Dangerous Curves Ahead 2 (Cowboy / BBW Erotic Romance) (2 page)

He knew he
could make Krista understand if he got the chance, but it seemed first he had
to convince her friend. “So, if Krista didn’t ask you to call, why exactly did
you call me?”

She paused
for a moment before answering. “Because, I found the ripped up card from the
florist with your phone number on it and I read the note. If you were just
interested in a one-night stand, I hardly think you would bother sending
flowers with your phone number attached. You did send flowers, right?”

Jake ran his
hand through his hair. “Yeah, I sent a lot of flowers. You didn’t see them?”

Laughing,
Jenna responded. “No, they weren’t in the garbage with the hat. Krista probably
gave them away to someone. She would feel bad about tossing them out.”

Jake thought
about his next move. This was his only chance to connect with Krista again. He
thought up a million excuses for his behavior, but he decided to just come
clean. “Jenna, I’d like to see Krista again. I have to admit that last night I
was thinking in terms of a, uh, casual hook-up at first. But then I got to
spend some time with her and I thought we really hit it off. I made the mistake
of not being totally truthful with her, but I’d like a chance to make it up to
her.”

He held his
breath waiting for her answer.

“There’s no
way Krista’s going to give you another chance. But luckily I’m a good friend.
So I’ll help you with Krista, as long as you promise me you won’t hurt her.”

Jake let out
his breath. “Well, I have no intentions of hurting her. I just want to get to
know her better."

Jenna
sighed. “Okay. So now I just have to figure out a way to convince Krista to go
along with this.”

****

It had been
an interminably long work week, so I was excited to spend Friday evening with a
good book and a glass of wine. I had no responsibilities and no plans for most
of the weekend. While it felt relaxing at the moment, I knew that tomorrow I
would be going crazy, wallowing in my loneliness as my friends went out on
dates or paired off with their boyfriends for romantic activities while I sat
around.

I could
always go shopping or to the movies by myself but the thought was depressing.
Why was it so hard to meet a decent man? I didn’t need a stunning hunk of man
like Jake, just an average nice guy who appreciated an average girl. Preferably
one that could give me mind-blowing orgasms like Jake did.

I threw down
my half-finished novel in disgust. Why couldn't I get Jake out of my head? He
had invaded my thoughts all week long and despite how hard I tried, I just couldn’t
shake him.

The man was
a lying cheater, but despite my best efforts, my mind kept drifting back to the
other parts of our meeting. The electrifying kiss on the dance floor. The sight
of his nude body, which was mouth-watering perfection. The way he had dominated
me in bed, removing all my fears and insecurities without my even realizing it.
He was a master at seduction, and who wouldn’t want to be seduced by such a
fine specimen? And, of course, the orgasms. Bringing me to climax over and over
again during our love-making.

It had all
been so magical, an absolute fantasy come true. Which made it all the more
depressing that it was all under false pretenses. That Jake had only been
interested in one thing. And the fake name proved it. Too bad I wasn’t into one-night
stands, because it would have been marvelous for what it was. Unfortunately,
the memory only proved torturous now.

I got up to
refill my wine glass when my phone rang. I glanced at the phone and smiled when
I saw it was Jenna. She had already tried to convince me to come out with her,
but I was firmly ensconced on my couch for the night.

“Hi Jenna.
Miss me already?” I could hear music in the background.

Jenna spoke
loudly into the phone, “Do you have the pink fuzzy slippers on?”

I wiggled my
feet as I spoke. “Yep. Nice and comfy.”

Jenna
laughed. “Well, I know for sure that I can’t entice you to come out now.
Actually, I was calling about tomorrow. I know you said you weren’t doing
anything…”

“No plans
for tomorrow. What’s going on?” I was cautiously optimistic. Maybe Jenna had
something fun going on. Anything would beat sitting in my apartment mooning
over the fake-named Jake.

Jenna spoke
quickly, “Well, I’m babysitting my niece and nephew for the day. And they’re so
exhausting and you know how I am with kids. And you’re so terrific. I’m going
to take them to the park and maybe the zoo, but I don’t know if I can do it all
by myself. Since you’re not doing anything, please do me a huge favor and come
out with us.”

She didn’t
have to do a lot of arm twisting. It only took me a moment to decide. I loved
being around kids and a day out with them sounded like fun. The park, the zoo
and maybe I could convince her to go for some ice cream – it all sounded
like fun.

“Sure, I’ll
take pity on you and come along. But you’re going to owe me one.” It was better
not to show her how eager I was to get out. Besides, having her owe me a favor
was sure to come in handy sometime.

Jenna
sounded relieved. “Oh thank God! You’re the best. I’ll pick you up around ten.
Oh, and dress comfortably, jeans or something, we’re going to be doing a lot of
walking. But make sure you look nice, too. Er, there could be lots of cute guys
at the zoo.”

I rolled my
eyes. “I’ll be sure to wear my
best
jeans. I’m sure all the monkeys will
appreciate it at least.”

“Thanks.
You’re not going to regret this!” The background noise was getting louder. “And
really, just try to look nice – all jokes aside. Maybe I’ll be able to
persuade you to go out after we get rid of the rug rats.”

I laughed at
her persistence. “Okay, I’ll make sure I’m presentable. Have fun tonight and
I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“See you
tomorrow. Bye.” She hung up.

It was still
fairly early, but now that I had plans for the next day, I decided to turn in
for the night.  Hopefully, with my hands full keeping an eye on two
energetic toddlers, I wouldn’t spare a single thought to the treacherous hunk, Jake.

In the
morning, I ate a leisurely breakfast and then got ready for the day ahead.
Jenna's strange comments about looking nice must have gotten to me, because I
paid extra attention to my appearance. I blow-dried and styled my hair instead
of just throwing it into a ponytail.

I must have
already subconsciously picked out my outfit, because I moved to the closet and
picked out a purple wrap-around top that showed off my natural assets without
being too flashy. Then I dug through my pile of jeans until I got to a
favorite. Those particular jeans were ungodly expensive, but when I put them on
and they hugged my curves in all the right places, I almost felt sexy.

Noting that
Jenna would arrive soon, I quickly got dressed. I found my most comfortable
pair of black boots, with just a small heel, to finish the outfit. A few pieces
of casual jewelry and a splash of perfume and I was ready for the day.

I tossed a
few items of makeup into my purse for later, in case we went out to dinner afterwards
and glanced into the full-length mirror. No, I'd never be a fashion model, but
with the right clothes, I looked damned good. Any man would be lucky to be with
me.
Take that Jake!
I laughed at my little pep talk. I highly doubted
there would be stunning men like Jake to impress at the zoo.

Jenna
arrived promptly at ten with her niece and nephew already settled into the
backseat, chattering non-stop.

She assessed
my appearance as I got into the car. "Wow, Krista. You look good. I hope
you're not wearing granny panties under all that."

"I
don't even own any granny panties, thank you very much. Why are you so
interested in my panties, Jenna? Your fixation on my appearance is getting a
little creepy," I teased light-heartedly.

Jenna
glanced into the backseat, but the kids were paying no attention to us. "Sorry.
It's just that you seemed so down this week, especially after that whole Jake
debacle. I'm glad to see that it hasn't shaken your confidence, that's
all."

I shifted uncomfortably
in my seat at the sound of his name. "I'm certainly not going to let Jake
bother me. In fact, I haven't even thought about him once this week. I've
completely erased him from my mind."

Jenna
smirked in disbelief. "Uh huh. And I'm sure you haven't thought once about
that sexy body of his or those fantastic orgasms he gave you?"

I protested,
"It
may
have crept into my thoughts one or two times, but I'm
trying not to remember all that. And you're not helping."

Jenna shook
her head. "Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out why you would let a man
like that walk away without at least giving him a chance to explain."

"Explain
what exactly? How he used me? How he tricked me? The whole thing is humiliating
enough. Can't we just drop it?" I felt tears gathering behind my eyelids.

Jenna could
never understand. She put herself out there so easily. Men came and went,
usually at her direction. It was rare for a man to show interest in me. And
with a man like Jake, I usually ran from the inevitable pain of rejection
before it even became a possibility. This one time that I didn't, I got burned.

Jenna
sighed. "Alright. Don't get upset. I won't bring him up again. I thought
we'd go to the park for a little bit. The kids’ favorite park is out in the
country somewhere. I have the directions plugged into the GPS, so we should be
there in 45 minutes."

I leaned
back against the seat, trying to compose myself. "This must be some amazing
park - 45 minutes away?"

Jenna looked
side-ways at me. "Well, it's sort of on the way to the zoo."

Looking back
at the kids, I saw they were still happily occupied. "As long as they
don't start getting bored, we should be good. I hope there's a duck pond at
this park. I love feeding the ducks."

Jenna
snorted, but remained strangely silent. Unfortunately, I had trouble shaking
the image of Jake from my head. I sat lost in thought quietly watching the
scenery fly by as we headed to the park.

Almost a forty
minutes later, we left the highway and began traveling secondary roads. After
miles of empty countryside, I snapped out of my reverie and began growing
concerned. "Jenna, are we lost?"

Jenna
glanced at the GPS. "Nope. We should be there in five minutes."

I was
growing suspicious. "Why are we going to a park in the middle of nowhere?
I bet there are dozens of parks closer to us-"

"This
particular park has a lot of nice features. Trust me." She spoke a little
too hastily.

Now I was on
full alert. "When you say 'trust me'- I
know
I'm in trouble. What's
going on?"

Jenna's
fingers tapped nervously on the steering wheel. "This is all for your own
good, Krista. Someday you'll thank me for this."

Oh no!
My eyes narrowed as I demanded answers. "You better tell me right this
instant, Jenna. What is going on?"

She glanced
at the GPS unit when it announced the upcoming turn to take. "You'll find
out soon enough. Now just relax. And remember, the kids are in the car, so no
yelling or cursing when we get there."

No
yelling or cursing?
Using her niece and nephew to buffer my
response was pretty devious. This was going to be bad.

I sat
glaring at her. "I can't even begin to imagine what you have planned. But,
if you think for one moment…"

My voice
trailed off as I saw the fancy gated archway straddling a private drive springing
up in the middle of the endless surrounding prairie on the left side of the
road. Massive stone pillars spanned the sides of the unpaved road and supported
an elaborately carved wooden sign that read, The Crenshaw Ranch.

Panic
started to infuse my body as Jenna began slowing down the car. I vaguely
noticed her worried looks in my direction, but my eyes would not budge from the
black pickup truck parked just beyond the opened gate.

The door to
the pickup truck opened when Jenna pulled off the road and onto the dusty
drive. She parked in front of the massive gateway. My heart skipped a beat as I
watched the man descend from the truck. It was Jake. And he looked as
breathtakingly sexy as ever.

"Breathe,
Krista," Jenna ordered. "Damn, that man is gorgeous."

I sat frozen
while I watched Jake approach. His well-worn jeans fit him like a second pair
of skin and his button-down shirt was rolled up at the sleeves showing off his
strong forearms. This time he wore a black cowboy hat, but it didn't look like
a shiny new replacement of the one I threw away. It looked like a natural part
of his everyday attire.

His hat, his
boots and his large silver belt buckle all marked him as a cowboy, just as he
had told me. But it was his strong, muscled physique and his confident swagger
that had my heart racing.
This man was dangerous to any living, breathing woman.