Page 10 of Take Me Home, Cowboy

“Christ, Gentry, take your ass to bed. She’s off limits.”

* * *

Ally couldn’t sleep.Granted, it wasn’t as though she slept in her old room all the time, it’d been quite a while, but it was hers nonetheless. Unfortunately, she didn’t think it was the old four-poster canopy set-up that was the problem. More like the cowboy in the room directly next to hers. She had already been in bed when his boots scuffed down the hallway. She tried to tell herself she wasn’t waiting up for him but could have sworn he’d stopped at her door first before opening his own.

After a few minutes, his footsteps gave away his movement around his room. She cursed the darned old house walls—thin like paper, she could hear everything. First the window opened, next his boots dropped, one first then the other onto the hardwood floor. A minute later, his bedsprings creaked when he crawled in.

After she had thrown her stifling bed covers onto the floor, she wondered whether he wore pajamas, or if his cool sheets rubbed against his naked skin. He’d had plenty of time to get undressed, but she couldn’t really picture him as a “pair of flannel pajama bottoms” guy, and she hoped he at least left his chest bare. She’d much rather picture him in nothing at all. Suddenly, her oversized T-shirt was way too warm.

She didn’t feel near comfortable with her daddy at the end of the hall, but she normally wore either her black silk nightie or her black lace cami short set. Sometimes—like on warm New York nights when she felt really daring—she wore nothing at all. It wasn’t like anyone would see her on the third floor of her loft apartment—unless they had good binoculars. She was always pretty much alone at night except for her Persian, Lucifer. He made his permanent bed in the god-awful psychedelic beanbag chair in the corner of her room. Sometimes when it stormed, she would find him at the end of her bed, curled up under the comforter. He was the only man she really needed—reliable, warm, cuddly, andalwaysattentive.

Disgusted, she jumped out of bed, went to the window, and pushed it open as far as it’d go then removed the screen. Fresh air was a must for her sanity. Hanging out past the glass panes, she sucked in the cool country night aroma. It was totally therapeutic. Looking out at the beautiful starlit sky, she thought herself crazy that she’d ever wanted to leave. Releasing a heavy sigh, she withdrew into the room and pushed away from the marble sill, wishing she had a fan.

A male voice floated through the night. Whoa, she knew that voice. The sound must have come from his room next door.

Who in the world is he talking to?She hadn’t heard anyone else in the house.Oh, he better not have one some floozy in the house.She would absolutely not stand for such a thing, no matter what Daddy said. And, oh my God, so soon after kissing her? Yuck!

She moved closer to the window, straining to hear more of his conversation. Good grief, this was so unladylike. Eavesdropping was probably against some code of ethics or something. Oh who cared? She’d never been much of a lady, anyway. She strained to hear, but he was whispering.

Wait a second, there’s no other voice. Only his. What the heck?His voice became clearer as he moved closer to his own window.Oh crap. She scurried off the sill. Silly really. It wasn’t like he could see her unless he moved the screen and stuck his head out and looked in her direction.

“Okay, sweetheart, I have to go. Yes, it’s a beautiful night, lots of stars out. I wish you were here, too. Sleep well and I miss you. Talk to you soon. Bye, honey.”

Silence.

The bed creaked again and then all was quiet.

Oh my God!She stood frozen, a cool breeze coming through the window suddenly giving her goose bumps. He had a girlfriend. She could even be a fiancée. He had a fiancée?

“Then what the hell was he doing kissing me?” she whispered to herself. Why in the world did it even matter? He was nothing to her—wasn’t even her type. She replaced the screen quietly and crawled back into bed and pulled the covers up to her nose. “Boy, this is gonna be one long night.”

Chapter Five

Matt’s hands roamed over her body. Starting at her toes, he massaged her feet then her calf muscles and moved toward the ticklish spot on the back of her knees. It was obvious he worked outdoors, and the roughness against her skin turned her beyond hot. Fingers inched up each of her thighs while soft, wet lips trailed in their wake, searing each place they touched. She kept her eyes tightly shut, but her palms moved over the hard, damp muscles of his shoulders, her nails digging in to pull him closer.

She couldn’t lie still, getting more restless as he slowly climbed his way closer. His legs pressed between hers, pushing her open to him. He brushed his knuckles along her inner thighs but did not touch her pulsing center while his breath fanned over her sensitive flesh. She gasped at the erotic sensations. Then, his mouth was on her stomach, edging across her ribs. He cupped her breasts, thumbs rubbing over her nipples, immediately hardening them and creating an equal tightness on her insides.

His tongue circled around her pert bud but didn’t actually touch it, forcing her to hold back a scream. She weaved her fingers into his hair, trying to force his mouth where she so desperately needed it, but he resisted. She moaned herdispleasure as he moved away, only to lavish his attention on her other breast. All the while, his pulsing arousal lay along her inner thigh. She longed for his length to plunge deep into her, giving her what she craved.

Suddenly, his mouth disappeared, only to be replaced by a wisp of cool air making her nipples impossibly tighter and she felt the head of his penis resting at her opening. She was so desperate for him she wanted to cry out. He crept his hand down her sides to cup her bottom, the pressure of him nudging at her sweet spot increased.

“Oh God, Matt, please….”

Immediately awake, she sat straight up in bed, her skin coated with sweat, her shirt…gone.

OH MY GOD! What the hell?

It was morning. Her shade was up along with her window, and she was in bed, naked. “Good Lord, please tell me I didn’t beg out loud.” Anybody could have heard her.Oh God, Daddy could have heard me! Worst of all, so could have Matt.

This could not be happening. She needed to get a grip and get the cowboy out of her mind. Jumping out of bed, she found her T-shirt on the floor and pulled it over her head. She shuffled frantically across the room to pull the shade down over the window then tidied up her sheets before heading to the bathroom.

The hot shower was a blessed thing but not nearly enough to wash away the humiliation. Good Lord, anyone could have overheard her X-rateddream. She shook her head and groaned while the water coursed over her.

Some minutes later, Ally had dressed in her oldest, most faded, comfy jeans and a pale yellow I LOVE NY T-shirt. She’d gathered her hair at the nape with a leather tie and grabbed her old straw cowboy hat off the shelf in her closet.

She walked along the hallway toward the stairs. The aromatic smell of strong coffee pulled her like a magnet. Caffeine was her only saving grace in the mornings, the only chance at humanization. And the way she’d slept the night before, she needed all the help she could get.

As she passed her daddy’s study and the living room—both empty—she grew steadily more confident she was in the clear concerning her earlier outburst. She pushed through the kitchen door in search of the steaming pot of java and a breakfast she hoped Maribella had whipped up. Instead, her heart skipped a beat at the clean-shaven, just-stepped-out-of-the-shower look of Matt Gentry, foreman of the Circle K Ranch and star of her most erotic fantasy to date.

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