The Wanted Cowboy (Cowboys After Dark Book 5) Read online

  In his bed, surrounded by the warm memory and the dark stillness, he dropped his hand to his cock and imagined she was laying next to him, her soft, yielding body naked and wanting. He could almost feel her as he pictured himself moving his hands down her spine, roaming them over her seat cheeks, gently squeezing, then rolling her on to her back and dropping his lips to her neck as he moved his fingers to her succulent, sweet pussy.

  After months away from female company, his cock was yearning to slide inside the depths of a woman, but it wasn’t just any woman he’d thought of while incarcerated; it was Tess, and as he continued to massage his hungry member he imagined moving his lips to her breasts, gently sucking her nipples and fondling their fullness while hearing her whispered moans and gasps of pleasure.

  “Tess,” he murmured.

  He could imagine tickling her clit with his tongue and inhaling her precious scent, slipping his hands under her bottom to raise her up as he covered her cunt with his mouth, and lapping her sweetness until her moans became cries of orgasmic ecstasy.

  Trying to control the volume of his groans he clenched his teeth as his cock spewed over his hand, the convulsions rippling through him in waves of sparking pleasure.

  With tingling limbs he drifted back into sleep, saying a silent prayer of thanks for the warm bed, and asked for the opportunity to make things right with the woman that lived in his heart.

  In her bedroom Tess was awake. She wasn’t sure what had caused her to stir, but unable to go back to sleep she moved quietly from the bed, and grabbing her robe wrapped it tightly around her body; she’d left the heat on but low, and there was a nip in the air. Padding into the kitchen she poured herself a glass of milk and set it in the microwave to heat. It was a habit from childhood; her mother would bring her hot milk in the middle of the night if she’d had a bad dream.

  “I miss you, mom,” she whispered to the air. “I miss your wisdom and the way you used to make everything seem okay, even when it wasn’t.”

  The microwave beeped, and taking the hot glass she wandered into the living room and peered through the narrow crack in the curtains. The patrol car parked across the street was no surprise, and as she sipped her milk she tried to think of a way to make her brother back off.

  “I do love you, Jeb, and I appreciate how you’re looking out for me but it has to stop,” she muttered.

  Finishing her milk she left the glass on the coffee table, and yawning, returned to her bed. Staring at the ceiling, the house calm and quiet, she felt the presence of the man down the hall.

  When he’d wandered into her cafe for lunch all those months ago she’d been delighted; the cowboy from the other side of town had always intrigued her. She’d thought him totally appealing with this strong physique and gentlemanly manner, and as she’d sat opposite him and chatted she’d found herself drawn to his intense eyes and genuine warmth. By the end of their first date, a dinner at a small, homespun restaurant just outside of town, she was in crush.

  Then it all went wrong. Old Nate was attacked and robbed, and Tyler, her father, and her brother, had damned Luke from the beginning claiming the evidence didn’t lie. She didn’t believe them, not at first, but when his alibi was Patty Jamison, the woman he’d claimed to have broken up with, it had made her mind spin and she had lost all faith in him.

  I was wrong, I was so wrong. I can feel it now, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let Tyler talk me out of seeing you in jail. I should have given you a chance to tell your side of the story. Maybe I can help you straighten things out.

  Sighing sadly she drifted back to sleep and dreamed of sailing under the sun on a large yacht with billowing white sales, puffy cotton clouds casting shadows over the crystalline waters, and when a strange buzzing interfered with the squawking of the seagulls she found herself blinking open her eyes; it was her cell phone vibrating on her nightstand. Frowning, she picked it up and saw it was Jeb.

  Shit. Really? If I don’t answer he’ll probably come banging on the door. So annoying.

  “What?” she snapped, sitting up to answer the call.

  “Hey, easy there, just wanted to make sure everything’s okay,” he declared.

  “Sorry, I was sound asleep. Why are you calling me so early?” she complained. “You know I work late every night.”

  “It’s not that early, it’s almost ten,” he replied.

  “That’s early for me,” she quipped. “I didn’t get to bed until after midnight. Don’t call me until it’s gone past eleven from now on.”

  “Just watchin’ out for you and I’m not gonna apologize for it, but I’ll remember. Don’t call Tess till after eleven. There, it’s in my memory bank,” he promised.

  “Was that Barney Fife across the street from my house last night?”

  “Stop calling him that,” Jeb said, irritation creeping into his voice. “Dwayne is a good cop.”

  “Jeb, Dwayne may be a good cop, but just what do you think would happen if he did come across Luke? You honestly thing he’d have a chance of lasting more than two seconds? He couldn’t even bring in that thirteen-year-old who was fishing without a license,” she declared. “You’re not doing him or me any favors having him posted out there.”

  “He’d call for back-up,” Jeb argued, “and it’s a deterrent more than anything.”

  “Fine, whatever,” she sighed, “I get it, I do, but this nanny nonsense will drive me crazy.”

  “Just consider yourself a VIP, and you can rest easy knowin’ we’re not gonna let anything happen to you,” Jeb said kindly. “I gotta run. Go back to bed.”

  “Like that’s going to happen,” she grimaced. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  Ending the call she flopped back down, then grunting she stretched out and yawned. She knew she should get up and shower, but closing her eyes she couldn’t help but think how marvelous it would be to wake up with Luke next to her.

  “Mmmm,” she mumbled. “I’d love to share a shower with you,” and dropping her fingers against her sex she began to fantasize that the hot water was splashing over them, and he had turned her to face the wall.

  “I told you I’m gonna spank your butt,” he murmured as he moved the thick, aromatic sudsy bar over her back, “and it seems you want it real hot.”

  The imagined scene sent her juices flowing, and she added to it, letting her imagination take flight.

  “No, why would you think that?” she moaned, sinking into his strong hands as he rubbed and soaped. “You’re not gonna spank me hard, are you?”

  “Tess,” he growled, moving his lips against her ear as his hand slipped to her bottom and began to squeeze, “what’s my first rule of spankin’?”

  “You’ll spank me as hard and as long as you see fit,” she muttered, arching her back, seeking out his hand.

  “That’s right, and you’d do well to remember that,” he crooned.

  Her finger was rubbing furiously, her climax building, and when her thoughts jumped to being over his knee, his large hand spanking her naked bottom, the bubble burst sending luscious spasms vibrating through her body.

  A few minutes later, completely serene, she blinked open her eyes and stared into space.

  Wow, that was amazing. I promise I’ll listen to whatever you say with an open mind, because my heart won’t have it any other way.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  A little while later, dressed in the robe Tess had left for him, Luke wandered into the kitchen. He’d been woken by the delicious smell of bacon, an aroma he’d not enjoyed for some time, and standing in the doorway he quietly watched her as she cooked up a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausages, bacon and toast.

  “Smells as good in here as it did last night, maybe better,” he remarked.

  Turning around she saw him leaning against the frame of the door, his chest exposed, muscled and naked. Realizing she was staring she darted her eyes up to his face and smiled her welcome. Luke immediately sensed a change; her demeanor was more open, she was warmer, and her sm
ile had been genuine.

  “Sleep well?” she asked.

  “Can’t even tell you how well,” including a luscious episode with you, which made me sleep even better when it was over. “What about you? You sure look happier than you did last night,” he remarked.

  “I am,” she replied, her eyes widening, and that fantasy I woke up with, that sure didn’t hurt.

  “So it’s safe to enter this room then?” he chuckled. “No fear of flyin’ hands directed at my face?”

  “Yes, it’s safe,” she giggled.

  Walking slowly forward he dropped down in a chair at the kitchen table, and watched as she plated the breakfast.

  “Here you go,” she smiled, “I can make more if that’s not enough.”

  “Thank you, Tess, it looks great and smells even better,” he declared, and eagerly picked up his fork.

  She poured them both a mug of coffee, set her own plate down, then sat across from him.

  Splashing in the cream and the sugar he took a sip and shook his head.

  “Tess, I don’t know why, but I swear, it’s the best damn coffee on the planet.”

  “Glad you like it,” she smiled. “I have to say, Luke, you look so much better.”

  “Great food and the best night’s sleep I’ve had in weeks, probably months. I feel almost normal. Thanks again, Tess.”

  “You sure looked tired when you came into the cafe last night,” she remarked, recalling how stunned she’d been to see him.

  “I didn’t mean to shock you,” he apologized, “but there was no easy way to approach you. It’s not like I could call you first.”

  “Can you tell your side of the story now, and would you mind starting with Patty Jamison?”

  “Sure,” he nodded, “I will, I just need to finish this great breakfast.”

  “If you give me those clothes I can throw them in the wash for you,” she offered.

  “That’d be great, but man, are they uncomfortable. I need to get back to my ranch, pick up a few things and talk to Robbie,” he said between mouthfuls.

  “Back to the ranch? But they’ll be waiting for you there, surely,” she frowned.

  “Yep, no doubt,” he nodded. “I was there last night. I wanted to grab my lucky hat outta the barn before I came to the cafe. Left a note for Robbie that I’d be back soon, and to stick around the house.”

  “Was that safe? Leaving the note I mean.”

  “Robbie knows I didn’t hit poor old Nate over the head. I’m not worried about that, and no-one else will understand what I wrote.”

  “Would you like some more?” she asked as he scooped up the last of his eggs.

  “Tess, that was great but I’d better not have any more. Maybe some coffee though?” he smiled.

  Picking up their empty plates she carried them to the sink, then grabbing the coffee pot she poured him a fresh cup and placed it on the table.

  “I’m all ears,” she said as she sat back down. “Tell me your version of events back then.”

  “Tess, I promise you, I had ended things with Patty just as I told you. We hadn’t seen each other for a couple of months.”

  “But you were with her,” she frowned.

  “I’m getting to that. First off, you need to understand I never saw the relationship the way Patty did, and we’d only been datin’ a few months. She’d started callin’ all the time, showin’ up outta the blue, and I realized I had to end things. She was real upset, and I mean, reeeaaal upset,” he drawled, “but I thought things had settled down. I hadn’t seen or talked to her for a month or more, then I got this call, and it was the afternoon of that night, the night that old Nate got hit.”

  “Am I hearing that you don’t think it was a coincidence?” she asked.

  “You are,” he nodded. “She said she had somethin’ mighty important to tell me and she had to do it in person, and asked me to meet her at the picnic grounds by the lake.”

  “That’s just a couple of miles from the gas station,” Tess declared.

  “Sure is! I drove up there, waited a good twenty minutes. I was about to leave when she rolled up, told me I was a bastard and she’d never forgive me for ruinin’ her life, looked at her watch and said she had to go.”

  “What?”

  “That was it. I gotta tell you at the time I felt real bad, but she was gone before I even had a chance to calm her down. It made no sense at the time, none, but then the next day the feathers started to hit the fan.”

  “So when she said it was you who contacted her-”

  “Total lie” he nodded.

  “Her claim you wanted to have sex, and when she said no you got crazy?”

  “I swear to you Tess, on everything I hold dear, it was all a bald-faced lie. I would never, ever, push any woman to have sex with me, but Patty stuck to her story and it was her word against mine.”

  “So, you were up there alone for twenty minutes with no-one to corroborate that, so you had no alibi except the time you spent with her,” she frowned, “but how is it they found the crowbar and money in your garage,” she muttered.

  “How stupid would I be, if I had done the crime and left the evidence in my garage?” he exclaimed rolling his eyes.

  “How did it get there?” she repeated.

  “Someone must have stolen my crowbar, used it on Nate, took his money from the cash register and stashed it in my garage, and I have to assume Patty helped whoever that was.”

  As Tess stared at him every part of her knew he was telling the truth, and she shook her head with regret.

  “I’m so sorry I never gave you the chance to talk to me,” she groaned. “Maybe I could have helped somehow, and now look! You’ve had to break out of jail, and risk your life, and…God I feel so guilty.”

  Reaching over the table he took her hand.

  “Tess,” he said softly, “it was worth the risk just to come back and hear you say that. Now I’ll be able to focus in on fixin’ this mess.”

  “So, who would do this to you, and why?”

  “You’re not gonna like this,” he sighed.

  “Tell me,” she demanded, “I want to know so I can get my gun and shoot them.”

  “I’m thinkin’ it was Tyler,” he grimaced. “He’s been after you for a long time.

  “I don’t believe it, not Tyler,” she frowned.

  “Are you tellin’ me he hasn’t been chasin’ you since…well, forever?” he asked, staring at her, demanding the truth. “Wasn’t everyone real upset when you started goin’ out with me?”

  “Well, yeah, kind of,” she admitted.

  “Maybe he thought if Patty spread a lie about me pushin’ her to have sex it would you get real mad and you wouldn’t wanna see me anymore. Poor old Nate getting bopped on the head though…that was nasty…real bad. She may not have even known about that part. As far as I can see Tyler’s the only one who had an axe to grind, and Patty was hurt enough to help him.”

  “My gosh, so how are we going to get to the truth?” she frowned.

  “First thing, are you sure you wanna help me? I don’t want you gettin’ in any trouble.”

  “Yes, definitely,” she replied quietly. “I’ll do to whatever it takes.”

  “I only want you to do what’s absolutely necessary, and to start we have to be smart. You’ve gotta start thinkin’ like an alley cat, ready for anything, and you can’t let your emotions get the better of you.”

  “I need to play it cool with Jeb,” she sighed, thinking about her earlier conversation. “I was really sharp with him this morning. Besides the fact that he woke me up there was a cruiser outside the house last night. I was rude to him,” she admitted.

  “Like I said, you need a real good spankin’,” he declared. “It’d calm you right down.”

  Just as she had the night before, Tess felt the blood rush to her face and the heat surge between her legs. Dropping her eyes she sipped her coffee, but she could feel Luke studying her.

  “We need to get him off our backs
,” she mumbled, “certainly off mine.”

  “Yep, and I think I know exactly how to do that,” he smiled. “Jeb needs to think I’m somewhere else.”

  “That would work,” she agreed enthusiastically, and as she lifted her eyes, and smiled across at him, her gaze fell upon the scar over his eyebrow.

  “How did this happen?” she asked softly, tracing her finger along the old wound.

  “I traded it for some teeth,” he replied, and though it was a joke she saw a shadow cross his face.

  “Seems like you came out ahead on that one,” she smiled, “I think teeth are kind of important.”

  “Yeah, I did, but it wasn’t the easiest deal I ever made,” he said soberly. “In everything, Tess, it’s all about the result, and that’s one thing I’ve learned through this whole sorry mess.”

  She was silent as she stared at the injury, horrified how close it had come to his eye.

  “I’m really glad you’re back, and I’m really glad you came into my cafe last night,” she whispered.

  Taking her hand, lowering it from his forehead, he wrapped his fingers around hers.

  “I wasn’t joshin’ when I said you needed a spankin,” he said quietly.

  She felt the butterflies burst into life, and swallowing hard she whispered,

  “Why?”

  “You’re wound up, nervous and edgy, so I’m gonna spank you, then I’m gonna hug you real tight. Can’t go into this thing with you all wired up.”

  Unable to speak she just looked at him, a deer in headlights, then picked up her coffee and sipped.

  “But Tess,” he murmured, “I’m only gonna put you over my knee if you want me to. Do you?”

  Slowly she nodded her head, then sighing heavily she stood up, moved her chair next to his, and dropped her face into his shoulder.