Page 16 of Ride a Cowboy

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Need to get anything from your apartment beforehand?”

Given her experience from the previous night, she knew she wouldn’t need pajamas, she already had a toothbrush to use—he’d had a new one under the bathroom sink—and she liked the smell of his shampoo in her hair.

“No. I think I’m okay.”

He waited a second before asking, “What do you do for birth control?”

Macie wasn’t a blusher normally. It just wasn’t something she’d ever suffered from. Probably because she was usually the most frank person in any conversation. Which was saying something, considering her dad had made embarrassing her an art form throughout her life.

But when she was with Hank, she could feel the flames licking her cheeks far too often.

“I think I’m going to make you a list of subjects that are too personal to?—”

“Whiskey, the second I get you in my house, you’re taking off those clothes and I’m taking you to my bed,” he interjected. “What you use for birth control is my business.”

“Thought the reason we couldn’t have sex last night was because you were giving me time to think.”

“You getting in this truck?”

She nodded, and only just barely restrained from adding a loud “hell yeah.”

“Then you’ve had enough time to think.”

Macie laughed. “Jesus, Hank. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Take it easy with the generosity.”

He blew out a long breath. “It feels like a hell of a lot longer to me.”

She wasn’t sure how he did that, how he made her feel so special, so desirable, and damn if it wasn’t working on her. Stealing pieces of her heart while making her so fucking horny, she thought she’d explode. Rather than admit that, she said, “I get the birth control shot. I’m up-to-date.”

Hank helped her into the truck without another word. In fact, he didn’t speak at all until he’d started the vehicle and pulled away from the curb. Even then, all he said was, “Good.”

Fine, Macie decided. If this conversation didn’t bother him, she sure as shit wasn’t going to let it bother her. “So…you’re not going to use a condom?”

He glanced over at her briefly. “I will if you want me to. Otherwise, I’m clean. Only been with one woman in the past twenty years, and the last time she and I had sex was two years ago.”

She gave him a mischievous grin. “So what you’re really saying is our first time isn’t going to last long.”

He chuckled. “No, angel. What I’m saying is if you want me to use a condom, you gotta say so now because we’ll have to make a stop at the drugstore.”

“Oh.” Macie had never had sex with a guy who didn’t wear one. She started to say that, but what came out was, “Don’t stop. It’s fine.”

He smiled. Then he winked at her. “And, Whiskey?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t worry about my staying power. Once I finally get inside you, I’m not going be in a hurry to leave again.”

She twisted to face him as much as her seat belt would allow. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“So…Bruce and Frank?”

Macie laughed. “God. Don’t remind me. Let’s just say you’re doing better than both of them. Never went on a second date with either.”

“So neither one of them was the last lover, huh?”

She tilted her head and studied his face. “No.”

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