Rory (5 page)

He looked at her, and she was
sure he was blushing. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that Rory Malone
could read her mind. She pulled her hand away, cut into another piece of steak
and ran it through the generous amount of steak sauce she’d poured onto her
plate.

 
Rory shifted on his chair, his leg bumping
into hers. They looked at one another.

“Hope that wasn’t your bad leg,”
he finally said.

“Nope, the good
one.”
She popped the steak into her mouth and chewed. It melted on her tongue.

He hadn’t shaved since yesterday
and the dark stubble made her want to draw her fingers across it. He looked at
her, and there was an uncomfortable silence again.

Stop
fantasizing about him.

“I have some Rocky Road ice cream
in the freezer if you’re interested,” he said.

Ice cream; her
favorite.
She could imagine it melting on her tongue. Letting it melt and drip on her
breastsand
inviting Rory to lick every last drop of it off
her nipples.

She coughed. It had to be the
pain meds doing something to her sex drive. She shifted in her seat, sensing
her panties were growing damp, and now her pussy ached to be touched.

Rory stood. “So can I bring you
any of the ice cream?”

“I’d love some.”

Followed immediately by a cold shower.

Chapter Seven

Rory decided to turn in for the
night. He yawned and stretched his arms in the air.
 
He hated to admit it but the flight and drive
to Timber Creek had worn him out.

Cass had gone to bed shortly
after they’d finished eating. She’d assured him she’d manage getting back and
forth to the bathroom should she need to use it during the night, so there was
no need for him to worry. He just hoped she didn’t fall and hurt herself some
more.

Rory glanced out of the
window.
 
Not a cloud in sight and the
moon was full. The stars looked spectacular too. Maybe he’d paint a night scene
next. He hadn’t attempted one of those, and he felt ready for a new challenge.

As he turned off the living room
light, he heard wolves howling in the distance. Maybe they were welcoming Cass
home. She’d left her bedroom door ajar a tad, and he took the opportunity to
peek inside. She was fast asleep, her chest failing and rising. Her face was
gradually healing. The black eye was now green, and the abrasions not so fierce
looking as when he’d first seen her in the hospital.

She turned slightly causing a wisp
of hair to fall over her cheek. She twitched her nose in response. He thought
she’d wake, but she didn’t. He crept over to the bed and gradually pushed the
hair away, hoping he wouldn’t startle her if she did open her eyes. But she
slept on.

Rory turned and walked out of the
room, leaving the door ajar just in case she needed him in the night. He
entered his own room and decided to leave his the door slightly open too. That
way he’d hear her calling, and he’d also know if she fell over. He unbuttoned
his shirt.

He was pretty sure a little thing
called sexual tension had been happening during dinner. The silence and the
looking down at the plates when they caught one another glancing at the other
one were telltale signs.

He’d had some very sexy thoughts
about her while she’d put the ice cream into her mouth. Like letting it drip
and melt on her belly. Allowing it to slide over her belly button downward…

Rory coughed. He was getting
carried away.

He sat on the bed and pulled off
his socks. She was here to heal, and he needed to remind himself of that little
fact. Yeah, he was like a big papa bear looking after a cub, which made him
think about their age difference.

He stood up and pulled down the
fly on his jeans.

No matter how hard he tried there
was no doubt that having her sharing his house would be the biggest temptation
of his entire life.

****

Cass’s leg hurt like hell. When
would the pain ever go away? She tried to sit up but struggled and got her feet
entangled in the sheet.

“Shit,” she said, her arms
thrashing about trying to get the blankets back in place.

Her mouth was parched. The doctor
had told her it was one of the side effects of the medication he’d put her own.
She’d seen a bottle of apple juice sitting on the shelf in Rory’s fridge when
he’d put away the leftovers.

She craved it so badly. She could
call out to Rory to get it for her, but the poor guy needed his sleep. She’d
heard him talking to Flynn on the phone and had told him he’d be back to
ranching duties tomorrow which meant he’d be up early. Swinging her legs around
the side of the bed and wincing, she was determined to go and get herself a
drink.

Cass edged her way to the end of
the bed where she’d parked her crutches. She grabbed them and pulled herself
up.
 
It took some effort, but she made it
out into the hallway. She glanced across the way and saw Rory had also left his
door slightly open too. She didn’t want to wake him, so she went extra slowly
down the hallway which, in fact, made her leg feel worse. And she wasn’t great
at the keeping quiet bit either.
 
It sounded
like every other floorboard creaked under the crutches.

She moved quicker thinking that
might solve the problem, but in doing so she lost her balance and fell to the
floor with a thud, knocking one of Rory’s paintings off the wall and onto the
carpet.

It was a sketch of the ranch, and
one of her favorites. She fingered it and then looked up when she heard the
floorboard creak again. Rory was now standing outside his bedroom door.

When had he got so big and
handsome? Oh yeah, right, he’d always been big and handsome, but now that she
was single it was perfectly okay to acknowledge that fact without any feelings
of guilt or betrayal.

“You okay?” he asked. “That’s a
stupid question. I don’t suppose you’re sitting on the floor like that by
choice.”

Despite the pain racking her
whole body, she laughed. Rory had always had a dry sense of humor, but now she
found it strangely appealing.

“I was on my way to the kitchen,
got too cocky with the speed I was traveling, and down I went.”

He’d picked her up before she
could say any more. He took the painting from her hand and set it down on the
floor.

“You want something to eat?” he
asked.

“Nope, I had my heart set on a
glass of apple juice.”

“I can get that for you. You
should have called me.”

“No, Rory. I don’t want you put
out in any way by me being here. If that’s the case, then I’ll leave.”

“What’s the big deal about me
bringing you a drink in bed?”

“Help me to the kitchen and we’ll
call it even,” said Cass.

He put his arm around her
shoulders. She guessed that had been worth the effort. She always felt more
secure and safe with him by her side. Maybe because at six three he was the tallest
of the Malone brothers.

They reached the kitchen and Rory
pulled out a chair and sat her down.

He wore sweats that left nothing to
the imagination. Bare chest and biceps that looked like he worked out every day,
and which acted like a beacon in the night to her libido. Every woman needed to
get themselves a cowboy.

He turned around and handed the glass
of juice to her. She drank half of it in three long gulps. “The pain pills make
me really dry,” she said.

“We should probably get a bottle
of water and a glass and put them by your bed.”

She gulped down the remaining
juice.

“You want some more?”

Cass shook her head. “If I do
I’ll probably need to pee all night. And don’t go suggesting you put a commode
in the room.”

Rory tipped his head back and
laughed.

“Yeah, I know you, you were
thinking about it, but that’s for when I’m old and wearing adult diapers.”

He smiled. “I think it’s going to
be a long time before that happens.”

“I guess I’m going to have to
clean my teeth again before I go back to sleep.”

“At least let me give you some
assistance getting to the bathroom.”

He helped her up off the chair
and then put his arm around her waist as the two of them made their way along
the hallway. He held her crutches while she got out her toothbrush and paste.

“Does the town still have a
beauty salon?” she asked.

“Sure does.”

“Maybe I should get my hair
washed and styled, so I look half decent.”

“Maybe Mom, Lacey, or Natalie can
take you along there.”

She wiped her mouth and then Rory
decided to let her rest against his body while he carried the crutches for her.
She leaned into his body, which was warm, the muscles pushing against her body.
He helped her back to the bed. She sat and then lifted her legs up and under
the blankets.

Rory covered her quickly like he
was scared she’d catch cold or something. He blushed, and that’s when she
realized the reason for his haste. She wasn’t wearing panties. She couldn’t be
bothered struggling with them and getting them over the cast.

“Sleep tight and sweet dreams,”
he said, turning off the light.

“You too.”

She watched as he left and bit
her lip still thinking about the rosy hue on those handsome cheeks of his.

****

Rory pulled the covers over his
body. Not that he was cold. Just the opposite, but he wanted to hide the fact
that his body had reacted to seeing Cass’s pussy.
 
He hadn’t realized she was sans panties when she’d
lifted her legs up so he could help her back into bed.

He’d tried not to look, really he
had, but he was a man and what guy didn’t look at those sorts of things? His
erection wasn’t going away anytime soon, probably because the image of her
pussy wasn’t going away anytime soon.

He swallowed trying to think of
something else like the hay that needed clearing out of the stalls in the
stable.
The cattle that needed moving to another pasture.

Heaven help him, he still saw her
pussy in all its pink glory and the dark curls framing it.

He put his hand under the blanket
and stroked himself.

He’d been without sex too long,
but these days there wasn’t a woman in town he really wanted to take to his
bed. He stroked himself again. The image of Cass’s folds and her pussy opening
burned a hole in his brain.

How could he look her in the eye
knowing that he was jerking off to that image?

Rory did his best to stop, but
couldn’t as his hand slid up and down under the covers almost having a mind all
its own.

His climax was about to happen
any second, and when it did, he had to stop himself from crying out because it
was going to be such sweet release for him.

Maybe he’d have to diplomatically
tell her to go stay with Flynn or Shane and out of temptation’s way.

Chapter Eight

Cass hadn’t realized she’d slept
so late until she woke and saw sunlight shining through the gap in the drapes. For
the first time since the accident she felt rested. She hadn’t been able to
sleep properly in the hospital bed, and having Rory close by had helped make
her feel more secure too.

She got out of bed and reached
for her crutches, guessing that he was already up and probably hard at work.
She went into the hallway, glanced into his room and saw his bed empty and
neatly made. She slowly headed to the kitchen.

Cass hobbled over to the window
and looked out at the beauty of the place. She’d missed it so much, and she
hadn’t fully realized that until right that very second.

The mountains and the valley were
so beautiful at this time of the day. She made her way over to the fridge and
pulled open the door. She wasn’t that hungry so just some toast would satisfy
her until lunch. Pulling out the loaf of bread, she heard the side door open
and saw Rory taking off his dirty work boots.

“Good morning,” she said. “I
guess you’ve already eaten?”

“Yep, bright and
early.
Flynn and I had some cattle to move.”

He took off his hat and hung it
on the post. “Anything I can get for you?”

“No, that’s fine. I was about to
get myself some toast.”

“How about some
coffee?
 
I have to make some because Flynn said he’d
stop by for a mug and to say hi.”

“That sounds great.”

Cass put two slices of bread in
the toaster, feeling Rory’s arm brush hers as he filled the coffee maker with
water.
 
He was warm, and she imagined
snuggling up with him on a cold Montana winter morning. Both of them putting
their heads under the covers, rubbing their toes on one another’s legs, and
then making love for hours on end while the snowflakes fell outside.