Reckless for Cowboy Page 3

  “Thanks,” I mumble. I snatch the bottle from him and hurry away. Why did he have to do that? Why does he have to continue doing things that make me wet for him? Why can’t he pick his nose or scratch his balls or something? Sheesh! He’s driving me flippin’ crazy.

  “Hey Brooke.” Sydney sidles up to me. “That guy’s back, huh?” She motions with her head toward the bar.

  “Looks like it,” I say.

  “You going for him?” she asks with a gleam in her eyes.

  “Ah, no.”

  “Mind if I take a stab? I know what you said, but goddamn, that man is fine.”

  With my free hand I wave her on. “Go for it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when he turns out to be a lying, cheating dirt bag.”

  With a sinking gut, I watch her push through the crowd and up to the bar, ending up at Cooper’s side so she can talk to him while she waits for her drink order. Nasty, catty thoughts about Sydney flash through my mind until I shake them out of my head. Sydney’s great. Pretty. A little naïve but sweet. If she wants to ignore my advice and is dead set about being initiated into the cowboy club, well, there’s nothing I can do about it.

  So why does it eat at me so much?

  As the evening wears down and the crowd begins to thin, I see Sydney stopping more and more often to talk to Cooper. Watching her make her move bolsters my resolve to stay away from him. Even from a distance I can see he’s charming her and she’s totally falling for it. Gullible, gullible, gullible.

  Finally the lights come up and the bouncers herd the stragglers out the front door. However, Cooper’s still there while I’m cashing out.

  “So, do you and Sydney have a date?” I ask all casual.

  “Maybe. Are you jealous?”

  I blow air out through my lips. “No.”

  “Really?” he says softly, pushing himself up from his stool and coming to stand behind me. Right behind me. He’s so close I can feel his presence with every tiny hair on the back of my neck. I realize how big the dude is. Too big. I bend my knee so my boot is aimed at his shin and give him a nice little nudge to back him up.

  He makes a grunting sound but he’s not deterred and sits down on the stool right next to me. “What if I told you I had a date with Denny?”

  A laugh explodes out of my chest. “Denny? Now that’s something I’d like to see.”

  “Hey Den,” Cooper calls across to where Denny’s cleaning up. “Brooke says she wants to watch.”

  “I told you she’d go for it. For all her, I’m-an-uptight-frigid-cowboy-hater façade, she’s as nasty as they come.”

  I’m shaking my head. “I’m not nasty.”

  “No?” Cooper says with a little smile on his too-handsome face. “Too bad.”

  “Not nasty?” Denny laughs as he cleans the bar in front of us. “She only feels me up every chance she gets.”

  “Do not.”

  “Umm, hello? Everyone in the whole damn bar saw you. Including Coop.” Then Denny leans way over the bar, catches hold of my cowgirl kerchief and pulls me close. He kisses me nice and deep. Denny’s a good kisser and we’ve had more than a couple make out sessions just for fun and so neither of us loses our touch during the in-between-times. While Denny’s got me lip-locked, my nasty gene wakes up and I’m suddenly kissing him back. Maybe because I know Cooper’s watching.

  Just then Sydney joins us, and I pull away from Denny. She’s taking off her apron and wiping her hands on it. Her smile is enigmatic as she asks, “What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing.” I say. But there’s some little nugget in the pit of my stomach that’s heating me up from the inside out, showering my girlie parts with dew.

  “Are you guys going for a threesome or something?”

  “A threesome!” I laugh. “Right.”

  “Hey, boys,” Sydney calls to the other two. “If she’s not game, I’ll play. I’ve never had one with two guys before.” She winks at Denny first and then at Cooper. So much for thinking Sydney’s a fresh, young innocent. Apparently the girl can teach me a thing or two.

  “Sorry Darlin’. Maybe some other time.” Cooper smiles at her and she blows him a kiss.

  Then his come-hither gaze fixes on me. “What do you say, Brooke?”

  “What do I say to what? A threesome? Are you kidding me? As if that’s going to happen.”

  In unison the men ask, “Why not?”

  I point at Denny. “You don’t want to get with me.” Then I point at Cooper. “You don’t want to get with him.” Next I tap my chest. “And I don’t want to get with either of you.”

  “Liar,” Denny says with a laugh.

  Cooper is laughing right along with him.

  I’m looking back and forth at them like I’m watching a tennis match.

  Leaning over the bar, Denny says, “Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re hot as wild-fire. And Cooper?” He visibly melts at the guy’s name. “The thought of the three of us together?” He knocks on the top of the wooden bar. “I’m this hard.”

  I lean over and smack Denny on the arm. “You’re just saying that because you want to see Cooper naked.”

  With his hands up in surrender, Denny says, “Of course. What can I say? But I’m not opposed to seeing you buck either, hot thing.”

  Cooper can’t seem to stop laughing until I poke him hard in the shoulder. “And you! Don’t encourage him.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re not gay.”

  “Maybe I’m bi.”

  I poke him again. “No you’re not.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because…”

  “Because I’m a cowboy?”

  “Yeah. No. I don’t know.”

  “Cowboys can’t want a dude every now and then? Have you ever lived on a ranch?”

  “Oh, God!” Denny puts a hand to his chest and falls against the bar looking like he’s died and gone to ranch-hand-heaven. His eyes glaze over with whatever fantasy Cooper’s words have brought to mind.

  “You guys are full of it, you know that?” I say, having had enough of this conversation. “As if you two really want to get it on.”

  “I’d like to get it on with you,” Cooper says. “If Denny needs to be there for it to happen, so be it.”

  “I definitely need to be there,” Denny interjects.

  Unbelievable! The extent a man will go just to get you into bed. But an idea starts to form as I listen to these two jokers. I know Denny is just playing along so he can hook me up with Coop. I’m totally convinced Cooper is just messing around, pretending to want a threesome, for who knows what reason. He’s bored? I don’t know.

  What both men fail to realize is that they should not pretend to want something they don’t really want because I plan to make them pay for all the pain and suffering I’ve had to endure tonight. “Okay, fine,” I say slowly, pointing at Cooper. “You want to do this? I dare you to go kiss Denny. Like you mean it.”

  “You’re daring me?” Cooper asks with a lazy smile.

  “Yep.”

  “You think I won’t do it.”

  “Nope.”

  “You ever play ‘dare’ with a cowboy before, sweetheart?”

  I shrug, not giving anything away. My bravado stays strong because clearly he’s stalling so I know I’ve won. Almost one hundred percent sure. “I’m not talking about a peck on the cheek either.”

  Cooper glances around at the staff still cashing out. “Hey Sydney and…you.” He points to Marla. “Girl-who-patched-me-up. C’mere.”

  Marla and Sydney slide closer. “Brooke here has dared me to kiss Denny. She doesn’t think I can do it. Would you two mind judging whether this is a real kiss or not?”

  A twinge of doubt pokes me between the ribs because he sounds as cocky as ever and when he removes his hat, I can see his face clearly for the first time. He’s smiling and his eyes are shining much too brightly.

  “You have to really kiss him,” I emphasize. “Like yo
u’re hot for him.”

  “Oh, he’s hot for me,” Denny says, eagerly moving closer.

  I throw him a dirty look but he only flashes me a delighted smile. Denny is absolutely loving this. The traitor! And the others, Sydney and Marla, are laughing too. Me? I’m not laughing. No way. I’m actually starting to freak out a little.

  “Wait,” I say, “What are the stakes? I mean, what are we playing for here?”

  “I thought we were playing for a threesome,” Denny says with a wink.

  “You’re not serious,” I say quietly, leaning over the bar, willing him to be straight with me.

  “All I want is a kiss,” he says. He moves closer like he’s going to kiss me, but instead whispers, “Then he’s all yours.”

  I don’t get a chance to tell him I don’t want the cowboy to be all mine because Cooper suddenly takes over the situation.

  “What? No threesome?” He pretends he’s all hurt. “In that case, it’s judge’s call.” He points at Marla. “If I win, what are we playing for?”

  “A kiss,” she says with a grin. Cooper nods and my heart flips over.

  “A date,” Sydney calls out.

  “Two dates,” Denny adds.

  “And a dance,” Cooper says, never taking his eyes off me. “Fair?”

  I nod. I don’t want to do any of those things. But I’m sure I’ll win so…well, eighty percent sure. “And if I win,” I say, my voice cracking a teeny bit, “you promise not to come back to the Cattlemen’s…ever.”

  Cooper whistles low. “Harsh,” he says. But he’s smiling with his lips and his eyes and my odds of winning slip down to sixty percent.

  Some of the other staff members start coming over, asking Syd and Marla what’s going on. The fact that our little bet is attracting so much attention should be deterring Cooper, but it isn’t. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. To the point where he starts playing the crowd. He gives his hat a little twirl on the bar, sets it aside, downs a nearly full glass of water, runs his hands through his hair, rolls his shoulders and says, “Ready?”

  All the people standing around shout, “Ready!”

  Without another word, he hops right up onto the bar and slides his legs over like he’s a gymnast and the bar’s a pommel horse. He’s so tall, Denny has to look up at him. Believe it or not, Cooper’s got that same fierce, hungry look I’ve seen on his face more than once.

  “Fuck me,” Denny whispers when Cooper grabs his shoulders and pulls him up against his big body. He takes hold of either side of Denny’s face and tilts, angling him before leaning down for the kiss.

  Oh mama. I know that kiss and it’s even more potent to watch. The fierce passion. Tongues, lips, grunts, grappling. Seeing Denny’s response stirs me more than I could have imagined. Their mouths are wrestling. It’s rough and exciting and too darned hot for words.

  By this time, the audience is clapping and whistling.

  Denny pulls away first.

  “Ho-lee shit.” He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and winks at me with an irreverent grin. “You are in trouble, girl.” Before Cooper has a chance to move away, Denny grabs his shirt. “I say we forget Brooke. Why don’t you come on back to my place? We’ll play a little Brokeback Mountain. What do you say?”

  “Sorry dude,” Cooper says with a laugh. “I’ve never gotten past first base with a guy. I don’t think I’m about to start now.”

  “Oh hell, baseball’s a cinch. I’ll teach you.”

  “If I ever decide to learn, I know who to call.” His grin is wide and smug. Instead of hopping over the bar, he strolls all the way around. Slow. Making me wait. Making me pay for daring him. I lick my lips as he saunters toward me with a cocky smile that takes my breath away. I should run. No good can possible come of this. But my body is pulling a Denny, betraying me at every turn, and every physical part of me wants to stay, no matter what my brain says.

  Cooper sits down on the stool and leans back, his elbows propped on the bar behind him. “What’s the verdict?”

  It appears there are more judges now than ever and everyone wants a say.

  “Seriously, dude. Was that necessary?”

  “That was fucking hot.”

  “Sorry Brooke, you lose. Big time.”

  “Why don’t you and Denny get a room?”

  “Brooke, if you don’t want to kiss him, I will,” Sydney shouts.

  Kai, the bouncer, pipes up. “So help me, if any of you shit-heads ever try that on me, I’ll kick your ass.”

  Once everyone’s had their say, Cooper points to his lips. “It’s unanimous. Kiss me.”

  I don’t move. I can’t.

  “Come on,” Denny says, egging me on. “Do it.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to welch on our bet.” Cooper grabs hold of my belt loops and pulls me between his parted legs. “You’ve gotta kiss me,” he says nice and slow. “If you don’t, I’m going to torment the living hell out of you every single minute of every single night until you do.”

  I watch his lips while he talks, mesmerized—against my will. For the first time, I notice he talks out of the left side of his mouth. It’s sexy as sin. I’m watching his lips so closely, the next thing I know, I lean in, like he’s one of those gigantic magnets and I’m a big ol’ horseshoe. Then I’m doing it. Kissing him, and lord help me, I mean every second of it.

  He lets me take the lead…at first. Until I try to break away. Then he increases his hold on the back of my head and ropes me in with his tongue, chasing mine around, nibbling on one side of my lips and sucking on the other. It’s better than I remember. It’s hotter than watching him with Denny. His lips consume me, fill me, tempt me—giving me hunger pains for more.

  “Hot damn,” Denny shouts above the sound of the others cheering us on and that’s when I realize we’ve been putting on a show. It’s weird because, when I was in the middle of the kiss, I didn’t hear a thing.

  Coop stops kissing me, but he doesn’t let go of my belt loops. “First date, tomorrow night. Bring a change of clothes and a warm coat. I’ll pick you up after work.”

  “But that’s like two in the morning.”

  Cooper winks. “Sure is. You have a problem with that, Miss Hamilton?”

  Oh no. This is not good. Already I can’t wait for tomorrow night. Already I’m tingly and damp and way too into this. Already I think I like Cooper way too much.

  Chapter Three

  Can the night drag on any longer? Tonight, the patrons seem drunker, louder and more obnoxious than ever. I don’t have the patience for it, partly because I’m anxiously awaiting Cooper’s appearance, and this bugs the heck out of me. I’m not sure who I’m more annoyed with, the drunks or myself.

  There’s an idiotic part of me that hopes he’ll show early, to torment me like he did last night. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t arrive until just before closing time. The minute I see him, looking fresh and clean in a crisp shirt and jeans, his hat pulled low, my knees go weak and my heart goes whump.

  “Hey,” he says to me.

  “Hey,” I say back, feeling strangely shy and uncertain.

  “Coop!” Denny calls when he catches sight of him. “How’s my favorite cowboy?”

  “Good.”

  “You having second thoughts about my offer?” Denny slides a drink for Cooper down the bar like he’s had it ready and waiting all night.

  Cooper grabs the sliding glass and laughs. “Nah, man. Still playing for the other team. But if I ever switch, I’ll let you know.”

  “You’re half-way there, brother.”

  I don’t know why, but listening to Cooper and Denny sling the banter back and forth makes me feel all warm and mushy inside. I try not to think about why that is but it doesn’t help that it goes on and on, like the two of them have known each other for years. Half-listening to them distracts me and of course it takes me extra-long to balance my cash. Once I’m finally done, I go to the ladies room and change into a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt. I
splash my cheeks and neck with cold water and apply some fresh makeup with a trembling hand.

  “Darn it,” I whisper to myself when I end up smudging my mascara.

  Finally I’m ready to go and I meet Cooper at the front doors.

  “You look great,” he says.

  With an arched brow, because I know he’s lying, I say, “No I don’t. I’m hot and sticky and my feet are killing me. I probably stink too.”

  He leans down and sniffs. “You smell wonderful.” Then he places the softest of kisses on me, barely touching the inside of my lips with his tongue. “You taste good too.”

  Splash. There I go.

  He takes my elbow and steers me through the parking lot to his truck. “Don’t worry, where we’re going, you can put your feet up and relax. It’ll be nice and cool too. Did you bring a jacket?”

  “Yes. By the way, where are we going?” I ask as he opens the door for me and hands me into the truck.

  “Wait and see.”

  Wait and see? How long does he expect me to wait? We’ve been driving for over twenty minutes taking highway 22 west toward the mountains. I decide to fill in the silence with a little conversation. “So,” I say. “I’m curious. Is Denny the first dude you’ve ever kissed?”

  Cooper makes a funny little snorting sound. “Would you believe, no?”

  I turn to look at him. It’s hard to make out his features from the dim light off the console. “You kiss guys a lot then?”

  “No. Only one other. He was a guy I grew up with. Mitch Harder.” He glances at me and I see the flash of his teeth. “And no, he’s not a porn star. That’s his real name.”

  “So, what happened between you and Mitch…Harder.” I chuckle at the name and so does he.

  “We were kids, just hanging out one night watching a movie or something. Next thing I know, Mitch leans over and plants one on me.”

  “What,” I interrupt. “How old were you?”

  “Fifteen.”

  “Fifteen? What’d you do? Kick his ass?”

  “Honestly? I was too stunned. I just wiped my mouth and asked him what the hell he did that for.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said he just wanted to see what it would be like. He’d never kissed anyone before. Then he asked me if I wanted to try it again.”