“About how to deal with me?”
“Then he’s askin’ the wrong woman,” Brand said, his tone flat. “Lyssa’s only good at gettin’ into trouble.”
“He doesn’t need any help there.”
They both broke into wide grins. “I think I like you, Maggie Dermott. You have a level head on your shoulders.”
She bowed her head. “Thanks. I think.”
“Let’s go break this up.”
As they approached, Lyssa and Danny were so engrossed they didn’t notice, but Tara saw Brand and Maggie approaching, swatted Danny with a bar towel, then turned to give the two newcomers a broad smile. “All’s fair.”
Danny glanced up, his expression unreadable, but he pulled her under the crook of his arm. “I’m sorry about what I said,” he whispered in her ear.
“Me, too.” Then she pinched his waist hard and glared. “Your brother figured out I’m naked under this dress.”
Danny chuckled, although tension still etched his face. “He’s probably dying to know how you arrived in this state.”
“Bet he’s got a clue,” she drawled, then fell silent, wondering if they’d done permanent damage to their budding relationship with the harsh words they’d exchanged. The thought frightened her more than she was willing to admit. She tilted her head. “Can we go home now?”
His gaze searched hers briefly. “Guess you’re not having that much fun. Damn.” Then he nodded. “Right,” he said more loudly. “Early day tomorrow.”
She couldn’t stand the disappointment clouding his eyes, didn’t like the way her own stomach roiled. She lifted her hand and placed her palm alongside his cheek then rose to press her lips to his.
“Right in front of God and everyone,” he murmured, when she drew away.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” she whispered. “For me to admit I want to be yours?”
His slow, sexy smile lifted the clouds surrounding her, and she grinned back.
“Leaving so soon?” Lyssa asked, her voice laced with sly humor. “You just got here.”
“I think we’re done here, don’t you, Maggie?” Danny asked, his gaze never leaving hers.
Maggie’s glance darted toward Brand and Lyssa, and heat crept into her cheeks at the fascinated stares she got from them.
“You’ll have to come out to the ranch for dinner,” Brand said. “Give us a chance to get to know you better.”
“I’d like that,” Maggie said, realizing it was true.
Danny tugged her hand. “Let’s go.”
Maggie fluttered her fingers at the other couple and let Danny draw her through the crowd. She was going to have to talk to him about that phrase, because he only got that abrupt when he was in a hurry to get her naked. She hoped like hell he’d let her wait until they were in the privacy of her bedroom.
Her bedroom. Not hers and Doug’s. The first time she’d thought of it that way.
Well, hell. Maybe she really was ready to let go, at last, and explore this new relationship with this inappropriate man.
“You’ve got it all wrong you know,” Danny said quietly on the ride home.
She turned to stare at his profile. “What are you talking about?”
“Me and you. This doesn’t have anything to do with who’s got years on the other person. You think you owe Douglas to be miserable.”
She sucked in a harsh breath. “That was a little brutal.”
“I don’t know any other way to say it. Things didn’t go well for the two of you. Maybe you even thought you needed to get out of the marriage, but you never got the chance for a clean break, did you?”
Maggie stared out the window. Not a place she liked to go in her mind. Too much guilt and sorrow dwelt there. “I never thought about divorce, but I wasn’t happy. Maybe there just wasn’t time to figure out that’s what I wanted. I’d just faced the fact I wasn’t satisfied when he got sick.”
“What was wrong with him?” he asked, his voice soft.
“Prostate cancer.”
“That’s why you didn’t have kids?”
Tears prickled the backs of her eyes. “He was already sterile by the time they found it.”
He nodded. “And then you couldn’t leave him.”
“Wouldn’t even have considered it. As horrible as it was for him, I felt like God was punishing me, too.”
“Maggie…” He reached for her hand and squeezed it.
“It’s all right,” she said, her voice quavering. “It’s just survivor’s guilt. But, for the longest time, I didn’t think I deserved to be happy.”
“Baby, come over here. You’re too far away.”
Maggie unbuckled her belt and slid along the seat, feeling under her hip, then his, for the center seat belt, and then fastening it around her waist before she settled beside him with her head on his shoulder.
“I’m truly sorry, Maggie. For what I said. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to kick my own ass.”
She reached up and pressed a finger against his lips. “It’s done. We both feel like jerks.” She snuggled deeper against him and sighed. “This is nice.”
“Don’t get too comfortable.”
The sexy slide of his voice made her smile. “Don’t want me falling asleep on you?”
“Think it’s even possible?”
“Maybe I’ll wear you out this time.”
His teeth flashed white in the darkness. “I’d sure like watchin’ you try.”
*
Their lovemaking was different this time.
They started slowly, undressing without the usual rush, pausing to press intimate kisses as they bared their skin and hearts. When Danny finally rose on his arms above her and thrust inside her body, Maggie knew she’d never felt this full, this complete. He’d chased away all the shadows from her soul, replacing them with hope for a future filled with all the things she’d ever yearned for—home, family—a man who would love her through all the trials they’d face.
How did it happen so quickly? She didn’t realize she’d said it out loud until Danny growled above her.
“You think this was quick? I’ve been waitin’ seven years for the time to be right.”
“You loved me even then?”
He shook his head. “I was crushin’ hard. Too young to know better.”
“It’s just as well. The circumstances needed to be right, or we would never have felt good about this.”
His mouth swooped down for a deep, wet kiss that left her toes curling in the air.
Trembling, she reached up to trace the edge of his strong jaw. “Will I scare you if I tell you I’m halfway to being in love with you already?”
Danny’s gaze darkened. “Your love won’t ever scare me, Maggie.”
She tightened her arms and legs around him, and then undulated her hips to encourage him to move faster.
“I won’t ever get tired of this,” he growled. “Bein’ inside you. Your soft body under me.”
“Funny, it’s all your hard places that make me weak.”
A wry, pained smile curved his lips. “You know, it’s not natural for a man to talk this much when he’s fuckin’.”
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I so love it when you talk dirty.”
“That why you’re blushing?”
“No, I’m thinking about what I’d like you to do to me.”
He arched a brow. “Now? More than this?” he asked, swirling his hips.
“Uh huh.” She drove her hips upward, swallowing his cock with sexy glide. “I’ve been wondering what the view’s like from on top.”
“You want to try it? Even when things start to jiggle that embarrass you?”
She didn’t get a chance to do more than nod, before he rolled them both. When she caught her breath, she was straddling his body, his cock still locked inside her.
Pushing against his chest, she straightened, enjoying the way the action drove his hardness deeper inside her body. “This all right for you?
” she asked, giving an experimental stroke. “I know how you like to be in charge.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Baby, I’m lovin’ the view. Keeps my hands free, too,” he said, reaching up to cup her breasts.
“I should have known that’s what you’d go for.”
“Don’t want you hurting anything when you start to bounce.”
“I’m not going to bounce,” she teased. “I’m more graceful than that.”
“Baby, I can promise you won’t be able to resist.” His hands slid around to grasp her buttocks, and he silently encouraged her to rise then come down, again.
Maggie shuddered, discovering very quickly just the right angle and speed to build the friction between her inner walls and his thick shaft. Soon, she was laboring above him, her breaths getting short and ragged, her fingers digging into his chest as she shoved up and down.
She couldn’t move fast enough, couldn’t draw in deep enough breaths to maintain the fiercely rocking motions that sped her toward her orgasm. “Danny…” she groaned. “Please.”
“It’s okay. Lift up a bit.” When she lifted, he bent his knees and pumped his hips upward, spearing into her, his hands bracketing her hips to keep her poised above him.
Maggie, still braced against his chest, leaned over him, adjusting to take his upward thrusts and gritting her teeth as his groin hit her clit.
Sweat beaded on her forehead and upper lip and trickled between her breasts, and still she held on, silently giving thanks for his stamina as tension wound itself around her womb, tightening her thighs and belly—until her body arched, and her orgasm swept through her.
Danny continued to pump, despite the burning in his thighs and buttocks. As Maggie let go, her mouth slackening around an anguished moan, her eyes squeezing tight, he was free to fill his mind with the sight of her. He’d never tell her, but her sweet, pillowy breasts jiggled with every hard thrust he delivered.
At last, she wilted, falling toward his chest, and he relaxed beneath her, resigned that his own release would be a while in coming.
Her cheek rubbed his shoulder like a kitten.
Danny sank his hand into her hair and held her close, loving the gentle ripples that squeezed his cock as her orgasm slowly faded.
“I love this part,” she murmured.
“So do I.”
“Sorry,” she moaned. “I fell down on the job.”
He smiled against her hair, even while fighting the urgent, painful fullness that made him want to flip her onto her back to find his own release. “I don’t mind,” he said truthfully. “It’s not terminal.”
“Would you like me to help?”
“You’ve already helped quite a lot,” he said, pretending not to understand.
“I mean. I could go down on you,” she whispered.
“Well, I guess… If you don’t mind. But I have to warn you, I probably won’t last two seconds I’m so hard.”
As she slowly slid down his body, he reached down and wrapped his fingers around the base of his cock, determined to “ring” as much pleasure from the experience as he could manage before he lost his mind.
*
The phone rang in the early morning hours. Maggie reached sleepily over Danny’s body and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Maggie. I need to talk to Danny.”
Recognizing Brandon Tynan’s deep timbre immediately, she came instantly alert. The tightness of his voice told her there was trouble.
“Danny,” she whispered, shaking his shoulder. “Brand’s on the phone.”
“Wha—” He grabbed the phone from her, scraped his hand over his face, and sat up. “Brand? What’s happened?”
Maggie watched as his eyes widened, and he sucked in a deep, charged breath. “Soon as I pack, I’ll be on my way.” He handed the phone to Maggie, scooted off the bed, and headed straight for the door.
She hung up the phone and trailed behind him, watching silently as he emptied the drawers of his dresser and tossed clothes at the bed. “What’s the matter? What’s happened?”
His jaw tightened, and he flashed her a glance filled with anguish. “Mac McDonough’s unit got hit yesterday by an IED. The Army’s already medevaced him to Germany. He’ll be in Walter Reed tomorrow. I have to go home.”
Maggie nodded and headed to his closet, dragging out his black duffel. “Go shower, I’ll finish packing for you,” she said, not looking up.
When he headed to the bathroom, she efficiently folded away his clothing, trying not to think beyond the task at hand, trying not worry about herself and where this left their relationship.
She shut out the thought he hadn’t even considered what his leaving would mean to her—that he planned to get into his truck and drive away without giving her a hint where they were headed.
And she wouldn’t ask, because she’d add another burden.
Instead, she slipped on her robe, headed to the kitchen, started coffee brewing, and cut thick slices of homemade bread, which she toasted and buttered.
When he strode through the kitchen, she had everything bagged, ready for him to take with him on his journey back to his old life. “Why aren’t you dressed?” he asked, hoarsely.
Her heart leapt inside her chest. “I thought…” Since she didn’t know really know what she thought, she let her voice trail away.
He gave her a fierce frown. “I need you with me, Maggie. Were you really gonna let me walk out of here by myself?”
“I didn’t want to intrude.”
“Dammit, I don’t want you polite. I want you packed.”
“I’ll go get ready,” she said, not minding his anger in the least.
She ran down the hallway, grabbed a suitcase from her closet and opened drawers to dump her clothes into the bag, not caring whether she had anything packed that made sense for her destination.
“You goin’ in your nightgown?”
She glanced up to the doorway, saw him standing with his hands braced on either side of the doorframe, and then followed his glare to her own body. “I’ll shower when I get there,” she whispered.
“I’ll get this to the car and let Reggie know we’re out of here.”
Five minutes later, they pulled away from her home, heading to the McDonough’s ranch.
“Are you sure your brother and Lyssa won’t mind my coming? They don’t really know me.”
“You’re with me. That’s all they need to know.” He reached for her hand. “I thought we had time for this. To get you used to the idea of being with me. Now, everything’s comin’ fast. You okay with that?”
“Danny…” She laid her head on his shoulder. “I guess if I had more time, I just might come up with more excuses why we shouldn’t. Maybe this is the way it’s supposed to happen.”
He swallowed and nodded. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“Did they say whether Mac would be okay?”
“They don’t know much right now, just that he’s doing well enough to be moved back to the States. That has to be good, right?”
She didn’t reply but snuggled closer to his shoulder. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
After several quiet minutes, Danny cleared his throat. “I’m glad you’re with me. I really thought you’d make some excuse to stay behind.”
“And there I was feeling down because you didn’t ask me to come.”
Danny snorted. “What’s the lesson here?”
“That we should talk about what we’re thinking, because we probably won’t ever get it right?”
“I don’t think that’s it,” he said drily. “You stick close to me, and we’ll be just fine.”
“I think that’s something I don’t have to give much thought.” She yawned and let her eyes slide closed.
Danny glanced down at Maggie’s head as she nodded off to sleep, a mixture of emotions roiling inside him. Gratitude for finally hooking up with the one woman who made his heart smile. Fear for what was comi
ng for his friends and family.
He had to have faith that somehow everything would work out just as it was supposed to. He had proof lying against him that love always found a way.
*
Don’t miss the next adventure set in Paraiso, Texas in Soldier Boy!
Read an excerpt below!
About Delilah Devlin
Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of erotica and sexy romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. She has published over a hundred eighty erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths, and she is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Kindle Worlds, Montlake Romance, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.
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If you loved The Cowboy and The Widow and want more sexy cowboy stories, check out Delilah’s Lone Star Lovers series:
Unbridled
Unforgiven
Four Sworn
Breaking Leather
Four-Gone Conclusion
Two Wild for Teacher
Reined In
Family Values
Rules of Engagement
Enjoy an excerpt from Soldier Boy…
Mac McDonough’s body ached with the need to sink into soft, wet woman.
An escape, no matter how brief, from the constant, throbbing in his shattered leg.
Like an answer to his prayer, a familiar SUV crawled up the rough gravel road. His body tightened. Tara Toomey had offered the last time she paid him a visit, for old time’s sake, but he’d turned her down, because he’d still had just enough pride and just enough affection for his old friend not to want to use her like that.
Today, she wouldn’t make it past the door. The thought of her blond flyaway curls wrapped around his dick made him throb with anticipation.
The Cowboy And The Widow (Texas Cowboys Book 2) Page 7
