Trouble With a Cowboy (14 page)

Tucker
rounded the corner racing to her side. "Honey, let me get that." He
glanced behind her and she assumed he saw her companion when his eyes narrowed
into slits. "You shouldn't be liftin' such heavy stuff in your condition,
darlin'. You know the doctor said nothin' heavy the first few months of your
pregnancy."

"My
wha
—"

He
brushed his lips over hers, as he slipped an arm around her shoulders.

Nick
stammered a quick, "See you around," and disappeared.

"Pregnancy?
I am going to kick your ass for you." She shrugged off his arm as they
reached her mare’s stall. "How
dare
you," she hissed.

"Easy,
Jacie," he replied, holding up his hands. "I got the feeling you were
brushing the guy off, so I figured I'd help. Nothin' will get a man gone faster
than her significant other and the mention of a baby."

"Whether
I wanted him gone or not is none of your business. Do we understand each other?
Who I hit on or give the brush off, doesn't require your attention. If I
thought I couldn't handle him, I would have let you know."

Both
of his hands stopped on his hips. "Let's get somethin' straight. I don't
share. If we are going to be keepin' company over the next two weeks, I will be
your
only
partner. You didn't have to
agree to this and you can retreat any time, but if I find out I'm not your lone
fuck buddy, we are gonna have issues. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

"So
what's your decision?"

She
didn't hesitate. She couldn't. The decision had been made for her yesterday after
she realized her feelings ran deeper than they had with any other man. "We
are exclusive for the next two weeks."

"Fantastic.
Now, kiss me woman. I need your lips on mine," he growled as he slipped an
arm around her waist to pull her up against his chest.

"Jealous,
Tucker?"

"I'm
not sure if I would call it that, but I didn't like the way he looked at you.
You’re mine, Jacie, even if it's only temporary."

His
lips covered hers and his tongue speared its way inside her mouth. Desire
rushed through her veins, bringing heat and electricity with it. She wound her
hands in his hair as a groan rumbled inside her.

When
he finally lifted his head, they were both breathing hard. His hand snaked down
her back and skimmed over her ass.

"Are
you about done?"

"Yeah,"
she whispered, still lost in the sensations of his touch.

"Why
don’t we go find our room?" he asked with a lick up her neck.

Our room. Mmm.
"Sounds like a plan."

"Let’s
wrap things up here then," he replied with a smack to her butt as she
turned away.

Within
several minutes, she had her mare settled in and the bull was snug in his pen
too.

Before
she knew what he was up to, he’d hoisted her over his shoulder and walked
toward her truck.

"Tucker!
Put me down."

"Nope."
His palm came down on her ass cheek. "I want everyone around here to know
you are with me."

She
felt her anger rising again. His highhanded attitude with her would cause some
distention between them if he kept it up. She almost understood his reasoning
behind making sure the other men around them knew they were together, but it
didn't make it any easier to swallow his behavior. It would save her being hit
on, but she wasn’t sure if she liked his possessive attitude.

As
they reached the side of her truck, he let her slide down his body, making damn
sure she felt every muscle and bulge, especially the one between his hard
thighs. He trapped her against the side with one hand braced on each side of
her shoulders and one of those muscled thighs between hers.

The
devil on her shoulder whispered for her to pay him back tenfold. She slipped one
palm up his chest and stopped to play with each button on the way while the
other cupped his erection through his jeans. "If you’re real nice, you
might get lucky in the next couple of hours."

"Oh,
I plan on it, darlin’. More like the next thirty minutes."

She
lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I don’t know. We do need to go shopping
too. Didn’t you say you had a dinner party to attend tomorrow night?"

"Yes,
but that leaves tomorrow to shop and tonight to make you cream for me," he
replied, nuzzling her ear. "All night. Several times."

Damn the man. Making her hot came
easy for him and he knew it.

Blood
rushed to her pussy and the throbbing had her shifting her thighs.

"Are
you getting horny, honey?"

"Getting?
I’m in permanent horny mode with you around."

The
smile lifting the corners of his mouth looked wicked and enticing. "Is
that supposed to be a compliment, Jacie?"

"You
don’t need a bigger head. Take it as you will." She pushed him away and
slipped out from under his arms. "Let’s get out of here. I’m sure someone
else probably needs the spot."

His
warm chuckle reached her ears as she pulled open the door to climb into the
cab, embarrassment flushing her cheeks a bright red she noticed, glancing in
the rearview mirror.

Cars,
buses and people were everywhere as they drove toward their hotel. The road
from Thomas Mack to the Bellagio wouldn’t be the easy trek they had made to the
arena. No way around it, they had to go through town on at least one road. She
picked the least congested one—Tropicana Avenue to the freeway and up one exit.
Traffic wasn’t bad on the interstate, thank goodness. She quickly found the rear
lot of the hotel to park the truck and trailer. Tucker grabbed his suitcase
from the trailer as she snatched hers from the behind her driver’s seat. Even
though they had spent a few nights making love inside the luxury of his
trailer, she never had retrieved her suitcase. Only her small overnight bag
with her toiletries in it and a change of clothes.

She
captured her bottom lip between her teeth. A quick glance around revealed no
one paying her any attention, so she lifted her arm and sniffed.
Not bad, but I could use a shower.

"Ready?"
Tucker asked as he came up behind her.

"I
guess so."

Her
suitcase rolled behind her on its wheels while Tucker carried his over his
shoulder, until they reached the luxurious front desk of the hotel. Jacie had
never been so self-conscious of her attire until she noticed the women around
her. Gold, diamonds, dresses barely covering important parts, and heels high enough
to break an ankle, swirled around her in a sea of color. Her T-shirt and jeans
stood out like a sore thumb making her want to hide. Why Tucker wanted her when
he could have any one of these women mystified her.

The
squeal of a female voice brought Jacie’s attention to a woman rushing across
the foyer. "Tucker, honey!" Her boobs had to be double D’s, her waist
couldn’t have been more than twenty-four inches around and her hips were
definitely baby-makin’ hips. Platinum blonde hair pulled up into some kind of
upswept hairdo, and big blue eyes the color of sapphires that Jacie figured for
sure weren’t real, landed in Tucker’s arms. When the woman finally let him come
up for air, bright red lipstick was smeared over his lips.

The
possessive growl coming from her lips sounded almost inhuman.

"Tiffany,"
he said, pulling her arms from around his neck.

Jacie
pulled her bandana from her pocket and stepped to his side. "Tucker,
honey
," she said, her words so
sweet they made her teeth hurt. "You’ve got somethin’ on your mouth, baby."
She wiped the lipstick from his lips even though the other woman still had an
arm around his waist. "You know we need to eat soon. The doctor said I
should eat every few hours to forestall the morning sickness and your son sure
makes me hungry all the time."

"Son?"
the woman squeaked.

A
grin spread across his face as he winked. "Yes, Tiffany. Let me introduce
you to Jacie. Jacie is my wife and we’re expecting a baby in about eight months."

"Your
wife? But Tucker. I thought we’d get together while you were here and have some
fun," Tiffany whined, plucking at the buttons on his shirt. Her eyes
narrowed as she shot Jacie a snarky look. "You never mentioned a wife a
few months ago when we hooked up in Phoenix at the rodeo."

"Jacie
and I haven’t been married long."

"Mr.
Marshall, I have your keys to your suite. I need you to sign here," the
man behind the desk said.

"Certainly,"
Tucker replied, pulling away from Tiffany and signing the paper the man shoved
across the desk. "Thank you. Can you please make sure no one disturbs us
this evening? We are celebrating our wedding."

"Of
course, sir. Enjoy your stay."

"We
will," Tucker said before he pulled Jacie into his embrace. "Nice to
see you again, Tiffany, but if you’ll excuse us, we need to get changed and
find some dinner."

With
one arm around his waist and the other rolling her suitcase, they moved toward
the elevator, leaving the blonde behind. As they moved around the corner, she
glanced behind her to find Tiffany still standing in the same spot, a frown on
her painted lips and a sparkle of challenge in her eyes.

"I'll
have to get Macy settled in the trailer while we are staying up here."

"No
problem. Will she be okay in there alone?"

"Yeah,
but she won't like it. She's pretty demanding with her attention needs."

"I
gathered that."

The
elevator door opened shortly after they stopped next to the doors. Tucker slid
one of the key cards into the slot and pushed the button for the thirty-first
floor.

"Damn!
Are we at the top? I didn’t think they had anything, but the fancy rooms up
there."

"We
have a suite."

"Suite?
What do you mean a suite?"

"I’m
a good customer of this hotel. I stay here during NFR. I get a suite for a
reduced price. You’ll like it. It’s got a huge window at the end of the king
size bed that looks out over the city. We can make love, sip champagne, watch
the lights of Vegas come up as the sun goes down."

"I
can’t have champagne. Remember, I’m pregnant."

He
threw back his head and laughed. "You do realize there will be retaliation
for your interference downstairs."

"Retaliation?"

"Yep.
I hope you have those handcuffs we talked about before in your bag. Otherwise,
I’ll have to find a specialty store nearby. I think you’ve been a naughty girl."

Low,
sexy and dark—his voice sent shivers of anticipation down her spine.

The
elevator doors slid open with a whoosh, saving her from commenting. If the
elegance of the hall to the room he’d reserved said anything, the room would
probably take her breath away.

"Here
we are."

The
plate on the door read Cypress Suite. She almost feared what she would find
inside. Marble graced the foyer floor. Soft brown covered the walls. Modern
décor from eclectic framed pictures to oval shaped end tables made up the
living room and dining area. A chocolate brown sofa with several pillows in
deeper shades of brown faced a huge television hooked to the wall.

Tucker
set their bags on the floor and took her hand. "This way is my bathroom."

"Your
bathroom?"

"Yes.
There are separate baths. His and hers. Mine has a steam shower where as yours,
which I’ll show you in a second, has a huge marble soaking tub." He leaned
in and kissed her. "Plenty of room for two."

If
his area wasn’t magnificent enough, she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to see
hers.

"And
this is yours," he said, flipping the light on.

"Oh,
wow!" she exclaimed. The whole bathroom was done in muted rose, pinks and
reds with the biggest bathtub she’d ever seen in her entire life. Fluffy white
robes for their use, hung from the hooks on the back of the doors and slippers
of the same shade lay waiting for their feet when they stepped out of the bath.

"Now,
the bedroom."

He
tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and escorted her through the
partitioned off area into the
bedroom.

A
huge, king-sized bed draped in white and light brown sheets and blankets with a
mountain of pillows, faced windows that covered the entire wall.

"Oh
my," she said on a breath as she walked closer to the glass. The windows
faced the downtown Las Vegas strip and the lake in the front of the hotel with
its dancing fountain of water. Every light from every hotel could be seen for
miles. Tucker slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. The
scratchy whiskers on his cheek were rough against her skin as his warm breath
caressed her ear. "Tucker. This is fabulous. I’ve never seen such a sight.
I’ve been to Vegas dozens of times before too."

"This
is the reason I love this room," he whispered. "I can’t wait to make
love to you with the lights of the Strip bathing your body in glorious color."
His tongue circled her ear. "What do you say we order room service. Get
naked. Fill the tub up with bubbles. Sip champagne. And love the night away."