Cowgirls Don't Cry(76)

He walked to the bedroom, breaking the liplock as he set her on the bed. “Damn, woman, kissing you almost makes me forget I have a splitting headache.”


His face was pale. And his eyes had that squinty look she associated with pain. Any thoughts of getting nekkid with him vanished. “Would you like me to rub your neck to see if it’ll help your headache?”


“Nah. That’s okay. You don’t have to.”


“I want to.” She laid her hand on his cheek. His skin seemed hotter than normal. “While you strip down to more comfy clothes, I’ll throw the peppers in the pan and be right back.”


“Okay.”


Brandt must be in pain if he didn’t argue.

In the kitchen, Jessie scooped the diced peppers into the hamburger and tomato mixture. She added a cup of rice before putting the lid on and turning the burner to low. After washing her hands, she checked on Landon and returned to the bedroom.

Oh. Lordy. Would you look at that? A half-naked, muscled cowboy hottie stretched out on her bed.

Brandt had taken her strip down suggestion literally; he only wore his boxers.

He turned his head as she climbed on the bed. “I probably oughta be givin’ you a neck rub.”


“You’ve given me plenty of backrubs. It’s payback.” She sat on his butt, tucking her knees by his sides. “Mind if I sit like this?”


“Hell no. If you don’t mind knowin’ that you sittin’ on me like that is gonna give me wood.

Guaranteed.”


She chuckled and splayed her hands across his upper shoulders.

“Ah, sweet Jesus, Jess, that feels so damn good.”


“Close your eyes and relax, Brandt.”


He muttered, “Bossy thing,” and rested the side of his face on the bed.

Jessie worked his shoulders, digging her thumbs into knotted muscles. His headache probably stemmed from the tight points all over his back, not just his neck. She attempted to loosen them, paying particular attention to the area around his spine.

She let herself enjoy touching him, her hands pulling, pushing and smoothing his skin. The musculature of his back had ridges and dips and hollows, forged from hours of physical labor he did every day. Yet that same flesh was pliant. It gave way beneath her kneading fingertips. And the scent of his skin… God, she wanted to bury her nose between his shoulder blades and fill her lungs with all that masculine goodness. Rub her face against his taut flesh, wearing the scent of his skin on hers. Press her lips to his spine and follow the length with her tongue down to his tailbone, tasting his heat and sweat.

Brandt exhaled a contented sigh.

That sigh emboldened her. She gently turned his head to reach the other side of his neck, resting her hands around the base of his throat, working her thumbs from his nape to his hairline. In that position, Jessie had to squeeze her thighs against his side as she leaned over him.

She had no idea how long she’d been lost in massaging him, when a rumbling sound vibrated the fingers on his throat.

Maybe that noise was his polite way of telling her she’d been pressing too hard.

“Am I hurting you?”


“No. It feels so goddamn good. Too good if you know what I mean.”


Ah. He was hard. Because she’d been touching him. A sense of feminine power arose and she nuzzled his ear. “I could work that muscle too.”


Brandt chuckled. “You’ve already done enough.”


“But I could do more.” She teased his earlobe with her teeth, causing him to groan. “Let me touch you. Let me wrap my hand around your cock and get you off.”