Page 67 of Rogue Cowboy
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Riley had imaginedfeeling nervous, but she didn’t.She’d spent so much time hiding, and Cole saw her—all of her.She felt she saw him better now too after he’d told her how his family had been killed in an accident on the way to a livestock auction.Somehow, he didn’t seem so far above her, perfect and out of reach.He’d been hurt and had weathered the pain and admitted that he could have done better.But he’d survived.As had she.
Because you were such a trauma drama queen.
No more.Life was to be led, and she was done hiding.And if she panicked…she would just hold on to him and fight her way to the other side.If Cole could survive losing his family and then multiple deployments doing whatever he’d had to do to carry out his missions and survive, then she could be strong alongside of him.
She kept the light off in the trailer, but flipped the switch on a couple of electric candles so she could see Cole in all his masculine glory.
“You sure?”he asked, closing the door slowly behind him.
She flipped the lock and took off his hat.Smiling, she placed it on her head.Thought about kicking off her boots, but maybe it would be sexier if she kept them on.Men liked that, didn’t they?Or was it just impossibly uncomfortable and impractical stilettos?
“You’ve done so much for me over the years.Tonight’s your night.”
“I like taking care of you.”
“Prepare to have the favor returned.”
She eased off his jacket, with him helping, but she dodged his hands and hung the jacket up on a peg next her hers.
Holding his heated gaze, she unbuttoned his shirt, one button at a time, careful with the fabric as she parted his shirt and pulled it from the waist of his pants.
“You are so beautifully made,” she whispered, tracing her name across his chest with her finger.
“That’s my line.”
“Men can be beautiful,” Riley said.“You are.”She kissed a heart shape on his chest and followed with her tongue.He shuddered, and a shiver of power raced through her.
“I’d never kissed anyone before you,” she said, feeling a little shy.“I felt so brave kissing you goodbye after the weekend together, but you—”
“The kiss was perfect.”He stilled her words with his mouth.“Perfect, but you were so young, and I knew I had to leave again.I’d been called up early and knew the mission was dangerous.I wanted to give you time.You were so full of life and light and so many dreams.I didn’t want to steal anything from you.”
Instead…no.She wouldn’t go there.Stubbornly she pushed the jumble of ugly, painful and humiliating memories of that night.The terror, the certainty that she was going to die and instead breathed in the scent of Cole, absorbed the hard warmth of his skin.
“I imagined doing this,” she said, boldly unbuckling his belt and whipping the leather through the loops.“And this.”She reached under her dress and wiggled out of her panties, letting them drop on the floor.
The flare of heat in Cole’s eyes emboldened her more.
“Good thing I locked the door.That rascally dog would likely steal my panties and that would be even more embarrassing than losing my bra.”
He might have laughed but when she unbuttoned his jeans, he hissed in a breath.She cupped him, marveling at the feeling of silk and heat and steely tension.He was larger than she’d imagined, and the excitement felt like a heartbeat between her thighs.
“Riley.”His voice was urgent and never before had her name sounded so sexy.
“Cole,” she said his name, watching his response to her touch.Her fingers gripped and then stroked, and she circled his tip, spreading the moisture.
“Is this okay?”she asked, a little shy.She’d never done this before, and Cole was always so gentle with her, checking in for consent.
“Baby, you blew by okay a long time ago.”
She smiled, pleasure filling her along with a spurt of confidence.He’d made her feel so special last night, and she wanted to return the favor.She leaned closer, wanting to taste him.
He reached for her, but she shimmied out of reach.
“Sit,” she bossed.
Cole sat on the bed, and she pulled off his boots one by one and then his socks.
