A Cowboy's Luck Read online

  “I think I know the problem. Or a big part of it, anyway.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Our encounter…wasn’t complete.” Her cheeks turned pink. “We both had orgasms, but not together, if you know what I mean.”

  “I know what you mean.” His privates had absorbed the meaning, too, and they were reacting accordingly. “But I don’t understand why that would keep us from working.”

  “We need closure.”

  He stared at her. Then he scrubbed a hand down his face and fought not to laugh. She was adorably serious. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard that term used in relation to sex.”

  “But it fits! We only had half the experience and that just feels wrong. Especially when we’ve decided to dial it back. We need to complete the process before we can start fresh.”

  He swallowed another burst of laughter. “Let me get this straight.” He paused to clear his throat. “Are you saying that we need to have the full experience and then we’ll be better equipped to dial it back?”

  “Yes. At least it’s worth a try. Isn’t it?”

  “Sure.” Anything you say, babe. She was wrong, but she’d have to find that out after the fact. This had the potential to turn out very well.

  “Oh, and I wasn’t buying gum today. I went there to buy condoms.”

  He couldn’t hold back a grin any longer. “So did I.”

  “I figured that out so I didn’t get any.”

  But they’d been on the same page. And he had the whole night to convince her that dialing it back made no sense. “Would you like to go upstairs with me?”

  “Yes. Yes, I would.”

  “Would you like me to fetch your drink out of the fridge?”

  “I’d like that, too.”

  He slid off the stool and held out his hand. “Then let’s go finish what we started.”

  Chapter Nine

  Roxanne climbed off the stool before carefully taking the shot glass Michael handed her. She was trembling. “Maybe I shouldn’t carry this up there. I might spill it.”

  “Then let me do it. I’m a professional.”

  “You’re a funny guy.” She gave him the shot glass.

  “You’re pretty hilarious, yourself.”

  “You think I’m nuts to suggest this, don’t you?” She plucked her jacket off the stool.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you’ve been trying not to laugh the whole time I was explaining my theory. But you’ll see that I’m right.” She could hardly wait to prove it to him. “Once we do this, we can settle down and do the dating thing.”

  “I’m prepared to be convinced. But it might take more than one time tonight.”

  “I’d be okay with that.” The idea of making that connection twice, or maybe more, made her all fizzy inside, as if she had champagne in her veins.

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “See? You almost laughed just now.” She didn’t mind, though. He was cute when he got tickled about something.

  “I feel like laughing because I’m happy you’re going upstairs with me. It’s a terrific idea.” He let go of her hand to unfasten a velvet rope that blocked the staircase. “And I’m also happy that yesterday I cleaned my apartment.”

  “I wouldn’t have cared.” Once she got her hands on his magnificent body, she could be on Mars and she wouldn’t notice.

  “I have a fridge in the apartment. I’ll put your drink in it until later.”

  “That’s fine. I just don’t want to waste it.”

  “We won’t. But you’ve already had one and I doubt you’d want to be tipsy during this experience. Then it wouldn’t really count.”

  “No, I don’t want to be tipsy.” Anticipation was already making her wobbly. She gripped his hand tighter. “I mostly drink wine so I don’t know much about concoctions like that one.”

  “In multiples, they can be potent.”

  Not as potent as you. Following him up the stairs gave her an excellent view of his backside in those snug jeans. By the time they reached the landing, her panties were damp and she trembled with eagerness.

  Opening his apartment door, he led her inside.

  She took a quick look around. “It’s all bed!”

  “That’s a priority. I don’t like being crunched when I sleep.”

  “Clearly.” A coil of desire tightened low in her belly. She’d expected a bed, not a playground, but she wasn’t complaining. “You must have been miserable in my bed.”

  He laughed. “No, ma’am, I was not.”

  “But it’s half the size of—”

  “You were in it. ‘Nuff said.” He squeezed her hand and let go. “I’ll put your drink in the fridge. I can take your jacket, too.”

  “Thank you.” She handed it to him. Then her attention drifted back to the enormous expanse of mattress, covered in a dark green comforter. Six full-sized pillows. No headboard or footboard. No room. “Your bed really is huge.”

  “Biggest one I could buy. Fit better in my other place. This is a little tight but it works.”

  “How did you get it in here?”

  “Bryce and Trevor helped. Wasn’t easy.”

  “I’m sure it wasn’t.” Shoved against the left-hand wall, it barely missed blocking the entrance.

  The two doors opposite the bed probably were for the bathroom and a closet. Convenient. Get out of bed, take two steps and you’d be in either one.

  At the foot of the mattress, separated from the end of the bed by only a couple of feet, a small table and a couple of chairs were wedged in the corner next to a window. They were the only other furniture in the room.

  He’d mounted a flat screen on the wall so it could be seen from the bed. Evidently it doubled as his couch. A wall lamp at the head of the bed was the only light that was on, leaving the room mostly in shadow.

  A miniscule kitchen was tucked into a nook to the right of the table and chairs. He put the Butterscotch Mocha in a small refrigerator and laid his hat brim-side-up on the table.

  “I can’t believe you’re here.” His voice was husky.

  “It’s a little surreal for me, too.” Contrasted against the small apartment, his physique was even more impressive. His shoulders looked like they were a mile wide.

  “I was prepared to wait days, weeks, however long it took.”

  “Really?”

  He came toward her. “Really.”

  The closer he got, the faster her heart pounded. Being alone with him was so different from the last time, when she’d made a snap decision and they’d gone crazy together.

  She’d anticipated this moment ever since her trip to the drugstore. She was wound tight. Eager. Nervous. Excited.

  He stopped inches away from her and his chest heaved. “I told myself you were worth the wait. Friday night was a game changer for me.”

  “For me, too.” Gazing into his eyes, she flattened her palms against the solid wall of muscle under the logo t-shirt. Touching him helped anchor her. His heart beat fast and strong, but not as fast as hers. “But I still think it was a mistake.”

  “You can call it that if you want.” He settled his hands at her waist. “I don’t see it that way.”

  The light pressure of his hands sent heat rolling through her. “I jumped the gun.”

  “No.” His grip tightened and he drew her close. “You let me love you.” Reaching up, he cupped her cheek. “And now you’ve asked me to do that again. I call that a miracle.” He dipped his head and his lips brushed hers.

  Closing her eyes, she savored the friction of his mouth touching down, lifting and returning to suck gently on her lower lip.

  “I want you so much I’m shaking,” he murmured. “I know where this will end, but I…I don’t know where to start.”

  “I do.” She tugged his shirt from his jeans. “Where it all began. Friday morning, when you rocked my world.”

  “Friday morning?”

  She shoved the material up over his massive chest. “You st
ripped down to try on this shirt. That was a defining moment.”

  “Well, then.” He reached behind his back and grabbed a fistful of material. “Let me recreate that thrill for you.” With a soft chuckle, he pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. “How’s that?”

  “Perfect. Thank you.” Splaying her fingers over his chest, she pressed down, reveling in the strength vibrating against her hands. “Touching you is like touching hot steel.”

  “Do you go around touching hot steel?”

  “No. It’s just how I think of it. Of you.”

  “I guess I’m flattered.” He covered her hands with his. “Except hot steel will burn you. I won’t.”

  “Promise?” She meant it as a joke. Sort of.

  He didn’t seem to take it that way. He held her gaze, his expression somber. “Yes, ma’am. I promise.”

  “Okay, then.” Clearly he believed what he’d said. For now, that was good enough.

  Lifting one of her hands to his mouth, he nibbled on her fingers. “Want to know my defining moment?”

  “Let me guess. When I wrapped my hand around your—”

  “Well, that, too. But before that, there was a special incident when you unhooked your bra and let the straps slide down your arms. I was speechless.” He took a deep breath. “You’re so beautiful.”

  The reverence in his voice astonished her. “I’m not that—”

  “Shh. Yes, you are.” He cradled her face in both hands. “Do that again. Please. For me.”

  “All right.” Stepping back, she tugged off her shirt and flung it aside. Then she reached behind her back, unhooked her bra and allowed it to slip to the floor.

  He moaned softly and closed the distance between them. “So beautiful.” He cupped a breast in each hand. “Touching you is like…” He paused. “Catching waves of light.”

  Immersed in the pleasure of his caress, she struggled to focus on his words. She would be smarter this time. She would pay attention to what he said. And what he didn’t say. She would—

  “I need you, Roxanne.” His voice had become thick with passion. “I told myself I’d go slow, but dear God, I need you.” His hot mouth found hers.

  And she was lost, caught in the grip of an emotion she couldn’t control any more than she could harness the wind. He undressed her with a fumbling urgency that had him swearing and her laughing, but he finally accomplished it.

  “Clothes!” He tugged off his boots and threw them aside. “What a hassle!”

  “I know!” She wrestled with his belt buckle.

  “Once we get them off, let’s not put them on again until we leave.”

  “Works for me.”

  “Here. I’ll do that.” He had his jeans and briefs off in no time. “At last. Dear God, I thought we’d never get naked.” Scooping her up, he laid her down on that huge bed and began kissing her…everywhere.

  She writhed beneath the sweet assault of his mouth as he turned her over and continued to explore. His lips and tongue mapped the territory beneath her shoulder blades, down her spine to the small of her back. He paid homage to the curve of her bottom, her quivering thighs, the backs of her knees, even her toes.

  By the time he eased her to her back and mysteriously produced a condom, she was panting and slick with moisture, on the brink of coming with the merest touch, the lightest kiss.

  Rolling on the condom, he moved over her, bracing his weight on his forearms. He maneuvered his hips between her thighs and probed gently with the tip of his cock.

  Then he slid both hands behind her head, cradling it as he gazed into her eyes and gulped for air. “You were right.”

  She barely had enough breath to respond. “I was?”

  “So right.” His voice was ragged, intense. “We need this.” And he plunged deep.

  Oh, yes. The moment of his first thrust changed everything. The connection sent shock waves of recognition through every cell in her body. He’d never been there before, yet she knew him.

  Not possible. A trick played on her by an overactive imagination. As he began to move, as her body matched his rhythm as if they’d danced this way a million times before, she was helpless to control the rising surge of her response.

  Her climax arrived in a burst of heat and his followed right after. Her cries mingled with his deep groan and she clung to him as her body shook. As she lay beneath him, she tried to distinguish her heartbeat from his. Couldn’t do it.

  She let out a shaky breath. If she still believed in soulmates…but she didn’t. And that was for the best.

  Chapter Ten

  Michael didn’t let Roxanne take his full weight, but he loved feeling the steady rhythm of her heart as he pressed closer. When his heartbeat slowed to a more normal tempo, so did hers.

  He put his lips next to her ear. “Our hearts are beating in time with each other.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t want to move.”

  “Then don’t.” Her arms tightened around him.

  “I mean, like, ever.”

  “But if we stay like this forever, then we can’t ever have sex again.” There was a smile in her voice.

  “Excellent logic.” He lifted his head to look at her. What a treat. “Your face is all rosy and happy.”

  “So is yours.”

  “That’s because I enjoyed the heck out of what we just did.” His reaction went deeper than that, but she was skittish and he didn’t want to scare her.

  She smiled. “I did, too.”

  “I thought so from what I was feeling and hearing. There’s something to be said for the full experience. I’m glad you suggested it.”

  Her smile widened. “Thank you for being so willing to go along with the idea.”

  “It was a tough call, but as it turns out, the right one.”

  “I have my moments.”

  “Definitely.” He looked forward to sharing as many of them as she’d allow.

  “But I have to ask how you came up with that condom. Where are you hiding them?”

  “Under the bed.”

  “On the floor?”

  “In a drawer. The foundation has drawers. Luckily. I’m a little short on storage space for things like that. Could have tucked them in the bathroom, but that wouldn’t have been as smooth.”

  “This was certainly smooth.”

  “Thanks. There are more where that one came from. And as you so brilliantly pointed out, if I don’t get my ass out of this bed and freshen up, as the euphemism goes, we won’t be able to use any more.”

  “Very true.”

  “You did agree to more than once, right?”

  “I don’t remember setting a limit at all.”

  “Hot damn. I’ll be right back.”

  “I expect you will. You don’t have far to go.”

  That made him laugh. “Tiny apartments have their advantages.” He left the bed, took two steps and opened the bathroom door. “Need anything while I’m up?”

  “Would you please bring me my drink?”

  “Be glad to.” He disposed of the condom and washed up. When he came out, Roxanne was sitting with a couple of pillows propped behind her. She’d drawn the covers as far as her waist.

  But she hadn’t felt the need to pull them over her breasts. She didn’t glance away from his full-frontal nudity, either. Instead she gave him an appreciative once-over and smiled. “You’re gorgeous.”

  “Thanks. So are you.”

  “I took a nude drawing class in college. If the model had looked like you, I might have earned a higher grade.”

  Although he wasn’t vain about his body, he didn’t mind hearing that. “Do you still draw?”

  “Not often. You might inspire me to start.”

  “I’d be glad to get naked for you anytime. For any reason.” He liked the uninhibited direction this night was taking. “I’ll get your drink. Think I’ll join you with a beer.” He walked toward the kitchen. “You hungry?”

  “Now that you mention it. What�
�ve you got?”

  “I’ll look.” He opened the refrigerator and peered inside. Other than her drink and three bottles of beer, not much there. “Some cheddar cheese. Green olives. I’ll check the cupboards. I might have—”

  “I’ll help.”

  He turned and she was right there, in all her glory. Closing the refrigerator door, he pulled her into his arms. “Well, hello, fantasy.”

  “What fantasy is that?”

  “A beautiful naked woman in my kitchen.” He cupped her warm bottom and drew her closer to his increasingly excited bad boy. “The possibilities are endless.”

  She laughed. “Endless might be stretching it. This isn’t a very big kitchen.”

  “Big enough.” Tightening his hold, he lifted her to the only counter space he had.

  “Hey. I thought we were getting snacks.”

  “We are.” Since he hardly ever used the kitchen, the counter was conveniently empty. “Oh, look. I just found a couple right here, staring me in the face.” He cradled one of her breasts in each hand.

  Her breathing quickened. “You’re insane.”

  “And you like it. I can tell.”

  “Heaven help me, I do.” She gasped as he leaned down and drew one tight nipple into his mouth.

  He licked, nibbled and sucked until she began to whimper and shift restlessly on the counter. The sensual pleasure of playing with her breasts exacted a toll on his privates. No matter. He’d take care of that problem soon. But first…

  Parting her thighs, he scooted her to the edge of the counter before kneeling and savoring an even more delicious delicacy. She came undone fast, which was a good thing. He was on the brink, too.

  She clutched his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his hips as he carried her back to the bed and tumbled with her to the wide mattress. Bless this small apartment where the bed was always just steps away.

  Condom located. Condom on. With a groan, he buried his aching cock in her heat and began to pump. She dug her fingers into his backside and lifted to meet him, making each connection sing.

  He gulped for air. “Can you come again?”

  “Yes.” She sounded happy, so happy.

  He bore down, and she launched that rocket, taking him with her in a shout of pure joy.