Rocky Mountain Haven (26 page)

Lance was the holdout. Still watching, still judging. Now that they were getting the house in town ready for moving in together, the kid seemed to finally be coming to a decision about the whole deal.

Daniel was worried it wasn’t going to be pretty. Lance reminded him a lot of himself at that age. Stubborn but quiet. The kind you couldn’t move without a bulldozer unless he decided to give way.

Lance had both clerks trapped, cans of paint and wallpaper swatches littering the countertop. One of them spotted Daniel and relief showed in the man’s eyes.

“Look, someone to help you decide. I’ll be over here when you’re ready.” Both attendants fled.

Daniel laughed. “Lance, what are you doing? You’ve got more coloured bits of paper on the counter than there are jellybeans in the candy shop.”

Lance snorted. “As if.”

“So what’s the trouble? I thought you had an idea picked out already.”

“It was too girly.”

Sweet Jesus, here they went with the girly business again. Wait until the kid realized the female sex didn’t have cooties. He was going to be a handful. “You want horses?”

“Nope.”

“Race Cars?”

“Nope.”

“Circus clowns, elephants and balloons?” Daniel thought that one would make the kid take notice. Lance grimaced in disgust.

“I’m not a baby.”

“No, you ain’t.” Daniel leaned on the counter and poked at the papers. “Seems to me most of these are a little on the young side for you. Tell you what, the room you picked out pretty much just needs a fresh coat of paint, then you can add the things you want over the next while.”

Lance stared in suspicion. “I thought we had to get everything ready for moving in a couple of weeks.”

Beth stepped closer and Daniel wrapped an arm around her, pulling her tight to his side. She felt so good in his arms, so right, and he couldn’t resist stopping to drop a kiss on her cheek. She smiled, one hand behind his back, the other resting on his chest.

Lance checked every move they made.

“We have to be able to shift your furniture in, that’s true. But there’s no way that at the end of the day we’re going to have everything the way we want it forever. In fact, that’s one of the fun parts—you get to keep changing things and making things to show off your interests. Find what you love to do, and suddenly there’s all kinds of projects you’ll want to put in your room.”

“Like the stuff you make?”

Daniel nodded. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“You think I could make something in the workshop for my room?”

“Course you could. With supervision, but I’d love to help you.”

Lance cracked a smile and pointed at the paint samples. “Which one?”

Daniel checked them out and pulled three to the side. “If you’re going to make some furniture, pick your favourite of these. They’re neutral enough to look good for a long time.” He leaned over. “And they are not the least bit girly.”

Lance checked them over slowly then picked one up. “This one.”

“Give it to the man, and he’ll mix it for you.” Daniel watched the boy track down the clerk. He turned back to Beth who was smiling, a twinkle in her eye. “What was that all about?”

“He didn’t like my suggestions,” Beth said. “I pointed out almost the same things you did, but he didn’t trust me.”

“Hell, no, you’re a girl. You might contaminate his room.”

Beth poked him in the chest and he laughed.

The clerk cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I need to make sure you approve this before I tint the paint.”

“My dad said that was the best one. He’s going to help me make things for my room too.” Lance glanced up at Daniel. “Right?”

Daniel’s heart leapt into his throat, and beside him Beth’s hands squeezed his arm painfully hard. Did Lance even realize what he’d said? The word had popped out so casually.

“Right.”

Daniel looked just about everywhere in the shop for the next five minutes as the paint shook in the machine, fighting to keep his emotional high from showing. Dancing in the aisles seemed like a marvellous idea, but it might freak a few people out.

Every bit of his world was finally coming together.

The fire crackled, the sound mixing with the other familiar noises of the big old house. Beth leaned on Daniel’s chest, cuddled between his thighs as they both stared into the flickering flames. The boys were camping for the night with a couple of their soon-to-be-official uncles, Jesse and Joel. She wondered if the twins realized how little sleep the boys were planning.

“I’m going to miss this house.” Beth stroked her hand along his leg, tracing circles with her fingertip. There were good memories tied up in the place. The kids laughing, schoolwork getting done. Everyday living that somehow felt that much richer now. Deeper.

Safer.

“You’ll be able to come and visit as often as you like since Jaxi and Blake are moving in with the girls.”

She laughed. “I still can’t believe Jaxi kept the twins a secret her entire pregnancy.”

“I can’t believe Blake made it through the delivery.”

They grinned at each other.

“It’s as if this house has a revolving door. How do you decide who gets what?” She’d always thought she’d hit the jackpot when she’d been offered the place.

Daniel rubbed her shoulders, running his fingers through the short hair of her neckline. “Whoever needs it the most, I guess. My dad took over the main ranch house since he was the oldest, and for a lot of years this place had one set or another of my uncles and aunts and cousins living here. Now they’re all scattered around the area. Some built houses on the sections of the land they own, some moved elsewhere because they decided to get into something other than ranching.”

“Like you.”

“Like me…and you.”

They were moving in together, they were getting married. She’d put off the one last thing they needed to do. She pivoted in his arms. Twisting was much easier than a year ago, the flexibility and range of motion in her limb nearly back to one hundred percent.

“Daniel, I want to…” His sexy smile distracted her for long enough he leaned in and kissed her.

Kissed her thoroughly, taking her mouth and lips by storm and turning the gentle caress into something on the hot and needy side. She dragged back with reluctance. “Whoa, cowboy, I want to do that too, but first we need to talk about something else.”

He stoked her cheek and rearranged her in his lap so she could lean back on his legs. “We’ve gotten good at talking, as well as the sexin’. What’s on your mind?”

She took a big breath. “What do you think about making the wedding a joint celebration?”

Confusion painted his face. “Who else you know that wants to get married?”

She shook her head. “No, I meant…if you’d like…if you think you’re ready…”

“Spit it out already woman, I’m dying here.”

“Do you want to adopt the boys?”

Pure, unadulterated joy leapt into his eyes. “You mean it?”

It was exactly the response she’d hoped for. The kind of response she’d expected. With every action over the past months, Daniel had shown time and time again he wanted only the best for her, and the boys. “I think they’re all ready for the idea, and isn’t that kind of what you’re getting? A wife and kids? Let’s make it official.”

Daniel dropped his head back, but not before she spotted the tears in his eyes.

“I love them too, you know. Kinda crept up and swallowed me whole, even when I was trying to not hope for anything.” He clasped her chin in his hand, his thumb reaching to brush her bottom lip in a tender caress. “Falling in love with you has changed my entire life. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come dancing into my world.”

“Stumbling in, more like it.”

“I caught you.”

She kissed his thumb as it passed by. “You did, and you held on until my world stopped shaking. Until I was able to stand alone.”

“But you’re not alone, Miss Beth, you got me. Forever and ever.”

She drew him to the carpet, and they made love. Slow and sweet, everything she had wanted for years and years, and it was because they were friends and lovers.

They were everything important. They were family.

About the Author

Vivian Arend has hiked, biked, skied and paddled her way around most of North America and parts of Europe. Throughout all the wandering in the wilderness, stories have been planted and they are bursting out in vivid colour. Paranormal, twisted fairytales, red-hot contemporaries—the genres are all over.

Between times of living with no running water, she home schools her teenaged children and tries to keep up with her husband—the instigator of most of the wilderness adventures.

She loves to hear from readers:
[email protected]
. You can also drop by
www.vivianarend.com
for more information on what is coming next.

Look for these titles by Vivian Arend

Now Available:

Granite Lake Wolves

Wolf Signs

Wolf Flight

Wolf Games

Wolf Tracks

Forces of Nature

Tidal Wave

Whirlpool

Turner Twins

Turn It On

Turn It Up

Pacific Passion

Stormchild

Stormy Seduction

Silent Storm

Xtreme Adventures

Falling, Freestyle

Rising, Freestyle

Paradise Found

Black Gold

Rocky Mountain Heat

Coming Soon:

Rocky Mountain Desire

Wolf Line

Silver Mine

He’s the one who taught her to ride. Now all he wants is to ride her.

Rocky Mountain Heat

© 2011 Vivian Arend

Six Pack Ranch, Book 1

Blake Coleman is old enough to know that acting on impulse causes nothing but a heap of trouble. But when trouble’s a western-hat-wearing blonde with slim legs that go on forever, what’s a man to do? Wanting the sweet girl next door is just wrong. The responsible thing to do is keep his hands off.

Jaxi has other plans for Blake’s hands, and his heart. She may have once considered him a big brother, but that was a long time ago. She’s all grown up now and ready to convince him that she’s perfect for him. Except he can’t seem to see past the big “don’t touch” sign that’s apparently still hanging around her neck.

When Jaxi ends up living right under Blake’s nose, the undeniable heat between them slides off simmer and leaps up to barn-burning levels. However, a few of the younger six-pack Colemans have decided Jaxi’s brand of trouble is worth risking a few busted bones.

That is, if Blake’s finally ready to let go the reins and fight for what he wants…

Warning: Sexy cowboys seducing and being seduced in trucks, pool halls and barns. Droolworthy country charm, a little double-teaming, a few secrets and a whole lot of brothers to look forward to. Anyone wanna go for a ride?

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Rocky Mountain Heat:

Blake dragged a breath of air into his lungs in an attempt to cool his burning body. This wasn’t right. She was a guest in their home, and yet here he was, acting like a hound dog. He should be ashamed of himself.

He grabbed his travel kit from under the bed and marched down the hall toward the large shower room in the annex. He, Matt and Daniel had promised to use the larger bathroom and let Jaxi have the privacy of the other for herself.

The sound of running water met his ears and Blake stepped into the dimly lit room, wondering why his brothers had turned on only half the lights. Splashing noises echoed. Leaving his kit on the sink counter, he rounded the corner to the showers.

And froze.

The three showerheads in the open room were separated by nothing but space. Steam filtered the dim lighting into a moonshine glow.

All he saw was wet, naked skin. Jaxi’s skin. Every inch of her bare to his gaze as water poured from the middle shower, streaming in waves over her body. She faced away from him, head thrown back as she shifted to allow the water to slip over her face and down her chest. Blake, his body hot and needy, watched in a daze as the shampoo rinsed from her hair and undulated down her back, tiny bubbles racing over the curve of her waist. His gaze followed the bubbles along the gentle swell of her hips and the full curves of her ass. Her skin was pale pink from the heat of the water, faint tan lines showing on her thighs and arms.

His mouth went completely dry. Retreat. It had to happen—he had to turn and leave before she spotted him. Yet, no matter how loud his brain screamed at him, his feet remained glued in place as she slid the soap over her body. As she lifted her hands to brush her hair back from where it clung to her shoulders in white ribbons.

Blake’s cock tented his boxers as Jaxi rotated under the showerhead, turning the front of her body to his sight. Her nipples were soft. Tender, juicy pink berries crowning full, taut curves. The perfect size to fill his hands and still allow him to take her into his mouth. Water slid in rivulets over her belly and through the pale blonde curls visible at the junction of the long legs he’d fantasized about so many times. Jaxi’s eyes were closed, and she swayed as she washed, her hands slipping over her body in a way that made Blake heat to near boiling just from watching her. She hummed, quiet and low, her hips moving to the faint tune.

Guilt shot through him. He had no right to watch her, no right to invade her privacy and treat her like anything but the beautiful, caring person he knew her to be. She wasn’t his to admire.

God help him, he wanted her to be.

He swallowed hard and tried to peel his gaze away. Tried to not watch as her hands covered her breasts, then slicked over her belly in slow circles. Tried to glance away as she slipped her fingers gently through the curls covering her pussy, over her ass, washing every inch of her luscious body clean.