Just Her Luck (30 page)

"Aw, Genny, don't talk like that."

He unburied my face from my blanket cocoon and gave me a sympathetic smile.

"It won't be that bad."

I gaped at him.

"Not that bad! Not that bad!!!!" I squawked, "I was sucking you off! And everyone heard! You were very...
vocal
about it! And then we... and the noises... oh, god,
the noises...
and then you... and then I... and
oh..."

"At least now I don't have to worry about everyone not knowing your mine," he said thoughtfully.

"Do you want to hang by your toes along with Bowen?" I snarled.

"No, ma’am, can't say that I do," he added hastily.

"Then, Ephraim,
shut up!"

The phone rang and I squirmed out of his arms.

I walked over, blanket and all, and picked it up.

He must have put it back on my desk for me, at some point, while I was incapacitated.

Once I saw it was the Harrison ranch's number, I shrieked and threw it across the room, glad when it hit the wall and broke into two very gratifying pieces.

"Ring now, ya bastard!"

Ephraim came over and scooped me up, then started carrying me towards the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" I muttered, watching him as he set me down gently, making sure my feet were firmly planted on the floor before he released me to walk over to the tub.

"Is it safe to talk now?" His voice was low but even, his back turned, fiddling with the knobs.

I watched his naked rump flex and sway as he got the tub plugged and started.

"Yes," I said quietly, looking away when he turned back around.

"I want you to get in that tub and relax," he pointed at the warm water as steam wafted up, "Don't you argue with me neither. Do you hear me," he said quietly, sternly, making me look up in surprise at the bit of steel in his voice.

Well… I've never heard him talk to me like
that
before.

My nipples hardened right up, standing to attention.

Then again, other than when he's pissed at Thatcher or something, I've never heard my laid back cowboy make much of a fuss about anything.

It's kind of sexy when he gets all bossy like that
, I thought, looking up at him innocently, making sure he didn't catch on.

Can't have him getting any ideas about that, now can I?

He might get it into his fool head to do it all the time, then where would I be?

A slobbering hot mess,
I answered myself.

"Are you gonna fight me on this, baby?"

He had his hands on his lean hips, legs braced apart, mulish expression on his bearded face, blue eyes daring me to argue with him.

And good lord, did he look yummy.

"Are you going to join me?" I asked quietly, giving him a crooked smile, letting my blanket slip down off my shoulders, exposing the tops of my breasts.

"Uhm, I was going to make us something to eat, but..."

"Oh. Well..." I covered back up, walking right past him towards the tub. "It's okay," I said over my shoulder, "I understand."

I let the blanket drop and leaned forward over the tub, fiddling with the bottles of bubble bath.

And three... two... one...

A harsh groan and then...

"Eating is over rated," Ephraim ground out, plastering himself against my back, arms wrapping around me to cup my breasts, "I'm due for a bath anyways."

I let out a bawdy laugh, then proceeded to let my cowlicked sexy man 'help me' relax.

I have to say, bullshit aside, I have never been so thoroughly washed up or
relaxed
in my life.

Note to self, I need to buy more soap.

And look into getting a bigger bathtub.

With A Bo

"Are you sure you won't come with me? I won't let anyone say anything. Not sure they would anyways."

I shook my head.

"You sure?" Ephraim asked one last time, reluctantly kissing me good bye.

"If I never show my face there again, it'll be too soon."

I shuddered, dreading going back to the ranch.

"It won't be so bad. If you come home later, like you want, everyone should be gone by then. I don't see anyone stayin' the night. Although... I sure would like ya to."

I sighed and pulled out of his reassuring, good-bye hug, standing back, watching him get inside his truck.

He rolled down the window and ran his hand down my cheek.

"I'll miss you, baby."

"Naw," I teased, "you'll just miss
gettin' some
." I grinned teasingly, mimicking him perfectly.

He chuckled, his hand sliding into my hair, gliding upward through the wild, dark strands, cupping the nape of my neck, leaning out the window a little to kiss me again.

"Mmmm," he moaned into my mouth, then pulled away, tongue peeking out a bit to lick across his lips.

I smiled and kissed the palm of his hand when it came across my cheek again as he started to withdraw it.

"I'll miss everything about you, Genny Ferguson. You can bet on that," he murmured huskily, eyes twinkling happily.

"You better go on," I urged him, "You have a drive ahead of you and you can't be late to your own birthday party."

He sighed heavily and winked, letting me know he was putting on an act, teasing with me playfully.

"Won't be the same without you, baby."

He gave me a big, sad, soulful look.

"Get goin'," I chuckled, laughing at him, waving as I walked back up onto my front porch.

I waited until he pulled out, and with one last wave, drove off.

"How the hell do you face a ranch full of people who heard you doing the nasty?" I asked aloud as I walked into my empty kitchen. "Long... loud... thank you Jesus... slob your man's knob... monkey sex..." I muttered under my breath, trudging towards the stairs.

I hemmed and hawed, worrying about how it would go, what would happen.

Would anyone be stupid enough to say anything about it?

Good grief, I hope not.

Tromping up the stairs, I groaned.

Oh, I’m never going to live this down.

My eye started twitching, anxiety kicking up again, making me rethink Ephraim's reassurances that nobody would say anything as I berated and debated with myself.

"I sure do hope Bowen has good medical Insurance," I growled caustically, slapping my bag down on the bed as I started to pack it with clothes, trying to ready myself for whatever was to come when I returned to the Harrison's place, "He might need it when
I'm
done with him."

My house phone rang and I glanced at it, then thought of Ephraim and perked up.

Ooooh, maybe Ephraim changed his mind.

I smiled suddenly at the thought.

"Changed your mind, cowboy?" I purred when I clicked it on, having just done a swan dive for it on the last ring, oomph-ing as I plopped down with it on my bed.

"Yes, but it's too late to do anything else now, so I hope you can forgive me."

I didn't answer, the silence almost deafening as Bowen breathed quietly from the other end.

"Are you still there, Vieve? Please don't hang up. I..."

"You just what?" I cut him off, clenching the shirt I now held in my hands.

"It was an accident," he said quietly, gruffly, properly contrite.

He should be, damn it!

And a shit load of other things too!

"I am so mad at you right now, it’s not even funny, Bo."

"I know, sweetheart, and I..."

"Don't you
sweetheart
me! You..."

"God damn it!" he burst out angrily, "Do you think I wanted everyone to hear that?! That I'd do something like that on purpose?! I'm going fucking nuts!"

"Yeah!" I shouted right back, "Well, join the club!"

I flung the shirt I'd been holding up in the air, arm thrown out to punctuate my point, even though I knew he couldn't see it.

Hey, it made
me
feel better, so who cares.

"I was worried. I thought something was wrong! All I heard at first was your voice and a weird muffled sound! What if you were having an asthma attack? I thought. What if she's in trouble and she's calling for help? I asked myself. A million fucking thoughts were running through my head at that moment, but none of them, Vieve, none of them were what happened. By the time I'd hit the wrong button, the muffled sound was crystal clear, and I couldn't get the god damned thing to turn off."

"I'm still mad at you," I grumbled petulantly, unable to shake the humiliation of it all off, no matter whether or not it was an accident.

I was a little mollified by the whole asthma/possible danger/worried explanation thing- nice save on his part.

I can also acknowledge that I’m more upset that it happened
period,
not so much his part in it.

Irrationality and I are very familiar with each other, best friends almost, in fact.

All things considered, I could see myself trying to do the same thing if it was Ruthie instead of me in that scenario.

Although, and I pray it will never happen, I really hope I never get an accidental phone call from her when she's in the middle of coitus.

Not sex,
coitus
. Gotta say coitus.

The words ‘Ruthie’ and ‘sex’ should never be strung together to make a sentence.

Ever.

I shuddered and threw up a little in my mouth at the thought.

"I know you're mad at me. You have every right to be, and I'm real sorry. I wanted to rip out every intercom in this god damned place. We never fucking use them. I don't know why Reeve wanted them in the first place."

"What a wonderful idea," I retorted sardonically, "Why don't you get right on that."

I winced, realizing how shitty I sounded, but I still felt the bite of it all and it came out in everything I said.

And I mean, with intercom shit, don’t you just pick up the phone or something to take it off of there and then he could have just hung up or something?

Did he even think to try that?

I couldn’t brush of this odd feeling every time I thought about it, like Bo had inadvertently broken a trust between us somehow, crossed a line.

It hurt and it stung and it really pissed me off.

I couldn’t shake it.

"You have to know that I..."

"Look. I'm getting ready for tomorrow. Rallying my troops, mentally, so to speak. I really just want to get my shit packed, eat dinner and go to bed," I told him, not wanting to talk about it anymore, afraid I might say something stupid and go too far, something I’d really regret.

Everything is still so fresh, I’m still in the processing stages.

I haven’t shored up enough ‘I don’t give a flip’ to say it and actually sound like I mean it.

Everyone would hear it for the bull shit that it was.

But god, the intercom?!! Will I ever be able to?

A deep flush stole over me and I rubbed at my forehead, letting out a deep breath.

"I, uh. I understand."

"Thank you," I sighed gratefully.

"Will you consider coming home tonight?" he asked quietly, a sad note in his voice.

It picked at me, but I still declined.

"No."

Someone said something in the background and he shifted, the sound coming across the line.

He came back a minute later.

"I'll see you Monday then."

"Yeah," I mumbled, feeling like warmed over shit, frowning, suddenly irritated at myself that he could so unwittingly, for his part, make
me
feel like the guilty party, turning the tables on me so quickly.

Don't buy into it, Vieve!

Don't do it!

He was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Kinda…

You still have every right to be mad though!

Sorta…

"Bowen, honey! Are you coming?" A woman yelled from the background.

I felt my spine stiffen, body jerking, fully alert.

There’s a
woman
calling for him.

A woman.

"Alright, well, bye, sweetheart, goodnight.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

There’s a woman there and she wants him to come…

A woman.

What woman?

A niggle of doubt pricked me and my lips tightened.