Chapter Thirty-Three
T ucker didn’t care any longer if this was a mistake, if he was letting himself in for some kind of hell in the long run.
He didn’t even care if this was the start of a long run.
All he cared about was right now, this moment, when she felt—and tasted—better, sweeter, hotter than anything or anyone he’d ever known.
Who she was, this woman with the tender and giving heart, was all that mattered, not what she did for a living. Or if the uniform did matter, it was overwhelmed by what he was feeling now, a kind of connection he’d never experienced in his life.
And all he’d done was kiss her.
It took almost everything in him to break the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers and tried to find the breath to speak. It took him a moment. And when he could, all he said was, “Damn.”
“I was thinking something more…holy.”
“That, too,” he said, appreciating her humor. There was a long moment of growing pressure before he said, “If we keep this up, we’re going to overheat this place.”
She tilted her head back to look up at him. There was a smile on those luscious lips, and those golden eyes looked almost molten. “I think I mentioned my killer air-conditioning?”
And that easily, he was done even trying to hold back. He barely noticed the room she led him into, except that the nicely sized bed was in the same colors as the other rooms. Because that bed was sending images through his head that he hadn’t allowed access in a very long time.
It took every ounce of restraint he had left to ask, a little edgily, “Are you going to be upset if I’m…prepared for this?”
“Prepared?”
He pulled out his wallet and liberated the small pack of condoms he’d picked up yesterday. He’d told himself he was being careful, but knew all along what it really was was hopeful.
“That looks…new.”
“It is. I haven’t…needed those for a long time.” He closed his eyes, hating how awkward he sounded, admitting that.
She let go of him then, and he was afraid maybe she had taken offense.
But she said quietly, “Neither have I, and yet…” She turned and pulled open the drawer of the nightstand beside the bed and pulled out a small box of the same thing.
“Look what appeared after last Wednesday at the ice cream shop.”
He blinked, and suddenly everything was all right. Enough that he laughed as he said, “Same here.”
“I guess we both knew where this was going.”
He reached for her, pulled her against him and kissed her again, long, deep, and luscious. When he finally had to break it to take a breath, he glanced around the room, stopping when he spotted Lobo on the dog bed near the windows.
“Worried about my dog coming after you?”
He shook his head. “Just checking to see if he needs anything. Because this is going to take a while.”
“Is it, now,” she said, sounding as if she were almost purring. “Promise?”
“Oh, I promise.”
He kissed her again, reveling in the way she kissed him back, hungrily, showing him she wanted this every bit as much as he did. And then her fingers slipped to the snaps of his shirt. She had the third one undone before he thought to stop her. He’d been so revved up he’d almost forgotten.
“Em,” he said roughly. “I should…warn you. I’m…pretty scarred up.”
He blinked when she rolled her eyes at him. “You think I didn’t figure that out? You don’t get all those fancy parts installed without it leaving marks.”
He couldn’t help it, he laughed. Yet another thing he had never, ever expected to laugh about.
And then she was kissing him as she tugged his shirt free.
She ran her hands over his chest, and he could feel her tracing the path of those scars he’d warned her about.
She broke the kiss but didn’t pull away as she said, “One day I’m going to trace every one of those, one end to the other. But not today. I’m in too big a hurry.”
And so was he. He wasn’t sure who pulled what off of whom, but when they went down to the bed they were both naked and breathing hard. And he now knew exactly how long that silken fall of hair was, because it was sliding over him, stroking him like her hands did, and it was driving him mad.
He tried to slow down but it had been so long, and he’d never in his life wanted a woman the way he wanted her.
“Finesse is going to have to wait,” he ground out rather fiercely.
“Don’t want it,” she said, stroking her hands over him as she kissed him again. “Next time.”
And there was no finesse in it, just the urgency of near-desperation as they kissed and touched.
And when her hand slid down to touch that rigid, aching part of him he nearly lost it right then.
But she guided him and he drove forward, feeling a thrill like none he’d ever known when she gasped his name as she surrounded flesh with flesh, taking him into that incredible heat.
And when just a few strokes later he felt her body convulse around him, taking him with her on a flight to someplace he’d never been, he let out her name in the tone of a heartfelt oath as he shuddered, feeling he had found where he belonged at last.
*
It was funny how much brighter her world seemed these days. Texas was rarely short of sunshine in summer, but somehow it was more intense now, more brilliant. Dazzling, even.
In the two weeks since Kane’s heartfelt show had turned the tide for them, she’d never been happier. Hadn’t even realized she could be this happy. Tucker still went to work at Jackson’s therapy setup while she was on shift, but every other waking minute they spent together.
Emily grinned to herself, thinking that if she could whistle worth a darn, she’d be strolling along Main Street letting out that love song Kane had closed his show with.
She didn’t even feel a qualm as she thought it. She loved him, and she didn’t care at this point who knew it. Although it was a small enough group, this soon. Nic knew, but she’d known before Emily had admitted it to herself. Which meant Jackson knew, which in turn meant Tris and Logan.
And don’t forget Lily, she told herself. Which meant the chief. Who thankfully had tactfully said nothing at all when he’d caught her singing—badly—that song not quite under her breath walking down the hall of the department.
She nodded and smiled at everyone she passed, even the tourists who were frequenting Last Stand in these last days of July.
She stopped in at the saloon to let Lobo get a drink from the bowl Slater kindly left near the door for passing dogs.
He wasn’t there at the moment, probably home with his wife and new baby, she thought.
And even that thought sent a little ripple of anticipation through her.
Because for the first time she could understand it, how a woman could want a child with one man so very much.
As Lobo drank, she looked around the room, her gaze stopping on the piano Tucker had played that Friday night before rodeo week.
The first time she’d been stunned into seeing him as a person in his own right, not as the star rodeo champion who had nearly died, or the friend of the famous Hollywood actor.
Her phone rang, and the custom ringtone told her it was him before she pulled it out.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“At the saloon, getting Lobo a drink.” She smiled when, as she’d hoped, he laughed. “Then it’ll be time to load him up and check the perimeter. Rip—he’s the guy I trade patrol shifts with—is off today, so we get to cruise for a while.”
“In air-conditioned comfort, at least.”
“Exactly why I’m not complaining. And I’ll pick up dinner from Valencia’s on my way home.”
“Sold,” he said with a laugh that made her stomach do a little flip.
“How’d the new kids do today?” He’d told her they had a small group coming in from San Antonio. And he’d said it with such happiness it had given her joy. He was building his place here in Last Stand.
“Great. Jeremy is really good with them.”
“I think that helps him, too,” she said. “Just knowing he’s not alone.”
“Yeah.” There was a pause, and then in that tone that made her shiver with anticipation, he added, “They’re the last for the day, so I’ll be home when you get there.”
When she slipped the phone back in her pocket, she lingered for a moment on how sweet that sounded.
Home. Their home. Because he was pretty much living there now, because neither one of them wanted to be apart from the other.
It was a feeling unlike any she’d ever had, and she treasured every moment.
She was still smiling as she and Lobo headed back for their unit, to start heading out toward the outer edges of Last Stand, to help protect the center of this place she loved.