Lindsay McKenna

by High Country Rebel

  Talon smiled briefly. “You’re an eternal optimist, Miss Gus.”

  “Well, I really don’t like the other choice. Do you?” She drilled a hard look into his eyes. “What? Depression? Giving up? Hopelessness? Nah, not for me.” She poked his arm with her index finger. “And not for you, either. You’re Wyoming bred. Wyoming tough.”

  That drew a sour smile from Talon. “You’re truly a force of nature, Miss Gus.”

  “Humph.”

  Cat laughed and shook her head. “Miss Gus, you should be doing YouTube videos on positive thinking.”

  “Not interested.” She sipped her coffee. “Now, I dunno if Sandy told you, but I’m puttin’ in a bid on the Triple H, Talon.”

  “She said you were looking at the possibility.” He couldn’t keep his heart from pounding a little harder in his chest. His home. He had been born in that ranch house. The memories were as sharp and clear as when he’d lived them. “Yep, I called my Realtor and put in an offer.” She smiled slyly. “They’re wantin’ five million for that place. And it does have five hundred acres of good land but they’ve let the place go. It’s in dire need of a lot of work to bring it back. The house, the barn, the corrals and outbuildings are in terrible shape. If they think I’m gonna pay for a run-down, shambles of a place, they got another think comin’.”

  Talon felt hope. If Miss Gus bought the Triple H, maybe he might be able to help fix it up. Get it back to the way it used to be when he grew up there. “If you get it, what are your plans?”

  Gus scratched her chin. “Well, my first reason for buying it, Talon, was to get your mother installed back there. My feelin’ is that if she can return home, she’ll stay well. People don’t know how important home is to their well-bein’, but I do.” She jabbed her finger down on the table. “Sandy’s heart was broken, Talon. And folks with a broken heart need their home to recoup themselves, pull themselves up by the bootstraps, but she had her home torn out from under her.”

  Talon felt moisture in his eyes. He swallowed against a lump a couple of times before he could speak. His voice came out thick with barely veiled feelings. “If you could do that for her, Miss Gus, I know it would help her.” He felt shame that he couldn’t do it for her. The Navy never paid anyone that much, not even SEALs.

  Patting his arm, she said, “Tut-tut, Talon. I may look old, gray-haired and wrinkled as all get-out, but I’m pretty smart when it comes to sizin’ up people. This town has pulled together to help Sandy. But your comin’ home is makin’ the biggest difference. And it just so happened that months after you came back to us, that ranch suddenly comes up for sale again.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together. “And I jumped at the chance like a duck jumps on a June bug. I want Sandy home. It will help heal her broken heart.”

  “Do you think you’ll get the ranch?” Cat asked, hoping more than anything she would. She understood how much Sandy loved the ranch she’d been forced to give up. The best days of her life were spent there. Cat glanced over at Talon, and his eyes were suspiciously bright. The need to put her arms around his shoulders nearly tore her apart. Right now Talon needed a little TLC. She knew he was hurting, was disappointed in himself that he couldn’t do as much for his mother.

  “I’m hopin’,” Gus said, finishing off her coffee. “When I find out, I’ll let you two birds know.”

  “What do Val and Griff think about it?” Cat asked.

  Pushing her chair away from the table, Gus smiled. “Griff is the one who’s been doin’ all the background investigation on the ranch and its state of disrepair. He’s got an MBA from Harvard and I’m usin’ it. Griff’s the one who told me what to offer for it. And he’s going to handle the negotiations.” She slowly stood up, rubbing her hip. Casting a look over at Talon, she smiled down at him. “And if I get your ranch, Talon, I’m going to make sure that you and Griff spend a whole lotta time over there fixin’ it up for Sandy. I don’t want her movin’ in until that place is spiffy lookin’ again.”

  Talon could barely believe it. “I hope you get it, Miss Gus. I really do.” For his mother. She would rally if she was home again, Talon realized. Who wouldn’t? Grateful to the old woman, he rasped, “You really are a guardian angel, Miss Gus. I’ve heard others in town refer to you as that, but it’s true. I know my mother would be happy. And I’m grateful to you.”

  “Yep,” Gus said, patting his shoulder. “I’ve got a plan in motion. And just remember, you and Sandy are worth it.”

  *

  “WHAT A DAY,” Cat said as she cut up some tomatoes for their dinner salad in the kitchen. The western sun was low on the horizon and they’d just driven back to the condo. Talon had been quiet on the ride in. She could feel many emotions going through him. The hope burning in his eyes nearly undid her. Hope for Sandy to have her home returned to her through Gus’s goodness and kindness.

  Talon pulled out a head of lettuce from the fridge and set it next to the cutting board where she was working. “Mindblowing, to say the least,” he muttered. Half the chicken breasts and rice were left from last night and he was going to warm them up in the oven. Cat stood with a red apron wrapped around her waist. As he walked by, he moved her hair aside and placed a quick kiss on her slender neck. “It’s been a good day in lots of ways.”

  Her skin tingled in the wake of his mouth grazing her. Cat liked his ability to show how he felt toward her. “I imagine you’re kind of shaken up by all of it?”

  Talon opened the oven door. “Shocked,” he said. Sliding the Pyrex into the oven, he shut the door and straightened. “When Mom told us about the Triple H and Miss Gus considering buying it, I didn’t put much stock into it.”

  He came over and stood near to watch as she cut up the tomatoes. “Gus is wily, Talon. I’ll bet you anything she’s a lot further into this sale than she’s letting on. She never does anything without studying it and getting the facts. Griff has done some smaller land acquisitions for her in the past. And he’s always gotten what she wanted to buy.” Smiling a little at him, feeling her body respond hotly to his nearness, she added, “I wouldn’t even be surprised if she’d already bought the Triple H and is just waiting on the bank to clear the deal. Then I think she’ll announce it to everyone.”

  “Why do you say that?” Talon pushed her hair away from the nape of her neck and moved his lips against her warm skin, inhaling her sweet, spicy scent. He wanted to love her. Right now. He felt her tense and then relax, a sigh issuing from her lips. She’d stopped what she was doing, focused on his mouth sliding across her neck, kissing her.

  “Mmm,” Cat murmured, feeling his arm slide around her waist, pulling her close to his body. She allowed the knife and tomato to sit on the cutting board. “You make it hard for me to think,” she said, breathless. “Gus is a poker player, Talon. She keeps her cards close to her chest until a deal is done. That’s why I said it.”

  “I think you’re right. There was a glint in her eye when she was telling us about it. My gut tells me it’s a done deal, too.”

  Cat leaned against him, closing her eyes, absorbing his maleness, his mouth sending small kisses across her neck. “I can’t think anymore,” she said, and laughed. “And it’s all your fault, Holt.”

  “And I’ve been wanting to do this all day,” Talon growled, pulling her into his arms, turning her toward him. As she leaned against him, sliding her arms around his shoulders, Talon smiled down into her eyes. He could see so much in them. Cat didn’t try to hide how she felt about him. And when her hips pressed against his, he groaned, feeling her belly against his arousal.

  “Me, too,” she whispered, leaning up, framing his face and sliding her lips against the line of his mouth. Cat wasn’t disappointed as he pulled her tightly against him, his mouth curving hotly against hers, opening her lips, deepening their kiss until she felt her knees melting beneath her. The man knew how to kiss! His breath was moist, sensual against her face, his fingers tunneling through her hair, angling her just so to hold her captive, to plunder her m
outh with unrestrained hunger. His other hand drifted to her hip, cupping her, crushing her against him, letting her know how hard he was, how much he wanted her.

  As Talon eased his mouth from her wet lips, he opened his eyes, staring into hers. Cat’s gaze was cloudy with arousal and he smiled a little. One kiss and it was like flipping a switch between them. They went from simmer to boiling in a heartbeat. He would bet his life she was damp right now and he moved his fingers, curving them around her thigh. Her breath hitched as his fingers grazed the denim across her entrance. She was wet and he smiled. Cat pushed against his hand, wanting more. The look in her eyes was the same as he’d seen just before she’d experienced her deepest pleasure. He was trembling with need and positioned her to continue massaging the damp region. “I like what we have.”

  Cat found her voice husky as she moaned, wanting his fingers exactly where they were. “So do I.” The act was so intimate, so arousing, her lower body burning beneath his fingers. She felt far away, taken to another place and time in his arms, the sensations building, scalding her, and she moaned, pressing her face against his shoulder.

  “Hungry?” he rasped.

  “As in food? Or as in going to bed with you?” She saw his eyes glitter with amusement, feeling his need of her, his erection obvious.

  “Your call,” he said, positioning her such that he could place his palm against her entrance. A cry caught in her throat, her eyes shuttering closed, her body sinking against his as he gave her pleasure.

  “I want dessert first….” And she saw Talon give her that confident male smile of his, his eyes growing turbulent, sending fire of another kind singing through her veins. Tightness swept through her and she recognized it as an orgasm preparing to flood her. The way he rubbed his fingers against her, even through the denim, was making her ache with scorching fire heating her from the inside out.

  “So do I,” he growled, easing his hand from between her thighs. “You’re so wet, so ready,” he said, lifting her into his arms. “I’ve been thinking about loving you all day,” Talon gruffly admitted to her as he mounted the stairs to her bedroom.

  With a sigh, Cat laid her head against his. “Me, too….”

  “A woman after my own heart,” Talon said, pushing the door open with the toe of his boot.

  This time, the evening light was cascading through the opened drapes into the bedroom. Cat had made the bed and he gently deposited her on it and sat down at her side, his arm across her. The smile on her lips sent a scalding fire down to his lower body. Her hair lay about her head, her eyes shining with love for him. Talon sat there, gently grazing her cheek, pushing some of the strands away from her temple, wondering how he knew what he saw in Cat’s glistening eyes was love for him. How could he know? There wasn’t any doubt when he held her gaze. Did she know it was love? Never in his life had Talon felt these powerful, almost obsessive feelings toward any woman. Every time he skimmed Cat’s flesh, she responded. The sweet sounds in her throat spurred him on. She was incredibly sensitive, responsive to the briefest of his contacts. It fed him, his heart, his fractured soul, in a way no woman ever had.

  “Tell me what you want,” he rasped, his hand stilling beside her cheek.

  Cat laughed softly and lifted her hands, sliding them down his arms. “You.”

  He grinned, his muscles leaping and tightening as her fingertips skimmed his arms beneath his shirtsleeves. “Anything in particular?”

  She shook her head. “I loved everything we did last night, Talon.” Her lips curved. “I still feel like I’m floating. I don’t feel like I’ve come down, come back to my body.”

  “Good loving will gift you in that way,” he assured her. Cat had lost her initial shyness from last night. Talon saw the glow in her face, the radiance that good sex gave when it was right. And, God, it had been so right last night. He moved his hand to her shoulder and grew serious. “Are you still sore?”

  She shrugged. “A little. But it doesn’t matter, Talon.” Her voice dropped, becoming husky. “I like what we have. You make me feel so glad…so wonderful… The way you touched me in the kitchen…I want more of that….”

  He grinned and nodded. “So do I. You’re incredible. You really are.” Her smile slipped and he saw moisture come to her eyes. “Hey,” he murmured, leaning down and kissing her brow, “what’s this all about?”

  Cat grimaced. “Just—” and she stumbled, embarrassed “—me, I guess.” She didn’t have the courage to tell him that her exes tended not to say or give much. Talon brought his whole heart to her and so did she. “I feel what we have is like a beautiful flower garden, so colorful, brilliant…beautiful.”

  Talon kissed her temple and cheek, inhaling her scent. “I like the way you see us…” he said, because Cat was healing to him.

  His mouth settled lightly upon hers and Cat gave a little moan of pleasure, wrapping her hands around his shoulders, drawing Talon against her. She felt him growl deep within his chest, the reverberation sent sweet ripples through her own body. She was in a heaven she never knew existed until now. Until Talon. His mouth plundered hers, fire tightening her breasts against his chest, nipples hardening, his hands gentle as he framed her face, lavishing her with his tongue, sending her lower body howling, like a starving wolf, for him to be within her once more.

  Easing from her mouth, Talon rasped, “Let’s get undressed.” Before he took her with their clothes on.

  Without hesitation, Cat sat up and divested herself of her clothes. Last night, she’d been wary about being seen naked by Talon. This morning, she’d felt bold. She’d felt her power as a woman sitting naked, his gaze burning with desire as he raked her body. Talon put her in touch with herself as a woman. Sex with Talon was addictive, Cat thought, as she watched him stand naked before her. The look in Talon’s eyes for her made her heart race with anticipation. Those large, scarred hands of his made her ache to be touched by him. He had taken her to the edge of ecstasy. Her gaze dropped to his erection and, instantly, she felt her body contract with an eagerness that made her tremble inwardly. The man electrified her, made her body salivate, and she smiled, holding out her hand to him.

  Talon sank his knee into the mattress next to her hip. All he wanted to do was give back to Cat. The shimmering smile in Cat’s blue eyes melted his heart and made him grow even harder, if that was possible.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ALL TALON HAD to do was open her lips and Cat drowned in the strength and hunger of his mouth taking hers. It was so easy to surrender to him, to his roughened fingers skimming her slender neck, placing warm, wet kisses down the length of it, the fire skittering like small shocks directly to her tightening breasts. Her heart was wide-open to him and Cat felt fierce feelings for him flowing outward, being expressed in the way she kissed him, her fingers moving through his short, dark hair. Intuitively, she knew it was love. Real love. And as she moved to her side, pressing her hips against his, feeling him tense, a groan working its way out of him, she smiled and simply enjoyed how and where he touched her.

  This time, there was ease between them, no anxiety or tension. Talon gave her the confidence to express herself, whether she felt very skilled at loving him or not. And as Cat moved her searching fingers down across his hard belly, wrapping her fingers around his erection pressing into her, she began to understand the power a woman had over her man. Talon growled her name, taking her mouth, plundering her lips, sweeping his tongue against hers as her fingers lingered around his shaft, feeling his steely warmth, his hardness. It excited Cat and she arched wantonly against Talon, her nipples tangling in the soft hair across his chest.

  Their breaths were uneven, and as Talon eased out of her exploring hand, settled his knees between her thighs, she saw the sexy look in his narrowing gray eyes. Her lips were wet, felt lush as she met and held his intense, burning stare. As Talon’s large hands settled around her hips, Cat closed her eyes, wanting him in her. His fingers followed the crease of her thighs, moving toward her damp entran
ce, and her breath hitched with anticipation. She liked him touching her there, igniting that throbbing ache within her, heightening the scalding heat, feeling her entire being focused and centered around his exploring contact.

  Cat was completely unprepared as she felt him move, his broad shoulders widening her thighs, his fingers curving beneath her thighs. The next moment, she felt him kissing the inside of her thigh. Her skin tautened and quivered as his tongue traced a lazy pattern across her flesh, moving much closer to her entrance. A groan tore out of her, fists clenching into the covers, back arching as his tongue went even lower. Her mind exploded as the sheer, raw pleasure tunneled through her. And when Talon kissed her entrance, his tongue finding, capturing that knot of nerves, she gasped and cried out. Mindless, writhing between his callused hands, feeling the sweet assault as his tongue dived inward, Cat felt paralyzed. Scorching heat roared wildly through her. Every mooring that held her functioning mind liquefied like hot wax. All she could do was sob and feel the raw fire arcing deeply into her, triggering her orgasm, which exploded with a power that sent her tumbling and fusing with the rippling contractions.

  Talon felt the power of her pleasure. Her scent intoxicated him, pushed him so close to coming. He eased to his knees, watching the flush of orgasm sweep across her damp, quivering body. The look of rapture on her face, the burning arousal in her eyes as she held his hooded stare, made him feel good in ways he never had before. Her breath was coming in gasps, those ripe, full lips of hers parted, begging to be kissed by him again.

  This time, Talon covered her body, his lips settling on one nipple, drawing it into his mouth. He felt Cat’s hands fall across his shoulders, her hips lifting to receive him. There was no question she was ready, but he wanted to make his entrance smooth, without stress upon her. He suckled her deeply and he heard her gasp. Instantly, her fingers dug into his shoulders and she cried out his name. It was then he thrust into her, feeling her body begin to accommodate him. Talon sought and found her other nipple, suckling her more demandingly. Cat moaned and writhed as he thrust deeply into her. Moving in and out, coaxing her to participate, Talon felt the tension in her lower body melt and relax around him. Leaning upward, Talon captured her parted lips, taking her hungrily, feeling her response just as eager and needy as he was.