All Hat No Cattle: A Red Hot and BOOM! Story by Randi Alexander

curved upward and he found it hard
to take in a breath. “You don’t know how glad I am to hear that.”
He set his hands on her shoulders.
    She shivered under his palms.
    “Do you want to go someplace and talk for a
while?” He wanted to grab her, pull her in, haul her somewhere and
make love to her, but she deserved his respect and restraint.
    “We’ll go to my room, Shaw Donahue, but there
won’t be much talkin’ going on.” She gave him a wicked smile. “At
least not until tomorrow morning, over breakfast.”
    ****
    The grin that broke across Shaw’s face
completely eased her guilt at the way she’d treated him the last
few days, and erased the embarrassment she felt at her brazen
words. Her heart tumbled a little wildly.
    He pulled her against him and tipped his head
down. “Red, ain’t nothin’ I’d like better.” His lips brushed hers
softly, warm and firm. Then he tasted her with his tongue, tracing
her lips.
    She opened for him, and he invaded. His
tongue found hers in a teasing duel. He explored, running his
tongue along her teeth and across the roof of her mouth. Her core
contracted as heat exploded deep inside her, racing through her
bloodstream.
    Long minutes later, with the fireworks still
exploding above them and her knees quivering, he pulled back. “You
interested in these fireworks, or do you want to make some of our
own?”
    She laughed. “Your lines, Shaw.
Outrageous.”
    He stepped around her and opened the
passenger door for her. “I got a hundred of them, Red. All for
you.”
    She brushed her hand across his cheek. “I
can’t wait.” After she was tucked in, he walked around the hood of
the car, typing on his phone.
    He slid into the driver’s seat.
    “You let the guys know you’ve got a
ride?”
    He nodded and stared at her. “I turned it
off, too. They’ll be sending text messages telling me to go for it
because they like you, Harper.” He slid his hand around her neck to
her nape. “But I don’t need them telling me anything. I know in my
gut this is going to be the start of something good. Really
good.”
    She leaned in and kissed him, giving up every
last ounce of her uncertainty. He was the one.
    Five minutes later, Shaw used Harper’s key
card to unlock her hotel room door. He held it open and she walked
in first. The air conditioning hit her like a polar blast. Before
the door closed, he spun her toward him and kissed her. He was
exceptionally skilled at it, too. His hands caressed her arms, over
her shoulders, and up and down her back as his tongue played with
hers, coaxing hers into his mouth for her own exploration.
    Wherever he touched, tingles burst on her
skin. She squeezed her thighs together to intensify the sweet ache
in her pussy.
    He slowed the kiss and stared down at her.
“Are you sure, Harper? This is what you want?”
    It didn’t even cross her mind to stop now.
Batting her eyes at him, she ripped open the front of his shirt,
popping all seven snaps. “That’s how sure I am, cowboy.” Referring
to him as a cowboy when he technically wasn’t one didn’t bother her
a bit. She liked him. She trusted him. She wanted to have breakfast
with him tomorrow. And many mornings after that.
    Harper ran her fingers through the soft,
brown curls that formed a light thatch on his chest and thinned to
a trickle as they headed south to his waistband. “God, I love your
hair.” She touched the brim of his hat, and when he bent toward
her, she pulled it off and set it on a chair. With her fingers, she
combed his hair, letting it go wild.
    He shrugged off his shirt and tossed it
aside, then pulled off her shirt, boots, and jeans until she stood
there in only her pink bra and panties. “You are beautiful,
Harper.” He stroked her hair. “Everything about you. I liked just
sittin’ and talking with you today. You’re so smart. Makes me
wonder if you—”
    She brushed her fingers across his lips.
“Let’s save the heavy stuff for breakfast.”
    He kissed