The Divine Creek Ranch Collection Volume 3

by Heather Rainier

  “So she went to him and spent every day of the last couple of years with him, give or take a few months. She doesn’t regret doing that because they made their peace and he treated her very well. They had been lovers before, but he became her friend, once she got over the anger of having her life disrupted.

  “She didn’t find out until he was on his deathbed that he would never have given the order for his men to harm us, he was just desperate for her presence. He very much regretted disrupting her life for his own selfish reasons and begged her forgiveness, which she gave him.

  “I admired her for being able to do that because I’m not sure I could have given absolution to someone who disrupted my life for their own gain, but I believe love made him desperate, not malice. He left her a very generous inheritance to make up for disrupting her life, and she returned to the US after tying up all her loose threads in Europe.”

  “How long has he been dead?”

  “Two weeks. She needed time, which was understandable.”

  “I can’t imagine.”

  “I worried about her off and on this whole time but had never gotten the impression that she was in any danger. We explained to her that you had come into our lives and we were both in love with you. Kathleen felt pretty bad for upsetting you. She knew when she showed up that there was a chance we had moved on. She broke down and I could tell she needed a few minutes, so I left the two of them alone to come check on you. Judging by the look on your face, I figured you might be a little upset for me letting her know we had a guest. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just didn’t want her to say anything that would distress you. Things are still kind of new for us, but I didn’t want to take a chance on you feeling like we would welcome her if she spoke any further about coming back into our lives.”

  Summer chuckled at the irony, realizing she’d thought that anyway.

  “I love you, Summer, and I don’t want anyone else in my life. I want to make that perfectly clear. She was seizing an opportunity to find out if there was a chance for us.”

  Suddenly Summer felt really sympathetic for Kathleen. She’d given up two men she loved to protect them and to help a dying friend. Regardless of the other man’s motivations, she’d obviously had a lot of love in her heart if she would sacrifice her happiness to protect Ace and Kemp and to care for this man she had loved at one time.

  “Now she has no one.”

  Kemp smiled and replied, “Kathleen has rented a new place in town, and I think she is going to be just fine. She loves things like what you carry at the shop, and I have a feeling the two of you will become friends once we all get past this bump in the road. Don’t worry too much about Kathleen. She has this…aura that men find very attractive.”

  Summer didn’t think they’d ever be BFFs but did hope she found happiness in Divine. “How do you feel about finding out that she loved you, too?”

  “Sad, I suppose. Relieved, maybe. It’s always nice to know someone loved you. My main concern right now is that you know that I am one hundred percent in love with you. What’s in the past doesn’t really matter anymore.” He squeezed her hand and said, “We are both right where we want to be, in love with you.”

  Summer smiled at him and replied, “Well, then you wouldn’t be opposed to taking me home and making love to me?”

  She giggled when he floored the accelerator on the last couple of miles between them and the turnoff to the house.

  * * * *

  Ace took a seat at the kitchen table while Patrick settled his son in front of the television with a children’s movie and a sippy cup. The tall, blond-haired man made a cup of coffee and joined Ace, looking like he’d been through a hell of a day as he rolled up the cuffs on his dress shirt.

  “Ace, I feel like I have to apologize.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I may have exacerbated the situation unintentionally.”

  “How so?”

  “Elizabeth and I have had a rocky relationship from the start. You probably know that I dated Rosemary Garner, well, when she was unmarried, that is. My wife knew about that. During an argument, she threw it in my face that I hadn’t been enough man for Rosemary, which was why she’d needed two men. I revealed to her that I’d discovered her little cache of love poems she’d written about Ethan Grant when they were in high school. He was a few years older and never even knew who she was. It was juvenile of me, but that woman can…” He looked even more exhausted as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Push and push. She got religion a few years ago, and instead of getting better she only got worse. I’d hoped the baby would help her stay busy and out of trouble.”

  Ace said, “I think she was motivated by jealousy for not having what she’d wanted, and guilt over having an affair. Those emotions fueled her moral outrage at what she deemed illicit behavior in others to cover what was going on in her life.”

  Patrick nodded affirmatively. “We had a terrible fight one night, and she accused me of still loving Rosemary. I was pushed to my limit and I told her I did. I do still love Rosemary. I’d never interfere with her relationship or do anything to make her unhappy, but the life she has is my ideal now. She’s found men who obviously make her very happy, and I wished for the same thing. Elizabeth went ballistic. This was about the time she started spending more time on the Internet.”

  “When she started blogging.”

  “Yeah. That’s why I feel at least partially responsible.”

  “We found e-mails from Leroy Paggs that date back to the same timeframe.”

  Patrick shook his head in disbelief. “What will happen to her?”

  Ace shrugged. “From what you and I heard and Kemp told me, they are pointing the finger at each other. Paggs is probably writing a full confession as we speak in hopes of getting a judge to go easy on him on the arson, breaking and entering, and assault charges leveled against him right now.”

  “What do I do about my boy?”

  “Let me do a little digging for you and see what I can come up with.”

  “Do you need any information from me?”

  Ace smiled sheepishly and replied, “No, Patrick. We already know pretty much everything there is to know about you and Elizabeth. Probably more than you want to know.”

  Patrick chuckled and said, “Fair enough. Thanks for being straightforward about it.”

  “Nothing I learned or will learn will see the light of day, as it pertains to you or your son. We’ll do our best to help you retain custody.” Gesturing to the laptop lying on the table between them, Ace added, “All we did was use her access to the blog and shut it down. She never posted from the same place twice and led us on a wild-goose chase all over town. After talking to one of her Bible study members we discovered they took turns hosting it each week. She was posting from a different Wi-Fi address each time. She would tell them she needed to arrive a little early and then would connect to their router and get on the internet under the guise of research for their study topics. What she was really doing was posting the blog updates.”

  “Did she think no one would ever catch up to her?”

  Wryly, Ace said, “Well, she led us on a merry chase, that’s for sure.”

  * * * *

  Kemp pressed Summer back against the wall of the shower and kissed her hungrily. This was their first opportunity to be alone together, and he intended to take full advantage of it. He’d return the favor to Ace later that evening.

  “My goodness, Kemp. You’re so big and hard,” Summer said with suggestive emphasis and closed her soft hand around the base of his cock. “I love it.” Kemp growled and thrust within her grasp and plundered her mouth with renewed enthusiasm. She broke the kiss and in a silky voice added, “I’ll love it even more when you fuck me with it.”

  Grateful they were already showered, Kemp hit the faucet handle with a little more force than was called for to shut off the water. She squealed gleefully when he lifted her off her feet, soaking wet, and carried her into the bedroom,
leaving puddles of water in his wake.

  He dumped his beautiful woman on the bed, and she giggled and asked, “Are you going to fuck me hard, Kemp? Make me beg to come?”

  Summer giggled and tried to crawl away from him, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her back toward the edge of the bed. She looked back at him, and her eyes glittered playfully as she wiggled her ass at him. He could see how wet her beautiful cunt was, and he was torn between burying his face between her luscious thighs for an hour or sinking his swelling cock into her this very minute.

  A thought occurred to him as her lusty words echoed in his brain, and he grinned lasciviously at her. She glanced at his cock, and her eyes rounded. She tried to scoot away again, but he didn’t allow her to escape and pulled her upright, pinning her back against his front as he took position. It didn’t go unnoticed that she spread her legs eagerly and stilled for him.

  He growled in her ear, and she shuddered as he whispered, “I’m going to fuck you slow and deep, darlin’.” He nudged his cock gently against her, taking his time and ignoring the driving urge to ram into her. Panting, she tilted against him, and his cock slid into her in a long, slippery stroke, aided by the juices flowing copiously from her cunt. “I’m going to make you come so many times you lose count. I’ll keep going until you beg me to stop.”

  “Oh, Kemp.” She groaned passionately, and the lustful sound was music in his ears. He loved the sensual sounds she made and found it very satisfying that he inspired them. “Fuck me.”

  He released her and stood at the edge of the bed, grasping her hips. Her cunt was hot and slick as he slid into her again. She took every inch of his cock to the root, and damned if it wasn’t the most beautiful sight he’d ever beheld. If he were a poet, he’d write sonnets about her pussy, it was so inspiring.

  Kemp pulled out and thrust again, guiding her hips back against him. Her warm, wet pussy was a delicious, tight clasp on his cock as he slid to the hilt again. He reached in front of her, sliding his fingers through her drenched pussy to her clit. He rubbed in slow circles, and she bucked as his fingers swirled against her swollen nub. He changed the angle he thrust at to stroke her G-spot, and she nearly purred, moving with him until her pussy spasmed uncontrollably around his cock. She wailed as her orgasm struck, and he rode it out with her. He smiled because he knew he was just getting started.

  He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “That’s number one.”

  She chuckled breathlessly and replied, “Oh, baby, I’m yours to torture.”

  An hour later, Summer lay cuddled in his arms, her cheeks rosy from so many orgasms, even he’d lost count. He remembered hitting number ten and losing track after that.

  She murmured drowsily, “Margot is going to kill me.”

  “Why?”

  “I should be working.”

  “You should?”

  Summer chuckled limply. “I have no idea. My brain is not functioning from all the orgasms.”

  Kemp chuckled, wondering if all the orgasms had fried her neurons to have forgotten that. “You took today off after what happened at Stigall’s.”

  “Oh. I’m glad you’re keeping track.”

  “It’s been one helluva day, too.” Looking at his watch, he said, “It’s only three. Why don’t you nap for a while? I’ll wake you later.”

  “I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I do.”

  “You may lose some sleep tonight, darlin’. Get it while you can,” he said with a chuckle.

  She smiled, and her eyelids slid closed a minute later.

  Kemp was willing to admit he was a complete and utter sap as he lay there naked with her, stroking her hip, her arm, her cheek, whatever part of her he could reach. He was enthralled by her, wanting to pinch himself and make sure this wasn’t just a dream.

  She moaned softly and slid her arm across his chest so her warm hand rested over his collarbone then settled back into sleep. Maybe she’d felt the need to make sure it was more than just a sweet dream she was having. A smile of satisfaction crossed his lips.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Summer’s heart pounded, and she giggled as she rounded the leather couch. They’d just finished dining on the delicious supper Ace had brought home for them from O’Reilley’s. Summer had promised them she’d cook for them another night.

  She was currently dodging Ace, who was stripping as he stalked her, dropping his clothes wherever he stood. “I promise you, kitten. Wherever you are when I catch you, that’s the spot you’re getting it.”

  Biting her lower lip in anticipation, Summer watched as he toed his boots off. She edged toward the end of the couch, hoping to make it to the stairs. His eyes glittered with lust, and she knew he would enjoy the chase as much as he would the capture.

  “Ten second head start?” she asked hopefully as he unbuttoned his shirt.

  “Five seconds, if you run now.” He started toward her, and she shrieked and dashed for the stairs, her lavender satin robe swirling in her wake to reveal her bare legs as she mounted them. She paused and looked behind her and heard the deep murmur of her men’s voices in brief conversation before he ran for the stairs.

  Summer shrieked again when he made eye contact with her and charged after her. Thinking it would be too easy for her to run into the bedroom, she headed straight for the French doors that led onto the upstairs deck from the central upstairs room and rushed through them. Closing them quietly, she backed away from them. She caught movement in the corner of her eye through the bedroom window and jumped practically from her skin when she saw him cutting across the bedroom to catch her. Summer skirted the hot tub and ran for the stairs as she heard him open the doors.

  Her pussy seeped with wet heat when he said, “The first thing I’m going to do is spank you for making me work so hard to catch you.”

  “Is that supposed to scare me?” she replied with a giggle as she fled down the stairs and around the corner to the poolside. She heard him on the stairs and realized he was closing in on her. Barefooted, Summer darted across the pebble surface and heard him running behind her as she rounded the next turn.

  She giggled gleefully as her robe sailed behind her and ran for the timbered entrance to the garden room. One of them had guessed this was where she would run because the weather cover for the outdoor bed had been removed and there was a bottle of chilled, white wine and a single wineglass on the small table beside the bed.

  Summer watched Ace as he approached the garden room, catching a glimpse of him through the leaves and branches of the living enclosure. The sky glowed with post-sunset light, casting everything around her in dusky shadows. They’d gotten another rain shower earlier, and the scent of damp earth and plant life hung in the air.

  He made eye contact with her and said, “Strip.”

  She backed away as he stalked toward her with his chest bared. He must’ve discarded his shirt, socks, and pants on the chase because he now stood proud and very erect in his snug, white knit boxers. Their body-hugging fit left no doubt as to his state of arousal because she could clearly make out the ridge of his hardened shaft stretching upward to the waistband.

  Her pussy responded welcomingly to the sight, and she reached for the satin belt on her robe. Stripping was a simple matter as she untied it and opened the front of her robe. Her flesh was bare beneath it, and she smiled with anticipation as he looked her up and down and licked his lower lip. She gave her shoulders a leisurely shrug, and the robe slipped down. She caught it in her hands and laid it on the bed.

  As he watched her, she smiled and faced the end of the big bed. She leaned forward a bit and positioned her hands flat on the end of the bed, exposing her bare ass for his attention. She gasped and bit her lip as he drew near. His body heat caused a rivulet of desire to course through her as she felt the light stroke of his fingertips sliding up her spine. She tilted her head back, and her lips parted on a moan at his tickling, teasing touch.

  He slid his fingertips back down, gliding over her hip an
d ass, then cupped one cheek in his warm palm. He squeezed, and she felt a corresponding convulsion in her pussy. If he delved much lower, he’d discover how she responded to his touch. She was drenched and ready for whatever came next.

  He squeezed the other cheek and began massaging it. The heat in her flesh built up against the palm of his hand, and she shuddered in anticipation. When the sharp, openhanded slap landed solidly against her rounded ass cheek she gasped at the sting. He rubbed over where his hand had landed and then applied another to the other cheek.

  “Oh.”

  Her pussy tightened and her derriere bloomed with heat as he caressed it with his open palm and then delivered several more lighter, stinging pops. The heat radiated from his hand as he cupped her cheek and then slid his fingertips to her cleft and trailed them through her slick cunt.

  “What a sweet, wet pussy.”

  She sensed him change position and moaned when she suddenly felt his hot mouth at her cunt. He licked and caressed her with his tongue, taking time to tease and flick her clit as he gently held her open. Her cunt tightened with each touch until she was on the verge of climax. She froze as the pulses of an orgasm echoed distantly and then groaned in frustration as he pulled away.

  “Impatient little kitten. I think Kemp spoiled you this afternoon.” He patted her ass and said, “Get on the end of the bed, on your knees.”

  Her juices trickled as she positioned herself for him, and he growled softly when he caressed her pussy. His callused fingers felt so good against her heated flesh, and she trembled at the position he was going to take her in.

  She sat up and turned to look at him. He smiled at her and kissed her hungrily. There was no doubt who was in charge of the moment and no question of how in control he would be as he slid his hands over her hip bones and down her inner thighs. He parted her thighs a bit more as he kissed her until the head of his cock pressed against her pussy. He poised himself there and didn’t move. One hand slid around her hips to hold her, and the other rested on her mound as he very lightly teased her throbbing clit with a single digit, flicking it with small touches like a butterfly’s wing.