The Cowboy's Unexpected Love: Wade and Sierra (MacFarland Ranch Book 1) Read online

  She looked at him with wide eyes. “Wow! That could work. What’s it like? I mean, is it big enough for the children?”

  He chuckled. “It’s plenty big enough. It has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, and the living areas are huge – I built it to accommodate groups.”

  “That sounds perfect. How much …”

  He held his hand up. “You can have it.”

  “Wade, no!”

  “Yes.” He didn’t want to take her money. He just wanted her to stick around.

  To his surprise, she set her jaw stubbornly and shook her head. “No thank you.”

  “Huh?” His heart sank. “You don’t want to?”

  “Of course I do! But if I can’t pay you the going rate for it, then I won’t take it. I don’t want to sound horrible, I do appreciate the thought, it’s so kind of you. But it’s not as though I can’t afford it.”

  He stared at her for a long moment. She had a point. She could afford it. And it wasn’t just about him and his desire to help her. The money from renting out the big cabin was going to go toward helping build Tyler’s dream.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Please may I rent it from you – for the going rate?”

  He loved that she still had that stubborn set to her jaw, even if her eyes were filled with doubt. He nodded. He was happy to help her assert herself and come out on top, too. It was an easy victory, but still, it was a start. “Okay.”

  She grinned and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you! I thought you were going to argue with me and tell me all the reasons that I couldn’t and everything.”

  He hugged her tight to his chest. “Nope. I’d rather just let you have the place, but I won’t ever undermine you. You’re right. I was looking for a longer-term renter to replace the one I lost. This is a win-win for both of us.”

  She lifted her lips and pressed them to his. “Thank you, Wade. You’re awesome.” Her smile faded. “But did we figure out the rest? Can we still …?”

  He could feel her heart pounding in her ribcage. “Are you propositioning me?” he asked with a smile.

  Her cheeks flushed, but she nodded. “I believe I am. Please can we still spend the next couple of weeks the way we thought we were going to? I promise I won’t get in your way afterward. I won’t be clingy or cramp your style, and you know it’s true, because I’ll have the children.”

  “I was never worried about that, Sierra.” It was true. He hadn’t given it any thought because he hadn’t considered that she might be here for more than two weeks. Now that it seemed she would be, he was more concerned that he’d be the one feeling clingy after she’d had her fun with him. He wasn’t looking forward to stepping back when she settled into the cabin with the children she was about to adopt. He knew he’d have to, though. And that was all the more reason to make the most of the time they had before that happened.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Wade’s hand tightened around her thigh as he spoke. “Okay.”

  Sierra’s heart leaped into her mouth. “Okay?” She met his gaze. “Do you mean that you want to – that we’re going to …?” Why couldn’t she just bring herself to say it?

  Wade leaned closer until his lips brushed over hers. “Yeah.”

  Wow! Her heart thundered in her chest. “Well, okay then.” She’d gotten what she wanted. She was silly to feel nervous. She needed to just get over that and get on with it. She pushed up from the sofa and got to her feet, holding her hand out. Wade took it with a puzzled frown and let her pull him up to join her.

  “Where are we going?”

  She could feel the heat in her cheeks. “To bed.” She took a step, tugging on his hand to get him moving before she chickened out, but he didn’t move. Instead, he tugged back, reeling her back into him until he had his arms closed around her.

  His eyes danced with amusement as he looked down into hers.

  “But … aren’t we … don’t you …?” Now she felt even sillier. Had she misunderstood him somehow? Had she only imagined that he’d said yes?

  “We are and I do. But we’ll get there when we get there. It feels a little too pre-meditated right now. Don’t you think?”

  She dropped her gaze, feeling embarrassed. “Sorry. Yes. It does. I’m no good at this. I don’t know how …”

  He tucked his finger under her chin and made her look back up at him. “Relax. It’s all good. I’m glad we talked about it. I’m glad we both know where we’re up to. And we’ll get there.” He held her closer, and she could feel his hard length pressed against her. “I doubt it’ll take long before we do. But I’d rather it happens naturally.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you?”

  The way he smiled had her smiling back at him. He was right, of course. “Yes. I would.” She pressed closer against him. “As long as you don’t intend to make me wait too long.”

  He chuckled. “Like I said, darlin’. I don’t think it’ll be long at all.” As he brushed his lips over hers, and his fingers closed around the back of her neck, Sierra hoped that not long would be counted in minutes rather than hours.

  She jumped, and Wade tensed when his cell phone rang. To her amazement, he didn’t pull away. He kept on kissing her, ignoring it, or at least trying to. It was no good, though. She pulled away and gave him a rueful smile.

  “You should probably get that.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair. “Sorry. I can ignore it.” He smiled when the ringing stopped, but then it started straight back up again.

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t. It might be something important.”

  He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and his smile disappeared when he looked at the display. When he didn’t answer, Sierra started to feel uncomfortable. What if it were someone he didn’t want to talk to in front of her?

  “I can go outside. You know … if it’s personal.”

  He frowned at her and then at the phone again. “Don’t do that. It’s fine. It won’t take a minute.” His frown deepened as he answered. “What’s up, Josie?”

  Sierra rolled her lips together. Josie? Was she a girlfriend?

  “I’m busy … I’m at the ranch … No … No! … Listen, Josie, I’ve already told you … I’m not … Yes, I mean it … No, I really don’t want to.”

  He sounded different. He looked different as he spoke. Sierra thought of him as always having a smile on his face. She’d told Jane that he was like sunshine, and he was. But whoever this Josie person was, she had made the clouds roll in. He didn’t look happy at all. Sierra went to the kitchen, wanting to find something to occupy herself with. He didn’t need her standing there watching and listening.

  To her surprise, Wade followed her. He stuck so close that she could hear a woman’s voice coming out of his phone. Not clearly enough to make out the words, but enough to hear that she sounded annoyed.

  Wade scowled and ran his hand through his hair. “If you need help, you should ask Harland.”

  That surprised Sierra; she had him down as the kind of man who would help anyone out if they needed it.

  He looked angry when he spoke again. “As a matter of fact, I do … No, I’m not. Her name’s Sierra … A little while ... Jesus, Josie, no! It’s more than that. It’s serious … That’s none of your business. I’m going to hang up now. You need to call Harland.”

  His jaw was set as he ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket. He went back and retrieved their drinks from the coffee table. He handed Sierra’s to her and then took a long pull of his own. Once he’d set the bottle down on the counter, he wiped his hand across his face and sucked in a deep breath, slowly blowing it out before he met her gaze.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “That’s okay.” Sierra didn’t know what else to say.

  Wade took another drink, then set his now empty bottle down on the counter and leaned back against it. He folded his arms across his chest and blew out a sigh. “I should explain.”

  “There’s no need. Not if you don’t want to.�
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  “I do want to. Honestly, I didn’t think it would matter.” He shook his head and blew out another sigh. “It shouldn’t matter. It doesn’t matter to me – she doesn’t. But if you’re going to be staying here for a while, then there’s a good chance that you’ll run into her at some point. So, you need to know.”

  Sierra’s heart was pounding, but not in a good way. She was starting to wonder who this Josie was.

  “I was married to her.”

  “Oh.” Sierra’s breath caught in her chest. She shouldn’t be so surprised. Wade was, well, she didn’t even know how old he was, but he had to be her age, she’d guess a few years older. It wasn’t unusual for someone in their thirties to be divorced. Most of the people she knew were either married or used to be. It was just a shock to think of Wade having been married – married to a woman who still called him and wanted him to help her out. Perhaps he would have gone to help if it weren’t for her.

  She could feel the frown on her face as she met his gaze. “Don’t let me keep you if you want to go and see her.”

  He pushed away from the counter and came to her. His arms closed around her again and he looked down into her eyes. “I don’t want to go and see her. I haven’t wanted to see her for years. We were divorced eight years ago. She has a husband who she should be calling. She’s not important to me, Sierra. She hasn’t been for years.” His jaw was set as he looked down at her. “Okay?”

  She nodded. What else could she do?

  Wade dropped a kiss on her lips and then stepped back. “Do you want to watch while I rustle us up some dinner?”

  “Okay.”

  He smiled and put his hands on her hips, lifting her easily and then spinning her around before setting her down on the counter. She was glad to see his smile return.

  “I can help,” she suggested.

  “You are helping just by sitting up there, looking pretty. I don’t usually like to spend much time in the kitchen, but with you there I could stay here all night.”

  He stepped between her legs and leaned in for a kiss, making her hope that he might have something other than cooking in mind, but a few moments later, he broke away and turned to the stove.

  ~ ~ ~

  After dinner, sitting on the sofa with the TV on even though he wasn’t paying any attention to it, Wade ran his hand up and down Sierra’s arm again. He should probably stop, but it was addicting. She was addicting. She responded to every touch. Little quivers and shudders when he ran his hand up her arm, her breath catching every time he slid his fingers under her hair. She practically melted into him whenever he kissed her. It was driving him crazy for her. He could only imagine how responsive she’d be to more intimate touch.

  After Josie’s call, he’d decided that tonight wouldn’t be the night – that it’d be better to wait before taking Sierra into his bed. It felt as though Josie had intruded into their space and he didn’t want her to able to do that, didn’t want the specter of his ex-wife shadowing his new beginning with Sierra.

  He pursed his lips. It wasn’t a new beginning. Well, it was, but only the beginning of something short and sweet. He was being dumb, and Sierra’s soft warm body resting against him on the sofa reminded him just how dumb. Josie could only cast as much of a shadow as he allowed her to. And besides, his nights with Sierra were numbered. Why would he waste a single one of them? As Sierra snuggled closer, he knew the answer to that – he wouldn’t. She was making it as plain as she dared in her own shy and reserved way that she wanted him. He wasn’t going to make her work or wait for him any longer.

  He tightened his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. Her gaze locked with his and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. Damn. He swallowed as he watched, then brushed his lips over hers. Her hands came up and clung to his shoulders as he deepened the kiss. He could feel her heart pounding, its rhythm matching his own. Sliding his fingers into her hair with one hand, he ran the other down her side until it rested on her hip. He’d been married to Josie for much of his adult life, and he’d had his share of women since, but this felt different. He could feel his fingers tremble as they slid under the hem of her top. They both tensed when he touched her bare skin for the first time.

  He lifted his head and looked down into her eyes. “Are you okay with this?”

  She nodded rapidly.

  “Are you sure?” She’d told him that she wanted him but talking about it in the abstract was different from being here in the moment, and he wasn’t sure that he’d trust her to speak up and tell him if she wanted to change her mind.

  Her eyes looked huge as she nodded again, more slowly this time. “I want this, Wade. I want you.”

  Her words made his heart clench in his chest and his cock grow harder in his pants. “And I want you, Sierra. But I need you to promise me something.”

  “What?”

  “I need you to promise me that if you change your mind, if you want to stop or if anything we do makes you uncomfortable, you’ll tell me.”

  “I will.”

  “I need you to promise me.”

  “Okay.”

  He smiled and brushed his lips over hers, loving the impatient look on her face. “Say it.”

  She frowned. “I promise.”

  “Thank you. Now, I’m going to ask you again. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

  “Yes. The only thing I’m not okay with is you wanting to stop and talk about it.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t worry, darlin’. We’re almost done talking. But I need you to know that you’re in control here. We’re not going to do anything you don’t want to.”

  “Aww.” She reached up and touched his cheek. “I’ve never known anyone like you.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about. I don’t want you thinking that you have to go along with anything you don’t want to. Not with me, not ever again.”

  She dropped her gaze and then looked back into his eyes. “How do you know?”

  Her words hit him like a physical blow. They confirmed what he’d suspected – that in the past she had gone along with things she didn’t want to. He forced a smile. She didn’t need to see his anger at the bastard in her past. She needed him to set her on a path toward a better future.

  He kissed her and slid his hand around her back. “I just know you.”

  She pressed closer against him, grasping his shirt in both her hands. “It’s strange, but it feels like you do. It feels like you know me better than anyone ever has.”

  Her words sent a rush of warmth through his chest again, but he needed to ignore that. He couldn’t help her with his heart; that wasn’t what she was interested in. He should just be grateful that she was interested in what the rush of heat in his pants could do for her.

  They didn’t need to be fooling around on the sofa like this. He got to his feet and offered her his hand to pull her up with him. She followed him eagerly into the bedroom. He closed the door behind her and then pressed her back against it. “By morning, darlin’, I will.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Will what?”

  He smiled and leaned all his weight against her, rocking his hips to make sure she’d understand. “Know you better than anyone ever has.”

  “Oh.” Her arms came up around his neck, and he lowered his lips to hers, claiming her mouth in a kiss much deeper than he’d allowed himself before. His hands found their way down to her ass, squeezing it tight, making her moan into his mouth. The sound reverberated through his chest. He straightened up, lifting her off her feet. She dangled there, clinging to him.

  “Wrap your legs around me.”

  He closed his eyes when she did just that, opening herself to him so that he could push into the heat between her legs. She felt so good, but it was nowhere near enough. He walked her over to the bed, intending to set her down, but she kept hold, taking him with her until he was lying on top of her. He didn’t want to crush her, but couldn’t bring himself to move away, not while she was thrusting her hips
up to him, rubbing herself against him.

  She pulled him down into another kiss, and his hips started to move in time with hers. Taking most of his weight on one forearm, he slipped his other hand down between them. She didn’t stop her rocking, and he didn’t want her to. His fingers found their way inside her panties, and he angled his hips to give himself room to touch her.

  Her panties were hot and damp, making him want to tear them off and sink himself inside her. But as much as his cock might like to argue with him, it could wait. She held her breath when he circled her clit. Then she went still as he moved his hand in time with his hips. Shit.

  He stopped, hoping he hadn’t scared her, hadn’t gone too fast. He needn’t have worried.

  Her hands scrabbled at his back and her hips rocked frantically underneath him. “Don’t stop! Please, don’t stop.”

  The last came out on a moan when he started back up. He had to bite down on his lip as he watched her face. She was lost, moving with him eagerly, her breath coming faster.

  “Wade,” she breathed.

  The way she spoke his name made him smile. He lowered his head to kiss her again, then froze when she put a hand to his shoulder.

  “Stop!”

  Shit! He held still and brought his hand back. “Are you okay?”

  She pressed her lips together and nodded, a frown wrinkling her brow. “I’m so sorry. But you’re going to make me … you know.”

  “You don’t want to?”

  “Yes! Oh, my gosh, Wade. I want to so much. But I want to save it.”

  It was his turn to frown. “Save it?”

  “You were about to make me … get there. And I want to do that with you.”

  He couldn’t help his smile. “You’ve got no worries there. You’ll get there with me.”

  Her cheeks flushed and she looked away. “You don’t understand.”

  He obviously didn’t. “What? What’s wrong.”

  Her gaze met his and then flickered away again. “This is embarrassing.”

  “It doesn’t have to be. You can tell me anything.”

  “I know. It’s not you. It’s just … I don’t always get there. Not very often in fact. And I was almost there. I didn’t want to do it by myself. You make me feel so good that I think I can … with you.” Her cheeks were bright red by the time she finished. “I’m not very good at this, am I? I know I shouldn’t talk so much. But … you asked.”