The Cowboy's Make Believe Bride Page 15

  “I knew you would think this was my fault,” she said and crossed her arms. He bent down to look at something in front of the truck, then popped up quickly and pointed a finger at her. “Don't lay on the horn with me in front of it.”

  She raised her hands over her head. “As if.” But the lack of eye contact confirmed she'd been thinking it. He jabbed his finger in her direction one last time for good measure and went back to look at the various footprints in the dirt. None were complete as the ground was too dry, but he could make out difference. One set was cowboy boots, and the other looked to be steel-toed boots.

  Not that any of this meant anything yet, but it might. Fort went back to the truck and pushed Cori over. He climbed in and drove slowly toward the cabin before coming to a stop twenty yards from the front door in a makeshift space nestled between two trees. There was no driveway, but that didn't take away from the place.

  The little three-room house was located on a stunning piece of land, surrounded by an outer rim of trees. Cori slid from the truck and stared at the log cabin structure. It was simple in design, a slab foundation with the house on top. No extras like a porch or trim around windows or doors. “Wow,” she said and pointed to the view behind the cabin.

  Beyond the trees, the prairie broke out, spreading wide and far before butting up against Three Brothers Mountain. The view was vast and breathtaking, and he was used to it, but Cori gazed slack-jawed.

  With his index finger, he gently pushed under her chin, closing her mouth. She made a half-hearted swat at his hand.

  “Can you imagine looking at this every day?” She sucked in a deep breath and held her arms wide. “Why doesn't someone live here?”

  Her face was lit up with pleasure as she took in her surroundings. He'd seen her like this before, and the memory of it made him feel closer to her than he had felt to anyone else in a long time. She's been barely a teenager then and had come upon him on the side of the road, helping a cow birth a calf. She'd seen birthings before, that he knew. Yet, when that little calf came out and blinked its large brown eyes at them, Cori had stared back with the same enchanted awe he saw on her face right now.

  For all the annoying habits Cori possessed, and he could tick them off on two hands, maybe one, she loved the land, the animals, and the lifestyle of ranching, and he had to give her that. She lifted the camera that hung from around her neck to her face, and the two became one, snapping him from his thoughts.

  “Hey,” he said. “When you get all the pics you want, think you can get some of these?” He pointed to the footprints by the front door.

  She glanced at him and then where he was pointing. “Sure.”

  Fort slowly walked the perimeter and came back around to the front with nothing solid by way of clues. Yeah, there were footprints, human, bovine, and horse, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Cori was snapping shots of the ground when he opened the door.

  “I used to come up here and hunt with Paul. Both Ma and Mrs. Z own the cabin.” He scanned the interior before stepping in. He felt Cori come up behind him.

  “Any chance this is a vagrant or something?” she said, looking around him.

  “Not unless the homeless travel with candles and champagne,” he said and stepped in, opening up the doorway for her to see. Someone had gone to the trouble of setting up the table with a picnic of sorts: a red tablecloth, wooden candle holders with candles, and a bucket of half melted ice and champagne. A basket sat on the edge of the table with a note hanging from the side.

  Cori was the first to reach it. “Oh, no,” she said and handed him two sheets of paper.

  Congratulations! It read. Welcome to your new home. As a gift for your impending nuptials, your mother and I are gifting you this cabin to set up as your own place. Your ranch. A place to grow as you both grow in love and marriage.

  Behind the note, was the deed to the property signed by both Mrs. Z and his ma. Made out to both him and Cori.

  “Fudge sticks,” Cori said and resumed her nail-biting.

  “Yeah,” he said and placed the paper on the table. A place of his own. A ranch of his own. He liked the idea. And Cori didn't look out of place in the cabin either. One large room made up the kitchen and living space with the bedroom and bath off to the side. It was in good condition. The land was wide enough to add more rooms and the septic was in place and was piped for running water. The cabin could become a home.

  “I think you're right. I should leave right away. Maybe in a few days. If I left today, it would be really obvious. I don't mind giving Barbie some crazy illness.” She was backing toward the front door.

  “Cori,” he said.

  “Fort, I like these people. I can't—”

  “You broke a rule.” He stepped toward her.

  “They're stupid rules. I'm human. It's only natural that I like at least some of the people here,” she said, arms raised halfway, palms out as if daring him to disagree. “I need a drink.” She skirted around him, then snatched up the champagne, immediately going to work on peeling off the foil around the cork. “It's one thing to be associated to a con because your father did it. But I was always above that because, even though he was a crook, I wasn't. But now I'm the crook.” She tucked the bottle between her legs and cinched up her face in effort as she wrestled with the cork.

  She was cute. He took the bottle from her. “You aren't a crook.” He eased the cork out so not to spray the drink over both of them.

  “But I'm no better than him now. Fooling people.” She took the bottle from him and took a large swig. Then another.

  Fort raised a brow and didn't bother to hide his smile. “You're doing it for a good cause. Tell yourself that.” He took the bottle from her and placed it on the table.

  “I'm not sure about Deke being bad. Besides, people are still going to get hurt. Feel like they've been conned. This was a stupid idea.” She reached around him for the bottle, but he blocked her.

  “Then why did you agree to do it?” He chuckled when she thumped him on the chest in frustration.

  “You mean besides the money? I thought maybe I could score one for the good guys if I helped you out. But it was misguided. A con is a con. People get hurt,” she said, watching him with those large owlish eyes of hers.

  “You should have thought of that beforehand. You're in too deep,” he said.

  “You should have thought about it before you even went to Sabrina.” She whacked him again, but this time on the arm. “I blame you.”

  “Me? You’re the one hanging out with Cricket and taking jobs. Had you just stayed on the ranch like I said, going to town with only me, none of this would have happened.” He grabbed her hand to stop her hitting him.

  “Me?” she said incredulously and followed it with a bitter laugh. “I should have known you would blame me.” She tugged at his hand, but he wouldn't let go. He saw her eyes narrow, and before he could anticipate it, she stomped on his foot.

  “Ouch,” he said and let go of her hand so he could grab his foot. She'd caught him good with her heel.

  “I'm out of here,” she said and ran for the door.

  He had her over his shoulder before she got more than four steps. He slapped her ass hard.

  “Hey,” she cried, “that hurt.” When she punched him in the kidney, her glasses fell to the floor.

  Fort arched to the side in reaction to the back pain. He slapped her ass a second time.

  “Yowl! Stop that.”

  “You stop hitting me. I don't like it any more than you do.” He spun around the room, looking for a place to dump her.

  “This is all your fault. You and your stupid ideas. All I wanted was to start over somewhere else. Somewhere like here, but I can't because you're here and I'm pulling a con on these people. Thanks a lot.” She pinched his waist.

  “Christ, Cori. If you don't stop...” He sunk his teeth in her thigh. Gently at first, and then adding pressure slowly.

  “Oh, my word,” she groaned, and her body went
slack.

  The energy around them changed. Sparks still flew, but instead of crackling with anger, they arched with sexual tension, going from red-hot to blue. It took Fort five long strides to the small bedroom off the main room. The full-size bed was made with what looked like clean linen. It stood tall on an old brass frame. In one swift movement, he dumped her onto the bed and spread her legs.

  “You aren't going anywhere,” he said. “We're in this together, and we'll figure out a solution.” He dropped forward, one arm on each side of her. She lay before him, eyes on him, lip between her teeth, breath ragged. Her tank top had ridden up some, showing a sliver of belly. He bent forward and pressed a light kiss above her navel. Cori groaned and grabbed at his biceps.

  “You're an idiot,” she said in a whisper.

  “No more than you are,” he said against her skin, then nipped a bit of skin between his teeth.

  “Undeniably,” she said and moaned again.

  He traveled more kisses up her belly, pushing her shirt up with his nose. She trembled beneath his lips. He stepped closer, the lower part of his thighs against the edge of the bed. Her legs closed around him, her fingers clenching his arms.

  He kissed the valley between her breasts. Her bra, made from fabric thin like a tissue, was held closed with a clasp in the front. With a flick of his thumb and index finger, he released it and swept the material to the side. Revealing her. She was glorious. He'd never seen her in the light and as he blew air around her breast, a gentle lick around the underside, he committed this vision to his memory. When he took her hard nipple in his mouth, Cori arched and whimpered his name.

  That was all the invitation he needed. As if someone had cranked up the volume, he whipped her tank up over her head, her fingers working madly on his uniform buttons. He stopped to kiss and suckle at her collarbone before traveling to her other breast when he felt her hands on his buckle.

  “Cori?” He needed to know.

  “Undeniably,” she said and lifted her hips so he could pull off her tights. With their clothes on the floor, he eased himself on top of her, both moaning as they became fused. Skin to skin.

  “We need a condom,” he said, hating the words because the odds of either of them having one were slim.

  She reached over her head to the end table and slid open the drawer. Inside was a box, a new box. He didn't want to guess who might have placed them there. The truth was too awkward.

  Once sheathed, he situated himself to press against her and snuggled his hand there, too, stroking her from the top, his fingers damp with her want. She was putty under his hands, her head tossed back, and he wanted to keep her here forever, like this, moaning his name. He pushed at her, gently asking to come in. She raised her hips and clutched tightly to him.

  There was a resistance that gave him pause. Was he really her first? Did he want to be? Not that he could stop if he wanted to. He'd been thinking about this moment since that night they made out in the pasture.

  “Babe,” he said, “are you sure?”

  She didn't say a word, only raised her hips higher and pushed him past the barrier, expelling a long hiss in the process. After a brief pause, she moved once more, fitting him farther inside her.

  In the past, he'd been with women who didn't care to know him beyond the good time he offered. Cori, she knew all parts of him, the good and the bad. He wanted this moment almost as much as he wanted to win sheriff, if not more.

  “Wait,” he said, “give it a moment.” He throbbed to move, desperate to feel her come apart in his hands. He reached between them and stroked at her center. She bucked against him, calling his name.

  Slowly, he began to make her his. With each stroke, she unfolded and opened up to him. He felt her tighten, knew what was coming, and with his arms under her, holding her in place, he drove harder, pushing against her before pulling back and starting again. She rose up, sunk her teeth in his shoulder and began to quake. He nipped at her breast, then took the nipple between his teeth, his tongue teasing it. Cori tossed her head back and cried out his name. He thrust one last time and held onto her with everything he had, letting himself go and joining her in the free fall of their release.

  21

  They lay beside each other on the bed, her head tucked against his shoulder.

  She didn't know what to say. Maybe, "Wow that was good." "Can we do that again?" seemed wanton, and she wasn't sure that was the message she wanted to send. Though it kinda was. Argh, she didn't know what to do. She was woefully unprepared for this. She closed her eyes and prayed for wisdom. This was not only new territory for them, but for her.

  Fort rolled toward her and kissed her forehead. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Do you have any regrets?”

  She shook her head.

  “Can I ask you a question?” he said softly in her ear.

  She buried her face in the bed and groaned.

  “How have you gone all this time and not...? Why are you...?” He ran his finger from her shoulder down her arm.

  Cori peeked up from the bed. His question hadn't sounded judgey or like he was about to brag. “I've spent the last several years trying to make amends for my father and what he did.” She looked away and then dipped her head back onto the bed.

  “You can't put your life on hold for something that wasn't your fault. No one blames you.”

  Cori jerked with surprise. She pushed up on her elbows. “You're kidding, right? Because of all the mean things to say, that's one of them. So what, we just had sex. You don't need to start being nice and lying to me now.” She rolled her eyes and went to sit, grabbing the comforter to cover her chest.

  Fort, who apparently didn't care that he was naked, sat up, too. “I mean it. What happened is not your fault.”

  “Says the man who blames me for what went down between his father and mine.” She moved to sit on the edge.

  Fort groaned and flopped back on the bed, covering his eyes. “You're right,” he said.

  The admission caused her mouth to drop open. He sat back up and looked at her. “You're right and you're wrong.”

  She snorted.

  “I mean that, logically, I never blamed you for your father's actions.” He held up a hand. “But I did take it out on you. Which may have felt like I was blaming you. Used to be every time I looked at you, I thought of all my own failures with my dad and that last year in Brewster. But look around me. Life here is great. I'm not sure I would have this if the past hadn’t gone like it had. Maybe I should look at you and think of all the good things I have.”

  “That would be a first.”

  He winked. “Or, and this is my favorite so far, remember you with your head back calling my name as I bury myself deep inside you.”

  Cori buried her face in her hands. “Just shut up already.”

  He kissed her on the shoulder, his arm snaking around her waist, his hand tugging the comforter out of the way so he could reach her breast. “Let me see if I can make you call my name again.”

  “Wait, what?” she cried as he jerked her back by her waist, then in one swift motion flipped her on her stomach.

  One hand dug in the drawer of the side table, the other pressing down on her back, keeping her in place.

  “Fort?” she asked. The excitement made her voice warble, and a nervous giggle escaped her. All he had to do was touch her. Anywhere. His thumb stroked the small of her back.

  “I think you're going to like this even more,” he said, fitting himself over her between her legs. He dipped a kiss where his hand had been, then gently lifted her backside up by her hips.

  “You can tell me to stop anytime,” he whispered. As his hands stroked upward, his mouth traveled south. She was powerless against him, yet felt safe. His touch was gentle and strong.

  He showed her how talented he was with his mouth and his fingers as he explored all parts of her. When he took her from behind, Cori nearly wept at the tenderness he showed her. They found their re
lease together and collapsed as one on the bed, Cori tucked against him.

  “This,” he whispered in her ear as he held her from behind. “This is why you should stay.”

  A few more weeks of this would be glorious and heart wrenching. She didn't have to have eons of experience to know she was falling for the big doo-doo. At least he'd warmed up to her, found her appealing even. She'd take what she could get.

  “We're starting to confuse the real and the pretend. Maybe me leaving will give us clarity,” she said on a sigh.

  He pulled away, and rush of cool air ran up her backside. He dropped a kiss between her shoulder blades. “If you must go, then you'll have these memories to take with you,” was his reply, then he was off the bed. When he disappeared into the bathroom, Cori jumped up, using his absence to dress. She'd clean up when he was done. She had her tank and denim skirt on but was searching for her panties when he came back. He lifted the comforter and pointed to her hidden garment. She slid them on as fast as she could, and not knowing what to say, went for the safest topic she could pick. “Guess there are no clues here.”

  Fort was buttoning his shirt. “I'll have to talk to Mrs. Z's foreman to be sure, but my guess is we might have found something. Too many footprints, and I can't imagine why they would be bringing cows here. And there's this.” He held up a glittery gold matchbook with the name Bruno's Honky-Tonk written next to the silhouette of a big-breasted woman, much like the ones she'd seen on mud flaps of tractor-trailers.

  Men.

  “What? You think Mrs. Z wouldn't go to Bruno's?” She was joking, of course. “Couldn't it be from her husband? Or your step-dad?”

  Fort smirked and tossed the matchbook over in his hand. “This is fairly new, as is Bruno's. Opened about a month ago. If Paul had the time to go to Bruno's, he'd probably not take the chance that Ma would find out and skin him alive. It's a titty bar.”

  Cori made an O with her mouth.

  “And Mr. Z died before Bruno's opened.” Fort opened the pack and showed half of the matches were missing. Not that she knew what that meant.