Teasing Annie: The Temptation Saga: Book Two

by Hardt, Helen;

  Before Annie could answer, two men walked in the back door, rustling their jackets and stomping on the mat.

  “Where are you, darlin’?” one of them called.

  “We’re in here, Zach,” Dusty said. “I brought company for dinner.”

  “So did I,” the man said.

  “Annie, this is my husband, Zach.” Dusty leaned forward to brush her lips across his mouth. “This is the new vet in town, Dr. Annie DeSimone.”

  Annie couldn’t help staring. Dusty’s husband had male model looks, but two different colored eyes. One dark brown, one light blue, like Sean’s. Broad shoulders, lean hips, muscular build. If this is what the McCray men looked like…

  “Nice to meet you.” Zach held out his hand and Annie shook it politely. “Oh, there you are.” He turned his head as another man walked in.

  “Sorry, had to stop in the kitchen to wash my hands and face,” the man said.

  “This is my brother Dallas,” Zach said. “Dallas, meet Dr. DeSimone.”

  Annie looked up into the face of the most amazing man she had ever seen. Beautiful. Rugged. Dashing. He resembled Zach, but in a less refined way. He was a little taller, at least six-feet-three. His brown eyes were the color of strong coffee, and his face was perfectly shaped, except for a slight crook in his nose where it must have been broken once. The slight flaw in otherwise perfect features was not only endearing, it was sexy as hell. Unlike Zach’s closely trimmed goatee, Dallas had several days’ growth of beard covering his chiseled jawline, surrounding full pink lips, which were parted slightly. Annie warmed and tried not to wonder what they might feel like brushing against her own.

  Moisture at the hairline rimmed his wavy black locks, forcing it into unruly curls that just touched his collar. Streaks of silver highlights graced his temples. Annie’s skin tightened. Since when was gray hair sexy?

  Since right now.

  “Nice to meet you, Doc,” Dallas said, holding out his hand.

  “It’s Annie,” she said.

  His skin was warm as his fingers tightened around hers. Big, strong hands. Capable hands. Annie loved hands. If a man didn’t have good hands, she wasn’t interested.

  Dallas McCray had great hands.

  “That’s a unique accent,” Dallas said. “Where are you from?”

  “New Jersey.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “Outside Atlantic City.”

  “Yeah? What brings you here?” Zach asked.

  “Just a change of scenery,” Annie said, hoping they wouldn’t press the issue. She wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. She turned to Dusty. “I think I’ll take that wine now.”

  “Sure.” Dusty moved toward the oak bar in the corner of the room. “What do you two want?” she asked Zach and Dallas.

  “Like you have to ask, darlin’,” Zach said.

  “Wild Turkey, I know.” Dusty smiled at her husband. “What about you, Dallas? No, don’t tell me. Macallan neat.”

  “You’re a woman after my own heart, Dusty,” Dallas said, winking.

  The fine hair on Annie’s arms straightened. Silly. Why should Dallas’s words bother her? Or his harmless wink? She had just met the man.

  She took the wine Dusty handed her. Cheers, she said to herself, and tipped the glass to her lips. Chianti. A good Chianti. Although she couldn’t afford the good stuff, Annie knew her Italian wine. Her mother had taught her well.

  “Where’s the critter?” Dallas asked.

  “Mona took him upstairs to settle down before dinner,” Dusty said. “He’s exhausted. I dragged him on my errands all day, and then, when we finally got back here, we had to go back into town with Nigel. That’s how Annie and I met.” Dusty explained the cat’s constipation, and soon they were all in hysterics.

  “Do you see a lot of constipated cats, Doc?” Dallas asked.

  “Can’t say that I do,” Annie replied, shifting her gaze from the adorable crinkling of Dallas’s eyes. “I told Dusty to keep him outside as much as possible the next few days. Trust me, you don’t want to be cleaning up after him.”

  “Sounds like good advice,” Dallas said quietly.

  Annie looked up and found his gaze locked onto her breasts. She squirmed and drained her glass of wine.

  “Dinner’s ready, Miss Dusty.”

  Annie looked up to see a rotund older woman standing in the doorway.

  “Thank you, Seraphina,” Dusty said. “We’ll be right in.” She grabbed Annie’s arm. “You’re going to love Seraphina’s cooking.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Annie said truthfully. Eating would give her something to do with her hands, which were still shaking and clammy from touching Dallas. She followed Dusty to the dining room and hoped she could get through the meal without any meatballs falling into her lap.

  Chapter Two

  She was nothing like Chelsea.

  Point one in her favor.

  She was nothing like Dusty.

  Point one against her.

  When he filed for divorce, Dallas had decided if he ever got serious with a woman again, she would have to be a fresh-faced country girl like his sister-in-law. Someone who would devote herself to him and their family. A sweet pretty thing who didn’t have a deceptive bone in her body.

  Annie DeSimone was clearly a career woman. A career woman with a biting Jersey accent, no less.

  So why couldn’t he stop imagining her naked?

  Her skin was pale and luminous, the color of moonlight. Her nearly black hair cascaded midway down her back in wavy ringlets, shining with glints of reddish burgundy that couldn’t possibly be natural. Her perfect oval face blushed a creamy rose, and her beautifully formed lips held a natural pucker. And her body…even in her Bohemian skirt and loose peasant blouse, with bracelets rattling everywhere and three piercings in one ear, he could tell her curves were worth exploring.

  Still, he had been with his share of beautiful women. What was it about this one?

  He nodded his head to himself. It was her eyes. He had never seen anything like them before. Not blue exactly—they were almost violet. Deep amethyst. Like Elizabeth Taylor’s, only more so. Darker and more alluring. Long ebony lashes adorned them, and the left was slightly smaller than the other, making it squint slightly when she smiled. Adorable.

  He could drown in those eyes.

  Of course, there was also the jolt of electricity he’d felt when their hands touched. Had she felt it too?

  Probably not, he decided, as he watched her talk amiably with Dusty. When Seraphina came in to dish up seconds, Annie gushed about the sauce.

  “It’s wonderful,” she said. “A lot like my ma’s, but not quite. My ma uses caraway, but I’m thinking you use anise. Am I right?”

  “Yes, my mother swore by anise,” Seraphina said. “But she also used caraway from time to time.”

  “Have you combined the two?”

  “Never have, but I’ve always thought about it.”

  “Let’s do it sometime,” Annie said. “We could experiment together.” She took another bite of meatball, swallowed, and continued. “Your meatballs are amazing, too. Beef?”

  “One hundred percent McCray raised Colorado beef,” Seraphina said, laughing.

  “The best in the nation,” Zach piped in.

  “My ma used half-beef, half-veal,” Annie said, “until Pop’s triglycerides went up. Then she switched to half-buffalo, half-veal, since buffalo’s lower in fat. Sometimes, for a treat, she uses lamb.”

  “Ah, I’ve never tried that,” Seraphina said. “It sounds good.”

  “It is. You need to alter the spices a little though. Less basil and more rosemary. Sometimes she uses a little fresh mint too, if she’s in the mood.” Annie took a sip of her wine and Dallas tried not to stare at her mouth. “When’s your next day off?” she continued. “I’d love to get together and experiment a little.”

  “I have Wednesdays and Sundays off,” Seraphina said.

  “You can experiment here anytime though
, Annie,” Dusty said. “Zach and I would love to feast on your results.”

  “Really? I’d like that.” Annie wiped her lips with her napkin. “I love to cook. I haven’t done anything since I got here except eat Lean Cuisines. I’ve been so busy getting settled and taking care of animals.”

  “We’ve got a lot of those around here.” Zach smiled warmly. “And we haven’t had a full-time vet in several months. Dusty’s been filling in some.”

  “I can tell she knows a lot about animals,” Annie said.

  The conversation continued and Dallas listened with only one ear, hearing about every third word while he imagined Annie’s plump breasts spilling out of her creamy pleasant blouse. Moonlight skin surrounding carnelian nipples. He stiffened inside his jeans.

  “Dallas?”

  He jerked, hearing his name. “Yeah, Zach?”

  “Would you mind?”

  “Huh? Would I mind what?”

  “Taking Annie home. Her car’s in the shop. She rode out here with Dusty.”

  “R-Really,” Annie stammered, “it’s not necessary.”

  “It’s not a problem. I have to drive home anyway.”

  “But don’t you live…around here?” Annie gazed around the table, all three of them chuckling. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” Dusty said. “There’s no reason you should know, being new in town. McCray Landing is the largest beef ranch in Colorado. Dallas lives here, but his home is several miles away from ours.”

  “Oh.”

  Annie’s pale skin flushed, and Dallas’s groin tightened. Again. He wondered if her breasts were blushing right now. Rosy swells of edible flesh.

  “I knew this was the largest ranch, I just didn’t—”

  “Grasp the magnitude?” Dusty smiled. “I didn’t either when I first came here. It’s huge.”

  “I’ll be glad to drive you home, Doc,” Dallas said. “For one small favor in return.”

  “Wh-What would that be?”

  God, her stammer is adorable. She felt the connection. He could tell.

  “You let me know when you and Seraphina do your experimenting. I want to come to dinner.”

  Annie nodded. “Sure. No problem.”

  “Let’s have coffee in the family room,” Dusty said. “I think Seraphina made chocolate cake, too.”

  “No tiramisu?” Zach said.

  “Not tonight, sweetheart,” Dusty said. “Tiramisu is Zach’s favorite dessert,” Dusty explained and then followed her husband into the family room.

  “I bet you make a killer tiramisu, Doc,” Dallas said, helping Annie from her chair.

  “As a matter of fact—”

  “Yeah?”

  “I can’t stand the stuff.”

  Dallas erupted into gales of laughter. This woman was full of surprises.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I thought you were a good little Italian girl.”

  “I’m a Jersey girl, Cowboy, and don’t you forget it.” She broke away from his grasp and headed toward the family room.

  She walked away, her narrow hips swaying gently in her voluminous skirt. With just a little urging, that frothy fabric would slide over her beautifully curved bottom and pool onto the floor, revealing legs that he was sure would be long, slender, and shapely. And between them, a moist and sweet center. He wanted a taste of her. Of all of her.

  Damn. He needed to get laid. There hadn’t been anyone since Chelsea, and those last few years their sexual encounters had been few and far between. Nothing since their separation either. Dallas’s personal code of ethics wouldn’t allow him to cheat on his wife.

  But as of this afternoon, he no longer had a wife.

  * * *

  Driving home next to Dallas McCray heightened every nerve in Annie’s body. Each time he shifted his five-speed Mercedes, his elbow brushed hers, and a spark ignited at the contact and ran up her arm, radiating throughout the rest of her body. This was ridiculous. He wasn’t even her type.

  But how could Dallas McCray not be anyone’s type?

  He was a cowboy, for one, and she had never had a thing for cowboys. Of course, growing up in New Jersey, she hadn’t seen a lot of cowboys. Gamblers? Yes. Drunks? Yes. Hit men? A few. But no cowboys.

  But a cowboy he was, and a remarkable specimen of the breed. His green western shirt was open at the collar, and a few black chest hairs peeked out. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his forearms, dusted with more black hair, flexed with each shift. All that muscle and sinew. What would they feel like around her?

  Then there were his hands. Big and strong. And beautiful. The man had beautiful hands.

  “So you’re staying in the apartment above the vet clinic?” he said.

  She cleared her throat, giving herself time to answer without stuttering. “For now, anyway. I didn’t bring a lot of stuff from Jersey so I don’t need a lot of space.”

  “Is this a permanent move for you?” His voice was low and husky. Very sexy.

  “I’m not quite sure yet. But I like it here so far. I’m from a big glitzy town, so this is a nice change.”

  Dallas chuckled softly. “Bakersville’s a lot of things, but glitzy it ain’t.” He pulled his car into the alley behind the clinic. “I’ll walk you up.”

  “There’s no need,” Annie said. If she didn’t get away from him soon she feared she might throw herself into his sinewy arms.

  “Doc, there’s something you need to learn about us cowboys.” His western drawl crept up her neck and into her ears. “We’re gentlemen, and we always see a lady to her door.”

  “That’s silly. This isn’t a…date or anything.”

  “Doesn’t make a difference, Doc.” He stepped out of the car and came around and opened the door for her before she could object further. “Come on. I’ll see you up.”

  They walked in the back door of the clinic and climbed the stairs to the entrance to Annie’s apartment.

  “Th-Thank you for the ride home,” she said, fidgeting with her purse.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me in? To thank me properly?”

  “Thank you properly?” Her heart lurched. Surely he couldn’t be thinking…

  “Yeah. Coffee or a nightcap?”

  “Oh.” Heat crept up her neck. “I’m already thanking you by letting you eat dinner when Seraphina and I do our cooking together.”

  “All right, Doc,” he said, his voice terse. “I get the picture.”

  Geez, now he thinks I don’t like him. “I’m teasing,” she said quickly. “Of course you can come in. I’m afraid I don’t have coffee though. I can make a pot of tea. Well, herb tea.”

  “Herb tea, huh?” His drawl curved into a lazy half smile.

  “Don’t tell me. You hate herb tea.”

  “Probably as much as you hate tiramisu.”

  “That much, huh?” Annie forced out a laugh. “I haven’t been to the liquor store yet, so I’m afraid I don’t have anything else to offer you.”

  “Sure you do.”

  “Yeah? What might that be?”

  “Something sweet,” he said, “like this.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips lightly against hers.

  Annie’s knees buckled at the innocent kiss. His mouth had barely touched hers, and she could hardly stand.

  Dallas’s strong arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close, smashing her breasts against his hard chest. “Let’s try that again, Doc.” He leaned down to take her lips once more.

  Still gentle, he slanted his mouth over hers, outlining her lips with his tongue, nibbling across the upper then the lower. It was the most natural thing in the world to part her lips and urge him inside.

  No more gentleness. His tongue swept into her mouth with carnal passion. He licked her teeth, her gums, the inside of her cheeks, the roof of her mouth.

  Had she ever tasted anything quite so delicious? Chocolate. Cinnamon and cloves. And him. Dallas. God, he can kiss.

  He tore from her mouth and se
ttled next to her ear, nipping the soft skin just below her lobe. “Come on, Doc,” he whispered, “you can do better than that.”

  “What?”

  “Kiss me,” he said. “Kiss me like you mean it.” His mouth took hers again.

  Like she meant it? Damn it, why am I holding back? She was attracted to this man. She loved to kiss. She was good at it, too. She leaned back a little, breaking his hold on her, caught his luscious lower lip between her teeth, and tugged.

  Dallas groaned and pulled her tighter against him. She licked his lips, traced their sweet fullness, and then she thrust her tongue into his warmth.

  If heaven were a kiss, this would be it, she thought, and then could no longer think. She only felt. And responded. Their tongues tangled together as she wrapped her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers through his silky hair. He cupped her cheeks and caressed her with his thumbs as he ravished her mouth.

  They both gasped and panted, kissing each other as though the world were ending.

  When they finally broke apart for a much-needed breath, Dallas trailed butterfly kisses down her cheek to her neck.

  “Oh, Cowboy.” Annie’s voice was a breathless rasp. “You sure know how to kiss.”

  Dallas nibbled his way to her ear. “So do you, Doc, when you put your mind to it.” He chuckled. “I think I’ll take that herb tea now.”

  “To hell with herb tea.” Annie pushed the door open, pulled him inside, and attacked his mouth again.

  “I couldn’t wait to have a taste of you,” Dallas said against her mouth. “All through dinner I watched you, thinking how sweet you would be.”

  Annie let out a soft chortle. “You were looking at my chest, Cowboy.”

  “And I’d love a taste of those, too.”

  “If you’re lucky.” Had she really just said that? What in God’s name was she doing, seducing a man she barely knew? But she couldn’t find it in herself to stop.

  He cupped her breasts in his beautiful masculine hands. “What’re you hiding under that pretty blouse, Doc?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He thumbed her nipples through the gauzy material, lowered his head, and bit one, right through the layers of fabric.