Cowboy Games Read online

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Cody’s voice took her out of her trance, bringing her back to her main host and dear friend. He was so cute standing at the sink with a glass in hand. If she had been a good six years younger she would have chased him around for sure.

  “Water is good, thanks,” Lana took a glance around the outdated kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it needed a good scrub, but strangely she felt at home. The frilly yellow curtains over the kitchen sink had weathered with age, but still warmed the room. The kitchen table had books and other knickknacks on it, but the signs of being used and lived in made it seem homier. Growing up in an orphanage, Lana was conditioned that everything had its place and no personal objects were to be left out. This messy home was strangely, a welcome change. “Can I help clear the table for dinner while you cook?”

  Cody looked at the table and his cheeks reddened adorably. “Sure. Sorry! We’ve been so busy lately.”

  “No problem at all,” Lana gave him a smile as she picked up a used plastic cup. “Is it okay if I throw this away?”

  “Yes,” Cody absently agreed as he moved over to the refrigerator.

  Lana opened the trash can. When she looked down she saw that dirty ceramic dishes were piled into the can. Don’t mention it, Lana! You are just the guest! It was so hard for her to bite her tongue. Turning in an effort to forget what she had just seen, Lana watched Cody pull out a frozen pizza from the freezer. “Thank you so much for having me, Cody. I really appreciate you hosting me here.”

  Cody looked a little distracted as he pulled the plastic off the pizza. “Oh! We’re happy to have you, Lana. I can’t wait to play in the same room with you.” He turned his head to look at her, pinning her with his blue eyes. Humor danced in them as he added, “I’ve been dreaming of that day for so long.”

  Oh frack! Lana thought as she swallowed hard. She knew that he meant playing The Celestial Prophesy, but her mind couldn’t help but point out the double meaning of his words. When he winked at her, she gulped realizing that it looked like she was doomed to have one brother fawn over her as she lusted after the other like a cat in heat.

  The door opened and the cold wind swept through the air, cooling off Lana’s hormones. Jesse stepped into the room and removed his brown Stenson. His sterling eyes peered into her soul she knew the truth. She was a goner. Game over.

  Chapter Six

  Jesse

  Her emerald gaze was going to be the death of him. His pulsing cock felt like it was knocking on his Montana Rider’s Rodeo Champion belt buckle, waiting to be introduced to the sexy, curvy creature standing at his kitchen table in front of him. Cody was jabbering on about one of his games oblivious to the passionate energy flowing around him. Jesse and Lana stood still, trapped in their own world.

  A smoky, burnt smell filled the kitchen as Cody opened the stove and pulled out what looked like a very burnt frozen pizza. Jesse inwardly groaned. He couldn’t blame his brother, instead Jesse blamed himself. Since his parent’s death, they had not had many guests, besides their cousin Rayne, who always brought food from Grandmother Red Bird. His brother didn’t know how to entertain anyone, let alone a beautiful woman. Jesse blamed himself that his brother simply didn’t know how to properly entertain. Frozen pizza? He knew that his mother was turning in her grave at Cody’s poor dinner company entrée choice. He could only hope that Cody had some better sides ready.

  “Looks like I’m in time for dinner,” Jesse broke his gaze from the tempting woman who he wanted to feast on instead, and tapped his hat off against his leg before hanging it on the peg next to the door. Jesse challenged himself to walk by her to get the plates out of the cabinet. As he moved by her, he was assaulted by her sweet scent. It was like she had the strawberry smell coming out of her pores. Coming closer to her, the stronger scent only made him want to lick her to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. Proximity to Lana is a bad idea! He told himself. Fuck! He was so torn. A part of him wanted to stay away and respect his brother and the other wanted to throw Lana over his shoulder and carry her off to the mountains to breed her like a wild animal.

  Shutting off his inappropriate thoughts, he didn’t miss her blush as he gently brushed her shoulder when he moved past her. Just the slight touch of her shoulder made his dick stand taller, demanding attention. Down boy! He never would have expected that he would be attracted to a woman who sported streaks of different colors in her hair, but it really did it for him. It only accented her uniqueness.

  After he put the plates on the table, he turned to see that Lana was cutting up some salad fixings and adding it to a big bowl. Cody was next to her, almost slicing his fingers off as he cut the pizza without even looking at it. The boy had it bad. He couldn’t take his eyes off Lana and Jesse couldn’t blame him.

  Once the food was set at the table, Cody seemed to feel the need to fill the quiet space and Lana looked relieved to have him do it.

  “Lana, do you remember that star fight in the Etruscan Galaxy. The one where Blazing Comet went all Leeroy Jenkins on us?”

  Lana looked to almost spit her food out with laughter. Jesse felt himself relax at seeing her so comfortable and Cody actually enjoying himself.

  She reached for her water and took a big gulp. Jesse watched her pink lips kiss the edge of the clear glass and wished that they were kissing his dick. Wait! Where did that come from? Why am I jealous of a freakin’ glass? Has it come to that already?

  Jesse cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say. He knew that he could come off broody and didn’t want Lana to feel uncomfortable around him. “So, who is Leeroy Jenkins?”

  Cody and Lana turned to give him equally shocked looks. “You don’t know who Leeroy Jenkins is? Jesse, I only told you about it a month or two ago,” Cody reached across the table grabbing the salad bowl as he shot daggers out of his eyes at Jesse.

  “Ummm, can you remind me?” Jesse didn’t want Lana to think that he didn’t listen to his brother, but it looked like he was going to be painted as that kind of ass.

  “Lana, can you take this one?” Cody gave her a conspiratorial smile.

  Lana smiled back and Jesse felt his erection grow taller. Her eyes turning back to look at him only made it worse and when her little pink tongue came out to wet her lips, he knew he was a goner. Pushing his cock down as best he could, he prayed that he could make it through this crappy dinner. There was no way that he was going to be able to concentrate on a word she said while taking in her sexiness. Leeroy Jenkins would forever be a mystery to him.

  Jesse leaned back and allowed Lana’s sultry voice to pull him in, “In World of Warcraft there was this silly skit done, where a group was getting ready to fight dragons. They had gone over their battle plans, but one of their members had gone off to make a sandwich and they didn’t realize that he hadn’t heard their plans. When he came back, he shouted his name ‘Leeroy Jenkins’ as he ran into the dragon-infested room without waiting for his team. They were forced to follow him as their position was compromised and it was a bloodbath. Thus, the famous battle cry ‘Leeroy Jenkins.’”

  Lana gave a little laugh at the end of her speech and Jesse wished that he could bottle it.

  Lana looked over at Cody and gave him a bright smile, which made the teen almost drop the food he had on his fork. “How’s school, Cody?”

  Cody’s cheeks turned bright red. “Good.”

  “Are you liking your classes?”

  “Yes,” Cody glanced over at Jesse nervously and in that moment, Jesse knew that Cody was trying to hide something.

  Lana took another sip of her water and then grabbed another slice of the burnt pizza, scraping the bottom off a bit. “That’s great! I don’t want to cut into your school time, so I am happy to work around your classes.”

  Jesse’s ears perked up. That was a strange thing to say to a high schooler. They always had school at the same time every day. Someone or something wasn’t right. Maybe Lana wasn’t a school friend here to v
isit. Why was she here?

  Cody looked down at his food, suddenly fascinated by his salad. “Thanks.”

  “What time would you like me to be ready tomorrow?” Lana innocently asked as she picked the cheese off the top of the pizza.

  “Ummm… does 9:00 work?” Cody threw out at her, his eyes nervously glancing over at Jesse.

  Jesse couldn’t take it anymore, “You have high school at 9:00 tomorrow, Cody. What are you planning on showing her?”

  “High school?” Lana blurted out. She then looked contrite as she put her pizza down. “Sorry. I thought you were going to community college, Cody.”

  Chapter Seven

  Lana

  This had to be one of the top ten most uncomfortable moments in Lana’s life, and she had had many. Between Cody, who looked to be sheepishly guilty, almost trying to slide under the table, and the sexy, brooding brother, Lana felt uncertain what to do. The pieces were beginning to click together and she felt more like an intruder than a guest. Cody had obviously never told his brother about his offer. The very brother who ran the ranch and seemed to have a direct line to her libido.

  Glancing over at Cody, Lana felt sorry for the boy who was not quite a man. She had a feeling that he had a crush on her and was hoping to be seen as older and more sophisticated than he was. As someone who had grown up in an orphanage, Lana understood that need to feel as though you could offer more than you thought you really could to make your value to others seem higher. She could see that Cody would be more sophisticated one day, but today was not that day.

  Lana could feel Jesse’s piercing silver eyes on her as he was beginning to click the pieces together. She felt like she was somehow in trouble for being here.

  “So Lana, please tell me, are you in high school?” Jesse bit out.

  Lana looked up at him, feeling her cheeks redden. That was not the question she had expected. “Umm… no.”

  Jesse shifted in his chair, seeming to be relieved by her answer, but making Lana very aware of the symphony of strong muscles under his flannel shirt. “May I ask why you are here then?”

  Lana looked over at Cody to jump in. Jesse was making her feel a little nervous. She couldn’t quite read him. Sure, he smiled politely at her a time or two, but it never seemed to reach his eyes.

  “Well, ummm… Cody invited me here. I am a professional video game player for The Celestial Prophesy…”

  “Ahhh… that’s where I’ve seen you before,” Jesse interrupted.

  “Yes, well… When I’m not working, I help my friend and teammate, Steph, run a clinic for underprivileged girls to learn coding. We hope to teach them some skills to help them get jobs when they get out of school. Many of these girls have never had ‘life experiences’ outside of Berkeley and Oakland. We really wanted to do something to expand their world view. I mentioned it to Solar… I mean Cody, and he suggested having one of the coding clinics here at the ranch. He thought that the girls would like to learn how to ride horses and lasso…” Lana let her words trail off as she saw Jesse’s jaw begin to tighten.

  Lana looked at Cody to see him fidget under the silence that had filled the room.

  Jesse took a sip of his beer and Lana couldn’t help but notice that his lips were surprisingly full for such a hard man.

  “Well, I wish you had told me about your idea sooner, Cody,” Jesse put down his beer and wiped his mouth. “Miss, I’m sorry you came out here for nothing. This is a working ranch, not a vacation destination.”

  Lana started to knot her napkin in her lap. “I’m sorry too, I…”

  Jesse held up a hand cutting Lana off. “With that being said, I imagine that you had planned on staying here a few days to see the ranch and try to figure it out.”

  Lana swallowed nervously, “Yes.”

  Jesse looked over at Cody and gave a tight smile. Lana wished like Hell that she could decipher that little smirk. Cody’s eyes seemed to be glued to his dinner plate. Who knew that salad and burnt pizza could be so fascinating? Jesse’s deep voice brought her back out of her thoughts. “Well, since you came all this way, there’s no reason that we shouldn’t see if we can’t work something out. Maybe having something like a clinic here wouldn’t be such a bad thing…”

  Cody’s head snapped up so fast that Lana almost laughed. “Really?” Cody then jumped out of his seat with excitement.

  Jesse let out a low laugh that Lana felt right at her lady parts. “Yes. Sit down Cody. There will be a few rules though.”

  “Anything,” Cody agreed as he plopped down into his seat. It really was cute to see this gawky teen so excited.

  Jesse leaned back in his chair and pointed at Cody, “You have to go to school. I’ll show Lana around and discuss the clinic with her during the day. When you get back and you have finished your homework, then you and she can play your game and discuss the clinic more. Do you agree?”

  Lana laughed as Cody looked at her and winked. “YES!” Cody raised his fist in the air.

  “Okay,” Jesse gave a little laugh of his own. “It’s settled.”

  Lana felt relieved that Jesse was considering the clinic, but spending any alone time with him seemed downright dangerous. The man was a walking sex god, not that Lana really had any experience there. But, just seeing the muscles filling out his shirt, his tight butt, and strong jaw made her hope that she could keep her hands to herself. Or if she couldn’t that he wouldn’t mind…

  Chapter Eight

  Lana

  After dinner, Lana helped clear the plates and wash up. Since it was now obvious that she was more of a house crasher than guest, she wanted to be as helpful as she could. Besides, if she didn’t initiate the cleaning, it looked like the mess might stay around for a while.

  “Do you want to play a little CP before bed?” Cody asked her hopefully as he wiped down the table.

  “Sure! Lead the way, Solar Cowboy!” Lana folded the dishcloth she had been using to dry the dishes and placed it on the counter.

  Jesse moved from the counter where he had been working and grabbed his hat. “I’m going to go check on the animals. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Lana couldn’t help but check out his butt as he walked out the door. His ass was all muscle and made her want to take a bite out of it. She almost giggled aloud when she thought Cowboy, it’s what’s for dinner!

  Cody seemed oblivious to her pre-occupation with his brother’s fine derriere and had already moved out of the kitchen. Lana raced out to catch up with him, just as he headed down the hall to one of the mystery doors that she had seen before.

  “Welcome to my lair!” he wiggled his eyebrows at her as he swung his door open.

  The first thing that Lana noticed was the ‘boy funk’ that perfumed the air. The room was a mess. Clothes piled everywhere, glasses on the desk, and posters covering the walls.

  Growing up in a strict orphanage with nuns who saw cleanliness next to Godliness, his room looked like a nightmare. Lana tried to stop herself from turning and running. She managed to hold herself back from running in terror and for that, she mentally patted herself on the back.

  “Wow, Cody, your room is so… full,” was all that she could think of as she stepped carefully over a game controller, being mindful of not catching herself in the cables.

  “Ummm… yeah. I meant to clean it before you came, but I got busy with my schoolwork. I’m so ready for high school to be over,” he picked up some of his clothes on the ground and chucked them over to a corner. “Sorry. Let me clear off some of this stuff off my bed so you can sit.”

  Lana really didn’t want to sit on his bed, but she didn’t know what to say or how to get out of it. She watched as he picked up the pile of sweatshirts, jeans, socks, and other miscellaneous clothing items and stacked them on the floor next to his desk. He then pulled the navy comforter up, covering the wrinkled, green sheets.

  Turning away, Lana saw a big window on the other side of the room. “Do you mind if I open the window. I just love this mount
ain air,” because I can’t breathe over the guy-funk smell of your room, Lana added to herself as she gave him an innocent smile.

  “Sure,” Cody agreed straightening the comforter.

  Am I an idiot? I’m in a stranger’s bedroom and he’s straightening his bed so I can sit on it. Sure, he’s a high-schooler, but he’s way stronger than me… no, Cody is a sweet boy. You’ll be fine...

  Reaching over to the TV, Cody turned on the screen. Immediately, his screensaver popped on. It was a picture of her team dressed in ridiculous James Bond/ futuristic metallic silver, body hugging space outfits.

  Cody looked embarrassed to be caught with such a picture on his computer. Lana felt guilty for feeling nervous a moment ago. He was obviously embarrassed about his interest in her and it was clear that he was harmless. His boyish expressions reminded her a bit of Lance, who had been like a younger brother to her at the orphanage before he had been adopted. Lana sighed as she remembered him. Many times she thought about looking him up. They had lost contact after he had left. Losing touch was one of her biggest regrets in life.

  Trying to lighten her mood, Lana turned her attention back to the ridiculous marketing photo. “I remember those outfits. It was the itchiest thing I have ever worn,” Lana laughed as she walked over to pick up one of the game controllers as Cody sat down on the bed holding another one.

  “Yeah, I could see that,” Cody quietly agreed as he started the game up.

  The Celestial Prophesy flashed across the screen as the opening credits began. Pressing the X button, Cody brought them to the log-in screen and Lana entered in her information. The screen then split in two so that way they both could play.