Trouble With a Cowboy (2 page)

"We
could always find a table or play a little eight ball. There's one free."

"Sure,
why not," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

If there's one thing I love, it's
playing pool and it doesn't hurt that one hot cowboy wants to play. I wonder
how friendly he really wants to get.

"Up
for a little adventure?"

A
sexy smile spread across his face. "Adventure?"

"Down
boy. I'm only askin' if you want to play for a little cash."

His
lips formed a pout and she had to stifle a giggle.

"Five
bucks a game?"

"That
could get mighty expensive unless you're good," he replied, pulling out
his wallet to lay a five dollar bill on the edge of the table. "You're on,
babe."

Chalking
the stick while he racked the balls, she debated on whether to tell him how
often she shot pool.
Nah. Let him suffer
a bit. Taking him down a notch or two won't be a bad thing.
Besides, his ass fills out those jeans
mighty nicely when he bends over the table.

For
the next two hours, they continued to knock the balls around the table fairly
evenly. Beer flowed as bottle after bottle appeared at their table. Little did
her pool partner know, she held her liquor well. It would take a lot more than
a few beers to get her drunk.

The
flirting got raunchier with each passing compliment or innuendo and she thought
about upping the ante to include a roll in the hay or between the sheets.
Rarely did she run into a man who could send her thoughts in the direction of
hot, sweaty sex so quickly, but Tucker sure had her thinking about it and
thinking about it hard.

Kyle
walked by their table a couple of times, piercing her with a wait until I get
you alone stare. She wondered if she should ask Tucker to take her to the
hotel. A shiver of apprehension slithered down her back. Something sinister
lurked in Kyle’s eyes.

The
games seemed to be pretty well matched. Both of them won four games apiece and
now they were in a stare down.

"One
more game?" he asked before he tipped the bottle to his lips.

Damn, he's got one sexy mouth. I
wonder what it would feel like sucking my clit.
She let the cool liquid slide down her throat as she took a long swig, hoping to
cool some of the desire rushing through her with each look from Tucker's
gorgeous eyes.

"Winner
takes all?" she asked with a saucy toss of her curls.

A
flirty grin spread across his lips, bringing the lone dimple in his cheek to
the surface. "What did you have in mind, darlin'?"

She
stopped in front of him to let her fingers crawl up his chest. "Mmm…maybe
checkin' out how squeaky the springs are on the bed in my hotel room?"

"How
does that fit into winner takes all? Sounds like both of us would win."

"Maybe,"
she whispered and shrugged one shoulder as she looked up at him through her
lashes. "If I win, I get to handcuff you to the bed and do whatever I want
to with this gorgeous body."

"And
if I win?" His voice dropped to a sexy growl. She could feel his chest
vibrate under her fingers.

"You
get to decide," she replied with a tilt of her head.

"Hot
damn! Bring it on, darlin'."

She
almost laughed at his enthusiasm, but decided to let his handsome smile send
anticipation rolling down her back instead. The hot zip of need and shiver of
desire he enticed, had her wondering at what kind of delights he could bring to
her body when their clothes came off. Come off they would—eventually.

Once
the balls were racked and the pool cues chalked, she broke the balls into a
nice mixture of placement. The decision on whether to let him win came as a
hard one. The thought of having him spread eagle on her bed, open to her
exploration of his body, verses letting him do whatever his little heart
desired to her, made her stomach clench and her pussy cream.

The
position over the side of the table as she went to make her next shot made her
exhale forcibly. One warm palm smoothed over her ass cheek made her squeak,
forcing her pool cue to glance off the edge of the ball.

"Not
fair, cowboy," she said, straightening up, watching him walk around the
other side of the table.

"All's
fair in love and pool," he replied with a wicked grin and a twinkle of
challenge in his eyes.

"Ah.
So we're going to play that way, are we? Two can bend the rules like that."

He
leaned over the pool table, winked and blew her a kiss before he cracked the
balls in several directions, landing two solids into their respective pockets.

Shit! It appears I've been taken
for a ride. The man's good.
"Well, now. You've
been playin' possum. Hold onto your belt buckle, cowboy, 'cause you're in for
the ride of your life."

A
wide smile spread across his mouth. "Come on, darlin'. I'm ready."

She
missed a shot.

He
missed a shot.

She
pocketed one stripe and he pocketed one solid.

One
shot separated them with her turn to shoot. The ball sailed into the
appropriate pocket and they were now dead even with nothing more than the eight
ball to go. He had the next shot.

"So
what's it gonna be, cowboy? Which hole?" she asked, widening her stance
and bracing her legs apart so her belt buckle almost rested on the edge of the
left corner pocket.

"Right
between your gorgeous thighs, babe."

Interesting choice of words. Let's
see if I can make this a bit more exciting.

She
ran her tongue over her lips as she bent down to rest an elbow on the edge,
giving him one hell of a view down the front of her tank top.

With
one eyebrow arched, she challenged him with what she hoped looked like a sexy
peek through her lashes and an I-dare-you glance.

The
sexy-as-hell grin spreading across his face had her biting her lip.

The
cue cracked against the ball and sent the black eight ball straight for her.
Her breath caught in her throat while it sailed right at the pocket.

* * * *

Come on ball, you can do it. I need
to get this pretty little honey in bed tonight. My dick is so fucking hard, I
can't stand the pressure behind my fly. I'm stuck in this hell hole in the
middle of Oklahoma until I can get another big rig to pull the trailer to
Vegas. Who says I can't have a nice babe like her to warm my bed for a day or
two.

Tucker
prayed and prayed hard. When the ball bounced off the edge of the pocket and
reflected away, he closed his eyes with a groan.

The
brush of her tits against his arm and the warmth of her breath against his ear
almost had him coming in his pants.

"You
missed," she whispered, then ran her tongue around the shell of his ear.

I don't think I've ever been this
damned horny.

"Seems
I did. Your shot, darlin'. Which pocket?"

Her
tongue rimmed her pouty red lips and his dick got harder than he thought
possible. When she'd first walked into the bar, he knew she wasn’t from around
here. No way. A pretty thing like her wouldn't hang her hat in small-town
America. As he watched her put Kyle in his place, he knew he liked her style and
wanted to find out more about her. Her big hazel eyes held a sparkle and a
challenge to every male in the room. It wouldn't be easy gettin' in her pants,
but he wanted to try—Lord he wanted to try. Plus the images zipping across his
mind of her on her knees in front of him, sucking him hard between those luscious
lips while he wrapped his hands in her glorious, thick brown tresses, made the
challenge even sweeter.

"Right
corner, cowboy. And you stand over there," she said, pointing to the far
side of the table. "No more free groping."

"I
sure didn't expect it to be free. I knew I'd be payin' up later."

"Damn
right," she replied as she lined up her shot.

He
knew she had to be good if she'd challenge him to five bucks a game. What she
didn't know was he played several nights a week and actually made pretty good
money betting against fools who thought they could beat him. Their skills
turned out to be fairly even.

"Take
your shot, honey."

With
her pool cue lined up, she slid the round stick through her fingers and
narrowed her eyes. The stick cracked against the ball, sending it flying over
the felt. The black ball bounced off the edge of the hole, spun around twice
before it teetered on the edge and then fell in.

The
smile spreading across her full lips made him want nothing more than to pull
her into his arms and kiss her until they were both breathless.

"You
lost," she said, letting her fingers crawl up his chest to toy with the
buttons on the front of his shirt.

"I
sure did. I sure can't wait to let you handcuff me to the bed."

The
fingers stopped their dance and her eyes narrowed slightly as their gazes met. "You
didn't let me win, did you? Because if you did, it nullifies the whole
deal."

"Gentleman
I am, but I never
let
anyone win at
pool even if the temptation was there with you spelling out your terms," he
murmured, then nudged his nose against her ear. "I couldn't quite decide
whether I wanted to win so I could do whatever I wanted to your sweet body, or
let you have your way with me."

"I'm
thinkin' I like both scenarios," she whispered.

"Back
to your place?"

"Sounds
like a plan to me."

"Let
me hit the restroom first and we'll blow this joint."

"I'll
meet you outside. I need to cool off."

"Babe,
hot is your middle name."

"Such
a charmer, Tucker," she said before she kissed him on the cheek. "I’ll
see you in a minute."

He
tipped his hat as he headed for the bathroom. When she'd disappeared earlier,
he'd checked his wallet realizing he'd forgotten to stock it with a condom or
two, but he knew the bathrooms in these places usually had plenty.

A
couple of bucks and a turn of the wrist gave them both the protection needed.

With
a happy tune on his lips, he headed for the double doors leading outside. The cold
November air hit his face like tiny needles pricking his skin as a chill zipped
down his spine.
Holy shit, it's still pretty
cool out here.
He glanced around but didn't see Jacie.
Well, where did she go?

Raised
voices met his ear as he strained to hear over the loud music filtering from
inside the club.

The
distinctively female tone had apprehension running down his back, urging him to
hurry in the direction of the side of the bar, especially when he heard,
"Get your fucking hands off me, Kyle, before your nuts end up in your
throat."

"Get
your hands off her, buddy, before I break your damned neck," Tucker
growled as he slid to a stop behind the other man and wrapped one arm around
Kyle's throat.

"Easy
man," Kyle said, grabbing Tucker's arm, trying to relieve the pressure on
his neck. "I only wanted to get acquainted with the lady."

"She's
with me, asshole. She already told you inside, she knows a real cowboy when she
sees one and you ain't it. I suggest you find yourself one of those buckle
bunnies in the bar and leave Jacie alone," he said, pushing Kyle toward
the doors.

"You'll
pay for this. Both of you," Kyle grumbled, but kept on moving.

"Are
you all right?" Tucker asked, worried he hadn't been in time and Kyle had
actually hurt her.

"I'm
okay," she said, her voice soft, almost unsure—not at all like the spunky
woman he'd spent the last few hours with. She picked at a torn spot on her
sleeve.

Tucker
put one finger under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Why don't
you sit down on the steps there for a minute? I'm sure you're shaken up a
bit."

"Thanks,"
she whispered.

Her
whole body trembled from her ordeal. He tried to help calm her by running his
hands up and down her arms. "How about we get a cup of coffee, huh? I know
an all-night diner in town. They make some pretty good pie too."

Her
palms ran down her arms. "I don't think so, Tucker. I'm sorry, but I
should be getting back to my room. I've got an early morning tomorrow. Being
accosted by a drunk, overbearing asshole, kind of ruined the mood."

"I'm
sorry too. Is your car parked around here?"

"I
walked."

"Let
me at least escort you to your motel. I wouldn't put it past Joe Slugger there
to try something."

Her
bottom lip disappeared between her teeth while she contemplated his offer.
She could be thinking I'm just as big of an
asshole as Kyle.
In an attempt to reassure her, he said, "Only a ride
to the motel, Jacie. I promise."