by Sabrina York
Because it was. Torture. Each stroke was sure, he thought, meant to drive him right out of his mind. When she went to peel back his briefs, she stopped and glanced up at him.
“Are you okay with this?” she asked.
He nodded, because there was something in his throat that blocked everything, even his breath.
Oh, but he was. He was definitely okay with it. Especially when she lowered her head and took him into her mouth. She did it slowly, lavishly, as though reveling in him. Every atom of his being rose to meet her. It was, in a word, exquisite. A divine torture. But he could not bear it for long. He wanted—needed—more.
Gently, he pulled her up and kissed her as he rolled her onto her back and settled himself between her legs. Though he ached beyond words to take her then and there, to drive right in, he waited until she met his gaze. “Are you ready?” he asked in a whisper.
She nodded. Her eyes glimmered in the moonlight. “Yes. Yes. Please.” The words melted into a moan as he fisted himself and eased in.
Ah. God. The pleasure, the feel of her, nearly blinded him. Slowly, he reminded himself. Slowly. He sucked in a deep breath, and began to move. But, in truth, they moved as one. His thrusts were long and slow, easing in and glorying in the full length of her sheath, teasing and touching every part of her that he could reach. She moaned and writhed and clutched at his skin as she wrestled against him. They both tried hard to hold back.
Tension rose to excruciating heights. Agonizing need swelled, grew and eventually exploded in an exquisite flood of mind-bending pleasure.
His release left Mark exhausted and sated and completely suffused with a strange and alluring emotion. Something from a place deep in his soul. As he pulled Roni close and kissed her brow, he realized that this noncommittal commitment might well be the most dangerous vow he’d ever made.
Chapter Seven
Roni woke in a warm nest, snuggled up against something that was even warmer. She knew, even without opening her eyes, that the arm around her, holding her close, was Mark’s. His scent, his essence, enrobed her. She nuzzled deeper and his hold tightened.
God, this was bliss. She’d made the right decision, hadn’t she? Fear be damned. This was worth it. This moment was worth—
She caught sight of her alarm clock and shot up with a gasp, and then gasped again when she realized she was naked. It was pointless to do so, but she yanked up the duvet to cover her chest.
Mark shot up beside her, concern rumpling his brow. “What’s wrong?”
“Look how late it is!” She raked back her hair, which seemed to be everywhere.
He pulled her into his arms. “It’s not that late.”
Roni blew out a breath. “Gram will think that I completely forgot about her. I’m an awful granddaughter.”
“Not at all.” Mark rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her. It nearly worked. “You had, ahem, other things on your mind. Besides, we did get back kind of late.”
She couldn’t help a spurt of laughter, though it was probably born of chagrin rather than any real humor. “Is that your story?”
“It is. And I’m sticking to it.” He winked.
“Well, okay then.” She pulled the duvet with her as she rounded the room, hunting for her clothes, but all she succeeded in doing was baring him. And, heavens, he was beautiful. Lean and tanned and lazing on her bed. Her gaze snagged on his sculpted chest. And his defined abs. And his...
She gasped as his, ahem, admiration for her grew.
He chuckled at her expression. “Come back to bed.”
“They’ll be watching for us.”
“It’s still early.”
She did as he asked, but her thoughts were in a whirl because it hit her—oh, dear Lord—they all knew. Or at least Sam knew they’d spent the night together. Why hadn’t she thought about that when she was so busy propositioning Mark? Heat rose on her cheeks.
“Come here,” he said, and when she did, he tipped up her chin so he could look at her face. “You’re beautiful in the morning.”
She grimaced, and was about to correct him, but he refused to let her. He set a finger over her lips. “You. Are. Beautiful. Always.” And then, he replaced the finger with his mouth, drawing her into a drugging kiss that neither of them felt compelled to end.
They made love slowly, that morning, in the breaking sunlight, with nothing between them, nothing hidden. Again, he slowly traced each of her scars with a gentle finger, and kissed each wound, as though he could heal her from the outside in. It was even more beautiful and raw than the night before, which had seemed impossible only a few hours before.
When they were sated—for the moment—they curled up together and fell asleep again. It was midday when they roused, and the only reason Roni got up was because Mark tempted her with coffee and a muffin. After they ate and dressed, they hopped into his truck to head back to the ranch.
As he pulled out of the parking spot in front of her shop, she sighed as she took in the new facade. “I love that sign Luke made.” It was beautiful, hand-painted and said, Gram’s Book & Bakery in large colorful letters.
“He’s a pretty good carpenter,” Mark said.
“And painter,” she added.
“I think maybe he missed his calling.”
“He can do anything,” she murmured on a sigh.
“Maybe not anything.” Because he grumbled this, she chuckled.
“Your brother certainly has his skill sets,” she said. “But, then again, so do you.” And then, when he flushed, she kissed his cheek.
“Uh, you better stop that. I’m trying to drive here.”
“Oh?” She loved his playful tone. “Are you having a hard time concentrating?” Knowing her touch aroused him made her feel daring so she slipped her hand up his thigh. She loved that he jumped.
“Hey, hon.” He took her hand and held it firmly. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
“I never start things I can’t finish.” This, she whispered against his neck.
She was stunned when he swerved to the side of the road, took off his seat belt and stared at her meaningfully. “Well?” he asked, opening his arms when she didn’t move.
“Mark, we’re still in town.”
“So?”
“People will see.”
“So?” And then, when she still didn’t move into his arms, he kissed her on the nose. “Chicken.”
She crossed her arms and blew out a breath. “I am definitely prepared to finish this. Just not on Main Street.”
He chuckled, rebuckled his seat belt and put the truck in gear.
His blasé attitude annoyed her a little. All she’d thought about today was him. The way he felt, the way he smelled, the sensation of his body over hers, in hers. But he was so nonchalant about it. About everything. He’d agreed to her friends-with-benefits proposal with hardly any resistance. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but for some reason, now it made her uneasy. Though she would rather die than ask him how he really felt, she couldn’t stop herself as she asked, “Did you like it?”
He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at her. “Like what?”
Like what? What else was there, but the night they’d shared? “You know.” She glared at him, but he didn’t notice because he was navigating the turn onto the ranch road. “Last night?”
He barked a laugh, which she didn’t appreciate. “Did I like it? Roni, I loved it. Every second.”
Relief gushed through her. “So you want to do it again?”
“Right now? Yes.”
Oh, my. The heat in his eyes engendered a like response in her belly. “R-right now?” Nearly a stutter. Oh, right now would be lovely. She’d been fantasizing about it since before they left the bed.
He pulled the truck to a stop next to one of the cabins just north of the bunkhou
se. It was surrounded by chicken-wire fencing, which was suddenly flooded with all manner of barking dogs the moment they recognized the sound of his truck. He turned off the engine and turned to her, leaning on the steering wheel. “Wanna come in and meet the current beasties?”
“You sure there’s time?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Time?”
“Before Sam comes over? Or Luke? Or DJ?”
“Or Danny? Or Lizzie? Or Emma?” He chuckled. “We’ll lock the door. They’ll have to crawl through the doggy door to get in.”
They got out of the truck and walked across the yard to his house, holding hands and wading through the puppers. With a swift and clever move, he pulled her inside and locked the door, leaving the dogs outside.
“This,” he said, throwing his arms wide, “is my place.”
She looked around, trying to take in everything. It was a comfortable bachelor pad, there was no doubt about that. An overstuffed sofa against the wall faced a large-screen TV, while a well-used table in the kitchenette was surrounded by mismatched chairs. A series of dog beds—all shapes and sizes—sat against one wall and water and food bowls lined the other. She loved that it was so...Mark.
“Well?” He stared at her with a hopeful expression.
She was spared answering when the pups pushed through the doggy door in an impatient yapping surge of canines of all shapes and sizes. When the hound dog got stuck, the Chihuahua just wormed its way around her and the beagle pushed in from underneath.
Then they all rushed her. Roni took a step back in the face of this assault. Fortunately, they all just wanted to lick her—to smell her, in some cases.
Mark chuckled. “Okay. Okay. Down. Everybody down. Sit.” Unbelievably, they all sat immediately and turned their attention to Mark, all except the hound dog, who was still stuck in the doggy door. “Come on, Tallulah Belle.” He was gentle as he helped her through.
She waddled over to Roni, sat and issued one long “arrorh,” in welcome.
“So,” he said as he started handing out treats to the drooling velociraptors tracking his every move. “What do you think?”
“Um, how many dogs do you have?”
He had to think on it. “Six right now.” He bent down to ruffle the beagle’s furry head. Now that he wasn’t skittering among the others, Roni realized that the poor sweet thing was missing one of his front legs.
Of course, she had to go down on her knees and pat him on the head. He immediately flopped over on his back with his legs up and a beseeching expression on his fuzzy face. “Poor guy. What happened to him?”
Mark shook his head and sat on the sofa. “We never know what happened to the puppers we get. But I tell you what, he can sure get around when he wants to.”
When Roni went to sit next to Mark, she saw what he meant. Snoopy was up off the floor in a flash and onto her lap the second she made one. Again, he flopped onto his back and stared up at her with big eyes. “What does he want?” she asked.
Mark gaped at her. “Have you never had a dog?”
“Of course not. I was an army brat. We moved all the time.” When he stared at her, she shot him a look. “If you move overseas, sometimes your dogs have to be in quarantine for up to six months. That’s not really fair to them.” At least, that’s what Dad had said.
“Ah.” For some reason, he kissed her on the forehead. “Well, he wants you to scratch his belly. But be careful.”
Her hand froze halfway there. “Why?”
Mark snickered. “Because he won’t let you stop.”
And indeed, after a couple of scratches on Snoopy’s velvety soft tummy, she tried to pull away and he patted her hand with his front paw until she started scratching again. She just had to, he was so sweet. But the other dogs were sweet, too, and they all crowded around her for attention, as well. And some of them drooled.
Someone knocked on the door and Mark frowned at it. “I thought you locked that,” Roni said with a grin.
“Yeah. I thought there might be a reason to.” But there was humor in his tone. Apparently they had both accepted the fact that a repeat of last night, and this morning, would have to wait.
Their visitor turned out to be Emma, who turned to Roni with a sigh. “You’re finally here. I waited and waited for you.”
“Did you?” Roni smiled at her. “We had work to do for the bakery.”
Emma licked her lips. “Did you bring anything?”
“Emma Jean Diem!” Lizzie pushed in behind her daughter. Danny was right behind her. “I told you to wait for me. And you should never ask for treats.” She shot Roni a repentant smile.
“But did you? Bring anything?” Danny asked with a grin. Lizzie glowered at him.
“Sorry.” Roni tried to remove Snoopy from her lap, but he wouldn’t budge. How could a beagle that small weigh so much? “I didn’t get any baking done this morning.”
Emma put her hands on her hips. “Well, what were you doing instead?”
Uhhh...
Thankfully, Mark leaped in to rescue her. “There’s lots to do to get a bakery ready,” he said. Roni flushed when, for some reason, Danny and Lizzie exchanged a glance.
But Emma wasn’t impressed. She tipped her head to the side and sighed. “Oh, bother,” she said in a credible impression of Pooh.
“I’ll do some baking tomorrow. I promise.”
A little pout came out. “But what if I don’t see you tomorrow?”
“We’ll go into town,” her mother said.
Danny nodded. There was a wicked twist to his lips. “I’m sure Roni will appreciate all the help she can get on opening day.”
“Ooh, are you nervous?” Lizzie sat next to Roni on the couch and when Snoopy nudged her hand, she scratched his neck. Now he had two masseuses. He let out a soft little groan that Roni could only interpret as bliss. Well. After all he’d been through, the little guy deserved some TLC, didn’t he?
“Roni?” Emma asked. “Are you nervous about opening day?”
“I’m very excited.” It was true. Whenever she thought of it, having her own bakery, her heart trilled.
“But what if no one comes?” Leave it to Emma to voice her own worst fears.
Mark jumped in with a hearty pirate laugh. “More for us, my girlie. More for us.” Then he tickled her until she squealed.
“Oh, that reminds me. Emma, I got you something at the market. It’s in the truck. Mark, do you mind?” Roni gestured to her lap. There was no way she was getting up.
“Sure.”
Mark headed outside and Emma followed chanting, “What is it? What is it? What is it?”
When they were gone, Lizzie shook her head. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. It’s just a backpack, for when she starts school.”
“She’ll be thrilled,” Danny said. He sat in one of the dining room chairs and the miniature pinscher hopped on his lap. The larger dogs crowded around, as if awaiting their turns. “She loves things to put her things in.” He winked. “Just like her mother.”
“Don’t start with me and my purses,” Lizzie warned him. But nobody was starting with anything, because a shrill scream of excitement came from outside.
Emma ran in, her face aglow, clutching her new backpack. She yelled, “I love it, I love it, I love it. Thank you, Roni.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Roni smiled at her. “Remember, you can always ask me anything you want about school, anytime.”
They talked for a while about school and rules and Emma’s growing excitement to start, and all the while, Roni rubbed Snoopy’s belly. It was funny, how soothing that was, she thought. He really was an adorable creature with those big brown eyes and soft ears. When he finally stirred, and left her lap, she missed his weight.
“Are you going to take one of the puppies?” Emma asked after a bit. A
nd then, before Roni could answer, she said, “Which dog do you want? You can’t have Daisy ’cuz she’s mine.” She stood between Roni and Daisy, just in case.
“Oh, honey, I would never take your dog. And I couldn’t take a puppy home without Gram agreeing to it. A dog is a lot of responsibility.”
“Which you will learn, once the doctor says it’s okay to have one.” Lizzie glanced at Roni. “We’re looking at December.”
“How wonderful.” Mark had explained that once Emma got final clearance, she’d be able to play with all the animals, which, judging from the way Emma was eyeing the pups, couldn’t be soon enough.
She toyed with the strap of her new backpack. “Your gram told me she wanted a puppy.”
“Did she?”
Emma nodded. “We talked about it yesterday. She had a dog when she was a little girl, you know.”
“I did not know that.”
“She really wants one.” Emma batted her lashes.
“Well,” Mark said, saving Roni once again, “You’re welcome to take one home for a trial run. It’s really important that adoption is a good fit for everyone, don’t you think?”
The suggestion made Roni feel better, because in her heart of hearts, she had always wanted a pet. When she’d been with Anthony, bringing an innocent animal into the house had been unthinkable.
As though to seal the deal, Snoopy jumped back onto the sofa, and into her lap. Though everyone laughed, to Roni, it was a sign. She agreed to take the pooch on a strictly probationary basis because she had to make sure having a dog wouldn’t be a problem for Gram.
It turned out to be a silly worry. Gram fell in love immediately. So, apparently, did Snoopy. He curled up in the older woman’s lap and stayed there all the way home.
* * *
Mark was riding on a high as he watched Roni and Milly—and Snoopy—drive away. Part of it was his blossoming relationship with Roni, and memories of their lovemaking and how happy it made him to be closer to her, but it was more than just that. Watching her with his dogs had really hit him hard...in a good way.