Rough Riders Bundle 1(books 1, 2, 3) (91 page)

After a while, he said, “I wanna be with you like this, dust devils swirling around us in the late afternoon heat. Just us, sneaking some alone time. What do you say?”

She nodded.

Cord slipped out and climbed back in the passenger’s side, pulling her on his lap. “Let me love you up. You look a little lost.”

I am
. Oh, she’d like it if he loved her, but she accepted the only type of love Cord could offer her was physical.

He kissed her softly, sweetly, running his rough hands up her spine beneath her damp shirt. The languorous kiss seemed endless. Cord seemed equally content just to touch her. He eased away from her mouth and whispered, “Lord, I’m getting addicted to your kisses, AJ. I feel plain, damn drugged when you’re kissing me. I feel plain, damn lost myself when you ain’t around.” Then he dove in for another thorough taste of her mouth.

When his erection twitched, she fumbled for his belt. “Pants off, cowboy.”

“Hang on.” He lowered the bench seat back. “Scoot to the middle for a sec.” He shimmied his jeans down his legs. “Now you. Take them britches completely off.”

AJ kicked her sandals to the floorboard.

“And the shirt and bra.”

“If my shirt comes off, then so does yours.”

He grabbed the hem and yanked. “Now come here, cowgirl up and show me how good you can ride.”

Bracing her hands on the sculpted muscle and hardness of his chest, she straddled his pelvis and began to lower down.

His hand curled around her hips. “Slow. I wanna see your body takin’ me in. Oh yeah, that’s so goddamn sexy. Bring those pretty tasty nipples to my mouth.” Immediately Cord expelled a groan and began to lick and suck, not in his usual, forceful way, but with as much languor as he’d kissed her mouth.

Witnessing the sheer joy on his face as he suckled, feeling him gliding deep—touched something inside her. Every rapid inhalation of the air in the cab filled her lungs with the scent of him. Of them. Of dust, hot sage, wool seat covers, sunshine and home. A bead of moisture zigzagged down her chest and Cord lapped at it, following the wet line back to the source behind her ear.

He whispered, “Need it faster, baby doll. Let’s move from a canter to a trot.”

She rocked her hips more briskly, gripping the headrest above Cord’s head. Each downstroke ground her clit against his pelvic bone and she moaned in complete abandon.

“Such sexy noises. Arch back. I wanna watch your face as I make you come.”

Cord cupped her breasts and squeezed, latching on to the right tip as his thumb scraped across the left.

The swirling sensation in her groin gathered momentum and the next wave catapulted AJ over the edge. She closed her eyes, losing her sanity as the pulses in her nipples synchronized to the deep pulses inside her.

He rolled his pelvis, his hands clamped her ass and he thrust hard three times. Cord hid his face in her hair, his groan a husky rasp of pleasure.

They stayed plastered together until their breathing evened out. “You fit me so damn good. Maybe we could just nap like this for a while.”

“Last time we napped together, I woke up at five a.m. I don’t particularly want old Sheriff Comas finding us naked. Old guy might have a heart attack.”

“True. And I do have chores to finish.” His mouth grazed the inside of her arm. “I’m gonna miss you tonight.”

She peeled her body from his. “Is that what this was about? Needed a little nookie to get through the lonely night, Cord?”

“No. That
nookie
wasn’t because I needed TLC, AJ, it was because you needed it.”

Her eyes swam with tears.

“Hey now. None of that.” Cord soothed her, raining soft kisses on her face and gentle caresses on her body.

Finally he lifted her off his softened cock. He yanked his jeans back up, zipped and buckled.

While he left the cab to climb back into the driver’s seat, AJ grabbed her capris, bra and shirt and dressed.

How had Cord known her mood? Known exactly that she’d needed tenderness and understanding?

“Baby doll, you okay?”

“Yeah. Have you heard from Colt?”

“Dad has him working someplace else. Don’t know where. I do know what Ma and Aunt Kimi found at the Boars Nest made ’em madder than wet hens: excessive empty condom wrappers and liquor bottles. They said it would’ve been easier to set fire to the house than to clean it.”

Cord turned into the driveway leading to her home. “First Ma sent Dag back to Uncle Harland’s. Then she left an angry message on Colt’s cell. Colt blew a gasket, railing about invasion of privacy and so forth. It was another ugly scene and now Dad’s pissed ’cause Colt made Ma cry. Probably a good thing Carter didn’t come with Macie.”

“Why, because you think Carter’s a Mama’s boy and her crying would piss him off?”

“No. Carter would try to reason with Colt first. Then he’d use his fists. When Colby catches wind that Colt beat on another brother, hurt Ma and pissed Dad off, well, I ain’t sure Colby wouldn’t kill Colt outright.”

“I’m sorry. It’s a bad situation.”

“I have a feeling it’ll get worse before it gets better.”

AJ did too. She opened the cab door. “Thanks for the ride.”

“What? No goodbye kiss?”

“We’re in public, remember?”

Cord scowled. “Yeah. Be careful tonight.”

“Of what? The thing I’m most in danger from is being barfed on either by the babies or the mothers-to-be.”

“She told you?”

She blinked innocently. “Who told me what?”

“Macie. She told you she’s pregnant?”

AJ gaped at him. “You know?”

“Carter can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. Macie should’ve made him the last person to know.”

“Hard to do when he’s the father.”

“I imagine that boy is strutting around like a damn peacock.” He smiled wistfully. “I remember I did.”

“I’m excited for them. I can’t wait until I get the all clear to tell Mom. She’ll be happy to hear this house will be filled with kids again.”

“Listen, AJ about that—”

“Have a good night.”

AJ bounded up the steps without looking back.

‡

“I
still can’t
believe you had a baby before I did,” Channing said.

“Two babies.” Gemma pointed at Channing’s belly. “And unless you’re growing a pair, you’ll have to go through the whole pregnancy thing again to catch me.”

“I can’t wait. Look at this sweet little face. What wondrous things babies are.” Channing cuddled Ryder close and smiled at him. “He is beautiful. Perfect everything. So much hair. Such a mellow disposition. Definitely takes after Cash, not you, Gem.”

Just then Ella wailed.

Macie grinned and handed Ella to Gemma. “That’s Mama’s rowdy girl. Feeding time for my loud sis.”

“Chan, bring Ryder after I get Ella settled, willya? He’ll smell food the second my milk lets down.”

“Do I have to? He looks so comfy. I think he’s fine,” she cooed, kissing his forehead, “aren’t you darlin’ boy?”

“You’ll see.”

AJ watched the scene unfold with complete fascination. Her sister had opted not to breastfeed, so this whole “letting it all hang out” philosophy with bare breasts, well—bared and literally hanging out—had thrown her for a loop.

Gemma clutched Ella like a football on her left side, propping Ella on a pillow and lifting her shirt. Ella’s dark head swiveled the direction of the scent of milk. Gemma brought Ella closer so that rosebud mouth could latch onto the nipple. Gemma stroked Ella’s hair and murmured, “You’d think you hadn’t eaten in hours, baby girl.”

Ryder began to fuss. Channing sighed. “I tried to give you a break. But this little guy knows what he wants.” Channing nestled Ryder on Gemma’s right side and he started sucking with happy baby grunts.

“I need a drink,” AJ muttered.

“Oh, sorry, I’ll get you a beer.”

“Sit, Channing. I’ll grab one.”

AJ sipped and studied the front of Colby and Channing’s refrigerator, covered in family pictures and Ky’s artwork. Ky had drawn a picture of the entire McKay clan on a long sheet of white paper. Grandma and Grandpa were prominent on the right side. Colby and Channing were at the top with their arms around each other. Colt was lying down in the lower right corner. A tiny image of Cameron holding a rifle was crayoned below Colt, meant to show that Uncle Cam was far away. Keely cracking a bullwhip, wearing a sparkly belt and a big grin. The smaller mirror images of Kane and Kade were below her. Carter and Macie holding hands at the bottom of the page on the left. And dead center was Cord McKay, his visage bigger than all the others.

On Cord’s right side, a smaller identical likeness of him, aka Ky, beaming up at his dad. She squinted. Yep. A crude red cape fluttered behind the dynamic duo. The boy had a serious case of hero worship.

She knew the feeling.

AJ drank half the beer before returning to the living room.

Ten minutes of baby chatter continued.

Macie said, “Much as I love talking about my new brother and sister, and the impending new McKay boy baby, let’s talk about something else. I’m pretty sure AJ is bored to tears.”

“Let’s talk about sex.” Channing addressed the comment to Gemma. “When will we get back to our normal sex life? Because it’s been so hit and miss for us for the last two months.”

AJ shot a quick glance at Macie, who suddenly had a panicked look on her face.

“In another couple of weeks, things should be back to normal. At least until the last month. I didn’t want Cash to touch me at all. I was big as a house, I wasn’t sleeping and I had to pee every five minutes. I felt about as sexy as an old cow.”

“So the six week ban on sex after the birth? How on earth did you make it through that?”

“I went to the doctor two weeks ago and she gave us the go ahead. I adore my husband. I especially adore sex with my husband. I can’t wait to make it up to him when we have more than five minutes before one of the babies needs something. But right now if I had the choice between sex and sleep? Sleep wins.”

Channing gasped, “No.”

“Yes.”

Macie looked positively ill.

AJ changed the subject. “Guess who I saw dirty dancing together at the Golden Boot two weeks ago? Your husbands’ cousin Chassie West and Trevor Glanzer.”

“Really?” Channing and Gemma exchanged a look, which was lost on Macie and AJ.

“Yep. Rumor is they’ve been seeing a lot of each other.”

“How long has this been going on?” Gemma asked.

“A few months. I’ve heard from a couple of sources that they’re serious.”

“Wow. Surprised that hasn’t made it into the McKay gossip channel.”

“Like the situation with Colt did?”

All eyes zoomed to AJ.

“What?”

“You were there. What really happened?”

AJ retold the story with as much detail as she’d remembered.

Channing took Ella to burp her. “Do you know what Colt said to Cord that’d make Cord act like that? Because Cord never acts impulsive.”

He’d acted pretty damn impulsive earlier when he’d had her naked in his truck. “No one knows.”

Macie, Gemma and Channing gossiped about other members of the McKay family. AJ already knew most of it, since she’d lived in the county her whole life. Since she’d known the McKays her whole life.

So why did she still feel like the outsider?

The conversation swam back into focus.

“Dag and Chassie are brother and sister?” Macie asked Gemma, “Didn’t Dad team rope with Dag on the circuit a couple of times?”

“Yep. Dag roped with Trevor after Edgard went back to Brazil.”

Channing said, “I overheard Carolyn and her sister discussing Dag. Since he quit the circuit he’s been drinking. A lot. Even more than Colt.

“That’s why Harland West hired Trevor, to keep an eye on Dag. So it makes sense that’s how Trev and Chassie hooked up. I can’t believe Colby didn’t tell me that part.” Channing kissed the top of Ella’s head. “She’s asleep. Want me to put her down?”

“Yeah. Ryder’s out too. I’ll come with and tuck him in.”

They left the room and AJ looked at Macie. “I think I’ll head home.”

“Why?”

Because I feel awkward and out of place
. “I’m tired. I have a bunch of packing to do tomorrow.”

Macie stood. “Would you give me a ride back to Carter’s folks’ house? My car is packed with baby stuff and I might as well leave it here rather than unpack it.”

“Sure.” AJ and Macie said a quick good-bye.

Once they were in AJ’s Jeep, Macie sighed. “I’m sure they were glad to see me go.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Gemma and I get along great. She’s a good friend. But she still is sort of like my mother. Whereas she and Channing are great pals and they talk about everything. Gemma won’t discuss her relationship with my father when I’m in the room, which is completely understandable. And Channing and I are still feeling our way around our relationship to each other and our places in the McKay family. Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to already know all the ins and outs of this family.” Macie grinned at AJ. “Someone like you.”

“Doesn’t make me a part of it.”

“What’s going on with you and Cord?”