Chapter Ten #2
“I intend to.” He peeled the sleeve off his cast, then climbed onto the bed. The mattress gave with his weight as he settled beside her. He swept her wet hair away from her cheek. “Thank you again for your help earlier.”
“I just followed your instructions.”
His calm had been unbelievable. She’d been a bundle of nerves.
She still was.
Tally scooted closer and held him tight, her face buried in his neck.
She inhaled the scent of soap lingering on his skin.
He palmed her waist, his touch familiar now, but still so very stirring.
His hand slid upward to cup the back of her head, and he eased away to skim his mouth over her jaw, up to her ears, then sealed his lips to hers.
The kiss exploded through her senses, unleashing all the tension inside her that had been building since she’d seen him walking toward the burning barn. He was alive, here in her arms, and she intended to celebrate in the most elemental way of all.
She lost herself in his kiss, the feel of his flesh against hers.
She was so wrapped up in sensation, she barely registered him pressing her back into the pillows.
His kisses trailed down to her collarbone, over her chest and lower, lower still, until.
.. Her breath puffed free. He nudged her legs apart with his shoulders and gave her the most intimate of kisses.
He held her knees apart and nuzzled. Delicious sensation whispered through her. Her head pressed back into the pillow, and she gave herself over to him, a man she craved to know more about. He’d become all too important to her so quickly.
He stroked and tasted and guided her higher and higher, her breath carrying husky moans of encouragement. His calloused hands held her thighs, and she reveled in the raspy texture of him.
Her release crashed over her again, and again, tension from the evening rippling away on each pleasurable spasm.
Then he inched up her body, rolling her to her side until they faced each other. His cast arm rested over her waist. His eyes glowed in the night.
He reached for his jeans on the floor and pulled his wallet from the back pocket. He withdrew a condom, and she was grateful to him for remembering to take care. He sheathed himself, then eased her leg up over his hip, pressing inside her.
Instinct and sensation took over as she welcomed him into her body. She met him thrust for thrust. Nerve endings tingled to life, simmering and singing through her.
Their hips rolled against each other, his injured arm a sturdy weight against her waist, needing this, needing him after the night they’d been through.
He breathed against her ear. “I can’t wait to get this cast off and make love to you unfettered.”
“I have no complaints.” She kissed droplets of water from his chest.
“And I intend to keep it that way,” he murmured against her ear.
He angled his mouth over hers, their lovemaking intensifying, every time better than the last as they learned more about bringing each other to the edge of bliss and back again.
The heat and glide of his body against hers stirred the tension in her higher again, bringing her close to completion a second time.
Sweat slicked their bodies as they moved against each other.
The musky scent of him and their passion made for a heady perfume, and she couldn’t get enough.
His head dipped to nuzzle her neck, her collarbone, her breasts.
Her hands roved over him, stroking the hard planes of his honed body.
Her head fell to rest on his shoulder, her teeth sinking in lightly.
His husky growl of approval rumbled against her.
Her emotions were so raw and elemental tonight, and their coming together mirrored that.
Each rock of their hips against each other stoked bliss richer and fuller through her.
Her eyes squeezed closed as she held tight to him, to the sensation coursing through her, building until.
..sparks shimmered behind her eyelids. Her back arched into her completion, her fingers sinking into his shoulders.
She felt his orgasm power through him, and she reveled in knowing she gave him the same pleasure he brought her. As the aftermath simmered through her, he gathered her against his chest, his hands gentle along her hypersensitive skin.
Her forehead pressed to his neck, she couldn’t hide from the fear any longer. Having something happen to Marshall tonight would have rattled her world, too much. She couldn’t pretend this was casual, not any longer.
Her time to hold back the past from him had come to an end.
The next morning, Marshall buried himself in routine after the vet left, so much to be done in the aftermath of the fire. He and Tally had slept in the bunkhouse through the night, waking with just enough time to throw on fresh clothes before his siblings and the veterinarian arrived.
After he let his family know about the fire, Jack and Jeannie had sent along a message that they had a meeting to attend but would be by as soon as they finished.
With thoroughness characteristic of his family’s love of their animals, Marshall was determined to examine each horse personally.
His veterinarian, Dr. Cibou, had issued clean bills of health.
Still, Marshall needed to see with his own eyes.
His older brother, Broderick, assisted, bringing each horse to Marshall, holding the still-flighty horses steady as Marshall checked.
He’d left his other siblings scattered throughout the damaged structure and back at the house. Tally gave him a curt nod, busying herself in the kitchen, making enough food to feed his large family. Light snowfall dimmed the scorches on the barn, but the area still smelled of smoke.
Broderick clasped a lead line with ease, stroking underneath the mane of a sorrel horse. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the doctor?”
Marshall skimmed his hand on the sorrel’s hindquarters, down to the fetlock. The sorrel lifted his foot in response. Marshall wanted to be sure no glass or debris had been picked up and become lodged in the horse’s hooves.
“I was checked out by the paramedics last night.” Marshall pressed around, checking for sensitivity. Nothing. Another sigh of slight, bittersweet relief.
“Just be careful. You’re not immortal.”
“Don’t I know it.” He held up his cast arm. “I’m about ready to saw this cast off like I did when I was a kid.”
“Mom was so mad at you.” Broderick led the sorrel away, turning him out into the pasture. The horse trotted out to the small herd of animals that had already been screened.
“I had to read Aiden an extra bedtime story every night that summer. The brat chose the longest books he could find. I thought it was by accident until I caught him comparing the length. Although I didn’t really mind because I love books, which Mom knew all along.”
Broderick laughed softly. “She was wise that way.” He clapped his brother on the shoulder. “It’ll all work out. The insurance will cover the rebuild. But it’s going to be chaos. We’ll house some of the livestock at Dad’s place until things settle down.”
Broderick brought a palomino forward. The golden coat shimmered in the sun. Little snowflakes clung to the horse. The mare looked enchanted. Calmest one yet. Marshall began his exam again. Muscle memory guiding him, keeping exhaustion at bay.
“I blame myself for this whole mess. If I hadn’t been so damn stubborn about not having a hand living in the bunkhouse, there would have been someone there.” He scratched the horse behind the ear. The mare’s long neck stretched, leaning into the affection.
“Accidents happen. There are plenty of ranches that don’t have round-the-clock staff. That said, you don’t have to run the place on your own.”
He nodded tightly.
A car engine’s purr echoed in the barn. The engine cut off, replaced by quick footfalls on gravel and snow. Their father, Jack, rounded the corner into the barn. His hands in thick gloves, he wiped his snow-flecked hair. “Can you boys come inside? We have something we need to tell the family.”
Their father sounded serious, but before Marshall could question him, Jack had already left.
Broderick and Marshall finished examining the palomino mare quickly and silently. His father was not one for dramatic scenes.
Marshall made his way with his older brother to the house, falling a few steps behind his kid brother, Aiden. His youngest brother glanced over his shoulder, deep lines of worry on his teenage face.
The short trek from the barn gave Marshall space to breathe for a moment.
The snowfall became a mess of footsteps.
Hunting had never been his strongest skill, but he did note the chaos of the imprints in the snow.
People moved with speed into the house. Aiden held the door for his brothers, and they hurried into the dining room.
Tally’s red hair, drawn back into a ponytail, bobbed as she finished setting down a platter of sandwiches beside a chafing dish full of stew.
She smoothed her emerald green long-sleeve shirt, catching Marshall’s eye.
Felt the warmth radiate from her gaze. “I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone needs anything. ”
Marshall held out an arm for her. “Stay. Join us.”
Jack and Jeannie exchanged pointed looks before Jack nodded. “Yes, Tally. If Marshall wants you to stay, then please do. This won’t be a secret for long, anyway.”
With a small nod, she closed the distance between them, moving to his side. He half expected her now-familiar light touch to his arm. But her hands remained in front of her.
For a moment, this scene felt familiar. Memories of family meetings in this room danced before his eyes. This is where he’d found out he’d be an older brother.
The gathering today had a similar feel, except there were stepchildren and spouses here as well now.
And there’d been a time long ago when he had gathered the family in this very spot.
He’d sat in Tally’s seat, a notebook filled with plans.
At ten years old, he had tried to convince his father to let him run the barrels at the largest rodeo in the area.
Marshall had presented his plan with a cool efficiency.
A lighthearted meeting in retrospect, but the presentation had seemed life-or-death back then.
The expression on Jack’s face was far from lighthearted.
Marshall frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Jack dropped into the chair; his broad shoulders, normally so square and strong, seemed deflated.
He rested his hands on his knees. “I know this is a bad time with what happened last night in the barn, but this can’t wait.
” He drew in a ragged breath, his face haggard.
“Shana had a development in the investigation into Milla Jones’s disappearance. ”
Marshall was stunned silent. The statement sounded like a foreign language he could not quite grasp, his ears ringing while his siblings blurted questions in rapid-fire succession.
“Have you found her?” Broderick demanded, hand fiddling with the plate before him.
Naomi’s face turned grave, rage filling her eyes. “Where is she?”
“Why did she run?” Aiden demanded, leaning forward in his seat.
Jack held up a hand to silence them before continuing. “She hasn’t been found. But the DNA results from the brush she left revealed some...shocking results.”
Marshall found his voice again. “What do you mean?”
“She isn’t who she claimed to be.”
Naomi’s lip curled. “That’s no surprise. She was deceitful from the start.”
Jack leveled a somber gaze at his children that started a roar of premonition in Marshall’s head. “You need to prepare yourself.” He paused, his shoulders bracing, his haggard face pulling tighter. “Her DNA is a match to...Breanna’s.”
Gasps filled the room. Broderick’s legs went out from under him and he sank into a chair, his wife’s arm going around him.
The roaring in Marshall’s brain intensified.
Joy and denial mixing in a wash of confusion and betrayal.
In a dim corner of his consciousness he realized Tally had slid her hand into his and was holding on tightly.
His jaw tense, Jack rubbed a hand behind his neck. “It appears this ‘Milla’ was telling the truth about Breanna being alive after all, because she is our Brea.”