Stranded Ranch : A Sweet Cowboy Romance (A Pride and Pranks Romance)

Chapter 11

Ishrugged out of my coat and kicked off my boots, dropping them in a heap in the foyer. The flames from the fireplace drew me like a calf to its mama. I expected Dusty to follow immediately but was glad when he didn’t. After a few moments of thawing out, I moved to the couch, dropping onto it at the same time the front door opened.

Dusty and Grandpa stepped inside, talking in low volumes. They shook the snow from their clothes and pulled off their boots. Dusty stood by the fireplace for a moment while Grandpa walked over to me, kissing me once on the forehead before wishing us both a good night.

Once he was up the stairs, the heaviness of the night fell upon me. The stress of the last half hour hit hard, now that the danger was past. Though that was no longer what weighed most heavily on me. I had just wasted my kiss. Dusty stared at me from the mantle, although I refused to meet his eyes. Until I did. A hint of a smile dropped on his mouth as he gently took me in, his eyes roaming my face. Overcome with every emotion under the sun, I hid my face in my hands and squeezed my eyes shut. Wanting to erase the last five minutes or maybe…I don’t know…the last eight years.

“You chose an interesting couch to sit on.”

I didn’t move but felt my spirits sinking lower. Not really able to explain to myself or to him just why I had chosen to sit on the couch Dusty had been sleeping on instead of my own.

“If you wanted to share you could have said something earlier.”

The sofa dipped next to me and my heart rate spiked. I was pleading with my feet to stand up and move myself to the other couch, but they refused to cooperate.

“Louuu...”

I pretended he wasn’t there.

“I can’t kiss you again if you don’t look at me.”

My stomach dropped. Tingles flared everywhere. A feeling of hope flashed through my body before my embarrassment overcame everything.

“You don’t want to kiss me.”

“Pretty sure I do.”

I moved my hands to cover my burning cheeks and turned to him, resolutely. “No, you don’t. I promise you don’t. I always do this. I’m neurotic. I overthink and overanalyze and worry. I only went on three dates last year. It’s all a one-time thing because once they see that I’m a spaz, they bail. All my dates have been setups. I don’t meet too many men at the elementary school. The thought of meeting anybody at a bar or church social makes me want to puke. Once a guy tried to kiss me and I froze and just sat there open-mouthed like a dead fish. I never got a callback. I’m so sorry. I really like you, actually. Even back when we were kids. And for some reason, you’ve helped to calm me down instead of winding me up. Well, no. You’ve definitely wound me up, but it’s a different kind. Maybe it’s because of the ranch. I’ve always felt more relaxed here. Even though I’ve been worried about the storm and the weather and having no power and Grandpa being sick, I haven’t really been that scared because you’ve been here and you always know what to do. You never freak out or—“

Warm lips. Over mine. Instantly my body relaxed as if all along, it had been waiting for somebody to shut me up. To silence all irrelevant thoughts. I sighed a light puff of air into his mouth. His breath was sweet like syrup. My hands clutched the shirt at his chest while his pressed against my cheeks, his mouth working a bewitching spell over me. I felt lighter, ethereal, almost as if my stress had instantly evaporated. Not wanting the tragic ending of all the other kisses in my life, I drew upon every romance movie I’d ever watched a thousand times, and slid my arms up past his chest, letting them rest casually around his neck. I opened my mouth against his and began letting him teach me everything I needed to know.

His mouth moved against mine, taking my lips with him. He was heat and fire, urgent and slow, all at once. Sexy and smooth. His hands moved from my face to my hips, and I gasped as he lifted and moved me to his lap. Heated arms around me drew me even closer to him.

I broke away from his lips for a second. “That was smooth.”

His warm breath puffed against my face. “You were too far away.”

His whispered words sent a shiver down my spine. I rested my forehead against his as we both took in a ragged breath, eyes shining, studying each other. I drew my lips to his and this time, he let me lead. Soft. Curious. All heart. My lips caressed him gently. I grew braver with each taste, each dance of our mouths. Now, instead of a fire, we had embers—white heat, sweet and simmering. The kind you roast marshmallows with. I was tasting the most sumptuous of s’mores. The gooey chocolate kind that sticks to your face. At that moment, he broke from my lips, kissing the corner of my mouth, bringing trails of madness from his lips across my jawline to that sensitive part just below my ear. I gasped and nudged his kisses back to my lips. The ear caused me to lose my senses. I had to keep an ounce of reason about myself. Growing impatient with the teasing, his hand pressed against my back, melting me to him and deepening our kiss. And then reason was lost once more.

* * *

We awokeon our separate couches. Just like how we slept, Grandmother-approved. Sometime during the night, I remembered myself enough to give him one last satisfying kiss before pushing his laughing head back down on his pillow and moving to my couch, dodging his hands the whole way. We went to sleep smiling at each other like idiots. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was, but I knew I wasn’t a one-night stand kind of girl. The thought of waking up beside him after a rushed and lustful night didn’t feel right to me. Not to mention the very real fact that my grandparents could walk down the stairs at any moment. I didn’t know what would happen between us now, but if anything did happen, I wanted the good stuff at the end. The anticipation of something sweet to come, not a bumbled rush at the beginning, when feelings were so new and fragile. As one who had been on dates but never dated, the past couple of days had felt too sweet to sully and too decadent to cheapen.

He opened his eyes and found me watching him.

Daylight seeped in through the windows, casting a sunny line across his face. He sat up and regarded me. Our sweet night together began to give way to the new day. Details became fuzzy and more dreamlike as we sat facing each other on our separate couches. It hit me once again, how little I technically knew this man. On paper we should seem more like casual acquaintances, but our lips were breaking into smiles and our stares became intimate and something much more than casual. My childhood knew the boy but my soul seemed to know the man.

“How’s your butt?”

He broke into a smile. “Sore. It could use a massage.” He raised his eyebrows hopefully.

“That would be a sweet scene for my grandparents to walk in on.”

“It’s probably tamer than a visit last night would have been.”

I flushed and then forced myself to stand and walk to the kitchen, checking out what foods we had available to us.

“Wait a second,” was all I said before I thought of something and flew down the stairs to the basement storage room. I was back in a flash, triumphantly holding something behind my back.

“Do you want to hear the best news you might hear all day?”

“Try me.”

“Lucky Charms is gluten-free.” I pulled out the box behind me.

A relieved smile crawled across his face. “Ahh...you weren’t kidding. How many boxes do they have? If this power stays out, that may be our ticket to survival.”

“As long as the fridge stays cold, we have a gallon and a half of milk, two boxes of Lucky Charms, and one box of Cheerios. I forgot they used to keep a few boxes of cereal down in their storage room for when grandkids come and visit. Grandma did too, apparently.”

We moved through the kitchen together, bumping and teasing as we reached for bowls and cereal and milk. We sat kitty-corner to each other on the table, our feet brushing. I had almost begun to think our morning would be only silent looks and butterfly stomachs when he spoke.

“How come you haven’t been dating? Nothing adds up.”

I took a sip of milk, gathering my wits. “Well, according to the ‘reports’ there have been too many bodies and not enough explanations. People get scared off.” I threw up my hands in an ‘I don’t know” gesture.

A smile lit his face. “Good to know.”

“Do bodies scare you off?” Ugh. I heard it, but it was already out before I could stop it.

His eyes drifted down mine briefly. “Not presently.”

Words. I needed words to not make this awkward. He was flirting with me. Must give him words.

“What about you? Why aren’t you married? Any skeletons in your closet?”

He took a bite of Lucky Charms, chewing once and swallowing. A tiny drop of milk landed on his bottom lip before he licked it away. Oh to be that drop.

“Oh, I don’t have too tragic of a past. Good parents. Good siblings. College degree. I go fishing a couple of times a month with some buddies. Just couldn’t stay away from ranching and haven’t found a woman wanting me enough to live through a Wyoming winter.”

“I would.”

He regarded me curiously, eyes shining. My eyes went buggy. Did I say that out loud?

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” I looked away, wide-eyed and clearing my throat. “So, you’ve dated a lot of women then?”

He was silent for a few beats, forcing my curious gaze back to his before he spoke again. A small smile was growing on his face and my heart dropped into my stomach with a splash.

“A few.”

“None of them stuck?”

“Nah. To tell you the truth, I’ve always had a thing for older women.”

“Really? This is an interesting tidbit. How old are we talking?”

“Not Mrs. Robinson old. It’s more specific than that. Maybe ten or eleven months older at the very most.”

I bit my lip but the smile was determined to expand. My body had never known such a shimmering glow of feelings. “Is she a good ping pong player?”

“Not as good as me, but tolerable.”

I pushed his shoulder lightly. He countered by grabbing my hand and holding it on his leg under the table. Hostage.

We finished our cereal one-handed and on safer subjects. More general. We were walking toward the door about to go check on the displaced calves and Jack when he suddenly pulled me to him. His arms banded around me and he pressed a kiss on my lips. Now an experienced woman, I didn’t hesitate, and immediately raised my arms around his neck.

He pulled away and held my face in his hands. “I want to date you.”

I blinked. “Okay.” Playing it cool seemed to be an art form for me.

He smiled and kissed me again, apparently finding me plenty agreeable. But how? The details were fuzzy on the arrangements. I broke away from his lips.

“How’s long-distance dating going to work?”

“First of all, Cody isn’t that far from Billings. And second—I don’t expect it to be for too long.”

“What do you mean?”

“It just has to be long enough to convince you to fall in love with me.”

Without warning, a smile burst across my face like a beam of sunshine. I covered my mouth with my hand before he pulled it down.

“No…I worked hard for that. I want to see it.”

“I guess I’ll have to work at convincing you too.”

He peered into my eyes, amused…gentle. The calm to my frazzle. The steady to my shake. He pulled me in for a hug and his lips grazed my ear, causing a hitch in my breath and my skin to come alive with sensation.

“Oh, I think I’m well on my way.”