Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (15 page)

He’d never felt lousier in his
life. Lousy because he practically had it all. A job he loved. Money. A loving
family. So what if he had rotten luck with women. The rest of his life was
perfect. He was blessed. He slept at night. There were no nightmares. He didn’t
have memories of combat. Or death.

No way would he insult his friend
by even considering his troubles to be paramount. They weren’t. Far from it.

“You going to ask her out?”

Beer flew from Connor’s mouth as he
choked. “What? No!” He emphatically shook his head as he wiped his face on his
sleeve.

“Funny, I never took you for a
fucking fool,” Kade said matter-of-factly before he swallowed more beer.

Was the man looking for a fight?
Probably. Connor smiled.
Not going to happen
,
buddy
.

“I’m not. That’s why I’m staying
away from her. The woman’s going back to L.A., end of story.”

“Right.” Kade nodded. “That’s why
she’s opening a restaurant with her sister here in Texas.”

He swallowed back a curse. Why the
hell where they talking about this? Oh, yeah, right. To keep his buddy from the
pit of despair. He relented. “
Then
she’s going back to—”

“L.A.” Kade cut him off, his tone
bored. “Yeah, I know. So you keep saying.”

“Then why the hell do you keep
asking?”

“Because I don’t understand why
that’s stopping you.” Again, he used a matter-of-fact tone.

It was beginning to irritate.

“Bullshit. You know I have zero
luck with city girls. They always choose their career over me. Why beat that
old horse? I’m right tired of it,” he said, lifting his bottle to his mouth.

Kade nodded, took a pull of beer
then met his gaze. “You don’t mind if I ask her out, then?”

Beer spewed from Connor as, once
again, he choked. Kerri and Kade? No way in hell. Surely his buddy wouldn’t do
that to…

Kade’s chuckle echoed softly into
the night. A gift considering the poor guy’s mood not ten minutes earlier.

Damn man had been yanking his
chain.

“Not funny,” he grumbled.

“Oh, I disagree.” Kade smirked. “I
think it’s fucking hilarious. You should’ve seen your face. Man, you are so
whipped. You might as well stop fighting it. Something tells me it’ll go much
easier if you don’t fight it.”

“Fight this.” Connor flipped him
the bird, and they were both laughing by the time they finished the rest of
their beer.

I
t was the week of the
wedding, and Kerri couldn’t believe how fast the time had gone. Not that she’d
admit it out loud. No. But it did seem like yesterday she was standing in the
McCall’s gathering room with Jordan dropping the bomb that the wedding would be
on Valentine’s Day. At the time, the news had felt like a death sentence to
Kerri. 

In actuality, it hadn’t been that
bad.

And, although she still wasn’t free
to go back to the west coast, she was essentially, marginally…happy.

Especially now that she had an apartment.

“Where do you want this?” Cole
asked, helping Kevin carry in a large dresser.

“In the master,” she replied, a
little thrill shooting down her spine at the thought of finally sleeping in her
own place tonight.

Since it was a cash deal, they’d
closed on the property within two weeks. Cole and his legal team had made everything
painless. She and Jordan had spent the past week freshening up the apartment
with a thorough cleaning, a coat of paint and new curtains, while taking time
out to meet with possible designers for the restaurant.

So far, they hadn’t found the right
fit. Much to their surprise. They truly hadn’t expected to have trouble, but
apparently, local designers didn’t quite get the Texas beach vibe they were
going for. The designers would give one or the other, not both. So the search
continued.

Kerri glanced at her watch. They
had another interview in two hours. This one was a transplant from the east
coast. Kerri and Jordan figured the woman couldn’t do any worse. Besides, they
liked her name. Brandi Wyne.

“Where do you want this, darlin’?”
Connor asked, setting down the large armoire he carried in with Kade.

Muscles bulged under their
T-shirts. Her heart skipped a beat or three as her gaze wondered over the
rippling Connor had going on across his back while he straightened to stand and
stare. His hair was growing in. It flopped haphazardly on his forehead and she
had the strangest urge to step close and brush it back.

Yeah…he…wow…

“Uh, Kerri? Did you want to leave
it right here in the kitchen, because Connor and I would be happy to move on to
something else.”

Her gaze snapped to the man on the
other side of the large cupboard. Funny, his muscles bulged and rippled, too,
but the skipping had ceased in her chest.

“Actually, I’d be happy to stay
here. What smells so good?” Kade asked, inhaling with a smile on his face.

Kerri couldn’t believe how much
better he looked since his trail ride. Whatever the two of them had done, it
was good. The shadows she’d seen at his homecoming dinner where almost all
gone. The gray of his eyes appeared lighter, piercing, almost smiling. And the
set of his shoulders was definitely more relaxed, although he still walked with
a lethal grace she knew he’d never lose. It was a cop thing. A soldier thing.
Anyone who’d seen action. Her sister had it. Her late brother-in-law had had
it. Their friend Shawn had it. All cops. Of course Kade would have it. Anyone
who’d been deployed would carry himself with a dangerous, capable air.

“Yeah,” Connor agreed, inhaling.
“Sure smells great, darlin’. What is it?”

She smiled. “Lasagna. My way of
thanking Jordan for her help this week. She’s fixing up my guest room right
now.”

“Mmm…lasagna.” Kade smiled
outright. “Dare I hope to ask if we get to try some?”

“Of course. I made it for you, too.”

Connor shot a look at his friend,
then back to her and frowned. “For him? What about me?”

She laughed. “Yes, you, too, ya big
baby. I’m making it for everyone. You didn’t think I’d let you slave for me all
day and not make sure you were properly fed, did you?”

“Well, all right. I look forward to
it.”

Dimples appeared and brown eyes
gleamed, warming her from the inside out.

“Now, if you could just tell us
where you want this monster, we’ll get back to work.”

“In the master. Down at the end of
the hall.”

His face fell.

“Sorry.”

“No problem, darlin’,” he said. “We’d
be happy to carry this seven ton slab of oak to the furthest room. At least
we’re done with the stairs.”

“Quit your belly-aching, McCall and
get a move on,” Kade said, gripping the armoire.

“Sir, yes, sir.” Connor saluted his
friend, then tipped the heavy piece of furniture, and together the two men
slowly made their way down the hall.

Kerri was grateful she had such
good friends. Good
strong
friends. In and out all morning, they’d
carried, moved and placed the furniture her parents and the McCalls had
donated, along with the bedroom suit she’d bought. A smile tugged her lips. Smiling
was something she’d done a lot lately. It felt good to be in control of her
life again.

She had just finished unpacking the
last box marked
kitchen
when Jordan called out.

“Hey, Kerri come here. You need to
see this.”

Weaving around the stack of empty
boxes in the living room, she joined her sister at the end of the hall. “What?”

“What do you mean, what?” Jordan blinked, then motioned to the men putting her bed together in the master bedroom.
“That! You are one lucky woman. Four gorgeous, muscle-bound men working on your
bed.”

Kerri’s face heated before she drew
her next breath. And of course, all the men now stopped to stare at them. Yeah,
she really wanted to punch her sister. And to think, she’d gone most of the day
without embarrassing herself.

Thanks, Jordan
. Not.

“Kerri, I have to admit, I’m a
little surprised,” Kevin said, devilment lighting his eyes. “I never took you
for a king-size bed, type.”

“I’m not,” she rushed to say, because
she had actually wanted the queen. “Jordan’s the one who talked me into it.”

“True. And someday you’ll thank me.
That extra room comes in handy,” her sister informed, winking at her grinning
fiancé.

Just kill me now.

She could feel Connor’s stare, and
there was just no way she was going to look at him. No way. Just the talk of
king size and extra room in conjunction with Connor was enough to keep her body
heated ‘til next winter.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me.” She
turned around without waiting for a reply. From any of them. “I’ve got more
unpacking to do.”

And now she was thinking about
Connor and king size and unpacking. Yeah, she definitely wanted to punch her
sister.

A little while later, after the men
finished in her bedroom and were working on the living room
—
at
a good, safe distance
—
Kerri started to fill the vanity
in the master bath.

On her knees, stuffing towels way
in the back, she was concentrating on her task when she heard someone walk in.

“Kerri, Jordan tol—” he sucked in a
breath. “Holy hell.”

Barely avoiding a head smack as she
jerked and backed out, Kerri glanced up at Connor. Gaze trained on her butt, he
stood in her doorway stalk still, a look of fierce hunger darkening his eyes.

Holy hell is right.

Body instantly heating, she was thankful
to be on the floor because her legs literally shook. No one had ever looked at
her with so much hunger before.

She cleared her throat. “D-did you
want something?”

A low growl rumbled from his chest,
and she thought she heard him say, “
Hell yeah,”
but wasn’t sure thanks
to the pulse pounding in her ears. A second later, he was gone.

Kerri drew in a breath and sat back
on her legs.
Okay, that was intense
. And he never did tell her what he
wanted…needed…why he came…oh for crying out loud, she couldn’t even think a
thought without it making her hot.

Needing a distraction, she
scrambled to her feet and started to load the remaining towels into the linen
closet next to the vanity. Her New York apartment had been the size of the
linen closet. She snickered. It hadn’t been
that
bad. In fact, she’d
always thought of it as cozy. And her stilted house on the west coast had been…perfect.

God, she missed that house. It had
been her refuge. Her home. The place where she’d been regrouping, discovering
who she was, finding herself again. And she’d actually started to like what she
found.

A sigh pushed the strands of hair
off her face that had fallen out of her ponytail.
Enough of those thoughts.
There
was no reason she couldn’t continue to discover new things right here.

Running out of space, she stretched
on her tip-toes, trying to shove the last towel on the top shelf when sudden heat
and sin and temptation surrounded her from behind.

“Let me help you, darlin’,” Connor’s
deep murmur rumbled from his chest straight through her as he took the towel
from her fingers and set it on the top shelf with ease.

“Th-thank you,” she managed, eyes
squeezed shut, willing her body to stop shaking.

And wanting, and needing. She
failed.

“You’re very welcome,” he replied
in a tone barely above a whisper.

Why didn’t he move away?
Please,
go away
.

He stilled, as if realizing their
positions. Heat warmed her back, and heaven help her, a large hand curled
around her hip, while his other slid slowly down her upstretched arm. Yeah,
see, now this created a problem with her shaking legs. And her thundering pulse,
and don’t forget her hitched breath. Breathing became less of a thought when
his hand continued down her side, lightly skimming her breast.

That’s when need took over.
Holy
smokes
. Desire pooled low in her belly and led to a delicious ache between
her legs. Darn man felt good. So darn good. Her nipples tightened and breasts
felt heavy, hoping, wanting, needing a visit from his big, wandering hand.

“Damn, Kerri,” he breathed near her
ear, sending shivers down her spine. “I can’t seem to stay away from you.”

Which was fine with her since he
started to place open-mouthed kisses on her neck. A feat he couldn’t perform if
he stayed away.

A moan sounded low in her throat.
Yeah, he felt really,
really
good. He pressed closer, and she answered
by pressing back. That’s when things got wild. Those large, callused, wonderful
hands roamed all over, cupping, tweaking, kneading her breasts while his mouth
continued to kiss and nip at her neck.

She’d never been so hungry, so
turned on—so wet in all her life. Kerri threw her head back, grinding her hips
against the large erection pressing into her lower back. God, he felt so great.
He was so hot and hard, and had her wound so tight she nearly came undone when
he shoved a hand between her legs and brushed a finger over her throbbing
center.

“God, you drive me crazy,” he said
next to her ear again, voice low and husky, vibrating straight through her.

 “Connor? Where are you, man?”

Before she had a chance to reply,
or climax, Cole’s voice cut through her foggy haze.

“This couch isn’t going to move
itself.”

He stilled.

No. Don’t do it
, she willed.
Don’t leave
. But with a curse on his lips, he pulled his hands from her
and stepped back, taking his hot, rock hard body and talented hands with him.

Darn it.

And since she not only had mush for
brains but legs too, she grasped the closet doorframe to keep from falling.