The Texan Meets His Match (Lake Howling Book 2)

by Vella, Wendy

And then there was Ethan. He’d called her every day since he’d gone and she was so loaded with guilt over what he’d had to do for her, and the new feelings of love she felt for him, that she couldn’t talk to him like she’d used to. Her feelings had magnified since he’d gone, and now they were so big inside her she didn’t think she’d ever be able to look him in the eye again.

  The magnitude of what he’d done for her and Cooper was overwhelming, and he’d done it with no fuss. Here’s $175,000 for your brother’s debts, Annabelle. No biggie, we’ll just call it a gift. Grabbing hold of the line with both hands, she hung her head between them as the weight of standing suddenly seemed too great. She had to find a way to repay him, but she had no idea how.

  “Want me to hang you up?”

  As if she’d conjured him up, Ethan now stood behind her somewhere, his deep, smooth Texan drawl making her want to melt into a puddle on the ground.

  “Hey.” Turning, she made herself smile and stay where she was when all she could think of was running to him and launching herself into his arms—which was crazy, considering she’d just told herself how she was too embarrassed to face him. He stood leaning on the post, blue eyes searching hers, dressed in worn jeans and a sweater. His hair was windblown and on his feet he wore the requisite cowboy boots, which just added to the sexy look.

  God, she was in trouble.

  Her heart was thumping, her knees felt weak, and tiredness was making everything worse. When she ran a hand through her hair it got caught in several knots on the way. She must look a mess, hair everywhere, no makeup, old clothes, and there he was looking sexy as hell.

  “Hey, yourself.” He pushed off the pole and walked towards her and for the life of her she couldn’t move her feet; they seemed to have rooted themselves to the ground. She battled not to lower her eyes and hoped he didn’t see the desperate need inside them.

  “You doing okay, honey?”

  “Peachy,” she managed to rasp out.

  He kept walking until his body touched hers, and then he cupped her cheeks and lifted her face so he could run his eyes over it. Annabelle felt the pad of his thumb brush one cheek and closed her eyes as she battled the urge to cry. She wasn’t a crier by nature, but the fatigue and emotion were making her weak.

  “You getting enough sleep, Smith?”

  “Sure.” One word, and it was husky and tight with tears.

  “Liar.” He lowered his head and Annabelle felt her lashes flutter closed as his lips touched hers. She hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted this since the last time they’d kissed. Something inside her sighed as his mouth moved slowly over hers, and her tired body stirred to life.

  “I missed you, honey.” He moved to her cheeks and Annabelle lifted her face towards him, needing that contact, aching for it.

  “We shouldn’t do this, Ethan. I need to get back inside.”

  “Soon.” His breath brushed her face.

  Her resistance lasted three seconds, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him closer.

  The kiss was slow and sensual and it made her ache for more, ache to let Ethan take her and make her forget. She wanted to lose herself in this man and feel his strength wrap around her.

  His hands gripped her buttocks and squeezed before he pulled her hard against him so she could feel him, feel the desire he felt for her.

  “I’ve never wanted anyone like I do you, Annabelle Smith.” The words spoke of his need that matched hers. “You’re in my blood.”

  “I can—” He silenced her with a kiss.

  “I know you’re dealing with Cooper, but I needed you to know that.”

  She nodded, then grabbed his hair and tugged him back down to meet her kiss.

  His hands slid under the hem of her shirt and she nearly purred as one stroked her stomach. The wonderful sensations he had created in her in Texas came flooding back, that slow wicked heat that had invaded her limbs, and when his hand moved upwards to cup one satin-encased breast, she moaned.

  “What’s in there?”

  Annabelle wrestled her eyes open as Ethan spoke. She followed his glance and saw he was looking at the small archway at the rear of the property.

  “Privacy.”

  He swung her up into his arms before she could move. She didn’t fight him because she was too tired, and being held like this was wonderful. Once there he let her slide down his body while he looked around.

  It was small and filled with roses, and there was a bench seat. When he turned back to her his smile was slow and hot, and the look in his eyes made her breath catch.

  “I love nature.” His eyes ran over her body as he spoke.

  “Someone could arrive any minute, Ethan.”

  “Too bad, because I’m not stopping. I want you badly, honey, so I’m taking you.”

  Annabelle was pretty sure she should be irate over that statement, but as he now had his hands on her, she’d forgotten what she was going to say.

  He peeled off her top and pulled down the straps of her bra, then placed his mouth over a nipple and sucked hard.

  “Oh God!” She hadn’t meant to cry out, but the sensation was so intense the words slipped out.

  “No time for finesse, baby,” he said, moving to the other breast and doing the same.

  She was melting, her limbs shaky, but Annabelle was made of stronger stuff than that. So she reached for the zipper on his jeans and slid it down. After releasing the button at the top, she eased her hand inside the denim and stroked the hot, hard length of him through his shorts, which made the breath hiss out of his mouth.

  “No time for finesse, Gelderman.”

  His teeth snapped around her nipple, and he bit down hard enough to make a spike of heat shoot through her, so she found the waistband of his shorts and slipped her hand inside and began to stroke the hard flesh.

  “I can’t wait, Annabelle. I need you too much.”

  “I don’t want you to wait. I need you too.”

  He pushed his jeans lower, then sat on the seat and stripped her from the waist down. Annabelle lifted herself onto her knees, straddling his thighs, and slid down onto him.

  They both moaned as she took him deep inside her. Grabbing a handful of her hair, he took her mouth as she rode him, rising and falling. The friction was delicious, but soon Ethan gripped her hips and thrust upwards as she came down.

  “Yes, sweet Jesus, baby, you feel so good.”

  “So good,” she moaned against his mouth as the pressure inside her rose higher. It was so exquisite it was almost too much to bear, and Annabelle felt a sob build inside her as she felt herself shatter around him. His fingers bit into her hips as he thrust harder and higher twice more and then he too found his release.

  “Sssh, now.” He hauled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist as she cried.

  “S-sorry, I’m just…it’s just—”

  “It’s okay, Annabelle.”

  And for her, here in the arms of this man, it was okay, more than okay. Way too okay, if that made any sense. She felt safe here, at peace and thoroughly sated. At that moment she could have given this man anything, complete control of her life, her heart, anything he asked of her. That was a terrifying thought, or would be when she could move.

  His hands stroked her back, brushed her head, and she wanted to stay right here forever, curled on his lap. This was a good man, a strong man, and one she had no rights to. He deserved better than what the Smiths could give him—had given him, she amended. He deserved a woman who had it all together and probably spoke the same silver-tongued drawl as him. She would be classy, and born to money and privilege like him. She certainly wouldn’t have earned her money at the tables, gambling, nor would she have a mouth on her like Annabelle’s, or come with the multitude of problems that she had.

  “You okay, honey?” His hand cupped the back of her neck. It was a gesture he made often, Annabelle realized. It was his way of pulling her in to him, connecting.

  “Sure. I just fell
apart for a moment there, but I’m alright now.” She didn’t want to look at him, or move off his shoulder, but it was getting cold and she felt her skin pebbling with bumps.

  “Let’s get some clothes on you.” He placed her on her feet and did up his zipper, then reached to help her, but Annabelle took a step backwards.

  “I’ve got it, thanks,” she said, pulling on her clothes while his blue eyes steadily watched her.

  “How’s your brother doing?”

  She’d forgotten about him, her brother who was lying in his bed fighting the battle of his life. She’d forgotten he existed when Ethan had touched her. He did this to her, made her into someone she’d never been before, a woman totally and utterly bewitched by a man.

  Dear God, she was in so much trouble.

  “I need to get back inside. I shouldn’t have left him for so long.” Annabelle pulled on her sweater and smoothed her hair, then started back towards the house.

  “You want to wait for me?”

  She didn’t. She wanted to run and not stop until she could once again find that hard shell that was the façade of Annabelle Smith. The person she’d had to become when she’d realized the care and wellbeing of her brothers was in her hands.

  “You go on in then, and I’ll bring your wash.”

  She’d reached the back porch when he spoke. Turning on the first step, she looked back at him. He was standing beside her clothesline, tall and so gorgeous. There wasn’t a lot of sun today, but what there was settled around him, and her heart gave a vicious tug. Annabelle ignored it.

  “You’re not touching my laundry, Gelderman.”

  “Why?” His eyes were once again on hers, intent, searching.

  “Because you shouldn’t.”

  “Because?”

  “It’s just not right that you do,” she snapped.

  “I know what your panties are like. I’ve already been in them a time or two.” His smile was pure Gelderman, all teeth and flashing eyes. The smile he used to flirt with any woman looking his way. Of course there were always plenty of them around, doing just that, and that thought just pissed her off.

  “I need to get inside, so you should leave.” The words sounded rude and cold, and after what they’d just shared, the anger that filled his eyes was totally justified.

  “Thanks for screwing me, Gelderman. Now fuck off.”

  She couldn’t deal with him now, or how she felt about him. Cooper chose that moment to call out, so she simply turned away from the Texan hunk and walked back inside.

  Her brother was angry, his thin face shiny with sweat, fists clenched, as she walked into his room, and Annabelle wondered how you could love someone yet hate them at the same time.

  “I’ve been calling for you. Where the hell did you go?” He was sitting in the chair beside his bed, his thin body covered by a blanket.

  “I told you I was dealing with the wash, Cooper.”

  The last few days had been some of the hardest of Annabelle’s life, and considering she’d been through some serious challenges in her time, that was saying something. Cooper was going through hell, and he was making sure to take his sister with him. He was demanding one minute, and crying like a baby the next. He wouldn’t eat, rarely drank and getting him into the shower was like bathing a reptile with large fangs and sharp claws.

  “I needed you and you didn’t come.”

  Her once-strong brother had turned into a demanding toddler. Annabelle did the best she could to control her own temper, because she had turned her back on him when he needed her most. The logical side of her personality knew this was a foolish thought, and that he’d stolen from her and done this to himself—but Cooper was continually telling her that when she had stopped taking his calls he’d started using more, and that guilt was starting to pile up inside her, so much so that now she almost believed it.

  “I’m here now,” she soothed, moving to stand beside him and stroke his forehead. “You want to drink something?”

  “No, I want some fucking heroin!”

  They went through this regularly, him angry, and then the anger would slip into begging and then the tears.

  “Let me get you some more medication.” She started to turn away, but his fingers grabbed her wrist, the nails digging into her flesh.

  “I don’t want any fucking medication, and if you’d just left me in Vegas, I’d either be dead or high, both which would have been better than this hell.”

  “Let me go, Cooper,” Annabelle said calmly.

  “Let me go!” he replied. “Let me go to hell my own way. The choice is mine to make!”

  She felt the tears, always so close to the surface these days, but forced them down. Looking into the face of her beloved brother, she struggled to find the boy she’d once known, but couldn’t find him in the narrowed, bloodshot eyes, or the hard angles of his cheeks.

  “I can’t let you make that choice, Cooper, because it’s not the right one.”

  His hand fisted in her hair and pulled, and the pain was sharp and her cry was real.

  “Let her go, Cooper!”

  Ethan was beside the chair seconds later, his hands reaching for her. Surprise at his arrival had her brother releasing her, and Annabelle was lifted off the bed and into Ethan’s arms.

  “I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me. It was just the shock.” She tried to push away from him, but Ethan wouldn’t let her, and Annabelle could feel the heavy thud of his heart against her chest.

  “You don’t lay hands on your sister, Cooper, ever. You got that?” Ethan’s words were a deep growl, and as he was pressing her head into his chest, she couldn’t see the angry look but knew Cooper was the recipient.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  Annabelle wriggled free from his embrace as her brother spoke.

  “I’m the man who cares about your sister.” Ethan was glaring at Cooper, who in turn was doing the same.

  “Is that true?” Her brother turned to look at her, his eyes accusing.

  “He’s a friend, Cooper, and the one who got you out of Vegas,” Annabelle said.

  “Well, I don’t want him here, in this house. I want him gone.” Cooper had a belligerent look now as he glared at Ethan.

  “Shut up,” Annabelle snapped. “We owe Ethan a great deal, and I won’t have you speaking to him that way in this house.”

  “I’ll speak how I fucking well like. You get him out of here, or I go!”

  Ethan didn’t speak, just stood watching Cooper and then her, eyes flicking between them, and Annabelle felt as if she was sinking in a huge pool of mud with no way out. She didn’t want to ask Ethan to go, but she had to keep Cooper calm, had to look after him until he was strong enough to look after himself.

  “Why are you behaving this way?” Frustrated, Annabelle glared at her brother.

  “I don’t need strangers around me right now, and he’s a stranger.”

  “Now, we both know there’s a bit more to it than that, don’t we?” Ethan said.

  Annabelle tried to work out what the hell Ethan was talking about. “Maybe you should go,” she said.

  “Not until I’ve said a few things. Then I’ll go, but not far. I’m not leaving you,” Ethan said. The words made her knees go weak with relief, even though his departure was probably better for everyone.

  “I don’t need to hear anything you’ve got to say. Now fuck off!”

  “Cooper, I said shut up!” Annabelle snapped.

  “It’s alright,” Ethan told her. “His words don’t hurt me. What hurts me is that hearing them upsets you.”

  Ethan wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her in to his side before he continued. Annabelle tried to resist but he wouldn’t let her.

  “You need to listen to me now, Cooper, and understand that I’m not going anywhere.” He spoke slowly as if addressing a small child. Cooper in turn faced the wall, ignoring Ethan. Annabelle wanted to sink into a dark hole somewhere and shovel in the dirt on top so she wouldn’t have to witness
her brother’s behavior.

  “I paid your debts,” Ethan said. “A hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars’ worth. Your sister thinks it’s her debt now, but you and I know that the truth is, it’s yours.”

  “Please, Ethan—”

  “Let me speak, Annabelle.” He squeezed her and she fell silent because she had no idea what else to do. “I’m a fair man, Cooper, until someone pisses me off, and then I can be as mean as I need to be.”

  “Ethan—” she tried again.

  “Quiet, now.” He tried to shut her up by placing his hand over her mouth and keeping it there, which surprised her so much she didn’t speak again. “Now I’m guessing you know that I did what I did for you because of your sister,” he went on, addressing Cooper, “but let me clear a few things up for you, just so you know how it’s going to go between us in the future. I know you’re suffering and I’m sorry for it, but I won’t let you take whatever you’re feeling out on your sister. She doesn’t deserve that from anyone, especially not you, the man she raised, and who stole from her.”

  Annabelle watched Cooper flinch.

  “You lay one more hand on her and I find out about it, then it will be me nursing you, me in this house twenty-four-seven until you’re back on your feet. We clear on that, Cooper?”

  Cooper hunched his shoulders.

  “I need an answer,” Ethan said, “or that caregiving starts now, and you better believe I’m not going to be the pushover your sister is, because I’m not weighed down by misguided guilt, which in my opinion she shouldn’t have, but that’s a discussion for another day.”

  She shouldn’t feel warm inside from his words; she should have made him leave. It was wrong that he was here in her brother’s room, censuring him, but she didn’t have the strength to stop him, maybe because deep inside they were words her brother needed to hear.

  “I heard you.” Cooper’s words were a snarl, but he’d said them just the same.

  “It seems from where I’m standing that you have a lot to live for. A family and friends who love you, and a home here in this special town. Not many people can lay claim to that, and to my mind it’d be a crime not to.”

  Cooper’s shoulders stiffened but he still didn’t look at Ethan, much to Annabelle’s shame.