Chapter Seven
One minute, Nicole’sattention was centered on the burning spot from Slade’s butt whack, and the next on the soft mattress under her and his hands divesting her of her clothes. As eager as he to indulge in another go-around, she helped by toeing off her shoes and kicking her jeans off her feet. They stripped each other of their shirts, the tickle of his chest hair as he lowered himself, urging her to latch on for another wild ride. Panting, she searched for his mouth in the dark, chuckled at his low curses as she palmed his taut buttocks, and bowed her back with a gasp when he bit into a nipple. Instead of turning down the heat, the slight sting had the opposite effect, taking her from hot to feverish. She would analyze the oddity of that later, she decided when he grabbed her arms and lifted them above her with one of his unexplained commands.
“Hold on and don’t let go.”
“Why?” she muttered, wrapping her fingers around what felt like brass posts on a headboard.
Instead of answering, Slade ran his hands down her body, rotating his palms over her nipples before gliding down her sides and legs, his broad shoulders parting her bent knees wider. A low moan escaped with the scrape of his bristled jaw along the tender skin of her inner thigh. Nicole loved the dark that offered her the freedom to relish this temporary escape from reality. If it weren’t for his bossiness and deep, distinctive voice, she could pretend she was with someone else, even if she couldn’t deny the rough-around-the-edges cowboy did it for her at this moment.
Slade dug his fingers into the fleshy side of her hips and took a slow lick between her pussy lips, the soft touch igniting another firestorm of pleasure. She cried out as he tugged on her clit and sucked hard on the tender nub, her sheath spasming around the finger he added. Breathing heavy from her unexpected, rapid response, Nicole dropped her arms to grip his shoulders, needing the anchorage against the rising tide of hot, convulsive pleasure. The bulging muscles under his smooth skin were hard to hold onto, even more so when he pulled his mouth off her needy flesh way too soon.
Before she could complain, he pinched her leg, stating calmly, “Put your hands back.”
“You just don’t quit, do you?”
“Do you want me to?”
He would have to wait until she was ready to beg to ask that. “Damn, you’re annoying. No, I don’t want you to.”
She wouldn’t put it past him to be able to see in the dark if she tried to fool him and grabbed hold of the bars again. Her second orgasm of the night made the concession well worth putting herself in his hands for a few minutes. Those minutes stretched into at least thirty as he didn’t bother pausing after she splintered apart under his mouth to surge over her and inside her again. Nicole strained against his heaving body, glorying in the extended oblivion and record-breaking third climax that drained her of energy but left her sated beyond measure.
Laughter and car doors shutting roused her a short time later, and Nicole jerked upright, the hallway light now shining into the room, revealing she was alone. The furnishings were scant, just the bed, an oversized stuffed chair, and an end table holding a lamp. Figuring Slade might be in the restroom, she chose the coward’s way out and dressed in a hurry despite the tremors still coursing through her body and weak limbs. She heard water running behind the closed restroom door as she rushed by, but the odd contraptions along the wall in the main room halted her headlong dash to make a hasty exit.
Unable to resist, Nicole walked closer, her heart beating double-time imagining Slade tormenting someone he’d bound on a padded bench or secured on the dangling chains. She’d never harbored much curiosity about what went on in Chicago’s kink clubs, not even after meeting someone in college who was a member. Now she couldn’t keep from picturing herself lying naked on the bench in front of her, gazing up at Slade’s sun-kissed face, ready and willing for him to do anything he desired as long as it led to the sweet oblivion she’d experienced earlier.
“If you’re shocked, it’s your own fault.”
She snatched her hand off the bench, refusing to blush as she turned to see him striding toward her shirtless and barefoot, the awesome eagle tattoo spread over one shoulder and upper arm drawing her eyes. That is so...sexy. In the dark, she hadn’t been able to make out much more than his large shape above her, feel anything except his flexing muscles as he drove into her, and heard nothing except his heavy grunts in her ear. Her vaginal muscles clenched to block the ache for another tangle in the sheets worming its way through her body, and she fought to stay put.
He halted close enough her nose almost touched his chest, and Nicole gripped her purse strap tighter, managing to resist the temptation to bridge that small gap. Proud of herself, she forced a smile. “Not shocked, curious. You’ve demonstrated your penchant for control tonight.”
“And you liked it.”
That blunt assertion nudged her a step away, reinforcing her backbone and determination not to get involved again. “The sex was good,” she returned without inflexion.
“Good enough to appease your curiosity?” Slade shifted his gaze from her to the bench.
Tempted by the offer, Nicole thought of the painful memories waiting to pounce when she went to bed and closed her eyes. But that would only provide another temporary reprieve. She needed more time and space, now that he’d appeased her lust.
“I have to get home to Sam.”
“How long ago?” he asked as she pivoted.
Puzzled, she faced him again at the same time he reached for her, his hands landing on her waist to draw her flush with his warm body. She steeled herself against the quivering tickle in her abdomen and latched onto those ripped arms. Chemistry, that’s all this is. She would work on believing that tomorrow.
“How long ago what?”
“Did you start thinking you’re better off keeping to yourself after killing the person who attacked you.”
God, she hated his astuteness. Steeling herself to resist this unwanted attraction, she pulled away from the loose embrace and griped, “Are you a shrink?”
“Hell no.”
Slade huffed, fisting his hands on his hips, and she felt better. “Some weird guru?”
“No.” Shaking his head, he stated, “Just someone who’s been there. Killing someone even in self-defense isn’t easy to live with.”
“No, it isn’t.” Those gunmetal eyes were difficult to look away from, especially when they darkened with an emotion only he could label, tempting her to ask about his experience. Instead, since he gave a little, she did also. It wasn’t like the incident was a big secret. “Six months, almost seven, but before you ask anything else, I really want to get home to Sam. He’s not used to being left alone so long, and he’s still adjusting to the new place.” She could tell he was frustrated and champing at the bit for more, yet, for some reason, his nosiness didn’t bother her as it should. Maybe she was getting used to his constant interference.
“Okay. Wait for me to finish dressing. I mean it.”
And maybe not.
Before she could snap at the order, he rephrased the comment. “Would you wait for me, please?”
“Good catch,” she couldn’t resist replying with a quick grin. “Sure. Thanks for asking.”
Shaking his head, as if bemused either by her or himself, Slade pivoted and strode down the hall. Nicole eyed the other half of the tattooed eagle’s wings draped over his shoulder, the gray, black, and white feathers fanned open to cover his entire shoulder blade. She stood there mystified, unsure whether she found the man bothersome because of her desire to remain detached for a while or because of her heated response to everything physical about him, like that emblem.
She couldn’t talk him out of following her home, although she didn’t try too hard. There was some comfort to his presence, similar to what she experienced when with Tony, yet the continuous frissons of fervid intensity that took over her common sense whenever she got close to Slade kept her on edge. Insisting she wasn’t ready for anything hadn’t stopped her from caving to lust. Hoping that was all her moment of weakness was, she reached the front door first and opened it to let Sam outside. Of course, the traitor dashed straight for Slade as he got out of the truck. Nicole flipped on another light, brightening the whole living space while keeping her hand on the door.
“All safe and sound,” she told him the same time her phone jangled. Nicole fumbled in her purse to check the text, worrying since her parents were the only people who would try to contact her this late. Instead of seeing their name in the lighted display, it read Anonymous with the first part of the text, You can run, but you can’t, showing underneath. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out the rest of the message, or who sent it. Swearing at Natalie’s persistence, she hit delete and dropped it back inside her purse before she realized Slade could read that also.
“Problem, Nicole?” he asked, moving closer. Needing him gone before she gave in to the weakness he’d tapped into earlier, she stepped back and shook her head, keeping hold of the door handle. “No. A spam text instead of who I thought it might be. Thanks for seeing me home.”
“I get it. You want me gone.” With one finger, he traced the scar on her neck, down her shoulder, the light touch searing her skin. “Take care, neighbor.”
She didn’t reply and watched him leave, the silence close to deafening once his truck turned onto the highway.
Despite the late night, Nicole awoke early to Sam’s whine and cold nose nudging her arm. “Yeah, I know, you want out.” She petted him and he pranced away with another whine, his tail whipping back and forth. Recognizing the signs, she rolled out of the warm bed and pulled on jeans and the sweatshirt lying at the foot, one of only a few gifts from Tony that she’d kept because he’d imprinted Sam’s photo on the front. “Come on, then. God forbid you let me sleep in.”
Maybe this was good practice for when she had kids, she mused, opening the back door for Sam. Her heart ached at that thought, believing Tony would have been a good dad before the brain tumor. A sad reminder of how fast life can throw you a curve ball that changed everything.
Speak of altering curve balls,she mused, wincing as she sat down with a cup of coffee. The discomfort conjured up the other person she was trying hard not to think about. She’d never imagined ending over a year of abstinence would result in this soreness. Sex had always been a take-it-or-leave-it indulgence for her, happy to hit the sheets when in a relationship, but otherwise she had no problem living celibate.
Not until last night.
Damn, there went her promise not to dwell on Slade all day after spending a sleepless night dreaming about his every touch and the orgasms that had soared higher than anything she’d achieved before. With Tony, climaxes had flowed through her body, the sensation similar to standing in a slow-rolling warm tide. Slade’s focused, driven thrusts sent her careening into a maelstrom of sensation overload that still lingered this morning.
Nicole couldn’t quit thinking about him before his erotic hold on her wrists and deep, powerful thrusts drove her to such extreme, euphoric heights, which baffled her considering how much he annoyed her. Now, how was she supposed to forget all about him the same as she’d done every other man except Tony who had come and gone in her life?
Sam’s excited barking pulled Nicole’s head out of the clouds, and she dashed outside to check on him. “Sam, come!” she called out as soon as she spotted him running after a stray tan dog. He halted before following the other dog into the woods, thank goodness. She didn’t relish going after him in the thick trees at the break of dawn. Even though he loved romping with other dogs, strays were unpredictable, and she would have to evaluate the ones in the shelter before socializing them with playtime. With luck, she could gain the other dog’s trust, put some weight on him, then find him a home.
“Good boy.” Nicole hugged Sam and took him inside as her cell beeped with an incoming text. She stiffened, just now recalling last night’s message. That was the third time Tony’s sister had gotten hold of her new cell number, and if Natalie started constantly harassing her here as she did in Chicago, she would have no choice but to report the anonymous message even without solid proof it had come from Tony’s twin.
She fed Sam first then glanced at the message, relieved when she read Allie’s name and the intro line asking what happened to her last night. With a sigh of guilt, Nicole realized she’d taken off without telling either Allie or Lily, the two who had invited her in the first place. Slade must not have said anything, at least, not yet, and she couldn’t help feeling grateful for his silence. The last thing she wanted was his family speculating on a budding relationship between them.
She texted, Sorry. I was tired and left without thinking, keeping it simple and truthful, and then vowed not to give either Slade or Natalie another thought. She had too much to do before the contractors arrived tomorrow to waste another moment on either one.
***
SLADE MADE IT CLOSEto twenty-four hours before caving to the urge to check on Nicole. He blamed the constant yipping of more than one dog filtering through the woods, exciting Chace and interrupting his relaxation as he grabbed the take-out order from the diner and headed over at twilight. If she didn’t welcome another uninvited visit, that was too damn bad. He had spent the day worried she would regret her actions last night and itching to inquire about that text. It could have been anything between an innocuous joke and a serious threat. Her hired help wouldn’t start for a week, leaving her alone way too long for his peace of mind if it was the latter.
In a matter of two short weeks, his curiosity about the new neighbor had expanded into constant preoccupation that sex hadn’t appeased. He wasn’t sure what to do about that or her, so he went with his instinct that all was not right. When she convinced him otherwise, maybe he could get back to his original plan of friendly neighbor.
The hunger-stirring aroma of Ina’s stroganoff tickled his senses, and his stomach growled in response, Chace following him to the door with his nose on the bag. When he put on his dejected face after Slade instructed him to stay, he figured his dog could join in on the fun too. If her shelter took on several dogs at once, Sam would benefit from early practice in getting along with more than the one.
“Come on, then. Let’s see what kind of mood our neighbor is in today.”
He tried not to think about the feel of Nicole’s soft body moving under his, her gasps when she climaxed, or the effort it took to loosen her tight muscles. She hadn’t resisted his hold, which surprised him, given her fierce independent streak, but he’d expected her withdrawal afterward. Getting her to open up about her ordeal might require him to do the same, something he was prepared to do if it would help.
Slade emerged from the forest trail to witness Nicole trying to lure a coyote closer with dog treats. “Shit. Chace, go!” Border collies ran like the wind, and Chace had plenty of practice running off undesirable critters. Coyotes were timid animals around people and one on one with an aggressive dog, but a small pack could take down a horse or steer. This one bolted into the woods, leaving poor Sam looking bewildered and Nicole glaring at him. Obviously, she knew little about Wyoming wildlife.
Chace got a friendlier greeting from Sam than Slade did from Nicole as she stomped to meet him halfway. “Why the hell did you do that? You just ruined three days of trying to gain that dog’s trust.”
“Then you wasted your time on a coyote, not a dog. It could have been a hybrid, but either way, he was a wild animal that could have gone for Sam’s throat two seconds after playing. You’re welcome.”
Nicole’s hand went to her chest, her face paling. “I didn’t know.” She stepped back and stated stiffly, “Thanks.”
He sucked in a breath, vacillating between annoyance and amusement. Those seem to be his two reactions around her if he ignored lust. Seeking some middle ground, he asked, “Ever heard of compromise?”
“Heard of it; don’t much care for it.”
“You and me both, but growing up with two brothers, I learned how to get along.” He held up the dinner bag. “You lighten up, and I’ll share Ina’s beef stroganoff with you. Deal?”
Nicole’s eyes sparkled as she tucked her short hair behind her ear where it curved under her chin, and then bent her head toward the bag and took a whiff. Whether she acknowledged it or not, the fact she exposed her scar without a thought proved she was already comfortable with him.
“Okay, deal. But only because I haven’t eaten yet, and finding out how dumb I am about wildlife hasn’t gone down well.”
“Not dumb,” he insisted, clasping her hand just to watch her frown as they walked to the house. “A lot of visitors and new residents make the same mistake. I would advise you take smaller rescues to the shelter in Casper. They are easy prey for not only the coyotes but hawks and owls.”
“There’s a lot I didn’t consider when I settled on this endeavor.” She opened the back door then cast a worried glance toward the dogs, who were running and tussling.
“They’ll be fine. Chace will alert me if there’s a threat.” Dropping her hand, he held the door then followed her inside before propping the screen door open. “Feel better?”
She nodded and led the way into the kitchen where she got out paper plates and forks. If she was uncomfortable being alone with him again after last night, it didn’t show when they sat down and dove into the creamy pasta. However, she was almost as good as he at hiding emotions.
“Oh, this is good.” Looking up from her plate, she smiled. “Thanks, again.”
A sucker punch of lust hit him so hard, Slade tightened his fingers on the fork to keep from reaching across the table to haul her on top of it. “No problem. I presumed you were outside with Sam when I heard him, and you hadn’t eaten yet. I wanted to check on you, make sure you were okay, that I wasn’t too rough.”
Nicole scooped up another forkful of stroganoff and ate it before answering. As far as he could tell, his blunt speaking didn’t faze her. She swallowed and waved the fork, replying, “If you knew me better, you wouldn’t have gone to the trouble. As you can see, I’m fine.”
A bit put out by her blasé attitude toward an encounter that had plagued him for the better part of the day, he returned, “I can’t read your mind, however, I understand you better than you think.”
“No you don’t.”
It was the lack of hesitation in those three words that got to him. He kept eating while he spoke and proved it. “You left Chicago to run away from memories. You killed someone, presumably the person who attacked you, and the guilt is weighing on you. You’ve cut yourself off from family and friends, stayed out here where you’re not answerable to anyone, and only want to care about your dog. Then reality slipped past your walls, and you needed supplies and help, which meant getting involved with people again. And, damn, people around here are so nice, thoughtful, and supportive, you can’t say no. Now, you’re running scared, not of the trauma or the perpetrator but of returning to living.”
Nicole remained silent when Slade finished, her focus on her plate until she swallowed the last bite. Without commenting on his observations, she picked up their empty plates and carried them to the trash under the sink, talking over her shoulder. “I’ll be sure and tell Ina how much I enjoyed that. From now on, though, please call me before stopping by. I’m going to be busy with the contractors starting Monday, so if you were hoping for a repeat of last night in appreciation, that’s not going to happen.”
Slade rose, refusing to rise to that bait as he picked up his Stetson off the chair to put back on. He couldn’t fault her rigid refusal to give an inch because he’d acted the same for a long time, and six months wasn’t long enough for those memories to fade. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t walk away without responding to that taunt. “I expect you to face me when you’re going to accuse me of something. I’ve been up front with you from when we first met. Don’t ever assume otherwise.”
Nicole’s stiff shoulders sagged, and he let it go, unable to leave without offering a sounding board when she was ready.
“I’ve taken several lives, all in the act of saving others. You killed to save yourself. It helped to tell myself they were bad people with malicious intentions until my last assignment. When, or if you want to talk, you’re welcome to drop in anytime. Follow the trail over the creek bridge until you see a house.”
***
NICOLE WAITED UNTILshe heard Slade whistle for Chace, and Sam came barreling inside alone before turning from the sink to face the now-empty kitchen. The space had seemed much smaller and cramped with his large presence, and she breathed easier now that he’d left. She didn’t care for the sudden flush of pleasure she’d experienced when she first saw him outside, or the gratitude she owed him for rescuing her from her folly about the mistaken coyote. It didn’t bear thinking about what might have happened if he hadn’t come over a few minutes after the animal returned. Worse, though, was the guilt from allowing him to think she believed he’d come here wanting sex again. She bemoaned letting the flood of emotions he opened get the best of her.
Sam practically plowed into her, and she bent to rub his chest, Slade’s accurate assessment of her mental struggles still on her mind. Wasn’t it bad enough she’d had to sit through dinner aching to repeat the mistake of sleeping with him? Sexual attraction had always been easy to define and either ignore or go for until he’d demonstrated the benefits of giving up control. The hours of letting go had freed her of guilt for a short time, a much-needed respite from regrets and loneliness, expecting it to end there. Instead, the second she heard his voice, she’d gone hot and damp, her quick response as annoying as his interference until he’d set her straight on the coyote. Her irritation turned inward after hearing she’d unintentionally put Sam in jeopardy.
“Tell me something, boy. How can I want the man when I don’t like him?”
Sam barked and wagged his tail, looking from her to the treat cabinet.” You have a one-track mind, my friend, and are of no help to me in my hour of need.”
Padding into the living room, she turned on the television, hoping to find something that would take her mind off Slade’s last words. He’d said enough to figure he had been overseas in the military, seen and done things necessary to save lives, and that the last mission had not gone well, changing his perspective. Damn it, just enough to keep her curious.
Nicole threw herself onto the couch with a sigh. She didn’t want to appreciate anything about the guy, or feel bad over the blunder he’d rightfully called her on. The possibility they might share something in common went down as well as owing him an apology. And she sure as heck was not happy to admit, one touch and she would strip naked, praying for him to jump her bones again. For the first time since leaving Chicago, she wished her mother or friends were here. After Tony’s death, they became her rock and sounding boards, their honest feedback as truthful and welcome as his used to be since they knew her best.
Sam hopped onto the couch and laid his head in her lap, and she felt her melancholy slip away stroking his soft fur. Comparing the relaxed, happy dog snuggling next to her to the timid, scared pup that first arrived at the shelter reminded Nicole of the months of hard work and socializing it took to rehabilitate him. Maybe I should apply that technique to myself, she contemplated. She would see how the upcoming week went with people around all day and go from there. For certain, the way she’d been going about getting over Tony’s death wasn’t working.