Lacy wrapped her legs around his lean hips, taking all he had to give. He filled her to completion, drove her to madness. Each powerful stroke pushing her closer and closer to the edge she’d already gone over once.
She trembled beneath him. “Cade...”
“Don’t fight it,” he said, his strokes growing bolder.
She cried out, her body shattering into a thousand fiery pieces. Her nails dug into his flesh as she clung to his broad shoulders, her body quaking.
“Your turn,” she said, pushing him off her so that she could settle on top of him. Slowly, she lowered herself onto his length and began rocking her hips.
He squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain. “Don’t move.”
“Forget it, cowboy. You’re going over the edge.” Lifting her head, she ran the tip of her tongue over the flat, male nipple.
“I’m warning you, Dalton,” he ground out through tightly clenched teeth.
Ignoring his husky threats, she drew the beaded tip into her mouth and suckled gently.
That was all it took. Cade rolled her onto her back and thrust into her once, twice, the third time going over the edge with a low groan. Then he eased off her and collapsed on the mattress beside her. “Damn.”
Damn was right, she thought with a smile. Never in her life had she ever experienced anything quite so incredible. She sank back onto the pillow, her body still shuddering in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
* * *
Cade smiled as he looked down at the woman in his arms. Lacy had fallen asleep and his didn’t have the heart to wake her. Instead he studied her beautiful face. Wisps of honeyed hair veiled the sweet lips he had so thoroughly ravished. Thick, black lashes brushed her cheeks. Beneath which were tawny eyes that saw through the defenses he put up.
Reaching up, he pushed the silken strands from her face and then traced the gentle curve of her cheek. Then he bent, brushing his lips lightly across hers.
She stirred, her eyes fluttering open.
His smile widened. “Morning.”
“Mmm,” She looked up at him with sleepy eyes as she returned his smile. “Morning.”
Lord, she was beautiful.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Never better.” She stretched, her naked body still pressed against his. “And you?”
He chuckled softly. “Worn out.”
Color dotted her cheeks. “I wonder why?”
“Yeah, I wonder.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m going to the bank today.”
She lifted her head. “Why?”
“To see about getting your money back.”
“Cade, I’ve already told you I don’t want my money back.”
“Look, Dalton, I appreciate what you did. But I can’t let you do this.”
She rose, propping herself up on an elbow. “It’s already done. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to change that.”
“Maybe not, but I’m sure gonna try.”
“But I thought...”
He pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her protests. “You sold your grandfather’s car to get that money. I know how much that ‘Vette meant to you.”
“You mean a lot to me. More than some car.”
He hesitated, trying to come to grip with the emotions Lacy had awakened in him. It had been one hell of a long time since he’d felt anything.
She reached out to touch his lips. “Stop frowning. I don’t have to have material things to help me remember my grandparents. They’ll always be right here,” she said, pointing to her heart.
A knot lodged in his throat. “Lacy...”
She leaned forward to brush her lips over his. “I’ve discovered since coming here that there are more important things in life. Material things are meaningless without someone to share them with.”
He knew that all too well. Life had meant nothing to him after Karen died. But that all changed the day Lacy came into his life, all trouble and smiles.
“Cade! You planning on working this morning?” The magic of the moment was broken as Burk’s voice rang out from the kitchen.
“Get out,” Lacy whispered in a panic.
Heavy booted footsteps moved across the linoleum of the kitchen floor and into the hallway outside.
Cade cursed Burk’s lousy timing under his breath.
Lacy shot up in the bed, dragging the twisted sheet up over her bare breasts. “You have to get out before he finds you in here,” she said in an anxious whisper.
“Why? We’re both adults.”
“Please.”
How could he resist those beautiful, pleading eyes? He sat up and hurried to work free of the sheets. It was as if he’d been hog-tied.
“Hurry!”
“I’m trying,” he said with a frown.
She gave him a shove that merely sent them both toppling from the bed in the tangle of sheets. They landed half on the hardwood floor, half on the throw rug.
Cade groaned as he took the brunt of the fall.
Lacy giggled.
The bedroom door burst open for the second time that morning and Burk flew inside. “Lacy, are you...” He stopped mid-step, his gaze dropping to the floor.
“Morning,” Cade greeted with a smile.
His friend’s eyes rounded. “Everything okay?”
“Yep. Now go away.” He kept Lacy behind him, determined to hide her nakedness from his friend’s assessing eyes.
Lacy poked her head around his shoulder. “Morning, Burk.”
He tipped his hat. “Morning.” Then, he cast an accusatory look at Cade.
“It’s not what it looks like,” Cade said as he dragged the sheet further up his bare waist.
Burk’s expression was skeptical at most. “So, what you’re trying to tell me is that the two of you didn’t really fall out of bed without your clothes on.” He shook his head, tsk-ing as he did so.
Cade growled. “Shut the hell up.”
“Whatever you say. You’re the boss,” his friend replied with a cocky grin. “I’ll just leave you kids to your fun. I’ve got work to do.” He started for the door. “Someone’s gotta keep this place afloat.”
The door clicked shut behind Burk and Cade dropped back onto the floor with a groan. The enormity of the situation hit him full on. He had made love to Lacy. No, he’d done more than that. He had allowed himself to fall in love with her. A woman he could never have for two reasons. She was a reporter, and, more importantly, she deserved more than a has-been rodeo star that barely had two dimes to rub together.
He reached up and raked a hand back through his hair before turning to Lacy who was perched on her knees beside him. The look in her eyes tore at his heart.
Love.
“Dalton...what happened between us this morning...” Damn, this was hard.
She offered a sweet smile as she stretched out alongside of him and curled an arm around his waist. “Yes?”
Don’t! Don’t even look down at that beautiful, naked body. If he did, his resistance would be damned. As if it wasn’t already.
He forced himself to ignore the soft, round breasts pressed so intimately against his own bare chest. But his nether region had other ideas as it sprang to life like a divining rod, drawn to the liquid heat he knew he’d find waiting for him.
“Dalton,” he said with a troubled sigh as he slipped away from her grasp, “it shouldn’t have happened.”
She looked up at him in confusion. “What?”
“Us...that is, we shouldn’t have happened. This morning shouldn’t have happened.” He got to his feet, bringing her up with him.
Shouldn’t have happened? His words pierced her heart. Lacy felt a familiar burning in her eyes. While she was cherishing what they had shared, Cade was regretting it. She studied him for a long, drawn out moment before she was able to speak again, “Are you upset about Burk having caught us? Because he didn’t seem too bothered by it.”
“It’s not that.” The frown she had seen so often
since arriving at the ranch had returned, cutting even deeper into his face. Without any more explanation, he scooped her lingerie and robe up from the floor and handed them to her. “You’d best get dressed.” His tone was tender, yet unyielding.
“Of course,” she said shakily, fighting the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. She refused to let him see the true depth of her feelings and just how badly his emotional withdrawal from her had hurt her.
He grabbed for his briefs and stepped into them. “I’m sorry, Dalton. I never meant for this to happen. I sure as hell never meant to hurt you.”
She dropped her lingerie on the bed and pulled on the robe, holding it together with trembling fingers. “Don’t worry, Cade. I’m a big girl.” She moved past him to the dresser. “This morning was just what it was...this morning. No promises were made. We were just two consenting adults seeking pleasure.”
“Lacy...”
“Please go,” she blurted out, keeping her back to him. “I need to get a shower.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, his tone lace in regret. A second later, the door clicked shut behind him.
Lacy bit back a sob. Cade had barely left the room and she already missed having his strong arms wrapped around her. Arms that would never hold her again.
CHAPTER TWELVE
If she were lucky, she would be trampled by a runaway bull before she ever had to face Cade again. Every time Lacy dared to close her eyes, he was there, his eyes glazed over with unspent passion as he made love to her. She hated that he affected her this way. Left her weak in mind and body.
The warm water gradually eased the tension from her body that morning, yet it didn’t diminish the memory of Cade’s touch. Every trickle of water that ran down her bare skin made her want. Tilting her face to the stream of water above her, she groaned in misery. She had slept with her assignment. A major no-no.
She reached out to adjust the water temperature to as hot as she could stand without it burning, but even that failed to clear her thoughts of Cade. She had been attracted to him from the first moment she set eyes on him despite his grizzly mood. Then as she got to know the real man behind the scowl, that attraction grew. But she never imagined it leading to this. To them.
And like a fool, she had fallen in love with Cade. Damn his stubborn pride, sexy eyes and tight jeans!
Something soft fell against the heels of her feet and she turned to find her robe lying at the bottom of the tub. It had slipped from where she’d slung it over the curtain rod.
Cursing her rotten luck, she shut off the water and wrung out her robe, then re-hung it to dry. Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it around her and stepped out over the side of the old claw foot bathtub.
Cracking open the bathroom door, she peeked out into the hall, finding it empty. She listened for a moment. Silence. She breathed a sigh of relief. Cade and Burk must have already gone out to the barn.
Flipping off the bathroom light, she stepped out into the hallway. She had barely taken two steps toward her room when a whistle sounded behind her.
Lacy jumped and spun around, clutching the towel to her still damp body. There, standing in his bedroom doorway, was Burk, a wide grin splitting his face.
“Burk!” She gasped.
“You always go traipsing about as naked as the day you were born?”
“I’m not traipsing anywhere,” she replied in irritation. “I just finished getting a shower. And for your information, I’m not naked!”
He leaned against the open door, arms crossed, grinning from ear to ear. “You and Cade had quite a night, huh?”
Her cheeks flamed. “That wasn’t what it looked like.”
“Don’t reckon that argument would hold up too well in court since I saw it with my own two eyes. Well, maybe not it, but enough to know what I know. And it’s about damned time. You two been eyeing each other up since the day you met.”
He had it all wrong. “What happened between us will never happen again.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. Cade made sure I didn’t see anything. And I have to say it’s about time some woman got that man into bed. Now maybe he’ll lighten up a little bit.”
She was going to cry if she stood there any longer. Turning, she fled back into her room and slammed the door behind her. Why hadn’t Cade just walked away instead of letting her make a total fool of herself? Because he’s a man and you practically threw yourself at him.
Letting the towel drop to the floor, she walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans she had purchased while in Deep Creek and a pale pink, scoop-necked T-shirt.
She considered packing up her things and taking off, but she’d made a deal with Cade. And like it or not, she intended to see it through.
* * *
“Burk,” Lacy greeted stiffly when she entered the barn to begin her chores.
“What’s the matter? Someone get up on the wrong side of Cade this morning?” He burst into a fit of laughter.
“Unless you have a desire to sing soprano. I suggest you forget everything you know,” she warned as she turned to shut the barn door. “It never happened. Got it?”
“Got it.” He smiled as he walked over to her. “You really got to him you know.”
“Sure, got his hormones all raging, just like a couple of teenagers.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re wrong.”
“It was a mistake. Cade made that very clear this morning after you left. Let it go.” She walked away, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Dalton,” Burk said, the laughter leaving his eyes.
“I don’t want your pity.”
“I’m here if you need to talk.”
She couldn’t talk about her feelings for Cade right now. They were far too raw. Looking around the barn, she asked, “So, what fun chore do I get to learn about today?”
He frowned. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I made a bargain. I’m holding to it. Don’t you dare treat me any differently than before.”
He nodded. “Today we’re mucking out stalls.”
If making her muck out the stalls was Cade’s attempt to send her running back to Denver, he had another thing coming. “I can hardly wait.”
“You won’t be so eager when your back starts aching from all the shoveling.” Burk walked over to get the wheelbarrow that was propped up against the barn wall. “First, we take the dirty straw and put it in here.”
He wheeled it over to where she stood and pointed toward the door. “When it’s full, wheel it outside to the compost pile and dump it. Do it until all the dirty straw is outta the stalls.” He handed her a pitch fork and a shovel. “Think you can manage?”
“I can manage.” She started away then stopped, turning back to Burk. “Was this Cade’s idea?”
He didn’t have to answer. The expression on his face said it all. “It’s part of the job.” He pulled a pair of work gloves from his back pocket. “You’re going to be needing these.”
“Thanks.” She thrust the tools into the wheel barrow and pushed it toward the first stall.
Lacy did her work without complaint, not that there was anyone around to complain to. Burk was off checking fences and who knew where Cade was. He’d been avoiding her all day.
Despite her resolve to stay, she finally accepted the inevitable. She couldn’t remain at the Flying T. Not with Cade shutting her out the way he had. It wasn’t about the story anymore. And if she didn’t get the column with Bustin’ Loose it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Right now it was about emotional survival.
Returning to the house, she got a quick shower. Then she set to work packing her bags, determined to be gone before Cade and Burk finished their work and returned to the house.
It was all she could do to hold the tears at bay when she stepped out onto the porch, wheeling her suitcase behind her. She stopped, staring blankly at the spot she had been parking in since coming there and her shoulders slumped. Sh
e had forgotten that the truck she’d purchased the day before was still in the bar parking lot.
Lacy released the handle of her suitcase and sank down onto the porch step in defeat.
“Dalton?” Cade called out as he moved toward her across the yard. His gaze zeroed in on her suitcase and the carry-on bag stacked atop it and then shifted to her face. “What are you doing?”
“I was leaving,” she said, her voice quivering.
He settled onto the step beside her and looked out over the yard. “You can’t leave.”
“Clearly,” she said in frustration. The last thing she wanted to do was ask Cade for a ride into town. She’d wait for Burk to get back. “Not having a vehicle here put a huge kink in my plan.”
“I’m glad,” he said.
She looked up at him in confusion.
“I don’t want you to go.”
She stared up at him in confusion. “But I thought-”
“You might as well stop thinking, Dalton,” he said, cutting her off. “Lord knows I haven’t been able to since you arrived.” Smiling, he reached out to thread his fingers through hers. “I want you to stay.”
Tears she’d been fighting filled her eyes. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. You made your feelings for me very clear this morning.”
“You scare the hell out of me, Dalton. And that’s not an easy admission for a man like me to make.”
“I do?”
He nodded, caressing her hand with his thumb. “You make me feel, something I haven’t done for years. This morning with you... Hell, Dalton, I panicked.”
Her heart was pounding. “What do you want me to say?”
“That you forgive me. That you’re willing to stick around and give me another chance.”
She looked down at their twined hands and then back up into Cade’s pleading eyes. She loved him. How could she not try? Smiling, she said, “Looks like this is your lucky day, cowboy.”
“You won’t regret it, Dalton. I promise.” Releasing her hand, he pulled her to him and lowered his mouth to hers in a slow, tender kiss.
Just then, Domino shot around the house and up onto the porch, yelping excitedly.
Capturing the Cowboy's Heart Page 17