And Then You Dare (Crested Butte Cowboys Series Book 5) (16 page)

He’d watched her last night, every time she climaxed. The look
she got on her face was addictive. Five minutes after he saw it, he wanted to
see it again. Her body responded to him as though it had been his to enjoy
forever. In the same way they fit when he held her, or danced with her, their
bodies were a perfect fit when he made love to her.

As she reciprocated the care and nurturing he had given her
body, he felt his heart slipping deeper into feelings he’d never experienced
before. This was far more than lust, far more than he’d ever felt for anyone,
including Callie. Bullet knew for certain, he was falling in love with Tristan
McCullough.

***

“I wish I had time to have breakfast with you, but I’m late,
and I have a feeling no one is ever late to a training session with Buck
Bishop,” Bullet sighed.

“Buck Bishop?
The
Buck Bishop?
That’s who you’re training with?”

“Yes ma’am. Isn’t that somethin’?”

“And it’s just you. No one else is training with him this
week?”

“I got him all to myself.” Clearly Tristan understood the significance
of what that meant. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming
even as he said it.

“I’m really happy for you Bullet. This is a once in a lifetime
opportunity.” He appreciated the sentiment from her, but couldn’t help but
wonder if he still wouldn’t be good enough for Lost Cowboy, even after a week
with Buck.

“Can I watch?”

“Of course you can. But if Buck catches me flirtin’ with you,
don’t be surprised if he chases you off.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch from the dining hall porch. I won’t
be in flirting distance.”

“You’ll be in viewing distance though, which means my body
radar will be registerin’ the whole time you’re there.”

“If you’d rather I didn’t—”

“I didn’t say that. You watchin’ will just make me try harder
to be the best damn bull rider you’ve ever seen.” He pulled her close and
kissed her hard. “I hate to say this, but I gotta run.”

Bullet went out her door and into his cabin. A few minutes
later she heard the other door close and couldn’t help but look out the window.
He was a sight to behold, unclothed and clothed. He wore the same chaps he had
yesterday, and this time, a crisp white shirt with his wranglers. Tristan
watched him walk away, and counted the hours on her fingers until he’d be done
training.

Part way down the trail he stopped and looked in the direction
of her cabin. Before she had a chance to move away from the window, he tipped
his hat to let her know he knew she was watching.

She checked the time on her phone. She had a half hour to get
to the dining hall if she wanted breakfast. While she was there she’d pick up a
few things for lunch, and extra for Bullet, who hadn’t had time to eat. She
wondered if Buck would give him a break, and felt guilty that she’d kept him
occupied so long this morning.

After breakfast she sat at a table on the porch of the dining
hall, and pulled out her sketch books. She had two. One for Lost Cowboy
designs, and the other for her own collection. Along with sketching, Tristan
wanted to jot down notes for Bullet’s Lost Cowboy story. She needed to remember
to thank Lyric for the idea, and tell her daddy about it.

She hoped the story would culminate with Bullet making it to
the annual National Finals Rodeo.

***

1968

Bill walked from the house down to the corral after Clancy
gave him the news. It wasn’t that he was upset by it necessarily, it was just a
lot to get used to.

Clancy had dated his mama in high school, he told Bill. After
they broke up, and she started dating Bill’s daddy, the three remained friends.
Clancy visited his friend when he heard of his illness, and that was when Gene
Flynn asked Clancy to look out for his family after he died.

Nothing happened between them while his mama was married to
Mr. Snyder, but when she told Clancy she was divorcing him, Clancy took the
opportunity to confess his true feelings for her.

“Your mama is fine woman,” he said to Bill. “I reckon that’s
why I never married anyone else. No one came close to holdin’ a candle to
Jane.” Bill’s daddy always called her Janie. He was glad Clancy hadn’t.

Clancy told Bill he had two questions for him. The first was
to ask if he wanted to ride down with him tomorrow to pick up his mama and
sister. The other thing Clancy asked Bill was for permission to ask his mama to
marry him.

Clancy didn’t need his permission, and neither did his mama.
If needing his permission had been the case before, he would’ve refused to
permit her to marry Mr. Snyder, that was for damn sure. But now, things were
very different. This was Clancy.

He had to admit it was getting harder to remember much about
his daddy. He still missed him. But Clancy was more than a friend, he was like
a second father to him.

He had no doubt Clancy would love his mother, and care for her
and his sister. If Clancy hadn’t stepped in these last few years, Bill didn’t
know what might’ve happened to them.

When he asked about leaving the Double-P-Bar, Clancy assured
him he felt ready to leave. “In addition to the house, Russ Snyder owned a lot of
land. It belongs to your mama now too.” No matter how much land there was, Bill
doubted it could match what Clancy had at the Double-P-Bar.

“You sure about this?” he’d asked him. Clancy assured him he
was, and then asked Bill to go down to the barn and check on the horses. The
horses didn’t need checking on, Bill knew that as well as Clancy knew he needed
time to process what he’d just been told.

When he got back to the house Clancy was waiting for him on
the front porch.

“I’d like to talk to my mama tomorrow, if that’s okay with
you. And my sister.”

Clancy nodded his head.

Bill felt as though he hadn’t been a very good son or a very
good brother these last few years. He wanted that to change.

“And I want to look into colleges closer to Colorado Springs.”

Clancy didn’t protest or argue, and Bill was relieved. As much
as he had his heart set on going to Western State, where Dottie would be
attending college, he knew in his gut it was time for him to put his family
before other things in his life.

When they got back from
picking up his mama, Dottie would be at the ranch. She had asked her Aunt Sadie
if she could stay with her while she was in town for Bill’s graduation. As soon
as he could, he’d let her know he was changing his plans. He couldn’t allow himself
to hope that she’d under
stand, or be willing to continue their long
distance relationship. She’d given up a lot in high school, like going to the
prom, or dating local fellas in order to be his girl. He couldn’t ask her to
wait for him any longer than she already had.

Now that he was graduating from high school, it was time for
him to give up rodeo too. Clancy needed help with the land that now belonged to
his mama. Between working the ranch and going to college, he wouldn’t have time
to travel the rodeo circuit.

He rubbed his chest, knowing doing so wouldn’t ease the pain
he felt. He was about to let go of the only two dreams he’d had in life. One
was to an all-around rodeo cowboy champion, and the other was to marry Dottie.
These were things he’d never speak of again. If only not thinking of them were
as easy.

Bullet could sense Buck’s frustration with him, and he felt
terrible wasting the man’s time. Heck, he wasn’t just a man, he was a legend.
Instead of doing the work Buck asked him to do, Bullet got lost in Tristan
McCullough.

He had every intention of waking up early, and getting his
workout done this morning, but the lure of Tristan’s naked body in the bath was
more than he could resist.

When Buck offered to let him break for lunch, he said he’d go
get his workout done instead. Buck told him that wasn’t a good idea, and to
wait until they were done. He offered to wrap up early so Bullet would have
time to work out and get to dinner, but Bullet asked him not to do that.

As hard as it was going to
be, he wasn’t here to court Tristan, he was here to practice bull riding. A lot
of people made sacrifices both personally and financially to get him here. He
wouldn’t feel right wasting their money or their time.

“Give me a minute?” he asked
after he dismounted the last practice bull. It had been a good ride, which only
reminded him again why he was here. Buck nodded, waved, and went back to his
conversation with the guys pulling gates.

Tristan appeared lost in whatever she was working on, and
didn’t raise her head as he approached. If he had the time, he’d stand right
where he was and watch her. He could watch her for hours. She tilted her head
as she studied what was in front of her. At that angle, the way her neck
rounded open, he could sink his teeth into her, run his tongue—
what
was he doing?
He came up here to tell her he wouldn’t be joining her
for dinner tonight, not fantasize about what he wanted to do to her neck or any
other part of her body.

“Hi,” she said as he walked closer and she noticed him. “The
last ride was your best so far.”

“Thanks.” He didn’t think she had been paying that much
attention. “Uh, listen…”

“Buck wants you to focus less on me and more on bulls. Is that
what you’re trying to figure out how to tell me?”

Damn, she rattled him. “I guess. But not entirely. There are
workouts he wants me to do after we’re done each day. I didn’t get one in last
night, or this morning.” He regretted his words as soon as he spoke them. He
made it sound as though it was her fault, and it wasn’t. The responsibility
rested solely on his shoulders, and in his usual fashion, he’d shirked it.

“What did he say about ‘post-workout activities’? Anything?”

“Hmm, let me think about that,” he smiled. “He did mention
something about getting in the hot tub when I finished.”

“I see. And what about meals? I doubt Buck would be happy if
he knew you skipped both breakfast and lunch today. What about after your
workout? Think Buck would care if you ate then?”

Oh man,
the visuals she was giving him with her
questions. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate on bulls now? He might
as well tell Buck he was done for the day.

Tristan closed the book in front of her and stood. “Come here
cowboy,” she motioned him closer. “If you promise to do everything Buck tells
you, I’ll deliver supper to the hot tub later. Sound good?”

Hell yeah it did.
“Uh huh,” were the only words
he could think to say out loud.

“And if you’re a really,
really
good boy, I’ll
join you.”

Bullet almost bit his tongue as he watched her walk away. He
never
rode shotgun, but there was no question, Tristan had taken control of the
wheel.

***

On the walk back to her cabin, Tristan stopped herself from
looking back at Bullet at least a dozen times. She opened her door, and quickly
closed it behind her, resting her back against it. Who was she? She barely
recognized herself. Exactly when had she become so
brazen
?
And she wasn’t the only one surprised by her behavior. Poor Bullet had been
tongue-tied.

The thought of it made her giggle. Bullet was clearly used to
being the seducer, not the other way around. Warmth spread over her when she
thought about the effect her words had on him. She only hoped that once he got
back to the practice pen, he’d be able to focus. At least she’d given him
incentive to.

After rinsing her face with cold water, she took her
sketchbook and walked outside, going in the opposite direction from where
Bullet and Buck were working. She saw a large boulder a little higher up that
would make a perfect place for her to sit in the sun and sketch.

She settled on the rock and opened the sketchbook containing
the Lost Cowboy designs. She turned page after page, and studied the chaps
she’d worked on most of the morning.

She usually sketched just the clothing, as opposed to the
clothing on a model or mannequin. But this time, she’d drawn the chaps on a
faceless cowboy. Face or not, her model was Bullet.

It hadn’t been necessary to sketch the upper half of the body,
the chaps were for the lower half. But she hadn’t been able to stop herself.
She added detail to the shirts the cowboy wore, so when she showed the designs
to her daddy, he wouldn’t wonder. She really didn’t care about the shirts
though, just what was under them. She’d drawn them snug, so the outline of the
cowboy’s pecs, flat six-pack abs, and powerful arms were evident. She even took
the time to draw hands. In every sketch, she’d drawn Bullet’s hands.

She fanned her face. Perhaps she should’ve considered taking a
cold shower before she left her cabin. She slammed the book closed and set it
on the rock. This afternoon she’d focus on the women’s collection, and try to
keep the sexy-as-all-get-out cowboy off her mind.

Piper had outdone herself with the picnic supper she packed
for Tristan and Bullet. Grapes, strawberries, different types of cheese, and
dry salami were tucked in the basket with a baguette, and a terrine of foie
gras drizzled with a port wine sauce. She even included a bottle of Pinot Noir
and two glasses. For dessert she gave them chocolate truffles covered in
raspberry dust.

Tristan hadn’t felt hungry until Piper began describing the
basket’s contents. Now she was famished. She ran into Buck earlier, after he
finished with Bullet, who told her Bullet’s workout would take approximately
ninety minutes.

Piper promised they’d have complete privacy. The spa staff was
gone for the day, and the ranch employees weren’t allowed to use the spa if
guests were in residence.

“Here,” she said, handing Tristan a key. “It locks from the
inside too,” she winked.

***

Bullet closed his eyes and did the final set on the glute
machine. Imagining Tristan naked and waiting for him in the hot tub was all the
incentive he needed to keep going. Rather than feeling tired, each set he finished
only energized him. One step closer to his goal. And tonight, his goal was
Tristan.

He’d done as she told him, and listened to every word Buck
said. At the end of the day he was rewarded with “great work today,” and a pat
on the back from the cowboy.

As tempting as it was to let the shower’s hot water beat down
on his sore shoulders, something,
someone
more
tempting was waiting on him. He scrubbed away the sweat and grime from his
day’s work as quickly as he could, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked
through the locker room door that led to the hot tub.

The sight before him made him stop short. Tristan placed lit
candles all around the water’s perimeter. The table behind her was laden with
food, glasses filled with wine, and more candles. But that feast had nothing on
the one that waited near the in-ground spa.

Tristan was seated on the edge, leaning back and propped on
her elbows. Only her toes touched the water. Otherwise, his eyes rested on
nothing but her skin and the curves of her body.

Bullet entered the spa from the opposite side and sunk into
the water. He reached out and grasped her ankles, pulling her to him until her
naked body straddled his lap. The chill of the air outside of the warm water
made her nipples pucker tight. Holding her still he bent to lick first one, and
then the other. He went back to the first and closed his mouth around her.

The groan emanating from somewhere deep set him on fire. He
brought his mouth back on to hers, easing her into a kiss intended to soften
her, help her relax. Her body was coiled tight, as though she was ready to
strike.

He explored her body with his fingers, finding her flesh
hotter than the warm water, with a slick and heavy dampness. He stroked her
open and slipped his fingers inside her.

Tristan responded by gripping his shoulders, digging her nails
into his flesh, and kissing him with starving hunger. He deepened his finger
into her, she cried out, and clamped down hard around him.

Within minutes he was rewarded with that look, the one he craved.
She shuddered and he felt the wet warmth spill out on his hand. He continued to
watch as she came down from her climax, the sensation fading quickly, she went
limp against him.

Bullet gathered her close, and held her tight. No matter her
bravado today, she’d told him what he needed to know yesterday. “I don’t do
this,” she’d warned. Allowing herself to give in, in this open, public place
regardless that no one else was here, had to rattle her.

“Bullet?” her insecurity was a siren in her voice.

He gave her a tongue-twining kiss of reassurance, and lifted
her from the water. His hands supporting her bottom, he brought her to the
table and sat her nakedness in a chair.

“Time to eat.”

“But what about—”

He had to interrupt her. As much as she thought she was ready,
the idea of taking her on the cold concrete of the spa left him as chilled as
she’d be. When he took her again, it would be in the warmth of her bed, where
he could hold her against him, and get lost in her lusciousness.

***

1968

Dottie was perched on the fence rail when Bill got out of the
truck. Her long, blonde hair waved in the wind, and her smile dimmed the sun.

“Who’s that?” asked his sister, who rode with him while Clancy
and his mama followed in the car that had belonged to Mr. Snyder. Bill hadn’t
wanted them to drive it here, but there wasn’t any choice. The four of them
wouldn’t fit in the truck, and Bill was insistent he ride down with Clancy
rather than wait until they returned to talk to his mama.

“That’s Dottie,” Bill answered, unused to having someone
around who asked so many questions. The entire ride from Colorado Springs had
been an endless Q&A. At first he wanted to tell her his life was none of
her business, as he would’ve anyone else, but his determination to be a better
son and brother, made him answer her questions as honestly as he could.

He wasn’t sure what else to tell about Dottie. Bill didn’t
know how to define their relationship. She was a friend, but so much more than
that. However, after he told her he wasn’t going to be attending Western State
in the fall as planned, he doubted they’d continue to be more than friends, if
that.

“She’s your girlfriend,” his sister stated.

“I guess.” Bill’s shoulders tensed up, and he dreaded the
conversation he’d soon be having with Dottie.

It was three hours before they could excuse themselves and go
for a walk. Every minute had been torture for Bill. Each smile she bestowed on
him, when she took his hand in hers, even when she hugged him hello, he felt
the guilt-laden dread.

“You seem preoccupied.” The trail had narrowed and they had to
walk single-file along this section, so he couldn’t see the look on her face.

“I am.” No sense beating around the bush, he might as well get
it over with. “I’m not going to Western State.”

He’d hoped she’d keep walking, so he didn’t have to face her,
but she didn’t. She stopped, turned around, and put her hands on her hips.
“What do you mean you’re not going?”

Bill could see the clearing a few paces ahead. He suggested
they continue walking and he’d explain further when they could sit down and
talk face-to-face. Dottie, in her usual way, walked to the clearing with a
smile on her face, and sat down on the warm grass. “Explain yourself Bill
Flynn.”

Bill wished she’d stop smiling at him. Couldn’t she sense his
agony? What if she cried when he told her his reasons? He’d only seen her cry
one time, and that was when the calf died during the tie-down roping event in
Gunnison. And that hadn’t been up close.

“Bill,” she said softly. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

He wasn’t sure how far back to go, so he began the night he
met Mr. Snyder. When he told her how uneasy he’d felt about the man, the smile
left her face. When he told her how many times Clancy had driven to Colorado
Springs to help his mama, she grimaced. And then, when he told her about Clancy
asking his mama to marry him, her smile lit up her face once again.

“I need to help out,” he explained. “And that means living in
Black Forest, just outside of Colorado Springs. That’s where the ranch is.”

“What about college?”

He told her he still planned to go, he might get a later start
than he hoped, but Clancy assured him he’d help him get into the state college.

“So I guess you’ve waited all this while for nothin’.” He
couldn’t look at her when he said it. He braced himself for the break-up he
felt sure was coming.

“The last thing you are, Bill Flynn, is ‘nothin’. But you’re
right, I’m done waiting.”

“I understand.” Bill’s voice shook in a way he couldn’t
control. He only hoped he could keep the rest of the emotions he was feeling at
bay, and not embarrass himself too much.

“I don’t think you do.”

“We’re breakin’ up. I get it. And honestly Dottie, I do
understand. I’m just sorry you’ve wasted—”