by Various
"Cade! Oh, Cade!" she screamed his name as she shattered and shook.
Cade groaned. "Abby!" he bellowed as his release erupted out, coating his hand and her baby blue sheets.
She lay there panting, sweating, her heart pounding like she’d run a marathon. Through the wall, she could hear Cade breathing hard as well.
"Thanks for getting me off, Darlin’."
Abby’s ire went up. Did he have to ruin it? But instead of a snappy come-back, she felt the back of her eyelids begin to burn. "Whatever." Wasn’t this just effing fantastic? The only way she could have sex with a man was with a wall between them.
Knowing Abby and how she felt about him, Cade had practiced up on his sarcasm and disdain. She never failed to hold her own with him. He imagined if he tried to hug her, it would be like embracing a bramble bush. She might be as beautiful as a rose, but beware the thorns.
And then he heard it. A hiccupped sob.
"Abby?" Another one. Louder, this time. "Abby!" He heard her get off the bed. "Dammit!" He thought they’d had fun. Heck! He scrambled around, cleaned his cock and pulled on a pair of lounge pants. Well, he’d just see about this. Cade started out into the hall, planning on beating on her door until she opened it, when he saw a faint glow outside. Going to the French doors, he saw she was sitting in a wrought iron chair, legs drawn up under her chin, hugging herself and shivering. Damn, it was freezing! What was she thinking? Grabbing a quilt, he headed out his door.
"How will I ever face him again?" One moment she was sitting there feeling sorry for herself, contemplating a career as an icicle, and the next, a warm blanket enclosed her and a pair of strong arms picked her up.
"It’s cold out here. Do you want to catch your death?"
Abby stiffened. "Hey! Dying would be preferable to this!"
She struggled in his embrace, but it was fruitless. He held her easily and securely.
"Stop wiggling. We’re going in."
Damn! "Take me to my room!" She fumed as she realized they were heading to the guest room.
"Nope."
Plop! Abby bounced on his bed. She immediately scrambled off, but he grabbed her foot, sat down and pulled her into his lap. "Easy, I’m not going to hurt you."
"I don’t want to be here." Shame made Abby’s whole body warm.
"Tough."
He moved her hair to one side and Abby felt something touch her neck. Startled, her hand flew up and she realized it was a necklace. "What is this? I don’t understand."
"I bought it for you. It’s a thank you gift for your hospitality."
"You did?" Awe was in her voice. She picked it up. It was a flower pendant, as blue as the deepest sea. "It’s beautiful. Thank you." Unbidden, tears began to flow again.
"Hey, what is this?" He pulled her close. She was trembling. Cade had to steel his nerves not to shake, too. How many years had he longed to have her in his arms?
"I’m embarrassed."
"Why? What we did was the most natural thing in the world."
Not for her. She stiffened, refusing to relax.
"Are you afraid of me?" He didn’t like that idea. At all.
"Why would I be afraid of you?" She put as much sarcasm in her voice as she could muster.
"Maybe you’re afraid of what I make you feel."
Oh, no. He was right. "You have the most massive ego…"
"I have something else that’s massive," he growled. "Wanna see?"
She laughed. "You’re hopeless." He nudged her backside with something which felt like a rolling pin. Dang, he was big. But she couldn’t stay. It would never work. "Let me go, Cade. I appreciate the gift and all, but—" She tried to get up.
"Shhhh," he whispered against her hair. "I think you need gentling." Placing his hand on her knee, he began to pet her. Jesus, her skin was smooth. He caressed her kneecap, then slid his hand up her leg. She flinched, but he didn’t stop. "It’s okay, Pretty Girl."
Abby thought she would combust. How many nights had she dreamed of this moment? Cade Tallbull was touching her! His hot breath was on her neck. All she’d have to do is turn her head and they could be kissing! Oh, Lord. He was pushing her hair to one side. "Stop," she whispered weakly.
"I can’t. I want you too much." He let his lips skim the soft skin under her ear. "You’re so sweet."
Abby moaned.
"Give me that mouth." He ran soothing kisses up her neck, over her jaw, to the corner of her mouth. "Perfect." So far she was still in his lap. Good. Cade slipped a hand under her shirt, rubbing the silky expanse of her back.
Abby’s whole body was throbbing. She was more excited than she ever thought possible. Feather-light fingertips were tracing magic patterns across her electrified skin. And then his mouth dipped to hers and he kissed her.
A kiss. What a simple word for such a life-altering event.
Oh, how she wished for expertise, some instinctual knowledge of the proper response. Could he tell she hadn’t kissed anyone since the day he’d given her a very hurried peck on the lips? Abby shook like a leaf on an Aspen tree. A strong, firm palm held the nape of her neck gently, and her whole world condensed to the reality of his lips covering hers, tasting. She wanted to respond, to kiss him back, but she didn’t know how. Self-conscious at her lack of experience, Abby tried to pull away, but Cade stopped her.
"Don’t you dare move."
He deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth, pushing his tongue in to coax hers to get acquainted. Abby never knew such intimacy existed. Tentatively, she returned the caress, holding his bottom lip between hers, soft smooches, velvet indulgences. She could have kissed him forever, until the hand at her back moved to the front and he stroked the skin at the top of her shorts.
No! Not there. She jerked back. "I can’t do this, Cade. Let me up." This time he didn’t try to stop her. Blind to everything but escape, Abby fled.
Chapter Three
What the hell happened? Cade was confused and disgusted with himself. He’d made her cry. Their history was full of teasing and sparring. When he’d wanted more, she’d rejected him. Okay, he’d been hurt. He was human. But he’d respected her wishes. Like Junior High kids, they now fought instead of flirting. While this wasn’t what he needed or wanted from her, he’d always settled for what he could get. But never in a billion years had he ever intended to make her cry.
"Abby? Honey, I’m sorry. Let me in." Nothing. He couldn’t hear a sound. He tried three more times, standing there, waiting. There was no noise coming from inside her room. It was like a tomb. Hell…
Abby sat in the bottom of the shower with her knees drawn up under her chin. She could hear Cade speaking to her, but there was no way she could handle any more tonight. Tomorrow, she’d be stronger tomorrow…
* * * *
Thank God, she had an inner clock. Abby hadn’t wanted to alert Cade she was leaving the house, so she’d turned off her alarm when she went to bed. She needed distance for a little while. Before daybreak, she was up, dressed and out the door. Like a coward, she’d exited from her bedroom patio. Damn, it was cold. The temperature gauge read eighteen degrees. In her lifetime, she couldn’t remember a longer bout of freezing weather in East Texas.
The grass crunched beneath her feet. From across the yard, she heard a huffing breath and a deep rumble. "Hello, Santiago. How’s it hangin’?" The huge Longhorn bull’s answer was an arrogant toss of his head. Now, if any animal in the world had it made, it was him. He had plenty of food, a harem and no threat to his existence but time.
As Abby walked to her truck, she looked out over her beautiful home. Even in the harsh weather, the rich green winter grass was hardy and abundant. Oh, it was frost covered this morning, but when the sun melted the fine covering of ice, the Bermuda and the oats would be thick and ready for the herd. As far as the eye could see was El Camino. From the air, it looked like a lush green quilt, crisscrossed by fences. Pecan orchards, peach orchards, even a vineyard dressed up the rolling pasture land. They raised Santa C
ruz cattle, quarter horses, Longhorns and an assortment of wild deer for hunting excursions. Her veterinarian office was near the highway frontage. Justice had built it to her exact specifications.
Justice was her favorite brother. Only Justice knew the truth of what had happened that day, and he’d helped her keep the secret. He didn’t approve, but he loved her, so he went along with her story.
After two tries, she got the engine to turn over. The drive was short, so she didn’t even bother to turn on any heat, but she did turn on the radio full blast, anything to drown out her thoughts. The day would be full, but first thing was the breeding of Chris’ mare to Shane’s stallion. This was not one of Abby’s favorite things to do. The animals were unpredictable and she had to ensure neither one was injured during the process. Parking to the side of the paddock, she saw Chris’ rig and knew he was already waiting on her. Climbing out, she fished a pair of gloves from her pocket. "Is our girl ready?"
He walked to the back of the pickup and took a rope from his tool box. "She’s in full heat. Of course, I bow to your expertise."
Abby nodded and together they unloaded the mare. She would ascertain her readiness and introduce the stallion to her slowly. Supervised breeding was the best way. If left to their own devices, hooves could fly and they could hurt one another easily. "Easy, girl." She led the animal to the barn. "There are things I need to do before Shane arrives with Caesar." Chris helped secure the mare and then Abby set out to prepare for the procedure. She looked for the obvious signs. When a mare comes into heat, she will flash her vulva repeatedly, squirt copiously and assume the mating stance. They’d know for sure when they put the two of them together. If he nuzzled around on her and she didn’t outright reject him, they’d be in business.
"First, I’m going to wash her. Next, I’ll tie her tail." While the owner watched, she made sure the horse was clean and used an adhesive bandage to hold the tail out of the way. Sometimes a mare was just too inexperienced to know to swish it to one side. Abby smiled. No more inexperienced than she was. Would Cade enjoy teaching her about sex?
"Are we ready?" Shane walked up. "I know he is." He pointed to the prancing stallion who’d already picked up on the scent of the female.
"Almost." She took some lube from a cabinet and applied it to the mare. "Hold on, Lady. We’re getting you all ready. In a few months, you’ll have a baby to love."
* * * *
"What in tarnation?" Cade hadn’t expected this. Abby was guiding a huge stallion into a holding pen where a mare danced in waiting. Another man stood idly by, watching. Anger swept over him. He knew her job could be dangerous, but this was ridiculous. She was tiny! He knew exactly what could go right and what could go wrong in situations like this. Holding his breath, he watched. She brought the horse in diagonally, keeping a tight rein on him. The animal had to be convinced she was the stronger of the two. If he ever suspected for one moment he had the upper hand, there would be no holding him back. Abby took him closer, allowing the stallion to nuzzle the mare’s vulva, nickering to her. She moved forward, unsure of her new suitor.
"Whoa." Abby set back on the reins, maintaining the necessary tight hold. "We’ll get there, Caesar. Just hold on." She let him sniff her for a few moments, until she saw the mare spread her legs and push backward. "It’s a go."
Cade had to hold on to the fence. He wanted to insert himself in the middle of the action, but he held back, ready to intervene if necessary. The man holding the female kept her straight, as he should. When a stallion first mounts a mare, if he is inexperienced, he can put more weight on the mare than she can support, causing her to sway or fall. It’d be up to the one handling the stallion to make sure this didn’t happen. Abby. His Abby. The stallion outweighed her more than ten times. Damn!
Abby hadn’t worked with Caesar before. She didn’t know his disposition. If she let him have his head and he started thrusting without rhyme or reason, the mare could become agitated and reject him. When that happened, the stallion could lash out at her or the handlers in his frustration. Using all her strength, she guided the horse into place. When he reared up, ready to copulate, he covered the mare. His front hooves were very near Chris’s head. "Back up, Chris," she warned. He did, but only after narrowly missing a blow to the head. "I should have insisted you wear a helmet."
"What about you, you little fool?" Cade muttered. "Your head is hard, but not that hard." His heart was in his throat. It was a good thing she couldn’t hear him or she’d be royally pissed. That was okay. He was going to give her a piece of his mind if she survived this fool stunt. If she belonged to him, he wouldn’t put up with this fool shit for a minute.
"That’s it!" She sounded triumphant. The stallion hit his mark.
Cade couldn’t believe it. She crooned to him, praising him while the big horse bent the mare to his will. If he hadn’t been so out of his mind with worry, the sheer eroticism of the sight would have moved him. Both horses quivered with pleasure and the stallion tried to nip the mare in his excitement, but the handler slapped his nose. With a tremendous jerk, the act was over and Cade let out a sigh of relief.
It was hard, but he bided his time while Abby led the two men into her building to sign whatever papers were necessary. To get out of the cold, he went into one of the side buildings where she kept smaller animals. The heaters were on in there and he checked out a couple of dogs housed in comfortable cages awaiting her attention. After a few more minutes, he heard the trucks start up. The horse owners loaded up and left. Okay, now it was his turn.
Abby studied her appointment book. It was just her luck. Missy hadn’t come in. There was a message on the answering machine saying she had no electricity and would be staying home for the day. It was just as well. She didn’t have much to do anyway, except wait for the owners to come pick up two dogs she’d spayed the day before. Other than that, she was free. Dang it.
Abby was dreading the wedding. At least she wasn’t in the wedding party, which was no surprise, since she and Pam didn’t see eye to eye on anything. If her parents and brothers weren’t coming home, the whole thing would be unbearable. And then, there was Cade… she was headed back to check on the dogs when she ran into a solid wall made of hard, sexy man. Oomph.
"Where did you come from?"
He hauled Abby against his chest and captured her lips in a kiss. She didn’t have the time or the inclination to protest. Overwhelming pleasure swamped her as Cade devoured her mouth. Her hands betrayed her and crept up to his shoulders. He cupped her bottom and literally picked her up off her feet. Abby had no choice but to link her legs around his waist. He kicked the door shut and moved forward until she felt her rear meet the counter. Still, he didn’t stop. He framed her face, held her steady and ate at her mouth like he was starving to death.
Cade wasn’t thinking. He was reacting. His body was so on board that his brain had a hard time catching up. Abby wasn’t fighting him. In fact, Abby was kissing him back. God, he was in trouble. He slid his mouth to one side, kissing her cheek and allowing them to catch their breath. Her little pants made his rod hard as rebar. Then he remembered. He pulled back, took her by the shoulders and gave her a piece of what little mind he had left. "What the hell were you doing? You don’t have any business trying to manhandle an animal that could kill you in a heartbeat!"
Abby was stunned. One moment he’s practically making love to her and the next he’s reading her the riot act. "This is my job!" She bit the words out at him.
"There was a damn man standing there who owned the fuckin’ horse. Let him put his life on the line. Not yours! I know you want to keep them from marking one another. Ugly scars lessen their value, but there’s no use being stupid!"
Abby grunted and jumped off the counter, putting a few feet in between her and Cade. He had no idea, but he’d just confirmed everything she feared. Ugly scars lessen value. She was almost thankful he’d reminded her. "Well, I guess it’s a good thing you aren’t around very often. It wouldn’t do for
you to see me dehorning a cow or castrating a bull." As if the words gave her an idea, she glanced down at the big bulge beneath his belt buckle.
"See something you like?"
"No! I see something that needs snipping."
"Snipping?" He laughed. "You’d be cutting off your nose to spite your face. One day you’re gonna like what I can give you." He stepped into her comfort zone and clasped her by the nape of the neck. "And I’m gonna give it to you hard."
"I don’t think so." Abby ducked out of his arms and took off for the door.
"Hold on, Abilene. I’ve decided you need a keeper." He grabbed her by the hand, pulling her backward in one smooth move. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pushed her hair off her shoulder and bent over, nuzzling her neck and nipping at the collarbone, much like the stallion had wanted to do to the mare.
"I’m not a keeper," she whispered, trying to find the will to fight. He was too good at this and she was absolutely starved for his touch.
Cade didn’t understand why she turned the phrase on him like that. "I think it’s time we had a long talk, Miss King."
"Talk?" Alarm bells were ringing in her head, and then she realized it was the phone. "Don’t hold that thought." She extricated herself and reached for the land line. "Dr. King."
"Doctor King…" he drawled. "You ought to answer ‘Abby Grace in your face’. She threw a box of cat wormer at him.
"Abilene, this is your mother speaking." Oh, Lord. "How are you?"
Abby loved her mother, but she never changed tunes. It was always second verse, same as the first. ‘Are you dating anyone?’ ‘When are you going to make me a grandmother?’ "I’m good, how was your flight?"