* * *
AMANDA DIDN’T KNOW what it was about Justin, but the minute they were alone together she started to glow from the inside out.
She took his hand and led him to the bed, sliding her fingers beneath the hem of his T-shirt and tugging it up and over his head. She dropped it onto the floor. “Anyone ever tell you that you are so darn irresistible it’s mind-boggling?”
He started at the bottom of her shirt and unbuttoned his way up. A second later, it, too, was coming off. Slowly—over her shoulders, down her arms.
His hands skimmed across her ribs and upward. “Did I ever tell you that you have the most beautiful breasts?” His smile was slow and sure, and so hot it could have started a fire.
He bent to kiss a nipple. Her eyes closed as he stroked and suckled. A shiver racked her body and she couldn’t catch her breath. She opened her eyes then impatiently reached for the waistband on his shorts. “Everything about you is beautiful, too.”
The flatness of his abs, the smoothness of his skin, the sheer masculinity of his hips and lower abs, and...that, too...
Amanda laughed in surprise. “You’re...”
“Commando. Mmm-hmm.” Clearly aroused, he caught her against him, found the waistband of her borrowed shorts and eased them down. “And what do you know,” he chuckled as the shorts hit the floor. “You’re commando, too.”
“Commando with boots.” She glanced at her feet.
He slipped off his moccasin-style leather loafers and bent down to untie her laces.
“Naked is better.”
“It certainly is.”
The next thing she knew, her boots were off. Still kneeling, he hauled her in tight against him, parting her thighs and giving her a kiss that was long and wet and deep. Her hands were in his hair as he proved he knew her body better than she did. A whimper escaped her throat. Then, suddenly, she was catapulting over the edge, a quivering tangle of sensation. “I want more,” she whispered, urging him up.
He joined her on the bed. “We’ll have more,” he said, his voice husky with promise. He caught her against him, his mouth meeting hers in perfect harmony. The kiss was slow and romantic. Rough and heartfelt. Tender and easy.
He was claiming her completely in the most primal way she had ever allowed, and she reveled in the heat of his body, the proof of his desire. The shocking extent of his need for her, too.
She relished the tenderness, the knowledge that something about this, the way they couldn’t help but come together, had opened up her heart. Made her want to want and need him, the way she had never wanted or needed anyone before.
* * *
JUSTIN KNEW, MUCH as Amanda pretended otherwise, that there were still barriers between them. The fact that she didn’t think she was good enough for anyone worthwhile. The fact she liked to keep one foot, if not her whole body, out the door. The fact that she didn’t want to think about anything more than the moment she was in.
In the past, he’d felt the same way.
Now, things were different.
Now he wanted her with him, pressing her warm curvy body into his until neither of them could think. He wanted her soft, silky hands sliding all over him. Just as they were now. He wanted her on top of him, kissing him madly, and then beneath him, surrendering softly.
He wanted her open and wet and willing, moaning and wrapping her legs around his waist. He wanted to go deep inside her and feel her clench around him. And even when she did that, her hips rocking up against his, he couldn’t get enough.
He met her eyes as they began to move in tandem.
Harder, faster...slower, deeper.
Until they were both sighing and panting for more.
And they gave it. One to the other, wildly, passionately, until at last there was no more holding back, no more seeking the best connection yet. They were soaring, pinnacling, the thundering ache in his body replaced by the shimmering satisfaction they gave each other, and the lingering yearning in his heart.
* * *
JUSTIN FELL ASLEEP with Amanda wrapped in his arms. He awakened as the first light of dawn was slipping in through the windows. Easing away from her, he rose from the bed and began to dress.
Amanda slept on, looking like an angel. With regret, he went in search of his wallet and keys. They were on the table at the front of the trailer, next to an application for a long-term lease for a space at the Lost Pines Campground.
Amanda’s writing was all over it.
He was still staring at it when she came up behind him. Wrapped in a robe, she slid her arms around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder. He turned slightly, so he could put his arms around her.
She looked up at him, frowned as if perplexed. “Is something wrong?” Her voice was soft.
Ask her. “Are you thinking about keeping the trailer here indefinitely?” he asked finally. When she had personal quarters back at the ranch and him just waiting for her to move all the way in? What did this mean?
Her eyes giving nothing away, Amanda lifted her shoulders. “Well, I have to park it somewhere, since I can’t keep it at the ranch anymore. It makes sense for it to be nearby.”
There was certainly one reason he would not only understand but applaud that decision. Justin scrutinized her closely. “So we’ll have a place to be alone besides a hotel room or my family’s houseboat?”
Amanda hesitated, running a hand through her tousled blond hair. “Well, sure,” she said finally.
Justin tensed. So that wasn’t it.
“I just feel better if my home is nearby,” Amanda said finally. “Even if, technically, it’s going to be a home away from home, once the ranch opens and the kids start arriving.”
Justin guessed he could understand that. Especially since the trailer was the closest thing she had to a home of her own.
He pushed his worries aside. They had time to work all this out. Meanwhile, with everything they had on their agendas, they couldn’t afford to get bogged down in minutiae. “I’ve got to get back to the ranch and take care of the dogs.”
Reluctantly, she led him toward the door. “I’ll see you later, then.”
Later, Justin thought with a twinge of disappointment, as he kissed her again and headed out.
When all he really wanted was the here and now. And the promise that, at the end of the day, she wouldn’t decide their love affair was too complicated and slip out of his life as swiftly and unexpectedly as she had come in.
Chapter Twelve
An hour later, Amanda was in the office. Justin stood beside her desk, multiple stacks of papers in hand. “The first is the application for the state licensing board. The second and third are both small-grant applications. They’re all ready to go. They just need to be signed and mailed.”
Acutely aware of how good he looked in his beige knit shirt, casual green cargoes and work boots, Amanda accepted the files he handed her. “I can handle that.”
His tall frame radiating barely leashed energy, he waited until she had set them aside before continuing. “You’re going to need to read through them first, though, so that you’re familiar with all the information and to make sure all is as it should be.”
Amanda hated paperwork, but she also knew this was part of being ranch director. She was going to have to learn to like it. She put the folders back, front and center on her desk and flashed a smile. “No problem.”
Justin reached for another folder. “We’ve received notice from the state that we’re being audited.”
Her heart sank as she saw the letter containing the list of all the items the state wanted to review.
Picking up on her panic, Justin curved a reassuring hand over her shoulder. “It’s no big deal,” he said, giving her a brief, comforting squeeze. “We have to do this periodically to maintain our
nonprofit status. As CFO, I’ll handle that.”
Thank goodness. Amanda would not have known where to begin.
He removed his hand and continued down his list. “You saw the email this morning from Mitzy?”
Amanda had just read it when he walked in. “About Lamar.” It was part good news, part bad.
Justin nodded, looking as concerned as she felt. “You want to tell him of social services’ decision when he comes in?”
Amanda replied, “I’d like us to do it together, if it’s okay with you.” She lifted her eyes to his and felt a tiny thrill sweep through her when their gazes meshed.
“Sounds good.” Apparently a lot better at keeping his emotions out of the workplace than she was, Justin sorted through his notes with laudable efficiency. “There was also a request for phone interviews from the local paper. They want to get your feelings about being named director of the ranch before they go to press this afternoon.”
An interview? Already? Heaven help her. She felt so overwhelmed she could barely breathe. “What do I say?”
“Whatever you want. Although I have to warn you. I know that reporter. She’s always looking for the sensational side of every issue, to jazz up her copy. She’ll probably ask you how you feel about beating me out of a job everyone knew that I wanted.” Justin paused. “She asked me.”
“What did you say?”
“That I agree you have that something special the board has been looking for all along, and you’ll do a tremendous job here.”
Amanda caught her breath. “You really mean that?”
Nodding, he locked eyes with her, his expression every bit as tender and giving as when they made love. “I do,” he said softly.
Talk about gallantry. Justin was a bighearted Texan, through and through. The kind of man she had always dreamed about but never believed truly existed, until now.
“And don’t forget the TV news producer from KTLZ is coming out to do the advance work on the segment about the ranch later today.”
Amanda made note of that on her own incredibly long to-do list.
“I’m still working on the big grant application.” He pointed to the stack of at least one hundred pages, if not more, on his desk. “That’s due at the end of next week.”
Amanda blinked at the enormity of the application. “That’s it?”
“What I’ve compiled so far,” Justin allowed. “There’s still a ways to go.”
Feeling like she would perish if she had to sit, trapped, behind that desk one second longer, Amanda rose and paced toward the window. She looked out at the lawn, saw the bunkhouse, which still needed a lot of work.
Justin put down his folders and came toward her. He stood behind her and massaged her shoulders. “It’s okay. I’ve got it,” he reassured.
Amanda trembled. “But should you have to?” she couldn’t help but ask.
She pivoted toward him, her arm grazing the hard musculature of his chest. “I’m beginning to feel like I’m all hat and no cattle—not only full of it for even taking this job, but completely incompetent!”
One corner of his mouth quirked up at her self-effacing description. “Stop being so hard on yourself. You’ll feel differently about everything once everything is set up and the counselors and kids start arriving. When you have seven other boys to help acclimate and mentor, you’ll not only be completely in your element, you’ll know why the board wanted you as director.”
Amanda didn’t doubt she would be able to do a good job mentoring the boys, and looked forward to setting up the carpentry shop and teaching woodworking. But as for the rest of it, the business matters she was inundated with now—or rather simply signing off on—how much of that would she ever actually be capable of doing?
She met his tender, reassuring gaze. “It still seems unfair, Justin. I’m the ranch director. Yet you’re still doing all the administrative work.”
“You’ll transition into a lot of it as time goes on. Although, to be honest, I imagine we’ll both continue doing double and triple duty until we get fully staffed. There’s simply no other way to get everything accomplished.”
“That’s true.” She leaned her head on his chest, absorbing his warmth and strength.
He stroked a hand down her spine. “The most important thing is getting the kids settled. And speaking of wayward teens...” Justin smiled as a car door slammed outside.
A minute later, Lamar walked in.
Justin and Amanda met Lamar in the living room. Figuring it would be more comfortable than her office, Amanda motioned for the teen to sit on the sofa. She and Justin pulled up chairs on the other side of the coffee table. “Social services has decided you will be our first residential student,” Amanda informed him, watching as Lamar beamed with delight. “On one condition.” Amanda paused. “You have to agree to attend Laramie High School in the fall. And you have to be serious about it. No more skipping classes.”
Resentment surfaced, as expected. “I told you both. I hate it there.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Justin backed Amanda up firmly. “This is nonnegotiable.”
Amanda handed Lamar the course catalogue. “To reserve your slot in the first bunkhouse, you have to sign up for classes at LHS today.”
Lamar slouched in his chair, all belligerent teen. He thumbed through the catalog listlessly, then shoved it back toward Amanda. “You decide.”
Amanda figured that was as far as Lamar was willing to go when it came to cooperation. She picked up a pen, wrote his name and grade across the top of the form, and looked at the instructions the guidance counselor had sent along with the course list. “Okay. Well, first, you have to sign up for Remedial Math and Remedial Language Arts/English, to get you caught up on the requirements. You also have to take World History and Physical Science over again, too, since you flunked both of those last year.”
Lamar scowled and started to rise. “Whatever you say.”
Amanda shook her head and motioned for him to sit back down. “You’re not done yet. You have two more slots left. One can be Physical Education.”
Lamar groaned. He put his hands on either side of his head in a demonstration of abject misery. “I hate P.E.”
“Everyone does, except the jocks,” Justin sympathized. “But it’s required. And it doesn’t involve studying.”
Lamar harrumphed. “Ha! I wish! The coach gives written tests on the rules of each sport.”
Justin was briefly taken aback. “Then we’ll find a creative way to help you learn the rules, either through practice or watching games on TV, which even you have to admit that you like.”
Amanda understood what it was to hate the academic classroom and feel as though you just didn’t belong in the traditional school environment. “There is a woodworking class for an elective.” She glanced over the description. “Basically, you learn the fundamentals.”
Lamar rolled his eyes. “I already know them.”
“Which should make it easy for you to excel. And maybe even help some of the other kids who are struggling.”
Her attempt to look on the bright side failed. The silence grew even more tense. Finally, Lamar shoved his hands through his hair. “I really have to go to LHS?” he asked miserably. “Again?”
Amanda wished she could tell him there was another option, but social services was not currently offering studying for the GED exam as an alternative path for a habitual truant. With a sigh, she nodded. “If you want to stay here on the ranch, yes, you have to attend the local high school.
“We’ll make sure you get the extra help you need to get caught up,” Justin reassured the boy. “Even if it means hiring tutors.”
Lamar looked even more distraught. For a long moment, he seemed to want to say something. Finally, he stared glumly at Amanda and lifted a shoulder. “Fine. Can I go to wor
k on the bunkhouse now?”
Amanda nodded. “I’ll be right with you.”
Lamar dashed out of the lodge. The dogs greeted him on the porch. Apparently needing the solace they offered, he knelt to pat them.
Justin and Amanda walked into the office to fax the forms over to the high school guidance office. “Congratulations on getting him signed up for classes,” Justin said, preparing a copy for Mitzy and social services, too.
Amanda hadn’t done it alone; they both knew that. She punched in the number on the machine. “I just wish he were happier about it.”
Justin gave her a commiserating glance. “At the moment, I think this is the most we can expect.”
Amanda knew that, too. She just wished she felt happier about that.
Luckily, for all their sakes, Lamar’s mood improved dramatically as soon as they started working on the bunkhouse. It lifted even more when Granddad arrived to take over, while Justin and Amanda led the KTLZ producer on a tour of the facilities.
The fortysomething brunette was blunt-spoken and energetic. “I think the two of you are everything we’re looking for in our Local Heroes series. Helping kids is going to resonate with viewers of all ages. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that we’ve got a picturesque ranch setting with two beautiful young people—the local golden boy and the former bad girl—joining forces to lead the program.”
Amanda flushed self-consciously. She knew it was part of her appeal and the reason she’d been asked to lead the boys ranch, but she hated being known as a former delinquent. It was just so embarrassing when she was paired with a true role model like Justin.
He brushed off the melodramatic description, and interjected with a calm smile, “Anything you can do to help us raise more funds would be deeply appreciated.”
The KTLZ producer smiled back at him. “I’d be glad to help.” She slid her cell phone into her pocket. “There’s only one hitch. We would need to film ten days from now, and we want everything ready for the boys a couple of days before that.”
Amanda did some quick calculations. “So we’d have a week.” And she’d thought her agenda was impossible before!
The Long, Hot Texas Summer Page 16