CHAPTER SIXTEEN

      Still chuckling, Cole took her in his arms. "Nice and slow. We're gonna do it right this time."
     Nuzzling past his open collar to kiss the pulse beating at the base of his throat, she questioned, "Right?"
     She felt him swallow and smiled even as he spoke, his voice rumbling. "You know what I mean. Last time, hell, I haven't lost control like that since I was a kid."
     "Nothing wrong with that." She smoothed her palms down his chest, stopping to trace a muscle here, a muscle there. Any uncertainty had disappeared with Cole's touch.
     He trapped her hands in his. "Dammit, Joey, stop that, willya?"
     Raising puzzled eyes to his, she whispered, "You don't like it?"
     "You know I like it too damned much. Now hold still while I do this," he ordered, fingers fumbling with the pearled snaps on her shirt.
     Joey waited for his reaction to the demi-cut sheer lace bra she'd put on earlier. Smiling with anticipation she kept her eyes on his face, exhaling softly when his reaction exceeded anything she could have hoped for.
     Eyes dilating so that they appeared black in the shadowed light, he trailed a finger over the scalloped edging, then down between her breasts to the silky loops separating the cups. "Mercy." Breath quickening, he leaned down to plant little kisses along the path his finger had taken. "Sweet, so sweet."
     Joey shivered under his touch. She felt the tightening begin at the base of her neck, felt it roll deliciously down her spine and circle her hips to jolt together in her center. Arching against him, she felt his hardness and deliberately, she pressed closer.
     "Oh, yeah," he groaned. "Joey." He pulled her blouse free of her jeans and dropped it behind her. In moments, her bra followed. He put his mouth to one breast, in turn laving and suckling until Joey thought her toes had curled so tight they'd snap right off.
     When she whimpered, he turned the same devoted attention to the other breast. His lips nipped tenderly, making her arch and cry out in pleasure. She tried to get his shirt undone, tried to pull it off his shoulders and moaned in frustration when she couldn't.
     He straightened abruptly and did the job himself. Then he pulled her close and moved her torso from side to side. Joey felt his chest hair lightly abrade her hardened nipples and murmured her delight. "You feel so good."
     She felt his chuckle before she heard it. "That's supposed to be my line," he whispered into her hair as he licked her exposed ear and took her long dangling earring into his mouth. He tugged on it gently, making her feel the sensual pull all the way down.
     She grabbed his upper arms for support when her knees buckled. He nudged her back and sat her on the edge of the bed. Kneeling, he tugged her new lizard skin boots and socks off and caressed the soles of her feet. She gave herself up to the pleasure and stretched back across the bed. He ran his hands up her legs, molding every curve to her thighs, gradually increasing the pressure. Joey felt everything, from the smallest caress to the callus on his fingertips. Idly she wondered how such work-roughened hands could touch her so gently, so tenderly.
     Dizzy with sensation, she felt his hands at her waistband, felt the zipper give under his touch, felt the cool air against her exposed belly. She lay still as he pulled her jeans off, feeling every inch of material slide over newly sensitized skin. She whimpered as he retraced the movement with his mouth, kissing his way back up until he reached the barely-there panties.
     With his hands, he soothed the muscles quivering under his touch. With his mouth, he increased her passionate response. He touched her delicately through the damp satin, murmuring words of encouragement when she opened to him. "Joey. Just like that. You're ready for me, aren't you, honey?"
     "Yes, now, now."
     "Not yet," he countered, edging aside the lacy edge to slip his finger into her wet, silky-hot folds.
     Arching up against him, Joey muttered, "Now, Cole. Make love to me now!"
     "I am making love to you, honey," he said and slid two fingers into her. "Don't be in such a hurry. Stay with me."
     Stay with him? Joey expected her head to blow off, and he wanted her to slow down? Fat chance. In a voice verging on desperation, she demanded, "Now!"
     He pulled back enough to skin out of his jeans and shorts in one sweeping move. He removed her panties with excruciating slowness, stopping to kiss and lick as he went, at the ticklish back of her knee, at the turn of her calf, just above her ankle until she kicked her foot free. "I want you, Cole," she cried out, her voice demanding. "I want you in me."
     He positioned himself over her, cueing her with his knee to make room for himself. "Bossy, aren't you?"
     Panting, Joey opened her eyes. Staring up into his dark eyes, made even darker with passion, she lifted her hips in wanton enticement. "Better believe it, cowboy."
     He lost it, entering her with one quick, sure thrust, thrusting himself home as deep as he could go. She was invaded, possessed, filled with him. It felt so right, so good, so perfect.
     Driving himself into her, he established a rhythm that pushed her to the limits. Each plunge drove her closer, made her wilder, demonstrated better than any words how right they were for each other. She heard herself whimpering, groaning, moaning, urging him on with wordless sounds and didn't care that she made so much noise.
     In a frenzy now, every muscle worked with his, lifting, claiming, compelling them on in tumultuous heat. They climaxed moments apart, she first, shaking with the delirious spasms that rocked her, he following an instant later, his big body convulsed around her.
     "Joey," he shouted and collapsed on her, trembling, fighting for breath.
     She felt his straining muscles relax, absorbed his weight and rejoiced. Half-remembered images came to her of their lovemaking in Las Vegas, and more vivid ones of their afternoon in the RV, but nothing compared with the lovemaking they'd just shared. He'd made her feel womanly, sexy, passionate and sated.
     Running a hand in slow, soothing strokes down his back, lulling him even as she calmed herself, Joey drifted into sleep. She surfaced dimly when he moved to one side, tucking her into his body, and was asleep by the time he'd pulled the covers over them.
     Cole lay awake, physically spent but too exhilarated to give in to exhaustion. She was his. He'd made love to her twice before, but this time-—ah, this time, now they were well and truly married. Nothing could go wrong now. He wouldn't let it.
     There were problems to be worked out, sure enough. He'd have another word with Sam tomorrow, let him handle Betty, but by god, he wasn't going to let his family get in the way of making things right with Joey. She didn't seem too sure how well her kids would take it, maybe they'd give her a hard time, but he could handle them. When he felt like this, he could handle anything.
     Hearing her sigh in her sleep, he snuggled her closer. Wasn't anything better than knowing you'd pleasured your woman into satisfied exhaustion. Grinning into the dark, Cole looked ahead to all the nights they'd have like this one. Who'd ever believe that he, on the downside of forty-five, would feel like a randy kid again. Or act like one. Damn, he felt good. A man could get used to this.
     He woke her before dawn to make love to her again. He roused her with gentle all-over kisses that sensitized and warmed her before she knew it. She woke to his mouth on her breast, already arching into his caress. Still hazy with sleep, she parted her legs and felt him enter her. Their lovemaking was slow and relaxed, with none of the passion and furor of the night before, but it was all the more emotionally powerful. She sensed him move his hands forward to grasp the rungs of the head board, using them to pull himself deeper into her with every slow thrust. She felt each move, each intake of breath, each surge and withdrawal with a clarity that touched her more deeply than anything she'd ever known before. If he didn't love her now, when he loved her physically like this, could she doubt that the emotion would follow?
     She cried as they came together in a shower of light. He kissed each tear away, holding her closely as early morning brightened the bedroom.
     "Why?" he asked when at last he could speak. "Did I hurt you?'
     "Oh, no," she sniffled against his throat. "It was so...beautiful."
     "Yup."
     She had to chuckle. "A man of many words, aren't you, cowboy?"
     "Yup."
     Stretching luxuriantly, she clasped her hands around his, still tightly curled around the brass rungs of the bedstead. She looked up past his eyes, half-closed and sated now, to the curlicues above her head. "I love this bed."
     "Just the bed? How about the things we do in it?" He pressed against her one more time and then released himself to roll to one side.
      She rolled over, too. Propping her head up on her fist, she stared at him. "You couldn't tell?"
     He mimicked her position. "Well, I'd like to think you made all those sexy little noises because you enjoyed what we were doing. Maybe you were just showing me how much you like my bed," he suggested with that quirk to his lip that Joey found impossible to resist.
     She leaned back and pretended to study the brass bed. "Maybe," she teased. "It is a very nice bed."
     He rolled back on top of her. "And?"
     She spoke as innocently as she could for having the air squished out of her. "And what?"
     "You know what I mean, woman," he growled into her ear even as he nipped it in warning. "Did I make it good for you?"
     She looked up at his now passion-dilated eyes and spoke honestly. "You satisfied me, Cole. More than I ev..."
     He allowed her no retreat. "More than you what?" he prompted.
     She squirmed, trying to get away.
     He held fast. "Joey, if we don't talk, how the hell do you expect us to make a go of this?"
     She had promised to give their marriage her best effort. Still, sharing intimate details with Cole seemed so much, well, so much more intimate than they things they'd done to each other. How could she admit Cole's lovemaking had moved her more than Tom's had ever done? It felt like betrayal to even think it, much less say the words out loud. She'd been married to Tom for twenty-one good, lusty years. She thought they'd tapped the last dregs of passion, but she'd been wrong. Unable to evade Cole's direct gaze, she sought a compromise. "I'm sorry. I know you're right, but-—"
     "Are you comparing me to your first husband?"
     His blunt question took her breath away. Her eyes slid away from his.
     "Well, dammit. Are you?"
     "Don't tell me you haven't compared me to your wife!"
     His mouth grew thin. "You're my wife."
     "You know what I mean. You can't wait to get me into bed, but do you think I don't know you wish it was Sally instead of me?" Where did that thought come from? But it was too late to take it back.
     Cole stiffened and rolled away. He sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the wall.
     He exhaled heavily and turned to her. "You're wrong. Dead wrong." Eyes narrowing, he seemed to consider further. "You're blaming me for what's going on in your head. Am I right?"
     "I..."
     "Joey, I can't deny that I think of Sally from time to time, but not when we're in bed."
     She couldn't refuse the truth when she heard it. His voice, his eyes, his whole manner convinced her. She gazed at him, regretting her accusation. "I'm sorry," she said again.
     "Sorry won't cut it, Joey. I want to hear that there's only the two of us in this bed."

     When she awoke later, Cole was gone. His side of the bed was cold, telling Joey he'd left some time ago. Just as well. It was hard enough to face herself without having to square things with Cole right away.
     How could she have been so stupid? He deserved more than the lukewarm apology she'd given him. She'd get up and find him and tell him that from now, it was just the two of them.
     Stretching her toes and raising her arms high above her head, she considered his bedroom. Their bedroom now, and surely there had to be something she could do to make it more theirs.
     She showered in the adjoining bathroom. The old fixtures were good, but the gray and white tile was worn and ugly. Averting her gaze from the cracked ceramic above her head, she finished as quickly as she could. Later, dressed in her hot pink and fuchsia jogging suit, with flashy strawberry earrings for courage, she painted on a bright, cheerful face and went down to find Cole.
     Walking through the quiet rooms below, she found no sign of Cole or Betty. She helped herself to an apple from the fruit bowl in the kitchen and wandered down the hall to Sam's room.
     She poked her head in. "Good morning."
     He looked up from his hospital bed and beckoned her in. Eyes popping at her colorful garb, he blurted, "Hot damn. Where do you get those clothes?"
     She swallowed her amusement along with a bite of apple. "At home. I mean, in California."
     "Jeez. Has Dad seen that?"
     Nodding, she took another bite. "Yup. I was wearing this the night we met." She smiled and made her earrings dance. "Didn't seem to scare him off, did it?"
     "No offense, Joey, but I just can't see you hooking up with Dad. He's a conservative type, you know."
     Smiling, she threw her apple core into his wastebasket. "No offense taken. I guess it's true what they say about opposites attracting."
     "Maybe."
     "Where is everybody?"
     "Dad's out somewhere. Betty went down to the other house. We're going to move in there."
     Her face fell. "Oh, Sam, don't move on my account."
     He looked at the floor, at the ceiling and out the window at the mountains beyond. "We were going to do it anyway. We'll just do it sooner, that's all."
     "Are you doing this because of me?"
      His gaze darted to hers, then back at the floor. "Newly-weds need their privacy."
     Coloring, Joey persisted. "But, Sam, you shouldn't be exerting yourself just now."
     "Trussed up like a damned turkey, there's not much I can do," he snorted. "Betty's doing most of it. The hands will help out."
     "I wish I could talk you out of it."
     "Thanks for the thought, but we need to do this for us, too. Besides, you'll be needing the room for your kids."
     "Oh." She hadn't thought of that. "How many bedrooms are there?"
     "Five. Betty'll be glad to show you around when she gets back."
     Right. And whales waltzed. Five bedrooms. One for her and Cole, one for Sam and Betty, one for Ellen, and one for Greg. That left one extra. So much for being crowded. Even with her parents here temporarily, there'd still be room for everybody. But if Sam and Betty wanted to be on their own, how could she blame them? It must seem to them that the Carpenter/Fleming family was taking over. Uneasy, she moved toward the door. "Guess I'll go unpack, then."
     "Yeah."
     Halfway up the stairs, Joey heard footsteps and turned back. "Cole?"
     "No, it's me." Betty appeared at the kitchen door wearing an old pair of jeans and a shapeless sweatshirt. Her hair was tucked into a bandanna and a smudge of dust covered one cheek. She glared at Joey.
     Joey bit back her dismay. "Have you seen Cole?"
     "He's out with the stock. You want something?"
     "No thanks, I was just going to get settled."
     "Cole told me to show you around if you woke up before he got back."
     "Oh, that's okay. I'll wait for Cole. No need to bother you."
     "I'll do it," Betty said flatly and led the way into the living room.
     Sighing, Joey followed her into the austere and inhospitable room. "There's an awful lot of those stuffed heads, aren't there?"
     "They're trophies. The Lassiters have always hunted."
     "I think I'll take them down," Joey mused. "This room could use some color. Maybe even new furniture."
     "You can't do that."
     Betty's strident voice pierced her. "Why not?"
     "Nobody's touched this room in years. It's just the way his wife left it."
     Feeling like she'd been slapped, Joey echoed the words Cole had said to her. "I'm his wife."
     "Cole won't like you messing with things in here."
     "Why don't I take it up with him?" Joey asked, her voice tightening.
     "You think you can just march in here and change everything around, don't you? How long do you think you can fool Cole? This marriage of yours won't last long enough for you to make any changes!"
     "I don't think my marriage is any of your business."
     "Isn't it? You've got Cole all mixed up. What's he going to do when you dump him?"
     "Why do you say that?"
     "I heard you talking. He had to coax you into giving it a try. When you see it won't work, you'll leave. Good riddance, but you won't be taking any of Cole's money with you!"
     "Money?" Joey recoiled under the verbal assault. "You think this is about money? Oh, Betty, you couldn't be more wrong."
     "Am I?" Betty challenged. "We'll see about that."
     "You can think what you like, Betty. I can't stop you. But you keep your mouth shut about this in front of Cole."
     "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Betty taunted. "You don't want him to catch on to your little plan, do you?"
     "No. I don't want him to know what a small-minded suspicious daughter-in-law he has. I don't want him upset by your accusations."
     Betty's mouth firmed into a narrow, unforgiving line. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. Joey watched her go, sighing. What a mess she'd made of things. Here she had a chance to make friends with Betty, and she'd ruined it.
     No matter what it took she wasn't going to involve Cole in this petty squabble with Betty. Somehow, she would come to terms with her step daughter-in-law. She hadn't a clue how she'd do that, of course, but maybe something would come to her.
     Wearily, she made her way upstairs. She stopped at the first door she came to, and poked her head in. Sam and Betty's room. It was bright and airy, furnished Southwestern style with a lot of terra-cotta and turquoise in the color scheme. A glimpse of the bathroom through the half-opened door told her Betty had redone that as well.
     This was all Betty's doing, Joey knew, recalling the kitchen. If Betty liked things like this, why did she put up with and defend the rest of the dark, dismal house?
     Feeling ill at ease by intruding even if Sam was using a room downstairs, she shut the door quickly. The next two doors opened into guest rooms, rarely used by the look of the plain, sturdy furniture and Spartan furnishings. A bathroom, dusty and utilitarian, served both rooms.
     Sweet heavens. She looked around her, studying more closely the high ceilings, the generously sized rooms and the moldings and decorative touches built into the house. The house was meant to be furnished as beautifully as it had once been graciously detailed. How could anyone let such a wonderful old house go like this? Even if there wasn't enough money for fine furnishings, some color would bring life and warmth into these dreary rooms. It bothered her that no one had done anything for years-—did Cole see the house as some kind of shrine to Sally?
     Pensive, Joey at last walked into the master bedroom. Of generous proportions, the room stretched across the back of the house, the two bow windows overlooking the nearby outbuildings. Joey liked the far off view the best. She propped a hip on the window sill and looked her fill of the rolling hills and the sharper mountain tops beyond. Then she turned back into the room, in her mind discarding much of the furnishings. Except for the bed. She'd make that the focal point of the room, capitalizing on it to make the room uniquely hers and Cole's. She didn't know how just yet, but she had to do something. She couldn't live in Sally's image.
     vShe made room in the closet and one of the drawers for her things. The contents of her one suitcase didn't need much space, but where was she to put the rest of her things when they came? Maybe she'd gone a little overboard in buying a new wardrobe to go with her new look, but not even half her clothes would fit in here. And she'd have to buy new ones for her new life as a cattleman's wife. Jeans and boots and shirts. A denim jacket. Maybe even a scaled down Stetson to help her look the part?
     Hah. Why did she worry about her clothes fitting, if she herself didn't fit in? She flopped down on the bed and raised her forearm to blot out the sight of this room.
     She heard Cole's footsteps coming down the hall, then the door open. She lowered her arm to watch his entrance. She couldn't tell anything from his expression. "Hi."
     He came to sit beside her on the bed, his weight dipping the mattress and rolling her up against his hip. "Hi, yourself." He placed his hand possessively on her hip, feeling the lush curve under the silky nylon material. "Are you all right?"
     She sighed.
     The soft sound ate at him. He'd left her this morning sound asleep, her breath teasing his chest, making him wish he could wake her and make love to her again. The spirit was willing, but chores didn't wait for any man. He hated to leave her with their argument eating at them, but with Sam laid up, every hand was needed to keep the place going. He'd make it up to her tonight. That is, if he could figure out how to make things right between them. "Still upset, honey?"
     "I'm sorry about earlier, Cole. I shouldn't have said anything--"
     "Is it what you felt?" he interrupted.
     She hesitated. "To tell you the truth, Cole, I'm just not sure anymore. I don't want to fight with you."
     "How about we forget the whole damned thing?"
     She ran her tongue over suddenly dry lips. "Do you think we can?"
     "It's forgotten already."
     She looked up at him. "You sound very sure of that."
     "Honey, we have enough to worry about without bringing other people in. Especially people who aren't with us anymore. I'd rather concentrate on making something good for us."
     Privately, that sounded a little too optimistic, especially if Betty was right in saying that nothing had changed since Sally died. Joey needed all the help she could get. "So would I," she murmured, hoping that they could get past this without hurting each other any more than they had already done.
     The words came out of nowhere. "Cole, would you mind if I fixed up this room a little? I wouldn't spend very much money."
     He blinked at the sudden change in topic. "Do whatever you like, honey."
     She tossed her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. "Thank you, Cole." Her kiss made him feel he'd done something marvelous. He deepened it, thrusting his tongue into her mouth until his head swam. Reluctantly, he pulled back. "Can I take a rain check on this? I've gotta get going as soon as I get some lunch."
     She sat up immediately. "Lunch! I forgot all about it. What do you usually eat?"
     "Don't worry about it. Betty's fixing it."
     He saw Joey's expression the minute he said Betty's name. He didn't like it, not one damned bit. She looked like she'd been poked in the belly with a sharp stick. "Did Betty say something to you?"
     "Did you know they're moving out to the other house?"
     "Yup. About time, too."
     "I feel as if I'm kicking them out of their own house."
     Cole thought there was more to it than this, but he kept his voice casual. "Best thing for us all. They need their privacy. We need ours."
     "But Sam shouldn't be moved just yet."
     "Why are you so concerned, honey? We'll move him over slow and easy. Betty and a couple of the ranch wives are getting the house all cleaned up. Matter of fact, Betty's kinda excited about it."
     Right. If that's what Cole wanted to believe, then maybe she could find some other way to settle her problems quietly, without involving him. She'd much prefer that. No doubt her cowboy thought he could fix everything for everybody, but this was her problem.
     "Well, I guess I'd better learn what you like for lunch. How about dinner?"
     "What I always have. Meat and potatoes and lots of them."
     Her nose turned up.
     He kissed it. "You have problems fixing me a steak?"
     "I still know how, if that's what you're asking."
     "Good. Let's go eat. I'm hungry." He pulled her up and ran an appreciative eye down her slim figure. "Damn. You look good enough to eat." He toyed with one of her earrings. "Like a strawberry sundae."
     "Keep the thought." She started for the door. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly.
     "What was that for?"
     He kissed her again. "Did I tell you how glad I am you married me?"
     "Show me."

Ready for the next chapter? Chapter Seventeen -- posted January 24, 1998

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Last updated: January 24, 1998