Stony Creek Cowboy [Stony Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) (5 page)

Billie imagined that she could see him as his hands splayed gently but firmly over her as they moved down her sides. She bit her lip as his fingers began a shivery trail down to the curve of her hip and then back up again. Wow, never did she ever have a man touch her with such confidence and strength. She felt his hands wander back and forth over her spine, soothing tired muscles from her drive, unpacking, and then cooking. She caught her breath as his fingers touched soft skin at the small gap between her shirt and her pants. Again and again she felt him return to that spot to run the tips of his fingers over the satin displayed.

Without thought, Jackson ran his hands up her sides again, stopping each time closer and closer to the sides of her breasts. He could hear her breathing deepen and increase. His own felt like it was starting to become labored and he itched to place his lips on her lower back. He wanted to trace the gap with the tip of his tongue. He felt so hard in his jeans and a small amount of pre-cum moistened his boxers. As his hands were just a breath away from stroking the gentle swell of her breasts, he heard her soft gasp. Regrettably, he changed direction and allowed his thumbs to swirl around her lower back while his fingers kneaded her hips. Desperately he wanted to continue downward to run his hands over her ass. He longed to gently squeeze those soft globes for the first time.

Her panties were soaking from this sensual interlude and he knew that she was suffering as well.

“Mmmmm, Jackson. I have to honestly tell you that no one has ever thanked me this well after only cooking a meal. Never. I hesitate to ask, but where did you learn to massage like that?”

“Funny, I could make up some immature guy response but the truth is that my mom gets lots of backaches. She claims that carrying three boys in there killed her back. Might be true, but anyway, she made us all rub her back when we lived at home. Ben and Troy probably can do it as well as I can, but I have never checked,” he said with a laugh. He kept running his fingers under the edge of her shirt while he talked.
I am going to need her skills as a doctor after this.
I wonder what she charges for treating unrelieved arousal, he mused.

He extracted his hands from her skin as she slowly rolled over. He saw that she had a sleepy smile on her face as he offered her his hand. He couldn’t stop himself from slipping his arm lightly around her waist and walking toward the door.

Two large, furry beasts lifted their heads to check on Billie. Satisfied that she was apparently in good hands, their heads thumped back on the floor. Jackson figured that she should take that as a good sign. “Billie, I cannot thank you enough for the meal, the pie, and the company. You are definitely not the Bill that I was expecting,” he said with a chuckle. He wanted nothing more than to lower his head to her luscious mouth and kiss her passionately until they ended up in her bed. Instead, he wrapped her in his arms and gently kissed her forehead.

“Jackson, you are so welcome. Thank you for making me relax this evening. I really enjoyed spending it with you on my first night. Go get some sleep. I am going to go have a look at what Phillip and Sam did to my office tomorrow morning. Would you give me your cell number so I can catch up with you later in the week perhaps?”

He thought he would give her his bank account number by this time, he was so overwhelmed by her! After exchanging their numbers, he reluctantly bid her good night.

Neither of them would sleep well, he figured with a smile.

Over the next several days, a tornado of activity seemed to dominate Billie’s life. She was unpacking her entire life into the new house, settling into her office in town, and meeting her neighbors. Like a breath of fresh air, Florence and Lillian breezed right onto her doorstep the afternoon after dinner with Jackson. Bearing a delicious plate of cookies, they introduced themselves and the very handsome Brody and Cole. The men were only there to escort their mother and aunt, they said, and to be neighborly. Once the men took themselves off, Florence immediately laughed her head off, explaining that they were probably going right back to the main barn to let all the men in on the details of their gorgeous, new, intelligent, and available neighbor, Bill. Florence explained that after Jackson got off the phone last night with his mother and explained the mix-up in names and gender. She made sure she let as many individuals as she could in on the updated information. Lillian was quieter with a gentle air, insisting that Billie come over that Sunday for the big family dinner. Florence, on the other hand, was much more vivacious and quick with an easy laugh.

Billie was so pleased to be blessed with warm people so close to her home. After an hour, the ladies took themselves off to probably go gossip a bit with the other women in town at the Ladies Guild meeting. She had a sneaking suspicion that she and her single status measurements would be on the list of minutes. She laughed.

A few more days went by with an occasional text from Jackson. She always sent a message back telling him to have a good day but tried to keep it simple. She felt like she had been sucked into the Jackson Powell vortex. He was all she thought about. How Jackson’s eyes sparkled, how good his hands felt on her back, how deliciously masculine his scent was…

“Get ahold of yourself!” she scolded out loud. In the shower, bedroom, while cooking, walking the grounds, it was all she could think about. Just yesterday she had met with a lovely woman of about fifty for the position of receptionist and office manager. Julia Morgan was her name. It was hard to even focus then when Julia innocently brought up her intoxicating neighbor.

“Have you had time to meet with your new neighbors, the Powells, Dr. Rothman?” Julia asked.

Billie sputtered out some of the energy drink she was trying to consume.
“What?
Oh yes, I had the pleasure of meeting Jackson first.” Billie left out the details of that embarrassing memory. “Then his mother, aunt, and cousins came by the other day.” Damn. She was going to have to invest in drool cloths because now all she could do was imagine how Jackson’s hand felt on her breast after he caught her. She shifted uncomfortably as fresh moisture soaked her thong. Ugh, why do I even bother getting dressed? she mused. That man was going to cause her to go insane or dehydrate. What a way to go, she thought.

Julia was going on and on about how Jackson was such a dear boy and how unfortunate it was he had married such an obviously immature and inappropriate woman. With a quick look, a sudden quiet filled the room.

“Did he make a good impression on you, Dr. Rothman? Now that I have stopped jabbering, I can see you are just a gorgeous little thing. Why, you might be just the thing to perk up that family and make that man really happy again. Yes! I can see it. I think I am going to have to call Lillian Powell and do some lunch!” Julia exclaimed.

“Um, Julia. A few misconceptions here. Firstly, please call me Billie, I know we are going to get along very well. Secondly, I am so not a little thing. I wish I was, but gave it up after I hit five feet eight inches. I am sure Jackson has a harem of women far more outgoing and exciting than me hanging around him. What the heck would he do with a woman who enjoys medical texts more than a beer garden? No, he was such a gentleman and I am sure we are going to be good friends.”

A pang of regret filled her for a moment. She really had secretly hoped that Jackson was as interested in her as she had been with him after that first day, but alas, he hadn’t asked for a date or dinner or anything since. Oh well, she really needed to focus on settling in more than dating right now. Dating? Who was she kidding? All she could think about was hot monkey sex with Jackson being the star attraction.

“Oh really?” was all Julia replied. Then, as though Billie hadn’t said one word, Julia went off on a love-fueled speech on how she saw the future of Billie and Jackson. This was going to be a funny and much more low-key office environment than she had before. Billie felt pleased and knew she was going to like it.

“Ready to start on Monday? Do we even have any patients booked?” Billie laughed. Julia deftly flicked on the main computer and smiled.

“Seems people are coming either to figure out if you really went to med school or to run away from cranky Dr. Henry.” Julia laughed.

“How many, then?”

“Try thirty-four, Dr. Rothman!”

“Holy cow! They just want to see if I am a vet or not. Maybe I am easier on the eyes than Dr. Henry, too.” Billie laughed. “Please feel free to call me Billie.”

“Well, dear, I think both you and they are going to have a very pleasant surprise! I cannot wait. This is going to be the most fun we have had around here in some time. They all think you are a man. Wait until they get a load of you, Dr. Rothman.”

“Billie, please.”

“Anything you say, Dr. Rothman.”

* * * *

Things were going quite well, Billie thought to herself while sitting on the front porch swing. The sunset was a blaze of purples and oranges as she took it in. A cup of tea and a warm throw graced her legs as she took in the beauty on Saturday evening. Other than not knowing who to ask to help her choose two horses to buy, she felt content. A large cowboy had sauntered into her office yesterday while she and Julia were putting away the final supplies. Julia said a polite hello to the man, but Billie immediately picked up that Julia didn’t care for that man.

“Howdy, ma’am. My name is Len Drexel. You must be new. What is a fine-looking woman going to do working with a crusty old doctor?” His leer slowly moved from her face to her breasts and downward. It made Billie very uneasy, but she put on her doctor face.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Drexel. However, you are mistaken. I am Dr. Rothman and hardly qualify as crusty yet.”

Len got a quick smile and leaned his hip on the papers scattered on the front desk. “Well, a woman with some brains. Now that makes me interested. How about some lunch and we can get to know each other a little more?”

Julia turned around sharply and gave a very leveled look at Len, one that Billie didn’t miss. However, before she had a chance to politely decline this unnerving man, she heard a deep voice say, “Good afternoon. How are two of my favorite ladies doing? Sorry, Len, but the doc and Julia have already decided to grace me with their company for lunch.”

Sweet relief flooded through Billie. Jackson’s voice washed over her like a gentle caress.

Something about Len just made her skin crawl. She had learned over the years to trust her instincts, and they told her now not to be alone with that man. Her face awash with gratefulness and surprise, she turned to look at Jackson.

“Jackson, you are right on time. I assume you know Len.” She conspiratorially looked at him.

The men eyed each other with a barely perceptible undercurrent of tension.

“Jackson,” was all Len said with a nod. “Didn’t know you had met the doc here. He then turned back to Billie and gave her another salacious look as though memorizing her body. It sent more shivers of unease down her spine. As he turned on his smile, he said, “Well, perhaps another time. I look forward to seeing you soon, Doc.” With that, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Jackson as he left.

* * * *

Jackson had just pulled up to the curb by Barry’s Feed store. His father had sent him into town on an “emergency” run for his mother. Apparently, she suddenly had to have an extra bag of high-protein grain for her flock of chickens that couldn’t wait until her husband Bill had a moment off. Coincidentally, it just happened to be right across the street from their sexy new neighbor’s office. He wondered if his mother was up to no good.

Sam and Phillip had done a really good job with the old building. An example of post-modern architecture, it had nice stonework decorating the front and roofline. Just as he was admiring the built-in flower boxes in front, he noticed an unwelcome visitor go through the front door. Jackson had never like Len Drexel. He treated his horses and women the same way, badly. Without thought, Jackson jumped out of his big black dually and walked across the street to follow Len in. He stood in the doorway listening with unabashed interest, quickly moving to controlled anger that Len was showing interest in his woman. His woman? Where did that shit come from? Why the heck was that thought becoming more and more appealing to him? He must need to get himself some. However, he decided to figure it out later and deal with the situation at hand, because one look at Billie told him that she was upset. He was going to kill someone. That someone had been Len. Instead, he had invited her out to lunch.

“I must say that I have never been so happy to be ignored in my entire life,” Julia said with a smile. “Jackson, you are a naughty boy. Come over here and give me a kiss.” Jackson dutifully walked across the room and graced her cheek with a peck.

“I will be right back. Just need to use the restroom and we can take Jackson up on his lovely offer of lunch, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied the man smiling openly at Billie.

As soon as Julia left, Billie leaned back against the beautifully painted wall that Phillip and Sam had made. She found herself consumed with taking in the very tall and masculine man that was in front of her. He practically emanated sexual energy and power. How could she go from fear to lust in ten seconds? Looking at the handsome man before her, well, it obviously was possible. Her mouth suddenly feeling dry, she struggled for something to say.