Cowgirl Up and Ride (Rough Riders #3)(66)

Cord tossed a few pillows at the headboard and nestled her against his chest.


“I’m tired. I know I have to go home.”


“Just rest, baby doll.”


“Mmm. I like this. Your body is so hard. And warm. Like snuggling up to a sun-warmed rock.”



A much better description than Colt’s accusation of him being a cold bastard.


“You’ll wake me up?”


“Early in the morning so you can sneak in bed before anyone knows you were out all night.” Selfish of him, but he didn’t want her to leave.


“Good plan. Which means that’s another virginity you can claim.”


“What’s that?”


“I’ve never slept in the same bed with a man. Ever. Not for an hour, especially not all night. I’m glad it’s with you.”


“Me too.”


Chapter Eighteen


AJ woke with a start. Where was she? And why was she…naked? A snore behind her made her jump. She turned slightly and saw Cord sprawled face down on the mattress beside her. Just as naked as she.


She was in Cord’s bed? Her gaze flew to the clock. Five a.m.


Damn. She’d been out all night.


So? You’re an adult. You’re entitled to cut loose once in awhile.


True. But neither her mom nor sister needed the extra worry in their lives.


AJ slid off the bed and kept an eagle eye on her lover as she dressed. Part of her wanted to wake him; part of her wanted to sneak out and deal with him later. She withheld a snort. How very Bridget Jones. She never thought this situation would happen to her. She and Cord hadn’t had sex—well, technically not penetration sex, but oral sex counted as real sex, right?


Stop with the dissection and move your behind.


She retrieved her purse from the kitchen counter and checked her cell phone as she tiptoed out the front door. No missed calls, no new voice mail messages.


Whew. Dodged a bullet this time.


She climbed into her Jeep. The sun was a salmon-colored speck, lightening the sky to a myriad of pinks and orange. When she hit the gravel road running in front of Cord’s place, she stopped.


Even after twenty-two years, the magnificence of this land flat out stunned her. This early in the morning the hills were still hidden in darkness, but the promise of dawn burned across the fields and valleys in a splash of pastel colors. The only part AJ had loved about getting up at the crack of nothing to do chores was the sense of accomplishment that she’d managed to help them hold on to the ranch—the place she’d called home—for another day.


Home. She’d never bought into that old saying, “home is where the heart is”, mostly because it’d never applied to her.


It wouldn’t be easy for her mother to move. Florence Foster had spent more years living on the ranch than her daughter. And AJ felt childish wishing for childish things—


for things not to change.


Oddly enough, she accepted things wouldn’t change with Cord. His serious nature and need for control never scared her, mostly because she’d experienced the same weight of responsibilities that still hung on his shoulders. He’d always been curtly polite with her, never teasing her mercilessly like Keely’s other brothers, so discovering Cord’s sense of humor was an unexpected bonus.


Wouldn’t do her any good to dwell on all the things she liked about him because that could eat up her entire day.