by Em Petrova
When he sank two fingers into her tight, wet sheath, that stab to the heart came again, blooming on the knowledge he loved making her feel good. And that thought slammed him like a Mack truck.
For the first time in his life, he wanted to do something for someone else, just to make her feel good.
Watching the bliss play over her face, he drank in the scents of her arousal and memorized the sounds she made. Each withdrawal of his fingers made her shudder. Every plunge she cried out. Her juices soaked his hand and damn if he could resist tasting her again.
He stretched out between her legs to drink his fill.
* * * * *
So high. She couldn’t stop shaking either. Not only was she drenched with her own arousal but she was begging for more. Dane wouldn’t let her pause for breath, driving her on and on, through one orgasm and then a second.
She dug her fingers into his hair and dragged his mouth away from her swollen pussy. “I need a minute to breathe.”
He cocked a dark, dangerous brow at her. “You sure you don’t want a third?”
She nodded. “I do, but…I need to calm down a minute. My heart’s beating so fast and I’m overly sensitive.”
Nodding, he climbed up next to her and drew her against his broad chest. The inked lines felt familiar by now. The skull with an Indian headdress on one shoulder, and his other arm totally tattooed in skulls, roses, a clock and more.
She ran a fingertip over his shoulder. “Tell me about this.”
He stirred, and she realized he might have been on the brink of sleep. “It’s dark.”
“I figured, since it’s a skull.”
“It’s a demon I carry with me. A legacy of my father. I’ll never get away from his blood in my veins.”
Sadness washed over her. “Oh, Dane.”
“It’s something I live with and don’t think much about on the daily. But at the time I got the ink, I needed the reminder.”
“Reminder of what?” She leaned upward to look into his eyes.
“That I come from nothing and I am nothing.”
Her heart shattered. “That’s not true. Where you come from doesn’t define you forever. You grow up and change.”
His grunt was proof he didn’t buy it. He went on, “The Indian headdress is for Mimi.”
She knew the story and knew some of the situation, but she wanted to hear it from him.
“My mother figure,” he continued. “She came from the Ute Indian rez. Zayden walked into their village and asked for help, and she came with him to the ranch. She took care of us boys and did her best to protect us from our father.”
This tale hurt Brennah, but hearing about the demons Dane believed he carried on his shoulders helped her know him better.
All the rumors were true. Abused sons who’d scattered the minute they came of age and could blaze their own trails in the world.
“Well, I think the tattoo’s beautiful. And I’d like to meet Mimi sometime.”
He didn’t answer, and she felt the need to give him space. She climbed off the bed and slipped into the bathroom for a moment. When she came back, he seemed more himself, eyes burning as he tracked her steps across the bedroom.
She hesitated for a moment, unsure how to continue with him. But then he opened his arms. Her heart propelled her feet forward, and she slipped into his embrace.
* * * * *
Dane leaned against the fence, watching Zayden in the round pen with a new horse. The mountain breeze cut the heat of the day and smelled of fresh growing things. As he drew a deep breath, nostalgia rose up. Maybe he didn’t hate everything about home, after all. He just hated his old man.
In the two days since spending the night with Brennah, he’d replayed her words several times in his head. Where you come from doesn’t define you.
Didn’t it?
He’d followed his father down the same road to self-destruction. Booze and gambling had landed him back here on the Moon Ranch, and he didn’t quite know how to go about earning money to pay back Big John as he promised.
Zayden rode past where Dane stood by watching, and he focused on the horse again. In the past few days, Zayden had been working with the horse, Dane could already see a change its manner, a sense of trust between animal and rider.
“She looks great,” he called out to Zayden. A reining horse was judged on style, and she definitely held that in spades. Low head, collected and controlled.
His brother nodded. “She’s got the shoulders for it.”
The spins and turns required the right body structure for success. The golden palomino sported a blonde tail and mane, which would present a pretty picture to the judges. A lot of riders would be interested in purchasing this one, and Zayden would fetch a nice amount for her once she was ready.
Zayden made another big circle, and this time he asked her for speed. She obeyed his request, galloping in a large circle and then a smaller one.
Dane watched for another half hour and when his brother dismounted and led the horse over, Dane reached out to stroke her mane. “Good job, girl. You’re going to make some rider very proud.”
“I took a chance on her, but I think she’s going to do just fine.” Zayden rubbed her flank.
“Bet she set you back a bit in the wallet.”
“Damn near emptied it. But I’ve got a couple jobs in town next week.”
He cocked a brow at his brother.
“Actually, I’d welcome your help and I’ll split the pay with ya.”
“What’s the job?”
“Remember our old tree-trimmin’ business?”
Dane laughed. “Don’t tell me people in these parts remember the Moon Brothers Tree Service.”
Zayden gave him a crooked grin and a nod. “It means things don’t get done around here those days I’ve got a chainsaw in hand, but it’s decent money to fill in the gaps.”
“Well, I’d be grateful for fillin’ some gaps myself. I accept your offer.” Damn, this offer couldn’t come at a better time.
“Good. I’ll give you a head’s up the night before the job. Right now, I’m going to take this beauty back to the barn and give her some hay after her workout.” He hitched a thumb in his front pocket. “How’s the vet’s field comin’ along?”
At mention of Brennah, his stomach dipped. Not a bad dip—like he was on horseback and took a leap he wasn’t quite sure if they’d make. “I’m heading up soon to finish planting. Her tractor’s not very big, but it does the job faster than the team.”
Too late he realized bringing up any mention of a tractor would open a conversation about their missing one.
“The damn sheriff wasn’t much help about ours.”
“Big surprise,” Dane said.
“No kiddin’. Still a lot of people in these parts who hate the Moons.”
Dane grunted. “No lawman will ever forget our old man.”
“Or you and Asher.” Zayden gave him a crooked smile.
Rubbing his jaw, he nodded. “Yeah, we got up to enough mischief.”
“Kept Mimi hoppin’.”
Dane turned to look toward the house. “Yeah, I should probably kiss up more to her now.”
They shared a chuckle, and Dane felt some measure of relief that Zayden hadn’t brought up hard questions about the tractor. For now, Dane was sticking with the creed of not confessing to a crime he wasn’t sure he’d committed.
Zayden led the horse to the barn, and Dane set out across the field toward Brennah’s place. As he walked, the scent of fresh earth filled his nostrils. But all he could smell was Brennah—the sweetness at the juncture of neck and shoulder, the fragrant musk between her breasts. And between her thighs…
She was working today, probably up since dawn to take care of her mini-zoo. Smiling at the thought of her mish-mash of animals, he lengthened his strides. When he reached her property, he circled the fence and noted the horses she’d set out to graze. Good horses. The stallion stood alone on his side of the fence, eyeing up the
mares he couldn’t have. And the mares, one better than the rest. She’d mentioned training it, but when did she have time?
Maybe he could help with that. Besides work on the Moon Ranch and plowing this field, he had few obligations and more than enough time on his hands. In the past, too much time meant he’d go find trouble. The months he’d been back in Stokes, he’d tried to ignore his wild side. Keeping on Mimi and Zayden’s good sides was important if he wanted a roof over his head.
Then he had Brennah to think of.
He didn’t like the thought of letting her down either.
As he crossed the yard to the big shed where her tractor sat, he passed the llama pen. All six of them ran to the corner of the fence he passed by.
He stopped. “You girls hungry?”
They stared back at him, and he chuckled. “You don’t get fed at this time o’ day. Go back to grazin’.”
One made a noise, and next thing he knew, he was covered in slime.
Llama spit.
“What the—” He ran his hand over the front of his shirt and when he withdrew, sticky goo coated his palm. “Damn, you’re not very ladylike.”
He walked over to the hose and rinsed his hand. That was the last time he stopped to talk to a llama. Give them a bit of company and look what happened.
At the shed, he fired up the tractor and backed out. For long minutes, he rolled across the field, the streets of Vegas he’d left behind in his mind. He didn’t belong there anymore, probably never had. But did he belong here?
One look at Brennah’s house raised thick memories of their time together. Getting involved with her would end bad—it always did. Worse, she tore down some walls in him that he’d probably just rebuild to keep her out, which would hurt her in the end.
He definitely needed to keep his distance from her. Was he even capable of doing that?
The task of rolling along with nothing to look at but sky and field usually gave him peace. Right now he couldn’t feel further from that emotion.
* * * * *
“Any word on what caused the fire?” Mindi asked Brennah.
She shook her head. “It’s vague. All they know is it started near the property boundary. A lightning strike or something.”
“Weird. I didn’t think there were storms that day.”
Brennah shrugged. “I’ve got some emails to go through before I leave for the night, but feel free to go, Mindi. You’ve done enough today.”
“Thanks, Doc Brennah. See ya later.” The woman left, and Brennah went into her office.
She collapsed into her desk chair and stared at the computer screen a moment. Her brain returned to the last patient she’d treated. The cow had such an infected leg that she’d considered euthanizing right there in the field to prevent the poor animal from suffering another minute.
But she never gave up until there was no other choice, so in the end, she flushed the wound and packed it with medicine before bandaging the appendage. She told the owner to try to keep the bandage on for a couple of days and she’d return to see if her treatment worked. If not…
She pressed her lips together and pulled up her email. There was one for a veterinary conference and an ad for dog supplies. Oh, and one from Shania, her old roommate in vet school. The woman had forced Brennah out to parties on more than one occasion, telling her she couldn’t stick her nose in books forever and needed some fun. To punctuate her notion of fun, Shania had gifted her with the box of condoms in her nightstand drawer when Brennah moved to Stokes. What would the woman have to say today?
As she clicked the email open, she rolled her chair closer to read.
Hey Brennah, how are you? Things are going great here in Seattle. Yesterday, Dr. Clemens let me assist with a leg amputation on a cat, and I thought about how vet school doesn’t come close to preparing us for real practice and all the emotions involved. I felt so bad for the poor cat, but the next day she was up on three legs and by the time she went home, we knew she would live a normal life. They teach you these things, but seeing it with my own eyes was quite different.
Seattle is fantastic. The night life is great, and I hope soon you will come visit! Right now I know you’re grumbling, saying you can’t get away because you’re the only veterinarian in Stokes. Which brings me to the reason for my email…
Here at the practice, one of the doctors is leaving. We have room for three and when Dr. Clemens asked if I knew any great vets who would fit in and is willing to work hard, I could only think of one—my friend Dr. Brennah Peterson.
Dr. Clemens would like to speak with you via Skype for a short interview, and if he likes you—he will!—then he would have you fly out for a look at the clinic and more interviews. Please say you’ll get out of that stodgy town and come to Seattle with me. You can camp in my spare room until you get on your feet, and then we can work on finding you some hot dates, because I know you’re working too much and ignoring your personal life.
Hit reply right now and say YES, I WILL COME, SHANIA.
With all my love and fingers crossed,
Shania
Brennah sat back in her seat, staring at the email. She skimmed the passages a second time. The third read-through, she focused on the offer of an interview.
The Seattle practice where Shania worked was known across the country for top-notch surgical care and state-of-the-art procedures. People from all over the West Coast traveled there if their pet needed a surgery outside the normal spays, neuters or even intestinal blockages like Smokey’s.
At the time she completed her residency, Brennah considered throwing her hat into the ring for the position, but after seeing how excited her friend was to be interviewing at the clinic, she backed off.
But Shania wasn’t her only reason for doing so—she wanted to fulfill other dreams, such as owning her own small ranch and animals.
Professionally, she felt torn. In Seattle she could get so much more training. In Stokes, she got hands-on experience. With nobody to back her up, she tested her skills and brain, forced to find solutions for cases herself, and that challenged her mind.
Though she was tired. So far this week, she’d worked fifteen-hour days, and she’d gotten a call in the wee hours from the overnight vet tech with a question about one of their patients.
Not for the first time, she wondered how long she could go on like this, but then she got too involved in her work day and forgot her worries. There was also the option of finding a partner, but the idea of interviewing and hiring frightened her a bit.
In the Seattle practice, they’d take turns being on call nights and weekends, which meant she could plan on a full night’s sleep or even a weekend getaway…with a lover.
My personal life’s not as bad as Shania thinks.
Though could she call sleeping with Dane one night a personal life?
With the offer on the table, the gears turned in her mind. But she definitely wasn’t prepared to click reply to the email, as her friend urged her to. She returned to sorting out her email box and then wrote some notes in patient charts and made a stack of files to give the front desk girl, Bree, to put away tomorrow.
She glanced at the clock. Just past six and still plenty of daylight ahead of her. She could get some training in with Ladybug if she got out of here.
Quickly, she shut down her computer and turned off lights. After she stopped to check the few overnight patients in the kennels, seeing they had food, water and were warm and dry until the night tech came in to sit with them, she left for the day.
As she drove past the Stokes grocery store, she thought of five things she needed right now, but she wasn’t wasting daylight on food shopping and drove on past. Being home early enough might possibly mean seeing Dane too.
A shiver ran through her, part excitement, part apprehension. After their interlude, she hadn’t heard from him, though she saw he’d been working on her field.
When she passed the Moon Ranch, she automatically turned her head though the pines con
cealed their ranch from the road. Then she hit her own driveway and saw the field in the distance, the dark soil flat and perfect.
Dane had been here.
Oh God. He’s still here.
The shed door stood open and the tractor was gone, which meant he was out working. She parked her SUV and got out, gathering all her junk from the passenger’s seat to carry inside. The rumble of the tractor engine had her craning her neck to see Dane, but only when she looked toward the animal pens did she spot him.
He had one of the big round hay bales in the tractor scoop. She watched as he dumped the huge bale over the side of the fence, in the corner with the remains of the last one she fed her llamas.
The man proved useful around here, and she could use more help. But offering to employ him for some of the menial tasks she struggled to complete would probably offend him and create weirdness between them. In essence, she’d be sleeping with her employee. No way.
She hurried inside her house and dumped her belongings in the kitchen. Then she rushed into the bathroom, changed into jeans and a T-shirt for working outside, ran her fingers through her messy hair to tame it and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Makeup or no makeup?
Getting dolled up never entered her mind on a daily basis, but she didn’t want to see Dane looking like a pasty moose.
Decision made, she used a bit of cream blush on her cheekbones and dabbed a bit down her nose to give herself a more sun-kissed appearance. Then she smeared lip balm on her lips and studied herself.
Any more and she’d be trying too hard.
When she stepped outside, Dane had just driven the tractor back inside the shed. A thrill ran through her.
She walked over to the door and waited for him to cut the engine. From the back, the cowboy gave her one hell of a view. Shirtless and jeans slung low, his broad shoulders tanned even more than they’d been two days before when she dug her nails into them and begged for release.
She clamped down on the rising need inside her. “Hey, the field’s looking great,” she said to alert him of her presence.
