“Anne-Marie. Anne-Marie,” he whispered huskily. “I’ve never felt anything like this. I’ve never wanted like this.”
Beyond her closed eyes, bright green and blue checkered together, spinning like a brilliant star. Inside of her, a fire burned, working its way upward, eating at the cold shell she’d once cocooned herself in.
“Neither…have I,” she said in a strained, helpless tone.
His hands left her breasts to gather the hem of her top. Instinctively, she held up her arms and waited for him to pull the piece of clothing over her head.
“Is anyone ever around here?” he asked huskily, as he pushed the straps of her bra over her shoulders and down her arms.
Anne-Marie shivered as much from his heated gaze as from the touch of his fingers along her delicate skin.
“No. No one comes around here except for me or my father. And we know where he is.”
“That’s good. I don’t want to worry about someone coming up on us.” His hands dipped into the thick red waves falling onto her shoulders. “I want to focus my whole attention on you.”
The soft growl in his voice was even sexier than the glint in his eyes and Anne-Marie was amazed that she’d been able to resist him for this long.
“I’m yours, Cordero,” she whispered. “Totally yours.”
She was surprised to see a humbled expression steal over his face, but she didn’t have time to ponder his reaction. His head suddenly dipped and his mouth latched onto one rosy nipple.
Like streaks of lightning, desire sizzled through her, jolting her with the impact. Crying out, she dug her fingers into his hair and arched her upper body toward the tender suckling.
On and on, he tasted, nibbled, tugged at her breasts until she could no longer bear the heat building between the juncture of her thighs. She wanted him. So desperately.
She was twisting against him, trying to unfasten the buttons of his shirt, when he finally pulled away from her. She gazed at his face through a glaze of raw desire.
“This isn’t the place to make love to you, Anne-Marie,” he said with undisguised agony. “I want it to be right — special.”
Stunned by his words, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the curve of his shoulder. “This is special, Cordero. I have always loved this place. I used to come here with my mother and we would sit and talk about our hopes and dreams.” Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes and smiled. “What is that old cowboy motto? The ground for your bed, the stars for your blanket. Show me what it means, Cordero.”
“Oh my darling. My sweet Anne-Marie,” he whispered, “I don’t deserve you. Or this. But I’m not strong enough to get up and walk away. Don’t hate me later. Promise me.”
A rough lump of emotion gathered in her throat, making it almost impossible to speak. “I could never hate you, my love.”
She reached for the buttons on his shirt again and her fingers fumbled until the last one was dealt with. When she finally pushed the fabric apart, he pulled the garment from his shoulders and spread it over the grass behind them.
The gesture brought tears to her eyes, but she hid them as he laid her down on the makeshift bed and quickly removed the rest of her clothing. Once he had them tossed aside, she opened her eyes to see him stand and deal with his own jeans and boots.
As Anne-Marie watched, her breath caught in her throat. He was solid, sculpted muscle and his arousal couldn’t have been more evident.
She forced herself to breathe as he kneeled over her and then air passed her lips as a yearning sigh when he slid his arms beneath her and lifted her upper body next to his.
Slow minutes ticked by as he kissed her, touched her, explored every gentle curve. Beneath him Anne-Marie’s head danced in a merry circle, singing like a joyous choir. Her hands kneaded the muscles on his back. Her fingers skipped and jumped down the vertebrae of his spine until she flattened her palms against his buttocks and urged him to join them together.
“I don’t have any protection,” he mouthed against her damp forehead.
She paused, but only for a second. “I — don’t, either. But it — doesn’t matter.”
He groaned with a hunger that had nothing to do with his body and everything to do with his heart. He was gripped with an urgency that superseded everything. “No. I guess not. Because I sure as hell can’t get up and leave you now.”
Nor could she let him. Opening her legs, she urged him to unite their bodies and make them one.
Cordero didn’t hesitate. He couldn’t. Hot blood pounded inside his head. His loins ached to the point of exploding. Nothing would assuage his pain except burying himself in her softness.
When he entered her he tried to go slowly and give her time to adjust. Yet the need to drive himself into her was fierce. So fierce that sweat poured from his forehead and forced him to grit his teeth.
But suddenly Anne-Marie solved his problem by arching her hips, sheathing him with delicious heat. The sudden rush of pleasure splintered through him like lightning splitting the clouds and striking the earth. Her legs were bands of silk wrapping around him tighter and tighter. Her hands flattened against the back of his thighs, urging him closer, deeper.
Cordero had never made love to a woman without the protection of a condom. The fact left him feeling strangely vulnerable, yet sweetly connected to Anne-Marie in a way he’d never experienced. And the sensation of flesh against flesh was only a part of the pleasure playing with his emotions. He was naked and exposed, giving her and showing her the real him.
He could feel her slender body writhing, twisting against his. Her hands were on his back, his legs and buttocks, skating across his sweaty skin as though she couldn’t get enough of touching him.
She was all goodness and sweetness and as Cordero drove himself into her, for the first time in his life, he wanted to be a part of someone else. He wanted that goodness to flow into him, to fill him up, even to the center of his heart. He wanted to take that part of her with him. Forever and ever.
Anne-Marie was certain the earth beneath her tilted, tossing her toward heaven. Crying out, she clung to his shoulders. Willow leaves and blue sky blurred together until nothing but bright stars rained down on her, pricking her with rays of golden light. Above her, Cordero made a guttural sound of release and clutched her to him as though she was his anchor on a storm-tossed sea.
Long moments passed before Cordero rolled his weight off her body. Then he stretched on his side to look down at her face.
“You’re sweating,” he said.
She smiled drowsily. “I wonder why,” she murmured wryly. Opening her eyes, she looked up into his handsome face. Emotions squeezed inside her chest, filled her heart with pleasure and pain.
His forefinger pressed into the middle of her lower lip. “The day is hot. And I’ve got just the remedy.”
“I thought you just did.”
Chuckles gurgled in his throat. “Oh, you naughty girl. You haven’t seen the half of it yet.”
Before she could question that remark he rose to his feet, pulling her along with him.
“Cordero! What —” She squealed as he lifted her in his arms and moved away from the shelter of the willow. “Where are we going? My clothes —”
“You won’t need them,” he interrupted.
Before she realized what he was up to, he stopped at the edge of the dock and dropped her into the water.
She came up sputtering and yelling as she wiped at strands of hair stuck to her face. “Cordero! There are alligators in here!”
“Don’t worry, darlin’ I’d never let them get you.”
He jumped in beside her and the force of the waves sucked her beneath the water with him. Their arms and legs tangled and then he wrapped her against him and kicked the weight of their bodies toward the surface.
They were both laughing as their heads broke through the rippling waves. Using one hand to tread water, he used the other to push the hair from Anne-Marie’s face. Once it wa
s tucked behind her ears he kissed the droplets from her cheeks.
“Cool now?” he asked, his white teeth gleaming as he grinned at her.
The buoyancy of the water thrust their bodies together and Anne-Marie used the weightlessness to wrap her legs around Cordero’s waist.
“Not yet.”
He brought his lips next to hers. “I thought you were worried about alligators.”
She circled her arms around his neck. “Not when I have you here to keep me safe.”
Late evening sent long shadows across the yard when they finally returned to the house. While Cordero went upstairs to shower, Anne-Marie fed Lucy on the back porch, then checked the answering machine.
Darcella had left a message saying the doctor had ordered her off her feet for the next few days. Anne-Marie called her to make sure she was following his orders, then made a quick call to her father. Jules sounded extremely chipper for a man sitting in a hospital room. Especially when Anne-Marie told him that she and Cordero had taken a boat ride down to the landing. As she hung up the phone it dawned on her that Jules had not only purchased the horses for her sake, he’d brought Cordero to Cane’s Landing for her sake, too.
The realization should have angered her, even humiliated her, but now it only brought a wry smile to her face. After all, how could she be angry when she felt her heart, her mind, her whole body glowing.
After a shower and a change of clothes, Anne-Marie went back to the kitchen and began to pull food from the refrigerator. By the time Cordero appeared, she’d set the table on the side porch and carried out a plate of roast chicken, along with bowls of potato salad, cheese and fruit.
“Have a seat, Mr. Sanchez. Your supper is ready.”
Walking up behind her, he slipped his arms around her waist and pressed his lips to the top of her hair. She smelled like a creamy magnolia blossom and he simply drew in the scent of her and let the warmth of her body seep into his.
“I didn’t realize you were this handy in the kitchen,” he said teasingly.
“I have to confess. Darcella already had the chicken and potato salad prepared. But, I can cook. After Mama died I spent a lot of time with Darcella. Being with her comforted me. And along the way I picked up a little knowledge about the kitchen.”
He squeezed her shoulder in an understanding way, then reached to pull out a chair from the table.
“Have a seat, my lady.”
He joined her after he’d pulled a chair close to hers.
“Darcella left a phone message while we were gone. The doctor has ordered her to rest her ankle the next few days. I called her and told her that we’d be fine.”
“That’s good.”
“I also called Father. He’s doing fine,” she said happily. “He was pleased to hear we’d spent the day together.”
She handed him the platter of chicken and he speared several slices onto his plate. “I’m glad. Your father is a good man. He loves you very much.”
Anne-Marie paused from filling her own plate to look thoughtfully at him. “Cordero, I think Father invited you here to Cane’s Landing solely for my sake. Is that true?”
Surprise lifted his brows and then his expression turned sheepish. “No. I mean, actually I came here to deliver the horses. But — I think Jules did a little calculating on his own. Don’t get angry when I tell you this, Anne-Marie, but your father didn’t really have a spell with his heart. He ordered the doctor to put him in the hospital and threatened to take away his financial donations to the hospital if he didn’t. I didn’t learn about this until after I arrived and we visited Jules in the hospital.”
Shaking her head with dismay, Anne-Marie didn’t know whether to be angry, insulted or happy. “I should have guessed,” she said finally. “It was plain that he was manipulating us, but I didn’t realize he’d gone to such lengths.” She sighed. “At least I know now that his heart is okay. I guess that’s the most important thing.”
Cordero slipped his hand over hers. “That. And the fact that he brought us together.”
But their time was limited. The thought pierced her with such sudden pain that she quickly brushed it away as she would a stinging wasp.
She couldn’t think about Cordero climbing into his truck and leaving for Texas. That would come later. Right now they had the night ahead of them and all she wanted to do was give him her love.
Chapter Ten
When Cordero woke the next morning, the sun was already shining and the spot beside him was empty. Glancing at the footboard of the bed, he saw that Anne-Marie’s clothes were gone and he could only guess that she was in the shower or down in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
Raking a hand through his tousled hair, he turned on his side and gazed at the space where she’d lain beside him throughout the night. The fragile scent of her still lingered on the sheets and that was all it took to fill his mind with her image. Her lovely face and creamy skin, her rosy nipples peeking through strands of fiery red hair, her warm giving body treating him with delights that had jolted and shaken him to the very core of his being.
He’d never felt like this before and the idea that he was changing — that for the first time in his life he needed a woman, one woman — was enough to put him in a panic.
Being here with Anne-Marie was like being in paradise. He wanted to stay until this obsessive need for her wore itself out. But another part of him argued that to stay longer would only make him fall deeper into the tender web she was weaving around him.
The cell phone that he’d left on the bedside table suddenly rang and he stared at it in surprise. He only used this particular phone for family and none of them would call unless it was absolutely necessary.
Fearing something had happened, he snatched it up. “Cordero here.”
“Cordero. I’m sorry to interrupt your vacation. Do you have a moment to talk?”
The sound of his sister-in-law’s voice took him aback. He’d been expecting Matt or Lex.
“Juliet? What’s wrong?” he asked without preamble.
“Nothing. I’m sorry if I’ve worried you. It’s nothing like an emergency. I’m actually calling because your brother refused to.”
“Matt? Where is he?”
She let out a weary sigh that told him things at the Sandbur must be hectic.
“He’s already left the house this morning. A cattle buyer is coming to look at a bull. And then he’s got to meet with some man about the auction.”
For several months now his brother, Matt, had been planning a live television auction from the Sandbur. Buyers would be present at the ranch, along with bids taken over the phone by viewers in other states. The event required a lot of Matt’s time and energy, not to mention taking away from other tasks that needed his attention.
“Is Matt okay?” Cordero asked.
“Yes. He’s fine — just tired. The reason I’m calling is to see how much longer you’ll be staying there in Louisiana.”
He could hear a hesitant tone in her voice as though she didn’t want to get to the real point.
“Why?” Cordero asked. “Why didn’t he want to call me?”
“Because he didn’t want to bother you. But I thought you should know that a few of the horses have come down with shipping fever. We don’t know how they got it. Matt thinks they were contaminated when one of the wranglers hauled them to the vet for vaccinations. Anyway, your father has been trying to take extra care of them and he refuses to let the wranglers help. He’s wearing himself out and —”
“I need to be there. He’ll trust me to do what’s needed,” he finished before Juliet could. “And when I do get there I’m going to argue my case to Matt and Lex about the need to hire a resident vet on the Sandbur.”
“For whatever it’s worth, I’ll back you up on that, Cordero. I’m just sorry to bother you with all this. But I thought you’d want to know about the situation.”
“I do. I’m glad you called.” Glancing toward the ceiling he blew out a long breath. W
hat was Anne-Marie going to think? And how could he bear to tell her goodbye? “I’ll start home today.”
“Are you sure? I mean, this isn’t exactly an emergency. And you’re on vacation. I just wanted you to be aware of what was going on. Matt keeps insisting he can handle it.”
“Yeah, sure. Matt has his hands full and then some. Don’t worry about it, Juliet. I’ve had several days off already. It’s time I come home.” And time he remembered where his heart was supposed to be, he thought glumly.
He ended the conversation and had just put the cell phone away when Anne-Marie knocked lightly on the door and entered carrying a tray of coffee.
She wore a yellow sundress and her long hair was gathered into a ponytail behind one ear. The sight of her was like the appearance of a daffodil after a long, hard winter.
Scooting up in the bed, he propped himself against the headboard and grinned to cover the unsettled feelings swirling around inside him. “What is this? Darcella didn’t do this for me.”
“She’d better not have,” she teased. “Seeing you naked in bed would have sent her into a faint.”
“Hmm. You seem to be dealing with it quite well,” he said with amusement.
She placed the tray on the nightstand, then took a seat on the edge of the mattress as she filled the cup with steaming coffee. Watching her, Cordero let his mind wander back through the night, remembering the way it had felt to make love to her, to drift off to sleep with her body draped over his.
“That’s because I’ve gotten over the shock.”
She handed him the coffee, then leaned her head close enough to plant a soft kiss on his lips.
The tempting touch brought Cordero’s hand up to the back of her head. For long moments he held her lips to his and feasted on the sweet, honeyed taste of her mouth.
“That was a very nice good morning,” she murmured once he finally released her.
He lifted the cup to his lips. After a careful sip, he studied her over the rim. “I’ll admit I’ve never woken to a prettier sight.”
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