Her Bucking Bronc

by Beth Williamson

  Dylan was not stuck on this woman. He couldn’t be.

  Chapter Six

  Hannah stared at the clock. The red LED numbers told her it was five fifteen in the morning. She clutched the blanket under her chin and told herself to go back to sleep. The restaurant wasn’t open. She didn’t need to be up, but she was.

  It was all Dylan’s fault.

  Since their trip to his friend Liam’s warehouse, she couldn’t stop thinking about Dylan on the back of a horse. Busting broncs in a rodeo. The very idea made her nipples peak and started a low throb in her belly.

  She didn’t usually yearn after a big man, but since their backyard tryst, she’d done nothing but boil in lust. She didn’t need to add to it by imagining him on the back of a horse.

  She rolled over and stared at the shadowed ceiling. The fan spun in slow lazy circles moving the air just enough to caress her cheek with a tiny breeze. It was peaceful, but it wasn’t enough.

  Hannah had spent too much time letting life pass her by. She needed purpose again. The one thing she knew how to do well was cook and bake. The restaurant would be hers to run again soon, but for now she would follow her heart, and it was telling her she should bake pastries.

  And fall in love with Dylan Bennett.

  Her breath caught and she sat up straight in bed. She was falling for the man she had disliked intensely the first time she’d met him. Holy shit. He wasn’t her type, but apparently none of it mattered.

  Hannah was about to be reborn. Excitement danced across her skin. She smiled into the darkness and her eyes stung with tears. Happy ones. She jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. She had some pastries to bake.

  An hour later, she wrapped each bear claw in an individual piece of wax paper and sealed it with tape. She put twelve of them into her picnic basket, then the other two dozen into a cake carrier. It had gathered dust in the cupboard while she’d been drifting through life.

  Washing it in the soap and hot water had been a cleansing. Dusting off her life, her soul, her heart. She hummed as she closed the carrier.

  “What has happened to my daughter?” Mama walked in wearing a pink bathrobe and a smile. Her hair was in lovely disarray from sleep. “You’re humming.”

  “Mama!” Hannah took her mother’s hands and danced around in a circle with her, laughing and feeling as light as air. “Good morning to you.”

  Mama pulled her into a hug. “I’m so glad to see you smile.”

  “I guess we’re both feeling better.” Hannah kissed her mother on the cheek then stepped away. “There’s coffee and I left you a couple bear claws. I’ve got some deliveries to make.”

  Hannah slung her purse on her shoulder, then picked up her basket and the cake carrier. She walked out the door with light steps and an even lighter heart.

  * * * * *

  Dylan had spent a restless night thinking about Hannah. Not that he wanted to, but his mind refused to stop. When he finally rolled out of bed at five, his eyes were gritty and his mood shitty.

  When he stopped to get coffee, Amber gave him a bright smile, but it didn’t even scratch the surface of his foul mood.

  “That’s a new Costa Rican roast. Has a nutty undertone that’s delicious.” She chatted as she fixed his thermos.

  He grunted in response and wondered when he would feel normal again. Not that his life was full of fun and frolic, but it was his to own. The hotel had become a home away from home. He hadn’t been to his apartment in two weeks.

  Maybe that was what he needed. To go to his real home and remember his real life. Hannah had gotten under his skin and he wasn’t sure he wanted her there. No, that wasn’t true, he couldn’t have her there.

  “Oh, and I’m happy to say we have a new pastry vendor.” She handed him something in wax paper with a small sticker on it.

  He brought it closer and peered at it. “I’ll be damned.” The sticker read Devils’ Corner.

  “I promise you it’s delicious. I had one myself earlier.” Amber smiled. The girl was quite pretty, but she didn’t make his heart quicken. Not like the woman who’d made the pastry in his hand.

  “I’m sure they are. I’ve, ah, tasted her goodies.” As he spoke, his cheeks heated. He sure as hell had tasted her in more ways than one. A throb echoed through his body. He was caught, stuck in her sugary web, and he damn well knew it. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, there was something between them. It had sparked from the second they met.

  When she’d pulled a gun on him.

  With a chuckle he paid Amber and left the coffee place. He tore open the wax paper and devoured the bear claw in four bites, then set off for the jobsite, sure to find Hannah there.

  Her red truck was parked in his spot, as usual. He jumped out of the truck with his thermos in hand, eager to see her. He found her chatting with the men with her picnic basket in hand and a smile on her face.

  His stomach did a funny flip. This time he wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t angry. He was desperate to kiss her.

  Then she spotted him and her smile widened. He had a hard time believing he was the reason. What he saw on her face was joy.

  His stomach flipped again.

  “Good morning, Dylan.” She pointed to his thermos. “I’ve got a treat to go with that coffee.”

  The men straightened up and more than one of them snickered or shot him a knowing grin. To his surprise, it didn’t bother him. They felt comfortable enough to tease him and he trusted them enough to take it. Tanger had some kind of magic.

  “Can I talk to you in the trailer?” He kept his voice neutral while inside his inner caveman was howling to be let loose.

  She handed the picnic basket to the man beside her. “Make sure everyone gets their fill, Mauricio. I’m counting on you.”

  The carpenter smiled—almost shyly, by damn—and took the basket from her. Hannah turned and walked toward him. He glared at the men, daring them to watch her ass, and they all turned their backs and started reaching for the pastries.

  His throat tightened as she approached him. Hannah was gorgeous in every sense of the word. Somehow over the last couple of weeks she’d lost the angry sharp edge she’d been carrying. This woman looked happy.

  She took his arm and held up a wax-paper-wrapped bear claw. “For you.”

  They walked together to the trailer. He unlocked it and gestured for her to precede him in. Dylan slipped in and flicked the lock behind his back. She sat down in what he was beginning to think of as her usual chair.

  “Are you going to eat that?”

  He set the thermos and the pastry on his desk. “Not yet. There’s something else I need to do first.”

  He pulled her to her feet and pulled her tight against him. The feel of her marvelous breasts against his chest made his dick hard in an instant. And she smelled wonderful, that lemony cookie scent he would always associate with Hannah.

  “Oh my.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Now what?”

  He growled in his throat and kissed her. She was tall enough he didn’t have to bend himself in half. No, she was the perfect height for him. Her lips were soft and lush and he reveled in the feel of them.

  Instead of losing himself in the force of lust for her, he dialed it back and took his time. Slow nibbles followed by swiping his tongue at the seam of her lips. Teasing him, teasing her.

  By the time their tongues found each other, his heart was hammering like a battle drum. He’d never had such a visceral reaction to a woman. By no means was he a man who didn’t get a hard-on when he kissed a woman, but this was beyond just having a stiff dick. He was consumed with every molecule of his body.

  He kissed his way across her jaw to her neck. Her scent surrounded him and he drank her in even as his hands cupped her spectacular ass. He pulled her against his throbbing cock, eager for more.

  “I, uh, wow, that feels good.” Her voice was high and breathy.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t seem to stop myself.” He was being truthful, which was
another surprise. He simply couldn’t stop touching her, kissing her.

  She backed him toward the desk and he found himself sitting in the chair. She straddled him, pressing her heated core against his aching staff while her breasts were right in front of his mouth. A bountiful feast.

  “We shouldn’t do this in here.” She pulled off her shirt, revealing a lacy blue bra. He kissed the valley between her breasts, then licked her skin.

  “No, we shouldn’t.” He thrust up against her and they both gasped.

  “Anybody might walk in.” She scratched at his shoulders.

  “The door’s locked.” He cupped her breasts and closed his teeth on a nipple.

  “Oh thank God.” She grabbed his hair and held him against her. “More.”

  He pushed aside the lace and lapped at the turgid peak. All rational thought fled. He needed her. Now. Now. Now.

  “Hey, boss?” The voice preceded the knock at the door. “We have a problem with one of the nail guns.”

  Dylan let the nipple loose with regret. He kissed it then pulled the bra back into place. Disappointment raged with unrequited lust. God, he wanted to get this woman in a bed for once.

  “Be there in a minute,” he called out. He whispered against her gloriously soft skin, “Damn it.”

  She kissed the top of his head. “You might want to wait a few minutes before you go outside. Or you could use your dick to hammer those nails.”

  He almost choked on a laugh. “Truer words were never spoken.”

  She climbed off and his body cried out in dismay. As she pulled on her shirt, he mentally said goodbye to her breasts. He almost had them bare in hand and he made a silent vow to do so. Very soon.

  She tugged at her jeans and blew out a breath. “Holy shit. That was intense.”

  “I’ve got more where that came from.”

  She laughed, that husky sound that echoed through him. Dylan managed to get to his feet. His dick throbbed against the zipper that held it in. It was his turn to adjust his trousers.

  “I’ve got to get to work.”

  She cupped his face and kissed him, soft and sweet. “Build my restaurant, Broadway.”

  He found himself smiling. “Sure thing, Harry.”

  She picked up her purse and left the trailer, leaving him to try to cool his blood. Dylan stood there for a few more minutes thinking of anything except Hannah. Roadkill, liver and onions, toenail fungus, rancid milk. It didn’t work quickly, but it did work.

  He stepped outside and walked toward the waiting carpenter. Now he had a personal stake in the restaurant rebuild. There were few times in his life he’d had that kind of connection.

  The build would be the best he’d ever done.

  Chapter Seven

  Each day for the next week Hannah came to the jobsite and fed the men with some delicious baked concoction. As they rated them, she stack ranked the pastries. The feedback from Amber at the Coffee House also figured into her business plan. She had usually made pastries for family, not for sale. But with the Devils’ Corner in the new restaurant, she could expand to raise her profits and feed the town.

  Along with her deliveries, she got to see Dylan. They had stolen kisses in the trailer, but it never went past that. She didn’t know if he was holding back until they both lost control or if he was enjoying teasing them both into a frenzy. Either option worked for her.

  The dance between them was one of the most erotic experiences of her life. She walked around aroused every day. Masturbating in her bed wasn’t easing her ache. When Friday rolled around again, she was near desperate for a release.

  No matter what, she was getting Dylan into bed come hell or high water. She pulled into the jobsite and saw his truck was already there. They played a little game to see who would arrive first. They’d started arriving before the sun, which gave them a good half an hour to make out in the trailer.

  Hannah’s heart was light and her soul happy. As she pulled into the parking space, she picked up the picnic basket and jumped out of the truck. As she walked toward the trailer with a smile, another vehicle pulled in behind her.

  Well, shit.

  She frowned and walked toward her brother’s truck. Why was he here? He hadn’t come by the jobsite for weeks.

  “Dax.” She stood impatiently while he turned off the engine and jumped out.

  “Mornin’, sis. You’ve been baking in the middle of the night lately. I had to follow you just to talk to you.” He waggled his brows. “Something keeping you distracted?”

  “Shut up.” She couldn’t cross her arms while holding the picnic basket so she settled for a deep scowl. “Why are you here?”

  “The bank called about the Jorgensens. Something about a thirty thousand dollar check?” His expression had turned serious. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Her cheeks heated. “I was going to. With Dylan’s help we got the appliances ordered.”

  “And paid for them twice.” Dax frowned. “Thirty grand is a big loss when the restaurant hasn’t opened yet.”

  “I’m sorry, Dax. I should’ve told you. I have all the paperwork and Naomi is helping me to recover it.” She toed the ground with one shoe. “You know me, I’ve got it covered.”

  He took her arms. “No, you don’t. The bank has left you three messages this week and you haven’t called them back. Naomi even called me to find out what was going on with you.”

  She’d been distracted by the game between her and Dylan. There were voicemails on her phone and she hadn’t listened to them. Guilt made her stomach cramp.

  “I’m sorry, Dax. I dropped the ball on this one.”

  “No, you didn’t. Apparently the bank was able to track the funds and worked with the Jorgensens’ bank to reverse it.”

  Hannah threw her fist in the air. “Yes!”

  “You provided them with the police report, the details, the canceled check and some other ridiculously detailed paperwork. They told me they wished all their clients were so organized.” Dax peered into the picnic basket. “And a hell of a baker too.”

  She let him take one of the cinnamon rolls. “I’m building up the business for the restaurant when it opens.”

  “Uh huh. Nothing to do with the general contractor then?” Dax’s eyes gleamed with that teasing glint that only brothers could perfect.

  “Shut up.” She swatted at him again. “Don’t make me tell Sophie you were mean to me.”

  “She will enjoy helping you seek revenge on me.” Dax laughed. “She loves to drive me crazy.”

  “Well, she loves you.” Hannah took his free hand. “I haven’t said this, but I’m really glad you two got back together. You were always meant to be.”

  His smile changed, became deeper. “I think so too.”

  The sound of the siren from the firehouse split the morning air in two. As the captain of the volunteer fire department, Dax ran for the truck.

  “Be careful!” Hannah hoped whatever the emergency was, it was a false alarm. Tanger had had numerous fires, including Cindy’s, from what was likely an arsonist. It made the town on edge when the siren sounded.

  Dylan appeared in the doorway of the trailer, frowning, the tailless cat at his feet. “Was that your brother?”

  “Yes, but the siren went off. I’m hoping it’s nothing.”

  He pointed in the distance. “I see smoke.”

  Hannah’s heart clenched. “Shit.”

  “Do you want to go check to see if you can help?”

  Dylan seemed to know her well enough to know what her reaction would be. Later she would examine that particular fact, but for now, she would need to follow Dax and find out what was going on.

  She left the picnic basket on the half-built wall, knowing Mauricio would distribute the pastries to the men. He’d become adept at being fair with all of them.

  Dylan stood beside his truck. “Let’s go.”

  Hannah wanted to kiss him and tell him she was falling in love. The man might pretend he was a hard-ass, but he
wasn’t. She jumped into his truck, followed by the cat. He grunted at the feline, but it seemed intent on going with them.

  “Fuck it.” He put the car into gear and they raced toward the smoke.

  Her dread grew with each passing block. When they rounded the corner, she gasped. “It’s the Coffee House.”

  “Fuck.” He parked across the street in the empty lot.

  There was a crowd of people around and the pumper truck was just hooking up to the hydrant. Her cousin Kyle carried a limp body out of the smoke and stumbled as he reached the curb. What the hell was her cousin doing running into a flaming building?

  Leaving the cat in the cab of the truck, Dylan and Hannah ran toward him, and just as he stumbled again, Dylan grabbed the woman from his arms. Hannah steadied her cousin as he fell to his knees. Smears of soot coated his face. He coughed so hard, the veins stood out on his neck.

  She pulled a bottle of water from her purse and opened it. He waved it away and pointed at the woman. Hannah realized with shock it was Amber. Her beautiful hair was singed and blackened, her face reddened with blisters and more soot.

  “Where the hell is the ambulance?” Dylan took the water from Hannah and held it up to Amber’s mouth, but the liquid dribbled down her cheeks. “She’s unconscious.”

  Kyle staggered to his feet. “I’ve got to contain the crowd. Stay with her, Hannah. Please.” Kyle wasn’t given to emotion ever, but there was agony in his voice. Perhaps there was more to why he ran into the flames.

  “Of course.” She knelt down beside her friend and Dylan handed her a bandanna from his pocket. She soaked it in water and started wiping Amber’s face. The ambulance siren drew closer as she laid the cool cloth on the obviously painful skin on the other woman’s face. “What happened?”

  Kyle’s agony was pushed aside by raw fury. “I don’t know, but I’m damn sure going to find out.” If her cousin was cussing, there was going to be a war. He coughed again.

  Dylan got to his feet. “What can I do?”