by Rita Herron
Because as much as he wanted to steer clear of her, he wasn’t sure he could settle for one night.
“Suzanne, are you sure?”
His voice sounded husky to his own ears, riddled with the echo of doubt. Damn, he didn’t want to sound as if he was begging.
But seconds later his worries disintegrated when Suzanne stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. He tasted the fire of her desire and caught the devilish gleam in her sensual eyes and knew that tonight he was going to make her his.
A sense of power yet soul-wrenching tenderness overcame him.
Threading his fingers through the long tresses of her silky hair, he claimed her mouth with his, seeking, searching, yearning. Her passion rose to meet his, driven from the depths of his soul. He slid his hand to her nape, caressing and stroking the sensitive skin just before he dragged his mouth down to lave her. He nibbled and suckled, his hands gently teasing her shoulders, the slope of her back, then skimmed up her body to trace a journey along her collarbone. Her sharp intake of air told him she liked his touch, the womanly fragrance of lust emanating from her almost intoxicating.
Then she went wild, stroking and kneading the muscles in his arms, his back, cupping his face to suck at his lips, trailing her own damp tongue along his jawbone and into his ear until he shuddered with hunger.
“I’ve never wanted a man like I want you, Rafe,” she whispered into his neck as her hands teased his shirt open. Snaps popped, fingers tangled into the dark curls on his chest. He exhaled on a choked groan, then found himself standing still at the admiration in her eyes.
“You are something to see,” she said in such an erotic voice his sex literally surged against his jeans. She must have sensed it because her gaze shot south, then she licked her lips.
Damn. “Suzanne.”
A smile curved her mouth as her gaze met his. “I want you, Rafe. I don’t care how slow or fast, but I want you.”
The woman was killing him.
“Honey, I want you, too. But I want to make it good for you.”
She lowered her hand and cupped him, causing fire to shoot through his loins. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
Then she shocked him by raising her hands and twisting the buttons of her shirt. He reached out to help her, their hands becoming a frenzy of hurried movements until she tossed the shirt to the floor. Her small beautiful breasts clad in black lace taunted him, the rigid peaks of her nipples straining against fabric that was meant only to tease the imagination. Soft skin dappled in moonlight glowed like silk, begging for his kisses.
A sudden feeling of reverence filled him, and he gently stroked the ends of her hair, spreading it across her bare shoulders. “You are so beautiful.” Emitting a low groan, he lowered his head and kissed her again, hard, telling her exactly what he wanted to do to her with his tongue before he nuzzled her breasts with his hands. Moaning with desire, he licked his way down to her cleavage and suckled her through the lace. Suzanne groaned with such abandonment that he felt himself coming apart. But not yet…
IF EVER A PERSON was going to die from want, Suzanne was on the hit list. She practically sobbed for Rafe to take her to heaven, but he seemed to revel in torturing her. First with his massive sexy body, now with his hands and tongue. He made a savage foray down her throat and breasts, sucking her until she thought she would explode from need. She fell into his arms, her breathing ragged as he walked her back towards the bed and they collapsed on top of the covers, all without his mouth ever leaving her. She writhed and groaned and struggled to trap his body close to her with her legs, winding them around him until she felt the hard presence of his arousal. Shifting upward, she accommodated him, the image of him naked becoming an unbearable mystery as his jeans scraped against her own.
Then he was taking them off. Hers. His. Rubbing his bare hairy legs against her smooth ones, his fingers cradling her hips and lifting her to slide off the black lace panties that were slick with heat he had ignited. Suzanne threw her head back and groaned, then perused his body with her eyes, taking in his magnificent size and the potency of his desire. All of which inflamed her even more.
“Come here, Rafe.” She beckoned him to join her, but he shook his head.
“Not yet, baby.”
Her breath caught in her chest as he slid on a condom and lowered his mouth to taste the heart of her. One touch of his tongue sent her to heaven. The rest made stars explode into the sky.
She screamed his name on a shudder, erotic sensations rippling through her, and begged him once again to join her. Finally she felt relief as his sex surged into her, taking her home and marking her with his personal stamp. And as he whispered her name and kissed her hair, she fell apart in his arms, clutching at him until she was sure she had clawed his skin raw.
Just as he had exposed the raw and primal part within her.
RAFE NUZZLED Suzanne’s neck, pulling her naked body into his. His own body still shuddered with the aftermath of their passion, while his mind had become a muddled mess.
One time definitely wasn’t enough.
He wasn’t sure it would ever be enough.
“Your grandma was wrong, you’re not sweet like sugar,” he whispered. She jerked her head back and searched his eyes.
“You’re more like molasses. Rich—” he kissed her lips, then her neck “—and spicy sweet—” he licked her neck “—and addicting.”
Suzanne laughed. “And you’re like chocolate,” she said, trading lick for lick. “One bite makes me crave more.”
They made love again, this time tenderly and slow. As they nestled into each other’s arms and sleep claimed them, Rafe tightened his arms around Suzanne. Somehow he had to make things work with this woman.
He had no idea how, but he had to have her again. And again. And again.
And he did, during the night. Another time, long and slow and tender and sweet. Then another in the shower as they bathed each other. And then in the early hours of the morning, just before dawn broke the sky and the sun rose to tell them it was morning.
But the phone rang, destroying their solitude.
Suzanne curled against him, her eyelashes fluttering against cheeks pale from lack of sleep. Guilt threatened to surface, but he remembered how wild she had been in his arms and squashed it.
What if the phone call was the hospital?
He nudged her slightly, kissing her neck and blowing more kisses along her ear to wake her. The phone trilled twice more, and he finished off by blowing on her navel. She giggled and squirmed up, pushing hair from her eyes. But she was too late. The answering machine clicked on.
A man’s voice spoke. “Suzanne, this is James. I tried calling last night, and wondered if you’d gotten my message. You won’t believe this, but I just talked to the banker in Sugar Hill and he’s ready to foreclose on the McAllister property this week.”
Suzanne reached for the phone, her eyes panicked, but he grabbed her arm, their gazes locking while the man continued.
“Everything else is set. We’re getting pressure to close this deal before that little town goes crazy and has time to stage some moronic protest, so I say we move today. Call me and let me know if you’ve made any progress with McAllister.”
She tried to pull away, to stop the machine, but he shook his head.
Excitement built in the other man’s voice while dread and anguish throbbed in Rafe’s chest.
“Hell, it doesn’t matter. We’ve played our cards right on this one, baby. Now it’s time to swoop in for the kill.”
They had played their cards right. Time to swoop in for the kill like the vultures they were.
Rafe released Suzanne’s arm, his throat burning with emotions. The stricken look on her face confirmed that his speculations were true.
She was working for Horton Developers, the company that wanted to buy his land out from under him. Worse, she had been sent there to get it.
He glanced at their sweat-soaked naked bodies, and
bile rose in his throat. Obviously, she’d been instructed to do anything she had to do in order to convince him to sell.
Chapter Fourteen
Suzanne froze in horror as James said goodbye and the message machine clicked off.
So did her heart.
Raw pain riddled Rafe’s face. Suzanne had made the biggest mistake of her life by not telling him the truth from the beginning.
“Rafe, please—”
“Please what?” Anger hardened the husky voice that had only moments earlier murmured to her that she was molasses, the voice that had brought her to ecstasy by calling her name in the throes of his own release. “Please let you make a bigger fool out of me by sticking around.”
He got out of bed, jerked up his clothes and shoved his feet into his jeans, not bothering to button them as he yanked on his shirt and grabbed his boots.
Suzanne pulled the sheet off the bed, wrapped it around her and ran after him. “No, Rafe, it wasn’t like that. Please wait and let me explain.”
He spun around, fury tightening those high cheekbones, the rage in his eyes darkened by hurt. “You don’t have to explain. Your buddy made it pretty clear what you’re doing here.” His gaze flickered over her with undisguised disgust. She felt even more naked and exposed, as though he was literally stripping away the skin to smirk at the bare ugliness below.
“And it’s obvious you did everything in your power to lure me to your way of thinking. What was I? Another one of your charity cases?”
“Rafe, I never…” Her voice broke, laden with hurt at his crude insult. She cleared her throat, desperately searching for some way to make things right as he pulled on his boots. “Did I mention the land while we were in bed? Or while you were kissing me?”
His angry gaze shot back to her. “No, you didn’t.” He strode toward her, shoving his face so close she could see the vein jumping in his jaw.
She could also smell her lingering scent on his skin.
“Just when did you plan to drop that little bombshell into the conversation, Suzanne? In the middle of a bath together? Or were you going to wait until the next time when I was inside you? Or maybe you planned to wait until the town meeting?”
Her chin quivered, the need to touch him so strong she pried one hand loose from the sheet and reached out. But he jumped back, as if appalled by her.
“The game’s over,” he barked. “So you can tell your friend—”
“He’s my boss.” Lord, she didn’t have the heart to tell him James had actually proposed to her. That had been a lifetime ago. Before she’d come to Sugar Hill and met Rafe and his mother. Before she’d learned to care for him and love his land.
And before she’d fallen in love with him….
A pain crushed her windpipe as the magnitude of the situation hit her. He would never trust her again. And he would never believe that she had planned to refuse James’s proposal and look for an alternate piece of land for Horton Developers, only things had gone crazy tonight when her father had his heart attack—
“Tell your boss that my property is not for sale. Not now.” Rafe hesitated, one hand on the doorjamb. “Not ever. Especially to you and Horton Developers.”
His boots clicked harshly on the floor as he stalked out the door. Suzanne crumpled, certain he would never be back.
It was her fault that she had lost him.
RAFE SPENT THE BETTER PART of the next day doing as much hard labor as he could around the ranch. Anything to work off the anger from the night before.
Why hadn’t he realized what Suzanne was up to? Why hadn’t he followed all his instincts in the beginning and stayed clear of her?
Because she suckered you in with those brown eyes and that lush body. And then she had to go and be nice to your mother, as if she was really a decent girl.
Because you are a damn fool when it comes to women.
He pounded the last hammer into the wooden post, wiped sweat from his forehead and stepped back to survey the corral. At least he’d put his energy into something productive today.
Maybe he’d go out and check the herd.
“You driving like a demon today,” Bud said. “What’s got into you, boy?”
“Nothing, just trying to get this place back in shape,” Rafe said, gathering his tools.
“Stop in and see your mama a minute. She’s been wanting to talk to you all day.”
A moment of worry attacked him. “Is she all right?”
Bud patted his back. “Yeah, but be forewarned. She’s planning some kind of dinner party and wants to rope you into it.” He made a tsking sound with his teeth. “Women.”
“Yeah, women.”
Now, what did his mother have up her sleeve?
He walked toward the house, dread clenching his stomach as he stabbed a guess. Her sudden need to entertain most likely had something to do with Suzanne. How could he explain that his days spent with Suzanne Hartwell were over? That they had both been wrong about the woman?
That she was not the friend she pretended to be, but the enemy?
SUZANNE HAD NEVER BEEN so miserable in her life. She forced herself to visit her father that morning and found him irritable and ready to leave the hospital, so Eleanor had arranged his release and they were driving back to Atlanta. Not wanting to upset him or hear an I-told-you-so, he’s-all-wrong-for-you speech, she had avoided telling her father about her relationship with Rafe.
“Suzanne, wait.” Rebecca caught her in the hall. “What’s wrong?”
Suzanne shrugged off her concern and did what she did best—focused on business, which was what she should have done all along. “Nothing.”
But Rebecca didn’t buy it. She should have been a shrink. “Tell me, sis. It might help to talk.”
She doubted it. Still, moved by her sister’s concern, Suzanne spilled the entire story.
“Oh, my,” Rebecca said in a voice filled with such pity that a fresh well of tears exploded and overflowed down Suzanne’s cheeks. Once she’d opened the floodgates at the hospital, it seemed she couldn’t stop them.
Horrified at herself, Suzanne hugged Rebecca good-bye, then jogged down the hallway and outside to her car. Sunshine burned her neck, but it didn’t dry her tears.
Determined to regain her focus and devise a solution to all their problems, she spent the afternoon scouring the countryside, checking out property and searching for some way she might win Rafe back. If only she could figure out a way to help him keep his ranch. But he still had all that debt hanging over him. He didn’t want her working against him, but he sure as heck wouldn’t accept her help, either. Stubborn old cowboy.
Stubborn sexy cowboy.
Stubborn sexy cowboy that she loved.
Finally exhausted, she drove back to Rebecca’s apartment, but tears blurred her vision as she let herself inside, the heavy sense of loss and failure weighing on her. What was she going to do? Any way she handled the situation, someone would be upset with her.
If she and Rafe didn’t have a future, she needed to at least keep her job.
She glanced at the ring James had given her, the huge stone sitting like a boulder on her hand. Her heart sank even further in her chest. She couldn’t marry James. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them. After all, now she had experienced the true kind of passion and love in Rafe’s arms, how could she even think about being with another man? The hope chest mocked her from the corner, the cowboy bridal hat and boots blazing like a big neon sign, reminding her of Rafe and his mother.
A knock sounded at the door and she froze, wondering if Rafe might have changed his mind and returned to hear her out.
But the memory of the condemning look on Rafe’s face when he’d walked out the door flashed into her mind. No. The idea of Rafe forgiving her was a pipe dream.
The knock grew louder.
She tried to ignore it, but the door opened and Rebecca strode inside, Grammy Rose and her cousins close on her heels.
“Suzanne, honey, why aren’t you an
swering your door?” Grammy Rose asked in a worried voice.
“We brought you comfort food—café mochas and pecan pralines,” Rebecca said.
“And we brought extra brainpower,” Hannah said.
“And moral support,” Alison added.
“We can even give you sex tips on snaring that cowboy,” Mimi chimed.
Suzanne took one look at her loving family and realized in Atlanta she had no friends. Here, in Sugar Hill, she had family, people who loved her and…and a man she loved but had lost.
Grammy Rose held out her arms and a box of tissues, and Suzanne collapsed in her embrace. “Thanks, you guys, I could use all the moral support and brainpower I can get.”
“And don’t forget sex tips,” Mimi said with a wink. “After all, you aren’t going to give up on getting that cowboy back so quickly are you?”
“Of course she’s not.” Grammy Rose patted her back. “She’s a Hartwell girl, isn’t she? We always get our man.”
“HOW ABOUT WE ASK HER for dinner tomorrow night? I’ll invite Bud and we’ll have a foursome.” Rafe’s mother placed a fresh bouquet of daisies on the table. “Maria can throw together a salad and whip up some rice and gravy, and I’ll fry some country-fried steak and make one of my peach cobblers. Do you think Suzanne likes country-fried steak? Or maybe you should grill the steak outside, just in case she’s one of those health-conscious city girls.” She laughed and fluttered a hand. Her health had improved so drastically over the past few weeks that he hated to disappoint her. “Oh, never mind, it won’t hurt the girl to plump up those curves a bit, the more to love—”
“Mother, we’re not having Suzanne over to dinner tomorrow night.”
“Mercy. Well, of course a smart, beautiful girl like her probably has plans on such short notice. How about the night after?”
“Not then, either.”
“Oh, dear, maybe you should ask her when she’s free.” A look of concern tightened her brow. “You’d better jump on it, son, before some other man snatches her right out from under you.”