by Kim Redford
“My SUV is the same way, but at least it’s parked near my cabin.”
“Glad to hear it.” He led her over to his truck, opened the door, pulled out a white paper sack, and handed it to her.
“Thanks. Smells delicious.”
“House specialty.” He locked his pickup, then clasped her hand again.
As they walked along the illuminated path with stars brightening the sky, she felt content—no, much more than that. She felt bubbly in a kind of way that she hadn’t known was possible anymore. Even though they were dealing with an arsonist and cattle rustlers, Slade made her feel safe. And happy.
When they reached her cabin, it was dark inside and outside, with only the lights along the path to help see the stairs.
“I’m glad I’m with you,” he said. “You’ve got no business coming home to a dark house, even if you hadn’t had that fire earlier.”
“I didn’t know I’d be out so late. I agree it is way too dark here, particularly in the shadow of the porch.”
“If you’ll give me your keys, I’ll unlock the door and turn on the lights.”
“That’s okay. I need to get used to doing this for myself.”
“Not tonight. I’d be more comfortable checking out the cabin before you go inside.”
“Do you think—”
“Let’s don’t take chances.”
She handed him the key. “I think I’d better put timers on the inside and outside lights.”
“Smart idea.”
She grasped the railing and walked up to the porch, letting him unlock the door and go inside. In a bit, lights came on outside, so she quickly looked around but didn’t see anything to give her pause.
“Come on in,” he called. “Everything is fine.”
She quickly stepped into the cabin, shut the door, and locked it behind her. “Thanks. I need to get used to living differently in the country.”
“You just need to take a few precautions.”
“I will.” She walked over, set the sack on the countertop, and pulled out two deep containers and two foil-covered plates. “Smells wonderful. What did you bring us?”
“Hearty beef stew. It’s always good on a cool night.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“And pecan pie.”
“Be still my heart.”
He chuckled as he stepped into the kitchen area. “Why don’t you wash up while I set the food on the table?”
“Why don’t we both wash up and get our dinner ready?”
He glanced at her with a big smile. “Togetherness. I like it.”
As they fixed their easy meal, she was surprised at how well they worked together. They didn’t bump into each other. They didn’t get into each other’s way. They didn’t even question who got glasses out of the cabinet or who set the table. It was as if they’d already established the pattern long ago.
When she sat down across the table from him and spooned stew into her mouth, she moaned in delight. “This is delicious.”
“Thanks. We only use the best ingredients and best sources to get the best taste for our customers.”
“It’s definitely worth it.”
As a companionable silence settled over them while they ate, she realized how easily they were sharing a meal without any awkward moments. Comfortable in the kitchen. Comfortable at the table. Comfortable together.
“How’s your heart doing?” he asked in a teasing tone.
She chuckled as she got his meaning about winning her heart through food. “It’s too early to tell.”
“Wait till you try the pie.”
“Is that your secret to success?”
“I’m not an award winner for nothing.”
“In that case, maybe my heart isn’t too safe.”
“Just try your pie and let me know.”
She rolled her eyes at him, picked up her fork, and took a bite. “Oh my. Absolutely delicious.” She licked her lower lip to get every little bit of the heavenly taste.
He grinned as he leaned forward. “Keep doing that and you’ll taste more than my pie.”
She gave him a mischievous look, then took another bite, licked her lip, set down her fork, slid her chair back, and patted her stomach in contentment. “I somehow doubt you can possibly match your pie.”
“Really?” He stood up. “I think that’s a challenge.”
“I was kidding, honestly.”
“Too late now.” He stalked over, picked her up in his arms, and carried her to the sofa, where he sat down with her in his lap.
“Slade!” She wriggled in his arms, but he held her firmly against him.
“I’m going to kiss you properly now. That way you can compare me to my pie.”
“What?” She couldn’t believe he was serious, so she made a joke. “Is this a scientific experiment?”
“That…and a taste test.”
“I can already tell you I prefer pie.”
“No fair. You didn’t give me a chance to prove my point.”
Just to tease him, she puckered up and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.
He laughed at her antics as he rubbed her lower lip with his thumb. “We’re going to do this right or we aren’t going to do it at all.”
She opened her eyes to see his expression. Surprisingly, he still looked serious. “Well, how long will it take?” She continued to tease. “Remember, I’m not finished with my pecan pie.”
“If I do it right, all night would be about right.”
And then he lowered his head and gently captured her lower lip with his teeth, running his tongue over the inside of her lip as he eased her head back to rest against his arm, while he thrust his fingers into her hair to hold her tighter.
She felt her entire being melt like ice cream left too long in the sun as he nibbled and licked and sucked until her lips felt hot and swollen and sensitive, her body throbbing and burning and aching for more of his touch. And when he finally delved deep into her mouth, she moaned and clasped his shoulders, pulling him closer to her.
He kissed like heaven on earth. He kissed like she was the most delectable of sweet treats. He kissed with such slow deliberateness it felt like he might really kiss her all night long. And she wanted his kiss to go on forever. And she wanted him to ease the ache deep inside her. And she wanted him to slake the thirst, the hunger, the need he’d created in her with every word, every look, every touch.
But she also wanted to give back…to make him crave her as much as he made her crave him, and so she kissed him, thrusting into his mouth, tasting the sweetness of pie, nibbling his full lips to sensitize them, licking his swollen mouth, teasing and tormenting while she felt the heat building between them as she ran her hands through his thick hair.
And then he swiftly turned the tables as he groaned deep in his throat and gently lifted her, set her back on the sofa, and leaned down until his hard chest pressed against her soft breasts.
Reality hit home as she was pinned beneath the hot, muscled strength poised to give her everything her body craved—and she knew he could take her there, over and over and over again.
But he didn’t. He grew still. He raised his head. He looked into her eyes. “Me or pecan pie?”
Chapter 10
“Oh! You’re goading me.” Ivy pushed against his chest in frustration to get up now that he had changed the dynamic and was teasing her. “Pie. I definitely want pecan pie.”
“Are you sure?” He raised his body slightly and lifted her hand to his lips to kiss each fingertip while watching her with a smile in his blue eyes that crinkled the corners. “Don’t I tempt you just a little bit?”
“You’re tempting me to toss you off this sofa.” She felt cross, caught between wanting him to satisfy her and not wanting him to complicate her life. Pie definitely seemed the safer of
the two options.
“Think you could do it?”
“Not fair.” She felt even more cross because she couldn’t move him if her life depended on it.
“When is life fair?”
She sighed, knowing he was right in too many ways. He’d been right from the first, there for her from the first. And now he was tempting her and teasing her and trying to get a rise out of her. He didn’t just want her physically connected to him. That was now the rub. He wanted her emotionally connected to him. And that bit of reality put her on high alert. Fun was one thing. Serious was quite another. She knew better than to endanger her heart. It’d been broken before and she never wanted to go there again. Besides, even if he was playing for keeps, she was only in Wildcat Bluff for a short time. Houston was her home.
He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, tracing the swirl of her ear with the tip of his tongue.
She shivered in response. “Life can be fair, but you’re definitely not playing fair. Food. Kisses. Help.”
“There’s plenty more where that came from.”
She moaned as he nibbled along the curve of her jaw to her lips.
He stopped and looked down at her. “Where you’re concerned, I wouldn’t dare play fair.”
“And why not?”
He softly kissed her. “I’d never chance losing you.”
She bit her lower lip, feeling desperate to stop her fast slide into his endless charm. What was it about this man that made her so vulnerable to him?
“Let me do that.” And he nibbled her lower lip, coaxing another moan from her as he tenderly plied her sensitive skin.
“Please,” she finally said in a husky tone, needing him to be the strong one because she was fast on the road to losing the ability to resist him, along with any vexation she’d felt earlier. “Let’s just finish our pie.”
He gave her a tender smile as he gently stroked strands of hair back from her face. “I like hearing ‘please’ on your lips. I want to hear it again.”
“Will I get my pie then?”
“If you’re sure that’s what you really want.”
“Please…pie.” She barely managed to get the words out, because she definitely was sure that pie was the last thing she wanted when she had the tastiest treat in the state kissing her. Sometimes life really wasn’t fair, and this was one of those times. She’d just met Slade earlier that day. She wasn’t the kind of woman who fell into bed with a hot guy simply because he was there—and she was in no position to further complicate her life or risk her heart.
“When I hear you say ‘please’ again, it’s going to be for something a lot more satisfying—to us both.” He started to stand up but groaned in pain and quickly slumped down on the far end of the sofa.
Startled, she looked at him in concern as she sat up. “What is it?”
He just shook his head with his jaw clenched shut.
“What can I do to help?”
“Nothing.” He took several deep, controlling breaths. “Old injury acting up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Bad timing.” He glanced around the room. “I’d better go.”
“You can’t drive in pain.”
“Sure I can.”
“It’d be too dangerous.”
“I’m not helpless.”
“I know.” She stood up, feeling empowered and energized in her need to help the man who’d assisted her that day. “It’s my turn to help you.”
“How?”
“You can sleep on the sofa and go home in the morning.”
“I thought you wanted pie—and me gone.”
She slid down until she was almost touching him. She picked up his big, strong hand and held it between her own small ones. “I want you safe.”
“Folks might talk.” He hesitated, looking at their joined hands. “I never meant to stay tonight. It’s just—”
“I know.” She squeezed his fingers and felt his strong grip in return. “It’s just that things got a little out of hand.”
“More than a little.” He gave a small huff of frustration. “I was in an awkward position too long. I know better.”
“Did I make you forget?”
He glanced at her then, wariness in his eyes as he gave a slight nod.
“I forgot about everything, too—except you.”
A small smile touched his lips. “I’ll be better in a bit.”
“Would heat help? I’m sure there must be a pad I can heat in the microwave.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll just—”
“Lie down. Will that help?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She stood up. “I’ll get a pillow and blanket.”
“I wish you wouldn’t go to the trouble.”
“I’d be a poor host if I didn’t help you.” She looked down at Slade, feeling him get to her in a whole new way that was just as powerful as all the other little ways that had been building since she first met him. He was so strong, so powerful, so in control, and yet he had a small vulnerability that opened him up to her in a way that she would never have expected to experience. She liked him—probably too much for her own good.
She left him leaning against the sofa while she went to the linen closet in the hall. She slipped a fresh pillowcase on an extra pillow, then selected a multicolor, multi-fabric quilt for him. She hurried back. He sat with his head against the sofa, eyes closed. In that relaxed position, he looked surprisingly young—and vulnerable. She knew he wouldn’t want her to see him or think of him that way, so she made noise as she reentered the room.
He snapped his head up, defenses falling back into place as he warily watched her.
She wondered if the pain was chronic, so that he had to stoically work past it all the time. If so, he was even stronger than she could possibly imagine. She wanted to ask about his injury, but she didn’t want to appear intrusive, particularly not right now.
He gave a little smile, just a quirk of one corner of his sexy mouth. “Are you babying me?”
She hesitated, not quite sure what to say—agree or disagree. Neither seemed right, because there was already too much tension in the room. She needed to lighten this up, so his injury didn’t come between them and cause problems now or later. “Maybe that’s what it seems like, but in fact, I hoped to settle you so comfortably you wouldn’t want to get up and keep me from stealing the last of your pie.”
He grinned, chuckling. “So that’s your final choice?”
“Didn’t you know pie—and, of course, chocolate—always wins with women?”
“I’d suspected that was the case, considering my pie admirers, but I’d sincerely hoped it wasn’t true.”
She laughed, greatly relieved as she felt tension drain from the room. “I regret I must confirm what may very well be women’s favorite choices.”
He sighed as he put a hand on his chest in mock heartache. “Here I am in need of tender loving care and I get mocked by a pie lover.”
“I’m sure there are plenty of Slade lovers out there.”
He gave a rueful smile, dropping his hand back to the sofa. “But what if the only one I care about is in here, not out there?”
She felt that zinger go straight to her heart—and pierce deep. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to be the biggest Slade lover in town. Again, she didn’t know how to respond to him. He was being so disarmingly straightforward. Even when he teased her, he continually closed the distance she kept trying to put between them.
“Is that pillow and quilt for me, or are you going to hog it?” he said with a knowing look in his eyes, as if he was letting her off the hook and they both knew it.
She realized she hadn’t moved since she’d entered the room, so entranced by him that she still held what she’d brought him. “I’d offer you the bed, but it’s so old
and low and small that it sags in the center. The sofa is newer and will give you more support.”
“Is that your way of saying the bed is off-limits?”
She tossed the blanket and pillow on the sofa beside him. “You do realize you have a one-track mind.”
“That’s not my fault.” He grinned at her, blue eyes lighting up like a sun-washed sky. “It’s yours.”
“You are so full of malarkey.” She rolled her eyes at him, then marched over to the table, sat down, and picked up her fork. “Still, you seem to be feeling better.”
“Yeah…but I might have a relapse any moment.”
She just shook her head, then forked a piece of pie, stuck it in her mouth, and smiled in contentment. “Delicious.”
“Are you really going to take my piece, too?”
“Yes.” She pulled his plate to her side of the table.
“Cruel.” He lay down, propped the pillow under his head, and tossed the quilt haphazardly across his hips.
“Not at all. Realistic.”
“I’m still hungry.”
She glanced over at him as she finished off her piece of pie and took a drink of water. He was trying to look pathetic, but it only came off as comical. Well, and totally cute, but she’d never tell him that and chance bruising his ego. “If you felt up to driving, you could go back to the Chuckwagon for more food.”
“No can do. My arms aren’t feeling too strong. Maybe you’d better come over and feed me the last of my pie.”
“What?” She couldn’t believe his nerve. She was beginning to think there wasn’t anything wrong with him at all. Was he playing her?
“I thought you were going to baby me.”
“I thought you didn’t want me to.”
“Changed my mind.” He gave her a sly look. “What if I said ‘please’?”
She sighed, wondering how she had gotten into this situation. She thought back to the first moment she’d met him. The day had started out simply enough. She’d been trying to put up a few Christmas decorations. He’d arrived like a whirlwind with a big grin on his handsome face and turned her life upside down until she was sliding down a slippery slope toward his open arms.
