City Country Read online

  “Heck, yes.” He hooted, and, man, he could laugh. “I was shaking. Almost puked. But I love what I do.”

  “You’re braver than I am. I still don’t drive after my car accident.”

  “You had an accident?” His green eyes clouded with what looked like genuine sympathy. “Was it bad?”

  “Bad enough, yeah. I’m fine now. I just don’t drive.” And she had a lot of ink and she didn’t hide who she was anymore.

  At all.

  “Well, good for you.” He clinked his beer bottle against hers before taking a sip. “To survival.”

  “Hell, yeah, cowboy.” She drank deep. Man, Ricki was never gonna believe this.

  She ordered another beer, and Cotton switched to Coke, and before she knew it, last call was announced, Jib standing on the bar to be heard over the group of rednecks who’d come in a half hour before. She wasn’t drunk—not at all—but she was warm and flushed with the attention, with the newness of it all. “You want to go get a cup of coffee?”

  “Oh, I’d like that.” He leaned over the table a little, as if he was sharing a secret. “Gettin’ loud and wild in here. Want to get out before they all let loose outside?”

  Em nodded. “That’s probably safest. I’m like a big target, you know?”

  Cotton snorted. “In this crowd, I am, too. Come on, honey.”

  She let him help her from the booth and out, and she wrapped her hand around one very firm, very nice arm.

  They settled her tab and headed out. He really did pay for her drinks. That was cool, too, as a lot of guys conveniently forgot.

  “So where’s the best coffee and pancakes?” Cotton asked.

  “Kerbey Lane on the drag. No question.”

  He had a big truck, big enough that she didn’t have to fold herself into it.

  “Well, you just point me to it. I can get around a bit, but usually my buddy Garret comes with me in Austin.” How he reached the pedals, she had no idea.

  “How long are you in town?”

  “Three days. Doing some promo stuff.”

  “That’s cool, man. Austin’s a great town.”

  “It is. All sorts of music, you know? Which way?” They coasted to a stop at a light, everything going a little more quiet as it got later and later.

  “Left, then you’ll follow this up to the Capitol building.”

  “Cool.” She could tell he was used to driving on back roads, not in narrow city lanes. It was cute, the way he drove as if he was maneuvering an elephant.

  The view up Congress was special, too—the Capitol lit up, the city beautiful with UT’s Main Tower behind.

  “Oh, look at that, now. I do love how that is at night, huh?” He tapped out a beat on the steering wheel, never really still.

  “It’s one of my favorite things. One of these days I think I’ll buy one of those lofts. I work right down Sixth Street.”

  “Yeah? That must get hard to get out of work on Friday afternoon.” He followed her directions to Kerbey Lane and pulled his truck into a space that was way too small. It worked, though.

  “Good coffee and gingerbread pancakes await.” She untangled herself from her heels and skirt in time for him to help her down, which was sweet and dear and weird, all at once. He closed the truck door behind her, opened the door to the café for her and held her chair. Man, this was going to wig her out. “Thank you, Cotton.” She grinned at Maryrose, waved. “Hey, you!”

  “Emmy!” Maryrose squealed, combat boots slamming on her way over. “Good to see you, girl. Nice boobs. Coffee?”

  “Please and thank you.”

  Cotton stared, his eyes bugging out a little before his gaze moved inevitably to her breasts.

  They were looking good. She knew it. Corsets were magical things. “Do you want coffee, Cotton?”

  “Huh?” His eyes snapped back up to hers. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Two coffees, Maryrose.”

  “Coolness.” Maryrose patted her mostly bare shoulder and bounced off.

  “We were roomies in the dorms, years ago.”

  “Yeah? I did two years and that was just to make Momma happy. I wasn’t so good at it.”

  No, but she’d bet he was on the rodeo team, wherever he’d gone.

  “Did you go to Tarleton State or A&M?” She’d bet Tarleton.

  “Tarleton.” That grin flashed again, and she heard a group of college girls in the corner giggle. “I tried to hang to it, but I got to serious rodeoing.”

  “It sounds like a life from another time, really.”

  “Yeah?” Those narrow shoulders lifted. “I guess I’m from a smaller place. Where did you go to school?”

  “I was at Rice for my bachelor’s. Here at UT for my graduate work.” She smiled, shrugged. “I loved it here, so I stayed.”

  “Smart girl.” She could hear it again in her head. The ‘not getting laid’ that went with comments on her intellect.

  “It’s better than the alternative.” She winked and tried not to get pissy about it. It was what it was.

  “Huh? Well, sure it is.” He gave her an odd look. “So, what’s good?”

  “My absolute favorite is the gingerbread pancakes. It’s like Christmas all year.”

  “That sounds good, man. I’ll have those. Do you get bacon?”

  “The bacon is vastly superior to the sausage.” Em nodded, grinned.

  “Oh, good. I like sausage in gravy, mostly.” They ordered, then he looked up at her and his eyes lit up. “Hey, you want to go to Threadgill’s with me tomorrow night?”

  “If we can make it after six-thirty, I’d love to.” She had a teleconference with LA at five-fifteen.

  “Sure. I got some kind of photo shoot until five.” His ears went red.

  “Oh, yeah? Too cool! Who for?” Oh, God. Major cuteness.

  “Uh… I dunno? Some calendar, I think. I never get the hunks calendar, though. Too many freckles.”

  Yeah. She could see that. He wasn’t hunky, just cute as anything and full of charisma.

  “It works for you, though. I bet you burned something awful when you were a kid.” Because the guy was oh so old now.

  “Shit, yes. There was this one time…” His eyebrows drew together. “You said yes, right? About Threadgill’s?”

  “Uh-huh.” The chuckle couldn’t be held back. “So did you.”

  “Well, I asked.” That little bounce was adorable. “Anyway, so there was this one time where I was out all day, then we went swimming. The next morning, I had third degree burns.”

  “Damn. Were you sick as a dog?” She tanned with the best of them, when she wasn’t avoiding the sun.

  “I was flat on my back for a week.” He made this amazing face, eyes rolling, cheeks puffing out. “Oh, man, look at them pancakes.”

  “I told you.” Butter, syrup—all the good things in life on a plate, with a side of bacon. “I’ve never been burned that bad, but my brothers would have gotten in big trouble if they’d let me, so…”

  “Yeah? How many brothers you got?” He paused, fork halfway to his mouth, a speculative look in his eyes.

  “Two—they’re twins. Eight years older than me. I was the surprise.” Thom and Terry never let her forget it, either. Buttheads.

  “They local?”

  “Houston. They have a law firm together.” She leaned back, sipped at her coffee. “They do the creepy twin thing. They got married on the same day. They both have three kids. It’s bizarre.”

  He relaxed a little. “Lawyers, huh? Not like you at all, then.”

  “Not really. They’re tennis and sedan types, you know?”

  “Yeah.” He finally tried the pancakes, eyes going wide. “Yum.”

  Em nodded, grinned around her fork. “They’re just right.”

  “No, they’re better than that.” He laughed, the sound pure delight. What a lover.

  They talked through coffee, through pancakes and more coffee, through shift change. Turned out Cotton was really funny, weirdly optimistic
and oddly observant. He was also clearly interested in her in the most manly of ways, but not pushing it at all. It made her feel about, oh, twenty feet tall and stacked. “Are you staying at a hotel, Cotton?”

  “I am. It’s a Best Western somewhere.”

  “Somewhere? My place is only a few blocks away…” Was that incredibly slutty?

  His eyes widened again, and he swallowed hard. She thought maybe he hadn’t chewed that bite enough. “I could give you a ride home, for sure. And if you wanted me to come on in? Well, cool.”

  Look at him, giving her an out if she needed one. His eyes were bright, though, hot, and she could tell what he wanted the answer to be.

  “We’re both adults, Cotton.” And she wasn’t a shrinking violet.

  “We are.” He nodded, slapping two twenties down on the table. “You ready, honey?”

  “I am.” She let him maneuver her up. She could use some help getting out of the corset.

  He slid his hand under her elbow once more, and he led her out, holding the doors for her again. It was starting to get familiar in the best kind of way. She directed him to the apartment and he parked, both of them staring at each other in the light from the parking lot.

  “I’m on the bottom floor. Just right here.”

  “Well.” Cotton leaned close, his breath ghosting over her cheek. “We ought to try this, just to be sure, huh?”

  “Yeah. It sucks, if the chemistry’s not there.” She shifted, turned a little bit. He smelled like gingerbread. Up close, his freckles were kind of fascinating, like an inkblot test. She almost grinned at the thought, but his mouth covered hers and the urge to laugh flew out of the window. Oh, hello.

  He didn’t kiss like he talked. Cotton kissed her as if she was the hottest woman on earth. She parted her lips and kissed him back, her tongue stud sliding against his tongue as it slipped in. It was electric, like a shock, and it ran down her spine and into her nipples. The kiss made her wet, fast and easy.

  She couldn’t help her moan or the way her hands reached out, met a flat, muscled belly. He jumped some, chuckling into her mouth. “We ought to go on in.”

  “Yeah, come on.” She slid out of the truck, dug her keys out of her purse. The house was clean, thank goodness, but it was never really spotless. After all, she had things—wind-up toys and Day of the Dead dolls, pin-up art and her fabulous collection of kitsch.

  “Wow.”

  She turned on the light, and Cotton was instantly fascinated. “Look at all that.”

  “Yeah. It’s fun, huh? Would you like something to drink?”

  “Huh? No.” Well, that was definite. His eyes snapped back to hers, and Cotton stepped right into her personal space. “After, maybe.”

  They were eye to eye like this—she was maybe even a little taller than him. His hands landed on her cinched-in waist, hers draped over his shoulders.

  Cotton kissed her like he had out in the truck, as if he was going to eat her up. He was all big bad wolf, which was surprising, as dear as he’d been earlier. Surprising, but bone-melting hot, and she dove into the kiss with the wildest sound.

  Cotton pulled her even closer, pushing her breasts up against his chest. They spilled up and over the corset, and when the kiss broke, he stared down at them. “Whoa.”

  She blushed red hot, grinned. “Cotton, meet the girls.”

  “That’s… Look at those.” He was impressed. Definitely. His cock prodded her through his jeans, hot as fire.

  “Thanks.” She let her hips roll, as she moved closer.

  “Mmm. You feel good. I bet you feel even better without all this stiff stuff on you.”

  “You willing to help a girl out?” She turned to show her laces.

  “I am.” He found her laces, warm where they slipped between the corset. “This is complicated.”

  “Yeah, it’s way easier to take off than get on.” The laces loosened and she wiggled. “Okay, grab the top and tug up.”

  “Sure.” The whole thing lifted away, and Cotton turned her around to face him again. “Better?”

  “Mmmhmm.” She ran her hands down her sides, trying not to be self-conscious. She wasn’t a tiny girl. Not at all. Cotton stepped back, holding her hands away from her body. He took in every detail from the waist up, and she got the impression that he was happy. Maybe that was the moan. Her nipples tightened and she shivered, wanting in that sudden, sharp way that only came with a brand new lover.

  He moved right back in and lifted her right up off her feet, his lips moving over her left breast. God, he was strong for someone his size.

  “Cotton…” Her thin little shirt didn’t hide anything, and when his lips found her nipple ring, she moaned.

  His whole body jerked, and she landed on her feet with a thud. “Wait. What—?”

  He pulled her shirt off so fast it almost left carpet burn.

  “You okay?” Her nipples were so hard they ached, the platinum rings with their sapphire jewels throbbing with her heartbeat.

  “I am—” His voice broke, and he glanced up for just a second, his eyes burning into hers. “That’s. Wow. Can I?”

  “Uh-huh. They’re for pleasure, as well as decoration.” God, what was he going to do when he found the other piercing?

  He caught them between thumbs and forefingers and tugged, watching her closely. When she shivered, he grinned hugely and tugged again.

  “Oh, fuck. I do enjoy a man that isn’t scared to touch.” She rocked on her platforms, so wet it was almost embarrassing.

  “So pretty. Jesus, honey. I’ve never seen anything so damned pretty.”

  “You want… I have a bed.” And she wasn’t afraid to use it.

  “Well, let’s go!” He grabbed her hand, which was impressive, as he had to let go of her breast to do it. “Lead the way, honey.”

  She led them back into the bedroom with her purple canopied bed. She made herself let go of his hand to unzip her boots, before she managed to work the supple leather off, leaving her in her stockings. Oh, he was a little taller than she had expected.

  Shrugging out of his shirt, he showed off the most impressive farmer’s tan she’d ever seen. Luckily, he also had washboard abs and well-muscled arms.

  Her skirt went next, and the moan she heard when he saw her garters and little black lace panties was gratifying, to say the least. She stepped up close then, sliding her hands around his waist.

  “You’re just. Wow. Like one of them pin-up girls.” He was so cute, with his wide eyes and hot hands.

  “Yeah? Thanks.” She grinned, turned to let him see her back. The back piece was a homage to the pin-up girl, surrounded by old-school art—birds and flowers, anchors. Mouse had done most of it for her when they had been dating, and he’d finished the work under the ‘fond friend’ umbrella.

  She heard Cotton draw in a sharp breath, and he traced the tattoos for a moment, fingers gentle but callused as all hell. Then she heard the sound of his zipper, and of his boots and jeans hitting the floor.

  She sat on the edge of the bed and worked off her stockings, and when his fingers joined hers, sliding the flimsy silk down her leg, she moaned.

  His head was level with her breasts where he half knelt to help her out, and it seemed really natural when that red head turned and he took one nipple ring between his teeth. He was way better at this stuff than he seemed as if he would be. Way better. She slid one hand over his head, his short cropped hair so soft. She leaned back on her other hand, chest offered to his hungry mouth. His tongue made her crazy, sliding over the tip and pushing against nerves she didn’t know she had. He pushed the ring back and forth, then tugged with his teeth over and over before moving to the other side to give her the same treatment. Cotton was thorough, making her shudder, making her press her legs together.

  “You’re good at that.” She curled her fingers into the comforter as the burn in the pit of her stomach spread.

  He lifted his head so he could smile at her a moment. “Wait until I get below the belt,
honey. I’m a natural.”

  Her laughter rang out, belly-deep, and he chuckled, too, when she bent down to kiss him.

  He kissed her back hard, and it was like a fever sweeping through her. He slid his fingers down over her belly, right between her legs, zeroing in on her clit. She spread a little wider, the ring there tiny, smooth, and he bumped it firmly, making her toes curl.

  The kiss broke as suddenly as it had started, Cotton pushing her legs open with his elbows and bending to stare at her where it counted. “What the hell?”

  “Surprise?” If she’d been more of the self-conscious type, this could’ve been deeply fucked up.

  Really.

  “Oh, man.” He bent even more and licked at the little ring. Okay, he was right. He was a natural.

  Her eyes crossed and her thighs shook, trembling in time with the soft, crazy-making little licks. Okay. She might die. Thumbs spreading her even more, Cotton settled in, giving her what for. His tongue was catlike, a little rough, a lot talented, and a fire flared in the pit of her belly.

  “Oh, God.” She started moving, desperate little jerks of her hips that got sharper and fiercer as orgasm threatened. Cotton never wavered. He just licked and sucked, and yeah, bit at her until her whole body screamed for it—for him.

  “Please.” He pushed two fingers in deep as she gasped, spread her and took her and promised her more, shoving her right over the edge into a bone-melting orgasm.

  When she was done, panting and lying there staring up at the ceiling, Cotton crawled up on top of her, hardness pushing at her stomach. “I need a rubber, honey.”

  “Uh-huh. I have some.” She reached up for the little baskets on her headboard where she stashed stuff. Nintendo DS. No. Vibrator. Not necessary. Sinus meds. Nope. KY. Yeah, right. Ah. Condoms. “Bingo.”

  “Oh, thank God.” The grin was just as endearing, even with the glazed doughnut look. Cotton kissed her real quick, then pushed back to rip the condom open and slide it on. Gave her a good look at him, too. Solid and strong, with a tight little belly with the hottest series of scars ever. Em thought she could just eat him alive. Of course, the bright red curls over that heavier-than-advertised cock? Possibly the cutest thing ever.