Because Of You: A blazing hot cowboy romance. Kristina O'Grady

gyrating on the dance floor swept through her hazy memory. And booze, lots and lots of booze. She groaned and covered her face back up with the pillow. No wonder she didn’t feel so hot. But there was still the matter of the expanse of skin lying next to her. She peeked again, this time following the trail of skin up towards the other pillow.

      Her eyes swept across his face, taking in every glorious feature as she slowly moved her eyes upward.

      Oh no. It couldn’t be.

      Blue eyes pierced hers through his heavily lidded lashes.

      She sat bolt upright, clutching the sheet to her bare breasts. She looked at the man lying next to her in horror. Sweet Jesus, he was naked!

      ‘You alright, Beth? You look like you’ve seen a pink cow.’ Mark Asher, the man who she’d had a crush on since forever, grinned up at her.

      She opened her mouth but no sound came out. How could she have gone home with him? She looked down at her own nakedness flimsily covered in a sheet. How could she have done that with him? Oh my God, he was practically married.

      He sat up, obviously not caring if his half of the sheet covered all his important bits. No matter how hard she tried not to look, her eyes kept straying to what should have been under the covers.

      ‘Like what you see, B? Instead of just looking, we could make use of it, you know.’ Mark grinned at her again, this time his smile full of the mischief she was used to on his face.

      She clutched the sheet tighter against her breasts, ‘Not on your life, Mark, put that thing away.’ She deliberately averted her eyes and looked out the window at the trees in his back yard. ‘How did I end up here? Naked. In your bed?’

      ‘Don’t you remember, B?’ He reached out and tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear, still not bothering to hike the sheet any higher. ‘Helga left with Ben, along with her keys. You were stuck at The Jackson and decided to hang out with me and the boys once all your friends left. One thing led to another and we ended up here’

      ‘We…um, never did…um,’ she said, waving her hand between them, ‘anything, did we?’

      ‘Trust me, B, if we had sex, you’d remember. We did get a little frisky, but you passed out and I’m not the sort of guy to take advantage of a friend.’

      Beth turned back to face him. ‘What’s going on, Mark? Why am I here and not Kelsey? What are you playing at?’

      ‘Nothing,’ he said, letting out a long sigh. ‘You know as well as I do, B, Kelsey and I broke up weeks ago.’

      ‘But everyone thought you were getting married. You were dating forever.’ She squirmed. It was so uncomfortable sitting naked in the bed her friend Kelsey not long ago shared with the man lying next to her. She shifted closer to the edge and looked around for her clothes. It was well past time she’d left.

      Mark reached out and touched her arm. ‘Hey, it’s alright,’ he said gently. ‘We never did anything last night. I promise.’

      She looked into his eyes and trusted him. In all the years Beth knew Mark Asher, she never knew him to lie. At least not to her. He always, no matter how painful, told her the truth. She nodded. A tear slipped down her cheek. What had she done? How could she even be here with him? It didn’t matter that he’d broken up with Kelsey. Her friend was going to kill her…and with good reason. Even if they hadn’t done anything, she was still naked in his bed.

      Beth had never breathed anything to anyone about how she felt about Mark, especially since Kelsey started dating him. But ever since the first day her brother Ben had dragged Mark home with him when they were kids, she was lost. Lightning struck and from then on she was ruined for anyone else. Sure she’d dated, but no one could live up to her brother’s best friend. Having him lying next to her, naked, was more than anything she could have ever hoped for…him being her friend’s ex was a nightmare.

      She checked the room again, this time not caring if he actually noticed what she was doing. Where were her clothes? Surely she didn’t leave them behind at the bar. She desperately tried to recall what happened after they arrived at Mark’s but her mind stubbornly stayed blank.

      ‘Hang on, B, I’ll get your clothes for you.’ Mark seemed to read her mind. He hopped out of bed and went out into the hallway, not bothering to pull on some pants before he walked across the room. Beth’s eyes were glued to his backside; she couldn’t look away even if she tried.

      He came back into the room with her clothes from last night in his arms. He dumped them on the bed. ‘They stink,’ he said, wrinkling his nose. ‘Did you bathe in bourbon last night or something?’

      The stench reached her nose and a wave of nausea swept through her and she had to breathe through her mouth and swallow several times before she trusted herself enough to say anything. ‘Take them away,’ she gasped. It did smell as though she had taken a bath in bourbon…and rye and tequila. Oh God, she was going to be sick. She struggled to untangle the sheets from around her legs while trying to stand up at the same time. She needed to get to the bathroom – fast. The sheets refused to let go and she fell across the floor in a heap. Of course they decided to unravel at that moment and leave her naked and exposed on the floor.

      Mark grabbed the offending clothes, chucked them back into the hallway. ‘I guess now we know why we left them out there. You can borrow some of mine,’ he said as he reached down and pulled her to her feet.

      The shock of his bare skin touching hers sank the contents of her stomach back down where they belonged.

       Chapter 2

      Her skin felt like silk.

      Mark slowly slid his hands down her arms. The soft hairs sprung up at his touch. He circled her wrist and drew her a step closer, her feet still tangled in the sheet on the ground, making her stumble slightly against him. Her bare breasts brushed against his chest. Heat rushed through him until he couldn’t resist any longer. He lowered his head down to hers until his lips were a fraction away from her mouth.

      He wasn’t sure if the moan he heard came from her lips or his. He didn’t stop to find out. He couldn’t arrest his descent. He’d waited a lifetime for this moment. He tangled his hands in her hair and tugged her the last few inches towards him.

      Her lips were soft and welcoming. Her mouth opened for him on a gasp. Desire consumed him, making him lightheaded and single-minded. His hands roamed her back and across her shoulders. He caressed her skin everywhere he could reach. Reality was far better than the fantasies he’d had about her all these years.

      Mark stepped closer until Beth was completely pressed against him, hip to chest. He shuffled her backwards until her legs bumped against the bed. Slowly he lowered her down to the mattress, his lips remaining locked on hers the entire time.

      She reached up for him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down on top of her. Pleasure rushed through him at the evidence of her wanting him. This was the moment he’d only dreamed of. There was no longer any room for second guesses or regrets.

      Mark slowly trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck, savouring every moment. She writhed beneath him as his lips slipped closer to her exposed nipples but he wasn’t going to rush, no matter how much his body screamed at him to enter her.

      With reverence, he skimmed his hands over the muscles of her stomach. Her skin rippled with his touch. He remembered from their childhood that she was ticklish. He lightly kissed her ribs. She jerked beneath him and laughed breathlessly.

      ‘Mark!’

      ‘Sorry,’ he whispered against her breast and drew a nipple into his mouth. She cried out and arched her back, her laughter gone. Her hands clutched at him and pulled him tighter against her. Her body was hot beneath his lips as he rolled her nipple with his tongue.

      He reached down to her hot centre. He flicked her bud with his thumb