Shoulda Been a Cowboy (Rough Riders 7)

Cam tried to remain calm at the thought of her waking up and staring at his stump while he was still asleep.

This is about trust. You have to start someplace or you’ll lose her and never have to worry about her staring at any part of you.

He headed downstairs and waited for her while she grabbed her stuff.

She bounded around the front end of his truck. Moonlight glinted off her hair, making her look like a goddess. An angel.

Mine, roared in his head, she’s all mine.

Not that Miss I’m-Never-Getting-Married would appreciate his claim on her.

Domini climbed in, scooting right next to him like she always did. He grinned. She was cuddly as a kitten. Oh yeah, this woman was most definitely his, whether she knew it yet or not, whether she liked it or not.

On the drive Cam draped his arm across the back of the seat and his fingers toyed with her hair.

She said, “You nervous?”

“Yep. Do you think that makes me a pu**y?”

“No. I think it makes you real.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning…I sort of lied when I said I wasn’t afraid of you.”

Cam frowned.

“Sometimes you scare me, the larger than life persona. Cam McKay, the injured war hero. The model cop. The dutiful son and brother.”

“You’re makin’ me sound like John Wayne or something.”

“Does that bother you?”

“I don’t know. I am who I am.”

“That’s who I want.”

He nudged her shoulder. “You sure you don’t have some sweet-talkin’ cowboy heritage hiding in that Ukrainian background?”

She laughed.

When they pulled up to his house, he said, “I’ll let you inside but I’ve gotta take care of Gracie first.”

A moment of silence followed and then she blurted, “Can I come with?”

Cam squinted at her. “Seriously?”

“Ah. Sure. You’re facing your fears tonight, maybe I should face mine too.”

“Sometimes you scare me, Domini Katzinski.”

“Why?”

Because I’m so in love with you that I’m afraid I’ll do anything to keep you forever.

“Cam? Are you going to answer me?”

He grinned. “Nope.”

Gracie was penned in the backyard. Although Domini winced when she heard the happy yips, she trucked along.

“Hey Gracie. Sit. Good girl.” He glanced over his shoulder at Domini. “Give me your hand.”

“She isn’t going to chew it off, is she?”

“No. However, she probably will slobber all over it.”

Domini held very still as Cam guided her hand through the chain link fence. Gracie sniffed. And sniffed. Then she whimpered and licked Domini’s palm. “That tickles.”

She petted Gracie as if she’d done it a million times before, but he knew what a huge leap of faith it was for her. Cam said, “Go inside. I’ll finish up and be right there.”

He cleaned up before he headed to his bedroom. Damn. His heart was pounding something fierce. He froze in the doorjamb at the sight of Domini stripped to nothing and perched on the edge of his bed.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” he said back, feeling totally lame. “Man. I am more nervous right now than I’ve ever been.”

“I understand. But I’m not backing down. So strip. Oh, and come closer so I can see every muscle ripple. Because you can’t know how often I’ve wanted to lick you from head to toe.” She smiled cheekily. “With your permission, of course.”

“Of course. I doubt I’ll deny you anything.” Keeping his gaze on hers, he yanked his T-shirt over his head and tossed it behind him.

Domini reached for his bare chest. She made a little purring sound as her hands skated over his pecs and his ribcage, then lower to trace the defined lines of his abs. “Do you do anything when you’re off duty besides work out?”

“I harass my favorite cook.”

“Lucky me.” She met his gaze. “Lose the sweats.”

Blood rushed into his head as loud as a raging river. His heart galloped a million miles an hour. His body quaked. Hell, even his voice was thready. “I—I…Domini…Dammit. I don’t know if I can—” Shit. He was such a f**king pansy-assed loser.

“It’s okay. Hold on to the post and let me do this for you.”

Cam nodded and shut his eyes.

Cool fingers traced the elastic band sitting low on his hipbones and his belly quaked from her gentle touch. One fast, hard tug and the sweats were down around his ankles.

“Lift your right foot. Good. Now your left. Good.”

How many times had he suffered the dream where he’d gone to school naked? A dozen times perhaps. This was worse. Way worse. Standing naked before a beautiful woman and exposing his flaws?

A tender kiss landed on his belly button. Followed by a series of harder, insistent nipping kisses as she moved south. But she didn’t go straight down his groin. She didn’t kiss or lick or nuzzle his cock. She detoured to his left thigh.

His whole body flamed with embarrassment. He wanted to apologize for being crippled. To tell her to stop.

But she didn’t. Domini kept going until she reached the band of the sock above his stump.

Cam gathered the courage to open his eyes. He looked down at her. And saw nothing but concentration. He smoothed her hair away from her cheek. “What?”

“You don’t wear that to bed, do you?”

“No.”

“Will you let me watch you take it off?” When he frowned she added, “I don’t have some kind of weird stump fetish, okay? It’s part of you. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with me or in your own bed. Especially if I’m going to be in your bed often.”

He growled, “I may never let you out of my bed.”

Domini smiled.

Cam didn’t look at her while he went through the play by play of removing the prosthesis. The thick prosthetic socks. The silicone sleeve. Releasing the suction that attached his residual limb to the socket.

But at the moment of truth, when his limb would be out there uncovered, scarred, naked and ugly, he hesitated.

Domini didn’t. She hopped off the bed and stood in front of him. “What do you do with it at night? Turn it into a crazy leg lamp like in that movie A Christmas Story?”

He laughed with relief. “No. I just toss it on the chair and make sure my crutches are close by.” He jerked his stump out and waited.