Resisting Pressure (Rhinestone Cowgirls Book 5) (11 page)

He’d never tell her whether she was right or wrong. He wasn’t stupid. “I’m assuming you like the idea of a road trip?”

“Would this happen to be the land you own?”

His breath caught. “How’d you know?”

“Ruby told me. Can’t understand why you didn’t tell me why you took me out there on our date. I wouldn’t have been so--”

“Cruel?” He laughed.

“I don’t think I was cruel.” He shot up a brow. “Okay. I was a borderline bitch. I think we both were on our worst behavior and I’m sorry. I really lost my cool.”

“Violet Stone is apologizing again? Yeehaw! Bring out the whistles and party hats. A second time in a decade,” he teased.

“Funny. So why didn’t you tell me?”

“Maybe because I didn’t want to come off as sappy. Here I took you all the way out there in the middle of nowhere, wanting to show off my new land and ended up getting us stranded. How foolish is that?”

“Not foolish. Sweet. And I destroyed it. I’m good at that.”

“You didn’t destroy it. You thought I took you there to get up close and personal.”

“Didn’t you?” she challenged.

“A man can always hope, but in all honesty, I just wanted to share the news with someone.” He pulled into the last gas station they’d see for a while. “I better fill’r up, just to be on the safe side.”

“Always a good idea.”

He stopped the truck and turned off the engine. “Can I get you something?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m heading in, but I’d be more than happy to grab you something. A snack? Drink?”

His gut tightened. He could think of a snack, but she probably would roll her eyes at him. “Surprise me.”

****

Inside of the gas station, Violet picked up packages of snack cakes, jerky and bottles of pop, placing them onto the counter. The young man at the register flashed her a mouth full of braces. She rewarded him with a smile.

On the rack behind him she saw the rodeo newspaper,
Spurs, Saddles and Rope Burn,
with the headline reading, ‘Lane retires.’

“I’ll take one of those, too.”

Once she paid and her loot was in a bag, she went back to the truck, slid into the passenger side where Keefer was already waiting.

“You’re not going to ask to drive?” he asked.

She laughed. “I sort of like you being in the driver’s seat. And not to mention I grabbed myself some reading material.” She reached into the bag and pulled out the newspaper, holding it for him to see. “Looks like you’re the topic.”

He smiled. “They had nothing better happen, I suppose.”

“Red velvet or chocolate?” She took out two cakes.

He took the red velvet. “You’re getting me all sugared up for something. You’re not going to take advantage of me, are you?”

“I heard a man once say, “A cowboy can only hope.’”

CHAPTER TEN

Violet loved the property. It was charming with wildflowers scattered across the untouched fields, and a view that, as her sister had put it, was ‘amazing’.

For the first time in her life, she felt a pride, not for her own accomplishments, but for someone else’s. She could see by looking at Keefer that he was proud of his land and what would come of this property.

The house was still a shell, but it was coming along. The main area was covered with building supplies, tools and the equipment necessary in building a house. “Where are the workers?”

“They aren’t here today. They’ll be back tomorrow. They say they’ll be finished by the end of next month.”

Texas was a huge state and she was pretty sure she wouldn’t find a better piece of property. “How did you luck out on grabbing this land? Location is everything.”

He shrugged as they walked toward the backyard. “A friend in the circuit had bought it years ago, planned to build on it, but he and his wife divorced when he decided not to retire from the rodeo. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Here it is, he had a family, kids and wouldn’t leave the circuit. I have no one and I couldn’t wait to retire. Mixed up, I tell ya.”

“Maybe those who have family take it for granted?”

He rubbed his jaw. “Probably so.”

They walked to a grassy knoll and he took a seat, she sat beside him, slipping off her boots. She rolled her toes in the grass. “You said you have no family. Care if I ask?”

“Be my guest.”

“What happened?”

He leaned back on his elbows, stretching his legs and hooking his ankles. “Dad left when I was still in diapers. Mom became a junkie and I was carted off to a foster home when I was five. Bounced around to a few homes and when I was sixteen I’d had enough of allowing others to control my future. I took off and somehow ended up meeting a man, a cowboy, who loved the rodeo. For a while I helped him out on his ranch, learned what I needed, even went to school and graduated. Eventually, I joined the circuit and well, the rest is history.”

An ache bubbled up in her chest. She had no clue that he had suffered the way he had. “I’m sorry.”

“No need, darlin’. Life is good. It’s what we make of it.”

“Have you seen your mom or dad since?”

He sighed. “No and don’t want to. I wouldn’t have anything good to say.”

She plucked a blade of grass and rolled it between her fingers. “It’s beautiful here, Keefer. You’ll have something special when this is all done.”

“I hope so.” His gaze met hers.

He smiled and she had a vision of leaning in, kissing him. If let loose, her mind could play some naughty ideas. Heat started as a trickle of lust then blossomed into a down pour. Her body became a stove and the embers flowed to the junction of her thighs, warming her most sensitive spot. He stoked the fire with his steamy stare.

“Are you sweating? You hot?”

Not in the way you think
. “I’ll be okay.

He winked. “I hope so. I’m glad you like the property.”

“The house is coming along. I bet you can’t tone down the anticipation.”

“It’s there, but something else has been on my mind.”

She swallowed. “What’s that?’

“You.”

He leaned in, but didn’t touch her. His breath brushed her hair off her cheek. She resisted the urge to rest her palms on his chest, knowing how strong and hard he was, like the salt of the earth. Safe and secure.

Goodness. She had to reel herself in before he dragged her back down a ridiculous path.

Then he touched her. A slight one, but still, enough that she felt like he’d torched her insides. He only touched her fingers as he took the blade of grass from her. She slipped her gaze over him, imagining his hard body close. Every cell in her came alive. Her resistance was fading.

“Super.” She leaned in. His eyes flashed with curiosity. Instead of explaining her own emotional turmoil, she decided to show him. She wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck and brought her lips to his. An electrical current sparked between them.

He pulled back slightly, studying her. Pale blue eyes burrowed into her, playing her veins with an invisible touch.

They met again, this time in a frenzied haste to taste one another. He traced her lips with his tongue, parting her mouth and slipping inside. The scent of grass and earth mixed with his spice and leather, titillating her senses as he laid her onto her back. She’d been hooked on this man since he’d flashed that dimpled smile.

She pushed her hands up his chest and over his broad shoulders, gliding her fingertips over the soft cotton material of his shirt. “This must go,” she whispered.

He pulled back and steadied himself on one elbow and, with his free hand, he tugged the shirt to his neck. She helped him by dragging it over his head and tossing it aside. An ache surged from her nipples to her core, like the strings of a puppet he was controlling. She’d never seen a better chest or abs. Not a six-pack, but an eight-pack. The more for her exploration. She scraped her nail over one flat nipple and he exhaled. She smiled. Now she had the invisible strings.

“What’s happening, sweetheart?”

“I’ve decided that I no longer want to fight liking you. Maybe if we give in, we’ll start disliking one another.”

A small smile curved his lips. “That sounds delusional.”

“I believe I am. Always when I’m in your arms.”

“Gottalove the truth.” He kissed her cheek.

****

His gut twanged and his heart beat like a heavy drum.

He pressed into her, kissing her, realizing he hadn’t been this excited since high school when Missy, his school crush, had slipped off her panties and handed them over to him from underneath the lunchroom table.

He found the waist of her shorts and quickly undid the button and the zipper, pushing the heavy material down her body. She worked her legs until they were at her ankles, then gave them a kick with her pink-painted toes. He dragged his mouth away, grabbed for the hem of her shirt and practically tore it from her body. He remembered how she’d ripped his shirt off his chest the first night. His cock jerked.

Her shirt now gone, he skimmed his gaze over the thin bra. “Red’s my new favorite color. But for now, it’s in my way.” He reached around, clicked open the snap and the wisp of lace fell away from her beautiful breasts. Her nipples were swollen and matched the color of her lips—a ruby pink.

Yeah, he realized he’d never get enough.

He bent his head and licked one pert nub, loving how she arched against him. He grinded his groin between her legs, showing her how much he wanted her—needed her. She moaned and he took it as an invitation to continue on this path.

“I’m not going to offer to wait again,” he whispered.

“You better not.” She sighed and entwined her fingers into his hair.

He looked down her body and back to her face. “That’s the best body I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“Are you saying that because you think that’s what I want to hear?”

“I’m saying it because it’s the truth. You’re amazing, sweetheart. I’m in a struggle. Part of me wants this to go fast, and another part wants things to go slow, to stay here, like this, forever.”

She smoothed her hands down his bare shoulders, over his back and to his bottom, squeezing his cheeks. “Can we get these off?”

He stood and in record time, he had them off and he was back beside her. “Much better,” he whispered, rubbing his thick shaft over her leg. He licked her lips, tugging the bottom one into his mouth, gently sucking the flesh. Letting it go, he did the same to one nipple, drawing it into his mouth, sucking then releasing. He rolled his teeth on the rigid pearl and she moaned. He felt her juices flow onto his thigh. Damn, he wasn’t as strong as he’d like to be.

He lifted himself on his knees and moved to between her thighs, spreading her legs with his. Her inner thighs glistened and he couldn’t hold back any longer. He dipped his head between her thighs and with his broad, flat tongue, he licked her juices. Her hips came up, pressing her core against his face. “Nice,” he muttered against her moist lips. When he licked again, she bucked and he grabbed her hips, taming her thrusts. She was a wild woman.

Sucking her clit, he rolled the tip of his tongue along the fleshy head, then slipped his tongue into her opening. Withdrawing, he replaced it with his finger, pumping her. He slowed his thrusts, enjoying the rippled, slippery muscles. His finger was coated with thick, creamy moisture.

She was on fire.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Her lids were heavy, but Violet didn’t want to keep her eyes closed. She wanted to watch everything, especially Keefer wedged between her legs. She wanted to watch him lick her most precious part. He was good at this, so good she could lose herself.

Sometimes a woman needed to lose herself in a man.

He continued to lap her up, circling her clit with the pad of his thumb. The feeling couldn’t be described in words. Even magical didn't come close. Euphoric maybe? No. Enraptured. Yes, she liked that word. She ground against his mouth, gyrating against his finger buried inside of her. Rolling her hips, her muscles throbbed as she drew closer.

“Let it go, sweetheart,” he murmured against her body and the vibration took her to a new level.

She looked up, meeting his gaze down her body. “I could burst.”

“Then do.” He plunged two fingers inside of her, while still sucking her. A quiver started deep in the pit of her stomach, spreading like warmed honey into her core. Her legs shook and trembled, her knees responded on their own, pressing against his head. A thousand tiny jolts of electricity exploded, rolling through her in a wave. She cried out, realizing she could be as loud as she wanted. They were alone. No one within miles. She didn’t fight the orgasm slamming through her. She rode the waves. “Ahh…Keefer. Yes!”

Once the spasms left her body, she dropped her arms, weakened from the sparks that had just stripped her body of energy. “This. Is. Crazy. I’m crazy.”

“Ain’t it so good?”

“Never. Ever. Has a man done that to me.”

He moved to the side and pulled himself beside her. She slipped her gaze down him, sighing as if she looked at a masterpiece. His chest was broad. She wanted to touch and explore every ridge of his body.

She stroked her hands up his chest and spread her hands around the back of his neck. Leaning closer she kissed him, tasting her body on his lips. Another wave slammed through her. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, dueling with hers. Her insides warmed to a liquid and melted under his assault.

Then he pulled back, licking her bottom lip slowly. He moved his index finger along her pout. She could barely contain herself as she realized soon he’d be inside of her. “I want to taste you,” she whispered.

“I like the sound of that,” he said in a thick voice.

“On your knees. Bring it to me.” She licked her lips.

“As you wish, princess.” He lifted himself onto his knees, moving until his hard length was close to her face. Reaching up, she wrapped her fingers around his shaft, positioning his tip at her mouth. A bead of cum lingered at the slit and she slid her tongue over his head, lapping the salty-sweet drop. He sucked in a deep breath, she watched his chest rise and fall. Lifting her head, she moved her mouth over him, as far as she could take him, pressing her lips into his iron-hard shaft. With her free hand, she clasped his balls in her palm, squeezing and rolling them gently. His breathing became pants and she knew he liked it a little rough.

He moved his hips, testing her mouth, plundering his body deep, her fingers gauging how far he could move. And like a secret message that he must have understood, he took on a rhythm, moving in and out of her mouth with careful, quick thrusts as she closed her lips around him.

He stopped, pulled himself from her lips and laid down on his back on the grass. He grabbed his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans, grabbed a foil packet and ripped it open with his teeth, His eyes were wild and his lips were swollen where he’d brought her great pleasure just moments ago. She knew her own lips were swollen and tight.

Condom in place, he motioned for her. “Come here. Now.”

She crawled over top him, situating her legs wide and the apex of her thighs spread over him. Taking his wet length in her hand, she situated him at her opening. In one long, quick glide she rolled over him. She was so wet that she took him deep in one slide. He cried out, his teeth clenching as he grabbed onto her hips. “Fuck!”

She smiled, liking the power she had over him, seeing him charged with a need that only she could ease. He was an aphrodisiac and mind blowing. His was an agonizing, sweet torture. She concentrated on her own breathing, loud in her sensitive ears. She drove herself over him, loving how deep he reached inside of her. Nothing else was real but the two of them. Nothing else mattered but what he could offer her. Nothing would ever be the same.

He touched where their bodies were connected, rubbing her seam where he penetrated her, then slid his thumb up her slit and touched the nub under the pad of his finger.  “My God, woman. You’re as hot as a desert.”

“For you. All for you.”

“Come here, baby.” In one fluid motion, he shifted, bodies still connected as he laid her on the grass where his body had been. Warmth trickled over her skin, bringing her nerve endings alive. He lifted himself high above her, scooping her hair into his hand and lifting it, spreading it across the grass around her head. In a languid motion, he pushed himself deep inside of her and she brought her legs up high, wrapping them tight around his hips.

An erotic torment crashed into her stomach. She needed release. She rolled her hips, clutched his ass under her palms and knocked her hips against his, meeting him, thrust for thrust, as the crescendo built inside of her.

Then he stopped, sliding his impressive length almost out of her. She opened her eyes, beseeching. “Please. Don’t stop.”

“Soon, sweetheart. I want you to be a ball of sexual desire, dripping in need.”

She dropped her legs and he moved her to her stomach. She lifted her bottom high, grinding it in the air, inviting him to sample her flesh. He rewarded her by smoothing his palm over her ass at the same time he licked the small of her back, trailing lower, just at the seam of her cheeks and rolled his tongue over the sensitive spot. She bucked her hips, spreading her legs wider. “Please! Now!”

He plunged into her, pumping fast and hard. New sensations erupted within her, around her, until she came, not once or twice, but three times in succession, then falling apart, laying in the grass. His body tightened and she knew he was coming too…until…

He rolled her to her back, her nipples beading in the cooler air. He plunged into her again. “I bet you have another in there somewhere.”

“I-I…” And before she could mutter another word, her body tightened on its own accord and trembles rocked through her. She clutched his shoulders, clinging to him as tiny fragments bursts in her veins. He arched, his body stopping, but staying inside of her. They fell into each other’s arms, panting and satisfied with release.

She laid there, eyes closed, willing her breathing to return to normal.

He shifted and she fluttered her eyes open. He was gathering his clothing. Hurt that he was ready to dress so soon, she sighed and sat up.

With clothes in his hand, he bent close, dropping them to her side. She realized he had her clothing too. That sunk the knife deeper. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m dressing you. The last thing we need is to get bitten by a snake. The grass is too long out here.” He then helped her into her clothes. She’d never been taken care of so sweetly, so gently. He was right. It wasn’t safe to lie naked in a field for too long.

Once she was fully dressed, he stood and dressed too, then laid out his palm for her. She let him help her up, finally coming down from the orgasmic high.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For?”

“Christening my land. I’ll never look at this view the same way.” He winked.

****

The two hour ride was driven in silence. Keefer had so much to say to Violet, but afraid he’d spoil the mood of what they’d shared back on his land.

His mind screamed for him to tread carefully while his heart beckoned him to jump into this and deal with the shrapnel later. Violet was a hard nut to crack though. She kept her secrets close and although she was a warm, giving lover that was about as far as she seemed to let anyone in.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He could end up seriously hurt. What could a petite, fiery-spirited woman do to a man like him? She could easily destroy him. He wasn’t even sure he’d run if he knew how horrible this could end.

A word trolled through his mind. Family. He’d sat back and watched the Walters and Stone family, how much they appreciated one another. Watched out for each other. Loved without borders. Man, he wanted that in a way he’d never wanted anything. He wanted to love without bounds and be loved. He wanted to come home after working the land every evening to his best friend, his soul mate, and to the pitter-patter of tiny feet. It scared the shit out of him to want these things, but what scared him more was the reality that he might miss the opportunity of finding the life he craved.

He glanced at Violet. Out of all of the women he’d come across, why did that woman have to be her. Oh, she was beautiful enough. Sweet and kind enough. But when it came to baggage, she had a lot. And he knew she didn’t trust him. He wanted her trust and somehow that became his core goal. To gain Violet’s trust. That was a whopper of a commitment.

She’d asked about his mother and father. He had vague memories of when his family was together, before his dad took off. They were happy. Images of his mother reading him books and his father tossing the baseball were tattooed inside of his mind. Hell, at this point, Keefer wasn’t sure if they were real or a fantasy he’d created as a child to get through the rough times.

What he knew, if he had made it through the rough times, he could somehow make it through the barbed wire fence Violet had created.

They pulled into town and Keefer looked across the seat at Violet’s profile. “Are you hungry?”

She shrugged and one strap fell down her shoulder. She used her thumb and dragged it back into place. “A little.”

“The diner serves a big juicy burger. We could stop over. Have dinner.”

Her cell buzzed and she reached for it inside of her purse. “It’s Ruby. I better get it.”

“Sure.” He wasn’t quite ready for reality to settle in just yet, but it was bound to.

Hearing the escalated tone of Violet’s voice, he listened to the one-sided conversation.

“No, you can’t leave Jack. Is it the farm next door? Does Keefer know where it is?” Violet caught him with a curious expression.

“Do I know what?”

“Where the Peterson Farm is?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll head there now. Don’t worry. I’ll let you know.” She hung up.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Cal is at the hospital getting his shoulder worked on and he called Ruby asking if she could check in with his sister. He can’t reach her and he’s worried. Ruby is waiting for Jobe, but he hasn’t come back yet and she doesn’t want to take Jack out to the Peterson’s.”

Keefer scrubbed his jaw. “Yeah, Cal’s told me a bit about his younger sister. Apparently she’s married to man who doesn’t have a very good reputation for kindness around town. Cal’s suspected for some time that his brother in law, Charles, has been abusing Molly. But she won’t come clean. She wants to protect her husband.”

“Then we need to get over there and make sure she’s okay. I don’t know Cal very well but I don’t think he seems like the sort to jump the gun. After all, he’s had a dislocated or fractured rib for days and hasn’t gotten it checked.”

“That’s Cal.” Keefer pulled around in an abandoned businesses’ parking lot and turned around. “You won’t be making it to the antique shop tonight.”

“That’s okay. Understandable.”

“It’ll only take us five minutes to get there.”

Once he pulled into the Peterson Farm, he drove the truck on the narrow gravel road slowly. As they approached the old white farmhouse he could see that only one light was on and that was downstairs. Peterson’s truck was gone. He stopped next to an old beat up Chevy and killed the engine. “Maybe I should go up and see what’s going on. I can tell her that Cal’s been trying to call her.”

“If she’s hurt, or scared, she won’t talk to you.”

He couldn’t argue that fact. So he got out of the truck and rounded the front, waiting for Violet. Together they walked up the cracked sidewalk. The yard was scattered with broken down and rusted mowers, parts laying everywhere in a metal junkyard.

“Is he a farmer or does he work on mowers?” she asked.

“A little of both I do believe.” He kept his voice low. They stepped onto the creaky slats of the sagging porch, which threatened to break under his weight. “No one can sneak up here. Be careful.”

“On the porch or with Molly Peterson?” she whispered.

“I’m not getting a good feeling about this.”

“Then all the more reason for us to make sure she’s okay.”

****

Molly Peterson was a twenty-something blonde with large blue eyes. If it hadn’t been for the fist-sized fresh bruise on her cheek, she’d been an innocent looking young woman. And by the way she stayed protected behind a four inch gap in the door, Violet understood all too well that Molly didn’t want to welcome them in.

“Hi. You’re Molly, right?”

The other woman nodded, her already pale complexion turning three shades lighter.