Pink flooded her cheeks, and then she wiggled her hips. “I’m not that sore.” Mischief turned her eyes sky blue.
His cock responded as if she’d raised the starting gate, and he almost groaned. Dammit. Now he’d suffer with a massive hard-on while they loaded her car.
She grinned at him, tilting her hips against his dick.
Hell with it, they’d just get a later start. Before he could scoop her up, she stepped back. “I’d… I want to talk first.”
Fucking-A, he might have a stroke right then and there. Good thing she was a nurse. He pulled in a slow breath. “All right.”
Summer had felt his erection, seen the heat in his gaze. Now she heard the strained patience in his voice. How many men would back off without making a production of it? God, she loved him.
He pulled her down to sit beside him on the porch swing. After putting an arm over her shoulders, he picked up a strand of her hair, curling it around his hand. He really did like to touch. It seemed strange that someone the size of a truck could be so affectionate. She glanced up.
The corners of his eyes crinkled, and he touched her cheek lightly with his finger. “I love you.”
Oh God. In the clear mountain light, his eyes were golden and filled with such warmth that it was like a force pulling her toward him. Dammit, she’d wanted to have a rational discussion. One not involving emotions. “Virgil…”
“Say it, slugger.” He was as unstoppable as spring back home—melting the snow, exposing the tender new grass, flooding the streams and tearing away obstacles. Pushing her off-balance.
“I love you too.” And she did, and her feelings for him kept growing, sending out leaves, rooting deep in her soul. She blinked back tears. “I love you so much.”
“There we go.” He kissed her gently, then said, “I took the week off. I’m going to help you move and get settled in…if that doesn’t frighten you too much. I can do a little job-hunting myself.” He ran his finger down her cheek, smiling at her startled look. “I daresay I can find work somewhere close to you.”
“I’m staying.”
“But we’d best get started and…” He started to rise, then froze. “Wait… What did you say?”
Bubbles of joy rising inside her were as heady as champagne, and she giggled, then gave him a stern look and repeated his own words back to him, “Oh, you heard me.”
When he still just stared at her, she wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him down to whisper, “I’ll stay.”
“Thank you, God.” His arms tightened until her ribs creaked, and then he kissed the breath right out of her. He was going to kill her dead—and she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
He cupped her head, holding her against him for a moment, and she heard his heart pounding under her ear. “What about your career?” he finally asked.
“The doctor in town hired me.”
“Well damn.” He pushed her back to stare into her face in disbelief. “How the hell did you do that? I—uh—”
“Yeah, I know you yelled at him.” She touched his hard jaw with fingers that trembled slightly. He’d lost his temper, not at her but to help her. How could she not love him? “So I’m staying. But…I’m going to get my own place.”
His eyes narrowed ominously. “You won’t move in with me?”
“No.” Firm. Be firm, Summer. “It’s too soon. We need to see how it goes. So I’ll get an apartment or—”
“Not an apartment. Hell, I almost forgot.” He rose and strode into the lodge in big ground-covering strides.
She stared after him.
A minute later, he returned, a small quilt bundled in his arms.
She frowned. “You wanted a blanket?”
“Didn’t want him to get cold,” he muttered and opened the quilt to drop something in her lap. Something that squirmed with soft, soft fur, long drooping ears, big brown eyes.
The spaniel puppy bounced up to frantically lick her chin, wiggling in joy.
“Oh, look at you… You’re so cute.” Laughing, Summer glanced up at Virgil. “You got a puppy?”
“Nope. You got a puppy.” He smiled at her, and the love in his eyes filled her heart to overflowing. “I planned to come with you, but if you refused and left without me”—his jaw tightened as he repeated—“if you left alone, you’d be hurting almost as much as me, and you’d need something to love.”
As he took his seat beside her, she buried her face in the puppy’s soft fur, trying not to cry. He’d have tried to make her happy even if she left him. How could her heart keep expanding without bursting? Still holding the squirmy puppy, she stood and plopped down on Virgil’s lap.
He rumbled a laugh, and his arms came around her and the pup, offering a warm shelter of protection. Here was everything she ever wanted.
He’d said, “I learned a harsh lesson this year that I should never assume someone knows how I feel.” That applied to her too. “I love you, Virgil.”
“Now that’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” he said softly. He cupped her cheek. “I will always do my best to fill your needs.” It sounded like a vow. The sun lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled, and his voice deepened with controlled power. “Since it appears I’m a fucking pervert…a dom”—his smile flickered—“that means you will fill all of mine.”
At the undeniable command, a wave of heat surged over her, melting every single bone. He lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her answer.
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered. Then she raised her chin. “But I’m still going to have my own place. At least six months.” Surely she could hold out for that long, just to make sure they really were suited.
As he studied her face, she realized he was reading her like an open book…and he’d only been a dom a little while. The memory of last night came to her—his powerful hands and hard voice controlling her. A tremor ran through her. What would happen as he grew more experienced? She lifted her gaze.
Watchful intelligence burned in his level eyes…and then he gave her a slow, utterly confident smile.
Oh God, she’d be lucky to last a month.
Loose Id Titles by Cherise Sinclair
Master of the Abyss
Master of the Mountain
The Dom's Dungeon
The Starlight Rite
The MASTERS OF THE SHADOWLANDS Series
Club Shadowlands
Dark Citadel
Breaking Free
Lean on Me
Make Me, Sir
“Simon Says: Mine”
Part of the anthology Doms of Dark Haven
With Sierra Cartwright and Belinda McBride
“Welcome to the Dark Side”
Part of the anthology Doms of Dark Haven 2: Western Night
With Sierra Cartwright and Belinda McBride
Cherise Sinclair
Now everyone thinks summer romances never go anywhere, right? Well…that’s not always true.
I met my dearheart when vacationing in the Caribbean. Now I won’t say it was love at first sight. Actually, since he was standing over me, enjoying the view down my swimsuit top, I might even have been a tad peeved—as well as attracted. But although our time together there was less than two days, and although we lived in opposite sides of the country, love can’t be corralled by time or space.
We’ve now been married for many, many years. (And he still looks down my swimsuit tops.)
Nowadays, I live in the west with this obnoxious, beloved husband, two children, and various animals, including three cats who rule the household. I’m a gardener, and I love nurturing small plants until they’re big and healthy and productive…and ripping defenseless weeds out by the roots when I’m angry. I enjoy thunderstorms, playing Scrabble and Risk, and being a soccer mom. My favorite way to spend an evening is curled up on a couch next to the master of my heart, watching the fire, reading, and…well…if you’re reading this book, you obviously know what else happens in front of fires. :)
Cherise
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br /> Visit Cherise Sinclair on the web at www.CheriseSinclair.com
Doms of Dark Haven 2: Western Night Page 32