Never Kiss a Cowgirl, page 26
“I like taking care of you.” Reagan’s voice had a way of tapering off lately as if she wasn’t sure Asher wanted to hear what she had to say.
They both stayed quiet after that, and by the time they checked in Asher had about as much of this as she was willing to put up with. Going into a bull riding competition with the best in the sport with her head in a jumble was asking to get gored or worse. Once the bellman put their bags away she ushered him through the door before he started on his spiel about the room and the hotel’s services.
“Do you want to try something new?” she asked once they were alone.
What she knew in her bones was that some people would say Reagan wasn’t worth taking a chance on. All the history between them, good and bad, was too much of a risk to overcome. But she wasn’t some people. She was in love with this flawed but wonderful person. The truth, as Wade explained it, was she could walk away but by doing so would punish herself as well as Reagan, and she wasn’t into self-inflicted pain.
“Like what?” Reagan stepped closer and took her hands. There was an apprehensiveness in her movements that Asher had to fix before they got to a point of no return.
“Get naked with me.” That got her a laugh and a slight blush. Intimacy was something else they’d shied away from these last few weeks. “Get naked with me right now, and then I’ll do whatever you want.”
Reagan reached behind her and unzipped her dress, letting it pool at her feet. One of the things about Reagan that she loved was her choice of underwear. Today’s set was white silk trimmed in lace, and Asher could’ve stared all day. She stood still when Reagan started unbuttoning her shirt, yanking it out of her jeans when she reached the waistline. That made her take a small step forward. The belt and the buttons of her jeans came next before Reagan pushed her to sit on the bed to get her boots off.
She slid the pretty panties off when Reagan stood between her legs, and she kissed Reagan’s abdomen right under her belly button. Before they could get carried away, she pointed to the chairs by the window. They were high enough that no one would see in, and she sat in a chair and smiled at Reagan to put her at ease.
“Don’t you think it’d be better if we could touch?” Reagan asked, taking the other chair.
“I haven’t lost my mind, so don’t worry. The thing I wanted to do differently is to talk with no barriers between us.” She waved a hand down her body. “Nothing between us and nowhere to hide.”
“You’re amazing, do you know that?” Reagan said, blinking back tears.
“I want you to tell me why you don’t believe me when I tell you that I’ve forgiven you.” It had to be that Reagan was still skittish. “You’ve forgiven me, haven’t you?”
“You haven’t done anything wrong, so there’s no reason you need forgiveness.” Reagan wiped her face and laughed, but it didn’t sound like anything resembling joy or humor. “I’m the one who keeps screwing up.”
“You’re talking about the woman I love.” She leaned closer and offered Reagan her hand. “I need you to believe that I love you. Whatever happened is history, and I’m only interested in keeping the parts that we both cherish.” She got on her knees before Reagan and took over the job of wiping her face. “For me, that’s the days we spent with our fathers, with Uncle Wade, and the moments we knew this was it for both of us. It’s also all the things we have now.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think I could handle it if you changed your mind.” Reagan fell into her with her arms around her neck. “I love you, and I knew once Christine told you the truth, you’d never see me the same.”
“See, was that so hard to say?” She cupped Reagan’s cheek and kissed her. “Listen to me—I love you, and nothing is going to change that. And I don’t see you the same,” she said, and Reagan turned from her as if in shame. “I see you as the woman I love. That love started when we were children, but it’s grown into something deeper, something more special, and something to fight for. So of course I don’t see you the same. When I look now, it’s so much better.”
“Do you promise?”
“I promise.” Asher kissed her again, missing Reagan even though they’d spent most of their time together.
“I promise too.” Reagan smiled against her lips, and it seemed like all the tension in her body gave way. “And it was smart of you to get us naked.”
“It’d be a shame to waste it, right?” She smiled back when Reagan wrapped her legs around her waist and hung on for the walk to the bed. “Will you do something for me?”
“Anything,” Reagan said, and Asher believed her. “Whatever you want is yours.”
“I want you to feel me”—she put her hand over Reagan’s chest—“in here. Feel me and believe that I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here, and I’ll stay for as long as you want me.”
“That’s going to be a long time,” Reagan said holding her jaw with her index finger and thumb as if she didn’t want her to look away. It was intimate, something no one else had a right to do, and it turned her on. “I’m never letting you go, not ever again.”
“Good, I want you to hold on and believe that.” She moved her hand to cup Reagan’s breast and never lost eye contact with her. They needed the connection that was more than physical for Reagan to know what was in her heart.
“Show me,” Reagan said as her nipple hardened under Asher’s palm. “Show me that I belong to you. Show me you’re not going to let me go.”
The soft command was freeing, and she moved on top as she put her hand between Reagan’s legs. Reagan was wet and moved her hips up to encourage her to go inside. This place was hers alone, and she knew Reagan was hers. She blinked as she slid her fingers in and stopped, wanting to enjoy the way Reagan held her.
“Baby, please, show me.” Reagan moved her hips again, and she pulled almost completely out before sliding back in. This was a moment to savor, enjoy, and to remember as their true beginning. Accepting that Reagan would always stay wasn’t something she’d waste time worrying about anymore.
“Yes,” Reagan said, looking into her eyes. “It’s so good.” The way Reagan squeezed her shoulders as well as her fingers made Asher speed their pace. “Like that, just like that.”
The sound of skin slapping on skin, the way Reagan moved under her, and the smell of Reagan’s perfume drove Asher to give Reagan everything she wanted. Love might’ve been about a whole life together, but this was special. Touching and loving Reagan was a privilege she’d never take for granted, not ever again.
“Oh God,” Reagan said loudly before bowing her body and stiffening. Asher figured she’d have bruises on her shoulders, but these she’d wear with pride. “God.” She started to move off when Reagan almost melted into the bed, but Reagan held her in place. “Stay,” Reagan said, her eyes wet.
“Hey.” The tears alarmed her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Reagan said with a lazy smile. “Right now, there’s not a damn thing wrong in my world.”
Asher laughed and moved not too far away, not wanting to put her whole weight on Reagan. “I understand how you feel.”
“You know I love you, right?” Reagan whispered in her ear when she pressed closer.
“I do.” She rubbed Reagan’s back all the way to her butt. “And right back at you.”
“I do, but damn if I don’t crave you. All those massages before we could get naked together were torturous. That you stripped so easily was downright cruel.” Reagan’s hand roamed from her chest down to her stomach, then her thighs. “It’s a good thing you don’t seem to realize how spectacular you are.”
“Stripping is one thing, Buckaroo, but having your hands on me, and not the way I wanted, is my definition of torture.”
“It sounds like we were on this same page even back then,” Reagan said, squeezing her thigh. “It’s nice being able to touch whenever I want.”
“That is nice.” She slipped her tongue into Reagan’s mouth when she kissed her and groaned when Reagan broke away. There was no complaining when Reagan kissed down her body until she was kneeling between her legs. “You are one beautiful woman, my love.”
“Thank you, but I’d have to disagree on what’s the better view.” Reagan’s eyes swept down from her head to her knees. “Do you belong to me?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. Her breath caught in her throat when Reagan lay on her stomach and put her mouth on her. It was embarrassing sometimes how fast Reagan got her to the point of total mindlessness, but it couldn’t be helped. Touching Reagan ramped up her desire, which left her no room for patience when Reagan was this relentless with her mouth. “Fuck,” she said as she put her hand behind Reagan’s head.
The orgasm hit, and she gripped Reagan’s hair trying to get her to stop before she broke something. “I love you,” Reagan said as she kissed the inside of her thigh.
“And you’re really good at it,” she said with a smile. A wave of exhaustion hit her, but she gathered the last of her energy and held Reagan when she moved up and draped herself over her body. “I love you too.” She combed Reagan’s hair back and kissed her forehead. “Do you believe me now?”
“Your powers of persuasion are hard to resist.” Reagan rested her chin on Asher’s chest and gazed at her. “Is there some precompetition ritual we should be doing?”
“I usually get here the day before and try not to think about the crowd.” She threaded her fingers with Reagan’s when she took her hands.
“Why are we here early, then?”
“I wanted to enjoy the time with you away from our crew asking questions every five minutes.” She enjoyed the way Reagan smiled at that truth. “I was also thinking of locking us in here until you talked to me if this didn’t work.”
“Really?” Reagan let her hands go and moved up to kiss her. “You’re a romantic fool, Asher Evans, and I love that about you.”
“I have my moments, but right now I’m starving.”
Reagan bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “I like the locked-in-this-room idea better than going out.”
“I was going to say room service since the only thing better than naked talking is naked eating.”
* * *
Reagan had never spent the better part of four days doing mostly nothing. They’d explored the city, and it was surreal to be surrounded by so many cowboys and cowgirls there for the rodeo. They were a polite crowd, for sure, but still a crowd. That wasn’t as surreal as the number of people who stopped Asher and asked for either her autograph or a selfie. Her lover had a legion of adoring fans, some of whom, mostly women, weren’t thrilled to meet her and find out her role in Asher’s life.
She’d said yes to Asher’s dinner invitation instead of room service, so she was locked in the bathroom getting ready. The next night was the start of the bull riding competition, and she wanted to get Asher home early and into bed. Their time here had healed both the deep and shallow wounds between them, and for that she had to thank Asher. That her love had taken the time to not only put her at ease, but forgive her terrible mistake was the best gift she could’ve thought to give.
Her plan now was to convince Asher that their partnership should be more than just cows, horses, and pastureland. There was so much wasted time, all because of her, but now she was impatient to prevent anyone from usurping her place. She stared at the black dress she’d brought with her as she put on mascara and thought about Asher’s reaction to it. Whatever it was going to be, it would have to wait until the championships were over. There was no way she was going to let Asher exert herself before she got on a bull no matter how much she loved her hands on her.
“Honey,” she said and smiled when Asher jumped up, “could you zip me, please?” The underwear she’d chosen for the outfit matched the dress, and she could tell Asher liked it from the way she caressed her back. She’d skipped the lipstick for now, wanting to kiss Asher without having to redo her face.
“You look beautiful.” Asher was about to kiss her again when someone knocked.
“Who is that?” If it was some fan who’d figured out where they were staying, she’d get rid of them herself. Why some women thought it was okay to openly flirt with someone’s partner was beyond her.
“Maybe Uncle Wade,” Asher said, shrugging. “If not, I wasn’t expecting anyone.” Asher patted her butt before going to see who it was, so she took the opportunity to put on lipstick and slip into her heels. “Uh…hi,” she heard Asher say, and for some reason it didn’t sound right.
“Hey, I hope I’m not interrupting, but do you know where Reagan is?” Steph asked.
What in the hell was Steph doing in Las Vegas, and why was she bothering them? For that matter, how had she found them? Steph’s suit was Italian, as were the shoes, and all of it was perfect. If there was a pageant for handsome butch women, the two top contenders were right in front of her. “Steph, what are you doing here?” No reason for small talk. She had a date and a life to get to.
“I wanted to see you,” Steph said with that smile that had fooled her one too many times.
When Reagan reviewed all the mistakes she’d made in her life, the most glaring ones made her wonder if she had some undiagnosed allergy that warped her brain. “Why?” She wanted to add a few expletives after that. In the interests of time and Asher not messing up her hand when she punched Steph in the face, she tried short and to the point.
“You haven’t called me back, and I was worried about you,” Steph said. If Steph had recited the entire works of Shakespeare, it would’ve been less bizarre than the explanation she’d just given.
“So you flew to Las Vegas to check?” Asher asked, glancing back at her. “Did you just take a wild guess she was here?”
Reagan found Asher sexy all the time, but jealous Asher was in a different league of sexy. “She’s right. How did you know I was here?”
“I called the clinic, and they told me. That might sound stalkerish, but I needed to talk to you.” Steph squeezed by Asher and came in. “You look beautiful, by the way.”
Reagan flinched when the door slammed a little louder than she thought was courteous to their neighbors.
“Okay,” Asher said, “let me get this straight. You called Reagan’s work, jumped on a plane, and somehow figured out where we were staying so you could show up here? You did all that because you had to talk to Reagan? Does that about sum it up?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds creepy, but I thought Reagan and I could go to the rodeo together.” Steph seemed completely serious, and Reagan put her finger up.
“We have a reservation, so I can’t talk to you right now.” She opened the door and waved toward the exit, grateful Steph walked through it. Steph turned to say something, and she slammed the door this time. “I had no way of knowing, and she’s way out of line.”
“Okay.” Asher sounded way too in control. “Ready?”
“Honey, please. If it takes getting naked to have this conversation, we’ll skip dinner and do that, but you know I didn’t invite Steph here.” She put her arms around Asher’s middle under her jacket and tried to get Asher’s attention. “That was over way before I met you, even if the first time we saw each other, I was with Steph. I tried being friends with her, but if it’s going to devolve into this, then forget it.”
“Is her sudden interest something to do with me, you think? That whole wanting something only because someone else does?” Asher relaxed as Reagan rubbed her back.
“Do you want to stay in?”
“No, I want to take you out because you look beautiful.” Asher kissed the tip of her nose and took her hand. “Will I sound childish if it pissed me off that she said that like she meant it?”
“It only counts when you say it, honey, so don’t worry. I dressed for you and no one else.” They made it into the lobby, and when they stepped off the elevator, she saw Steph standing there. “Would you mind waiting just a second? I need to set some things straight.”
“Take your time. I’ll head to the lobby bar and call to have them hold our reservations. Want something?”
“I’d like wine with dinner, so don’t order anything for me. I won’t be long.” She kissed Asher before turning and thanking God she didn’t have a pistol in her purse. Steph would’ve needed a tailor to repair the great suit. “What in the hell? I mean, what in the holy fuck were you thinking?”
“When I didn’t hear from you for a couple days, weeks actually, I started to question my life and what an asshole I was to you. I mean, I’m seriously in love with you, and I couldn’t wait another minute to tell you.” Steph put her hands on her biceps and held her in place as she talked a mile a minute. “If you can forgive me, we can start over.”
“Have you completely lost your mind?” This had to be some kind of joke. “I’m in love with Asher, and even if I wasn’t in love with Asher, there would be no going back. We were old history way before the move, and I think we’re both intelligent enough to realize that.”
It was obvious Steph was not grasping her polite way of telling her to fuck off. Maybe the pollen count in the flower garden in the Bellagio’s lobby was making Steph high, but she needed to get the hell away from her. “Whatever is going on with you, the way to handle it is to get on a plane and lie down when you get back to New Orleans. Once you’re rested, seek medical help.”
“Reagan, listen—”
Whatever else Steph had to say died in her throat when Asher put her hand on her shoulder really close to her neck. It must’ve hurt because Steph grimaced when Asher squeezed. “Listen to me,” Asher said, and Reagan went back to rubbing circles underneath Asher’s jacket. She didn’t want her to miss the beginning of her competition because she was in jail for attacking Steph. “You might think this is some big romantic gesture that’s going to win you the girl, but let me tell you something.”
