The scent of food had permeated the air in a way it hadn’t since his mother had moved out. He’d been taken aback to realize how much he appreciated it.
He’d gone into his closet. His most loyal companion had abandoned him. Traitor.
Cade had dressed in his oldest jeans and a pair of old boots. With the amount of work he had ahead of him, it promised to be a hell of a long day. He’d barely taken time to drag on a long-sleeved shirt before heading down the stairs.
What a sight.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing tight blue jeans and a black T-shirt. Better still, she wore his Texas apron. She’d had to wrap the cloth strings around her twice. And he couldn’t think of anything more appealing. Loopy sat near her feet, gazing up hopefully. She never even looked at him.
“I brewed coffee. I figured that’s what you drink since the pot’s the size of my apartment.”
“I enjoy a cup in the morning.”
“A cup?”
“Or a gallon.”
He filled a mug while she transferred the bacon to a platter. She scooped scrambled eggs into a bowl. A few seconds later, the toaster sent bread flying into the air.
“Need to get that fixed.”
“I’d say.” She’d grabbed one but missed the other.
“Loopy’s,” he said, shaking his head. “Coffee for you?”
“I’ve had tea. Thanks.”
He realized she’d set two places at the bar.
His phone signaled a message and he checked it. “The guys are working on the tree removal.”
“Good. I already let my mother know I’ll be there later today. I checked the highway conditions and all the roads that were closed have been reopened.”
She placed the food on the bar then hopped up on a stool.
He joined her. “Thanks for this. It wasn’t necessary.”
“Honestly? I needed something to do.”
“Everything okay?”
“The return to reality,” she said.
He thought he knew what she meant. For her, it probably seemed they’d done extraordinary things.
For her?
Fuck.
For him.
He’d played with women for a lot of years, and none of them had evoked an emotional reaction from him. And he had been stunned by the surge of possessiveness that had hit him this morning.
* * * *
Even when he was working with the crew to cut the storm-ravaged live oak into manageable pieces, Cade’s mind kept drifting back to the house, to her.
They hadn’t signed a contract yet for the centennial celebration, but he was going to get it done. He wanted an excuse for her to return to the ranch.
“Boss?”
He shook his head, realizing his foreman was speaking to him.
“Want me to drive her SUV out?”
Cade nodded. That would give him a few more minutes with her.
Once the road was clear, he returned to the big house.
She was at the island, her tablet and phone stacked next to her purse and duffel bag. The kitchen was clean and Loopy lazed on her back with her belly exposed.
“I think she’s in a bacon coma.”
“You gave her—”
“I did.”
Neither the woman nor the dog looked apologetic.
“You’re a spoiled girl, Loopy.”
The dog yawned.
“Tough life,” he said. “I remember when she was a hard-working ranch animal.”
“When was that?”
“Yesterday. Are you ready to go?” he asked. “Before you ruin my dog forever?”
Sofia slid from the stool. “Too late.”
For him, as well, he was afraid. “Can I have your keys?”
She fished them from the cavernous depths of her purse.
“What the hell do you keep in there?”
“All the known secrets of the universe.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“And lipstick.”
Some of which she’d obviously used, considering her lush red mouth was an invitation that he wasn’t sure he could refuse. On the other hand, if he started, he might not stop.
He grabbed her duffel bag and held open the back door for her. “If you can rouse yourself, you can come, too,” he said to Loopy.
The dog stayed where she was. Until Sofia walked out of the door. Then Loopy flipped over, scratching her nails on the hardwood as she scrambled to catch up.
He shook his head.
Outside, he opened the vehicle door for her to stow her belongings on the passenger seat while he placed her bag in the back where he’d found it.
She extended her hand for the keys.
“I’m going to have Ed drive it out for you because of the washed-out roads. You’re with me.”
She opened her mouth.
“Don’t argue.” He put a finger beneath her chin.
Smartly, she remained quiet.
Earlier, he’d wound up the weather doors, and now Loopy bounded up into the back of the ATV. When Sofia was also sitting, he took off. Loopy yipped and Sofia shook her head.
The main gate opened automatically, but the bump gates were tricky because of the amount of mud he had to deal with. The vehicle bogged down, making it difficult to gather enough speed.
“It really is worse than I thought,” she said.
“Was a gully washer,” he agreed. “No one predicted this. I still have to check on the guest house and ride the fences.”
When they met up with the foreman near the main road, Ed turned to her and said, “Your car’s going to need a wash.”
“Or two,” she replied. “Thank you for driving it out.”
Cade walked with her to the SUV and opened the driver’s side door. But before she could slide inside, he grabbed her hands, pinned then behind her and used that point of contact to nudge her closer to him.
He spread his legs wide, bringing them pelvis to pelvis. “Open your mouth for me.” He didn’t care who was watching.
He kissed her, devoured her, made damn sure she wouldn’t forget him anytime soon.
Chapter Nine
“I’m not sure how you do it,” Sofia said to her mother.
“They’re perfect.”
She’d arrived at her mom’s house an hour ago and the twins hadn’t given them a moment’s peace. Unless they were being held, they fussed.
Her sister was taking a nap, so Sofia and her mother hadn’t put them down. And since they were so active, trying to crawl up her, Sofia began to feel as if her thighs were a trampoline. Considering that she was still sore from the night before, that didn’t feel good.
“How did the meeting with Cade Donovan go?”
“Lots of possibilities. There’s a barn…” She pretended that one of the girls had captured her interest. “Depending on the setup, it could be used. And honestly, I can’t see why he doesn’t have an events center out there.” Well, except for his privacy.
And that mattered to him, even though she hadn’t respected that when she’d crashed his party of one at three o’clock this morning. Part of her had been surprised that he hadn’t lost his temper and thrown her out. But she was more saddened that he hadn’t opted to share his pain, even after she’d told him of her childhood.
After last night, she knew that whatever bothered Cade was deep. Serious stuff.
While he’d been out earlier, she’d started an Internet search to learn about his past, but she hadn’t looked at the results. She wished he’d open up to her, and she vowed to wait until he did.
The babies finally fell asleep. Before they could wake, Sofia and her mother put them in their cribs. Sofia lingered in the doorway, watching them with a slight feeling of awe for a few minutes before rejoining her mother in the kitchen.
“Did he sign a contract?” Cynthia asked, handing her a glass of sweet tea.
Sofia sat at the table and pushed aside the newspaper and pen. For as long as she reme
mbered, John had worked the crossword puzzle every day. If he was too busy, the pages would pile up and wait for the weekend. It was a lovely, predictable rhythm that had helped define her life, comforting after the chaos of her birth father.
“The contract,” Cynthia repeated, bringing Sofia back to the present.
“I’m meeting with his grandfather and Erin next week.”
“The Colonel,” her mother said. “You know he wasn’t a real colonel?”
“No.”
“I think he was a captain. But he was so assertive that he was nicknamed the Colonel, and it stuck. He sure carried himself like a commander. He and Miss Libby were a fine-looking couple. I remember… When was it? Thirty-two, thirty-three years ago? Before I had the catering company, I was hired on as a server for one of Miss Libby’s fundraisers.”
Even though Sofia had heard the stories her whole life, she listened with renewed interest.
“She’d decided to host a British-themed event. Victorian… No. Edwardian. Well, one of them. It doesn’t matter, I suppose. She had it on the lawn. It could have been something out of a movie. All the ladies wore long dresses and carried umbrellas.”
“Parasols?”
Cynthia nodded. “The gentlemen wore top hats. They played croquet.”
“That sounds like a nice idea.”
“Except there were arguments about the rules. And it had rained. So the women had mud on their gowns. And the mosquitoes…” She shook her head.
The challenges of an outdoor event.
“The food was a disaster. No one really knew what to do with the clotted cream. One woman put it in her tea. The finger sandwiches went limp, and the chocolate melted off the strawberries. Which didn’t go well for the women who’d worn gloves. Everyone was trying to crowd under the few tents that had been set up. I’m afraid Miss Libby ended up letting people go into the big house to cool down in front of the air conditioner. Heard she never tried anything like that again. Went back to barn dances and barbecue.”
She answered a few of her mother’s questions then brainstormed ideas for the centennial celebration before giving her a goodbye hug.
* * * *
After stopping in at the Corpus Christi office to give the no-update update, she hit the highway toward San Antonio. She spent a couple of hours with Manny, the branch’s general manager, updating him, contemplating what would happen if Zoe spent more time there.
Manny had some excellent suggestions about moving staff into different positions, including promoting their current bookkeeper to a project manager. Evidently, she’d taken a course and had received her certification. Since Sofia was already there, she called the woman in for an impromptu discussion. She expressed an interest in the opportunity and agreed to shadow Manny for a few weeks to see if she had an aptitude for the job. Manny said he would put an ad online to begin collecting resumes for a new bookkeeper, in case the change became permanent.
Sofia checked into her hotel then wandered down to the River Walk to have dinner at her favorite Mexican restaurant. She managed to grab a patio table. They gave her a basket of tortilla chips and salsa, and she ordered a margarita.
As she licked salt from the rim, the previous twenty-four hours caught up to her. All day, she’d had some success keeping thoughts of Cade at bay, but now she was no longer successful.
With the distance of both time and space, mortification seeped in. What had she been thinking? Sleeping with him, sceneing with him, wasn’t something someone like her should do.
The first night they’d met, at Lara and Connor’s reception, her self-preservation instinct had been strong. She’d given him a host of reasons why she shouldn’t be involved with him. Of course, he’d dismantled her arguments.
Being with him had been an amazing experience, but probably one she should have resisted.
She knew nothing about submission, didn’t have any experience in separating her emotions from her actions. As a result, everything felt like a jumbled mess. The nurturer in her wanted to help take away his pain. But the realist in her, who’d taken several psychology classes in college, realized that wasn’t possible. No one could be all things to anyone else. Unfortunately, her heart seemed to be cut off from her brain.
Truth was, she liked Cade. With his breathtaking good looks and mad sex skills, he appealed to every part of her, especially the newly discovered naughty bits.
She gave in to the impulse to grab a tortilla chip and dipped it in the salsa.
This was one of her favorite places in San Antonio. She loved watching the pleasure boat pass by with its entertaining captain and waving tourists. Tonight, though, she felt restless. She was accustomed to being alone in the city, but the feeling of being lonely was new.
Her phone beeped. She dug it from her purse and checked the message.
She sucked in a breath when she saw Cade’s name on the screen.
Meeting with the Colonel and Erin this Friday, ten a.m. Donovan Worldwide headquarters downtown. Confirm?
Sofia swallowed her disappointment. What had she expected? That their time together had meant the same to him as it had her? With the day he had planned, she should be grateful he’d even thought about the centennial celebration.
Opting for the professionalism he obviously wanted, she typed her response.
I’ve marked my calendar.
The waiter brought her meal. Since no response appeared to be forthcoming from Cade, she put down her phone and picked up her fork.
The enchilada flavors burst in her mouth, and she wasn’t sure that melted cheese and sour cream had ever tasted more appealing.
A large party was seated on the patio near her and the mariachi band wandered over to serenade a birthday girl.
She even put aside her disappointment to clap along with a lot of other people.
After dinner, she skipped dessert, but she enjoyed every sip of the margarita. She avoided temptation and didn’t order a second. Instead, she opted to take a stroll around downtown. Maybe that would help her relegate thoughts of Cade to the back of her mind.
On the way to the hotel, she passed the Alamo. But even the site of the iconic mission made her remember him.
With a sigh of frustration, she headed back to her hotel.
Zoe’s ringtone shattered the room’s quiet.
“What the hell? No call from you?” her sister demanded, jumping in without any pleasantries. “And you spent the night with Cade Donovan?”
“You must have talked to Mom.”
“You spent the night.”
“At the ranch,” Sofia agreed. She couldn’t help but smile.
“So give.”
“There are fourteen bedrooms.”
“And which one did you sleep in?”
When Sofia didn’t immediately respond, Zoe let out a triumphant, “Ha!”
“It’s not like that.”
“You had breakfast together.”
“And?”
“You spent the night with one of the Donovan brothers and you had cozy time in the morning.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not like that.”
“But you wouldn’t admit it even if it was,” she guessed.
“True.”
“You are one cruel, evil, terrible sister.”
“So who did you go out with last night?”
That question was enough to derail Zoe. “Marcel. And about eight hundred other people. Okay, five other people. Might as well have been eight hundred. We went to a comedy club, some great improv.”
“But?”
“Well, there was no vampire attack.”
“Wasn’t that Todd?”
“I was pretty sure it was Marcel. I’ll find out. Tonight, it’s just the two of us. I’m cooking.”
“That’s a way to a man’s heart.”
“A way to get him alone is more like it,” Zoe said.
Even across the miles, she heard the smile in her sister’s voice.
They spent a few more minutes
discussing business, and Sofia let Zoe know that Cade had confirmed her meeting with William and Erin Donovan.
“Do you want me to join you?”
“I think I’ve got it,” Sofia replied. “But I’ll want to go through the new presentation with you. Seeing the ranch and talking to Mom gave me some things to think about.”
“Will you be in the office tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there after lunch, yes.”
A few minutes later, they ended the call.
Sofia watched a little television but couldn’t concentrate on the plot line. She responded to emails and reviewed a couple of contracts each branch was getting ready to send out before admitting she was still restless.
She changed into a swimsuit and headed to the pool for a few lengths, and even that didn’t help.
Finally, later, in the shower, as she lathered the soap, she allowed herself to remember her time with Cade, the spanks, the three times he’d used the paddle, the cuffs, blindfold, a plug up her ass while he fucked her with his big cock.
In surrender, she tipped back her head, moved her palms over her breasts and tweaked her nipples. Unbelievably, she was still tender from the pinwheel and from the way he’d squeezed and tugged on her. She moaned from the pressure.
Eyes closed, she slid a hand between her thighs and touched her clit. She gasped and jerked. Their lovemaking in the middle of the night had been exquisite, but it had left her sore. Even the gentlest touch was enough to make her gasp.
But she didn’t stop. She wanted to come again, and the rawness allowed her to almost, almost believe he was there…
Sofia slipped a finger inside her pussy and rested her forehead on the ceramic tile.
The beginnings of a climax made her stomach clench and she plunged a second finger inside and fucked herself hard.
Crying out his name, she rose onto her toes, pressed against the wall for more support and shuddered as she came.
Even as the aftershocks assailed her, she knew it wasn’t enough.
Cade had changed her, rocked her. She was starting to fall for him.
Brand (The Donovan Dynasty) Page 18