"

She shook
her head. "No way. Not until you talk to Jake."

Even though
I didn't turn towards him, I could sense exactly when Jake reached my side. My
heart was pounding furiously as I heard his voice so close to me.

"Hi
Krista. I'm glad you decided to come out today."

I spun
around to face him, gasping at the site of the boyish smile on his face. Anger
at being manipulated mixed in with my nervous panic. "I didn't decide on
anything!"

He looked
genuinely puzzled. "If you didn't decide to come out with me, what are you
doing here?"

His body, so
close to my own, was having a devastating effect on me. A jolt of awareness
washed over me as I remembered exactly what that very body did to me; how it
had left me writhing in bliss and shuddering in uncontrollable response.

I swallowed
hard, angry at my body's betrayal. "That's exactly what I'm about to find
out."

When I
turned back to Jenna to demand some answers, I was surprised once again. She
was already back inside the car. With a wave of her hand, she drove off leaving
me stranded next to the handsome cowboy, yet again.

After a few
moments of shocked silence, I closed my gaping mouth. "I can't believe she
just did that to me."

Jake shifted
uncomfortably by my side. “You really didn’t agree to come out on a date with
me? She said that she had convinced you to give me another chance.”

I turned
back to Jake. "No, I thought we were taking her niece and nephew to the
zoo. Instead, she dumps me off in the middle of nowhere with you. What a
disaster! I'm going to kill her when I get my hands on her. For all she knows,
she just deserted me with an axe murderer."

Jake
protested, "Whoa. I've been called many things before, but never an axe
murderer.”

I found it
hard to resist his teasing smile. “Well, I don’t think you’re an axe murderer.
But she doesn't even know you and yet she hatches this plan with you behind my
back? It’s unbelievable.”

Jake held up
his hand. “First of all, I didn’t hatch any plans. I thought you had agreed to
come. And, Jenna does know me. We've met for lunch this past week, twice in
fact, and let me tell you, your friend could work for the CIA. She knows how to
get information out of people. I've never been grilled so hard in my life. And
I believe I passed her very vigorous screening.”

Jenna had
lunch with Jake. Twice! Behind my back?
I tried to tamp down
the jealousy that immediately twisted in my gut. Even if she was misguidedly
doing this on my behalf, I still felt somewhat betrayed. I chastised myself. I
wasn’t jealous; I was angry. I couldn’t let my sexual attraction to this man
override my common sense.

I think Jake
could sense my wavering. “Your friend was satisfied that my intentions weren’t bad.
How about you give me a chance to prove to you that I'm not a liar or a rotten
person?”

I really
wanted to give him a second chance. If all he had wanted from me was the
typical one-night stand, I would never have heard from him again. Considering
the effort he went through to see me, I could almost convince myself to
overlook everything. But the one thing that really bothered me was the fake
name.

Only a
cowardly or immature man would use a false name when meeting a woman, so that
he could melt away from the scene with relative ease when he had gotten what he
was after. Could I overlook that, too?

I crossed my
arms. “Well, you could start off by telling me your name. Your real name.”

Jake smiled.
It was almost as if he knew that he had already won. It wasn’t an arrogant
smile, but a carefree and devilish smile. And it was probably that smile that
was my undoing more than the words that followed it.

“It’s Jake.
Jenna told me about the hat. I borrowed the hat from some guy at the bar when I
heard you and your friends talking about looking for a cowboy for the night.
It’s rather embarrassing to be caught doing something so juvenile. But, I
promise you that I don’t know any Neil or Cassie.”

The
explanation was so simple. I shrugged, “I guess it’s no more embarrassing than
having my ridiculous conversation about orgasms overheard.”

Jake looked
relaxed, but he was watching me carefully. “I promised you a date riding at the
ranch, and I meant every word of it. I was relieved when Jenna said you had
agreed to come. I thought we could clear up any misunderstandings and get to
know each other better. But, if you’re not interested, I could take you home instead.”

His offhand
remark about the date to go riding had thrilled me at the time. Remembering it
later, thinking it had been all part of his lies, had crushed me. My emotions
were bouncing around so much, I no longer knew what to think, but I couldn’t
deny that a warmth was spreading through my limbs.
Was this really happening
to me?

I looked
down at my outfit. “I would love to, but I’m not really prepared to go riding.
And I haven’t been on a horse in years. I don’t know…”

Jake stepped
towards me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “You’ll be fine. We’ll take
it easy.”

I felt a
quiver of anticipation as Jake began leading me toward his truck. “I guess I’m
at your mercy then.” I resisted the urge to fan myself as we walked together.

****

Jake took a
furtive peek in Krista’s direction. She seemed much more relaxed. When Jenna
sped off leaving Krista stranded and surprising them both, Jake had wondered if
his chance was ruined. Luckily for him, his instincts about her had been
correct.

She was a
straight-forward and honest woman, but she didn’t lack a sense of humor. And
seeing her again reminded him why he wanted that second chance so badly. Even
dressed for a casual day out, she looked utterly sexy. Just one look at her had
his mind racing with wicked thoughts. He had to keep himself in check before he
frightened her off for good.

“I picked
out a gentle mare for you, since you haven’t been in the saddle for quite a
while. I thought we’d ride out towards the west side of the property- the
scenery is gorgeous and there’s a spot out by the lake that’s perfect for a
picnic.”

Krista
smiled. “That sounds nice.”

They drove
within sight of Jake’s family home. Instead of turning into the long drive toward
his home, he continued toward the stables.

Krista
studied the giant farmhouse as they drove by. “Is that the Crenshaw’s home?”

Jake glanced
at her. “Yes. You sound almost disappointed.”

She turned
to watch it as they passed by. “I’m just surprised. It’s huge, but I thought
it’d be fancier considering they’re one of the wealthiest families in the
state.”

Something
about her reaction had him on guard. “The main part of the house was built over
a hundred years ago, but it was added onto many times over the years. The
inside is completely modernized though.”

“Do you live
here on the ranch, too?” Krista turned to him.

Now was his
chance to tell her he was a Crenshaw. He was uneasy about her reaction to the
news. Never before had he ever felt that his wealth would be an actual
detriment in the eyes of a woman he was pursuing. Even so, he needed to come
clean before it got awkward.

“I do live
here. In fact-”

Krista
excitedly cut him off as the stables came into sight. “Whoa. The stables are
huge! Jake, are you sure I can handle this? I haven’t ridden in so long, but
I’m just so excited at the chance to get to do so again. I hope it all comes
back to me.”

Jake smiled
at the enthusiasm bubbling up from her. “Don’t worry, it will.”

The lot was
full of trucks and horse trailers. He parked his truck next to a beat up red
pickup and got out. Krista was already out by the time he got to the other side
of his truck to open her door.

“I guess
you’re ready. Let’s go find the horses.” Jake grabbed her hand and led the way
into the stable yard.

The stables
were humming with activity. It was unusually busy, even for a Saturday. “The
ranch is hosting a horse show tomorrow, so lots of preparations are underway.”

Krista
seemed to be hanging back slightly as they walked amongst the bustling chaos.
“Jake, maybe we should do this another day. I don’t want to get in the way…”

He suppressed
a laugh. “We won’t be in anyone’s way. The horses are saddled and lunch is
already prepared.”

She still
sounded reluctant. “Okay, I guess. Are you sure no one is going to mind?”

This time he
couldn’t hold back his laugh. “I promise, I won’t get you in any trouble.”

He saw her
doubting glance. She still didn’t trust him fully, but that was probably a good
thing. She was definitely astute.

Jake led her
over to their waiting horses. The groom, Ryan, must have been watching for
them. He sauntered over and met them at the horses.

Ryan nodded
in greeting. “Jake. Mrs. Cole sent down your lunch. It’s loaded up and ready.
Is there anything else you need?”

Jake could
feel Krista trying to extract her hand from his own, but he held on tightly.
“Krista, this is the head groom, Ryan.”

Ryan tipped
his hat. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Krista
smiled. “Hi, Ryan.”

“I don’t
think we need anything else. Krista, is there anything you need before we
leave?” Jake turned to see Krista blushing slightly.

She shook
her head. “No. I’m good.”

Ryan nodded.
“You two have a good time then. Henry will take care of your horses when you
get back.” He tipped his hat to Krista and then left.

Krista tried
to wiggle her hand free from his again. “Jake, let go. People are noticing us.
They might get the wrong idea.”

Jake took
pity of her embarrassment and let go of her hand. He knew most of the people
present, and the ones he didn’t, certainly knew who he was. She was right, they
were attracting some attention.

He couldn’t
resist teasing her though. “And what wrong idea might they get?”

Her hands
twisted together nervously. “You know, that we’re
together
.”

“We are
together. We’re on a date.” Jake smiled lazily at her.

Krista
ignored his reply. “These horses are beautiful. I take it this one is mine?”

Jake rubbed
the mare’s muzzle. “This is Mysty. Ryan picked her out for you. She is very
steady and well-behaved. She won’t give you any trouble.”

Jake slid
over and patted his own horse. “This is Shadow. He’s a bit more temperamental, but
I’ve ridden him for years. We’ve come to an understanding, of sorts.”

Krista was
rubbing Mysty’s withers. “Okay, Mysty. I’m trusting you to take good care of
me. Don’t make me look foolish in front of Jake.”

Jake grabbed
Mysty’s reins. “Do you think you can mount her, or do you want me to ask Ryan to
bring out a mounting block?”

A look of
terror spread over Krista’s face. “Oh, God no! Not with all these people
watching. But I don’t want to drag on the saddle. If you just give me a little
boost up, I’ll be fine.”

Jake moved
next to Krista. Being so near her but having to keep his hands to himself was
frustrating. And he was about to spend the next couple of hours in the saddle
when what he really lusted after was a roll in the hay with her. His pulse quickened
at the thought.

He reached
his hands around her back and pulled her in close to him. “I’ll give you a lift
if you give me a kiss.”

Krista
squirmed, trying to pull out of his embrace, but his arms remained locked in
place. In fact her squirming only served to heighten his desire as she wiggled
against his hardening cock.

Krista
gasped, “Jake! I’m not going to kiss you in front of everyone. Let me go before
someone sees.”

Jake gazed
down at her, his passion smoldering just beneath the surface. The allure of her
cleavage from this angle, her wriggling against him, her flushed cheeks and her
full lips all had his cock throbbing with need. But it was the heated desire he
saw in her eyes that had him wanting to haul her off to someplace private,
right then and there.

He didn’t
let her go. “You didn’t have any problem kissing me on the dance floor at the
bar, in front of everyone.”