A Knight In Cowboy Boots (18 page)

“Where are you going?” Maddie asked, suddenly realizing they weren’t headed for the hotel.

“Your place. Don’t worry. I’m not making a move on you. I’ll take a bus back to the hotel.”

She didn’t have room for him in her life, Maddie reminded herself, but she was aware that her reasons weren’t as convincing as they’d seemed just a couple of days ago.

When they parked in front of her building, Zach insisted on carrying Jesse’s diaper bag inside. “You can just set that on the bed,” Maddie told him as she took the bonnet off Jesse. He was sucking his thumb, a sure sign he was ready for a nap.

Maddie ignored Zach as she changed Jesse’s diaper and put him in his jammies. She kept hoping Zach would leave before she was done, but he just stood by the bed, watching her until she laid Jesse down. She kept the crib at her back as she turned to face him.

“I want to apologize,” Zach said, “for getting you sucked into this whole thing. My family’s kinda overwhelming sometimes.”

“It’s not your fault. I could have looked elsewhere for a job.”

In spite of his obvious reluctance to let it go at that, he turned and walked away. Just short of the door, he paused and looked back. “Jesse’s daddy … he really in hell?”

“I’m afraid that’s just wishful thinking.”

“He’s looking for you, ain’t he? And for his son.”

Maddie swallowed. Zach already had the important points figured out. He wasn’t going to believe anything else anyway, so what was the point of denying it? She looked at him, waiting so patiently. At last, she nodded her head.

Zach’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “You got more bullets for that there gun?”

Maddie tensed. “Zach, I’m not your responsibility. You don’t have to look out for me.”

Zach looked down, scuffing the toe of his cowboy boot on the floor. “I know.”

“Then why? Why do you keep trying to?”

When he kept his eyes lowered, she wasn’t sure he was going to answer her. Finally, he said, “’Coz nobody oughta be as alone you are.”

He looked up at her as his words speared her heart. She fought to keep her face passive, but the look of concern that appeared on Zach’s face told her she wasn’t succeeding.

He took a step toward her. “Maddie—”

“No!” She turned her back on him, still trying to hide how much it hurt. She’d been denying her fear and loneliness since she’d left Wyoming. Hearing it said out loud, knowing it was so plain to everyone around her forced her to face it. She covered her mouth but couldn’t stifle the sob his words wrung from her.

When Zach’s arms wrapped around her, she didn’t have the strength to push him away. He turned her gently toward him, and she buried her face against his chest, futilely trying to keep him from seeing her distress.

“Shh. Hush, sweet Maddie. It’s okay.”

She stood, crying into his shirt until he inched them close enough to sit on the edge of the bed, where he held her, rocking her and making soothing noises into her hair.

When she finally wound down, Maddie still clung to him, not wanting to lift her head, not wanting to see pity in his eyes. Zach didn’t push her. He kissed her hair softly and ran his hand up and down her arm.

Maddie focused on the crisp, curly chest hairs peeking out of his open collar. There, in his arms, she felt safe and not nearly so alone. She didn’t want to let go.

She knew it was stupid; she knew she’d regret it later. Maddie let a hand drop to his thigh as she kissed the hollow of his throat. The muscles under her hand tensed.

Zach choked out her name. “Maddie—”

She kissed the side of his neck, working her way up to his ear. Her hand slid up his thigh. He stiffened under her touch, and she was astonished anew at the size of him.

“Maddie—”

She could hear the warning in his voice, but he couldn’t seem to get past her name. Stroking him through the denim, she felt a heady rush of power. Maddie opened his belt and popped the button of his jeans. His entire body jerked when she slid her hand inside and touched him.

The arms that held her stiffened as though he wanted to crush her to him but knew that would put an end to the pleasant things she was doing. He gasped when her fingers traced the soft ridge of the head of his penis. “Maddie—” The warning came through gritted teeth.

She withdrew her hand just long enough to finish unzipping his fly. His erection sprung free.

“How did you ever get that all the way in me?”

“Keep this up and I’ll show you.” His teeth were still gritted.

“Promises, promises,” she murmured as she stroked his shaft.

Zach’s hard swallow was the only warning she had. He twisted suddenly and she was on her back, his weight pressing her down into the bed, her hand still trapped between them. He kissed her hard. She kissed him back, sparring aggressively when his tongue invaded her mouth.

He undid the first button on her bodice as Maddie found the space between their bodies to stroke him. His fingers grew uncoordinated and the second button refused to give way. Zach growled low in his throat and jerked on the fabric. The button parted company with the dress, much to Maddie’s delight. He’d always been so in control, dictating how fast they moved. She relished his eagerness. She was more than willing to sacrifice the dress if it he chose to rip it to pieces just to get to her.

Zach lifted her breast from the cup of her bra to palm it. Her nipple grew taut against his hand. He broke away from her lips to breathe a sigh into her hair. She lost her grip on his erection when he scooted down to take her nipple in his mouth.

Maddie couldn’t stop herself from whimpering when electricity sizzled from her breast to the juncture between her legs. His mouth moved against her breast, and she knew he was smiling. He suckled on her nipple, warming it with his mouth. When he drew in a breath, sucking cool air over her sensitive skin, another jolt of electricity jumped to her clitoris. She was barely aware he was rucking her skirt up. Only when he touched the tender skin of her upper thigh did she realize she had to stop him. If he touched her there, she’d be nothing more than a mass of quivering need and that would be the end of her driving him to lose control.

Only the element of surprise allowed her to push him off to reverse their positions.

“Not this time, cowboy,” she told him as she grasped his shirt and jerked, just as he had. Buttons flew. The startled look on his face didn’t last long. She closed her mouth on his nipple and suckled as he’d done to her. A long, low moan came from his throat.

“Don’t move,” she said. Zach lifted his head as she stood, his face full of desire. She undid the last of the buttons on her dress and let it fall in a puddle around her feet. Maddie unfastened the bra, but kept it in place with closely held arms, letting the straps fall from her shoulders.

Though he’d just had his hands and mouth on her, he gazed at her with the hunger of a teenage boy who’d never seen breasts outside of a National Geographic. Gratified, she dropped the bra and let him look, but not for long. His eyes followed her hand to the top of her panties. She ran a finger coyly just under the elastic. Zach sat up abruptly and, before she could step back, slid his fingers inside of crotch of her panties. She gasped as one entered her.

“C’mere,” he said, tugging her gently forward, a lustful gleam in his eyes and a mischievous smile on his lips.

“Not fair,” Maddie whispered.

“Neither is the way I want you right now.”

“Do you?”

He made a disbelieving noise. “You know I do.”

Maddie took stock. His open shirt, his erection projecting from his open jeans. “You are in a rather disreputable state of undress.”

“Now whose fault do you suppose that is?”

But Maddie barely heard the question since he punctuated it by moving his finger inside her.

She was losing control again. The things he did to her were sweet enough she almost surrendered, but when he moved his hand for whatever he planned next, she shoved him back and dropped to her knees. Her hand was on his shaft before he could protest. She licked him like an ice cream cone, and all the fight went out of him.

She was back in control, and she intended to inflict sweet torture.

Chapter Thirteen

Zach didn’t know when it had become a contest between them. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t just let her win this one, because either way, neither of them was going to lose.

When she took him in her mouth, he conceded the round, but he silently vowed to make her pay.

Just as soon as she was done with what she was doing.

By the time she started tonguing her way up his torso, Zach was grinding his teeth, fighting for control over himself. He watched her rise from the floor to climb onto the bed. She straddled him, her panties the only thing keeping him from pushing his way inside her. The thin material did nothing to camouflage the heat between her legs and even less how wet she was. She slid up and down his shaft, in a not-so-chaste imitation of sex.

With what felt like the last coherent thought he was going to have for a while, he decided she’d had her fun. It was time for the gloves to come off and for the condom to go on.

And then it felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on him.

He grabbed her hips, trying to force her to be still. “Stop. St—st—stop.”

“Now what?” Maddie’s tone hinted at annoyance, but her eyes gleamed with amusement.

Zach took several deep breaths. Finally, he swallowed once, hard. “What?”

“You just keep slowing things down. Last time it was ‘I’ll finish first.’ Is that it? Do you have a problem with … ” Maddie waved a hand, like that was supposed to tell him what she was thinking. “Premature—”

“No!” Zach shouted, appalled she would even think …

“Then what?” Her previous amusement was fading.

Zach closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
Lord, give me strength.
“I don’t have a condom.”

“You don’t have a condom?” Maddie repeated as though he’d said he’d forgotten to bring his balls.

“Hey! I thought I was going to church with Jake and Rachel,” Zach said, defending himself. “Somehow it seems like God might doubt my sincerity if I start packing condoms to church!”

He could hear a desperate edge in Maddie’s laughter, but at least she was laughing.

“I don’t know why that’s so damn funny. You didn’t bring your gun to church either.”

“So which of us gets dressed and goes to the store?”

Zach sighed. The last thing he wanted was to leave her there. What he wanted was to pull a condom out of the air, so he could bull her. Knowing the delay was inescapable made his need seem even more urgent. But it was time to man-up. “I’ll go.” He rolled, putting her back under him, and kissed her. “It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.” But he kissed her again instead of getting up.

Maddie still had him trapped between her drawn up knees. Zach moaned into her mouth. She was so ready for him. He didn’t know where he got the strength to push away from her. “You hold that thought,” he said as he reached for his jeans. “Better yet, don’t move a muscle.” He left his shirt untucked so it hung over his jeans; no chance he was going to be able to zip his fly before he reached the car.

He had his hand on the door when Maddie sat bolt upright. “Wait!”

“What’d I tell you about moving?” Zach asked.

“My purse!”

His male ego reared its head, preparing to be offended. “What? You think I can’t afford—”

“No, no! Where’s my purse? Where is it?” She flapped her hand at him.

Zach saw it on the couch and tossed it to her.

“I don’t go into a woman’s purse for nothing,” He said as Maddie rooted through her bag.

“Aha!” Grinning like she’d just won a Gold Medal at the Olympics, Maddie held up a red and black box.

Zach bounded back to the bed and snatched it from her. “Woo-hoo! The condom fairy’s come.” He grabbed her face between his hands and kissed her quickly but soundly. “Now we can have hot, sweaty sex!”

Too eager, he fumbled-fingered the lid, and the box fell on the floor. As he reached for it, his heart dropped. “Ahw, dammit!”

“What?” Maddie’s panties went sailing over his head.

“They’re too small.”

“Too small? You’re kidding me! Can’t you … ? Anyway?” Maddie’s face reflected his own frustration.

“In spite of the bill of goods you women try to sell us men, size does matter. If the condom don’t fit, it’ll come off as soon as … things get interesting.”

Maddie’s eyes dropped. She seemed to feel the disappointment as keenly as he did. He caressed her once from shoulder to hip, his gaze followed his hand’s path, as he gathered his willpower once again to leave her there, a naked, sexy princess waiting for her studly prince. And all he needed was a proper-sized condom to make all her dreams come true.

She lifted his eyes to meet his. The look there rocked him back. He stood and walked away from the bed.

“What are you most afraid of—an
STD
or pregnancy?”

Her question spun him around. His mind refused to examine why she’d asked it, but his heart started to pound.

“Do I need to worry about an
STD
?” he asked.

“No. Do I?”

“Not with me.” Zach pulled air deep into his lungs. “That only leaves the worry about knocking you up.”

The world seemed to be holding its breath as their gazes met and held.

“I think the risk is … ” Maddie licked her lips nervously, “pretty minimal.”

It felt like the blood paused in Zach’s veins, then with a rush, it surged through his body, heading for southern climates. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken this kind of gamble. Whenever it had been, he was certainly older now and more responsible.

But he wanted her as bad as he’d ever wanted a woman in his life, and God help him, the thought of having her with no barriers, to really feel her …

Zach found himself standing at the foot of the bed. “Are you sure?”

“Are you going to put me out of my misery or not?” The words were brazen, but the look on her face was unsure. As if she wasn’t sure he’d want to.

Yeah. Like
that
was a problem
.

His hands shook so much that getting out of his clothes gave Maddie plenty of time to change her mind. He half expected that but when his eyes found hers again, he knew she wouldn’t.

Maddie laid back, retreating in front of him, as he again crawled onto the bed, her legs spreading as he covered her body with his.

The time for foreplay was past. She breathed shallowly through parted lips as he slowly cleaved her warm flesh. She was warm and wet in a way that never penetrated a condom, and he had no intention of rushing through this unexpected gift. Zach braced his forearms on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. Neither of them flinched away from the intimacy of his languorous thrusts or the probing gaze they shared. Zach felt as though his soul was as naked to her as his body.

The world narrowed to the two of them and time disappeared, leaving no before or after, no sooner or later, as he rocked his hips, plunging again and again into her satiny depths, savoring the feel of her soft flesh giving way to his hard lust. He was so lost in her, he didn’t notice when their tempo began to increase; infinitesimally at first, gradually quickening.

Their movements grew urgent. Zach wanted to push that back, to hold onto where they’d been just seconds before, but his need had moved on, and retreat was out of the question. Maddie kept pace with him, feeding his hunger with hers. Their rhythms matched so well it was impossible to tell which of them was setting the pace.

Maddie’s back arched, her neck extending as her head tipped back. Her breasts brushed against his chest. He watched her eyelids slip close until just a sliver of her iris showed, and she caught her breath. The sight of her unguarded face on the edge of orgasm compelled him to restrain himself.

Her nails dug into his back seconds after she started making little whimpering noises. Zach felt his control slipping, shredding, breaking at last. He slammed into her, flesh to flesh, pumping his seed into her dark, warm depths.

*

Zach would have loved to spend the afternoon in bed with Maddie, but Jesse had other ideas. They’d undoubtedly been lucky as it was.

Maddie seemed in no hurry to have him leave. Zach wondered if she knew what kind of plans he had for Jesse’s afternoon nap. He didn’t see how she couldn’t. Every time she came within reach, he touched her, and as often as possible, in unchaste places. She started calling him a sex fiend after the first half dozen times. He couldn’t seem to help himself, but he didn’t try very hard since she smiled when she said it.

He could, of course, have gone out for condoms before Jesse’s nap, but he figured whatever damage they might have done was already done, so he saw no reason not make the most of this rare opportunity.

When the time came, he watched from the bed as Maddie put Jesse down and place the screen strategically between the bed and the crib. Zach understood at least part of the reason she drew him so strongly. Growing up in the Bible belt had had an impact on him. When he bedded a woman who secretly thought sex was dirty or sinful or wicked, his own residual guilt surfaced. In spite of Maddie’s recent attempt to distance herself, he didn’t sense anything but a healthy sexuality from her.

For the second time that day, their clothes ended up on the floor. Maddie straddled him as she pushed him down onto the bed.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Zach asked. “I’ll get a lot of depth with you on top.”

She leaned over to kiss him. “You haven’t hurt me yet.”

Zach groaned with pleasure as she lowered herself onto him. She rocked up and back a few times, seating him deep inside her.

“Ride ‘em, cowgirl,” Zach muttered.

Maddie grinned in response. “Yee-haw.”

The words were barely out of her mouth when the front door opened. A freckle-faced girl with strawberry blonde hair was several steps into the room before she saw them. “Holy shit!”

Pandemonium engulfed the bed. Maddie dove into Zach’s chest, her startled scream shrill in his ear, as he grabbed a fistful of the bedspread to drag over the two of them.

Maddie gathered up the other side of the spread as she slid off Zach. Bunching it up in front of her breasts, she struggled to cover all the vital areas before she said, “Peggy! What are you doing here?”

When Maddie called her name, Peggy blushed redder than her hair and spun on her heel. Speaking over her shoulder, she said, “I thought you wanted me to sit for you. Didn’t you say you were covering the last half of Pete’s shift tonight?”

“Oh, crap. I forgot.” Maddie started to scramble off the bed but bounced back when the spread Zach was laying on refused to stretch that far. “Shit, I’m going to be late.” Caught with no good choices, she glanced at Peggy’s back before dropping the spread and scurrying to the wardrobe. The open door blocked Peggy from seeing anything above Maddie’s knees, but there was nothing wrong with the view from the bed. Zach rolled onto his side, the bedspread strategically draped over his hips, and propped his cheek on his palm to watch.

He’d known since puberty that he was an ass-and-legs man. As she hopped up and down, trying to get a leg into a pair of black slacks, Maddie only demonstrated she had the qualities he found most appealing.

Across the room, Peggy started babbling about how someone had been going out the front door as she was coming in and how sorry she was for not ringing the bell to warn Maddie she was on her way up, and how sorry she was to have just walked in, but she knew it was Jesse’s nap time, and she hadn’t wanted to disturb him, and how she’d never had any reason to expect that Maddie might be getting lucky …