Page 2 of My Cowboy Kiss (Lucky River Cowboys #4)

River

For one second, I think I’m dreaming. Courtney says she loves me, and her lips connect with mine. My mouth is kissing hers. Finally. I’ve spent years stuck in wishful thinking and now it’s real.

My hands are on Courtney. She’s soft and curvy and tastes like perfection. Like warm sunshine mixed with a refreshing spring rain. This woman. My forever. She doesn’t know she’s either of those to me. But she’s all I think about. I want long weekends together and steamy nights.

When Courtney presses into me, I kiss her hard and deep, my hand on her lower back close to the swell of her ass. Blood pounds in my ears. I battle for the strength not to lower my hands and cup those curvy cheeks.

I’m getting used to this heaven and never want to leave.

“Sorry about this. My boss thinks I’m after her boyfriend, so I told her I wasn’t interested because you’re my boyfriend. It was a spur of the moment solution,” she says against my lips. “She’s probably watching us.”

Her words send me back to the ground. I don’t want to let go. “Then let’s make this count,” I whisper, fighting my way toward the taste of heaven.

I run my tongue across the inside of her lips, and she makes an unfamiliar sound. My cock takes that as encouragement and gets harder. I let out a groan of my own.

She touches my face, slanting her head to give me more access to her lips.

She’s my obsession, the addiction I’ve been hooked on since the day she introduced herself to me.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop if I ever touched her and shit , it looks like I was right.

I can’t bring myself to release her. To lift my head from hers. My muscles won’t obey me.

A car horn blares, and she springs back, chest heaving.

I just kissed Courtney.

Her hand is shaky as she touches her fingertips to her lips. “That…was wild.”

I’m feeling shook up myself. “Let’s talk about this at lunch,” I tell her, taking her hand and leading us off the street.

“I already ate.”

“You forget that I know you too well.”

“Fine. I ate a little.”

I don’t say anything.

“Okay.” She gives up with a sigh. “I had a bite of chocolate and a sip of soda.”

“We’re going to get real food. Not snack food.” Not only do I want to feed her, but I also want to talk to her.

Here’s my chance—my shot to show her that we were meant to be more.

To prove I’m the guy for her. The man who’ll break the legacy of heartache and leaving like her.

I’m the man who’ll be her shield and sword.

The one who’ll never force her near the battleground because I’ll end all of her wars before they have a chance to start.

I don’t want her to seek a new solution for her trouble. I am the solution. The knight in shining armor. The man longing to rescue her.

“But work?—”

“I’ll tell your boss that you’re taking a few minutes with your boyfriend.”

“You know what she’s like,” Courtney protests, distress filling her eyes. “You can’t get through to her.”

“Watch me.”

I’m angry that she’s had to deal with this today. Putting my arm around her waist, I stride into the building where she works like I own the place. Without pausing, I bypass a group of people standing around and go straight down the hallway to her boss’s office.

Allison turns from the window where I assume she was watching us.

“My woman has had an upsetting morning thanks to that online bullshit. I’m taking her out to relax for a bit.”

“Your woman…” Bobbing her head and smiling like she’s glad to hear that, Allison says, “Of course, take whatever time you need.”

My adrenaline is still pumping as we leave. I hate that my best friend went through this without me at her side. I met her boss and colleagues before and wasn’t impressed. They’re the type that judge people based on background and bank balance.

“I can’t believe she just went along with that,” Courtney says afterward as we walk along the sidewalk.

We pass the bookstore with its twinkly lights in the window and an array of books on display. Next is the antique shop and then the ice cream parlor where I used to treat her to cones once a week after she moved here to live with her grandma.

I can still remember sitting across from her and one moment I was enjoying a sweet treat with a friend and the next, I knew she was the one I wanted to marry someday.

Every time she’d look away from me, I’d stare at her, silently memorizing her face.

When her lips curved into a smile, my heart danced.

When she frowned, I was unhappy. When someone hurt her, I was the devil on a mission to drag the other party to hell.

It didn’t take long for word to get around that no one fucked with Courtney unless they wanted a taste of my knuckles.

We move around a planter filled with flowers when Butterfly Buck’s dog cuts us off on the sidewalk.

Butterfly Buck is the town’s oldest artist and just celebrated his ninety-first birthday.

He used to shuffle around town painting colorful butterflies on everything.

That ended when he painted the hood of the mayor’s car.

Ahead of us, Courtney’s colleague Mark draws near. She once told me he likes to make suggestive comments. I tried to find him as soon as she told me but wasn’t able to catch him. He’s lucky I’m not alone when we come across him now. Otherwise, he’d be sporting two black eyes like a panda.

I put a snarl in my voice and say, “I better not fucking find out that anyone is messing with Courtney.” I stare at him through narrowed eyes. “I’m in an ass-kicking mood.”

Mark quickly averts his eyes.

“River!” Courtney scolds but I hear the delight in her tone that I’m standing up for her. She didn’t have that in her life until she met me. She should know by now that I’ll pave the road with the bones of anyone who hurts her.

“River!” she says again and tugs on my arm. “You’re walking too fast.”

I slow and we keep walking until we’re in front of the library where I left my truck parked. “Get in.”

She frowns at me. “You’re so bossy today.”

I shut the door behind her without answering because I’m laying out a strategy in my head. “I have an idea. The pictures online were designed to make your boss think you’re interested in her boyfriend.”

“Bleh.” She makes a face as I pull away from the curb. “I’ve never thought of him like that. He’s so not my type.”

“Good. As your boyfriend, I wouldn’t like that,” I tease.

“About that…the reason I acted so crazy is because my boss said I was fired and then I saw you and I just reacted and kissed you and?—”

Courtney tends to talk rapidly without pausing to take a break when she’s worried. It’s one of hundreds of little things I know about her. “It’s okay. I think what you did is the best answer for what’s going on.”

She chews on her lower lip. “Acting like we’re together?”

I nod. “I’ll talk to my family and let them know. They’ll back you up.” I find the last available spot to park at the curb close to Bear’s Diner. “Whatever you need, you know we’ll do it.”

Courtney takes off her seatbelt. “I know. Your family has been more of a family to me than my own ever was.” She leans forward and looks one way down the sidewalk, then the other way.

I avert my gaze because her movements pull her shirt tight against her body and it outlines her full tits.

I’m not a saint but I don’t look because right now with the memory of that kiss lingering on my lips my self-control is at an all-time low.

“If you don’t feel like being around people, I can get takeout, and we’ll eat it at the park. ”

“Let’s do that, then.” She smiles in relief.

Something else she tends to do is hide when she’s feeling vulnerable. A couple of times, she’s hidden out with me sitting on the bank of the river with her head on my shoulder.

“Put up the sunshade if you need to. It’s behind your seat.” I get out and go into the diner to get her favorite things. It takes longer than normal because the lunch crowd hasn’t thinned yet.

When I’m finally done and motion for her, she hops out of the truck, and we walk across the street to the park. She keeps her head low, and I hate that she feels the need to hide like she did something wrong.

We walk deeper into the park, and she takes a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing as the noise of the town fade into the background.

Lucky River has staunchly refused to allow the sale of the park’s land despite lucrative offers from outside developers who wanted to build businesses on it. As a result of that refusal, the center of town has plenty of green space.

Once we’re seated on a bench, I begin unpacking the food. “You look worn out. Is it the stress from today?”

“Well…that and you know my mom.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal, but I know better. Moving from one shithole to another, neglected the entire time is the picture of her life.

“What happened this time?”

“I had to go to Clover County and drag her out of another bar. I was lucky to get there when I did. She created a mess like she always does when she gets drunk.”

There’s a world of hurt she’s leaving unsaid. Each time Courtney has to go after her mom, she’s reminded of all the times she was hungry. All the times she was scared and having to defend herself against the trash her mother would bring home.

I used to only see her on weekends when she’d come visit her grandma. She kept trying to get out, and her grandma kept trying to get her but the system was bound and determined to keep the “family” together. Her mom kept getting one pass after another.

Courtney doesn’t know I’m the reason her grandma finally got custody of her.

“I would have helped if you’d have called me.” All she ever has to say to me is she needs me and I’m there. I don’t care what I’m in the middle of or what time it is. She’s my priority.

“I know you would have, but there was no reason for both of us to lose sleep.”