Tempting His Heart

by Dawn Sullivan

  Glaring at Ryder, Creed growled, “You tried to touch her?”

  Shaking his head, Ryder said, “It didn’t get that far man. I promise. Shit, I didn’t even know you were into her until Kat said something. I wouldn’t have gone near her if I’d known. I was just trying to get to know her. I guess I got too close and scared her.”

  Creed let his fist fly. He gave a grunt when it connected with Ryder’s jaw and then they were brawling on his parent’s kitchen floor. Ryder got a few good punches in, but Creed was pissed. His jabs were hard and true. His dad let them go at it for a few minutes to let off some steam, and then he motioned for Caiden, and together they stepped in and pulled Creed and Ryder off each other. Creed made himself step back because he refused to hit his dad on accident, but he was so angry that he had to walk out of the house to cool down.

  Going over to the corral fence, he leaned against it, laying his head on his arm. How had Sloane become so important to him in just a day? He really didn’t know anything about her. Only what he’d learned from Katy over the years. All Creed knew was that Sloane was someone he wanted to spend time with, someone he wanted to get to know. He hadn’t felt that way in…well he had never felt that way. Not even with Cassie’s mom, Sandra.

  Creed heard someone walk up behind him, but he refused to turn around. Damn, was Sloane alright? Should he go check on her?

  He felt a hand gently rest on his shoulder. “Creed,” he heard Sloane whisper. “What’s wrong?”

  Stiffening, he replied, “Nothing for you to worry about.” Turning, he gazed down into her warm, brown eyes, her expression full of worry. God, she was so beautiful. He reached up and gently brushed the hair away from her face, wincing when he felt the sting of pain on his knuckles.

  Grabbing his hand, Sloane looked at the bruised and swollen knuckles. They were scraped and bleeding slightly. Reaching up, she slowly traced a bruise on his chin. “What does the other guy look like?” she teased with a slight grin.

  “He’s in the house,” Creed grunted. “You can see for yourself.” At Sloane’s raised eyebrows, he told her, “Ryder and I got into it. Not a big deal. It happens with brothers.”

  “Are you going to tell me what it was about?” she asked as she let her hand slide away from his chin and trace lightly down his neck, over his shoulder and down the tattoo on his arm.

  Threading his fingers through her long hair, Creed whispered, “Nope,” as he leaned down and kissed her softly. Tightening his hold on her hair, he pulled her to him and lightly licked at her lips teasing them open. Slipping his tongue inside, he heard Sloane moan and felt her lean into him. As his cock hardened, he moved his other hand down to her hips, yanking her up and grinding against her. Growling low in his throat, Creed swung Sloane around and pushed her up against the corral fence. Forcing her head back, he licked and nipped down her throat, still grinding his hips into hers. Lifting her up, he wrapped her legs around his waist and shoved his cock as close to her wet heat as he could get, growling in frustration at the jeans that were in the way.

  Panting, Sloane moaned, “We have to stop, Creed. Your family’s here. They could see us.”

  Creed had no doubt they could if they looked outside, but he could not seem to stop. He was too desperate. He needed to touch her, to feel her body against his.

  Holding Sloane up with her legs still wrapped around him, Creed moved around to the back of the barn so they couldn’t be seen. Pushing her up against the side of the building, he shoved himself against her hot core once again. “I want in there,” he growled. “I want in there so fucking bad.” She cried out and swung her head back, resting it against the barn.

  Reaching between them, Creed started unbuttoning her shirt. He wanted to see her breasts. He had felt the hard pebbles of her nipples pressing against his chest and now he wanted to taste them. He let her legs fall to the ground as he uncovered the black lace beneath the shirt. So damn sexy. Creed grunted as he enclosed one nipple in his mouth over the lace biting gently and pulling with his teeth.

  Reaching up he undid the front clasp of the bra and took her nipple back into his mouth sucking gently. Grabbing hold of his hair, Sloane pulled him tighter against her, panting harder. Creed reached down and undid the button on her jeans. Easing down the zipper he slipped his hand inside. She was so wet. Sloane cried out as he slipped a finger inside her. Sucking harder on her nipple, he slipped another finger in. Letting go of her nipple, he moved over to the other breast. Creed nipped at it and then soothed the bite with his tongue. Still pumping his fingers in and out of her, he pulled back slightly and growled, “Come for me, Sloane. Come for me, now.” She flew apart in his arms, biting his shoulder to hold back her screams.

  Breathing heavily, Creed leaned back to look at her. She was so beautiful. And he was so hard he was sure he had zipper marks permanently imprinted on his dick. But he also knew now was not the time or place for this. Sighing softly, he rested his forehead against hers. “We better go back inside,” he whispered.

  Sloane raised her eyebrows and reached down stroking him through his jeans. “Is that really what you want?” she asked softly.

  “Hell no,” he growled shaking his head. “I want to be balls deep inside you. But you deserve better than this, Sloane. You deserve a big bed and candlelight, not to be taken roughly against a barn. I want to be inside you, baby. I do. Deep inside you, where all you can feel is me. Where all you can think about is me, but not here. Not for our first time.”

  Sloane reached out and traced his face with her fingers. Leaning forward, she kissed him softly on the lips. “So this is more than just sex?” she asked as she lowered her eyes shyly.

  Putting his knuckles under her chin, Creed lifted her head up so that he could look her in the eyes and said, “It is for me, Sloane. I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m willing to try and find out if you are.”

  Smiling at him, Sloane nodded. Closing her arms around his neck, she held him close. “I’d like that,” she whispered softly. “But I need to warn you, Creed, I come with a lot of baggage. Whatever this is, we need to take it slow. If we don’t, I can’t guarantee it will go anywhere.”

  Hearing the fear in her voice, feeling the slight tremble running through her body, Creed’s gaze narrowed. Pulling back to look at her, he said, “We all have baggage, Sloane. Just tell me one thing. When is the last time that bastard contacted you?”

  Dropping her head to his chest, Sloane whispered, “Please, Creed. I can’t talk about this anymore tonight. All I know is I would like to see more of you. But what we just did…we need to go slower. I need the chance to get to know you. I want to trust you.”

  They stood there for several minutes before Creed finally stepped back. Slowly, he straightened her clothes for her, and then ran his fingers through her hair to try and get some of the tangles out. She grimaced slightly. “Do I look horrible?” she asked.

  “No,” he told her, looking at her kiss swollen lips and satisfied expression. “You look beautiful.” Smiling, she linked her hand with his and they started walking back to the house.

  Yeah, his family would know what they had been up to, but they wouldn’t say anything. He had already beat Ryder’s ass tonight, and he was sure Caiden didn’t want any. Katy would be more tactful, while his parents would ignore it. He looked down at their clasped hands and grinned. He had no idea where this was going, but he was looking forward to finding out. And tomorrow he was going to put out some feelers on her ex. Sloane was a strong woman, but he wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible about what happened to her in the past. It was the only way he would be able to protect her in the future.

  Chapter 6

  Sloane nervously chewed on her lip as they walked into Creed’s parents’ house. She was sure everyone would be able to tell what she and Creed had been doing. Sloane honestly couldn’t say that she really cared. She was more worried about how Creed would take it. This was his family. Right now he still held her hand. Would he let go when they we
re in front of them? She hoped not, but she would deal with it if he did. Jake had never shown any kind of affection in front of family and friends. After the first few months of living together, he never kissed her or held her hand at home either, unless there was sex involved. She had come to dread the very few times Jake would show some minor form of affection. The sex was always on his terms, and more often than not, very rough and sometimes painful.

  Jake hid his violent tendencies throughout their courtship and exactly one month into their marriage. On their one month anniversary, Sloane made a special dinner of prime rib, baked potato, and green beans. Jake didn’t come home until midnight. When Sloane questioned him, he beat her. Sloane grew up in a loving family. She knew having your husband beat you every other day was not normal. However, she had married her husband for better or worse, so she hid his violent side from her family and friends for a full year before she had finally had enough.

  Bringing her mind back to the present, Sloane took a deep breath and went to tug her hand out of Creed’s before he did it to her, but he refused to let go. “Where are you going?” he asked softly. Looking up at him in surprise, Sloane shrugged. Creed wrapped an arm around her waist, hugging her close, and walked down the hall to the kitchen.

  The talking ceased when Creed and Sloane walked through the door. Cassie jumped up and ran over to her, throwing her arms around her waist. “Grandma said you were feeding the horses, Sloane. I was afraid you left.”

  Gently stroking a hand down the girls’ long hair, Sloane told her, “I was picking up the grain Uncle Ryder accidentally spilled on the ground. I’m not going anywhere, hon.”

  Taking a seat between Creed and Cassie, she stared at the food on the table feeling overwhelmed. Maybe moving to Serenity Springs was not such a good idea. Maybe it was too soon to try and have any kind of a relationship. It had been two years since her last encounter with Jake, three years before that since she’d left him. Still, sometimes it felt like yesterday that she was stuck in her screwed up relationship. She wasn’t sure she could handle this.

  Then Creed reached over and laid his hand on her thigh, lightly squeezing it. When she looked up at him, he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips in front of everyone. Smiling, he reached across the table and grabbed the lasagna, scooping some up for the both of them and Cassie. Sloane knew she sat there with a stunned look on her face, but that’s because she was in shock. Creed had just openly claimed her, for lack of a better word, in front of his family. Creed winked at her when Ryder started talking about the cattle on the ranch, effectively breaking the silence at the table. Blushing, she picked up a fork and started eating.

  After dinner, Ryder and Caiden went home. Sloane and Katy stayed in the kitchen to help Cara with the dishes. Afterwards, Sloane sat on the couch in the living room for another hour talking. When she started nodding off, she decided it was time to go home. But she found she was too exhausted to move. She snuggled into Creed when he scooped her up in his arms. Vaguely, she heard his mother telling him to put her in the spare bedroom for the night. When she would have argued, Katy chuckled. “There’s no way you can drive, girl. You can’t even keep your eyes open. Just think of it as a sleepover. I will give you something to sleep in and you will be in the room next to mine.”

  When Creed laid her down on the bed, she moaned softly as she felt his lips lightly touch hers. “I’ll see you later, Angel,” he said gruffly as he pulled her arms from around his neck and left her with his sister.

  After changing into the night clothes Katy brought her, Sloane slipped back into bed and moaned at the soft linens against her skin. She didn’t think she had ever slept in a bed this comfortable before. Closing her eyes, Sloane was asleep within minutes of her head hitting the pillow.

  Chapter 7

  When Creed showed up the next morning to pick Katy up for work, Sloane’s car was still in front of the house.

  “She’s sleeping,” Katy told him as she walked over to fill her coffee mug. His sister was not a morning person, but with Creed taking time off, she was going to be in charge the following week. She was going into work earlier today to go over everything with him before he left.

  Creed didn’t even try to act like he wasn’t watching for Sloane. “Rough night?” he asked.

  Katy shook her head as she popped her toast out of the toaster. “Naw, I think she was just exhausted. I checked in on her a couple of times and she didn’t move.”

  “Thanks, Kat,” he said gruffly. His little sister might be tough. Hell, who wouldn’t be with five older brothers? But she had a heart of gold. She would do anything for her family, and that extended to those she considered friends. She didn’t have a lot of friends, but the ones she did, she considered family.

  Creed pulled his sister in for a hug, letting her go just as quickly. Katy didn’t normally like big displays of affection, so they all had to sneak them in when they could. Moving over, Creed filled his own coffee mug and said, “Let’s get going. Cassie’s in the truck. She can’t wait to get this day over with so we can start our vacation time.” He chuckled as he remembered how excited his little girl had been this morning when they were eating breakfast. She was making several different plans for them.

  While Katy finished getting ready, Creed snuck upstairs to peek in on Sloane. He knew it was just plain wrong to be sneaking into Sloane’s room when she was sleeping just down the hall from his parents’ room, but he couldn’t help himself. He had to see her.

  Opening Sloane’s door, he quickly slipped inside and shut it behind him. She was asleep on her side, curled around a pillow. The blankets had fallen off of her at some point. She looked sexy as hell in a pair of light pink, silky shorts and a small tank top. Feeling his dick harden immediately, Creed silently cursed himself for giving in to the urge to check on her. As he watched, Sloane turned onto her other side, pulling the pillow with her. Moaning softly she kicked out with her feet, then reached down with her arm in the direction of the covers, moaning again when her hand came back empty. Realizing she was cold, Creed walked over and grabbed the blankets. He pulled them up around her and watched as she snuggled into them. Smiling softly in her sleep, she whispered, “Creed.”

  Hearing his name on her lips almost pushed him past the point of no return. The only thing that stopped him was the fear in her eyes the night before when she begged him to have patience with her. That and the fact that his parents were right down the hall.

  Quietly, Creed slipped back out of Sloane’s room and stood there for a moment until he got himself under control. Then he walked back down the stairs and through the kitchen. Grabbing his Stetson off the table he pulled it down low on his head and went to wait for Katy in his truck.

  Chapter 8

  Sloane woke up feeling happy and refreshed. It had been a long time since she felt this good. After using the restroom, she dressed in her clothes from the night before. Taking a hair band out of her pocket, she quickly put her hair up in a ponytail. That was when she noticed the poster on the wall. The cowboy on the poster had on a Stetson that covered short, light blond hair. He had the brightest, electric blue eyes Sloane had ever seen and tattoo sleeves covering both arms with colorful intricate designs. Moving closer, Sloane saw the name signed on the corner of the poster. So this was Linc Caldwell. Last night Charles and Cara had told her about their son Justice and how he was missing in action. She had also found out Linc had left to follow the rodeo circuit when Justice was declared dead. Reaching out, Sloane traced a finger down the side of the poster. I hope you come home soon, Linc. For your family’s sake, she thought. Sighing deeply, Sloane left the room.

  Walking down to the kitchen, Sloane was surprised when she didn’t run into anyone, until she looked at the clock and saw that it was after 10 in the morning. She had slept in. She was embarrassed until she saw the note on the kitchen table.

  We are out in the north pasture rounding up some stray cattle. Make yourself some breakfast, and then, if you would like
, saddle up one of the horses and come on out and play. Cara

  Sloane was so excited. She knew she should go work on her bookstore, but she could not wait to be on a horse again. Grabbing a banana out of a bowl on the kitchen table, she ate it quickly with a glass of milk before heading out to the barn. Sloane found the tack room easily and picked out what she needed. Then she grabbed the halter and went to find a horse. She knew nothing about the horses here, but she wasn’t worried. She had ridden all her life until Jake.

  Sloane found the Paint three stalls in. Someone must have put them in stalls that morning. The horse was black and white and absolutely gorgeous. Reaching out, Sloane gently ran her hand down the horse’s long neck and then leaned up and scratched her ears. “Want to go for a ride, Beauty?” she asked her.

  Opening the stall door, Sloane walked in and slipped the halter on the mare, before leading her out to the hitching post. The horse nudged her in the shoulder and whinnied loudly. Laughing, Sloane reached into her pocket and pulled out the carrot she had brought out with her. After feeding it to the mare, Sloane quickly brushed her down and saddled up. Slipping on the bridle, Sloane mounted and headed north. She didn’t know for sure where the north pasture was, but she figured it couldn’t be that hard to find.