StudinTexas (8 page)

“So did Sam tell you about Charlotte?” Reese asked.

“No.”

“Hmm. Well, it doesn’t really matter. He’s long over her and
she’s getting married. But he does feel as though he doomed the relationship
because he kept her from his parents for so long. An understandable thing to
do, given their rather vulture-like natures. They just love to peck at people.”

Sky said, “I’m sure he’ll mention it if he feels it’s
necessary. But opening up the ex-files isn’t always for the best.” She hated
that she’d had to do it. Would have preferred to start something with Sam when
she had a clean slate. Unfortunately, due to her current predicament, she
hadn’t had much choice but to tell him about Mac.

“I suppose you’re right. I would love it if Caleb knew
nothing about Tommy.”

“He turned out to be quite the horse’s ass.”

“Did he ever.”

They talked a bit more about how Caleb stepped in to save
the day for Reese when it came to her unfaithful ex-husband, who’d spread some
nasty rumors around town about Reese during their split. Then Reese dashed off
to draft her online ad, and Sky finished the first round of desserts for the
evening’s diners.

She went to work on the second round—a rich carrot cake—with
thoughts of Sam on her mind.

After the dining room closed, Sky joined Reese and Caleb for
a late dinner. Sam was nowhere in sight. Disappointment swept through her.
Hadn’t he invited her this evening? Usually, she headed straight back to
Luckenbach, given the drive. But she’d purposely stuck around tonight.

Following their pork chops, she set a fresh cinnamon-apple
pie on the table, with vanilla ice cream to complement it.

She’d taken only one bite when Sam climbed the stairs to the
deck and sank into the chair next to her.

“Sorry I missed dinner,” he announced. He draped an arm
along the back of Sky’s chair and leaned in close to say, “’Specially since I
was looking forward to seeing you.”

His words and the way he practically devoured her with his
hungry gaze chased away her disappointment.

“I made pie,” she told him. “Caleb said it’s your favorite.”

“Good old-fashioned, all-American apple pie,” Sam said. “You
just can’t beat it.”

“Lucky for you, there’s still a few slices left.”

Sam dug in. Sky was halfway through her own slice when she
realized it was much too quiet at their table. She glanced up from her plate
and asked, “What’s with all the tension?”

Sam and Caleb exchanged looks. Then Caleb and Reese did the
same, before she gave a slight nod of her head.

Dread crawled through Sky’s veins.

Caleb set aside his fork and said, “The reason Sam missed
dinner, which I didn’t tell you about, is because he had some extra work to do.
He spent the better half of the day making arrangements for a new horse.”

Sam eyed his brother. “I told you to let her know I couldn’t
get away for dinner after you left the stable.”

Sky looked at Caleb. “Why would you keep this from me?”

“It’s a particularly bad case,” Reese explained. “Caleb only
just barely started to tell me about it and I just… I couldn’t listen anymore.”
Tears welled in her tawny eyes. “We thought it might be best if you didn’t know
about it at all.”

Sky’s stomach roiled at the obviously dire situation. She
pushed her plate away. “But you guys will fix him up, so…?”

Sam did the same with his plate, not getting through his
slice, either.

Not a good sign coming from a dessert man.

He said to Sky, “Just like some of the things you picked up
on right away about me, darlin’, I saw immediately how attached you become to
the horses at the ranch. Fortunately, all of our current ones are on the road
to recovery. This new one, though… Well, he’s in real bad shape. We might not
be able to save him.”

“
What?
” Her heart fractured—and she hadn’t even met
the horse yet.

In a somber tone, Caleb said, “I might have to put him
down.”

“I knew you’d be upset,” Reese told her. “So I asked Caleb
to not say anything.”

“Well, I’m not the only one who’s upset,” she said as she
glanced around the table.

“True,” Sam concurred, “but it would be best if you and
Reese stayed away from the med facility when we bring him in from Austin. Trust
me, you don’t want to see this one, darlin’.”

Caleb added, “I have an arrangement with a vet who takes on
our more difficult cases and stabilizes them before they come to us. He’s done
all he can, and he needs the space freed up in his facility. So we’re going to
take on the horse and see if we can improve his condition.”

“What kind of horse?” Sky asked.

“Darlin’, the less you know, the better,” Sam told her.

“This story really will break your heart,” Reese insisted
with watery eyes.

Sky stared at Sam. He sighed. Then he said, “Another
Arabian.”

Such beautiful, majestic animals. She felt sick to her
stomach that someone had abused him.

Sam leaned in close again and said, “Trust me, Sky. Don’t
get involved with this one, because he doesn’t have much of a chance of pulling
through.”

She nodded. “I appreciate you sparing my feelings.”

He kissed her on the cheek, obviously not even caring what
Caleb or Reese might make of it. Then he told her, “Think about all the horses
that survive. Even Midnight’s doing better, with your help. And Bells likes you
coming around too. They all do.”

She glanced over at Reese. “Are
you
okay?”

Reese swiped at a couple more tears, then said, “This is the
downside of rescuing abused animals. They can’t all be saved.”

Her insides coiled. She looked back at Sam. He gave a slight
shake of his head.

“Don’t go getting any ideas.” He didn’t need to say anything
more. She’d told him last night that he couldn’t save everybody. She’d said it
flippantly. Now it left her unsettled to think it actually might be true when
it came to this new horse, because she knew how seriously he took the ranch’s
rescue mission.

He and Caleb had to be hurting, knowing they might not be
able to improve the horse’s condition. To have to put him down would weigh
heavy on their hearts and their minds for a long time.

And how much more traumatizing would it be for Sam, given
the past demons he’d battled?

The pretzel that was her insides didn’t loosen, but she
forced a soft smile and said to Sam, “Maybe this horse will surprise you.”

He’d said the same thing to her about Midnight…and they were
making progress, right?

Sam invited Sky to take a walk down by the lake after they’d
cleared the dishes. The conversation had been stilted at the dinner table, with
the mood turning sullen because of the new horse.

Sky agreed to go with him, but she didn’t seem to have much
to say. They strolled along the shoreline, Sam’s arm around her shoulders. The
water lapped against the rocks and the moonlight sprinkled glittery rays over
the placid surface.

When his cottage came into view, she gestured toward it and
asked, “Is that yours?”

He nodded. “Want a tour?”

“Sure.”

He showed her the grounds, then escorted her inside. He’d
worked with an architect to draft an open and spacious floor plan, with the
focal point being the floor-to-ceiling, wood-encased windows and doors that
showcased the lake.

Sky stood in the living room, staring out the glass panes,
and said, “This is so beautiful. With a view like this, I’m not sure I’d ever
want to leave the house.”

He grinned. “Caleb is some visionary, I’ll tell you that
much. He saw all the potential this property offered and moved heaven and Earth
to acquire it.”

“I respect the fact that you two are so close. Supportive,
not competitive.”

“Well, when you meet our parents, you’ll know why we stick
together. Beer?”

“Please.”

Sam popped the top off two bottles and carried them over to
where she still stood, staring out at the lake. He caught her gaze in the
reflection from the window and said, “You could stay the night. We don’t have
to do anything. You’d be safe here.”

She turned to face him and accepted the beer. She took a
couple sips, then told him, “It is kind of late to be driving back to
Luckenbach. And I already know I’d be safe here. You don’t have to reassure
me.”

His head dipped and his lips glided over hers. A whisper of
a kiss. “Make yourself at home. You can take one of the guest rooms. Or mine,
if you want. I’ll sleep on the couch. Whatever works best for you.”

She stole a glance at the leather sofa and then said, “Looks
comfy and cozy.”

He let out a low grunt. “You wanna join me?”

“Yeah,” she said without hesitation. “I do.”

Sam set his bottle on an end table and did the same with
hers. Then he brushed his fingers over her apple cheeks, loving the silky feel
of her skin. He kissed her slowly, deeply. One of her hands slipped around to
his back. The other gripped his upper arm, causing the muscles to flex.

She dragged her mouth from his and murmured, “Show off.”

He chuckled. “It’s purely involuntary. Every inch of me
responds to a kiss from you.”

“I’m right there with you, cowboy.”

They kissed again, the languid and leisurely liplock
gradually turning into a hot, intense one. Sam’s arms slipped around her waist
and he lifted her slightly off her feet to carry her over to the sofa.

He sank onto a cushion, bringing her with him. He leaned
back and when she was sprawled on top of him, he broke their kiss and said,
“Nothing feels quite as good as your body against mine.”

Their tongues tangled and heat rushed through his veins, but
Sam had vowed to take it slow for her sake. Yet he didn’t abandon kissing her.
He just tried to keep his hands from roaming. It wasn’t too much of a hardship,
considering she was pressed against him, her breasts nestled below the ledge of
his pectoral muscles. And their kisses were hotter than hell. Sexy and sensual,
with a healthy dose of mutual desire to fuel them.

He cupped the side of her face with his hand and continued
the erotic dance their mouths did. Their breathing turned heavy. His cock
strained against the fly of his jeans. Every fiber of his being cried out for
more, but he kept to his word. Their current situation didn’t rattle her cage.
Something more than that might.

He’d let her lead. As long as he could keep kissing her, he
didn’t mind following.

When she finally pulled slightly away and stared down at him
with an arousing mixture of lust and admiration in her eyes, he could barely
breathe.

She said, “You might make me forget more than just my name.”

He knew to what she referred. He told her, “I’d do anything
to wipe that memory from your mind. And to make you believe in your heart it’d
never happen again, if you were with me.”

“I want to be with you.”

Sam groaned. “Isn’t that just the best damn news I’ve gotten
all day.”

“I’d help you out too. If I could…”

“I still don’t want you around the new horse, darlin’. Don’t
even try to sweet talk me into it.”

“I wouldn’t,” she admitted. “But there has to be something I
can do.”

“Keep kissing me.”

She did.

Sam had no idea what time it was when they finally rolled
onto their sides, facing each other. He stretched an arm over his head and
turned off the light, the only one he’d flipped on from the switch on the wall
when they’d entered the cottage. Then he dragged the throw from the back of the
sofa and draped it over them. His head rested on a pillow.

“Snuggle up next to me,” he said as their legs twined and he
wrapped an arm around her. He stroked her hair as her warm breath teased a
sensitive spot on his neck.

He was hard and wanting her, but he closed his eyes and
found a huge amount of peace with the fact that she was here with him, safe and
sound.

For most of the night, Sam drifted in and out of sleep, his
body wound too tight from sexual tension to allow a full slumber. He was also
alert, his subconscious mind toying with the fact that Sky’s ex was still out
there somewhere. Stalking her? Planning his next attack? Who knew?

She stirred beside him and then he felt her warm lips graze
his skin at the opening of his shirt. Her fingers curled around the material
there.

His low groan filled the quiet room.

Her mouth explored the exposed part of his chest and his
groin tightened. So did his arms around her.

“You’re awake,” she whispered against his flesh.

Her lips brushed his throat and it did crazy-wicked things
to him.

“Just making sure you’re doing okay.”

“I was out like a light,” she told him. “The first time in
longer than I can remember that I wasn’t practically sleeping with one eye
open.”

He relaxed a little. She trusted him. She felt comfortable
with him. She knew he’d do everything in his power to protect her.

Sam whisked away a few loose strands from her face that had
escaped her ponytail. He dropped light kisses along her cheek, her temple, her
forehead. She burrowed closer to him. His mouth captured hers and they were
back to the scorching-hot kissing that drove him wild.

Her fingers worked the buttons on his shirt and then her
palm slid over his chest. A nail gently scraped his nipple and his cock surged
with desire. Her hand swept lower, to his abs. Without breaking their kiss, he
yanked the tail of the shirt from the waist of his jeans. Her hand shifted
around to his back, touching him intimately. Making him burn.

Sam’s fingers threaded through her hair. She commanded his
passion in a way he’d never experienced before. Charlotte had been timid, even
somewhat demure. He’d been with other women with more assertive natures, but
he’d never felt this strongly about any of them. Nor had he been so consumed
with lust. And an internal yearning he couldn’t quite define, it was so
foreign.

When Sky eventually pulled away from him, she whispered in
the dark, “I want you.”

Sam’s entire being reacted to her words. And the need in her
voice.

But he’d made her a promise. “I don’t have to tell you that
I feel the same. But darlin’, I’m in no rush. Don’t think I am.”

“You’re a saint. And I want you.” She kissed him again.

Sam rolled onto his back, taking her with him. She lay on
top of him once more, and he reveled in his good fortune to have her in his
arms.

Against his lips, she muttered, “Touch me.”

He groaned again. Christ, everything inside him was so tight
and raw, it was a wonder he could think straight. But he managed to say, “You
know I’d stop if you asked me to.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to. This is different, Sam. You know
it.”

“I do.”

His hand slipped under her shirt and caressed her skin at
the dip of her waist.

Sky let out a sigh of contentment. “I picked the wrong men
in the past. Funny that Reese picked the right one for me.”

“Sometimes friends see something you don’t.”

She left feathery kisses along his jaw, then asked, “And you
don’t mind?”

“Notice how hot I am for you.”

She laughed softly. “Sizzling chemistry.”

“How lucky are we?”

Sky was quiet a moment, then said, “I can answer that
honestly for myself. But you’ve walked into something complicated.”

“I’d do it again. In a heartbeat.”

Her lips touched his. He easily lost himself in her kiss.
His hands moved up her rib cage, to her breasts. He palmed them and caressed
them. Then his thumbs slid over her puckered nipples, rubbing them through the
lace of her bra.

She moaned and it was all he could do not to strip her bare
and taste every inch of her.

Instead, he moved his hands down her sides and cupped her
perfectly rounded ass. His leg was wedged between her parted ones and he used a
bit of pressure to grind her sex against his thigh.

She gasped. “Sam.”

“Just want you as hot as I am.”

“Already there,” she assured him.

He kept one hand on her butt and slipped the other one
between their bodies. He unbuttoned her jeans. Slid the zipper down its track.
Then his hand eased behind the waistband of her satin panties and his fingers
glided over small, dewy lips.

“Sam,” she said again on a sharp breath. She kissed him and
then whispered, “Yes.”

He stroked her slowly, his fingers massaging her labia as he
gave her lazy, tongue-less kisses that teased them both.

Her hand curved around his neck and her body moved above
his, telling him how restless he made her.

His fingers homed in on her clit, in a circular motion, and
she moaned into his mouth. Fire roared through his veins, hot and bright.

“I want to make you come,” he told her.

“Yes,” she repeated. The need in her voice intensified.
“Everything you do to me feels so good. So right.”

He kissed her, his tongue delving deep this time. He
increased the pressure on the knot of nerves between her legs and she writhed
above him. Her fingers twined in his hair and her chest rose and fell quicker
as it pressed to his.

Sam eased his finger inside her tight pussy. She tore her
mouth from his and let out a small cry of pleasure.

He stroked her while the heel of his hand rubbed her clit.
Whimpers fell from her lips, making him burn even more for her.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. Her mouth on
his skin as she kissed and nibbled sent him into sensory overload. His cock
pulsed in wicked beats and his pulse hammered in his head.

He worked a second finger into her narrow canal. He pushed
deeper. Stroked faster.

“Oh God.” She let out a throaty moan. “Right there. Just
like that.”

He kept at it. Sky’s breathing escalated, then caught as her
body tensed.

Sam felt a tremor shoot through her and her inner walls
contracted around his fingers as she came, his name riding a sharp rush of air.

God, he wanted her. She was so damn wet, it was all he could
do not to rip open the button fly of his Levi’s and sink into her warm depths.

Of course he had more finesse than that. More control.

But his body literally ached for her.

She pressed her forehead to his shoulder and labored over
her breathing. He withdrew his fingers from her and snaked his arms around her,
holding her tight. Realizing in that moment, he could forsake any needs he had
for hers.

Hell, he might just be a little bit in love with her.

* * * * *

Sky tried to get her bearings, but primal urges she’d never
felt before gripped her entire body. She wanted Sam in ways she hadn’t ever
considered. She wanted his hands and mouth all over her. She wanted him to make
love to her in every conceivable way.

In a breathy voice, she said, “This has to be more than
sizzling chemistry.”

“You’re right.” His response was immediate and laced with
thick emotion no man had ever shared with her.

“Sam.” She sat up, still straddling him. His gaze locked
with hers, his eyes shimmering in the slim beams of moonlight that filtered in
through the windows. “I meant what I said earlier.”

He sat up too, his arms around her waist. He kissed her,
then said, “Whatever you want, darlin’.”

“You,” she told him, her tone full of certainty, “are what I
want.”

She grabbed fistfuls of her shirt and hauled it over her
head. Then she unhooked her bra and tossed it aside.

Sam sucked in a breath. “And here I didn’t think I could get
any harder.”

His hands skimmed over her stomach and up to her breasts. He
palmed them and bent his head, dragging his tongue over one taut nipple, then
the other.

Her fingers plowed through his lush hair as her head fell
back and her spine arched.

He licked and suckled. Electric currents pulsed through her
and her nerve endings snapped. The dull throbbing in her pussy excited her
further. The hunky cowboy got her all hot and bothered yet again…and he knew
how to up the ante.

He massaged her breasts, then gently pinched one of her
nipples. She gasped. He sucked the sensitive tip into his mouth, his tongue
toying with it. She ground herself against his lap, feeling his hard cock
through the denim they both wore.

He let out a low grunt.

Sky said, “I didn’t think I’d want this again. Ever.”

His head lifted. “But you’re sure?”