Shoulda Been a Cowboy (Rough Riders 7)

The odd pressure on that erogenous spot, coupled with Cam’s greedy kisses set her blood on fire. The man could inflame her entire body with just one finger.

He briefly lifted his lips. “More,” he growled against her mouth. “Give me all of you.” Cam kissed her harder. Deeper. Plastering her body to his. Grinding their hips together in a show of raw sexual power. He cranked her need higher, tighter, hotter with each consuming kiss.

Yes yes yes. This is what she’d been dying for.

Domini dug her fingernails into his scalp, returning his passion. Then she let her eager hands drift down the angular lines of his skull to cup his face between her palms. She traced the outer shell of his ears. When her thumb brushed the raised ridge of the scar on his left cheek, he quickly turned his head away.

The teakettle whistled and Cam abruptly released her.

She understood without looking at him the foray into testing the water as lovers was over.

“Domini. I’m…”

Don’t apologize. Don’t you dare apologize.

“Look. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“But it did.”

Silence.

“Sorry. It shouldn’t have,” Cam said tightly.

Great. He’d reset his persona back to Cam, the helpful deputy, a far cry from Cam, the demanding man who’d just turned her inside out with a simple kiss. Now he’d run. Was he running from her? Or from himself? And would she just let him go?

After removing the kettle from the burner, Domini mustered the courage to meet his eyes. “I assume you’re not staying for tea?”

Cam shook his head.

“Well, thank you for showing up at this crazy hour. I appreciate it.”

“No need to thank me, princess. That’s my job.”

“Forgive me for saying so, but your job sucks.”

“You have no idea how true that statement is right now.”

Cam’s gaze scanned her from bedhead to bare toes. He rubbed his mouth with his knuckle, almost as if he was wiping her kiss from his lips and his memory.

Enough.

Domini kept her emotions in check as she walked to the living room. She stood pointedly beside the open door.

Cam said, “Look. Don’t—”

“I know what you’re about to say, Deputy McKay. I won’t forget to lock the door behind you.”

“That’s not what…” He sighed. “Fine. Good night.”

Immediately after Cam cleared the doorjamb, she slammed the door, flipped the locks and stomped back to her bedroom.

Idiotic man. He wanted her. She wanted him. So what was his problem?

What’s your problem? Why can’t you just tell him you want him?

I did! I kissed him first.

And it hadn’t changed anything—unless she counted how fast he ran out on her. Evidently actions didn’t speak louder than words.

Maybe she should just be patient. Maybe now that she’d made the first move, Cam would jump on board and take their flirtation to the next level. Or jump on her.

Domini just hoped it wouldn’t take another two years.

Chapter One

Eight months later…

At times like these, Deputy Cameron McKay suspected his life would’ve been easier if he’d stayed a simple cowboy.

Whoosh.

He managed to stop the woman’s wild right hook from connecting with the man’s jaw. Grabbing her fist, he jerked her arms behind her back. “Assault in front of an officer will get you tossed in jail tonight, Opal, guaranteed, so knock it off.”

“I’ve known you since you were in diapers, boy, don’t you dare smart mouth me,” Opal retorted.

Yep, riding the range alone, dealing with animals that didn’t talk back…some days Cam regretted not taking the offer to join the family cattle business. His gun dug into his hip as he shifted off his bum leg to reach his cuffs.

“Opal. Leave the poor deputy alone,” the man behind him snapped.

“Why ain’t you arresting him?” Opal demanded. “He started it!”

“I did not, you crazy old bat.”

“See? He’s calling me names again.”

Cam glanced at the gray-haired man holding an ice pack to the goose egg on his forehead. “Now, Ralph, you know I won’t tolerate that kinda talk.”

“Hah! Told you he’d be on my side,” Opal said gleefully.

Ralph muttered.

“There are no ‘sides’ here, Opal. I haven’t made an arrest. Yet. Not until someone tells me what happened.”

“She—”

“He—” the couple said simultaneously, and started arguing simultaneously.

Cam tried to listen to the heated exchange, but the accusations flung back and forth had nothing to do with the issue at hand: Opal Stancil smacking Ralph, her husband of five decades, with her umbrella. Why Opal had an umbrella handy when Crook County had suffered from severe drought for the last ten years remained a mystery.

Domestic disturbance calls weren’t a mystery or all that unusual. Most incidents were cleared up fairly quickly once the participants were forced to talk to each other in front of an unbiased third party.

It also helped that Cam wore a gun.

But Opal and Ralph were too busy shouting to listen to each other, let alone him.

Cam let loose an ear-piercing whistle. “I’m out of patience. Ralph, since you’re injured, you can ride up front with me. Opal, I’m gonna have to cuff you and you’ll ride in the back.”

More silence. Then a meek, “You mean, you’re gonna arrest us? Both of us?”

“Yep.” Cam waited. Rumor in the Crook County Sheriff’s office was Opal and Ralph repeated this same row on their anniversary, every summer, going back fifty-four years. But as there were no arrest records, none of his fellow officers would confirm or deny. They’d just laughed when the call came in on his rotation.

“I can’t stomach the idea of her goin’ to the hoosegow.” Ralph lowered the ice pack and dropped his double chin to his chest. “Aw, Opal, you know I didn’t mean it when I said I wished I woulda married Marion Lutter. She ain’t never held a candle to you in the looks department.”

“And she can’t cook worth a damn either,” Opal said.

“Makes you wonder how she’s so gol-durned, fat, huh?” Ralph peeped at her, wearing a hangdog look.

Opal cackled. “You’re so bad, C-bear.”

“I’m sorry, snooker-pie. I shoulda stayed outta the whiskey on our special night,” Ralph said.