How to Rope a McCoy (Hell Yeah!) (30 page)

Heath
kept suckling long, luscious pulls, gently biting,
his
tongue never still. Her whimpers and mewls were making his cock pulse. Dragging
his mouth from one tit to the other, he kissed her and whispered, “That’s it,
baby, cum for me, cum for me.” Latching on to the other breast, he gave it the
same sweet attention, covering her whole puffy nipple with his mouth and
pulling on it over and over until she gasped, froze, then shook like an aspen
leaf in his arms. “Bingo.” He chuckled.

Lying
her on the bed where she nestled as limp as a contented kitten, he caught her
eye and held out his hand. “Key, Cat?”

She
stretched her glorious body and smiled up at him. “God, you’re good.” Putting
one hand behind her neck, she lifted her hair out from under her and spread it
on the pillow. “It’s tied on a ribbon in my hair. Can you find it for me?”

Going
to one knee, Heath threaded his fingers through the long dark corkscrew curls,
thankful when he found the small blue ribbon. “This is the same color ribbon
you had your hair tied back the first time we met.”

“It’s
the same ribbon and you remembered!”

She
was breathing hard, her lips open and plump and all Heath wanted to do was
stare at her forever. “Of course I do.” He had the sneaky suspicion he’d
remember everything about her for a long, long time.

Taking
the key, he gently put it in the lock and turned. The clasp sprang open and he
was able to pull off the small garment. His first instinct and one he obeyed
was to bow down and open her up, placing a kiss right on her mound.

“I
want you,” she said unabashedly. “I can’t believe you made me cum just by…”

“Sucking
on your tits? Damn, that was hot. You’re so responsive, baby.” As if he
couldn’t keep his hands off of her, Heath soothed his palms around her waist,
lifting her up so he could feel her body next to his.

He
rubbed himself against her belly and Cato whimpered. “You’re so hard.” Heath
was so long and thick, his cock was as perfect as the rest of the man. Unable
to stop herself, Cato pushed against him. “I don’t think I can wait.”

“You
don’t have to. Turn over.” When she hesitated, he assured her, knowing having
her back to him with no way to communicate unnerved her. “Don’t worry, I’ll
cover you, I won’t leave you alone.” She let him arrange her so she could hold
on to the headboard. Heath took long moments to admire the beauty before him.
Kneeling behind her he took both hands and ran them over the luscious rise of
her hips and up the graceful line of her spine. He knew she couldn’t hear him,
so he communicated his desire with a trail of kisses that began on the curve of
her ass and ended at the tender nape of her neck.

Cato
shivered. “Don’t make me wait, please. My pussy aches.” She couldn’t deny it.
Cato craved him every moment of every day.

Heath,
as he promised, covered her. She was holding herself up on her knees with arms
straight out, so he moved over her, barely touching. Kissing the side of her
face, she turned her head to meet his lips. “You’re so soft, so sweet.” With
both hands, he cupped her tits, loving how they hung down, filling his palms.
Every cell of his body was electrified, there seemed to be a live field of
energy that danced between his skin and hers as he rubbed his body over her
back.

“Mount
me, Sundance,” she whimpered.

Teasing
her was so much fun, Heath put off the inevitable for a few more desperate
seconds. Taking his cock, he sandwiched
it
between
the lips of her labia and thrust. He wasn’t inside of her, he was rubbing
between the folds, bathed in her cream, the head of his cock thrusting against
the swollen nubbin of her clitoris. Heaven. Heath spread his legs to steady
himself, took her nipples between each thumb and forefinger and milked them.
She reacted just like he thought—she went wild, he could barely hold on to her.
“Feel good?”

He
spoke into her neck and the only way she knew he had was the whisper of his
breath on her skin. “Oh, my God!” Cato began
cumming
,
shaking and moaning.

Heath
felt her honey flow, coating his cock. Desperate to get inside of her, he
pulled his pulsing erection back and placed it just inside her tight little
hole. Damn! The heat of her sex was almost too much. His whole body tensed as he
surged in, then forced his body to remain motionless lest he embarrass himself
by exploding too quickly.   

“Heath!”
Cato closed her eyes, breathed in and let her body accept him. “You feel so
good!”

He
laid his palms on her lovely, curvy ass and rubbed in a circular motion, while
he let her adjust to him being deep with her. She was snug, surrounding him,
engulfing his cock like she was made with him in mind. Drawing back a hand, he
popped her on one butt cheek, loving the way she groaned and pushed back
against him. Mercy! She was a decadent sight, on all fours, her back arching.
This was where he wanted to be, needed to be.

Lolling
his head back on his shoulders, Heath gave himself over to the pleasure. He
undulated his hips pulling out, pushing out,
moving
in
sensual circles within her. Remembering his promise, he bent nearer, kissing
her cheek. “Okay, baby?”

“Yes,”
she whispered. Letting his fingers drift to her clit, he massaged the sweet
spot, knowing he had to get her there because he wouldn’t last long. This was
just too good. Already an electric pulse was tingling along his backbone and
his balls were tightening, getting ready to fill her up. Someday maybe he could
fuck her for hours, but not today, not when she was so wet and clenched around
him so hard.

Anchoring
her to him, he pumped, rubbing her clit and pinching her nipples as he fucked
her. In. Out. In. Out. She jerked in his arms and he angled her up so he could
find her G-spot. She lifted her arms and clasped him around his neck as he pounded
into her relentlessly.

“I’m
cumming
!” she cried and he felt her clamp down on
him.

“More,
give me more,” he demanded as he pressed down on her clitoris, swirling it with
his fingertips. With no more provocation, Cato convulsed and he had to hold her
up so she wouldn’t collapse. Her orgasm set his off and he couldn’t stop it.
Heath poured himself into her, his semen shooting out in tremendous pulses.
Falling forward, he laid his body on top of hers, careful not to weigh her
down.

“Heath,
Heath…” she breathed as he kissed her neck.

Carefully,
he turned her over, lying next to her so he could look her in the eye. “Thank
you, that was so much more than I ever expected.”

She
cupped his face, afraid to say what she was feeling, so she said what she could.
“I’m glad we made a deal. I wouldn’t have missed this time with you for
anything.”

He
tucked her against him. “Neither would I.
Sleep
now,
we have to leave early in the morning, I have a million things to do.” He hated
to cut their time short, but he was worried.

Cato
knew he was worried, so she didn’t complain. “You can talk to me, you know. I
want to help you in any way I can.”

Kissing
her on the temple, he tightened his arms around her to let her know his
appreciation. “I know. Just review that thumb drive info, I still hope there’s
something there we’ve missed.”

“I
will.” She vowed to get on that as soon as she got home.

During
the night, Cato dreamed. She thought Heath had driven up to her home and
knocked on the door. The moment she’d opened it, he swept her up in his arms
and carried her to the bed. He seemed frantic for her, tearing off her clothes
and kissing her like he could never get enough of her. In her euphoric state,
Cato’s body responded to Heath’s demands. “You belong to me. Mine,” he growled.

In
her dream she could hear him. Every word. His voice caressed her as surely as
his hands. She wanted…she needed…Cato clung to him as he teased her into a
frenzy.

“Heath!”
she called out.

Heath
awoke, hearing his name. There was no moment when he didn’t know where he
was—he was in bed with Cato. He loved sleeping with her, she cuddled, explored
his body, generously touching and kissing. Waking with her wrapped around him
was like being covered by the sweetest security blanket. But something was wrong.
He ran a hand down her arm, reminding her she wasn’t alone. Until she opened
her eyes, he couldn’t speak to her, so he kissed her eyelids. “Wake up,
Sleeping Beauty,” he whispered.

Cato
was embarrassed. She wasn’t asleep any longer, but she was so turned-on she was
vibrating. “Hey.”

Their
eyes met, she watched his lips. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,
I just…”

Heath
was touching her. “Are you cold? Hot?” His big hands skated down her body,
skimming over her nipples, which were hard as little diamond points. “You’re
chilled.”

“No,
I’m not cold.” Involuntarily, she moved against him and Heath’s eyes widened.
“I just had a dream. I’m sorry, let me get up. It’s probably time to go.”

Before
she could get out of the bed, he slid a warm hand from her knee to her thigh.
Cato groaned. There was no hiding her arousal, she was wet.

Immediately,
he was on fire and hard as hell. “Why didn’t you tell me? You are never to be
unsatisfied in my bed.” Moving on top of her he spread her legs, his mouth
hovering over hers. “When you need me wake me up, believe me I’ll be more than
glad to take care of you.”

“Do
it now.”

“First,
tell me what you were dreaming about.”

She
couldn’t lie. “You.”

“Fuck,”
he whispered, then he kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

Cato
tried to take matters into her own hands. She clasped his shoulders, wrapped
her legs around his hips, inviting him to fuck her. But he was in charge and
the man believed in doing things right. After devouring her mouth, he moved
south, his lips latching onto Cato’s nipple. He began biting and sucking,
voraciously, his tongue lashing the tender tip repeatedly.

“God,
I want you. I’ll always want you,” he whispered as he moved back up her body,
needing to bury his cock in her pussy. She wouldn’t be aware of his words, but
he meant them just the same.

“Now,
now, now,” she pleaded, spreading her thighs wide and bucked against him.
Feeling him move, she whimpered with relief when he got into position. His big
dick knew right where it wanted to go.  Cato bit her lip as he pushed inside,
opening her up, showing her he wanted her as much as she did him. “Oh, yes,
yes!” She buried her head in his neck. “That’s what I needed.”

Rising
over her, Heath went to work, holding himself up on his arms, hands on either
side of her head. “Let me in, Cat. Take it all. Every inch. This pussy is mine
and I want it.” His demanding passion took her breath away. This is what she’d
always wanted. She was Heath’s focus, his source of pleasure. How would she
live without this when he was gone?

“You
feel so good,” Heath said, as he pumped inside of her. She ran her hands over
his chest and shoulders, memorizing every feature. “I love how you want me.”

“Always.
Forever. Only you.” The truth slipped out.

He
didn’t respond with words, he responded with action. Over and over again he
slammed into her, his cock filling her, creating the most delicious friction.
Fucking her deep, Heath shuddered, spilling his seed deep inside of her. Cato
pressed her face into his chest and went flying. “I love you!” she cried, then
froze as she realized what she’d said.

If
he said anything, he didn’t say it to her face. Instead, he pushed deeper
inside of her body, holding himself perfectly still. Tenderly, he kissed her
face, nuzzled her neck. She realized he was gently letting her down—physically
and mentally.

“We
need to go,” she said evenly.

“Yea.”
He rose. “Time to get back to the real world.”

Cato
watched him go to the bathroom, naked and powerful. The real world? Cato
swallowed. She’d told him she loved him! She’d told him she loved him and he
didn’t respond! She didn’t know whether to run and hide or just pretend it
never happened. How she wished what they had was real, but it wasn’t—it was as
intangible and fleeting as her dreams.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

She
pretended it never happened. And he did too.

Cato
rubbed her eyes. Dang, she might need glasses. Staring at this computer screen
for hours on end was taxing to her vision and her butt. Standing, she grabbed a
sofa pillow and sat back down on it. “Ah, that’s better.” Glancing at the clock
on the wall, she saw that it was almost midnight. Cato had been at this since
mid-afternoon when she and Heath had driven in from Corpus. Covering her mouth
to stifle a yawn, she knew bed was calling, tomorrow was a work day. But she
had promised Heath she’d look through these documents and she was determined to
do so.

One
more hour, she promised herself. Getting up, she made a quick cup of coffee. As
she waited for the K-cup to brew, Cato hugged herself and smiled, remembering
what a good time she’d had with Heath. Heat rose in her face as she let her
thoughts go to their intimate moments. When he’d brought her home, he’d
lingered, sharing kiss after kiss at her front door. She’d invited him in, but
he’d declined saying he had family stuff he couldn’t ignore any longer and she
understood that—it didn’t mean she wanted him any less.

Stirring
in the sugar and cream, Cato admitted she had it bad for Heath McCoy. They were
almost to the halfway point of their scheduled fling time and the idea that
their time together was drawing to a close made her heart hurt. Laying her head
down on the counter, she groaned. “I told him I loved him!” That was one thing
she couldn’t do anymore. She might feel it, she might hope he’d someday love
her but the next move would have to come from him.    

Until
then, she had to get back with the program. She’d promised.

This
coming weekend she’d planned a trip to San Antonio. Not only could they have
fun on the River Walk and eat some good Mexican food, but she wanted to take
Heath over to the Alamo Complex to view an exhibit of memorabilia she thought
he would enjoy. Dr. Scott Walker was allowing his private collection to be
shown. Her only regret was that Heath’s favorite author was speaking there
earlier in the week and Cato just knew it would make him happy to hear him and
maybe to meet him. Oh well, there was no way he could get away that soon.

Taking
a sip of coffee, she returned to the couch, sat back down to begin scanning
through the documents again. Dalton Smith had worked for different oil
companies, but apparently he’d also been working for himself. Mixed in with the
surveyor’s reports, title searches and land deeds were notes on possible
locations of silver mines, including the Bowie mine that she and Philip had
been investigating. It might not have been ethical, but Cato couldn’t help but
jot down several facts that could be of interest in her own research. And then
she saw something that almost made her drop the laptop she was holding.

Rubbing
her eyes, she leaned in for a closer look. Surely not. With a trembling hand
she zoomed in on the scribbling at the bottom of a map. Good Lord, talk about
the plot thickening! She saw the Texas Cultural Center’s name and a date and
the map was of the very area where Dalton Smith had died. Going to the next
page, she gasped. What had been going on? A screen print of an email thread was
emblazoned across her monitor. The sender’s email address was
[email protected]
but the document wasn’t readable, the original scan
was blurry. Glancing down through the papers, she could see for sure that
Dalton used this email for personal communications and business communications
but not with his bosses at the oil company. For those purposes, he used
[email protected]
.

Every
instinct she possessed told her this was important.

Heath,
she wanted to talk to Heath. Her hand went to grab the phone, but she
remembered how late it was. Oh well, before she shared what she’d found, Cato
really needed to get to work and try to access the company email and verify
what had gone on. A chill ran down her spine. She had a bad feeling, a really
bad feeling.

*  *  *

“Hello?”
Ryder grabbed her phone without checking the read-out. She’d been running from
one room to the other putting together a care-package for Jaxson, a glass of
ice tea in her hand. Heath was headed there today to check on him.

“Ryder,
it’s
Samson.”

Bang!
She dropped the glass.

“Ryder,
are you okay?”

She
took a deep breath and leaned against the door facing, her pulse beginning to
pound. “What do you want?”

An
almost imperceptible growl came through the phone. “I think we’ve already
established that. I want you. We want you.”

“Don’t
say that,” she begged.

“I’m
not going to stop telling you how I feel.”

Before
Ryder could respond, another voice came over the phone, very similar, but
different. “Neither will
I
.” It was Gideon.

“A
three-way conversation?” She spoke before she thought, setting herself up.

“Appropriate,
don’t you think?” Gideon chuckled.

“Hush,”
she huffed. “Look, even if I were interested…which I’m not.”
Liar. Liar.
“My brothers would never allow this.”

“We’re
not afraid of your brothers,” Samson spoke low but plain.

“Give
us a chance to show you how good it can be, baby.”

Gideon’s
voice sent cascades of chill bumps skittering down Ryder’s arms.

“No,
I can’t.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I just can’t. Don’t call here again.”

She
hung up the phone and felt like she was going to die.

“Got
the stuff ready to go?” Heath spoke and Ryder jumped. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,
nothing.” She waved her hand. “Yes, I’m finishing up.” Refusing to face her
brother, lest he could read her thoughts, Ryder added a few more items to the
box she’d put together for Jaxson and stepped back, wiping her hands on the
apron she wore to protect the dress she intended to wear out with Pepper to a
concert at Austin City Limits. “Tell him I love him and we miss him, please.”

“What’s
in here?” Heath asked, digging into the neat piles Ryder had assembled.

She
stepped up. “Don’t mess things up, Heath. There’s fudge, cookies, socks, books,
music and fruit.”

“Good,
I’ve put some beer in an ice chest.”

Ryder
turned, concerned. “Are you sure you should take him alcohol?”

Heath
shut his eyes, exasperated. “Your brother’s not suicidal, Ryder.”

“I
didn’t say he was.” But the thought had crossed her mind. “He left us, he’s
staying out in the woods by himself. I’m worried sick.”

Heath
went and gathered his sister in his arms. “We all are. That’s why I’m going.
I’m going to try and talk him into getting some help out there other than Dan.”
He named one of their older ranch hands who had stuck close to Jaxson for
years.

“Good.”
She pulled on the bib of her apron, wadding the material between her fingers.
“Tell him I want him to come home.” If Jaxson were here, she’d have someone to
talk to. He’d always been the one she ran to first. Jaxson wasn’t as explosive
as Heath was and he didn’t give her a hard time like Philip or Tennessee.

“I’ll
tell him.” Heath kissed her and turned to pick up the box.

“How’s
Cato?” Ryder smiled, the thought of Heath and his love interest instantly
improving her mood.

“She’s
fine.” Heath pressed his lips together, determined not to say more than he had
to.

“When
are you seeing her again?”

“I’m
not sure.” Well, he wasn’t.

“Why
don’t you invite her over for dinner this weekend?”

“No.”   
       

“Why
not?”

Heath
was about to growl at his little sister’s persistence when a commotion at the
front door drew his attention.

“You
can’t come in here!”

“Pepper.”
He took off through the house, wondering who was barging into Highlands
uninvited. Frowning, he had a sneaky suspicion.

He
was right.

“
Arness
,” he growled.

Caesar
Arness
stood just inside the front door with his hat
in his hand. Upon seeing Heath, he nodded toward him. “Pardon me, Mr. McCoy. I
hate to arrive unannounced.”

“I
hate to see you, period.”

Arness
ignored Heath’s venom. “I have some papers I need to
give you. These officially shut down your oil production.”

Heath
grabbed the papers and grimly read them. Dammit! He’d have to cancel contracts
and lay off workers. There was no way he could keep everyone on if no revenue
was coming in. “You’re not going to get away with this. We own the mineral
rights and I’m going to prove it.”

“Good
luck.”
Arness
put his hat on. “I’ll see myself out.”

Heath
slammed the door behind him and then called one of the men he knew was working
close to the house. “Make sure
Arness
is escorted off
my property.”

“What
are we going to do?” Ryder placed her hand on Heath’s arm. “Will we lose the
ranch?”

“Hell,
no.” He headed toward the den. “We’re in the process of getting an injunction.
We’ll just have to speed up the process. Where’s
Ten
?”

“He
went to see Molly.”

Shit.
“Did Philip go with him?”

“No,
he went by himself. Philip had class.” Ryder gathered her hair into a ponytail
and twisted a tie around it. “I think he’s wrong about her.”

“That’s
Ten’s business,” Heath was quick to interject. He knew how it felt when family
tried to tend to your affairs. “How about Dad, is he around?”

“No,
he and Olivia rode into Austin. She had some kind of meeting.” Ryder took off
her apron and folded it up. “Do you think he’s going to marry her?”

Heath
could hear the concern in her voice. “What would you say if he did?”

Ryder
shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s not Mama.”

“No,
she’s not,” Heath agreed. “But Dad deserves to be happy. Don’t you think?”

“Yea,
and so do you.” Ryder countered his point.

He
was saved from answering by another phone call. It was Cato. “Look, I’ve got to
take this. Hold on.” Stepping away, he spoke to her. “Hey, I want to talk to
you. Can I call you right back?”

“Sure,”
she answered. “Take your time.”

He
shut the phone and returned to Ryder.

“Who
was that?”

“Business,
he answered quickly. “You and Pepper be careful tonight. I’ll call you when I
start back.”

“We’ll
be fine. We’re going to see Judah James perform.” Ryder pirouetted. “Pepper
likes him. She wants to invite him back. They talked at the BBQ.”

Heath
stiffened. “I don’t like the idea of her seeing him. I’ve heard things about
him.”

“What
kind of things?” Ryder went on alert, stepping closer.

“Nothing
you need to be concerned about.”

Ryder
hated those words. She had heard them often enough growing up.

“
Gotta
go, keep an eye on your sister. She isn’t to be left
alone with James.”

“Yes,
Kill-joy.” See, if he was like this about someone as successful and nice as
Judah, what would Heath do if he found out she would give ten years of her life
to give herself to not one, but two men? No, no, no, it could never happen.
Ryder watched him go, seeing him smile when he talked to whoever it was on the
phone. If he was talking to anyone but Cato, she’d eat Heath’s hat. 
  

*  *  *

“Hey,
beautiful.” Heath was in Old Red, sharing face-time with someone he’d give his
eye-teeth to be with at this very moment. “What’s up?”

Cato
tried to smile but she was too worried. “I’ve found something.”

“What?”
Heath straightened, his eyes narrowing.

She
explained about the note and the email. “I went to work after hours. Heck, I’ll
get fired if they ever found out. But I went in to Mr. Redford’s office and got
into his files on his computer. I found the email, it was in archive, but I
found it. And I was right. Dalton Smith approached my boss for information on
the Bowie mine, sharing with him enough information that someone could guess
when he’d be exploring, and he did it using Philip’s name.”

“Why
would he do that?” Heath was shocked. “And what does it mean?”

“I
don’t know. Apparently Smith didn’t want anyone knowing his real identity and
he knew Philip’s name would open doors. It could also mean Mr. Redford killed
Smith or he could have shared the information with someone else. I just wanted
you to know, so you could call Zane. I’ll continue looking, but I have copies.
I printed out the thread, I can prove it.”

“Thanks,
Cato. I’ll call him immediately. This could very well be what we’ve needed to
establish reasonable doubt.”

“You’re
welcome.”

And
then something else hit him like a ton of bricks. “You need to quit that damn
job. You’re not safe there. If that son-of-a-bitch is involved in Smith’s
murder and framing Philip, you’ll be a target too.”

Cato
shook her head. “No, I need to be there in case I can learn something else that
will help.”

Heath
didn’t like it, he didn’t like at all. “We’ll discuss this—in person. What are
you doing tomorrow, can you take the day off?”

This
was the first time Heath had done the asking and Cato felt a thrill rocket
through her like a shooting star. “I’m on the road tomorrow, I’ve been sent to
check out some herb farms and pick peaches.”

“Can
you do that on the way to San Antonio?”

“Yea,
I guess. You’re going to San Antonio? That’s where I was taking you this
weekend, if you happened to be free.” She finished weakly.

“Well,
I don’t know about this weekend. I have to go down there now. Zane wants me to
meet with a judge on the Energy Commission.
Arness
is
trying to shut me down and we’re trying to get an injunction to stop that from
happening. I don’t want to have to lay off workers and lose my trucking
contracts.”