Page 31 of A Cowboy Of Her Own

“Damn hardheaded woman. You’ll be lucky if you can sit down by the time you get back.” He removed his hat, thrust his fingers through his hair, and then resettled it.

“I’ll be fine once we get back and I can rest up for a day or two. I can type up what I’ve learned so far and when I’m better, I’ll follow you around some more.”

Roark shook his head then turned his back and started back to the fire. “Come on, let’s eat.

Taking a deep breath, she followed him. She hadn’t been lying when she told him she dreaded the ride back. Her ass was going to hurt like hell once she got back in that saddle and had to ride three hours again. Maybe she could convince him to stop once in a while, but she shook her head. It was better to get back as soon as possible because the thought of getting in and out of the saddle didn’t appeal to her at all. If he had told her it was a three-hour trip one-way, she might’ve hesitated but she still would have gone because she needed the story on him. She was glad she had come along though because she sure as hell wouldn’t have missed the sex for anything in the world. She’d been right whenshe’d thought he was any woman’s wet dream. She smiled thinking of sleeping with him tonight.

“You’ve never mentioned any family,” Roark said suddenly as he loaded a burger onto a roll and handed it to her.

“My mom and dad are divorced. She lives in California and Dad’s in Arizona. He just remarried recently.”

“Do you get to see him often?”

“About once every six months or so. I’m not real fond of the woman he married. She’s only a year older than me, and I guess she thought we could be besties. That so ain’t happenin’.”

Roark laughed. “Ouch.”

“Yeah. Well, I don’t really trust her either. I’ve seen her flirting with men when we’ve all been out to dinner, but Dad seems to love her. More power to him.” She picked up her burger and bit into it. Her father and his wife were the last thing she wanted to talk about and since Roark didn’t say anything more, she had a feeling he knew it.

Chapter Seven

Roark needed to get up and add more wood to the fire but Priscilla was draped on top of him, and Snowy was across his feet. Gently, he managed to scooch away from her without waking her, and crawled out of the sleeping bag. Standing, he stretched then added wood to the fire and watched the embers reaching for the sky. It was cold so he had to keep the fire going. The only sounds in the air were the flames snapping around the logs, bullfrogs croaking, and crickets chirping.

“Roark, get back in here, I’m freezing.”

“So you only want me in there because you’re cold.”

“But you warm me up so well,” she said then laughed and it shot right to his dick.

He walked back to the sleeping bag but froze when Snowy suddenly jumped up and growled, looking in the directions of the woods. Roark slowly squatted down, keeping his eyes on the tree line, picked up his rifle, and stood.

“Roark?”

“Shhh,” he whispered.

He heard the fear in her voice but he didn’t want her to let whatever Snowy had growled at to hear them. He snapped his fingers and Snowy lay down again but didn’t take his eyes from the woods. Roark could see the brush moving so he raised his rifle and aimed it in that direction. Glancing down at Priscilla, he could see the fear on her face. When the cougar emerged from the woods, Roark heard her gasp. The cougar stopped and stared at him for a few seconds then turned and ran back into the woods. Blowing out a breath, Roark lowered therifle then crawled into the sleeping bag with her, set the rifle alongside, and then pulled her close.

“Oh, dear God,” she whispered against his chest.

“It’s all right. He’s gone.” He could feel her shaking and a sudden need to protect her overwhelmed him, surprising him too.

“But he wasrightthere.”

“Cougars rarely attack unless provoked. Because I stood tall, he didn’t want a confrontation. We’re fine, he won’t be back.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, and if he does, I have the rifle. Snowy will let us know if anything comes around.”

“You said you’d never seen anything while camping.”

“I said I never saw bears. I’ve seen cougars several times but I knew if I told you that, you’d freak.”

“Ya think?” she said with heavy sarcasm.

Roark chuckled. “Come here. Let’s get some sleep.” She snuggled against him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep thinking he would never let anything hurt her, and that he could definitely get used to this.

The next morning, after eating some breakfast, they cleaned up the camp. Roark made sure no embers remained in the fire pit then he saddled the horses, and vaulted into his saddle. He watched as Priscilla slowly mounted her horse and winced when she settled into the saddle.

---