by Em Petrova
He heaved a sigh, and Mimi looked up at him in surprise. “I didn’t know it was you, Dane.”
“What made you think it was Z instead?”
“He never slams the door anymore.”
He snorted. “And I didn’t slam it this time. That’s fair. Old habits die hard, I guess. Where is Z?”
“Out with Esme.”
“Where?”
“I think they went down to the pub for dancin’.”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t sound like Zayden.”
“The love of a good woman changes a man.” Mimi sat curled in her recliner with a blanket over her legs and a basket of green beans in her lap. As she talked, she snapped the ends off with nimble fingers.
Affection rushed over him for the woman who’d been there the most in his young life. She’d be there for him now, if he chose to confide in her.
What would he even say? I’m a fuck-up and always will be. There’s no woman in the world who’d have me, and if they did she wouldn’t stick around long. I lost my brother the tractor, and I have no way to pay back what I owe for gambling debts.
He sank to the closest chair and looked at the news program Mimi had on TV, but he didn’t ingest a word of it. His mind drifted far away.
When Mimi threw off the lap blanket and stood with the bowl of beans in hand, he looked up.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “If you need to talk, you know I’m always here, Dane.”
Emotion clogged his throat, and he only nodded.
“I’m going to put these beans in the refrigerator. I was thinking I’d fancy some hot cocoa. Would you like some?”
He met her stare. “You really think cocoa’s gonna help my problems now, Mimi?”
She shrugged. “Worth a shot.”
“All right. I’ll have the cocoa.”
She patted his shoulder and moved away. He leaned forward in the chair and dropped his head into his hands. His life always had another corner to turn onto another wrong road. But right now, there was only stay or go.
Where would he go if he left the Moon Ranch?
With no money, friends or even a vehicle, he had no choice but to remain here. And…searching deep inside himself, Dane couldn’t find a trace of that old restlessness driving him to get the hell out of Stokes. What changed?
“Oh, Dane?”
He looked up at Mimi. A frown settled over her face as she came forward with a thick envelope in hand.
“I forgot this came for you this afternoon.”
After speaking with Liz, he suspected he knew what the envelope contained.
“Thanks, Mimi. You’re a doll.”
She smiled. “Always the charmer. I’m back to making cocoa.”
He took the envelope and glanced at the address. A law firm in Vegas. For a moment, he paused, just digesting what this all meant for him. No more wife. Nobody to try to make happy, not that he ever could.
It means freedom.
Freedom to do what, though? The word brought to mind wild parties and drunken benders, sleeping with as many beautiful women as possible and not having a care in the world. But so far, he’d used his first month of freedom to work hard on a ranch he’d sworn never to return to. And funnier yet—he enjoyed it.
Heaving a sigh, he dug his fingertip into the seal and slit the envelope. After he drew out the thick wedge of papers, he scanned the top few lines. Then he folded the papers and stuffed them back into the envelope.
Mimi reappeared bearing a tray and two mugs. She set these on the side table and stood back to look at him. “You aren’t in any trouble, are you, Dane?”
“What? No. Why?”
She pointed to the envelope. “It’s from a law firm. I just wondered if you could be in trouble.”
“It’s my divorce decree.”
“That was fast.”
He nodded.
“I never did meet your wife.”
“You didn’t miss anything.” He rubbed a hand over his face and reached for the mug of cocoa. On second thought… “Time to celebrate, doll!” He leaped up and grabbed the little woman. She squealed as he spun her around the room in a fast two-step she could barely keep up with.
“Wooohoo! I’m free, Mimi!”
“You’re crazy is what you are!”
He planted a kiss on her cheek and dragged her to a stop. “Don’t you know it? Now gimme that cocoa. Smells delicious. Thank you.”
Her white hair still seemed to carry the momentum of their impromptu jig around the living room, and she shook her head as she watched him settle down with the hot drink as fast as he’d danced her around the space.
She gave him a small smile he always believed had been passed down through her Ute Indian ancestors. The smile often accompanied a story for him and his brothers, and he could almost imagine her sitting around a huge bonfire sharing tales about her life. Except a lot of years had been wasted here on the ranch, caring for their father long after he and his brothers scattered.
When he took a sip of the sweet, warm drink he had to admit he instantly felt better. He made a noise of appreciation in his throat.
Mimi’s smile widened over the rim of her mug with an owl on it. She always had a thing for owls.
“It’s good.” He thought about the times she’d fixed him hot chocolate, and the drink hadn’t melted away his problems. But all his problems stemmed from his drunk old man and couldn’t be easily fixed. Now everything he faced—the debtor and a life he didn’t know what to do with—were due to his own bad decisions.
As he sipped, the weight of that acknowledgement settled on his shoulders. He didn’t want to face the facts, but they glared him dead in the eye and dared him to deny it.
Then there was Brennah… The woman occupied his mind more than he cared to say. He hadn’t set eyes on the beautiful vet in a few days, and he missed her face. Missed hearing her voice.
I am officially divorced.
He set his mug on the tray and looked to Mimi. “I’m going out for a while. Thanks for the cocoa, Mimi.”
“Of course.”
When he got up and dropped a rough kiss on her cheek, she giggled like a schoolgirl. “You need a shave, young man!”
He chuckled on his way to the door. He yanked on his boots and headed out. As soon as he started across the yard, his cell rang.
“Moon.” His gut churned.
“It’s Johnny. So you wanna set things right.”
“Yeah. What do I owe?”
“You still owe me three grand, you little pecker. Your truck wasn’t worth shit.”
“Okay. As soon as I get money I’ll be in touch. Just don’t take anything from us.”
“Get me my money, Moon.” Without another word, he ended the call.
Damn.
Dane scuffed a hand over his face and continued walking. The evening air smelled of pine and earth. Drawing deep droughts of freshness into his lungs, he let the scents mingle in his brain until nothing else existed. When had he made the decision to visit the veterinarian?
Each step that carried him toward Brennah felt right.
What if his gut was wrong? Wouldn’t be the first time.
She deserved better than him, but damn if he could force himself to stop and turn around. He continued down the road, past the pines and turned into her driveway. The lane meandered for a quarter mile or so, but his long legs closed the distance in no time. When he spotted the lights of her house, warm and golden, he paused to take a deep breath.
Dammit. Why did it feel like coming home?
* * * * *
Brennah stared at the TV show, but hardly registered a word being said. Her body told her to get off the couch and go to bed, even if it was early. But her mind rambled on and on, too lively to shut down just yet.
After a long day such as this, no wonder she couldn’t fall asleep easily. And she had a loss today as well. A cat required help in delivery, and one of the kittens got stuck too long in the birth canal. Losing baby animals happene
d—it was nature. But the event still left her questioning what she could have done differently in order to save it.
Stretching out on the couch, she tried to focus on all the successes of the day. At dawn she’d hit the ground running and seen to her own animals before taking an emergency call from a rancher with a sick cow. Mastitis happened often at this time of year. She’d prescribed a treatment for the cow and given a good prognosis.
Then she’d seen the usual number of dogs and cats. Today she’d also had the pleasure of giving a pet hedgehog a checkup. Seeing a different species broke up her day and reminded her that this job was fun.
Tomorrow would be more of the—
A knock at the door cut her off mid-thought. She sat up quickly and got to her feet. Who could be here at this time of night?
Dane. Nobody else ever showed up here.
Glancing down at herself, she bit back a groan. If the hot cowboy had turned up, he sure picked a bad time to visit. After her shower, she’d thrown on sweats and an old T-shirt. Her hair had air-dried, and she hadn’t bothered to even run a brush through the strands.
After the second knock, she hurried forward and opened the door.
Dane gave her a once-over. “You really shouldn’t be opening the door without protection.”
She reached to the umbrella stand and pulled out a baseball bat. When she held the item up, a grin spread over his handsome features and a deep chuckle rumbled through his broad chest.
Great—her senses were off and running again. One look at the man and her nipples hardened. She hadn’t even bothered to put on a bra either.
“What are you doing here?” She dropped the bat into the stand and folded her arms over her chest so he wouldn’t see the evidence of her desire.
He moved inside without being asked and quietly closed the door behind him. His gaze wandered over her face and hair, leaving her about fifty degrees hotter than ten seconds before.
Heart pounding, she waited for his answer.
“Brennah…”
She met his stare, and tingles hit her core.
He moved a step closer. She should put distance between them. And she definitely shouldn’t let him kiss her.
“I’m here because…” His throat worked. “I’m having a hard time stayin’ away from you.”
She shook her head. She must be mishearing him. Her imagination took over and she heard what she wanted to hear, when really he’d told her that her tractor needed gas or something far more mundane.
“Why?” Her question came out faint.
He moved in even closer, crowding her in her own mudroom so there was no choice but to tip her head up to look into his eyes. Shivers of liquid heat swallowed her up.
His amber eyes burned. “Because I like hearin’ what you have to say and waiting for the surprise to come. I like being around you and how peaceful you make me feel. I like looking at you.”
Shock swallowed her, and she blinked at him. Was he really saying these things to her? Things no man on Earth probably ever thought, let alone shared?
He reached out and fingered a wave of hair near her face. He gently eased the lock behind her ear and leaned in until her mind reeled from the scent of man and leather.
“And I definitely like kissin’ you.”
He caught her up against him, groaning as he smashed his mouth down on hers. Hard, rough, soft, gentle—all those things that made up kissing Dane stole her resistance.
After parting her lips in invitation, she mewled when he took complete advantage and thrust his tongue inside her mouth. A louder moan rocked her, and she slid a hand around his nape, pulling him down.
His tongue tasted of chocolate and she went on tiptoe, rubbing her breasts wantonly against his chest.
Very gently, he rested his fingers over her throat. She went dead still.
“Dane…”
His fingertips brushed over her pulse. “I want more from you than I’ve asked of any woman.”
Confusion lit a bulb in her brain. “What do you want?”
He groaned and ran his hands down her back to cradle her buttocks. He half-lifted her against him, letting her feel the huge bulge in the front of his jeans.
Dear Lord. She was going to pass out from pure lust. Surely she’d read something in a medical journal about that happening before.
He pushed his hips into her, then stopped mid-grind. His pupils dilated as he smoothed his hands over her behind again. “You’re not wearing panties, are you?”
Catching her lip in her teeth, she shook her head.
“Jesus Christ, woman.” He took her mouth again, this time backing her up to the wall and pinning her with his hard body. Need felt like a blast of hot air. She wrapped her arms around his neck and realized she rubbed against him like a cat in heat.
He angled his head and plunged his tongue into her mouth over and over until she shook with need. Small pleas escaped her lips, and she was helpless to control them.
“Please. Dane...please.”
“You deserve to be loved long and often. Hell, if you were mine—” He cut off and stared into her eyes. “Let me take you to bed, baby doll.”
No words of answer formed in her lust-clouded mind, so she showed him with her body by hooking her calf around his hip and looping her arms around his neck.
He lifted her. They didn’t take two steps before he kissed her again, this time longer and deeper, their tongues dancing to a wild beat. Passion rose up inside her, and she kissed him with as much demand as he demanded from her.
“My bedroom’s…that way,” she panted out.
A growl left his lips, and he bit into her throat, sucking for brief seconds and ramping up her need even more.
This was insane. But she didn’t want to stop.
“You’re so fucking delicious,” he rumbled against her neck. He lapped a trail over her earlobe, sending white-hot volcanic eruptions through her. Setting his lips at her ear, he rumbled, “I wanna taste your pussy.”
“Oh God.” She would have collapsed if he weren’t holding her in his arms. “Nobody’s ever said that to me before.”
“Then they’re goddamn idiots.” He crushed his mouth over hers, bruising and commanding. Long seconds passed where she lost all sense of time and space. All she knew about herself flew out the window. Hell, it’d been gone a long time—lost to him years ago in her teens.
“Take me to bed, cowboy.”
His lips quirked at one corner. “Damn right I will.”
She hardly recalled him carrying her to bed. By now the fire burning inside her far outweighed any arguments her brain might present. She dug her nails into his shoulders, and he raised his head. “Wait,” she said.
“What is it?” His brows creased as if he was in pain.
“Client-doctor code says I can’t sleep with you.”
“Why not? I don’t own a damn thing in this world. They’re my brother’s horses.”
Yes, yes, thank God, yes.
There were no more arguments and nothing to stop her. A smile spread over her face.
Dane grinned down at her. “Feel better?”
“Much.”
“You’re about to feel the best you’ve ever felt in your life.” He slid a hand underneath her top. She sucked in a sharp breath as his callused fingers and palm moved over her sensitive, untouched belly. He walked his fingers upward to her ribs and froze for the second time that evening.
“No bra,” he grated out.
She shook her head.
“Goddamn, I’ve really got a natural girl here, don’t I?” He didn’t wait for an answer and her words flew out the window as he cupped her breast. The warmth enveloping her had her arching upward to get closer to his heat.
He hovered over her, watching her face while he kneaded her breast and finally—at long, burning last—located her nipple and pinched the bud lightly.
She came off the bed with a cry. Tremors racked her, and she made a grab for his hair, realizing somewhere along the
way he’d dropped his hat. She sank her fingers into his hair and yanked him in.
Never in her life had she taken control in bed, but something about Dane unglued her. Emboldened, she slipped her tongue along his lips. His answering groan drove her on, and soon she was kissing him, rolling him into the mattress. When she straddled his hips, he grinned up at her.
“Love me a woman who knows what she wants.”
That description always fit her—just not in cases like this. She let things happen to her. Allowed men to make love to her. But she’d never wanted anything as bad as she wanted Dane right now.
With one brow arched, he tugged up her top, and she went a step further and yanked his overhead. Her nipples jutted forward, begging for his touch, his teeth. Instead of taking the open invitation, Dane surprised her by threading his fingers into her hair.
“I love your hair all wild like this.”
“I didn’t brush it after my shower.” Her breathy words hitched at the extreme pleasure of his fingers playing over her scalp. Somehow, the caress felt way more intimate than him touching her breasts.
An idea to tuck away and examine later. Right now…
She let her head fall into his hands, and he continued the light massage on her scalp. All tension faded away, leaving only pure pleasure—at least what she thought of as pleasure.
Because the next second, he trailed his hands down her shoulders and cradled her breasts in his big palms.
She fell still at the first pinch of her nipples. The second squeeze she cried out. The third, she lost total control and threw herself forward to capture his lips.
A man like Dane wanted to be in the driver’s seat, and he took full advantage by flipping her onto her back and pinning her with his big, hard body. When he dipped his head and snaked the point of his tongue over her nipple, she stopped breathing. Blinded by need so hot and bright that it blocked out the sun, she could only writhe beneath his scorching mouth.
He sucked her nipple. Gently nibbled. Then he bit down even harder and damn if stars didn’t burst behind her eyes.
“Oh God, Dane!”
He lifted his head and pierced her in his stare. “That’s what I needed to know.”