A nurse entered. “Here are the papers for you to sign.”
Roy scribbled his signature.
“I can’t believe you’re letting him do this,” Carrie said.
“If we don’t, he’ll just get a court order. Duke’s blood has already been drawn.”
“There’s no need,” Sydney said. “Only one man can be the father, and it’s Sam. You can trust me on that.”
“He needs to know for sure, and I don’t blame him.”
“But this will only help him,” Carrie said. “It will give him the ammunition he needs to take Duke away from us.”
“No one is taking Duke away from us. You can count on that,” Roy said. “Now simmer down.”
Sam returned, a Band-Aid in the crease of his elbow. “I’ll get the results in a few days.”
“I hope you’re happy,” Carrie said.
“As a matter of fact, I am,” Sam said. “I’m happy that Duke is not seriously ill. I’ve had enough catastrophic illness affecting people I love to last a lifetime. I really didn’t want to go through that again.”
Carrie lowered her gaze, and Sydney felt bad for her mother. Sam had shamed her a little.
“Do you mind if I ride back with Sam?” Sydney asked. “We need to talk.”
Her father understood. She could tell by the expression on his face. “Yes, that’s fine, baby girl.”
“Well, I don’t know—” Sam began.
“Please, Sam. Just give me the ride to Bakersville. It’s only an hour or so.”
Sam sighed. “All right. We can stop and grab a bite on the way. Suddenly I’m famished.”
Sydney’s tummy tightened. She wasn’t famished. Not hungry at all. Gratitude filled her for her little boy’s health, but still so much remained unresolved.
Maybe the drive home with Sam would resolve some of it.
She hoped, at least.
* * *
“So you expect me to believe that you didn’t tell your parents who the father was because you didn’t want to lay a child on me? With all my other problems?”
Sydney gulped. She’d never expected him to question her reasons why. They were the truth, after all. “I was young. Those were my thoughts at the time.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Plus, you hardly knew me. It was a one-night stand. Did you really want me coming to you with news of a baby?”
“I don’t know, Sydney. I’ll never know how I would have felt, because you didn’t let me have the chance to feel anything, did you?”
He was right. What could she say? Except, “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m so sorry.”
“Doesn’t cut it.”
“I know that. But I am sorry. Truly.”
“You know, I could almost understand if you'd had the baby and then put him up for adoption. I’d still be upset, but I could at least understand. You weren’t ready for a baby. You didn’t think I’d want him either. Course you’d have been wrong about that, but I can at least see the reasoning. But that’s not what you did. You had the baby, didn’t tell me, and gave him to your parents to raise.”
“They wanted another child. My mama was only seventeen when Blake was born, twenty when I came along. She was only thirty-nine when Duke was born. She and Dad had tried to have another child for several years, but it didn’t happen. Duke was a godsend for them.”
“Maybe he would have been a godsend to me. Did you think of that?”
“No. I didn’t, and I’m sorry. I thought it was a one-night stand and you wouldn’t want the baby.”
“You were wrong.”
“I realize that now.” Memory washed over her of that incredible night together, the night that had resulted in their beautiful son. How could she make him understand when she wasn’t sure she understood herself?
“You got the best of both worlds, didn’t you? You got the baby without the responsibility. Instead of being the responsible parent, you get to be the doting big sister.”
Guilt rolled through her like hot lava. It was true. She couldn’t deny that she liked being a part of Duke’s life. Giving him away to strangers would have been too hard. But she couldn’t say these words to Sam.
Didn’t matter. He already knew anyway.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, until Sydney noticed they’d passed through town and were into ranching country.
“Where are we going?”
“Aw, fuck,” Sam said. “I was on autopilot. We’re heading to Dusty and Zach’s ranch. Shit, now I have to turn around. We’re almost there, too.”
“No matter. You’re exhausted and so am I. Are you staying at a guest house?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there more than one bedroom?”
“Yeah.”
“Just keep going then. I’ll sleep in the other bedroom.”
“Look, it’s no problem to go back.”
“Sam, please. We’ve both been through the wringer tonight. Let’s just go to bed.”
He relented and kept driving.
* * *
Sydney woke in the darkness. A warm body had snuggled against her back, spoon fashion. She jerked.
“It’s just me, baby,” Sam said. “Go back to sleep.”
She smiled and curled against him.
When she opened her eyes to dawn streaming through the window, he was gone.
The smoky aroma of bacon wafted into her room. She rose and pulled on her jeans and shirt and traipsed out to the kitchen.
Sam stood at the stove in jeans, shirtless, his bronze muscular back a sight to behold. Had a more beautiful man ever been made?
“Good morning,” she said.
He turned. “Morning. Coffee’s made. Help yourself.”
Was that it? Was he going to say nothing about the fact that he’d slept against her last night?
“Uh, okay. Thanks.”
She fumbled in the cupboards until she found a mug and poured herself a cup.
“Like scrambled eggs?” he asked.
“Love ’em.”
“Good. They’ll be ready in a minute or two.”
So this was how it was going to be. Fine. I get it.
He set a plate of eggs in front of her, and the doorbell rang.
“Excuse me for a minute.”
In walked Dallas McCray, the oldest of the McCray brothers. Sydney remembered him.
“Sydney, this is Dusty’s brother-in-law Dallas,” Sam said.
“We’ve met. Nice to see you.”
“You too,” Dallas said. He turned to Sam. “You want me to come back later?”
“No. This concerns her. Sit on down. I’ll get you some coffee.”
What on earth was going on?
“Dallas is an attorney,” Sam said.
“I’m a rancher with a license to practice law,” Dallas said. “I don’t claim to know everything about the law.”
“You know enough for me,” Sam said. “What did you find out?”
“To proceed with anything, you’ll need to get a DNA test.”
“Already done.”
“What?”
“The DNA test. Got it yesterday. I’ll have the results in a few days.”
“How’d you manage that? I thought we’d need a court order.”
“Circumstances. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Sydney widened her eyes. “I can’t believe this. What the hell is going on?”
“I’m going after my rights, Sydney.”
“Meaning?”
“I want my son.”
“You can’t possibly be serious. You’re not taking him away from my parents. I won’t let you.”
“You gave away your parental rights. I did not.”
“And you agree with this?” she said to Dallas.
“I’m just the lawyer here. It’s not my job to agree or disagree. It’s my job to answer his questions about the law, and that’s what I’m doing. He already knows I can’t represent him in any kind of legal action. I have a ranch
to run.”
“Then who’s representing him?
“A friend of mine in Denver. Richard White. He’s a family lawyer. He specializes in this kind of stuff.”
“How much is this costing you?” she asked Sam.
“Don’t righteously care,” he said. “Hang the cost. I want my kid.”
“Don’t put the cart before the horse,” Dallas said. “We can’t do anything until we get the DNA results.”
“I can guarantee what the results will be. And so can you, can’t you, Sydney?”
Her cheeks warmed. “He’s the father,” she said. “I haven’t been with anyone else.” She turned to Sam. “After everything we went through last night, I can’t believe you still want to do this.”
“Last night only clinched it,” he said. “Last night proved how fragile life is. I’m glad as hell Duke isn’t sick, but damnit, anything can happen. Last night drove home that you never know what tomorrow may bring. I want to know my son now, because only God knows how much more time he and I have together.”
Sydney opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly. What could she say to that? He made a damn good point.
“Tell me,” Sam said to her. “If you were in my place, what would you do? Say you had a kid out there you just found out about. Wouldn’t you want to get to know him?’
“I…I don’t know. The situation is completely different. I’m a woman. If I had a kid out there, I’d know it.”
“I think you just made my point. You can’t even begin to understand how I feel, can you? Women think they can make all the decisions because they have the babies. Well, I’ll grant you the fact that it’s your body. If you had decided to abort the baby, I wouldn’t have had any say in it.”
Sydney gasped. “I could never have done that.”
“I’m not saying you could have.” Sam’s tone softened a bit. “I’m just saying it was your decision. But that baby is half mine, and the minute he came out of your body, he stopped being solely your business.”
“Fathers do have rights,” Dallas said.
Sydney pounded her fist on the table. “I understand all that.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Sam said, still softly. “I’m just asserting my rights.”
“Can’t you at least talk to my parents? Maybe we can all work something out.”
“That’s an option you haven’t considered, Sam,” Dallas said, “and it’s something that makes real sense from where I see it. Remember, the court will consider what’s in the best interest of the child, not the parent. You can love that boy all you want, and you can want to be with him and raise him all you want, but if the court thinks leaving him with the Buchanans is in his best interest, that’s what they’ll do.”
Sam raked his fingers through his hair. The taut muscles in his forearm tightened. Good. Dallas had made him think.
“Without the court involved, I have no way of knowing they’d keep any agreement we made between us.”
“My parents are good people,” Sydney said. “They would keep their word.”
“And just how do I know that? I don’t know your parents. How do I know they’re trustworthy?”
After all, their daughter sure isn’t. A knife sliced into Sydney’s heart as she heard the words Sam didn’t say.
And it was the truth. She hadn’t been very trustworthy. She hadn’t told him about Rod. And way more importantly, she hadn’t told him about Duke.
Dallas took a sip of his coffee. “This is clearly getting personal between the two of you. I think I should leave.” He stood.
“You don’t have to go,” Sam said.
“Yes, I do,” Dallas said. “You two need to come to some kind of understanding. If you don’t want to do it for yourselves, do it for Duke.” He left.
“Damnit, Sydney!” Sam gripped the edge of the table with both hands.
“What?”
His eyes blazed. “It’s not a crime to want to be a part of my son’s life. Why can’t anyone understand that?”
“It’s not that we don’t understand…”
“What then? What is it?”
She tried to smile. Didn’t quite make it. “We just all love him so much.”
Sam seemed to soften a little. “I know that.” He sighed. “I really do know that, Sydney.”
Reality hit her. He did understand. Just like she understood how he was feeling, how he wanted to be a part of Duke’s life. If only she had handled the situation differently from the beginning. Then he wouldn’t think her untrustworthy now.
She reached forward and covered one of Sam’s hands with her own. His brown gaze shifted to hers
“I’m so sorry,” she said, “about all of this.”
He nodded. “Yeah, me too.” He ungripped the table, moved toward her, and helped her to her feet. “Sydney.” His voice was rough as it cracked.
“Yes?”
“Will you come to bed with me?
She nodded.
Chapter Thirteen
He picked her up and carried her to the other bedroom, presumably his, and tossed her on the bed. Fire burned in his eyes. He was going to be rough.
But she was ready for it. She wanted him to take her. Make her his.
He ripped off her clothes quickly and with a vengeance, until she lay nude upon the bed. Sam, still fully clothed, rose and went to the dresser. He returned with two red bandanas.
“Grab the headboard,” he said.
Sydney jerked. “What?”
“Did I stutter? Grab two of the bars on the headboard. Make sure you’re comfortable. You’ll be in this position for a little while.”
The bandanas. Oh God, he’s going to tie my wrists to the headboard. Fear rushed through her, accompanied by a strange arousal.
“Sam, I don’t think—”
“I don’t recall asking what you thought. If you don’t want to do this, you can leave.”
“You mean I’m free to go?”
“Of course you’re free to go. I’d never keep you against your will. What kind of man do you think I am?”
Up until now, she thought she’d known. She’d never imagined him tying her up. Had he been a calf roper? She couldn’t remember.
I should go. I should run like the wind out of here. But a force like the strongest magnet kept her supine on the bed.
“So you’re staying?”
She nodded. She most likely needed her head examined, but she was staying.
“Good.” His voice was husky, stern.
He would not hurt her. She trusted him.
She understood now. He didn’t think she was trustworthy.
He would prove to her that he was.
He regarded her, his eyes blazing. He sat down next to her and blindfolded her with one of the bandanas.
She was not expecting that. She thought he’d use them to tie her wrists to the headboard.
The cotton fabric brushed against her skin as he tied first one and then the other wrist to the headboard.
His lips brushed her ear. “Do you trust me?” he whispered.
Warmth flooded her veins. “Yes. I trust you, Sam.”
“Good.” He tightened the fabric around both wrists.
Her body burned. Electricity crackled between them and her veins popped with energy. Excitement overwhelmed her. She was scared, her nerves hopped within her skin, but she was turned on. Oh, so turned on.
She lay still for several minutes, wondering what he was up to. When she thought she could stand it no longer, coldness touched one nipple.
Ice. He was rubbing an ice cube over her nipple.
“Relax, baby,” he said softly. “I won’t hurt you.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“Enjoy the sensations.”
She breathed in, breathed out, willed her body to relax.
The ice on her nipple melted, and droplets of water tickled the flesh of her breasts as they oozed downward. The ice touched her other nipple, and this time the sensation wasn’t s
o abrupt. It was cold and harsh, yet her nipple hardened and strained upward. She wanted the warmth of his lips to soothe the cold.
But his lips didn’t come. Only the ice melting and drizzling down her breast like the frosting on a hot cinnamon roll.
With both nipples cold and hard, the ice disappeared.
“Oh!”
It had reappeared within in seconds…on her clit.
“Easy, sweetheart,” he soothed. “Hold still.”
Her knees buckled.
“I said hold still.” His voice was stern this time. It left no question that he meant to be obeyed.
She obeyed.
Images of him tying her feet to the foot of the bed swirled through her mind. And her nipples hardened even further at that thought.
The ice cube smoothed back and forth over the folds of her flesh.
“Mmm, it’s melting fast. You’re so hot down here.”
Again, the icy coldness made her long for the heat of his lips, his mouth.
Again, they didn’t come.
She needed to be touched by a human hand, mouth, lips. No more ice. She wanted human contact. Sam contact.
The ice melted into oblivion, and then…ah, yes. His tongue found her. Finally.
He flicked it over her hard bud and she wrapped her legs around his muscular back. His skin was warm and smooth, and though she couldn’t see, she knew it was glowing and beautiful.
“Sam, yes, yes.” Her voice seemed to come from without her. Funny how taking away her vision made her voice seem distant. He continued licking, and then fingers closed around each of her nipples. He was playing with them while he pleasured her.
Holy Christ, it felt good. Not knowing what he’d do next was oddly exciting. Oddly arousing.
His tongue darted in and out of her wetness. When he clamped his lips around her clit, an orgasm burst through her.
Crazy bursts, like fireworks. No build up this time. She was coming, just coming, out of nowhere. And God, it was good.
“Yeah, baby, come for me.” His fingers continued to work her nipples as he soothed her clit with his tongue after her climax. “Come for me again.”
And as though he demanded her obedience with mere words, she burst into flames once more.
Once more he brought her to climax, until she was begging for him to let her go. “Please, Sam, I want to touch you.”
Trusting Sydney: The Temptation Saga: Book Six Page 10
