His first stop was Inez’s house. She welcomed him with cookies and coffee. “I received the box of flowers from the security man, the cute one with the space between his teeth?”
Garret shrugged. “If you say so.” He bit into one of her amazing peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and sipped dark, bitter coffee. “There was no note? Nothing else?”
“No.” She sat forward on her chair, looking worried. “Is something wrong?”
He didn’t want to upset her, but she should know there was a possible threat. He took her hand. “Megan had a stalker back in Canada.”
“Oh no.” She blinked rapidly.
“We don’t know if the flowers have anything to do with—”
“Red and white.” Inez’s eyes narrowed.
Was she losing it? “Huh?”
Leaning forward, she grasped his forearm in a surprisingly strong grip. “The flowers are red and white. The colors of the Canadian flag.”
The significance clicked in his brain. “Yeah, good call.” He slammed the rest of his coffee and stood, a sense of urgency pulling at him. “Sorry to bolt like this, but I need to head to the guard shack.”
“Go.” She stood and shooed him out. “Get this sorted out for our Miss Megan. We need to keep her safe.”
Twenty minutes later, he pulled up at the receiving shack, which was more like a small house. Owen Yoder, the security shift manager, listened to Garret then found the line in the log book where they’d taken receipt of the flowers from the Unger’s Groceries truck.
Garret recognized the name from when he was a kid, but he hadn’t shopped there in years. “Can you pull up the video?”
Owen sat and tapped at the keyboard until it brought up the images of the truck pulling in, the gate guard chatting for a while with the older man in the truck, then taking the flowers inside the building.
“Yep, that’s old man Unger.” He looked up Garret. “Do you want to talk to the gate guard?”
“No. Looks like it was a normal delivery.” He turned to leave, but looked back. “I’m heading to town. Talk to the guard and let me know right away if he noticed anything unusual.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Owen?” He took a deep breath, bracing himself.
“Sir?” The man stood, looking deadly serious.
“Let’s put everyone on alert. At least until I can prove that this was nothing.”
“Right away, Mr. McGatlin.”
Garret let the man know where Trey and Megan were riding and asked him to double the patrols around that area as well as the ranch house and outbuildings.
Jumping into Trey’s truck, Garret gunned the engine as he left the ranch and headed down the county road toward Clear River. The new car smell overwhelmed him so he rolled down the windows and let the earthy Texas air wash through the cab. Hanging his arm on the window ledge, he felt like this might be the right place for him now.
Between Inez’s long, tearful welcome hug, her famous cooking, and having Megan here, this almost felt like the time for putting down roots.
Almost.
He still had a lot to accomplish in his career, but did he need to do it all before he was thirty? Maybe slowing down would be an easier decision than retiring.
He held up a hand to a passing truck then grinned. Nowhere in LA did people do that. Of course, LA was the city of immediacy. If your face wasn’t flashed on TV and in “Coming Soon” spots before movie showings, you’d get forgotten. Could he take time off and still come back later? Or would it be the death of his career?
Slowing to thirty miles an hour, he entered the town. The place hadn’t changed much since he was a kid. A gas station/auto repair, two bars, two churches, the feed store, a restaurant, and a few small shops along the main drag. Back behind the grain bins where the railroad tracks ran, Unger’s Groceries stood in sore need of a painting.
He pulled into the lot and spotted the delivery truck around the side of the building. The same one he’d seen on the video, with tape holding the side mirror on.
As he pushed open the shop’s door, a bell rang, and old man Unger shuffled from the back room. Wearing baggy jeans, a cotton shirt, and a seed cap, he looked the same as he always had.
“Damned if the Hollywood heartthrob hasn’t come back to town.” He held out his hand and his wrinkled face pulled into a grin.
“Mr. Unger.” He took the man’s hand in his. No one of Garret’s generation and younger called him anything but that. Garret didn’t even know the man’s first name.
“How long you back for?” He leaned on the counter.
“Not sure this time, sir, but I’m here in need of your help.”
“That right?” His face dropped into a frown.
“You delivered flowers to the Silver Spur today.”
“I did.” He narrowed his eyes. “Was there a problem with them?”
Garret shook his head. “No, it’s just that we need to find out who sent them.”
The man thought for a second, then shuffled behind the counter. Pulling out a big ledger book, he flipped it open and ran his finger down the rows of handwriting. “Doesn’t have a name.” He turned the book toward Garret and pointed to the notation “S.Spur.” Beside that, it said, “surprise” and had yesterday’s date.
“This your writing?” Pretty damn flowery for a crusty old fellow.
“That’s Jenny Ann’s.” His wife.
“Can I talk to her?” Garret glanced toward the back room.
“She ain’t here right now. But I can call her...if it’s urgent.”
Did Garret want to cause a stir? The gossip spread around this town like a bad stink on a windy day. His gut told him to stir it up. “Yes, please. It’s urgent.”
The old man moved fast. He grabbed the phone and made a call.
Garret looked around at the variety of stock. He and Trey had tried to buy their first pack of cigarettes here the week Trey got his farm permit. When their dad found out, they were both grounded and given double chores.
“When did she leave?” Mr. Unger looked out the window as if he expected his wife to pull up any second. “Okay Tilly, thanks. Yep. Yep. Talk to you...” He gave Garret a look. “I’ve got a customer, hun. I’ll talk to you later. Yep. Yep.” He finally hung up.
“She’s heading back here?”
The old man checked his watch. “Yep. Left Tilly’s ten minutes ago. She should be here in about ten more.”
“Can you call her on her cell phone?”
Unger’s eyes widened. “Cell phone?” He laughed. “Son, we got no need for cell phones.” He gestured to the soda cooler. “Have a coke while we wait for her.”
Garret glanced around, looking for cameras. “Can we take a look at your security footage from yesterday?”
“Security...” A sound like a half-cough, half-laugh came from the man’s chest. “This ain’t Los Angeleez, Garret. This is Clear River. We got no call for security cameras.” He laughed. “Why, the last time we come even close to needing security was when you and that cute little girlie you dated your senior year tried to steal a box of condoms.” His eyes sparkled with glee.
“Damn. I’d forgotten that.” He huffed out a breath. Cindy had been the one who’d grabbed the box and run, despite his wanting to pay for them. But he’d taken the fall for the theft, and his dad had dished out one hell of a punishment. “I’m real sorry about that, Mr. Unger.” How was it that this place made him feel like he was seventeen again?
The man just laughed and walked to the cooler, pulling out two bottles of soda. “I knew it wasn’t you. It was that trashy Cindy Lawton what did it. But there was no convincing your father of that.”
“I think Dad wanted to put a few weeks between the two of us. And it worked.” Cindy had started dating another guy within three days. A guy who wasn’t grounded, wasn’t driven into school and picked up by his mother, and who wasn’t spending an hour every day helping the Ungers by pulling weeds from around their store.
A customer came in and Mr. Unger waddled off to help her.
Should he call Trey now? Let them know what was going on? Or should he wait until Mrs. Unger gave him a description? He checked his watch. They’d be at the spot by now; the bend in the river where both he and Trey had brought girls since they started talking them into dates.
Garret rubbed the spot between his eyebrows. Trey and Megan. Alone together. “Fuck.” He knew what they were doing, and it didn’t make him all that happy. They deserved their chance, though. He sipped his soda. He’d wait until he had a full description from Jenny Ann, then call and interrupt whatever the hell they were doing without him.
****
Megan let Trey help her off the roan mare. The thatch of trees further along the path hid whatever was ahead of them.
He pulled her tight against him and held her. “How do your legs feel?” His skin was as hot as her whole body felt from the beating sun.
“Sore.” She wiggled. “A little numb.” The half-hour ride along the river had been beautiful, the path wide enough for them to ride side by side.
He helped her to a wide old stump. “Set a minute while I get the horses settled.” Leaning down, he kissed her, soft and hot on her lips. “Be right back.” His eyes held a naughty promise.
When he’d let the horses drink and tethered them in a shady, grassy spot, he strolled toward her. In one hand, he carried the old military-style backpack he’d brought, and in the other, a folded blanket.
His big body, hard and powerful, gave her core a tingle of awareness. She wanted to focus on him for an hour, just him, learn every inch of him, every taste her tongue could capture, every smooth plane, every rough corner.
“Sweetheart, when you look at me like that, I wanna haul you down and love you hard.”
The chill that raced through her had her nipples tightening and her pussy quivering. “That sounds like something I might just enjoy.”
After throwing the blanket over his shoulder, he offered her his hand. “C’mon. You’re really gonna like this.”
They wandered a path through the trees and brush and came out of the foliage at the banks of a small lake. “What is this?” The ground sloped gradually down to the water.
“This is a backwater of the river.” He gestured to the trees behind them. “In the spring, we’d be standing in knee-deep water right here.”
Between where she stood and the lake, about ten feet of soft-looking sand beckoned her. “Is the water cold?”
He took her hand and led her toward the lake. “Nope. It stays warm all summer long.” He dropped the backpack and spread the blanket. “Strip. Let’s swim first.” He tossed his hat on the blanket.
“Strip?” Megan glanced around. While this side of the lake was surrounded by trees, the other side, where the river ran, was wide open spaces. “What if someone comes by? Your ranch hands, or—”
“They know not to come by here when I’ve got a woma...” He clamped his lips shut and looked away.
“Uh huh.” Setting her fists on her hips, she smiled and stomped over to him. “This is where you bring all the ladies you want to seduce, right?” Had he brought his sexy lawyer here? Toe to toe with him, she tipped her head to meet his gaze. “Don’t try to deny it.”
He blushed slightly and shrugged. “I won’t deny it, sweetheart.” In one lightning-fast move, he picked her up and deposited her on the blanket. Standing over her, he grabbed her ankle and tugged off her boot. “But I will say, I can’t remember a single one of them right now.” He pulled off her other boot.
“Sweet talker.” Unzipping her jeans, she wiggled out of them at the same time he toed off his boots.
“Them panties off, too.” His eyes blazed as he looked his fill of her.
She slowly peeled them down her legs, giving him her naughtiest stare. “You get naked too, cowboy.”
Chapter Nine
Megan lay on the blanket looking up at Trey. Above him, the clear blue sky shone almost the exact color of his eyes.
Reaching one hand over his shoulder and behind his back, he tugged off his t-shirt and threw it, then started on his belt buckle.
Still wearing her shirts, Megan crawled across the blanket toward him on her hands and knees, keeping every movement as sexy as possible. “Need some help?” When she reached him, she slid her hands up his long legs and glanced up at him, inches away from his zipper.
“Yeah, you can help, sweetheart.” He held his hands away from his buckle and looked at her like he could devour her whole. His eyes turned dark blue and his lids dropped, his breathing coming fast.
As she popped the button on his jeans, he helped her out of her shirt, pulled her tank top up and off, then unfastened her bra and slid the straps down her shoulders.
Easing the zipper on his jeans down, she stared at the magnificent erection pushing its way out of his red briefs.
“Red, huh?” She licked her lips as she tugged his jeans past his knees. She leaned in and kissed the spot on the fabric where his slit leaked a circle of pre-cum.
“Uh uh.” He grasped her arms and tugged her up, kicking off his jeans and shucking his underwear, then pulling her bra off her. “I have today planned out. And it doesn’t include my coming in your mouth with embarrassing speed.”
He had it planned out? He must have been looking forward to this for a while. “Okay. I’ll keep my tongue to myself until told otherwise.”
Taking her hand, he led her toward the lake. “First, we swim.” He looked at her with a lusty glance. “Then I’ll figure out a use for your tongue.”
She followed him until he stepped into the clear water. Bracing herself for a cold shock, she dipped her foot in a couple inches. Tepid water sluiced between her toes.
“You didn’t believe me when I said it wasn’t cold, huh?” He tugged her forward with him. “Some years, when there’s no rain, it completely disappears.”
The sandy bottom tickled her feet as they walked toward the middle. “That must put a kink in your love life.” She gave him a saucy smile.
“Nope.” He smirked. “Got that big pool behind the house.”
She laughed and bent, cupping water and splashing his perfect chest. “I don’t want to hear about it.”
Reaching down with two hands, he cupped them full of water. “That’s how you want to play?”
Her body, hot from the ride and from the desire racing through her, would probably turn the water to steam upon contact.
She stood her ground. “You wouldn’t dare!”
The challenge must have been too much for an alpha male like him, and with a groan, he lunged at her, scooped her up, and ran deeper into the water, leaping forward and turning so he went under first, pulling her down with him.
They came up sputtering, laughing, and tight in each other’s arms.
“That does feel good.” She brushed her hair from her face.
He grabbed her ass cheeks and settled her mound against his hard cock. “This feels even better.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips and slowly tipped her hips back and forth. The movement pushed her clit along the length of his hot cock. Fissures of need spiked through her core, robbing her of breath and weakening her muscles.
“Sweetheart, you do that, and I lose my restraint.”
Megan ran her tongue from his collarbone to his ear, tasting the clean water and salty man. “So lose it.”
He turned his head and took her mouth with his, invading with his tongue, taking what he wanted, giving her what she craved. Trey’s hand slid to the crack of her ass, then deeper, circling the tight anal opening with a firm finger.
Her hips convulsed forward as the pleasure of his touch flared like fire in her core. She moaned her desire as they kissed.
With one firm push, his fingertip slipped inside her.
Throwing her head back, she cried out as her pussy lips heated and swelled.
“Gotta have you. Now.” His low demand was punctuated by
the dark intensity of his eyes. He slid his finger out and carried her toward the shore, still rubbing his cock against her clit.
Holding on with weakening arms, she let him take her full weight.
He had no problem using his big muscles to haul her out of the water, kneel on the blanket, and lay her down gently.
Megan cupped his face in her palms. “I like this. Just the two of us.”
He nipped at her breasts and suckled her, bracing himself with a hand on each side of her ribs. “It’s as good as I imagined.”
She spread her legs further, feeling the heat of his hard shaft along her slit, letting the sweet ache of need tighten her groin.
He winked at her as he reached for his jeans with one hand. “And I haven’t even gotten inside you yet.” His eyelids drooped. “Inside that sweet, tight pussy of yours.” He pulled out a condom, ripped open the foil packet with his teeth and rolled on the condom with one hand. “Hell.” He grasped the base of his cock and touched the knob to her cunt. “I have to...” Trey thrust his hips forward, pushing into her, stretching her with a sensual ache.
When his hips ground against hers, and his balls slapped her ass, he let out a howl, his teeth bared. “Woman.” The word came out guttural and he pressed his body along hers, bracing himself on his elbows.
The abrasion of his chest hairs against her tight nipples sent shocks of heat racing for her belly, making her core quiver and tighten.
“Ah, yeah, I can feel you.” He slid his forearms under her shoulders and laced his fingers into her hair on each side of her head.
Their eyes met. Time froze for a moment, words would have been less telling than this connection.
She ran her hands over his shoulders, down his back, exploring his corded muscles as they quivered with restraint.
Then he moved. Sliding his staff out of her, slowly, looking at her like he never wanted to look away.
Her heart skittered, a sweet tightening invaded her chest. Then her mind blanked as he rammed his hard cock deep inside her, sending electric pulses shimmying up her spine.
Double Her Pleasure Page 7