ONCE IN A BLUE MOON (BLUEBONNET, TEXAS Book 2) Read online

  Settling on his crotch, I squeezed him with my thighs and ground against him. The denim of his jeans was rough against my thighs, and even through my damp panties, I could feel his erection. My body begged. His insistent lips moved almost frantically from one breast to the other while his hands kneaded the pair, squeezing them together. The soft hairs of his goatee tickled, exciting me more.

  "Ooo, Ty! I wanna come," I panted, lips pressed to his hair. Turned-on would have been an understatement Every inch of my skin was on fire.

  Ty stopped. His breath came heavy as he frowned up at me. Sadness? Confusion? "Already?"

  I bit my lip to keep from screaming and nodded. He ducked his head and slipped his finger in my panties. Something changed, shifted slightly, but I was too wound up to figure out what.

  Skillfully, he found what he was looking for and proceeded to rub my clitoris with light insistent strokes. I leaned in and kissed him hard, pleased. My hips moved with his fingers, my teeth nibbled at his lips, and I moaned, lost, "I want you so bad, Ty."

  Kissing him again, I rubbed against him like a cat, the chambray of his shirt chaffing my tender nipples. "Ty, please," I begged, my hips moving faster. His fingers expertly kept pace while his eyes remained tightly shut, his head now turned away from me. I was so close.

  I went for his neck, sucking and biting my way up to his earlobe.

  "Ty, please!" I panted in his ear, begging him not to stop. My whole body primed, I lost myself in heaven when his fingers pinched my nipple. The exquisite pain coupled with his other hand teasing my clit was the final straw. I came, hard, clinging to him and screaming, my hands buried in his hair. Afterward, I collapsed against him panting, spent and weak.

  He gently removed his hand and pushed me away. Eyes lowered and his expression unreadable. "You wanna take me home now?"

  "You wanna leave...now?" I panted, shocked at his words and still dazed from my orgasm.

  He paused, a frown of obvious confusion on his face. When he spoke his voice shook. "I thought...that’s all you wanted. You were done."

  In that moment I caught a glimpse of what Rhea had done to him and hated her with a passion.

  "Baby, we’re just getting started," I drawled, smothering my anger.

  Chapter Two

  SATISFACTION

  Ty saw the brief flash of anger in Bettina’s eyes before it disappeared. Her sassy, husky voice curled around him, reassured him his decision hadn’t been a bad one. He relaxed as she kissed him slow and deep, as if to prove her point.

  He melted at the touch of her soft tongue and felt a little embarrassed at his need, very obvious beneath his tight jeans. Four months since his ex-wife walked out; even longer since they’d had sex. And never anything like this.

  Never this hot.

  He felt like he was drowning but knew he’d die a happy man. And happiness wasn’t something he’d experienced a lot of lately. But tonight he was gonna be happy come hell or high water. He shoved his anger and a twinge of guilt aside, refusing to look at them.

  He’d rather look at Bettina.

  Intrigued with her boldness, her sexual confidence, Ty grew even harder. She reminded him of a marble goddess with her creamy, golden skin and lush hips. She grabbed a throw pillow from the couch, spread out the quilt, then slipped her panties off and crooked a finger at him.

  She lay naked and waiting, a tender smile across her lips. He stood up, taking in the extraordinary length of her, the long blonde curls and sleepy green eyes, her plump, rose-tipped breasts, slightly rounded belly and natural blonde pubic curls so different from Rhea. Mentally he shook himself, blocking out thoughts of the last twelve years. Reminding himself to forget as Bettina patted the spot next to her on the blanket.

  "On the floor?"

  "Right here," she whispered with a smile.

  "Alrighty then." Ty shed his clothes, startled at the admiration in her eyes, a little embarrassed and plenty nervous. He smothered his nerves. She wanted him here and he needed this.

  Ty lay down expectant and strangely relaxed. The last of his resistance disappeared as she leaned forward and caught his lower lip with her teeth. Her incredibly long legs rubbed against him, all of it stoking the fire in his belly.

  Breaking the kiss, he whispered, "I want you." He wanted to roll her onto her back and slide deep inside her but it wasn’t in his nature to be aggressive. And he already felt far enough out of his element.

  "I want you too, but not yet," she replied. The knowing expression on her face and her words triggered a spike of desire that traveled from his belly to his sac, which tightened almost painfully. Bettina leaned into him and nuzzled his neck, her lips planting light kisses down his jaw. He caressed her back, enjoying the feel of her silky, warm skin and happy to let her take the lead.

  "Bettina," he begged, more insistent now. She had the most amazing lips.

  "Not yet." She leaned over and nibbled on one of his nipples until it became puckered and hard. Watching her, Ty moaned. Her free hand wandered down his chest to his groin. Lips followed and he felt his control slipping.

  He gasped, mesmerized at the sight of Bettina’s fingers surrounding his cock. Her thumb glanced across the soft tip then gave it a slow, firm stroke.

  "B’tina."

  She leaned over, blonde curls slipping along his belly, and took him in her soft, warm mouth, tasting him. Slowly torturing him with her mouth and tongue as if she were savoring an ice cream. Her velvety tongue took his breath away and shredded his restraint.

  "B’tina, stop!"

  "What’s the matter, baby?" she whispered, his cock still held firmly in her grasp. The sight of her sleepy eyes and damp rosy lips curved into a smile made his balls ache for release.

  "I wanna...You’re gonna make me—"

  He groaned as her pink lips formed a beatific smile. Voice husky, she purred, "Come? Don’t you want to?"

  He nodded and his cock twitched.

  "You’re ready?"

  Panting, Ty nodded again and watched as she sat up and grabbed a condom off the coffee table. Slightly embarrassed, he turned his head as she deftly ripped the package open and slipped it on him.

  "Top or bottom?"

  Momentarily confused, he just stared for a moment then sputtered, "Bottom." His need had reached such a pitch he couldn’t think, couldn’t catch his breath.

  He watched as Bettina straddled his hips and engulfed him. All of him. Ty groaned loudly as his cock touched her womb and she squeezed him. Already he wanted to come. His eyes rolled back in his head as she began moving her hips in long, easy strokes. He sank back on the pillow and his head thrashed from side to side as he moaned Bettina’s name, deep and low in his throat. Neck arched, his hips matched hers thrust for thrust. She leaned over, her head in the crook of his neck.

  Skin to skin now, she felt rich and smooth as twenty-year-old scotch. He could feel the slick sheen of sweat coating their skin as his hands continued kneading her ass, begging for more. For all of her. Ty was completely overwhelmed by the orgasm gathering force in him. He clutched her lush hips and bucked against her, losing control as her teeth sank into his neck.

  "Hurry B’tina," Ty begged at the top of his lungs. Her pace increased as she tried to keep up. But suddenly it was too late. No, damnit! Not yet! His hips never let up under hers until he was completely drained and he sank back with a long loud groan, swallowing angry tears of frustration.

  He expected Bettina to stop but instead, she kissed him hard and deep, distracting him. It was as decadent and sensual as the sudden feel of her orgasm milking him. So intense, so deep, so different from anything he’d ever felt.

  Above him, she panted as her thighs relaxed, both of them sweaty and sated they lay curled together, heavy breathing the only sound in the house. His hands caressed her back. "Bettina."

  "I know...I’m heavy. Gimme a sec."

  "Don’t move, please, baby. I’m sorry." He could still feel her pulsating around his cock.

  "For wha
t?"

  "You just...felt so good," he whispered, his voice harsh, amazed at how relaxed he felt. A slow lethargy crept over him, through every inch of bone and sinew. "I...I was too fast."

  "There’s always round two." Bettina giggled and nuzzled his ear but didn’t move.

  Round two? The thought sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine.

  "I have to get up," she finally whispered, easing off him.

  "Where’s your bathroom?" He felt the heat rise in his face, unused to the gritty little details of sex. Condoms weren’t required when you’d only ever been with one woman.

  "First door on the right." She smiled, grabbing up her dress and slipping it over her head.

  When Ty returned, he found her in a t-shirt, curled up in the big denim chair and covered with the oversized quilt. He sank down beside her, barely able to move, and quickly dozed off with her head tucked up under his chin.

  * * *

  Ty awoke with a start and checked his watch. Five in the morning. Damn! He should already be at home, getting ready to feed cattle. Easing his arm from under Bettina’s head, he went in search of the phone and called Tim, then quietly gathered his clothes up and slipped into the bathroom to clean up and dress.

  "Are you leaving?" Bettina asked as he leaned over her a few minutes later. Her drowsy green eyes lured Ty back down next to her.

  "Tim’s on his way."

  "Think we got time for round two?" She struggled out of her t-shirt and pressed herself against him.

  He smoothed her hair back and thought about it for all of three seconds. Sleeping in that chair with her had been the first decent night’s rest he’d had without medication and nightmares in months. He actually felt good! Free of the knot that had choked him for so long.

  He made time.

  They’d barely caught their breath when a horn blew outside.

  "He’s gonna wake up my neighbors," Bettina drawled, smiling.

  "Then I better get," he whispered, reluctant to go. Cupping her chin, Ty leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Again he struggled against the urge to curl up beside her and go back to sleep. "I’ll call you."

  "You better."

  * * *

  Ty offered up an embarrassed grin as he climbed in the truck and thanked Tim for coming to get him.

  "No prob. Have a good time?"

  He laughed, his eyes on the dashboard. "Yeah, I did."

  "Good. I’m glad it worked out."

  "Worked out?" He frowned at his brother out of the corner of his eye and prayed the bottom didn’t fall out of his stomach.

  "I just mentioned to Betti that your divorce was final yesterday and you could use some cheering up."

  "Oh." ‘Pity Fuck’ were the words that ran through his mind. The knot was suddenly back. He kept his attention outside the window for the rest of the short trip home. The streets of Bluebonnet passed in a blur and gave way to gently rolling countryside as they turned onto the ranch proper.

  Being single was a hell of a lot harder than he’d imagined. But then, being married hadn’t been such a picnic either. Mumbling his thanks once they reached Tim’s, Ty climbed out and quickly crossed the yard to his own house. He hit the door running and barely made it to the toilet before dry heaves hit him.

  He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do this. But he had no choice.

  His empty stomach had nothing to lose. Ty stripped and climbed in the shower, turning the water as hot as he could stand. He sank down under the burning, needle-sharp spray, shaking and still a little queasy. He knew Bettina had a reputation, but the casualness of it all left a bad taste in his mouth. What had Tim told her to get her to sleep with him? Just how much had he said? No way in hell did Ty want anyone knowing the truth.

  Hot water eventually turned cold. He slowly climbed out and toweled off, feeling like an old man.

  With shaky hands, he opened the medicine cabinet and stared at the little brown bottle. It reminded him of just how far he’d fallen. He snatched up the bottle of Xanax and angrily twisted the cap off, washing the tiny pill down with a handful of water from the sink.

  Next, Ty called his dad and mumbled a lame-ass excuse about being sick. The shower hadn’t helped much, and neither did a nap plagued by the usual grim nightmares involving Rhea.

  He awoke late in the afternoon, hung over from the meds and sweaty beneath the twisted comforter. After another shower that failed to clear his head, he dressed and walked down the road to Zack and Jessa’s for dinner.

  They were scheduled to play at the dancehall tonight. Banging on his drums had been a way to vent his frustrations. Especially when things had been really bad between him and Rhea. Then everything fell apart, his brother talked him into therapy and, when push came to shove, his wife chose to walk rather than work out their problems. Thirteen years of marriage gone.

  For once in his life, he’d have given anything to get out of playing.

  As he stepped over the white picket fence surrounding the yard and hopped up the porch, he offered up a silent prayer for his sister-in-law to feed him and not ask questions.

  "When do we eat," he called out by way of greeting as he flung open the screen door and pushed all thoughts of Rhea and Bettina out of his head.

  "In ten, sugar," Jessa replied, coming out of the kitchen. Tiny and curvy, her earthy personality suited his artistic and slightly forgetful baby brother to a "T" and after only two months of marriage, she was already expecting—just. A frown creased her brow. "Feeling better?"

  "I’m fine." He kissed her cheek and smothered the guilt that rose up at the worry in her pale eyes. "Where’s Zack?"

  "Painting."

  "Dinner?" he asked, maneuvering around her.

  "As soon as you set my table." She swatted his denim-clad butt and headed around the corner.

  Ty followed her into the sunny yellow kitchen, his mouth watering at the smell of homemade biscuits and her oven fried chicken. "Glad to."

  "So," Jessa began, her hands busy removing the chicken from the oven, "how’d it go last night?"

  "What do you mean?" Ty kept his voice calm and his eyes on the job at hand. Digging out silverware from a nearby drawer to set the table with.

  "I mean, you left with a very tall, pretty blond and got home at the crack of dawn, mister."

  "Jessa, leave that poor boy be," Zack scolded, entering the kitchen in worn jeans and a paint-splattered t-shirt.

  "Well I don’t want him runnin’ off with just any old hussy! She’s gotta have my seal of approval." She shook her tongs at Zack, a frown on her face. Then she winked at Ty, who laughed. Hand on her hip, she continued to wait for his response.

  "It wasn’t anything...you know." He shrugged and cursed the heat flooding his face. For all her easy-going ways, he wasn’t going to discuss his sex life with Jessa. Not that he’d ever really had a sex life to discuss before but....

  "Leave him be," Zack warned.

  "Oh, fine! You gonna finish setting the table or stand there daydreaming about nothing?"

  "I’m not daydreaming." Ty grabbed plates from the cabinet.

  She paused, platter of chicken in her hands. "Ty, there’s only three of us, honey."

  He looked down and counted seven plates in his hand. "I know that."

  Chapter Three

  MOST LIKELY TO...

  After morning sex with Ty—my all-time favorite kind—I overslept. I’d be late for my first appointment. And I had a crick in my neck from sleeping in the chair.

  Damn, Rule Number Seven, anyway: If You Can’t Go To His Place, Don’t Let Him Sleep In Your Bed.

  I’d had some bad experiences with that one, so a cricked neck was a small price to pay. Especially after last night and this morning, which had been mind-blowingly fantastic.

  I showered, dressed, and hustled through my makeup. Mooning around my bedroom and grinning in the bathroom mirror as I replayed my encounter with Ty a couple dozen times didn’t help me get there any faster. I couldn’t wait to g
et to work and tell Cassi.

  Lucky for me, my eight-thirty appointment was a long-standing regular, but being behind on her would make me run late all day.

  I hadn’t aspired to be a hairdresser. My junior and senior year in high school I applied for and received scholarship offers from four or five prestigious colleges. I wanted an MBA and accepted an offer from the University of North Carolina—my dream school—with childish hopes of coming back to Bluebonnet someday and thumbing my nose at everyone who’d ever looked down theirs at me. Freedom was at my fingertips.

  Or so I thought.

  Two weeks after graduation, Ty Boudreaux married Rhea Carmichael...and Mom went and died on me. Literally drank herself into an early grave. If I hadn’t know better, I’d swear she’d done it deliberately. Someone had to raise Angelina who’d only been ten at the time. Of course, none of the other 4,998 citizens of my home town offered to help. They were too busy celebrating the wedding of the century.

  So I’d just helped myself. After the funeral, I hunted down dear old Dad and struck a bargain with the devil. He’d continue to pay child support, send me to beauty school and give me seed money for my own business. In exchange, we’d pretend he didn’t exist. Mr. Successful agreed, nervous, sweating and angry in his plush, high-rise Houston office. He was more than happy with the arrangement that left his new life, new wife and two-point-five children intact.

  Who cared if my dream was permanently shelved?

  Or that I had to stay in the last place I wanted to be. I hated Bluebonnet, Texas, more every day, but staying was a part of the devil’s bargain I’d made. A bargain I’d more than satisfied. With Angi in college now, I’d put the house on the market. And as soon as it sold, I was so gone!

  Six months after graduating from Cosmetology school, I’d opened my own salon with Daddy’s Dirty Money. Oh, not in Bluebonnet. The good folks of Bluebonnet would just have to make do with their little Curl Up And Dye.

  But located twenty minutes, and a world away, from my hometown was one of the hottest, trendiest hair salons in San Antonio—The Blue Moon—where everyone, who was anyone, got their hair done.