Rodeo Blues (17 page)

Her response was to roll him onto his back
and straddled him. He had to say he liked her answer. The last of
his willpower dwindled away, leaving only the burning desire to let
her have her way with him. She slid down his body with caresses as
she went. He groaned in pleasure and vowed to give her the same
torturous attention. He rolled, taking her with him, her squeal of
delight sounded like music to his ears.

"Fair is fair, darlin'," he told her and
nibbled at her earlobe, making her chuckle and squirm beneath him.
Oh, he liked that too.

"I'm at your mercy then," she purred as her
fingers threaded through his hair.

The first time they made love, they'd been
young and naïve, and as wonderful as it had been, it had been a bit
clumsy. They made love again for the first time in years on their
wedding night, but the romance was hurried and blurred, and
definitely not thought out for the purpose of a future. And now…
She wanted him like she was desperate to prove something to him…or
perhaps to herself. She kissed him and touched him, but yet, he
sensed her holding something back. Maybe he was reading too much
into it, but he had to make sure. "I want you," he said as he
worshipped her flesh with soft kisses.

"I know." Her breath was feathery and hitched
at the same time. He lifted his head and scooted so they were eye
level. "I want you to be my wife, Jolie." He had to make her
understand what he meant. "In every way."

Her eyebrows puckered to the center of her
forehead. "I don't know what you're asking."

"Yes, you do. I can be the man you want. I am
that man," he told her with conviction and prayed she would believe
him…trust him.

Her hands cupped his face. "Not now. I don't
want to think. I just want to…" her voice trailed off, but he
wouldn't let her shut him out. He wouldn't make it easy for
her.

"…have sex?" he finished for her, his voice
harsher than he intended. "I want to make love to you, but you just
want to have sex." He couldn't believe he was saying this, but
there it was. "I don't want a meaningless roll in the hay before we
sign the annulment papers in the morning."

"Tye… I…" She chewed on her lower lip as she
stared at him, and slowly the passion filling her eyes was replaced
with regret, but her silence proved to hurt more.

He'd just handed his heart to her, laid it
all on the line. He loved her. He wanted to stay married, but she
couldn't bring herself to give him an answer. He didn't need her to
draw him a picture. His chest took the hit, as if she'd stomped all
over his heart. She didn't see a future with him – not anymore.

"I can't do this." He pushed away from her
and stood, looking for his clothes. His body, of course, hadn't
caught up with his decision, but he wouldn't give in. He wanted all
of her. A lifetime with her, not just tonight, and if he didn't
leave now, it would be all she'd ever give him.

"Fine, we won't have sex," she said from
behind him, her frustration coming in loud and clear. Yep, he felt
her pain. "But you told me you wanted to talk," she added.

He stilled his actions, his hand on the fly
of his jeans.
Down boy, we aren't staying
,
he told the part of his anatomy that didn't understand why not. The
girl was on the bed – naked… He squeezed his eyes shut and took a
well-needed breath and zipped up his jeans. They were uncomfortably
tight in one area, but it couldn't be helped. If he stayed, he knew
they wouldn't talk. They would just end up in bed without solving a
thing.

He turned to face her, but he was afraid to
look directly at her and lose the little control he still
maintained. His gaze took in her room all at once. Soft yellow and
white was her color scheme from the curtains to the paintings on
the wall. A rocking chair stood near the window, and her throw
pillows that matched her flowered comforter were strewn on the
floor next to the bed. All of it was so feminine, so her…

Finally, his gaze shifted to where she sat on
the bed, hugging her knees with her legs curled close to her body.
Her hair was mussed, her lips swollen from his kisses, and he had a
flashback to the first time when they'd made love down by the lake.
Beautiful – vulnerable and unsure… Heck, he'd been unsure back then
too. He didn't know if he'd done anything right when he made love
to her. He didn't know if he should cuddle with her, just get
dressed and not talk about it, or gush about how wonderful it had
been. He settled on pulling her close and kissing her. He told her
he loved her and she was in his lap as if he'd given her the moon.
Maybe he had. She sure as heck had given him the stars.

Right now… She was beautiful – vulnerable and
unsure – all over again. He pursed his lips, not liking the fact he
was responsible for the last two. He couldn't kiss her and tell her
he loved her because it wouldn't make any of this all right.

Instead, he approached the bed and leaned
down to kiss the top of her head. His hand gently cupped her cheek.
"I want us to have that talk. I just can't right now."

Tye turned away and didn't look back as he
strode out of the room. He grabbed his hat from the coat rack and
let himself out of the house, closing the door firmly behind him.
But once outside, his feet didn't immediately move toward his
truck. He stood on the porch and looked toward the horizon where
the fireworks lit the sky with red, blue, and gold bursts of
sparkles. At least, somewhere, fireworks were happening. He slapped
his hat against his thigh and cursed softly under his breath and
headed for his pickup.

"Cold shower – again, then bed for you," he
grumbled.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jolie couldn't believe Tye Casper left her
bed and meant it. The soft click of her front door felt like a slap
across the face. She'd been naked and offering – darn him anyway –
and still he walked away. She didn't know if she should be angry,
insulted or both. She scooted out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe
hanging on the back of her door. Shoving her arms into the robe as
she headed to the front door intent on—
Oh heck,
she didn't
know what, but she couldn't let him make all the rules here. He
waltzed into her life again when he had no business doing so, and
she was pissed.
Why?

"Because I allowed him to make me care. No,
Mr. Casper, you're not getting away with this," she continued to
rant. He turned her life upside down and she needed it all to make
sense again.

As she stomped down the hall, she caught
sight of Tye through her lace curtains in the living room, the
light from the porch illuminating his tall frame. Something about
his stance, made her pause and she backed up a step to peer at him.
He seemed to be staring at the sky then she realized why when she
heard the
pop-pop
sound of the fireworks in
the distance. It was the finale for the night and the crowd from
the fairgrounds would be heading toward their lodgings soon,
wherever that may be – the campgrounds, the hotel, or home. She
leaned down and caught a glimpse of the multiple colors lighting
the heavens. She tiptoed closer to the window, not to see the
fireworks, but to peer closer at Tye. He was turned just enough for
her to see his profile. His jaw ticked off time as if he clenched
his teeth.

"Frustrated, are you?" she murmured. "Good.
Glad I'm not the only one." But then his expression changed. She
wasn't sure what to make of it. He almost appeared sad, a little
lost…maybe both. She rolled her eyes. Now she was reading into
something that most likely wasn't even there.

She
harrumphed
. He could have
indigestion as far as she knew. She started and stepped back when
Tye moved, but he didn't look back to find her spying on him
through the window. His long strides took him to his truck parked
on the street. Maybe he did her a favor by leaving. Tumbling into
bed with him would only complicate matters more than they already
were. Tye's truck was almost out of sight now, the dust from the
drive billowing behind in his wake.

If she really believed being with him was
such a mistake, why did her heart ache now that he left?

She closed her eyes and willed herself to get
a grip. Just because her body craved his touch didn't mean they
should be together for the long haul. He'd been away a long time,
traveling the country, making a name for himself. Settling back
into the routine of small town life wouldn't last. How could it
with all he experienced, with all the excitement of being on the
road? All the places he had visited... And the women he must have
dated… He never said he'd been with others but,
come on
,
there had to be women. He was a good-looking man...strong and
healthy…

"Stop it," Jolie told herself. She had no
right to feel jealous over something she knew nothing about. She
hugged the robe tighter around her.

Whisper did your
charts
, her subconscious teased her.
Said
you and Tye were perfect for each other.

"So?" she voiced with disgust for even
considering such nonsense. "Next you'll be having Whisper read your
palm so you can make your next move." She shook her head with a
chuckle. She really had to keep her wits together, a difficult task
when Tye kept making her forget all the reasons why they shouldn't
be together.

She turned away from the window and headed to
the bathroom to take a well-needed cold shower. First thing in the
morning, she'd hunt down Mayor Dirkly and force him to give her
that annulment.

He married them lickity-split, without a
thought. The man had to have known they weren't in their right
minds, but he didn't even bat an eye when he had them sign those
documents. True, the night was still a little fuzzy, so darn the
Mayor, he should have told them no. At the very least he should
have told them to come by his office in the morning, when they
could see clearly again. Yep, he married them so he could just as
quickly give them an annulment.

"
Did you consummate the
marriage
?" she mimicked the mayor's tone with an edge of her
own. She
harrumphed
. "If that was the case, more than half
of the population would be considered married before they spoke
their vows."

She pulled back her shower curtain, the metal
attachments screeching in protest at being manhandled in such a
way. She turned on the shower and stepped back to let the water
warm. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror to see her hair
mussed from Tye's hands, and her lips swollen from his kisses. The
thought of his hands on her made her stomach flutter and her heart
skip a beat – and didn't that just make her want him all over
again. She squeezed her eyes closed and willed the thoughts away.
When she looked at her reflection again, she spat, "What are you
looking at?" Disgusted with herself, she stepped into the shower
and yanked the curtain closed.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tye had a restless sleep after his visit with
Jolie. He tossed and turned and tried to think of a way to dig out
of the grave-size hole he dug for himself. Frustrated, in more ways
than one, he showered then dressed before driving his pickup to the
homestead where the construction site for the new house was coming
along nicely. This would be his first official walk through to see
what they'd done.

He'd built the house for Jolie. It was
supposed to be a wedding present, but he hadn't done any of this
the right way. He'd planned to come home, apologize for leaving her
in the first place, do plenty of groveling, and apologize again and
again, until she believed him. Only he did a fool thing and married
the gal before any of that happened. It didn't matter she'd said
yes to the marriage. It hadn't been done properly. He got it, but
he didn't know how to fix it and make things right. She didn't even
think him man enough to be her husband.