by Beverly Rae
“Are you going to answer my question or not?”
“What do you want me to do? She’s with that Decker guy. Looks to me like she’s made her choice.”
Sara slid into the chair beside him and yanked his hair.
“Ow!” Searing pain flared into every part of his head. He held his head and snarled at her. “What the hell, Sara. Are you out to skin me?”
“I might just do that, if you don’t get your head out of your butt. Think about what happened. Did she say he was her choice? Did she tell you to leave her alone? I saw her expression right after you trounced off like a pouting five-year-old. That girl wants you, even if she doesn’t realize how much.”
“I don’t know, Sara.”
“Look, I was angry at first, too. But now that I’ve had time to think about her situation, I think she should’ve stayed.”
“But she left with him, didn’t she? Her actions say more than a look you think you saw.”
Sara let out an exasperated sound. “You men are all alike. One little obstacle and you’re ready to throw in the towel.”
He blinked, trying to get his pain-clogged brain to function. “I didn’t give up. She made her—”
Sara slapped him on the arm, eliciting yet another round of pain to pierce his body. “For the love of the moon, will you stop hitting me?”
“Then stop saying she’s made her choice. Something tells me things are a lot more complicated than that.”
For the first time since Mandy had gone, a flicker of hope lit inside him. “What are you getting at?”
Sara’s brown eyes met his. “Think about it. She’s a girl whose father abandoned her when she was young. Since then, I’ll bet she hasn’t had a man she can count on, one that treats her right. Then along comes this Decker person who helps her mom and helps her find her father. I’m thinking she feels very obligated to him. Add dating him for awhile, and she’s going to find it hard as hell to break away. Even after finding you.”
Sara made sense. But had Mandy gone along with Decker out of obligation? Add the fact that he hadn’t promised her anything except to keep her from getting hurt again and maybe Mandy thought she didn’t have another option. He hadn’t had time to tell her how much he cared for her or how she was the one for him.
“So do you think there’s still a chance?” He downed the warm coffee and stabbed a pancake into his mouth.
“That depends.” Sara sat back in her chair and sized him up.
“On what?” He paused, the third pancake already in his mouth.
“On whether you’re willing to fight for her.” Sara’s eyes blazed, the amber sparkling in the brown.
Jimmy gulped his food and followed it with the last of the coffee. Scraping the chair across the floor, he stood and nodded at the alpha-female of the pack. “I’ve never backed down from a fight before, and I don’t plan to start now.”
* * * *
Mandy half listened to the game show playing on the television and stared at the diamond she’d returned to the small velvet box. Her mother’s reaction to her engagement hadn’t surprised her. Not only had her mother rejoiced at the news of Mandy’s engagement, she’d actually squealed with delight. Yet once Decker had gone, promising to visit tomorrow, she’d taken the ring off.
“So you made your mom happy getting engaged to the big guy, huh? That’s more than I could ever do.”
Mandy frowned, still wrestling with emotions she couldn’t understand. She cared for Decker, right? He treated her family well, better than any man she’d ever known. Not that she’d known many. But Decker had walked into her life and taken over.
Taken over? Was that how she viewed him? As someone who had taken over her family? Her life? Her future?
She shook her head, ridding her mind of unwanted ideas. But the main idea, the one that kept hammering at her, wouldn’t let go.
Did she love him?
An awful sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. No. She didn’t love him. She could learn to love him, and she owed him a lot, but didn’t she deserve more?
A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away. How many more tears would she shed? Snapping the box closed, she shoved it in her pocket. If Decker asked, she could tell him it needed to be sized to fit her finger.
The knock on the door jolted her out of her melancholy and she was on her feet to answer it before her father managed to goad her into moving. Wiping her face again, she pulled her body straight, determined to make the best of her situation. She swung the door wide.
“I’m glad you’re back. We have a lot of planning—” She stopped with the forced smile plastered on her face and forgot what words came next.
Jimmy returned her smile with a genuine one. His hazel eyes twinkled at her, catching her breath. A breeze blew a shock of hair across his forehead, and she ached to touch it. “Hi, Mandy.”
“Jimmy.” Her voice broke, and his name came out a whisper.
She couldn’t marry Decker. Not when the mere sight of Jimmy almost brought her to her knees. But what choice did she have? Her family depended on Decker.
“Can we talk?” His gaze swept behind her to her father. “Alone?”
She nodded, unsure if she could count on her ability to speak. Closing the door behind her, she followed him across the yard to his pickup. He pulled the door wide and waited for her to get into the passenger side. “Where are we going?”
He hopped into the driver’s seat, buckled up, and turned the key. “A quiet place where we can talk. Is that good for you?”
“Okay.”
“Good.” He placed his hand over hers.
A rush of excitement sizzled through her, waking every nerve ending, every sense. Searching him, she saw that he, too, experienced the same sensations.
He squeezed her hand then grasped the steering wheel. She bit her lower lip, concentrating on his movements. She watched his muscles ripple and bunch as he maneuvered the truck along the two-lane road. She sighed over the strong arms leading to the wide granite shoulders that no amount of denim could disguise. The way he rocked in his seat whenever he moved the stick shift made her mouth go dry with need. Knowing she shouldn’t, but unable to stop herself, she let her gaze slide lower, stopping on the tented material between his legs.
“Is here okay?” He swung the pickup off the road to bump down a gravel path. A creek sparkled under the sun a few yards away with a cluster of trees dotting the bank.
“Sure.”
He jumped out then hurried to her side and helped her out of the pickup. She slid into his arms, her breasts rubbing against his powerful chest, their faces only inches apart. Minutes, even hours could’ve passed but she wouldn’t have cared. She could’ve stayed frozen in the moment forever.
Jimmy cleared his throat then took her hand to lead her down the path to the creek. “Let’s take a seat.”
Two long-stemmed glasses sat beside the silver bucket that housed a bottle of champagne. A large wicker picnic basket rested on the checkered blanket and an iPod with speakers played a soft, instrumental melody.
“Do you like? I figured I should make up for the earlier disaster of a picnic.”
She thought she nodded, but she wasn’t positive. “You sure know how to lay it on thick.”
“What do I lay on thick?”
“The seduction.”
He cupped her chin, making her bring her gaze to his. A fierce love burned in the hazel-flecked-with-amber depths. “A seduction? Maybe. But whatever happens is up to you.”
The flutter in her stomach was echoed by the heat between her legs. Letting Jimmy guide her, she sat on the grass and waited as he filled her glass with champagne.
“I hope we don’t have another unexpected visitor.” The bubbles from the champagne tickled her nose.
“Don’t worry about any boar bothering us. Michael and the others will take care of the wild hog problem. Unless we get attacked by a rabid armadillo, I think we’re pretty safe.”
“P
lease tell me you’re kidding.”
His chuckle was deep and warm, and it put her at ease even before he spoke. “Yeah, I’m kidding. Besides, I told you I’d never let anything hurt you.”
She wanted to hug herself with joy. “I guess you’re not angry anymore?” She could still remember the way he’d looked as she stood next to Decker. “I hated seeing you so upset with me.”
He leaned forward, his expression urgent. “Then tell me why, Mandy. Why did you leave with him?”
She drank the remainder of her champagne then lay back. Sunlight peeked through the treetops then disappeared as a cloud rolled in front of the sun. “It’s very complicated.”
“Bullshit.”
His jaw set so she could see the way his muscles worked as he ground his teeth. She reached out to him, to caress his face, but he moved back.
“It is bullshit, but it’s true, too. Decker is…” She shook her head, unable to find the right way to describe her relationship. A friend? Yes. A lover? Not yet. A fiancé? Sadness enveloped her. Yes.
“Decker is what? What is he to you, Mandy?” He rested on his elbow, his anger dissipating a little. “Is he your lover?”
“No. I haven’t slept with him.” Although Decker was attractive, sexy by any woman’s measure, something had always held her back from taking him into her bed.
“Then I don’t get it.”
“In the few short months I’ve known him, Decker has wormed his way into my life. He’s helped my mom with money, and now he’s promised to help Glen, too. He even helped me locate my father. I owe him a lot.”
Jimmy moved on top of her, holding his body’s weight off hers as he searched for understanding. “You owe him? That’s why you left with him? Because you feel you have to pay him back somehow?”
She couldn’t stop the tears from coming. “I do. Can you understand that? My mother is so excited and my father is breathing easier with Decker’s promise to help. I can’t let them down.”
“So it’s better to let me down? Hell, to let yourself down?” He brushed away a tear, fell to her side, then slid his hand down her body. His hand stalled on top of the bulge in her pocket. “What’s this?”
Before she could stop him, he’d tugged the velvet box from her pocket and was on his feet. Opening the box, his eyes went wide and his jaw fell slack.
“Please, Jimmy, let me explain.” Pain seared through her, ripping a hole in her heart at his tortured expression.
“Is this an engagement ring? From him?”
She snatched the box from him and shoved it into her pocket. “Yes, it is. Decker asked me to marry him.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“You have to understand.” She couldn’t tell if he was more angry or hurt.
“Answer the question, Mandy. What did you tell him?”
Her heart broke apart, unable to stand the agony she put him through. Dragging in deep breaths, she sobbed her answer. “I said yes.”
* * * *
Her answer barreled through him like a runaway train through a car stuck on the tracks. His mind reeled, and the world around him blurred. He stepped back, physically unbalanced.
“Jimmy, please.”
She had to be joking. Maybe he’d heard her wrong. He’d believe anything. Just not that.
“You’re going to marry Decker.” He should howl his pain, but he couldn’t gather enough strength. Instead, he simply stared at her and wished he’d never met her.
“I told him I would.”
Suddenly the emotions slammed into him, taking him out of his numb state and letting him feel. “Then why the hell did you agree to come with me? You could’ve told me this at the door.”
“No I couldn’t.”
“Why not? Did you think you’d let me down easy? Because, babe, this isn’t easy. Not by any stretch of the imagination.”
“I meant I couldn’t let you go.”
He paused, trying to let her words make sense, but couldn’t. Growling, he reached down to take the end of the blanket. She stopped him, placing her hand on his. The now-familiar rush of heat scorched from her skin to burn his, and he no longer had the ability to think. Instead, he grabbed her arms and threw her onto the blanket.
Mandy didn’t cry out. Instead, she took his face between her hands, rose up, and crushed her mouth to his. Surprise soon gave way to desire, and he welcomed her tongue in his mouth. She tasted sweet and spicy at the same time while her body’s heat lit a flame in his.
He cupped her breast, tugging her shirt away. She yanked him out of his jeans, never letting their urgency interrupt their kiss. Frantic with need, he couldn’t think of anything except seeking the soft skin under her clothes. The warm sun heated his back, but it was nothing compared to the heat under his hands.
Naked, they slid their hands over each other, rediscovering their treasures, savoring the tastes. He groaned and fought the urge to glide his cock inside her. But the battle was one he couldn’t win.
Tumbling over, he pulled her on top of him and guided his shaft into her pussy. Her long, black hair streamed over her shoulders like an obsidian waterfall over pale rocks. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth opened as she flattened her hands against his pecs. Bracing his hands on her hips, he thrust upward. She moved in perfect sync with him, giving proof that they’d been made for each other.
Her breasts bounced as she rocked against him, and he couldn’t resist taking one of her firm, full breasts in his hand. Her taut nipple pushed against his palm, and he ached to catch the hard bud between his teeth.
She was more beautiful than he remembered with the sunlight dancing in the highlights of her hair skimming over her shoulders and along her arms. He fondled her, delighting in the way her breast and butt cheek filled his hands.
He flicked his tongue over her nipple. She opened her lust-filled eyes, and he almost lost control. The animal within burst free, clawing to come out and claim its mate.
She locked her hands behind his neck and held on. Together, they watched each other as she rode him and he plunged deeper inside her.
Groaning, he took her breast and brought her nipple to his mouth. He nipped at her, pumped into her, and listened to the small sound she made with each thrust.
“I want to take you the other way.” He searched her face, wondering if he was asking too much, too soon. But the animal inside him had to ask.
Her lust-clouded gaze met his. “Take me any way you want.”
Growling, he threw her on her side, eliciting a yelp from her. Caressing her arm, he took it then turned her on her stomach. She responded, giving him the permission he couldn’t voice to ask. Going onto her knees, she leaned forward on her forearms and offered her bottom.
The wolf inside howled its victory, and he gritted his teeth to keep from throwing back his head and letting the howl fly skyward. Instead, he bent to her and kissed the tight rings around her anus. She jerked then lowered her upper torso closer to the ground.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
She craned her neck around, her eyes blazing with need. “You won’t.”
Placing his cock at the opening, he eased himself in. She clenched at first, fighting against the invasion, but soon he heard her deep breaths as she relaxed.
Easy. Take it easy.
He closed his eyes, the sensation of her tightening around him so amazing and so right. Slowly he increased his movement, drawing out then going back in. She moaned and wiggled her bottom, driving him insane. Slapping her butt cheeks, he took hold and rammed into her.
“I can’t last much longer.”
She didn’t answer. Not with her voice. Lifting up, she pushed back against him until he realized what she wanted.
She was tender yet strong, sexy yet sweet. When she stiffened, then let out a moan as her body trembled, he joined her and roared his release along with hers. Their bodies, together as one, fell onto the blanket.
Lying side by side, he waited for her breathing to return to
normal, and then he slipped his arm over the small mound of her stomach. She placed her hand over his.
“You’re not marrying Decker.” He couldn’t, wouldn’t let her do it.
“I know.”
Relief flooded him, followed by joy. “Then you have to tell him.”
She turned on her side and snuggled into the crook of his arm. “I can handle my mom, but what do I do about my father? Decker promised to help him.”
“I’ll help him. Whatever the problem, I’ll get him the help he needs.”
She rose on her elbow, her eyes darkened to jade. “He owes a lot of money to some very bad men. I don’t want you to get involved. If anything happened to you…” Her words trailed off, choked by a sob.
Pulling her to his side again, he hugged her. “Nothing will happen to me. Trust me. But I’m going to need help. We need to tell Michael and the others.”
Chapter Eight
“I don’t understand what the problem is.” Michael rested his elbows on his knees and edged forward in his seat.
Mandy and Jimmy sat on the large sectional couch in the big room of the Matheson home, their hands clasped, their attention focused on Michael, Sara, and the four men standing around the room or lounging on the other section of the couch.
“You don’t?” Mandy glanced at Jimmy, who kept his gaze on his friend.
“No, we don’t.” Ranlon stretched his legs onto the ottoman and fell against the couch cushions. His fingers flew over the cell phone’s keypad, texting as he talked. “Seems simple enough. You tell Decker thanks, but no thanks, so you can be with the man you really love—not to mention gaining an entire family of sexy friends—then we pay your father’s debt. Although why you want to save his sorry ass is beyond me.”
“He’s her father, man.” Jimmy had repeated the same reason several times, but the others didn’t put much weight on her feelings of responsibility for her father’s safety.
“Yeah, I know. And I get that.” Michael tunneled a hand through his hair. “But if we decide to do this, then you’ve got to know it’s a one-time deal. Glen messes up again and gets in trouble, then we’re not going to bail him out. Not for your sake or Jimmy’s. And definitely not for Glen’s.”