The Heart of Hill Country

by Sherryl Woods

  Duke had never felt this demanding need for a woman. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed sex. He had the usual appetite for the feel of a soft body beneath his own, for being surrounded by slick, moist heat.

  But this hot, urgent passion seemed to run deeper than that. It was as if he needed to prove that beyond the teasing and the provocation, beyond the flirting and kisses, there was more. For the first time in his life, he felt as if he were putting some new part of himself on the line.

  Perhaps his heart.

  His pulse hitched at the thought. But not even the terror that should have followed would have been enough to get him to walk out of this room tonight.

  Oddly enough, though, the panic never came. He would have to figure out why later.

  In fact at the moment, as his fingers made short work of buttons and snaps, then skimmed over bare flesh, all he felt was the exhilaration of a man who was right where he wanted to be, with the woman with whom he belonged.

  Forcing himself to drag in a deep, calming breath, he slowed down. He lifted Dani off her feet, then placed her on the bed as reverently as he’d ever touched anything in his life.

  Dani returned his gaze with a hooded, smoldering look of her own. He was relieved by that, glad that there was no evidence of the lost, vulnerable woman he had met a few months ago. Whatever she felt for him in her heart, she was meeting him tonight as a strong, decisive woman, the kind of woman he’d seen evidenced in her work. Maybe, he thought, he’d played some small part in giving her back her confidence.

  His gaze danced over her, then took a slower, lingering survey. She was so lovely. Small and delicate in many ways, there was a surprising, but unmistakable strength about her. He followed the subtle definition in her arms, stopped to savor the gentle sweep of a shoulder, then moved on to admire the generous curve of her breasts. He trailed a finger down that soft slope to a tip that was as hard as a pebble beneath his touch, then repeated the action on her other breast until she gasped with pleasure and her eyes drifted closed.

  When his mouth closed over one sensitive peak, her eyes flew open and her hands tunneled through his hair as if to keep him there.

  Duke was far from finished, though. Each breast was but a stopping point on his journey of discovery. He wanted to know every inch of her, to discover textures and tastes and secret pleasure spots. He wanted her to remember every second, every caress.

  “Duke?”

  He stopped his intimate examination of a sensitive spot on the inside of her thigh and met her gaze. “Yes?”

  “Look at me,” she pleaded softly. “Look at me and make love to me. I want you inside me now.”

  “In a minute, darlin’. I’m not quite through with my survey.”

  “Your survey is making me crazy,” she confessed.

  He hid a grin. “That’s the general idea.”

  “But I want to make you crazy, too.”

  “Oh, baby, you do,” he vowed. He reached for her hand. “Here, feel.” When he placed her hand over the hard shaft of his arousal, a slow smile spread across her face. Confidence returned. Her gaze met his boldly.

  “If that’s the case,” she said, “then let’s go for it.”

  “We’re not racing a clock, are we?”

  “I just thought it would be good to seize the opportunity,” she pointed out.

  Duke chuckled. “Like you told me, this opportunity isn’t going anywhere. In fact, we’re just now starting to take full advantage of it.”

  He set out to prove to her the exquisite torture of slow, deliberate caresses and deep, bone-melting kisses. She was slick with perspiration and writhing against the sheets by the time he knelt between her thighs and slowly entered her.

  The moist, welcoming heat claimed him as surely as he’d set out to claim her. She was slick and tight and eager. The movement of her hips was timed perfectly to him as if they’d learned this rhythm in another lifetime and only in each other’s arms. He was all but certain it had never been like this before.

  Duke was struck by the stunning thought that this was what people meant when they referred to soul mates. That had always been an elusive concept to him, the idea that destiny chose two people and saw to it that they came together for eternity.

  But as their bodies melded, as wave after wave of stunning pleasure washed over them, he began to wonder if he hadn’t been a little too quick to dismiss the notion.

  When Dani’s cry of release shimmered around him, it was all he could do to hold back a triumphant shout. She was his now, as surely as if she’d already said yes to the proposal he had yet to make.

  As for him, if he looked very, very closely inside his heart, he had a feeling he might discover that he was just as much her captive. To his astonishment, rather than being panicked by that, all he felt was a sort of intense, heady relief.

  * * *

  Dani stretched languorously. She had never felt better in her life. As long as she didn’t allow a lot of doubts to start crowding in, she would be just fine. Better than fine. She would be magnificent.

  There was one sure way to see that doubts remained at bay. She slid across the mattress and tucked herself up against Duke, pausing to admire the hard planes and angles of his body. There wasn’t an ounce of spare flesh on him. And the man generated enough body heat to warm all of Texas. Her inquisitive, probing hands slid across his belly, then down. He moaned softly, then came wide-awake with a start. After a moment of obvious disorientation, he regarded her with amusement.

  “What are you up to?” he inquired.

  “Isn’t that obvious?”

  “Explain it to me, anyway.”

  She grinned. “Just checking to see if this was one of those rare times when opportunity knocked twice.”

  He regarded her balefully. “Twice? I’m fairly certain I recall it knocking several times during the night.”

  “That was then. This is now.”

  He studied her face intently. “Trying to keep the regrets at bay, by any chance?”

  Dani stared at him in shock. Was she so obvious? “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because I know you better than you think I do.” He grinned that lazy, sexy grin that destroyed her defenses. “Come on now, no regrets.”

  “Easy for you to say. This doesn’t solve anything between us, Duke, not really.”

  “I’m perfectly willing to make it legal,” he said. “Just say the word.”

  She stared at him. His expression was neutral. Clearly he didn’t intend to give away whether he was serious or not. “You want to marry me?” she asked, spelling it out so there could be no mistake.

  “You didn’t think this was some casual, one-night stand for me, did you? I’m not that kind of man.” He shook his head with exaggerated sorrow. “Never mind. I’ll prove it to you.”

  “There’s no need.”

  “Of course, there is. You can’t marry me, if you don’t trust me.”

  Warning signals that had apparently been on the blink for too many hours were recharged now. They were clanging like the very dickens. “I’m not going to marry you, period,” she insisted, even though the pull of the idea made her limp with longing.

  “We’ll see,” he said smugly.

  Dani sighed. “Duke, we’re consenting adults here. This doesn’t require a proposal to make it okay.”

  “Never said it did.” He shot her a chin-up, defiant look. “I’m asking you to marry me just the same.”

  “No,” she said again, though her stomach was as jittery as if she’d said yes.

  “Why not?” He met her gaze evenly. “And don’t try telling me you don’t love me, because I’m not buying it.”

  “Well, aren’t you the cocky one?” she retorted. “Just because we made love doesn’t mean I’m in love.”

  “Nope,” he agreed solemnly. “That’s not proof all by
itself.”

  “Then would you mind telling me where you got such a cockamamie idea?” Maybe then she could see to it that she never, ever did anything similar again.

  “You women have your intuition,” he said. “We men have other ways.”

  “Such as?”

  “Darlin’, I’d be going against the code if I gave it away.”

  “Code? What code? Gave what away?” she asked, thoroughly exasperated.

  “It’s a guy thing.”

  She stared at him incredulously. “It’s a guy thing? Well, this is a girl thing.” She climbed out of bed and draped herself in the bedspread, figuring that delivering her tirade stark naked would take a little of the sass out of it. “I am not now nor do I ever intend to be in love with you. I will not marry you.”

  Duke didn’t seem to be the least bit distressed. “We’ll see.”

  Dani marched off to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. When it was closed, she leaned heavily against it.

  “Well, damn,” she murmured.

  How was she supposed to fight a man who was offering her the very thing she wanted most in the world: Marriage and a family every bit as strong as the one into which she’d been welcomed as a child.

  By telling herself a thousand times a day that he didn’t really love her, she reminded herself. The only hitch to that was the fact that last night, in his arms, it had felt an awful lot like he might be loving her back.

  14

  Duke recognized an ambush when he saw one. Jordan had asked him to drop by Dolan’s and pick up a package for him while he was out to lunch. It should have occurred to him that Sharon Lynn would have been more than happy to have the blasted package delivered.

  So, because he wasn’t thinking straight, hadn’t been thinking straight ever since he’d returned from Fort Worth, he walked into the drugstore as innocent as a lamb. There, clearly just waiting for him, were both Sharon Lynn and Jenny. They perked up visibly at the sight of him.

  Duke sighed. Everyone had maintained a polite, if clearly expectant facade right through Christmas and New Year’s. Now, since no ring or engagement announcement had been forthcoming, apparently Sharon Lynn and Jenny had been designated by the family to get to the bottom of what had gone on between him and Dani on their trip and what was likely to go on between them from now through eternity.

  “Afternoon, ladies,” he said, figuring he could bluff his way through the conversation or else run like hell. Since the latter wasn’t a real option, he decided he’d better brazen it out.

  “Hey, Duke, come on and join me,” Jenny suggested, patting the stool beside her.

  “I really need to get back to the office,” he said, flashing her a smile. “Jordan just asked me to pick something up for him while I was out grabbing lunch.”

  She regarded him skeptically. “Have you actually had lunch yet?” she asked with typical Adams directness.

  He sighed. “No.”

  Sharon Lynn beamed at him. “Well, then, no more excuses. Uncle Jordan can wait a few more minutes. Sit right down. What’ll it be? A hamburger? Grilled cheese? BLT?”

  Duke wondered which one would be the quickest to prepare and gulp down. “Grilled cheese,” he said.

  “Fries with that?”

  Fries would take too long, especially in the quantity Sharon Lynn served them up. They would have to be eaten one by one. “No, not today.”

  “And to drink? Coffee?”

  No way. He would have to wait for coffee to cool. “Just water,” he said.

  Apparently, his nervousness was transparent. The two women exchanged an amused glance. He, in turn, regarded them suspiciously.

  “Okay, what are you two up to?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” Sharon Lynn claimed.

  “Absolutely nothing,” Jenny concurred.

  He scowled in Sharon Lynn’s direction. “When are you and Kyle Mason setting a date?” he inquired, hoping to divert her attention from his love life by focusing on hers.

  She grinned. “The date’s set. First Saturday in June. He finally got around to proposing in the middle of college football on New Year’s Day. The man’s timing is impeccable. Now there’s no way I can doubt how much he loves me. He actually stopped watching the Aggies for a full fifteen minutes.” She grinned and waved her ring under his nose. “I hope you’ll be there.”

  “Of course.” So much for that tactic, he thought, turning to Jenny. Before he could ask, she held up her hand to stop any inquiry he was planning.

  “No love life. Not interested. No time,” she declared.

  He grinned at her vehemence. “And how does Harlan feel about that?”

  Sharon Lynn chuckled as Jenny heaved a heavy sigh. “Grandpa isn’t too thrilled with her attitude,” Sharon Lynn confided. “In fact, I’d say she is on his personal to-do list. Get Jenny a husband, right up there in big, bold print.”

  “Oh, go suck an egg,” Jenny retorted.

  Duke regarded her with amusement. “Let that be a lesson to you. If you don’t want anyone meddling in your love life, stay out of theirs.”

  Jenny’s gaze narrowed. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning I could very easily join forces with your father,” Duke warned.

  Both women hooted at that, which wasn’t quite the reaction he’d been hoping for.

  “You poor man,” Jenny said. “Don’t you realize that you and Dani are way, way above me on his list? In fact, I’d say at the moment you two are his number one priority. He’s always preferred to hedge his bets and go with a sure thing. I’m way too speculative at the moment.”

  Duke sat, silently absorbing the news. He waited for the panic to set in, just as he had over and over again in that motel in Fort Worth. It didn’t come. In fact, in a curious way, he was relieved that he had allies, powerful allies. He’d felt surprisingly disappointed and disgruntled when Dani had flat-out turned him down in Forth Worth.

  Why was that? he wondered, trying to think back over the past few months. He was a bright man. Surely, he could analyze this thing with Dani from start to finish and reach a logical conclusion.

  It had started as a game. Duke was willing to admit that much, even though it didn’t say much for him. Then it had moved on to a game he was playing for his sons’ benefit.

  Now, much to his amazement, he realized that the stakes were totally personal and very, very important. He’d gone and fallen in love with the woman. He tried to imagine his life without her, and he couldn’t. All he saw was a bleak and empty future, the exact kind of future he’d once considered his due for all his sins.

  Lately, though, he’d had a taste of brighter possibilities and he knew he would never be happy unless he did everything in his power to make them happen. He wanted more than a mother for the kids. To his astonishment, he’d discovered that what he wanted most of all was a wife. He wanted a woman who could make his heart leap simply by walking into a room. He wanted a woman who listened and teased and taunted. He wanted a companion, a friend and a lover.

  He wanted Dani.

  Of course, realizing what was in his heart was a snap compared to convincing Dani what was in hers. He looked from Sharon Lynn to Jenny. Both women were studying him with blatant curiosity.

  “I’m not your problem, ladies,” he declared, summing up in a nutshell the conclusion he’d just reached.

  “Explain,” Sharon Lynn said, her elbows on the counter and her chin cupped in her hands as she regarded him intently.

  “It’s Dani,” Jenny concluded without waiting for his reply. “She’s holding out.”

  “Seems to be,” he agreed.

  “Why?” Sharon Lynn asked. “Have you told her how you feel?”

  “I asked her to marry me.”

  Jenny didn’t seem the least bit surprised by that. She waved her hand impatiently. “That isn’t what S
haron Lynn asked. Have you told her how you feel?”

  Duke hesitated to admit that he was just coming to grips himself with the fact that he was in love with her. In the natural, old-fashioned order of things, he supposed he should have reached that conclusion before he hauled her into bed. He definitely should have reached it before proposing.

  “Sleeping with her isn’t an answer,” Jenny said, stunning him into silence. “Proposing marriage is nice, but that’s not enough, either.”

  “In other words, have you mentioned that you love her?” Sharon Lynn prodded more specifically.

  Duke cleared his throat.

  Jenny sighed. “No. The answer’s no, isn’t it?” She glanced at Sharon Lynn. “Men are such idiots. Now do you see why I’m content to live my nice, peaceful existence without one?”

  Sharon Lynn rolled her eyes. “Women like you always fall the hardest,” she warned. “I can hardly wait.”

  “Oh, shut up. We’re not talking about me,” Jenny said, turning away from Sharon Lynn and facing Duke squarely. “Now what do you intend to do to get this marriage business with Dani straightened out before she does something crazy like going back with that awful Rob Hilliard?”

  “Hilliard?” Duke demanded tightly. “What the hell does he have to do with anything?”

  “He’s been calling again,” Sharon Lynn said. “He brought the girls by over the holidays. Dani cried for an hour after they left.”

  That was all news to Duke. Bad news. He had warned the guy to stay away. The only way to ensure that happening, though, was to get Dani to marry him. Unfortunately, though, he was fresh out of ideas. Aside from acknowledging that what he was feeling these days was love, he was forced to admit that he was stymied. Finding oil where it shouldn’t be was a breeze compared to this.

  “I was hoping you two could make a suggestion,” he said, throwing himself on their mercy. Something told him he could trust them. They both had Dani’s best interests at heart. “You seem to have all the answers.”

  “Now you’re talking,” Jenny said approvingly.

  “Something dramatic,” Sharon Lynn said.