Cowboy All Night (Thunder Mountain Brotherhood, Book 5) Read online

  “What?”

  “He’s your brother. You know that better than I do.”

  “You were going to make a comment, though. I’d like to hear it.”

  “Just that we don’t know yet how it will go and if Linus balks at the sight of the wheelchair...that could affect Josh’s reaction.”

  “It could.” She understood that much better after Josh’s outburst today. He’d be humiliated if Linus turned out to be afraid of his chair.

  “I’ve been wondering if I should rent a wheelchair and introduce Linus to it before Josh shows up. That might be smarter.”

  “But what if it’s all for nothing?” The words slipped out and she hated the way they sounded, the way she sounded—fearful and despairing. “Forget I said that. I didn’t mean to be negative.” She went into planning mode. “Renting a wheelchair’s a great idea. I’ll see if I can get one in the morning.”

  “It’s Sunday.”

  “I know the people at the medical supply place and the owner is an early riser. If I send him a text first thing in the morning, he might let me pick one up before I drive out to the ranch.”

  “That would be great.” He continued to rub her back.

  “I’m glad you had the idea. It’s one more hurdle we can eliminate so that if... I mean when Josh comes out, it’ll be smooth. Or smoother. I promise the wheelchair training won’t be for nothing.”

  “But for the sake of argument, let’s say I go to the trouble of teaching Linus about wheelchairs and Josh still doesn’t want anything to do with him. I know how much that would upset you, but—”

  “It won’t happen. I’ll get him out here.”

  “I’m sure you will, but don’t worry that I’ll be upset if he refuses to cooperate.”

  She stared at him. “How could you not be upset after putting so much thought and effort into the project?”

  “That’s not how I roll. I’d hate to see you get disappointed because I know how much you want this to work out. For me, though, it’s just...life. Linus will have a good start, no matter what.”

  She gazed at him, unsure how to respond to an attitude so different from hers. “Don’t you let anything get to you?”

  “I saw someone mistreating a puppy a few months ago. That got to me, but it was easily settled. I took the puppy.”

  “The person just let you do that?”

  “As a matter of fact, they did.” He grinned. “That’s where being big as a house comes in handy.”

  “Did you keep the puppy?” She imagined this big guy cradling a little puppy and wished she’d been there.

  “I move around too much. But I happened to know of a little girl on another ranch whose dog had just died. I checked with her parents to get the okay and now she has him.”

  “So you rescued a puppy and consoled a sad little girl.” It was a touching story. As if she needed one more reason to like him.

  He shrugged. “You asked if anything got to me and that came to mind.”

  “Okay, puppy rescuer, you can eat cherry pie off my naked body.”

  “I can? Hot damn! What will you let me do if I saved a kitten from a tall tree?”

  “When was this?”

  “Never happened. But if that kind of story gives me special treatment, I’m sure I can dredge up another one for more points. Let’s see, there was the time—”

  “Save it for later, Sir Galahad.” Laughing, she wiggled out of his arms. “That was the oven timer you just heard. The pie’s ready.”

  “You’re right. I should wait until after I claim my first good-guy reward before I hit you up for another one.”

  “Smart man.” She found a couple of pot holders in a drawer and took the steaming dessert from the oven. “Incidentally, I’m not clear on how you planned to do this, but I’m not letting you smear pie on me until it cools a little.”

  “Gotcha.”

  She glanced around for a place to put the pie. She didn’t want to damage either the butcher-block counter or the round wooden table. “Could you grab one of those plates and put it on the table so I don’t scorch the finish?”

  “Sure.” He picked up one of the blue pottery plates and set it on the table. “These look brand-new. Not a scratch or a chip.”

  “Too bad everything’s going to waste.” She set the pie down.

  “Seems like it to me, too. I can’t cook, but when I look at that kitchen, I almost think I can.”

  She smiled at him. “Of course you can. You just never had a reason to figure out how.”

  “Still don’t.”

  “True.” If she’d had a sudden impulse to teach him, she could forget about it. His jobs came with room and board.

  He pulled out a chair and gestured toward it. “Have a seat, ma’am.”

  “I’m curious as to how you plan to work this without making a god-awful mess.” She took the chair and he scooted her in.

  “I’m not sure yet. I’m making it up as I go along.” He sat in the seat next to her. “But that pie smells mighty good.” He broke off a piece of the sugary crust and offered it to her.

  “You’re really going to eat it with your fingers?”

  “It can be done, you know. Want this piece of crust?”

  “You’re welcome to it.”

  “Okay.” He popped it in his mouth and chewed. “Mmm-mmm.”

  “How do you know it can be done? Wait. I don’t want to hear about you licking cherry pie off some other woman.”

  “I’ve never done that before. But a few times the brothers and I raided the kitchen and made off with some leftover pie, which we’d eat with our fingers.” He broke off another section of crust and this time red cherry filling oozed from the jagged opening he’d made. “Now that’s sexy.” He dipped the crust in the filling. “Want this?”

  “You go right ahead. This is your fantasy.”

  “When we’re done, it’ll be yours, too.” He winked at her. Then he ate the gooey crust with relish and licked his fingers. “Now I’m getting inspired.”

  She wasn’t ready to admit it, but so was she. The sight of a half-naked, muscular cowboy eating with his fingers was erotic as hell.

  He turned to her. “Let’s take off your shirt.”

  “Technically your shirt.”

  “Whatever.” He began unfastening the snaps.

  “There’s a faster way.” She lifted up so she wasn’t sitting on the shirttails and pulled it over her head. “How’s that?”

  “Oh, lady.” His gaze raked over her as she sat beside him. “You have cherry pie written all over you.”

  The anticipation in his eyes fired her blood. “When I brought you a pie, I never expected to be wearing it.” Then she had another thought. “If this is such a great idea, why can’t I eat my dessert from your naked body?”

  “Want to?”

  “Yes, I believe I do. Strip down, cowboy.”

  “Okay, I’m game.” Taking off his jeans and briefs revealed that he was more than a little interested in this plan.

  She glanced at his rigid cock. “I see a place that needs to be decorated with some cherry pie filling.”

  “Hey, this is my idea. I get first dibs.”

  “Then you’ll have to tell me what you have in mind, because I have no clue.”

  “Like I said, it’s a work in progress.” Pulling out his chair, he turned it sideways, facing her before sitting down. “You need to come over here and sit on my lap.”

  She eyed the situation. “Your lap already has a lot going on there.”

  “There’s room. I have long legs.” He patted his thighs. “Right here.”

  So she perched on his warm and extremely solid thighs. His pride and joy was within easy reach.

  He caught her wrists before she could act on that impulse. “Wait your turn.”

  “But you like being touched. I know you do.”

  “I do, but so do you.” He dipped his fingers into the pie and brought them to her mouth. “See how it tastes.”

&nb
sp; She grasped his hand and licked his fingers clean. It was unbelievably arousing.

  “I think you liked that.” His gaze fell to her nipples. “A lot.”

  “It wasn’t bad.”

  “Then let’s try this on for size.” He scooped up a glob of filling and let it drip over her breasts.

  She gasped as warm syrup spread over her sensitized skin and bits of cherry clung to her nipples.

  “Now arch your back a little.”

  She gave him room to maneuver and he lowered his head so he could lap at the red juice and the cherry bits. The suction of his mouth combined with the swipe of his tongue was enough to drive her crazy, but his soft murmurs of pleasure threatened to snap her control.

  She clutched his head and eased him away. “That’s enough for you. Let me have a turn.”

  “You like my idea?”

  “Yes. Now let me play.”

  Laughing, he leaned back in his chair. “I’m all yours.”

  The moment she plunged her fingers into the warm pie filling, she understood the sensual appeal. She’d baked hundreds of pies but she’d never eaten a single one with her fingers. Which made sense—it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun alone.

  She started with his mouth, covering it with filling and then licking it away. Next she dripped cherries and thick juice on his chest. He moaned and his big body shook as she cleaned him up. She dipped her fingers into the pie again, intending to smooth it over his cock.

  Eyes glittering, he grasped her wrist. “Once you do that, the game will be over. I’ll haul you into the bedroom and have you flat on your back in five seconds.”

  “And that’s a problem because?”

  “There’s a lot more pie left.”

  That made some kind of crazy sense.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t let this go to waste.” He proceeded to suck on her fingers.

  As he slowly drove her insane with that maneuver, she moved restlessly in his lap. “Okay,” she murmured. “You can stop now.”

  He lifted his head. “I don’t think so.”

  Before she understood his intent, he’d dipped her fingers into the pie filling again. He licked and sucked her fingers some more, and while she was still reeling from that sensation, he lowered her hand between her thighs and coaxed her to touch herself.

  “Add a little flavor for me,” he murmured, “and make yourself feel good.”

  Dazed by the eroticism of the moment, she instinctively followed his directions. Oh, yes. So good. She didn’t utter a word of protest when he lifted her onto the table and parted her legs.

  He slowly spread warm cherry pie filling at the entrance to her most secret place. When he began tasting and sipping and suckling, she quickly lost her mind.

  She came once, and he reapplied more filling. She came again. The pleasure was so intense that she made a lot of noise. Good thing no one was around to hear.

  After her second orgasm he carried her into the bedroom, snapped on a condom and buried himself inside her. She came again, and finally, so did he.

  At last her breathing returned to normal and she regained a slight grasp of reality. She noticed that he’d readjusted their position so they lay side by side. Maybe he’d worried that his weight would crush her. She could imagine him having that thought.

  She hugged him close. “I didn’t get to put any more on you,” she murmured.

  “It’s okay.” He gathered her close. “There’s plenty left.”

  13

  WHEN BRANT EASED out of bed to take care of the condom and clean up a bit, he left Aria dozing. She must have been exhausted from a long day followed by explosive sex. He was grateful that she’d driven out there, but maybe next time he should go to her place. That might be easier on her.

  He assumed there would be a next time. She seemed as eager to take advantage of this unexpected attraction as he was. No telling how often they’d be able to see each other once the students arrived, but until then they had late evenings to themselves.

  Still, she obviously was tired, so he quietly slipped back into bed and turned off the light so she could sleep.

  “Brant?”

  “I thought you were off to dreamland.”

  She rolled toward him. “Just for a few minutes. I took a power nap, which is something I learned to do years ago. You get so much more done.”

  “Guess so.” He’d never believed in power naps, but she did, so he kept his mouth shut.

  “Do you think there’s cherry pie filling on the sheets? Maybe we should turn the light on and look. That red might stain.”

  He chuckled and pulled her close. She might be the most compulsive woman he’d ever been to bed with, but she felt amazing nestled against him, her head tucked under his chin, as if the two of them were meant to fit this way.

  “Seriously, I don’t want to leave things a mess.” Her breath tickled his skin.

  “I’ll wash the sheets tomorrow. I may not be much of a cook, but I’m a heck of a linens wrangler. I know about bleach and everything.”

  “I’ll bet you do. It’s just that I’m not usually this wild. I’ve never climbed into a bed after being covered with cherry pie filling.”

  “I’m shocked to hear it.”

  She pinched his butt. “Be nice.”

  “Sorry.” They should sleep, but he couldn’t help caressing her. Getting acquainted with her curves and the satin texture of her skin was such a treat. “Am I a bad influence on you?”

  “I wouldn’t say bad. I’d say different.” She was quiet for a moment. “I know that I take things too seriously a good bit of the time. For instance, I used to think every guy I had sex with should be a potential husband.”

  “Oh?” His hand stilled as he thought of what Ty had said. This might be his opening. “Speaking of that, I—”

  “Settle down. I don’t think that anymore. I’m not looking for a husband at all, actually.”

  “Oh.”

  She laughed softly. “I just felt your whole body relax. Don’t worry, Brant. You’re like the guy in that old song. You want to leave your sleeping bag behind my couch.”

  “I’m not even that guy, Aria.” He began stroking her again because it calmed him. “I don’t have long-term relationships. I just don’t.”

  “No problem. I have zero expectations.”

  “That’s good.” Maybe he’d be off the hook just that easy.

  “But now that we’re talking about it, are you saying you’ve never had a long-term relationship?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I understand that you move around because of your job, but the guy in the song moved around, too. He just kept coming back to one woman.”

  So maybe they weren’t on the same page, after all. “That’s not for me.” He waited to see if she’d ask why.

  He felt a shift in the mood and that bothered him. Obviously she didn’t want to keep pestering him, but he hadn’t given her much of an answer. He took a deep breath. “It’s not for me because I don’t believe in it.”

  Her breath caught. “Wow.”

  “Ty said I should explain my history to you and he could be right.”

  “Ty said that?”

  “He thinks I’m different around you than I usually am with women.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yeah.” He massaged the small of her back. “I’ve never let myself get this involved in such a short time.” He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m nuts about you, Aria, but that doesn’t change anything.”

  “I wouldn’t want it to.”

  “Good.” He should be overjoyed with the way this conversation was progressing. Instead it depressed him a little.

  She slid her arm around him and nestled closer. “But I wouldn’t mind having you tell me your history.”

  “There’s not much to say.” He let out a slow breath. “My dad died of a heart attack when I was twelve and my mom left me with her sister. That’s the last I saw of her.”

  “Oh, no.�
�� She hugged him tight. “That must have been—”

  “I know it sounds terrible, but it really wasn’t so bad.” He continued to rub her back. “Neither of them spent much time with me, anyway. I’m good at being on my own. It’s the way I like to live.”

  “And you don’t get lonely?”

  “Nope.”

  She was quiet for a moment. Then she lifted her head and wiggled up higher so she could cup his face in both hands. “I believe you. I’ve felt your strength from the beginning.” Then she kissed him.

  It wasn’t a sweet, I-feel-sorry-for-you kiss. She went all-out and one hand strayed south to fondle his very stiff cock. So he began a little fondling action of his own and in no time thoughts of their conversation were replaced by thoughts of sex. Much better.

  She was panting by the time she wrenched her mouth from his. “You have more of those raincoats, I hope.”

  “I bought a box.” He gulped for air. “If necessary, I’ll buy another one.”

  “Tonight?”

  He laughed and moved away from her long enough to open the drawer and take out the box in question. He plopped it down between them. “If we go through all these...” He paused to suck in a lungful of air. “I’ll contact the Guinness World Records.”

  She took the box and opened it. “You never know.” She pulled out a packet and put the box on the pillow above her head. “We might set some records.”

  “Here’s the problem with that. We’d have to go for quantity, not quality.” He rolled her to her back and feathered a kiss over her mouth. “I’m in the mood for some quality.”

  She laid the foil packet next to them and wrapped her arms around his back. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Your mouth still tastes like cherry pie. It really is my favorite. I think we need some more.” Yeah, cherry pie was exactly what they needed right now. He started to get up.

  She tightened her grip. “Not in here. It’ll be too messy.”

  “It won’t if I’m careful. Plus I’ll bring in one of those huge green towels from the bathroom.” He nuzzled behind her ear. “Come on. It’ll be great.”

  Laughing, she squirmed beneath him. “That tickles.”

  “I promise not to tickle you with cherry pie.” He kept nuzzling.

  She laughed harder. “Brant, we don’t need pie!”