Timing (298 page)

158

Mary Calmes

YOU ha

h ven’t

’ li

l ved unti

t l you’ve stood clingi

g ng to a fence watching as a

cowboy,
your
cowboy

o , ri

r d

i es by

b you in a blur of sp

s eed. La

L sso spinning,

mount at

a fu

f ll

l gallop be

b neath him

i , the man

n was

s bre

r athta

t king. Seeing the

h

raw power of the horse,

, the strengt

g h of

f the ma

m n, and knowing that if

f

eithe

h r

r of the

h m faltere

r d th

t at they we

w re

r bot

o h dead—it was a rush, and I

was absolute

t ly

l ri

r veted. W

hen he came back by me, leading the horse he

had ridden down, he t

ouched the hat pull

l ed low over his eyes as he rode

by. It was hot, even more

r so because

s the

h man in question ha

h d had me

m

plaste

t re

r d to the

h wall of

f his

i shower just an hour

r before.

Going back inside, giving

n up on stalking the

h ma

m n

n I had bare

r ly le

l t

get out of bed that mornin

i g, I helped Ma

M y with bre

r akfa

f st before I went

down to the barn to check on Ph

P il. He was happy to see me

m . So

S was his

mother,

r and i

t was there

r , i

n the sta

t ll, t

hat R

and found me.

“What’re you doing?”

I

I was confused. “Bru

r shing

n the cows.”

.

“St

S ef,

f you don’t brush cows,” he

h told me

m . “We’re fixin’ to eat

them, don’t forget.”

My expression tickled him.

“Oh, fo

f r

r cri

r ssakes, c’mon

o an’ eat, we gott

t a go visi

s t your friend.”

.

“You know,” I said, as I hung the bru

r sh back up and came out of

f

the sta

t ll,

l “if

f y

ou’r

’ e

r too bu

b sy y

ou don’t have to go w

ith me.”

.

He stopped me

m so he

h could pull

l pieces of st

s raw out of my

m hair.

“How did you get a

ll this in… Jesus, St

S ef, y

ou’re li

l ke a l

ittl

t e kid.”

.

Timing

159

The look on his face, like I was just endearing and mesmerizing

all at once, it was too much for me to resist. I stepped into him, my

hand around the back of his neck as I eased in close and lifted up for

the kiss. I took my time and made sure that he felt how much I wanted

him. When I pulled back, he swayed just a little before his eyes

fluttered open. The look I got was hard to read.

“Did I—”

“Jenny said that sometimes, in bed… I’m no better than an

animal.”

All at once, I understood what Jenny Stover had done to Rand.

She had made him feel like his ravenous sex drive was a bad thing. At

that moment, I could have killed her. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” he swallowed hard. “I mean, she never said I hurt her or

nothin’, but after awhile I was afraid to, ya know? I quit sleepin’ with

her.”

“Huh.”

He reached out and curled a piece of hair around my ear, the

backs of his fingers trailing down the side of my neck. “I ain’t never

hurt you, have I, Stef?”

“No,” I promised, reaching for him, sliding my arms up under his,

hugging him tightly, pressing into him, showing him that I was telling

the truth.

“Stef, I—”

“You have never hurt me,” I promised him, “and for the record—

you can manhandle me whenever you want.”

He made a noise back in his throat.

“And I like it rough, Rand… you can fuck me any way you

want.”

“Jesus.” His breath caught, even though the eyes on mine were

suddenly wounded. She had certainly done a number on his psyche.

“You wanna do me here? Now?”

160

Mary Calmes

He bent and kissed me hard, his hand wrapped around my throat,

holding me but not tightly, with just enough pressure so I couldn’t

move. The mere hint of restraint was very arousing. My guess was that

Jenny Stover liked her men gentle, sweet, and romantic. There was

nothing wrong with that, but Rand Holloway was, as a rule, stoic,

sarcastic, blunt, and unaware of his own strength.

Leaning back, breaking the kiss, I saw that Rand’s eyes had

changed from pained to heavy-lidded and filled with heat. The words

that tumbled out of him, how his ex-wife had said that she didn’t like

being attacked and mauled, how she wanted him to make love like he

had before they were married… restrained, careful, and fast. The

foreplay was fine; the act was not something she enjoyed.

No good could come of bashing Jenny. I asked Rand if he had

investigated or just given up.

He squinted down at me. “Pardon?”

“Did you ever think maybe that somebody might’ve done a

number on Jenny to make her like the kissing and fondling part of sex

but not the act? Did you even bother checking?”

“No, I… I just left her alone.”

I shrugged. “If you care about somebody… you check.”

His hand went to my cheek. “I know.”

The comment told me everything I needed to know about his

relationship with his ex-wife. She was over, and I was the one up to bat.

I was good with it. When he yanked me out of the stable with him, I

realized that I was not getting screwed in the hay. He reminded me, as

we walked together back up to his house that it was not like it was in

the movies. Straw was apparently really itchy.

I kept scooting over to his side of the truck as we drove over to

see Mrs. Freeman, and I finally got a very frustrated growl of warning.

“You’re gonna be sorry,” he growled at me. “I am fixin’ to put

you over the hood of my truck if you don’t quit.”

Never in my life had I had a lover like Rand Holloway. The men

in my bed had been hot, their perfectly chiseled gym bodies toned and

Timing

161

cut and hard, but none of them could compete with the pure masculinity

of the cowboy who sat beside me.

Rand’s thighs were like granite from riding a horse, his hands

callused, the veins in his arms prominent from working all his life. He

had a deep tan and streaks in his hair from being outside in the sun. His

father had been a big man, so he was too; he didn’t lift weights or swim

or do anything but make his living as a cowboy, and that had created a

body to die for. Now that I had permission, I could barely keep my

hands off the rippling muscles, the long legs, and the dimple in his

chin. I was acting like I was in heat, but it didn’t seem to be bothering

Rand. His deep chuckle made me whimper with fresh need.

“What’re you gonna do Tuesday when you gotta fly away from

me?” he asked, his arm sliding down my shoulder, tucking me up