Wrangled and Tangled

  laughed and bulled his way inside her domain.

  The instant they were alone, she slapped her hands on his chest and pushed him against the door. “Why the hell would you come in and interrupt my meeting? Do I ever demand your attention when you’re doing cow stuff?”

  “Cow stuff?” he repeated.

  “You know what I mean. I’ve never interfered with you doing your job running the ranch and I expect the same courtesy from you while I’m working.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You should be.”

  Abe watched her eyes, those striking purple irises, sparking outrage. He hauled her to the toes of her sexy boots and he couldn’t help but inhale her. Suck down the passion she disguised in a haughty attitude, letting her fire consume him. It was like heaven to kiss her again, whenever he wanted, however he wanted. But kissing wasn’t enough. He needed her squirming against him, her breath panting in his ear as her body clamped around his. He soothed her with sweet kisses, shaken to the very core by the power this woman still wielded over him.

  “Abe—”

  “I want you. So fucking much. Do you have any idea how goddamn hot you look when you’re in charge? How unbelievably sexy you are to watch taking control of the room with your fire and sweetness? It’s a side of you I’ve never seen. It’s a side that makes me burn hotter than ever for you.”

  Her face softened. “You and that damn silver tongue. Please take me home.”

  He wasn’t so far gone with lust not to recognize that she’d called his house home. His spirit soared even as it cemented his intentions to show her he’d changed. “Doesn’t that make you feel powerful? Knowing you got me all kinds of worked up with your bossy ways?”

  Abe turned her around, suctioning his mouth to the sexy sweep of her shoulder. He’d never seen the appeal of short hair on a woman until now. Having all that sexy, sensitive skin right out in the open, easily accessible was a temptation he couldn’t resist.

  As soon as she sighed, and angled her head to rub her cheek to his, he murmured, “Is that a proper apology for breaking up your meeting?”

  “No. Because when I apologized to you for forgetting to call, we had hot sex. So you can pay me back when we get home?”

  “We’ll see.”

  He wanted more than sex with her. So it was damn ironic he had to hold off . . . to get it.

  Abe was not getting away with ignoring her another night.

  On the way home he’d suddenly remembered something urgent he had to do. In Rawlins. Alone. He’d dropped her off and hadn’t returned until after eleven o’clock. Once again she thought she’d heard the click of his bedroom door lock.

  She had a plan that guaranteed she wouldn’t need a lock pick to gain entrance into his lair.

  Janie played it cool during supper. As soon as she heard Abe head down the hallway to his bedroom following his long shower, she made her move.

  His eyes widened when he saw her sauntering toward him naked. “Ah. What’re you doin’?”

  “Paying you back.” She stalked him until his spine met the closet door and then dropped to her knees.

  “You don’t have to pay me back right now. But... Oh holy hell.”

  She’d stuffed his entire cock in her mouth, loving when that dangling man flesh was still soft and unsuspecting. Loving the feel of it growing bigger, until it no longer fit in her mouth.

  Abe’s cock didn’t seem to be on the same time frame as Abe’s brain. In fact, Abe’s cock thought right now was the perfect time for payback as it rapidly became erect.

  Smiling, she bent her head and brought both his balls into the wet heat of her mouth. Rolling them over her tongue. Then she closed her lips around the sac and sucked.

  “Jesus, Janie.” Funny, he didn’t seem all that insistent to push her away now.

  “Tell me you don’t want this.” She rubbed her lips across the top of his quivering quad. “Tell me you don’t want to see your cock buried in my throat as I swallow every drop of your seed. Tell me no and I’ll leave.”

  A millisecond later his hand was fisted in her hair and he pulled her head back to meet his lust-filled gaze. “Do it.”

  Janie didn’t intend to draw this encounter out; serious power existed in getting a man off quickly. She hadn’t realized how spoiled she’d been by Abe’s exceptional dick size until she’d wound up with men who weren’t as well endowed. She wrapped her fingers around the base and jacked his shaft as she suckled the cockhead. With each wet pull of her mouth, she brought him deeper. Closing her lips around the root, she breathed through her nose and opened her throat, taking him fully.

  “Sweet Jesus, swallow like that again.”

  Her thoughts entered the fuzzy zone where she was lost in the silken push and pull of that male hardness against her tongue. Her head bobbed and she slipped her hand between his thighs. Feeling his balls hard and tight, she let his cock slide free and stared up at him. “Makes me wet to touch you like this.”

  He murmured, “Prove it,” and stroked her cheekbone.

  She followed the contour of her belly past her pubic hair. Keeping her eyes on Abe’s, she inserted two fingers, fucking herself with them so he could hear the wet, sucking sounds of her pussy. Then she showed him her moisture-coated fingers.

  “What are you gonna do with those?”

  “Watch.” Janie reached between his legs and rubbed her wet finger across his anus. She said, “Don’t clench,” and sucked his cock in deep again.

  As soon as she slipped her finger in his ass and stroked his prostate, he started to come. His hands cradled her head and his hips bumped into her face. “Fuck. Oh fuck. Yes. Christ.”

  She swallowed the salty heat filling her mouth, the familiar taste throwing her into the past. When the pulses stopped, she pulled back, placing kisses on his hips, watching that sexy six-pack ripple with aftershocks.

  Abe slumped against the door.

  Janie stood, adding an extra wiggle in her ass as she crossed the room. At the doorway, she peered at him over her shoulder. “Oh, and a couple things I wanted to mention.”

  “Uh. Okay.”

  “When you’re done with your mysterious nighttime errands, or finished locking yourself in your office, be aware I’ll be sleeping in here, with you, not in the guest bedroom.”

  “Uh. Okay.”

  “And I’m on the pill so we can skip the condoms from here on out.”

  “Uh. Okay.”

  “See you.”

  “Uh. Okay.” Then, “Wait.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know who taught you how to suck cock like that, but I feel like sending the dude a thank-you note.”

  Weird compliment, but she’d take it. Her self-satisfied grin was entirely justified as she sailed out of the room.

  And she wasn’t the least bit surprised when fifteen seconds later Abe scooped her into his arms and finally took her to his bed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Are you a real cowboy?”

  Startled, Renner turned away from the fireplace and faced a small girl dressed in glittery pink sweatpants dotted with sparkly unicorns. “Yes, I am. Something you need?”

  She nodded and her blond pigtails bobbed. “Can you take me on a pony ride?”

  His gaze turned sharp. “Where is your mama?”

  “Napping. She’s got a bad headache. She said bouncing on a pony would make it badder.” Her chocolate-stained chin notched up an inch. “So can you take me to ride a pony?”

  “Not without permission from your mama.”

  “Oh.” She jammed her hands in her pockets and twisted the toe of her orange and turquoise sneaker into the carpet.

  Such a defeated posture. She couldn’t be more than seven years old. He crouched down. “What’s your name?”

  “Marisol.”

  “Well, Marisol, even if your mama didn’t have a headache, we’re shorthanded this week and the trail rides have been cancelled.”

  Marisol peered at him
balefully, her enormous brown eyes swimming with tears. “Know what? I even got cowgirl boots before we came here. Sparkly red ones. How can I ever be a real cowgirl if I don’t ever get to ride a real pony?”

  Shit. Now her lip was wobbling. The waterworks were about four seconds away and he was absolutely paralyzed.

  “Marisol!” echoed from the hallway an instant before a woman ran toward them. “I told you not to leave the room.”

  Marisol focused on the toe of her shoe. “Sorry.”

  “I’m Joelle Mackenzie,” the woman said to Renner. “I’m sorry if Marisol’s been a bother. This high altitude gives me a violent headache, so she’s been spending a lot of time by herself since her daddy has been off enjoying himself.”

  “I’m sorry you’re not havin’ as good a time as your husband is,” Renner said.

  “I bet Daddy gets to ride a pony, huh?” Marisol inserted with a huff.

  “Now, honey, we’ve talked about that. You know I’d go with you if I didn’t feel so lousy.”

  “But he said”—Marisol jerked a thumb at Renner—“that if I got a permission from you I could go.” She blinked those puppy dog eyes at him. “Didn’t you?”

  Yes. But he hadn’t meant it.

  “If you could take her on a pony ride, I’d be so grateful,” Joelle replied. “My husband wanted this Wild West adventure for us. But so far I’ve been sick and Denny’s been hunting and poor Marisol has been left to watch TV.”

  “Please, Mr. Cowboy, sir? Please take me on a pony ride. I’ll be really good, I promise.”

  Another doe-eyed look.

  And right then Renner knew he was going to say yes.

  “Okay.” He tugged on Marisol’s pigtail. “I have to get a couple of things together first, but go to your room with your mama and stay there—no more sneaking out—and I’ll come get you, all right?”

  She smiled, revealing two gaps in her front teeth. “Yay! Thanks, Mr. Cowboy, sir. I’m gonna go get my new boots on.” She raced up off like a flash.

  Hell. Now he’d done it. Renner raced up the stairs two at a time and burst into the office with, “You have to help me.”

  Tierney adjusted her eyeglasses and frowned. “Help you do what?”

  “All she had to do was look at me and I was toast. After I said yes I started thinkin’ of all the reasons I shoulda said no and now I have to find someone else to go with us because I cannot take a seven-year-old girl on a trail ride alone.”

  “You know, if you took a breath, maybe I could understand what you were babbling about.”

  He inhaled. Exhaled. Pushed his hat back to rub his forehead and resettled it on his head. “Here’s the deal. Marisol has her heart set on a trail ride. But her mother isn’t feeling well, so the little sneak cornered me, asking if I was a real cowboy, and as soon as I said yes, bam! She begged me to take her. I said no, and then found myself saying yes, but after I did, I realized it’d be inappropriate for a thirty-one-year-old guy to go out alone with her on the trail.”

  “And you’re telling me all this . . . why?”

  He angled across her desk, the picture of earnestness. “Because I need you to go with me.”

  “No.”

  “Please. I’ll never ask—”

  “I said no.”

  “You really want to disappoint that little girl after what she’s been through this week? Sittin’ alone in her room while her daddy’s off havin’ fun and her mama’s been sick?”

  Tierney’s eyes tapered to fine points. “Don’t guilt me.”

  “You didn’t have to see her tiny lip quivering and the look of defeat and sadness on her sweet face.”

  “Renner—”

  “Did I mention her puppy dog eyes? And how I was utterly heartbroken when those enormous brown eyes shimmered with tears? Real tears, Tierney.”

  “Stop.”

  But he couldn’t. He slanted even closer to drive home his point. “Do you know who she reminded me of?”

  “I mean it, Renner Jackson, stop it this instant.”

  “You. With those big gorgeous brown eyes. I imagined you as a small girl, trying so hard not to break down, to be strong in the face of disappointment.”

  “Low blow,” she hissed.

  “You have to help me out. I’ve got no one else.”

  “But I’m the worst possible candidate for moseying along the dusty trail because I’m not a good rider.”

  “It don’t matter because I am a good rider. And I’ll bet she’ll last about an hour.” He paused, and cajoled, “Please? Pretty pretty please with rainbow sprinkles on top?”

  Her lips curled into a smile. “Fine. But you will owe me.”

  “Anything you want.” He grinned. “Thanks. You never know, you might even have fun.”

  Tierney rounded the desk. “I’ll need to change.”

  Which was a damn cryin’ shame. His eyes almost hurt from all the stealthy glances he’d sent her way today, seeing her in a fluffy peach-colored angora sweater that rivaled her skin for softness. And like a fuckin’ pervert, he’d purposely brushed against her twice, just to feel the heat of her body next to his, just to catch a whiff of her hair. She’d worn another one of those damn distracting skirts, tight enough to hug her hips and ass, short enough to show off a generous section of toned leg. Normally he didn’t notice women’s shoes, but Tierney’s were peep-toe pumps, in some swanky mix of gray fabric and black leather with peach piping that matched her outfit and the heel height also did eye-popping things for her calves. He imagined her in those sexy shoes, a pair of black bikini panties that let the bottom slice of her sweet ass hang out, and nothing else.

  “Renner? Did you hear me?”

  He raised his guilty eyes to hers. “Ah no. I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “I asked if I should meet you at the barn?”

  “That’ll work. I’ll fetch Marisol.”

  “See you in ten.” She shoved her arms into a trench coat that covered her to her ankles, which ruined his chance to watch her hips swing as she strutted away in those fantasy-invoking shoes.

  Renner stopped at the Mackenzies’ room, but Marisol’s mother had rallied enough to promise she’d walk Marisol to the barn. He was relieved the woman wasn’t turning over her young daughter to some strange guy.

  He slipped on a pair of chinks and spurs before he readied the horses. A few weeks ago he’d compromised with Tierney as far as keeping a couple of older horses on hand for impromptu trail rides, and he wondered if she’d be smug and point out that she had been right.

  Somehow, he didn’t think so. The more he got to know her, the more he realized she was a team player. It hadn’t been apparent to him at first, mostly because he’d been suspicious of her motives—he still was to some extent—but Tierney really did put what was best for the Split Rock first.

  Then other surprising things about her surfaced. Thoughtful things, like when she’d tracked down a bottle of almond oil when he complained the skin on his hands started cracking. Sweet things, like when she’d given him a bag of chocolate-flavored jellybeans for his jellybean dispenser. Funny things, like when she’d found a picture of a naked guy wearing a cowboy hat, holding a towel and asked if he had a brother.

  He adjusted the stirrups on the saddle for Marisol, and his mind wandered to the night he’d kissed Tierney in Buckeye Joe’s parking lot.

  Immediately after the kiss ended and she’d lambasted him with harsh words, he’d formulated a plan to seduce her. To use her. So if Daddy Dearest tried to fuck with him regarding his decisions about the Split Rock, versus Tierney’s recommendations, Renner could point out that since he’d been banging Pratt’s daughter, then Tierney’s opinions might be based on emotion, not business acumen.

  But after he’d cooled off, he knew he’d never follow through with such a cruel plan—no matter how much the thought of seducing Tierney appealed to him. And did it ever appeal to him. If—no, when—he and Tierney became lovers it’d be for no ulterior motive beyond
acting on their sizzling attraction.

  He’d tied off all the horses when Tierney appeared. In jeans. The type of skintight jeans he’d seen on cowgirls, but never expected he’d see on her. She wore a thermal shirt, a flannel shirt and a puffy ski vest. A vivid purple snow hat sat atop her head and she’d tucked matching gloves in the outside vest pocket. Her boots were heeled, but they were narrow enough to fit in the stirrups, and sexy enough to send him straight back to nekkid fantasy-land.