by Calista Fox
“Were?”
“Well, Daddy’s still alive. He lives in San Antone. Has a new girlfriend, after so many years of being alone. I don’t know her yet. I think he’s afraid to do a meet ’n greet because he believes my sisters and I will take offense. We won’t, and we’ve told him as much.”
“And what about your mom?”
She gazed up at him. “Died of liver disease when I was thirteen. My two sisters, Macy and Morgan, are twins. They were six when Mama passed.” Sky couldn’t help the ritual moment of silence. Then she added, “They don’t really know her the way I did, and they’re supportive of Daddy’s current life. But for some reason, he feels guilty for moving on. He loved my mama deeply and was devastated when she passed.”
“Maybe it’s just not the same,” Sam ventured. “He could care for this new woman but, in his heart, he might not feel everything that he felt for your mom—his wife and the mother of his children.”
She nodded, understanding his point. Then she asked, “Were you in love with Charlotte?”
He groaned. “Who brought her up?”
“Reese. But don’t worry, I’m not the jealous type. Just curious.”
“Nothing to be jealous about. I was young and didn’t do a good job of making things work with her and my family.”
“How so?”
Sam sighed. “They can be challenging. Selfish, even, in that they need to know everything that’s going on with their sons so there aren’t any surprises—particularly in front of others. You don’t catch my parents off guard, that’s a cardinal rule. Charlotte was a surprise. Big time. I literally sprung her on them after two years of being with her. I suppose I’d known all along that she wasn’t going to be able to hold her own with them, and that’s why I kept our relationship a secret.”
“Did you love her?” she asked again.
“In that first-time sort of way,” he said. “But in the end, I had to accept the fact that I’d known in the back of my head she wasn’t the right woman for me. I sensed from the beginning that it wasn’t going to work out. Maybe that’s another reason I kept her from my family for so long. I didn’t want to break the illusion so quickly.”
Sky asked, “What about me?”
He grinned. “Things are different now. I don’t subscribe to the family criticism or drama. But as a matter of tradition and principle, you will have to meet them someday.”
She laughed. “Does that mean we’re officially dating?”
“Think it goes without saying.”
“Nice to know.” The song ended and Sky said, “Why don’t you take me back to your cottage, cowboy?”
Chapter Eight
They said their goodbyes and headed out of the saloon. Sam gave her another spin in the parking lot and she laughed as she ducked under his raised arm. But the flash of blue in the moonlight and the flicker of familiar taillights made her pull away.
She stared out into the dark night, the sight vanishing so quickly she didn’t know if her paranoia had caused a hallucination. Or if she’d really just seen the ass end of Mac’s ’57 Cadillac convertible peeling out of the parking lot and disappearing down the road.
“What is it, darlin’?” Sam stood beside her, his gaze following hers.
Her pulse raced, and not in a good way. She absently wrung her hands and said, “I’m not sure. I might’ve just imagined it.”
“Imagined what?”
She shook her head. “I could be totally wrong. But I thought I saw the ex’s car.”
Sam stared down at her. “You think he’s here in Wilder?”
“I can’t fathom why he would be. I mean, he wouldn’t see me around town. My SUV is out at the ranch all day. He wouldn’t know where to find me. Unless he started asking around. Of course, I don’t know how many people know I’m working at the inn.”
Sam took her by the hand and led her to the truck. “Well, he’s not going to get close to you at the cottage. The first thing Caleb and I did when he bought the property was to secure the fencing that surrounds it and install video surveillance. We’ve got cameras everywhere. And the gates are monitored after five o’clock, but you know that already.”
“And you have guards who patrol the grounds on ATVs and keep an eye on all the outbuildings and horses. I do feel safe there. I just wouldn’t want him to try to breach your security.”
“Not a chance.” He helped her into the cab, then leaned against the door panel and asked, “Why won’t you tell me his name?”
“I don’t want you getting any ideas in your head about going to the sheriff on my behalf.”
Sam grimaced. “As much as I’d like to—and the thought has crossed my mind, I’ll admit—I wouldn’t betray you that way.”
“I didn’t think you would. I just didn’t want there to be any sort of temptation.”
His head dipped and he kissed her. Then he said, “Oh there’s plenty of temptation.”
“Of the good kind. Stay focused on that.”
He closed her door and rounded the front of the vehicle. He drove them back to the cottage.
Just the one light was on in the living room again. Moonlight streamed in through the tall windows. Sam turned on the sound system and more country music drifted through the house at a low decibel. He pulled her into his strong embrace and their bodies melded together as they swayed to a Juice Newton song.
Sam gave her a long, smoldering kiss. She unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders and down his arms. He held her again and her fingertips skated over his bare skin. All those rock-hard muscles and his heat and cologne stimulated her senses. Butterflies took flight in her stomach. That now-prevalent tickle along her clit, whenever Sam was near or she thought of him, almost made her miss a step.
She laughed softly.
“What’s so funny?” he murmured against her hair.
“Think I was dancin’ before I could walk, but you without your shirt on is going to make me tromp on my own feet. Or yours.”
“Then why don’t we take this into the bedroom?”
He palmed her ass cheeks suddenly and lifted her up. Sky wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She whisked off his hat and dropped it on the sofa as they passed by. Then she kissed him.
“You’re gonna make me run into a wall or something.”
Sky smiled. “I figured you could handle the distraction.”
“You are more than just a distraction, darlin’.”
They entered his bedroom and he sat on the mattress, with her straddling his lap. He worked off her boots. She raked her fingers through his hair.
“I like dancing with you,” she said.
“I like this a bit better.”
“You never fail to make me smile.”
“How about I make you come?”
“Now that’s a bit better.”
“Smartass.”
She kissed him again. Then he pulled apart the snaps on her black leather vest and slipped it off. He eyed her black lace demi-bra and traced the pad of a finger along the scalloped edge of a cup where the top of her breast swelled over the material.
“You are damn sexy,” he told her in a tone full of desire. “I could be ninety years old with one foot in the grave and still get hard for you. No Viagra needed.”
She stared at him. Blinked. “Hmm.”
Sam chuckled. “Guess I could stand to work on my analogies.”
“It’s a thought.”
“How about I stick with what I know best.” He reached a hand around her back and flicked the hook on her bra. Then he dragged the straps down her arms and admired the view, if the flare of lust in his eyes was any indication.
“Good idea,” she concurred.
He cupped her breasts and massaged them gently, his thumbs stroking her nipples. She clasped his shoulders to hold herself steady. His head bent to her chest and his tongue swept over her nipple.
Hot flashes burst inside her, low in her belly, deep in her core. He suckle
d and then licked again. She squirmed in his lap.
“Take my jeans off,” she said in a throaty voice.
Sam carefully flipped her onto her back on the bed and worked the fastenings at her waist. He discarded her jeans, panties and socks. Then he stretched out beside her. As he kissed her, he caressed her breasts again, then eased his hand down her stomach to the apex of her legs.
His fingers slid over her labia, stroking slowly. She gripped his biceps as her body shuddered with intense longing only Sam elicited—and sated.
He rubbed her clit, teasing the sensitive bud with the pad of one finger, then two. Her back arched and her body twisted slightly so that her bare breasts pressed to his pecs. He still wore his jeans, but his chest was deliciously naked and hot.
When he pushed a finger deep into her pussy, she tore her mouth from his and groaned.
Sam stared down at her as he pumped in and out of her, heightening her arousal in a heartbeat. Her hips lifted off the mattress to meet his strokes.
His lips brushed over hers. He eased a second finger into the tight space and used his thumb on her clit.
“Come,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
Her desire for him spun out of control. All the strings that kept her bound together snapped at once. She let out a sharp cry as her insides ignited and a powerful climax ripped through her.
Sam’s mouth claimed hers and he kissed her deeply as he continued to stroke her, drawing out her orgasm and fanning the flames consuming her.
And making her ache for so much more…
* * * * *
Sam’s cock throbbed viciously, but he tried to ignore it. Sky coming all over his fingers in a wave of heat and moisture had him half out of his mind with wanting to grab a condom and thrust wildly into her. But the need to keep pleasuring her overrode his own lust. More than that, he loved getting her hot and restless, pushing her over the edge.
He withdrew his fingers from her and slowly rubbed her clit again.
She sighed dreamily.
He shifted on the bed and settled between her parted thighs. His tongue replaced his fingers on her swollen lips and he flicked the dewy flesh, alternating between lapping slowly and teasing her with a faster, fluttery movement.
“Sam,” she said in a breathless voice. “Oh my God. That is incredible.”
One of her hands combed through his hair. The other slid under her leg at the juncture of her thigh and ass. His fingers twined with hers there, and she held on as he continued to lick her. He suckled her lips, then her clit, and her breath caught.
With his free hand, Sam slipped a finger inside her wet pussy.
She moaned and writhed. Her response to him spurred him on. So too did the taste of her, so warm and wicked.
Her body bowed and her hips lifted off the mattress. He suckled her flesh again, then used the tip of his tongue on her clit, in lightning-quick strokes.
“Jesus, Sam,” she ground out.
And then a tremor rocked her body and she moaned again, deep and throaty, as her inner walls contracted around his finger while she climaxed.
His breath came as heavily as hers did. He released her hand and also withdrew his finger from inside her, but lightly rubbed her vulva as she still panted and wriggled on the bed. Then he kissed her in that intimate spot before working his way up her body, his tongue and lips trailing over her flushed skin. He suckled a nipple and then kissed her neck. Finally, his mouth sealed with hers and he kissed her hungrily.
Her fingers remained threaded in his hair and she returned the kiss with equaled passion. And need. He reached between them and yanked apart the buttons on the fly of his Levi’s. He broke their sizzling kiss just long enough to get naked and snatch a condom from the nightstand.
He returned to her and sank into her tight, wet depths. His strokes were full and quick, fueled by desire and that other emotion that dangled like a carrot within his grasp. That indefinable something that made him think that perhaps he’d been right when he’d talked to Caleb about Sky.
Maybe she really was the one.
He slung her leg over his hip and cupped a cheek, thrusting deeper into her. They moved together in a frenzied rhythm. He nipped at her neck and she arched her back, pressing her body against his.
“Sam.” Her lust-filled tone lingered on the quiet air. “Do what you did to me last night.”
He groaned. “You make me so damn hot.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” she simply said.
His fingers slid along the cleft of her ass as his cock stroked her inner walls. When her panting escalated and her body tensed, he dipped one finger into the tight hole while thrusting into her. She came instantly, her body shaking, her pussy squeezing him tight.
Everything inside of Sam erupted and he came with a jerk of his hips and a sharp tremor through his body.
And the very definitive realization that he’d been right about this woman and his feelings for her all along.
This was no mere crush.
* * * * *
Sky snuggled close to Sam later and reveled in the contentment that seeped through her veins. Sated was one thing. Deliriously happy was another.
As he stroked her hair while her head rested on his chest, he said, “You sounded great tonight at the bar. Like you’re still on a stage every night.”
She yawned and told him, “I get a lot of practice, singing in the shower every morning.”
The stroking of her hair stopped. He asked in a serious tone, “You think you’re just a dime a dozen?”
“I’m not the only girl in Texas who can hum a few notes.”
Several moments of silence ensued. She knew him well enough now to know when something weighed on his mind.
Sure enough, he said, “You’re more talented than that. And it doesn’t take your CMA to prove it.”
She propped herself up on an elbow and stared at him in the moonlight. “You know I won a Country Music Award?”
“Best Female Artist of the Year. Reese told me. And three of your singles, along with the CD, hit number one on the charts.” He rolled onto his side and gazed at her. “So why, exactly, did you tell Gus tonight that you’re a one-hit wonder?”
“Oh that.”
She flopped onto her back and stared at the shadows flickering across the ceiling.
“Yeah, that,” Sam said.
Sky’s teeth ground together. Then she confessed, “I said it because it’s true. Think about it. I made one CD. One movie. I danced in the chorus line of one Broadway and one Vegas show. Professionally speaking, I only ever do something just once.”
“Why?” he challenged.
Sky’s eyes squeezed shut for a moment. She said, “Fear of a sophomore slump? I don’t know.”
She let out a long breath. Then she rolled onto her side to face him again.
“I did stuff everyone else said I should do. You should be a singer. You should be an actress. You should be a dancer. Okay. Easy enough. I mean, I did all of that in high school. I was the lead in choir, the captain of the dance team and every time the drama club put on a play, I had the lead female role and they actually scheduled our performances around my other dancing and singing commitments. My understudies prayed to God I’d catch pneumonia or fall down a flight of stairs, because otherwise, they weren’t ever hitting the stage in my stead.”
She groaned. “I can’t even begin to explain why I ended up as everyone’s hopeful be-all-end-all in Wilder, Texas. Especially since I came up so short in my mind. But for some reason, they all thought I’d be this great success story—and believe I am to this day. They all had their own ideas for what I should do with my life, regardless of my own personal feelings about the matter.”
“Who’s they?” he asked.
“My family. My friends. Even people I only knew in passing.”
“Lot of pressure there, darlin’,” he said in an empathetic tone.
“Yes.” She thought about all of the you should do this suggesti
ons she’d dealt with her entire life and said, “All I ever really wanted to do, after my mama died, was bake. It was kind of a weird sensation that hit me. I used to love sitting at her kitchen counter, watching her whip up a batch of anything while aimlessly chatting away.”
Sky smiled at the memory.
Then she added, “My mama had all these recipes in a box that her mama had given her, and she never even glanced at them. I know she’d studied them at one point, but after that, she decided how to measure or change up the ingredients, and made all of those recipes her own, adding the notations to the cards so that I’d know what modifications she preferred—and encouraging me to try my own alternatives. I envied how talented she was.”
“A gift she passed onto you.”
Sky shook her head. “I don’t know about that. All I know is that my whole life, people have thought I should be a celebrity. And all I ever wanted was to figure out how to immortalize those recipes my gramma left us. I never intentionally sought fame and fortune. I capitalized on my God-given talents, sure. But really, I was just hoping I could make enough money to open a little patisserie on Main Street. Or put together a cookbook that I could submit to a publisher.”
Sam said, “You could do both.”
“I might. If I can just get my life straightened out.”
He tucked a curl behind her ear. “You really think you saw the ex’s car tonight?”
She sighed. “Maybe not. But in the back of my head, I keep thinking the sudden golden silence is too good to be true.”
“You have a point. Try to get some sleep, though.” He kissed her cheek. “You’re safe with me.”
In the morning, Sky felt refreshed from another sound slumber. Between Sam wearing her out with his sinful lovemaking and the fact that she truly did feel safe with him, she was finally catching up on some much-needed rest.
He cooked breakfast again while she set plates and silverware on the counter. They’d showered together and she wore one of his T-shirts and tied her hair in a low ponytail over a shoulder.
Though she felt relatively at ease, she couldn’t help but check her phone to see if her bliss was about to be shattered. She retrieved it from the pocket of her jeans, draped over the chair in Sam’s room, and scrolled through the missed call log as she returned to the kitchen where Sam flipped pancakes at the stove.