by Kadie Scott
He gripped her hips and dragged her back up his length, and then slowly back down. She lost all her words as her world focused and narrowed to the connection between their bodies. The way her beaded nipples brushed against his chest. In the clamoring of her body as each long, slow stroke stoked the fires inside her.
He dragged his lips across her collarbone and upper neck to her ear. “I’ve been picturing this all day. Only not in water, but on the back of the horse. I wanted to drag you onto my lap and fuck you with every bounce. Just let the natural gait move our bodies. Do you know how hard it is to ride a horse for hours with an erection?”
Carter was panting with each word. Apparently dirty talk did it for her, because she was so close. “Faster,” she whispered.
“Not yet. I want to drink you in, go at you so hard and long that I don’t have to worry about an erection the rest of the time we’re on horseback.”
She sucked in a shaky breath, loving him this way—in charge. Still, her orgasm was teasing her, just out of reach. “But I need—”
She gasped as he used his leverage to pull her right off then carried her through the water to the bank where an outcropping of limestone rock jutted into the water. He stood her up facing away from him. The water now only at her thighs.
“Hands on the rock,” he demanded.
Carter was shocked that the independent woman in her stayed completely silent, happy to let this man do whatever he wanted, however he wanted to do it. Without a word of protest, she flattened her hands on the rock, smoother than she expected under her palms.
With surprisingly gentle hands, Logan positioned her, legs spread wide, and bent at the waist, giving him full easy access.
She moaned, long and low, the sound mixing with his own groan as he entered her again. But instead of setting that pace again, he stopped once he was fully inside her. His strong hands left her hips and glided around first to her breasts, which he kneaded before playing with her nipples. Then moved lower to brush in a barely there caress over the junction at her thighs, teasing that little bundle of nerves hidden in her curls.
He played with her in that teasing way until she was mindless, drawing gasps and moans from her lips that she barely heard, all her focus on the heaviness inside her and his magic fingers.
“I need…” She couldn’t even get all the words out.
“I know what you need. Are you going to keep teasing me like you have been?”
That was what this drawn out, not letting her finish was about? She should be pissed. And she would be. Later. But first she needed this.
Carter shook her head.
“Promise?”
“No. More. Teasing.” She panted the words out as he continued with his own teasing.
“Good.” His fingers stopped their movement, but he replaced it with movement of his hips, moving faster and faster inside her.
As a tingling pleasure gathered at the base of her spine, he grew thicker inside her, and together they toppled over into that blissful oblivion they’d been chasing, their cries of completion mingling in the quiet of the afternoon. He didn’t stop until they were both spent.
Carter stood on shaky legs and let her head fall forward, breathing hard. Logan leaned forward and placed a soft kiss at the nape of her neck, and she smiled.
He slipped from her body and turned her in his arms to put his forehead against hers. “You’ve got me so twisted up, I don’t know up from down anymore.”
“Me, too,” she murmured.
He closed his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then don’t.”
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, pulling away from her, both body and soul. “Give me until the case is over and we’re back in Austin.”
She crossed her arms over her breasts, the cold of the pond seeping into her bones without his heat against her. “This isn’t going to go away and go back to normal, you know.”
“I need to be sure.”
After a pause, she nodded, and let him walk away.
*
Stupid didn’t begin to describe what he had just done. And the worst part was, he wanted to do it again. Not the walking away from her, or making her face go so blank afterward. No longer his Carter, but a facsimile of her, without her usual effervescence, climbed out of the water and dressed. But rewind to before that, and the beauty of her body, and then the sounds she’d made as he brought her pleasure.
A quick glance at the woman riding beside him, utterly quiet, had Logan wrestling with all his better intentions. Intentions he’d thrown out the damn window when he’d seen her in that pond. And had hurt her, just like he knew he would.
Maybe if he could make her understand then she’d stop looking like that and he could stop feeling like this.
“Growing up, this was all I ever wanted to do,” he said.
She tossed him a small frowning glance. “What was?”
She really had closed up on him. Before the pond, Carter would’ve made some joking comment, or tried to tease him into laughing with her, or tried to tease him full stop. “Ranching. My family land.”
“Why didn’t you?”
The question was voiced without much interest, but at least she asked at all. “A couple of things happened. My parents died.”
Carter nodded slowly but didn’t say anything.
“Before that happened, we’d gone through a rough five years. A long drought combined with Texas water right laws which allowed the larger ranch beside us to hoard water on their land before it got to ours.”
Carter sat a little straighter in her saddle. Listening.
“By the time I got through settling the estate, there wasn’t enough capital left to keep the ranch running. I had to let the few hands working for us go. Dad had already sold most of the cattle, but I sold the rest. In the end, I had to sell the ranch, too.”
“I have a feeling I know who you had to sell it to,” Carter said in a tight voice.
“I didn’t want to sell it to that large ranch. I tried to find an individual owner for it, or let it go to one of the other smaller riches bordering it to our south and west. But they were in about as bad a shape as we were. So yeah. The bastards who took all the water and put us out of business ended up with my family’s land.”
He tried to keep emotion out of the telling. He didn’t talk about this, not to anyone. But Oscar must’ve picked up on his agitation. The gelding tossed his head, dancing sideways. Logan reined in his horse and patted his thick neck. “Easy, boy,” he murmured.
“So you became a lawyer fighting for water rights for the little guys,” Carter commented.
“I worked my ass off to become the best damn lawyer in this arena. I only work with the best.” He nodded at her. “Nothing is more important to me.”
Carter finally looked directly at him, a frown tugging her sweet lips down. “Why are you telling me this?”
Because I don’t want you to hate me. “Because I want you to understand why I need to be sure.”
She shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
Logan shifted restlessly in his saddle. Explaining himself was not something he did in general. “I stood beside their graves and promised my parents that I would change the way things were for the better and protect people like us. And I have. My career will always come first. Always. I tried… with Angela. I tried my hardest to do both. Have it all. But, in the end, I couldn’t give her the time and focus any woman deserves. I don’t ever want to hurt someone the way I hurt her. And I won’t give up my career and how I do it.”
“That’s a pretty black-and-white way to look at the world,” Carter said.
“That’s experience talking. It’s why I only do physical relationships, if you can call them that.”
“Sounds lonely,” she murmured. “Do you think your parents would want to see you alone like that for the rest of your life?”
An argument other women had made in his life before leaving him. Except Logan got the im
pression Carter wasn’t making the argument for her sake, or to try to convince him to give them a shot. Genuine caring reflected in those blue eyes of hers. For him.
But he’d set his course a long time ago and hurting her just so he could have her body for a little while wasn’t an option. No matter how weak-willed he’d been up till now.
“I think they would be proud of the difference I’m making in the people and helping. That’s all I care about. And then you came along and made me be friends. It seems I can do that. I don’t want to lose that.”
Carter pulled Mae West to a stop and Logan did the same. She stared at him for a long moment, searching his face, and must’ve seen the resolve in his eyes.
She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “What you’re saying is that you might never make that move. Is that what I’m hearing?”
Even now, he wanted to kiss the shadows from her eyes, but he knew himself. What he was doing was for the best.
“What I’m saying is… I don’t know.”
She looked away. “And Angela isn’t part of the equation?”
Logan frowned, turning her words over in his head. “I already told you my past with her plays into this decision.”
“And your future with her?”
Ah. Realization struck with all the subtlety of a two-by-four to the head. Carter had seen the text. “Isn’t a future. She wants to be friends.”
“Friends.” Doubt weighed the word down. “Is that what you want?”
“No. I hurt her, but she’s the one who cheated. I could never trust her again, not even as a friend. You, however, I would like to stay friends with. You’re important to me.”
Carter nibbled at her lip, doubts screaming in her head. “I’m important to you, huh?”
See, he was already having a negative effect on her. Before sleeping with him, Carter had never second-guessed herself or needed reassurance. He was doing the right thing here. “Yes. You are. Way too important to mess up for good sex and no future.”
Carter considered that, then nodded slowly, and tension eased from his shoulders though his gut remained knotted up.
Then her lips quirked. “Incredible sex.”
A laugh burst from him in a low huff. Even now his dick was protesting loudly at the idea of not having more of this woman. “Yeah.”
Chapter Eleven
Carter emerged from her room, showered and dressed, and damn sore, but at least smelling a heck of a lot better. She really needed to get on horseback more often, not that she had a chance in Austin. But maybe she needed to build more time to visit home into her schedule.
As she passed by Logan’s room, she listened for the shower, but couldn’t hear anything. Despite their conversation earlier, and understanding him now in a way she hadn’t, she needed to let go. As his friend, she needed to let him figure this out, and accept the answer, even if it was no.
The problem was, her body remained keyed up in his presence. Something that probably wouldn’t go away easily.
But she’d seen the resolve in his eyes and respected him too much to try to change something so ingrained in his past and entwined with the deaths of his parents. More than that, if she kept pushing, her heart would only get more attached, and he’d been clear. That path would only end in heartbreak.
Hers.
Except, if he chose to walk away, how she was supposed to go back to working with him, when she knew what it felt like to be in his arms? Knew the taste of him in the way his kisses made her feel precious. But she also couldn’t walk away, because he was her friend. Even if she couldn’t have him, she wanted to help him fulfill the promise he’d made to his parents.
She shook her head. “What a mess,” she muttered.
A low rumble of voices led her down the hall to find her family gathered in the family room. Her mother was up from the nap she’d been taking when Carter got home. Logan sat on one end of the couch, with Autry on the other end, and the only place available to sit was between them.
Awesome.
Bare feet sinking into the new carpet Autry and Beth had just put in here, she made her way across the room and settled in the couch, careful not to touch Logan. Not for him, but for her.
Autry looked over. “We were just talking about going into town for dinner and maybe taking Logan to Hurricane Harry’s.”
Carter looked at her parents. “I assume not you.” Her mother still wasn’t a hundred percent, and Harry’s was loud.
Her dad nodded. “Fine by us. We could use a little peace and quiet.”
“Didn’t you have peace and quiet all day?” Autry asked with a big grin.
Her dad lifted one eyebrow. “You’re welcome to stay here and cook.”
Autry held up both hands. “Beth really wants to get out one more time before the kid comes. Do you mind watching Dylan?”
“Uh…” Her parents exchanged a look ripe with doubt. Carter didn’t blame them. Usually they loved nothing better than spoiling their grandchildren, but again, Mom wasn’t in tip-top condition yet, and would likely want to go to bed earlier than the kids.
Seated across from her husband in the straight-backed armchair, Beth made a face at him. “Don’t use me as an excuse, Autry Hill. I’ll be a beached whale in a bar.”
Autry gave her mock scowl. “I’m your husband and think you look gorgeous. Nobody else matters.”
“Why don’t we call Cash and Jennings?” Carter suggested. “If Ashley’s parents can watch the kids and give Mom and Dad a break, it would be nice to get out with my siblings.”
Autry sat up, visibly brighter. “I could get into that.”
Two hours later, the full group of them shuffled into the best bar in town. Hurricane Harry’s was situated a little walk away from the town square and looked just like a good old country bar should. Rustic wood siding on the outside that had seen better days; on the inside, a small dance floor in front of a stage where local bands sometimes played, tucked into one corner a series of pool tables, at the opposite end a long bar, surprisingly nicely made of gleaming mahogany. Plus, the mechanical bull tucked into another corner.
Being a Friday, the place was already pretty dang full. But Jennings had called ahead and talked to Bud, a guy they’d gone to school with who’d taken over the bar from his dad. He’d agreed to hold a couple of tables for them.
They all shoveled into their seats, fifties-style glittery plastic, and pulled up to chrome and linoleum tables that Bud had pulled together, facing the dance floor. Naturally, Logan sat beside her, as he didn’t really know the others all that well.
“What can I get you?” Bud asked.
Cash leaned forward catching the eye of each sibling. “A round of Shiners on me?”
“That’s the twin I know and love,” Carter said with a smile.
“I’ll just have a Sprite,” Beth said.
Bud nodded and moved back to the barn to fill their order.
“I don’t know about y’all,” Autry said. “But I promised my wife a dance.” So saying, he stood and helped Beth to her feet then helped her waddle over to the dance floor where DJ had a slow Tammy Wynette song playing.
“You know…” Jennings turned to Ashley. “I think the last time we danced in here, you weren’t too happy about it.”
Ashley laughed.
Carter raised her eyebrows. “Was that the night I got a call about helping take care of her after she passed out?”
Ashley dropped her head into her hands with a groan. “Don’t remind me.” She glanced over at Logan. “I promise I never get that drunk. It was special circumstances.”
“But I sure am glad you did that night,” Jennings teased. Then grimaced. “That sounds way wrong.”
Chuckling, Ashley stood and pulled him to his feet. “Let’s make a new memory.”
Holly also jumped to her feet. “Between raising a tween and twin toddlers, we never get out these days. Come on, Sheriff.”
Though he remained his usual stoic self, Cash didn’t look t
oo reluctant to give his wife a spin on the dance floor. They would definitely be back out there if the DJ played a jitterbug.
“You want to?” Logan asked, canting his head toward the dance floor.
Given the eager lights in each of her brothers’ eyes as they led their wives that way, the contrast with the reluctance and Logan’s expression hit a little harder than it should’ve. She wanted that. For a man to look at her like she was his whole world.
She slid her gaze toward the man at her side to find him watching her with an almost patient look in his eyes.
Carter hid a sigh and nodded, hopping off her chair to follow him onto the dance floor. He managed to pull her into his arms for a slow two-step while keeping things as distant as possible—a decent amount of space between their bodies, his hand at her waist up a little higher, his grip on her other hand about as impersonal as one got without becoming a wet noodle.
They moved well together.
There was nothing he could do about that, though he kept it simple with no fancy turns or moves. Maybe it was because their bodies were so in tune to one another, but they just flowed. And damn he smelled good. Over the scents of peanuts and beer, this close, the crisp scent of man and cologne, and… Dang it.
She wanted what her brothers had. To be your own person but also made whole by a partner. To be able to have faith and take comfort from that relationship. She understood why Logan struggled, knowing him and now knowing his history. But she wouldn’t wait forever. She couldn’t.
Rather than gaze into his eyes like she wanted to do, Carter directed her gaze vaguely over his right shoulder and even managed to plaster a pleasant smile to her mouth. But she wasn’t seeing the faces of friends and family as they moved around the floor, or the details of the bar. She was trying not to let the heat from his hands seep in through her skin and mix in her blood. She was trying to hold her freaking breath. And she damn sure was trying not to lean in and place little soft kisses along the strong column of his neck.
That was definitely against the rules. Plus, Logan had made things crystal clear, and she wanted to respect the boundaries he’d set.