Was that when things had started going wrong?
That was the first night that things had heated up between them, turning into something so much more than just friendship. And it had been hotter than hell. So much so that he’d been concerned that a fire extinguisher might’ve been needed in order to keep them under control.
“Katie,” Dalton pleaded, pulling back, trying to hold himself together. He didn’t want to push her too far. Didn’t want her to do something she might regret tomorrow.
“Please don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t warn me that this isn’t the right thing to do. That it isn’t the right time. That it isn’t the right place. You and I both know those are just social niceties, and I’m so far past that—”
“Are you sure?” he asked, cutting her off midsentence.
“More than,” she answered, pulling him closer, pressing her breasts firmly against his rock-hard chest while she nipped his lower lip.
“Oh, hell,” Dalton mumbled, launching to his feet, his hands cupping her ass and holding her astride him.
Katie wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck while he held her tightly.
“I’ve got you, Katie,” he muttered, his lips pressed to hers. He’d always have her. He just didn’t know how to tell her that.
Pulling himself back to the present, Dalton placed his hands beneath his head, sleep pulling him under. As much as he wanted to dig into the reasons for his feelings for Katie, or why he still wanted her after all this time, Dalton knew it was moot.
Katie didn’t want him anymore.
And that’s what bothered him the most.
So much so that as he fell into a deep sleep, he acknowledged one final thing… He was in love with Katie Clarren.
What he was supposed to do with that knowledge, he really had no clue.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“You want to go where?” Katie asked, confused.
“To the horse place,” Lexi said firmly. “Can you take me?”
“What horse place?” Katie had a pretty good idea of where Lexi was talking about, but she was clueless as to the reason.
“The one with the nice cowboy man,” she told him. “He let me look at the puppies and the horses.”
“What was this cowboy man’s name?” she asked, scared of what Lexi’s answer was going to be.
“Mr. Dalton.”
Yep, her deepest fears were confirmed.
She recalled her conversation with Sarah just a few hours ago. Right before her best friend had disappeared out the front door, off to handle her own personal life rather than take care of Katie and Lexi. She mentioned that as soon as she’d woken up, Lexi had started to go on and on about going to the horse place and meeting the nice man who’d talked to her.
Oh, crap. The field trip.
Katie recalled Bethany, the child-care center’s director, mentioning that Lexi had done incredibly well on the field trip. She’d even talked their ears off when they’d made it back to the center, telling everyone about the horses and everything she had learned.
Yes, Lexi was incredibly smart, but she had a central focus about things. When she found something she was interested in, she learned all that she could, to the point of being obsessed. Hence, the obsessive-compulsive disorder she’d been diagnosed with. And Katie had seen firsthand just what that would do to Lexi.
Which meant her only option was to give in to Lexi’s request to take her back to the horse place.
“Was it called Dream Chasers?” Katie asked, hoping that maybe she was wrong.
Lexi’s eyes lit up, her mouth curving into a brilliant smile. “Yes! That’s it. Can we go? Can we?”
Crap.
“Can I take a shower first?” Katie asked, knowing that any other answer would’ve sent Lexi into a downward spiral, and as much as she didn’t want to have to face Mr. Dalton, as Lexi had referred to him, she knew she wasn’t going to get out of this one easily. Either face him or face Lexi’s wrath.
Damn it.
So much for keeping her personal life secret.
“Yes. Go!” Lexi encouraged, pulling on Katie’s arm. “Go shower so we can go see the horses.”
Katie nodded, allowing Lexi to pull her to her feet. She was trying to come up with a plan, wishing like hell there was a way she could get out of this without having to face Dalton or answer any questions from Tessa or Cooper, but she knew Lexi. The kid was bull-headed at best, and when she got her teeth into something, she didn’t let go without a fight.
Katie didn’t want to fight.
Not today.
As it was, she was drained. Emotionally, at least.
Forcing her feet to move, she made her way down the hall to the small bathroom. It wasn’t that she needed a shower, because she’d taken one just that morning when she’d gotten home from the club, but at least this would give her a little time to possibly formulate another plan.
Not that she was likely going to come up with a way to distract Lexi. That never worked.
Then again, Katie had never been this motivated before.
An hour and a half later, Katie was pulling down the dirt drive that led to the Dream Chasers Equestrian Center.
Yeah, so much for a possible out. She’d come up with exactly zilch. And the few things she’d mentioned to Lexi had been shot down before they’d even come out of her mouth.
Her little sister was officially fixated on the horses.
At least she hoped it was the horses. Every conversation seemed to mention Mr. Dalton as well as the horses, but what did she know.
“Hey, lady!” Tessa greeted when Katie stepped out of her car. “This is a wonderful surprise. What brings you by?”
Katie glanced back at the car, seeing Lexi still buckled into the backseat. An assortment of lies formulated in her head, but nothing would come out of her mouth. What was she going to say? It wasn’t as if she could pretend Lexi wasn’t there. Or that the little girl wasn’t with her. Seriously, they looked so much alike, it was scary. Even the girls at the day-care center had thought Lexi was Katie’s daughter at first.
“I just thought I’d stop by to see how things are going,” she lied.
“Hey, kiddo,” Tessa greeted hesitantly, looking behind Katie. That’s when she realized that Lexi had scrambled out of the car and was moving toward her with intent.
Once Lexi’s small fingers slipped into hers, Katie looked back up at Tessa to see the other woman was studying them both.
“Is she … your daughter?”
“My little sister,” Katie blurted. “Lexi, meet Tessa Donovan. Tessa, this is my sister, Lexi.”
Tessa moved closer, but she did so slowly, almost as though she knew how to handle Lexi without being informed.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Lexi.”
Lexi didn’t respond, but Tessa smiled down at her anyway.
“Did you know that I work with your sister?” Tessa asked, keeping a safe distance between them. “I also own this place.” Tessa signaled her reference by raising her arm and motioning toward the huge buildings behind her.
“You own it?” Lexi asked excitedly. “Does that mean the horses are yours, too?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tessa agreed.
“What about Mr. Dalton. Is he yours, too?”
Tessa choked, her eyes bugging as she looked up at Katie and then back to Lexi. “No, Mr. Dalton does not belong to me, but I take it you’ve visited us recently, huh?”
Katie glanced down to see Lexi nodding in agreement.
“So what brings you out here today?” Tessa asked, this time turning her question to Katie.
“She wanted to come and see the horses.”
“And Mr. Dalton,” Lexi tacked on.
Tessa’s smile widened, and Katie was pretty sure she saw a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“Well, good news,” Tessa replied. “We’ve got plenty of horses in the arena right now, and Mr. Dalton is there, too.”
Katie fough
t the urge to turn around and run back to her car. The thought of seeing Dalton wasn’t terrible, but she wasn’t sure how this was going to go. After all, bringing Lexi was just another way of exposing one more of her many secrets.
And she knew exactly what Dalton thought about the last secret he’d unearthed.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Dalton had spent the morning in a fog. After three cups of coffee, his blurry brain hadn’t cleared any, but he was wired for sound. That was one of the main reasons he was working with Sacred Spirit, the unruly gelding they’d brought to the center recently. He had to do something to stay busy, and the less he had to think, the better off he would be.
“Hey, Dalt! You’ve got visitors!”
Dalton turned at the sound of Tessa’s voice.
What he saw, or rather who, had him stopping mid-step.
Katie? And Lexi?
What the hell was going on?
“Hey,” he greeted as he approached the ladies.
“Hey,” Katie replied, not meeting his gaze.
“Mr. Dalton! My sister said I could come see the horses today!” Lexi’s enthusiasm had him smiling.
Sister? Holy shit. His gaze transferred back and forth between them, finally landing on Lexi when he realized Katie wasn’t going to look at him. “Well, I’m so glad you’re here, little lady.” Dalton left Sacred Spirit alone in the arena while he joined Katie and Lexi on the other side of the fence.
“I’ll get her put up,” Tessa informed him, touching his arm gently as she passed him.
“Don’t you go in there,” Dalton warned her. “Sacred’s in a mood this mornin’.”
Tessa nodded. “Okay. Cooper’s on his way down here. I’ll let him get her then.”
“Lexi, you wanna go see the puppies first?” Dalton asked the little girl as he made his way to her side.
“Yes, please,” she confirmed, taking his hand when he held it out to her.
Glancing over at Katie, Dalton noticed she was watching the interaction between him and her sister, but she didn’t say anything. She simply fell into step a few feet behind them.
Right then, Austin came waltzing up to them, his brother and sister charging along beside him. “Hey, Dalt.”
“Mornin’.” Nodding toward Katie, Dalton made the necessary introductions.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Austin replied.
“You, too,” Katie answered softly, her gaze linked with Dalton’s for the first time since she’d arrived.
Lexi gripped Dalton’s hand a little tighter, but when Dalton looked down, he noticed she was watching Austin intently. “You wanna go see the puppies with Austin?”
“Hey, Lex,” Austin greeted her. “This is my little brother, Matt. And my sister, Olivia.”
“Hi,” Austin’s brother and sister said in unison. Lexi didn’t respond, gripping Dalton’s hand even tighter, but she was smiling.
“Come on, y’all,” Austin said as he guided Matt and Olivia toward the pen where the petting zoo animals were kept and the area where the puppies were being contained.
“You can go, Lex. I’ll be right here with your sister. Okay?”
Lexi nodded, releasing Dalton’s hand and glancing over her shoulder at Katie before smiling and hopping toward the others. When the four of them walked off together, Dalton pivoted to see Katie watching after Lexi.
“Didn’t know you had a sister,” he told her blandly.
Katie peered up at him, her pretty gray eyes widening. “You didn’t ask.”
That was the same thing she’d told him last night when he’d asked about her being a stripper. And just like then, her response felt like a slap in the face, but Dalton managed to hold his tongue.
Barely.
Only because he didn’t want to argue with her. Last night had been hell. Significantly harder than he’d anticipated. Walking away from Katie, anytime, was damn near debilitating, and last night hadn’t proved to be any different.
“Look, I didn’t come here to—”
Dalton took two steps and was standing directly in front of Katie. Before she could finish the sentence, he gripped her shoulders and leaned in until their mouths were less than an inch apart. “I don’t want to fight with you, Katie,” Dalton whispered harshly. “I’ve never wanted to fight with you.”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.
And that’s the moment Dalton snapped. He lost every ounce of his control.
Sliding his arms around her, he crushed her to him, pressing his lips to hers. At first, he didn’t try to take things further. But that lasted all of two seconds. Before he could question his own sanity, Dalton coaxed Katie’s mouth open with his tongue, slipping inside. God, she tasted just like he remembered. Sweet. Like mint and coffee.
He groaned, unable to contain the pent up emotion that rumbled in his chest. And when Katie wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back just as desperately, he felt all of that anger that was encasing his heart crack. “Katie.” He breathed her name against her lips, his hands sliding down her back. He kept them north of her ass, but just barely.
Guiding her backward, he stopped when her back was against the wall of the stable. They were just inside, hidden from any prying eyes, and Dalton couldn’t help himself.
Sliding one hand up, he cupped her face gently, not wanting to hurt her but unable to contain the fiery need that ignited in his bloodstream. He slipped his thigh between her legs, urging them open. Grinding his thigh against her pussy, he took the kiss to the next level. She was kissing him back, nipping at his lip, her nails digging into his back where she’d slid her hands beneath his T-shirt.
“Oh, God, Katie.” He was losing his fucking mind. That was all there was to it. He had no idea how to stop the collision course they were on, but he didn’t want to, either. He wanted to devour her. He wanted to lift up her skirt, pull her panties to the side, and drive himself into her, claiming her.
“Dalton!”
The sound of Austin’s voice calling him was the only thing that stopped him. Pulling his mouth from hers, he didn’t stop touching her, one hand at the small of her back, pulling her to him, the other cupping her face while he brushed his thumb over her soft cheek.
“What the hell is going on, Katie?” he asked, his voice low and gruff.
“Dalton. Hey, man. Where are you?”
“You better see what he needs,” she whispered, her eyes still linked with his.
Dalton nodded, releasing her from his grip. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“My sister’s here, remember?” she retorted, her eyes sliding away from his.
“Right.”
Dalton took a step back, his eyes still trained on her for another second. Then he turned and rounded the wall that was separating him from Austin. “What’s up, man?”
“I’m gonna take ’em to see the horses in the arena. That cool? Coop’s over there.”
Nodding his head, Dalton felt Katie come up behind him. To his surprise, she didn’t try to go with Austin, and for whatever reason, that simple gesture had hope once again swelling in his chest.
Hope.
Damn it.
“If you need us,” Dalton told Austin, “we’ll be in the barn.”
Austin nodded his head in understanding and then ventured into the stable, all three kids following behind him.
Taking a deep breath, Dalton considered just what this opportunity meant for him. What it meant for the things he wanted from this woman. He realized he was standing there, praying that Katie wouldn’t walk away from him again. That whatever was happening here might be the second chance they needed.
That morning, when he had woken up, Dalton had lain in his bed, remembering his life from so long ago. The lies, the secrets. He’d been burned by people he’d thought were his friends. Maybe that was what had hurt him the most about her secrets. But as the sun’s rays had begun to slip into his bedroom, he’d remembered his own secrets. Everything he’d kept from Katie.<
br />
And it pissed him off. He was a fucking hypocrite.
He wanted another chance with her. He wanted to make it up to her. Only he didn’t know how that worked. He’d never tried to reconcile with anyone, choosing to walk away rather than stick around and fight for what he wanted.
After Austin walked away with the three kids in tow, Dalton turned to face Katie.
That was the moment he knew he was ready to make a change. If it meant groveling at her feet, begging for her forgiveness, he was ready.
His dreams of being in the FBI had died a long time ago because of circumstances beyond his control. But Katie… The woman standing in front of him was what he longed for. What he wanted more than his next breath.
And it was time to stop watching his dreams vanish.
It was time to go after what he wanted.
Starting with her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Katie was pretty sure she was going to have whiplash due to Dalton’s frequent mood swings.
Last night — or rather, early that morning — he had seemed angry with her when he had followed her back to her apartment. But now … now he was acting as though nothing had transpired between them over the course of the last few months.
What was wrong with this man? What made him think he could just take what he wanted, or forget the fact that he had crushed her all those months ago?
Then again, what the hell was she thinking? She’d been a willing participant a few minutes ago when she had practically tried to climb his body, wanting nothing more than to get close to him. When he had touched her, all her walls had come crumbling down.
Watching Lexi walk away with Austin, she steeled herself for what was to come.
Being alone with Dalton Calhoun was not good for her piece of mind.
Dalton took her hand, and Katie allowed him to lead her out into the field that separated the barn from the stable. She hadn’t been back to the center since they’d finished all of the buildings, but she got the impression that Dalton chose to go to the barn because it offered them a small amount of privacy.
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