Stony Creek Cowboy [Stony Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

“It seems that you are going to be forever saving me from situations. I haven’t felt this well protected in, well, forever. A girl could get used to this, Jackson.” She practically glowed at him.

“Just call me your masterful hero and we can call it a day!” he said suggestively.

“Funny, cowboy. No, really, thank you. I didn’t care for him. He made me so nervous. I am not exactly a wimpy girl, but there was something in the way he looked at me that didn’t feel so great.”

“I hope you don’t feel that way when I look at you,” he said with a laugh.

“Heavens no! Not even speaking the same language, I feel so different.”

Jackson turned his suddenly heated stare to capture her eyes. He walked over to her, and in a husky voice, he asked, “How do I make you feel, then, if not afraid, Billie?”

He leaned toward her and ran a finger along the side of her neck. The gentle rubbing of his roughened skin sent entirely different sort of shivers down her body. His gorgeous green eyes felt like they were caressing her soul, practically melting her to the floor where she stood.

Billie tried to concentrate on answering him, but it proved difficult. How could this man affect as no other man ever did? He had such a sense of confidence and control about him. She couldn’t even play coy.

She answered him obediently. “Excited, very excited,” she whispered back.

Jackson’s right eyebrow just lifted slightly as he let his gaze roam over her body, as though erasing the previous man’s possession and marking her with his own. This gaze was one that she didn’t mind, actually felt she was starting to crave. He made her feel safe with this look of blatant ownership. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to, but definitely getting to really like.

“Really. Now that’s very interesting, baby.”
Baby?
He called her baby? She had to confess to herself that she liked the sound of that. Getting personal must be a good thing. All thoughts of setting up the office, Julia, Len, and lunch simply faded away while she soaked up his endearment. How long had she just wanted a man to be affectionate like that? Just to want her, quirks and all. Forever, if she was to be truthful. She was under no misconception that Jackson was falling for her but she closed her eyes to indulge in the temporary fantasy of it all.

Just at that moment, Jackson leaned closer. His hand that had been playing havoc with her lustful thoughts went from stroking her neck to sliding around the back of it. With a gentle tug he pulled her away from the wall. All Billie could do was look in his eyes. The first touch of his lips sent her pulses soaring. A gentle taste was what he seemed to be doing, as though to see if she would protest. After a moment, he slid his mouth over hers again, this time with a gentle rub of his tongue along the seam of her lips. Billie felt the shivers turn to tremors as she fought to catch her breath.

Jackson had probably only meant to taste her. It was as if he was filled with determination that was born from the lust now slamming his body. Billie felt as he moved to deepen the kiss by rolling his lips over and over hers as she allowed his tongue to slide along his. She felt like he couldn’t stop himself. Billie felt as his other hand slid up and around her back, pressing her breasts into his rock-hard chest.

Billie felt faint. She wanted to rip off her shirt and feel her skin melt into his. No man should be able to kiss like this. Did they put something in the water out here or what? She returned the passion now raging through her veins with the same intensity as he did. She heard him groan as she sucked his tongue into her mouth again.

A loud song about Bill Bailey suddenly filtered down the hallway, accompanied by a light laugh. Julia certainly wasn’t being hired for her singing skills.

Jackson quickly lifted his head but did not release Billie. He wore a bemused expression that probably matched her own. He caressed her face one last time and on a sigh, let her go. Billie slumped to the wall, stupefied by what had just occurred. That man should be illegal. So, there are lots of men who look hot in jeans and ride around on a horse saving ladies, but to be able to kiss like that with such confidence, well, the stats had to be low.

Julia made lots more noise and comments as she moved down the hall. Probably dropping things purposefully, as though that sneaky woman knew more than a conversation was going on.

“Well, my dears, shall we have some lunch?” she chirped.

Lunch? Billie thought. Who the heck could care about eating now?

“After you, ladies!” Jackson said with a devilish grin. Offering both arms to the women, he proceeded to escort his dates down the street.

* * * *

Stupid bitch, Len thought to himself. He had looked his fill of her the other day while she had been unloading her SUV of medical books and equipment. He liked what he had seen. She was a hot piece of ass with perfect tits that he itched to get his hands on while he fucked her senseless. He was going to have her and now knowing that Jackson had definitely staked a claim, well, it made his choice that much sweeter. He would be rough. Rough enough to send her back to him with bruises, to show Mr. High-and-Mighty Powell that he could take what he wanted. Right now he wanted her but would have to settle for another one of Jackson’s annoying little whores. He would bide his time and toy with his new one a little bit, but he knew his time would come.

Lunch turned out to be a very enlightening affair. Having apparently much more difficulty shaking off the effects of “that kiss” than Jackson, Billie was a quiet observer for the first few minutes. The Stony Diner turned out to be a charming little nook. Not quite the menu of a typical New York diner, with their ten pages of offerings, this was a lovely mix of specials that varied day to day and meal to meal. The owner and obvious attraction was a beautiful woman, Lizzie Charmichael. A charming wit and sparkling eyes matched her obvious zest for life. Billie immediately warmed to her, seeing her as a definite future friend.

“Lizzie, isn’t there some sort of IQ requirement to be blessed with a seat in your restaurant?” quizzed Jackson. Lizzie and Billie both look curiously at him like he had lost his mind. Well, Billie had already felt that he fried her brain, so perhaps his was toast, too.

“Shut up, you overgrown idiot, or I am going to tell Mom how you behave in the presence of the ladies in this town,” Ben growled out at his brother.

Billie strained around Jackson on their side of the booth that they had taken to see the owner of the voice threatening Jackson.

“Do that and I promise to release certain information about what happened to Mom’s fur muff when you were seventeen,” was all Jackson replied. With a growl, Jackson’s younger brother Benjamin turned around in his seat and tried to glare his brother into silence.

Benjamin was such a bear of a man. At six foot five, an inch shorter than his gigantic older brother, he was as sweet as he was broad but you would never know it by looking at him. It was only the warmth from his green eyes that betrayed he was in reality a gentle man. Billie knew that if she ever needed help, the Powell men definitely could double as body armor.

A small smile pasted on Lizzie’s unusually quiet face gave the only hint of interest. It was the only indication that she was considering serving Ben more than just his food. Now, they would make for a very interesting couple, Billie thought.

“Come to think of it, you have been in here more and more often lately little bro and always by yourself. How come? Hmm, I wonder what succulent dish keeps bringing you back in for more?” Jackson teased.

A smack on his shoulder from across the table was delivered by Madame Julia. Billie mentally reminded herself that, in addition to not singing, she shouldn’t tick Julia off in the office. Otherwise she might be bruised by the end of the work week.

“Boys, behave or else I might be persuaded to regale your gentle mother with the sordid details of both of your high school conquests of the dance squad after Jackson’s senior year homecoming. Do I make myself clear?” an angelic Julia replied. The only responses were some controlled gulps and quietly stated, “Yes, ma’ams.”

Billie had to laugh. She had never been in a town where everyone’s lives and business seemed so interwoven. It was like a large family where there were all sorts of characters at play. She wondered where she would fit in and silently hoped this one time to be a joiner in the play.

A sudden, quiet hush fell over the diner as a very pretty and very provocatively dressed woman came in. Billie heard Jackson sigh and she followed everyone else’s eye line to look at this newcomer. The woman, as though on a very specific search, spotted her prey. She walked, very slowly and with quite the show of swinging her hips, over to their booth. She gave her head a tilt and eyed Billie up and down, not hiding her interest or antagonism.

Instead of annoyance at being ogled for the second time today by a hostile person, Billie found this to be very amusing. Billie was quite comfortable with few things in her life. One was her medical training, which was her reason for being, and two was how she looked. A secret awareness of her attraction to the male sex had always given her a confidence rather than arrogance. She never used it in an inappropriate way but rather to bolster herself in intimidating situations, particularly when dealing with men.

A throat clearing snapped Billie away from her observation of the other woman’s glare and then she heard, “Gwen, may I introduce you to our new brilliant physician, Dr. Rothman? Dr. Rothman, this is Gwen. She was married to Jackson for two years too long,” Julia said with a smile. Both Jackson’s and Billie’s incredulous look at the introduction and explanations of this unpleasant woman made Julia cackle like a flock of geese.

Billie inwardly smiled at how enjoyable it was going to be working with this woman.

“Hello, Gwen. Please pardon Julia’s remark. It is just her hypoglycemia setting in. It is very nice to meet you,” Billie filled in. A loud snort and outright laugh were heard from behind Gwen. A very unashamed Ben and Lizzie were the owners of those sounds at Billie’s remarks.

Gwen either ignored the scene going on around her or was oblivious to it all. “So you are a doctor? How nice,” she said with an undisguised sarcasm. “I hope you don’t get too comfortable here, though, with the way you look and all. Men like Jackson and Ben really aren’t interested in brains and conversation. It bores them. Your hair and makeup need work, girl, and you might be interested in adjusting your wardrobe to fit in a bit better, too. That is, if you want to be any kind of successful. You stick out like a sore thumb. Too East Coast, ya know.”

Jackson’s arm went very tense at Gwen’s insulting perusal of Billie’s person. Before he could tell his ex-wife to stick it, Billie decided to take over.

“While I do appreciate your constructive criticism, I feel compelled to share a secret with you, Gwen. People go to doctors to get well, not see if they will be on the cover of the next issue of buckle bunnies magazine. I have every confidence that the people of this town will find me more than acceptable as a healer and may even grow to appreciate my lack of hairspray and cowboys boots. However, as for the personal front of holding a man’s interest, if I so chose to do so, let’s just say that you are right. Brains aren’t the only thing I know how to use skillfully to entertain my chosen escort. By the way, if you feel the need to continue this false tension thing you have going on, I feel compelled to warn you. I come from New York and eat stupid cupcake women like you for breakfast.”

Feeling both angry and surprisingly relieved at her ability to defend herself against the cattiness that was the woman before her, Billie unconsciously leaned in toward Jackson.

Just as Julia was revving up and about to take off in her own version of the Gettysburg Address toward Gwen, it was Jackson who spoke.

With a controlled angry glance he slowly unfolded himself from his seat. Surprisingly, Ben did the same. “Gwen, I will tell you this only once. You will behave in a polite and respectful manner toward the doctor here. Do I make myself clear?”

Gwen glanced from the scowl on one man’s face to his brother’s. A sharp nod followed by a sneering look was all the acknowledgment they were going to get.

The door slammed shut on the exiting drama queen and conversation again picked up amongst the diners. Billie watched as Jackson sat back down in his seat to feel the pat on his shoulder as Lizzie walked past. Without thinking, Billie took Jackson’s hand under the table. She squeezed his fingers in hers, inwardly not only giggling to herself at the fission of desire she felt at the contact of skin but also that his oh-so-attractive and not-so-inner dominant man had made an appearance. She felt his intense gaze on her but was very confused as to his thoughts. She decided to try to lighten his mood with an observation.

“So, Jackson, did you pay for those or did they come with the floor model?” Billie asked with a straight face, referring to the other woman’s prominently displayed assets.

A gleeful laugh from across the table drew both of their attention. “I knew that Dr. Rothman was just what this town needed to spice things up! She is going to have all the men doing some sort of booty dance and going to put all the women’s panties in a twist!”

Both Billie and Jackson looked at Julia as though she had lost her mind. However, the only response they got was, “Okay, kids, eat your lunch before it gets cold!”