Texas Tango: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 2 (26 page)

“Eek,” she said, pressing her hands over her eyes. “Warn me before you turn on a light.”

The sheets rustled. Peeking through the slit of one eye, she saw he’d sat up and was now leaning against the headboard. He scratched his chest. Her fingers itched to do the same.

The sheet covering the lower half of his body reminded her of a carnival tent…spiked high in the center and draping off at the side. She wished she had time to explore his tent pole.

She opened both eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I need to get up any way,” he said as he threw back the top covers, got out of bed and headed for the closet.

Caroline couldn’t take her gaze off the squeezing and releasing of his butt muscles as he walked. She fisted her fingers, leaving small half-moon marks in the palms of her hand.

“Why are you standing there?” he asked, coming out of the closet buttoning up a pair of jeans.

“It’s not fair, you know.”

“What’s that?” Travis zipped his jeans carefully to avoid damage to his hardening Johnson.

“I have bedhead and bad breath at five a.m. and you, well, you make me want to brush my teeth and climb back in the bed.”

“Oh, darlin’. You are so wrong.” He dropped the fresh shirt he’d just pulled from the closet. Unzipping his jeans, he said, “I love bedhead and bad breath.” He shoved his jeans and briefs to the floor and moved across the room to where she still stood beside the bed.

When he’d awakened and found her draped over him like a saddle on a horse, his cock hadn’t just twitched but grown uncomfortably hard. Instead of moving her or waking her, he lay there and enjoyed the feeling of having a woman pressed next to him in his bed. It’d been a long time since a woman had been in his bed. He’d thought he didn’t miss it, but he’d been wrong.

Putting both hands on her shoulders, he pushed her backwards. She landed on the mattress with a bounce and a giggle. He made quick work of removing her T-shirt and panties.

“Shh,” she said, laughing as he nibbled on her neck. “My brother might hear us.”

“Please. He thinks we’re married. Plus, teenagers keep vampire hours. He’s not awake.” Travis pressed his rock-hard shaft into her hip. “I, on the other hand, am awake.”

“Yes,” she said with a hip thrust against his throbbing cock. “I can see that all of you is awake.”

She pulled his head down for a deep kiss, mixing their morning breaths, tangling her tongue with his. Wrapping his lips around her tongue, he sucked it. She moaned with pleasure.

Using lips, teeth and his tongue, Travis nibbled and licked his way down her neck, pausing to dip the tip of his tongue into the hollow at the base of her throat before continuing on until his lips circled her nipple. He drew her nipple and a large portion of her breast into his mouth and sucked it hard.

“Oh damn, that feels good,” she said with a groan and wrapped her legs around his calves. “More, please.”

“So polite,” he said, blowing cool air over her rigid nipple. He moved his attentions to her other breast while slipping a hand down her abdomen. He stroked her short, curly hair before gliding between her legs. She was warm and wet and ready for him. When he plunged a finger in, her hips arched off the bed. She groaned.

“Another one,” she demanded, and he smiled against her breast.

After kissing her nipple one last time, he moved back to her mouth, giving her an open mouth, deep tongue kiss. At the same time, he pushed three fingers into her. He felt the air intake of her gasp.

“Like that?” he said in a whisper against her lips. He slid his fingers in and out, driving them hard against her clit. Instead of a verbal response, she moved her hips in time with his movements. She was close. He felt the muscles in her abdomen twitching and contracting. Her vaginal walls were beginning to tighten around his fingers when he pulled them free, leaving her hanging on the edge.

“Wait,” she demanded. “Don’t stop.”

He positioned the tip of his cock at her opening. “Together,” he said, his lips brushing hers. He drove hard into her. It’d been years since he’d felt the hot flesh of a woman’s passage without the barrier of a condom. Holy hell. He’d forgotten the sensation, the sheer eroticism of the act.

Twisting her legs around his waist, she arched upward to meet his thrusts. She ran the tip of her tongue around the rim of his ear as her quiet pants and gasps sent electrical jolts from his head to his toes. He wouldn’t last long, not with Caroline. She drove him to his edge much too fast for his liking.

“I’m almost there,” she whispered into his ear, followed by a puff of hot breath as she moaned. “Harder. Harder.”

He pounded in and out, jerking the bed beneath her. He felt the tightening of her walls around him, milking him, dragging him to his peak. As she came, she buried her mouth into his shoulder, sinking the edges of her teeth into his skin.

He answered in a rush, pouring himself deep inside, no longer worried about the consequences of no condom.

It was unfair that sex rejuvenated a woman but left a man in a coma. Travis lay on his back, his arm draped across his forehead. So unfair.

Caroline slipped from the bed and headed for the bath. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

Waving an arm in the air, he said, “You know where everything is. I’m just going to lie here and find some energy to move.”

She was laughing as the door shut. He was still in the same position when she came out dressed in what she’d worn last night.

“Get up, lazy,” she said. “I’m going to go make some coffee before I head into Whispering Springs. Okay?”

“Darlin’, not only is it okay, but I’ll worship you all day if you make enough for me.”

She gave a short snort of laughter. “I doubt it will be that good.”

By the time he’d finished brushing his teeth and shaving, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. On the mornings that Henree didn’t leave the coffee maker set on a timer, he never made a pot just for him and usually snagged a cup from the crew supply. But crew coffee never tasted as good as fresh brewed at home. Having Caroline in his kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee before he left for work was definitely the ideal way to start his day.

In the kitchen, he found Caroline sitting on a bar stool, a cup of coffee in one hand and her phone in the other.

“A call already this morning?” He took a mug from the cabinet.

“No. I was scrolling through my emails to see if there were any that needed my attention.”

“And?”

She clicked the phone off. “And, no, nothing’s there unless you need Viagra from Mexico.”

“Nope. First, don’t need it. Second, I’m a good American. I like to buy my drugs off the dealer down the street.” He took a sip of the coffee. It was very hot and very strong, exactly like he liked it.

She laughed. “I hope you don’t mind, but I found a travel mug in the cabinet to take with me.”

Travis leaned against the counter and crossed one booted ankle over the other. “You’re welcome to anything in this house. Make yourself at home. Seriously.”

“Thanks.” She stood. “I’ve got to scoot. Good luck with Noah today.”

“Yeah, I guess I need to be getting him up soon. Do you have any idea when you’ll be back?”

She shrugged. “Not really. Probably early. What time do we need to leave for the dance?”

“We’re all meeting at Mom and Dad’s about seven-thirty and going together from there.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be back here long before then.”

“Okay.” He snagged her arm as she passed and pulled her in for a kiss. “Have a good day.”

She licked her upper lip and smiled. “Later.”

After the front door closed, the house was still and quiet, but he figured that wouldn’t last for long. He finished his first cup of coffee and headed upstairs.

He knocked on Noah’s door. When there was no reply, he knocked again. The third time he knocked and opened the door, letting the light from the hall into the dark room.

“Shake a leg, boy. We’ve got work to do.”

Noah groaned and pulled the covers over his head. “Go away.”

Travis flipped on the room’s overhead light. “I’ll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes. What kind of shoes did you bring?”

From under the covers came the muffled reply. “Sandals and tennis shoes.”

Travis shook his head. Mucking out the stalls would be nasty work. The kid needed better shoes. “You got some jeans with you?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll need to wear those today for working. I’ll see if I can round up some better shoes.”

The reply was another muffled groan. Travis smiled. He remembered his dad waking him and his brothers up at ungodly hours to work. Their responses had been very similar to Noah’s.

“Get up. I’ll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes. Ten would be better.”

Noah threw the covers back and stood, a wide yawn stretching his mouth.

“You drink coffee?”

Noah frowned. “I’m fourteen.”

“We’ll find something for you for breakfast.” Travis turned to leave and then said over his shoulder, “Glad to have you here, Noah.”

The teenager grinned and began pawing through his backpack.

Travis headed back to the kitchen. If Noah was going to be with them for a while—and it looked that way—he was going to need more clothes. There couldn’t be that much in the backpack. He thought about calling Patrick or Leslie and asking them to send his stuff, but he decided that as touchy as Noah was about his uncle and aunt, he might resent their going through his personal belongings. Later today he’d check with his mom. She probably still had a pair of old boots lying around Noah could use. Probably no old jeans, but that could be easily taken care of.

For today, John Webster might have something. He rang up the Webster household.

“Morning, Travis. You’re calling early,” John Webster said when he answered. “Something wrong at your place?”

“Remember the kid from last night?”

“You mean your brother-in-law?”

“Yeah. That’s the one. He’s going to be here for a while. I want you to put him to work.”

“Okay. What did you have in mind?”

“Today, mucking out the stalls. Can you get Amy and Rocky to show him the ropes?”

“Sure. No problem. My kids will love having someone else to help with their chores.”

“One other thing. Noah only has sandals and tennis shoes. You have some rubber boots you can loan him?”

“What size?”

Noah had come into the kitchen during the conversation. Travis looked at him. “What size shoes?”

“Nine and a half.”

“Nine and a half or ten.”

“I’ve got something that’ll work. Got some leather gloves he can use too.”

“Great. Thanks, John. Tell Amy and Rocky I appreciate their showing Noah what to do today.”

He hung up and turned to Noah. “Okay. You’re all set for today. You’re going to be mucking out the stalls with a couple of John’s kids. Amy and Rocky.”

Noah frowned. “I don’t know how to muck out a stall.” He scratched his head. “I don’t even know what mucking a stall means.”

Travis chuckled. “Don’t worry. You’re going to love it.”

Chapter Fifteen

The boots were a little big, but as long as Noah left his sneakers on they stayed firmly on his feet. The gloves pulled on easily…snug, but perfect for what Travis had assigned to Noah.

“I’m not going to be with you today,” Travis explained while Noah shoved his feet in to the knee-high rubber boots John Webster had provided. “I’ve got some training to do with a new horse that just came in, so you’ll be on your own working with John’s kids. Amy and Rocky know the ropes, so don’t hesitate to ask either of them what to do.”

Noah looked around, his uncertainty and unease with the new situation evident in every word, every movement. “It smells like horse shit in here.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Can’t you do anything about that?”

Travis stifled a smile. “Yup. The staff will be tackling that this morning. Oh, here come Amy and Rocky.”

A pretty blonde teenage girl wearing jeans, a Texas Longhorns T-shirt and rubber boots was making her way toward where Travis and Noah stood. A dark-haired teenage boy dressed in pretty much the same fashion followed.

“Morning, Amy. This is Noah Graham. Noah, this is Amy Webster and her brother, Rocky. They’ll be showing you the ropes today.” He looked at Noah. “You’ll be working with Amy and Rocky today.”

“Morning,” the girl said. “Thanks for the help, Mr. Montgomery.”

“Hi.” Noah’s voice was soft, exposing his nervousness.

“Hi, Noah.,” Amy gave him a bright smile. “We’ll be glad to have the help, right, Rock?

“You know it. Good to meet you, Noah,” Rocky said with an upward lift of his chin.

“I’ll check on you later.” Travis gave Noah’s hair a quick tussle as he walked past.

As he was walking out of the barn he heard Amy say, “You ever mucked a stall before? It’s gross.”

Travis smiled and went to find Dustin, the cowboy assigned with cutting horse training today.