Page 10 of My Cowboy Boss (Lucky River Cowboys #2)

Flint

How is it possible that Arizona grew even more beautiful since I last saw her? I hurry off the porch toward her, tired but happy. I haven’t been back at the ranch long. I got up early this morning to create a surprise for her. One I’m hoping she’ll be thrilled about.

I think she will but I’m not a hundred percent sure and the part of me that’s unsure is nervous.

“You brought cinnamon rolls?” I ask, inhaling the tempting aroma.

“Enough for everyone.” She holds out the bag and smiles but it’s not a real one.

I take the bag and she says, “I need to talk to you.”

“Wait,” I say. “Before you do, I want to show you something.”

River comes around the side of the house and I pass the bag of sweets to him. “Save me one. And you need to approach Mom with care.”

“Why?” He opens the screen door.

“That injured racer you were taking care of escaped the enclosure and it’s somewhere in the house.”

“Racer?” Arizona asks.

“It’s a snake,” River says, and she shudders.

“I’ll find it.” He quickly dashes inside.

“Mom has a nothing-that-slithers rule in the house,” I explain as I guide her toward the barn.

“Can’t blame her for that.” She shudders again. “Why are we going to the barn?”

“We’re taking a ride. I already saddle up the horses.”

She pulls back against my hold on her arm. “But, Flint, I—”

“Just hang on. We’ll talk when we get there.” I can hardly wait for her to see what I’ve done.

We talk as we ride. Well, I do most of the talking. Arizona answers me and says things like hmm and uh huh. And roots of doubt and fear take hold in my chest. What if she’s not into me? What if what happened between us was making love in my mind but only sex in hers?

“Almost there,” I tell her.

“The picnic tree? Why are we here?”

I dismount and come around the horse to help her down. As I lower her slowly to the ground, she brushes against me and my body instantly reacts. I will never get enough of this woman.

I lower my head to kiss her, but she turns her face and my caress lands on her cheek instead. My heart drops. And shit…shit…those are tears gathering in her eyes.

I forge ahead. “Look over here…” I turn her so she can see the side of the tree. “It’s for you.”

“You built me a swing?”

“For our backyard. And we can put the house here and wait…what’s wrong?”

She cries harder, sobbing like her heart’s breaking. “Don’t say anything else. I have to tell you something.” She wraps her arms around her body, her shoulders hunching. “I’ve lied to you from the start. I’m a fake. I don’t have any experience working—”

I can’t stand to see her so torn up. “Shh…it’s okay. I know everything already. You never intended my family any harm. You took the job on your sister’s behalf.”

“But…I didn’t know what I was doing and I—”

“That doesn’t matter to me. You’re the only thing that does.”

“I am?”

“You are,” I assure her.

“I…I was so worried…I thought you’d hate me…”

“I could never hate you. Not in this lifetime or the next. Because I love you.” I pull a simple gold band from my pocket. “And I want to give you a new name. Mine. If you’ll have me.”

“You love me? I love you, too!” Arizona laughs and cries at the same time. “Yes!” She throws her arms around my neck. “My.” She kisses me. “Cowboy.” She kisses me. “Boss.” She kisses me and laughs.

I feel like I’ve lassoed the moon as I spin her around in the circle of my arms. “First things first. We should—”

“Fornicate?”

I laugh. “Soon, and you can trust me on that, baby. I want to go tell our family.”

We ride back to the ranch and as soon as I see Marshall and Wilder outside the barn, I holler across to them, “I’m getting married!”

Wilder doesn’t look surprised at all, but Marshall looks at Arizona, then me. “How did you convince her to do that?”

I laugh at his teasing, but Arizona says, “It didn’t take much convincing.” She links her arm through mine.

“What’s happening?” River asks coming out of the house carrying the snake and followed by my mother who’s in the middle of telling him again she doesn’t want snakes in the house.

“Flint’s getting married,” Wilder says.

“Married!” Mom puts her hands up to her mouth. “Gavin! Come quick!” she calls over her shoulder.

My father runs out onto the porch wearing one boot and carrying a sock. “What got broken? Who got hurt?” He was used to asking that a lot when we first got to the ranch and went a little wild with all our newfound freedom.

I hold mine and Arizona’s linked hands up in the air. “We’re getting married.”

“Oh son…son…” he walks off the porch toward us. “Ouch…rock…” Then he wraps his arms around both of us. “My sweet kids. I love you to the ends of the earth and back again.”

He pats Arizona’s shoulder. “Welcome to the best family in the whole world. I’m happy to gain a daughter.”

She cries and then my mother cries.

I don’t cry. It’s the wind that’s bringing all that moisture to my eyes.

More of my brothers trickle toward the house and what started as our ordinary Monday becomes a day of celebration.

“I need to call my sister,” Arizona says.

“Let’s go get her,” I say. “She’s family now, too.”

Arizona

Two months later, I’m getting married. We decided to hold the ceremony at the ranch because we want our married life to start where we have family roots.

His parents and brothers treat me like I’m one of them and I’ve been showered with so much affection.

Not only did they welcome me with open arms even after I explained the whole truth, but they welcomed Aspen as well.

My soon-to-be mother-in-law insisted that my sister should move into one of the cabins on the ranch that they’re using to rent out to vacationers.

“She needs someone to look after her,” Frances had said in her don’t-argue tone. I think she was referring to looking after my sister’s heart rather than her health because her injuries from the accident have healed.

“There, it’s done,” Aspen says as she artfully twists the final strand of my hair. “You look beautiful.” Her lower lip quivers. “I’m sorry,” she whispers as she sets aside the curling iron to dab her eyes.

I stand and take her hand in mine. “I know.” Like her, I’m missing our parents more on this special day. “And I also know how hard it was for you to raise a teenager. You put your life on hold to support me.”

“You’re my sister,” she says firmly, and we share a tight hug. Then she wipes at the tears threatening to fall from my eyes. “Don’t. You’ll ruin your makeup and it’s almost time for me to walk you down the aisle, so we don’t have time to redo it.”

“I remember you holding my hand my first day of school because Mom and Dad both had to work and here you are holding my hand all these years later.”

We both share a half-laugh, half-sob and I fan my face with my hand.

“Come on, Sis. Let’s get you married.”

We walk to the back door, preparing to step outside where the ceremony is being held in the flower garden.

“I can’t believe I’m marrying such a wonderful man.” I grin at her. “And in case you’re interested, he has a lot of handsome, single brothers.”

“Not interested. I don’t know if I’ll ever date again after my ex did.” She shakes her head as the music begins to play.

She walks me down the aisle, gripping my hand tightly and there’s a well of love and happy wishes in the pressure of her touch.

When we reach the flower-covered archway where Flint waits, she places my hand in his and whispers she loves me before she takes a seat on the front row beside Wilder and the rest of the brothers.

“My angel in white,” Flint says as I step in front of him.

He’s sexy as hell in his dark suit and cowboy boots. He’s freshly shaved, more handsome today than yesterday and all mine for the rest of our happy-ever-after lives.

The ceremony flies by and we share our first dance as husband and wife. Then I dance with each of his brothers and finally, his father, Gavin.

“I love my son from the depths of my heart,” he says. “And that love includes you, too. So I want you to understand that I consider you my daughter and I’ll support you and fight to hell and back for you any time you need me.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, barely able to speak.

When the dance is over, he leads me back to Flint. We spend hours celebrating with family and friends and then it’s time for us to head off on our honeymoon.

Instead of choosing a fancy resort like the ones where Flint offered for us to stay, I picked a small, cozy treehouse rental in a small town outside of Dallas. I chose it because of the beautiful view and the privacy it offers.

It’s dark when we arrive but the stairs curving around the tree are wide and well-lit. I shoulder our overnight bag as I exit the truck and Flint immediately takes it from me, then scoops me up.

“You’ve had a long day. You need to rest up for an even longer night.”

I laugh as he takes the stairs without any effort at all and manages to hold me aloft while unlocking the door.

Inside the treehouse there’s a living room, a kitchenette and a bedroom with a huge bed. A bottle of wine chills in a bucket of ice and there’s a congratulations on your wedding card tucked into a vase of wildflowers.

“It’s these kinds of touches that make people feel welcome,” I say.

“I know what would make me feel welcome,” Flint says with a sexy grin.

“And what would that be? Hmm?” I run my finger up the length of his dress shirt, loving how hot he looks in his suit.

“The kind of touch that’s real personal.” He kisses me deeply, as hungry for me as I am for him.

“I can do personal,” I say as I unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants, impatiently pushing them down. I lower myself to my knees at the same time.

“Baby…what are you…ah…” he groans when I pull his underwear to his knees to free his engorged cock.

“Do you need an explanation?” I smirk up at him.

“No, I get the memo,” he says hoarsely.

“Good.” I lean forward and draw him into my mouth.

Flint

Her lips close over the head of my cock and my knees damn near make me hit the floor. She took her hair down in the middle of the trip and now it’s falling around her shoulders. I stretch out my hand and tangle it in the silky threads.

“Take it easy, baby. I want you so badly I don’t know how long I can hold out.”

She draws her lips to the base of my jutting cock and then back to the tip. Her mouth is tight, pulling on my shaft and it’s a battle with myself to keep from shooting off in the blink of an eye.

“You’re making it hard,” I say through gritted teeth.

In response, she winks at me then cups my balls and squeezes them gently.

“Oh…shit...I don’t…I can’t…”

She makes her mouth tighter and tighter and the sensations are just too much. I can’t hold back against the pressure and the warmth. I lose control, filling her mouth with my come. Like they have a mind of their own, my hips work, pumping into her mouth, wanting her to take every drop of me.

Once I empty myself, I realize how much my thighs ache. I didn’t know I was holding my body so taut.

Arizona rises. “I take it you’re a fan of that?”

“Big fan.”

I take her by the wrist. “I want you to know that if I say or do anything you don’t like, just tell me. I’ll learn what pleases you. I’m eager to learn how to make my wife the most satisfied woman in Texas.”

“ You please me, Flint. And when it comes to intimacy, I’m a little more on the wild side than not.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Wild side?”

“I want to enjoy your body, and I want you to enjoy mine so I’m game to try whatever we want to do.”

“In that case…” I pick her up and toss her onto the bed, then shed my clothes before I climb on after her. “Get on all fours with your back toward the ceiling. I’m going to eat that sweet little pussy this way.”

“With my clothes on?”

“Leave the dress on. Just take off the panties.”

After she does that, I push the dress up to her waist, exposing her ass and pussy. “My gorgeous wife is already wet for her husband.” I run a finger up her center, dragging it slowly through her creamy wetness. “I’m going to put my face in your and eat you out.”

She groans as I position myself and her body jerks forward when I clamp my lips onto her clit. I ease two fingers into her and pump them.

“Wow…” she says, “that definitely pleases me.”

I take my time teasing and tasting her until she tells me she needs to come. “Then come for your man, honey. I want everything you’ve got.”

“Please…I want you inside of me.”

I don’t waste any time mounting her from the rear and entering her body with my cock.

“Oh…like that…fuck me,”

I pull her hair back. “Like that?”

“Yeah…ride…harder…that way…”

I pump into her and at the same time find her most sensitive spot with my fingers to stroke her. She cries out, her body writhing as I rock into her. Her pussy tightens around my cock, and I join her in sweet release.

She snuggles against me when I move to lie beside her.

We talk about our dreams for building the house we both want.

We talk about filling that house with noisy kids and even noisier pets.

We talk about our likes and dislikes and how we’re both willing to support each other and always talk things through.

Hours later, when we’re done talking, we spend the night making love.

When the next day breaks, it finds us wrapped up in each other’s arms, two people crazy for each other. Two lost, fragile hearts that found strength in a forever love.