Holiday Heat: The Men of Starlight Bend

by Ashley Jennifer

  “Well, Starlight Bend is a lot different than San Francisco, Chicago or Miami, other places you travel to. Whole ‘nother ball of wax than a big city.”

  “True.”

  Nick tended to the fire while Anna contemplated dinner. When Nick joined her in the kitchen, she asked, “You are staying the night, right? It’s practically a blizzard out there.”

  “And the roads will be hazardous, so, yes. Sorry to still be in your hair.”

  “Oh, right. Hear me complaining.”

  He reached for Anna and pulled her to him where he sat on a barstool. She stood between his parted legs, his hands clasping the dip of her waist. Her palms splayed over his chest.

  “You are always grace under pressure,” he told her. “Amazing job with the doe.”

  “We’ve always made a good team. And your kid was pretty fearless. You’ve taught him well.”

  “Could all just be instinct on his part.”

  “I’d say that was the majority of it, if he was biologically yours. Anyway, yet another eventful day in your presence. How are your hands?”

  “My gloves are scratched, but the leather on the palms are thick enough I could use them to zip-line. So nothing serious at all.”

  “Maybe I should examine you. I mean…your palms. Just in case.”

  He grinned. “Examine away.” He pulled her closer and kissed her. Until Jake’s voice came into earshot. Nick broke their kiss and said, “We’ll continue this when he’s asleep.”

  “I’m holding you to that.”

  They disentangled from each other and Anna went about fixing dinner. Jake placed two more calls, one to his Great-Gran. When he was off the phone with her, he announced, “She’s playing Canasta again. Mrs. Carpenter brought dinner, so they’re all good. Plenty of firewood and wine. Uh—water. She said water.”

  “I’ll bet she did,” Nick quipped.

  “Speaking of wine, will you pour?” Anna asked.

  “And I’ll set the table,” Jake offered.

  They fell into step again. Anna continued to balance on the blade, yearning for this to be something real…yet knowing Starlight Bend was but a stop along the way for Nick and his son.

  Knowing it wasn’t the least bit good for her heart to believe in—or wish for—anything more.

  Chapter Nine

  “You’ve discovered a new erogenous zone,” Anna said on a sigh. She was naked and lying on her stomach, on her king-sized bed, her arms folded before her on the mattress, her chin resting on her stacked hands. There was a fire blazing and crackling in the far corner where the wall of windows showcased the continued snowfall.

  Nick was sprawled next to her, his lips and tongue gliding over her spine, up to her nape. He left feathery kisses there and she shivered at the sexy, intimate gesture.

  “Can’t believe I wasn’t this thorough years ago,” he quietly said.

  “We were seventeen, Nick. What the hell did we really know about this kind of pleasure?”

  “You never failed to come, sweetheart. Nor did I.”

  “True,” she confessed as excitement rippled through her. “And I will concede, you had some serious finesse back then. But now…?” She let out a low moan. “I’m tingly from head to toe.”

  “I’m just getting started.”

  “Words I love hearing.”

  His fingertips skated downward to her tailbone, and then swept up. He said, “You’re so soft. And, damn, do you smell good.” He deeply inhaled the curls she’d pulled over one shoulder. “I’ve never had to work so hard at not getting an erection—just the taste of your skin and the scent of your hair can do it to me, in a heartbeat.”

  “You’re not exactly fighting it now,” she teased.

  “I’m talking about in public. In front of Jake. You get me all worked up. Trigger all the wicked thoughts I have of you.”

  “See? No angel in this bed.”

  He chuckled. “Roll over so I can make love to you.”

  “If you insist.”

  He moved between her legs, lifting one so the back of her thigh pressed to his pectoral ledge and the crooked knee draped over his shoulder. He planted a palm on the mattress at her side and leaned over her. His cock eased slowly into her.

  Anna’s teeth sank into her lower lip. She could scream from the ecstasy he elicited just by pumping into her, filling and stretching her. The scorching look on Nick’s face only heightened her arousal, made her wetter for him.

  He moved inside her with the familiarity of what she liked, what she craved; yet with that rawer, underlying yearning that was new and titillating. His hips pistoned in a measured pace, his thick shaft massaging her inner walls, the head of his cock rubbing against her G-spot.

  Anna clutched his forearm at her side. Her other hand flattened against his chest, at his heart, her fingertips lightly pressing in.

  He stared into her eyes as he made love to her. Gradually picked up the pace to match their quickened breaths. Thrust longer and deeper, until Anna was moaning and her hips were rolling with his. The tension and pressure built within her, so vibrant and tempting that she didn’t hold onto it. The erotic sensations collided and erupted. She let out a small cry. Squeezed him tight.

  “Oh, Jesus,” Nick ground out. “Anna…sweetheart.” His cock surged and his body convulsed.

  He came inside her, the liquid heat wrenching another cry from her lips.

  Neither broke the eye contact. Neither moved as the euphoria flowed through them, between them, around them.

  Anna could experience this every night and be the happiest woman on the planet.

  But that was yet another dangerous thought…

  ~~*~~

  Nick returned from tidying up in the bathroom and slipped under the thick covers. He pulled Anna to him and she rested her head on his chest as his arm circled her shoulders.

  “We’re pretty good at that,” she sweetly teased. “Kinda like riding a bike when it comes to us being in sync with each other.”

  “Sex was never our problem. Nothing was ever really a problem with us. Except my last name.” Nick blew out a long breath. He hadn’t meant to bring that up.

  Though…there was still something unresolved between them. Something that had been gnawing at him since way back, but which was even more taunting this evening.

  Nick said, “The lunch I had with Ruby’s physician also included a behavioral health therapist from Kalispell. We had a very interesting conversation about the veterans in this part of the state that have to travel hundreds of miles for the care they need. And at that, appointments are so hard to come by, they might not be seen for weeks or months for urgent matters.”

  “Jake mentioned that earlier. Said you were also discussing a wounded warrior project.”

  “Yes, a village. There are some very successful ones in the country, along with privately funded rehab retreats. The hope is for at least a twenty-bed inpatient facility close by and transitional housing for thirty or more on enough acreage to offer mental-healing and physical-strengthening activities. But resources are limited. Not just financial resources. Ancillary services, equipment, specialists, etcetera.”

  “Specialists such as…a brain surgeon?”

  “Yes.”

  Anna’s head lifted and she stared down at him. “But you’re only interested in the project as an investor, right?”

  He was quiet for several moments, searching his deepest feelings, his gut reaction to the discussion he’d had with the two men and the uncertainty now flickering in Anna’s eyes.

  He told her, “In all honesty, it’s something for me to consider.”

  “From an investment standpoint,” she repeated.

  Nick let the idea of having more involvement in the project than being the money man run through the forefront of his mind for a few minutes. Until Anna’s hand cupped the side of his face and his full attention returned to her.

  “Nick?”

  “I don’t know, angel. I don’t know what I’m thinki
ng right now. Just that being with you feels incredible. Having you in my arms, being able to make love to you, spending time with you. Seeing how well you get along with Jake. How established you are with your veterinarian practice… All of this is something to seriously think about. Ruby’s back in town and I know the two of you will be able to get together frequently, like you used to—it all just feels right, Anna.”

  She sighed. “Nick. You’re home for the first time in over fifteen years. You’re showing your son all the things you loved about Starlight Bend when you were his age. You and I have always been simpatico. And for God’s sake, it’s Christmastime. What you’re experiencing is—”

  “Don’t tell me what I’m experiencing, Anna. Don’t chalk it up to nostalgia or a long, overdue homecoming. There are a hell of a lot of pieces to our puzzle that were scattered from the time I graduated. Now some of them are falling into place. Maybe they could all fall into place.”

  “Oh, God, Nick.” Anxiety flashed in her eyes. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t give me this sliver of hope when I know there really is none.”

  “There’s always been hope for us, angel.” He sat up and threaded his fingers through her hair. “But do you know that you have never once asked me to stay? Not when I missed our first school dance. Or when we were Homecoming King and Queen in junior high. When we wanted to spend a week at summer camp with all of our friends. The list goes on. Every time we planned for something and I had to bail on it because my dad needed me—no, requested me—elsewhere, you never complained, never begged me to stay, never cried over the fact that our plans were continually shot to shit. At least, not in front of me.”

  “What good would it have done, Nick?”

  “I don’t know.” His chest pulled tight, his gut clenched. “But, goddamn it. Even the morning when I was leaving for the last time, you were so understanding, so accepting of our fate.”

  “What did you expect?” she quietly demanded. “What did you want from me? To plead with you? To latch onto your leg and try to physically keep you from walking out the door?”

  “Maybe I wanted to…to know…to feel like… Fuck.”

  “What, Nick?” she insisted.

  “Maybe I just wanted you to fight for me, Anna. Even just a little bit. Give some pushback. Yell at me for fucking up our plans, our lives. Maybe, Anna,” he said as his jumbled thoughts suddenly gelled. “Maybe all I ever wanted was for you to ask me to stay. With you.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “I couldn’t, Nick. You were meant for so much more than Starlight Bend.”

  “Okay, perhaps back then, yes. I needed to go to Harvard. To go to medical school. But, damn it, sweetheart. What about now? I’m here. Jake’s with me. There’s the potential for a project that I could really sink my teeth into. I could do some good, right here in Montana. And come home to you every night.”

  “Oh, Nick…” She shook her head sharply. “Do not say things like this when you can’t follow through on them. When you have obligations to your father and—”

  “Anna, I’ve fulfilled all of those obligations. Every single fucking one of them. When do I get to start living the life I design for myself?”

  “You always said you would, but—”

  “I have a son to think about. One I’ve been dragging all over the country. When it is so evident that he’s desperate for a home like this. A family, Anna. The kid needs a family. You need a family. Ruby, Jake, me…we could be it. Travis, too. Of course, Travis. Fuck. I’m rambling.”

  But suddenly, Nick’s pulse was racing and his heart was pounding. A powerful, unmistakable sense of this is so right! was zinging through his veins.

  “I told you I’d come back and marry you,” he reminded her. “I said I’d figure out what my career was really supposed to be like. And here it all is, coming together.”

  “It’s not coming together, Nick. The project is just a verbal concept at the moment. Jake might not even want me as a step-mother. You and I might not—”

  “Might not be in love?” His brow crooked in a challenging way.

  She swiped at some tears. “That’s not an issue for me…”

  “Never been an issue for me, either. I do love you,” he said as he held her gaze. “I’ve always loved you. Only you, Anna. And you know it.”

  “Nick, this isn’t the same as what you’re used to in New York. There are no five-star resorts and Michelin-starred restaurants in this tiny mountain town.”

  “So when we’re in the mood for one of those things—or anything else Starlight Bend doesn’t have to offer—we take the plane and get away for the weekend. Jesus, I had this all sorted out the other night and didn’t even realize it. Even Jake said it—why can’t we do both? Why can’t we have the best of both worlds? We certainly worked for it and made enough sacrifices along the way.”

  “You’re talking about—”

  “I’m talking about enjoying life here and when we want to sample something different, we give it a try. But this is where are roots should be, Anna. In this house, on this ranch. Don’t you feel that, deep in your heart?”

  She was stunned into silence. Stared at him for a few moments, then tossed off the covers and slipped from the bed. She wrapped her robe around her and paced in front of the fireplace. Nick watched her, his heart still hammering, his brain whirling.

  It occurred to him that he’d known all along this trip home was meant to be his defining moment. It’d been thrust upon him, yes. But when else would he have taken the time to return or to even consider returning? If it hadn’t been for Ruby wanting to come back, he likely would have stayed in this routine of his that was making Jake miserable. That was making Nick miserable.

  That cagey feeling they’d both been experiencing—it was because they needed change. They needed to find out where they truly belonged. And for that matter—

  “Anna, I felt the intrinsic pull the second my plane touched down in Kalispell,” he confessed. “It was the exact same sensation I always got when my weekend with my father was over and I was home in Starlight Bend. The first thing I’d do? Stop off to give Ruby a hug. Then I’d come to the ranch. Can you imagine what it was like when Jake was missing and the sheriff called to tell me my son was with you? You! And the fact that Jake fell in love with this place instantly. Was that all not fated? Now this project…”

  He climbed out of bed, dragged on his briefs and joined her in front of the fireplace. He gripped her shoulders and said, “There are things in my life that have happened because they’re crafted that way. By someone else. And then there are things that are inherently meant to be. Jake was meant to be—I was meant to be that doctor who treated him in the ER that day. You and I are meant to be.”

  “You know I want to believe that, Nick,” she said as her grayish-hazel irises shimmered.

  “You can believe it. All we have to do, angel, is rewrite a destiny we thought we couldn’t change, a destiny we’d resigned ourselves to.” His palms framed her face and he stared into her eyes. “Can you do that with me, Anna? Will you do that with me?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed. She shook her head. Squeezed her eyes shut. A breath later, though, they flew open and she said, “I would do anything I could to have you here with me, Nick. And Jake. Anything at all. Anything and everything.”

  “There’s only one thing you have to do, Anna. Ask me to—”

  “Stay, Nick. Stay with me.”

  He nodded. “You didn’t actually have to ask twice.”

  She let out a broken laugh and threw her arms around his neck. Nick held her to him. Fiercely. Not wanting to let her go.

  And this time, he knew he wouldn’t have to. Ever.

  ~~*~~

  “Come on, people, we’re going to be late!” Jake bellowed as he stood in the middle of the kitchen, clapping his hands to hurry Anna and Nick along.

  Nick came downstairs while Anna locked the back doors.

  Jake said, “Great-Gran is expecting us a
t one o’clock for her Christmas celebration and we still have a few stops to make.”

  “We have plenty of time,” Nick assured him. He’d taken Jake out first thing this morning to start teaching him how to drive one of the smaller ATVs in the event of an emergency—and for the sheer fun of it.

  Then they’d made the rounds in the stables and med facility with Anna. Now the kid was chomping at the bit to get to Ruby’s because the snow had let up and they could get down the mountain—and Ruby had told him the night before that she’d put up a tree. Something Anna hadn’t quite gotten around to, despite Jake’s interest in helping her.

  Anna flipped off the lights in the living room, checked on the low blaze in the hearth and then joined Nick and his son in the kitchen.

  “And I have a gift to give.” Jake thrust a bag at Anna, with glittery tissue shooting out of the top. “This is for you,” he said. “Dad and I stopped into a jewelry store before we came up for dinner and got snowed in. It’s been in the Cherokee the whole time. I picked it out. It’s your Christmas present from us.”

  Anna’s heart melted. “You bought me a present?”

  “Paid for it with his own money, even,” Nick told her.

  Anna knelt before Jake and said, “That’s very sweet. But you didn’t have to—”

  “I wanted to. I enjoyed spending time with you when we first met. You were really nice to me, and you’re good to the animals. I like people who treat animals well.”

  “So do I, Jake.”

  He beamed. “I think you’ll like what I got for you, too.”

  “I have no doubt.” She took the bag from him and pulled on the thin, curly strands of silver ribbon. They unraveled and she reached inside, extracting a long, narrow box. Anna set the bag aside and opened the lid. She gasped.

  “It’s a charm bracelet,” Jake explained. “See, there’s a dog, because you collect strays and then find homes for them. And a horse, because you save them—and now I know you jump, too. A pine tree—that’s so you’ll remember we met at Christmastime. And an ornament—since I didn’t see any decorations in the stables and you really do need them, Anna,” he gently scolded.