Page 13 of Cowboy's Melody
Brooks
Fuck the guitar. Fuck the chores I still need to finish. Teddi is standing in my pitiful bedroom, fresh and gorgeous and all I can think about is her. I set the guitar back down on the stand and cross the room.
“I want to do more than just kiss you,” I tell her firmly. “But I don’t have enough time to take my time with you.”
She stands up on her tip-toes, runs her hands up my chest and around my neck. “I’ll take whatever you’re offering, Brooks.”
My lips crash down over hershard. She reciprocates with a hungry kiss of her own until we’re both moaning for more. My hands travel the length of her back, down to her waist. I lift her until her legs wrap around me and we stumble backwards onto the bed.
This is exactly what I dreamed about last night after I left the cabin, having her on top of me, pressing her body against mine. She kisses me with a fierceness I’ve never experienced, like her hunger is just as insatiable as mine.
My hands reach up and tangle in her thick tresses as my tongue slips inside her mouth. Kissing her is like breathing air, I can’t live without it.
I playfully nip her bottom lip with my teeth before backing away for air. “I haven’t kissed like that since I was eighteen,” I say with a laugh.
The sound of the front door opening makes me freeze. My mom and Logan aren’t supposed to be home this soon, which means Teddi needs to make a fast getaway.
“Shit,” I mutter. “We’re going to have to take a rain check.”
Her face fills with disappointment. “I know.” She unwinds herself from around me and stands up, adjusting her clothes and smoothing out her hair. She picks up the guitar and then heads for the door. I sit up, ready to stop her but it’s too late. She steps out into the hallway and says loudly, “Thanks for the guitar, Brooks. I’ll return it in a few hours.”
Logan’s squeals of delight fill the house because Teddi is her new favorite person. Their conversation is muffled but I hear at least one promise to teach Logan a few chords.
A few hours later, when Teddi returns my guitar, the only contact we have is the brief brush of her fingers against my hand. Her brown eyes shine with longing and I desperately want more than ten minutes alone with her.
Later on that night, I find myself on the doorstep of the cabin, long after Logan’s gone to sleep. When she answers, my breath is nearly knocked out of my lungs. Her blonde hair is loose, her brown eyes dark and her body is covered in black satin.
A growl gets caught in my throat. How am I supposed to keep my hands to myself and my dick in my pants when she looks good enough to eat?
“You’re not making this easy on me, sweetheart,” I tell her as I step inside the cabin and close the door behind me.
“I wasn’t trying to,” she purrs before she wraps a hand around my neck and pulls my head down so she can kiss me.
I hum appreciatively because it feels like I haven’t kissed her in days.
“Tell me something you’ve never told anyone else,” she says when we’ve come up for air.
“I like kissing you,” I tell her.
She laughs and tilts her head to the side. “I’m serious, Brooks.”
“Me too! I’ve never told anyone I like kissing you and I’m definitely serious about doing more of it.”
Teddi rolls her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
I sit down on the couch and pull her into my lap. “Everyone thinks I’m still hung up on Samantha. They all assume I don’t date because I haven’t moved on, but I have. I made peace with Samantha being gone a long time ago.”
“Then why hasn’t some woman claimed you for herself?” She asks as she runs her fingers along my jaw.
“Oh, they’ve tried. I just wasn’t interested. I’ve known most of the women in this town almost my whole life. I’ve seen them look at me with pity and I don’t want to be with a woman who pities me.”
Since moving back to Paulson, I’ve retreated a little more than I’d like to admit. I hated it when someone would stop me and ask how I was doing. Samantha was the first woman I loved, the mother of my child and we were planning on getting married, but her death wasn’t the end of my world. No one seemed to understand that.
“It’s your turn,” I say. “Tell me something you’ve never told anyone.”
She leans her head on my shoulder and plays with the button on my shirt. “I’d give up my career for the right man.”
I’m stunned by her admission. “Really? You’d actually do that?”
She nods. “Yes. I’ve had fun and I’ve made a boatload of cash but none of that matters if I’m alone.”
“But you’re always dating someone new.”
“It’s fake. Every relationship is arranged. I’d give anything for something real.”
I was beginning to understand her better. To her, being loved was priceless and worth sacrificing her career.
“I’m gonna plan a date,” I announce. “A real date. I’ll have my mom watch Logan for the day and I’ll take you out to my favorite place. We might only have this week Teddi, but I’m going to show you what it’s like to really be loved.”
