The Cowboy and the Angel (30 page)

“I would make love to you right now if I had the time,” he growled, pressing his whiskered jaw against her shoulder, kissing the curve of her breast before taking her fully into his mouth.

“Damn animals,” she agreed, her eyelids heavy as he sucked at the flesh, flicking the nipple with his tongue and sending shivers of delight over her flesh.

“Mmm, but they need to eat.” He moved over her, his knee between her thighs. His free hand grazed her hip before his finger followed the line of her pelvic bone and hesitated at her inner thigh. His denim-encased thigh brushed against her sex and she moaned.

“I wasn’t talking about them,” she said, twining her fingers at the back of his head. “I meant us.” Her voice was husky with longing.

Derek chuckled. “Someone else can feed.” He slid his finger into her wetness. Her hips bucked against him as his thumb found the spot that drove her crazy.

She crested the waves of desire, reaching for the moment when the rest of the world ceased to exist. She protested when he moved away from her, kicking off his boots and dropping his jeans to the floor. She heard the rip of foil tearing and he returned, pressing into her in one swift movement.

A sigh escaped him and he dropped his head backward as she felt him shudder. “You’re like heaven . . . my angel.”

He leaned forward before rolling onto his side, pulling her with him. They both realized too late that there was no mattress beneath him and fell the short distance to the floor in a tangle of naked arms and legs.

“Ow! Shit!”

Derek had broken their fall, landing with his perfectly rounded buttocks on his boots. She burst out laughing as he tossed them aside.

“Are you all right?” She tried to stop laughing, praying that nothing important was injured.

Derek glared at her and arched a brow. “You think this is funny?”

“It’s hilarious.” She giggled, burying her face in his chest.

He lifted her to straddle his hips and slid her down the length of him. She groaned with pleasure.
Nothing broken here.

Cupping her breasts, Derek took her to new peaks of gratification before joining her in the heights. Afterward, she collapsed onto his chest, praying for the ability to move as his fingers traced the trail of her spine.

D
EREK LOOKED DOWN
at the woman on his chest and his heart clenched. He hadn’t missed the conflict she fought through last night. Seeing the fear that had flooded her eyes, he almost gave in and confessed his feelings for her, but he’d been around enough to know you couldn’t smother fear. She pulled away, retreating into her protective shell, and the only way to draw her heart back to his was tenderness. A night of passion wasn’t worth giving up what was developing between them, even if his body was in direct opposition with his heart. Derek wondered if she regretted their lovemaking. Her body clutched him, still buried within her, and he groaned in his chest. If she did, it wasn’t enough to avoid repeating their mistake several times. And he couldn’t silence the pessimistic voice warning him he was making yet another mistake.

He hadn’t meant for them to end up in bed last night. In fact, he’d entered the trailer furious about the fact that he couldn’t completely refute Joe’s accusation. As much as he wanted to believe that she wasn’t using him and his family to launch her career, she’d already admitted she would do whatever it took to get ratings. The reporter he’d met at the rodeo grounds that first day wouldn’t have thought twice about sleeping with a man to get ahead, but he was having a difficult time seeing that woman in the one he held in his arms.

His fingers brushed her hair back from her temples and he looked at her closed eyes, a slight smile curving her lips. As much as he warned himself to keep his distance, if only to protect his family from the ramifications of negative press, his heart had tumbled ahead, refusing to listen.

Derek knew this wasn’t lust, although that hadn’t been lacking. The more he was around her, the more he felt like he was seeing the real Angela—someone
she
didn’t even know—and he couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

“I really do have to get up, Angel,” he said pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Do you have to?” she complained.

“Yes,” he laughed, “unless you want Jake or Mike to come walking into the trailer and find us lying naked on the floor.”

Her eyes grew wide and a blush crept over her cheeks. It made her look innocent and adorable. She scrambled to grab a blanket from the top of the bed and wrap it around herself as she stood up.

“Don’t you dare cover up.” He stood and pushed the blanket from her shoulders, his hands finding her waist and pulling her against him. He pressed a kiss to her cheekbone before moving to her eyelid and forehead.

“They could come in any second,” she protested.

“The door is locked.” He grinned at her as she looked up at him, annoyance written all over her face. “How else was I supposed to get you up?” He laughed and winked at her as he let go of her and pulled on his pants. “I do have a job to do today, you know. As much as I’d love to stay for this rodeo, there’s one out there I already committed to.”

She pursed her lips in mock anger. “Get out and let me take a shower.”

He crossed the small room in only a few steps. “Woman, stop teasing me. I don’t have time to keep servicing your insatiable needs.”

“Out!” She pointed her finger at him, picking up a boot and tossing it toward him.

Derek caught the boot and slipped it on, laughing as he made his way into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for each of them. “Cream or sugar?” he called.

“Both, please.”

He heard the shower turn on and was hard-pressed to distract himself from thinking about the warm water sluicing over that perfect satin flesh. He was failing miserably, his body responding to the mere thought of the way the water would be covering her breasts, sluicing through the valley between them. He was considering sneaking into the shower with her when the handle of the trailer rattled and a knock followed. He sighed and unlocked the door, forcing his fantasies to wait until tonight when he could act on them.

Scott entered, looking exhausted. “So, what’s new?” He took one of the cups of coffee Derek had poured and sipped it.

“I don’t kiss and tell.” Derek reached for another cup as the water stopped in the bathroom. He closed the curtain blocking the bedroom and bathroom from view of the kitchen, making sure Angela had some privacy.

“Then there was kissing?” Scott’s eyes were filled with humor. “I’m sure Sydney and Jen will be happy to hear that.”

Derek shot him a look of warning, unsure how Angela would tolerate teasing this morning. He wasn’t sure she was ready for their relationship to be made public just yet.

“Why don’t we just keep all of this between the two of us for now,” he suggested as he sipped the brew.

Scott shrugged it off. “Derek, the entire crew is hoping the two of you end up together. It’s good to see the fun Derek back again.”

Derek frowned. “I thought it was time for me to ‘grow up and take responsibility,’ remember?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you stop living and having fun.” He sipped his coffee. “You’ve been trying so hard to be
me
that you’ve forgotten how to be you.”

Derek shook his head. “Do you always get this deep when you’ve been up driving all night?”

“I slept a few hours before I left.” Scott looked up as the curtain between the rooms moved. “Morning Angela,” he said, tipping his cup to her.

“Good morning, Scott. I didn’t expect to see you back so soon.” She took the cup of coffee Derek held out to her, her cheeks coloring.

Derek wondered if she’d heard their conversation and needed to find out where her head was, with the story and their relationship.

“Mike wants to head back to the ranch tonight after the rodeo.” He caught her frown. “We’ll have to rest the bulls a bit before we take off, but we would still be home by dark.”

Derek finished his coffee and placed the cup in the sink. “I hate unloading the animals at night.”

“It’s not so bad since we put in the extra lights now.” Scott yawned. “I’m gonna go catch a little sleep while you get started.”

“I’ll come get you in a couple hours,” Derek promised. “Thanks for making it back so fast.”

“We have a rodeo today, so try to keep your hands off each other and stay focused.”

She’d been quiet during their discussion but choked at his parting statement. Derek patted her back.

“He’s only joking,” he assured her. He put his own cup into the sink and pulled her close for a kiss.

She held her hand against his chest. “Derek, we need to talk.”

He frowned, noting the disapproving tone of her voice. This sounded like “reporter Angela,” not the Angel he’d come to know, and he didn’t like the sound of it. “We will when we get back to the ranch, I promise. But for now, can we just enjoy this?”

She glanced up at him through dark lashes fanning against her brows. How had he not noticed how long her eyelashes were?

“
This
is what we need to talk about.”

He wasn’t going to let her analyze what happened between them like it was research for one of her reports. He kissed her eyes closed before moving to her sweet lips, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth to taste her. She leaned into him, allowing him to draw her against him, and he felt himself go hard. Damn if this woman didn’t excite him more than anything he’d ever experienced.

“We’ll talk on the way home tonight.” He forced himself to hurry out the door before he carried her back into the bedroom and ravished her the way his body was begging him to do.

D
EREK SAT ON
the gelding as the sun beat down on him. It was hot and humid and his shirt stuck to him as he glanced toward the announcer’s booth where Angela waited. He heard her talking with Joe earlier about the story, trying to convince him to make it a series. She was heading to the rodeo in Folsom with them on Friday, since she had four cowboys to follow up with: one bulldogger with a fractured wrist, as well as the bull rider with broken ribs and two bareback riders with shoulder injuries. Nothing too dangerous, but the injuries had been caught on tape when they happened, and Angela was able to interview them in the medical tent. As much as it wouldn’t help her story, he just wanted to finish this rodeo without any further trouble.

His gelding hung his head as Derek untied his rope and dropped it over the saddle horn. The crew began loading the first bulls into the chutes. Through the slats he saw a commotion in the pen. The crash of a massive animal against the metal panels echoed over the loudspeaker. Derek nudged his horse to move toward the back gate to inspect the chaos.

“Jake, what’s going on back there?”

“It’s Devil May Care boss. He’s acting like it’s his first time out. He’s already kicked one of the boys in the thigh.”

“You want to pull him?” Scott asked as he rode up. “Is he hurt?”

“Naw, he’ll just have the medic look at it. He’ll probably have a doozy of a bruised thigh, though.”

Derek sighed, irritably. “The bull, Jake,” he clarified.

“Oh, no.” He waved them off. “He’s fine, not a scratch on him. I think he’s just cranky today because it’s hot and he doesn’t want to work.”

Derek hated days like this. None of the animals performed well in this kind of weather, which in turn gave the cowboys more to complain about. He’d already heard from several of the bronc riders because the horses hadn’t bucked as hard as they expected, bringing the scores down for those competing for national titles. These were the days when less-than-honest cowboys would break the rules, trying to sneak small electric prods or over-tightening straps on the animals to get them excited. Animals, on the other hand, became unpredictable, which lead to injuries, both animal and human. With Angela’s news crew videotaping every move, it was the worst scenario for him. Derek motioned for Scott to head back to his spot in the corner of the arena across from him.

“Mike,” Derek called. He already spotted Joe and Skip near the bullpens this morning, inspecting the stock closely. It made him nervous.

“I’ve already got eyes back here,” Mike yelled as if he’d read Derek’s thoughts. “Nothing illegal.”

Derek couldn’t shake the churning in the pit of his stomach as apprehension crept over his shoulders. The nagging premonition of trouble gnawed at him as he sat on his gelding at the far end of the arena while the bulls were shuffled into the bucking chutes. He watched several cowboys straddling the top rungs of the chutes, slipping ropes to the side of the bull while their traveling partners hooked the rope underneath the bull and helped them get their knots right. There was nothing amiss, and he frowned watching the first cowboy settle over his left arm, his right holding the gate in a light grip. At his nod, the bull burst from the chute, immediately turning right and coming down on his front feet. Derek knew the bull and saw that he wasn’t bucking the way he usually did. His normal routine was to buck hard and straight. But after a few turns, the bull stalled and remained still. The crowd groaned and the cowboy bumped him with his heel. The bull jerked a bit but refused to move.

The announcer cracked a joke about the bull being stubborn and proclaimed that the rider would be allowed a re-ride. Derek cringed, knowing that would run the rodeo longer, especially if several of the bulls acted this way due to the heat. There was a slam of metal gates, and one of the cowboys jumped from inside the chute to the top rails. He glanced at his brother across the arena. Devil was already a difficult bull to ride, one of the best in the nation, but if he was unpredictable, it could be dangerous. Scott shook his head and gave him a thumbs-up sign.

The next two bulls came out and performed well, but both riders were green, coming off well before eight seconds. The bull in the arena, a stubborn red beast, wouldn’t exit when Scott and Derek rode behind it, so Scott tossed a loop around his horns, guiding him back to the open gate leading to the holding pen behind the chutes. Dropping his rope, he let one of the crew pull it from the bull’s horns in the safety of the pen and grabbed another through the fence.