“I’d like that. Mama would too.”“Good. Then when we’re alone we can gossip about Keely’s latest cowboy on a string and you can tell me exactly how my sexy, gruff brother-in-law deflowered you.”“Macie! How’d you know?”“I didn’t until you just told me.” She laughed again. “You’re so easy to tease. Oops, Carter’s bellering at me, gotta go.”The rest of the morning zipped by. AJ fixed lunch, and settled her mother down for her afternoon nap and a massage. She packed more boxes, pleased by how much she’d accomplished. She’d gone into the garage to find a crowbar, when she heard a vehicle pull up. After stepping outside, she blocked the bright sunlight with her hand and squinted at Cord’s 350 diesel.He climbed out and the truck door slammed.“Cord? What’re you doing here?”“AJ. My dad asked me to stop by and give Flo some papers.”Disappointment made her shoulders sag. He wasn’t here just to see her. “She’s sleeping. Since she hasn’t been sleeping well, I don’t want to wake her.”“I und
A sheepish look crossed his face and she knew he’d used the papers as an excuse to see her. She was absurdly pleased.“Nah.” He brushed the dust off his hat and put it back on before he headed outside.She followed.After she had the manila envelope in her hand, he said, “Don’t be late tonight.Seventeen penalties is plenty to get me started,” before his rig took off in a cloud of dust.******AJ arrived at Cord’s house early evening to find a note taped to the door.Strip. Lock the door. Sit by the fireplace, put on the blindfold and wait. No talking.Oh man. What did he have in store for her?She’d anticipated he’d want her naked as soon as possible, so she’d worn a summer sun dress—easy on, easy off, no bra, no panties. After she was naked, she paraded into the living room. The coffee table had been shoved against the far wall, leaving the big area rug empty.The sitting area directly in front of the fireplace grate was constructed of slabs of slate. Despite the hot day, that dark
“Enough!” Cord snarled and rolled her so she was in his arms. Holding her like a baby, he walked them to the rug. He set her on her feet, keeping her back to his chest. His heavy, harsh breathing stirred her hair. “On your hands and knees. Now.”AJ dropped to the rug, once again that slight edge of fear—that feeling of the unknown heightened her excitement.Cord said, “Move your knees out wider.”She felt the rug scraping her kneecaps as she followed his command and he knelt behind her.Then his tongue bathed the burning marks on each cheek. She whimpered when that wicked tongue traced the crack of her ass down to her tailbone and back up.The blunt head of his cock connected with her pussy briefly before Cord impaled it in one hard stroke.“Cord—”He smacked her ass twice. He didn’t speak. He just gripped her hips and methodically fucked her. Each stroke equal. No variation. Slow and shallow.Sweat poured from her. From him. Her body shook. His body shook. She couldn’t stand it becau
Double whoa. The woman was absolutely stunning. Her face was sharp angles-razor blade cheekbones, a square jawline. Her features were softened by pouty lips the envy of Angelina Jolie.The woman didn’t smile. “Can I get you to move please? That door opens out, which is the first thing I’m going to change.”AJ’s ears perked up and she shuffled aside. “Change?”“My sister and I are opening up a shop here once we can get the changes approved from the landlord.”“Landlord? Doesn’t Dewey own this building?”“It’d be easier if he did. He sold it last year. Any changes have to get approval from this mysterious owner.” The woman’s vivid blue gaze narrowed. “Why?”“Because Dewey neglected to tell my friend that. She’s talking to him about taking over his restaurant.”Blue eyes finally smiled. “Dewey is a miscreant. Let’s crash their meeting and see how old Dewey reacts.”AJ led the way. Dewey blinked rapidly when he saw the woman behind her.“Now, Dewey, please tell me you aren’t misleading t
AJ kicked her sandals to the floorboard.“And the shirt and bra.”“If my shirt comes off, then so does yours.”He grabbed the hem and yanked. “Now come here, cowgirl up and show me how good you can ride.”Bracing her hands on the sculpted muscle and hardness of his chest, she straddled his pelvis and began to lower down.His hand curled around her hips. “Slow. I wanna see your body takin’ me in. Oh yeah, that’s so goddamn sexy. Bring those pretty tasty nipples to my mouth.”Immediately Cord expelled a groan and began to lick and suck, not in his usual, forceful way, but with as much languor as he’d kissed her mouth.Witnessing the sheer joy on his face as he suckled, feeling him gliding deep—touched something inside her. Every rapid inhalation of the air in the cab filled her lungs with the scent of him. Of them. Of dust, hot sage, wool seat covers, sunshine and home.A bead of moisture zigzagged down her chest and Cord lapped at it, following the wet line back to the source behind he
“Wow. Surprised that hasn’t made it into the McKay gossip channel.”“Like the situation with Colt did?”All eyes zoomed to AJ.“What?”“You were there. What really happened?”AJ retold the story with as much detail as she’d remembered.Channing took Ella to burp her. “Do you know what Colt said to Cord that’d make Cord act like that? Because Cord never acts impulsive.”He’d acted pretty damn impulsive earlier when he’d had her naked in his truck. “No one knows.”Macie, Gemma and Channing gossiped about other members of the McKay family.AJ already knew most of it, since she’d lived in the county her whole life. Since she’d known the McKays her whole life.******So why did she still feel like the outsider?The conversation swam back into focus.“Dag and Chassie are brother and sister?” Macie asked Gemma, “Didn’t Dad team rope with Dag on the circuit a couple of times?”“Yep. Dag roped with Trevor after Edgard went back to Brazil.”Channing said, “I overheard Carolyn and her sister dis
Cord dragged in the garbage can and cleaned up. Finished with that chore, he rearranged the ropes according to type and length. He restacked the saddle blankets.Gathered the horse’s grooming supplies for a thorough washing. Set all the saddles on the ground and checked for wear and tear he might’ve otherwise missed.Took him ten minutes to find a clean rag. He kicked over a plastic pail and sat on it while he cleaned Ky’s saddle. The kid needed to climb on a ladder to get on his pony, Plug. But he’d been determined to get on “the cowboy way” so he’d swung his short leg over like an experienced buckaroo the second time he attempted to mount. Cord had been absurdly proud.After he’d finished wiping the grime off and coated the leather with leather conditioner, he picked up the next saddle. He’d bought this saddle for Marla right after they’d gotten married and she assured him she’d love being a rancher’s wife.What’d he been thinking, marrying her in the first place? So she’d been pret
“Least you got an heir. I thought I’d be married by now. Have a couple of kids. It ain’t really bothered me until recently. I figured there was time. Now that I’ve been livin’ with my folks, might sound sappy as shit, but I want what they have. I’m afraid I’m gonna wake up in ten years and be a grumpy forty-year-old man and be in the same damn place I am now.”Was Cord an example to his cousin of the kind of man Kade did not want to become? Why’d that sting so bad? He wasn’t so set in his ways he couldn’t change, could he?“Maybe things are gonna change.”“Whenever you say that, it’s usually for the worse,” Kade said wryly.“Lemme know when you’re ready to introduce your lady friend.”“Like hell. She’ll dump me and go for you—the broodin’ cowboy with the wounded soul and the cute-as-a-button motherless son. Plus, you’ve got a bigger”—he grinned—“section of the ranch than me. She’ll drop me like a cow pie.” Kade added slyly, “That is, if you ain’t already spoken for by your lady frien