The Unexpected Storm

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  By the way she said it, he could tell she was having trouble with his material side. Other women would love it, but not Candy.

  “You should see the bathroom.” He flicked on the light in his en suite, and she gasped. It was huge, with a square jetted tub, the shower glassed in with steam and five showerheads. In the center of the bathroom sat the vanity, with a glass top over pebbles and a sink in the center. His walk-in closet opened on the other side, with shelves filled with all manner of expensive suits and casual clothes. But then, Neil liked the finer things. By the look in Candy’s wide eyes, which resembled those of a startled deer, he supposed she might be having trouble with all that. Not only did Neil want her there and have every intention of keeping her there from that day forward, he realized the real work would be in getting her comfortable with all of this.

  Chapter 21

  Candy was holding on to Neil, taking in all the glamor, glitz, and wealth in this one room alone. His bedroom and bathroom were larger than her entire house. The detail, with every furnishing right down to the toothbrush holder, cost more than she’d ever see in this lifetime. Even the man’s clothes—she’d never seen anything like them. He always dressed well, sharp, expensive, but with the amount of clothes he had, he’d never have to wear the same thing twice. Then there was her tiny, rickety dresser that had held her entire wardrobe, which consisted of two pairs of jeans, a skirt, four t-shirts, a couple blouses, and two pairs of shorts. For her, this had meant less laundry. It was easy. But this side of Neil, this extravagance, she didn’t know if she could handle it.

  He set her beside the tub and then glanced at the shower. “I think a shower would be better.” He opened the large glass door and turned dials and knobs, and water and steam poured out of all the showerheads. It was glassed in, and the ceiling was fitted with a large sunroof. The shower itself could have fit an entire family. What in the world did someone do with a shower that large, walk around in it? She knew she was staring—gaping. Her body, her head, her sharp mind were all fried from the emotional roller coaster she’d had and from the fall down that big hole Neil had pulled her out of.

  Neil lifted her stiff hair. “You okay? Because you’ve got that over-thinking look happening again. What’s up, Candy?”

  How did she tell him she was having trouble with all his stuff, all this elegance? She was afraid of touching and breaking something. She looked around the room again and then over to the shower, swallowing the dry lump that felt like sand and grit jammed in the middle of her throat. “Ah, you know...” She didn’t know how to put it into words, and he tilted his head, giving her one of his looks that made her feel as if he were reading her very thoughts.

  He kicked off his boots, pulled off his shirt, and then scooped her up and carried her into that spacious shower, setting her under the showerhead with him. She couldn’t help but stare at his chest, with light brown hair over his sculpted solid muscles trailing down to six-pack abs. My God, just looking at that bare skin was better than she had imagined. She pressed her hands flat against his chest and gazed up at him shyly as he seemed to hold himself back, watching but letting her touch him. He ran his hands in her hair, lifting it and rinsing out the mud and grit. Then he lifted her shirt over her head and slid the skirt down, tossing both in a heap in the corner of the shower. She was naked before him, and she started to cover her breasts, but he took hold of both her hands and shook his head.

  “Don’t. You’re beautiful, every part of you.” He picked up a bar of soap and washed her down, taking care around her puncture and checking every part of her for scrapes and cuts. “You got a lot of bruises from your fall. Anything hurt?” He skimmed his large hands down her side and back up as she rinsed off the soap. “No, I just feel a little stiff, but this shower helps. Is there enough water to be doing this?”

  “Hmm, for now. With the generator running, we’re pumping water from the well. I’ll check it after we’re done.” He shampooed her hair, taking such care of her that the lump in her throat started aching and she wondered if she’d start crying again.

  “Why are you looking after me? I don’t know how to handle this, Neil.” She glanced up, and his expression had changed into something predatory and protective and consuming. He lowered his lips to hers, pressing hard and flicking his tongue as she opened for him in a deep, possessive kiss that left her breathless. He pulled his head away and rested it against her forehead.

  “You still have no idea. I want you every day. You’ve never had anyone to look after you. I knew it, I suspected it, and it’s not right. You should be treasured.” He slid his hand over her breast and lowered his head, taking her nipple in his mouth, and she thought she’d explode from the need burning in her center. The water ran over her, over him, and she gasped, pressing herself closer to him, into him. Her senses were jarred by the jeans he still wore.

  “Neil, take off your jeans. Please.” She reached for the button, and he brushed her hand away and stepped back from her, undoing the button and taking off his pants. Her mouth gaped at the size of him. She stared and wondered, as she glanced back up at him, how it was possible he’d fit.

  He must have sensed her shock, because he grabbed the soap and washed himself, then took her hand in his and set it on his chest, running it over his stomach, guiding her to feel him. In those seconds that felt like an eternity, his eyes never left hers. He took her in his arms and back under the spray of two showerheads, rinsing them off. Then he flicked off the shower. Grabbing a thick towel, he dried her off, wrapped a towel around his waist, and then he carried her to his bed, laying her across the center of the deep green duvet. He laid her down so softly, caringly, and gently. Then he was hovering over her, his arms above her, looking down on her, something so deep burning in those amber eyes that her heart squeezed and cracked open just a bit. She needed to reach out to him and let him in.

  She touched his face, his cheek, which was heavily whiskered and scratched against her palms. He turned his head into her hand and pressed a kiss with his lush lips, which knew how to kiss her, and she wanted them on her.

  “Please make love to me,” she said, watching and waiting while he stared at her as if deciding. She sucked in her bottom lip between her teeth and worried it.

  “Candy, I want you so bad, but there won’t be anything casual here. If I make love to you, you’re mine. Do you understand? There won’t be any running away. I won’t let you go. I will be demanding and possessive and...”

  “Yes.” She cut him off before he could finish, sliding both her hands in his wet hair and pulling him down to her.

  He took her in a kiss that showed her he meant what he said, deep and consuming, sharing his breath and letting him have all of her. He ran his hands down her side and pulled her to him as they lay side by side on the bed. He lifted her leg over his hip as he kissed her, holding her to him, his tongue touching, tasting her. He kissed her neck, tracing a path down and around her breasts, cupping them in both hands as he took his time pulling on each nipple with his teeth and then running his tongue over them.

  “Oh, Neil, that feels so good.” She wanted him so badly that she could feel something coil and wrap tightly, deep inside her belly. It was burning and spreading out in a way that made her feel as if she were losing control. She thought she might have bounced off the bed if Neil hadn’t rolled on top of her, pinning her under him. He still had the towel wrapped around his waist, and she wanted it gone as she moved her legs apart for him.

  His hands were there, spreading her, touching her, feeling her. He was watching her in the pool of light that drifted from the bathroom. She needed his mouth on her again, and she tried to pull him back to her, almost frantic with need. She slid her hands to the towel and tried to pull it off, but he grabbed both her hands and pinned them above her head with one hand while he pulled open the towel and tossed it to the floor.

  Again, she glimpsed the size of him and felt him resting against her thigh, thick and heavy. “Neil, I know the mecha
nics of how it works, but...”

  “Shh.” He stopped her, and he obviously understood her worry. “Just enjoy. Trust me, okay?”

  My God, how could she not trust him? He still held her hands above her, and he lowered his head to her breast and tasted her. He spread her legs wider, his hand there, pressing into her. She felt his finger test her, and she nearly exploded under him, lifting her hips.

  “Please, Neil. I need you.”

  He let go of her hands and pressed her legs wide with both hands, holding her down and settling between her thighs. He kissed her again, a deep kiss, as he entered her slowly, a little at a time, with small thrusts. He froze above her, pressed his forehead to hers, breathing hard, deep, and then, with a sharp thrust, he was in her, and the pain was instant. She cried out, and he watched her.

  “Shh, baby, just lie still. It’ll pass.” He kissed her cheek, her eyes, her lips, and waited until she stopped fighting him.

  He was so big and filled her so completely that it was almost too much, but she needed more, something more, and he must have known. He started to move slowly inside her, watching her with such caring and with something else that was a lifeline linking them together. When she tried to wrap her legs around his waist, something that felt so instinctive, he pulled them away and set her legs wide open for him, and he moved inside of her faster. She could tell he was holding himself back, trying not to hurt her, and it felt so damn good, but she was pinned and completely at his mercy. She felt fireworks building inside of her, and he was the only man, the only one, who could release them. She cried out again as wave after wave convulsed through her, and he grunted above, yelling her name, and she felt such warmth fill her. He collapsed on top of her, pressing all his weight into her, still inside her, and for the first time in her life, she truly understood what it meant to be possessed entirely by the man she loved.

  Chapter 22

  Neil thought for a minute that he’d gone blind. He’d never in his life had his heart connect with a woman while deep inside of her. He could almost feel the way she opened to him, as if she had no control over the heavy wooden door that had been the gatekeeper to her heart. It was so powerful that it was beyond words. A magic that felt like a million sparklers lighting up every part of him. Even though he had been her first, there was something so magical about the fact that no other man had touched her so intimately. He had been the first to lay claim to her, and she was his. He could understand that Neanderthal, caveman way of thinking that often appeared among his brothers. If any other man ever tried to touch her, he knew without a doubt that he’d kill him. She was special, she was his, and she was the first woman he’d ever brought into his bedroom in this house, the first to ever grace his bed.

  Oh, he’d slept with plenty of women. But there was one thing about sleeping with them and having some fun and another thing about bringing a woman home to his bed. To him, having a woman in his bed, under his roof, was a commitment he hadn’t been ready for until he met Candy. There was something about her that spoke of family, of forever. He rolled over, taking her with him, pulling out of her. She hissed, and he worried for a second that he’d hurt her.

  “You okay?” he asked her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, running his hand down her wet hair, which curled at her waist, and over her slim, rounded bottom. He loved her ass, just touching it, feeling it. She lay on him as if he were her mattress, resting her palm on his chest. “Candy, did I hurt you?”

  She turned her face up and gazed at him, and what he saw in her eyes had him swallowing his heart. “I feel wonderful, like I belong to you. I’m sorry this was so new for me. Was it okay for you?”

  She was worried about him. He wanted to laugh and roll her over and make love to her again, but he had to remind himself she’d be sore. She wouldn’t be walking if he was riding her over and over. “Oh, don’t you worry about me. That was wonderful. Do you have any idea how special it is that I was your first? That’s a gift.”

  However, he’d also used no protection, and she had to know it. He knew it—he had planned it that way, which was rather selfish on his part, but he was determined to have her, to tie her to him. He slid his hand over her belly, and she pressed her hand over his.

  “You’ll make a wonderful father, Neil. What if you got me pregnant?”

  Yeah, she knew, all right. “I hope I got you pregnant. I hope my child is growing now right here. I already told you I won’t let you go now.”

  She slid up, her breasts pressing into his chest, and she kissed him, then smiled as she looked down on him. “I hope you did, too. I want your child.” She looked at him with trust burning in her eyes, which were filled with color and light and passion.

  He rolled her over. “Well, let’s just make sure we did it right.”

  Chapter 23

  Candy was sound asleep, draped over him, her leg tangled with his, her hand resting on his chest. He slid his hand over hers, his arm around her, holding her close to him. He’d pulled the covers up over her and listened for a few minutes as she settled into a deep sleep. She jumped a few times and seemed to snuggle closer. For the first time, he felt connected to someone he knew he could spend the rest of his life with.

  He’d wanted nothing more than to settle in and hold her, to shut his eyes and then wake her up, taking time to explore and taste every sweet inch of her, but he couldn’t, because he promised Candy he’d find her horses. He’d already cooked a steak for them to share, along with a salad, after he fed Ambrose. He turned the generator off after cooking, and they ate in his room, off one plate, surrounded by a sea of candles. He fed her, cutting a piece of meat and then salad, putting it in her mouth as she sat naked with the sheet draped around her waist and her long hair draped over her breasts. It was so alluring and sexy, that he’d wanted nothing more, when they finished, than to roll her on her back, spread her legs, and take her again, but he knew she was sore from the two times he’d filled her already.

  He held her until she drifted off, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He knew that gray horse, her prized Azteca, wasn’t doing well. He had cuts all over him. He was freaked right out, and Neil could only imagine what he’d survived out there, racing from downed trees and getting pinned like he was. Horses who were left and stuck alone had been known to go mad, and it took years before they recovered enough for people to ride them.

  Neil held Candy and eased her onto his pillow as he slipped out of bed. He sat on the edge and pulled on a pair of jeans, and she slid her hand up his back.

  “Where are you going?” She sounded groggy, tired.

  “I’m going to find the horses. You stay here. I’ll be back.” He pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of socks, and Candy sat up.

  “I want to come with you.” She slid her legs over the side of the bed.

  “No. I need to move fast, Candy, and I can’t be worrying about you. I need to know you’re safe back here.” What he couldn’t tell her was that he planned on taking the rifle he kept in the garage with extra shells, because he might be forced to put any one of the horses down. Who could know if the others were still alive, if they were lying injured and trapped somewhere he wouldn’t be able to rescue them? “Slide back under. You’ve been through hell today, and I know you’re sore. So, back in bed. Get some rest.”

  She hesitated and then linked her fingers with his as she slid back in bed, resting her head on his pillow. Neil tucked her hair behind her ear before leaning down and kissing her, lingering until she slid her arms around his neck to pull him closer. He reached up and unhooked her arms, kissing each of her hands.

  “You sexy siren. Stay put. Do you understand? I don’t want you traipsing around outside. Will you promise you’ll get some sleep?”

  “Okay. Neil?” She smiled and looked so childlike as she lay in his bed.

  “Yeah?” He stood over her and held her fingers with his.

  “How do you know so much about horses? I mean, I watched you with Sable, and I have to tell you it was the f
irst time I was ever so scared. I’ve never seen him like that, but you just walked in like you were talking to him and he understood you, as if you were going to make everything okay, and you got him out. I couldn’t have gotten him out. He was scared of me.”

  Neil sat on the bed, resting his hand beside her hip, cradling her against his body. She had a sparkle in her eyes as she watched him, waiting for him to tell her some secret, a woman who had handed him her heart. “I grew up with horses. Trained them, me and my brothers. We’re ranchers by blood. Sable was terrified, Candy. Whatever he saw scared the hell out of him. He was depending on me to get him out, but he was so freaked out at the same time. I understood that, and he needed to know I was calm and that I was going to get him out. There is a lot to horses, how they react to you. They read everything about you. Candy, you were a mess when you found him. He would have picked up on that, but you already know that. I better go. I’ll be gone for a few hours.” This time, he pulled away and started to leave.

  “Neil?” she called again as the sheet rustled.

  He wanted to laugh. “What now?”

  “No one has ever taken care of me before. I just thought you should know.”

  “Well, get used to it.” Neil took a set of keys from his top drawer and pulled open the door and watched her in the dim light, taking in her sexy smile as she wrapped her arms around her knees and watched him leave.

  Neil didn’t drive to Candy’s this time. He had an idea where to start looking for the horses, but he needed to do it on foot. He stopped first in the garage and unlocked the cabinet taking out the rifle and filled a backpack with extra shells, a water bottle for him, and the first aid kit. He slid open the second storage locker that held his old riding gear, his first saddle, which he’d never part with, and old, worn tack from his first horse. His father understood why he had brought it with him and his mother hadn’t said a word. He could have left it all at Brad’s, the home where he grew up, but it just didn’t feel right. He knew one day he’d have horses again; it was just that in the past few years, his energy had been focused elsewhere, like toward the ten-million-dollar resort he had planned to build where Candy’s home had once been.