Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
T he rumble of Midnight Thunder’s engine brought Kieran’s pacing to an abrupt end. His coiled muscles tightened another notch. Holding his breath, he waited, fists clenched, for lights to appear on the road.
He hadn’t checked the time when Rance left, but an eternity had passed since then. Which meant the plan had been banjaxed. He just knew it. Lani had changed her mind. Or Sara had. Or she’d been discovered sneaking out. Or?—
Headlights flashed through the trees. The beams swerved as Rance made the turn and drove toward the cabin. Was he alone? Blinded by the glare, Kieran couldn’t tell. The lights stayed on as the engine cut off and both doors opened.
Both doors. He focused on the passenger side as… Rance? If he wasn’t driving, then who the hell was? His attention flew to the driver’s side. Sara hopped down, her smile outshining those headlights.
He took the steps in a single bound. “You drove?”
“I did!” She threw up both hands in triumph. “And we saw raccoons and I?—”
He smothered the rest with a kiss born of joy, frustration and a flood of relief.
She kissed him back, opening her mouth to his tongue, sliding her arms around him and holding on as if she’d never let go. He didn’t want her to. Might as well just pick her up and carry her into — the sound of a throat being cleared, then cleared again, finally penetrated the lust that had turned his brain to porridge.
Oh, yeah. Rance. Still here. Lifting his head, he looked to his left, and sure enough, the fella who’d engineered this entire event stood facing them watching the show, hands shoved in his pockets, a smug smile on his face.
He deserved to be smug. He deserved to be properly thanked, too. “Hey, mate.” He sucked in a lungful of air. “Thank you. Doesn’t seem like enough just to say that, but?—”
“Thank you from me, too, Rance.” Sara looked over at him but she didn’t loosen her hold. “I owe you one.”
“And I’ll collect someday. I’m glad to see you both so happy.” He tipped his head toward the front door, which stood slightly ajar. “Remember to close that after you go in.”
Kieran nodded. “I will.” He’d left it that way on purpose. He’d be sure to close it behind him now that he’d been reminded. If Rance had slipped away without saying anything, that door might’ve stood open all night. He’d been just that focused on the situation at hand.
“See you in the morning.” Rance touched the brim of his hat. “Four-thirty.”
“ Four-thirty ?” Sara’s response came out as a squeak of protest.
“Or I could stay at the ranch for breakfast and explain the setup to the folks. Your choice.”
She let out a sigh. “Four-thirty it is. You’re a good friend for getting up at that godawful hour. And for letting me drive your truck.”
“You’re welcome.” He walked around to the driver’s side and fiddled with something that made a humming sound.
“He has to put the seat back,” Sara murmured. “He adjusted it for me.”
“Why did you end up driving?” Although he desperately wanted to kiss her again, he’d hold off until Rance left.
“He thought I’d like it.”
He envied the fella’s close friendship with Sara. But without it, they wouldn’t have this time together. “Did you like it?”
“Not as much as I like this.” She snuggled closer and gazed up at him in a silent invitation.
“I’m waitin’ for Rance to saunter on.”
Her green eyes sparkled. “Then we can get down to business?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The sparkle deepened to a glow. “You have no idea how saying that turns me on.”
“Yeah, I do. I can see it in your eyes.” Midnight Thunder’s engine turned over. Not long, now. “You won’t be needing this.” He slid the jacket from her shoulders.
“Sure won’t.” She let go of him long enough to pull her arms out of the sleeves.
“I’ll take it.” Laying it over his shoulder, he gathered her close, her body heat melting his resistance. He might need to kiss her, after all.
She raised the stakes, adjusting her hips to put pressure on his willy. “Your eyes just changed, too.”
“That’s not all that’s changing.” Tires crunched on gravel as Rance put Midnight Thunder in reverse. Not long, now.
“I know.” She wiggled a bit. “Feels promising.”
“Keep doing that and we won’t make it past the porch.” Tires scraped up more gravel as Rance continued backing in a half- circle. After a pause to switch gears, he pulled away from the cabin.
Gone. Slipping the leash on his body’s urgent demands, Kieran cupped Sara’s arse and lifted her off her feet.
Her breath caught. “Are you going to ravish me, Kieran Haggerty?”
“That I am.” He tightened his grip and turned toward the cabin.
She clung to him, wrapping her legs around his hips as he bolted up the steps and shouldered his way through the front door. He’d known it would be like this. Known he wouldn’t have the patience to turn a doorknob.
A swift nudge with the toe of his boot and the door swung closed.
She lifted her face to his. “Am I too heavy?”
“Never.” He lengthened his stride as he crossed the living room. Good thing he’d turned back the covers, dimmed the lights and laid a condom on the bedside table.
“You’re panting.”
“I’m that excited to lie with you.” The fire in his loins burned hot, hotter than he ever remembered.
“I want you, too. Deep inside me.”
With a groan, he barreled through the bedroom door and laid her crossways on the bed. Tossing her jacket aside, he followed her down, his body covering hers.
His mouth sought the lips he craved while his fingers curled around the hem of her T-shirt. Breaking away from the kiss, he yanked the shirt upward. She lifted her arms so he could pull it over her head.
He gasped in delight. No bra. “You do flush all over.” And he couldn’t get enough of looking at her beautiful breasts, her nipples tight with passion. “Thank you for not wearing your?—”
“That’s not all I’m not wearing.” Her voice was breathy and trembling with eagerness. “Take off my boots. After that, it’s clear sailing.”
He didn’t have to be told twice. Pushing away from the bed, he pulled off her boots. When he straightened, she’d stretched out lengthwise, allowing him to see that what he’d thought were jeans were leggings that he could pull right off. When he tugged them away, her socks came with them.
He froze, stunned speechless by the woman lying there. His fantasy.
His only one. He’d dreamed of her countless times, stretched out on a bed in a softly lit room, her ginger hair bright against the white pillowcase. He’d found her . Dear God in heaven, he’d found her.
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no. Something’s very right.” He dragged in a breath. “So right it scares me.” He began stripping off his clothes. No wonder she’d looked familiar when he’d first seen her in Hannigan’s.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Not a ghost. An angel.”
“I’m no angel.”
“You look like one to me.” Had the fairies been at work here? He kept his attention on Sara’s luminous, sensual body as if she might evaporate before his eyes.
He’d accepted so many amazing events today as true, but this… making love to someone right out of his dreams….
Was he so knackered that he was hallucinating? Had he been dreaming this entire day?
No. No , by God. He’d made it to Wagon Train. He’d learned his mother’s fate. He’d discovered his half-brother.
And in this surreal moment, he was hard as a shillelagh, aching for the woman gazing at him, a smile on her kiss-reddened lips.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” She grabbed the condom from the bedside table and tossed it to him.
He made a one-handed catch without breaking eye contact. Ripping open the package, he suited up while keeping her in sight. Clearly he’d watched Ladyhawke too many times with Granny.
As he approached the bed, she opened her arms. “So serious, my sweet Irishman.”
Her voice… even that was familiar. But climbing into bed with her was not. He’d never made love to the woman of his dreams.
If he was imagining this moment, then he’d wake up any second now. He moved between her silken thighs, the brush of her soft skin making him shiver with longing.
Poised at the entrance to paradise, he leaned down and kissed her gently. “I want you so much I’m shaking.”
“I’m shaking, too.” She stroked his chest and flattened her palm over his beating heart. “It’s going so fast.”
Lifting his head, he looked into her shamrock green eyes. “I keep thinking you’ll disappear.”
“I won’t.” Her eyes darkened and she wrapped her arms around him. “Make love to me, Kieran.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He plunged into her warm, welcoming body with the certainty that she would change his life.