Cowboy Country (8 page)

 "If you want me to."

"I think it’s best."

"All right. I'll go to the shop and find out about the tires."

She didn't hear anything for long minutes, until the door slamming shut echoed in the now silent room.

* * * *

After a long, hot shower, she felt better—more in control. Resolved to keep the relationship with Tucker strictly business, she pulled on her jeans and a T-shirt, stomped her feet into her boots and pulled open the door of her room only to come face to face with the object of her deepest fantasies of late.

"Oh, hi," Tucker said, dropping his hand back to his side.

"Hi. Did you find out anything?" she asked, keeping their conversation on something other than what happened earlier.

"Yeah, the truck is already done."

"What? Are you serious?" She gasped, rushing by him to see for herself.

"Yeah," he replied, coming up beside her. "When I came out here, the truck was gone so I walked on over to his shop. He had it inside already and two of the four tires were already replaced."

"I'm going to kill him," she growled, stomping toward Kyle's shop until Tucker grabbed her arm.

"Wait."

"Wait what? The asshole had a set of tires the whole time! This whole thing between you and I only took a couple of hours. He had to have started them when he hightailed it away from the arena." Her breath came out in rasping pants. The anger rushing through her scared her. She wanted to drop Kyle to his knees more than anything on earth, but the hold Tucker had on her arm, prevented her.

"It doesn't make any difference. We've got the tires. We can leave, right now if we want to."

"I hate lying, manipulative men. He's at the top of the list right now," she replied before grinding her teeth together, trying to hold her temper in check.

"I bet a lot of your passionate nature comes out between the sheets."

His words put a halt to her tirade as she stared at him, wondering what he meant by his remark.

"Since you are finally listening to me, let's get the bull and your horse loaded and get out of Dodge. With a little luck, we can be in Vegas in three days. What do you say?"

"But I really want to give him an earful at least."

"I know, darlin'. We'll take care of Kyle some other time. Right now, we need to get to Nevada."

"All right. Fine. Let's get my gear. We can put my horse in the front of the cargo area and bull in back."

Her anger would dissipate in time. She knew it better than she knew herself. Her temper always ran hot. Maybe she could find a different way to let off some steam, but probably not. Getting on the road would take care of the white hot rage rushing through her.

They got her checked out, picked up her small suitcase, the cat, and were on their way to pick up his trailer in no time.

"Wow. This is bigger inside than I thought," he told her, glancing around inside her truck.

"I forgot you'd never been inside a big rig. I'd give you a tour, but this is all there is." Her anger had slowly begun to wane. Each shift of the gears made her feel a little better. The open road calmed her down and soothed her nerves like nothing else could—except for maybe one thing.

"I can't imagine staying in here twenty-four seven."

"How big is your place?" she asked. His eyes narrowed into slits. She wondered why he looked irritated at her question. "Never mind. It's none of my business anyway."

"Let's just say it's pretty good sized. I breed American Bucking Bulls. I also run cattle and breed Quarter Horses."

"Damn. What don't you breed?"

"Wives, girlfriends, or lovers."

"Whoa, wait a minute. I'm not looking for any kind of a relationship. I like my life on the road. I sure as hell don't need a man on a permanent basis. They are nothing but a pain in the ass."

"Good because I don't need an undying relationship either. Casual sex is good for me when I need it."

A quick exhale blew the hair off her forehead. "I'm glad we're on the same page. Traveling partners for a few days, right?"

One dark eyebrow shot up when she glanced his way. He looked like he wanted to say something more except he refrained simply by saying, "Yes, ma'am."

"Wonderful."
Then why all of a sudden do I feel so alone?

Silence encompassed the cab for the rest of the ride to the park. Images of the two of them sprawled across the bed in the trailer, naked and enjoying each other's bodies sped across her mind. Need spiked hard. Both nipples beaded into tight little nubs and she thanked the stars above for the oversized shirt she'd donned before they left the room. Her clit throbbed with her ever increasing heart rate. The tips of her fingers itched to smooth over the hard planes of his chest.

With every breath, she prayed she could walk away at the end of the trip and go on about her business as if nothing had happened. Somehow she didn't think it would be quite so easy.

* * * *

Within two hours, they had both animals loaded as the buildings of Littleton, Oklahoma faded fast into the distance in her rearview mirrors. Tucker sat quietly in the passenger seat and she wondered what thoughts might be going through his mind. Her cat had made friends with Tucker the minute they started driving, by parking her butt in his lap, curling up into a ball and going to sleep.

"You’re in her seat."

"I guess so," he replied while his hand stroked Macy’s head.

"She likes you, otherwise she wouldn’t be curled up in your lap."

"Wonderful. I’ve made friends with your cat."

"Well it’s better than what happened in the motel room, isn’t it?"

They hadn't really discussed what had happened between them earlier. It wasn’t like there was a whole lot to discuss anyway. He definitely knew his way around a woman's body. The way his tongue had…

"Jacie?"

"Uh…sorry. I didn't hear you."

"I asked you where you want to stop for the night. You know this road a lot better than I do."

"Yeah. Well, I usually spend the night in rest areas, but there are a few pull offs we can use. I know a few farmers on the way where we can stop and let the animals out," she said, glancing across the cab.

"We'll have to stop for dinner at some point."

"What about fast food? We should make whatever miles tonight we can."

"You're the boss."

She captured her bottom lip between her teeth. Never in her life had a male simply trusted her to make the decisions. There had always been the strong-handed type that wanted to tell her what to do all the time. Tucker's personality intrigued her. She’d always thought it took a really confident man to not feel threatened by a woman. The problem was, she’d yet to meet one—until now.

The rumble of the engine lulled her into a peaceful state of mind. This was the part of her job she loved. The endless miles from one side of the country to the other, seeing different landscapes every day, meeting new people, but still having the quiet time to think, dream, and plan her future.

Her CB crackled as a deep voice said, "Hey, baby girl. What's shakin’? Haven't seen you in awhile. Come back."

She chuckled and grabbed the microphone. "Hey, big daddy. Not much on this end. Some trouble in Littleton, but on the road now."

"You come into some money lately, baby. You got one hell of a trailer behind your rig."

"Not me, sugar. It's cargo."

"Must be some pricey freight."

"You could say so, yeah. PBR bull ridin' there."

"Bull?"

"Big old white thang." One look at Tucker and she almost burst out laughing. A small wrinkle creased the skin between his eyebrows as his eyes narrowed into irritated slits.
What the hell is he getting so irritated about? I'm only kidding.

"He's a papered American Bucking Bull," Tucker added to the conversation.

"Somebody ridin' shotgun, babe?"

"Yeah. Big boy's owner."

"You let some dude in your cab?"

"No choice."

"Dayum! I never thought I'd see the day, Jacie Hawkins, when you would allow some
man
in your cab. I'll have to shake his hand."

"Stuff it, big daddy."

A roar of laughter echoed over the airwaves and she smiled.

"Back off the hammer, honey. You in a hurry?"

"Yeah. Gotta make Sin City in three days."

"Bear trap twenty miles ahead of you."

"Thanks."

"See ya on the flip."

"Ten-four."

"What the hell was that all about?" Tucker asked as she replaced the microphone on the metal clip.

"Nothin' why?"

"Were you even speaking English, because I don't think I understood a word of the whole conversation."

"Trucker talk," she replied with a shrug.

"I guess so."

"I'm sure you'll pick up on some of the slang since you'll be sitting up here with me for three days."

"Do I want to?"

"You might. Conversations go on all the time. We pass on information to each other." A quick check of her mirrors revealed only empty road behind her. "You heard him mention back off the hammer?"

"Yes."

"He meant slow down. There's a cop approximately twenty miles ahead."

Tucker shook his head and smiled. "You amaze me."

"Why?"

"All of this," he replied with a wave of his hand. "You take to it like a fish to water. A job some men wouldn't do and here you are, a very beautiful woman taking on something so opposite of who you are inside."

Anger made heat flush up her neck. She fastened her gaze on Tucker. "Don't think because we are traveling together that you suddenly know me inside out. You don't know me at all."

CHAPTER FOUR

"Easy, Jacie. It wasn't an insult. I'm fascinated," he replied, turning sideways in his seat. "Let me tell you what I think."

"Great," she snapped, returning her gaze to the windshield.

"I think you're hidin' behind this persona. You keep your hair up in a dirty ball cap. You wear big shirts to hide your curves. You talk the talk and walk the walk, but honey, you are all woman under there. You still like your perfume, thong underwear, and pink bras. What would your trucker buddies say if they knew?"

"Forget it, Tucker. This is the real me. I'm stubborn, independent, loud-mouthed when I get drunk and I wish I could pee standing up."

A roar of laughter bounced off the walls of her truck. The irritation racing through her, increased.

The laughter went on for a moment, but she really couldn't find the humor in the situation.

"Do you know what else?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"You also have very sensitive lips."

She clamped her thighs together to stop the sudden streak of heat settling between them.

 "You'd like my tongue…everywhere. I love your breasts. They fill my hands just right."

Damn the man!
"Okay. Let's get something straight here. Business only until we reach Vegas. Got it?"

"If you insist, but you have it and I want it." Before she knew what he was doing, he reached across the cab to slide a finger over her nipple. "We still have a bet to work out the details on."

The torture of his touch rerouted the signals of arousal in her brain. "Bet?"

"The handcuffs." The teasing smile returned as desire pooled in her belly.

Right. The handcuffs. Mmm.

"You didn't forget did you?"

"Uh, no. I'm actually looking forward to having my way with your body," she said. Forward is good with him, she decided.
I have to stay on my toes or he'll have me upside down before I know what hits me.
She tapped her finger to her lips. "You know on second thought, you can keep the peeing standing up. If I have to give up multiple orgasms to be able to pee without squatting, I'll keep the multiple orgasms."

His mouth opened and closed several times. She couldn't help the smirk she knew lingered on her lips. He must have decided to let her remark lie, because he turned around in his seat to stare back out the windshield.

The radio came on with a twist of her fingers and she plugged in her IPod. "I hope you like country and old rock. It's all I have on mine unless you have one. I can plug in any kind to play over the radio. I have Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Bryan Adams, Clay Walker, Sugarland and several others on there."

"We can play yours for a while and then we'll play mine. Work for you?" he asked, glancing at her from his side of the cab.

"Yep."

Song after song played in a wide variety of music. She found herself singing along to some and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. The penetrating look from her traveling partner sent chills along her arms. All she would have to say is one word—yes—and her forced abstinence would be over in a heartbeat.

Comfortable silence surrounded them. Big daddy had been right. It had always been her policy to never allow anyone inside the cab of her truck, much less a man, but here sat the one guy who had invaded her life like a tornado. Everything he touched molded to his specifications, including her. She wasn't sure she liked it. Independent was her middle name or should have been. A lesson in stubbornness directed toward Tucker would teach him something about women.

Her parents had hated her job from day one. The day she’d told them she quit college to get her trucker's license, she thought for sure her mother would stroke out.

"You want to do what? You can't be serious, Jacie," her mother said, her hand to her throat in shock. Dorothy Harlin Hawkins, born and raised Southern Belle, stood wide-eyed behind her father's desk, her hand on his shoulder. Her mother came from old money. She could trace her roots to the Mayflower and her great-great-great grandfather fought in the Civil War as a decorated major for the Confederacy. Lucky for her mother's family, they socked their money into Federal funds knowing the Civil War wouldn't be kind to the states who succeeded, enabling them to hang onto their home.