Moonlight Beach Bachelors: Her Forbidden Cowboy

“Then how...how did you find me?”

“After my swim, I took a long walk. Thankfully, I returned just in time to hear you calling my name. Took me only a second to figure out where you were.”

He began to rub her arms and legs. She was cold, but that didn’t stop her from reacting to his touch. As warmth spread through her body, her gentle cooing seemed to draw Zane’s attention to her lips. “That feels good,” she said.

“Tell me about it.” The corner of his mouth crooked up.

His palms heated her through and through, her skin highly sensitized to his touch. She was overwhelmed with relief that he hadn’t drowned and grateful that he’d saved her, but there was more...so much more that she was feeling right now. “Thank you, Zane.”

She touched his shoulder and felt his cool skin under her fingertips. His eyes gleamed with a fiery invitation to do more. Bravely, she wound her arms around his neck. It didn’t take an ounce of effort to pull him close. His mouth hovered near hers.

It was crazy. They were on the beach under the moonlight and dripping wet after the rescue, and nothing seemed amiss in her world. She wouldn’t trade places with another living soul right now.

“I’d give you what-for,” he said, “but that will have to wait.”

“It will?”

“Yep. Cause I think you’re about to kiss me.”

“Smart man.”

She ran her fingers through his thick wet hair and lowered his head down to her lips. Oh...he tasted warm and inviting and salty. His kiss made her tremble in a good way, and she opened her mouth for him.

He plunged inside and swept her up in one burning kiss after another. What was left of her body when he finished kissing her was a pulsing bundle of need. “Zane,” she whispered over his lips.

“I need to get you inside the house...”

He didn’t have to finish. She knew. They’d get arrested if they acted on their impulses right here on the beach.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

“Yes, with your help.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Seems one of us is always leaning on the other.”

She smiled. How true.

He bounded up and then entwined their hands. Gently he helped her to her feet. The world didn’t go dizzy on her—well, except for the hot looks Zane was giving her. “I actually feel pretty good.”

“Glad to hear it.” He kissed her earlobe. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

Side by side, bracing each other, they walked through the sand and up the steps that led into the house.

* * *

As soon as they entered the house, Zane did an about-face and walked her backward until she was pressed against the living room wall. He trapped her there, his body pulsing near hers, his gaze generating enough heat to burn the building down.

“Are you about to give me what-for?”

A low rumble of laughter rose from his throat. Her senses heightened. He was one sexy man. “You know it, Jess.” He glanced down at her dripping wet T-shirt plastered to her body and sighed as if he was in pain. “Do you know how incredibly perfect you are?”

His hands wrapped around her waist, and thrilling warmth penetrated through her shirt to heat her skin. “I’m not.”

His mouth grazed her throat. “You are. You can’t let what those two did to you change who you are. That guy was about the stupidest man on earth.”

She stilled. “What do you mean, ‘those two’?”

Zane’s lips were doing amazing things to her throat. And his body pressing against hers made it hard to think. Her breasts were ready for his touch. Her nipples pebbled hard and beckoned him through the flimsy T-shirt and bikini.

She had to ignore her body. She needed to know what he meant. “Zane?”

He stopped kissing her and inched away enough to gaze into her eyes. “Oh, uh. Your mama called while you were out. She was worried about you, and well...she told me about Steven running off with a friend of yours.”

She’d told him about Judy?

All the wind left her lungs, and a different kind of burn seared through her stomach. She wished Mama hadn’t revealed to Zane her latest humiliation. She felt so exposed, so vulnerable. Did she have an ounce of pride left?

“You have every right to feel hurt, Jess. But don’t let what he did change the person that you are.”

“You think that’s what I’m doing?”

“Isn’t it? You changed your hair, wear your contacts all the time. You dress differently now. Don’t get me wrong. You look beautiful, sweetheart. But you were beautiful before.”

She shrugged. She found it hard to believe. It was a platitude, a cliché, a way to make her feel better about herself.

“I need the change.” Tears misted in her eyes. She really did. She needed to look at herself in the mirror and see a strong, independent woman who had style and confidence. She needed to see that transformation, more than anything else.

“I get that.” Zane took her into his arms and hugged her, as a friend now. She felt safe again, protected. And just being with him made her problems seem trivial. “But promise me one thing?”

“What?”

“Don’t try to find what you need with another man. Makes me crazy.”

Makes me crazy. Oh, wow. There was no mistaking what he meant. Not from the genuine pain she found in his eyes, or the intensity in his voice. “You mean like Dylan or Adam? I told you, they’re not—”

He shushed her with a kiss, right smack on the lips. Her body instantly reacted, and goose bumps rose on her arms.

“You make me crazy, too,” he rasped and began rolling the hem of her T-shirt up. With his coaxing, she raised her arms as he brought the wet garment over her head and her breasts jiggled back into place. Zane’s hot gaze touched her there and lingered, then traveled over the rest her body clad in a skimpy New Jess bikini. He made a loud noise from sucking oxygen into his lungs. “From now on, sweet Jess, I want to be the man you go to when you need something.”

“You mean, like my rebound guy?”

“Call it whatever you want, honey.”

Jess didn’t have to think twice. Zane just abolished all deprecating thoughts she’d had about herself and totally wiped out any pain she’d felt about Steven. Even her pride was restored somewhat. The Steven ship had sailed, and she wasn’t going to waste another second thinking of him. Not when she had Zane offering her the moon.

He was a real man.

If she had any doubts before about her feelings for him, they were banished the second she’d thought he was drowning. She’d rushed in to save him, praying that God wouldn’t take him from her. And she wasn’t going to feel bad about it or apologize to anyone. Forbidden or not, she wanted him.

“I promise.”

He hooked his fingers with hers. “Your room or mine?”

“Neither,” she said. Her confidence soaring and her heart melting, she let go of every inhibition she’d ever had. “I think we need a hot, steamy shower to warm up, don’t you?”

“As long as I get to peel this bikini off you, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Eight

The peeling was blissful torture. Jessica lay her head against cool slate, her arms behind her. Steam rose up as the customized shower streams poured down, warming her bones. It was like being tucked inside a large waterfall, cascading water all around her. Zane came to her naked, his sculpted, bronzed beach body equal to that of an ancient god. There was enough room for twelve people in the master shower, but she knew Zane would make good use of the space for the two of them.

“You’re beautiful, Jess.”

His mouth covered hers as both of his hands came under her bikini top. Weighing her full breasts, he groaned deep in his throat, and his appreciation of her body flowed to her ears. She roped her arms around his neck and continued to kiss him even as he unhooked the back of the bathing suit, releasing her breasts. Warm spray moistened them and he worked magic on her, gliding his hands over her bare, wet skin and arousing her in tortuous increments. His thumb caressed her already pebbled nipples until she muted a cry.

He was amazingly gentle, but brutal in his determination to make it good for her. As he removed the bottom half of her bikini, his hands shaking with need, she’d never felt more desirable and powerful.

Drizzling kisses along her throat, his hands came to the small of her back, and she bowed her body for him. He took one jutted breast in his mouth and suckled her, his tongue swirling and flicking. She screamed then, but the pleasured sounds were drowned out by the thunderous showerheads. He gave the other breast equal treatment, and it was almost too much.

“Are you warm yet?” he asked, nuzzling her throat.

“Just getting there.”

“Let me help you with that.”

He picked up a bar of soap and lathered her from head to toe, bathing her in a soft and subtle flowery scent that reminded her of a spring afternoon. He didn’t miss one inch of her, paying special attention to the crux of her womanhood, stroking, washing, cupping her, making her moan. “Oh, oh, oh.”

Jess thought every woman should experience a shower this way, just once.

She smiled, gritted her teeth and savored the pleasure he brought her.

His hands moved to her backside and slid over the rounded halves of her derriere, molding her form, spreading his fingers wide as if savoring the feel of her. His manhood pressed her belly, rock-hard and pulsing. She shuddered, unable to hold back another second. Her body released gently, in beautifully timid waves that nudged her forever toward him. His mouth covered hers, and she enjoyed the sweetly erotic taste of his passion.

Wow.

She’d never had an orgasm like that before.

She clung to him and let the full force of her feelings consume her.

“Did you like that, sweetheart?”

“So much.”

She sensed his smile, and it made her heart nearly burst.

She moved down on him, letting her mouth and breasts caress the middle of his chest, his belly, and then she touched his full-fledged erection.

“Oh, man,” he uttered. “Jess.”

He fisted a handful of her hair and helped move her along the length of him. Water pounded her back, the showerhead pulsing now. It was deliciously sexy, and when she was through, she rose to meet him. The hungry look on his face, teeth gritted, eyes gleaming like a wolf about to devour his prey, would have been almost frightening if it wasn’t Zane.

He lifted her, and on instinct she wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her tight and murmured, “Hang on.”

She clung to him, and his manhood nudged into her, filling her with gentle force. He was patient and oh, so ready. She moved on him, letting him know she was okay with whatever he wanted to do. The beat, beat, beat of the raining drops set the pace of his thrusts. He arched and drove deeper.

“Oh.” She sighed. “So good.”

He kissed her throat, her breasts, and continued to thrust into her, hard, harder.

It was pure heaven. She’d never made love like this before. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her body soared. Spasms of tight, sweet pain released, and she cried out softly “Oh, Zane.”

His eyes were on her, burning hot. He waited for her to come down off the clouds, and then he began to thrust into her again. He set a fast rhythm, and she gave back equally. She wanted to make it good for him, too.

Guttural groans rose up his throat, and she knew he was close. He impaled her one last, amazing time, his reach touching the very core of her womanhood. And waves of his orgasm struck her, one after the other, until he was spent, sated.

He took her with him as he sat down on the stone shower bench, raining kisses all over her face, cheeks, chin, throat. He pushed her hair away from her face. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

How could she not be? She was overjoyed. “It was beautiful, Zane.”

“It was,” he said, leaning way back.

She stroked his face, running her hand over his stubbly cheek. He grabbed her wrist and planted a kiss on her palm.

The shower turned off. Perfect timing. It was a perfect night. Well, except for those few minutes she thought Zane was drowning. He’d taxed his body tonight. “You must be tired,” she said.

His eyes darkened, and he hiked a brow. “I’m ready to be in bed with you.”

“Sounds good.”

She didn’t want the night to end. She no longer worried about what tomorrow would bring. She was living in the moment, and these moments had been pretty darn spectacular.

Zane lifted her off him and grabbed two giant towels. He took his time drying her off, sneaking kisses on parts of her body, arousing her. She did the same to him, teasing him with her mouth.

They entered his bedroom clean, dry and exhausted.

She took a few steps toward his door, and his arm snaked around her. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To my room. I need to get my nightie.”

“No, you don’t. Come to bed. I promise to keep you warm.”

“Part of your duties as my rebound guy?”

“You know it, honey. Now get in.”

* * *

Spooning with Zane in his big, comfortable bed, Jessica’s eyes eased open. It was slightly after dawn, and the usual early morning cloud cover allowed a smidgen of struggling sunshine into the room. Zane stroked her hip, lightly, possessively, his touch becoming familiar to her, and she purred like a kitten given a big bowl of cream.

“I’m giving you the day off,” he murmured, his breath whispering over her hair.

“Mmm.” A lovely thought. “I have work to do today.”

“It’ll keep, Jess. I want to spend the day with you.”

“You already do.”

He nipped her earlobe, then planted tiny kisses along her nape. His hand traveled deliciously to her waist, just under her belly. “Not the way I want to.”

They’d made love twice last night. It was incredible and frightening at the same time. Every so often, thoughts of her future would break through her steely resolve to live in the moment. She’d shudder, and sudden panic would set in. What was she doing? Where was all this leading? They hadn’t used protection in the shower last night, but Jess was on birth control, sort of. She’d skipped a few days during the height of her wedding fiasco, but she’d resumed when she’d arrived here to keep her hormones from getting out of whack.

She turned to Zane, roping her arms around his neck. “What did you have in mind?”

He kissed her quickly and then tugged her closer. “A day of play. We can get out of here. Have fun.”

A lock of his thick hair fell to his forehead. In many ways, he looked like a little boy, eager to play hooky. He lived in this dream house on the beach and spoke of getting away, as if he’d been in living in the slums all this time. The irony made her smile, and she toyed with that wayward lock of hair, curling it around her finger, mesmerized by the man she shared a bed with.

“You’re the boss,” she whispered.

“I’m not your boss,” he said softly. “Not when it comes to this.”

He began kissing her shoulder, her throat, her chin. And then he stopped suddenly and inched away. He shot her a solid, earnest look. “Would you like to spend the day with me?”

Oh, wow. Like a date? “Yes.” She yanked the lock of hair. “Of course, silly.”

He gave her backside a gentle squeeze. “Then we’d better get up and get showered. You first. If we share another shower, we’ll never make it out of here this morning.” He waggled his brows. “On second thought, maybe...”

She laughed and jumped out of bed. “I’m going in first.”

Less than an hour later, Zane was sitting behind the wheel of his SUV and pulling out of the gates of his home. “Feels good to be driving again. I hated feeling helpless, having to rely on someone to take me places.”

A few days of stubble on his face had led to a short, sexy beard. The new look turned her on. Everything about him seemed to do that. All she had to do was think about making love with him last night and tingles fluttered inside her belly.

He wore a baseball cap instead of his Stetson. The beard and sunglasses also helped disguise him. He’d healed so well, she would’ve never guessed he’d broken his foot, except for his slight limp as he tried not to put too much pressure on it. She already knew she’d be arguing with him about going to his rehab appointments.

He’d told her to wear her boots, dress in jeans and not question where they were going. He wanted to surprise her. She sat in her comfortable clothes, watching the stunning landscape go by as they left the blue waters behind and drove up a mountain road. The scenery lent itself to light conversation and soft music. Zane sang along with the tune on the radio, his voice deep and rich, her own personal concert. She couldn’t help but grin.

Thirty minutes later, they were atop the mountain at a sprawling ranch-style home overlooking the city to the south and the valley to the north. The air was clean up here, the smog of the day blown away by ocean breezes. “Where are we?” she asked.

“My friend Chuck Bowen owns this place with his mother. It’s called Ruby Ranch.”

She glanced around and spotted white-fenced corrals, vineyards off in the distance and acres and acres of hilly, tree-dotted land. The sound of horses whinnying and snorting reached her ears.

“C’mon.”

Zane exited the car and walked around to help her out. He took her hand. That little boy excitement once again lit his expression. “We’re going riding.”

“Riding?” She hadn’t been on a horse since she was a teenager. She’d go riding every weekend with her good friend Jolie Burns when she wasn’t working at Holcomb House. Jolie lived on a cattle ranch ten miles outside of Beckon. Jessica had the use of a pretty palomino named Sparkle, and she’d learned how to wash down and groom a horse back then, too. It was expected. If you exercised a horse, got him lathered up, then it was your responsibility to see to his needs after the ride. Jessica had fallen in love with Sparkle. She never minded the hard work that came with him.

She rubbed her hands together. This could be fun. “Oh, boy!”

Zane chuckled and kissed the tip of nose. “That’s what I thought.”

A fiftysomething woman with hair the color of deep, rich red wine walked out of the house. She was flawless in her appearance, neat and tidy, and her pretty face must have stopped men in their tracks when she was younger. Even now, she was stunning and dressed in Western clothes that looked as if they’d just come off a fashion runway.

“Hi, Ruby,” Zane said.

“Zane. It’s good to see you again.”

Zane took Jessica’s hand as he moved toward the house. Ruby tried not to react, but her eyes dipped to their interlocked hands for a second before she gave them both a smile. “Ruby, I’d like you to meet Jessica Holcomb. Jess, this is Ruby Bowen. She and Chuck own this amazing land.”

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