His Firefly Cowgirl (4 page)

He plucked the towel from her hand and hooked it on the rack behind them. She blinked but didn’t protest. He reached up and almost cupped her face. Close enough to make her shiver, too far to touch her. She closed her eyes and his lips found hers.

Dax hadn’t intended to kiss her. Hell, he had no doubt he would get his ass kicked by several people for even touching her. Yet he couldn’t stop himself any more than he could stop breathing. Kissing Sophie Evans was as natural as any act in his life.

She was perfect for him—curvy, soft, smart and so goddamn sexy. His dick was hard as blue steel, pushing and howling to be let loose from the confines of his jeans.

He shouldn’t kiss her, but he did. It was like coming home. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. A groan worked its way up his throat. Her perfect breasts tempted him, teased him as they pressed into his chest.

Jesus, he might do something really stupid and come in his pants from merely kissing her. But oh, it was much more than a kiss. Much more.

Now that he’d started, he couldn’t stop. No matter that they were at the pump barely hidden from view by a privacy screen.

He couldn’t stop.

He brushed his lips from one side of hers to the other, nibbling and tasting her. Although she didn’t taste the same, kissing her was like coming home. He cupped her ass and pulled her tighter, pushing his aching staff into the softness of her belly. She was perfectly made for his hands and body, her curves filling his hands and her mouth melding to his.

He teased the seam of her lips until she opened, and he dove in, tangling and twisting with her tongue. She made a mewling sound in her throat and he thrust against her in rhythm with their mouths.

Jesus Christ on crackers, he wanted to strip her bare and fuck her until neither of them could see straight. He backed her into the wall, his body throbbing with need and passion.

“Please, Soph.” He didn’t know what he was begging for, but she seemed to.

“God, yes.”

Somehow she managed to undo her own jeans and his. As his cock sprang free, she grasped it in her still-damp hands and he groaned. Her delicate fingers pumped and squeezed his staff, and his balls tightened to the point of near-pain.

“Now.” It was all he could manage to say.

She kicked off her boots, then slid her jeans down until they dangled from one leg. He lifted her, bracing her back against the wall and entered her.

Home. Heaven.

Sophie.

They both gasped when he filled her. She was hot, tight and gripped him with her muscles as though she didn’t want to let go. Dax found her mouth again, wishing he could suck and bite her nipples, but his hands were full of her perfect ass instead.

He thrust into her fast and hard, unable to control the near-animal urge to claim her. She scratched at his back, pulling him closer and urging him on. It wasn’t making love at all. This was fucking. Beautiful, marvelous fucking.

“More.” She pulled her shirt off and popped her bra with skills he didn’t have time to be impressed with. Those perfect, big breasts were right there at mouth level.

He devoured her, suckling and biting at the pink peaks. She yanked his hair as a series of small moans burst from her throat. He knew he wasn’t going to last long. Hell, he was surprised he hadn’t lost it when she grabbed his cock.

“Now, baby.” He bit down hard on her nipple, the way she always liked to come, and he wasn’t disappointed.

A high-pitched, keening cry accompanied her pussy muscles fluttering and tightening around him. He let himself go, the orgasm starting somewhere near his big toe and racing through his body like wildfire. He might have shouted. He might have not made a sound.

Dax was lost in the pure ecstasy of the moment, the pleasure intense and sharp. He dug his fingers into her ass, holding on as he rode the wave of the powerful release.

“Holy shit, Dax.” Her voice came from far away, husky and confused sounding.

Holy shit indeed.

What had they just done?

To call supper an awkward occasion would be a ridiculous understatement. Sophie could barely choke down the mac and cheese and its delicious, cheesy flavor. It was a crying shame she couldn’t focus on how hungry she was or how delicious the iced tea was.

Good sweet tea was worth its weight in gold and there was a full pitcher with ice cubes lazily floating in the amber liquid on the table. She focused on the tea so she didn’t have to look at Dax.

Her body still buzzed from the incredible sex they’d had in the side yard. In full view of anyone who happened to be nearby. Embarrassment made her cheeks burn with the memory but satisfaction made her pussy hum.

With her glasses back on, she could see him clearly. Good thing she was nearsighted or she’d have missed seeing all that male hotness without her specs. Ye gods, the man could model for a Michelangelo statue.

The situation was a conundrum. Kissing him had been like sliding down a slippery mountain with nothing to stop her fall. And oh what a fall it had been. She’d forgotten what good sex,
really
good sex, was like. How her body reacted before, during and after. How a delicious ache resonated through her afterward.

They shouldn’t have done it. Both of them knew it, but that hadn’t stopped them from losing control. Their physical relationship had always been strong. That obviously hadn’t changed.

However, she should have stepped away or smacked him or maybe even kick him in the balls. Something to avoid the disaster they’d just accomplished together.

“We need to talk.” His voice cracked through the thick silence.

“No, we don’t.” She stuffed her mouth with more mac and cheese, hoping like hell he would drop it.

“You’re staying here tonight. It would be kinda foolish to spend the next twelve hours in silence.” He tapped on the table. “This isn’t a monastery practicing silence.”

She snorted. They don’t have wild monkey sex at a monastery.

“I didn’t intend on that happening.” He wasn’t giving up.

She sighed and put down her fork, then a big swig of tea to buy her time to find a coherent answer. Apparently sex turned her into a blithering idiot.

“Neither did I.”

Scintillating conversationalist.

“We’ll call it a screw for old times.” He sounded as uncomfortable as she was.

“Isn’t there a drink called a ‘slow comfortable screw against the wall’?” popped out of her mouth.

It was his turn to snort. “That there is. Not a fan of sloe gin so I’ve never had one.”

A laugh exploded out of her mouth. “I think you’ve had one. About half an hour ago in fact.”

Just like that, the air lightened and the tension popped. She smiled at her plate as she resumed eating. The rest of the meal passed and Sophie was able to enjoy the delicious food. She ate much more than she expected. A burp escaped her mouth before she could stop it.

His brows went up. “Well then.”

She shrugged. “I usually don’t have time to eat well when I’m working. I can’t put it in my expense report that I was fed by the owner of the building.”

“What about the fire chief?”

The image of him in his turnout suit flashed through her brain. “Ah, no, definitely worse than the building owner.”

“Then tell them you stayed with an old friend. It’s the truth.” He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers over his belly.

Oh, that rock-hard belly with muscles of steel. Her fingers had traced the dips and lines and itched to do so again.

Easy, girl
.

She couldn’t forget what had happened between them when they’d broken up. How the vicious words flew through the air, slicing and dicing through their hearts. They couldn’t forget the past no matter how tempting the present was.

“You want coffee?” He got to his feet and picked up both their plates.

She hid her surprise. His mother had spoiled her children and did all their household chores. She’d never seen Dax put a plate in the sink before. To her shock, he turned on the water and started washing the dishes.

“Holy shit.” It jumped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

He didn’t pause in his work. “You’d be surprised what I’ve learned to do the last five years.”

A shiver raced up her spine. He didn’t mean sexual skills, but her mind was rolling around in the gutter anyway. She had to pull it back, way, way back.

“Doing laundry too?” She poured herself another half a glass of tea.

“That too. Sometimes necessity makes a man do what needs to be done. I’ve been something of a bachelor.” He gestured to the back of the house. “Mama lives alone in the guest house. Hannah moved out years ago.”

He was telling her he had remained single. No girlfriend, live-in or otherwise. She didn’t want to know that. She especially didn’t want to feel a measure of satisfaction at the knowledge.

Sophie had lost her mind sometime in the last four hours. Why did she think she could survive coming back to Tanger unscathed?

She sipped at her tea and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, Dax touched her shoulder. “Do you want to go see the stars?”

The one thing she truly missed living in a city was the night sky. Growing up in the country, she had a front row seat to the most beautiful light show in the universe.

They walked out of the house together through the back door. No words were necessary. They had made a nightly sojourn to watch the stars many times. The best stargazing was at the crest of one of the hills where the trees didn’t grow. Thick wild grass dotted the land making for a comfy spot to look up.

Sophie breathed in the sweet scents in the night air. She resisted the temptation to find the honeysuckle and taste the nectar as she did when she was growing up. She wasn’t a child any longer and life wasn’t simple. The velvet blackness of the sky lay out endlessly above them.

They reached their favorite spot and lay back on grass. The dew had already coated the blades, providing a cool bed beneath their backs. The stars twinkled above them, thousands upon thousands of pinholes in the darkness.

An owl hooted nearby to accompany the night peepers filling the air with their song. Sophie hadn’t remembered what peace felt like. It came upon her in a slow wave, starting from her feet and sliding up her body. Goose bumps prickled her skin.

“I forgot.” The words were a whisper on the night breeze. She wasn’t sure if he heard her.

“Sometimes I forget too. I haven’t been out here in a long time.” His hand touched hers and she twined their fingers together.

She couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment.

Chapter Four

Sophie didn’t have a change of clothes or even a toothbrush. She found both sitting on the guest room bed. They had watched the stars in silence for an hour until sleep threatened to overtake her. The day had started with a hellacious morning commute and then the long drive to Tanger.

She yawned widely against her hand. Hannah must’ve left her the necessities. Sophie wanted to thank her but she didn’t know which room was her former friend’s.

Being beholden to others went against Sophie’s grain. She had done everything she could to be independent, to support herself, and rely only on her own wits, intelligence and skills. Now here she was stranded, without clothes or a place to sleep, or a car that ran.

No matter what Tennessee Williams wrote, Sophie did not depend on the kindness of strangers. She didn’t know how to accept it.

She took a long, hot shower, washing away the sweat, stink and soot that clung to her. The guest room at the Triple B had a lovely en suite bathroom that provided her with fluffy towels and everything she needed to get clean.

When she pulled on the nightie, she remembered that Hannah was tiny in stature although big busted. Apparently Sophie was a foot taller and her boobs were twice as big because the damn nightie looked more like a hooker’s outfit when she put it on.

She didn’t want to go work a corner and she couldn’t sleep in her dirty clothes so that left one option. Sophie crept beneath the covers naked as a jaybird. The sheets were the kind of cotton that had four-digit thread counts and was soft as a baby’s skin. She snuggled down into the pillowtop mattress and promptly passed out.

Sophie awoke sometime later, the room dark and still. Something had brought her to full wakefulness in an instant. Shadows danced around the room as moonlight crept in through the sheer curtains.

Dax stood in front of the window, wearing only his boxers. She tried not to react, but she wondered what the hell he was doing. At least he wasn’t standing over her. Yet he was in the room in which she slept.

She must have made a noise to alert him because he started speaking as if picking up a conversation they’d been having.

“You broke my heart, Soph. Big, strong football player and cowboy. Busted it into a thousand pieces.” He kept his voice in a hushed tone, but she could hear the real pain behind the words.

Shock kept her immobile on the bed. That, and she didn’t want to prance around in front of him naked again. Skipping down that path was not on her agenda.

“I broke your heart?” She sounded as confused as she felt. “You didn’t seem to want a girlfriend anymore. How many times did you visit me when I was in college?”

“I was working. I couldn’t just go gallivanting off in Houston with you and your college friends. Ranches are twenty-four/seven operations.” He pressed his hands against the glass. “You had plenty of fun without me being there to spoil it.”

“Fun?” Now she did sit up, her ire simmering to a boil at his assumption. “I worked my ass off at that school. I didn’t have a gaggle of friends. I was lonely every day and you never once visited me.” Emotion clogged her throat and her eyes stung. Here was the argument she’d dreaded. It was coming at them like a freight train. There was no stopping it now. “I needed you but you never came. You chose your friends, your horses and your damn cows over me.”

The silence in the room was only broken by their breathing. She held the covers around her chest, unwilling to let go of the shield.

“You chose college over me.”

“Bullshit! I wanted to get my degree to get out of Tanger.”

“Then you succeeded, didn’t you?” He shook his head. “Shook the shit right off your shoes from here.”

“Nothing I did was to hurt you. I felt stifled in this small town. Nothing has changed in decades. It’s caught in the past and you’re following right along with Blackwood tradition. You have a mind of your own, Dax, but you chose instead to snuggle down at the homestead and ignore what you wanted.”

A few beats passed. “What I wanted was my girlfriend to love me enough to stay here.”

“What I wanted was a boyfriend who loved me enough to support me.”

“Good thing we didn’t stay together then, huh?” He pushed away from the window and faced her, hands on his hips. “You would never be satisfied to live in a podunk down like Tanger with a backwoods cowboy who likes to lay out under the stars for fun.”

He turned and left the room, his strides almost stomping. She leapt out of bed and chased after him. When she caught up to him, she remembered she was naked.

Oh well.

She thumped him on the back with both fists. “You never talked to me and you still don’t. You assume you know every thought in my brain and draw conclusions. This is the conversation we should have had five years ago, not now. The scars are too deep to repair them.”

“Are you naked?”

She waved her hand to dismiss his obvious question. “I loved you with every fiber of my being, Dax Gideon Blackwood, and you didn’t love me enough.”

To her horror, a sob worked its way up her throat. She didn’t want to cry over him again. She’d made that promise to herself after months of depression and crushing sadness. He’d made his choice and it wasn’t her.

“I loved you more than any human being on the planet.” His voice sounded sincere, but the words were years too late.

“I don’t believe you. If you did, you would have come after me.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she said.

Her heart slammed against her ribs as they faced each other in the weak moonlight. She’d wanted him to chase her, to demonstrate she was more important than his family ranch. After accusing him of not accepting herself, the opposite was true. She’d not accepted him and his choice to be a rancher.

“Oh my God.” She turned and raced back to the room, ashamed and sick to her stomach. Had she been that shallow? What was wrong with her?

She tried to close the door, but a large hand blocked her. “Let me alone, Dax. I can’t do this anymore.” Tears rolled down her cheeks and her throat tightened. “Please.”

He scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Sophie was tired of trying to be so strong and independent. Tired of never having a single soul whose shoulder she could cry on.

Dax sat on the bed and cradled her against him. Sophie let herself cry on the broadest shoulder in East Texas.

The gray light of dawn slid through the curtains. Dax dozed with Sophie curled around him, her mahogany hair soft as a feather on his bare chest. She’d cried for both of them.

The time he’d spent with Sophie the last day had been a maddening mixture of frustration, annoyance, anger, arousal, passion and sadness. A cocktail of ups and downs it would take at least a week to recover from. If ever.

He forgot how she felt against him, her softness surrounding him, reminding him what he’d been missing. He was a fool to have had sex with her and an even worse fool to allow the painful thoughts out of his heart.

He’d kept the feelings hidden, crammed into dark recesses where he didn’t expect to let them out again. When he’d come into the room to check on her, she’d looked angelic, sleeping like a baby. She was so damn beautiful it made his eyes ache.

Dax struggled to leave her then. He stood by the window, waiting for the urge to check on her to pass. His heart told him to take a chance. His head told him to run. Then she’d woken up and all hell had broken loose.

Sharp words had been thrown, leaving wounds and ragged emotions. Dax sighed and wondered what would happen tomorrow when she was gone again. He had a full life. He didn’t need a woman, and he especially didn’t need Sophie.

That didn’t mean he didn’t
want
her.

If he were lucky, Myron would have towed her car and fixed it before Dax dropped her off. Then he could say goodbye and she would be on her way.

“Is it tomorrow?” Her sleep-tinged voice stopped his musings and startled his dick awake.

That wasn’t good.

“Yep.”

Oh hell, she was naked too. The blanket slipped off her shoulder and he remembered how she looked last night, punching him, her face full of fire. Her soft, curvy body bared for his view.

Shitfire.

“We should get up.”

“Ah, yeah, we should.” Parts of his anatomy were already up, like,
really
up.

“You’re comfortable.”

A strangled sound came out of his throat.

A few moments passed before she came into full wakefulness. Then she must’ve realized exactly what was poking her in the hip.

“It’s morning.”

“We already covered that.” He didn’t know whether to move and allow her to keep her dignity, or let her escape to keep his dignity.

“This is awkward.”

“We’ve had a few of those moments since yesterday.”

She tried to wiggle off his lap and instead managed to turn herself until his dick ended up between her thighs. He sucked in a breath, tortured by the soft trap.

“And a few more ahead apparently.” She glanced up at him, her dark eyes a mixture of arousal and confusion. He had to pull back and save both of them. A gentleman would.

“We shouldn’t have done what we did yesterday.”

“Bareback no less.”

“I’m clean.”

“So am I, but that doesn’t prevent pregnancy.”

His gut slammed up to his throat then back down to his feet. “What was that?”

“That’s how babies are made, Dax. I thought for sure you’d taken sex ed in high school.” She sighed. The very thought of a baby made Dax want to jump out of the bed and run like hell. It also made him imagine what a baby would look like, half Sophie, half himself.

What in the ever-loving hell was he doing?

“I, uh, should’ve thought of that.” His lame excuse was met with silence.

“There’s no help for it. I’m gonna have to bare my boobs to get out of this,” she finally said.

He tried to stop her. He truly did, but she rolled onto her back, baring those beautiful orbs to his view. The dark pink nipples hardened as the cool air hit them.

His mouth watered. “Damn, woman. You are hot as hell.”

She blinked. “Really?”

“God, yes.” He leaned down and pulled one nipple into his mouth. His hard-on did a happy dance.

She groaned and tugged at his hair. “Jeeezus.”

He suckled, nibbled and laved at the turgid peaks, her skin as sweet as honey. His pulse notched up with each suck, his heart beating a faster rhythm.

Thump-thump-thump.

“We can’t do this again, cowboy.” She ran her hands up and down his back, a purring emanating from her throat. “Not after all we said.”

He didn’t stop. Didn’t even consider stopping. Nope. Too lost in the delicious breasts in his mouth. He moved to the other breast and his hand crept down her belly. Her pussy called to his fingers, the scent of her arousal teasing his nostrils.

Good God, she was all sweet, wet heat.

He slid through her silken folds until he reached her clit. She arched her back, pushing her nipple farther into his mouth. As he pleasured her, his own body throbbed with need. He wanted to plunge into the heated depths, to bring both of them to the ultimate release.

“We should stop.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Right there. Harder. Harder.”

He continued to pluck and circle her hot button. She started to make chuffing noises and he knew she was close. He bit her nipple and she screamed as an orgasm ripped through her.

“Do you have protection?” Her voice was husky and sliced through his self-control.

He jumped to his feet and raced to the bathroom, hoping his stash was still in the drawer. “Bingo!” He snagged a condom and made quick work of putting it on before returning to the soft, sexy woman on the bed.

He rose up on his knees, the head of his cock poised at the entrance to heaven. “Still want to stop?”

Her eyes fluttered open and a slow, lazy smile spread across her face.

“I think I can stand a little more fun.”

He thrust into her depths and spots danced in front of his eyes from the sheer ecstasy of entering her. It was paradise on earth. After he slid his cock almost all the way out, he paused to tease both of them. A lazy smile crossed her face.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Fuck,” he whispered. Dax scowled at the door, willing away whoever was interrupting their sex.

“Dax, are you in there?” Hannah spoke through the door. “Your phone’s been ringing off the hook and Clint just called me. There’s a fire.”

His responsibility as volunteer fire chief trumped some morning delight with Sophie, no matter how much he wanted to push himself back inside her.

“Yeah, I’m here. Be there in a minute.” He saw the regret in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Soph.”

She didn’t speak as he rolled off and pulled on his clothes as fast as he could. There weren’t many fires in Tanger and to have two so close together was suspicious.

“It could turn out to be someone’s trash burning.” He yanked on his shirt. When he popped his head through he found Sophie almost dressed. “What are you doing?”