by Lacey Silks
“All right, there’s more,” I sighed.
She didn’t move.
“The crude I told you about, I’m selling it under a different name and under confidential clauses. I’m not sure whether I’m right on this, but I think my grandfather had a fallout with Huntz’s family long ago. My parents had never confirmed this, and there’s no way in hell I’d ask them to, but I think my mother may have had a relationship with Huntz. At least I think the two families wanted them to have one, but it never worked out. It was supposed to mend the past. I don’t quite know all the details, but it’s something that’s never been openly spoken about in the family. I know there’s a deeper connection there, I just can’t seem to find it. I thought if I hired a professional, they could help me out. And that’s where you came in.”
“Good, now we’re getting somewhere.”
I took in her casual tone, asking, “You knew about this?”
She raised a brow.
“Yeah, you’re a PI.”
“Eric, I want to help you, but I cannot if you keep things from me. I’ve seen so many lies and secrets in my life destroy relationships, and believe me, they don’t stay hidden. And when they’re exposed, they usually tear couples apart. Only the few strong ones make it through.”
“Emma, I promise that I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how. Part of me will always want you to stay clear of Huntz.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry I’m not the man you thought I was.”
“That’s because you’re way more than I thought,” she said, leaning over and gently kissing my lips, taking me aback. How did I deserve this? How could I tell her that the biggest lie was still brewing inside me, and if she knew the truth she’d leave me and wouldn’t look back? As her mouth opened, I was certain that she hadn’t figured out my connection to Reeve and her just yet. If she had, she wouldn’t have been giving herself to me now.
Emma pulled away, saying, “I’m here for you. And I promise not to leave until my job is done, so you don’t need to worry about Huntz anymore.”
Suddenly my need for justice didn’t seem as important. If Emma found Huntz, dead or alive, it would mean that she would go back to New York. She’d leave Ogden behind and never look back again. Or worse, he could go after her.
“You don’t have to fear that I’ll tell anyone about the ranch either, Eric. There’s no need for me to say anything to anyone. It’s your family’s business what you do with it. I would never betray your trust.” She paused for a moment smoothing her finger over my brow. “What’s wrong, Eric?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I never imagined you’d be so quick to forgive. I promised to give you all the information I had, but didn’t.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Cowboy.” Her hand slid down to my thigh and ran up to my crotch, lifting my mood, among other things.
I shook off my guilt, giving in to the pleasure her touch brought to my body.
“And you surprise me every minute.” I kissed her again, feeling her need grow in the swell of her breasts.
“I. Want. You,” she whispered, taking a pause between each word to kiss me, fondling my sack through my jeans with her other hand, and I was gone. Everything I wanted to tell her, about Reeve and how I came to find Cross Enterprises, simply evaporated. I untied the knot holding her shirt together, sliding it off her shoulders, taking in the sexiest red bra I had ever seen, one which didn’t leave much to the imagination and made my cock strain. Emma quickly tugged down my already unbuttoned jeans as I took care of her shorts.
I flipped her onto her back and smoothed the stray hair off her forehead.
“You can have me any time, sweetheart,” I said, feeling her juices with my hand, unable to wait until I felt her warm pussy around me. I loved when she submitted to me, unknowingly giving me the strength I needed.
“No.” She stopped me, pushing herself up on her elbows and forcing me back. “I want to taste you, Eric.”
The grunt that left my chest surprised me as I sat back holding her gaze. The connection between us sizzled with electricity as she licked her lips, her focus darting from my eyes down to my pulsing cock. And when she lowered her head down, already stroking me with her hand, pulling my slippery skin up and down my length, I was lost.
“Fuck, Emma!” I breathed, as her lips touched my crown and her tongue slowly pulled underneath my rim.
I leaned back, clutching at the grass beside me. Emma cupped my balls in her other hand, adding pressure underneath, lifting them and fondling them as her mouth slowly tormented me, taking me in deeper. I felt my ass tighten when it hit the back of her throat and she made her way back up. There was no way I could take this for long. Not like this, not in her mouth and between her warm lips.
She sucked with each bop of her head, moaning, driving me crazy. I wanted to touch her perfect tits and to grasp her ass and feel her cream for me, but I couldn’t move. Emma had me ready to explode within minutes. Her tempo quickened, and I felt the first sign of my release in the bottom of my spine, making its way toward my sack. The sounds of enjoyment coming out from Emma’s mouth between her slurps rocketed through my body, contracting my balls, jetting my essence right into her beautiful mouth. She didn’t let go until the last drop of my strength found her lips, finally lifting her head and wiping her mouth with her wrist, smiling.
“You’re unbelievable.” I pulled her onto me, kissing her slightly salted lips.
“I take it you enjoyed that?”
I lay back on the grass, holding her half-dressed body against mine, wanting desperately to reciprocate but failing to find the strength to do so. If I had to bet, I’d say that Emma had just robbed me of all the fluids in my body. She lay down on my chest, playing with the piercing in my nipple.
“Are there any females with claws I should be watching out for at the dance?” she asked.
I stilled for a moment, thinking about the one hazard Emma could potentially run into. “I’m sure you can handle yourself Emma.”
“Aha, so there is.”
Why the fuck did I forget that she was a PI every time I spoke? I breathed out, trying to take Emma’s advice of honesty and no secrets.
“It’s more than likely that my ex-girlfriend will be there.”
“Claire?” she asked.
I felt my brow lift on its own. I didn’t even want to know how she knew about Claire already.
“Missy told me,” she explained, without me prompting.
“Yeah, Claire. She had a tough time letting go when we broke up.”
“Why did you break up?” She asked.
“It’s a long story. She wanted kids and a family, and I wasn’t ready to give that to her. I wasn’t ready for the commitment she sought.”
“Is that something you fear, Eric? A family?”
Emma’s question didn’t shock me or scare me the way it would have if it had come from someone else’s mouth. It wasn’t something I’d given much thought to before, simply because I didn’t feel the need to, or because I’d never found anyone whom I’d consider as a good mother. But now, imagining a bunch of blond-haired toddlers running around the front yard put a smile on my face.
“No, I definitely want a family. A big one.”
She bit her lip, obviously pleased with my answer. I reached down between her legs, trying to feel whether she was still as ready for me as she had been before, but Emma pushed my hand away asking.
“Were there other girls beside Claire?”
I wanted to seem like the kind of a guy who was so much more, but I couldn’t lie any longer. With my failed past, I’d always stayed away from anyone whom I thought I could fail, including the herds of town girls that had advanced my way. Claire had been one of the few I’d taken, and I was sure it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been handing me beer after beer at a dance.
“Does it make me sound like a douche if I tell you not many?”
“It makes you sound like the gentleman I know you are, Eric.”
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“C’m here,” I said, sliding my hands down to her hips, wanting to taste her sweetness on my fingers, feeling my need for her revive. I didn’t want Emma jealous of anyone else. I needed her to know that she was the one who was important to me. I wanted her comfortable and without doubts because there was no other woman in my life more important than she was.
She grasped my hand again, pushing it away. “Am I good enough to go to the barn now?” she asked unexpectedly.
“Is that how it’s gonna be, baby? You’ll only put out for me in the barn?”
“I want you to pop my cherry in the barn, Eric.”
Had I not explained the meaning of it to her yet? Taking her there meant commitment. It meant protecting her for the rest of my life, her being mine and only mine from now on; it meant having no secrets, none. Wasn’t that what I’d wanted anyway? I wanted to give her an honest life before taking her there.
I rolled over on top of her and took her mouth into mine, forcing my tongue through her lips, claiming them as my own, swallowing the moan that left her breath.
“I will, Emma, but not yet. Not until we’re ready.”
And I pressed myself to her again, her body finally yielding to my need as I promised myself to give her everything she’d ever wanted, including my barn. But most of all I needed to give her what she didn’t know I still could, and that was my full honesty.
As I lowered Emma’s red panties and finally dipped inside her, all my reason left and I gave into the lust I’d had for this woman since the day I saw her.
Chapter 20
Emma
It had been almost two weeks since I arrived at Eric’s ranch. My laptop had been burning up as I emailed back and forth with my assistant at my New York office. Working behind the scene, Luke created a tracking app for me to alert me each time Huntz made a credit purchase. Since he seemed to be active only every few months, I wasn’t expecting to get a notification any time soon.
Eric had been busy in the stables helping George to clean the horses since early morning. He’d left me a note on my bed, along with a languorous kiss on my lips. Waking up next to him after a night of mind-blowing sex was better than eating a box of Swiss chocolates catered specifically to my taste buds. Our bodies remained connected the entire night, his leg resting on top of mine and his arm never letting go of my mid section. Through the night, Eric cupped my boob, gently squeezing as he slept.
The peace I saw on his face when I woke up at night to go to the washroom was nothing I could ever find during the day. It seemed there was always a worry or concern in the lines underneath his eyes and in the creases of his forehead. The only time he let go was when he lost himself inside me. And I gave him as much of my body as he needed, never denying what he wanted or the way he wanted it.
Eric was broken, hurt by his past, and blamed himself for events in life he couldn’t have controlled. I wanted nothing more than to fix him. I needed to glue together the pieces of Eric’s life that had been falling apart, making him doubt himself, making him feel like he’d failed Annabelle and his mother, and all those who died at the camp, when he himself was a victim. Putting his past behind him wouldn’t be easy, but I hoped I could help. I could only pray he could one day look toward a happy future. Men like him, who admitted failure and fought to overcome life’s adversities, were scarce and I wanted him to realize that he was one of the most selfless people I had ever met. He was a man who wanted to please everyone around him, yet failed to see that he already had.
And what would happen once my job was done? Would Eric give everything up for me? Was that what I wanted? Eric leaving his ranch to follow me to New York? One man had already done that, and I lost him. Could I help Eric without somehow hurting him and his family, the way I’d hurt David’s?
When I finally called Grace late morning she nearly squealed when she heard my voice. “I want all the details,” she said.
“Well, the case is slow, and I’m going to town today to talk to the Sheriff some more.”
“I mean the Cowboy, Emma. Tell me about the Cowboy!”
“He’s… he’s everything, Grace. I don’t think I’ve met anyone after David who was so good to me.”
“How good?”
“Really, really good.” I bit my lip, my thoughts running away into the memories of our tangled limbs, smell of delicious sweat and long nights of endless pleasure.
“You slept with him!”
“‘Slept with’ is the understatement of the century, Grace.”
“This sounds serious, Emma.”
“It can’t be. I mean, I’m from New York, and he lives so far away.”
“Coming from a girl who dated a man living in Europe, Emma? I wish I was there so I could slap your face to wake you up. Do you want it to get serious?”
“I think it did the moment I saw him. I don’t know how to broach the subject, Grace, because I can’t exactly ask him to leave everything behind. One man already did, and look what happened. Besides, it’s only been a little over two weeks.”
“When you find the one, time does not matter, Em. You should know that. Look at your brother Tristan. And David’s death wasn’t your fault, Emma. Just see where it goes first, and then you two can figure the details later. So, you’re keeping safe and everything?”
“We used condoms.”
“Eewww, Emma. Safe as in with the case. Hunter is all over me asking about you. It’s weird.”
I felt my brows scrunch together. Why would Hunter care? I mean, he did work for Cross Enterprises. Had my brothers asked him to get information through Grace?
“Yes, I’m safe. The threat is nowhere near me.”
“Then take it easy, Em. It’s about time you found some happiness.”
“Thank you, Grace. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. Don’t worry. Everything will work out.”
I felt better after we hung up. I twisted a five-part loose braid at the side of my head and jumped into my Converse sneakers. Outside, Eric was filling buckets of water. His back turned to me and shirtless, his muscles bunched up as he carried the pails to the horses. I admired the lean posture, mesmerized.
“Hey, Cowboy!” I finally yelled out.
He turned around, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, and set the pails down to the ground. With the long steps he took toward me, it seemed like he was walking in a sexy slow-motion movie shoot, slowed down just for me so that I could watch the tanned body twist deliciously. A farmer’s tan took on a brand new meaning for me when I looked at Eric, because I’d rarely seen him wear a shirt outside, and he was all smoldering in sun’s rays.
Without saying a word, he lifted me into his arms and planted a wet lingering kiss on my lips, coercing my body to hum with desire. Pressed against his warm, hard length as he attacked my mouth with his tongue made me wonder whether I should postpone my trip to town. My legs wrapped around his midsection and my arms around his neck. I felt my groin heat against his low abdomen, my dress floating to the side. If it weren’t for my panties, my tingling core would be melting against his hard muscles. This man was everything I’d ever imagined a strong and powerful fairytale hero to be.
I finally slid down along his length, enjoying every curve and valley of him, including the bulge in his pants.
“You’re in a good mood.” I breathed out a ragged breath, my knees weakening beneath me.
“Can’t you see I’m happy to see you?” His scarred brow lifted in that sexy way of his, and my body perked up with awareness and my gaze lowered to the growth in his pants. How I wished I could stay on this ranch forever, just me and him, forgetting all the worries around us, taking all the time I wanted to get lost in each other!
“I need to borrow your truck and take it to town.”
“Be my guest.” He drew the pads of his fingers along my lips and lowered his voice to a raspy whisper. “Will you be long?”
Didn’t he know that any minute away from him was too long?
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br /> “I hope not.” My heart hammered in my chest. I couldn’t focus around Eric. He mesmerized me with every touch, word, and gesture. “I have a couple of things to check at the Sheriff’s – you know, work stuff.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yeah,” I lied. I hated lying to Eric. I still hadn’t been able to tell him that Huntz had been back to Ogden, and that the last ping a week ago placed his location closer to town than before.
“It’s an old piece of junk. Take your phone with you just in case.”
“Will do. Do you need anything from town?”
“Just you and those sweet lips of yours.”
I lifted up onto my toes, savoring one last kiss.
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” I said against his mouth.
“Not fast enough.” His lips trailed along my cheek down to my neck, vibrating against my skin. My head lolled back and it took every ounce of my strength to pull away from him.
I rolled down the window, waving back as I maneuvered the truck around the larger holes in the road Eric had warned me about. Half an hour later, I was parked at the sheriff’s office, watching him wipe sweat from his forehead and squint as he appeared to struggle with reading something on his computer.
“Good morning,” I said, walking in.
“Good morning, Emma.” He scanned me from bottom up and smiled knowingly.
“I heard you were ill last week. Hope you’re feeling better.” I reached my hand forward, taking his in a firm greeting before setting down a bag of goods on his desk, which was overflowing with paperwork. “I brought you some honey and lemons. It soothes the throat when you add it to tea.”
“Why, thank you, Emma. I haven’t had tea with honey in ages.” He laughed, his belly shaking like it had a battery inside and was the source of all his energy. “Looks like I’m a lucky man this morning. It’s the first time in a long time a beautiful lady walked in here, and shook my hand so professionally, and brought me gifts.”