Naked Hunger: Naked Cowboys, Book 8 (8 page)

“Whatever you say, boss. I’m just sayin’, he’s really been looking forward to this.”

“He can keep looking forward to it until I think he’s ready.” Ryan stepped off the porch and dumped his cold coffee on the ground. “Let’s go look at the setup for Red Danger.”

That should be his number one priority now, not the woman he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about. Not her sharp mind or her luscious body, but the bull that he hoped would put the Gold Buckle on the rodeo map once and for all. He’d thought himself too old for this kind of attack of hormones, but he guessed his dick hadn’t gotten the message.

And not just his dick. He wanted more than just sex, but if that was all he could get for the moment, he’d take it and bide his time. He was a patient man, and she was definitely worth waiting for. As he walked toward the barn, he made a mental note to call Buck Montgomery. Maybe he could offhandedly find out if the women were having one of their nights out tonight, and if by some chance Sable would be with them. Maybe he could just casually drop in wherever they were.

Pathetic, Donovan. Just pathetic.

* * * * *

Even over the other conversations in Mike’s, Sable heard the laughter of her friends the moment she walked in. They were seated at a large round table in the center of the room. Charity was obviously relating some story, gesticulating with her hands, and the women were in hysterics. Sable knew with Charity, a deputy with Sheriff Dillon Cross, there were always good stories to relate.

Georgie spotted her as she walked up to the table, rose and dragged another chair over for her.

“Sit,” she ordered. “You look like you could use a good drink.”

“That’s no lie.” She dropped into the chair and hung her purse over the back. “I can say in all honesty that while I love all the animals I treat, pigs have to be way down on the list.” She fanned her face. “Whew! I stopped at the house and showered and changed and I still smell like the three little piggies.”

“No, you’re good,” Amy assured her. “Jack Mather having a problem?”

It always amazed Sable that as sprawling as the county was, everyone knew who raised what animals, grew what produce or produced the best litters. Talk about a tight community.

“Yes. The nicest thing to call it is the pig flu, but no matter what name you give it, it’s not pleasant.” She reached for an empty mug in the center of the table. “Jack’s smart, though. He called me the minute he spotted the signs, so we caught it in time. But now I definitely need a drink.” She filled her mug from one of the pitchers on the table, lifted it and took a long swallow.

“Wow.” Amy stared at her. “That must have been some pig disease. You usually just sip.”

Sable set the mug down, picked up a paper napkin and wiped her mouth. “Any pig disease calls for a big drink. Just don’t tell Jack Mather I said so.”

“So tell us, Sable.” Amy leaned forward on the table, mischief glittering in her eyes. “What’s the latest scoop with Ryan Donovan?”

Sable counted to five.

“I see the gossip train is on the fast track again.” She took another swallow of beer. “Can’t a man and woman have a meal without Jinx outing it on the front page of the
Hill Country Herald?
”

Well, crap.

“Give it up,” Reenie Stark told her. “You’re the new girl in town and Ryan’s every woman’s wet dream. If you had coffee with him at a Cup to Go everyone would know about it before you threw the empties away.”

“It’s okay,” Georgie assured her. “Give it another week and the curiosity will die down.”

“Of course,” Amy chuckled, “if you stop seeing him, we’ll all just see it as a directive for us to fix you up with someone else.”

Sable’s eyes widened. “But what if I don’t want to be fixed up?”

As one, the women burst into gales of laughter.

“Forget it,” Charity said, wiping her eyes. “We’re all on a mission.” She gestured around the table at the other women sitting there.

“Well, you can just find a different mission. I don’t have time for anything more than casual dates.” She gave them all what she hoped was a stern look. “And don’t be gossiping about the new vet.”

They burst into laughter again, and Sable ground her teeth.

“If you ladies don’t simmer down, I’ll have to cut you off,” Liam Douglas joked. He set two fresh pitchers down on the table. He took a minute to give his wife a quick but hot kiss on her mouth before walking away, and the rest of the women hooted at them.

Charity just grinned and refilled her mug.

“Well—” Amy looked toward the front door, “—looks like we’re getting some very sexy scenery here.” She inclined her head. “Look what just blew in. Or should I say who?”

Sable felt an itch on the back of her neck, an uncomfortable feeling she knew exactly who they were talking about. She was determined not to look around, focusing instead on her nearly empty mug in front of her.

“And he’s got company,” Charity commented. “Lordy. He’s got Cameron Myers with him. Too bad we’re not single.”

“One of us is.” Georgie nodded at Sable.

Sable didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Obviously small-town gossip was never going to let her have a private life. Maybe she should have thought of that before moving here. But now that she had, she needed to grin and bear it and not irritate the people who didn’t see anything wrong with it. Besides, if she ignored the chatter, she really had it good. Her practice was going well and she was having the best sex of her life with a man who gave new meaning to the word
hot
. Not only that, he was funny, smart and treated her like a precious package. How could she go wrong?

She wondered if he’d just wave to her since he was here with Cam.

Charity, who was sitting next to her, nudged her. “Here he comes. Man—” she fanned herself, “—hot, hot, hot.”

“You’re a married woman,” Sable pointed out.

“Married but not dead. I can still look, right?”

Then he was there, standing right at her shoulder.

“Ladies.” He squeezed her shoulder.

She looked up at him and all the saliva in her mouth dried up. Tonight he wore a sweater almost the exact shade of blue as his eyes, and black jeans that made his long legs look longer and his lean hips look leaner. Crisp curls of hair peeked over the vee of his sweater. Sable had to stop herself from licking her lips.

“Hi there. Did you and Cam decide to crash ladies’ night?”

He twisted his features into a look of mock horror. “Heaven forbid. We’re just a couple of men having a manly night at the bar. We thought we’d hang out with Liam for a while.”

“Yeah,” Cam added. “We figured he needed protection from such a rowdy crowd.”

“As long as you don’t cramp our style,” Amy told him.

Ryan nodded. “No style cramping allowed. Got it. Well, I think we’ll go see how good old Liam is doing while his wife is getting rowdy here.”

Charity lifted her mug in a toast to him.

He squeezed Sable’s shoulder again and trailed his fingers over the edge of her hair where it rested on her sweater as he walked away. Everyone at the table made a point of signaling her with their eyes that they’d noticed. Sable just ignored them and refilled her mug.

“Okay, so who wants to know more about the pig flu?”

When everyone groaned, she laughed and sipped her beer.

The evening passed quickly as the women shared jokes and stories and got just a tiny bit tipsy. Charity regaled them with tales from her days at the Dallas Police Department, about the stupidity of criminals. Sable told them some funny animal stories. She kept glancing as surreptitiously as she could at the bar, where Cam and Ryan were indeed engaged in conversation with Liam. She noticed Ryan kept throwing sideways glances at their table instead of just chatting with Cam when Liam had to wait on someone.

And with every glace she caught, her body responded. Her blood raced and pulse beat and the walls of her pussy throbbed with insistent need. It seemed all it took was one hungry look from him and she was hot and ready. She did her best to act nonchalant about the whole thing, but the women were too sharp for her.

“Does he always look at you like that?” Reenie asked.

“Like what?” Sable feigned innocence.

“Oh, please. Like he wants to strip off every stitch of your clothing.” She looked around the table. “Right, ladies?”

Sable felt heat creep up her cheeks. “I have no idea what you mean,” she said in what she hoped was a prim voice.

Everyone hooted at that.

“Should we invite them to join us?” Georgie asked with a laugh.

“No.” She nearly shouted the word and then dialed it back. “No. They have their space,” she said almost primly, “and we have ours.”

The women exploded with laughter.

“Oops,” Charity said. “They’re leaving. My husband must not have been very entertaining.”

Sable shrugged. “Ryan doesn’t stay out late much anyway.”

“You keep track of his nocturnal habits, do you?” Amy asked.

More laughter.

Then Georgie drained her mug and pushed back from the table. “I don’t stay out late much either.” She winked. “Not when I have a very hot hunk waiting for me at home. See you ladies during the week.”

Sable stood up and grabbed her purse. “That’s my cue too. I don’t have a hot hunk waiting for me, but my patients show up early in the morning. Thanks for including me, you guys.”

Amy flapped a hand at her. “
Please
. We made you a member the day you checked into the Butterfly.” She pushed back from the table, came around and gave Sable a big hug. “You’re ours now, and don’t forget it.”

Warmth flooded Sable’s body, and a feeling of belonging she hadn’t had in years. She was so glad she’d answered Pete Lynch’s ad for his practice. Saddle Wells was becoming home more than any other place she’d lived.

Now if she could just keep the situation with Ryan under control, she’d have the best of everything.

She exchanged waves with Liam as she headed out the door and then climbed into her SUV. Nothing was happening on Main Street as she drove through town, nor was there any traffic in the residential area where she lived. Not unexpected, since she lived close to the edge of town. She loved the peace and quiet this time of night, especially when there was a full moon like this, highlighting the mature trees and the houses with pitched roofs. And the truck parked in front of her house.

Wait. What? The truck in front of her house?

She reached for her cell phone in the console where she always kept it when driving. Her thumb hovered over the keypad. Then a slightly hysterical laugh burst from her. It was Ryan’s truck. Parked at her house. Well, this was a surprise. He usually called before he came over.

She parked the car in the driveway and climbed out, fiddling with her keys until she found the one for the front door.

“This is a surprise,” she said, when Ryan walked up on the porch beside her.

He put his arms around her and pulled her back against him, pressing his very swollen cock into her backside.

“My friend here was anxious to see you.”

She laughed as she pushed the door open. “So it seems. Maybe you just got horny watching us women cut loose tonight,” she teased.

Inside, she dropped her keys on the little hall table and put her purse down next to them. He turned her around and cupped her face in his warm palms. “There’s only one woman who makes me horny, and she’s standing right here.”

He brought his mouth down to hers, the touch at first soft and caressing, but it quickly turned hard and demanding. He traced the closed seam of her lips, a light sweep of the tip of his tongue before he pressed hard for her to open for him. She welcomed him, her own tongue twisting and dancing with his. The kiss turned from hot to hungry to devouring, until her body began to shake with need and she had to grasp his wrists to steady herself.

Finally, he lifted his head.

“I think we need to take this someplace more comfortable.”

“I agree,” she whispered.

She’d learned since that first night that he got pleasure out of carrying her to the bedroom. Truthfully, being swept up in his strong arms and held against that massive body was a turn-on in and of itself. He nudged her partially open door with his foot and moved inside with her. She saw him glaring at the profusion of throw pillows on the bed and stifled a giggle. He hated those pillow with a passion, swearing each time he impatiently had to knock them out of the way.

“Maybe I should give those pillows away,” she teased.

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”

He stood her on her feet and undressed her as if he was being timed to win a race, tossing her clothes over the little side chair she kept in the room. Just as quickly, he was out of his own, pausing only long enough to grab the condoms from the pocket of his pants. Four of them, which he dropped on the nightstand.

Sable’s eyes widened as she stared at them. “You have big plans for tonight?”

“That’s just in case.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her head in place, his face less than an inch from hers. “I have a feeling no matter how many times we do this, I might never get enough of you, Dr. Hunter.”

The kiss this time was scorching in its intensity, his mouth hot on hers, his tongue a flame searing the inside of her mouth. He broke it long enough to knock all the throw pillows to the floor and yank back the covers, a man obviously in a hurry. Then he placed her on the bed, stretched out between her thighs and went straight for the heart of the matter—her already liquid pussy. Opening her lips like petals on a flower, he took a long, slow lick of her slit with his very talented tongue.

Shivers raced through her and her pulse thrummed in anticipation. She tried to reach down and anchor her fingers in his hair, but he brushed her hands away impatiently.

“This is my show,” he growled, his voice rough with need and impatience, and bent to his task again.

He lapped her sensitive flesh, sucking hard on her clit, then drank from the cream soaking her flesh. When he thrust his tongue into her hot, waiting channel, she sucked in a breath and clenched her fists against the onslaught of sensation. He curled the tip of his tongue so when he drew it back it dragged against her tender skin, drawing a low cry from her and making the muscles of her inner walls quiver in response. He did it again and again, pushing her toward her release. When he pulled back she cried out in protest. But in the next moment, he thrust three fingers into her already primed body, clamped his lips around her clit and sucked hard as he drove his fingers in and out of her.