Badge and a Saddle (Heroes in the Saddle Book 2) (11 page)

He moaned,
grumbled a cuss word, then pushed in further, deeper, until his hips hit her
thighs, and his balls scratched against her butt.

“Yes, Rex.” She
could feel a wave of invisible rays rolling steadily, building higher and
higher.

He leaned down and
kissed her. “You’re okay?”

“I’m yes okay. And
you?” Her brain wasn’t functioning at its optimal capability, evidently.

He smiled. “Yes
okay for me too.” Easing his hard shaft from her, he sucked in a breath. With
his next movement, he slid himself all the way into her.

Stars spun in her
brain, like a whirling universe all her own. “Yes, please.” She didn’t
recognize the pleading as her own voice. “Harder, please take me all the way.”
She wrapped her legs around his back.

“Mina.” His word
came out on a growl. He released his grip on her ass and braced that hand on
the other side of her head. “Hang on, Doc.”

She grabbed his
shoulders and did as he asked.

Rex pulled out,
slid in, and sped his movements, shifting his hips to the right, then the left,
then up and down with each thrust.

The exciting changes
in trajectory hit every part of her just perfectly, sending her floating on a
cloud of sweet tingles.

He pumped faster,
his mouth open and soft grunts coming from him. His eyes rolled back and
closed. With perfect accuracy, he moved and thrust, shifted and drove in,
pulled out and went back for more. Over and over he slid into her, the heat in
her core swirling through her, sending her so close to the edge of her climax,
she didn’t know how she held back, except that she wanted him to never stop.
She wanted forever.

He shook, from
hands to feet, and started jackhammering into her, straight and true, hard and
fast, hitting her so deep, new feelings surfaced, nothing like she’d ever felt
in her life. His pelvis rubbed perfectly against her clit, causing shards of
pleasure buzzing through her.

She had no choice,
her body let go, sent her soaring, spinning straight into space, dark and light
whirling around her, sparks sending trails of pleasure to her skin. Everything
concentrated on where he joined with her, her slick lips tingling, her core
contracting around him, her belly jittering as she broke out of her body for
one last spinning whirl, then slowly floated, drifted, glided.

Above her, his
body jerked, his cock seated deep inside her, once, twice, holding deep inside
as a low howl came from his chest and out of his mouth.

She wanted to
raise her hands to touch him, but her body had no muscles left, no feeling,
except where he joined with her.

A second later, he
crashed down on her, smooshing the breath from her in the most perfect embrace
she’d ever experienced. He rolled them onto their sides, his back against the
back cushions, his arms tight around her, holding her flat against him.

Rex’s heart beat
against her breast, fast and strong, and his breath brushed by her ear. They
lay quietly for a few minutes. “Jeez, Doc. You should have warned me.” He
kissed her temple and his body gave a quick shudder.

“Warned you about
what?” Her voice came low and soft, her mind still spinning with a sweet
aftershock of orgasm.

“How potent you
are, how everlastingly perfect you’d be for me.”

She kissed his
shoulder and snuggled closer. His words sent a happy ache to her heart. “I
think it’s the chemical structure of the two of us together. It’s like we were
meant to do this with each other.”

“Yep. Like we have
magnetic properties in our electrically conducting bloodstreams.”

She backed away a
few inches, her mouth dropping open. “You are amazing. You turned
magnetohydrodynamics into a bedroom sport.”

“No sport, it’s
serious business.” His mouth curved down. “I don’t want us to move forward like
this, though. I want to clear up everything first.”

He was right. “I
want you to believe that my lying to you was something I’ll never do again. I
was so afraid, I didn’t know who I could trust. I went with the person who
seemed the least likely to sell me out.” That night, she hadn’t known if she’d
live until morning. “I had to withhold the information about Tory to make you
more trusting of what I said.”

“I know, Mina. I
don’t fault you for it. I’d have done the same thing.”

That surprised
her. “I appreciate your saying that, but I’m not sure I believe you.” She gave
him a smile to soften her words.

“When I was a kid
on the res, I did a lot of lying to keep myself from getting beat up by the
other kids. Sometimes it got me into trouble with the teachers, or with my
parents. Even though I knew it was wrong, I felt I had to do it. I had to save
myself.” He rubbed his thumb on her arm. “You were in the same position.”

“Thank you for
sharing that with me. I carry a lot of guilt right now, but with your help, I
think I’ll get past it.” Tight in his arms, anything was possible. When she’d
been sitting in that copse of trees, listening to the gunfire, horrible things
had gone through her mind, like why hadn’t she tried to talk him into turning
Merle around and running? She knew he wouldn’t have. “You’re a brave man, Rex.”

“I am as brave as
I have to be.” He winked at her. “Protecting you was the easy part. Coming to
this college and facing you was a hell of a lot more difficult.”

Mina watched his
face. “You were brave to make the first move. I don’t know that I could have
done the same thing. I thought about camping out on your back porch until you
forgave me, but…” She shrugged. “You know.” Her lack of courage embarrassed
her.

“My crazy-ass
neighbor?” Rex grinned.

“No.” She patted
his chest. “My crazy-ass detective. When you realized I’d lied to you, it was
like watching a wall go up between us. I didn’t think you’d listen to me, so I
made that cryptic speech yesterday.” She closed her eyes, remembering how
desperate she’d been. Maybe more desperate than when she’d been on the run.

He tipped up her
chin. “It was those
special powers
of yours that brought out the
superhero in me. Had me taking time off work to come and see you.”

“I’m very happy
you did.” Emotion choked her throat, and words couldn’t make their way past it.

They lay for a
while, quiet, not sleeping, though. Was he thinking about the same things she
was? Where did they go now? How much could they expect from this? Was it just a
once-in-a-while thing?

“So, okay.” His
voice sounded unsure. “Stop me if I’m going too fast.”

She waited, but he
just breathed, as if he didn’t know how to start. “I like fast. Slow’s good,
too. What’s on your mind, Detective?”

“Doc, I think I’m
going nuts, but I keep seeing…us getting together once in a while.”

He pulled back and
looked into her eyes. “Like I said, stop me if I’m going in the wrong
direction.”

She shook her
head, happiness turning her lips up into a smile. “Right direction so far.”

“Good.” He took a
deep breath. “So, what do you think of us meeting on the ranch when we can both
get away?”

On the ranch?
Halfway between Austin and Fort Worth, just like she’d daydreamed that day
they’d ridden out on Merle. “I like the idea. But…where on the ranch?” She
didn’t care for staying in the house he’d shared with his ex-wife.

“Bennet says he
likes the foreman’s house. Better view, easier to get around in.”

“He wants to live
there?”

“Yep. And with the
insurance money I’ll be getting, I can fix and remodel the old place.”

She could imagine a
fresh coat of paint on that lovely old house. “Bring it back to its old glory?
I’d really like to see that.”

He grinned and
stroked her short hair. “Aw, Mina. I’m glad you said that. I love that house.”
His hand gently gripped her butt. “I’ve been thinking about turning part of the
upstairs into a master suite. Put in a big bathroom, with a large tub where we could
laze away the weekends.”

“It sounds
perfect.” She rubbed her palm on his ribs. “Like a getaway.”

“If I put a deck
off the bedroom, you could…have a telescope.”

Another burst of
tears flooded her eyes. “Damn, Rex. How did you ever get to be so sweet?”

He laughed. “Sweet?
Doc, if you think I’m sweet all the time, you’re going to be in for an unhappy
surprise.”

“No, I’m not. You
are sweet, and brave, and kind of funny in a snarky sort of way.”

“Uh, sure. If you
say so.”

“In fact, I have
the perfect test of your bravery.” He was
not
going to like this.

He just lifted an
eyebrow.

“Tonight’s the
night I meet my dad for supper every week.” After she said it, she wished she
hadn’t. She was moving too fast. She opened her mouth to give him an easy out.

He shrugged. “Sure.
I’m up for that.” His eyes shifted a little. “As long as he knows I’m the guy
who kept you safe.”

“Oh, he knows.” Of
course, it had taken her a while to convince him that Rex had good reason for
not allowing her to call her dad to let him know she was all right.

“Just so I’m
prepared, what does he teach?”

She pulled a face.
“Law. Specifically, defense law.”

He jerked back.
“Are you kidding?”

Mina shook her
head slowly. “No. This should make for an interesting dinner, huh?”

“Huh.” He pulled
her close and rubbed his jaw on her hair. “I knew you were gonna be trouble the
minute I saw you on my back porch.”

She let herself
relax into his arms, knowing he held her future—their future—in his big,
beautiful heart. “Funny, I saw
your
face and thought, this guy is going
to make me very, very happy.”

“I can do that, Doc.
Just hang on and trust me.”

“I do, Rex. I
trusted you with my life. Now, I’m ready to trust you with my heart.”

He pulled back and
looked into her eyes.

She saw no fear in
his gaze, only the twinkle of a silent promise made between two desperately
searching souls.

####

Ready for the third book in the Heroes in the Saddle
Series? Clint’s book
is
next,
so be sure to join my newsletter mailing list so you will be the first to know
when his story is available.

Do you want to know more
about Treven and Delta? You had a little hint of how they met in Badge and a
Saddle, and now you can read the entire book! Hot in the Saddle is available now.
Find out where you can get your copy at my
Website
.

Here's a sneak peek:

Treven and Delta’s Story:

Hot in the Saddle

Chapter
One

Treven Arnett pulled his
white straw cowboy hat down tighter on his head as a breeze blew across the
infield of Wild Oak Speedway. The roar of the super stock cars’ engines
surrounded him as drivers jockeyed for the lead in the race’s final laps. Dirt
track racing had become his favorite live sport now that this part of Texas had
installed its very own oval.

He’d volunteered to serve
on the firefighting crew today, and had put in his hours during the morning
race. Despite all the work he needed to get done at his ranch, here he sat,
sipping a beer with another off-duty firefighter, watching the end of the race.

“One more, buddy?”
Treven’s friend Clint reached into his cooler and pulled out a can of brew,
water dripping from both the beer and Clint’s hand.

Treven could almost taste
another ice cold pilsner slipping down his throat, but he shook his head. He
needed to get home and get some work done. “Thanks, but I should get moving.
The horses don’t breed themselves.”

Clint laughed as he
opened the beer then ran his wet fingers through his short blond hair. “Not in
this day and age, they don’t.”

The dozen thoroughbreds
Treven owned and/or stabled on his property three miles away kept him busy and
in property-tax and vet-bill money, but he had to work his ass off twelve to
sixteen hours a day, most days.

“Ms. Delta Pennington.”
The announcer’s voice blared from the speakers. “Our southern belle in the
number thirteen car has taken third place from Randy Vinter, and is moving up
fast to challenge Beau Trudeaux for second.”

Treven had gotten a peek
at the lovely Ms. Delta as she’d inspected her car before the race. With her
sunglasses on, he couldn’t see her trademark eyes, but her brown hair touched
her shoulders in thick layers, and those sexy bangs blew around her forehead.
She’d looked at him for long moments, nodded, then moved on.

Delta being the first
woman to compete on this new track, Treven hoped she’d take first, or at least
one of the top positions. He liked that she went after her passion in a
male-centered world like stock car racing.

Treven stood. “I’m gonna
make my way out.” He needed to cross the oval to get to the parking lot where
emergency responders left their vehicles. “See you next weekend.”

“Next weekend, not
before.” Clint responded, his blue eyes going serious.

Treven got moving, his
boots kicking up dust as he strode across the newly-planted grass. The Wild Oak
volunteer firefighters kept good karma coming their way by never admitting
there might be another chance to see each other—like a fire at a local home or
business.

The race cars circled the
track for the second-from-last lap. As he walked, Treven rolled down the
sleeves on his blue denim shirt and buttoned them, figuring he’d stop and pick
up a few dozen bales of hay on his way home.

Nearing the oval, he
slowed and waited, not stupid enough to cross the track until the race was
over.

“Oh, lordy, look at
that!” The announcer’s voice squeaked.

Treven swiveled his head
as a car spun into the infield about fifty yards from him. He prepared to bolt
one way or the other, but the dark blue car with yellow lettering slid to a
stop.

Then exploded.

####