She tipped her head to the side, her eyes softening. “You take so much pride in this place. It shows.”
“It’s my life,” he stated simply.
When a sadness swept over her features, Colt wasn’t having any part of that. Not here, not now, when he wanted her with a need he couldn’t even identify.
Reaching behind his back, he jerked his T-shirt up and over his head. There. That’s what he wanted to see. Annabelle’s eyes locked on his bare torso. Needing to keep her in the moment, he went for his belt buckle.
“If you really want out of those smelly clothes, you could remove them,” he suggested.
Her hands shook as she reached for the hem of her tank. Even after this morning she was nervous, or maybe in spite of it. Colt figured she knew exactly what to expect now and fear was getting to her.
Damn it. That was worse than seeing her slip into unhappiness about her current life situation.
“Tell me what you want, sweetheart.” He toed off his worn boots and shucked his jeans and boxer briefs. “I’m here for you.”
Annabelle finished undressing until she was standing before him just as bare as he was. “I want to see this promised shower that will fulfill my every need.”
Colt reached out, snaking an arm around her to pull her into his body. “That would be my job. You have a need, I’ll be the one meeting it.”
“You might want me to rinse off before you join me,” she stated, placing her hands on his shoulders.
Colt turned her toward his bathroom and smacked her rear end. “I’ll be the one to wash you, darlin’. Now let’s go.”
* * *
Annabelle’s jaw dropped. “This should have another name besides something so simple as a shower.”
The walk-in area could indeed hold twenty, she was positive. His bathroom was the size of her entire living room. The all-glass shower with glass tile floor was something from a magazine, as was the rest of his home. How was she ever going to just move on like none of this ever happened?
Colt stepped inside and turned on all the various sprayers. Good grief. Who thought up such necessities? And this was a necessity. She’d give up nearly anything to have a shower like this one.
Annabelle followed him inside and instantly groaned at the glorious heat spraying her from all angles.
“Okay, now I know for sure I’d never leave this room if I lived here. The shower, the view. If I could get food delivered, this would be my very own domain.”
“Winnie would be more than happy to—”
She whirled around, shoving her wet hair back from her face. “Winnie will not know I was here in the middle of the day.”
Colt laughed as he reached for her. “I’m a bit sore, so you may have to take the lead.”
Wrapping her arms around his waist, Annabelle was surprised how easy this felt. How right.
But it wasn’t right, was it? He wanted her land, she wanted to fulfill her mother’s dream. So they were at a standstill.
“Tell me what to do,” she murmured, focusing on the here and now.
Colt grazed his lips along her jawline and up to her ear. “Listen to what your body wants. I guarantee it will match what mine is telling me.”
She went up onto her toes to kiss him. Curling her fingers around his shoulders, she backed him toward the bench running along the back wall. His mouth devoured hers and it was all she could do not to climb all over him.
Everything between them had escalated at an alarming speed, but she couldn’t stop...didn’t want to stop. Colt had becoming a craving and she wasn’t going to deprive herself. She deserved happiness, even if it was only temporary.
Annabelle eased her mouth away and pushed on Colt’s shoulders, silently urging him to have a seat. As he sat, he raked his hands down her sides, grazing her breasts as he went.
She stepped back out of his reach and glanced around. She spotted the soap and shampoo on the built-in shelf on the adjacent wall. An idea sparked and then fully engulfed her mind. She was going to be daring and seductive, she hoped. If she could drive him out of his mind half as much as he had done to her, this afternoon shower session would be a success.
Annabelle grabbed the shampoo and squirted some into her hand. As she lathered her hair, she made sure to get a good arch in her back, thrusting her chest in Colt’s direction...and she was pretty sure she’d heard a groan escape him.
Tipping her head back, she rinsed the shampoo away, suds gliding down her body. She shot him a wink and a smile as she went back for the soap. With no washcloth in sight, she squeezed some soap into her hands and lathered them up before sliding it over her arms, her legs, her torso.
Each slow stroke was like torture. She wanted his hands on her, but the way he was squirming on that bench, his piercing gaze locked on her every move, Annabelle knew it was only a matter of time before he snapped.
Anticipation flooded her.
“Enough.”
Colt’s harsh demand had Annabelle jerking around to face him fully. His body was tight, shoulders squared, jaw set, and those eyes held hers as if he’d reached out and touched her.
“Come here.”
Water hit her from all around as she made her way back across the shower. Annabelle came to stand between his legs, and his hands instantly gripped her waist.
“I think you’re clean enough for what I have in mind.”
Arousal spiraled low in her belly.
“I didn’t bring any protection in here with me,” he told her. “But I’ve never gone without and I guarantee I’m clean.”
Even though she’d been a virgin up until this morning, she’d been on birth control since she was twenty.
“I’m safe,” she assured him.
His eyes darkened as he raked them over her bare chest, her torso, between her thighs. As his gaze traveled back up, she shivered and braced her hands on his shoulders. Colt urged her forward and she placed her knees on either side of his hips.
“I want nothing between us,” he muttered.
Slowly, Annabelle joined their bodies. At the onslaught of sensations, her head fell back. Colt reached around, gripping her wet hair and pulling just enough. Her body went into action as she couldn’t stay still another second.
As he tugged on her hair, his mouth closed over one breast and Annabelle didn’t know how long she could hold out. The sprays hit her from the back, the side, and Colt’s hands and mouth were assaulting her in the most delicious ways.
“That’s it,” he urged.
Apparently he knew her body better than she did because she instantly tightened around him as pleasure tore through her.
Colt flattened his palms against her back, captured her mouth and crushed her entire body against him as if he wanted to completely absorb her. The tip of his tongue parted her lips, and everything inside Annabelle exploded. Colt stiffened beneath her as he tore his mouth away and rested his forehead to hers. His fingertips dug into her back as his own release consumed him.
Moments later, when the trembling had ceased and the water continued to caress them, Annabelle kept her eyes closed. She didn’t want to face reality. She didn’t want Colt to look in her eyes because of what he’d see. She’d fallen for him. Completely. She had no idea how she would continue to work for him and keep this secret.
But she had no choice. They were on opposite ends of life’s spectrum and he’d made it clear that this was nothing more than sex. Too bad her heart didn’t get that memo.
Seventeen
“I was engaged before.” Colt laid that declaration between them as they dressed after the shower. “You’re the only other woman I’ve ever had in this house.”
Annabelle squeezed her hair into a plush towel, but her eyes remained on his. “I didn’t think you were a monk, Colt. Besides, this is just physical, right? I don’t need to know your history.”
Wearing only his jeans, Colt crossed the spacious bathroom until he stood before her. He pulled the towel from her hands, grasped her h
air, and proceeded to rub the dripping ends of crimson.
“I believe we both know this escalated into more than just sex.” As much as he didn’t want it to, and as much as these damn emotions complicated everything, there was no denying the fact that Annabelle had gotten to him. “I don’t know what to call it, or if we even need a label, but I like being with you even outside the bedroom.”
“Like on a riverbank?” she asked, a half smile curving over her swollen lips.
Tossing the towel aside, he curled his fingers around the back of her neck and brought his forehead to hers. “Everywhere. I like you in my barns, on my horses, the way you look at my land. I just, I don’t know how to explain it all.”
Annabelle looped her arms around his neck. “I’ve only really known you for less than a week,” she stated. “I knew Matt for a year, was engaged to him, but I never felt like this.”
His ego, which she’d claimed was inflated, grew even more at her words. Warmth spread through him, knowing that there was a strong undercurrent of emotions running through her, as well. But how the hell did he go about this without totally screwing everything up? How did he keep the land and the woman once all was said and done?
Maybe she never had to know about the documents. Perhaps now that their connection was growing deeper, he could use that momentum.
This was crazy. One of the most reckless decisions he’d ever made, but in order to have it all, it was his only option.
Colt framed her face, tipping her head up so he could see those gorgeous green eyes. “Move in with me.”
Her chest pressed against his as she pulled in a gasp. That unpainted mouth dropped into a perfect O. He wasn’t going to give her a chance to turn him down.
“You can take your time finding a job you like or keep working at Pebblebrook,” he went on. “I don’t care. But I want you here in my house, in my bed.”
“But...but I have six-month-old twins,” she muttered, as if thinking aloud of reasons she shouldn’t agree.
“I didn’t expect you to come alone. There’s even plenty of room for your dad if he wants to join us. I have eight bedrooms on the second floor. The master is plenty large enough for cribs.”
What was he saying? Was he really willing to play house to ensure that her land remained his and she would never know what he’d done?
Yes. And in his defense, some of his motives were completely selfish, but he truly wanted to spare Annabelle any more hurt. She’d been through so much, too much, and all at the hands of people she’d trusted.
And she trusted him with the most important aspect of her life. No way could he betray her now. Seeing her in pain, knowing he’d caused it, would be like a knife to his heart.
She closed her eyes and blew out a sigh. “Colt, this is all so much to take in. I don’t trust my feelings right now.”
Colt took her hand, placed it over his bare chest and flattened it with his own. “You feel me, feel us. I’m not asking for anything more than you to live here and give this a shot.”
“I’m adjusting from so much,” she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. “I lost my sister, a man I thought I trusted. My finances are a joke and I’m learning how to be a mom.”
“All the more reason for you to come here. Finances will never be an issue.” Colt would make it his personal mission to keep her father out of trouble. “And Winnie would be happy to help you care for the girls. In fact, she’d love it.”
“And you?” she asked, her eyes hopeful.
“I’ve always wanted a family and kids.” That was absolutely true. He just never thought they’d land in his path like this. “This place was made for children.”
“You want kids of your own?” she asked, then shook her head. “That was a silly question. You asked me to move in, not bear your children.”
An image of her pregnant with his baby ripped something open in him. Yeah, he did want children and if he had them with Annabelle, he knew they’d be strong-willed, independent kids who could take on the ranch in the years to come.
Was he...no. He wasn’t falling in love. Was he?
He’d vowed to keep deeper emotions separate, but that simply wasn’t possible anymore. Still, she couldn’t find out about the paperwork her father signed. Colt refused to be the one to destroy her life once again.
“I don’t want to get hurt.”
She blinked back her tears, and Colt knew in that moment, he’d do anything to keep her safe.
And he also knew then that he had fallen for her. How had this happened? Within days he’d gone on such a roller coaster ride of emotions with her, Colt didn’t know when his control had started to slip.
Perhaps all of his power transferred over to her the moment she plowed into the fence and stared at him as if she wanted to mount him right in his driveway. Because from the start, Annabelle had held the proverbial reins. She’d pulled him into her world and he knew now that he wanted to stay.
“If you need to think about it, that’s fine,” he told her, knowing someone like Annabelle didn’t make rash decisions. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I need to pay off my father’s debt,” she told him. “How would we work that out? I mean, I’d feel a little weird paying you and sleeping in your bed. Assuming that’s where you’d want me.”
Colt wrapped his arms around her waist, filling his hands with her backside. “My bed is the only option for you.”
When she went up onto her toes and covered his lips with her own, Colt knew she’d already made her decision. She may not have voiced it yet, but she would.
He would have everything he wanted and nobody had to get hurt. A burst of relief spread through him as he captured her lips, but a shrill ring from the bedroom broke the moment.
Annabelle pulled away and rushed in to answer the call. Colt grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.
“I’ll be right there.”
He noticed Annabelle’s worried tone as she slid the cell into her pocket. “I have to go,” she told him.
“What’s wrong? Is it the girls?”
She shook her head, glancing around the room for her boots. Pulling one from beneath the bed skirt and one from the other side of the bed, she hopped on one foot then the other to pull them on.
“Dad didn’t say. He just said he needed me home right now.”
Fear pushed through him as he grabbed his own phone from his dresser and followed her out of the bedroom. They hurried out the back door of the house, just the same way they’d come in. Silence accompanied them as he drove her back home in his truck.
Colt had barely pulled to a stop in front of her porch when he recognized the silver SUV in the drive. His heart sank.
“Annabelle, wait.”
But she was already out of his truck and running toward the door. That future he’d just secured only moments ago in his bedroom was about to blow up in his face.
And that vow to keep Annabelle from getting hurt by his actions? Well, he was getting a front row seat to an epic debacle and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
* * *
“What’s wrong?” Annabelle asked the second she stepped through the front door. “Where are the babies?”
She took in so much at once. Her father stood in the middle of the foyer with a stranger. The puppy was bouncing between everyone like he’d just found new friends.
“I just laid them down for a nap,” her father replied. “It seems this engineer was hired by Colt to do some work on the house.”
“I’m only here to take a quick look around,” the stranger replied as he turned his attention toward her. “My name is Sam Stevens. I work for the Elliott family. They gave me this address and I just came to do a quick survey. I wasn’t aware people were living here.”
Confusion settled deep as she tried to grasp what was happening. And all of this was on the coattails of Colt asking her to move in with him.
Annabelle crossed her arms over her chest and addressed Sam. “What ex
actly did Colt ask you to do here?”
The engineer had a clipboard in his hand and held it up for her to see a long list of items. “Various renovations. But I can come back at a better time.”
“We don’t need you to come back,” Neil chimed in.
“I’ll take care of this.”
Annabelle turned to see Colt standing in the doorway. She was still perplexed at why this man was here, but the guilt written on Colt’s face painted a clearer picture.
“Sorry, Mr. Elliott.” Sam tapped the clipboard against his side, drawing the puppy over to his feet. “When we talked the other day, I figured you were ready to move forward with this project so I wanted to come out and get your estimate—”
Colt held up a hand, cutting the man off. “I appreciate your work. But for now, let me handle this. I’ll be in touch.”
Annabelle watched as the engineer nodded obediently, then sent her and her father an apologetic smile. Once he was gone, her father scooped up the rambunctious pup.
“Let me put him out back and then I want to know what the hell you’re doing, Elliott.”
Annabelle watched her father walk away, not wanting to glance back to Colt. She didn’t want to know the truth, didn’t want her fears to come to life. Surely he wasn’t the monster she was imagining right at that moment.
“Darlin’,” he began.
She held up a hand. “No. Don’t start that. Tell me what that man was doing in my house.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked as he raked a hand over the back of his neck. His hair was still damp from their shower, as was hers. She jerked the band from her wrist and pulled her hair back into a loose bun. Only a short time ago she was in his arms, coming apart, and then he was opening up to her about his feelings, his hopes for a future with her.
And now he stood before her a total stranger.
“Sam works for me.”
“We got that,” her father said, coming back to stand next to Annabelle. “What the hell was he doing here on your orders?”
Annabelle watched as Colt waged a war with himself. Her stomach tightened as she leaned against the banister on the staircase for support. She met his gaze from across the foyer. “The truth, Colt.”
Twin Secrets (Mills & Boon Desire) (The Rancher’s Heirs 01) Page 14