A chill went up her spine, shivering through her whole body, making her drop the glass of water. It thudded on the rug, but luckily didn’t break.
“Sadie.” Rory’s deep, sleepy voice rasped.
“Uh, sorry. Let me get a towel to mop that up,” she whispered. She dashed into the kitchen and pulled a clean dishtowel from the drawer beside the dishwasher. She ran back into the living room just as Rory set the glass on the table. He sat on the sofa and scrubbed his hands over his face, yawning.
“What are you doing up, sweetheart?”
Sadie mopped up the water, pressing the towel hard against the carpet to soak up all the liquid. “I couldn’t sleep. Nightmare.”
“You look like you just had another one. Come here.” Rory reached for her hand and gently tugged.
She stepped up off her knees and landed on the sofa next to him. She went willingly, feeling like a complete idiot for letting her ghosts spook her.
Rory turned toward her and reached for her face, his warm palm cupping her cheek. “You’re so pale. What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and sighed. “Nothing. Everything. I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep.”
“You’re not used to being here. A strange place, it’s hard to relax. After all you’ve been through lately, you’re bound to have a few nightmares. What can I do?”
“Nothing. I’m sorry I woke you. I didn’t want to be alone, so I came down for some water and . . .”
“And?”
“To look at you.”
“Like what you see?”
She bumped her shoulder into his, smiling. She reached up, touched his face with her hand, and swept her thumb over the grin on his lips. “I really love it when you smile.” She laid her head on his shoulder, sagging against him.
Rory slid behind her, settling back on the couch, and pulled her down with him. “Stay with me. I’ll keep the nightmares away.”
“Because you’re a dream come true?”
He chuckled, tucking the blanket around her as she cuddled into his warmth. “If you say so.”
“I’m totally losing it if I’m saying mushy things like that to you. Forget I ever said it. Please.”
“No way. You said it. I’m your dream guy.”
She couldn’t believe the man she once thought cold grinned and teased with her in the dark, all to take her mind off her troubles and make her smile. Light, fun, the way he acted with his family, he now showed her so easily.
Rory’s hand settled on her hip and squeezed. She snuggled closer, her bottom tucked up against his groin. Totally intimate. The chill that raced through her earlier was long forgotten under the wave of heat that spread through her system now with Rory’s body cradling hers.
With his massive shoulders taking up all the space, she couldn’t find a comfortable spot on his arm that he left out straight for her to lie on. In another ten minutes, he’d lose all circulation and she’d have a stiff neck.
“This couch isn’t big enough for the two of us,” she complained. “Make room for me.” She flipped over, pulled on his middle for him to flatten out, then lay on her side, her leg over his, and laid her head on his shoulder, her cheek pressed to his chest. His arm was still out straight, so she shifted again. “Put your arm down my back and make sure I don’t fall off.”
“You asked for it.” Rory draped his arm down her back and planted his hand right on her ass. “Better?” The laugh in his voice only set the butterflies in her belly to flight again.
“Yes.” She rocked her hips against his thigh. “And no.”
His hand tightened on her bottom. His other hand clamped on to her bare thigh. “Stop moving, or I won’t be held responsible for what happens.” He shifted uncomfortably below her, but only managed to rub against her center with his thigh more. With no underwear and only the soft cotton nightgown between them, she moaned.
“God, don’t do that,” he grumbled.
He smelled clean, like soap and a spring day. She tilted her head and inhaled his scent. Restless, she leaned up and stared down at him.
“What are you doing now?” His gruff, pained voice made her smile.
“Kissing you good night.”
He tried to say something, but she pressed her thumb to his lips and trailed it down to his scruffy chin. “Shh.” Her lips met his in a soft kiss that lingered a few seconds so he could settle in. Once he did, she swept her tongue along his bottom lip, then kissed just that one lip, sucking gently. His hands contracted on her thigh and bottom. She kissed him again, sliding her tongue past his lips to taste the need building inside both of them. He pulled her thigh up his body and over the rigid length of his erection, then back down again.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, little one.”
Inches from his face, she stared into his hungry eyes. “It’s no game, Rory. I just want to be close to you. You make me feel, and right now, I want to feel all the good until it fills me up.”
This time she rubbed her thigh up his legs and over his hard length, pressing her body against his as she lowered her mouth to his again.
Rory groaned, giving in to her sweet temptation. The woman meant to drive him mad, but if she wanted to feel good, he’d make her feel damn good.
She slid her leg up and over his dick again. He slid his hand down her thigh, under her nightgown, and over her bare bottom. The woman had skin like silk. Everywhere he touched she was soft and supple. Her curves were sexy as hell. He tried not to think about the way she caressed him, the press of her breasts against his side, or the sensual way her tongue slid along his, slow and easy like a ballad, like she had all the time in the world to love him.
He dipped his hand over her bottom to her soft folds. Her leg stilled over his length and pressed down on him. She rocked against him to ease the ache, but it only made it worse, so he concentrated on his task—making her feel good.
He’d let her control the kissing, the timing, hell, him, but now he took the kiss deeper, letting her know he could command her just as she had him. He rubbed his hand back down her thigh. She breathed out her regret that he’d left the one place she really wanted him to touch her. He circled his fingers over her skin until her body softened against his. He swept his hand slowly back up her thigh, over her nicely rounded bottom, to her wet center. He rubbed the pads of his fingers ever so gently over her soft folds, teasing her with a light touch when what she really wanted was something much more intimate and urgent.
Her soft moan drove him on. He smoothed his fingers up, then down softly over her folds, driving one finger deep into her hot core. Her hips rocked back, and she took his finger deep. She broke the kiss, tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed out her pleasure.
“God, you’re so damn beautiful.” He thrust his finger deep again just to hear her make those erotic sounds that echoed through his mind and heart like a beacon calling him home.
She slid one hand down his chest and stomach, then back up under his shirt. Her warm hand pressed to his pecs, her fingers squeezed his muscles, and she rocked back and forth into his hand.
He used his free hand to push her hips on top of his. His aching cock pressed to her soft belly. He took her mouth in a deep kiss, trying to hold off his own release as her body moved over his. It took everything he had not to free his swollen flesh and bury himself deep inside her slick heat.
“Rory.”
His name on her lips sounded like the sweetest song.
He kneaded her bottom, pushing her down on top of him. He’d found his own soft rhythm, rocking his cock against her. She shifted again, rocked her clit against his dick as his finger sank deep again. She sucked his bottom lip, then kissed him hard.
“Rory, I want you inside of me when I come.”
He thrust two fingers deep this time and she groaned, rocking harder against him. “Condoms are upstairs. This one is for you.”
He spread his fingers wide over her ass and pressed her down on top of him, thrusting his fingers deep
as she rocked back into his hand. She tightened around him and moaned, her forehead pressed to his chin. She rode out the aftershocks as he gently withdrew, pulsing his fingers in and out of her slick core until he was finally free. She stretched like a contented cat over him, rocking her pelvis over his aching flesh. He pressed both hands to her perfect ass and held her still.
“Stop. I’m riding the edge.” His words were as rough and urgent as his need for her.
Without warning, she slid down his chest, grabbed the elastic on his sweats, dragged them over his hard dick, and her mouth slid down his length before he had a coherent thought about her intentions. Seeing her come apart nearly did him in. Her mouth on him set fire to the fuse and sent him skyrocketing. She took him deep, wrapping her fingers around the base of his dick. She squeezed gently as her mouth rose up his flesh.
“Sadie, I . . .” He reached for her, thinking to pull her off before he lost control, but his hands smoothed over her head and shoulders as she sank back down and took him deep again. He let go. She moved up an inch, he rocked forward, and let loose the reins on the last of his control. His dick pulsed in her mouth. She rose up, her tongue sliding up his whole length. She pulled his sweats back into place and collapsed on top of him, her head on his heaving chest.
“That one was to thank you for the one you gave to me,” she whispered.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Wild horses couldn’t have stopped me.”
“How the hell did I get this lucky?”
“You save her, you get to keep her.” Sadie’s groggy voice held a lilt of humor.
“Only if she’s you. You I want to keep forever.”
“Promise.” The word came out on a soft exhale, like she hadn’t meant to say it at all.
“Promise.” He wrapped his arms around her as she lay down his entire body. He kissed the top of her head, knowing he held the center of his world.
Her hands gripped his sides. “Don’t let go.”
“Never.”
He held her close, falling into sleep happier than he’d ever been in his life, and woke up alone, pissed and desperate to find the woman who righted his tilted world, brightening every dark corner of his heart, and made him love her.
CHAPTER 20
Rory sat up and swung his legs off the couch. He planted his feet on the floor and raked his fingers through his hair, remembering that he needed to get a haircut. Though maybe he’d leave it alone. Sadie sure did like running her fingers through it.
Sadie. Where the hell was she? After what they shared last night, he couldn’t believe she’d leave without a word.
“Hey, man, you’re up,” Colt said, walking in from the kitchen.
“Where is she?”
“When I came down this morning, she was sleeping on top of you. I hated to wake her. Looks like she didn’t get much sleep last night.” Colt wiggled his eyebrows, suggesting without words that Rory had kept her up late last night. He had, but he wasn’t about to give Colt the details, or let on that he was right.
“We had coffee together, then she went out for a ride.”
He imagined Sadie sitting at the breakfast table across from Colt wearing nothing but her thin white tank nightgown and nothing on under it. “And did you get an eyeful of her in her nightgown this morning?”
Colt held up his hands. “No. She ran upstairs, showered and changed, and came back down fully dressed and covered while I made the coffee. Chill, okay.”
“Sorry.”
“She’s like my sister, man. Get a grip.”
Rory stood and stared at his brother. “You mean that? You think of her like a sister?”
“She’s your girl. It’s not hard to see how much you love her. I figure it’s only a matter of time before you make her a part of the family officially and all.”
“Did you finally ask Sadie to marry you?” Ford asked, coming down the stairs.
“Finally?” Rory couldn’t believe his brothers’ acceptance of his relationship with Sadie, though why he was surprised, he didn’t know. They’d given him grief about other women he’d dated. Women they didn’t particularly like. They seemed to take to Sadie right away.
“You’ve been staring at that girl from a distance for years,” Ford said, like it was common knowledge.
“How the hell do you know that?”
“Every time we go to the diner we sit across the room from her section. You sit with your back to the windows so the only view you see is her. The question is, why did you wait so long to ask her out?”
“She’s a lot younger than me,” he pointed out the obvious.
Colt and Ford stared at him with nothing to say.
“Colt went to school with her. I didn’t know her at all.”
“I never dated her, man. I hardly spoke to her at school growing up. She took care of her family, worked, and kept her head down in class. She was brainy, not exactly the party girl I went for back then.”
“Back then,” Rory and Ford said in unison.
“Shut up.”
“So let me get this straight, you two are fine with me asking her to marry me after only the short time we’ve been seeing each other.”
“Intense situations lead to intense relationships,” Ford said. “You love her. She makes you happy. That’s good enough for me.”
“That’s all we want for you,” Colt added. “You smile when she’s around. You laugh.”
“You’re like the guy you used to be before Mom and Dad died,” Ford added.
“Did you get her pregnant?” Grandpa Sammy asked, standing in the open office doorway.
“No.” Rory let his outrage show and scowled at his granddad. “But that would probably please you to no end. All you talk about is getting a great-grandbaby from all of us.”
“I want you settled with loving wives and kids, but you better do it right. You marry her, then have a family. When she’s ready,” he added. “Women choose those things. You get all the fun, but they do all the work.”
“Trust me, she’ll have fun, too,” Rory said, in a rare show of humor. His brothers were right; he did let loose more since he’d met her.
“What will I have fun doing?” Sadie walked in behind Colt and stared at Rory.
Rory, along with his brothers and granddad, startled.
“Are you blushing?” Sadie asked him, scanning him and the others, her eyes narrowing. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Nothing.” Maybe he said that too quickly.
She frowned and pressed her lips together, a blush blooming on her already rosy cheeks from her ride in the cool morning air.
“How are you this morning, pretty girl?” His granddad drew her attention.
Sadie’s sharp gaze hadn’t left Rory’s. “I’m fine, thank you. The ride was exactly what I needed.”
Colt coughed to cover a laugh. Ford turned his head to hide a smile. After all, they had been talking about him riding Sadie and getting her pregnant.
“I have stalls to clean.” Colt bolted for the back door.
“I’ll help.” Ford followed Colt out.
“If there’s anything you need, pretty girl, just let us know. We’re here to help.”
“Thank you, Sammy. I appreciate it.” The words she spoke didn’t match the angry look in her eyes she cast Rory’s way.
“I’ve got business in town.” Granddad walked away to get his keys from the hook in the kitchen.
Sadie waited for the back door to close before she said anything. “Did you tell them we slept together?”
“We didn’t sleep together.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Why the hell would I tell them anything about what you and I do together in private?”
“It seems to me that when I walked in you were discussing sleeping with me.”
“We were, but not in the way you think.” He couldn’t tell her they were talking about him marrying her, that his brothers and granddad expected and accept
ed it. Those two things meant the world to him, but he and Sadie weren’t there yet. He wanted them to be, but rushing her could backfire. He needed more time to forge a stronger bond. He needed to know that she wanted a life with him. Forever.
She folded her arms across her chest, pushing her breasts up. “Rory, what is going on?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not explaining well enough.”
“You haven’t explained anything. Why would you talk to them about sleeping with me?”
“I wasn’t. I didn’t. My grandfather reminded us, me, that I need to be responsible and do the right thing always for you.”
Her gaze softened, but not by much. “Don’t you think you guys are a little old to be getting the talk?”
Rory shook his head, smiling at how ridiculous this conversation had become when all he wanted to do was kiss her good morning and savor his memories of what they shared last night. “Trust me, we got it a long time ago. Granddad has been harping on us for the past year to settle down and start a family before he dies.”
Her hands fell back to her sides and alarm replaced the perturbed look in her eyes. “Is he not well?” The concern in her voice touched him.
“He’s fine. But he’s getting older and wants to see his boys happy and not alone like he’s been these last thirty years.”
“That’s a long time.”
“I’m not saying he didn’t step out with a lady now and again. Always discreetly, you see, because he had three boys to raise.”
“So he wants you married with babies.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s kind of sweet. He loves you and wants you to be happy.”
“What about you?” he asked, hoping to somehow feel her out about marriage and children.
“I want those things, too. With the right person, because when I make a promise like that, it will be forever.”
Her gaze never left his.
“Anyone in particular you see yourself with forever?” he asked boldly.
She closed the distance between them, wrapped her arms around his neck, and went up on tiptoe. “Except for the whole you-and-your-family-talking-about-me-behind-my-back, you’re looking real good this morning.” Her lips brushed his in a soft kiss. She smelled of horses and grass from her ride.
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