Love Me, I Dare You! (Hell Yeah!) Read online

  “How did you know I was talking about her?” Emma could barely get the question out. “She’s been in your bedroom, Josh.”

  “There’s only one woman who hates me badly enough to do this. And, yes, she has been in my bedroom.” He didn’t try to deny it and when she tried to get out of his lap, he tightened his arms around her like steel bands. “When I came home from work that day, she was already in my house and in my bed. I must have left the back door open, or at least that’s what she said.”

  His hand was stroking her back; his mouth caressing her cheek. Emma felt her resolve beginning to diminish. “You didn’t have sex with her? She made all of that up?”

  “Yes, baby. She was just trying her best to hurt me. That’s why she went to you, she knew hurting you would hurt me.”

  He felt when the fight went out of her body, when she buried her head in his chest and relaxed. Josh felt like he’d just won a battle – won the lottery – he was able to breathe again. “So, are we okay? Are you my girl?”

  Emma swallowed, weighing her words. “No. I don’t think so.”

  Josh went completely still. “What do you mean?”

  “We’ve done this all wrong, Josh. I never should’ve bid on you. I never should’ve put you in this position. I practically begged you to make love to me.”

  “And I’m so glad you did.”

  She touched his cheek, then his mouth, seeming to want to read his face. “But if I hadn’t done that, if I hadn’t bought your time and insisted that you follow through – you would’ve never paid me a bit of attention. I wasn’t someone you wanted to be with.”

  “That’s not true, Emma.”

  “Josh, I want to be wanted. I want to be somebody’s first choice.”

  “I do want you.”

  Emma pretended not to hear. “I don’t know if that will ever happen, but I can hope. I can dream.” She took a deep breath “And you deserve to be with a woman who can share that sunset with you, not one that you have to describe where her food is on her plate.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You are fierce, brave, the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” Joshua felt like his heart was breaking. “Emma, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” He didn’t stop to consider the implications of what he was saying. All he could think about was getting her to agree to see him again.

  She struggled to get out of his lap and this time he let her go. “I’m tired, Josh. I just want to rest. Could you go, please?”

  He stood, not knowing what else to say, what else to do to convince her that he was sincere. “Okay, Emma. I’ll go. But I need one thing from you before I leave.”

  Emma was sore all over, all of the fight was gone. “What do you need?”

  “A kiss. One kiss. Please.”

  A goodbye kiss. She went on tiptoe, raised her face, and offered him her lips.

  Josh accepted, gathering her close, kissing her with all the longing, all the pent-up desire, all of the strength of his mind and heart. Brushing his lips over hers, he used his tongue to tease the seam, tugging on her bottom lip with his teeth. “Let me in, baby. I’m dying here.”

  Just like every other time he’d touched her, she surrendered. Emma had no resistance to him. For a few precious minutes, she gave herself to Joshua Long. His touch inflamed her, made her dizzy and she clung to him like she’d never be willing to let him go.

  But she did.

  With one last whisper of breath, she untangled their lips and let her feet rest fully on the floor. “Goodbye, Josh.”

  Not goodnight. Not see you later. Goodbye.

  “I’ll go, Emma. But this isn’t over. You and I have unfinished business.”

  She didn’t argue with him, she didn’t fuss. All she did was follow him to the door, then stand still, a lonely silhouette until his footfalls faded into the night.

  * * *

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  Joshua nearly levitated out of the bed.

  God, his head hurt. He looked at the clock, then groaned. Was he late for work?

  No, this was Sunday.

  As he sat up, his stomach protested. Seeing the almost empty bottle of whiskey by his bed, he remembered that he’d drank himself to sleep.

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  “Who?” Emma! What if were Emma?”

  Just the possibility had him up and out of the bed, pulling on his pants as he walked, despite the fact that every step he made hurt like hell.

  Throwing the door open, he focused on the woman standing there – but it wasn’t Emma.

  “What did you do?” Avery asked him point blank.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, knowing full well what she was referring to. “I thought Isaac was planning on keeping you close. Did you escape?”

  “Isaac brought me. Why did you hurt Emma?”

  “Did she say I hurt her?” Josh’s hands were clenched into fists by his side.

  “No, but she’s been crying almost constantly for two days. No one else has the capacity to hurt her like that but you, she loves you.”

  The very idea made Josh’s head spin. “No, she doesn’t. She made that very clear, even after I convinced her I hadn’t done anything to hurt her. I’m not sure what Emma wants, but it’s not me.”

  “Silly man.” Avery patted him on the shoulder. “You’re just like all the rest. Confused.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because Emma wants what every woman wants.”

  Josh groaned. “Come in, Avery. Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back, I need aspirin and coffee, not necessarily in that order.”

  With a smirk, Avery followed Josh in and made herself at home on the sofa. “I take two creams and three sugars.”

  Josh gagged. “Yuck.” But he followed her directions to a tee. When he joined her, he handed her the cup. “So, Miss Sable, you have the answer to the question that’s been plaguing mankind since Adam took the fall for Eve?”

  “What?” Avery sipped her coffee, not following.

  “You said that Emma wants what every woman wants. Man has struggled since time immemorial for that answer…what exactly a woman wants.”

  “You look like hell, Long.”

  “I feel like hell, Avery.”

  He held his head in his hands. “I didn’t cheat on her and I don’t know what to do to make her want me again.”

  “Josh.” She moved closer to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You and Emma went from 0 to 60 in five seconds flat. You skipped a few steps, steps that might not mean much to a man, but they mean the world to a woman.”

  When he still stared at her as if she wasn’t speaking English, she smiled. “A woman wants to be pursued, to be courted, to be wooed.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Josh shook his head. He knew nothing about those things, because he’d never cared enough about a woman to learn. “All right. I can do that. Is there a book somewhere I can consult?”

  “Well…as a matter of fact…there is.” She gave him a sneaky Sable smile. “Do you happen to own an e-reader?”

  * * *

  Josh went to work and did his job. But his mind and heart were elsewhere. For once, he was thankful for work where he didn’t have to constantly be concentrating. As he rode the range with Lance, checking fence, looking for strays – he came to some hard conclusions and made some decisions. For one, he planned on speaking to Aron and accepting his offer about the saddlery. Like he’d told Emma, he had already phoned Bull Redford; told him he was flattered, but he couldn’t accept. His life had taken a one-eighty, Josh no longer had the desire to go back on the road. The decision to work with Aron was more complicated. He would be indebted to someone else, accountable. Josh didn’t want to let Aron down. But the more he thought about it, the more he decided that this was his chance. He could do this; he knew he could. A partnership with Aron might be the answer to all of his problems, this career choice could give him the ability to build a future.

  As far
as Emma was concerned, there was no question. He was going to do whatever it took to win her. After the visit from Avery, he’d looked at things between them long and hard. She was right – even though he’d been drawn to her, the relationship he’d had with Emma had started out as more of a business relationship than a personal one. He didn’t know the moment it had changed, but changed it had. Especially for him. Yes, he’d given her lots of orgasms and he’d given her the belt he made, but that move had been more to show her what he could do rather than to give her a gift to make her happy. Hell, the only date they’d been on had been because Isaac asked them to go.

  As the day wore on, he took the time to write up a list and make a few phone calls. By the time it came to leave, he was a man with a plan. The only thing he had to do before setting out his quest to win fair maiden was stop into Tebow to see Cady. If he was going to turn over a new leaf, he was going to do it right.

  Tapping on the back kitchen door, he waited. Since he’d been coming regular for sessions, Josh had started using the rear entrance. In a few moments, someone came but it wasn’t Cady. It was Nathan. Josh hadn’t spent much time around the boy since he was just a toddler and he was shocked to see that the youngest McCoy was almost as big as he was. “Nathan?”

  “Mr. Long, come in please. How are you, sir?”

  “I’m good.” Josh had no trouble seeing that the boy had been raised right. “School’s out for the summer, I take.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ve registered for some college courses, but I plan on helping out here on the ranch. Jacob has given me the job of training some of the young horses. I think I’d like to go to veterinarian school once I graduate.”

  Ambitious. The boy had a vision. “Good for you.” Josh felt uncomfortable. Looking back, he’d made some bad decisions in his life. “Is Cady here?”

  “I believe so. If you’d like to sit at the table, I’ll go find her. Could I get you something to drink while you wait?”

  He waved his hand in a flat motion. “No, I’m good.” Once Nathan had gone, he looked around the kitchen. The house was relatively quiet. He’d seen the guards Aron had hired, making their rounds. Isaac had done the same thing. This morning when he’d passed Hardbodies on his way to work, there had been a purposefully visible presence. Seeing the man watching the premises made him feel better about Emma.

  “Josh, did I forget an appointment?” Cady sounded concerned as she joined him.

  “No, I wanted to stop by and say thank you. In the last few weeks, you’ve helped me more than I ever imagined possible. I came to you hopeless and now my leg is as strong as ever. I know this isn’t much,” he handed her a small package, “but I wanted to give it to you.”

  Cady began to tear the wrapping from the box. “This wasn’t necessary, but I do love presents.”

  “I hope you like it.”

  Opening the box, she found a wallet. “Josh, did you make this?”

  “I did.”

  “Joseph told me about your talent and now I see he wasn’t exaggerating.” She came over to give him a hug. “You are family, Josh. Since we’ve been working together, I have come to realize how much.”

  Josh tipped his hat and left. He had a few more stops to make.

  …In her trailer, Emma held the knitting needles exactly like the YouTube video described. She couldn’t see the lady demonstrating the technique, but her description was very detailed. Every few seconds, she passed her finger over the threads to make sure she was keeping the stitches even. “I can do this, Fergus. I know I can.” He wagged his tail, she could hear the rhythmic slapping on the floor. “And you’re going to wear this scarf this winter, aren’t you?”

  A sad whine made her laugh.

  “Are you saying you don’t want to?”

  But as she quickly discovered, Fergus was responding to something else.

  Someone was driving up…and by the sound of the engine, she knew exactly who it was.

  Josh.

  Emma jumped up, touched her hair, ran her hand down her jeans, then decided she was a lost cause. “What was he doing here?” she fretted, not knowing how much more her heart could take.

  “Emma?” he called before knocking.

  She stood still. If he thought she wasn’t home, maybe he would leave.

  “Emma?”

  Bark! Bark!

  “Baby, I know you’re in there. I can hear Fergus barking.”

  “Traitor,” she whispered. Taking a deep breath, she went to see what he wanted. “I’m here.”

  “May I come in?”

  “I’m not sure what we have to say to one another.”

  “I have a lot to say. For starters, these are for you. Hold out your hands.”

  She did and he placed flowers in her grasp, a bouquet of flowers. “Lavender?” she asked with wonder, inhaling deeply.

  “Lavender and roses. White roses, they look beautiful with the purple.”

  Emma brought them closer to her face. “They smell beautiful.”

  “Can I come in now?”

  She backed up. “Of course. Please sit. May I get you something to drink?” she asked as she found a vase, filled it with water, and placed her flowers in them. Instead of leaving them on the counter, she brought them over to the coffee table and placed them close enough that she could smell them. “I’ve never received flowers before, I love them.”

  Even though Emma was being polite, he could see she was stiff as a board. She wasn’t letting her guard down for a minute. “I’m glad. I have something else for you.”

  “Josh, you didn’t have to. In fact, I wish you wouldn’t.”

  “No, here, take it. Please.”

  He pressed something small into her hand. “What is this?”

  “A digital recorder. Press this button, I wrote you a love letter.” He took her finger and showed her how to operate it.

  Emma felt a lump come in her throat. She swallowed. “You’re trying to make me cry, aren’t you?”

  “No, sweetheart, I’m not.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “I’m trying to make you smile. Now, press the button and listen.”

  “Okay.” Her hand shook as she did so.

  Dear Emma, this is my first love letter and the most important one I’ve ever written. I guess I should tell you that I’ve started this over fifteen times. As I write this, my hand is shaking. I can’t afford to mess this up. Honey, the truth is simple, from the moment we met, I haven’t been able to stay away from you. Yes, it was true that I didn’t know if I could be what you needed, but when I asked you to save me at the auction, that was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. From the night I first held you in my arms, I haven’t been able to get enough of you. I think about you all the time. I need you to know that the first time I saw you, you took my breath away. The only place I wanted to look was into your eyes and when I realized you couldn’t look into mine, I felt a huge sense of loss. When I left that night, I looked back to you, and for a minute I thought you sensed me. I felt like you were searching for me and I lifted my hand to tell you goodbye. Since then, I’ve come to realize that you see me clearer than anyone else ever has. So, please, don’t take this heaven from me, I want to be the one you cling to, the one you run to – every time.

  The recording stopped and Emma was speechless.

  Josh, however, didn’t miss a beat. “And that’s not all, I brought you candy.” He sat a box in her lap. “And I want us to put one another’s numbers in our phones – so we can sext.”

  Emma laughed. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

  “Oh, you’ll figure out a way, I have no doubt of that. And if you’ll go with me, I have something to show you.”

  “What’s that?” She ran her hand over a smooth box of chocolates, she presumed. Josh was making her head spin; she didn’t know what to think.

  “A sunset. I want to show you a sunset.” He hadn’t taken his eyes from her face. He’d never felt so helpless.

  Emma lifted her eyes, blindly searching hi
s face. “Josh, what are you doing?”

  He took a couple of uneven breaths, then just laid his cards on the table. “Wooing you. Is it working?”

  A tide of love rose within Emma; she couldn’t have held it back if she tried. “Yes,” she whispered. “It’s working.”

  “Good. And tomorrow, I want to take you out – just you and me.”

  “To dinner?”

  “Yea, I think if we’re going to get married, you ought to at least date me once, don’t you think?”

  * * *

  From the moment she admitted to Josh that his attention was welcome, Emma felt as if she were caught up in a storm. Standing upright in the face of a hurricane would be difficult, resisting Joshua Long when he set his mind to being romantic was impossible.

  He hadn’t waited patiently while she dressed, he’d gone to her bedroom and helped her, prolonging the process by stealing kisses at every opportunity. But even with the pleasurable delay, they’d made it to the highest point in Kerr county before the sun dipped over the horizon. She’d stood in his arms, bracketed to his chest, her head nestled on his shoulder as he described to her every color, every streak, every glow.

  “The sky is awash in color: robin’s egg blue, coral pink, and royal purple. And the sun is sitting on the top of the hill, like it’s holding on for just a little while longer. Streaks of gold are shooting out from it like points on a crown. Where the colors touch, they blend, like paint on an artist’s palette. And it’s not still, in the midst of the colors, clouds are moving so there’s no doubt about it, the sunset is alive. A miracle of beauty, the dying of a day in the west, the promise of a sunrise tomorrow.”

  “Oh, Josh. Thank you.” She’d turned in his arms to find his lips. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me before. I haven’t seen a sunset in twelve years, but I can say I saw one tonight.”

  “Let me be your eyes, Emma. Let me show you the world. I don’t want you to miss a thing.”

  At that moment, Emma hadn’t really understood what he meant. But over the next few days, Josh made it plain that he wanted to build his world around her. The date he promised was perfect, escorting her to a nice restaurant in Austin where she could hear the music of a fountain and feel the breeze on her face as it blew it off the lake. He took her horseback riding, holding her in front of him on the saddle and regaling her with details of everything he was seeing – from a rabbit darting through the grass to a hawk circling overhead. Oh, the facets of his personality that she was so drawn to hadn’t changed – he was still cocky, intense, sensual, an alpha male who knew he was at the top of the heap – but now all of that energy was focused directly on her. And it was exhilarating to say the least.