by Abby Wood
For the first time since arriving in the big city, Ana took the elevator down ten stories, hailed a cab and strolled into the art gallery alone as if it was an everyday occurrence. She smiled at the visitors, accepted their compliments and added her own opinions with confidence on the many pieces filling the room.
“Ana.” Barbara led her over to the corner. “Dear, is everything okay? What happened to the cute little red dress we’d picked out earlier?”
Ana lifted her chin. “I’m sorry, Barbara. This is my last night here. I’m giving all of them what they want to see when they buy one of my works. I’m the small-town gal Cleve found painting in her spare time. The untapped talent.”
“But—”
“Take a look around. None of them are shocked at my being here dressed this way.” She laughed. “I’m giving them me. The real me. And for the first time, it feels right.”
Barbara leaned back and smacked her lips. “My, my, my, there’s a woman who knows her own mind. Why would I argue with that?” She leaned over and kissed Ana’s cheek. “You’re a delightful breath of fresh air in a stuffy room. Good for you.”
“Thank you…for everything. Without all your help and guidance this past week, I would never have found out how to stand up for myself.” Ana reached out and wrapped her arms around her new friend. “At one time, the thought of coming here scared me to death, but now I know I can do it. I don’t like it, but I did it.”
“What are you going to do after your showing?” Barbara smoothed Ana’s hair back.
“I’m going back home.” Ana inhaled. “Not many people move to Podunk, so I’m hoping my old apartment is still available. After that…I don’t know.”
“Whatever you do, you’ll be fine. You’re a strong woman.” Barbara moved off and mingled with the crowd.
For the first time, she believed in herself. She’d gone from leery to confident. Sure, she’d still take precautions when out alone after dark and wonder if the noise in the middle of the night was an escaped convict breaking in, but she could deal with her fears. She wasn’t helpless, and most important, she wasn’t afraid of failing.
“Excuse me. Are you the artist who painted The View?” A middle-aged man stepped in front of her.
She smiled. “Yes. I am.”
“I bought the painting last night. It’s absolutely breathtaking. I used to stay with my grandparents during the summer. They lived on a farm. The way you captured the tree with the broken swing takes me back to those days when the most important part of my day was simply being loved.” He shook her hand. “You gave me a wonderful memory of my grandparents to hang in my house and share with others. Thank you.”
“Oh.” She squeezed his arm. Her breath caught in her chest. To simply be loved. That’s all she wanted. To wake up each morning wrapped in Kane’s arms and be loved. “Thank you. I-I…thank you very much.”
Ana blew out her breath as he walked away. Life is just that simple. Kane knew all along, and she had dreamed it all away thinking she had to make something of herself. She wasn’t chasing a better job or an easier way of life. She sought love and someone to make those memories with to last a lifetime.
“Ana.” Cleve hurried over to her side. “You have someone who wants to talk with you.”
She nodded. “Okay, but would it be possible to have a break soon? I need to make a very important call.”
“Of course.” Cleve stepped out of the way and motioned to the other side of the gallery.
Ana clutched Cleve’s arm to keep from falling to her knees. Standing in front of the window, more beautiful than anything she’d seen in all her days, stood Kane.
In a new white buttoned-down shirt, black jeans, loafers and with his hair pulled back tight, he could have walked off the cover of a men’s style magazine. The room spun and she blinked. Hard. He’d come.
He strode straight toward her. His face was set in stone, but his eyes, those gorgeous dark eyes, showed his inner turmoil of leaving Lakota land and venturing into a world so foreign to him, he might as well have flown across the Atlantic Ocean.
“Howahkan?”
“Ana…” He stroked her cheek.
Her neck muscles seemed to disappear and her head leaned into his hand. She wanted to sob with relief. “W-what are you doing here?”
“I’ve been a fool.” His thumb stroked the tender skin beneath her eye.
She shook her head. “No. Never.”
“You’re my biggest champion. You’re always ready to stand up for me, but I should have let you stand up for what you believe in. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have forced you to leave without any support from me. You needed me, and I wasn’t there for you, but I want to make that up to you.” He licked his lips. “Please tell me I’m not too late. That I didn’t lose you forever.”
“What about being here, the art…?”
He shrugged. “Lots of people commute for their jobs. It doesn’t matter if you want to travel here to show your art, or anywhere else in the world. I’ll support your decisions, as long as I know you’re coming back to me. I love you, Ana. I want to be a part of your life, and show you how much I love you.”
“You’d do that for me?” She frowned.
“Yes.” He leaned down and whispered, “I love you.”
“But…you told me—”
He kissed her softly. “I said lots of things I wish I could take back. I thought I knew how to live this life I’d been given, and until you walked away, I never realized how much I was set in my ways and unwilling to step out of my comfort zone. I had to prove to myself that I can be someone who is honorable enough for my woman.”
“And you came.” She blinked the moisture out of her eyes.
“Yes.” He kissed away her tears. “I wanted you to know your home is with me. You are the only woman for me.”
She pressed her hand against his chest. “Look at me, Kane.”
His gaze roamed over her, soaking up every little detail. Her nipples peaked despite having others standing around gawking at the drama playing out in the middle of an art showing. He still had the ability to grab every emotion from her and offer them back to her as a gift.
“This is me. I’ve pretended to fit in, but I’m not comfortable here. I never had a wild thought that I would be an artist living in New York. I only wished to paint and be with you. I want to help you with the horses, make you homemade French toast bare-ass naked at noon, and I want to be there to paint a picture of Napayshni on his first birthday.” She planted her hands on her hips. “I did it, Kane. I stepped outside of my safe zone and experienced things I’ve never even imagined before, and I’d give it up in a New York minute to be back with you.”
He lifted her off the floor and held her to his chest. He devoured her mouth roughly, tempting her until her lips softened against the arousing pressure. She gasped in embarrassment and then lost all sense of propriety as his tongue touched hers.
She was flying, yet drowning in the intoxicating passion she always found with him. Kane took her places she never dreamed she’d ever go.
“I love you,” he murmured gruffly against her lips.
“I love you too.” Her hands moved along his back searching for the end of his braid. “Promise me something.”
He placed soft kisses along her neck. “Anything.”
“Once I undo your braid, you never ever wear it tied back again, ‘kay?” She pulled the leather tie off and worked her fingers inch by inch through the maze of strands, loosening his long hair. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, “Before we go back to Lakota, do you think we could stop at my hotel room? I don’t think I can wait until we get home to have you inside of me.”
He chuckled. “Anything for you, naughty girl.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Ana gave in to the sensations
flooding her body. The party could wait. Besides, they were newlyweds, both in her world and in the eyes of the Lakota. The others would understand.
Kane leaned forward and kissed her. A soft, gentle brush of his lips on hers. The contact sizzled down to her toes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and obliged him by deepening the kiss. Her breasts flattened against his chest. Her stomach bumped into his. She hooked her legs around the back of his calves. But it was the kiss, the tangle of tongues, that had her moaning underneath him.
He kissed with the confidence of a man in love. No stops, no hesitation and no regrets. Over the past nine months he’d shown her every day how much she meant to him.
Before she could bring her hips up and make contact with the part of him throbbing against her, Kane pulled his head back.
“What are you doing? Don’t stop.”
He reached up to wipe a smudge of blue off her cheek. “We’re covered in paint.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll buy more.” Ana let her fingertips wander through the length of his hair. “Who knew you had so much talent painting me.”
Kane stared at her in a way that made her insides go all soft and moist. She stroked his temple and high cheekbones.
The cool air in the room proved that autumn had arrived in full force. She shivered. “Fuck me.”
He raised his brow. “Beg me.”
“Please.” She stuck her lower lip out. “Pretty please, Howahkan.”
The gentle bobbing of his cock against her folds made her jump. She moaned as her pussy spasmed with need. The tip of his hardness pressed against her entrance, up and down, spreading her wetness and teasing her.
Kane’s hand slid down her stomach, over her mound, and he slid his fingers in a circular pattern around her hooded nub. “What do you want me to do?”
“Spank it.” She panted, barely able to form the words.
“It?”
“Spank my clit.” She bucked against his hand.
He pinched her sensitive bundle of nerves and then slapped two fingers down on the engorged nub. She screamed every time his hand came down. Her eyes blinded, she arched. He thrust his hard cock up into her. Explosions ripped through her body, sending exquisite sparks of pleasure to her limbs.
She convulsed around his cock as her orgasm rode itself out. Her heart hammered inside her chest, and she had a fleeting sense of dying satisfied.
* * *
Kane had one more thing he wanted to accomplish. He laid back, moving his cock in and out slowly, just enough to keep him hard and give her a chance to catch her breath. She usually bounced back fast, and he hoped the recovery would happen soon because he was about to come.
He slid his hand beneath her breasts. He flicked her nipples. They were sensitive to any tug or nibble lately, and he loved the way her pussy spasmed around his cock.
Her inner muscles slowly tightened around him again. Her thighs widened and trembled. She was ready.
Reaching over, he grabbed the vibrator he’d teased her with earlier. He slid it under his cock and pressed it to her anus. Her juices ran down her slit and he coated the tip of the toy with her own lubrication.
“W-what are you going to do with that?” She struggled to raise her body onto her elbows. “Oh God, Kane, that’s… Oh!”
“Relax. I’ll go slowly. I’m going to turn it on.”
The vibrations sent her head back to the floor and she moaned. He pushed the vibrator into her little ass, wiggling it and increasing the sensation. His cock hardened even more at the shock of the pressure along his length.
Her hips jerked and her clit peeked out at him. He placed his free hand on her lower stomach, holding her in place, his thumb pressed against her nub. She whimpered. His balls tightened.
He thrust his cock all the way in as he pulled the toy almost out of her ass. Back and forth, he continued. Her pussy clamped down on him tighter. Her legs stiffened and he plunged into her, holding the vibrator deep in her cavity at the same time.
“Oh fuck. Fuck. That. Feels. So…fucking good.” She screamed.
Her unrestrained response sent him over the edge. His climax boiled to the surface and erupted. His come filled her pussy.
He stayed seated inside of her, letting her muscles milk every drop out of him. Their decision to stop using condoms had him working overtime to plant his seed deep inside of her. The desire to have a little girl or boy with the brave spirit of his mother grew deeper every day.
“We’re a mess.” Ana laughed, gazing up at him. “You’ve got paint smeared all over your chest.”
“It’s ridiculous the depths I’ll go to make it feel like you are fucking a real Lakota.” He laughed, rolling off her. He pulled out the vibrator. “Maybe I should now take the woman as my captive.”
Ana grinned. “Nobody will believe you. I think everyone knows how deeply in love with you I am. I’ll stay with you forever, Howahkan.”
* * *
After a quick shower, Ana carried out the gift she made for Robin. She’d painted a portrait of Napayshni with one of the puppies licking his chubby cheek and the boy’s face erupted in giggles.
“Kane, do you think I finally captured Napayshni’s personality?” Ana scrutinized the painting.
She’d spent two months getting the picture right. For some strange reason the facial features never seemed exactly like the little boy who was changing so much every day. It took starting over on another canvas to finally be satisfied with the end product. “I think I’ll sell the other picture…the one I felt didn’t look a thing like Napayshni.”
“No!” Kane came up behind her. “It goes on the wall next to the painting you first did of me.”
Ana turned around. “Why would you want it up on the wall?”
Kane smiled. “You painted me before you met me. Maybe you painted our child…”
She followed her laughing man out the door. Gazing back at the house, she smiled. Their child? Was it possible?
* * * * *
Consent to your craving for more hot Western romance. Download Abby Wood’s Consent to the Cowboy today.
Surrounded by skirt-chasing cowboys her whole life, barmaid Daphne Norris has no intention of settling for any of the men in her Podunk hometown. So when bronc rider Will Hanson sends shock waves to her core with just one glance from his striking green eyes, no one is more surprised than her. But Will is no ordinary cowboy, and he can sense in Daphne the quiet strength and devotion needed to satisfy a man like him, a man who needs to be on top, in every aspect of his life. Daphne hasn’t ever succumbed to her submissive desires before, but Will awakens her in ways she never imagined…
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About the Author
Multipublished author Abby Wood lives in the Pacific Northwest. A huge animal lover, she enjoys the many animals on her farm and the wild ones that roam the forest. In her free time, she loves to ride motorcycles, garden, go fishing and play tennis. She loves to write stories that allow readers to escape into a brand-new world.
You can find out more about Abby at: www.authorabbywood.com, visit her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AbbyWoodFanPage and follow her on Twitter at @MsAbbyWood.
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ISBN: 9781426893551
Copyright © 2012 by Abby Wood
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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