Home > Claimed by the Cowboy (Sons of Chance #3)(9)

Claimed by the Cowboy (Sons of Chance #3)(9)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

“They might have if I hadn’t thrown a punch at your brother. But after hearing about that, they’ve made a request, and I think we should honor it.”

“I promised Morgan I’d be in the wedding, Jack. I can’t go back on that promise.”

“Nobody’s asking you to. But Gabe and Sarah want some proof that we can get along like two civilized adults. So they figured if I was the one to teach you how to ride, then we’d work through our differences and be okay for the wedding.”

“Are you insane? I don’t want you to teach me how to ride. That’s a disaster in the making.” She’d never in a million years be able to keep her hands off him if they embarked on a project like that.

“No, it won’t be a disaster. We’ll make it work, and by the time the wedding rolls around, we won’t be as likely to get teed off at each other.”

He was a hottie, but he was an irritating hottie. “What’s all this we stuff? I didn’t throw a punch. Why don’t you just say that they’re worried about you and stop implying that it’s my problem, too?”

He sighed. “All right. They’re worried about me, but in order not to be worried, they’ve asked me to give you riding lessons.”

“I’ve heard that hot baths can lower your testosterone level.”

“Don’t be a smartass. This is serious.”

“No, it’s not. It’s silly. I’ll behave myself during the wedding, and if you can’t, then pop a Valium.”

His gaze grew hot. “Look, I told them I’d do this, damn it. Just go along with it, okay?”

“Why should I?”

“You need to learn how to ride, for one thing.”

“I’ll do what Morgan suggested and use one of the stables. I don’t want you teaching me to ride, Jack, and that’s final.” She could imagine it now. Him demonstrating a proper seat, her fixated on his buns, him astride the saddle, her wanting him astride her body, instead.

“Why not?”

She’d take splinters under her fingernails before she’d tell him that. “Because you’re bossy.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. How about this? You’ll be free to tell me to go to hell whenever I get too bossy.”

“I’ve always felt free to tell you to go to hell.”

A ghost of a smile flickered. “True.”

That smile tugged at her heart. He used to smile all the time. They used to laugh and joke, even in bed.

Jack cleared his throat. “Tell you what. How about we try it for one lesson? If you really hate it, then we’ll quit.”

She could tell he really wanted her to agree, but she wasn’t sure exactly why. Apparently he’d told Gabe and Sarah that he’d do this, so it might be a matter of pride, but she sensed something else, an eagerness that had nothing to do with his family’s request.

“Why is this so important to you?”

“Well, I said I would, for one thing. But…” He paused and glanced down at his hands. “You accused me of only being interested in sex,” he said softly. He raised his head and gave her a soul-melting gaze. “I’d like a chance to correct that impression.”

When he looked at her like that, she couldn’t refuse him anything. He probably knew that, probably had used his powerful charisma to get what he wanted.

She sighed. “All right, Jack.”

Did he really intend to prove that he could be with her and not act on the sexual tension that had always existed between them, that existed even now, in this very room? And if he could be strong enough to resist temptation, could she?

Dismounting smoothly from the chair, he stood. “We should start with just an hour lesson.”

She stood, too, but she didn’t move from behind the desk. Too dangerous. “Just remember, it could be over in five minutes.”

“It won’t be.”

She’d always found his confidence sexy and now was no exception. “If you say so.”

“It’ll be fine. Can you be out at the ranch at nine in the morning? I know that’s early for you, but—”

“I’ll be there. We might as well find out right away if this is a good idea or a colossal mistake.”

He smiled, a full-out, genuine smile this time. “Thanks, Josie. I owe you one.”

“You owe me several, cowboy.”

“Understood.” He pulled his hat forward and touched two fingers to the brim. “See you in the morning.”

After he was gone, she sank back onto her chair with a groan. Heaven help her, she was going to spend an hour with Jack in the morning. And she could hardly wait.

 

 

Jack drove back to the ranch in a helluva good mood. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy. Then again, maybe he could. Ten months ago he and Josie had rolled around in her bed until the wee hours, making love, having pillow fights, eating chips and salsa naked, and making love again.

They’d had fun other nights, too, but he particularly remembered that one. Or maybe he remembered it so clearly because of the horror that had been visited on them the next day. He still felt a stab of guilt when he thought about blowing off his dad’s request to help him get the filly. Chances were he’d live with that guilt for a long, long time.

He also needed to do something about that filly. She hadn’t been ridden since the accident. Although she’d escaped with only a few scratches, nobody had been able to bring themselves to ride her. Consequently she’d spent the past ten months either in her stall or out in the pasture.

That was a shame. She was a pretty brown and white Paint with good confirmation and the unfortunate name of Bertha Mae. A name like that couldn’t be shortened to initials, either. He thought of how something like that would make Josie laugh and smiled to himself.

He used to like making her laugh, because she put her whole body into it. He’d especially loved the sensation of Josie laughing when his cock had been buried deep inside her.

As he considered the likelihood of having that experience again, his smile faded. No matter how much he still wanted Josie, and that was desperately, he absolutely was not going to use these riding lessons as a way to get back in her bed. Her accusation that all he cared about was sex still bothered him. A lot.

They’d enjoyed sex, but it hadn’t been the sole reason for getting together. At least he hoped to hell not. Josie meant more to him than that, as he was quickly discovering.

Arrogant though it might seem, he’d figured on hooking up with Josie again someday, when he was ready. And he’d thought she’d take him back. Yeah, that was extremely arrogant. Knowing that she might never take him back had brought him down a considerable number of pegs.

Jack pulled into the outbuilding they’d designated as the truck barn. The morning was pretty well shot, giving him a scant thirty minutes or so before lunch. Lunch was a big deal at the Last Chance, and he generally tried to be there.

Fifty years ago his grandpa Archie had established a tradition that the hands ate lunch with the family. The other two meals were served to them in the bunkhouse, but everybody came up to the main house for lunch. Eventually the family dining room had become pretty crowded, so when Jonathan added the left wing to the house, Sarah had insisted on a room specifically for big gatherings.

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)