Fox, Morgan - Discovering Temptation [Texas Stallions 1] (Siren Publishing Allure) (9 page)

Her mind suddenly went straight to the metaphor of his comment. All she could see was his toned, sexy body pressed on top of her as he slowly fucked her into oblivion. His cock sliding vigorously inside her pussy as she clawed at his firm ass, rocking her hips, driving him deeper. She swallowed hard and shook the naughty thoughts from her head.

I really need to stop doing that.

She went to close the window, but he grabbed the frame before she could. “You sleep like an angel, by the way. I’ll meet you in the living room and you can help me with the shutters until Cooper gets back.” The mention of Cooper’s name had her cheeks heating and her lips throbbing in memory.

She pushed the window back open. “Why’s Cooper coming back? Isn’t he working on the fence with Tyler today?”

Hunter arched a curious brow. “Tyler said he wanted Cooper to get started on your father’s books. He needs you to show him the financials so he can start managing the records.”

Of course
. She could slap herself.
Stop getting so worked up over that kiss. It was nothing.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Right, the financial records, perfect.”

Again she went to close the window, but Hunter stopped her. “By the way, you look very pretty when you wake up.”

She gasped. Stunned, she instantly touched her head and realized what a mess her hair was, and then darted into the bathroom to brush her wild bedhead, pulling it back up into a ponytail.

Hunter called out after her in a sarcastic tone, “Don’t worry, I’ll close your window.” His chuckle could be heard all the way into the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Abby strolled out of her room, dressed and presentable. She looked nothing like she had when she rolled out of bed. She swallowed, licking her dry lips as her eyes finally found Cooper. He was already standing in the kitchen, sipping coffee that she assumed Sophia had made along with the best-smelling breakfast.

“Good morning,” Cooper said warmly as his gaze settled on her. The corner of his mouth lifted into a devilish grin. She couldn’t slow the fast beat of her heart. Her eyes slowly darted to his mouth, and then to his eyes, which reminded her of how easy it was to let a man so enticing kiss her.

Stop thinking like that
.

Clearing her lusty thoughts and throat, she replied, “Good morning.” She paused, stepping over to watch her friend cook. “Wow, Sophia, that smells amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so. Now, grab yourself a cup of coffee or water, and find a spot at the table. I’m going to bring you over a nice plate of food. Then you and Cooper can start working on your father’s records.” She returned to the stove with a black plate in her hand and started spooning out eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

Abby sat down and Cooper pulled out the seat beside her. On the table in front of him were her father’s financial journals, and in front of her appeared a steaming plate of food. It didn’t take her but a second to grab her fork and start digging in.

When Cooper caught her off guard with that kiss, she’d forgotten all about being hungry, but once the aroma of Sophia’s cooking slammed into her nostrils, she remembered all too well that she was starving. Pouring syrup all over her pancakes, she jabbed her fork into the soft, warm breading and shoved it into her mouth, closing her eyes as the warm, buttery, maple goodness rolled around in her mouth and slowly slid down her throat. When she opened her eyes, Cooper was staring at her in the same heated way he had done the night before.

“Did you enjoy that?”

Nodding with a growing smile, she repeated the act.

“I’m glad. I realized after you left the kitchen last night that you never did get anything to eat.”

She shrugged her shoulders, not caring that she’d gone to bed so hungry. She was making up for that now. Cooper chuckled.

“All right, well, while you enjoy your breakfast, I’m going to stroll through these books.” Cooper opened up the last few pages and noticed that the numbers were not adding up correctly. Then he began sorting through the stacks of invoices matching things up.

She watched him as she finished her breakfast. His eyes scanned the pages quickly, bouncing from the journal, making notes as he went along. His studious appearance was simply arousing. What she wouldn’t give to have a brain that could do math as quickly as his seemed to be doing. She couldn’t manage her own checkbook, let alone the finances for a thousand-acre ranch.

Finally, he gazed up at her. “Your father’s records are really not that bad. He was good enough to keep everything together, and even though he didn’t enter them here”—he pointed at the journal—“he still kept the invoices together. He left you pretty well off, considering.”

“Of course he left her well off,” Sophia chimed in from the kitchen. “Duke loved his little girl. He wouldn’t leave her to maintain this ranch without a little financial help.” She leaned around the corner and winked at Abby.

Abby dropped her fork on her plate. “Sophia, did my father talk about me?”

“All the time, my dear,” she said with a smile. “He wanted so badly for you to join him on the ranch, but each time he tried to call you or send you a letter, your mother would either hang up on him or return his letters unopened.” Sophia sighed. “Your mother desperately tried to keep you away from Duke. It broke his heart that he couldn’t have you close.”

“Why didn’t he just come to Dallas to see me?”

“He did. Your mother said you were away at some camp each time he made the trip up to see you. She wouldn’t even let him in the house.”

Yep, that sounds like my mother.
Even knowing that her mother was guarding her so tightly, she just couldn’t imagine that her father wasn’t able to find a way to have seen her. “Did he not think about getting an attorney to fight her?”

“Oh, he thought about that, too, but your mother was always one step ahead of him. She threatened to sue him for Paradise Ranch. When they were going through the motion of divorce, she wanted sole custody of you, but he wouldn’t agree to that. So, she threatened to sell off Paradise Ranch to the lowest bidder if he didn’t give her what she wanted. After a long, drawn-out legal battle with her, he agreed to give her custody of you, but only because he wanted to leave this place to you. He had hoped that once you got older and were no longer under your mothers stronghold…you’d come find him.”

Abby’s eyes watered. “I didn’t think he wanted me.”

Sophia stepped closer and knelt beside her. “Now that is simply not true. Your father loved you more then you’ll ever know.”

Abby’s heart broke a little more over her father. She knew her mother was a troll of sorts, but she hated thinking that her father would’ve given her up so easily. Why hadn’t he fought harder? Why did Paradise Ranch mean more to him than she did?

Sophia rose and moved over to a dark-brown chest in the living room. She hoisted up a box, opened it, and pulled out a stack of letters that were bound by twine. Sophia placed the box and stack in front of Abby. Her eyes swelled at the number of letters addressed to her. Each postmarked letter had “return to sender” written in big block letters.

“Your father wrote you weekly for nine years, and if he hadn’t gotten sick, I’m sure he would’ve continued. Everything you ever want to know about your father is in those letters.”

Abby’s heart squeezed in her chest as she stared at the letters written in her father’s hand. She wanted so badly to tear into them and discover just who Duke Blake really was. She also wanted to know why he’d abandoned her, but she couldn’t bring herself to open the letters. It was too much right now. Her head had to be clear when she read them, and she needed to be alone. The number of watchful eyes on her was just too much.

“Thank you, Sophia,” she murmured.

The front door opened and the sound of booted footsteps filled the room. All eyes shifted as Tyler rounded the corner into the kitchen. As soon as he saw Abby, his entire expression changed, and he didn’t seem to care who noticed.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked matter-of-factly.

“Good,” she said with a shy smile. “I almost didn’t get up, but thanks to Hunter, I had an alarm.”

Tyler’s expression was stoic. “The sheriff’s supposed to be here around ten this morning. He said he’d be by with an update.”

Abby glanced at the clock above the stove and realized the sheriff would be arriving soon. She stood, pushing the chair back with her legs, and grabbed the box filled with her father’s letters, clutching it to her breast.

To Cooper, she said, “I’ll just put these away and then we can finish up.”

“Actually, I’m good. Most of what I need to do I can handle alone, but once I’ve gotten everything worked out and all the invoices totaled up, I’ll show you how to manage the journals. We’ll need to back each other up so that you always know what’s going on with the books.” Her eyes widened as she thought about the math she’d have to do, and he must have noticed her concern. “No need to worry about a thing, Abby. I’ll teach you all you’ll need to know and it will be no big deal once we get it all cleaned up. You’ll see.”

Abby nodded with a smile. Tyler watched her every move as she approached him, just as she watched his. The intensity of his stare left her flesh warming with bursts of fever. Stepping around him, she felt her pulse begin to race as she gently brushed against his firm arm.

Tyler did that to her. She liked how he was able to distract her with a simple glance, and enjoyed it even more when he touched her. Her nipples hardened at the image of his arms wrapped around her, his fingers caressing her face.

When she finally reached her room, she placed the box on her unmade bed. The solid thud of Tyler’s boots thundered in behind her. She shivered as he entered her room and stalked straight over to the windows, checking to make sure they were locked.

She couldn’t help but notice his apprehension riding along his broad shoulders. “Tyler? Is everything all right?”

“I’m just checking the windows,” he said in a gruff tone.

She scoffed. “I can see that, but you’re giving off a vibe that screams something else.” She forced her hands to her hips. “What’s going on?”

He pulled his hands away from the window, turned and faced her. His strong hands balled into tight fists. “I want to know what the sheriff was able to discover about Jackson.” He inclined his head, glancing away from her eyes. “I don’t like the fact that there’s some damn freak running around town hurting people.”

Abby grimaced and a shiver of dread charged up and down her spine, reminding her of what she endured her first night in Temptation. “I don’t really like that little fact, either.”

Tyler’s eyes darted up to lock on hers, and he quickly closed the distance between them. He cupped her face in his uncompromising hands. “Abby, promise me you won’t leave the house without a chaperone.”

A sudden wave of nervousness flared inside her and she immediately placed her hands over his. “Tyler, has something happened?” She could feel it in the marrow of her bones that something wasn’t right with him. He was keeping something to himself, but what?

He audibly swallowed and gently stroked her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. His eyes were a sea of concern, but there was still a hard edge to him. She could see him fighting against it as he held her. “Last night, just outside of town, a woman was brutally assaulted and left for dead. She’d been raped and stabbed.”

Abby gasped, her chest collapsing in deep, heavy sighs and gulps of air. “Oh, God,” she cried. “Who was she?”

Tyler shook his head. “I don’t know who she was, but I do know that she was only twenty years old.” He pushed her hair back away from her face, not letting her go. His expression told her that he was picturing her as that poor young woman. Shit, so was she.

“How did you find out?”

His steel-gray eyes swept over her face in a slow perusal, finally settling back on hers. “I left for the hardware store early this morning for a few supplies, and everyone in town was already talking about it.” He paused. “I don’t want to see this happen to you.”