Summer's Desire (12 page)

How could she
not have seen the violence in him? There must have been some signs that she
missed. What the signs were
,
she had no idea
.
He mentioned he’d been interrupted, by whom? Did he plan to rape
her or was murder in his plans too? Chills racked her body.

She couldn’t
sit still any longer
, so s
he paced back and forth, mentally kicking herself for being so
stupid. Although she appreciated that the
O’Learys
wanted
to protect her, they hadn’t seen the carnage Brent left. Paul’s murder had been
particularly brutal. Sheriff Brown made sure she saw it up close before she was
taken to the hospital. What an ass.

A knock on
her door, staunched her thoughts. Opening it, there stood Holden, bare-chested.
Her mouth dropped open as she stared. She’d never seen so many well developed
muscles on a man before. His shoulders seemed to take up the whole width of the
doorframe. A light sprinkling of dark hair covered his chest tapering down to a
fine line that disappeared under his jeans. Realizing she was staring, she
immediately glanced up. Her face grew warm at his knowing grin. His damn
,
sexy grin of his was
going to get her in trouble.

“I saw your
shadow walking back and forth under the door. Is that what you wear to bed?
What if one of the boys needed you in the middle of the night?”

“I
-
I have a robe. I was
just distracted is all.” Damn, she was wearing her very sheer rose colored
night gown. “I’ll get it. Is one of the boys sick?”

Before she
could turn, she found herself in Holden’s arms, plastered against his rock hard
body. Her nipples tightened to the point of hurting.
H
e lowered his head
and swept in for a kiss. It was a bold demanding kiss that had her aching even
more. She instantly put her arms around his neck
,
pulling his head down, intensifying the
richness of the kiss
.
I
nstantly
, she
opened for him
and his tongue darted inside, dancing with hers. Her breathing became labored as
she ran her fingers through his
thick,
brown
hair. Her moans sounded loud in the quiet room.

Holden picked
her up without breaking the kiss. He held her rear in his big hands as she
wrapped her legs around his tapered waist. He used his foot to close the door
behind him. He broke the kiss and pulled one strap of her gown do
wn
her arm with his
teeth, and then he slowly did the other. The top part pooled around her waist.
He stared at her breasts and she felt a jolt inside of her. He laid her on the
bed and feasted on her breasts
. T
aking
one nipple
in his warm mouth, he sucked on it, then the other. He rolled her nipples
between his fingers.

A
wildness envelope
d
her. She wasn’t
usually aggressive in bed but she was in need. It only took her seconds to get
his belt off and his fly undone. She felt cold when he released her to remove
his
W
ranglers
. But the cold was well
worth it. He was so hard and big that her breath caught in her throat. He
slipped the rest of her gown off and stepped back staring at her.
T
he look of admiration
in his eyes made her feel beautiful. Opening her arms she invited him to love
her.

He kissed his
way from her throat to her thighs
,
and h
is kisses were pure magic. He found the right
spot and kissed her, causing her to cry out. She was ready, so ready for him
and he didn’t keep her waiting. The next thing she knew he was inside of her.
Any doubts she had that he wouldn’t fit were
quickly
dashed.

Summer panted
as he thrust into her. Soon she matched his rhythm loving every minute of it. “Keep
your beautiful eyes open. I want to see them,” Holden urged
,
his voice low and
husky.

Smiling at
him, she locked her gaze with his as they continued. She felt it coming
;
intense pleasure had
built to its full height. She cried out still staring into his dark eyes. His
cry of satisfaction followed hers. He was right
.
I
I
t was miraculous gazing into each other’s eyes. His
eyes glowed with passion
and s
he tingled everywhere. It had been everything she imagined and more.

Holden moved
and lay down next to her, taking her into his arms. “That was—well all I can
say is wow.”

Summer turned
toward him and raised herself up on her elbow. Smiling
,
she kissed his
cheek. “Wow is right.” Snuggling against him was pure heaven. She was just
about
fall
asleep when the bed jostled. Holden got up and put on his pants.
She waited for him to look back at her but he didn’t. Part of her knew he had
to leave. What would his brother’s think if they found him in her room? Part of
her felt let down. It was
as
if he was sneaking out on her. As she slowly fell asleep she
decided to just hang on to the wow.

Chapter Eight

The next few days
were a rollercoaster of emotion for Summer. She sat on the front porch drinking
some evening coffee, watching the magnificent sunset. The colors splashed across
the mountains in an array of pinks and purples brought a smile to her lips. It
gave her the first sense of peace since she slept with Holden three nights ago.

She sipped
her coffee and her smile turned sad. He’d hardly looked at her
, and
i
t hurt to her very core. What she thought was making love, was just
sex to him. He never acknowledged it and his easy affection toward her ha
d
ceased. He
’
d stolen the wow from
her. Her heart ached and she had no one to blame but herself. She’d had her
doubts and like a fool she dismissed them. She and Holden were obviously not on
the same page.

Her heart
constricted. She never cared about a man this much before and the pain was
almost too much. Maybe she was too naïve
—
too stupid was more like it. How could she
have imagined a man like Holden would want to be with her? She was a different
person
from
before the beating Brent gave her. She used to be outgoing and
more confident. Now she didn’t feel confident at all. Damaged goods is what her
mother would have said. Just good enough for a roll in the hay but never good
enough to marry. She’d known women like that, many came into the bar. They all
were a bit lost and that was how she felt.

The slam of
the front door jarred her from her musings. “Hi Mark. Come enjoy the sunset
with me.”

Mark sat in
the chair next to her. “Looks nice all right.” He hesitated as though he was
trying to think of conversation to make.

“Is something
bothering you, Mark?”

“I was going
to ask you that same question.” Mark’s face turned red.

Summer
glanced away from him so he wouldn’t see the lies in her eyes. “I’m fine.
Everything seems to be going well around here. Matt is feeling better.”

“But you’re
not happy.”

Summer bit
her bottom lip. “I’m just moody sometimes is all. Really, don’t pay attention
to me when I get like this.”

Mark touched
her arm. “Are you sure? You haven’t gotten any more calls from the creep have
you?”

Relief washed
over her. “No calls at all.” She turned toward him and plastered a smile on her
face. “It’s been nice and quiet.”

Mark nodded.
“Sometimes it seems that way when Holden is gone so much.”

“He has been
busy of late.”

“He’s
teaching Mindy Sue some new system or something. Once they get it all figured
out I’m sure he’ll be home more.”

Fake smiles
were becoming her specialty. “It shouldn’t be too much longer.” She didn’t want
Mark to know that she didn’t know Holden was spending his time with Mindy Sue.
She sat with Mark in silence until she finished her coffee. “I’m heading in.”

Mark nodded.
“Goodnight, Summer.”

She waltzed
by a snoozing Matt,
and
smiled at Luke and John who were playing a video game. Putting her
cup in the sink
,
she wondered if Holden was with Mindy Sue
tonight too
. If only
he was around once in a while she’d be able to talk to him. “Goodnight,” she
whispered to Luke and John. “Don’t stay up too late.”
A good night’s sleep
was all she wanted. All she needed.

Later that
night she heard Holden’s footsteps walk by her door. He didn’t hesitate
,
just walked by. It
hurt. It shouldn’t have but it did. They made no promises to each other. It had
been bad judgment on her part but she still craved his touch. Closing her eyes
,
she hoped for her
cravings to go away
, but o
pening
her eyes
again,
she knew that
would probably never happen.

*
*
*
*

The next day Holden
sat on the top of the corral fence watching Mark and Luke work with two of
their mares. They sure were good with animals. They made him proud with their
knowledge. The mare Mark was trying to get saddle broke was a beautiful
Palomino
whose name
was Links. Luke was working with a bay named Jessie. She had a
sweet nature about her. Links was known to bite the other horses, but she
hadn’t taken a step toward Jessie this morning.

It was a hot
one. Perspiration trickled down his back. He’d been spending far too much time
thinking about Summer
lately
. Teaching Mindy Sue how to input all the animals and owners had
been a bit of a chore and his distraction made it go slower than he expected.
The
y
only
listed the ones they knew of. The hard part was going to be finding the rest.

Summer had
been a bit chilly toward him. He didn’t blame her, but his work came first. He
laughed as Links tried to unseat Mark. Mark’s dark hair was long under his hat
and he was the picture of their father. Warmth filled his heart. Their parents
would have been proud of them.
John ambled out of the house and joined
Holden.
He
climbed the fence and sat next to him
,
giving Holden
sidelong glances.

“Okay, out
with it.” Holden said.

John turned
toward him. “It’s Summer. Are you ignoring her on purpose? Did she make you
mad?”

Confused,
Holden shook his head. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, the
goo goo eyes are gone and so are the smiles.”

Holden shook
his head. “You know for such a squirt you sure know a lot.” He smiled. “I
hadn’t realized. I guess I’d better get into the house and make some goo goo
eyes at her.”

John smiled
brightly. “Good and I’m not a squirt.”

Holden hopped
down from the fence. “You’re right you aren’t. Thanks for the advice.” He grinned
,
noticing John
sitting taller.

Walking
toward the house Holden realized that he needed a smile from Summer. There she
was bending over
,
cleaning mud off the floor. He wanted to cup her delectable bottom
in his hands. His body responded so quickly that he felt uncomfortable. Even glancing
at Matt didn’t squash the rising temperature inside him.

“Need some
help?”

Summer
straightened and turned. Her face was a rosy red and he wondered if it was
because of him or maybe it was just because she had been bending over.
“I’ve got
it. Thanks though. Did you need something?” There was no warmth in her voice.
In fact it sounded down right stony.
He got as close as possible without actually
touching her
and
leaned in a bit
then
whispered
,
“Yes, I need you naked and in bed.”

The look in
her eyes showed her doubt. “I’m busy.”

“We could
clean your bedroom together if you like.” He grinned at her. She seemed
flustered and he liked it.

“Maybe
later.” She started to walk away but turned back when he put his hand on her
arm. “Do you mean that?” he asked holding his breath.

“No, I don’t,
I can’t. Look, Holden, I’m not the type of woman you think I am. I have real
feelings and I don’t sleep around. You’ve made it clear that last time didn’t
mean anything to you. It has to mean something or it’s not right. Not right for
me at least.”