Chapter Twelve
T he sound of gentle vibrations on a wood surface pulled Colton from the comfort of sleep. He could still feel Seneca in his arms, pressed against him, and this was the only thing he wanted to focus on this morning.
The vibrations stopped, and he snuggled closer to her, loving the firm weight of her breast in his hand and her legs intertwined with his. Just as he was just about to give in to sleep again, the vibrating resumed.
He carefully extracted himself from Seneca, grabbing the phone with Aja’s name flashing across it.
“Yeah?”
He sat up, scratching the scruff on his face and trying to climb through the cobwebs in his head.
“Colton, I’m sorry to wake you.”
“Well.” He exhaled on a long deep breath. “Let’s hope it’s worth it. What’s going on?”
“I need you to run a really important errand. I was supposed to be on my way to pick up Seneca’s package, but since a greedy little ranger snuck a piece of the pineapple coconut cake, I’ve got to make another one right now.
I’d ask Jackson or Storm to do it, but I really need them both at the house to work on some things for me. ”
He looked over his shoulder at a still-sleeping Seneca and stood. “Hold on a sec.” He grabbed his clothes as he walked toward the bedroom door. When he closed the door behind him and he was reasonably sure he wouldn’t wake Seneca, he returned the phone to his ear.
“The plan was for me to spend the day with Seneca. It’s her birthday. And considering I’m trying to dig myself out of the doghouse with her, spending most of the day running errands for you won’t help me none.”
“I know,” she moaned. “But I promise, it won’t take all day.
If you leave now, you can be back before lunch.
And if you do it for me, not only can I assure you Seneca will be thrilled, but I’ll also throw in a fully packed picnic lunch for you and Seneca to enjoy.
Come on, Colton, this gift was your idea. You can’t bow out now.”
He looked back at the closed door of Seneca’s bedroom as his dream of staying snuggled under the sheets with her all day went up in smoke.
“Give me ten minutes to get to the main house. And, Aja, I better not end up in trouble over ditching her.”
She giggled, making him smile even though he didn’t really want to. “I promise, you won’t. See you in ten.”
He ended the call and put on his clothes. Unsure if Seneca had her phone on silent or not, he grabbed a pen and notepad from the coffee table and scribbled a few lines about needing to run an errand for Aja and being back before lunch.
As he closed the door and made his way to his truck, he hoped like hell his note was enough to keep him out of hot water.
*
Seneca reached out for the warm body that had lulled her to sleep last night. Her fingers itched for corded muscle and the prickle of almost blond body hair against her skin.
The chill of cool sheets snatched her out of her sleep. Save for her, her bed was empty. The stark realization made her pull herself into a sitting position and listen for proof of Colton’s presence in her cabin.
The usual sounds of her house filled her ears and sadness bloomed in her heart.
I guess all that caring he was talking about last night didn’t extend until the morning.
She tried to rein her emotions in and remind herself she was being utterly ridiculous.
She wasn’t a child. She should know that sharing good orgasms— Good?
Who you foolin’? They were spectacular —didn’t mean anything.
It wasn’t like Colton owed her any pleasantries like laying a morning kiss—or better yet, morning sex—on her.
He’s not yours. And when her treacherous brain answered, Well, whose fault is that? she slapped the empty spot where Colton had slept.
She groaned, unable to deal with the self-recriminating tone in her head. Today of all days, she didn’t need her inner critic to tell her how badly she was fucking things up.
She stared up at the ceiling, trying to clear her head but failing. Thoughts of how tender Colton was with her last night haunted her, refusing to let her forget how secure his strong arms felt when they were wrapped around her.
“I’m spiraling again. I can’t do this.”
Like always, when her emotions roiled, she thought of her mother. What she wouldn’t give to have her here now.
The call with her mother earlier in the week had been like a fresh coat of glue holding Seneca together. But waking up without Colton next to her was as if the adhesive was lifting, and the structure of her heart was about to fall apart.
“You’re too grown to need your mama because you got your feelings hurt, girl.”
It was true, but her nerves were raw, much more so than when she’d called before. Today, Seneca was on the verge of collapsing under the weight of so much emotional distress. Between trying to figure out what to do about Hastings and dealing with Colton at the same time, Seneca was on overload.
“Yeah, but grown or not, you always feel better when Deena Daniels speaks serenity into your life.”
It never ceased to amaze Seneca how her mother’s love could give her the strength she needed to climb through one challenge after another.
When she struggled with something in school, her mother would tell her she was the smartest person in the world and there was nothing she couldn’t figure out if she studied hard and gave it her best effort.
When she doubted whether she’d get her first network director position because she was a Black female candidate in a white male-dominated profession, her mother gave her a dose of mama-lovin’ and it gave her the push to not only give a stellar performance in the interview, but to also demand the large salary her skills and educational background dictated she deserved.
These past few days, it helped her keep her cool around Colton once she’d returned to the ranch.
She’d seen him at dinner for a shared meal at the main house.
She’d been cordial and friendly, and even though it killed her not to be able to slide close to him and plaster her body against his like she had earlier in the day when they were tangled up in her sheets, she’d stood strong and kept her distance while they were in front of others.
It was torture, for sure. But her mama’s love told her she could endure anything and survive, so she figured even her need for Colton would have to cede to its strength too.
But today, she’d need another dose if she was expected to get through the disappointment of waking up alone on her birthday.
She was thirty-five today. There had to be a law somewhere that said one couldn’t wake up and be this pathetic on their own birthday.
She huffed and crossed arms over her chest. A woman shouldn’t be expected to deal with all these mixed emotions and turn a year older at the same time. That really was cruel and unusual punishment.
She snuggled under her covers, shifting to her side to take a look at the clock on her nightstand.
“Uh, it’s only twelve. I thought it would be later.
” Her mother was probably still at work by this hour and wouldn’t likely be off until seven in the evening.
“I don’t think I can last that long. I need my mama-lovin’ right now. ”
She needed her mother to tell her she was strong enough to deal with whatever was dogging her. And even though her need for Colton felt out of control most days, nothing surpassed her mother’s belief in her. If Deena said she could do it, then Seneca would achieve it.
She slid her hand across the top of her nightstand and grabbed her phone.
She dialed her mother’s number and waited anxiously for the call to connect.
By the time the fourth ring filled the air, she was groaning.
The dreaded automated voice was about to pick up and the idea of experiencing the self-pity threatening the edges of her heart, she ended the call and fell back over into the center of her bed.
If she couldn’t get her sweetness fix from her mother, she came to the easy decision that the only thing she wanted to do for her birthday was sleep the day away.
If she went into a self-imposed hibernation, she wouldn’t have to deal with anyone or anything else, except for the attraction to Colton she knew would more than likely follower her into her dreams.
She’d just found that perfect warm spot where her body would finally relax enough to fall back into slumber when she heard the chimes of her doorbell ringing.
“Aja, if that’s you, go away,” she whispered quietly, hoping her uninvited guest would give up and leave. When the bell rang a second time, she figured she’d best get up and tell Aja she wasn’t coming out again until Monday, so the good-natured woman would leave her alone.
Not bothering to grab her robe to conceal her satin sleep camisole or remove her satin sleep bonnet from her hair, she walked barefoot to the door and snatched it open.
“Can’t a body rest in peace on her birthday?”
When she looked up and came face-to-face with Colton, all she could do was lift her head up to the sky as she tried to figure out why the universe seemed to have it out for her on her birthday.
“Rest is not what I want to do with that body.”
“What do you want, Colton?” She tried to keep her response cool and unbothered. He didn’t need to know about the pity party she’d held for herself when she realized he was gone.
He tilted his head, watching her intently, as if her question didn’t make sense. “The question is what don’t I want?”
She could feel the force of the Texas heat bogarting its way into her air-conditioned cabin. But the heat in his blue gaze burned hotter than the summer sun on exposed metal.
He took a step forward and she took one backward in tandem. He closed the door behind him, filling the room and her senses with his presence.
“What do you want, Colton? Since you were gone before I woke up, I assumed you weren’t all that eager to see me today.”
He let his hungry gaze slide down the length of her body, openly devouring her inch by inch. She could feel the resulting shiver start at the base of her spine. She pulled her shoulders back, bracing herself, refusing to let him see exactly how pitiful her defenses were against him.
“Darlin’, I’m always eager to see you. I had an errand to run this morning.”
“An errand? And you couldn’t wake the woman you’d fallen asleep with to tell her you were going? For a Southern boy, your manners are lacking.”
“Bite your tongue,” he quipped. “My manners are impeccable. I did tell you why I had to leave.”
She folded her arms over her chest and squinted as she glared at him. “The hell you did.”
He raised a brow and a confident smile lifted the corners of his mouth into a smug grin. “You wanna bet?”
She didn’t answer, just kept staring him down trying to find the lie. And even though she couldn’t readily discover it, she decided she’d come this far, no way she was backing down now.
“Fine, what’s your wager?”
“If I can prove I did tell you about my errand, you have to spend the day with me doing whatever I want.”
The subtle promise in his words heightened the already bright explosion of arousal between them. She knew if she accepted his terms, she could very well be in the best kind of trouble there was.
“Acceptable. Where’s your proof?”
His pompous grin grew to full-on smile with all the teeth in his head sparkling. Damn him, even his damn teeth are pretty.
He moved behind her, walking over to the end table on the other side of the couch. He picked up a notepad and handed it to her.
A quick glance at it proved he hadn’t lied. Part of her already knew that, but the proof in her hand drove the point home harder. Every time she tried to paint him as a liar, he always, always did or said something to disprove her accusation.
“It seems I was wrong to question your manners after all.” She lifted a shoulder. “So, you won. Now what do you want?”
“I… uhhh.” The tremble in his voice coupled with his forgotten ability to speak made anticipation tickle her skin.
“I was planning to ask you to come spend a little time with me outside.” He stepped slowly around her like he was a predator stalking his prey.
“Aja packed us a picnic basket that could bring tears of joy to a Texas boy’s heart. ”
He slipped his finger under one of her straps, sliding it off her shoulder and pressing his lips there, and she shivered. “So, how about you take that sexy ass of yours back in your bedroom and get dressed, so we can go.”
He pulled her strap back in place, the skin beneath it still burning from his touch.
Determined to save some pride, she attempted to take a step toward her bedroom and away from him.
But before her bare foot could settle against the floor, his arm was around her waist, pulling her back against the solid wall of his hard chest.
“And Seneca…” he whispered next to her ear.
His low, deep baritone sent tingles straight to her sex.
Wetness slid between her folds and would surely seep through the satin of her panties if she didn’t break free of him right now.
“Don’t ever question my integrity again.
My job doesn’t always allow me to be honest. But in my personal life, I never lie. ”
His voice, his words, the way his Texas drawl stretched every syllable twice as long as they needed to be, made her press against him.
When his thumb stroked sexy circles against her satin-covered abdomen, she realized then the only thing she truly wanted to break free of were the tiny scraps of fabric covering her body.
He flattened his hand against her abdomen, holding her tighter, until she could feel the hard ridge of his dick. Even covered with denim and held back behind a metal zipper, she could still feel him erect and ready.
God I want that.
She turned in his arms, lifting up on her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned in to join her mouth to his, but he pulled away.
“Uh-uh. We both know it won’t end there and Aja’s potato salad won’t last but so long in the cooler in my truck.”
He grabbed a handful of her ass, squeezing her until he straddled the line between pleasure and pain. “Now get.”
He slapped her ass, then pulled her arms from around his neck and stepped out of her embrace. She looked down at his erection. The bulge alone could tempt her to do just about anything Colton wanted.
“It sure doesn’t seem right to let that go to waste.” She bit her lip, moaning at the loss before she turned toward her bedroom. When she reached the door, he called out to her.
“Seneca, don’t worry. Not a damn thing’s going to waste. Make sure you wear something accessible.”