Royal Trouble (19 page)

Wes was glad he had been running lately, and had increased his endurance.  He needed it tonight.  This would be round four, and it wasn't even daylight yet.  Good god, by the time the cock crowed, his cock would be wrung out.  But he would be a happy man he thought with a smile.  He was already a very happy man, he thought and growled as he grabbed her hips and reversed their position. 

"Needy woman," he grumped playfully and nipped her lower lip.  She nipped him back and heat shot through him.  Wes rolled again, so that she was on top of him now.  "You do the hard work this time," he told her with a grin.

"Hard work?" she asked with a snort.  "If this is work, I'll be expecting my pay."

"Six orgasms isn't payment enough?" he asked and his grin expanded. 

"Guess I have some catching up to do," she replied with a wide smile that got him worried.  Her eyes sparkling in the moonlight filtering through his bedroom window, Leigh Ann sat up, then her hot breath tickled his ear, before she licked down his throat, and Wes groaned.  Leigh Ann used her wet tongue to lick a hot trail down his body, stopping to circle each nipple.  When her teeth closed over him, Wes arched his back off the bed.

"You don't like that?' she asked innocently, and kissed him there.

"You know I like it, but you're torturing me woman."

"Payback is hell," she whispered over his heated skin as she continued her downward path over his abs.  "I think you'll like this," she mumbled then kissed his hipbone, before she kissed the head of his erection.  Electricity shot through his dick like a lightning rod, and Wes vaulted up on the bed to shove his hands into her hair.

"Oh, baby you don't have to do that," he said hoping like hell she didn't listen to him.  Wes hadn't had oral sex in...well, ever.  He had always wondered how it would be. 

Laura had thought it was gross and the women before her had been too inexperienced to try it.  But they had sure not complained when he gave them that pleasure.

The women after her, had the experience, but they were either divorced or not interested in anything other than missionary.  Quick and easy had been, well easy.  He had gotten what he wanted, and so had they.  There had only been two of them, Martha and one other woman the year before her.  And now Leigh Ann.

Leigh Ann was different, she seemed to want to experience everything.  To explore his body and experiment.  Wes didn't stop her when she licked his length.  His muscles tensed and he laid back on the bed to clutch the sheet in his fists trying to hold off the orgasm he felt pounding in his blood. 

Her lips closed over the head of his erection, and Wes groaned loudly, gritting his teeth, as her wet heat slid farther down on him, her tongue rasping against the underside of his cock as she swallowed him.  He felt a barrier, the back of her throat, on each downward stroke of her talented mouth. 

"Oh, god, baby that feels...incredible," he panted in encouragement. 

Her hand joined her mouth, and she began moving over him rhythmically, bringing him closer to a release with every stroke.  Wes's toes curled as he fought to maintain control.  His phone rang on the nightstand and he thought he was hearing bells in his head the pleasure was so intense.  It rang again, and he pushed up on his elbows to stare down at Leigh Ann who was sucking him harder now.  Seeing her silky blonde hair spread over his thighs was the most erotic thing he'd ever seen.  His balls contracted and he knew he was very near to losing it.  He grabbed her hair and pulled her away. 

The phone rang again, and she looked at him with questions and hurt in her beautiful eyes.  "Fuck," he cursed and slammed his head back against the bed in frustration as the phone rang again.

Leigh Ann's hand closed over him, and she leaned down again.  He stopped her and pulled her up to him, then rolled to close his mouth over hers, his hand finding her wetness.  Leigh Ann whimpered just as the phone rang again.  Wes gave up and sat up, then shoved a hand through his hair.  "I'm sorry, baby, I have to answer that."

"I know, it's rude not to answer it."  Roxanne had told him that her mother had drilled that into Leigh Ann, so she always answered her phone.

"It's not rude, but it might be an emergency," he said and crawled over her to fumble his hand around on the nightstand until he found his phone.  It had stopped ringing now, so he had scrolled through his missed calls and saw it was Clayburn from the Texas Task Force.  That could mean only one thing at this time of the morning.  He was mobilizing the Equine Search and Rescue Team, and Wes needed to get the hell out of bed.

"I've got to go," he said shortly, and turned on the lamp beside the bed to sit up and look around for his clothes.  They were downstairs he remembered, and he needed fresh ones anyway, so Wes stood and strode to his closet.

"What's wrong, Wes?" Leigh Ann asked scooting to the edge of the bed, dragging the sheet with her to cover herself.

"I need to call Clay to find out, but I think he's calling up the search and rescue team, so I need to wake up my guys."

"What does that mean," she asked in confusion. 

He shot a look at her over his shoulder.  He didn't have time to explain, but he had just left her in the middle of an incredibly generous gift, after a night he would never forget, so he owed her an explanation. 

Wes stepped into his jeans and zipped them, then grabbed a pair of socks and picked up his boots.  Sitting down in the chair, he put on the socks and explained while he dressed, "I formed a search and rescue team that rides horses out into remote areas to search for missing people.  We go places that the Texas Rangers and other teams can't reach on foot, or on ATVs."  Wes slid a foot into one boot, then put the other on and stood to stomp his foot down into it.  "A call from Clay means that someone is missing, and I need to go help.  I'm sorry, baby, but I've got to leave you." 

Wes really was sorry, because they had three hours before the sun came up, and they could do a lot of lovemaking before then, but he had made a commitment.  He was glad that Trey was gone, so he didn't have to worry about waking his mother to keep him.  Wes grabbed a t-shirt from the dresser drawer and slid in to it.

"I'd like to help," Leigh Ann said hesitantly.  He looked up at her, and saw the uncertainty and insecurity in her eyes.

If he told her no, that would mean he thought there wasn't anything she could do to help.  That she was incompetent.  She would feel the same way her sister had made her feel earlier today.  It was the reason she had left the office like she had.  If he told her yes, he would have to worry about keeping up with her, making sure she had supplies and was safe. 

"Can you ride a horse?" he asked tucking in his shirt, before he pulled his spare belt through the loops.

"Um, no, I don't ride," she said and he heard fear in her voice. 

Wes met her eyes and he was right, she was scared shitless.  She didn't just not ride, she was scared of horses.  That made her even less useful to him.  Even though he knew he was going to regret the decision, he said, "That's fine, you can just stay at base camp and pass out supplies."

"How will I know if you're okay?" she asked in a wobbly voice.

"I'll be fine, sweetheart.  I do this all the time.  I've been riding since I was a kid, and we take safety precautions."  Wes was damned careful, he had to be.  Trey depended on him, and Wes was all the kid had, so he couldn't let anything happen to himself.  But he was out of time here, and needed to get going.

"Let me get dressed," she said and ran to the room across the hall.  Wes held back a groan, and called Clay while he waited for her to get ready.

***

Adrenaline pushed through Leigh Ann's veins as she helped Wes load the truck.  Well, she didn't help much, most of his equipment was too heavy for her to lift, but she was damned good at holding the flashlight. 

"Get that bedroll and throw it in the storage compartment of the trailer," Wes ordered as he headed back toward the barn again. 

Leigh Ann looked around and didn't see anything except a dark bundle over by the stump outside the barn.  When she got to it, she shined her flashlight on it and saw a rolled up quilt-looking bundle tied with a piece of twine.  The holes in the exterior material made her doubt that is what he was talking about, it looked old and worn out.  Yellowed batting stuck out in various places, but it had to be what he was talking about.  It was the only thing out there, so Leigh Ann hefted it into her arms and walked back toward the trailer.

"Got it," she yelled as she swung the bundle inside the dark compartment then swiped her hands together to knock off the dirt coating her hands from the bedroll.

"Good girl," he praised with a wide smile as he threw a saddle and a couple of headstalls into the compartment.  Her heart wiggled in her chest and Leigh Ann smiled proudly.  See she could be useful.  She wanted to be more useful. 

"What else can I help with?"

"Follow me." Wes walked back toward the barn and she trailed him, doing double-time to keep up with his long strides.  They walked into the well-lit barn, and he kept going until he stopped in front of a stall.  Leigh Ann skidded to a stop and backed up.  There was no way she was getting near a horse again.  She had pressed her luck by riding with Trace Rooks, only because she had no other choice.  She had a choice here, and she chose to stay far, far away from the animal.

"Come here, baby," he said as he flipped the latch and walked into the stall.  Wes was a brave man, but Leigh Ann was not nearly as brave.  Even if he called her pet names, and talked softly to her, there was no way she was going any closer.

Leigh Ann waited where she was, but quickly realized that soft, sexy voice and endearment had been for the horse, not her.  Leigh Ann watched Wes walk up to the horse and run his hand along her cheek.  Her blood heated as she remembered those hands running along her skin like that just a few hours ago.  Blood rushed to her head and Leigh Ann swayed, when Wes scratched behind the big horse's ear and she rubbed her head against his hand. 

"That's it, sweetheart.  It won't be long now," he purred as he laid his cheek to hers lovingly.  Wes turned toward Leigh Ann and smiled broadly.  That smile did things to her insides, melted them, and made her yearn to see more of them.  She had thought he didn't smile much, before.  He had smiled plenty last night.  And grinned, and laughed, and played. 

Leigh Ann loved that Wes...wished he would stay around. 

But she knew when daylight came, he would probably revert back to being stand-offish with her again.  And he would want to keep her at arm's length.  Sadness ripped through her heart, and she almost wished that the sun would never rise again.  Leigh Ann had a feeling that last night was a one time thing for Wes, and all she would have tomorrow were memories. 

For her, it had been a life-changing experience.  Last night she found out what it was like to make love to a man she wanted.  And last night she had fallen in love with a man for the first time in her life.  Wes Jepson had been hurt so badly by his ex-wife, he would probably never let himself love anyone again.  That was a damned shame, because the man had so much to give.  But even one-sided love was better than never having experienced it. 

Leigh Ann did not regret one moment of last night, or making love to him. 

But she would not beg him to make love to her again.  And she wouldn't count on him being in her life permanently.  That would be setting herself up for failure.  Last night he hadn't mentioned forever, or even tomorrow.  Leigh Ann hadn't expected it, but she still held out a little hope he might develop feelings for her eventually.

If that didn't happen, she could only hope that one day she would find another man who could make her body sing like Wes did.  When she found him, she would marry him and they would have a family.  A real family that loved each other unconditionally.  And she wouldn't put unreasonable expectations on her husband or children.  She would expect them to give her the same consideration. 

She wasn't perfect, nobody was perfect, not even her mother.

"The baby will come soon," Wes announced as he walked out of the stall and shut the door.  Leigh Ann shook her head, because she thought he was talking to her again. 

"Come here, I need your help carrying some saddle blankets," he said and walked toward the back of the barn.  Leigh Ann stumbled after him, then got her wits back when she reached what she guessed was the tack room.  It was dark inside, so she waited at the door and shined the light inside, so Wes could see. 

A moment later he came out with his arms loaded down with striped blankets.  He dropped three on the ground.  "Take those," he said then walked toward the front of the barn, leaving her to follow again.

By the time they finished loading the trailer, the sky was turning orange with the first rays of dawn.  Wes walked back inside the barn for the last time and said over his shoulder, "Open the tailgate of the trailer so I can load Charlie."

No please, no thank you, no baby or sweetheart for her now.  The closer to dawn it got, the gruffer he had become with her, the shorter his orders.  She was the hired help now, and he was in boss mode. 

"Yes, sir," she said snapping a salute, before she turned and walked to the back of the trailer.  The more time that passed from the last time they made love a few hours ago, the more distant Wes became, and it bothered her.  Even though she doubted they would be lovers again, she at least hoped they could be friends after last night, but he wasn't acting very friendly right now.

Wes rounded the back of the trailer leading a chocolate brown horse, she assumed was a boy, since his name was Charlie.  Leigh Ann stood way back and watched him tie the horse to the back, before he jumped up into the trailer through a side door.  He walked around inside, filled a sack with hay, then walked to the end and led the horse inside.  The horse went calmly and Wes secured a clip to his halter, before taking off the lead rope and exiting the trailer through the side door.

"Let's get going, we have to meet Clay and the rest of the team down by Caprock Canyon at seven."  Leigh Ann looked at the sky and estimated it was probably at least six o'clock now. Caprock was at least two hours from them, if her memory served her right.