Wilde Riders (Old Town Country Romance) (8 page)

I can feel my heart pounding as I
collapse on top of her, exhausted. I don’t even realize I’m sweating until Riley wipes at a bead running down my face.

She smiles. “That was quite a work out.”

I nod my agreement. “I guess I’m a little out of shape.”

“If that’s out of shape, I’m afraid of what in shape is like.” She laughs. Her laugh is contagious. It’s a laugh I don’t think I will ever get enough of.

I want to stay inside of her but I know I have to dispose of the condom. I place a quick kiss on her nose and she smiles.

“You don’t think we made too much noise, do you?”
she asks.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” I reply. But I’m suddenly aware that my brothers are probably trying to sleep in bedrooms that aren’t too far from ours.

I may have gotten a little carried away. But looking at Riley, glistening in the afterglow of what I hope was another intense orgasm, it was definitely worth it.   

I hold her in my arms for a few moments until my stomach begins to growl.

She laughs. “I think we really do need to get you something to eat.”

“Let’s get cleaned up and we can meet in the kitchen in a few minutes. How does that sound?”

I find Riley examining some old family photos on the stairway as I make my way down to her. They’re pictures of my parents’ wedding and honeymoon.

“Your mom was beautiful,”
she comments, as I grab her waist and pull her close.

“My dad was a lucky man,” I reply.

“I like looking at your family photos,” she continues. “It’s like a little piece of history.”

“Your parents didn’t line their walls with the family a
rchives?” I ask.

Riley laughs. “My mom doesn’t have one photo anywhere in the house.”

That surprises me. “Not one?”

She shakes her head. “My parents are too busy making money for anything like that.” I notice she sounds a little sad when she says it. No wonder she has a thing against Wall Street guys who she thinks are just out to make money at the expense of ever
ything else.

When Riley stomach rumbles we both laugh.

“We really need to get you something to eat,” I say, as I grab her hand and pull her down the stairs.

Eight

Riley

Cooper didn’t tell me he could cook—
or that he was so good at it. I stuffed myself with the fluffiest pancakes I have ever eaten. And they were filled with fresh blueberries and loaded with butter and syrup. I almost had another orgasm. And I almost didn’t care about eating what was probably a thousand calories in one sitting.

“Don’t worry,” Cooper says. “We easily burned off those ca
lories.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” I argue. “You’re not height-impaired like I am.”

“Height-impaired?” He laughs. “I never heard that term before.”

“That’s because you’re tall. I’m not.”

He frowns. “You’re average height for a female.”

“I am not. I’m an inch shorter than the average American female.”

He pulls me close and looks into my eyes. “You’re definitely the perfect height for me.” Then he kisses me. “You’re the perfect size for me in every way.”

I can feel the tension start to build
deep in my core—again. I’ve never had sex twice in one night before I met Cooper. I can’t believe I’m actually thinking about a third go around. I feel like a complete and total slut.

And I kind of like it.

“More pancakes?” he offers.

I touch my stomach. “I couldn’t eat another bite.”

Cooper looks like he might kiss me again when we’re stopped by the sound of laughter.

Female laughter.

It’s coming from the entry way.

“
Shhh,” we hear a male voice say.

It’s followed by more laughter.

“Jake’s home.” Cooper rolls his eyes. “And he’s obviously not alone.”

“I’m thirsty,” the female voice whines.

Cooper and I both freeze. It sounds like their footsteps are headed toward the kitchen.

Jake stops dead when he sees Cooper and I half dressed, in each other’s arms, in the middle of the messy kitchen.

A buxom blonde, who’s not Harley, and is obviously not paying much attention to where she’s going, slams into Jake’s back, then starts to laugh.

“Pancakes?” Jake asks, as he surveys the last few bites of food left on our plates.

“Yeah,” Cooper responds, as he gives the blonde the once over. “Where’s Harley?”

Jake shrugs. “At home, I guess. Ronnie gave me a ride home.”

“Robbie,” the blonde corrects then giggles.

“Robbie,” Jake repeats as he grabs the
blonde and pulls her close.

I have to contain a gasp when Robbie almost has a wardrobe malfunction right there in the kitchen. Her nipple is very close to popping out of her extremely low fitting top.

When I sneak a glance at Cooper, he looks like he wants to kill his brother.

“Problem?” Jake asks his brother as he passes by him on the way to the fridge. 

Cooper looks like he might say something but just shakes his head instead. “No problem.”

“Good,” Jake replies.

He opens the refrigerator and Robbie pokes her head inside.

“Take whatever you want,” Jake offers.

I nearly choke when he slaps her ass.

When Robbie extricates herself from the fridge, she’s holding a can of Diet Coke.

“Now let’s get you upstairs,” Jake says as he grabs the girl’s elbow and drags her out of the kitchen.

Once the room is clear of Jake and Robbie, Cooper turns to me. “Was that a complete turn off?”

I nod. “Yeah, kind of.”

He
shakes his head. “My brother is a real ass.”

“I’m sure girls know what they’re getting into when they agree to go home with him.  I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to come home with you.”

Cooper frowns. “What we’re doing is completely different. You’re different.”

I raise an eyebrow. “How exactly am I different?”

He gulps. “Because I care about you.” I can see by the expression on his face and the darkness that has spread into his eyes that he’s serious. I’m just not sure how much I want him to care about me and how serious I want him to be.

“This was supposed to be a weekend fling,” I
counter.

Cooper nods but I can see that he’s conflicted. I don’t want to admit that I’m conflicted, too. Maybe I’m starting to care about this country boy from New Jersey a little more than I’m willing to admit.

“Maybe we’d better get back to bed,” Cooper suggests.

“Okay,” I agree.

We leave all the dishes for morning and head back upstairs.

***

I have the weirdest dreams about cows and Pickup trucks and standing in the middle of a windy town square. I sort of wake up a few times in the middle of the night to the sound of howling wind and rain beating down on the roof. Every time I wake up, I have to remind myself that I’m spending the night in New Jersey with Cooper Wilde.

When I finally wake up for the final time, sunlight is peeking from the slats in the plantation shutters.

I reach over and notice that the bed is empty next to me. Cooper was there when I feel asleep and now he’s gone. When I reach for my watch and look at the time, I nearly jump out of the bed.

“It’s nine o’clock!” I practically scream. How in the world did I sleep so long?

Probably because there were no emergency vehicles screeching past my apartment or garbage truck noises outside my window at five in the morning. Once the rain stopped, I didn’t hear a thing.

I throw on the T-shirt and sweatpants again and realize that I don’t actually have any other clothing to wear this weekend except for my business suit. I wonder if the town has any wo
men’s clothing stores, but I have a feeling it’s probably wishful thinking on my part.

I make my way downstairs and look around the kitchen but it’s deserted. I wonder where Cooper is. Should I look around some of the other parts of the house
that I haven’t yet explored?

I make my way into a large living room filled with antiques and more artwork
, but no Cooper, or any of his brothers. Then I hear the light sound of tapping, like someone typing on a computer keyboard. It reminds me that I should probably send a few work emails and tie up any loose ends with the fraud investigation.

Of course, I probably should have done that before I slept with one of the guys being investigated.

I poke my head into a room that I assume is a library. Cooper looks up at me from behind a large mahogany desk.

“Good morning,” he says a bit too cheerily. He’s already dressed in nice fitting jeans and a crisp Polo shirt. I don’t even feel like a human being yet.

“Coffee?” I mumble.

“I made a pot already.” He holds up the coffee mug that was sitting next to him on the desk. “If you give me a minute, I’m just finishing up a few financial issues.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” I say as I leave Cooper to his work.

When I return to the kitchen, I notice Tucker is seated at a small breakfast table staring into a bowl of cereal and milk.

“Good morning,” I say as quietly as I can so I don’t startle him.

He looks up at me and I’m surprised when he smiles. “Hey, Riley.”

Okay, he doesn’t look quite as scary with a huge grin on his face but he’s still a little intimidating.

“Coffee?” I mumble. I can smell the fresh aroma of the wo
nderful brew permeating the kitchen. My whole body warms just thinking about my first delicious sip.

“Let me get you some,”
he says, as he hops up from the table.

“I’ll get it for her,” I hear Cooper state, as he enters the kitchen.

The two men stare each other down at the coffee maker.

“I can get it if you just show me where the mugs are kept,” I suggest.

Cooper eyes Tucker. “Why don’t you eat your cereal before it gets soggy?”

Tucker frowns but he limps back over to the breakfast table and sits back down in front of his cereal bowl.

Cooper grabs a mug from one of the cabinets and pours me a cup of steaming coffee. “Smells great,” I remark as he hands me the mug.

“Special blend. Do you want cream or sugar?”

“Just black,” I say, as I take a sip.

I join Tucker at the table. He’s shoveling cereal into his mouth
, pretending not to pay attention to me.

Cooper makes a point of putting his hands on my shoulders and massaging them. It’s nice, but I get the distinct feeling that it’s not just for my benefit. I don’t know what it is about these
Wilde boys and their competitiveness toward each other. It makes me wonder if all brothers, or maybe all siblings, are like that.

The things I never had to worry about as an only child.

“I’d like to take you out today,” Cooper says. “On a proper date. There’s something special I’d like you to see.”

That gets Tucker’s attention and he finally lifts his head from the cereal bowl. “Don’t tell me you’re going to take her to the Farm and Horse Show.”

“That’s exactly where I’m going to take her.”

Tucker laughs. “Well, I guess you don’t really have to worry about getting laid.”

I feel mortified, like I want to crawl into a really big hole and stay there. Were we that loud? Or is it that obvious that we’ve already had sex?

Cooper frowns at his brother. “You don’t have to be crass.” 

“Just speaking the truth,” Tucker retorts. “Nothing to be ashamed of.”

“If we’re going anywhere,” I say. “I’ll need to find some clothes firs
t. I don’t really want to wear my business suit or Hunter’s old clothes around town. Is there some kind of women’s clothing store in town?”

Tucker laughs. “Not unless you want to get a flannel shirt and work pants at the Tractor Supply Company.” 

“Not even a WalMart?” I ask desperately.

Tucker shakes his head. “The town’s not big enough for a
WalMart.”

“I’m sure Harley won’t mind loaning you a few things,” I hear Jake say as he enters the kitchen.

He’s also already dressed for the day in tight fitting jeans and a button-down shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows. He looks good—almost too good—and I feel really disgusted that I’m basically still in bed clothes. I haven’t even bothered to comb my hair yet.

“Where’s your friend?” Cooper asks as Jake joins us.

He frowns. “What friend?”

“The
blonde from last night?”

“Oh, you mean Ronnie?”

Cooper, Tucker and I all say
Robbie
in unison. 

Jake just shrugs. “I have no idea. She was gone when I woke up.”

“Are you sure she’s not passed out in one of the guest bathrooms?” Tucker suggests. “That’s been known to happen on occasion.”

“It happened once. And, no, I checked the guest bathrooms.”

Cooper has now moved his arms so they’re completely around my body and he kisses the top of my head, no doubt for Jake’s benefit.

“You don’t think Harley will mind?” Cooper asks.

“I’ll give her a call.” Jake winks at me. “I’m sure she won’t mind.”

***

Twenty minutes later, Harley is standing at the front door with two bags of clothes.

“I’m doing this as a favor for Jake,”
she states, as she hands me the bags. The implication is that she’s
not
doing it for my benefit.

“I wasn’t sure what would fit. You’re a lot smaller than I am.” She stares right at my breasts for emphasis.

Other than her massive boobs, Harley is small and thin. We’re probably close to the same size.

“Thanks,” I say.

We both stand there for a moment staring at each other.

“I heard Cooper’s taking you to the Farm and Horse Show.” She actually sounds a bit jealous. Like the Farm and Horse Show is something to be jealous of. It actually sounds like something I would pay not to have to attend.

“I was Queen of the Fair two years ago,” she boasts.

I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with that tidbit of i
nformation. “Is that some kind of pageant?”

She rolls her eyes at me like I’m completely stupid. “Don’t eat the corndogs. No matter
what anyone tells you. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“And don’t worry. The thongs and bras are brand new. Never been worn. They’re yours now. No need to return them.”

Before I can say another word, Harley turns on her heels and sashays down the front pathway toward what I assume is her car. It’s a little red Mini Cooper with a personalized plate that says HRLYGRL.

I take the bag and make my way back to the blue bathroom, happy to have something to wear that isn’t a Nirvana T-shirt and sweatpants. That is, until I get a better look at what’s inside the bag.

Several pairs of very skinny jeans, barely there crop tops, push-up bras, thongs and a pair of red cowboy boots. Yee, Haw! At least I’ll fit in at the Farm and Horse Show.