by Em Petrova
“He was?”
“Yep.” Witt pivoted to look at Shelby. His breath was knocked from him.
She was stunning, long hair trailing over her shoulders, eyes like blue flames. And she was smiling.
He couldn’t resist reaching across the cab and cupping her jaw. She stared at him, lips parted. Lust slammed him. He almost came off the seat and dived for her. Getting a taste of those sweet lips was all he could think about for five maddening heartbeats.
“Thank you for doing this, Witt.”
He stroked her jaw with his thumb. “I’m glad you said yes.”
She laughed, the sound crystalline. “You didn’t exactly ask. You just showed up.”
“Not true. Nell called and did my dirty work.” He shot her a wink and put his hand on the gear shift before he didn’t trust himself to stop touching her.
“What will we do on the ranch, Witt?” Alex asked.
“Wellll, I bet we might eat some birthday cake.”
“Who has a birthday?” Shelby asked, sounding worried.
“Beck.”
“I don’t have a present. Swing by the shop and give me two minutes to fill a candy box.”
“Sure thing. Do you have any of those apple pie delights?”
The sun was setting, drenching her in golden light, but her flushed cheeks were evident to him. “I do.”
“And those dark chocolate raspberry things you like.”
They shared a look that told him she was thinking about him kissing the hell out of her while sampling the goods too.
“I’ll make an assortment for everyone to share.” Her voice was breathy, and Witt’s jeans grew damn uncomfortable.
“I like the bonbons with the candy alien eyeballs,” Alex added, and they both laughed.
“Looks like we’ll make it home in time for evening chores. You ready to feed animals, Alex?”
After that question the boy didn’t stop talking. He went on about the barn cats and why wouldn’t his mom let him keep one? Shelby rolled her eyes. Then he prattled on the last few miles about various kids in his class.
Witt enveloped Shelby’s fingers and she didn’t pull away. The weight of that seeped into him.
When he’d started making trips into Vixen to see her, he hadn’t given much thought to the future. He’d been driven to be close to her but hadn’t analyzed the why. Now that his thoughts had shifted onto a new path, he was contemplating the things he might have one day—a wife, family…and that piece of land his parents had promised him. It all might be within reach.
He couldn’t see her agreeing to marry him quickly as Charlotte had with Hank. And Cash had won Maya in a different way—she’d needed help and marriage had given her citizenship, though the way they couldn’t keep their hands or eyes off each other verified it was a love match.
But no, Shelby had a life established without Witt.
He’d have to do some wooing.
She tipped onto one hip and pulled her cell free. As she thumbed the screen, jealousy rose inside him. Was she still attached to these men who texted her all the damn time, or was she just addicted to her phone?
He bit off a low growl.
At the house, Momma ushered Shelby inside with her boxes of candy and Witt took Alex under wing. The child worked hard to please him, which only convinced Witt more that he needed the boy in his life. He never wanted to let Alex down either.
By the time the sun was sinking out of sight, Alex’s eyes were drooping. Witt flipped him over his shoulder and carried him like a grain sack into the house with Alex giggling all the way. He plunked him down and Shelby took over, whisking him into his PJs and then tucking him into a cot in Witt’s room where she’d be sleeping too. Witt would take the bunkhouse.
When Shelby descended the stairs, his heart drummed a wild beat. He drifted close and took her hand. “Everything settled?”
She smiled softly. “Yes.”
“Walk with me?”
She nodded and he led her out into the moonlight. As they crossed the field, neither spoke. They didn’t have to—he felt a hundred percent comfortable, and he suspected she did too. Not a trace of tension lingered in her body.
“This is nice,” she sighed at last.
He followed her gaze upward to the crescent moon hanging in the spangled sky. “This is Paradise.”
Her lips tilted up. “It is.” Then she began to talk about where she’d come from and how life was so different in Vixen but even more so here. Witt listened hard and heard things she wasn’t saying.
Like how much she enjoyed being here. Their shoulders bumped, and they stopped walking.
He tipped up her beautiful face to receive his kisses. Long, slow strokes of his tongue and more insistent passes that started the burn low in his gut. Then forceful nips as he devoured her.
They tumbled into the grass and he braced his weight so he didn’t crush her. Every soft inch of the woman was trapped beneath him, and his body came alive.
“Witt,” she gasped.
He licked a path around her ear and down her throat. Her skin prickled in the wake of his passion. He tongued the depression above her collarbone and continued down to the slope of her breast.
She tore off his hat and threw it. He rumbled a laugh until she twisted his hair in her fingers. Sobered and as hard as stone, he rocked his erection into the V between her thighs.
She issued a moan that dug deep into his psyche. He lost it.
He clamped his fingers around her distended nipple and lightly squeezed. She arched into his touch. He teased her nipple into a sharper peak while she worked at his shirt buttons.
“I want to feel your skin against mine,” she breathed.
He raised his head and looked into her eyes. “I won’t claim you until I know where your heart is.”
She nodded. “Okay. I just…please, Witt.”
He didn’t need more urging. He tugged her top off and popped her round breasts free of her bra cups. Her nipples strained.
Fighting a roar of need, he rose onto his knees and stripped off his shirt. She sank her nails into his spine and drew him back down, her kisses wild.
The first brush of her scorching hot breasts against his chest sent him into a tornado of want. His head spun and his cock ached. He bathed her throat and the tops of her breasts in kisses. Then he drew one bunched nipple into his mouth.
She stopped breathing as he swirled it with his tongue, learning which way to give her maximum pleasure. Pressure built in his groin and their hips smacked together.
He grazed his teeth over her nipple until she writhed.
“So good so good so good,” she chanted.
“Mmmm,” he vibrated her sensitive bud. Then he trailed his tongue between her breasts down to her stomach. A few silvery stripes stood out on her skin—stretch marks from having Alex. But they only made her more beautiful to him.
As he pressed kisses to each one, she guided his head. When his lips brushed the waist of her jeans, he stopped dead, his breath rough and his cock weeping pre-come. “I want to taste you so damn bad, woman.” He stared up her body into her eyes. “But not yet.”
“Witt.”
He plucked at her button and it popped open. Every grating tug of the zipper sent electric desire through his system. He snaked a finger into the opening he’d created and ran it over the silk of her panties.
She sucked in a harsh breath. God, she was stunning, eyes glassy, lips swollen from his kisses.
“Let me touch you. I want to make you burn for me.”
* * * *
His voice was a rough stroke to her senses. How had she gotten out here under this huge open Texas sky, lying under the most glorious man she’d ever seen? Her panties were soaked and her pussy squeezed as if beckoning him to touch her.
The cooler air dried his kisses onto her skin, making him part of her. She wanted this bad—wanted him. What would happen in the morning though?
He pressed a soft kiss to her belly right above
her mound. Need spiked.
“Yes.” She didn’t even care that she sounded as if she were begging.
He dragged her jeans down, towing her panties with them. Grass prickled her backside but she ignored it when he slid a finger up the wetness of her pussy. Her folds split for him, and they shared a loud groan.
“You’re soaking wet.”
“Uhhh.” Coherent speech was beyond her. All she could focus on was his burning touch on her clit. He circled it with crazy slowness then pinned it with a fingertip, grinding her aching flesh into her body.
She let her knees fall apart, still hampered too much by her clothes. She threw her head back and reveled in every mind-altering stroke of his finger. He toggled her stiff flesh back and forth then moved down to her opening. With his finger poised at her entrance, her mind floated far, far away.
All she wanted was to feel him moving within her, to know his every hard inch.
To have Witt.
He speared her with one long finger. She cried out, thrusting upward. He growled in response and moved up her body. The crush of his lips against hers stole all thought. Dizzy with his flavors and his finger working her deep, then shallow, she lost herself to the feel of the heel of his hand grazing her clit again and again.
She started to climb. Throwing her arms around him, she dragged him down, loving his weight, his scent, every flip of his tongue and thrust of his finger.
In a rush she came. Blinding pulsations pulled a primal noise from her. He answered. Stroking, taking her higher, kissing her silly. Juices spilled over his fingers and she jerked under his touch.
As the last pulsation ebbed away, she opened her eyes to stare into his—and found she liked the stars in his eyes so much better than in the sky overhead.
He brought her down slowly, expertly, his fingers moving in a slower rhythm as he kissed her with a tender passion that made her throat constrict.
When he pulled his hand free, he gave her a crooked smile she felt all the way to her toes.
Then he flopped onto his back and stuck his fingers in his mouth.
Brand new lust sliced through her as she realized he was savoring her taste. His tongue flicked down his knuckle and between his fingers, gathering every drop. Scorching heat stole over her. Panting, she twisted her gaze from the beauty that was Witt and looked at the bejeweled sky, so dull in comparison.
“Now what?” she whispered.
“Now I know how you sound when you come. How you taste. And it only makes me more determined to give you every pleasure I can.”
Her eyelids fluttered at his words.
He leaned over her, putting those big callused hands on her bared torso and gliding them up to cup her breasts. “Now you can lie here with me and talk about your dreams or I can make you scream again.” He waggled his brows, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“This grass is getting scratchy on my butt.”
His chuckle warmed her soul. “Can’t have that.” He found his abandoned shirt and made her lift her hips so he could place it under her. Then while she talked about how she was finished with bad relationships and making stupid choices, he teased her breasts, kissed her belly. And when she confessed how happy she was that he’d fetched her and Alex and brought them to the ranch, he claimed her with his fingers—showing her ecstasy all over again.
Chapter Seven
“Big day ahead of us, boy. Up into that saddle you go.” Witt hoisted Alex into the saddle of their calmest horse. With the child riding ahead of him for this cattle roundup, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“Can I hold the reins?” Alex asked.
“Not yet. Let me get in the saddle behind you and after a spell, I’ll let you have the reins.”
“Yippee!” Alex’s squeal sent Beck’s horse into a bucking fit.
His brother held on with one hand, using the other to balance himself as the animal whipped him. Hank and Cash whooped with laughter and Kade shook his head.
“Are we gonna do that?” Alex asked Witt.
“Absolutely not.” He slid into the saddle behind the boy and tugged him against his chest to give him a stable seat. Wrapping the reins around his gloved fist, he said to Alex, “Now the way you get him moving is important. You don’t want to frighten him or he’ll take off or throw you. I want you to click to him nice and low, like this.” He clicked.
Alex imitated him.
“A little louder, son.”
Alex made the noise again and the horse started moving. Giggles of glee burst from Alex as they made their way across the field. Witt’s brothers caught up to him.
Hank’s smile was wide when he trotted up. “Having a good time?”
“The best! Witt’s awesome with horses.”
“He is. Witt’s one of the best Daltons with animals. You’re mighty lucky to be riding with Witt. I can’t wait to get my son in the saddle.”
“He’s just a baby,” Alex scoffed.
“Yeah, but he already has his first pair of cowboy boots. So he’ll be ready when the time comes.”
As Hank and Alex bantered back and forth, Witt’s mind wandered back to the house—and to Shelby. He could still smell her on his fingers though he’d washed several times. He loved having her essence soaked into his pores. When she’d screamed her last orgasm, he’d scooped her against him and swallowed her cries.
The temperatures seemed to rise about twenty degrees. He turned his attention to the talk.
“See that herd up ahead? They’ve been grazing a long time,” Cash said to Alex.
The boy nodded, his head thumping Witt’s chest. His heart blossomed with warmth.
“It’s time to get the cows out of the pastures and into the chute.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a tunnel of sorts. We ride all in a row and let the horses push the cows into the chute. Then they are stuck in a pen,” Witt explained.
“Bet they don’t like that.”
They probably didn’t like being loaded on a truck and made into someone’s steak dinner either, but Witt wasn’t ready to tell Alex that. He’d been worried enough about the pork the other night. If the boy spent a little more time on the ranch, he’d learn the ways soon enough.
Witt wanted him on the ranch more—and his mother.
The next few hours were spent herding the cows down the valley, zigzagging his horse behind to get all the strays into the group. Alex accepted the reins and took his part very seriously. He did a fair job and needed little instruction after the first few minutes.
“Let me have the reins now, son. We’re gonna push them inside the fence.”
“Okay.” He passed the reins. “Why do you keep calling me son? I’m not.”
His throat tightened painfully. He focused on the task and tried to forget the feeling of being tied in knots. He wanted this kid in his life as much as Shelby. He’d fallen for both of them, dammit.
With two people to love, the stakes were higher. If he won them, his life would be full and rich. If the worst happened, he’d hurt twice as bad.
Witt yipped a few times to direct the horse. It didn’t do his bidding, so he gave it a tap of his spurs. When it didn’t respond, he trilled his tongue.
All hell broke loose. Thousand-pound animals scattered, the horse whirled. Alex tipped out of the saddle and Witt lashed out. When his fist closed around the boy’s shirt front, adrenaline smacked his system. He yanked Alex up and found him covered in blood.
“Kade, clear my way!”
Assessing the situation in a blink, Kade used his animal to separate the herd. Witt locked an arm around Alex’s middle and rode hell-bent for the house. He barely reined up before he jumped off, Alex in his arms.
“Shelby! Momma!” He didn’t know how bad Alex’s injuries were, but he had to get him to people who could help.
The women burst onto the front porch. Heart a wild bronco in his chest, Witt stomped up the steps with Alex. Blood drained from Shelby’s face and she swayed.
&nb
sp; Witt thrust the boy into his mother’s hold and caught Shelby before she went down. She bent over and vomited. The sickness splashed his boots and he reached for her honey-brown locks before she let loose again.
“Take care of her, Witt. I’ve got Alex. He’s okay—looks like a cut lip. I’ll take him inside.” Momma carried Alex past.
Shelby almost tipped over. With one arm around her hips, Witt kept her on her feet while she emptied her stomach. She panted.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
“Alex…”
“He’s all right. Momma says it’s a cut lip and wounds like that bleed like the devil. She probably has him fixed up and eating cookies already. I’m more worried about you.” He scooped her against his chest. Her arms were weak around his neck and her cheek clammy.
He took her into the kitchen, which had always served as the ER when he was a kid. Here Momma had patched up Witt and his brothers more times than he could count.
Alex sat having the blood wiped off his face.
“Looks bad but it’s not. See?” Momma pulled the cloth away to reveal a split lip—deep enough to bleed like hell but it didn’t need stitches.
“Set me down, Witt.” Shelby’s voice was reedy.
“She’s had a shock. Put her in the chair, Witt, or she’ll pass out.”
“What a terrible mother I am, reacting that way when I saw my baby hurt.”
Witt placed her gently on the seat and she reached for Alex’s hands. The boy blinked at her, less pale than she was by far.
Looking between them, Witt replayed the events and tried to figure out where he’d gone wrong. They’d been on the calmest horse. It shouldn’t have reacted to the cattle’s quick movements.
“It’s my fault. I made a noise the animals didn’t take well to. They started pushing and our horse spun. Alex fell out of the saddle, and I caught him before he hit the ground. Must have smashed his mouth when he fell.”
Alex tried to talk around the wet towel pressed to his lip. “Why di eee do at?”
“Some animals don’t like certain noises, and one of those cows must not have liked the sound I made.”
“Disss one?” He made the trilling noise and Shelby made a noise that was part laugh, part sob.
