Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (39 page)

 “And if it weren’t for those eight
men over there…” she let her voice trail off and allowed him to fill in the
blanks.

Never in a million years did she ever
think she’d speak so brazenly to a man.

She heard Connor’s intake of breath,
but the darkness kept his expression from her as she strained to see him in the
moonlight. Unfortunately, it was behind him and only served to illuminate her
face for him.

“Christ, Kerri. Do you have any
idea what you are doing to me?” he rasped out in a hoarse whisper.

His nearness and his words knocked
her off kilter, and she had a hard time forming her thoughts. She wanted so bad
for him to admit he loved her that if she could talk she would’ve gladly
admitted her feelings first. Instead, when she opened her mouth all that came
out was a breathy, “What?”

Just when she thought for sure he
was going to say it, they were interrupted by the singing trio who came over for
a drink.

“Don’t mind us. We just need some
water,” the guitarist said with a grin.

Swallowing her disappointment,
Kerri put a smile on her face and replied, “Sure. Help yourselves.”

With the spell broken, she watched
helplessly as Connor grabbed a bottle for himself, then smiled apologetically
at her before making his way back to his bedroll.

A
fter a mostly
sleepless night, Kerri awoke feeling not so refreshed. She realized too late
last night how foolish it was of her to put her roll so close to Connor’s. All
night, her body ached for him, and despite her exhaustion, it wouldn’t let up.
Finally at daybreak, she was relieved to get up and pack her things, then busy
herself with breakfast.

All day, the torture continued. Too
hectic to talk, they exchanged heated glances. Her body hummed, and she wasn’t
sure if she was relieved or upset when they reached the final camp. Just
another half mile and the mare’s rocking rhythm would probably have set off her
tightly strung libido.

Kerri dismounted and stretched. Her
whole body ached. For Connor. She hid it as best she could and cooked the men
their dinner of chops and baked potatoes she’d wrapped in foil and placed in
the fire. Afterwards, she served brownies for dessert and admittedly felt a
little better herself having eaten a full meal. And  chocolate.  It gave her
the energy to clean up with enough left over to pursue the sound of running
water she could hear in the distance. Kerri had recognized the place, having
spent many afternoons exploring this brook as a child. Now, she longed to enjoy
its beauty and tranquility before the sun went down.

C
onnor watched Kerri
clean up and wanted to go after her when she headed off in the distance, but
wasn’t sure if she needed the privacy or not.

All damn day, he silently cursed
his brother and father for putting him in this hellish situation. Last night,
he’d been about to ignore his brother’s advice to wait for Kerri to say
something and just tell her he loved her first, and let things take off from
there, but when they were interrupted, the moment had disappeared.

Christ
. All night long, his
body suffered its own torment as Kerri lay so close to him he could have reached
out and touched her. He nearly had. Several times. His hand had hovered over her
hair, needing to feel its silky softness as if his life depended on it. His
body remembered the feel of those sweet strands, her curves…her heat. To keep
from reaching for her, he’d rolled away and stayed in that position for the
rest of the night.

And paid for it in the morning.

Big time. He flexed his shoulder
and fought a grimace. Damn thing was still stiff.

That morning, he’d never been more
thankful for the break of dawn and the hard day’s work ahead. Tough work would
end his torture and keep him busy. Connor had been surprised when he heard her
moving about early. He had to admit she was a hard worker and a welcome
addition to his team.

Kerri knew how to do her job and
didn’t require anything from them except an appetite. If he weren’t so
attracted to her, he wouldn’t even know she was there. His men took a liking to
her too, and after only a few hours yesterday morning, she had them eating out
of her hands.

When sunset began to close in, he
began to get worried. Kerri hadn’t come back to camp yet.
Shit
. What if
she’d met up with another snake? He strode in the direction she’d disappeared
and forced himself not to think the worst.

C
onnor had spent most
of the day trying to figure out how he was going to get her alone near the
stream, and now couldn’t believe his luck as that was exactly where he found
her.

Kerri sat in front of the rocks he
and Cole had been discussing on Sunday. It was as if fate had read his mind and
delivered her to this very spot.

Looking around, Connor was pleased
to find they were completely alone. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth,
he eagerly took advantage of the golden opportunity and ambled closer.

“Kerri? Are you all right?” he
asked quietly as he approached.

“Oh!” She jumped and twisted around,
hand to her throat. “Yes. I’m fine.” Her startled face lit up when she saw him.

This knocked the breath from him,
so he decided to sit down next to her and lean up against the rocks until he
regained his voice. Of course, her nearness was making it a hell of a task. His
body was full of awareness and had been on fire since last night. The
well-fitting jeans hugging her curves weren’t helping his concentration either.
He forced his eyes to focus on her averted face, not her lower extremities.

“Wow…incredible,” she exclaimed.

It took him a moment to realize
what she was talking about. Her gaze was trained on the horizon, now bathed in
a dying ember glow. A deep blue faded into purple then into black, and swallowed
the sun, making the millions of stars more visible overhead.

“I envy you this, Connor.”

Her voice, just above whisper, sent
shivers racing down his arms and spine.

“No matter which way you look, and
for as far as you can see…” she paused to smile at him. “You own all this. You’re
surrounded by such beauty.”

He sure was, and her name was Kerri
Masters.

She sighed and tipped her head back
to stare up at the sky. “And the stars, wow. They seem so close here in Texas, not to mention that moon.”

He watched as she reached her hand
out as if to touch it.

God, she’s adorable.
His
heart rocked.

“It looks close enough to pull down,”
she said in awe, then yawned. “Sorry.” She half turned and stifled another
yawn. “I think the two days are catching up to me.” She grinned, then grimaced
as she made to stretch her back.

“Here. Let me,” he ordered gently
as he scooted over. Stretching his legs out on either side of her, Connor began
to massage her neck and shoulders.

“Mmm…that feels like heaven. Don’t
stop.” He barely heard her plea as she yawned again.

His inner thighs burned where they
came in contact with her soft rounded curves. His body swelled behind his
zipper and the tightness in his lower abs increased as she slowly relaxed into
him.

Damn
. He wanted to flip her
around, strip them both naked and thrust deep inside her. Connor closed his
eyes and fought for control. He couldn’t let his body’s sexual hunger get in
the way of his heart’s need to communicate with hers. He had to know just where
he stood with her, and what she was going to do about California.

When he finally got up the courage
to ask, he heard the unmistakable sound of a snore. “Kerri?” he ventured
softly. Nothing.

Her breathing was now rhythmic and
confirmed his observation. She had fallen asleep. He closed his eyes, leaned
his head back against the rock and snickered.

Here he was, at the right spot.

At the right time.

With the right woman in his arms...and
the poor thing was so exhausted she fell asleep.

He let out a breath and settled
down more comfortably. Looked like it was going to be another rough night.
Pulling her in closer, he smiled when she turned and snuggled into him, then
mumbled his name before drifting off again. Never had he felt this strong sense
of
right
before. He belonged with her, wherever that may be. Connor
decided right then and there, even if it meant Kerri’s place was in California,
he was going to conform, commute, do whatever it took to keep her in his life.

W
armth and comfort
cocooned Kerri, and she was loathed to open her eyes and break the spell. She
hadn’t slept so soundly in years and wanted to embrace it for just a while
longer.

The sound of water softly lapping
around rocks soon registered in her brain, and she slowly remembered she wasn’t
at her apartment in bed, but on a cattle drive...with Connor.

On Connor.

Kerri bolted upright when her brain
kicked in just before her memory did. She was mortified. How could she have
fallen asleep on this cowboy?

“Morning. Well, almost morning.”
His deep voice greeted her with a touch of amusement.

Turning around in the pre-dawn hour,
she faced him.  “Oh, Connor. I am so sorry. Are you okay?” She could feel her
face fill with warmth.

He smiled. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether or not I still have
legs. I can’t seem to feel them anymore.”

His laughter didn’t ease her
embarrassment.

“I’m sorry. Why didn’t you wake
me?” she questioned as she hastily stood.

“Because it felt great to hold you
like that, and I didn’t want to ruin it.”

Startled and warmed by his
admission, she smiled down at him. “Awe, that’s sweet.”

Grasping his hands, she helped him
up enough for him to lean his large frame against the rocks, allowing the blood
to flow down his legs.

“You big goof. You didn’t have to lose
the feeling in your legs for me. Well, maybe one leg, but certainly not two,” she
joked, and was rewarded with a grin.

“I’d do anything for you, darlin’,”
he said.

Her heart nearly fluttered right
out of her chest. She stared at him a beat. “You sure are comfortable, cowboy.”
She patted his firm stomach, and he quickly captured her hand there.

Her insides stirred, and little
jolts of awareness shot up her arm. Body in tuned with his, she couldn’t stop
from swaying closer.

There was so much she wanted to say,
needed
to say, but all the words stuck in her throat as she got lost in
the desire smoldering in his eyes. She opened her mouth, but the only thing
that came out was a moan as his lips captured hers.

Oh how she needed this. Wanted
this…

She opened up to him, letting her
body say all the things her heart wanted him to hear. Connor’s heartbeat answered
back under her palm as they kissed, deep and hungry and desperate. She was soaring.
All was finally right with world. She was where she needed to be. Where she was
meant to be.

When the kiss ended, he buried his
face in her hair and inhaled as if trying to capture a piece of her. She
trembled, and he pulled her in tighter.

“I’ve missed you,” he said against
her neck, mouth moving over her skin in a hungry rush.

“I’ve missed you, too.”

He drew back, eyes raking over her
face, searching deep. “God, I’ve been thinking about this for weeks,” he said,
hands on her hips, squeezing, causing heat to funnel in that direction.

Her knees began to buckle. God, she
was so easy when it came to him.

He pressed her back against the
tall rock and shoved a knee between her legs to keep her from falling.

“Easy there, darlin’.”

That was the problem. She didn’t
want it easy. Right now, she needed it hard and fast. She’d been pent up for
too long, and the past twenty four hours had been torture.

The still present moon must’ve cast
enough light for him to read her face, because he growled and captured her
mouth. Her insides quaked while her whole body trembled as his stroking hands
and hot mouth took her toward that edge she’d been nearing for the last two
days. He drew back, pushed her shirts up, and made a low, rough sound before he
put his mouth on her cleavage playing peek-a-boo with her lacy bra.

More. She needed more.

Kerri tugged his shirts from his
jeans and dipped her hands underneath, letting them run up his, hot, quivering
muscles. His hands and mouth found her nipples. She closed her eyes and gasped
as need rocked through her. And still she needed more.

She let her hands skim back down,
over his washboard abs, bellybutton, to brush even lower to the erection bulging
out his jeans.

“I’m not the only one about to
burst,” she said, breath hitching in her throat as he sucked a nipple into his
mouth, hard.

Her grip tightened on him, and he
swore softly against her chest.

“Please tell me you have a condom.”

He nodded. His hair tickling her
skin. “Two.” He drew in a breath. “And we’re going to use them both, but this
first time is going to be fast, because, darlin’, I’m already there.”

“Good.” She shuddered against him.
“So am I.”

A minute later, in a series of
fast, efficient moves, he had them both naked from the waist down.

His heated gaze raked over her, and
he groaned. “I want you,” he said, burying a hand in her hair as his lips met
hers in a demanding, frenzied kiss. His other hand slid down her back to cup
her butt, rocking hard against her.

Kerri moaned and clutched at his
shirt. He was hot, on fire and she deliberately rocked into the large erection
poking her belly.

He broke the kiss and gasped, hand
trailing around her front, dipping low between her thighs, finder her wet and
ready. “Christ, Kerri.”