Page 47 of Welcome Home, Cowboy
He slammed his truck door as he walked around to the passenger side and opened the door. “Lean into me and I’ll get you there.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Mr. Banks said after a few painful steps. “I don’t stretch much before I exercise usually.”
“Yoga is more than stretching,” Lawson muttered. He’d been guilty of thinking along the lines of Mr. Banks a few weeks back, too. Had he been as big a prick as this guy beside him? He hoped not. Otherwise, how in the hell had Julie forgiven him?
“You like this mumbo jumbo then?” Mr. Banks asked. “You must like it to be dressed like that.”
Lawson growled. They were five steps away from the entrance to the ER and then he was dumping this guy’s ass in the lobby and leaving. “Yeah, I like it. If you’d taken things slowly tonight maybe you would’ve, too.”
The automatic doors to the hospital opened. He helped Mr. Banks to the reception desk, then turned and walked out without saying another word. Someone else needed him right now, and no way was he going to let her down.
—
Fifteen minutes later, Lawson pulled his truck into Julie’s driveway and parked behind her car. The lights in her house were off, but he doubted she was sleeping. He walked to the front door and knocked. Then he knocked again and again until he finally saw the living room light come on.
“It’s me,” he called. “I need to see you.”
The lock clicked and Julie opened the door. Her eyes were red and swollen, and that undid him. Stepping toward her, he pulled her into his arms and held on tight. Her body was rigid against his at first. He held on until she softened. Then he heard her suck in a ragged breath, and she started to cry.
He was the first guy to leave a room when a woman cried. This wasn’t his thing. He didn’t do tears or crying. He also didn’t do counseling or yoga. That was the old Lawson, though. This was the new one—new and improved if you asked him. He lifted his hand and stroked the back of her hair, released from its ponytail. “He sucks,” he whispered in her ear.
She laughed against his chest.
He gently guided her inside and shut the front door behind them. After another minute of holding her, she stopped crying and pulled away. He’d have gladly held her all night, if that’s what she needed.
She headed for the coffee table, grabbed a Kleenex, and plopped down on the couch. “I’m sorry,” she sniffled. Her face was splotched now, and she wasn’t a fraction less attractive to him.
“Don’t be.” He sat beside her. “And don’t worry about Mr. Banks. He’ll be fine.”
She glanced over. “But he won’t renew my yoga program. That’s pretty clear.”
“Then screw him. Do it somewhere else. The Julie I know doesn’t give up that easily. I mean, look at what I’m wearing.”
She laughed again and his heart soared. “You’re right. I can do it somewhere else if the Veterans’ Center doesn’t keep me on.” A soft smile bloomed on her mouth. She reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Thanks for coming over, Lawson. I feel a little better now.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” He swallowed as he stared at her, wrestling between running for the door and leaning over and kissing her. Both seemed enticing to different sides of his brain.
“Can you stay?” she asked.
His mind screamednoooooo!“For a little while,” he said, ignoring his mind and listening to his heart instead.
—
Julie needed a distraction. That’s all this was. At least that’s what she was telling herself as she watched Lawson’s hand rub up and down her thigh. He was just comforting her. The fact that she wanted to take advantage of that was wrong. She’d returned to Seaside determined to be an independent woman who didn’t need a man.
She needed Lawson right now, though. She needed him so bad she could hardly see straight. She stopped his hand with hers and looked at him. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Maybe this wasn’t her giving up control; maybe this was her taking control. She leaned in toward him, keeping her gaze focused on his. Judging by the heat in his eyes, he wanted her as badly as she wanted him right now.
“Do you have a condom this time?” she asked, knowing he did. She had some, too. That wasn’t the point of asking the question. The point was to see if they were on the same page.
“In my wallet.” His touch became firmer, his hand moving higher as he rubbed her.
“Good.” Crossing the distance, she pressed her mouth to his.
He pulled her to him, parting her lips with his tongue. She didn’t care. His tongue could go anywhere he wanted to put it tonight. So could any other part of him, thanks to Trojan.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, pressing against her.
“Oh, yeah. I’m sure.” She stood and started leading him down the hallway to her bedroom. Once inside, his mouth went to hers hungrily, stopping all words. He pulled her shirt off and tugged on her pants, yanking them down. A low growl came from his throat as he laid eyes on her black lace thong. Just knowing he was looking at her, about to touch her again, made her ache with need.
