JustOneTaste (12 page)

She, however, did not.

* * * * *

“He’s going to make it.” The veterinarian’s announcement
sent relief free-falling through David. He’d done his best to keep it together
while Buster had been on the examining table but the truth was he adored the
daft mutt.

Being that Buster and Keaton were working dogs, David knew
better than to get too attached. Today’s events reminded him exactly why. But
he’d brought them both home as pups from the same litter soon after he’d moved
to Windy Valley, and Uncle Fred’s trusty canine Scruff had died not long after
his owner. The collies had stayed up with him late at night from the beginning,
when he’d struggled to balance the winery’s books. They’d kept him company in
the lonely days after Melissa left. If David had lost Buster to a snakebite he
would have been seriously cut up about it.

“Thanks.” David sighed, giving Dr. Shaw a grateful smile and
a laconic understatement. “I really didn’t want to lose him today.”

“No problem. Luckily we had the antivenin on hand and you
guessed right that the snake was an Eastern brown. But I would like to keep the
fella overnight for observation.”

David made arrangements to pick Buster up the following day
and gave the dog a heartfelt hug before leaving the vet’s office. Outside, he
found Sarah crouching beside his truck, displaying much the same affection
toward Keaton.

The sight of her slammed into him as it did each time he
encountered her. The late-afternoon sun slanted across the car park, sending
shafts of golden orange through her blonde tresses. All weekend she’d left her
hair loose the way he liked it. The memory of how those locks had tickled his
chest as she kissed her way down his body last night had his loins firing
despite the stress of the past hour. Nothing could temper his strong reactions,
both physical and emotional, to Sarah Harrington.

Perhaps sensing how intensely his inspection focused on her,
Sarah turned to meet his eyes. She shot instantly to her feet, her lips parted.
David answered her question before she could ask it. “He’s going make it. He
won’t be fetching sticks for a while but he’ll pull through.”

Her relief was obvious. “I’m so glad. I don’t know how I
could have lived with myself if he died.”

“Hey, none of this was your fault.” Touching her cheek,
David gave her a reassuring smile. “I don’t blame you. No one can predict what
a snake’s going to do.”

“Especially not a Yank, right?” Her acidic tone warned him
that he might have gone too far with that particular jibe.

“I was only teasing before, trying to lighten the mood.”

The arch of her brow was sardonic. “Well done.”

David dropped his hand from her face and shoved it into his
front pocket to pull out his car keys. “I appreciate how much you care about my
dog but there’s no reason to be so upset. Why don’t we head back home? I’ll
light a fire, fix us something to eat—”

“It’s not my home.”

David’s heart skipped a beat, making him slightly ill. He’d
known this was coming. It was Sunday afternoon, time for Sarah to head back to
Melbourne. He’d begun to hope she might stay another night but he was getting
the distinct impression that optimism had been precipitous. Her stance and the
chill in her voice didn’t bode well.

Giving him a level stare, Sarah repeated, “This is not my
home.”

“It could be.”

Chapter Thirteen

The words were out before David realized what he was going
to say. The heart that had been suspended in his chest suddenly started
galloping like a thoroughbred. The surprise in Sarah’s demeanor mirrored his
shock.
What the hell are you saying, Genero?

Shaking her head, Sarah took a step back from him. “No, I
don’t belong here. It’s time we both accepted that. I have to go back to my
real life.”

David knew it was too soon, way too soon to put these
particular cards on the table but he’d already started down the path toward
insanity. There was no choice but to stumble along it, even in the face of
Sarah’s apparent determination to cut him out completely. “Admit it, you had a
great time this weekend.
I
had a great time—with you. You can’t tell me
it’s not true.”

She was obviously about to deny it but then her expression
relaxed a bit. “Yes, I had a great time.”

“It doesn’t have to end, does it?” Taking a step forward,
David grasped her shoulders, holding her still so she had to face him. He saw
the blue of her gaze turn cloudy like it did when her resolve was weakening. He
drew her closer to the warmth of his body. “We work well together, lady. Say
you’ll come back next week or the week after that. You pick the schedule. Just
don’t say that it’s over.”

Like shutters slamming over windows, Sarah’s defenses came
to the fore. Her expression turned to stone. “We work well together in bed,
David. That’s not enough to base a relationship on.”

“You’re understating things. In bed we’re fantastic.” He
stroked his hands up and down her arms, lightly brushing his thumbs over the
sides of her breasts as he did. David was gratified to see a glimmer of desire
spark in her eyes. His groin stirred in response. “I couldn’t get enough of you
last night, or early this morning, or at noon when we escaped to the house for
lunch.”

Her cheeks grew pink at the reminder of their “lunch” break,
which had had very little to do with feeding their stomachs and a lot to do
with feasting on each other. “David, I—”

“I’ve never been wrapped up in anyone this way. Have you?”

Her eyes flashed, the sheen of tears almost obscuring the pain
in them. Almost. “Yes,” she choked. “I have and it was a disaster, okay?”

Feeling as if he’d been kicked in the stomach, David
loosened his grip on her arms.

Abruptly, she pushed away from him. “Now, will you please
take me back so I can go home?”

David watched, helplessness gripping him, as Sarah climbed
into his car and slammed the door after her. Keaton stood beside him, giving a
pitiful whimper that gave voice to David’s own sense of hurt and bewilderment.

He was officially an idiot, presuming Sarah’s passion for
him was as unique as his for her. His lungs refused to work properly, making
his breath shallow as he opened the back door for Keaton then walked around the
car to slip behind the wheel. Without a word, he started the engine and headed
back to Windy Valley.

Neither of them said anything until David pulled his truck
into the driveway in front of the cottage and cut the engine. The silence that
fell was thick with unspoken words. Beyond the windshield, the sun was sinking
into the horizon, gilding the rows and rows of vines laid out behind the house.
This time yesterday, he and Sarah had been headed up to the house searching for
warmth and more of each other. Last night he’d told her he was falling in love
with her.

But apparently that was nothing special.

David reached into the back and opened the car door for
Keaton, who tumbled out and trotted up to the veranda alone. Eventually, David
spoke, his voice scratching his throat. “We’re here. You’re free to go.”

Sarah remained in the passenger seat, her arms crossed over
her chest. She stared out the windshield, as David did. Quietly, she said, “I’m
not saying this weekend hasn’t been amazing.”

“You don’t have to sugarcoat anything for me. I get it,
you’re not…” He was too embarrassed to complete the sentence.
You’re not in
love with me
sounded so pathetic. He tried for something less humiliating.
“You’re not willing to give us a shot.”

“It’s not as simple as that for me. You don’t understand.”

“Then make me understand.” Anger swelled, blessedly pushing
aside the hurt—temporarily. “I’m not worth the effort, is that it?”

“No, that’s not it. I…I’ve been here before. I’ve let
infatuation blind me to the truth and I won’t let myself do that again.”

David stared at her. “Who was he?”

“Someone I met a long time ago. I was…God, only twenty-two.
He was an artist, a sculptor. I’d never met anyone like him. When I was with
him it was like nothing else existed, nothing else mattered. He was so
antiestablishment, so the opposite of every man I’d dated. I thought he didn’t
care about material things. When he asked me to marry him, I didn’t hesitate.”
She let out a derisive sound. “I was so happy.”

David listened in silence, calling himself all sorts of fool
for the cold jealousy that seeped through him. But hearing Sarah talk about
another man like that stung. His tone was gruff. “What happened?”

Sarah sighed. “My father offered him a quarter of a million
dollars to get out of my life. He took it.”

Who was her father, J.R. Ewing? And as for her former
fiancé…what a bastard. “He was an idiot with no clue what he had in you.”

“You’ve got that right. If he’d held out until we were
married he could have walked away with so much more.”

“That is
not
what I meant.”

“Don’t do this, David.”

“Do what?”

“Be nice. Be supportive. Don’t try to convince me my
relationship mistakes were all the other party’s fault.”

“If the guy chose cash over you, the end of your
relationship was
entirely
his fault.”

Letting out an exasperated huff, Sarah yanked on the handle
and shoved open the car door. David followed suit, matching her long strides
toward the porch. Over her shoulder, Sarah yelled, “You don’t get it!”

“What am I supposed to get? That you once fell for an
opportunistic prick and so you’re resigning yourself to a life alone?”

“Twice. I accepted
two
proposals from opportunists.”
Sarah pushed open the front door, stalked through it and headed for the
bedroom, presumably on a mission to collect the few things she’d brought with
her. She walked to the dresser, gathering the items she’d left out on top of it
and shoving them into her bag. “Brent was no better. He had money but not the
kind of reputation the Harrington name could give him. That’s all he wanted
from me. I can only thank my lucky stars I found him screwing some bimbo over
his office desk before the wedding, instead of after.”

“Jesus.” David dragged a hand through his hair. “What’s
wrong with these guys?”

“There’s a common denominator here you’re ignoring.” Sarah
flicked him a sharp glance. “Me.”

“You didn’t deserve what either of those jerks did to you.
You’ve had some bad luck, that’s all.”

“No. Once is bad luck. Twice is poor judgment.” She shook
her head firmly. “Three times would be utter lunacy.”

“So what are you saying?” David asked, his tone cooling.
“That I’m just like your ex-fiancés? You still think I’m after your money?”

She didn’t quite answer that. “We can’t just ignore that I
have it. People will think—”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what people think!” David
roared, causing Sarah to jump. Lunging forward, he grabbed hold of her arm. He
lifted her hand and pressed it to his shirt, over the spot where his heart was
thumping wildly against his chest. He forced her to stare into his eyes, hoping
she’d see the depth of emotion in them and know it wasn’t a fabrication. “All I
care about is how you feel.”

“How I feel isn’t the point.”

“Bullshit! Tell me the truth, damn it.” His heart pounding
against his ribs, David searched her face, hoping to find the answer in her
expression. “Tell me what you see when you look at me. A man with dollar signs
on his mind? Or the only man who’s ever truly loved you?”

David’s heart pounded against her palm and Sarah tried to
imagine him faking this kind of ardor. She’d told him she’d experienced
emotions like this before but that hadn’t been the truth. What she’d had with
Travis Lund was little more than immature lust compared to this…this swamping
sense of desire. What she felt for David was deeper, more poignant than what
she’d experienced at twenty-two.

But at thirty-three, surely she was supposed to know better
than to blindly follow her heart?

“Talk to me, Lady Sarah.” His voice was silky, coaxing. If
he’d continued to yell Sarah might have had the strength to yell back, to cut
him out in one swift laceration. But the raw emotion in his tone, the slight
tremble in his fingers when he touched them to her chin, made her heart quake
in response. “Look at me now and tell me what you see.”

Although she tried, Sarah couldn’t see her past mistakes in
David’s espresso eyes. She could only see now, this moment. She could only see
the truth of his emotions and have faith in them, despite every ounce of common
sense that warred with that faith. Swaying toward him, she reached for his
shoulder and clung to it.

“I see myself,” she confessed. “You look at me like you
really see me, like we’re simply Sarah and David and nothing else matters.”

His smile appeared, the joy in it shaky yet incandescently
bright. Curling his hand around her nape, he brought their foreheads together
so their panted breaths mingled in the narrow gap between them. “That’s right.
Nothing matters but us. There’s only this.”

When he angled his head to kiss her, Sarah met him halfway.
She couldn’t resist the pull between them. The instant their lips met, a surge
of desire rose within her like a geyser. Need was like a hot force propelling
her forward. She didn’t kiss him—she ravaged his mouth. Catching her mood,
David kissed her back with the same brutality. He bit her lips, thrust his
tongue out to meet hers.

With frantic hands, Sarah reached for his jeans, releasing
the top snap and parting the fly over the solid ridge of his erection. His
flesh was hot against her knuckles. Sarah curled her fingers around him through
his underwear, rubbing the searing length of his arousal through the layer of
cotton.

He muttered a curse, reaching for her jeans and fumbling
with the buttons. Sarah helped him and together they pushed the denim and the
white cotton underwear to her knees. Impatient, David thrust a hand between her
legs, probing her opening and finding it slick and ready. He groaned his
appreciation and shoved two fingers high and tight inside her.

Sarah arched, grabbing the timber slats of the bed behind
her for balance as she threw her head back. “Yes! Oh yes.”

His eyes were glazed as he watched her respond to his touch.
He circled his thumb over her clit and Sarah almost came right then and there.
She stopped herself only with the thought that she wanted more. She wanted
David’s cock inside her—she needed it.

“Fuck,” he swore, clarity coming to his expression. “I need
a bloody condom.”

“No.” She didn’t want him to move even a foot away from her.
If he did she might come to her senses and deny herself this—this last,
precious time. Turning her hands on the bed’s timber railing, Sarah swiveled so
her back was to David, her ass nestled to his groin. “I’m on the Pill. I want
you inside me. Now.”

“Oh Christ.” David flexed his hips, the move pressing his
solid cock into the valley between her ass cheeks. “Are you sure? You trust
me?”

Sarah might have laughed if she wasn’t teetering on a
tightrope of need so precarious every muscle in her body held tense. Trust the
man who wouldn’t do a thing with her until he’d driven fifteen miles to buy
condoms from a smart-mouthed teenager? David was responsible, caring. He’d told
her he hadn’t had a woman here since Melissa, and Sarah believed him.

She peered over her shoulder at the mixture of caution and
passion in his countenance. “I got tested after Brent and there hasn’t been
anyone but you since. Please, David.”

To reiterate her point, Sarah thrust her ass back, wiggling
it against David’s erection. The action elicited the response she was aiming
for. With a groan of surrender, David repositioned himself so the head of his
cock ran along the seam of her pussy. Sarah pressed backward, seeking more.
With a vicious yank, David grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it upward,
exposing her breasts. He took one nipple between his thumb and forefinger and
tweaked it at the same time he pushed forward, impaling her on his cock.

The sense of rightness, of fulfillment, shocked Sarah, as it
did every time. It almost made her orgasm, merely from knowing it was David
inside her, David drawing back before driving in again, so hard and full she
cried out in sheer delight. David, his breath hot on her neck, his hand warm
and skillful at her breast, his hips ramming viciously into her ass as he
fucked her cunt like a man possessed. With her jeans still tangled around her
knees, Sarah could barely move and she didn’t want to. She didn’t want this to
end.

But the urgency propelled her upward, her body reaching for
release even as she wished she could linger, stay with David buried deep inside
her forever. He bit into her throat, causing a shiver to run straight from that
spot to her throbbing clit. Intuiting her response, David trailed his hand
downward, searching for and finding the inflamed nub. He fluttered a finger
over it.

Crying out, Sarah gyrated, helpless to hold back the
beginnings of a climax.

David’s pace accelerated in reply. “Feels so good with
nothing between us. I’m going to lose my cum inside you.”

She felt his shudder, heard his animal moan. He was coming
and the knowledge made Sarah explode in a burst of magnificent sensation.
Banding an arm around her torso, David held her against his solid body,
supporting her as her knees turned to water and her grip on the bed slipped.
Still buried deep and thrusting his last, he held her tight and whispered into
her ear, his voice hoarse, “God, I love you, Sarah. I love you.”