Cowboy of Her Heart Read online

  She moved up and down his turgid cock, her fingers playing gently over the heavy ballsack and stroking down his flesh as she pulled off him. After several minutes of play, she nipped at the hood of his cock gently and grinned up at him. “Now, I really think we should put this bed to good use, don’t you?”

  Pushing her onto her back with a growl he got rid of her bra while kicking his feet free of the jeans. Crawling over her, he pulled her up farther onto the bed. Then he stilled. “Shit. Condom,” he muttered, looking around. Getting off the bed, he pulled her with him and threw her over his shoulder. “We’ll go to my room since there are supplies in there.”

  Holy shit, was she actually going to do this? she thought to herself. She looked down at his backside and grinned. Hell, yes, she was. His ass was a thing of perfection; all of those hours in the saddle hadn’t flattened his rump one bit. And then, just because she was up and over his shoulder, she put her hands on his ass cheeks and squeezed.

  The move got her a smack on her bottom, just hard enough to make her clench with a small groan. So, of course, she did it again, with the same result.

  “Glad you thought of condoms because, to be perfectly honest, they flew out of my mind.” She had always been so damn careful, but with him, nothing mattered except having him there with her. Having him be a part of her body. Nothing else mattered except getting closer to him.

  When he tossed her onto the bed, she bounced for a moment but grinned like a little girl. “Watch it, cowboy, you don’t wanna break your toys before you have had a chance to fully appreciate them, now would you?”

  “You’re Texas born and bred, woman. If you can’t stand a little bounce then we definitely are going to have issues with what’s about to happen,” he said. Yanking open the nightstand drawer, he dug around before coming up with a strip of four condoms. Tearing one off, he tossed the other three onto the nightstand, close at hand, smart.

  She looked to the strip of condoms and grinned. “I certainly hope that you use all of those.” And more, if she had her way. She leaned back on her elbows and watched him. “Are you going to let me help you with that, cowboy?”

  He lifted a brow, then tossed her the condom before crawling onto the bed with her. “Have at it,” he said, his tone a dare if ever she’d heard one. He kept coming toward her until he straddled her waist, his cock right there for her to do with as she would. Oh, the possibilities.

  Jackie leaned up and put her hands on him. She stroked him after putting the condom in her mouth. “Raise up just a bit.” She wanted to roll the condom on his cock and take him into her mouth at the same time. She really, really wanted to feel him inside of her mouth again.

  He did as she wanted and even followed the guidance of her hands. Bracing himself with his hands to the bed he watched what she was doing. Not that hard to figure out once she had his cock positioned.

  Using her mouth and tongue, she slid the condom onto his shaft. Her tongue worked wonders on him, caressing and curling here and there. She was determined that he enjoy this every single bit as much as she was enjoying it. A low moan began and built as she slid off his shaft and pushed back on, her mouth watering with the flavor of the condom, but more so because it was this man. Finally.

  Drawing away, he growled at her, actually, full-out, growled. Leaning down he kissed her hard, his tongue pushing into her mouth as he moved his body over hers. She could feel his fingers on her skin, sliding down her belly toward her pussy and then over her slick folds.

  Jackie’s legs spread wider for him. She lifted her hips up to meet him part way and nipped at his tongue lightly. Pulling back with a smile and most likely a dazed look upon her face, she gasped for air. “Please. Grant.” She moaned his name as his clever fingers toyed with her body. “I need you.” God, for so long she had needed this man.

  He didn’t make her wait, thank you, God! Another kiss and she could feel the head of his cock pressing against her then sliding slowly into her sheath. “God,” he groaned out softly. “So tight, so damn perfect.” He bit the words out between his teeth as she took him in deeper.

  She couldn’t argue that at all! She moaned, her foot flat on the bed and pushing up to meet him as he thrust into her over and over again. “And you feel so good.” She moaned. He fit her, perfectly. He fit her like he was made for her, and she for him, but she wasn’t about to say that. “Again,” she said when his mouth closed over her nipple and bit lightly.

  Thrusting again and again he filled her, his mouth sucking hard on her nipple. A slight adjustment and he was suckling the other and lifting her leg up over his hip. His movements were hard and fast, slightly jerky like he was on the edge of his control.

  Jackie wrapped her leg around his hip and then her other leg, as well. Locking her ankles she tugged him harder and faster into her body. She raked her nails over his back, knowing she was causing marks on him but not caring in the least. “God, yes.” She moaned. “More.” It was a demand, a need. “Grant, please,” she begged.

  Pushing his hands into the bed next to her head, he thrust harder, faster. His muscles strained as he hovered over her, his lips just out of range. Sweat glistened on his forehead, his lips slightly parted and his breath mingling with hers as they both pushed for their release. The need so close and yet so far out of reach still.

  Jackie leaned up and pressed her lips to his chest, her tongue darting out and following a trail of sweat only to nip at his shoulder where it started. Against his ear, she demanded, “Now. I need to come, Grant. Now.” She wouldn’t go over without him; that much was plain.

  With a low grunt, he palmed her ass and tipped her hips a little. It changed the angle he hit her, and changed the entire game. His hips moved faster; his body seemed to grow impossibly tenser and then, kissing her hard, he rolled his hips and scraped her clit just right. The world came apart at the seams, and his yell of completion mingled with hers.

  Jackie held him. Nothing had ever, ever felt this good before in all of her life. No man had ever completed her the way that Grant had. Even though there had been little to no foreplay, she had experienced pleasure unlike anything she ever had before. Panting, gasping for air she held him close. “Perfect,” she whispered very softly. “I’ve never felt anything so good in all my life.” Shit! She hadn’t meant to voice that aloud!

  He lifted his head from her shoulder to look at her. Cupping her face, his thumb brushed over her lips slowly. “Me either, Jacqueline,” he said softly. And he meant it, too, his face was open and honest, no laughter in his eyes, just a sincerity that reached down deep inside her.

  ****

  She moved her hand to cup his cheek as well and looked deep into his eyes. “What happened between us?” She whispered the question. “For so long I’ve tried to stay out of your way because you hated me. Why? Garland Howard told me that you couldn’t stand me, and when I asked you, you just gave me a look of death. How could we have just shared something so perfect, so beautiful, if you hated me?” she asked softly, her heart in her eyes and in her voice.

  Staring down at her, he realized she didn’t know. She truly didn’t know. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “Give me a moment to get rid of the condom and then we’ll talk.” Slipping free from her body was not his favorite thing, as he’d much rather have stayed buried inside her. Getting up from the bed he quickly went to the bathroom and disposed of the condom. Joining her in his bed again, he pulled her into his arms and covered them both with the blankets.

  “I have never hated you, Jacqueline,” he said quietly. “Not once, ever. I had a bloody crush on you from the moment we met and all through school. Garland was, and is to this day, an asshole. One whom I no longer associate with. If he hadn’t been on the football team with me, I wouldn’t have then either. He liked his little mind-fuck games too much for my taste.”

  Pressing a kiss to her soft cheek, Grant closed his eyes and just breathed her in. He loved the faint scent always on her skin. It was light and pleasant an
d reminded him of a summer’s day. “I don’t know what he told you, and I don’t even remember you asking me that question. All I remember from that particular day, the last day you ever came close to me, was that I’d just been to the principal’s office to find out I was accused of cheating and plagiarism on a paper. He wouldn’t tell me who, but I knew. I wasn’t giving you any look, but the asshole that had been right behind you, smirking. Garland fucking set me up to take a fall but only screwed himself up. I was able to prove my innocence easily enough. He, however, ended up booted out of school. The damage was done though, wasn’t it?” he asked quietly. He already knew the answer. She’d given him the cold shoulder, and he’d, in all his teenage wisdom, reacted in kind.

  ****

  “Yes, because I was so sure. I had asked you when you came to me that day if it was true. If what you felt for me was true and you nodded. You glared at me. I didn’t see Garland behind me, just you. He had just finished telling me that you hated me, had always hated me and hated that you had to step between your friends and me because I was such an ugly duckling.” She curled in closer to him. She couldn’t help herself. “When you said yes, it broke my heart,” she admitted quietly. “It killed me inside to know that the person I had given all my heart to had hated me all along,” she whispered. “All this time, all this time we have missed on being friends or hopefully more, because of an asshat that loved playing games. What now?” She turned her face up to him. “What happens now, Grant?”

  “Now it’s up to us, no one else, no outside forces or people to screw us up. We get to decide where we go from here,” he said softly. “And, for the record, I didn’t hear your question and my ‘yes’ was actually a question itself. I’m sorry for my part in the misunderstanding. I should have tried to clear it up sooner, and I really have no excuses. I can blame hormones and stubborn pride, but in all honesty, I just didn’t want to feel the pain of you shutting me out again if I was wrong.”

  “Which is why we have both been at odds with each other our entire adult lives. Neither of us wanted to be hurt by the other, neither of us wanted to face that pain, did we?” At least she knew she hadn’t wanted to do that. “I don’t know about you, but I really, really don’t think that I want to give this up. Now that we have been together, I don’t think that I could give you up,” she whispered honestly.

  He was silent for a long time, long enough she started to reconsider her words. “I don’t want to give this up either. I don’t want to give you up, Jacqueline. I’ve wanted you for so long and yet we would get in the same space together and…” he trailed off on a sigh. “I do not want that to happen again, ever. I can’t do anything about the past and the misunderstandings, but I also don’t want the future to be bogged down by that either.”

  Shifting their positions he got so he was nose to nose with her, both of them on their sides. “Can we move forward?” he asked quietly. One hand was stroking up and down her arm lightly, like he couldn’t stop touching her, needed to touch her. “Can we get past it all and have a life together without it hurting us in the future? Because I want to have a future with you. A long and happy one, I hope.”

  “I would like that very much, Grant. I really and truly do want to know if there is anything that we can do to become more than we have been, to have a happy life together. I’ve hated arguing with you. I really have. And I swear to you, Grant, on my life, I honest to goodness didn’t mean to hit your truck.” She had to bring that up because it still bothered her, a lot.

  “I know,” he said. Pulling her closer, he hugged her to him. “It’s okay. I already have it booked in to get fixed. I’d do it myself, but I just don’t have time right now.” Loosening his hold, he drew back so she could see his face again. “Don’t look so distraught. It’s just a truck, a piece of metal with wheels and wiring. At least you didn’t run me over, though. Considering what you just told me, I could fully understand you doing so.”

  That had her laughing, and she shook her head. “Well, I want to pay for it. And please don’t tell me no. I felt terrible when I did it, and I had planned on taking care of it regardless. Let me do this for you, please?” She moved in closer to him and sighed. “I never would have hurt you, but I never would have talked to you.” Grinning up at him, she said, “I guess it took Mother Nature forcing us to spend a little time together to work out our issues, huh?”

  He just made a humming noise in his throat. “Fine, but only half of it. I was too far over even if I had no other options, so you only get to pay for half the repairs. And if you argue I’ll paddle your rear until you can’t sit on it for a month.” He kissed her then, not giving her a chance to reply one way or another for a good, long time.

  She forgot all about what they were discussing when he kissed her. She licked her lips and moved in closer to him, her body rubbing against his, and smiled. “I really, really think that you should do that again. In fact, I really think that I desperately want to make love with you again, please.”

  Laughing softly, he brushed a kiss to her lips. “Whatever the lady wants,” he said, and set to giving her all she wanted, demanded and needed.

  Epilogue

  One year later - Valentine’s Day

  The last year with Jacqueline had been amazing. Oh, they’d had troubles. They’d argued, but the love that he felt for the woman only grew each and every day. They’d made it a full year just a few days earlier, but they were celebrating their first “official” Valentine’s Day together now. He had a few surprises up his sleeve for her. Nothing gimmicky or commercial, it was all thought out by him and carefully planned.

  All he had to do now was get her to stop working.

  Checking his watch, he shot another look through the front window of her shop. She was doing up some woman’s hair in an up-do, as she called it. Likely someone going out for a grand date. His Jacqueline’s own hair was a bit more of a mess, just the way he liked it. Of course, he also preferred it spread over the pillows of their bed while she was in it naked, but, for being out in public, this was a very close second.

  ****

  Jackie smiled and waved at Grant. “God, I love that man,” she told the woman whose hair she was just finishing. After spraying the woman’s hair with lots of hairspray, she patted her shoulder. “All done, Rhonda. Thanks for coming in. Don’t worry about the cost. Just go and have fun.” She was ready to get out of the salon. She was ready to go home with her cowboy.

  Grabbing her jacket she locked up and walked out into the brisk February air. “Hey, you.” She stepped in close to him, her hand sliding into his and giving it a squeeze. “I didn’t think you were meeting me here today. I thought I was coming out to the ranch?”

  “I know that was the original plan, but it sort of mucked up my plans, so here we are. Plan B.” Smiling, he drew her in closer to his body and leaned in to kiss her. “Besides,” he murmured, brushing back a strand of her hair, “I missed you and this gave me an excuse to come and see you sooner. Are you trying to tell me you’d rather I wasn’t here?” he asked, barely suppressing a grin.

  “Not even a little,” Jackie told him with a smile. “I’m so very, very happy.” Lifting her face up to him, she winked. “How about you kiss me, so the gossips have some more to talk about?” They were already the talk of the town. She’d heard that people were taking bets on when they would go back to being bitter enemies. But if Jackie had any say in it, they would never be that way again.

  “A kiss for the old biddies, huh?” he asked. Grinning, he pushed his Stetson up with a finger before wrapping her in his arms. “I think I can manage that,” he murmured. Dipping her over his one arm, he kissed her. Not a small peck or a slight, lingering kiss. Hell, no, the man flat out nailed one on her lips that was scorching, with tongue and sent too many sensations ricocheting through her body.

  “Yes, please,” she said only a moment before he kissed her. And what a kiss it was. This man was never one to skimp on anything, thank the good Lord! When he pulled
back, she was gasping, her hands wrapped around his neck the only thing keeping her from melting into a puddle at his feet. “Heavens,” she whispered and licked her lips. “Amazing. Wow. Just. Wow.” Words simply wouldn’t come to her because this was just too good. Way too good. “I think that they might get the point that we aren’t going to break up anytime soon, don’t you?”

  “Well, if that doesn’t send the message, then we’ll just have to come up with something else,” he said with a smile. Pulling her upright, he brushed a kiss to her lips. “Come on, I have plans and it’s not to stay in the middle of town all night kissing you. Even though it is extremely enjoyable, I have much better plans in mind for us.”

  “Oh, I love it when you get plans,” she said, assuring him with a smile. “Because you typically have the best ideas ever,” she added and moved so that she could link her arm with his. “I love the way you think. Have I ever told you that?” This year had been amazing. She had moved out of her place and onto his ranch with him. She helped him where she could, even helped him get a mare through the birth of a foal. It was amazing, and she loved spending time like that with him. “So what are your plans, Grant?” No more Mr. Franklyn or Ms. Hunter.

  He just shrugged and led her around the truck. Opening the door, he helped her inside before moving around to join her in the cab. Then he leaned over her, popped the glove box open and came out with a...scarf? “You’ll need to put this on when we get close to the house. Because all I’ll tell you about my plans are, they are a surprise.”

  She frowned just a bit, but nodded. Accepting the scarf, she laughed. “All right. Only because I trust you, Grant,” she teased. “So you really aren’t going to tell me the plans yet? You know just how impatient I am, Mister.”