Loving You: A Cowboy Romance (Texas Hill Country Romance Book 1) (21 page)

“I’m sorry,” she said, backing away. “I’m just so happy to see you. Are you are all right?”

“Yeah, I’m all right,” he said, chuckling as he grabbed her with his good arm and snaked it around her waist and brought her in close to him.

“I thought you were Calista,” she said, not knowing why she stated the obvious so nervously.

“I get that,” Cord said half smiling. “Can I come in?”

“Yea..,” she croaked, “ahem, Yes, of course,” she said more audibly.

He walked them to the bed.

“Mind if I sit down?”

“No, please do,” she said and he sat down at the head of the bed with his back to the headboard. He brought her down to sit next to him and sighed heavily. He was in pain and that action took a lot out of him.

She moved up the bed and sat on his good side. She reached for his hand and he entwined them.

She moved her eyes to his bruises. Jimmy said his eye was swollen shut. He wasn’t kidding. Her eyes traveled down his body to see a bulkiness under his tank top. Jimmy said his ribs were bruised. They must be taped. His arm was in a cast and bent at the elbow, in a sling, against his chest. Her heart ached to see him that beat up.             

“Are you in pain?” she asked him shyly.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“You’re not a good liar, are you?” she asked when she studied his face and saw him wincing.

“No,” he simply said.

“You shouldn’t be here. You should be home, resting.”

“Earlier today,” he started, choosing to ignore her statement because there was no other place he wanted to be, “when I was in the hospital, I spoke with Jake. He called my father’s cell phone. He told me that he told you I was in an accident. I was angry you didn’t come to me.

“I did-”

He stopped her. “I know. Jimmy found my phone and dropped it off by my house. I saw your texts a short while ago.”              

“When you didn’t answer my texts, I thought you never wanted to talk to me again. You were mad when you left here, then you total your car and land in the hospital because of me  and-”

“Annie, stop,” he said quietly. They studied each other. “I’m not angry with you,” he finally said. “I am angry with Dan. I took it out on you, however, and for that I’m truly sorry. Dan knows you and I are together and yet he tries to weasel his way into you.”

“No, it’s not like that, Cord. We’re friends.”

“It’s exactly like that, Annie. I know Dan a long time. It’s how he operates.” He paused, and he could see she still wasn’t convinced.

“It’s true, we would share girls. He purposely made mention about that the other night. I’d pass a girl on to him all the time and sometimes we’d do her together and other times he’d pass a girl on to me.” He paused.

“He thinks I’m going to pass you on to him. But I have no fucking intentions of sharing you, Annie. I keep trying to tell him that, but he wants you so fucking bad, he’s not convinced, so any opening he sees, he’s gonna take.”

Annie bit her lower lip and he continued. “He was accused of raping a girl a while back.”

Annie looked at him incredulously.

“Nothing came of it because the girl kept changing her story and no one believed her after a while. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t.”

She studied his face. “Okay, I get it.” She nodded. Then she smiled up at him. “You still like me,” she said in a singing voice.

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Hell yes, I still like you. I’m crazy about you, you know.” They gazed into each other’s eyes.

Then she grew serious again. “But the accident-”

“Was no accident. Yeah, I was angry, but I was in total control of the car-”

There was a knock at the door and Cord and she stopped talking.

“Come in,” Annie said, and in walked Calista and Rory.

“Oh, my God, Cord, are you all right?” Calista asked as she jumped on the bed and gave him a hug.

“Ow! Geez, Calista, I was until you squeezed the shit out of my ribs,” he said wincing.

She backed off him. “I’m so sorry, Cord. Does it hurt?”

“Ah… yeah,” he said sounding annoyed, but he smiled at her knowing she was truly concerned for him.

“What happened, man?” Rory asked.

“Nothing, I got into a little accident is all. I’m fine.”

“Cord, your eye is swollen shut and it looks like you got stitches above it and your arm is in a cast. Little accident, I don’t think so,” Rory said shaking his head.

Jake and Jennie came through the door next. Annie scooted closer to Cord to make room on the bed and Cord winced as he put his arm around her. She didn’t see it. He wasn’t going to remove it so he sucked it up. They gazed into each other’s eyes a moment and he saw a glint of light. Inwardly he sighed happily.

Then he began to recap the incident, leaving out the details of their fight.

Joan also came in at one point, but stayed by the door of the now too crowded room, to listen.

“Jimmy told me the investigators found the brake line cut,” Cord stated.

The room exploded into one big gasp.

He looked to Annie. “As I said before, it was no accident. I was in complete control.”

Cord saw a change in Annie’s expression. “What?” he asked her.

“Nothing. It’s funny though. When I was in the waiting room this morning, Lisa was there and when she saw me, she screamed at me that it was supposed to be me in the hospital. She said I was supposed to be driving the car. Huh… I mean, I did tell her I was going to drive the car back to your house yesterday.”

Cord’s jaw dropped as he listened to Annie, recalling their conversation over the phone. Without taking his eyes off her he said. “Jake?”

“I’m on it, buddy. Calling Jimmy right now,” Jake said as he was dialing his cell phone.

“Oh shit,” Rory said.

Even Calista knew what that meant.

“What?” Annie asked Cord, after she looked from Jake to Rory then to Calista.

“Lisa’s been hanging out with Doug Treemont,” Cord said to her.

“Oh yeah, that name sounds familiar. So?”

“So, Annie, Doug Treemont is a mechanic,” Calista said.

“Oh… OH!”

“Yeah. OH!” Rory repeated.

Annie was visibly shaking when she looked up to Cord. She was even more worried at seeing Cord shaken. He squeezed her closer to him and that time he didn’t even feel the pain coursing through his ribs.

Cord woke up in his own bed the next morning. Turning, he grinned to see Annie still sleeping.

She was at the other end of the bed facing him, hardly taking up any room. He wanted to sleep holding her, but she was afraid she would crush his ribs in her sleep if she slept in his arms.

He was ecstatic she agreed to go home with him yesterday, after Jimmy stopped by and was briefed on the turn of events regarding the accident. They all agreed it would be best to keep that news under wraps until Jimmy did a little investigative work.

Cord smiled, recalling how she took good care of him yesterday. She helped him to bed, gave him pain medication then went downstairs to make him dinner, Chicken chili, which was delicious. She even spoon fed him even though he was able to do that himself. She went back downstairs to wash some dishes and tidy up the kitchen. She came back upstairs with some cut up melon and placed it on the night table by the side of the bed she would be using.

He was watching TV as she went to his bureau. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She pulled out a black T-shirt and stripped down to her red lace panties with her back facing him. That got his full attention.

“Turn around. I want to see you,” he said, sounding all raspy.

He sucked in a breath at the sight of her.

“Fucking breathtaking” he said, liking the fact that she was comfortable enough to pull out one of his shirts and undress in front of him.

Why wouldn’t she be? Her body was a piece of art, something to be admired by all but he wanted no one else to admire her in that way, just him.

Her nipples hardened just from the lustful look he had given her. She placed her hands on them and plucked them as she closed her eyes and moaned. When she opened her eyes, she saw a bulge under the covers and his hand was stoking that bulge. She looked at his face and curled up her lips at the heated look in his eyes.

“Come here,” he said.

She went to him and let him feel her up and she even put her breasts in his mouth so he could suck her nipples hard. Then to his protest, she rose up. That protest was short lived when she removed the covers and slid down his sweat shorts to take him in her mouth, deep.

As if she sensed she was being watched, she opened her eyes to see Cord watching her. She smiled.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi.”

“Mmmmm,” she said as she stretched, and the covers fell below her breasts. His eyes of course went straight to them. She smiled thinking he looked like a kid in a candy store. She covered them up.

“Aww,” he said, sounding like a kid who dropped his ice cream.

She giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he said grinning.

“I’m picturing you as a child.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so cute.” She got up out of bed, not bothering to put anything on. She was still just in her panties.

“How do you feel this morning?” she asked him.

“Seeing you first thing in the morning, in my bed, I never felt better,” he replied.

She smiled at him. “I mean, how are your injuries today?”

“Better. Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom. Be right back.”

Annie did her business in the bathroom and even took a quick shower. After she dried off and brushed her teeth, she went to the doorway. Cord was watching TV but he quickly averted his eyes to her, noticing she was completely naked. His jaw dropping smile made her giggle.

“Boy, you’re easy,” she said.

“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? You are hot.”

She shyly smiled.

“You don’t know that do you?” he said incredulously, and she grew uncomfortable and didn’t answer. Instead she changed the subject.

“Want a sponge bath?” she asked him.

“You gonna give it?” he asked grinning.

“Yes.”

“You gonna be naked giving it?” he asked, still grinning.

“Yes,” she said, and he got up so fast and went to her, wincing all the way there with a smile on his face.

She giggled and led him into the bathroom by the double sinks.

He watched her, through the mirror, filling one of the sinks up with water.

She dropped a bar of soap in and reached for the washcloth that was folded on the side and dropped that in the water too.

She turned around and placed her fingers on the inside band of his boxer briefs at the waist and languidly felt around. He sucked in a breath. Then she slowly squatted, pulling down his underwear.

He moaned as he watched her with hooded eyes. He was hard, hard as a rock and big, so very big.

She smiled up at him and stood up, shaking her head.

She reached for the soap and washcloth. After lathering up, she squeezed the excess water from the cloth and dabbed the cut over his eye.

He gasped and she paused. It stung a little but he nodded for her to keep going.

She continued to wash his face, his shoulders and arms, being careful not to get his cast wet. She re-soaped the cloth and slowly washed his chest, his belly, and his hips, taking care not to apply too much pressure by the bruised ribs. She slowly squatted and washed one leg, marveling at the massive muscles that made up his leg. He had just a dusting of hair.

She tapped his foot and he raised it so she could wash it. He laughed silly and she smiled. “Ticklish, Mr. McCreedy?”

“Yes.” he said roughly, trying to contain himself.

She came up and squatted again while slowly washing the other leg and without tapping the foot he knew to raise it and he let out another silly laugh.

She wasn’t sure how the next step was going to go over, but she was nothing if not thorough. She re-soaped the washcloth and ran it down his back, hugging him instead of going behind him. He lowered his face to her neck and nuzzled her.

“Easy,” he said huskily as he realized her next move.

She brought the cloth down to his ass. She cleaned the surface and quickly dipped into his crack.

He jumped. “Whoa!” he said and she laughed as she removed her hand just as quickly. He smiled and shook his head slowly.

Only one place left to wash,
she thought with anticipation.

Only one place left to wash,
he thought in anticipation.

She rinsed and soaped the cloth again. She looked up into his eyes then down to his cock and licked her lips.

“Oh, fuck me, woman. You’re driving me wild,” he muttered.

He gasped as she placed the cloth on him and slowly soaped him up. She raised him and soaped his now aching balls. She rinsed and repeated to get the soap off of him. She watched his face.

He closed his eyes and moaned. When he opened them again, she saw his eyes were a deep, almost black color and he was studying her hard.

As soon as she put the cloth in the sink, he reached for her with his good arm and crushed her to him, taking her mouth in a wild, passionate kiss. His tongue invaded her mouth, searching for hers. He lifted her up with the one good arm and placed her ass on the counter top between the sinks. He tore his lips away from her mouth and quickly kissed his way down to one of her breasts and sucked her nipple hard. She arched into him as she moaned.

“Cord,” she said just his name, breathlessly.

He put his hand on her sex and rammed two fingers up her.

“Damn, you’re soaking wet,” he said as he released her nipple to groan, and moved to her other nipple and sucked it hard. He worked his hand on her so that his thumb was rubbing her clit as his fingers were pumping her.

She was so turned on from the sponge bath that she didn’t take long. She came hard and fast and he rode it out with her. Slowing, only when she slowed.

He removed his fingers and greedily sucked them.

“Baby, I need to fuck you. I can’t do it here standing up. Bed. Now,” he said.

She jumped down and hurried to the bed with him following.

She got in and made room for him. He sat up.

“Sit on me.” And without preamble he held his cock up straight and she climbed on him.

“Oh. Fuck. Yeah. Ride me fast, baby.”

She did.

He threw his good arm around her waist and helped her move up and down faster as he buried his head in between her breasts, nipping and sucking the sides of them.

On a grunt, he came just as fast and just as hard as she did earlier.

As he slowed his breathing, while still buried in her, his bedroom door opened.

“Cord? Sweetheart, how are- Oh, oh,” his mother said.

In an instant he looked to Annie and saw the horror slash anger on her face. She was trying to get off him, but he held her still.

“Stay,” he said quietly to her as he helped her pull up the covers. “Mom, get out!” he roared. “And leave the keys to my house on the kitchen counter or I’ll change the locks later this afternoon.”

The door closed and Annie and he let out a breath.

By now his ribs were killing him and he grimaced.

She got off him and laid face up next to him. “Seriously, Cordell? Again?”

“It’s worse than you think,” he said and she rose up a bit and turned to face him with a questioning look on her face.

“Lisa was with her just now.”

“Ugh! Are you kidding?” she said incredulously as she flopped back down.

“No… I’m sorry, Annie. I’ll call my mom later and straighten this shit out with her.”

“Whatever,” she said in disgust, and she got up to put her clothes on.

Cord noticed she didn’t put his T-shirt on but her own clothes. He began to panic. “Where are you going? Don’t leave.”

She looked at him then continued dressing.

“Please,” he begged, “I told you, I’ve never had girls over here before. It never bothered me before when she popped in and out. I promise I’ll talk to her.”

She looked at him, and saw out of the corner of her eye that the cut on his thigh was oozing blood. She looked down to it.

“You’re bleeding,” she said calmly as she walked to the bathroom. She came out with the washcloth and knealt on the bed and placed it over his cut and applied a little pressure. She sighed and looked up to see a wounded expression on his face. She raised a hand to his face and cupped his jaw lightly. She brought her lips to his and gave him a tender kiss.

When she broke the kiss, he simply said, “I’m sorry.”

Annie dressed Cord’s wound, gave him a pain killer and an antibiotic, made breakfast for them, and left him to nap while she went downstairs to clean up, prepare something for lunch, and make something chocolatey to drown her sorrows.

About two hours later, Annie walked into Cord’s bedroom with a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. He was sitting up in bed and on the phone. He looked at her and smiled. He waved her over and continued talking. “….I know, mom. You’ll like her… yes. She is special to me,” he said as Annie sat down on the bed next to him. “…So, you’re not mad?…. No, of course you can come over to see me. Just call first, let me know you’re coming. That’s all I ask… okay… okay. I got to go mom… Yeah, I love you, too.” He hung up the phone.

“Is that for me?” he asked licking his lips.

“Yes.”

“Where’s your piece?”

“Ha!” She chuckled. “This is what’s left of the cake,” she said and he gave her a surprised look.

“What? Chocolate cake always makes me feel better,” she added as she lifted a fork full of cake to his mouth and smiled.

“Mmmmm. So good,” he said with a mouth full.

“Squared things away with mommy?” she teased.

“Yeah. More,” he pointed to the cake. She brought another fork full to his mouth.

“Yeah, she’s okay with it. She said she won’t barge in on us anymore while we’re fucking,” he said with a smirk that Annie didn’t catch.

“Cord! She did not say that?”

“No. Of course not,” he said laughing, “But she said to apologize to you for her. She feels terrible about it. Oh, got a text from Jake before. The gang is coming over around seven, for dinner tonight.”

“Oh, okay. Not sure what we have here to serve.”

“Don’t worry, they’re bringing Wong’s”

“Oh, okay.”

“I like this,” he said as she lifted the last piece of cake to his mouth.

“Thank you.”

“Not the cake.”

“Oh.”

“No, I like the cake, but I like playing house with you.”

“Me, too,” she said as she leaned up on her knees and brought her mouth to his mouth and licked away some frosting from his lips.

She pulled back and got up.

“Where are you going?”

“I made a mess in the kitchen. I’m going to clean up before the guys get here.”

“Okay, I might as well get up and go check on Storm and see what Hank is up too.