She lifted up, bracing her hand on his chest. “You make me happy, Duncan. I love you.”
“Even though I was a damned fool yesterday? I let my pride and my prejudices get in the way, and I nearly lost you. I’ll no’ ever get over that. I was arrogant, Abby. I thought I knew how to handle Granny, how to handle the business, hell, even how to handle you. I thought all I wanted was a temporary affair. But I was wrong on so many levels.”
“That’s in the past. We’re looking toward the future.”
He raked a hand through her curls, toying with them as they wrapped around his fingers. “Our vehicles are smaller in Scotland. But I’ve heard ’tis a rite of passage for an American lass to give herself to the man she loves in the back seat of a car.”
“Not at our age. We have two perfectly good houses at our disposal.”
His breathing came faster. He unbuttoned her jeans and slid his hands inside. “Can’t wait.”
Duncan recognized the complicated logistics. But he had Abby in his arms again, and it felt as if it had been weeks since he last made love to her. He nuzzled her neck. “What if I sit up and you straddle my lap?” The rain was a torrent now, ensuring that no prying eyes would spot them, not to mention the fact that Abby’s car was the only one anywhere around.
Her eyes widened. A pink flush suffused her throat and cheeks. “I don’t know...”
“Don’t be bashful, sweet girl. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
His proposition meant that Abby had to shed her clothing completely, at least from the waist down. He helped her undress with barely controlled impatience, pausing to kiss and stroke and fondle until they were both shaking and clumsy with hunger.
When everything was right, Duncan found the single condom he’d had the foresight to bring along and rolled it on. Steadying Abby with his hands at her waist, he eased her down on top of him. Her body accepted his urgent possession. He filled her with a ragged thrust and a groan.
She rested her forehead against his. “I would go to Scotland if you asked me, Duncan. I don’t want you to have regrets.”
He wheezed out a laugh, barely able to breathe. “Don’t be daft. This is what I want. As long as I have you, I have everything.”
That she could forgive him so easily for his cruel accusations the day before made him want to be a better man. God willing, he had years ahead to prove to her that her trust in him was not misplaced. With everything he had, he would honor and protect her.
A family would be nice. A boy. And then a girl.
His orgasm bore down on him, demanding, importunate.
Duncan gritted his teeth and concentrated on Abby. He reached between them and touched her intimately. The sight of their joined bodies affected him profoundly. Whatever his sins in the past, he must have done something right to deserve this woman.
Abby clung to his neck. Her breasts mashed up against his chest, making him dizzy. She bit his earlobe, her breath tickling his ear. “I’m close,” she whispered. “Give me everything. Send me over.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. With a roar of exultation, he braced his feet against the floor of the car, gripped her hips and thrust again and again until his vision went black and Abby cried out his name.
* * *
Eons later, he realized that his lover’s cute bottom was cold. He didn’t want to move. His body was lax with pleasure, his brain clearer and more calm than it had been in months.
He blew a curl out of his face. “Anybody awake in there?”
Abby pulled back, sending delightful aftershocks through his sex. Her smile was tremulous. “You do that really well.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, straight-faced. “This is my first time to shag in a car.”
“Very funny.”
“I try,” he said modestly. He sensed the moment when her mood changed.
She sobered, her hands braced on his shoulders. “Things always seem perfect when we’re having sex, but our world is complicated, Duncan. My father will always be my father. I can’t make him go away. If you’re living in Candlewick, you’ll be bound to run into him sooner than later.”
Instead of answering, Duncan eased Abby off of him and helped her deal with her clothes. When they were both decent again, he caught her close for a hard kiss. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “And for the record, I won’t be pressing any charges. For one thing, it would be difficult to prove anything in court. My grandfather withdrew the money of his own free will. But more than that, legal action would be pointless because there is no money to recoup. And it would hurt you. We can see him or not see him. He helped give birth to you, so I’m feeling remarkably mellow about all that right now. But it’s your call.”
Abby leaned her head against his shoulder and reached up to kiss him. “Thank you.”
Her gratitude bothered him. “Don’t thank me.” His throat tightened. “I don’t know if I can forgive myself for attacking you yesterday. I knew in my gut what kind of woman you are. You never lied to me about anything that truly mattered. I was hung up on my pride and my fear of betrayal. I let myself be blinded by evidence that didn’t add up. I won’t ever do that to you again, I swear.”
“Stop it, Duncan,” she said firmly. “It was a crisis, and we all make mistakes under pressure. I should have told you immediately that he was my father. So I screwed up, too. No more sadness. Not today.”
He held her close, marveling at what life had given him. “I wish Granny had lived to see you and me together.”
“I like to believe she does know. She and your grandfather both.” She smiled against his chest, her cheek resting right over his heart. “I think I’m going to like being a Stewart.”
“Well, lass, the Stewarts are the lucky ones. Because they have you.” He tilted her chin up and found her lips with a kiss that threatened to start round two. “And so do I...”
Epilogue
Duncan ran both hands through his hair and tried to swallow the knot in his throat. “Well, how do I look?”
Brody snickered. “I’ve never seen you like this, little brother. It’s pretty damned funny.”
“Shut up and help me. We have to walk out there in about a minute and a half. Is my jacket collar straight?”
Both men were wearing full dress kilts at Abby’s request. In the same church where the Stewart funerals had been conducted, Duncan would now pledge eternal devotion to his bride.
In the distance, the plaintive sounds of a bagpipe echoed.
Brody, taking Duncan by surprise, hugged his brother tightly. “I’m going to miss you, damn it. But I know you’re doing the right thing. Granny and Grandda would be delighted and proud.”
Duncan nodded, his throat tight. “Ye know I’m not staying here in Candlewick out of obligation...right? I want this. For me. For Abby. For future generations of Stewarts.”
“I can’t think of a better way to start your life together.”
The door adjacent to the altar opened, and the minister gave them a nod. The men strode into the sanctuary, barely registering the rustle of response at their appearance.
The church was decked out for Christmas with poinsettias in the windows and swags of fragrant balsam everywhere.
Down the center aisle, a local piper strolled, playing a traditional tune. Behind him, clad in dark green velvet, Abby’s friend Lara walked slowly. At the back of the church, framed in the doorway, stood the only person Duncan wanted to see.
Abby was wearing a traditional wedding gown. Knowing how much she had missed in her young life, Duncan had insisted she have all the bells and whistles for this wedding. She carried a bouquet of crimson roses and eucalyptus.
Her dress was strapless and cut low over her beautiful breasts. An antique lace veil flowed from a diamond tiara that had been part of Duncan’s wedding gift to her, along with a simple teardrop ne
cklace that matched the headpiece.
As she walked down the aisle toward him, everything in the room faded away until all he could see was his Abby. Beautiful gray eyes met his. Everything she was—her spirit, her integrity, her huge caring heart—shone in that gaze.
Lara took her place opposite Brody.
Then it was time for Abby to ascend the shallow steps. Duncan gripped her hand to help her, kissed her cheek and wrapped her arm through his as they took their assigned places. “I love you,” he said, going off script.
The chuckle that ran through the crowd barely registered.
Abby looked up at him, her eyes bright with tears. “And I love you, stubborn Scotsman. Now hush and let the minister do his job. We have a lifetime ahead of us for kissing.”
Duncan glanced at Brody and grinned. Then he took a deep breath and squeezed his bride-to-be’s arm, focusing obediently on the officiant. “Aye, love, that we do.”
* * * * *
If you loved this novel of sizzling drama,
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HIS HEIR, HER SECRET
or these other books
from
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THE SECRET CHILD & THE COWBOY CEO
THE BILLIONAIRE’S BORROWED BABY
INTO HIS PRIVATE DOMAIN
A TOUCH OF PERSUASION
Available now from Harlequin Desire!
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From New York Times bestselling author
Maisey Yates comes the sizzling second book in her new GOLD VALLEY Western romance
series. Shy tomboy Kaylee Capshaw never thought she’d have a chance of winning the heart of her longtime friend Bennett Dodge, even if he is the cowboy of her dreams.
But when she learns he’s suddenly single, can she finally prove to him that the woman he’s been waiting for has been right here all along?
Read on for a sneak peek at
UNTAMED COWBOY,
the latest in New York Times
bestselling author Maisey Yates’s
GOLD VALLEY series!
Untamed Cowboy
by Maisey Yates
CHAPTER ONE
KAYLEE CAPSHAW NEEDED a new life. Which was why she was steadfastly avoiding the sound of her phone vibrating in her purse while the man across from her at the beautifully appointed dinner table continued to talk, oblivious to the internal war raging inside of her.
Do not look at your phone.
The stern internal admonishment didn’t help. Everything in her was still seized up with adrenaline and anxiety over the fact that she had texts she wasn’t looking at.
Not because of her job. Any and all veterinary emergencies were being covered by her new assistant at the clinic, Laura, so that she could have this date with Michael, the perfectly nice man she was now ignoring while she warred within herself to not look down at her phone.
No. It wasn’t work texts she was itching to look at.
But what if it was Bennett?
Laura knew that she wasn’t supposed to interrupt Kaylee tonight, because Kaylee was on a date, but she had conveniently not told Bennett. Because she didn’t want to talk to Bennett about her dating anyone.
Mostly because she didn’t want to hear if Bennett was dating anyone. If the woman lasted, Kaylee would inevitably know all about her. So there was no reason—in her mind—to rush into all of that.
She wasn’t going to look at her phone.
“Going over the statistical data for the last quarter was really very interesting. It’s fascinating how the holidays inform consumers.”
Kaylee blinked. “What?”
“Sorry. I’m probably boring you. The corporate side of retail at Christmas is probably only interesting to people who work in the industry.”
“Not at all,” she said. Except, she wasn’t interested. But she was trying to be. “How exactly did you get involved in this job living here?”
“Well, I can do most of it online. Sometimes I travel to Portland, which is where the corporate office is.” Michael worked for a world-famous brand of sports gear, and he did something with the sales. Or data.
Her immediate attraction to him had been his dachshund, Clarence, whom she had seen for a tooth abscess a couple of weeks earlier. Then on a follow-up visit he had asked if Kaylee would like to go out, and she had honestly not been able to think of one good reason she shouldn’t. Except for Bennett Dodge. Her best friend since junior high and the obsessive focus of her hormones since she’d discovered what men and women did together in the dark.
Which meant she absolutely needed to go out with Michael.
Bennett couldn’t be the excuse. Not anymore.
She had fallen into a terrible rut over the last couple of years while she and Bennett had gotten their clinic up and running. Work and her social life revolved around him. Social gatherings were all linked to him and to his family.
She’d lived in Gold Valley since junior high, and the friendships she’d made here had mostly faded since then. She’d made friends when she’d gone to school for veterinary medicine, but she and Bennett had gone together, and those friends were mostly mutual friends.
If they ever came to town for a visit, it included Bennett. If she took a trip to visit them, it often included Bennett.
The man was up in absolutely everything, and the effects of it had been magnified recently as her world had narrowed thanks to their mutually demanding work schedule.
That amount of intense, focused time with him never failed to put her in a somewhat pathetic emotional space.
Hence the very necessary date.
Then her phone started vibrating because it was ringing, and she couldn’t ignore that. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Excuse me.”
It was Bennett. Her heart slammed into her throat. She should not answer it. She really shouldn’t. She thought that even while she was pressing the green accept button.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Calving drama. I have a breech one. I need some help.”
Bennett sounded clipped and stressed. And he didn’t stress easily. He delivered countless calves over the course of the season, but
a breech birth was never good. If the rancher didn’t call him in time, there was rarely anything that could be done.
And if Bennett needed some assistance, then the situation was probably pretty extreme.
“Where are you?” she asked, darting a quick look over to Michael and feeling like a terrible human for being marginally relieved by this interruption.
“Out of town at Dave Miller’s place. Follow the driveway out back behind the house.”
“See you soon.” She hung up the phone and looked down at her half-finished dinner. “I am so sorry,” she said, forcing herself to look at Michael’s face. “There’s a veterinary emergency. I have to go.”
She stood up, collecting her purse and her jacket. “I really am sorry. I tried to cover everything. But my partner... It’s a barnyard thing. He needs help.”
Michael looked... Well, he looked understanding. And Kaylee almost wished that he wouldn’t. That he would be mad so that she would have an excuse to storm off and never have dinner with him again. That he would be unreasonable in some fashion so that she could call the date experiment a loss and go back to making no attempts at a romantic life whatsoever.
But he didn’t. “Of course,” he said. “You can’t let something happen to an animal just because you’re on a dinner date.”
“I really can’t,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. She put it on the table and offered an apologetic smile before turning and leaving. Before he didn’t accept her contribution to the dinner.
She was not going to make him pay for the entire meal on top of everything.
“Have a good evening,” the hostess said as Kaylee walked toward the front door of the restaurant. “Please dine with us again soon.”
Kaylee muttered something and headed outside, stumbling a little bit when her kitten heel caught in a crack in the sidewalk. That was the highest heel she ever wore, since she was nearly six feet tall in flats, and towering over one’s date was not the best first impression.
But she was used to cowgirl boots and not these spindly, fiddly things that hung up on every imperfection. They were impractical. How any woman walked around in stilettos was beyond her.
On Temporary Terms Page 17