by Kadi Dillon
“Step out,” he murmured in her ear. When she obeyed, he slipped the last barrier between them off and led her to the water. Hand in hand, they waded in until it rose above Alex’s chest.
“It’s always cool here.” Alex treaded the water more comfortable now that she was covered by the dark water. Her entire body was pulsing inside and out. “That’s why I always swim here. No matter how hot it is outside, this creek is always cold.”
“You’ve swum here all your life, haven’t you?”
“Mmm.” She unwound her braids and dunked her head under the water. When she came up, she wiped the water from her eyes and met Lane’s gaze.
“Anybody else ever swim here?”
The passion he had just enticed before getting into the water began to grow again. She knew now what it meant when his eyes grew darker. It was desire—desire for her. She couldn’t say why it scared her, but it did. It scared her as much as it excited.
“No one.”
“Good.”
In a one swift stroke he closed the distance between them and grabbed her around the waist. She slid into his body and wrapped herself around. She felt his hard stomach beneath her thighs and shuddered as he crushed his mouth to hers.
Passion went from simmer to boil in a flash as Lane’s hands traveled over her body. While thoughts of making it to the blanket swan through his mind, they were easily dismissed as he laid her down on the bank. Water lapped at her back as he covered her body with his.
With the blood roaring in his ears, Lane let the sensations take him while he ravished her mouth, throat, and neck. The sounds she made were caught somewhere between pleasure and astonishment. Her nails dug into his back as he kissed his way down her throat, but neither noticed.
When he found her breast, he took it into his mouth and she strained against him. His hand trailed up and down her thigh while she writhed beneath. Higher and higher his hands crept until her moans became whimpers.
With a clever flick of his fingers, Lane sent her to a wracking climax.
Alex muffled her cry against his shoulder as her body convulsed. Never in her life had she known such rapture. These nameless needs were created and met by this man and this man only. With tremors still racking her body, she gripped his arms.
She couldn’t see past the haze in her own mind. Just as she thought she knew how to tell him, he was building the fire in her again. Again she was edging toward the shattering fulfillment.
“Please…” She tried to muffle another stunned cry as the next climax slammed her. “I can’t… Lane.”
“Shh.” He kissed her brow before he found her mouth again. “Let it go, Alex. Let me show you what you can have.”
As the fire was coming back again, just as strong, just as potent, Lane gripped her hips and in one thrust, was in her. Twin moans merged as he set the pace, frantically. Instinct had her pumping her hips beneath him.
This time when she began to burn, she cried out in reckless elation. He buried his hands in her hair and ravished her swollen mouth when he too, let go.
Vaguely, she was aware of the cool water lapping beneath her on the bank. When she drummed up the energy, she opened her eyes. The sun shone through the leaves high above casting shadows over their joined bodies.
Lane had yet to move. Alex wondered idly if he had fallen asleep on top of her. She smiled and kind of hoped that he had. The sensation of being held was all too rare and special to Alex and she wasn’t ready for it to end.
His breaths were slow and deep. His heart rate had yet to slow down. His head was nestled between the valley of her breasts. Hoping to prolong the moment, Alex brought her hand to his hair and ran her fingers through it.
Lane made a sleepy sound and turned his head so he could draw more air. “I must be crushing you,” he murmured.
Alex’s lips curved as she skimmed a hand over his shoulder. “It’s okay.”
“I’ll move off you in a year or two.”
“Take your time.”
He chuckled at that and lifted himself on his elbows to look at her. Her face was flushed from passion, her eyes dreamy with contentment. Her lips were swollen and slightly parted. He loved seeing her this way, he thought as he ran a hand through her hair.
He brought his lips down to hers in a long, leisurely kiss that sent her heart soaring. Lane ended the dreamy kiss and rolled over on his back, pulling her with him so that she rested in the crook of his arm.
His hand stroked lazily up and down her back, toying with the ends of her hair. Love for him consumed her. She thought of all the secrets she had, all the things he wanted to know. Would he still want her when he learned that she had bared another man’s child when she had still been a child herself? Would he still want her when he learned about how her father had treated her?
Lane could all but hear her brain working. He grew concerned when he felt her tremble. He hugged her tighter, rocked by the primitive urge to protect this woman. His woman.
“Something wrong?”
Alex was quiet a minute before she answered. “This has been one of the best days of my life.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
“Yes.”
Lane frowned up at the sky, then shifted so he could look at her. “Care to elaborate that one?”
“Can I put my clothes on?” The slight hitch in her voice worried him. He picked her up and carried her to the blanket and pulled his t-shirt over her head, then pulled his jeans on.
Alex sat cross legged on the blanket while Lane settled beside her. The simple intimacy of wearing her lover’s shirt made her dizzy with contentment. She ran shaky fingers through her hair.
“All right, tell me what’s wrong.”
Alex took a deep, steadying breath that failed to calm her nerves. “You said there were things you were going to find out. Things about me. What if you don’t like the answers?”
Lane raised a brow, then settled back on his forearms. “Let’s see. Are you married?”
“Of course not.”
He smiled when he saw her flustered. “Are you wanted in three states?”
“No.”
“A terrorist?”
Alex sighed. “You’re making fun of me.”
“Yes.” Lane sat up and drew Alex back against his naked chest. “Alex. You’ll find I’m not the uncaring tyrant you believe me to be.”
He actually felt her jolt. “Oh no, Lane. I don’t think that.” She tried to turn to him, but he held her firmly against his chest.
“Relax.” He ran his hands down her arms. He waited a moment for her to settle before he spoke again. “Marry me, Alex.”
“All right.”
His grip tightened involuntarily on her arms before he relaxed his hands. “Why?”
Alex frowned at the creek. She hadn’t expected him to ask. “Everything you said last night is true. It’s a reasonable business arrangement.” And I’ve fallen in love with you, she answered silently.
He didn’t know why the answer angered him. Determined not to show it, he brought her around to face him. “If you want to have a wedding with your friends and family, I can give you a week to get it together.”
“I don’t need a wedding.” But it warmed her heart that he had asked, that he had thought of her wants.
“Then we’ll sign the papers tomorrow.”
Chapter Nine
They were married on Sunday.
Alex wore a soft lilac sun dress with her ebony hair in curls down her back. Only her mother, Tucker, and the preacher attended the ceremony that took place in the den at the Morgan house.
When Lane slid the simple gold band on her finger, tears welled up in her eyes. He grinned as she slid an identical ring on his finger. After they were pronounced husband and wife, Lane kissed her with fervor and sealed the deal.
“Thanks again for coming to witness.” Alex kissed Tucker’s cheek after she walked him to his jeep.
“Not a problem,” he answered, opening the driver
door. “Alex, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“No.” She chuckled when Tucker gave her a bland stare. “Lighten up, Tuck. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“You’ll call me if you need a… anything?” Divorce was the word he wanted to use. He knew it as well as her.
“I won’t.”
“Well,” he sighed and tipped his hat. “Best wishes, Mrs. Tanner.”
She watched Tucker back up, then drive out of the driveway before she turned around and made her way into the house.
“Alex.”
She jolted at Lane’s voice, then turned to face him at the base of the stairs. “Yes?”
“I made reservations in the city for dinner.” He studied her face while he rolled up one sleeve of his crisp, white shirt, then the other. “We’ll leave here at six if it suits you.”
“All right.” She started up the stairs again, but this time his hand stopped her. The touch was light enough on her arm, but she felt the authority in it. Her gaze slowly slid to his. He was watching her, his gaze unnerving.
“Something wrong?”
“No. I thought I might go over to Mr. Scott’s and help him chop some wood for the winter season. It won’t take but a couple of hours.”
His jaw tightened before he could stop it. A business arrangement, he choked bitterly on his own words. Why did he think it would be any different?
“Fine. Be ready by six.”
Alex didn’t move for a minute, simply stared after him in shock. There was steel in his voice and Alex wasn’t sure why or where it had come from. All she knew was when his eyes darkened, his jaw had tightened, he was angry with her.
What did I do? She thought almost frantically. What have I gotten myself into?
On hollow legs, Alex treaded up the stairs, changed out of her dress.
She had saddled Joy and headed to Mr. Scott’s place. She rounded the curve in the woods, then brought Joy to a run when she saw Sam’s truck at Mr. Scotts.
“Hey, stranger.” Sam took Joy’s reins and led her to the corral.
“Hey, yourself. Helping out Mr. Scott today?”
“My mother wanted me to bring him some bread.” Sam made a grab for Alex’s left hand. He stared blankly at the band on her ring finger. “What the hell is this?”
“Well, you’re an observant one,” Alex muttered and yanked her hand away.
“It’s that Tanner guy, isn’t it?”
“So, what if it is?”
“You married him?”
“Yes, I did.” Alex tied her hair back and pulled a pair of gloves from her pocket. “It’s a business arrangement, Sam. I get some control over what happens to the ranch, and Faith,” she added because it mattered to him, too. “And he needed a wife.”
“So he picked you?”
Her chin came up, her blue eyes glittered. “Is there something wrong with me, then?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Alex. You know there’s not a damn thing wrong with you. Does he know about what happened with your father?”
“No.”
“Faith?”
“It hasn’t come up.” But she was ashamed to be keeping such a secret from the man she had just taken vows with. “I’ll explain everything to him tonight. Right now, I need to be getting wood chopped for Mr. Scott.”
“I’d stay and help, but I’m on at the pub in twenty minutes. Call me if you need anything, Alex.”
“I will.”
Alex worked with zeal. She wondered what business she and her husband—shudder—would be discussing that evening. Ranch business? Or would she finally tell him about being abused all her life? Or the fact that she had a daughter?
Her stomach knotted as it always did when she lied, but she pushed the uneasy thoughts aside and concentrated on bringing the ax down and splitting the wood she had already chopped.
She stacked the logs neatly in the wood box and treaded back to gather more. After a quick check on Joy, Alex got back to work.
The sun’s position told her it was nearly five o’clock. She would head back now, she decided as she shut the wood box and locked it. Her curiosity peaked when she heard the rumble of a pickup poking up Mr. Scott’s lane. She saddled Joy in the paddock and tried not to sigh when Gary Fuller stepped out of the truck.
His age was showing, Alex thought as she ran a strap through a buckle. His gray hair was balding on the top of his round, tanned head. His eyes were still mean. Just as mean as they’d been when she had confronted him about abusing Crazy Horse. Gary bypassed the house and headed straight for the paddock.
So it was hardly a social call, Alex thought while her stomach did a quick somersault from nerves.
“Mr. Fuller.” Alex greeted, leading Joy out of the corral.
“I hear congratulations are in order.” He stuck two beefy hands in his overall pockets. “Your young man came into town a couple hours ago.”
“Did he now?” Now, the whole town knew they were married. She banked down on the urge to ask him what Lane had said.
“Is that the ugly horse I sold you?”
Alex bristled. “She’s not ugly. But yes, this is the horse you sold me.”
“I’ll be damned.” Gary walked around Joy slowly, appraising her. “You certainly got a deal with this one. She grew into her head, didn’t she?”
“She did. But she was beautiful before. Was there something you needed, Mr. Fuller?”
“Yeah, Mart Dell down at the market was saying something about your husband putting a damned theme park up on your ranch. Seein’ as how Cedar Grove here’s a slow town, I don’t know how that’s going to go over with the residents. Do you?”
“I don’t handle the business aspect, Mr. Fuller.”
“That’s obvious enough. We don’t want no crowd-bringing amusement park coming to Cedar Grove.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Alex suppressed a shudder when he hissed through his teeth. He reminded her hugely of a snake. “Plans, however, are not final. I’m sure Lane would value your opinion. You’ve only to call him.”
“Tell me, he’s only been here about a week, is that right?” He snorted when Alex failed to answer. “A little quick for wedding bells, wouldn’t you think?”
“That’s my business, and Lane’s. I need to go, Mr. Fuller.” She would have hoisted herself up in the saddle, but his hand snaked out and grabbed her arm.
“You wouldn’t want to lose that hand, Mr. Fuller.” Her voice was calm and quiet. She thanked God for it because inside, she was trembling all over.
“You listen here, bitch.” He hissed and had the pleasure of seeing the color drain from her face. “You tell that rich husband of yours to pack up his corporate bullshit and get the hell out of Oklahoma. And to take his whore with him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Everyone in Cedar Grove knows why he married you.”
“His reasons and mine is our business and no one else’s. You’ll take care to remember that.” She tried and failed to jerk free. She knew she would have a series of bruises right above her elbow where his fingers were digging into her skin.
“Your Daddy shoulda’ taken a strap to you and your wasp tongue,” Fuller said between his teeth. “God knows you wouldn’t have run off and gotten yourself pregnant, borne a man’s bastard. You’d have never caused yourself and family the shame that killed your Daddy.”
That, Alex thought dully, was the biggest pile of nonsense she had ever heard. And worse, she believed every word.
“Your opinion is noted, Mr. Fuller. Now take your hands off me.”
He did. He pulled her around and shoved her, hard. Her back collided with Mr. Scott’s tractor and stole her breath. She sunk to the ground and thought her spine had snapped. Before she could even catch her breath, he had her by the shirt, yanked her up, and slammed her against it again.
“Take your fucking circus back to California,” she heard him say through the roaring in her ears before he released her abruptly. She sun
k to the ground and shook violently. She heard the start of his rusty, old engine.
It physically hurt to push air in and out of her lungs. Her chest ached from the attempts to catch her breath. Because she felt like weeping, she let out a stream of curses while she attempted, and failed to stand up. Giving in, she laid her back against the hard ground and peered up to the bright, blue sky for a moment.
When she began to feel her back again, Alex sat up. It infuriated her that tears were streaming down her face. She wiped at them furiously.
It had been years since she had been physically hurt by a man. Her father had left her alone since the day Faith died. Not so much as ten words had passed between them since that day almost seven years ago. And Alex liked him the better for it.
She walked stiffly over to Joy. Her entire back side protested as she mounted her and the pain intensified as she took her home in an easy trot.
Lane’s mood had not improved when he walked into the house a little before six. One thing Lane didn’t mind was disgruntle members of the communities where his company built their parks, but it wasn’t something he should have been worrying about on his wedding day.
Yet, his wife treated their wedding day as if it were any other day of the week. Not that he could rightfully blame her, he mused. He had made it a point several times to establish their union as strictly business.
The thought crossed his mind that he might indeed have hurt her feelings by referring to their marriage as business. He doubted they would even be married had he told her he wanted her to be his wife because he felt for her more than he had his first wife. Well, he decided as he walked up the stairs, it was time they had a talk and time that she opened up to him.
Lane knocked on Alex’s bedroom door and waited. When she opened the door, he could only stare. She wore a black dress that stopped above her knees and hooked around her neck, leaving her creamy shoulders bare. Her long, ebony hair was curled in loose spirals down her back and over her shoulders.
“You look—” He trailed off when he couldn’t find the proper words.
