The Princess of Coldwater Flats (20 page)

“Don’t,” she whispered, then gasped as he thrust full-length into her, filling her up in a thrilling, thrilling way.

He began to move, rhythmically, hard, driving into her so that her fingers clutched at the skin of his shoulders, her head tossed back, her lips trembling with passion. She writhed like a wild thing and suddenly he cried out, spilling himself into her at the same moment her own climax enveloped her, her own mouth gasped with pleasure, her own body shuddered and trembled.

She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. It felt as if eternity passed while she drifted in some nameless cocoon of sweet sensation. Surfacing, she heard his breathing, his heartbeat, felt his mouth pressed against the side of her neck, his weight a welcome blanket.

“Sammy Jo,” he murmured, shifting, thick-tongued with his own pleasure, kissing her possessively, so that she wound herself around him tighter still, loving this moment, this feeling, this man.

“Don’t leave me,” she begged.

“I won’t. I promise.”

Sammy Jo shivered and he hugged her closer, cradling her against his chest. Way, way back in her mind, she already knew she would hate herself for revealing her vulnerability, but she didn’t care. Not now. She wanted this moment to last forever.

Forever.

THE PRINCESS OF COLDWATER FLATS — NANCY BUSH

Chapter Eight

The lusty song of the frogs ended with the last of the drying puddles. Silence filled the hot air. Silence except for the rhythm of Cooper’s breathing. Sammy Jo inhaled deeply, enjoying his scent, the sight of his well-muscled back, the crisp curly mess of his chest hair.

Her conscience was screaming now, but she blocked it out. Later. Much later, she would face it. Not now. Not when her emotions were raw and untamed and rollicking with the speed of a roller coaster, too close to the surface to conceal.

He stirred, his breath warm against her temple. She closed her eyes, unwilling to meet his gaze, afraid she might see, what? Censure? Conquest? An unspoken I-told-you-so?

She opened one eye as he lifted his head, gazing at her lazily, a smile curving his lips as he stretched like a sated jungle cat. Distantly she heard whining and scratching, and she realized she’d inadvertently locked the dog inside her bedroom.

“That’s Trigger,” she murmured.

Cooper’s answer was a kiss, slow as molasses and just as sweet. “I don’t want to move.”

Neither did Sammy Jo. She wanted this moment to spin out endlessly. Nagging recriminations banged on the door of her conscience, but she refused to let them in.

“You are so beautiful,” he commented, one hand sliding down her rib cage to the curve of her hip.

“Yeah, beautiful.”

“You are.”

She opened both her eyes fully, shivering slightly even though there was heat everywhere. She thought of the oak tree and sadness enveloped her. Her one, true desire was to bury herself in the warmth of his embrace and just shut out everything.

Brent.

She actually jerked at the thought of her “husband-to-be.” Searching her feelings, she realized she didn’t feel as if she’d betrayed him. Agreeing to marry him had been the betrayal. Betrayal of herself. She knew now she couldn’t go through with the wedding, document or no document. If she’d been honest with herself, she’d known it when she signed the silly thing…‌.

As if reading her thoughts, Cooper said huskily, “You can’t marry Rollins now.”

Sammy Jo made a face that he couldn’t see. “I suppose you’re right.”

“You suppose?” His thumb lifted her chin until she was forced to meet his blue eyes dead on.

“This would be difficult to explain,” she admitted.

“You can’t still be thinking about marriage.”

“I’m not. Not…‌really.”

His expression tightened. Sammy Jo wasn’t quite certain what she’d said that was so repellent, but he went on to make his feelings clear. “You would actually still consider marrying Brent Rollins after
this
, just so you could save this ranch?”

He practically shouted at her. Unnerved, Sammy Jo pulled back. “I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you did.”

She didn’t like the way this was going. Reaching for her clothes, she jammed her arms through the sleeves of her shirt. No, she didn’t like the way this was going at all.

“What’s the matter with you?” she demanded, wriggling completely away from him. On her feet, she snatched up the rest of her clothes, turning her back to him as she dragged on her pants, her fingers fumbling with growing panic.

“Nothing. Not a damn thing.”

“Then stop barking at me.”

“I’m not barking,” he said through his teeth.

Sammy Jo glanced back in time to see Cooper snap up his jeans and shirt, and dress with surprising speed. His jaw was a rock.

Nope, she didn’t like this at all.

“I’m not going to marry Brent,” she told him.

“Good.”

The events of the evening crowded inside Sammy Jo’s head. She fought back the pain and concentrated on Cooper’s sudden, pigheaded attitude. As if he owned her, for God’s sake. And he was mad that
she
wasn’t behaving properly.

They’d just made love, for crying out loud. Shouldn’t he be a little more tender? More caring? Less…‌
annoying?
Raw emotion and a perverse sense of self-destruction spurred Sammy Jo on.

“Well, maybe I should marry Brent, after all. Why not, now that I’ve had some experience with a real man. After all, all Sammy Jo Whalen really wants is to save her ranch and she’ll go about it any way that works.”

Cooper gazed at her coldly. Clearly, he heard her mockery, but for some reason, he couldn’t quite see how ridiculous he was being. More than anything, she wanted to throw herself in his arms and beg him to stop fighting with her and make love to her all over again.

But she couldn’t. He wouldn’t let her. She wouldn’t let herself…‌.

“How far would you go to get what you want?” he asked.

“I didn’t ask you to make love to me,” she reminded. “You came to me and acted like you felt sorry for me and then one thing led to another and…”

“And?”

“And we made love,” she finished. “So don’t act like I set this whole thing up. You were a part of this, too.”

Her words found their mark. She saw the way he winced, as if he’d taken a direct hit. Good, she thought, furious. He was taking away her good feelings over what had just occurred and making her feel horrible and used.

“You were a virgin,” he murmured.

That stopped her cold. He had to have suspected. He accused her of never being properly kissed before. Was he feeling regrets? She didn’t think she could take that.

“I just never had the time.”
Or the right guy.
“Don’t make a big deal over it.”

“Isn’t it a big deal?”

Sammy Jo shrugged, not trusting herself to talk. She didn’t want to think about what had transpired between them, or she might fall apart.

“You didn’t ever intend to marry Rollins?” he asked neutrally.

“No. I don’t think so. Maybe.” Sammy Jo struggled.

“You’re not sure.”

“Would you just leave me alone?” she demanded, her patience gone.

Cooper shook his head, clearly in the grips of an emotion as intense as her own. But unlike Sammy Jo, he didn’t give voice to his feelings. To her amazement, all he said was, “I’m sorry about your tree. Glad nothing worse happened.”

Didn’t it?
Sammy Jo thought. How could he do this? How could he act as if the most monumental moment of her life was just a walk in the park?

“Marrying Brent couldn’t be any worse than giving myself to someone as coldhearted as you,” she said aloud.

“As you pointed out before, it’s not my business.”

Having her words thrown back in her face, each syllable bitten off as if it tasted bad, reminded Sammy Jo why she couldn’t tolerate this man. Never mind that making love with him had been wonderful, bordering on fantastic. There had to be other men who were just as able of lovers.

“I don’t know what possessed me. I was just so…‌so…‌
miserable
about the oak tree, and there you were. If I had any sense, I’d have called up Brent. He should have been the one here tonight.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if you’d been with Brent.” Sammy Jo’s mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t have let it happen,” he said with pure arrogance.

“You think just because you’re the…‌that I was a…” She drew a swift breath. “Sorry to disillusion you, but it was timing, pure and simple. And next time, it will be Brent!”

Cooper’s expression blackened. “Tell him about what happened tonight and see if there is a next time.”

“There’ll be a next time and a next time and a next time, because, by God, I’m going to marry him if it’s last thing I do!”

Sammy Jo took a step backward when he suddenly advanced on her, but all he did was snatch up his hat and stalk around the side of the house. Moments later, she heard the roar of his truck’s engine and the spin of tires in gravel as he disappeared in a seething rage.

Sammy Jo collapsed onto the swing, spent and filled with so many feelings, she could scarcely breathe. She had wanted him to go. She hadn’t meant to fight.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she bent her head, mentally reviewing every wrong thing she’d said, flinching at her own scorching tongue, but infuriated right down to her socks over his absolute certainty that, no matter what, she would do anything to save the ranch. Even if it was sell her soul.

* * *

If there was ever a woman he needed to stay away from it was that conniving, calculating, irresponsible, self-serving Sammy Jo Whalen. God, what a woman! She ought to be locked up and only let out under armed guards.

Cooper slammed into the house, fists clenched, jaw hard as iron, too enraged to even speak. With a growl of frustration, he strode into his bedroom, torn between the desire to pick up the desk and throw it across the room and the equally primal urge to turn right around, drive back to the Triple R, drag Sammy Jo to the bedroom and prove she was wrong. Damn wrong.

But how much could one man take? She’d proven over and over again that she would never listen to reason or her very own instincts. Couldn’t she tell that what they’d shared was special? How could she not know, when he could still feel the silken spell of her quivering flesh surrounding him?

“Damn,” he groaned.

He had to get out of here. Had to get some air. Had to get Sammy Jo Whalen out of his system.

As soon as he was outside, however, he could smell the scorched air, a remnant of tonight’s fire. The memory of Sammy Jo’s aching sadness over the loss of the oak stopped him cold. He’d wanted to comfort her. Hell, he’d wanted to make love to her. He’d done both, but now he felt empty and angry and dissatisfied.

At least she wouldn’t marry Brent Rollins now, he consoled himself. For all her talk, she was too smart a lady for that.

Wasn’t she?

“Damn it all to hell!” he muttered, scraping his fingers through his hair. He hadn’t believed her. Not really. But way down deep…‌well, way down deep he knew better than to credit her with honorable intentions she’d never claimed to possess. He’d made that mistake before; he wasn’t going to make it again. Sammy Jo had come right out and told everyone she wanted a husband to save the ranch. Just because she’d made love to him in a moment of vulnerability didn’t mean her philosophy had changed.

But oh, he’d wanted her to tell him it had. He’d wanted her to make him believe it. Instead, she’d gotten mad, and though he sympathized somewhat—he hadn’t exactly been the doting lover spouting words of “forever-ness”—he’d been dying inside to hear her say how much their lovemaking meant to her, how marrying Brent Rollins was laughable, a joke, how she never wanted Cooper to let her go.

And yet he, himself, hadn’t been able to say the same…‌.

The evening had been a complete and total disaster from beginning to end.

Would she marry Rollins? Would she?

Cooper tortured himself with scenarios of Sammy Jo coming down the aisle, a smile on her face, dollar signs in her eyes.
Would she?

Pamela would have—but she had been cagey enough to keep that information to herself. Sammy Jo was right out in the open, and that was a thousand times worse because she almost made him believe it was her only option.

For a wild moment, he considered stepping in as Sammy Jo’s prospective bridegroom, marching her down the aisle by her hair, if necessary, and demanding that she say, “I do.” He could have the Triple R
and
Sammy Jo.

And a whole pack of trouble.

Muttering imprecations, Cooper rejected that idea outright. He’d made the “marrying mistake” once. He’d be damned if he’d do it again. Even if it meant lusting after Sammy Jo Whalen from afar.

But maybe there was another way, he realized as a thought came to him. Maybe there was.