The Barrington Billionaires Collection 1

by Danielle Stewart

  “There’s a bathtub in there,” Dallas laughed, “and if you get in it, I may not ever let you leave.”

  Chapter 18

  The urge was to go down two steps into the cabin and sweep the table clear so he could have her right there and then. She’d given all the signals that she’d be right there, turning the front room into their own haven of passion if he made the move to do so. But there was time. For the first time in a long time, Dallas felt like savoring every second. The urgency of his life had always been nipping at his heels, keeping him plowing forward at a breakneck pace. This moment was different. He wanted every second to stretch into an hour.

  He’d have Harlan tonight, but for now he’d sent her to indulge in every detail he’d had laid out for her. It hadn’t been easy calling the owner of the house with the list of awkward requests. Normally when he rented the place all he asked for was the key to be left in the mailbox. This time it was imported bath salts, luxurious towels, wine, and an assortment of food to last them a couple of days.

  The awkwardness of the phone call was outweighed by the primal moan that escaped the bathroom as Harlan sank into the deep tub he’d filled for her. The fire was roaring, and all his work was done.

  “May I have that wine you promised?” Harlan purred through the open bathroom door.

  “How about some berries too?” Dallas asked, pouring two glasses and pulling some fruit out for them.

  “Yes,” she called back in a low melodic tone of someone completely relaxed. “Bring me anything you think I’d like.”

  “Are your bubbles strategically placed for modesty?” he teased as he rounded the corner and stepped into the large white-tiled bathroom.

  “Of course,” she laughed, “I’m a lady after all.”

  As he closed in on the tub, two glasses and a tray of fruit in hand, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Harlan had done just the opposite of his suggestion, sweeping the few bubbles far off to the side, exposing all of her. There was no bashfulness in her pose, and that was the most enticing part of seeing her creamy skin below the tiny ripples in the water.

  “You’re enough to drive a man to drink,” he teased, taking a big swig of his wine before realizing what a stupid thing he’d just said.

  “Oh man,” she groaned, her face crumpling into half laugh and half disgust. “You didn’t just say that did you? Because I have already driven one man straight to alcoholism.”

  “I was kidding. I wasn’t even thinking about that . . . I just meant that you, lying there . . .” He was stammering, fumbling for words that would make this better.

  “I know, it’s just fun to see you squirm like that,” she teased, reaching out a hand for her wine glass. “I know exactly what I’m doing to you. I’m enjoying it immensely.”

  “Torture,” he said, his eyes raking over her body. “I’m going to go make a quick phone call. You soak and think of more ways to drive me crazy. Enjoy it while you can, because when you get out of there . . .” He let his words trail off as he left the bathroom and closed the door.

  On the ride up he’d missed a call from Tim. Dallas made it a point that when he got a call from the prison he picked it up, no matter what. But with Harlan in the car, the two of them chatting so comfortably with each other and enjoying the ease of it all, he hadn’t wanted to dampen the mood. The guilt had begun to set in now and going the rest of the night without checking in with Tim would keep him distracted.

  The call went through a switchboard operator who gave Dallas an ear full about following the correct process. Once he was thoroughly scolded she agreed reluctantly to have Tim brought in to take the call.

  “Hey bro,” Tim said, sounding his usual upbeat self. “How are you doing?”

  “Sorry I missed you earlier. I had some spotty service on my way up to the safe house. It took an act of Congress to get them to connect us now.”

  “You’re up there again? Is everything all right? I feel like you only go up there when you’re feeling shitty.”

  “Not this time,” Dallas said through a smile, imaging what was waiting for him in the other room. “I’m good.”

  “Oh hell, you aren’t alone. I bet it’s the girl you brought to court. Melissa said you were looking at her like a puppy with a new toy. I love it. Good for you, man. You’ve been miserable for so long, dealing with all my stuff. You need to move on.”

  “Move on?” Dallas asked, feeling slighted by the judgment. “I’m not moving on until you’re out of there. You can count on that. I don’t want you doubting my commitment to you. We’re actually getting some good leads together. Harlan and I are spending the next few days up here looking at some new ways we can get you a new trial.”

  “Stop,” Tim demanded, sounding completely defeated. “You are in a cabin with a beautiful woman who is making you smile. I can hear it over the phone. Don’t waste the time you have with her dealing with this. Melissa is a good lawyer. Stop chasing this; go live your life. One of us should.”

  “You don’t mean that,” Dallas cut back, now annoyed. “I know you’re disappointed the last hearing didn’t go your way, but I’m telling you, we can find something. Harlan is brilliant. She’s helping me look at things with fresh eyes.”

  “It’s been over a year,” Tim shouted, something he never did. “You’ve lost your career over this. A job you loved, something you were born for. Our friends gave up on me, and you cut them out of your life. I’m the one behind bars but somehow you’re the one locked up. I’m innocent. I’ll prove it someday. Melissa is going to work every angle, but I can’t survive in here if I know you’re out there throwing away every chance of happiness. This girl, she’s saying she’ll help you now, but she’s not going to be as committed to this as you. At some point if I’m still in here, she’s going to want a normal guy who thinks about normal things. Not some guy chasing down leads and crossing the line. You’re going to get yourself arrested or killed if you go knocking on the door of everyone in the area capable of murder.”

  “I don’t even know what you’re asking me,” Dallas said, dumbfounded. “You want me to give up? Stop calling you? Stop trying to find out who actually committed the murder?”

  “Stop letting it be the only thing you do,” Tim implored in a quiet voice. “I didn’t murder Angus. I don’t know who did, but I’m not the saint you make me out to be. Getting me out of here isn’t going to magically get you your life back. You’re never going to be a cop again. When I’m out of here, where are you going to be?”

  The operator’s voice cut in and interrupted the call, letting them know the line would drop in sixty seconds.

  “Start right now,” Tim pleaded. “If you have a shot at being happy for the next couple of days, you’ll put the rest of this out of your mind.”

  “You’re making me sound pathetic. It’s not like I’ve been alone for ten years or something. Gabriella and I broke up six months ago, and don’t act like that was your fault. We were having problems long before you were arrested.”

  The warning of thirty seconds remaining interrupted. “All I know is before all this you were in a relationship, employed in a job you loved, and surrounded by friends. Start right now, Dallas. Right this minute.”

  Dallas opened his mouth to protest again but the line cut out. Their time was up. Standing there with his mouth agape and his hand squeezing the phone far too tight, Dallas tried to process what Tim meant. This was not the first time Tim had tried to get him to slow down. He’d had this kind of talk with him before but never this blunt, never this assertive.

  “Any more of that wine?” Harlan’s voice called coolly through the bathroom door. “It’s getting lonely in here.”

  Dallas looked down at his blank phone screen and then around the room. Maybe Tim was right. He certainly had lost some of the most important things on this journey. But he’d made a vow to free Tim. He promised no matter what it took, and he was certainly living up to that, sacrificing anything to keep trying.

 
Drawing in a deep breath he wondered what a couple days could hurt. Maybe giving in fully to the time with Harlan, to what every second of indulgence with her could provide, might clear his mind. Maybe it would transcend to something and his mind would break open and the answers would just come. Or maybe it would just feel good. He’d forgotten what feeling good could do for him.

  “I better open the second bottle at this rate,” Dallas called, scooping up the opener and the fresh bottle. “You better drink more than just wine though. You’re going to want to hydrate, it’ll be a long couple of days. And you’re going to sweat.”

  Chapter 19

  Dallas wrapped an oversized plush cream-colored towel around Harlan’s wet body as she stepped out of the tub.

  “You have far too many clothes on,” she said, pulling at the top two buttons of his shirt. “You should fix that.”

  “My clothes can stay right where they are for the moment,” he replied, rubbing her shoulders through the warm towel. “The fire is roaring. You won’t be cold.” He led her by the hand to the living room in front of the fire. She dropped the towel and with it any insecurity she was harboring. This night was long overdue. Dallas didn’t care about her imperfections. The look in his eyes, the fiery need for her body, washed away any worry of that.

  “You are perfection,” he moaned, taking in every inch of her as she stood in front of the cracking, popping fire. “I’m going to take my time. You are mine for hours.”

  “I’m refusing to do the math and figure out how long it’s been for me,” she admitted. “I hope it’s like riding a bike.”

  “I’ll be like riding a bull,” he teased, taking her hand and sliding it against his firm shaft as it pressed against his pants. “But all I want is to have you. I want to taste you, every inch of you.”

  A large down comforter was spread out on the floor, silky pillows laid out along the edges of it. She lay down, her breath, heavy with anticipation, catching in her chest.

  Dallas took his shirt off slowly and lay down beside her, mesmerized by her as though he’d been handed a telescope and shown a far-off undiscovered planet. His hands lightly pinched, twisted, and titillated her peaks, the pleasure and pain mixing perfectly, making her toss her head back with pleasure. Taking her puckered nipple into his mouth he sucked it in, nibbled and nipped as she began to writhe. “Dallas, I need this so bad. I need this so fucking bad.”

  “You’re going to get everything you deserve,” Dallas promised. “You’re not even going to be able to move when I’m done with you. I won’t stop until you can’t take any more. Until you beg me.”

  “Don’t stop,” she pleaded breathlessly, crying out as his finger plunged deep inside her, his thumb sweeping across the sweet spot that had been neglected too long. He moved his mouth to her ear as his fingers continued to work their magic.

  “You’re going to come all night,” he promised in a husky whisper. “I’m going to finger you until you come. Then I’m going to devour you. I’m going to lick you over and over until you scream my name.”

  The sound of his voice in her ear was nearly as exciting as his fluttering touch on her core. “Yes,” she breathed, unable to form anything more coherent.

  “But I won’t be done,” he grunted, grinding his firmness against her so she could feel how desperately he wanted her and how huge he was. She knew she’d be begging for every inch of it.

  “More,” she begged, writhing against his hand.

  “After you come, and I see your face, I’m going to fuck you. I’m going to fill every inch of you.”

  “Oh, Dallas,” she pleaded, his movements and his words carrying her to the edge of an explosive orgasm. “Yes, Yes, Yes,” she chanted as she reached climax, pulling at him, begging for more of him. Her core pulsed around his fingers as her body thrashed with pleasure.

  “Good girl,” he whispered into her ear. “I can’t wait to taste how sweet you are.” His mouth pulled away and slid down her body, kissing a trail across her breasts and straight down her stomach.

  “Dallas,” Harlan cried, half a plea for mercy and half to never stop. His tongue plunged inside her as he cupped her ass, and lifted her from the floor. Harlan’s legs were over his shoulders, and he had complete control of her.

  With precision Harlan had never imagined, Dallas unlocked the combination of her most intense pleasure. It was a tight pinch of her nipple, a flick of his tongue, his fingers working her spot to bring her again to ecstasy. “Don’t stop,” she begged, her throbbing sensitive sex about to burst. A few more swirls of his tongue and she fell over the edge of passion, grabbing a handful of his hair and tugging. There was a need to hold on, to anchor herself to something or she might actually float away.

  He slid out of his pants and exposed what she had been writhing against frantically. Wide eyed she drank in his perfection, punctuating her study of him with a wide smile.

  Before he could remind her what would come next, before he could pin her down and enter her, Harlan sat up. Moving him backward, she laid him back. “I want to ride you,” she asserted. “I want to feel every inch of you from up here.” Swinging a leg over him, she watched as his face lit with even more desire.

  “Yes,” he said, slapping her ass hard as she slid down on his firmness, crying out in pleasure. His hands were on her hips, guiding her at first slowly up and down, but that lasted only a few seconds. She was riding him wildly as he spanked her again. It was now his face that was washed with the promise of explosive release.

  Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he pulled her lips to his, his other hand clamping down tightly on her nipple.

  There was only heat, intense thundering of their bodies as they became one. They collapsed against each other seconds apart, clinging tightly as they pulsed and exploded, tightened and vibrated.

  “I—” Harlan breathed out, her face pressed to his neck, breathing in his scent as she rose and fell, riding his chest and feeling his panting breath.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m hardly done with you either,” he threatened playfully. “I’m going to show you what your body was made for, and what a man like me can do with something so perfect.”

  “It gets better than that?” Harlan asked in sheer disbelief. “What else could there be?”

  “Oh honey, that was like an appetizer, the main course will leave you speechless.”

  His arms closed in around her as she shifted to lie at his side. “You can’t possibly be real,” she sighed.

  “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

  Chapter 20

  It had been far too long since Harlan felt the kind of warmth that could only come from being pressed against the muscled chest of a man. The fire crackled and popped, its orange flame tinting the ceiling and dancing left then right. She curled her leg over his, and when he squeezed down tighter Harlan closed her eyes and breathed the moment in. This was what letting go felt like. She’d spent the last year falling. Falling down, falling for bullshit, falling short of everything her life was supposed to be.

  Things were spinning again. The world was off its axis; things were out of her control, but in an entirely different way. She wasn’t plummeting toward the hard ground, waiting for the inevitable pain. It was a slow fall, a glide toward something soft. A feather on a breeze.

  “Sleep,” Dallas said, running a finger up and down her spine. “I know you said you don’t sleep, but after that you’ll need to.”

  “I’m not sure I could do anything besides sleep,” she yawned, closing her eyes. “I promise we’ll look at all the case files Melissa sent in the morning. I don’t want you to think I’m neglecting that. I meant what I said about helping. We can’t just eat, drink, and have sex for the next couple of days.”

  “About that,” Dallas hummed, his body getting slightly rigid beneath her grip. “I talked to Tim tonight, and he was adamant that I should not spend the next few days working on his case. He’s convinced I’ve ruined my life trying to help him. I lost my
job, a relationship, and friends. He’s worried.”

  “Relationship?” Harlan asked, trying to ask in a way that didn’t make her sound like a petty jealous woman.

  “It wasn’t Tim’s arrest that broke me and Gabby up. Things had been rough between us for a while. The rest of the stuff that happened is more about my stubbornness and issues with authority than Tim’s case. Would I still have my job? Maybe.”

  “Gabby,” Harlan teased, “sounds little. Petite, I mean. A blonde?”

  “A nice girl who deserved better than I was offering.” Dallas sighed. “We weren’t good together.”

  “I bet she’s sweet,” Harlan continued teasing. “Like the kind of sweet that hurts your teeth.”

  “You’re awful.” He tickled her side, sending her into a tizzy. “I thought I told you to sleep.”

  When she settled back down against him she closed her eyes and thought on it all. “Is he right?”

  “Who?”

  “Tim. Is Tim right? Are you losing yourself to this?” The jokes were gone now. Their sentences didn’t run right into each other. Silence fell over them and the fire had started to dim. The question loomed heavily for a long moment.

  “I don’t know,” Dallas admitted, just slightly louder than a whisper. “If I was in there and someone out here was helping me, I’d have a hard time telling them to shove off. I’d take every ounce of help I could get. Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “You’re worried?” Harlan asked. Sleep starting to overtake her, but she fought it.

  “Maybe,” Dallas sighed, his chest working as her pillow, rising and falling under her head. “I feel like there’s something he’s not telling me. Something that could help him, but he just isn’t sharing it with me.”

  “Let’s make a deal,” Harlan said, another large yawn. “Sex, wine, eating, and working the case. I thought we might do a little hiking, but I’d be willing to give that up to make more time for sex.”