"Big mouth?"
Dakota grinned. "And that as well."
Robyn turned to Jay. "You know you"ve created a monster?"
Jay started to laugh. "Yeah, but I"m sure going to enjoy the ride. Now how about we get some lunch and talk about the rest of the shoot?"
Chapter Fifteen.
Robyn glanced around the restaurant table. It was only two in the afternoon, but she was already tired. She grimaced. Was all the fantastic s.e.x with Dakota turning her into a wussy? To her surprise, she"d ended up liking Jay Turner. Under that overbearing exterior was a nice guy. Not as nice as his brother, perhaps, but still he had a great sense of humor and a sharp brain.
"Hey, bro!"
Robyn looked up as yet another tall cowboy strode toward the table. This one had dark hair and grey eyes. When he smiled, it only took her a second to guess exactly who he was.
"Hey, Gray."
Dakota and Jay stood up to greet the new arrival and the usual male ritual of punching, hugging and back slapping ensued. Robyn stayed where she was. She had no intention of standing up and being dwarfed by the three men. Better to wait until they were on her level.
Finally they sat and she found herself being observed by the new Turner brother whom she guessed must be Grayson, the oldest. His gaze was open and friendly, his smile warm. He held out his hand.
"Hi, I"m Grayson Turner."
"I"m Robyn Cooper, Dakota"s personal a.s.sistant."
Grayson"s eyebrows rose and he looked at Jay. "How much are you paying Dakota so that he can afford an a.s.sistant?"
"Not enough, trust me," Dakota muttered.
Robyn shrugged. "Actually, I"m cheap. I work for food."
Grayson laughed. "d.a.m.n, I wish you lived near me. I could do with a workforce like that."
The waiter approached and Grayson picked up the menu and studied it before ordering a rare steak sandwich and fried onion rings. Dakota smiled encouragingly at Robyn and put his hand on her knee under the table. Did he think she was afraid? Despite his concern and the palpable wave of testosterone surrounding her, Robyn felt perfectly secure.
"So how"s it going?" Grayson looked inquiringly at Dakota and Jay. "Lauren wants all the details."
Robyn sat up straight. Lauren did, did she?
"It"s going OK." Dakota shrugged. "Although I feel like a complete idiot."
"He looks like one too." Jay laughed and punched Dakota"s shoulder. "They"ve got him made up like some super model."
Grayson"s mouth twitched. "Dakota wears make-up?"
"Everyone in a commercial has to wear make-up." Robyn smiled firmly at the two older brothers. "Their features wouldn"t show up so well on film if they weren"t exaggerated."
Under the cover of the table, Dakota gave her hand a squeeze. She returned the pressure, glad to repay him for standing up for her earlier.
"I suppose that"s true." Grayson nodded. "Lauren would know all about that. I"ll have to ask her."
"Where is Lauren?" Jay craned his neck to look back at the door. "Isn"t she supposed to be here?"
"She"s here all right." Grayson grinned. "I asked her if she wanted something to eat and she promptly went green and disappeared into the bathroom."
Dakota reached for his water gla.s.s. "Food poisoning?"
"Nope." Grayson"s expression softened. "She"s pregnant."
Robyn couldn"t miss the pure joy in his smile. Lauren was obviously no threat to her and was even luckier than Robyn had thought. She wondered if a man would ever feel that way about her, whether it was even possible considering her history. Jay stared at his brother for a moment and then held out his hand.
"Helen"s pregnant too."
"Are you kidding me?" Grayson hesitated. "And how does she feel about that?"
Jay frowned. "Why does everyone say that?"
"Probably because of Helen"s career." Dakota leant toward Robyn. "Helen"s a big-shot orthopedic surgeon. She treats most of the professional rodeo guys." He turned back to Jay. "She"ll be a great mother. When she puts her mind to something she won"t let anything get in her way."
Jay visibly relaxed, his slow satisfied smile rivaling Grayson"s. Robyn was used to being the peacemaker in her own family. It was interesting to watch Dakota act the same way. Was it hard for him to deal with two such strong personalities? His defense of her against Jay seemed even more amazing now that she thought about it.
Dakota held up his gla.s.s. "Looks like I"m going to be an uncle twice in quick succession. I hope you both don"t ask me to babysit at the same time."
"Gray won"t need a babysitter," Jay said. "He"s so stinking rich, he"ll just hire a fleet of nannies and housekeepers and chauffeurs."
"I"d like to get a nanny but Lauren is dead set against it." Grayson sighed. "She wants to do it all herself."
Dakota chuckled. "h.e.l.l, I saw my parents after my half-sisters were born. After a couple of weeks they looked like the walking dead. Lauren might be glad to change her mind after a month with no sleep."
Grayson looked thoughtful. "Good to know. I might set up some interviews anyway." His food arrived and he started to eat.
Dakota kissed Robyn"s cheek. "You"ll like Lauren, honey. She"s a sweetie and she puts up with Grayson here, so she can"t be that bad."
Abruptly, Robyn got to her feet. "I"d better get back to the set. I"m sure you guys have a lot of personal stuff to talk about."
Dakota caught her hand. "Are you OK?"
She gently pulled out of his grip. "I"m fine. I just figured you need some family time."
She smiled and walked away before he could say anymore. Of course, she"d also figured out that the cozy world they all belonged to was nothing like her own. Dakota was surrounded by family. A family that would stand by him and support his decisions. Not leech off him until he had nothing left to give.
She headed to the bathroom, her thoughts in turmoil. For a little while, she"d found herself imagining what it would be like to be part of the Turner clan, to be loved by one of those big strong men, to be included. To, G.o.d help her, look up and see Dakota"s smile when she told him she was pregnant.
Hadn"t she been hurt enough? Hadn"t she realized that happy ever after was not for people like her who"d screwed up big time? Dakota was just on loan to her for a little while and she should enjoy what they had together without spoiling it with regrets. He liked her, sure, but love her? Impossible when she still wasn"t sure if she even loved herself.
Robyn took a deep breath and focused on what she had achieved despite her earlier mistakes. It was a trick that had helped her through some bad times. She could only hope it would work with the good.
Dakota stared into the spotlights and threw yet another piece of kindling on the small blaze. What the TV audience wouldn"t know, was that he was surrounded by firefighters ready to extinguish the flames if they showed any sign of getting out of control. He"d had a good talk with some of the guys about juniper trees and fire hazards and gathered a few contacts for his future research.
"OK, cut and we"re done for the day. We"ll be finishing up the last big scene tomorrow if we keep this up."
Joe"s voice came as a welcome relief. Dakota wiped sweat from his forehead. Caught between the arc of lights and the fire, he was sweltering. He looked for Robyn, saw her talking to Lauren in the corner and smiled. He"d known they"d get along. They were both independent women who knew how to tie a man in knots for sure.
One of the firefighters came forward to extinguish the blaze and Dakota stepped out of the way. He continued to stare at Robyn. He"d liked seeing her with his family at lunch. She seemed to fit in just fine. Neither of his brothers had intimidated her and that was a definite bonus. His brothers had heckled him about Robyn but he"d held his tongue and not allowed them to rile him.
Near the end of the meal, Robyn had become withdrawn and made an excuse to get away from him. He was still trying to think of a way to ask her why, without inciting her wrath. It was as if she was afraid to get close to anyone, afraid to imagine she could have anything good in her life.
She was laughing at something Lauren had said, her head thrown back, elongating the length of her neck. He wanted to sink his teeth into the tender spot between her shoulder and her throat and bite down hard.
"Dakota?" He turned to find Joe at his elbow again. "We"ll need a few close-ups on Monday and that"s it." He hesitated. "You look great on film. Have you considered becoming an actor?"
Dakota grinned back at him. "There"s no way in h.e.l.l I"d ever do that, Joe. It"s way too hard for me."
"I don"t think so, and all the guys who have seen the uncut commercial agree with me. You could be a star."
"Yeah right. Go tell my brother that so he"ll pay me more money."
Joe grinned and patted his shoulder. "Have a good night."
"I intend to."
The firefighters dispersed, and the crew started to turn off the lights and dismantle the set. He found himself walking toward Robyn, his gaze fixed on her laughing mouth. He wanted all her smiles. He didn"t want her to leave him. Had he ever felt this possessive about a woman before?
She looked up at him, her gaze soft and full of warmth. G.o.d he loved her when she looked at him like that, as if he was the only person who mattered in the whole world.
"Hey, you. Lauren was asking if we wanted to go out to dinner with her and Grayson."
He managed to nod. "Yeah, that would be great."
"They"re staying at the same hotel."
"Yeah."
Robyn touched his arm. "Are you OK?"
He turned to Lauren and winked. "We"ll see you at the hotel, OK? Just call our room."
Lauren, G.o.d bless her, took the hint and took off. Robyn stared after her. "I thought we could ride back together to the hotel," she said.
Dakota took her hand and led her through the crowd of workers toward the stacked hay bales in the corner. "Nope."
"Then where are we going?"
He maneuvered her behind the highest stack and dropped his shirt over the lowest bale. "Here."
"Dakota . . ."
"I want you now, right here. Do you have a problem with that?"
He reached out and cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his thumbs rubbed her nipples bringing them to two hard points.
"What about all the people?"
"They"re too busy working to worry about us." He started on the zipper of his jeans, revealed his already erect c.o.c.k. "I"ve been thinking about you and me rolling in the hay together all day. I have to see if the reality lives up to the fantasy."
She licked her lips, her gaze fastened on his swollen shaft. "I could just give you a b.l.o.w. .j.o.b."
"Thanks, but I want to be inside you."
Robyn shook her head. With a satisfied smile he reached forward and pulled her T-shirt over her head, exposing the creamy swells of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He bent his head and sucked her nipples until her hand fisted in his hair.
His fingers worked their way down the front of her pants and past her panties. He sighed as he fitted his palm to her p.u.s.s.y.
"All wet for me, honey. I like that."
"Oh, G.o.d, Dakota, I know I shouldn"t be doing this but it"s such a turn-on."
She moved against his hand and he slid two fingers inside her. She moaned against his ear, the soft sound making him harder and hornier. The straw muted the noise coming from the dismantling of the set and the hubbub of voices. As he pumped his fingers back and forth, deep inside her, Dakota forgot about everything but her.
She turned her head until her mouth grazed his and he kissed her, his tongue mimicking the rhythm of his fingers as she swayed against him. He looked down into her eyes, watched them haze with l.u.s.t and longing, guessed she"d forgotten about the possibility of discovery as well.
With a soft groan, he shoved her pants down to her knees to give him better access to her p.u.s.s.y. He fingered her c.l.i.t, felt it swell and grow beneath the calloused pad of his thumb. She came suddenly against his working fingers making him jam his c.o.c.k against her hip, needing to feel it with her.
"I want my c.o.c.k in you, honey, come here."
He wrapped one arm around her waist and drew her down to her knees facing away from him, her upper body and b.r.e.a.s.t.s braced against the straw bale. She looked so f.u.c.king hot, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s ready for his hands, the long line of her neck bared for his teeth. He knelt behind her and slowly pushed his jeans down to his knees.
"Not much room to work with here, but I don"t want your pants off all the way, so I"ll have to squeeze in between your thighs, OK?"
"Just get on with it!"
Dakota smiled as he smoothed a hand over his dripping c.o.c.k. Perhaps she hadn"t quite forgotten there was a potential audience after all. He"d make her forget; make her scream out his name if it was the last thing he did. He slid three fingers deep into her creamy wet p.u.s.s.y. Her back arched and her hips angled toward him.
"Hang on, honey, let me get a condom." He slid his hand into his pocket and found nothing, tried the other pocket. "s.h.i.t! These aren"t my jeans."
"What do you mean?" Robyn"s voice was slightly m.u.f.fled from her bent-over position on the hay.
"I"m still in costume."
He couldn"t stop working his fingers inside her even as he realized his c.o.c.k wasn"t going anywhere. He wanted to scream, throw Robyn over his shoulder and run her back to his dressing room to retrieve his jeans as quickly as possible. With a groan he sank down to his knees and rested his forehead against her a.s.s.