Cowboy Payback (24 page)

She was a marine. Resourceful. Smart. Yet, it was hard as hell leaving her there on her own.

Not having his eye on Trisha, or arms around her at night, Brett’s imagination ran rampant. Thank God they talked daily, or his anxiety over her having to deal with her nightmares alone would drive him insane.

As it was, he was only mildly insane with worry. What if she was in a grocery store and a child asked her a question, would she zone out? What if she stumbled outside in the middle of the night, unaware? What if her thrashing caused her to fall out of bed and hit her head on the corner of the nightstand?

All the
what if
’s had taken their toll, and he’d been grateful to be able to visit the following Friday.

That was three weeks ago, and he hadn’t seen her since.

Representatives of the Veteran’s Association had met with him and Finn to discuss their plans that third weekend, and last Saturday and Sunday, Trisha had to do some kind of work study for one of her classes.

But this weekend, they were both free, and she insisted on driving to Royal Pines, claiming she missed the place almost as much as him. He had a half-box of condoms in his nightstand ready to help prove he missed her more.

“Guess I don’t have to ask you why you’re grinning, Bro.” Finn smirked, leaning against the door frame of Brett’s office. “What time does Trisha arrive?”

“Around ten.” He glanced at the wall clock, willing the damn hands to move faster. It was only half-past eight.

“Then they mustn’t be teaching her how to tell time in her college classes because I just saw her car pull up to your cabin on my way in here.”

“What?” Brett shot to his feet and strode across his office toward Finn. “Trisha’s here, now?”

“Yep.” His brother grinned. “That’s why I came in here. Thought you might want to know.” With a tip of his black Stetson, his twin disappeared into the hall.

Trisha’s here. She’s home.

He strode through the lobby, out the front doors, and spotted her car right where Finn had said. In front of his cabin.

Their cabin.

It would never be just his, whether she stayed there nightly or not. The place would always feel like theirs.

As he reached the porch, his door opened and Trisha stepped out, face lighting when she caught sight of him, tilting his already whacked-out world.

“Brett!”

She flung her beautiful, luscious curves into his arms, and oh, yeah, he was more than happy to catch.

“Hope it’s okay that I’m early. I couldn’t sleep.”

“It’s absolutely okay. Very okay,” he said against her soft skin as he kissed her neck while she held tight.

She inhaled, as if she’d missed his scent, and melted against him. “I’ve missed you. Missed this.”

“Me, too.” He stood there on his porch, just holding the woman who held his heart.

God, yeah, he missed her.

“Brett, is there any way we could see each other during the week, too? Because we’ve already discovered the weekends get jacked up sometimes.”

Well, hell, he was definitely on board with that.

He drew back and smiled down at her. “I was thinking the same thing. How about Wednesdays? I have to come into town anyway to see Doc Stevens.”

“Perfect.” She smiled with her whole face, eyes alight, mouth curved, cheeks rosy. “I see her on Mondays and Thursdays, so my Wednesday nights are free.”

He held his surprise in check. She’d told him she’d started sessions with the doc, but he hadn’t pushed for details, just happy she was seeking help.

“I’m glad you’re seeing her.”

“Me, too. I’m not great, but I’m not horrible, either.” Trisha nodded before resting her head on his shoulder. “I still can’t talk about that day, although I have discussed my guilt and anger. I have a long road, but…I’m going to be okay.”

He squeezed her tight and kissed the top of her head, emotions heating his throat. “I’m so damn proud of you, Trisha.”

She sucked in a breath and squeezed him back. “Thank you for standing by me. Don’t think I don’t know how lucky I am.”

“I’m the lucky one,” he said with utmost certainty. “You taught me how to feel with my heart, not just my body, and that life truly has more meaning if shared.”

Yeah, he knew he sounded like a damn greeting card, but who knew some of those sappy sayings were actually true? His achievements, goals, dreams, fears, they all took on a new and better dimension by sharing them with her.

He’d always been convinced it was better to remain unattached…detached, so that deployments wouldn’t be a hassle or painful for whoever he would leave behind. Better not to put anyone through that. But better for whom? He was beginning to realize maybe he’d lived by those rules, not for women, but for himself.

“I always knew opening and sharing, letting someone in could be painful, but now I know it’s worth the damn risk,” he told her, cupping her face. “Before you, I never knew…I never had a damn clue until this gorgeous, redheaded, former marine walked into the Lonesome Steer and knocked me on my ass.”

He could feel her cheeks curve with her smile against his palm, and when she made no attempt to speak, he decided it was time to go all in.

“This will probably come as a shock, but…” He paused to dig in his pocket with his free hand and pull out the ring. His ring. The one he bought with Trisha in mind, not the one Finn had loaned them. “I love you, Trisha Jennings, with all of my screwed-up heart. This wasn’t exactly where I’d wanted to do this, and I know the timings isn’t perfect, but…Will you marry me for real?”

His heart thundered in his chest as he waited and watched tears fill her eyes and spill down her face.

“Yes.” She nodded, big smile warming his heart, stretching his chest to bursting proportions, then she held out her trembling hand for him to slip on the ring.

“The last thing I want to do is put pressure on you, Trisha, so it’s okay with me if you want a long engagement,” he told her, brushing his mouth over her finger and his ring that looked damn good on her. Looked real. Looked right. He returned his gaze back to hers. “I’m good as long as you’re happy. You have total control over the time span. I’ve got your back.”

Warm hands slid up his shoulders and around the back of his head as she tugged his face near. “And I’ve got yours…
sir
.”

Then they were kissing, clutching, groping, with all the pent-up frustration of the last three weeks. Damn, he loved her taste and her bold tongue and how she needed no prodding to take the lead.

Shoving his hands in her hair, he deepened the kiss, thrilled by the sexy little sounds she made in her throat, and how she tried to climb up his body that immediately awoke from its three-week slumber.

God, he’d missed her.

Cupping her denim-clad ass, he walked them into the cabin and shut the door before pressing her against it to claim her mouth in a kiss twenty-one days too late.

“How was your drive in?” he asked when they came up for air, trying to hold onto thought and find out a little more on how she was doing. He already knew how she felt.

Her body slowly slid down his, until her feet hit the floor.

Christ, she felt amazing.

She quivered and rocked against him. “Good.” Her body heat seeped in, upping his temperature.

Despite the morning chill lingering in the cabin, he was hot all over. He ran his hands down her sides, and she made a sexy, desperate sound in her throat that had him instantly hard. “Your classes?”

“Also good,” she replied, clunking her head back against the door as he kissed a path from her ear to her neck. “H-How was your week?”

“Good.”

“Brett?”

“Yeah?”

“How much time before final roundup?”

Shit
. He’d forgotten about roundup.

He lifted his head from her delectable skin and took a step back to check the clock on the mantel. “Fifty-five minutes.”

“Good.”

She smiled a wicked smile, and his pulse kicked up a notch, then hit full throttle when she ripped off her sweater.

“We have just enough time for round one.”

As the woman continued to strip and his brain cells dried up, he was so damn happy he’d pulled that practical joke on Finn a few months back, sending the lieutenant to the ranch, inspiring the couple to hatch
Operation Cowboy Payback
.

Because, in his case, payback wasn’t a bitch. It was one hundred percent pure pleasure.

Find out how Operation Payback started in
Cowboy-Fiancé
, also available from The Wild Rose Press:

COWBOY-FIANCÉ

Finn Brennan is used to his brother playing practical jokes, but this time he’s gone too far—sending Finn a woman as a ranch hand. And not just any woman, but a
Marine
.

When 1st Lt. Camilla Walker’s commanding officer asks her to help out at his family’s dude ranch until he returns from deployment, she never expects to be thrust into a mistaken engagement to his sexy, cowboy twin—a former Navy SEAL who hates the Corps. But before long, Cammie is wishing their fake engagement could be real.

The Corps took Finn’s father, his girlfriend, and threatened his naval career. He’s worked hard for another shot at getting back to active duty. The last thing he needs is a headstrong, unyielding, hot marine who not only tempts his bed, but soon has him rethinking his goals.

A word from the author…

It’s all my mother’s fault. She read to me when I was little and sparked my imagination. Now, my mind is the limit, and believe me, there’s no limit to my mind. Hello, I’m Donna Michaels, author/screenwriter of Romaginative fiction. I write romance through the H’s—Hot, Humorous & Heartwarming. I’m a
NY Times
,
USA Today
& Amazon Best Selling author who recently finaled in the BTS eMagazine Red Carpet Book Awards for Best Romance and Best Book, so now I can add Award Winning to that mouthful of a description.

As you could probably tell, I love me some cowboys, just as much as military heroes, and I combine the two whenever possible. There’s nothing better than watching love bring an alpha to his knees. Let me send out a big thank you to all my readers for their wonderful support. It is truly appreciated, and as always, thanks for reading.

If you’re interested in keeping up with my news, and exclusive contests, please sign up for my newsletter here: www.donnamichaelsauthor.com

Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.