Her Cowboy Knight (12 page)

They sat like that until Gabby fell asleep in his arms. When he walked out carrying Gabby, most of the party had broken up. Susan’s mother came to open the truck door so Cooper could put Gabby in the truck. He could see Susan sitting in the porch swing, woodenly drinking a cup of coffee. She looked at him, but he just looked away and spoke to her mother. “Thanks, Jan.”

Jan shook her head. “This is hard for her, Cooper. What she did wasn’t right, but this is hard for her.”

Cooper said, “I know, Jan, but I can’t be the one who makes it easier for her.”

Jan sighed. “No, she’d made that impossible. Thanks for everything, Cooper.”

Cooper set Gabby in the truck, then turned to the woman who’d been like a mother since he was twelve years old. He leaned down and wrapped her in a huge hug. “I love you, Jan. Don’t ever forget that. And don’t think I ever forget everything you and Hank have done for me.”

Jan hugged him back fiercely and patted him on the shoulder, then turned toward the house and walked away.

* * *

The next morning, Gabby woke up smiling. She rolled over to her back and the memories of the night before hit her. She covered her head and groaned. Memories and shame flooded her in waves as the night’s events played through her mind in a continuous loop that got more defined with each repeat. Squeezing her eyes tighter only brought the images into sharper focus.

Cooper rolled up onto his side and tugged on the blankets covering Gabby’s head. “Gabby?”

Gabby mumbled through the covers, “Please tell me all that didn’t happen last night.”

Cooper sighed and tugged a little harder, but Gabby wouldn’t let go. “Gabby, let me see your pretty face.”

Gabby shook her head. “I’m never going to show my face again.”

Cooper lay down beside her. “Baby, it’s kind of hard to talk to you through all these layers.”

Gabby stubbornly held onto the covers when he tugged again, and Cooper put just a little touch of authority in his voice when he said, “Gabriella… turn loose of the covers.”

Gabby slowly let go of the covers, but as soon as Cooper pulled the blanket free, she shut her eyes tight. She heard Cooper jostling and peeked out of one eye to see what he was doing. He was lying on his side with his head propped on one bent arm. He smiled as soon as he saw her eyeball, brushed her hair back, and leaned over to kiss her forehead.

She groaned and tried to roll away, but he pinned her to the bed, catching her hands when she tried to cover her face. After a brief struggle she capitulated, but closed her eyes against his piercing stare.

Cooper tugged on her hair. “Open your eyes.”

Gabby squeezed them more tightly closed. Cooper held her arms over her head and straddled her upper body. “Open. Your. Eyes.”

Gabby whimpered, at this point not wanting to do as he said out of stubbornness. She frowned and pouted. “I don’t want to.”

Cooper waited, silently. Gabby squirmed then, trying to unseat him and pull her hands away from him. He let her wear herself out, then said, “You’re being naughty, Gabby. Keep this up and you know what will happen.”

She humphed then. “Yeah, and so does the rest of the town.”

Cooper leaned over halfway. “Now, Gabby. I won’t say it again.”

Gabby fought an internal battle. She wanted to resist out of a perverse sense of mischief, but she also didn’t want to really anger him and ruin their whole morning. She knew she was close to pushing a button that would take this out of playful and into ultimatum territory. No matter how that went, it wouldn’t go well for her.

She pushed her limit until the very last second when she felt his body start to shift, then she opened her eyes slowly. He stared. “I’m deliberately letting you off for that.”

Gabby’s sad smile didn’t meet her eyes.

Cooper said, “Talk to me, Gabby.”

Gabby looked away until Cooper cleared his throat, then her eyes shot back to his. “They all know, Cooper.”

Cooper said, “What do they know? They only know that I spanked you once, and I guarantee a lot of them would honestly have done the same in my shoes. Everyone knows how touchy everyone gets around haying and about their combines. They probably think I slept on the couch for a few days. Even if they do know, it’s between us. I guarantee you we are not the only people who play a few spanky games in the bedroom.”

“Or barn, or office, or field…”

Cooper smiled and continued, “Hey, I’ll admit it. I like spanking your bottom, but I’m sorry she embarrassed you like that. I wouldn’t have had it happen for anything. Don’t worry, I’ll never force you to have anything to do with Susan again. She crossed a line last night. I know that.”

Gabby said, “And I attacked her… would have fought with her like a five-year-old boy.”

Cooper nodded with a hint of a smirk. “Yes, you did.”

Gabby shut her eyes again, and Cooper leaned down to kiss her. “Honey, everyone in that place made sure to tell me exactly how much she had provoked you and that you had tried to walk away.”

She opened her eyes. “Then why did I still get a spanking?”

Cooper’s eyebrows rose. “That was hardly a spanking worthy of a fight of that magnitude, little girl, and you know it. You were out of control.”

Cooper kissed her again. Gabby eventually broke contact with a groan. “How am I ever going to go into town now, Cooper?”

Cooper looked her straight in the eye. “I’m really sorry, Gabby. Do you forgive me?”

The expression on Gabby’s face turned into a sly, teasing, sexy look. “I could probably be persuaded to.”

She wriggled again, but this time to flex up against his groin. He groaned slightly and leaned down to nudge her neck and nibble a little bit. Gabby really wriggled then. Cooper sat up, his eyes half closed and a calculating look on his face. He took her hands and placed them above her head. He wrapped her fingers around the bars of the headboard and said very softly in her ear, “Your hands stay right there. Understand?”

She was breathing more shallowly now, but she nodded her head. Cooper smiled. “Good girl.”

Cooper sat pondering his next move. He ran his hands down her arms until he reached her shoulders, then cupped her breasts. He circled both nipples slowly, teasing, as he looked in her eyes. His look held no mercy as he pinched both nipples, hard. Gabby sucked in a breath and let out one little sound of protest, her breath now coming a little more rapidly. She looked down at his hands causing such exquisite pain, then back to his face. He was consumed by the project in front of him.

Releasing her breast, Cooper leaned down and circled her nipple with his tongue, causing Gabby to moan and writhe against him. He teased one nipple at his leisure, then scraped it with his teeth. Gabby froze completely. Cooper chuckled, moving to the next nipple to repeat the procedure. This time when he scraped the nipple with his teeth, Gabby didn’t respond. He moved slightly and bit down on her breast, hard. Gabby’s whole body tensed up and she yelled, “Oww! Cooper, ow!”

Cooper released her and rolled over to the side. She raised her head to watch him, a question in her eyes. He kept eye contact as he moved to her feet and grabbed her ankles. Wariness entered her eyes as he spread her legs and crawled between them.

He laid his hand on her pubic bone, letting the weight and warmth soak into her. Slowly, he moved his other hand down her body between her legs. He parted her outer lips and felt the warmth and wetness that welcomed him there. Gabby wiggled then, and he murmured, “You just settle in, darlin’. You aren’t going anyplace anytime soon.”

He continued his ministrations, looking back up to check her expressions, noting what she liked, what caused her body to shift and what caused her toes to curl.

When he dropped his head, she thought he was going to use his tongue again, but instead he just kissed her once.

When he raised his head this time, he had a different look in his eye, darker. “We’re going to do something a little different this time, baby.”

She didn’t protest when he flipped her over and propped her hips up with two pillows. He started rubbing her back and bottom, but soon, his fingers found the cleft in her bottom and ran down the length of it, sending shivers up her spine.

Cooper nudged one leg. “Spread your legs, darlin’.”

Gabby moved slowly, imagining what she must look like. Cooper dipped his fingers between her lips and found the wetness there, and Gabby moaned. He pulled his fingers back and slapped her sex lightly. He then he reached over to the nightstand and grabbed something. Gabby heard some rustling around and then felt his fingers again, this time at the entrance to her bottom. She covered her face and groaned even more deeply.

Cooper’s seeking finger swept over her sensitive back opening, then passed over it again, each time eliciting little movements from her hips and small sounds in her throat. Cooper finally added more lubricant to his finger and rested it right on her opening. Gabby stilled completely, tensing the lower half of her body.

Cooper pressed slightly. “Gabriella, that’s not allowed. Open up and let me in, sweetheart.”

He reached over with his other hand, spread her bottom cheeks with his fingers, and pressed. Gabby felt her body finally relax and allow him entry.

Her body responded to the penetration and the recognition of his domination. He allowed her to get used to the feel of his finger, then he inched it further into her until it was as far as it could go. He held it there for a moment. “Whose bottom is this?”

Gabby felt her face turn bright red, and couldn’t bring herself to answer. She felt Cooper pump his finger in and out a time or two. “Whose bottom is this?” he repeated.

Gabby could hardly think for the feelings his fingers were producing, but she answered, “Yours. It’s yours!”

Cooper released her cheeks and patted one. He pulled his finger out and pressed again for entry. This time, he slid in easily. “That’s the way, baby, no resistance.” He pumped his finger a few times, causing Gabby to flex her hips and whimper. “Now, we’re going to have an understanding about one other thing. When you feel your temper starting to get out of control, you’re going to remember that you are my woman, and you are my little girl, is that clear?”

Gabby nodded, then folded her arms and laid her head on them. Cooper smoothed her hair back from her face and placed a kiss on her cheek. He then reached over to the drawer again. Gabby looked up to see what he had grabbed and gasped as she recognized the small pink object as a butt plug. She turned her face back forward. Cooper coated the plug in lubrication, then set the tip of it at the entrance to her bottom. “Press back and seat yourself.”

Gabby looked back over her shoulder at him. Cooper just held the plug there and met her eyes. His look said it all; he wouldn’t demand this of her, she had to offer it herself. She faced forward again and dropped her head. Then, in the next few moments, she shifted her hips back, pushing out to accept the plug. When she reached the widest part, she paused, not sure she could handle pushing herself that much. “Help me, please?” It felt so much bigger than it had looked a few minutes ago.

Cooper grabbed the plug and spread her cheeks wider. He backed it out a little, then eased it in more. “That’s it, baby, relax and push out.”

It sounded so dirty, but Gabby did as he said and the last bit of the plug slid in with only a little pain. She flexed her muscles around the plug and felt it moving as she did. Cooper grabbed the base and twisted it. Gabby curled her toes and squealed.

Cooper tapped the end and said, “While you have this in, I want you to remember that you are mine, do you understand?”

He patted Gabby on the bottom and said, “Now get dressed.”

Gabby whirled around. “With this in?”

Cooper nodded. “Yes. I want you to wear it for a couple of hours to help you remember.”

Gabby stood up and looked at him incredulously. “You can’t… I can’t… Cooper?”

Cooper crossed over and hugged her. “It serves a two-fold purpose.” He reached back and twirled the plug. “Pretty soon, a plug won’t be the only thing back here, baby. This will help you learn to relax back here.”

He leaned down and kissed her neck. He turned her by the shoulders and patted her bottom. “Now quit stalling and get dressed.”

* * *

A few days later, Michael ran into the shed. “Gabby, you gotta come quick. Dad says we are goin’ on a ride.”

Gabby replaced her tools quickly and followed the boy, trying not to run as he had. When she got to the barn, she found Kwan and Cooper saddling their mounts. Cooper looked up at her approach. “Saddle up. We’re going to take a ride to look for strays in the north end of the property.”

Gabby blinked in surprise, then nodded and turned to saddle Mayflower. The first part of the day Gabby absorbed as much knowledge as she could, with Cooper and Kwan instructing. Gabby found some of Michael’s tips more useful because he had learned more recently, and he remembered a time when he hadn’t used these skills as easily as standing or sitting.

Around one o’clock, they took a break to rest both themselves and their horses. They had finished eating a sack lunch, but the adults were still resting and talking. Michael got bored, so he started climbing a rocky hill near where they had stopped. Gabby, always up for a good climb, had just started to follow him when the rock he had used for a foothold gave way, and he fell to land on his stomach, banging his chin on the hard ground.

When the rocks settled, a distinct rattle sent chills down every spine. Michael lay three feet from a coiled rattlesnake, right within strike range. Gabby didn’t even think; she drew the knife from her boot and threw, her aim deadly accurate. Michael scrambled backward to his knees, but Gabby had pinned the snake to the ground with one strike.

Kwan rushed to his son, checking him over for damage. When he looked up to Gabby, he said only a simple, “Thank you.”

She nodded her head. The adrenaline that had allowed her react so quickly had begun to wear off, and her hands had started to shake. She could hear Kwan scolding his son in the tone only a scared parent can use.