Free Valentine's Cowboy by Starla Kaye

the phone. He’d read something in a Maui magazine about the Piiholo Ranch, where you could go horseback riding and picnic. Yeah, that sounded good. Something like that could drag on for most of the day. He’d make reservations for them both. He didn’t think he’d have much trouble talking her into going along. Maybe they had their disagreements now and then, but for the most part they got along. Even with the occasional spanking.
    “Jonathan, you need to stop contacting me,” she said, sounding distressed. “Why did you call my office and find out where I’d gone? Leave. Me. Alone.”
    Was the man stalking her? Sam bristled. Was he dangerous? Maybe he should say something now.
    Valentine heaved a put-upon sigh, no sounds of fear in her voice, just annoyance. “We’re divorced, Jonathan. You cheated on me, left me, and have given me so many self-doubts that I don’t want to ever see you again.”
    She hesitated, obviously listening. “Yes, the psychologically trained part of me understands your desperate need to finally come out of the closet. But, jeez! I’m still having a hard time believing I married a man who preferred men. How could I have been so blind not to even suspect something like that? All I’ve been able to come up with is maybe I don’t really know my own sexual leanings.”
    Sam’s mouth fell open and he stumbled back to sit down in one of the patio chairs. She’d been married to a gay man! Well, damn . And she hadn’t suspected as much? No wonder she’d been momentarily confused about her sense of gender preference. Although there wasn’t a doubt in his mind about the gender she preferred! None at all. She’d been all over him in his bedroom. Doing some very naughty things that he’d certainly enjoyed. The jerk was just messing with her mind.
    “Apologies don’t help. Please. Don’t call me again.” Her voice shook, and as she loudly flipped the cell phone shut, he heard what sounded like a sniffle.
    He was trying to decide how to handle the situation. He’d overheard something very private. Still, he hated the thought of her crying. Before he could do anything, though, her cell phone rang again and he tensed.
    She didn’t answer, but evidently saw who was calling via caller ID, because suddenly her phone went flying over the balcony railing. Normally he wouldn’t have liked that kind of tantrum fit. This time, he was of a mind to gone down there and stomp the hell out of the phone. As if it were to blame for upsetting her.
    “Did you hear all of that?” she asked quietly. “You know, it’s not nice to eavesdrop.”
    He stood and went to the railing, leaning forward so he could look around the corner at her. His heart raced at the strangely sexy sight of the “Hotter” sleep shirt. He struggled to calm his growing arousal. “I was out here first. I hadn’t planned to eavesdrop, just couldn’t figure out how to slip back inside without alarming you.” Okay, that was kind of a lie.
    “Whatever. Now you know my deep, dark secret. I’m a woman who failed in her marriage. I couldn’t even keep my husband’s sexual attention,” she said miserably.
    “That’s crazy thinking! The guy was gay, darlin’. If he had that kind of leaning, it wasn’t your fault.” He gave her a tentative grin. “Besides, you definitely keep my sexual attention.”
    She gave him an oh-shut-up-I-want-to-be-sulky look. “Go shave or something. Anything. Just go away.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “You needing something to pull you out of that pout?”
    He almost laughed when her hands flew around to her bottom, easily understanding what he’d hinted at but not been serious about.
    “I’m not pouting, I’m miserably pondering the failure in my life. I can be miserable if I want to be.” She spun around to go back into her own condo. “What you had in mind is not the answer to everything.”
    He watched the sassy little wiggle of her hips and felt his cock hardening again. Maybe spanking