Loving You: A Cowboy Romance (Texas Hill Country Romance Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

beautiful,” Annie said, sounding a bit breathless from the swim as she turned around to see him right behind her.
    Cord gently pushed her against the back rock. He folded his arms over her head and said, “Yes, she is,” as he stared into her eyes.
    There was a long pause. They were content to quietly study each other, before Cord asked, “Are we good?”
    Annie knew he was referring to the other night at the pool. “Yes.”
    “Good.”
    Then he leaned down and kissed her, softly first, and when she opened up, he became more demanding, taking what she offered. He brought his arms down and wrapped one around her waist and he cupped the back of her head with his free hand so she wouldn’t pull away, but that was far from her mind, anyway.
    She wrapped her arms around him.
    He explored her mouth with his tongue and became lost in her sweet taste. Their tongues became entangled and he tilted their heads to reach even deeper. He wanted more, much more of that kiss, of her.
    To his dismay, Annie struggled to break away. He finally let her go with a perplexed look on his face, and panted.
    “What?”
    “Lisa,” Annie said, also panting.
    “What about her?”
    “What is she to you?”
    “Nothing.”
    Annie looked at him quizzically.
    “Annie, what do you want me to say? I told you the other night, she’s not my girlfriend.”
    “Right, right, she’s your fuck buddy.”
    “Come on, let’s not go there. It was one time. I don’t have nor ever had a fuck bud-, well, okay, but definitely not her.”
    He watched her and knew when something caught her eye behind him. He turned to see Lisa through the sheer sheet of the waterfall, bobbing up and down in the water, watching them a few meters out. She turned and swam back to shore.
    As soon as he turned, Annie ducked away from him and dove into the water. He dove in after her.
    Lisa reached the shore first with a scowl and not talking to anyone. She was drying herself with a towel when Annie got out.
    Annie went to her backpack, thank God it was in the opposite direction of where Lisa was, and took out her towel and began drying herself while smiling, ignoring Lisa’s death stare.
    Cord got out and went over to the cooler and pulled out a beer. He wanted to go over to Annie, but sat on a boulder near the roaring fire that Rory and Jake must have built. It was usually their thing.
    When the tension that the whole gang felt died down, everyone resumed talking and laughing and joking.
    As the sun began to set, the sky became a kaleidoscope of different hues of pinks and purples. Annie took out a camera she had in her backpack and walked over to the water’s edge, snapping pictures of the breathtaking scenery. Jake went over to her and sat on a rock, drinking a beer as they talked while she snapped away.
    Someone turned up the radio.
    When she finished taking pictures, she and Jake walked back to the campsite. She noticed the guys had their shirts and cowboy hats on and Cord had a guitar in his hands, strumming away, lightly. A guitar and another hat leaned against the rock next to him.
    Jake walked over to where Cord sat and picked up his hat, plopped it on his head and reached for his guitar and started tuning it.
    Annie and Calista walked over to the car for some privacy and changed out of their wet bathing suits.
    Everyone settled in around the fire. Jennie was huddled next to Jake, who was next to Dan, then came Cord and Rory then Lisa.
    Calista felt Annie’s unease, and grabbed her hand after they each retrieved a nectarine from the cooler. Calista told Rory to scoot over, nodding her head in Lisa’s direction. She plopped down and dragged Annie down with her. Annie, to Lisa’s dismay, now sat next to Cord.
    Again, everyone talked and laughed as they drank beer. Dan got up and poured a glass of wine for Annie, then settled back down, while Cord and Jake had their guitars in back of them for the time being. Music played softly.
    Cord watched the sweet juice from the