Her heart pounded like crazy; everything she’d ever wanted in a man was standing right in front of her. It was inconvenient he was Lily’s brother, and that Harper had lied to him, but none of that mattered now. From the moment she’d first met him in the market, she’d felt an immediate connection to him. A spark that only continued to burn bright with every minute she spent with him.
“Come with me. I want to show you something.” He led her into the bedroom and over to a trio of large windows facing the lake. He stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. The moon was full tonight, and the lake waters glistened with a fine sheen under the stars.
“It’s so peaceful.”
He rubbed her arms up and down slowly, his touch a low-burning flame on her skin. Then he moved her hair to one side and nuzzled her neck, kissing her with tiny little nips. Tilting her head, she gave him more access, closing her eyes. “Are you sure, Dawn?”
She turned in his arms and slipped her fingers under the spaghetti straps of her sundress, lowering them one at a time down her arms. Then she slid the dress off her shoulders and past her hips. It draped down to the floor, exposing her nudity but for the bikini undies she wore. She gazed deep into his eyes. “I’m sure. Are you?”
Cade’s lips twitched. “Oh yeah.”
He pulled her into his arms, crushing her into his chest. The contact was immediate, fiery and wild. He brought his mouth to hers again as he roamed her body with his palms, caressing her shoulders, her back and then lower. He palmed her cheeks through the skimpy material of her undies, applying sweet pressure to pull her tight against him, handling her like something precious, yet something he desperately needed.
In the back of her mind, she hoped this wasn’t just about sex. About relieving an itch. From what she gathered, he hadn’t been with a woman since his fiancée died. She didn’t know that for a fact, but she assumed. And now, here she was, living under his roof, about to make love to him. Was this only because she was convenient?
His next kiss wiped that thought from her mind. Whatever this was, she was all in. She’d never experienced anything like this before, this need, this craving, to be with him. It was almost unexplainable. But for her, it was real.
The snaps of his shirt were easy to pull apart. It came off quickly and then her lips were on his chest, her hands roaming his upper torso, his amazing rock-hard muscles.
He made her breathless. And bold. And she wanted more of him.
“Dawn,” he whispered. And she mentally flinched. She didn’t want him to call her that. She didn’t want the deception to go on, though she knew it had to.
And then his hands were on her breasts, his fingertips teasing, caressing, until all the nerve endings below her waist quivered. And when he was through tormenting her in the best possible way, he took her hand. “Come to bed with me.”
He led her to his massive bed and lay down, taking her with him. She ended up atop his body, her breasts pressed to his chest. He sucked air into his lungs. “You have no idea how much...”
She swallowed hard, afraid of what he was going to say.
How much he needed a woman. How much he’d wanted to do this since he laid eyes on her. How much she’d tempted him.
“H-how much what?” she asked quietly.
“How much better I feel when I’m with you.”
Oh God. It was the perfect thing to say, and she couldn’t deny that she felt the same way about him.
“Really?”
He blew out a big breath. “Yeah, really.”
She wanted to cry from the beauty of that statement. Cade was a special man, and she wanted him in a very special way. “Me too.”
He kissed her then, and there was more meaning in his kiss this time. It was different and good. Better than good. It was Cade.
They tangled in his sheets for half the night, Cade caressing every part of her body with equal attention. His tongue in her mouth made her crazy, his mouth on her breasts made her wild, but his mouth below her waist made her cry out joyously. And when he was deep, deep inside her, every pleasure she’d ever known was magnified by a thousand. When he was through with her, she was totally complete, totally sated. She could languish in his bed forever and never get up.
But morning came too early, sunshine spilling into the vast bedroom windows. She woke beside Cade, his arm around her shoulder, her head on his chest. She watched him sleep soundly. He was solid as granite, handsome and virile, but he was also a considerate lover, not satisfied until she’d had multiple orgasms. And just maybe she’d worn him out a little bit last night, too. She smiled, remembering how delicious it’d been to make love to him, to generously give to him what he’d given to her.
She carefully kissed his chest, wanting nothing more than to stay with him, but she had work to do, and she wasn’t going to shirk her duties again. She tiptoed out of bed and went downstairs to shower and change.
As she moved, her body ached just enough to remind her of the sensual night she’d spent with Cade. She was sore in all the right places. It’d been a long time since she’d been with a man. Before Dale, she’d been in a few relationships that were all wrong for her. But today, after being with Cade, nothing felt more right. She embraced the aches as a badge of honor. She only hoped Cade had no regrets, because she sure as hell didn’t.
After showering, she dressed in her usual uniform of jeans and a cold-shoulder top and walked into the kitchen, her domain. She was comfortable in her surroundings now and turned on the radio, keeping the sound low so as to not to wake Cade. She danced around the kitchen, pulling out bowls and pans, setting the coffee to brew, feeling happier than she had in a long time. She refused to let reality intrude, to make her feel guilty about anything.
But deep down she feared Cade would wake up and think this was all a big mistake. Despite the sweet things he’d said to her last night, despite how he’d held her tight in his arms, refusing to let her go back to her own bed.
“You belong here,” he’d said, right before he’d drifted off to sleep.
She whipped up eggs in a bowl and added fresh bacon bits, diced ham, chopped olives, artichokes and onions, and then grated in a cup of Gruyère cheese. She dumped the mixture into a cast-iron skillet, added a few spices and heated it on the stovetop. Then she set about making honey-glazed corn bread from scratch. She took the bowl in her arms, using a spatula to combine all the ingredients as she continued dancing around the kitchen, humming along with the melody pouring out of the radio.
On her third spin around, she stopped up short, coming face-to-face with Cade. He was leaning against the kitchen wall, arms folded, his drowsy eyes on her. She swallowed, her gaze flowing over his bare chest and his jeans sitting low on his hips. His hair was an unruly, thick mop, the locks falling into his eyes, and the scruff along his jawline was one day darker.
“Beautiful,” he said, pushing away from the wall and approaching her. He took the bowl from her, setting it on the counter, then laced his right hand with hers and spun her around to the music once, twice, and then pulled her up into his arms on the third spin, his hands locking behind her waist as he kissed her hungrily on the lips. “I missed you when I woke up.”
Again, the man knew just the right thing to say. “It was getting late, and I made us a frittata for breakfast.” She poured him a cup of coffee. “Here, enjoy.”
“I did. Did you?”
“Is there any doubt?” Didn’t he know what a fantastic lover he was? “I mean, I usually don’t dance around the kitchen when I cook in the morning.”
“It’s a nice look on you. You should do it more often. I’ll be glad to help with that anytime.”
She smiled before she sipped her coffee and liked that they weren’t getting all serious about what happened last night. Sometimes you could overthink things, and right now, all she wanted was to feel the way she was feeling. “I’ll remembe
r that.”
She poured the corn bread mixture into a greased pan and set it into the oven.
“Should be done in thirty minutes,” she said, mostly to herself.
Then she took a seat adjacent to Cade at the table and both of them gazed out the window. “It’s a beautiful day.”
“It is,” he said. “You, uh, you want to do something today?” He cleared his throat. “Together?”
She wanted nothing more than that. She could take a day off from her recipe research. “What did you have in mind?”
She trusted that he wouldn’t say some cliché jerk thing; she already knew Cade wasn’t made that way. He wasn’t going to assume anything or force the situation, and she was grateful for that. “A ride? There’s some really pretty landscapes around here I’d like to show you.”
Her smile stretched wide across her face. “I think I’d love that.”
He paused with the coffee cup at his mouth, his eyes gleaming. “So would I. It’s a date.”
Dating Cade? She liked the sound of that, and it no longer seemed like the end of the world that she was extremely attracted to him.
Five
Harper sat on the cushioned white seat of a ten-guest party boat and looked out at the lake. Warm breezes blew by, ruffling her hair as the boat caressed the lake waters. When Cade asked about going for a ride this morning, she’d assumed it was a car ride, but he’d surprised her by taking her to the main dock, where he’d arranged to have the boat ready.
Now, out on the lake, she felt freer than she ever had. She removed her sunglasses and let down her hair—which was already curling at the ends from the boat spray—just letting herself be without fear of anyone recognizing her. It was glorious and liberating. Here, on the lake, with only a few other boats in sight, she wasn’t in any danger of being recognized.
“Over there is where my brother and I would anchor and try to fish when we were kids.” Cade pointed to an inlet that was lush with trees and undergrowth. “But the only thing we attracted was a parade of baby ducklings led by their mama. Didn’t help that Lily would toss them bread crumbs. She was afraid they were starving.”
“Sounds like Lily,” Harper said, then realized her blunder. Her heart sped up, and she held her breath.
“What’d you say?”
“I mean, sounds like Lily is...good-hearted.”
“She is, but sometimes that gets her into trouble.”
The only thing Harper thought to do was change the subject. “I would’ve packed a lunch if I knew we were going out on the water.”
“No need. I got it covered.”
“You do, do you? Did you actually put together a meal?”
“Hell, no.” He laughed. “I wouldn’t subject you to that. There’s a little restaurant just around the bend. We can have lunch there, or we can get it to go.”
“To go,” she said immediately.
Cade gave her a glance from behind the steering wheel and nodded. “To go it is. We’ll find a good place to anchor and have lunch on the water.”
“Thank you, Cade. This is...nice.”
“You’re nice,” he said, giving her a charming smile. He reached for her hand and gave it a little tug. She went willingly and landed on his lap. “You want to captain the boat?” he asked, his mouth just inches from hers. Her bottom was snugly set on his thighs, and her body quickly reacted.
“Maybe I just want the captain,” she whispered.
“Dawn,” he said almost helplessly. “I’ve been wanting you all morning.”
His lips came down on hers in a crushing, bruising way, and she couldn’t hold back the tiny little moans rising up her throat. He kissed her long and hard, his tongue mastering her mouth, his hands mastering her body. They were in the middle of the lake, alone for the most part, but still out in public.
“Do you want to—”
“Yes,” she answered.
He groaned and kissed her again, and she was ready for whatever was to come.
He dropped anchor in the remote inlet, then lifted her off his lap and brought her under the shade of the canopy at the front of the boat. There was a long horseshoe-shaped seating area there, for the most part hidden from view. They kissed again, and then both dropped down onto the cushions, relentlessly touching each other through the confines of their clothes. She ached for more, to be one with him.
When he touched her breasts, she lay back and whimpered. “Hold on,” he whispered, kissing her again and again. Then he came over her, unzipping her jeans and pulling them partway down. “Let me do this for you,” he said.
And then his fingers were on her, stroking her, and every touch, every caress brought her to the brink. She’d never made love almost fully clothed before, but Cade knew what he was doing. Between his kisses and his caresses, it didn’t take long for her little moans of ecstasy to grow louder, fiercer. Her hips arched, the muscles in her legs tightened and then...she shattered. Pleasure flitted around her like butterflies, bringing their beauty and grace. She was devastatingly done.
Cade zipped her jeans and brought her into the circle of his arms, his eyes on hers. There was so much spoken in that moment without words. Perhaps for the first time in her life, she was really in tune with a man. With Cade.
“You still want lunch?” he asked.
She shook her head, unable to speak just yet.
“We’ll head back home and finish what we started here.”
Yes, she wanted that. Very much.
She wanted Cade, and he wanted her.
It was as simple as two plus two.
* * *
Cade steered the boat to the slip by the house and locked hands with Dawn helping her onto the dock. He had to touch her, to stay connected with her and keep reminding himself she was real. She was the balm to his darkness, a woman who had captivated him from the very start. She wasn’t a one-night stand or a fluke. She wasn’t a woman who wanted to sleep with Gage Tremaine’s brother. Just remembering how his touch completely made her come undone on the boat had him becoming a greedy soul, wanting more of that, wanting to keep Dawn close.
Hand in hand they strolled to the front door of the house. He stopped at the threshold and kissed her again and again, loving those tiny whimpers rising from her throat. Reluctantly, he broke off the kiss to open the door. Taking her face in his hands, he searched her eyes. “How are you?”
“Good. I’m good,” she whispered in a sultry voice.
“Me too. Now that we’re home.”
She gave him a pretty smile, and he brought her inside the cabin. He wasn’t going to ask her again, or make sure this was all right with her. He’d had his answer back there on the boat, and from her urgent kisses. He led her to her bedroom and closed the door. Her room was smaller than his, her bed a queen, but he didn’t mind being in close quarters with her. In fact, he couldn’t think of anything better.
He brushed his lips over hers, ran his hand through her hair. “Take off your clothes, sweetheart.”
“You take off yours,” she answered back.
“Planning to.” He unbuttoned his shirt, then unfastened his belt and drew it off with one long pull. He kicked off his shoes, all the while keeping his eyes trained on Dawn as she stripped down to her panties.
“All done, slow poke.”
He grinned. “You trash-talkin’ me, angel?”
“Have to. You’re taking your sweet time.”
“You’ll thank me later for that.”
And then they were on each other, lips meshing, bodies colliding. He caressed every single inch of her skin, absorbing her softness, the supple, sweet body that gave to him so generously. His palms grew hot from rubbing her perfect breasts, loving the firm feel of them, the rosy tips that pebbled up and invited him to do more. He brought his mouth down to lavish one pink tip with love and then the other. She squir
med under his grip and he grew even harder. Gently, he moved her to the bed and lowered her down, her head on the pillow, her incredibly long legs lying across the bed, her eyes on him, glistening like the lake waters.
He sheathed himself with protection and moved over her, lowering down into her awaiting arms. She ran her hands through his hair, rumpling it, then caressed his face, kissed his mouth. They just seemed to fit perfectly everywhere, and when kissing wasn’t bringing them close enough together, Cade thrust inside her, his hands on the bed giving him momentum to take her fully, to reach as deep inside as he could go.
Her whimpers met with his groans, pleasure and heat and lust all mingled. “Oh, damn, Dawn,” he uttered in a plea. Raw sensations whipped through him as he continued to move, to gaze into her passion-filled eyes. Her reaction to him was his biggest turn-on, the way she seemed to enjoy everything he did to her.
She was not just a one-night stand. Definitely not.
She was scary good with him, beautiful under him, drawing every ounce of passion from him, meeting him thrust for thrust.
“Cade,” she whispered, reaching up to his neck and pulling him down for a fiery kiss. She destroyed him in the best of ways, taking all of his breath away.
And then her mouth clamped down, her body stiffened, as she pleaded with him not to stop. And he knew the exact moment of her climax, the earth-shattering second of her release.
Man, he was amazed, stricken to the core. And watching her like that fueled his desire.
He moved harder and faster, and then he combusted, his release an earthquake of pleasure and satisfaction. He rolled off her, taking her with him, to hold her tight. To keep her close. “That was the...best,” he uttered.
She nodded, and snuggled his chest.
Where had this beautiful woman come from?
She seemed too good to be true.
* * *
After their incredible day together—and even more incredible night—Harper found Cade in the kitchen the next morning. The coffee was brewing, and he was over the stove, burning bacon in a cast-iron skillet. She giggled a little, and he turned, obviously surprised to see her there. “Mornin’,” he said. He leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Damn, you look good in my shirt.”
Craving a Real Texan--A Western romance Page 8