So Tough to Tame (Jackson Hole 3)

Her hips urged him on. Her cries drove him wild.

“Charlie,” he growled, the knowledge that it was her making it feel more deliciously wicked. “Ah, God, Charlie...I’m going to come.”

“Yes,” she moaned. “Come for me.”

Her words commanded his body, and his orgasm turned him rigid as he buried himself inside her with one last thrust. He grunted once, twice, as the pleasure tore through him, as it ate him alive for a dozen heartbeats. And then...it felt as if everything stopped for a moment. His heart. His breath. Everything.

He came back to himself in slow measures. First his pulse and pumping blood. Then the sound of his ragged breathing. Then the feel of Charlie’s arms and legs, slippery and tight around him. He stayed like that for a long minute, then another, not wanting it to be over.

When he finally pulled out of her, he winced at the grip of her around his sensitive cock. Charlie’s leg slipped slowly down his hip. Her fingers slid up his back. Her hands were shaking, too.

“That was...” she started, then drew in a shuddering breath.

For one horrible second, Walker felt a sharp stab of fear. Then Charlie smiled. “That was exactly what I needed.”

He choked. Dropped his forehead to hers. Then he laughed. “Damn. You ever tried a turn on the rodeo circuit? I don’t think I could’ve thrown you if I’d tried.”

“Were you trying?”

“Ha. No.” He kissed her nose before he collapsed next to her on the bed and slipped off the condom. “Jesus, I needed that more than you could know.”

“Yeah? Then I’m happy I could help.” She turned on her side and laid her hand over his chest.

Walker pulled her closer until her whole body was warm against his. “I’m not feeling one iota of stress right now, I can tell you that. You’re a miracle worker.”

She petted his chest. “Is it the job hunt?”

He hesitated for a long moment, trying to decide if he should tell her. But he was too damn relaxed to lie. “Yes. And I saw my dad today.”

“Oh. You don’t get along?”

“We get along fine now that he can’t remember how much he hates my guts.”

“Walker!” Charlie sat up and slapped his shoulder.

“I’m serious,” he said, though his seriousness was awfully challenged by the sight of her bare breasts.

“No one has ever hated you,” she said, shaking her head and giving him another slap. “Ever.”

“You are so wrong about that. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Alzheimer’s.”

“I’m sorry.”

He tugged her back down. “Just lie with me. It feels nice. Anyway, I got to see my brother, and that’s always good.”

“I don’t think I knew him.”

“He was a couple of grades behind.”

“Is he a big strong cowboy like you?”

“No. He’s a big, strong, medical-systems expert who lives with his husband in Seattle.”

She sat up again. “Are you kidding me?” Her eyes went wide.

Walker braced himself for a judgment he hadn’t expected from her. Other cowboys, sure. That kind of shit he could handle. But not from her. He felt a little of his happy warmth fading away.

Charlie shook her head. “I can’t believe this. Walker Pearce’s little brother is married and settled down?”