Cowboys Like Us Read online

  “I saw that flash of pain in your eyes, Logan. You can’t fool me.”

  “Be quiet, Caro.” On all fours, he leaned toward her, his mouth seeking hers.

  She ducked out of his reach. “You’re a crazy man. And I’m not kissing you again until you’re flat on your back and off that knee.”

  “That’s totally unnecessary. I’m fine.” He cupped the back of her head, his grip gentle but firm. “And I’m desperate to kiss you, so hold still.”

  “Have it your way.”

  “Thank you.” He lowered his mouth to hers.

  She kissed him back, but while he was savoring the lush wonders of her mouth, she got both hands around his dick and instituted the kind of sweet torture that would bring him to climax in no time.

  He lifted his lips a fraction from hers. “Stop that or I’ll come.”

  “Agree to lie on your back for me and I’ll stop.”

  “No need to be on my back, Caro.” He clenched his jaw as his balls tightened and his orgasm threatened.

  She toyed with the sensitive tip of his penis and used the gathering moisture to lubricate the surface. “Maybe you’re afraid to let a woman be on top, where she has more control.”

  “It’s not that.” He could overpower her and make her stop, but he would never use superior strength to exert his will on a woman.

  “I think you have control issues.”

  “I will any second if you keep that up.”

  “Logan, do you really want to waste precious time arguing about this?”

  When she put it that way, so logically, he had no sensible response. It was a silly argument, after all. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “No, I don’t. You win.”

  She stopped stroking him. “That’s better.”

  “On one condition.”

  “Which is?”

  “That you don’t mention my knee again while we’re sharing this bed.”

  “Why not? You need to be careful of your knee. Alex told me all about the injury, and if you aren’t careful, you might—”

  “Let me worry about that, okay? It’s bad enough that I’m out of baseball because of my knee, without having my sex life impacted, too.”

  She nodded. “I see your point.”

  He stretched out flat on the bed. “Then I’m all yours.”

  5

  IF ONLY HE COULD BE all hers. Caro banished that thought the minute it popped into her head. No need to be greedy about this. She had far more now than she’d had a few hours ago.

  And what she had, for the time being, was one spectacular man stretched out in her bed. He was all muscle and magic to her, this man who could catch a ninety-eight-mile-an-hour fastball. Once she got a minute to herself, she’d use the computer in Josie’s office to look up his stats and see if any clips were available.

  But that was for later. For now, she took the package he so graciously handed her, ripped it open and rolled the condom lovingly onto his very large, very erect penis. He trembled as she did that, and his massive chest heaved.

  She’d thought about exploring him a little more before putting on the condom, but she didn’t think he’d last through what she had in mind. Her very presence seemed to get him hot, and that surprised her. The guys she’d known had required more obvious turn-ons, like a generous display of cleavage or a skirt slit to midthigh.

  She’d been told more than once that she was too wholesome to be sexy. Logan’s comment about her unconscious sexuality would stay with her for a long, long time. He was good for her, and she wanted to be good for him, too. Thank God he’d agreed to a position that wouldn’t put pressure on his knee.

  She’d keep her promise not to mention that again, because she, of all people, understood when someone didn’t like being reminded of an infirmity. Grandma Bonnie hated admitting she wasn’t as capable as she’d once been. Logan’s bad knee seemed like a minor problem in the grand scheme of things, but Caro wasn’t the pro ballplayer who had lost his career because of that knee.

  “You’re driving me bat-shit crazy, taking so long with that condom.” He propped himself on his elbows to glare at her. “I hope you know that.” “So you do have control issues.”

  “Yeah.” He flopped back to the mattress. “I feel like I’m going to come any second, and in my world, the woman gets to come first. I’m not sure that’s going to happen.”

  “Is there anything I can do to make your world a better place?”

  He turned his head to gaze at her and his dark eyes smoldered. “As a matter of fact, there is.” He caught her hand and tugged on it. “Straddle me.”

  “I thought that was the idea.”

  “Not like that.” He patted his breastbone. “Up here.”

  “Oh.” Her heart raced. “Chicken?”

  “I’ve never…”

  “Never?”

  “Well, of course I’ve…I mean, naturally, I’ve tried…but not like that.”

  His smile was wicked. “You’d be in control.”

  She doubted it. She suspected that once he began, she’d lose control very quickly.

  He tugged on her hand again. “Are we going to waste time arguing about sexual positions?”

  “I—”

  “We’re having a secret rendezvous, one that nobody ever has to know about.” His voice grew husky. “You can do whatever you want, Caro. Anything at all.”

  “Then I want to turn out the lights.”

  “And spoil all my fun? Don’t do that. Please.”

  “Logan…”

  “I’ve wanted to taste you ever since you stripped down on the other side of the bed and I saw those caramel curls.”

  “You already know. You were there.”

  “My cock was there. I couldn’t see, couldn’t savor. Let me do that.”

  She was on fire, and she wasn’t sure if the heat came from embarrassment or raging excitement. He was pushing her boundaries…and she liked it. He was right. They were indulging in a secret rendezvous, and if she ever wanted to be wild, this was the perfect time.

  “Come on, Caro,” he said softly. “Let me find out how sweet you really are.”

  As if drawn by the magnetic pull of his eyes, she moved toward him.

  “Swing your leg over,” he coaxed. “That’s it. Scoot up. A little more…come to me…” He slid both hands under her bottom and then…

  She gasped at the first contact with his hot mouth. Lying on her back with her thighs open was one thing, but this felt decadent, as if she were demanding it, as if she had him at her mercy, and he had no choice but to…oh, dear heaven. He had a choice and was making it, with gusto.

  Trembling, she balanced by bracing her hands above his head. Gradually, she realized the whimpering sounds were hers, and the moans were hers, and the lusty cries of delight… were hers. She came once, in a shower of vibrating color, and when she tried to pull away, he held her fast and made her come again. As the contractions overtook her, she threw back her head and screamed in ecstasy.

  She might have imagined that she’d have control with Logan flat on his back, but she was so wrong. While still in the grip of her second orgasm, she felt herself being benchpressed up and back. Without quite knowing how she got there, she slid effortlessly down his rigid penis until they were locked together, a perfect fit once again.

  “Got anything left for me?” He stroked her breasts and spanned her waist with both hands.

  “Yes.” Energized by the connection, the fullness of him deep inside her, she spread her palms on his chest. Her fingers flexed as she absorbed the warmth, the shiver of his muscles, his rapid heartbeat. “Yes.”

  And she began to ride him, slowly at first, and faster as he caught the rhythm and responded, his hips lifting in time with her downward strokes. They both began to pant, and the room filled with the liquid sounds of bodies pumping and straining toward the ultimate completion. Once again, they found it together, in a frenzy of rapid thrusts and mingled cries.

  Caro slumped agai
nst him, boneless, unable to imagine moving, let alone leaving this bed. She realized that moment would arrive eventually, but she shoved that reality aside as she lay on Logan’s sweat-slicked chest and listened to the wild beat of his heart.

  He rubbed her back, his caress a soothing counterpart to the passion they’d shared. As sanity returned, she wondered where they would go from here. The first time had been amazing, but the second time had obliterated all her benchmarks. Whether that was good or bad, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that Logan had forever raised the bar and there was no use pretending she would ever be satisfied with less.

  LOGAN HAD ALWAYS BELIEVED that great sex should wind down slowly, with lots of cuddling and touching to maintain the mood. But because the lights were still on in Caro’s little bedroom, he could easily see his watch. He purposely hadn’t taken it off.

  Sadly, his watch indicated that he had to get the hell out of Caro’s apartment and over to Grandma Judy’s if he expected to pull off this caper. Being discovered in Caro’s bed would be bad for him, but potentially worse for her. He could leave town and the gossip. She couldn’t.

  He wrapped his arms around her, as if he could somehow soften the announcement. “I have to go.”

  She sighed. “I know.”

  “If I leave now, I might be able to sneak into Grandma Judy’s house and convince her and everyone else that I’ve been there longer than I actually have.”

  “I know that, too.” She didn’t move.

  This was for Caro’s own good, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate hearing that sentiment. He’d never much liked being told that. He needed her cooperation, though. Condoms could be tricky things, especially with the woman on top.

  “Just so you know, I’m going to make sure we go riding today.” He hoped that would help. It wasn’t as if this was the last they’d ever see of each other.

  Her breath was warm on his chest. “How can you guarantee we’ll go riding if Steve is still sick?”

  “There must be someone else who can fill in.”

  “Normally Tracy would, but she’s in Cheyenne for a girlfriend’s wedding. We’d better hope that Steve gets well. That would be the best scenario.”

  “It would, but I’m prepared to make a case to Josie that you need the time off, somehow. I would probably be more convincing if I can get over to Grandma Judy’s without anybody knowing I’ve been hanging out in your bedroom for a couple of hours.”

  “Right.” She carefully rolled onto her side of the bed. Then she reached for the patchwork quilt and pulled it over her as she gazed at him. “Just know that if the ride doesn’t work out, it’s okay. We’ve had a terrific time, better than I even could have imagined. That’s plenty.”

  “You’ll get that ride.” As he left the bed and headed into her bathroom, his heart ached for her. She was already preparing herself for disappointment. No matter what, she’d make the best of things.

  Damn it, he wanted to treat her to an afternoon of riding, a carefree time in which she wouldn’t have to be serving customers or taking care of her grandmother. Once he returned to Chicago, she’d go back to that routine, but while he was here, he wanted to execute a small jail break.

  Walking back into her room, he discovered her standing by her closet and shoving her arms into a white terry robe.

  “You don’t have to see me out.”

  She sent him a smile. “Of course I do. I invited you up here, so the least I can do is see you to the door.”

  He walked over and took her by the shoulders. “Your invitation was the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”

  “Good. It was a two-way street, though. I obviously needed a…” She flushed.

  “A lover,” he murmured, and kissed her softly on the mouth. Her lips tempted him, but he forced himself to draw back. “I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.”

  “Me, too. Listen, can I get you anything? A soft drink? Coffee? I feel as if I shouldn’t just send you off into the night without something.”

  “You’re sending me off with something.” He pulled on his jeans and sat down on the edge of the bed to deal with his socks and boots. “I feel a lot more like a man than I did a few hours ago.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  He pulled on a boot and glanced up. “No. Not even slightly.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  He focused on putting on the other boot, because it was easier to confess these things when he wasn’t looking at her. “I don’t know who I am anymore, Caro, or what my future is. But for these couple of hours, I’ve forgotten all that. I was simply a guy who could make a woman happy. You have no idea what that means to me.”

  He sensed that she’d moved over to stand beside him. He felt her body heat, but even more, he felt her caring heart envelop him. He looked up, and sure enough, she gazed at him with more empathy than he’d felt from anyone in these long months.

  “I wish I could help,” she said.

  “You already have.” He stood and cupped her face in both hands and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. “But as I’m sure you know, being the intelligent, logical person you are, this is an inside job. You’ve given me a chance to shift focus off myself. Maybe I can build on that and climb out of this funk I’m in.”

  “I hope so, Logan. I truly hope so.”

  “Which is why you need to come riding with me tomorrow. Show this city boy the majesty of the scenery. It will help both of us.”

  She smiled. “I like that. Win-win.”

  “Exactly.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “But in order to foster that plan, I need to find my shirt and get the hell out of here before the town, or worse yet, Grandma Judy, wakes up.” He headed down the hall and scooped up the shirt he found crumpled on the floor.

  “Yes, you do.” She followed him, and retrieved his hat from the couch as he fastened the snaps. “You look good in cowboy clothes.”

  “It’s all an act.” He finished snapping the shirt and tucked it into his jeans. “Clothes don’t make the man, or in this case, the cowboy. I’m still a city slicker at heart.”

  She handed him his hat. “That’s what Alex used to say. Now look at him.”

  “Yeah, but he had a skill the Last Chance needed. They could use a marketing director. I can’t think of any reason they’d want a washed-up baseball player.”

  “Now that’s the kind of phrase you need to banish from your vocabulary, immediately.” She put her hands on her hips and attempted a ferocious frown.

  He had to laugh. She was so not the frowning type. “You’re right. That’s very negative on my part.”

  “It sure is. I’ve promised not to mention a certain condition of yours, but you have to promise to stop referring to yourself as a failure.”

  His laughter faded. “But the thing is, I have failed. You can blow sunshine up my ass all day, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m no longer fit for my chosen career.”

  “So choose another one.”

  Anger nibbled at his mellow mood. “Easy for you to say.”

  “But it’s the only way to move forward.”

  “I suppose so, but can you begin to imagine what it’s like to focus on a dream for twenty-five years, and then have it destroyed?” He heard the bitterness in his voice and winced. This was not the time or place.

  “No. Truthfully, I can’t.” She looked contrite. “I’m sure it’s terrible, and you have a right to be angry that your life didn’t work out the way you’d hoped.”

  He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “But I don’t have a right to spray negativity all over the place, just because I have no idea where I’ll go from here.”

  “Didn’t you ever think about what you’d do once you retired from baseball?”

  “Not really.” He gazed at her and realized he’d needed to meet this woman for many reasons, and this was one of them. “Nobody else has had the guts to ask me that question, you know. Everybody—my age
nt, my teammates, my family, my friends—they all tiptoed around the subject. I think they knew the answer and didn’t want to bring it up.”

  “Well, no wonder you’re so upset! You don’t have a plan B!”

  “No.” Which made him look pretty damned stupid. But baseball players were a superstitious lot, and he was no exception. On some level he’d thought planning for his retirement might hasten it, and he couldn’t imagine being happy doing anything besides playing ball. Secretly, he’d hoped to go on record as the oldest catcher in baseball history. What a joke.

  “We’ll talk about it during our horseback ride this afternoon,” she said. “I’m great at coming up with a plan B.”

  He couldn’t imagine how a small-town bartender would be able to figure out a new career path for a washed-up…no, a former pro baseball player, but he didn’t want to insult her. “Thanks. I’ll take all the help I can get.”

  “You’re humoring me. You don’t think I’ll be able to help you think of something.”

  “All right, no, I don’t, but I appreciate that you’re willing to try, considering I’m just a stranger passing through.”

  She smiled at him. “Technically, that’s what you are, but you don’t feel like a stranger to me.”

  He closed the gap between them and latched on to the lapels of her bathrobe to draw her close. “Good, because you don’t feel like a stranger to me, either. But if I don’t get out of here, the whole world will know how familiar we’ve become.” He kissed her, a down-and-dirty quick maneuver that involved tongues, but was over before it could progress to heavy breathing.

  Even so, he felt his johnson respond and he backed away from her before he was tempted to kiss her again. “How soon can you drive out to the ranch this afternoon?”

  She took a deep breath, as if she had to rein herself in, too. “I’ll be home from Jackson around two. Assuming Steve takes my shift, I can be at the ranch before two-thirty.”

  “If Steve doesn’t take it, I’ll make sure Josie has it covered, so just come on out there.”

  “All right.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.” Ha. He’d be counting the seconds.