Texas Heroes: Volume 1

by Jean Brashear

Until she felt his tongue inside her zipper. Inch by inch, he lowered the tab, sliding one finger beneath to protect tender flesh.

  At the bottom he paused.

  After agonizing, delicious seconds, he peeled her jeans open.

  Then licked one slow glide to the vee.

  Maddie couldn’t breathe. His tongue halted scant inches away from her aching center. His breath warm on her belly, he swirled one slow, maddening circle through fine tendrils of hair.

  Maddie dug her fingernails into his back and arched against him.

  And Boone chuckled.

  “Boone…” she moaned. “Now.”

  “Not yet, sweetheart. You’re killing me, but I’m not going to rush this.” He rose above her.

  Gripping her fingers in his hair, she dragged his mouth to hers and swirled her tongue inside the dark heat of his mouth.

  Boone took the kiss deeper, wrenching a moan from deep within her. Iron-hard arms wrapped around her, and he took her diving with him into bliss.

  Maddie reached between them and slid her hand inside his waistband, curling her fingers around silken, straining flesh. Boone jolted and cursed. Maddie smiled against his mouth.

  “God, Maddie. I want you so badly.”

  “Now, Boone,” she pleaded. “I need you now.”

  In seconds, he had them both naked.

  And there he was, poised above her, a golden man whose body wore the scars of a life lived by his wits. Maddie lifted her arms in welcome.

  For just one moment, Boone stayed where he was, drinking in the sight of her. Long dark hair tumbled across the makeshift bed where he’d been tossing only minutes before.

  So perfect for him. The slender shoulders that bore life’s burdens with such cheer, the lush, full breasts more than enough to fill his hands, the narrow waist flaring to form a woman’s hips, descending into legs long enough to make a grown man cry.

  But what struck Boone like a fist in the chest was more than Maddie’s physical beauty, more than any curve of breast or hip or thigh. In the act of love as in all of Maddie’s life, it was her generous spirit that made Maddie shine.

  Lying on a mound of hay, Maddie could have been the Queen of Sheba…Cleopatra…Delilah. Shining out from Maddie’s tempting body was the beauty of Maddie’s soul. A man would gladly die for this woman. The darkened hollows of Boone’s heart cried out in longing.

  He wanted her as he’d wanted no other before her, though he did not kid himself that they would ever have another night.

  But if this night was all they had, he would make it one Maddie would never forget.

  Arms open in welcome, Maddie watched sorrow sweep over Boone’s face. More than she’d ever wanted anything before, she wanted to scare away sorrow, to replace it with joy, to give Boone all that he deserved.

  Such a noble man, filled with valor and strength and determination. Life had not been easy on him, but Boone was far harder on himself. Maddie wanted to kiss away his sorrow, put a final seal on his pain. What woman could have misunderstood the treasure inside this man?

  Helen had been a fool. Inside this man lay all the riches any woman would need. Maddie wished with her soul that she could make Boone understand. He blamed himself, and he was wrong to do so.

  Suddenly Maddie understood that losing Boone would steal a piece of her soul. Fear of the pain to come sent a barb through her heart.

  But Boone wouldn’t let her retreat. The formidable strength of his will, the raw power of the man, conquered all else. Soon his hands banished doubt, drove away fear. Maddie blossomed under his caress, every nerve springing to life.

  He was everywhere, touching every inch of her, refusing to be denied. His tongue slicked her body, his hands cupped her breasts, then slid to her hips and brought her to his mouth.

  There he paused and simply inhaled her scent, eyes closed, a low hum in his throat.

  When his eyes opened, the heat in them sizzled down her spine. For a long moment, their gazes locked, and the fever inside Maddie became nearly unbearable.

  When at last he sealed his mouth to her, Maddie gasped. Restlessly she shifted beneath him as he laid siege to her with soft, slow licks, with clever nips, with a suckling pressure that drew her further and further into the singing, spinning, aching sphere where thought vanished into pure sensation, where she was wild and free and lost in him.

  Until he stopped.

  For one stunning second, Maddie didn’t know where she was.

  Then his hair brushed inside her thighs, and that one silken touch catapulted her to a new level of awareness of his broad shoulders parting her thighs, his heat, his power…

  With one agonizingly slow glide of satiny tongue, he shot her higher, and just as all air vanished, he suckled at the sweet knot of screaming nerves—

  Her back bowed, her world exploded.

  She collapsed, her arms falling limp to her sides as she spun in starlight and magic.

  Some time later, she opened her eyes. “Oh. My. God.”

  Boone grinned, but she saw the tension in his face, felt his body taut with unfulfilled desire.

  An answering need roared through her. “Now, Boone. I want you inside me.”

  He rose over her, his hands swift and sure once more—

  Then he stopped and swore, his jaw tight with strain. “Hold on.” He left her to tear at his jeans. When he finally extracted his wallet from the pocket, he, who was so adept with his hands, fumbled and dropped it once before he finally extracted the small packet. He glanced at her, grinning in triumph.

  Then dropped it in the hay beside them.

  Both of them groaned aloud. Then frantically searched the straw.

  When Maddie’s fingers closed on it first, her triumphant smile matched his relieved one.

  And they laughed together, a sweet rush of unity after all that had divided them.

  “Here.” Boone reached for it.

  “Oh, let me,” Maddie purred. But first she pressed him back and straddled him, using her own tongue to paint a taunting trail over the broad, muscled chest, across the ridges of his belly, down the faint line of hair leading to—

  Boone’s fingers clenched in her hair. “Sweet hell, Maddie…”

  She looked up at him, smiling wickedly. “Only seems fair.”

  “Give me that—” He reached for the packet.

  “Unh-uh.” She slipped to the side and bent over him.

  And took him in her mouth.

  Boone’s head went light. “Maddie…” he warned.

  She could hear the strain in it. She would have smiled, but she was half-crazed herself.

  “Not…now. Maddie….” His voice was a harsh plea.

  One long, slow swirl upward and around the head, then—

  Boone grabbed her waist in his strong hands and lifted her, reversing their positions, then snatching the condom from her hands. “You are driving me insane, woman.”

  She laughed.

  For a second.

  Until, with one stunning thrust, he was inside her.

  And Maddie wasn’t laughing anymore.

  Then it was all heat and speed and power.

  Madness. Desire beyond measure.

  Boone tried to go slow, but even if he could have, Maddie wouldn’t let him, and with every stroke, every dive into the bliss of her body, he lost himself in the magic that was Maddie Rose.

  Her eyes went black with desire, spark-shot with longing. His body screamed for release, yet he could not bear for this to end.

  “Maddie—” he gasped. I love you.

  But the words stayed inside, too new and too tender.

  Boone tried to say it with his body instead. Maddie’s sweet flesh surrounded him, gloved him like softest velvet. In all his life, he had never felt this sense of belonging.

  Hold me tight, Maddie.

  As if she’d heard him, she did, wrapping the long legs of his dreams around his waist and pulling him even deeper.

  “Maddie…sweet—” He clutched at her a
nd tried to hold on. “I can’t wait much longer. I’ve wanted you too long.”

  “Don’t wait.” Maddie dug her fingers into his hair and arched against him, pressing heated kisses against his neck. “Please don’t wait.”

  Soon there was no thought, no reason, nothing but the rush of blood, the press of flesh, the slick heat of body against body, denied too long.

  “Come, Maddie. Come with me,” he whispered.

  Her eyes drifted shut.

  “Look at me,” he demanded. “I want you to know it’s me who’s inside you.”

  Blue eyes could burn with fire, she discovered. Could slice through her, laser-hot.

  “I want—” she didn’t know what she wanted, except him. More of him. Forever of him.

  “I know,” Boone answered. “Come with me, sweetheart. Let’s make the heavens burn.”

  With every stroke, Maddie flew higher, losing herself in the wonder of this man. Boone filled her, completed her…made her want to crawl inside his fire and burn to cinders.

  And then it was too late for either of them. The fire, so long denied, would be denied no longer.

  The power of the moment stunned them speechless, sent them soaring.

  For one precious moment, Boone and Maddie became one. One heart. One mind. One soul.

  As Maddie convulsed around him, Boone knew that this was all of heaven he would ever need.

  And Maddie nestled into the arms of the only man she had ever loved.

  I love you, Maddie, again he wanted to say.

  And he almost did. But something within him hesitated.

  Then Fate conspired with reality.

  Dancer cried out in pain.

  And the only future Boone could imagine crashed courses with the one his wounded soul craved.

  Chapter Eleven

  Three hours later, a faint light pearled the sky. Inside the barn, no one noticed.

  Boone stole a look at Maddie and saw dark hollows beneath her eyes. More than once, he’d urged her to go to the house and seek her bed.

  But not once had Maddie faltered. Even now, at the end of a long night with no sleep and too much emotion, she held steady. Her shirt was buttoned crooked, the last three buttons missing. Maddie hadn’t turned a hair, had simply tucked it into her jeans and gone on.

  Damn. What lousy timing. All his attention had to stay on the mare and the unborn foal that would be the first building block of his future.

  Never mind that it was a future that no longer seemed enough.

  He wanted Maddie. It was that simple. Not logical, not practical, not possible—but he still wanted her. In his bed, yes, but also in his life.

  For a few tempting seconds, Boone considered asking. Then he looked at Maddie, really looked, and realized his folly.

  She looked like a Madonna, albeit one with straw in her hair. Dirt smudged her face and filled her fingernails. She had never looked more beautiful to him. But was it fair to ask her to live like this when she could have so much more?

  Dancer strained, and Maddie soothed, singing to her in a low, soft voice. It had been this way since he and Maddie had scrambled into their clothes, not even granted enough time to linger in the afterglow of the most explosive lovemaking of his life.

  Dancer’s belly hardened like oak. The contraction rippled through her, and the inexperienced mare grunted low. Yet again, she picked up her head as though trying to understand what was happening.

  Maddie never stopped crooning and stroking. “It’s all right, sweetie. They’re brutes, all of them. Stay away from the male animal. It’s my best advice.”

  Then she looked up at Boone and winked.

  Damn, she was magnificent.

  “I feel like I should be defending my sex,” he said.

  “Don’t waste your breath. We’re not listening, are we, girl?” But her eyes twinkled with mischief.

  He wanted to ask, but now was not the time. Was it as incredible for you? Did you feel what I felt?

  Boone couldn’t believe himself. He’d always cared about his partner’s satisfaction, true, but never had he needed to know that he had been the best. He never left a woman wanting, but tonight that wasn’t enough. He wanted to send Maddie to the stratosphere, to be the one she couldn’t forget.

  To be the one and only.

  To be the last.

  You’re losing it, son. You know that won’t happen. Be grateful that you had last night.

  Then the mare’s eyes widened in panic, and there was no more time to think.

  Maddie looked at him, worry in her eyes, but still she stayed calm. “Getting close?”

  Boone smiled grimly. “Very close. You can leave if you want.”

  Maddie shook her head and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, never taking her hands off the horse. “Not on your life. We’re a team, aren’t we, girl?”

  A hell of a woman. Maddie might have spent her life in cities, but she was no city girl. He should have seen it sooner.

  Boone bent his head and concentrated on the task at hand.

  How she wished she knew what he was thinking. Maddie schooled herself to pay attention to the mare and not dream about Boone, but it wasn’t easy. Her mind kept drifting back, wanting to remember his kiss, his touch… his powerful body filling her and sending her soaring.

  It had never been like that for her, ever. Maddie watched Boone’s hands on the mare and remembered a day in the garden when she had thought she understood how they would feel on her.

  She had understood less than nothing.

  For as long as she lived, Maddie would never forget this night. But one night would not be enough.

  What did Boone think? Had it meant anything to him beyond a meeting of bodies?

  She was doing it again, measuring herself by someone else. You have to be enough for yourself, Maddie. No one else can do it. The words sounded so simple, so logical when her father had drilled them into her head. But now Maddie wondered.

  Had he told her that because of all he’d lost? Had it been his way to overcome all that was missing? If he had loved Jenny half as much as Maddie—

  Loved Boone?

  No. She couldn’t. Shouldn’t.

  But it didn’t matter what was sensible. She did.

  “Okay, Maddie. You ready? It’s showtime.”

  Boone’s voice scattered Maddie’s thoughts like leaves in a windstorm.

  “What do I do?”

  He glanced up, his concentration fierce, but his voice was gentle when he answered. “You’re doing fine just like you are. She’s new at this, and she needs someone to tell her she’s all right.”

  “Will she be? All right, I mean?”

  One more quick glance. One fleeting smile. “I think so.”

  Maddie saw the lines of strain on his face. He’d mentioned before his concerns about the mare, his hopes for the foal. Maddie left him alone and turned her concentration on the mare. “That’s a good girl,” she cooed, stroking the mare’s head slowly. “I know it hurts, but soon you’ll have your baby and you’ll say it’s worth it.”

  “I thought you said all men were pigs, or something like it.” Amusement threaded through the strain in Boone’s voice.

  “This is just between us girls. You’re not supposed to be listening.”

  Dancer picked up her head again, and Maddie thought she saw fear in the mare’s eyes. Once more, she murmured and stroked the fine, proud head.

  “Almost there,” Boone said. “Easy, girl. Let her go now, Maddie, and get ready to move back. She’ll probably try to get up as soon as it’s out. If you want to come around and watch, just be sure you stay back.”

  Maddie stroked the mare one more time, then stepped away and stared. Two thin legs protruded, guided by Boone’s hands. Then she heard a sound she could only describe as squishy, and the foal slid out into Boone’s waiting arms.

  All wet, dark hair, mucus and membrane and blood, the baby still seemed a miracle to Maddie. Boone busied himself cleaning mucus from the
foal’s nose and mouth. “Would you hand me that towel behind you, please?”

  When Maddie handed it to him, Boone looked up at her with triumph in his eyes, and Maddie’s heart gave a hard thump.

  “May I touch her? Him?”

  “Him. It’s a colt.” Boone stared at her across the stall, and in the glow of his eyes, Maddie found herself unable to move.

  “In a minute you can. Just don’t get in the mare’s way. She needs to smell him and let him smell her. That way they’ll bond.” Boone laid the colt down in the straw gently and drew Maddie over to his side. Maddie knelt beside him, overcome with awe.

  “He’s beautiful, Boone. It’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything so wonderful.”

  Boone met her smile with his own. Silently, they watched the mare clean her baby.

  Maddie threw her arms around Boone and hugged him hard. “Thank you for this. I’ll never forget it.”

  Boone started to protest that he was filthy, but it was already too late. When Maddie pulled away, she was filthy, too.

  But she didn’t seem to notice, her eyes shining, her smile wide. “It’s a miracle, isn’t it? Do you ever get tired of seeing it?”

  “Never,” he replied, but he could have been talking about watching her. How had he ever thought her wrong for this place? How had he lived so long without her joy?

  Dancer had sniffed and licked her way from head to tail. It was time for Boone to get to work.

  He talked while he took care of the umbilical cord then began handling the colt, explaining to Maddie what he was doing. “I’m getting him used to being touched right from the start. It will make him easier to train if he bonds with me as much as his mother.”

  He took the colt through a routine they would repeat for days to come, manipulating his legs and feet, touching every part of his body, not letting the colt rise until he finished.

  “I’m teaching him that I’m the head horse, that he is to follow me in whatever I say. That’s why I didn’t let him get up right away. Now I will. His legs will be wobbly.”

  Boone rose and came to stand beside her while the colt struggled to its feet.

  Maddie couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t believe he can stand so soon.” Then she giggled as the colt staggered like a two-day drunk. She turned to Boone. “We can’t prop him up?”