Holly Jolly Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #7)(57)

A tinny sound came from downstairs—the kitchen. Her phone was ringing. Holly groaned. “I bet that’s Polly.”

Adam pressed a kiss to her neck before reluctantly sliding off her. She expected him to jump out of bed, but instead, he tugged her against him, twining his legs with hers. “It can wait for a few.”

Well, if he wanted to cuddle, it wasn’t like she was going to object. Smiling, Holly snuggled down against his damp chest, breathing in his scent. He smelled like sex and sweat and it had never been so damn appealing before. “I might not catch her again if I wait,” she said, but she didn’t make any effort to get up. “Polly’s hard to get ahold of.”

“Then she needs to try harder,” Adam told her, smoothing a tendril of hair back from her face. “You’re doing everything for her. The least she could do is call you back.”

She studied him, curious. “How do you know what I’m doing for Polly?” She’d mentioned her sister around him a few times, but she’d never gone into details. “What have you heard?”

He captured a lock of her hair between his fingers, rubbing it. “I might have quizzed Becca about you.”

“You what?”

He shrugged. “Just . . . curious. That’s all. She said you dropped out of high school to get a job and take care of your sister. And that you’re paying for her college. That true?”

Holly nodded. “Anyone would have done the same for their family.”

“Would they?” He sounded skeptical. “I heard that you were sending her every penny you had, too.”

“College isn’t cheap,” Holly said evasively. “And Polly needs to focus on her studies. I don’t mind.”

“I mind,” he grumbled. “You’re killing yourself working day and night trying to make things easy for her. She could get a part-time job at least and ease some of the burden. It’s not like making coffees or working at a bookstore for ten hours a week would kill her.”

She said nothing, frowning. He didn’t understand.

“Is she coming for the holidays?” Adam asked, tugging on that lock of hair. “I promise to hold all my nagging until then.”

He wanted to meet her sister? It made her ache a little inside. “Actually, Polly’s not coming down for the holidays. She’s staying for a student tutoring thing. Which reminds me . . . I need to bake some more cookies and send them to her.” And send some more money, but he didn’t need to know that. She wiggled against him, trying to break free from his embrace. “I should probably get up.”

To her surprise, he rolled onto her again, pinning her with his weight. “You’re mad, aren’t you? Why are you mad?”

“I’m not mad!”

His gaze searched hers. “You’re mad,” he declared again, and she wondered if it’d be rude to kick him so soon after great sex. Adam grinned down at her and then planted another kiss on her mouth. “Don’t get upset. Someone’s gotta look after you.”

“Is that what all this grumbling is?” she muttered. “Looking after me?”

“Is it wrong for me to think she should try harder? You’re always the one calling her from what I’ve seen.” He pressed another kiss to her lips. “I’m not trying to rock the boat. I just think these sorts of things are a two-way street. She’s your sister, you’re giving your life up for her, and the least she could do is call a bit more often if she’s not coming home for the holidays.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “And she’d better give you a hell of a Christmas gift.”

Holly chuckled. “Are you this bossy with all the women in your life? No wonder you’re single.”

His laughing expression died, and Holly wanted to kick herself. Ugh. Why did she have to go and say that? “I’m single,” he began slowly. “Because when I was stationed overseas—”

“Adam,” she began, interrupting. “You don’t have to explain.”

He continued on as if she hadn’t spoken, taking her hand in his and lacing his fingers with hers. “—I missed my wife and my dog. I was tired of doing tours in strange places and hanging out with the guys all the time. I was tired of ships and oceans and military life. So I came home and found her in bed with an old friend of mine. It happens a lot in the military. Guys come home to find out that their wives weren’t all that interested in staying faithful.” He shrugged. “So that’s why I’m single.”

She felt awful. No wonder he was so prickly about such things. “Well,” she told him brightly, trying to lighten the mood. “It wasn’t because you’re bad in bed.”

A slow smile curved his beautiful mouth. “No?”

“I can complain about a lot of things about you, Adam Calhoun, but your performance is not one of them.” Holly smiled up at him. “In that respect you did just fine.”

“Just fine, eh?” He shook his head. “That’s faint praise, ‘just fine.’?”

She rolled her eyes even as her phone rang again. Neither of them bothered to get up. Instead, Holly teased him back. “What, do you want me to call you a cock god? To tell you that you’ve dicked me better than anyone has ever dicked me before?”

“I mean, ‘cock god’ has a nice ring to it,” Adam said, pretending to consider it. “Maybe ‘Lord of My Orgasms’ will work, too.”