by Tina Leonard
“Nope,” he said, “I was just out here today. Everything’s on ice.”
She watched him approach with two water bottles he placed on a rickety wooden table near the hammock. “And these beers,” he said, reaching into his jeans pockets, “are booty from the Horsemen. I have more in the coolers, but it seemed right to pilfer some of theirs.”
Harper took a longneck from him. “This is turning out to be a party.”
“Well, not a party Horsemen-style. No firecrackers.” He got in the hammock, cracked his beer, tossed the cap onto the table. “But you can see the stars better here, and you’re with me. There’s probably no place in town you’d rather be,” he teased.
They swung in the hammock companionably for a few minutes, gazing up at the bright stars in the dark, endless sky. “Don’t go, Harper,” Declan said after a few minutes. “At least don’t go just because Fallon’s been whispering in your ear.” He pondered that. “Consider Fallon to be akin to the serpent that took down Eve in the Garden of Eden. You don’t want to listen to anything he says.”
She rolled her head, met his gaze. “You really don’t trust him, do you?”
He drew in a deep breath that turned into a sigh. “Listen, somewhere in my body, somewhere deep where I barely recognize it any more, I have some affection for my twin. The sun and the moon are part of the same, and Fallon and I will always be linked. We’re just too different to be close, I guess.”
“He says you’re afraid of bulls.”
Declan put an arm behind his head, resting on it, ignored the sudden tenseness he felt. “He’s right. An asshole for sharing, but he’s right.”
She didn’t say anything, just sipped her beer and gazed at the stars. Declan didn’t think he’d ever felt this close to a woman. It wasn’t often you met a woman who knew how to just let the silence wrap you in itself, and give you peace. He didn’t envy Steel, always at the mercy of Judy’s excitement. Some men craved excitement. He’d had all he wanted, in some ways.
He wanted different things in his life now—like Harper. And little Michael, with his Toad. He wanted the family aspect of life, something that he found more exciting than just about any other dream he’d ever had. And a little daunting. “See, the thing about Fallon is, I try to cut him some slack, a little bit, anyway. I really do. I believe he’s trying to make a change for the better.”
She rolled her head to gaze at him. “Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know.” He honestly didn’t. “But I feel him trying to come over from the dark side. So I try not to dislike him as much as I do. Maybe I don’t trust him. Maybe it’s all the years of growing up together when he was the favorite, and I couldn’t do anything right.” He let out a small, sarcastic snort that surprised him, realized there was still some pain there he thought he’d left behind. “I was born first, took up all the space, Dad said. So Fallon was weaker, a little more sickly. He spent a lot of time at home with our parents, and was the favorite. I was always gone, doing chores, which Fallon couldn’t manage much of, and then starting junior rodeo. I rode bulls. Fallon was more interested in riding as we grew older.” He tried not to probe the past too deeply, not wanting to visit the pain that lingered. “I got blamed for anything and everything that went wrong at our farm, and Fallon was the golden boy. Our parents were astounded by the tricks Fallon learned to do on the horses, couldn’t have cared less that I had high grades in school. Of course, the place for rebels with a wild streak is rodeo, and I loved riding bulls with a passion. Fallon decided to give it a shot, and ended up getting hurt real bad.” He swallowed against the memory, still anguished by his brother’s cries of pain. “I don’t think our parents ever forgave me for Fallon nearly getting stomped within an inch of his life. Somehow it was my fault, whether because I didn’t protect him enough, or because they figured I’d lured him into riding a bull he wasn’t ready for, I don’t know.” He took another swig of beer, remembering that his father had taken a belt to him and beaten him until he was raw. His mother hadn’t said shit, and Declan’d had the strangest sensation she thought he deserved every blow he got. Declan had vowed then and there that was the last time he’d be beaten by his father. By anyone. “After that, it was pretty rough around our place. I left for the Navy, against my father’s wishes, right after graduation. I didn’t speak to them for years, not until I came back to Hell. I don’t speak to them at all, if I can help it.”
“I’m so sorry.” Harper curled up against his side, put her head on his chest. Declan was shocked by the emotions slamming into him; he hadn’t expected her to comfort him. He’d brought her here to comfort her. But the feel of her soft hair under his chin, and her breast pressed against his side, her leg wrapped over his jeans-and-boot covered leg sent his heart into a funny overdrive that washed every other thought out of his head.
“Don’t be,” he said roughly. “I don’t need pity.”
“Good.” She raised her head to stare into his eyes. “I don’t need pity, either. You brought me here so I could have a good cry, I guess. But that’s not what I need.” She kissed him gently, robbing him of breath. His heart hammered inside him as she moved to put her beer bottle on the rickety table. “Would you like to find out if this hammock can stand a round of serious lovemaking?” she asked, straddling him.
“I would,” he said slowly, surprised by her question, “but I didn’t come prepared, gorgeous. It wasn’t exactly on my mind.”
She brushed a soft kiss against his mouth. “I’m on the pill, Declan.”
She was serious. She wanted him. An erection sprang to life, lodging against his jeans. Still, he hesitated, wondering why suddenly tonight was the night she wanted him. Would she regret it later?
She misunderstood his hesitation. “I’m a single mother. I’m not ready to become pregnant again.”
Oh, shit, she thought he was slow because he didn’t believe her. “Fair warning,” he said, wanting to give her a chance to change her mind, “either my heart or the hammock is likely to give out.”
She pulled her shirt over her head, her body illuminated by the moonlight. Suddenly Declan knew it was his heart that was going to crash and fall apart. He set his beer on the table and reached behind her, undoing her bra, slowly pulling it from her. “Holy shit,” he murmured. “You’re beautiful, Harper.”
She unbuttoned his shirt, tugging it from his jeans. Leaned down to kiss him, her breasts brushing his chest, giving the erection he already had rock-hard status. “Wait,” he said, running his hands longingly along her ribs until he met the band of her jeans, “I can’t make love properly to you here. I want to make love to you the way you deserve.”
“Then just make love to me.”
To his shock, she unzipped his jeans. Reached inside to find him, sighing when she wrapped a small hand still cool from the beer around him. He thought he was going to die from the pleasure of her touch, wished he was anywhere but here where he could lay her down and kiss every inch of her body. He searched for her mouth, groaning when she gently sank her teeth into his lower lip, then kissed him hard. Squeezed his erection just a little, enough to remind him what she wanted. Declan felt his blood pressure shoot through the top of his skull.
He had to get her jeans off of her, and the rest of her clothes. “There are beds in the cabin.”
She kissed him. “Yeah, but this is romantic. I’ve never been romanced before.”
His heart jumped. “I don’t know about romantic,” he said, dragging her jeans off of her. “But at this point, I’m not questioning anything. Your wish is my command.”
Harper giggled as she tugged his jeans off of him. “If this hammock collapses, it’s going to be a shame.”
“We’ll yell at the manufacturer.” He didn’t care about anything right now except getting inside her. She smelled fabulous, her skin was all soft, round curves and fit body, and he’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted her.
She pushed him back, straddling him again. “Oh, I get it. I�
��m the soft landing if this hammock gives out.”
Her lips were against his, soft and velvety and seductive. “If it’s a soft landing, I’m going to be disappointed,” she murmured, and Declan thought he might actually die from desire. He sank his hands into her hips, holding her tight but not moving her, letting her lead. If at any moment she decided this wasn’t what she wanted, he was going to man up and back away like a gentleman. His dick wouldn’t be right for a month, but he didn’t want her to regret a thing.
She pulled back to gaze into his eyes. “You’re okay with this?”
“I’m a little nervous,” he admitted. “I feel like I’m not going to be able to give you my best effort.”
“It’s going to be challenging in a swinging hammock,” she said. “But I have every confidence I’ll get your best effort.”
She was playing with him, laughing a little bit, and he was in a knot a sailor would admire. He ran his hands over her nipples, drawing them into peaks that demanded his attention.
When she took him in her hand again, he couldn’t hold back the groan that erupted from him. She slid down on him, stunning him with the tight wetness enveloping him in a sheath of pleasure. Colors burst behind his eyes, his whole body tightening up. “God, Harper,” he said on a gasp, couldn’t say more. He hadn’t been prepared for her move, or the pleasure, or the heat that stoked him into rock hardness. She moved with him inside her and he grabbed her hips, holding her, hanging on for dear life.
This wasn’t working. He couldn’t get to her. Damn the hammock, he had to get deeper inside her. Bracing Harper’s smooth back, he slowly moved her beneath him, praying the hammock wouldn’t give out.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and she pulled him closer to her in response, squeezing him inside her. He caught a hard nipple with his lip, enjoying her sudden cry of pleasure. Moving, stroking deeper inside her, he felt like a man who’d died and come back to life after glimpsing heaven. It was so close, closer than he ever experienced. He searched for the delicate bud hidden between her folds, gently stroking.
“Declan,” she murmured, tensing, “Declan, don’t stop.”
He had no intention of stopping. But he didn’t want this moment to end. It would mean crashing back to earth, and facing reality, and giving her up. This might be the only time he ever held her in his arms—he wasn’t about to let it be over so soon, even if it was killing him to hold back.
She let out a whimper, climaxing hard, her muscles tightening on him, encasing him. “Declan!” she cried, trying to pull him against her, pull him inside her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he grit his teeth, practically seeing black behind his eyes.
“Babe,” he said, “hang on. I’m dying here.”
She went still. “Are you all right?”
“I’m better than all right,” he said thickly, his eyes watering. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he wasn’t done with her yet. Gently, he withdrew, wincing as she gasped. He turned her on her side, ran his hand over her sweet, rounded ass. Slowly entered her from behind, holding her tightly against him. Her breasts felt like perfect heaven in his hands. His head went back as she slid back and forth on him, nearly shattering his self-control.
He couldn’t hang on much longer. He ceased plunging inside her, knowing he was at his limit. Slipping a hand over her sweet ass, he found her clitoris, teasing the small bud.
“Fuck me, Declan,” Harper begged, trying to rock against him. He wouldn’t let her, wouldn’t let himself move.
“Come for me,” he murmured in her ear. “Come for me again, Harper.”
She whimpered, bouncing, straining to take him deeper inside her. He could feel her get even wetter, her body hot with desire for him. Sinking his teeth into her shoulder lightly, Declan teased her nipple with one hand and her clit with the other, killing himself with her gasps of pleasure. “You feel hot and amazing,” he told her. “It makes me horny to know that you get wet like this for me.”
She came with a cry, shrieking his name so loud he was glad they were far away from Hell. Holding her tight, he rode inside her, his pleasure building every time she said his name, every time she cried out.
“Don’t stop,” she begged, and he realized she was about to come again. With superhuman effort, he didn’t stop, her pleasure driving him mad. He couldn’t believe it when she cried his name again, shattering him.
He collapsed against her, his face buried in the curve of her neck, his body deeply inside hers. Holy shit, he’d died, gone to heaven, and landed back in Hell with an angel.
He kissed her shoulder, shocked by the emotions running over him. He was in love with her, he knew that. He’d known it for a long time, but there was no denying it now, not knowing how hot the emotions ran between them. There was no telling what the future held, but all he knew was that this woman belonged to him. Or she should belong to him, and he should belong to her—if he could figure out a way to convince her.
“The hammock held,” Harper said, giggling.
Declan let out a long sigh. “The hammock’s fine. In twenty minutes, I hope to be in as good a shape.”
She squeezed her vaginal muscles gently, and he gasped. “Beautiful, you’re going to get yourself in trouble if you keep that up.”
Harper looked over her shoulder, kissed him on the mouth. “Maybe trouble is what I should have been looking for all along.”
Well, hell. If this was her idea of trouble, he could certainly provide all the trouble she could stand.
Chapter Thirteen
“Up for a swim?” Harper asked, and though Declan hated the idea of moving away from her body for a single second, he heard the longing in her voice.
“Sure, I’m game.”
She moved off the hammock and he followed her sexy ass down to the water’s edge. Okay, maybe it wasn’t going to take twenty minutes after all. He had an erection already that was begging to get inside her. “Here’s the rope swing. Feel adventurous?”
“Swinging naked into the water. Me Jane, you Tarzan.” She got on the rope, and he tugged it backward, nearly giving himself heart failure at the sight of her beautiful body in all its nude glory. She had gorgeous breasts, a great ass, a tiny waist—Declan wanted to pull her off the rope and take her right then and there.
“Should I be afraid of anything?” Harper asked.
He grinned. “You haven’t been so far. Why start now?”
“I meant like snakes and other things that aren’t expecting a naked female to splash down on them.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring—” She let out a squeal as he released the rope. Right at the sweet spot of the rope’s swing, she let go, crashing into the water with a gleeful yell and a big splash.
She was absolutely fearless—which was why Judy had wanted her on the team so badly. “Here goes nothing.” He pulled the rope back as far as he could, ran with it to give himself a good launch. Swung far out over her, dropped in, cursing involuntarily at the coldness as the water closed over his head.
He broke the surface, hearing her laugher. “Damn! That’s cold!”
She swam over to him. “I’ll warm you up,” she said, locking her legs around his waist.
His erection bobbed against her butt, eager for the sweet hotness he knew was only inches away. Even a SEAL wasn’t going to be able to pull this one off. He wanted to hold her in the worst way, would sink if he quit moving his arms, that motion the only thing keeping them both afloat—and him prisoner from holding her.
When she lowered her lips to his, kissing him, he couldn’t think of anything else but getting inside her slippery curves. “I’m going to resist you.”
She laughed. “No, you’re not,” she murmured against his mouth, and he thought she was probably right. Actually, she was damn right.
Still, she had something he wanted.
“Promise me that after tonight, I get one chance with you on a surface that isn’t moving. So I c
an make love to you the way you deserve.”
“I’m enjoying your efforts under adverse circumstances.”
He smirked at her giggle and shifted her to his back. He was hard as a rock, harder still when she clung on to his shoulders, pressing her curves against him. Holy Mother, a man could only take so much teasing and pleasure without doing himself a mischief. Soft breasts squished into him, a long plane of waist lined his back, and—she locked her legs around him, her sex snuggly tucked against his back, nearly making him black out from desire. He wasn’t going to make it to the cabin, he was going to take her on the creek bank, he had to, there was no other way to get the freight train out of his head that was driving him mad.
He reached the bank, and she let go, rising from the water like a goddess. Dragging himself from the water, Declan hesitated, thinking he heard a branch snap.
Still laughing, Harper ran toward the cabin, but Declan stood still, listening, suddenly aware that nothing was moving. No frogs, crickets, nothing made a sound.
“Declan, come on!” Harper yelled. “I found towels in the cabin!”
Maybe his sixth sense was going mad for no reason. He was barely aware of a sudden slicing sound, something searing the air, before pain hit him, staggering him backwards. Blinding agony flared in his right shoulder, sending him into the water. Vaguely he heard Harper scream his name, and then the cold creek washed over him.
* * *
“Why Declan?” Steel asked Trace and Saint. The three of them clustered in the hallway, waiting for word from the doctor. Right now, Declan was in surgery. Harper shivered, still in shock. She pulled a blanket a nurse had given her around her shoulders, and Judy patted her back. “Who would want to hurt Declan?”
“A pretty long list of folks,” Trace said.
Harper shivered again, feeling sick. The surgery seemed to be taking forever. She was worried sick about Declan. He’d been so cold, so weak, when she’d dragged him from the water and laid him on the bank. The worst part had been the darkness. She hadn’t known how badly he was hurt, or if she could get him across the creek in the rowboat. Fright had slammed into her as she’d calculated that someone had shot across the creek, where she needed to get Declan into his truck. She’d run to grab her clothes and the flashlight, as well as towels to cover him with. With the flashlight she could see an arrow protruding from his shoulder; she hadn’t dared touch it, but the blood had terrified her.
