Sunny.
“Good, you’re awake,” she said. She closed the door, plunging the room back into darkness, but as his eyes adjusted, he could see that she was taking off her clothes.
So, maybe not an emergency or chat time. She slipped under the covers and managed to locate his mouth, her kiss filled with a level of heat and urgency he had no trouble interpreting. She was horny as all get-out, and it had the effect on Shaw of making him instantly horny, too.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Sunny said when she paused her kissing to gulp in some air. “So, I decided to drive over here and jump you.”
“Best idea ever,” he assured her.
Shaw hauled her on top of him. Only then did he remember the blasted incision, and he would have pulled away if Sunny hadn’t clamped on to him. “As long as we keep the lights off, I’ll be okay.”
He hated that the scar bothered her so much, but he didn’t get a chance to dwell on it because she ran her hand between their bodies. He was wearing his usual sleepwear, a pair of boxers, but as she’d managed to locate his mouth, she found his erection and clamped her hand over it.
His eyes crossed.
She French-kissed him while she gave him a few squeezes that convinced Shaw that she was in a bit of a hurry. Shaw didn’t mind a little hurrying, but they’d done the speed thing in his office chair. He wanted to slow things down a bit so he gently flipped her until she was beneath him.
Shaw French-kissed her right back and then took his mouth and tongue to her neck. He wanted to go lower to her breasts, but that was tricky territory so he kissed his way down to her stomach. Her muscles tightened and stirred there.
She inched her legs apart, and the stirring picked up when he went even lower. Not to the center of her heat. Too obvious. Too fast. Though he was very interested in tasting her there, he’d save that for later. For now he settled on sliding his tongue over the inside of her thigh. And he added plenty of breath.
Obviously, it was having the intended effect because she pulled his hair and called him a bad name. Who knew that Funny Sunny had a trashy mouth when aroused.
Shaw played around awhile with the thigh kisses, making sure he hit every spot that closely surrounded the Brazilian wax. Then, he moved in and took the playing to whole different level.
Sunny moaned, lifted her hips and called him the dirtiest name he’d ever been called. She dug the heels of her feet into his bed, levering herself up. Shaw levered, too, by catching her hips and anchoring her just where he wanted her. He finished her off with a couple of flicks of his tongue.
He’d been right about her tasting good, and it didn’t matter that he hadn’t been able to see her. Though he wouldn’t mind getting an up close and personal look at that part of her later. His dick was throbbing too much for that now, and he wanted to bury himself inside her.
“I’m not good at BJs,” she muttered in her postorgasmic silky voice. “But I can try to give you one.”
Shaw nearly told her that even a bad BJ from her would be pretty damn good, but then he remembered their first sexual encounter and realized that might be tempting fate.
“No need,” he assured her. He groped around in his nightstand drawer and came up with what he was looking for. “I’ve got a condom,” he told her.
Sunny made a sound of approval—a silky, sated moan—and she reached between them to try to help him get it on. He didn’t need her help. He’d never had sex without a condom and had never had trouble getting one on. Still, it was interesting torture to have her hands fumbling around his hard-on.
“I think Sunshine saw something in the sketches,” she said.
Shaw heard her, barely, but his pulse was drumming in his ears and that dick throbbing was still going on. So were Sunny’s attempts to slide the condom on him.
“I think she might have noticed how much I...cared for you,” Sunny went on. “My feelings probably came through in the pictures.”
“Uh-huh,” Shaw managed.
Together they finally got the condom on him in quadruple the time that it would have taken him if he’d done it solo. But he got an instant reward for the insanity-inducing effort. Sunny flipped them, straddling him, and with her knees spread wide, she took him inside her.
Deep, all the way inside her.
If he could have called her a dirty name, he would have, but sadly, his dick wasn’t going to spare him enough air to talk.
“I’m not good at BJs,” she repeated, “but I can manage this.”
Yes. Yes, she could. Apparently, riding the hell out of him was a talent of hers. Shaw could only see a shadowy silhouette of her above him. The shape of her. Her breasts, the curve of her waist and her hips that she maneuvered like a woman on a mission. And that mission was obviously to make him bat-shit crazy.
She anchored her hands on his chest, leaning down to give him a deep kiss to go along with the deep moves she was putting on him where they were joined. He wanted to wait for her to climax again so he had to fight the demand in his own body, the primal push that was urging him on.
“I like your size,” she said. No post-sex sultriness now. She was getting a primal push, too. “You can touch me in all the right places at the same time.”
Shaw managed a grunt of appreciation, and just in case his dick was missing a key spot, he reached between them and found that extrasensitive nub. He used his fingers now to give her a flick the way his tongue had done minutes earlier.
She flew like a kite.
Sunny stuttered out a gasp of pleasure and slumped forward, her weight on her hands that she still had on his chest. That was his cue to gather her against him and use his size that she liked so much to let her orgasm squeeze and slide him to his own release.
She collapsed onto him, gave him another kiss and then dropped onto her back. “Much better,” she said.
Shaw chuckled, kissed her. “Glad I could help.”
Because she was stretching and purring in such a way that made him think they could soon go another round, Shaw got up to make a quick pit stop in the adjoining bathroom. He turned on the light and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Now that his brain wasn’t muddled with the primal stuff, Shaw began to recall what Sunny had said to him right before she’d given him the ride of his life.
“Uh, what were you saying about Sunshine maybe seeing something in the sketches?” he called out to her.
No response.
He started to repeat his question a little louder but then he looked around the door jamb. She was sacked out on her back with her arms outstretched. Her legs, too, for that matter. He caught a glimpse of that very intriguing Brazilian. And her breasts.
Shaw took a step closer, feeling like a privacy-invading perv, but that didn’t stop him from looking at the scar. A pinkish-red line that ran from the side of her left nipple to the bottom of her breast. He didn’t see it as ugly, but he knew it was visual proof of something that had scared her. Scared her enough to bring her back home.
Scared enough that she didn’t want him to see it.
He went closer, easing down on the side of the bed so that he wouldn’t wake her. Judging from the deep rhythm of her breathing, though, that wasn’t going to happen. And she didn’t stir a muscle when his weight caused the mattress to shift a little.
Shaw leaned down and gently pressed his lips to the scar, and it occurred to him that it was probably the only time in his life he’d kissed a woman’s breast when it hadn’t been foreplay.
God, he hated that she’d gone through something that had twisted her up and left her feeling less than adequate. Oh, she was adequate all right.
He pulled back when she snorted out a little breath, and she shifted, moving onto her side. That’s when he saw it on her butt.
A heart tattoo.
Sunny certainly hadn’t had that when they’d had sex in the hayloft.
<
br /> The light from the bathroom wasn’t cooperating with his getting a better look so Shaw stood and moved around to the end of the bed. He sure as heck saw it then. It was a heart all right, but instead of lines forming the shape, there were words.
Love you forever.
And in the center was Shaw’s name.
* * *
SUNNY FOUND HERSELF doing some smiling on the drive back to Em’s. Mercy, she’d slept well. The best night’s sleep in ages, and she could thank Shaw for that. Could thank Shaw, too, for not pushing to turn on the lights when she’d finally woken up, gotten out of his bed and dressed. He’d been tender and amazing.
And a little quiet.
Maybe he just wasn’t a morning person, but she suspected it was because he knew what the morning could bring. Right before she’d left he had gotten a text from Leyton, telling him that nothing had been resolved the night before with Marty and Aurora but that he was meeting again with them this morning. Shaw had to know that Leyton could fail.
If he did, that could be disastrous for Kinsley.
Permission for the girl to stay at the ranch might not keep CPS from taking her, especially since both of her parents had essentially abandoned her. That wiped the smile off Sunny’s face, and it stayed gone when she pulled in front of Em’s and saw the familiar car.
Crap.
What was Hugh doing here?
It was barely dawn, and he was leaning against his Audi, clearly waiting for her. Judging from the big bouquet of red roses he was holding, he had hopes of making up with her. There was also a thick manila envelope on the hood of his car.
Sunny didn’t bother trying to comb her hair or look as if she hadn’t just climbed out of bed with Shaw. In fact, she hoped that Shaw had left a hickey on her so that Hugh would get the message that she’d moved on with her life and that then he’d leave.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said when she stepped from her SUV. It didn’t have an accusatory tone. Nor was there the unspoken question—Where the hell have you been? He went Mr. Darcy on her with a polite yes, I’ve been an ass but please forgive me smile.
Sadly, that would have worked a few months ago, but Sunny knew now that a smiling ass was still just an ass.
He thrust out the flowers for her to take, but Sunny simply folded her arms over her chest.
“I didn’t invite him in,” Em said from the front window that she’d opened—probably so she could keep an eye on Hugh and make sure he didn’t try to sneak in or something.
Or maybe Em had been waiting up for her. Sunny had left her a note in the kitchen so that her grandmother wouldn’t worry if she woke up and found her gone. Still, Em would want to make sure she was okay. Sunny had been more than okay until she’d seen Hugh.
“A guilty fox hunts in his own hole,” Em added, giving the window a loud shut that was the equivalent of slamming a door.
Hugh’s forehead bunched up. “What does that mean?”
Sunny didn’t have a clue, and since she couldn’t explain what she was certain had been a diss, she just moved on to her question. “Why are you here?”
Hugh tried that smile again, but it didn’t make her think of Mr. Darcy. More like Voldemort. “I have a proposition,” he said. “One that will benefit all of us.”
Sunny gave him a flat look. “What, your investors are still giving you grief about Ryan and me not being around?”
“They are,” he readily admitted. “And that’s why what I’m offering you is more of a business proposition.” He took a long breath as if gearing up for a sales pitch. “I’ll lose a lot of money without these investors, which means I’ll gain a lot if the deal goes through.”
Hugh tossed the flowers onto the hood of his car, picked up the manila envelope and handed it to her. She wasn’t any more interested in taking it than she had been the roses.
“What do you want?” she repeated. “And I’m warning you, that’s the last time I ask. If you don’t spill all in the next thirty seconds—spill everything without using a book quote—” she emphasized, “I’m going inside. You won’t be going in with me.”
His next breath was more like a weary sigh. “I’m offering you everything you want,” he said with the envelope still outstretched to her. “It’s all there in writing. A contract that I’ve already signed. I’ll spend at least ten hours a week with Ryan. Of course, that’ll have to be done with phone calls once he’s moved to Austin to go to college. I’ll pay for all his expenses.”
Her next breath was a huff. “Those are things you should be doing, Hugh. You shouldn’t need a contract for it.”
“Well, obviously I haven’t been doing it or Ryan wouldn’t be here with you, and you wouldn’t be so upset on his behalf.”
He had her there. She still wasn’t signing a contract.
“There’s more,” Hugh went on. “If you do Slackers’s reading hours in my stores, I’ll pay you well for your time. I’ll marry you,” he quickly added when she opened her mouth to huff again. “And there’ll be no birth control. You can have that baby you’ve always wanted.”
Again, her huff got cut off when the front door flew open and Ryan came out. Maybe the sound of their voices had woken him, but it was obvious that he’d just gotten up. He was still in sleep pants and a tee, and his hair was tousled.
“You’re not signing that,” Ryan told her, letting Sunny know that he’d heard at least part of their conversation. “She’s not signing that,” Ryan repeated to his dad.
Hugh shrugged. “That’s Sunny’s decision, not yours.” As if he’d rehearsed it, his expression softened. “I love you, son, and I want the three of us to be a family again.”
That was likely rehearsed, too, and the man certainly knew which of her buttons to push. He knew what she wanted—a happy Ryan and a baby. But it couldn’t happen, not like this. Sunny would have spelled that out for Hugh, too, if he hadn’t tossed the envelope onto the porch.
“I’ll give you a day or two to think it over. Think it over,” Hugh repeated. “Ryan can have his father, and next year at this time, you could be a mother.”
With that, Hugh got in his car and left. The bouquet of roses tumbled off the hood and was crushed by one of his rear tires.
“Don’t sign it,” Ryan repeated to her. He stood there, staring at the dust that the Audi had kicked up, watching his worthless tool of a dad drive away—no doubt taking another piece of Ryan’s heart with him.
Sunny automatically reached for him, pulling him into her arms, and even though Ryan was taller than she was, she put his head on her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said, knowing the words wouldn’t fix anything.
“Don’t sign it,” Ryan said again. “I don’t need his money for college. I can work and get student loans.”
“I’ve put money aside.”
He lifted his head, shook it. “You don’t have to do that.”
“No, but I want to do it.”
And there could be even more money if she sold her condo and moved back in here with Em. A few weeks ago that would have been unthinkable, but with the way things were going with Shaw, Lone Star Ridge was the only place she wanted to be. Plus, it would be a lot closer to Ryan’s college than Houston. It could be the perfect solution, and it would give her a chance to see where things were going with Shaw.
“My dad offered to get you pregnant,” Ryan said with a tinge of anger in his voice. “He wants to lure you back by giving you something you don’t have. By giving you the kid you’ve always wanted.”
Now, here was where words might actually help. Sunny pressed her hand on his cheek. “I’ve already got a kid, Ryan. I’ve got you, and I love you.”
She saw it immediately. The surprise followed by the smile that let her know she hadn’t assumed too much or crossed a line that Ryan hadn’t wanted her to cross.
“I love you, too... Mom.”
Well, crud. That brought her to tears, but they were definitely of the happy variety. She gathered him back in her arms for the hardest, longest hug she could manage.
Ironically, Hugh had given her a child after all.
No contract or sex needed.
She pulled away from him, dried her happy tears and would have led him into the house for celebratory waffles, but Sunny groaned when she heard the approaching car engine. Good grief. She hoped Hugh hadn’t come back, but thankfully it wasn’t his Audi. It was a black car that she didn’t recognize. Ditto for the man who stepped out from the driver’s seat.
“Ms. Sunny Dalton?” the man asked.
She nodded, and he immediately went to her and reached out to give her a thick envelope.
“This is for you,” he said.
She groaned. “You can tell Hugh Dunbar I’m not taking that.”
He shook his head. “This isn’t from Hugh Dunbar. It’s from Sunshine Dalton. She hired me to deliver this to you.”
Sheez. That was just as bad. Was it her day to get envelopes from people she no longer wanted in her life?
“I don’t want anything from Sunshine, either,” Sunny snarled.
The man gave a suit-yourself shrug, thrust the envelope into her hands and, much to Sunny’s surprise, he left. She debated throwing it in the trash along with Hugh’s contract, which was still on the porch, but if Sunshine had launched into a new “make Shaw and Sunny miserable” campaign, then she wanted to know what she was up against.
Sunny pulled out what appeared to be a handful of legal papers. But it was the sticky note on the front of them that snagged her attention.
“Thought you’d like to know the truth about your favorite cowboy,” her mother had written. “It was all a sham, Sunny. All a sham.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SHAW HAD PLENTY of hands to ride fence and check for any needed repairs, but this morning he’d given himself that particular chore. He’d hoped the mindless ambling around on a horse and occasionally getting off to hammer a loose nail or two would clear his head.
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