Covet the Curves: a Romance Collections Anthology

by Morgan, Nicole

  “You’re welcome,” she replied. “It was clear Karson wasn’t ready for you to leave so I thought I’d give you the two of you a little longer.”

  “What about you?” he asked.

  She stopped and looked at him. “What about me?”

  “Zoie, you and I—”

  “There is no you and I, Duncan,” she interrupted. “I meant what I said earlier. You and I are finished. This is about our son. We don’t have to be together for the two of you to have a relationship.”

  “Why did you do it?” he asked.

  Her brows furrowed together in confusion. “Do what?”

  “Tell him that I would come back,” he said.

  Zoie took a deep breath. “Because I knew the likeliness of you staying gone forever was slim. While I haven’t publically broadcasted that you’re Karson’s, our son had the right to know. I would never lie to him about that. You either for that matter. I’d be happy to give you a paternity test, since the rumor mill clearly has it wrong.”

  Duncan shook his head. “If you want to get one, I’ll let that be your decision. However, I’ve never known you to be dishonest and I don’t plan on accusing you of it now.” He stepped closer to her. “Who all knows that Karson is mine?”

  “Just Karson, my parents and Cristal,” she replied.

  He closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “I need to tell my parents and brother.”

  Zoie nodded. “I’m pretty sure your mother knows, but she’s never come right out and ask.”

  Duncan shook his head. “She doesn’t. Mom, wouldn’t have let me stay away as long as she has if she even had an inkling. She was so distraught when she found out that Rachel had terminated her pregnancy. There’s no way she would keep her distance if she suspected about Karson.”

  She shrugged. “You know her better than I do.”

  “Are you okay with the word getting out about this?” he asked. “Mom has wanted grandkids for a while now. When I tell her this she may take out an announcement in the town’s paper.”

  Zoie laughed. “I doubt she’d go that far, but I’ll be fine. I’ve put up with the rumor mill of Three Points for this long. I’m sure I can deal with it a little longer.”

  “Do you have plans this weekend?”

  “Duncan, I’ve already—”

  “I only ask because I’m sure my parents are going to want to meet Karson after I tell them. I just need to know if tomorrow or Sunday is going to work better for you.”

  “Either day is fine. Joan is going to help out at the store while my parents are on vacation. Just tell me what time I need to be there.”

  “How about we do an early dinner on Sunday?” he suggested.

  “Sounds good. Just do me a favor and ask your mom not to do anything too heavy. I’m trying to lose a little weight and I don’t want to get off track.”

  Duncan frowned. “You look fine the way you are.”

  She scoffed. “I have a mirror. I wasn’t small to begin with, but I put on the pounds during my pregnancy with Karson. I lost a little of it, but I’m still carrying way more of it than I should be. Besides, I’m not worried about how I look. I’m okay with my curves. I just want to be healthy and in better shape. I have a wonderful little boy to take care of.

  “Okay. I’ll tell her, but I make no promises,” he said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Good. Now that we have that covered, let’s get back to the subject that you keep wanting to avoid.”

  She shook her head and held up her hand. “Duncan—”

  Her sentence was interrupted when he reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. She hated the tremor that went through her. Inhaling deeply, she went to protest, only to take in lungful of air that crackled with the energy of his incredible energy.

  “Zoie, there’s a lot I need to explain to you. In recent discovery of everything, I know I don’t deserve a chance to, but I’m hoping you’ll give me one anyway.”

  A wave of defensiveness clawed at her. This was her heart they were talking about. He’d already smashed it to pieces. So much so that she hadn’t dated anyone else since her left. That’s why it was so comical to her that she’d been accused of having a relationship with Andrew. Regardless, she couldn’t give Duncan the chance to do it again, even if a part of her wanted to. She couldn’t trust him not to hurt her again. Heck, she was still on edge about allowing him into Karson’s life, but she couldn’t deny him his rights.

  “I can’t, Duncan. Right now I just have one focus, Karson. Speaking of which, I need to know how long you’re going to be in town. It will make it easier for me to prepare Karson.”

  Somehow, he leaned even closer to her, stealing the air she needed to breathe. In his eyes, sparks of blue burned, a major contrast to the lightness she’d seen in their depths earlier.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Shock, confusion and the stirrings of arousal swirled within her. She struggled to find an inner harmony she didn’t feel. “Okay then. We’re both adults. I’m certain we can work out an agreement.”

  “I know we will.”

  His rock solid, denim-covered thighs were pressed against hers; his masculine strength threatened to overwhelm her, like it had when she’d lost herself in the past and found her feminine strength again.

  With a sigh of agitation, she asked, “What do you want from me?”

  “A date to begin with and if everything goes okay, marriage.”

  She stiffened and tried to pull away, but his hold tightened.

  “Not a chance,” she stated vehemently.

  Even though his touch caused heat to sizzle through her and spiral into the depths of her stomach. She battled against the urge to give into this again. She barely managed to pull herself together after the way things ended between them. If it hadn’t been for Karson, she might never have. She couldn’t give herself ever again to a man who had so much influence over her.

  “I’m not going to marry you.” She looked him in the eye with every bit of insolence she felt, in spite of the fear racing through her. “I don’t trust you.”

  Zoie pushed against his hands, battling to get away, but his hold only tightened. “I’m willing to work this out. We can set up visitation rights for you. As you can see, our son knows you’re his father. I won’t deny you that.”

  “Give me a chance to explain,” he begged. “If you still feel that way after it’s all said and done, then I’ll stop pushing for more.”

  Realizing he wasn’t going to drop the subject, she knew she had to agree, even if it was just to get him to leave so that she could have a little space. Some time to think and work through her own plan. Because even after all of this time, his virility got to her. It was hard to keep saying no even though she knew she should. There were too many unresolved things between the two of them and she didn’t see a way they could all be worked out.

  She forced herself to relax. “Okay. I’ll give you a chance to explain, but it will be on my terms. We can talk here on Sunday after dinner at your parents.”

  “But—”

  “Take it or leave it, Duncan,” she said.

  With a sigh of resignation he released her and stepped back. “I’ll see you Sunday.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  She walked him to the door, hoping that he would go willingly. He did, pausing to pick up his hat. But before she completely free, he stopped and looked her.

  “Do you need anything for Karson?”

  “We can talk about that Sunday. He’ll be fine until then,” she said.

  “Okay then. Good night.”

  “Good night, Duncan,” she replied before closing the door.

  As soon as she did, she rested her door against the forehead. Her mind whirled as she struggled to sort through what had just occurred over the past few hours. Something told her she had to reinforce her resolve or Duncan might wiggle his way back into her life and she just couldn’t allow that to happen.

>   Chapter Five

  Zoie closed the door to Karson’s room, before leaning back against it. She was exhausted. The whirlwind weekend was almost over and it hadn’t gone as horribly as she’d expected. Still, she was trying to get over her raging emotions from earlier.

  Duncan had wanted to come and pick her and Karson up for dinner with his parents, but she’d declined. Her reasoning had been to have an escape in case things went wrong. Thankfully they hadn’t. The Tyler’s had been thrilled to meet Karson and her son had been excited to discover that he had another set of grandparents.

  To see her son fully accepted and to know that his family circle was complete almost sent her into a fresh round of tears, but she had to hold it together. Duncan waited for her in the family room and she knew she had to keep her restraint in full effect. She had to admit he seemed different, but she couldn’t tell if it was real or hoping wishing on her part.

  Exhaling softly, she pushed away from the door. She’d stalled for a long as she could. As she made her way down the hallway, she tried to finalize her game plan to handle whatever Duncan threw at her.

  Yet, the instant she entered the room, her mind went blank. Still, she forced one foot in front of the other until she was in front of the couch. Then she plopped down as gracefully as she could.

  “Thank you again for today,” he began. “It meant a lot.”

  “I know,” she replied. “You’re welcome.”

  “Zoie, I know there will never be enough words to express how sorry I am for leaving the way that I did. In my own stupid way, I thought I was doing what was best. If I’d known I swear I’d done things differently.”

  Zoie shook her head. “What’s done is done. There’s no taking it back. What I want to focus on now is what your plans are. I don’t want too much upheaval in Karson’s life. So I need to know how to handle things with him.”

  “That’s what I want to talk to you about. When I left Three Points, I’ll admit that I was running, but not for the reason that you think. I was head-over-heels for you Zoie, but I was also in love with my dream. The dream I’d been denied so many times that selfishly, I chose the rodeo.” He paused on a humorless laugh. “It didn’t take me long to find out that I’d made the wrong choice, but pride wouldn’t allow me to admit it. So I changed focus and hoped things work out that way.”

  “So why are you back here?” she asked.

  “I’ve won all of the titles that I wanted to win. The rodeo was never going to be a career for me. I just didn’t realize it until I got there. Then I decided it was time to come back home. When Ross told me that you were single I felt as though fate was stepping in. I had no idea just how much.”

  “So you snuck away four years ago to keep me from asking you not to go. Now you want me to believe you came back to have a second chance with me?” She rose to her feet and scoffed. “I can’t believe you,” she mumbled as she begin to pace. “You don’t have the right to do this to me. Not after all of this time. It’s not fair.”

  Duncan stood up. “You’re right. I’m asking you for too much, but I can’t walk away again. Not when I never should have done so in the first place. So all you need to do is tell me that you have no feelings for me. That you don’t want to try and see if this can work between us and I’ll go.”

  She stopped to look at him. “Is this because of Karson? If it is, you don’t have to do this. I promise I’ll let you be a part of his life as long as you don’t hurt him. If you’re going to be a father to him I need to know that you’re going to give it one hundred percent of your effort.”

  He strode across the room until he was in front of her. Before she could stop him, he pulled her into his embrace. “Our son is an added bonus. I came back for you not knowing he was mine until you told me. I loved you before I even knew he was mine and I love you even more now that I know he is.”

  Zoie wanted to believe Duncan. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted to believe him until she was in his arms, until she was gazing up into his warm blue eyes, and his scent flooded her nostrils. His muscular arms held her still, tight enough that she felt the rock hard muscles of his chest against her tender breasts. When he pulled her closer, his erection pressed against her, flooding her pelvis with heat and making her throb in places that hadn’t been touched in so long then sensation was almost foreign.

  Oh hell, she was in serious trouble. Up until now, she’d mostly been able to keep him firmly behind the barrier she’d erected to keep herself safe, remembering that he was once a bad lot, that she couldn’t trust him. But now, being in his arms again had somehow smashed down the barrier, leaving her nothing behind which to hide. There was no longer any reason to fight the attraction that she’d had all these years, the one that she’d struggled to ignore because she’d been hurt by the choice he’d made to leave her.

  She really did want to believe him. At that moment, in his arms, she wanted it so much. But it seemed that barrier still had a few bricks left standing. “What did you mean when you said your plans changed?”

  He pursed his lips, but his hold on her didn’t lessen. “I decided to stick to the plan of sending enough money to help my parents keep the ranch up and going. Then I chose to put the rest aside to build a home on the parcel of land that my parents offered me.”

  “Would you have come back if I’d moved on?”

  “Yes. It would have been hard as hell to sit back and watch you share with another man what have what I want with you, but I would have. Because I would know it was due to my stupidity. Right now you can’t begin to imagine how glad I am that you haven’t.”

  Duncan drew her even closer and lowered his head until their mouths were a whisper apart. “Why don’t you give me that chance? Let me show you I’m a better man than you think I am. That I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

  She didn’t respond, she couldn’t. Her throat had tightened right up, and she’d seemed to lose all feeling in her legs. Only his arms around her anchored her, kept her upright.

  Oh shit.

  Those few remaining bricks were in serious danger of toppling.

  A moment later, Duncan’s lips pressed down hard on hers, and it was as if he were the match to her kindling. Her body responded immediately, flames licking at her flesh and an inferno flaming through her torso. She touched her hands to his arms, all that hard muscle and strength evident beneath the sleeves of his soft cotton shirt.

  As he deepened the kiss, Zoie slipped her hands up to his shoulders, around his neck, into the silky ends of his hair. When his tongue demanded entry, she opened to his insistent mouth. The sensation of his hot, firm tongue clashing with hers shot awareness between her legs and intensified the dampness that had been gathering there.

  Her pussy throbbed and she pressed against him, welcoming his persistence.

  Still with his mouth pressed to hers, he walked her backward until she was pressed against the wall. His hands slid down her back, slowly, firmly, and he cupped her jean-clad ass. She moaned into his mouth and pulled him closer. He wasn’t close enough. God, she wondered if he’d ever be close enough.

  He hiked her hips, her feet almost leaving the floor, and she felt the long, hard ridge of his erection grind against her.

  He released her mouth, only to press open-mouthed kisses along her throat, his hot breath blazing an electrifying trail over her flesh.

  “Shit,” he ground out against her throat. “I’ve got to have you.”

  Zoie tipped her head back and closed her eyes. Absently, she clutched for any remaining bricks, but found only dust where that wall had once stood. There was no point in even pretending she could resist him anymore, or that this hadn’t been inevitable from the moment she’d first met him as a cocky teenager.

  She lowered her head and met Duncan’s eyes. “Then take me.”

  Chapter Six

  After several moments while he assessed her with those scorching, blue eyes, he lowered his head and kissed her again. The kiss was beyond passionat
e, almost brutal, but Zoie matched it. He reached for the edge of her blouse and whipped it from her waistband. His fingers brushed her waist, and she felt the reaction straight between her legs.

  In answer she pushed up his shirt, and in unison they unfastened the snaps at the waistband of each other’s jeans. Duncan was faster, probably because her hands were currently shaking and her fingers felt clumsy. He had her jeans hiked down around her hips and was tugging her shirt over her head.

  She had a brief moment to thank some knowing universe that had her pulling on matching, and sexy, underwear that morning. Virginal white, but the cut was anything but. The bra was a push- up, edged with filigree lace, and gave her already acceptable breasts a deep cleavage. The panties had the same lace around the high legs and the top edge that skimmed her navel.

  “Nice,” Duncan said, his gaze sliding between her breasts and pussy as if he didn’t know quite where to focus. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to have you like this again?”

  Too long, she thought as his hands pressed the sides of her breasts and deepened her cleavage. Too bloody long. Right now, she didn’t know how she’d ever managed to keep away from him.

  She tugged at his shirt and with his help managed to divest him of it so that she gazed at his chest—his hard, muscular chest—and felt anticipation rip through her like a train. His breath, like her own, deepened and set his chest heaving. All those wonderful muscles and sinews expanded and contracted beneath her hands, as she ran her palms over his flesh.

  “You’ve got some nice muscles here, Duncan. Better than I remember.”

  “I like to keep active,” he said with that cocky grin. “Are you complaining?”

  With her eyes on his, she slid down his zipper. “Not a bit. Just making an observation.”

  He brushed her hands away as she made to push down his pants. “Maybe I want to do a little observing of my own.” He reached around and unhooked her bra, sliding the straps away slowly while his eyes stayed hot on hers.