Bartender's Beauty (Culpepper Cowboys Book 11) Read online

She tilted her head forward. “I think I’m going to like being married.”

  He laughed. “I know I am. Wanna know why?”

  She grinned as he threw her words back at her. “Why?”

  “Because I get to hold you and touch you ever night for the rest of our lives.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “Me too!” He made quick work of her buttons, although the size of them made him wonder what the designer was thinking. “Why do they put teeny tiny buttons that are too small for a man’s hands on wedding dresses? Do they think your chamber maid is going to be undressing you instead of your husband?”

  “Don’t ask me! I didn’t buy the thing. I don’t even know who it belongs to.”

  Austin laughed at that. “Could be anyone in Culpepper. The town really came together for our wedding, didn’t they?”

  “They really did!” She shook her head. “I realized something today too.”

  “What did you realize?” His hands on her shoulders turned her back around so she was facing him, and he pushed her dress off her shoulders, watching as it fell, his eyes glued to the skin he’d just uncovered.

  “I thought that Allen and Kolby tolerated me, because they were your friends, but I realized today that they were my friends too. When they saw me and hugged me, they didn’t look like they were just putting up with me. They genuinely like me.”

  “Yeah, they do. They always have. When we played together at recess when we were little, they weren’t doing it just because I wanted to play with you. It was because we were all friends. Things got weird in junior high because you were a girl, and we were boys, but we all always considered you one of our friends.” He frowned. “Let me amend that. They considered you a friend, and I considered you a future wife.”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “It’s still hard for me to believe you had feelings for all this time.”

  “You heard Brother Anthony, and you know as well as I do he was speaking off the cuff. If I’d tried to get him to say something like that he’d have messed it up so badly it wouldn’t have been comprehensible.”

  She grinned. “That’s true.” She looked down, noticing the wedding dress had pooled around her waist, and she was standing in front of him in her full slip, bra, and panties. And shoes. She kicked her shoes off to get them out of her way. She wanted nothing to keep her night with Austin from being magical.

  “Have I mentioned how much I love your body?” he asked, leaning down and brushing his lips across hers as his fingers stroked her bare shoulders.

  She shook her head. “Not enough for me to believe you.”

  He groaned. “So you think I’ve been lusting after your brain all these years and your body had nothing to do with it?”

  “You’ve been lusting after me? Does Brother Anthony know this?”

  He shook his head. “No, but I have a feeling God does, and He hasn’t struck me by lightning yet!”

  “Lust is a sin!”

  “Lusting after my neighbor’s wife is a sin. Lusting after my wife is smart and fun.” He took her hand in his and pulled her toward his bedroom and the king sized bed there. “Come along with me, my pretty,” he said in his best wicked witch voice.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think you’re supposed to try to imitate a woman’s voice on your wedding night.”

  He shrugged, looking at the window that had the blinds drawn. “Probably not, but it’s still daylight, so technically, it’s our wedding afternoon.”

  “Oh, well I’ve always been taught that I shouldn’t be with a man until my wedding night. I guess we’ll just have to wait.” She sat down on the foot of his bed, making sure her dress fell to the floor at her feet as she did. She was surprised it had stayed up for as long as it had.

  “Well, if you think it’s a sin to make love with your husband when it’s not nighttime, I’m about to introduce you to living in sin, my love.” He sat down beside her and kicked off his shoes and socks before turning to her and cupping her face in his hands. “And it all starts with a single kiss.”

  She sighed, leaning toward him and stroking his shoulders through all his clothes. She quickly went to work divesting him of his suit jacket while she kissed him back, her tongue stroking his top lip. She felt him shudder against her and grinned. “You’re wearing way too many clothes.”

  “You just want me for my shoulders…”

  “Oh, I’m not sure that’s completely true. There are other parts of you I’m very interested in exploring.”

  “Is that right? Would you care to share which ones?”

  She laughed. “Nope. I wouldn’t.” She threw his tie to the floor and unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it out of his slacks. Her hands stroked over his bare chest, her teeth scraping against where his neck connected to his shoulder. “I do like touching you.”

  He grinned. “I sure hope so, because I plan on there being a whole lot of touching going on between us in the three million years of marriage we have before us.”

  “Three million, huh? You expect to be that old?”

  He shrugged. “I just refuse to let you go, so we’ll both have to live that long to be together.”

  “You’re just a little bit crazy, Austin James.”

  “And you’re not, Dallas James?”

  She smiled at the sound of her new name. “Dallas James. I like that.”

  “Me too!” He pushed the strap of her full slip off her shoulder and pressed his lips to the skin he bared. His hands stroking the slip down until it pooled around her waist.

  She reached behind her and unfastened her bra, wishing she’d taken the time to shop for some pretty little bras instead of wearing the boring white she had always had. She’d never understood the joy of bra and matching panty sets until that moment when she realized she didn’t want him seeing her underwear. She wanted to laugh at herself, but she was too busy kissing her husband to bother.

  Austin pushed her bra off for her, pulling her against him and loving the feel of her bare breasts against his chest. “I could just sit like this for hours, enjoying how you feel against me.”

  She leaned back and raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? Hours?”

  He chuckled. “Okay, probably not hours, but definitely fifteen seconds or so…I’m ready to get to the good stuff.”

  She shook her head at him. “From what I can tell, it’s all the good stuff.”

  He got down on the floor at her feet, pulling her slip down over her hips and tugging her panties off, throwing them both on the floor.

  Dallas couldn’t look at him as she sat there, naked in front of him for the first time. What if he was disgusted by what he saw? She would be heartbroken.

  “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.”

  Dallas stole a glance at him, and he was staring at her with awe. There was no doubt in her mind that he meant exactly what he said. He thought she was beautiful. All the years that her father had berated her for her body, all the years she’d spent hiding when she had to change in a locker room was down to this moment.

  Austin was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful human being on the planet, and all at once, she believed him. She didn’t believe she was the most beautiful, because that would stretch the imagination too far, but she believed he believed it. And that’s all that mattered.

  She felt a tear trickle down her cheek, but his thumb was there to catch it. “Thank you.” The words were barely a whisper, but he heard them, and as always he understood.

  “You’re everything to me, Dallas. Thank you for coming back into my life and marrying me. Thank you for being you.”

  She shook her head, catching his hand and pulling him off his knees. When he stood before her, she unfastened his pants and pushed them to the floor. “Make love with me, Austin.”

  “Like you need to ask me that!” he said, lying down beside her on the bed, his hand stroking down her body. “Tell me if I do anything you don’t like.”

  She laughed. “With
you? I’ll like everything.” She stroked his shoulders, his chest, and as he stroked her, she felt her body react to him. She wanted this man in a way she’d never wanted another. She wanted him to join his body to hers and never part from her again.

  His hand went between her thighs and stroked her for a moment, before he knelt between them. He felt like he was rushing things too quickly, but her eyes were glazed, and she was very obviously as carried away by their passion as he was.

  Dallas stared up at him, feeling no nervousness or fear as she expected, just overwhelming passion. Her hands went to his chest, and she stroked it as he entered her body. His hands stroked her breasts, and he leaned over to kiss her, even as his body began to dance with hers.

  A short time later, Austin collapsed beside her, pulling her close against him, her head on his shoulder. “Now you know what it’s like to live in sin,” he said when he finally caught his breath.

  “Live in sin?” she asked, confused. “We’re married.”

  “Yeah, but we made love before our wedding night. It’s still light out.”

  She rested he back of her wrist against her forehead dramatically. “I feel like such a trollop! Oh, woe is me! What have I done?”

  “Other than made your new husband the happiest man on earth? I have no idea!” His hand stroked her shoulder, smoothing her hair away from her face. He didn’t remember either of them taking it down, but it was now released from its captivity and spilling over both of them.

  She pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “You know, for a little while there, I saw myself through your eyes and almost believed I really was beautiful.”

  “Hopefully you’ll learn to do that for longer and longer periods until you realize that it’s your vision that’s skewed, not mine.” For now, he’d just be pleased that he’d gotten her father’s voice out of his head for long enough that she believed it a little bit.

  She sighed, her hand exploring his ribs and abdomen. “Have I mentioned how much I love touching you? We get to sleep late tomorrow, right?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, but I do have to work tomorrow evening.”

  “It’s Tuesday,” she said softly. “Was it only a week ago that I promised you every Tuesday night?”

  “I think it was. You go back to school on Wednesday, right?”

  She nodded. “Students have a couple of weeks yet, but I go back tomorrow. I get to set up my classroom and get ready for the school year. It’s going to be strange.”

  “Being back at Culpepper High?”

  “Yeah. And teaching all levels of math. I’m used to a big school. I taught five periods of algebra one. Here I’ll be teaching pre-algebra through calculus. It’s going to be a much bigger challenge.”

  He grinned. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you mention teaching at Culpepper High in anything that sounded remotely like you’re glad you’re doing it.”

  She smiled, rubbing her cheek against the smooth skin of his shoulder. “Maybe I’m starting to see Culpepper through your eyes a little more too.”

  “I hope so.”

  Chapter Eight

  The next day was Dallas’s last day before she had to start working. She was ready to see her classroom and suddenly excited about getting to work. There was something about Austin that made her see things in a more positive light.

  A couple of hours before he had to leave for work, he took her hand. “We need to go for a walk.”

  “A walk?” She shrugged. “Okay, let’s go for a walk.” She put her socks and sneakers on, already wearing shorts and a T-shirt. It was one of those too-hot summer days in her mind. Even there in the mountains, she was scalding.

  Once she was ready, he took her by the hand and walked in a seemingly aimless direction. “Where are we going?”

  He shrugged. “Just walking.” He had something in mind, but he wanted her to be surprised.

  Finally, he walked onto the schoolyard, and she laughed. “I’m not going to live under the monkey bars with you. I’m not crazy, and according to Kolby, you couldn’t catch a fish to save your life.”

  “I don’t still want to do that. I’d rather have a bed to be in with you every night than sleeping in dirt that could get…places.” Austin led her toward the monkey bars anyway, kneeling down beside one of the posts. “Look here.”

  Dallas knelt beside him, looking at the very bottom of the post to see what he was pointing at, before she burst out laughing. “Austin + Dallas. When did you do this?”

  He shrugged. “Probably late nineties? I’ve looked for it a few times, and I always kind of expected the school would buff it out, but it’s still there.”

  She laughed, turning to him. “I love it. Thank you for showing me this.”

  He grinned. “I thought, because it was the first romantic thing I ever did for you, we should do each other right here. Just once.”

  Her eyes widened, and she shook her head, laughing. “I’m not having sex under the monkey bars at our old elementary school! What if some kids walked by?”

  He looked in every direction, obviously making sure no one was coming, before cupping her face in his hands and kissing her until her toes curled. “I guess that will have to do.”

  She shook her head, looking at him with a dazed look. “Think we have time to get home and make some memories before you have to go to work?”

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the time. “Probably not. Darn it. I’d call someone in for me, but they’ve all been working extra to cover my shifts for a week as I’ve followed you around like a lost puppy dog.”

  “Like you’ve ever done that. It was more like being beside me so I always had an incredibly broad, sexy shoulder to cry on.”

  “You should come dance with me tonight, though. No one will mind.” They hadn’t been apart since the wedding, and he kind of wanted to keep her with him for as long as possible.

  She thought about it for a minute before nodding. “I’ll do that.” She got to her feet. “It’s been a long time since we sat in the dirt together.”

  He grinned. “We’ll have to do it more often. Remember when we’d play with my Matchbox cars here?”

  She nodded. She’d wanted to play Barbie, but she’d never dared to ask, because she was always sure he’d never want to play with her again if she confessed to liking girly pursuits. He was her only friend, so she couldn’t care make him angry. “If I’d asked to play dolls, would you have done it?”

  He laughed. “Probably. But I would have insisted that I was the daddy and you were the mommy, and that meant I got to kiss you a lot.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t believe you were thinking about kissing when we were that young.”

  “I don’t think I would have been if you hadn’t come along.” He reached down a hand and helped her to her feet. “Let’s go home. I need to grab a sandwich before I head to the bar.”

  She frowned. “You realize that starting tomorrow, we’re going to have exact opposite schedules. I’ll be up early, and you’ll be staying up late.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll make the day shift guy switch with me.”

  “The bar’s open during the day?”

  He nodded. “He doesn’t get a ton of business, which was why he’s been working days. He’s the least experienced bartender. He serves a few drinks and does some short-order cooking, making meals for anyone who wants one.”

  “I didn’t know you were equipped for that.”

  He shrugged. “Sure. For little stuff. He’ll make eggs or a burger or something. We’re not talking gourmet.” He glanced over at her. “I’m sure we’ll lose all of our early in the day customers to Bob’s Burger Barn as soon as it opens. Rumor has it that Bob can make a burger like nobody’s business.”

  “Are you worried about that?”

  “Nah. So much more profit in alcohol than food. It’s just a place where some of the older men in town like to hang out at lunchtime, so I keep it open for them. They don’t like how busy t
he diner gets.”

  When they reached the house, he opened the door. “Do you make yourself something to eat at the bar at night?”

  He shrugged. “Every once in a while, if I’m hungry. Mostly I just eat before I go.” He walked into the kitchen. “You sit, and I’ll make us some sandwiches.”

  Dallas watched him move around the kitchen, liking what she saw a great deal. “You know what it does to a woman to see her man in the kitchen? Even if he is wearing a shirt.”

  “Are you asking me to take my shirt off while I make sandwiches?” He looked at her like she’d lost her mind.

  “Well, if it’s too much trouble…” She shrugged, trying to give him an innocent look.

  He laughed, peeling his shirt off over his head. “I have a feeling I’m going to like being married to you.”

  “I hope so. Apparently it’s a dream that’s over twenty years old. I’d better make it worth having.”

  He shook his head as he finished the sandwiches. “I’m sure that life will never again be boring.”

  *****

  Dallas sneaked out of bed while Austin was still sleeping the next morning, slipping into the shower and getting dressed. She was glad jeans and shorts were fine until the students arrived, because she had a lot of planning to do, and she was going to work more easily if she was comfortable.

  Once she was dressed, she leaned over and kissed Austin. “I’ll see you later.”

  He yawned. “I’ll bring you lunch at school.”

  “Sounds good.” With one last kiss she was on her way, nervous about her first day.

  She pulled up in front of the school and went to the entrance she’d been told would be open, and stood outside the school for a moment, nervous about entering the building. She was a lot stronger than she’d been back when she graduated, but that didn’t make it any easier.

  After a moment, she pulled open the door and walked down a short hall to the office, noting the musty smell of a school that had been locked up all summer. She passed the gym and shuddered. She had terrible memories of classes in there.

  When she got to the office, she leaned on the counter. “I’m Miss Gustafson, the new math teacher.”