The Cowboys and the English Teacher [Hot Off The Ranch] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Free Page A

and kept his Stetson on—a cowboy to the death.
    The attention of the female party guests began to make Jack nervous and he grabbed Betsy’s hand as he made his escape.
    ‘Wanna dance?’ He waggled his eyebrows at her as she resisted his pull. Since their arrival, she’d been happy to hide in the corner, sipping at a rum punch strong enough to strip paint. Still, the music that was so much a part of Las Colinas del Mar’s day to day life, and the look in Jack’s eyes, infected her, she couldn’t resist.
    The music had slowed down to a seductive rumba, a gentle rhythm that made her want to sway her hips and twist her waist, no matter how silly she looked. Betsy had begun to do just that when she noticed him standing awkwardly beside her with his arms extended. ‘I kinda expected us to dance together,’ he said in a slow, deadpan drawl that made her giggle.
    ‘Sorry.’ She stepped into the circle of his arms quickly, bumping his body with her own before managing to right herself. Her hands settled on his shoulders, feeling rather than seeing his muscles for the first time. She’d noticed before of course, but she had no idea just how solid he would be. Gently, he placed a hand on the small of her back and drew her in to a respectable distance.
    It surprised her to find out how much taller than her he actually was. Used to always being the shortest person in the room, she’d stopped measuring herself against others sometime in her late teens. Jack seemed bigger than average though and she found herself staring straight at his collarbone.
    ‘So you got a man waiting for you back home, Betsy?’
    The forwardness of his question took her by surprise. She shook her head, sure that if she spoke, he would hear the hopeful desperation in her voice. It struck her as strange that they had worked so closely for the last month and didn’t really know even the basics about each other. ‘You?’ she managed to squeak out. ‘A woman, I mean.’
    He laughed. ‘I know what you meant. At least I hope I did,’ he teased, touching his forehead to hers. ‘Nope, I got nobody waiting for me, either.’
    His grip on her body became bolder after that and he pulled her still closer. Her breasts pressed into his hard chest and her thighs whispered against his as they moved. Betsy stood too close to be able to look at him as they talked. His hot breath fanned her as he spoke, but it also fanned the heat slowly building between her legs. She clung to him limply, a little overcome by his nearness.
    Pulling back, he’d looked down into her face. Obviously, he had spoken and was waiting for her to answer. Blushing, she asked him what he had said. For the longest time, he just looked without repeating the question. His eyes told her he had seen what she had tried to hide.
    His gaze dropped to her lips as she bit on them nervously. Jack’s eyes narrowed and a small hiss escaped his parted lips as he pulled her still closer, ensuring their bodies were in total contact. His cheek rested at her temple and his hands opened fully to clasp her hips firmly, fingers splaying out and grazing the curve of her buttocks. His thighs slid sinuously against Betsy’s with each step and her insides coiled tighter with each movement. Her nipples sprang to life and pressed harder into his chest. He felt it, she knew, as a low groan rumbled from his throat and he flexed his fingers, biting into her skin. The heat at her groin increased and she became very wet.
    ‘Betsy?’
    ‘Hmmm?’ She didn’t want to lift her head from its place against his shoulder, but his voice got so insistent that he left her no choice. ‘What’s wrong?’ she said alarmed by his strained expression and how rigid he’d become.
    Jack stared over her shoulder in confusion, out into the darkness of the trees surrounding the yard. Betsy turned to follow his gaze, noticing that everyone else looked in the same direction. Even the band had stopped playing, a fact she had missed as