Page 51 of When a Cowboy Falls Hard
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
What the hell? A branch wouldn’t do that unless the wind was howling, which it wasn’t. He sat up.
A woodpecker? They didn’t work at night, did they? The only people who’d summon him at this hour were family members and they’d knock. This rapid tapping thing was the work of a critter.
Oh, well. Wasn’t happening, now. Maybe he’d attracted an insomniac woodpecker but now they’d flown away. Flopping down, he closed his eyes.
He’d have to do the blasted tense-and-release routine all over again. He squeezed and released his eye muscles, clenched and released his jaw, hunched and dropped his shoulders?—
Tap-tap-tap.
“Damn it!” Vaulting out of bed, he stormed into the living room. “Whatever’s doing that better hightail it out of here before I?—”
“It’s me.”
A person? He covered his crotch and took a step back. “Who’s me?”
“Zinnia.”
“Zinnia?” His brain turned into a pinball machine. “Is something wrong with Speckles? Or Monty?”
“Shhh! They’re fine. Let me in. Quick.”
“Just a sec.” He hotfooted it back to his bedroom and struggled into a pair of sweats. She could have opened the door herself and come in. It wasn’t locked. Why hadn’t he said that?
Because he needed pants first. Why was she out there if her horses were fine? Surely she wasn’t…. But what if she was? What if she?—
“Hurry.”
“I am. I just—” He couldn’t seem to tie the drawstring so he just left it. The waistband sagged around his hips as he padded to the door and opened it.
She barreled past him wearing flip-flops judging from the slap of rubber on the wood floor. “Close the door. Quietly.”
He eased it shut, leaving them mostly in the dark. The glow from the porch light seeped into the room, giving him a shadowy view. Her flimsy tank top and shorts looked like nightwear. A purse with a long thin strap hung from her shoulder.
Was she about to proposition him? His cock surged to life.
“I woke you up.” Her voice was a little shaky. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t wake me up. Why are you here?”
Her breath hitched. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Not really. Seductions don’t generally begin with an apology.”
“How are they supposed to start? I’ve never been the one to make the first move.”
He stared at her as all his blood traveled south. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I want…” She gulped. “I mean, I would really like…” Shaking her head, she muttered a curse. “Would you please have sex with me?”
His body answered immediately but his brain was still trying to catch up. “What about Tex? I thought you?—”
“He never has to know.”
“Somebody has to know. You can’t just sneak over here without telling?—”
“Mari knows. It was her idea.”
