Holt Men of Clifton, Montana Book 12

by Susan Fisher-Davis

Her mouth dropped open then she burst out laughing. A few tears slipped down her cheeks. She wiped them away but looked up at him.

  “You don’t pull any punches, do you?”

  He chuckled. “I’ve been known not to. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “Oh, God, you didn’t. It just took me by surprise.”

  “Good, now, where were we?” He lowered his head and took her lips in a deep kiss as he moved his hand under her dress again to her belly then slid his fingers under the elastic of her panties. He touched the top of her curls then slid one finger down along her slit. She moaned when the tip of his finger touched her clitoris and he had to grit his teeth to keep himself sane.

  Taking a deep breath, he moved away from her to the edge of the bed, reached under her dress and tugged her panties down then dropped them on the floor. She sat up, put her hands behind her back, and he heard the zipper go down then she pulled her sleeves down, lowered the top part of the dress and he swore he got harder when he saw the dark green demi-cup bra barely containing her full breasts.

  “Shit,” he muttered, then leaned forward, grabbed the bottom of the dress, tugged it off, and dropped it to the floor. He looked at her to see her staring at him. “Those boots are staying on, I hope.”

  “Come here,” she whispered as she smiled and put her arms out to him.

  “In a minute. You are so beautiful,” he said as he unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, dropped it beside her dress then sat on the edge of the bed, and toed off his boots. He got to his feet, unbuckled his belt, unsnapped his jeans, and lowered the zipper.

  Her eyes never left him as she watched him strip off his clothes. He shucked his jeans, and he knew she could see his hard cock straining the material of his boxer briefs, then he pushed them off, and his dick jutted out, and her eyes widened. He winked and watched a smile lift those sexy Cupid’s bow lips.

  He started to crawl up her body, but she sat up, reached behind her, unclasped her bra, and oh, so slowly, slid the straps down her arms, all the while holding the bra over her breasts then she looked him in the eye and lowered the bra. Hell! He was sure he did come a little.

  “You’re perfect,” he said and leaned down, kissed her leg right above the knee-high boot, and switched to the other one until he made it to the apex of her thighs. He placed a kiss on her curls, and she jerked in response then he kissed the scar she’d mentioned.

  Grinning, he moved his tongue up her thigh to her slit then ran his tongue along it and heard her gasp. She was getting wet, and he wanted to take her over the edge before he buried himself inside her. Damn, if he didn’t slow down he would take her hard and fast, only he wasn’t sure he could take it slow. Clenching his jaw, he then blew out a breath against her curls and moved his tongue on her clitoris again. Then he put his mouth over it and sucked. Her hands gripped his shoulders, and her breathing increased as he continued until she cried out his name. He kissed his way up her body and put his mouth over one nipple while he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the other one. Both stiffened into peaks and her fingers thrust into his hair. He slid his lips across her chest to the other one then up to her neck. Then he pressed his lips to hers and reached into the bedside table drawer to remove a condom. After quickly sheathing himself, he inched into her, trying to take it slow but when she wrapped those boot-clad legs around his waist, he lost it and thrust in hard. She gasped but curled her arms around his neck.

  “Kiss me, please,” Sloane begged, and there was no way he could deny her.

  Putting his lips to hers, he forced them apart and moved his tongue inside, and entangled it with hers. He moaned and picked up the pace. Sliding his hand under her ass, he pulled her tight against him. He could feel her clenching around his dick as she tore her mouth from his and screamed out his name again, and it threw him over with her. Holt groaned out her name as he came then buried his face in the crook of her neck.

  Son of a bitch! It had never been that good. Never. And that thought just about killed him.

  Chapter Four

  Sloane lay there, trying to catch her breath. Oh. My. God. That had been fantastic. Holt was a wonderful lover. She’d finally had good sex. Good? What an understatement. He was still on top of her, breathing heavily. She threaded her fingers through his silky hair and when he moved to roll off her, she tightened her arms around his neck.

  “I’m too heavy,” he murmured, then rolled to his back beside her and put his arm over his eyes. “Fuck.”

  “Are you all right?”

  Holt lowered his arm and looked at her. “Yes. Why?”

  “I don’t know. You seem…distant suddenly.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. Had this been a mistake?

  “I’m fine. Really. It was great,” he practically growled out the last word as he sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed, stood, and walked into another room.

  She assumed it was the bathroom. She looked around the room to see another large stone fireplace sitting between two long windows on the wall to the left of the bed. A large mahogany dresser and mirror sat across the room. The row of bi-fold doors to the right of the bed had to be a closet. A chest of drawers sat next to them. The king-size bed had a tall matching mahogany headboard and footboard, and she had seen a large steamer trunk sitting at the foot of it when he had carried her into the room.

  Sloane scooted up against the headboard and tugged the sheet under her arms to wait for him to return. He was back within a minute, then opened a drawer on the dresser, pulled out a pair of sweatpants, tugged them on, and left the room, grabbing a T-shirt off a chair on the way. With a deep sigh, she threw the sheet off, got out of the bed, picked up her clothes, and headed into the room he’d just come out of. It was a bathroom. She glanced around at the black jacuzzi tub, pedestal sink, and the huge shower that took up the entire back wall. After cleaning up, she dressed and headed for the living room to find him sitting in the recliner, staring at the fire. She wondered what she’d done wrong. Buddy ran to her, and she absentmindedly rubbed his head.

  “Holt—”

  “I’m sorry for walking out like that, Sloane.”

  “It’s okay. I just don’t understand why. Did I do something wrong?” She jerked when the footrest on the chair slammed down. He got to his feet and ran his fingers through his hair.

  “No, it wasn’t you. You want to know why? Because it was so fucking good, and it has never been that good. Ever. Do you get what I’m saying?” he practically shouted.

  “It’s never been that good for me, either.”

  “Because your husband was an idiot, but I loved my wife and to even think this with you was better…” He turned from her and strode to stand in front of the fireplace.

  “Can you take me home?” Sloane nearly choked on the words.

  He spun around to look at her. “I don’t want you to go. I was hoping you’d stay. Damn it, Sloane. You must know I care about you. I’m just—” He tore his fingers through his hair again. “This is just tearing me up, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you. I’m just so fucking confused right now.”

  “Please, I want to go home. I think it’s best. Maybe after you come to terms—”

  “Come to terms? What a great way to put it. Hell, I’m just making this worse. Let me get dressed, and I’ll take you home.” Holt started to walk past her but stopped beside her and looked down at her. “I’m sorry.”

  Sloane nodded then walked to the kitchen to pull on her coat. She wanted to cry but she wouldn’t. Not yet anyway. She’d wait until she was in her apartment. She refused to fall apart in front of him. Damn him. Damn men. His wife had been dead for five years, and he was upset over sex being better with her than his wife. How was that her fault? Did he really think she would want to stay after he said that? She just wanted to go home and have a good cry. She was sick and tired of crying over men. First Doug, now Holt. The only two men she’d ever had sex with, and they both hurt her. Oh, she knew, Holt hadn’t done it on purpose as Doug had, but
it didn’t make it any easier to deal with.

  Standing beside the back door, she didn’t look at him when he entered the kitchen and took his coat and hat off the pegs then put them on. He opened the door, and she almost ran out to the truck. They drove in silence to her apartment. When he stopped by the stairs at the back of the diner, she opened the door but stopped when he put his hand on her arm. She wouldn’t look at him though.

  “Sloane, I’m really sorry. Let me walk you up.”

  “Don’t bother. Goodbye, Holt.” She opened the door, stepped out, slammed the door closed as hard as she could then walked around the truck. She ran up the stairs, inserted her key, entered the apartment, shoved the door closed, leaned back against it then slid to the floor as tears rolled down her face. She only hoped there was more to life than men to make her happy.

  Mid-April brought sunshine. She was so happy because her bakery was opening tomorrow. She’d hired a total of four women. Two to help bake, and two to wait on customers. Ads were placed online and in the local papers to let everyone know that Sweet Nothings would soon be open. She was anxious and hoped it succeeded. As she stood in the kitchen frosting cupcakes, her thoughts ran to Holt. She hadn’t seen him since the night they’d had sex, and it hurt. She’d been hoping he’d come around, but he hadn’t even been in the diner. Two weeks, and nothing.

  “Sloane? I’ve got the pies from Aunt Connie.”

  She looked to the doorway to see Rissa, along with Reece, holding white boxes. Sloane smiled.

  “Thank you, Rissa. Reece. I’ll just put them in the fridge for tonight.”

  “Are you nervous?” Reece asked her.

  “A little. I shouldn’t be, but…” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “New town and people. It’ll be fine,” Reece said with a grin.

  “I hope so. You’ll both come by tomorrow, right?”

  “Yes, of course,” Rissa said and took her hands in hers. “Quit worrying. You make great pastries.”

  “I can’t wait to taste everything,” Reece said.

  Rissa rolled her eyes. “I can see this is going to be a problem for you, Reece Maddox.”

  Reece wrapped his arms around her. “You’ll love me anyway.”

  Sloane smiled, but she was dying inside. She wanted what they had. This all-consuming love. Reece obviously adored Rissa, as Preston did Deidra, and Trent with Lanie. Sloane hadn’t wanted to get involved with another man so soon after her divorce but as Connie said, most marriages were over long before the divorce. There was a very thin line between love and hate. It doesn’t take much to push one over either side.

  Rissa frowned at her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Just hoping this works for me.”

  Rissa hugged her. “We’ll see you tomorrow. It’ll be great, you’ll see.”

  Sloane held her tight. “Thank you.”

  Rissa pulled back, smiled, turned, and tugged on Reece’s arm. After touching the brim of his hat with his fingers, Reece followed her out. Sloane had sent her new employees home for the day. They’d be back by four tomorrow morning. It was almost five, and she needed to go home, soak in the tub, and relax. Tomorrow would be here soon enough. She took her coat off the rack, shrugged it on then pulled her beanie from the pocket, tugged it over her head then walked to the door, opened it then pulled it closed and locked it.

  She waited for a break in traffic then jogged across the street, around the back of the diner, and climbed the steps. After unlocking the door, she entered the apartment then locked it behind her. She removed her beanie and coat, hung them up, and headed down the hallway. She hated coming home to an empty apartment. It was one of the things she hated about being alone. No one to greet her. Maybe she should get a dog. Would Connie allow it? Sloane shook her head. It wasn’t fair to the dog to leave it alone all day, and she knew there would be nights she’d be late coming home. There had been many a night she would be late going home because she baked a lot of her goods the night before, especially if she had orders for the next day. She wasn’t sure she was going to go that route yet. It had been time-consuming trying to keep the bakery going and making special orders for people. Maybe a cat would work. They were pretty much self-sufficient. She’d give it some thought.

  Entering the bathroom, she turned the water on in the tub, stripped off her clothes, and piled her hair on top of her head then stepped into the tub and sank into the soothing water. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and thought of Holt. Why hadn’t he called?

  “Because you said goodbye when you got out of his truck. Idiot,” she muttered.

  Sitting up, she reached for the soap and scrubbed herself clean. She needed to eat, relax then head to bed. Even though the bakery opened at ten, she would be there every morning at four to make the pastries to fill the display cases. She loved to bake, and her dream had always been to own a bakery, and she had done it. But then Doug turned into a dick and took it from her. She just hoped this one would make it. Luck was on her side since Clifton, Hartland, and Spring City were great little towns, and she had the only bakery for miles. She had learned that anytime someone had gotten married, Celeste’s bakery made the cakes. Until they closed, then it was left to someone else to make cakes for events. Sloane loved designing wedding cakes. She still had photos in her notebook of cakes she’d made so if anyone got married, she could make any design the couple wanted.

  Once the water began to cool, Sloane pulled the plug, stood, reached for a towel, and dried off then dressed and headed for the kitchen to make a sandwich. After, she planned to hit the sofa for a while. Four would be here before she knew it, but it was too early for bed. She just wanted to relax a little before hitting the sheets. Too bad a certain cowboy with sapphire blue eyes wasn’t hitting them with her.

  ****

  At ten-thirty the next morning, Holt drove down Main Street to head for the Feed Store. As he passed by Sloane’s bakery, he slowed to see people lined up outside. She must have opened.

  “Well, no shit, Sherlock,” he grumbled.

  He saw someone pulling out from a spot on the street, so he stopped to wait then he pulled in and parked. The warm day they were treated to yesterday had disappeared, and it was cloudy and cold today. He looked to the Glacier Mountains, but they looked clear. Everyone in these parts knew just because it was nice yesterday didn’t mean a thing, because it was April.

  As Holt crossed the street, he hesitated. Did he really want to do this after the way he treated her the last time they’d been together? You’re an idiot, James. All you had to add was, I’ll call you, to sound like the ultimate prick. Why the hell did you act like that?

  “Hell, if I know,” he said as he picked up his pace, crossed the street, and stepped up on the sidewalk. How the hell was he going to get in there with that line in front of him?

  Taking a deep breath, he strode to the bakery and looked at the people waiting to get inside. It was now or never, he thought as he moved to the door, nudged the person aside, and entered the bakery. He turned and raised an eyebrow at the people when they started muttering about him going in before them.

  “I’m not here to eat, so be quiet,” he said.

  It didn’t stop the dirty looks, but he didn’t care. He entered the store and saw nothing but chaos in front of him. People were trying to order over each other. He was about to say something when he saw Sloane come from the kitchen, put her fingers to her lips, and let out a loud, shrill whistle. He tilted his head down to hide his grin.

  “Listen up, you will take a number, and when your number is called, you will be waited on. I just explained this not ten minutes ago. We have to work together here. Please,” she said with her hands on her hips.

  “I don’t have a number,” Holt said, and when she looked at him, he could see the hurt in her eyes. “But I would like to order another date with you.”

  Patrons started cheering but stopped when Sloane turned and headed back into the kitchen. Holt pushed through
the people and followed her. He entered the kitchen but didn’t see her right away. Then he saw her over by one of the ovens. She was removing something that smelled incredible. It had been a long time since breakfast so his belly gave a grumble. He headed to where she stood.

  “Sloane—”

  “I’m busy, Holt. What do you want?”

  “I’m sorry. Look, can we talk about this?”

  She gazed up at him then she shook her head. “I don’t know what there is to talk about. You made it clear how you felt.”

  “I told you I wanted to keep seeing you.”

  She took the oven mitts off, threw them onto the table, placed her hands on her slim hips, and glared up at him.

  “Yes, you did, but you were also mad that the sex had been so good. Like that’s a bad thing,” she shouted then lowered her voice as the two women working in the kitchen stopped what they were doing and looked over at them.

  He watched her narrow her eyes at them and they got back to work.

  “I’m not mad that the sex was good, hell no. I was mad that it was better than it had ever been with Carolyn. That’s hard for me to swallow. It surprised me because I loved her so much, but it doesn’t change that I want to see you. Don’t you want to see where this goes? I know you just went through a divorce, but there’s something between us, Sloane.”

  She blew out a breath, pulled the oven mitts back on, picked up the tin, and dumped the muffins from it.

  “Sloane, if you want me to go, I will, and you’ll never see me again, but I can’t get you out of my head.”

  “Oh, really? Then why haven’t I heard from you?”

  She was being awfully rough with those muffins as she set them on a tray. He put his hand over hers until she looked at him.

  “I told you, I’m a stubborn man. When you said goodbye, I figured you were done. It doesn’t mean I didn’t think about you. I did. Every day, but I have my pride. I’m a man.” He shrugged as if those words explained it all. “But when I drove by just now, I knew I had to see you. Pride be damned.”