Alex's Destiny (Racing To Love) (22 page)

“You’re a hell of a cop, Rube, but I didn’t know you were a doctor, too,” the officer said.

“Wait, is she..? Was she your dog?”

“More than. She was my partner. Weren’t you, Ruby girl?”

Dallas extended his hand. “Damn. I’m sorry, man. Dallas Hunter. With everything, I didn’t even catch your name, or put two-and-two together. No wonder you weren’t freaking out when you pulled up and saw my fiancé pointing a gun at that jackass. You recognized the name and saw Ruby. You knew she was in control, didn’t you?”

“John Franklin. Good to meet you. Yeah. We heard the call come across the scanner and reported we were joining the other car on the way. I heard the story from our mutual buddy, Donny. I knew Ruby wouldn’t let anything happen to Alex again if she had any say. And judging by the chomp marks on that asshole’s neck, she had a lot to say. Didn’t you, girl?”

“I was impressed with her before, but tonight, I’ve never seen such a thing.”

“Most K-9’s that go through training are extremely bright. However, there was always something special about that one. I knew when Donny gave me the details, she would feel needed again. That’s important to her. A lot of dogs are good pals, but that girl has a soul.”

“How come she isn’t all over you?”

“I was her partner and don’t get me wrong, I love that dog. She’s really cool. But,” he nodded at Ruby nuzzling Alex’s cheek and licking her hand, “that’s her mama. She knows she’s still hurt, and she has no time for anyone else but Alex. That’s the way I want her.”

“Alex? You ready to stand up, hon? We need to go on in and have your hand looked at,” Molly urged. “Unless, you want Dallas to take you, like the last time?”

Understanding dawned in Alex, and she tilted her head at him.
Everyone had moved in, several taking a seat on the concrete parking lot just as Alex was. Dallas smiled in spite of the night. It ended better than he could have prayed for, even with her broken hand. She had been through hell and come out on the other side with the help of the large group surrounding them.

Kissing her forehead, he grinned. “You were seventeen back then. I had to call them, baby.”

She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. Glancing at John, the corner of her mouth tipped, “Thank you so much for letting Dallas get Ruby for me. I am not sure I could have survived this without her.”

“You are always stronger than you think you are, Alex. And as for Ruby, I couldn’t be more grateful she found the perfect home.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Why don’t you leave them a note?” Dallas said as he grabbed a pen out of the kitchen drawer. “Here, babe.”

Over the last three weeks, things slipped back to what he’d call
normal
. Except for one thing— by not moving back to his parents’ house, Dallas remained a permanent fixture in the Sterling household. Carter and Molly flew out two days ago to visit Jack at school and were due back later that afternoon. The weather was beautiful and for the last thirty minutes, he’d worked putting together a picnic for Alex and himself.

She bounced around the kitchen sticking a few extra goodies into the basket, humming as she went along. She was singing again and for
Dallas, that was the last sign. When they rode around the back roads in the Jeep, the summer air settling around them, she cranked up the stereo…and he turned it even louder. They drove along for hours, lost in their own world. Her feet propped up on the dash, her pink painted toes visible in her summer staple—flip flops. Her arms held out feeling the air, and belting out country song after song. That was the girl he’d missed so much. The love affair she’d always had with music had bloomed again, telling him more than words could.

Ruby, of course, was right there beside them all day, every day.

“Okay, I think we’re ready. I’ll get this. You want to grab the blankets?” Dallas winked as he lifted the basket off the counter. “Good God, girl, what all did you sneak in here, Lex?”

“Just a few things.” She grinned proudly. “Ruby, let’s go, baby doll.”

Beside the music, Dallas knew things were better just by reading their dog. Before, Ruby wouldn’t leave Alex’s side. Resting at her feet, or walking just inches from her at all times. Now, she was out the kitchen door, through the garage, and waiting with her tail wagging for someone to open the door to the Jeep. One soft bark told them to get a move on it. She cracked him up. Ruby would ride in his truck, but it was the Jeep she always assumed they were taking. More often than not, she was right.

Taking his sweet time,
Dallas rolled over the land. The access road was in, but the little boy in him always got a secret thrill of off-roading over the gentle hills and terraces. Work was done for the weekend, but the early signs of a house were there. The foundation was staked out, the little flags fluttering in the breeze, and the dozer had been brought in and unloaded. Next week, they would have a giant hole in the ground that would become their basement. Pulling close to the tree line, Dallas parked. Hefting the heavy basket from the backseat, he held his hand out for Alex and led her to the spot where their back deck would be at some point in the near future.

They spread out the blanket in the shade of the old trees and made themselves comfortable. Ruby trotted away, heading for the water flowing just inches deep over the creek bed. The last time
Dallas planned a picnic, he didn’t think to bring a towel. This time he was ready. When she came back soaking wet from playing in the stream and decided to shake herself off by them, they could dry off too.

Dallas
stretched out on the soft quilt his father had given him. Another family heirloom, but it came with very specific instructions. Eli gave them two quilts, both lovingly hand-stitched by the grandmother who belonged to the ring on Alex’s finger. One had always been used for outings and picnics, the other for winter nights by the fire. His father had known enough to spell it out, otherwise neither he, nor Alex would have dared to take a precious hand-me-down outside, let alone spread it out on the ground. But Eli insisted that Dallas’s great-grandmother would have been thrilled.

Alex crawled over and laid her head on his chest.

Smelling her soft perfume, he gathered her close, running his hands over her soft skin that summer clothing bared.

He remained steadfast in his belief she wasn’t ready for more. And the closer it came,
Dallas was excited he decided to wait until their wedding night to make her his. Alex had never said anything, but he knew her. She would never want to do anything to tarnish the view her parents held of her, and having sex in their home in her mind would be disrespectful. Even as a grown man, holding a beautiful woman in his arms, he agreed.

But, technically they were in their
own
home. Granted it had no walls, no floor, or a ceiling for that matter. But, they were still home. Laying Alex back on the blanket, he wiggled his eyebrows. Since they were home, they could fool around a little. “Before Ruby comes back and catches us, give me a kiss my, future Mrs. Hunter.”

Sliding her arms around his neck, Alex smiled and pulled him down on top of her. Working his leg in between hers was a mistake of epic proportions. Her tiny shorts left her leg almost completely bare, and instantly she wrapped it around him. “Oh God, Lex.” He breathed out before taking control of her mouth.

Soft kisses and touches were fine at bedtime in her parent‘s home, but when they were alone, things always turned into a blazing fire at the first touch. Years of waiting and wanting had built-up within them both. He truly did intend to wait until their wedding night, and had plans to make the night special for Alex. That didn’t mean she wasn’t testing each and every thread of his patience. Each soft moan, rapid breath, and pull of her fingertips ignited him.

Running his palm underneath her and down her back, he stopped with his hand on her butt, pressing himself into her. Alex whimpered, and he almost embarrassed himself like a horny teenage boy. Pulling his kiss back, he nipped at her lower lip, the hunger in her heavy-lidded eyes sent another surge of electricity shooting through him.

Kissing his way down her throat, Dallas stopped. Sitting up just enough to ease her tank top over her head, Dallas took a long minute to admire the bikini top, and the body in it. Running a finger along her skin, he watched her squirm, both from being lightly tickled, and from nerves. Trailing lower, he unhooked her shorts. “I think it’s too hot for this many clothes, baby. Don’t you think?” The smirk tipped her lips, but she remained quiet. Dallas pushed up to kneel, crossing his arms over his head, he yanked off his t-shirt, then slid her shorts down her trim legs. The tiny swimsuit she was wearing was insanely hot, and just a step away from being considered lingerie. She had promised it was for his eyes only when she’d shown it to him in the catalog.

Alex bent her knee as
Dallas’s eyes raked over her. She knew he was nervous about hurting her and had taken every step painfully slow. The flashbacks had quit coming, and as far as that night went, it was something she defeated. Pages had been filled in her worn leather notebook, her fears written down so they could be released.

Since
Dallas had proposed, she had returned to the woman she was before. He gave her strength and acceptance when she hadn’t given it to herself. He’d made her whole again. Upon doing that, little by little, she’d returned to the person who had been in love with him since she was little. Although the levels and layers had changed and deepened, the hunger had matured, and the need had swelled.

She knew
Dallas inside and out. She understood where his heart was, and his need to put her above himself. Alex knew he wasn’t denying her because she had been marked by another man—a monster. That wasn’t something Dallas would ever do. He loved her and because he did, he was waiting. She had figured him and his plan out long before, and that was fine. However, that did nothing to stop her from becoming a hot mess every time he looked at her with those penetrating gray eyes.

It was that damn laser-pointed stare he bored straight into her. He could be a happy, carefree guy most of the time, but other moments, she’d catch him looking at her as if he wanted to cross the room and have her at that very moment, circumstances be damned— much like he was at that very minute.

God, she needed more than just hot kisses that left her edgy and needy.

Biting her lip, she weighed her options and quickly formulated her own game plan that reeked of
I’m a virgin and I’ve never done this
, but hell, she was.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she tried for a sexy bedroom voice. “Um, eh, l-lay down,
Dallas.” Okay, that backfired. Starting off by stammering sounded really hot in
no one’s
book.

He was still kneeling and his abs were bare. She caught herself staring. Dragging her eyes up to meet his, she noticed the raised eyebrow. She pretended he wasn’t already onto her so she didn’t lose her nerve. A smile tugged at his mouth, but he moved and stretched out next to her.

“Come here, baby.”

Trading positions as she got to her knees, Alex shook her head.

It was hard not to get lost staring at him. He still sported the same scruffy hair that was longer than professional, and the sun-bleached tips curled at the tops of his ears and at his neck. His face though had become sculpted with age. The defined lines and his jaw were more rugged and made him look more handsome than the baby face she’d fallen for years ago. But, it was those eyes that were his only downfall. He’d never be a poker player with those grays. He was too easy to read.

Like now. She didn’t have to see he was fisting the blanket to know he was barely hanging onto his control. It made her feel more powerful than she ever had been before. To know a man who was in such control of her, of her safety, the one who saw to it she was happy, was the same man she could break with just one smoldering look.

Alex narrowed her eyes as she drank him in, appreciating the body he worked so hard to mold. It was the appreciation of one athlete to another, something they had grown used to over the years of dedicating themselves to a mutual sport. She was reaping all the benefits right now as she slowly, and with faked precision, started to straddle him as if she was a true sex-goddess who knew exactly what she was doing.

Leaning over, she grasped his hands, and he laced their fingers together. Then she moved their joined hands to his head. “Stay,” she whispered beginning to kiss him. Slow, lingering kisses that moved lower to his jaw, neck, and then his throat. Moving her way down his chest, she felt him twitch involuntarily, but he’d hit just the right spot and she squeaked, both surprised and wanting more.

“Lex, you need to stop, babe,” he said through clenched teeth.

She shook her head and proceeded downward, moving her whole body as she kissed a path down his. Running her fingers lightly over his lower stomach, she felt the
V
his muscles had drawn for her, and nuzzled her face against the soft line of dark hair that disappeared underneath the waistband of his swim trunks.

“Alex, I mean it, honey. No more. I can’t take it. I know we’ve teased each other a lot, but this is different.”

She disregarded his plea and shook her head again. Easing further down his body, she tucked her fingers into the band around his waist and started to tug. Not having much luck in being sexy, she realized they were caught on something that only continued to grow and make her plan harder to execute. Rising up a bit, Alex noticed the strained look that washed across Dallas’s face. Smiling to herself, it gave her a hint of encouragement to continue on. Carefully she lifted his waistband up and over him so she could slide his swim trunks down.

“Lex? Honey, what are you doing?” He breathed out while his eyes remained screwed shut.

Instead of answering with words, she filled him in on the details by placing a tentative kiss on
it
. He twitched instantly, and Alex had to bite her lip hard not to snicker as she watched completely fascinated. Not only had she never touched a man with her mouth, she’d never really gotten more than a glimpse of a man’s body. And that was only recently when she’d try to angle herself just right to catch Dallas’s reflection in the bathroom mirror as he was getting in or out of the shower. Maybe one of these days she’d tell him she damn near fell off the bed once as she was ogling him.

Now though, she was up close and getting personal with
it
.

She accidently giggled at the thought and wondered what to call it. Maybe she should name it, or was it normally just referred to as
him
?

Tilting her head, she studied all of
Dallas, and even ran a finger across the soft skin. It amazed her. He was soft as silk. A complete contrast to the man she thought of as rugged.

She knew from growing up with men their family jewels were fragile, but right now Dallas was as hard as steel. Growing braver, she slid her hand slowly around the length of him and realized she couldn’t wrap her fingers all the way around his width. Her eyes went wide, knowing where he was going to put that giant monstrosity on their wedding night.

“Don’t be scared, baby.”

Glancing up,
Dallas looked like a Cheshire cat. He’d been watching her. “But…he’s, you’re…so big?”

He raised his eyebrow, “Thank you? I’m going to take that as a compliment, even though I’m not sure if that’s how you meant it.”

He snickered and she knew he was teasing her. However, there was no embarrassment with Dallas. Not one feeling of inadequacy. She didn’t even think to be shy as she sat holding him in all his glory while he watched her. As a matter-of-fact, she was long past being ready. A surge went through her, her body clenching as a result, and a quick breath escaped. Suddenly, looking between his
thing
in her hand, and the hunger his face betrayed, Alex realized she was way in over her head. “I don’t even know what to call it.” She bit her lip.