With This Ring (Denim & Spurs Book 1) (11 page)

He’d just shut the door when someone knocked. Samantha peered at him over her shoulder before opening the fridge. Smothering his groan, he spun back and pushed it open. Big Mike stood there.

“I went by your stalls only to hear I just missed you. Gonna keep me out in this heat?”

“Of course not, come on in.” He stepped aside and shut the door after Big Mike went by.

“So, Dustin, tell me how you’ve been and you can tell me about what the fuck happened with you and Charlotte. I mean, I heard the rumors but—”

He broke off, and Dustin knew why. Mike had spotted Samantha. Turning, he saw Samantha with her butt against the countertop, bottled water in hand, an unreadable expression on her face.

Big Mike flicked his surprised gaze between them. “Mike, this is Samantha Finley. Samantha, this is the man who runs the show here, Big Mike Harper.”

“Call me Finn, please. Nice to make your acquaintance,” she said, shaking hands with a smile.

“And yours, ma’am. I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t know anyone else was in here.”

“No need to. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get out of your way.” She moved by Mike and paused before Dustin. “Excuse me.”

Call him selfish, he didn’t want to let her go. “Samantha.”

Her smile made his knees weak. “I’m going to go exploring. Catch up with your friend.” She slipped by him, tantalizing him with a mere brush of her curves.

The moment it was only him and Mike, he went and grabbed them each a beer. Seated at the table, he waited for Mike to speak.

“Someone new?”

He swigged some beer. “She’s from Branchwater and came with me.”

Mike’s lips quirked. “Son, no need to be overprotective. I want you happy and given the way you watch that filly, she makes you that way.”

“She does.” Regardless, he was glad Mike was happy for him. The man meant a lot to him.

“You know Charlotte is here, right?”

Ignoring the unpleasantness swelling in his gut, he shrugged. “We live in the same town, I’m not hiding from her. I wasn’t the one who cheated.”

“Is that what happened?” Mike snorted in disgust as he shook his head. “I’d heard that, hoped it was a lie. Sorry, son.”

“Better before I wed her,” he said, amazed it didn’t bother him so much now.

“Amen.” The men clinked bottles. “So, tell me about the little filly you brought with you today.”

An hour later, they left the trailer laughing. “Seven at my camper, son. We’ll have supper. Clara is looking forward to seeing you.”

“We’ll be there.”

“Good.” Another handshake and the men parted ways.

Dustin headed off in search of Samantha. It took him thirty minutes and when he located her it was at a pen watching some cowboys work their horses.

“There you are,” he said, leaning on the fence beside her.

The sun beat down on them, and he glanced askew at her. She seemed mindless to the sweat bead that rolled down her temple, jaw, neck then vanished inside her shirt. He, however, wanted to follow that same path with his lips or tongue. Both would work.

“Didn’t know I was lost.” She uncapped her water and took a drink.

“Big Mike expects us for supper at seven.”

“You want me to go?” she asked over the bawling calf that’d been separated from the herd.

“Of course.” He faced her. “Did you not want to?”

“I didn’t expect to go when he mentioned supper in the building.”

“Expect it. You’re my date.” He mulled over telling her about Charlotte. “Big Mike told me Charlotte was here.”

“I’m not sharing a trailer with the two of y’all.”

He frowned. “No, no. Only you and I are in the LQ, Samantha. She’s not welcome there.”

“Okay.” She peered at him. “Why’d you bring her up then?”

Good question. “I didn’t want you to be surprised if y’all ran into one another.”

She bestowed another of those amazing smiles upon him. “I don’t need protection from Charlotte Beaumonde, Dustin. I can take care of myself.”

“I know. Just remember something, honey. It’s in my blood to protect what’s mine.”

He maintained hold of her gaze as his words sank in. Her eyes widened briefly before she broke the connection. With a grin, he readjusted his hat then rested against the fence, brushing her arm with his.

Seeing Samantha off center made him smile, he liked it. After they ate with Big Mike and Clara, they wandered back through the building where his horses were stabled. They refilled water and ensured comfort for all three before making their way back to the LQ. Each step closer, he realized his breathing grew shallower.

At the door, he unlocked, opened it, then flipped on a light and allowed her to enter first. She didn’t speak as she closed the blinds allowing them their privacy.

“Thank you.”

“For?” He moved toward her after locking the door.

“Bringing me with you. I’m really excited about this.”

He could see the truth of her statement. She positively glowed and had been since their arrival.

Pausing before he actually touched her, he tossed his hat to land on the sofa. The sexual tension skyrocketed in the small space. He held her gaze.

“Bed’s yours. I’ll be on the sofa… and why are you shaking your head no at me? I won’t take your bed from you. I can take the couch.”

“No way.”

She crossed her arms. “Be logical, Dustin. The sofa bed will fit me much better. You are riding tomorrow and need a solid night’s rest.”

“I am being logical, and there is no way in the hell I’m having you sleep between me and the door.”

“You think someone will break-in?”

“Not a risk I’m willing to take.” He brushed against her as he reached for a water.

“This is ridiculous.”

Bracing her in with his arms, he placed them nose to nose. “No, it’s not. So, two options, alone or with me in the queen.”

Her gaze darkened as she gulped. “I need a shower.”

Like
that
admission did anything to calm his libido. It wasn’t easy, but he backed up and watched her head for the bathroom, grabbing her bag on the way. The door clicked behind her, and he sank with a groan to the very spot he could be sleeping.

By the time she reemerged, he’d finished his water and sat watching the local news.
Sweet Christ!
She exited the bathroom, and all his blood headed south. Again.

It wasn’t as if she wore some sexy lingerie from Victoria’s Secret or Frederick’s either. Not at all. A worn pink tee, hung to mid-thigh from beneath which peeked royal blue boxers with pink lips all over. Her hair tumbled about her shoulders in waves of dark brown silk with coppery gold highlights. Her skin scrubbed fresh.

“All yours,” she said, bag in hand.

There would be no hiding the steel rod in his pants if he stood now. “Thanks.” With extreme difficulty, he tore his gaze from her and refocused on the television.

His nose filled with her evocative sent as she settled next to him on the sofa. She pulled her legs up, rested her chin on her knees, and wrapped her arms around her shins. Huh, would you look at that, her toes had glittery pink polish on them.

He rose and jerked his bag from storage before making his way to the bathroom. Leaning against the closed door, he groaned. Every inch of him demanded he go out there and claim her as his. Unleash that passion he knew simmered beneath her exterior—the cool one she presented to the world.

He stripped naked and stepped into the shower, determined to keep it quick. However, it took a bit longer than planned. He dried off and drew on boxers and the pants he would sleep in. A deep breath and he pushed out into the rest of the LQ.

First thing he noticed was the silent television. Eyes on the couch, he found Samantha out cold. She’d slumped over and held a pillow to her chest. A powerful twinge hit him in his chest as he watched her. Vulnerable. That’s how she appeared to him, and it created this immense urge to protect her.

Bag on the floor, he scoffed at himself.
This was to be about fun, not attachments.
A woman wouldn’t get the best of him a second time. Still, he couldn’t ignore how this one made him feel, especially when he compared it to how he’d felt with Charlotte. He turned off all lights but one up in the bed area.

Working quietly, he turned down the green and gray quilt before returning to Sam’s side. He stood over her for a brief time, just learning the rhythm of her breathing before he bent to scoop her up in his arms. Perfect. As he’d already known she would. She burrowed closer to him as he carefully made his way to the queen bed and laid her in it.

Samantha refused to allow him to leave her there, as he should, instead slipping her arms around his torso, mumbling and releasing a heavy sigh. He prayed for patience and the ability to do the right thing.

Twice more he tried to disentangle her arms and with the second failure she nuzzled his chin. “Dustin.” She spoke his name on a long breath, and he knew he wasn’t going anywhere for the night. Wasn’t quite the way he pictured their first time in bed together, but he’d take it. Samantha was in his arms.

He shut off the light and held her close, nose buried in her hair, and drifted to sleep, contentment surrounding him.

* * * *

There was a man in bed with her. Finn held still as she tried working out her situation. It wasn’t easy. A hard body covered by warm skin resided beneath…well, her. She lay practically on top of this man.

Pressed against her stomach, blatant proof of his arousal rested. Long and thick, she grew damp at the prospect of enjoying such an item.

Cracking open her eyes, she found no light. Her cheek lay atop the beating of his heart—oddly comforting. His arms were about her, hands touching her skin. One along her ass, fingers below her waistband teasing the skin, and his other cupped the nape of her neck.

Comfort. Warmth. Security.

Emotions which surrounded her and she knew where she was. In bed with Dustin Kane.

She had one hand under his shoulder, and the other rested against his thigh.
I never want to move.
Unfortunately, she knew that wasn’t possible. Reality had sunk in. She was at the Horse Expo.

He flexed the fingers along her neck, the calluses teasing her skin, and she shifted along the hard body beneath her as fissures of pleasure skated over her. A deep rumble moved up his chest, tantalizing the parts of her that pressed against that very spot. Her moan slipped free before she could contain it.

I have to get off him or I won’t be held responsible for my actions.
Let’s face it, a woman can only take so much before she cracks under the pressure.
Given that Dustin Kane had always been her kryptonite, she would fall sooner rather than later.

“You’re thinking awfully hard for it being so early.” Dustin’s timbre flowed over her, warming her in ways the quilt never could.

“How did you know I was even awake?”

Lord help her. Those fingers massaging her skin weren’t making logical thought easy.

“I’ve been lying here trying to behave like a gentleman while you lay sprawled against me.” His fingers flexed on her ass.

“Don’t want to be one?” Why she baited him, she couldn’t answer. Couldn’t take back the words, either.

“I have a gorgeous woman stretched out over me in a barely-there tee and shorts. I know you can feel my cock against you. Do you really think I want to be a gentleman?”

She hoped not. Moving her head along the heated skin of his chest, she kissed his jaw. Sure, she knew she was playing with fire, but rational thought had long since been vanquished by raw need and desire. Light kisses along the chiseled jaw line.

His entire body tensed, fingers tightening upon her for a brief moment. “Samantha.” He spoke her name in a blended mix of a growl and moan.

Never had she believed herself more in control and yet wildly out of it at the same time. There was a time for thinking, one for talking, and this one—one for doing.

Rising up, she brushed her lips over his. He lay frozen for a second before exploding into action. In the space of a heartbeat, she found herself on her back with Dustin’s hard physique over hers, his cock pressed oh-so intimately against her. He dominated her mouth, kissing her in a way she’d never experienced before. This was more than out of control hormones. More than unbridled passion. She felt
all
of him in the hungry exchange.

He worked his hips, rubbing his substantial length against her, igniting more of her fervor for him. His hands twisted amongst her hair, anchoring her to him. She held tight, smoothing her hands up the wide muscled expanse of his back.

Damn! She was so close to a release already it wouldn’t take much. His teeth grazed her as he suckled, nipped, and lapped his way from her mouth down to the neckline of her shirt.

She’d barely caught her breath when he sucked one nipple in his mouth, shirt and all.
Oh hell!
Pleasure exploded, and she moaned simultaneously, cupping the back of his head, holding him to her. He massaged her other breast, his thumb flicking across the already turgid nipple.