Body Rocks [The Andersons 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

“I think they’re used to volcanic eruptions,” Jess said, referring to her own temper.

Daniel nodded and put on an extremely highfalutin and scholarly voice. “Yes, yes, of the Anderson class. But I’m talking about the super volcano of the Ferris class. Ten times more deadly, because with this volcano, it’s extremely hard to predict when an eruption is going to take place.”

She broke out into hysterical laughter. “Oh, Daniel, it’s so good to have you here. Are you staying long?”

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to. I need a vacation, and the hiking around these parts is brilliant.”

“Have you got anywhere to stay?”

“I got lucky at the B and B. As I entered the reception, somebody was checking out. However, apart from breakfast, I will be imposing myself on you at other mealtimes. I’ve heard the cooking in these parts is brilliant, too.” He laughed heartily when she slapped him on the arm. His godmother was the female equivalent of the British chef Gordon Ramsay, but without the cooking skills.

There was then a shriek of delight, and into the room bounded Ramona Anderson. Or was it Samantha? Daniel never could tell them apart. They were identical in every sense, from the chestnut-colored hair, the emerald-green eyes framed by long, dark lashes, the high cheekbones, and the full lips. Even their five-foot-three, slim bodies with generous curves in all the right places were identical.

“Well, well, well, look who’s here. It’s Danny Boy.”

“Hi, er…?”

“Ramona. As you can see, I’ve had my hair cut. You won’t have any difficulty in telling us apart anymore.”

He grinned. “Right. Suits you.”

“Do you think?” Ramona asked, lightly touching the soft spikes. “I wasn’t too sure at first, but it’s growing on me.”

He groaned under his breath at Ramona’s wit. “Happy birthday for yesterday. I’m sorry I forgot presents, but I’ll take you and Sammy to Rustlers for drinks to make up for it.”

There was then another delighted shriek, albeit more muted, and Samantha Anderson walked into the room.

And that was when Daniel forgot how to breathe.

Though he’d met women with green eyes before, they never stole his breath away quite like the Anderson women, and none more so than Samantha’s. Talk about wide-eyed, innocent, and luminous. Openly staring—he couldn’t help it—his gaze traveled slowly from the shoulder-length, chestnut tresses, down the muck-covered T-shirt and jeans to the equally mucky boots. Then, just as slowly, his gaze traveled back up again.

And stuck fast on the pair of nicely-proportioned breasts.

That’s when he noticed, or rather felt, something else—his heart was hammering, speeding faster than a bullet train. Now that didn’t happen three years ago when he’d last seen her. In fact, it had never happened before. And it certainly wasn’t happening when he managed to wrench his gaze away from those breasts and back to Ramona.

“Long time no see, Daniel,” Samantha said softly.

“Too long,” he croaked. He swallowed and tried that again. “Too long.” Ah, that was better. He no longer sounded like a frog with laryngitis. “Happy birthday for yesterday. Like I just told Ramona, at Rustlers, the drinks are on me.”

“You’ll have dinner with us, won’t you?” Jess asked.

“I’m not exactly in my Sunday best,” he replied, grimacing at his own dusty T-shirt and jeans.

Samantha smiled. “Join the crowd.”

His throat dried up again. That smile of hers was as sexy as sin.

“Dinner won’t be ready for another hour or so, so there’s plenty of time for you two to take a shower,” Jess said, and pointed upstairs.

His throat was now as dry as the Mojave Desert. Take a shower? Before or after Samantha? Either way it was going to be torture for his testosterone-laden body. Visions of hot and soapy water running between those attractive-looking breasts and over the rest of Samantha’s curvy body entered his head. Oh, Christ. Now he had a hard-on to go with his parched throat. Any shower he would be taking would be ice-cold and back at the B and B.

Daniel backpedaled out of the front door, whacking his elbow against the jamb in his haste. “I really couldn’t impose on you like that. I’ll take a shower at the B and B. Be back later.”

* * * *

Samantha watched Daniel leave, very much aware of her flushed face and the warm glow which had settled low in her belly at the timbre of his voice. She couldn’t believe that that was the same Daniel Ferris from three years ago. She turned and ran up the stairs. What had happened to turn him into that heartthrob? Or maybe he’d always been like that and she hadn’t noticed. She groaned under her breath. She must have been blind because the six foot tall, tanned Daniel, with his short, flicked-back dark-blond hair, blue eyes, and muscular chest under the tight-fitting T-shirt he’d worn was simply mouthwateringly gorgeous.

She quickly undressed and put her dirty clothes in the laundry hamper in the bathroom. While she stood under the hot, pulsating water of the power shower, she again groaned, only this time it was louder. She really shouldn’t be thinking that way. Her encounter at the hands of Mark Raven had well and truly put her off men.

Samantha timed her shower to perfection, and emerged with body aglow but fingers and toes unwrinkled. Wrapping her body in a large towel, she crossed to her bedroom. After Raven’s attack, she’d moved back in with her parents, mainly because she didn’t feel safe in her own home on Second Street in Silver Creek. Sure, Matt still lived with her—Ramona was residing at the veterinarian practice that she co-owned—but she didn’t feel comfortable in the house by herself when Matt was out on duty.

So she’d returned home, quickly followed by Matt and Ramona, though her sister only stayed night times. She suspected Matt had only moved back because big brother Ross had told him to. It wasn’t like she didn’t appreciate it, because she did. She’d drawn a lot of strength from being surrounded by her family. She still experienced nightmares, though. Hence the reason why her doctor had prescribed sleeping pills.

After blow-drying her hair, and with thoughts fixed firmly on Daniel, Samantha opened the wardrobe to pick out something to wear. Nothing really grabbed her attention. She sighed and pulled on an old pair of loose-fit, dark-blue jeans and an equally loose-fitting, crew-necked, cream sweater. She termed them as safe and nondescript.

Then, in a moment of feminine purpose, she took them off when it occurred to her that it wasn’t her attention she wanted to grab, it was Daniel’s. She wanted to grab his attention so much he wouldn’t want to look at another woman ever again.

“What am I doing? Am I crazy?” she suddenly asked herself. Wasn’t she supposed to be off men? Yes, she was. But Daniel was different. He was warm and kind, and she’d known him forever. She knew everything there was to know about him. Well, apart from the fact he was mouthwateringly gorgeous. Maybe she should ask Ramona if she’d noticed how gorgeous he was. Though she strongly suspected her sister was too wrapped up in her business partner, Rex Latimer, to notice if there were any other men inhabiting the planet.

She turned back to the wardrobe and had a good rummage. The black, sparkly, spaghetti-strap dress she came across would have Daniel’s eyes popping out like champagne corks for sure. Suddenly unsure, she decided to wear the dress some other time, opting instead for a pair of beige linen slacks and a white lace top with a scoop neck. It was pretty and hopefully would tease Daniel enough for him to ask her out on a date.

Actually, thinking about it, and if she were really honest, Samantha wanted more than a date with Daniel. She wanted him to make love to her. Little fizzles of longing spiraled though her body at the thought of Daniel making love to her. She could only wonder what kind of a lover he was. One thing she knew for sure, though, was that Daniel was definitely more experienced than her. At the age of twenty-eight, she often felt she was the only virgin left in Montana, if not in the entire country. And at fifty states, the good ol’ U-S-of-A was a lot of country.

It wasn’t even as if she were purposely holding onto her virginity—she did want to lose it. However, considered the shy and sensitive twin, she’d never met a man who’d accepted her for who she really was. After a few dates, they thought her too plain and not exciting enough.

There had been two serious boyfriends, though—James and Max. However, the relationships ended when James had been offered a job in another part of the country and Max had moved to a different country altogether, a different continent, actually. The opportunities had been there, yet she’d never been compelled into taking that leap into the unknown with a man and surrendering herself to his adoring passion.

“You’re not wearing that tonight, are you?”

Samantha jumped on hearing Ramona’s voice right behind her. She hadn’t even heard her sister enter the bedroom. She turned and faced her. “Yeah, why?”

“Hair up or down?”

“Down.”

“Then it sucks.”

Taking a seat at the dressing table, Samantha studied her reflection in the mirror. Over the last week, she’d learned to disregard the angry bruises around her neck that stubbornly refused to fade. Seeing and thinking about them only brought back painful memories. Instead, she turned her attention to her hair. In her opinion, the chestnut tresses brushing her shoulders didn’t make the top suck at all. But one glance at a tutting Ramona in the mirror had her locating a pair of tortoiseshell combs in one of the drawers. She piled her hair on top of her head and pinned it into place. “How’s that?”

“Too severe. Loosen it up and leave some hanging down.” Ramona nodded in approval as Samantha readjusted her hair. “Much better. Have you left me any hot water for a shower?”

Samantha stared at her reflection, deciding the top knot really suited her, before grinning at her sister in the mirror. “Sorry. Since you’re living at the vets’, why don’t you go and ask Rex if you can share his shower?” Her grin faltered at Ramona’s gleeful expression and pink cheeks. It had never bothered her that her sister had lost her virginity some years before, but now for some reason it peeved her. “I knew it! You’ve had more than a shower with him, haven’t you? You’ve had sex with him.”

“Yep, and it was hotter than this weather.” Ramona walked over and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Don’t worry, Sammy. Your time will come.”

“But when?”

“With the way Danny Boy was looking at you earlier on, it will be sooner than you think. He has a serious case of the hots for you.”

“You think?” Samantha bit her bottom lip, surprised to hear that Daniel was interested in her.

“I know. Need any advice?”

“Which department?”

“Take your pick. Foreplay. Erotic massage. Positions. Oral.”

“Oral.”

“If you want Danny, or any man for that matter, to be like putty in your hands, then suck on his balls. And for guaranteed explosive results, press your finger up against his perineum while sucking his cock. It will drive him wild.”

“Mark was wild,” Samantha murmured, casting her eyes downward and shivering at just how wild he had been. Wild and violent. Images of Raven’s hands and body pressing down upon her brought tears to her eyes. But she blinked them back. She refused to allow Raven to have the power to hurt her anymore. Though a romantic at heart, underneath she possessed a steel-edged grit, and by God, she’d use it to show Raven that he meant nothing to her. She would no longer be his victim.

“Oh, Sammy.” Her sister slid her arms around her and gave her a loving hug. “Not all men are like Mark. Danny certainly isn’t. Remember your description of Rex? ‘Nice, kind, and tall.’ Well, Danny’s got those qualities, too. You know he has. He’s the man for you.” She grinned at her in the mirror. “Who’d have thought it? My big sister is gonna be a cradle snatcher.”

A bubble of laughter escaped. “He’s only three years younger,” Samantha pointed out.

“What’s a little math?” Ramona got to her feet and ambled over to the doorway. “I think I will take that shower with Rex.”

“You will be back for dinner, though, won’t you?”

“Wouldn’t miss it. And I’ll be staying the night, too. After your first date, I want all the gossip. I’ll bet Danny’s one helluva kisser.”

“Date?”

“Yes, date. After dinner. At Rustlers. Danny did say he was buying.”

“But—”

“I’m not going to be a third wheel. It will be just you and him. Very cozy.”

“Oh, right. But he’ll never kiss me.”

“Then kiss him. And don’t forget what I told you about fingering his perineum.”

The concept of kissing a man first wasn’t new to her. Unfortunately, the man had been Mark Raven. Samantha suppressed the shudder and rolled her eyes at her sister before turning her attention back to her reflection in the mirror. A spritz of perfume and a touch of lip gloss and she was ready. Not quite ready to finger Daniel’s perineum, but ready to kiss him if he didn’t kiss her first.

* * * *

Planting his boot on the running board of his truck, Sam Carrick stared back in the direction of the small town he had just walked from. A trickle of sweat ran down his temple, and he wiped a hand across his forehead. Sheesh, it was hot, even for late afternoon. His cell then vibrated in his jeans pocket, and taking it out, he grinned at the caller’s name displayed on the screen. He punched the answer button. “Hey, Scott,” he greeted with mirth. “How’s it hanging?”