by Dani René
“Heath,” she mumbles, and I step back to regard her. Those pretty, honey-colored eyes that shimmer like deep pools of gold in the sun, peer up at me under thick lashes. “I’ve been scared all my life. Afraid of letting people see me, you are the only one who ever did. You accepted the little girl and turned her into a woman.” Her confession startles me. How anyone could not love this woman or see the light shining from within her is beyond me. Right there, I vow to never let her light dim. To never allow her to lose that beauty that shines from within her.
“Leah, I need to tell you what happened to me. Why I was in that place. So tonight, I’ll make us some dinner and we’ll sit out back. It’s time you know the truth.” She stares at me for a long while. Her eyes hold emotion like a glass jar, and I can see it shimmering through.
“Okay. I think you need to know more about why I’m here as well. I need to tell you what happened with my fiancé.” The mention of that dickhead has jealousy and anger heating my blood. Something about the way she says it makes me wonder if there is more to what she wrote in those letters. The guy sounds like an absolute asshole for how he treated her.
“Sounds like a plan. Now, I need to get back to work, so stop distracting me.” Planting a chaste kiss on her head, I leave her to wash up and head back down to the stables. I need to get the hay out and feed the horses before making sure they’re relaxed enough for the kids coming to learn to ride today.
As I get the black mare out, Boone stalks over to me. “Barnes,” he rumbles my last name and I turn to find the old man staring at me. “I’d like you to take the kids out today, Mags isn’t feeling good so I’m taking her down to the doc.”
“Sure thing, I can handle that.” He regards me, then nods.
“I’ll be back late. I think I’ll be taking her for dinner after. You kids behave yourselves and don’t go breaking down my ranch,” he warns with a chuckle and to see a formidable man like him laughing is something else.
“Yes, sir.” He turns and leaves me with the horses. Not long after, a car pulls up and a woman dressed in the tightest red dress gets out. Rounding the car, she opens the passenger door and pulls a little girl from the seat. She must be about ten or eleven with blonde curls that remind me of Callie. Adorable little thing, but she looks like she’s about to burst into tears.
“Can I help you?” I stroll over to them, the mother doesn’t look like she’s in any mood to be nice, tugging the girls arm so hard I’m sure it’s about to dislocate.
“Yes, Amber is here for her riding lesson,” she says while glaring down at her daughter. When she drags her gaze to me, I notice the flicker of desire that burns in her gaze. “And you are?” She holds out a perfectly manicured hand. I reach out and shake it quickly, pulling away as soon as I can without coming across as a rude asshole. I hate women like this.
“I’m Heath, I’ll be taking her on the lesson today, Boone is out with Maggie,” I explain, although, I doubt she cares because her stare rakes over me more than I want. Or need. The woman I want is in the house and that’s the only person I want looking at me like she’s about to devour me.
“Well, Heath. I hope you know what you’re doing. I’d love to get some private lessons on riding myself.” Her innuendo doesn’t go unnoticed, but I crouch, bringing myself eye level with the little girl.
“Come on Amber, let’s go meet Molly.” She steps toward me with a small smile on her face. Taking her tiny hand in mine, I rise and glare at the woman. “I don’t do private lessons. She’ll be done in an hour.” Turning, I walk toward the field where I’ve prepped the mare for the lesson.
“We’ll see.” She slides into her expensive car and drives off.
“Amber, are you scared of horses?” I ask and she nods shyly. “Okay, let’s go say hello to Molly. She’s a pretty girl, just like you, and she’ll like you a lot if you feed her an apple. Do you want to do that?” She agrees, her curls bouncing as she bobs her head. “Okay, now you need to hold your hand flat, like this.” I show her, my fingers straight, and palm up. She copies me and I watch her big blue eyes, the excitement mixed with fear is what I’ve always remembered from teaching kids.
“Do they eat grass?” Her question pulls me from the dark thoughts and I nod.
“They eat hay, which is similar. Here…” I hand her an apple and we head toward Molly. She holds her hand out like I’ve shown her and as the horse grabs the apple, a yelp of joy peals from her and I can’t stop chuckling.
“You’re good at that.” I spin around to find Twig standing there with a tray of lemonade and the brightest smile on her face. “I brought you two something to drink.” Amber and I head toward Leah and I hand the little girl a glass.
“Thank you, darlin’,” I drawl, and her cheeks turn rosy. I swallow the cool drink in two gulps and feel refreshed. “That was good.” Placing the glass down, I take Amber’s and set it on the tray.
“You two come in for a snack when you’re done.” Leah turns and heads back toward the house and I can’t help checking out her ass. She’s an angel. Delicate, beautiful, and all mine.
Heading into the house forty-five minutes later with a tired little girl, I set her in the soft cushioned chair facing the kitchen. “How was it?” Leah turns to me, cutting a quick glance at Amber.
“Good, she’ll get the hang of it in no time.” I pick at the chips and I get swatted.
“That’s not for you.” She turns with a small plate toward my student. A sandwich and some potato chips fill the small ceramic plate and a glass of fresh orange juice. “Do you want something else? I’ve only made sandwiches.” My woman peers up at me expectantly and I circle her waist.
“I know what I’d like to eat,” I whisper in her ear causing a tremble to run over her body. “But for now, I’ll stick to the sandwich. Thanks, Sunshine.” She piles the plate with a double ham and cheese sandwich and extra chips, then hands me a mug of lemonade.
“Sit, have lunch.” Her smile sends my heart into a fucking flurry of emotion. Even the memory of Callie isn’t enough to diminish the way this woman makes me feel. I seat myself at the table and wolf down the food.
“Thank you.” The soft voice comes from Amber. We’re about to head back out when I hear a car. Her mother. A knock comes moments later and Leah makes her way to the door.
“Hello, you must be Amber’s mother.” My girl offers a friendly smile that is greeted by a pompous sneer. I’ve spent too much time around women like this and I don’t like them at all.
“Mom, I had an awesome time.” Her mother grabs her by the wrist and tugs her away.
“Let’s go.” Her piercing gaze meets mine. “I hope you’ll be around tomorrow; I’d like that private lesson I asked for.” Her bright red lips curl into an ugly smile. And I don’t mean she’s ugly, it’s the way she looks at me, which makes my skin crawl. Nothing about this woman is sexy or alluring.
“I’m busy, but Boone will be here.” I smirk, while heading into the kitchen. When the door shuts, Twig joins me in the kitchen as I watch the shiny car pull away.
“What was that about?” she murmurs beside me.
Dragging my gaze to her, I pull her into my arms and plant a kiss on her forehead. “A woman with too much money and no love in her heart.” Leah’s incredible golden gaze locks on mine and there are so many secrets dancing in them it’s like watching a candle in the wind.
“I used to be that… I mean I grew up privileged, with more money than I could dream of spending.” Her voice is cold, unfeeling. I can see she doesn’t miss it, and that’s what makes her different.
“Baby, look at me.” I lift her chin with my index finger and when her gaze meets mine, I stare long and hard. “You’re not them. There’s so much love in you, it’s overflowing. You’re my sunshine, okay? When you smile at me, I can see a future, a life I didn’t think I’d ever have. I see forever.” The words flow from me without reservation. I know I’m going to marry her someday. And I’ll make sure she knows it too.
“Heath, we have so much food.” I stare at the plates with a wide grin on my face. He’s really outdone himself and even though I know he said there’s going to be a feast, I didn’t realize he meant enough for the whole country.
“Sunshine, we don’t have to eat everything.” He slips into the chair opposite me and picks up the orange juice that he placed on the table earlier. “Can I make a toast?”
Nodding, I lift my glass in preparation. “You may.”
“Twig, there were many times over the years when I wondered what you looked like. I thought about what your voice sounded like, or what you looked like when you smiled. How your eyes would glisten when you’re happy, or even when you’re sad,” he inhales deeply as if he’s composing himself, “I spent nights, lying in bed, staring at a concrete ceiling, but I didn’t see it at all. I saw a girl, with sunshine in her hair and light in her eyes. I saw her heart and her soul. And in them I found my way. I found a path that I never thought I’d be able to walk. I found salvation in your words, healing in your advice.”
A wry smile tugs at the corner of his lips, his gaze warm, filled with affection.
“Even though you probably didn’t notice it, you gave me a reason. A gift. You pushed me, pulled me, and dragged me from darkness. Now, as I sit here in the light with you, I never want to be without it. I know it’s soon, but I need you to know, one day, I’ll marry you. Give you babies. Be the man that you saw in me even when you didn’t see me at all.”
Time stops. There’s nothing else. Only us. Two people who were thrown together by fate. The emotion strangles me, and I can’t swallow. My eyes sting, but not with sadness. For the first time in a long time, I’m crying with happiness.
“You do love making a girl cry, don’t you?” His smile broadens and the soft wrinkles on either side of his face crease, making him rugged and sexy. Yes, we may be nine years apart in age, but there’s still something incredibly handsome and alluring about him.
“As long as it’s tears of happiness, then you can cry all you want, darlin’.” He sips his juice, and I watch his throat work as he swallows. When did drinking juice become a sexy act? I mean… Am I just desperate to get him back into bed? I swallow my own drink slowly and I feel his gaze on me, as if he were touching me. It’s a consuming feeling having someone reach into your body, grip your soul and hold it in their hands.
Heath is everywhere. All over me.
“Hey, what’s your last name? After all these years I still know nothing about you.” I remember Boone calling him something, but for the life of me, my brain can’t put my finger on it.
“Barnes.” He picks up his cutlery and doesn’t notice my body tensing. Barnes. It can’t be. Shaking my head of the wayward thought, I dig in to my dinner. “And yours?”
“Keller.” I look up from my plate to find him staring at me. “What?”
“Leah Keller?” I nod. “You mean like the Kellers from Chicago?” Obviously he’s heard of them. I nod again, waiting for him to tell me how amazing my father is when he shocks me by cursing. “Fucking hell.”
“What?”
“It’s Keller and Kruse that handled my case. Martin Keller lost my case.” Shock doesn’t begin to explain the feeling that shoots through me. My father was the one who put him away?
“You mean to tell me that all these years we were connected anyway? My father is responsible for sending you away?” Suddenly the dinner doesn’t look so good.
“Leah, they believed I killed her. I walked into my apartment one night to find my fiancée lying in a pool of her own blood. She was so badly slashed I…there was…” He pushes up and walks down the porch to the small brook just below the garden.
My heart hurts for him. A physical ache inside my chest and it’s left me speechless, but I follow him. As I near him, I see the tension tightening the muscles in his back. “Heath, I’m so sorry.” What do you say to a man who witnessed something like that and then got arrested for doing it? Nothing can ease the pain.
He turns to regard me with those coffee-colored orbs. Even in the dark they glow, beautiful and shiny, looking right through me. Reaching out, he takes my hand and pulls me into the crook of his arm. “I just don’t ever want to lose you. I loved her, I really did.” He pulls away just enough to look into my eyes. “But you…I love you with every broken piece of me. You make me whole, Leah.”
“Take me to bed, Heath.”
He trails his hands down my sides, grips my ass, and lifts me against him. The heat of his body against mine is calming as he walks us back into the house, dinner forgotten. As soon as we reach his bedroom and the door shuts, our clothes find their way onto the floor.
His beard is scratchy as he licks into my mouth. The citrus taste of him is overwhelming and the way his body presses into me has me rocking my hips up to meet his erection. My clit is throbbing for his touch and my nipples ache for his mouth. “Heath.” His name falls from my wanton lips as he slowly trails kisses down my neck.
Big strong hands pull at my bra, freeing my breasts as his mouth feasts on my hardened peaks. My fingers tangle in his thick brown hair, holding him where I need him. My panties are tugged down my legs and his thick, calloused fingers find my heated core.
“Fuck, Leah, you’re dripping.” His words come out husky as he kisses his way down to my stomach. Dipping his tongue into my bellybutton sends tingles to my clit. “Open your legs, baby, please.” The fact that he’s begging isn’t lost on me.
I glance down to find the man I love, taking me in the most primal way, licking and laving at my slick sex. His thumbs open my pussy and another animalistic growl echoes around us. The room smells of sex and desire. If I could bottle it, I would. All of a sudden, his tongue darts into my body causing me to cry out.
Each time he goes deeper, fucking me with his tongue. The motion sends me spiraling, just teetering on the edge. And as I hover on the precipice of release, our gazes lock. With a solid connection, we’re tethered to each other. Our souls are one. United by emotion, our hearts beating in time with the other.
“I love you, Heath.” The words tumble from my mouth, without warning, but also without fear. And I see the spark of love in his eyes.
His lips lift into a smile as he returns the sentiment. “I love you, Twig.” Then he plunges two fingers deep into me, which sends me over and my body locks, my thighs tremble and my heart soars as I cry out his name through an orgasm that shatters my world.
As I come down from the incredible high, I open my eyes to find Heath kneeling between my thighs. “God.” It’s the only word I can utter as he lowers his body, hovering over me.
“I intend to make you see stars again,” he responds with a wicked smile as he enters me. His body tenses. “Stop squeezing my dick or this will be over before it even started,” he growls, and I can’t stop the giggle.
“Come on, old man, can’t keep up with me?” I tease, which has him driving into me so deep it knocks the breath from my lungs.
“Does that feel like I can’t keep up?” he responds, rolling his hips again. He’s bigger than anyone I’ve ever been with and the way he fits inside me stretches me to the max. The feel of him taking me drives me higher and I feel as if I’m floating. Maybe I am because his hips move faster and my legs wrap around his waist.
“Yes, Heath, yes.” My head drops back and I feel the scruff of his beard on the swell of my breasts. My moans get louder, but in this moment I don’t care as he plunges into the core of me, hitting the spot that has my toes curling. His hot mouth latches onto my peaked bud as he thrusts harder and faster. The rough pad of his finger finds my bundle of nerves and he circles it like a pro, as if he knows my body better than I do.
He knows what I need. What I crave. The way my body responds. He growls as he bites down on my nipple and flicks my clit. And suddenly his cock hits the sensitive spot inside my front wall and he keeps his promise.
Stars. Beautiful lights.
The connection.
The e
motion.
The release.
Everything crashes as I drift with him in my arms.
It’s been three weeks since our first fight, and every day is a challenge. I realize there’s more to his story than he’s shared so far. I want the full truth, but all Heath wants is me. I shouldn’t give in. I should make him tell me, but something inside me warns against it. It may seem a long time to some, but we’ve spent years learning each other’s quirks and, needless to say, I have my fair share. Life became easy, our routine was normal. Even Maggie and Boone celebrated our newly formed relationship.
Although, we didn’t tell them how long we’ve really known each other.
It’s Wednesday morning and I wake with a sinking feeling in my gut. You know the kind. When you know something horrible is about to happen and there’s no way to stop it. I push off the bed and pad to Heath’s bathroom to rinse my face. He’s already downstairs and I can hear Boone calling to him about something or the other.
Then there’s the sound of gravel. It’s the sound I associate with a day of making lunches and drinks for the kids who come for their lessons.
“Get the hell out of my house! Boone! Heath!” Screaming from downstairs has my heart kicking wildly in my chest, and I wonder what the hell is going on. As soon as I step back into the bedroom, my heart drops to the floor like a lead weight.
Remember I told you that sick feeling that swirled in my gut, yes, that one. It came crashing through the door moments later. “Why the fuck did you leave?” Ronan storms into the room, the door almost flying off the hinges. He leans in, getting right in my face and I can smell the bourbon on his breath. My body reacts as it always does when I look into those soulless eyes, with fear. My heart thuds painfully against my ribs and there’s a choking sound from my mouth as his hand grips my throat. Squeezing, he growls angrily, “I fucking asked you a question!” The words are spat in my face and I feel tears pricking, threatening to fall, as his fingers tighten, cutting off much needed air.
