Rocky Mountain Cowboy (23 page)

“Hawk?” She wondered what he was waiting for.

“Jenny...if we do this….”

S
he heard the hesitancy in his voice.
If
?! She wanted to scream. He couldn’t possibly be considering not making love to her, could he? Even in the darkness she could make out his frown.

“I don’t want you to think I’m using sex to influence your decision about forming a partnership with me.”

Jenny wanted to roll her eyes. “Okay,” she answered quickly, breathlessly, in quiet frustration. “But don’t you dare get all noble and scrupled on me now,” she warned him. God, he was driving her crazy! He was so aroused, so hard, so hot, and so
still
! “Just make love to me— soon... please.”

“Soon, huh?” he laughed. “No more foreplay?”

She squirmed beneath him and pulled his mouth to within an inch of her gritted teeth. “No— not right now!” she told him shamelessly .“You’ve played long enough. Don’t you think it’s time to get down to business?”

“What kind of business, Miss Fletcher?” he teased, exasperating her.

“This kind of business!” she replied, kissing him hard, thrusting her tongue inside his mouth the way she wanted him to thrust himself inside her.

“Yes, ma’am,” he obliged with a groan as she dug her fingernails into his ass.

Rolling his hips, Hawk sank into her tight wet heat in one penetrating push. Buried deep, he abruptly came to a halt. All her never endings screaming, Jenny stilled and looked up at him. In a moment of rare clarity, both their expressions held looks of surprise, even wonder. For Jenny, nothing had ever felt so right, so absolutely, incredibly perfect. It was amazing. They fit so seamlessly. There was a sense of fulfillment and belonging with him that she had never experienced before. Even without the illumination of light to see his expression, she sensed that he might be feeling the same way.

The moment was so enlightening and intense, it couldn’t be sustained. Control shattered with a bone crushing kiss and a shared groan. Pulling her away from the headboard so it wouldn’t thud against the wall, Hawk began a quickened rhythm that obliterated all thought. It was replaced by pure sensation, pure
joy. Jenny could only hang on for the ride. Within seconds, she was careening out of control, gasping for air, lost in pleasure so intense, she was certain she would soon expire from it, or at the very least, ascend to some ethereal plane.

Deeply embedded within her tight, hot sheath, Hawk rocked back and forth, gripping Jenny by her hips to assist her with the wild pace he set. When she cried out with her release, he silenced the sound with his mouth a
nd then exploded fiercely into her, his shaft drained dry by the spasmodic tightening of her inner muscles.

Consummation
had been swift and fierce, leaving them both physically shattered, shuddering, spent, and panting in each other’s arms, tangled together beneath the covers.

“Jenny,” Hawk murmured sleepily. “I forgot protection.”

“Got it covered,” she murmured back drowsily. “Been on the pill a long time. It’s what modern women do,” she felt compelled to add. “I don’t sleep around, though.”

Hawk chuckled in the dark. “Never thought you did, honey. It’s okay.”

He patted her thigh, and within moments they both fell asleep.

Sleep was not all they did all night, though. They awakened again and again during the
dark hours when one moved against the other. Contact brought sleepy, half-alert lovemaking that seemed as seamless as a beautiful dream.

Morning came too soon. Jenny wished the sun didn’t have to rise over the
mountains to remind them that they had a long day of work ahead of them.

Tucked into the curve of Hawk’s arm, against his lean, muscular frame, she uttered a sleepy protest the moment his body heat deserted her. She reached for
him, only to find empty space.

“Hawk?”

He chuckled, and bent down to give her a kiss. “Later, sleeping beauty— after we get these cows home.” When she reached for him again, he caught her hand and kissed her fingertips. “I’m going to start the coffee, and get out of here before the rest of the crew come down,” he explained. “Don’t go back to sleep, now. Okay?” With a lingering caress against her cheek, he placed a second kiss on her pouting lips, then moved away to get dressed.

“Okay.”

Drowsy and sated, her eyes only half open, Jenny watched him pull his jeans up his long legs, then over his narrow hips with an efficient yank. She appreciated his concern that she not be embarrassed by him walking out of her room in front of the men over breakfast, but she wished he would come back to bed and curl up with her beneath the covers.

While he dressed, though, she came more fully awake and watched ruefully as he covered up his splendidly formed body. Wicke
d tantalizing recollections of each moment of last night’s lovemaking returned to put an expectant smile on her face. Hidden by her tousled auburn hair, her eyes devoured every inch of him as he dressed. Oh, she was looking forward to the next time they made love! Once was definitely not enough for her! Next time, she wanted to have the lights on so she could see every gorgeous naked inch of him.

“Later, Mr. John Red Hawk Larson,” she whispered dreamily as he saluted her and headed out of the room.

CHAPTER 14

After breakfast, everyone loaded their gear into Eli’s pick-up and emptied the cabin of all the food and personal belongings. Then Hawk locked it up for the winter.

From atop her horse, Jenny stared at it wistfully, wondering if she’d be here next year to re-open it. She had come to realize that she really wanted to be. It had always been a special place for her, but now it
held one, very special memory.

He’d been correct to warn her about mixing sex with her decision to form a partnership with him. It was already influencing her. Her brain kept reminding her of all the logical reasons she needed to return to her job in L.A., but her body told her she hadn’t experienced nearly enough of John Red Hawk Larson. And her heart.... Well, she was afraid to look too deeply into it this morning. She’d held home in her heart for sixteen years, and now Hawk was lurking there, too. It was a definite complication
.

The cattle drive got underway by eight. At Hawk’
s direction, Hank took the point position, in front of the herd. Scott took right flank, and Hawk took left. The least coveted position, at the rear of the herd, was traditionally given to the newest hand, in this case, Steve. Muttering in disgust at being given the most dusty assignment, he turned his horse to the rear. Jenny rode up to Hawk and told him that she’d be happy to take that position since technically she was the newest crew member.

“You are not crew member,” he reminded her. “Whether you take an active role or not, you are part owner of the Bar F/
Bar L. That makes you their boss.” One dark eyebrow arched in admonishment. “You can’t be too accommodating, honey. Guys like Steve, and even your friend, Peter, will take advantage of it.”

Jenny liked his concern. She especially liked him calling her
honey.
The endearment had a tender note to it, but she couldn’t resist a teasing comeback. “How about last night? Was I too accommodating?”

Beneath the low brim of his dark hat, his tanned skin darkened with chagrin. Jenny found that endearing as well.

“You were perfect last night,” he replied, grinning. “Now, let’s get this herd home. You ride with me, okay?”

Jenny tugged the brim of her brown felt hat had down, slipped on her sunglasses, and gave him a thumbs up. Beside him was exactly where she wanted to be. With shouts and cattle calls and whistles, they got the herd moving across the alpine meadow. Cow dogs barked and raced around the edges of the herd, while they slowly climbed the hill. Well-trained and needing little direction, the horses and the men atop them got the
six hundred plus cows up to the top of the bluff, then began the long winding trail home to the ranch at the base of the mountain.

It was a good cattle drive, with no real surprises or mishaps. Wayward calves and steers meandered off into the trees or bush every once in the while, but Jenny or someone else always quickly herded them back before they got too far away. They had to cross the stream that slashed back and forth through the foothills several times, but the water was never any deeper than their horses’ bellies. Hawk had to detour with a few of the smaller calves, but man and beast made it safely to solid ground each time. Luckily
, there were no highways to cross. When Jenny was younger, she and Tom had helped a neighbor bring his herd across the main highway once, and what a mess that had been, keeping cows from taking off and drivers from becoming too impatient.

A cattle drive was a long day in the saddle, remaining vigilant and alert. There were no breaks, primarily because the herd could be brought down from its summer graze in hours instead of days. Jenny thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, maybe because it was the first cattle drive she’d been on in sixteen years.
But also because she just felt
good
, real good, after being in Hawk’s arms all night.
Good
was actually an understatement, but watching him work the cattle ahead of her most of the day gave her plenty of opportunity to come up with lots of other much better descriptives.

By late afternoon, though, she was tired and ready to quit for the day. She was also hungry, in spite of the snacks Eli had packed for all of them
, which they had eaten while riding. Luckily, he had gotten home hours ago, so there would be something good and hearty ready for dinner tonight. When the wide snaking line of cows arrived at the pastures above the ranch house, they took a rough tally of the herd as they were moved into the sprawling fenced meadow. Hawk sat on his horse on one side of the double gate, and she was positioned on the other taking a double head count. He could have had Hank do the count with him like he’d probably done many times, but it filled her with pride that he chose her. She’d done this with her dad years ago, and it felt absolutely right to resume the important task. After that, everyone called it a day. They’d separate the cows out that would be sold and take better counts in the days to come.

The moment Jenny
finished unsaddling her horse and taking care of it, she headed to the house, eager for the first real shower in a week. Inside there was a large UPS box sitting by the front door. She grabbed it and took it upstairs, seeing that it was from Peter. It undoubtedly contained the clothes she had asked him to send her. Since she was staying longer than anticipated, she needed some additional clothes, plus a couple of special outfits she had personally designed for herself, one of which was for the wedding tomorrow. It relieved her to see that it had arrived on time.

Eager to make sure the package contained what she
hoped, Jenny set the box on her bed and opened it. Inside, on top of her clothes, there was a letter from Peter and some design requests, one from a movie producer and several from personal clients. She skimmed the contents and decided to read them in detail later.

Once her clothes were shaken out and hung up, she headed for the shower. After a long deliciously hot soak, she put on one
of the items she’d requested Peter send her. It was a long silk kimono, made from one of the loveliest fabrics she had ever purchased. The sheer whisper soft teal green silk was hand-embroidered with mythical multi-colored dragons that snaked around the fabric in ways that provided strategic concealment and teasing revelations of her figure. When she moved, it flowed around her legs and ankles her like the softest breeze. It was such a beautiful creation, she hadn’t been able to part with it once she had fashioned it. It was so utterly feminine and alluring, she simply had to test it out on Hawk.

When she went to the full length mirror in her bedroom to check her appearance, though, she discovered several small purplish marks on her neck, just above her collarbone and along a faint path to her ear. Love bites. Hawk had taken such care to find all her erogenous zones. With thorough kisses, he had patiently brought her more pleasure than she had ever experienced before. The dress she was going to wear to the wedding tomorrow might cover up a few, but maybe she should let the rest show, especially if Cindy Caldwell was going to be there.

The catty thought made her smile, and honesty compelled her to admit she didn’t want Hawk anywhere near his ex-girlfriend tomorrow. Her jealousy dismayed her. It was a surprise to realize she’d never really cared enough about any of her prior boyfriends to feel truly possessive before. Besides being a revelation, these feelings for Hawk were absolutely new.

Downstairs, he was seated behind her father’s big oak desk, in a
rich brown leather office chair that was angled toward the computer. He was so engrossed in whatever he was doing, he didn’t hear her open the double doors. For several moments, she just stared at him silently. She wasn’t ready to analyze her feelings for him too closely yet, but she had a good idea where they were headed. They thrilled her, as well as scared her. But for the moment, she was simply going to enjoy the pleasure of being in his company and in his bed. Everything unfolded in its own time and way, she was coming to realize.

To catch his attention, she
shut the doors behind her loud enough for him to hear. Hawk looked up and immediately ceased his work on the computer. She walked toward him, pleased with the look on his face as his eyes swept her figure. Once she was beside him, she levered herself up to sit on the edge of the desk and smiled at him. The long sheer robe parted, displaying her bare legs from mid-thigh to ankle. Unable to resist a little more teasing, she crossed her legs at her knees. A femme fatale she was not, but this was fun!