“Oh, my sweet lord—this view is perfection.”
Tex smiled, obviously pleased at her reaction. He took her hand and led her to the cabin’s back door and out to a huge wrap around deck. “Don’t say anything,” he whispered, as he pointed to a spot at ground level.
Niki looked down at a cluster of deer nibbling on shrubs near the bank of the river. “Oh …” she breathed, careful to keep her voice down. Tex pointed in another direction and her gaze followed, finding a pair of raccoons. She sipped her coffee and watched, fascinated by the raccoon’s antics. She walked from one end of the deck to the other, taking the time to study some of Mother Nature’s finest displays. “Good Lord, Tex. No wonder you love it here. It’s . . .” She lifted one hand and let if fall, unable to come up with a phrase worthy enough for the sight before her.
After a moment he spoke, his tone filled with a touch of reverence. “This is my church.”
She nodded. “I can see that.” She turned, leaned against the railing to study his face. “Is it your place of confession, too?”
He stepped forward, took her coffee cup from her and placed it on the railing before closing the gap between them. Slipping his hands around her waist he pulled her close. “Sometimes. But I haven’t had a whole hell of a lot to confess since I’ve been here.”
She tilted her head, contemplating his answer. “I don’t know whether to feel good or bad about that.”
He chuckled before planting a kiss on her that stirred the smoldering embers of desire. She groaned when he pulled away. “Keep that up and you won’t get much work done around here today.”
He smiled and planted a second. “That’s the point,” he growled at the end of it.
She took his hand and led him inside the cabin back toward his bedroom and the sheet-rumpled king-size bed, pausing before it. “No fair. You had time to take a shower.”
His right cheek creased with a one-sided grin. “We can remedy that easy enough.” He pulled her into the bathroom, turned on the shower taps before undressing her. “Take your time,” he said, before leaving her to it.
Niki grabbed three travel size bottles of shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner from her bag before stepping under the hot stream of water. She washed and conditioned her hair quickly, had just lathered the washcloth he’d provided with gel when the door opened and he joined her. Her pulse quickened at the sight of his gloriously naked body. “My first thought when I saw this shower was that it was big enough for two.”
“That’s why I designed it this way, but it’s the first time since I’ve built it that I have a chance to test it out.”
“You haven’t brought anyone up here before me?”
“That’s a negative.”
“And you built this yourself?”
He nodded and wiggled his fingers. “These hands are good for more than just giving pleasure, you know.”
Her laughter rang out loudly against the tiled walls. “Someone’s feeling mighty proud of himself.”
He stepped closer, hard and on full display. “Is this proud enough for you?”
This time she eliminated the space between them, slid her soapy hands over his hard, smooth butt cheeks.
But Tex had apparently come to play hard ball. He propped one foot on the built-in shower seat and draped her right leg over his knee. Shifting his left arm around her back to support her, he moved his free hand between her legs.
“Tex . . .” she breathed. “That feels—so good.”
He grinned, kissed her before moving to her neck and answering in a low growl. “Good ain’t exactly my goal, Nicole.”
She smiled. “I love the way you say my name.”
“Mm … Ni-coo-lle,” he drawled, drawing it out as he found the spot. The sweet spot that only men who cared about giving pleasure to a woman dared to find. “Tell me when you’re close,” he said, his breath hot against her ear.
“Uh huh …” She closed her eyes as sweet waves of heat and pleasure increased, widening, building, bringing her closer to where she wanted to be—to where she needed to be. She focused on the sound of water hitting Tex’s broad back, splashing over the tiles as the rhythm of his fingers increased. “Yeesss . . .” she hissed, incapable of any other speech. Close—closer—too damn close. “Tex!”
One slight shift of his position and he was deep inside her. She gasped at the sensation, the shock of having him buried to the hilt in an instant. He moved in long, smooth strokes that had her reaching her climax in seconds and crying out with her release. Niki sunk her nails into his back as he pounded harder in the effort to reach his. He finished with a low growl from deep in his chest as he pumped into her.
Tex held her closer until his breathing returned to normal. He pressed a kiss against her forehead then another, just as gentle, to her lips. He pulled back far enough to level a sincere, blue-eyed gaze on her. “God, I missed you, Nicole. Stay here with me the rest of the weekend.”
“Tex, I shouldn’t—”
He silenced her with a heart-wrenching look. “Please, Nik.”
She cupped his handsome face between her hands. The man was down-right dangerous under normal circumstances. “You aren’t playing fair.”
“I don’t worry about playing fair—not when I’m playing for keeps.”
She sucked in her breath as he brushed his right thumb pad lightly over her left nipple, sending a message that there was plenty more where that came from. Well, damn. How the hell could she say no to that?
* * * *
They’d just cleaned the kitchen after breakfast when Tex leaned against the counter, his arms crossed against his chest as he contemplated something that had been running through his mind. “Would you mind coming with me to pay the Sedtals a visit in San Marcos? I think I told you they’ve been staying in an assisted living complex for a while.”
“After his stroke,” she finished for him. “Has he recovered?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s doing great. I got close to them while they were here. I used to check up on them pretty often and Ms. Patsy always insisted I come in for coffee and whatever baked goods she had on hand. I’d planned to go by and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. I usually stop off at a bakery and pick up some cookies or something.”
She beamed at his suggestion. “When did you plan to leave? I’d love to bake something homemade for them. They seemed like a sweet couple.”
“I’m not sure what you can scrounge up in here to use for ingredients, but I thought we could leave around 10:00 a.m., get in a quick visit and I could take you to lunch over there afterwards.”
Niki did a quick check of his pantry and pulled out several ingredients for no-bake oatmeal cookies and peanut butter cookies. She eyed him skeptically. “They aren’t diabetics or allergic to nuts, are they?”
“Not to my knowledge.” She gave him a brief nod and he watched, completely amazed at how quickly she whipped up the two separate recipes. They were packaged and ready for delivery in less than an hour. One hour later they were knocking on the door of the Sedtal’s third floor apartment.
Ms. Patsy answered, her face breaking into a wide smile when she saw him. “Hey, Matthew! I just told Ron I expected to see you sometime today.”
“I’ve brought someone along for you to meet. This is Nicole Reeves.”
Niki extended her hand. “Hello Mrs. Sedtal. We did meet briefly a couple of years ago, but I’m sure you don’t remember the incident.”
Patsy’s eyes narrowed as though searching her memory banks for something. Her eyes lit up suddenly. “Oh, but I do remember. You showed up on Easter Sunday and asked me not to tell this young man you’d been there.”
Niki nodded. “Yes ma’am, that’s right.”
Patsy’s gaze went from Niki, to Tex, and back to Niki. “I’m glad the two of you finally got your wires uncrossed. You make a beautiful couple.”
Tex resisted the urge to pull Niki close out of respect for both women. For some damn reason he found it difficult to keep his hands
to himself when Nicole was anywhere within his reach. Her welcoming response to his advances made the situation even worse. Mr. Ron entered the room with a loud clearing of his throat, rescuing them all from a potentially embarrassing situation.
“Tex! My beautiful wife said we could expect to see you soon. I don’t know why I bother questioning her.”
Patsy patted her husband’s arm. “I don’t either, Ron.” She winked at Niki. “You’d think by now, he’d have learned to say ‘Yes dear’ and keep his mouth shut, right?”
Niki laughed before extending her hand to the man and introducing herself.
Ronald Sedtal took her hand, his eyes creased with laughter. “One of these days I’ll learn. Y’all come on in.” He pointed to the containers in Tex’s arms. “My goody senses are detecting something tasty. What’d you bring me, Tex?”
Tex didn’t bother answering, but opened the two containers to show him.
Ms. Patsy threw her arms in the air. “Peanut butter cookies are his favorite, and I love these no bake oatmeal cookies. I’m putting a pot of coffee on right now!”
Tex followed Mr. Ron out onto their small balcony area where he had several planters filled with winter vegetable plants. Once the exterior door had closed behind them the older man turned toward him. “It’s about time you settle down, Tex. You had Patsy worried for a while that you’d never find anyone to put up with you. You don’t want to end up a lonely old bachelor, do you?”
Tex laughed at the man’s bluntness. “I used to think I did.” He stared through the glass panes of the door into the living room of the Sedtal’s third story apartment. The two women were already sitting side by side and talking as though they’d known each other for years. “Now I know differently.”
Mr. Ron’s grin turned into a rumbling belly laugh. “Yeah, the right woman will do that to you.” He nudged Tex with his elbow and nodded toward the women. “Don’t you let that one get away. She’s a looker for sure, but more importantly, she’s a good person and it’s obvious she cares about you.” He gave him a wink. “I bet the two of you create quite a bit of sparks together.”
Tex laughed at his insinuation. “Come on now, Mr. Ron. You know a gentleman never kisses and tells.”
The man nodded. “You mean she’s turned you into a gentleman? Now that is a good sign!”
Tex sent one last glance at Niki before turning away. “Yes sir, I guess it is.”
Chapter 6
December 22nd
Niki pulled out her ringing cell phone before throwing her purse on the seat of her car. Her heart fluttered in her chest at the sight of Tex’s handsome face flashing across her phone’s screen. “How did you know I needed to hear the sound of your voice right now?”
“I didn’t, but I sure as hell needed to hear yours. What’s up, babe? You sound stressed.”
“I had to cut my lunch short. I’ve been summoned for a one-on-one with my supervisor.”
“Which one—the older man on his third wife or the gay lady with the hots for you?”
“Stop it … I don’t know that for sure.”
He was quiet for a few seconds. “Nik, if there was one thing I learned in the Marines, it’s never to underestimate the enemy. Everything you’ve told me about this woman screams manipulation. Is there any way you can get out of being alone with her in that room?”
Niki started her car and backed out of the restaurant’s parking lot. “I’m afraid not. I’ll be alright, Tex. I can handle myself. If worse comes to worse, I’ll walk away from the job.”
“Please do something to protect yourself. Get one of those tiny cameras and place it somewhere inconspicuous. It’d be a damn shame for you to lose a job because your supervisor lacks a sense of personal boundaries.”
She took a deep breath, her stomach growing queasier with each block closer to her office. She’d told herself the same thing a number of times already. “Please change the subject.”
“I called because Mom wants to know what kind of pies we’re bringing over.”
“I planned to bake the same thing I brought for Thanksgiving. Should I bake an extra one for the family dogs?”
“Oh, you’re funny. Are they baked yet?”
“I haven’t even started them. I thought I could bring all the ingredients to your place and bake them there. Your kitchen is so much nicer than mine.”
“Oh good, I don’t have to beg. I really wanted to see you tonight.”
“If I’d have known you were ready to beg I’d have held out.”
“Held out for what?”
She chuckled. “I don’t know … a little more.”
“I’ve got a lot more of what you need waiting for you right here. You need me to pick you up at your place?”
“No, I’ll load up my car and meet you at the Sedtal’s place just inside the gate.”
“Sounds good. Can’t wait to see you.”
She pulled into the parking garage and threw her car into park, wishing she’d driven someplace a little further away for lunch. “I’m back at work already, sweetie. I need to let you go.”
“Nik, seriously. I’ve got a bad feeling about this meeting of yours. Please be careful.”
She locked her car and headed across to the multi-leveled office complex. “I will. I promise.”
“I’ll be here at the cabin for the next hour if you need to talk; and if you need me over there, let me know. I’ll drop what I’m doing and drive like a bat out of hell to get to you.”
“My hero.” She stopped in front of the steps of the building, amazed at the change in Tex since she’d first met him. They’d spent every weekend together since Thanksgiving and each Sunday when she had to leave him was more difficult than the previous. “Have I told you lately how much I appreciate your support?”
“Yeah,” he drawled. “But I never get tired of hearing it. Feels good knowing I’m helping you out.”
She grinned as she approached the elevator and hit the up button. “I’ll be getting on the elevator soon and I’ll have to end the call.”
“I understand. Did you ever put up any of your mom’s Christmas decorations?”
Her heart ached with the familiar pain. The plastic storage containers full of Christmas decorations were exactly where Tex had stored them for her, still stacked in a pile in her shed. She hadn’t summoned enough heart or courage to look at them, much less drag them out and empty the contents of each one. The thought of seeing her mom’s decorations spread throughout any place but her parents’ home wasn’t something she was ready to face. “No. Did you put up a tree in your cabin?” Tex claimed he wasn’t much on putting up anything that he’d have to turn around and take down.
“And risk invalidating my man card? Absolutely not,” he grumbled.
The ding of a bell signaled the elevator car’s arrival. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later, babe.”
She turned off her phone and stepped into the elevator, the sound of his voice still echoing in her mind. In the past she’d hated it when guys had called her ‘Babe’. But the sound of the word rolling off Matthew Houston Broussard’s tongue made her want to curl up in a ball beside him and purr with pure satisfaction. She stepped off onto the third floor corridor and approached the office of B.L. McKenna.
She stood for a moment, searching her phone for something, when the door to the women’s executive restroom opened and closed behind her. The touch of someone’s hand to her lower back, just above her butt had her stiffening and pulling away from the intrusive touch. She hugged her phone close to her chest and pivoted to face her supervisor, B.L.
“What do you have there?”
“Checking my phone messages,” Niki said, amazed at the woman’s lack of professionalism.
The woman sauntered into her office, her long legs tanned and every bit as toned and shapely as the rest of her body. Her long dark hair fell straight down her back like black silk. She turned at the door to look back at Niki with exotically shaped eyes so dar
k brown they looked nearly black. “Are you coming?”
Niki lifted her phone. “I’ve got five minutes. I’ll be there as soon as I’m finished with this text.” The woman was a genius at what she did. So why the hell couldn’t B.L. comprehend Niki’s complete lack of interest in members of the same sex? Not now. Not ever.
“Don’t keep me waiting,” B.L. said, turning and heading to her desk, swinging her hips, her short, tight skirt hugging her butt in open invitation.
Niki frowned, aware that B.L. had worn modest black slacks at the business meeting this morning. She fiddled with her phone and dropped it into the shallow pocket of her short jacket before entering the woman’s office.
B.L. looked up from her black leather desk chair and smiled. “Close the door please.”
“Are you planning to fire me or reprimand me for not performing my duties as expected when I was hired?”
Her supervisor blinked. “Not at all.”
“Then I’d prefer to keep it open,” Niki said.
B.L. smiled sweetly, rose from her chair and walked around her clutter-free desk to the door. She closed it and turned to face Niki, the smile replaced with a predatory leer. “My office, honey—my rules.”
Every instinct in Niki told her to run like hell—get out of that office as fast as she could. But she stayed. For every employee who’d ever felt betrayed and taken advantage of by anyone in a position of power, be they man or woman, she stayed to face-off with the dragon. She stood tall and crossed her arms tightly against her chest, ready to come out swinging if she must. “I’ve got work waiting for me on my desk, Ms. McKenna. What is it you need from me?”
The woman approached. “I’ve asked you to call me B.L.”
“I’m more comfortable calling you Ms. McKenna. I don’t believe there’s any kind of company policy against that, is there?”
“Of course not, I just like members of my team to be more at ease in the work environment.”
On a scale of one to ten, Niki’s level of ease had dipped far into the negative values. She’d be more likely to call this woman by her given name of Betty Lou before she’d call her B.L. “Did you cut my lunch short for a specific reason?”
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