The raucous ring-ring-ring of the phone woke Dallas. Warm woman. Naked. Confusion chased rambunctious puppy-style, scampering around his sluggish brain for long seconds. What the hell? His lips twitched. Oh, yeah. He recalled the identity of the woman curled so trustingly in his arms.
Laura Drummond.
Ring-ring-ring.
Dallas slipped from the warm bed to answer the stroppy summons from the land line in the kitchen. “Yeah.”
“I’ve had Mrs. Drummond on the phone demanding to know her daughter’s location.” Mason’s pissed tone slapped away Dallas’s feel-good mood. “The woman has rung her daughter’s apartment and keeps getting the answer machine.”
“Is it still raining?”
“A little. The worst of the storm seems to have gone. Pass is still closed. They say it’s gonna take a couple of days to clear,” Mason said, answering Dallas’s next question.
“I’ll get Laura to ring her family. They don’t know she’s here?”
“I’m not about to step in the middle of a Drummond-O’Grady spat,” Mason said. “I assured Mrs. Drummond her daughter was safe and told her to wait and ring her daughter at a decent hour before calling out the police force.”
Dallas grimaced, imagining from Mason’s aggrieved tone how that’d gone down with the Drummond matriarch. “I’ll tell Laura to ring her family.”
“See you do, Dallas. I’m off-duty today and don’t want to leave the house if I can help it. Call me back once Laura has spoken to her family.”
“Will do.” Dallas hung up and strode back to the bedroom.
“Is everything okay?” Laura sounded sleepy. “Ow, you’re cold.”
“That was Mason,” Dallas said. “You need to ring your mother before she orders the cops out on a search and rescue mission.”
“What’s the time?”
“Ten past six.”
Laura grimaced, more alert now, and sympathy frog-marched through Dallas. Family. You had to love them—the good, the bad, the freakin’ nosy.
“Seven is early enough to ring my mother on a weekend morning.”
Hello Miss Prim and Proper. “What are you gonna tell her?”
“That I spent the night with a friend.” She slanted him a look and there went sympathy again, nodding its head in a knowing manner.
Hard not to appreciate this particular Drummond.
“I could lie, say I didn’t hear the phone, but I need to ring a bell for independence. She’s got to stop trying to run my life, stop her bloody interfering.”
“Fair enough. Are you tired?”
“I’m awake now.”
“So am I.” And so was his dick. Awake and ready for action.
He dropped onto the bed, gathered her lush weight into his arms and kissed her, starting off slow and deepening the contact. She sighed into his mouth, tightened her arms around his neck and pressed her naked breasts to his chest in surrender.
Long moments later, he lifted his head, caressed her kiss swollen lips. “I want you.”
“You have me,” she whispered against his neck, the puff of warm air rolling a shiver over his skin. Her hands smoothed down his back, along his hip. A few touches, a few kisses was all it took. His cock tightened. His balls lifted.
“Are you wet enough to take me? Fast and hard?”
“You want me that way?” A note of teasing crept into her voice, and he found he liked it, liked the challenge. Hell, he plain liked Laura, even though she had one foot in the enemy camp.
“I like you slippery and hot and tight around my cock. I can feel your heat even through the condom.”
“I’m good,” she said, this time with a touch of the prim.
He laughed and kissed her again, taking a few seconds to lay a trail of kisses down her neck and latch on to her nipple. He sucked strongly, battling the siren urge to roll her over and thrust strongly between her legs. But his father’s lectures were too engrained. After kissing her for a little longer, he rolled away to grab a condom.
She smiled, a shy smile that grabbed him by the nuts. “I want you inside me. I’m ready for you. Hard and fast, okay?”
A return smile twitched his lips as he stared into her whiskey brown eyes. Damn it. Why did it have to be Laura Drummond who turned him inside out? He forced his thoughts aside to concentrate on her. He pushed inside, groaned. “God, you feel amazing.”
She sighed against his lips, clutching him to her. Although he’d wanted to pound into her, the loving slowed and he worked on loading memories. The sensation of his strokes into her tight cunt. The feel of her lips moving against his and the coursing of his blood through his veins This thing—whatever it was between them—was magical and in the future, he wanted to recall every second.
He shifted position, caught her gasp against his lips as the base of his cock struck her right. During the repeat stroke, she moaned, and the instant he felt ripples, he thrust faster, racing to catch her while she surfed waves of pleasure. He plunged into her, threw himself after her and groaned at the wash of ecstasy that dazzled him with bright lights behind his eyelids. So good. So bloody good.
The pulses went on for a long time then he rested against her, only moving when he realized he’d become an uncomfortable weight, pressing her into the mattress. He withdrew, tossed the condom and returned to her side, her warm lushness attracting him like shelter in torrential rain.
“Thank you,” he whispered, kissing her. His pulse rate did a bump and grind at her response, spirit willing but flesh still weak.
They cuddled in contentment, the minutes ticking away.
“I guess I’d better make that phone call.”
“Why don’t you take a shower first? I’ll make breakfast and use the bathroom while you speak to your family.” He didn’t want to listen. She was right though. She was an adult, although he understood why they might worry about her given the severe storm. “Take some of this gel to rub on your butt after your shower.”
She shot him a hot frown and accepted the tube.
The coffee was ready when she joined him in the kitchen. He shunted a mug in her direction, indicated the phone and left her to it while he hit the shower.
Laura tested her coffee for heat, blowing across the surface before taking a cautious sip. It burned her mouth, but that was the least of her problems. If she didn’t handle this conversation, both she and Dallas would sink into a heap of trouble. She tried another sip, and this time it slipped down easily. In the distance, she heard the shower start—a sort of a ticking clock springing to life inside her mind.
Time to get this done.
Her palms were sweaty when she picked up the phone, and she wiped them on her sweats. A tremor shook her hand, but she managed to dial her parents’ number. It rang for three rings before someone picked up the other end.
“Drummond residence.”
“Bridget, it’s Laura. I understand Mother is worried about me.”
“Miss Laura, your mother is at breakfast with her guests,” Bridget said.
Not as worried as she made out to the local cop. Another slice of guilt to manipulate Laura. Normally, she’d shrug and brush aside her mother’s behavior. Not this time. Anger flared in her, finding an outlet in a white-knuckle grip around the phone.
“Would you mind giving her a message for me? Tell her I’m at home and will drive back to Clare for the wedding. I’ll wait on the phone while you tell her in case she wishes to speak with me.”
“She’ll want to speak with you,” Bridget said, her Irish accent evident.
Laura finished her coffee and poured another one. The shower shut off.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” The crisp voice of her mother was a bucket of icy water dropped on her head. “I dislike talking to that infernal machine. Why isn’t your cell phone switched on?”
“I forgot to charge my cell. The battery is dead. Mother, there was no need to contact the local police and bother them. They have more important things to do.” Laura pulled a face at the disapproving silence and continued. “The rain wasn’t bad in Napier. I ran out of milk last night and decided to go out to get some. I met some friends and we had drinks.” Aware she was giving too much information, she stopped and waited for her mother’s next salvo.
“You were expected here.”
“Janice has six bridesmaids,” Laura said crisply. “I doubt my absence has even registered on her radar.”
“James was expecting you.”
Ah, now they reached the heart of her mother’s objections.
“I’m not interested in James.”
A sharp inhalation filtered down the line. “James is an eligible bachelor.”
Her mother’s determination rang in her voice, her words, and Laura scowled. “I’m not interested in James. I’ll speak with him, act with politeness, but I won’t marry him. Next time I see him, I’ll make my feelings on the subject clear. I refuse to marry a man to give him respectability. Quite frankly, if he’s willing to go along with marriage talk, he’s lying to himself. It’s a recipe for disaster, and I want no part of it.”
“Laura.” The sharp note carried displeasure, a silent demand for her to behave in a manner befitting the Drummond name.
“Mother, I am an adult.”
“Then start behaving like one.”
Laura bit down on her lip—hard—to stem her instinctive argument. Despite her mother’s lack of faith, she was an adult. It was their definition of the word that differed. “I’ll leave you to enjoy the festivities, Mother.”
“I’ll send the helicopter for you.”
“No, I’ll try to come when the pass clears. It will be a short visit because I have work commitments.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll speak to Sheila and explain we need you here.”
“No.” This time she didn’t bother to hide her terseness. Footsteps behind her made her realize the phone call was taking longer than she’d expected.
Dallas bore a passive expression as he pointed to her coffee cup. She nodded.
“I need to go, Mother. Since I’m stuck in Napier, I’m going out with some of the girls at work.”
“You’re the most ungrateful child.”
Laura fingered her temple, hoping to rub away the beginnings of her headache. “Yes, Mother. Please do not send the helicopter to pick me up and force the pilot out in the cold because I won’t be waiting at the heliport. I will be with my friends. See you when the pass reopens.” Laura paused a beat, listened to the start of her mother’s indignant diatribe and broke in, speaking loudly to drown out her parent. “Goodbye, Mother.”
She clicked the phone down and rubbed the side of her head again. Her mother was out of control. Somehow Laura had to halt her interference.
“Headache?”
“Yeah. It’s called parents.” She rubbed her temples again and swung around to face Dallas. “When I have children, I’m going to support them and help them become decent human beings, but I am not going to treat them like chess pieces on a board.”
“Do you want kids?”
She stopped to consider her words and nodded. “Yeah, I do. Maybe in a few years, after I’ve explored the world a little and become comfortable in my own skin.”
“You don’t like the fit of your skin?” He took the two steps separating them and snaked a hand around her waist.
“Not all the time. As you said last night, I’m still young.”
“I think you know what you want. You know what to do to change your life. You’ve already taken the first steps.”
“You’re a know-all smart-ass.”
“My brothers would agree.”
But he was right. She’d prevaricated about facing-off with her mother for a long time. Lately, she’d tried taking a stand on small things. Her mother wasn’t paying the slightest bit of notice, bulldozing each one of Laura’s objections. Today would be the official start of her independence campaign. No doubt there’d be tantrums before she gained her freedom.
Dallas dropped a kiss on her nose. “I’m sure you’ll manage your mother.”
“She’s still rabbiting on about James and his suitability rating as a husband.”
“What would you like for breakfast?”
“I normally have toast. That will be fine.”
“Not today, it won’t. We’re going outside to take care of a tree that fell during the night. You’ll need plenty of fuel to keep up your energy levels.”
Not what she’d expected. She’d thought they might laze around, watch a movie, make love in front of the fire. “A tree?”
“Yeah. It’s fallen over the drive. If we don’t shift it, neither of us is going anywhere. Scrambled eggs and bacon, I think. You can make toast and another pot of coffee.”
Dallas made the cooking process fun. He touched her at every opportunity. Casual caresses, true, but her pulse raced and her mouth soon ached from smiling so hard. While Dallas took charge of the cooking, she set the table.
“Take these plates while I grab some orange juice.” Dallas handed over plates filled with fluffy eggs and crispy bacon. She set them down and pulled out a seat.
“Did you rub lotion on your butt after your shower?”
“I—yes.” Laura felt the heat seep into her face.
“Are you sore?”
“No.” She sat on the edge of her chair and couldn’t prevent a wince when she instinctively slid back fully onto the seat.
“Liar.” Dallas took the place opposite her, his long legs jostling hers. On purpose, she discovered when she ventured a look in his direction. “Our liaison won’t go well if you don’t give me the facts. How can there be trust between us if we don’t have truth?”
He was right, damn it. “My bottom is a bit tender. Standing doesn’t hurt but I felt it when I sat.”
“Thank you for admitting that.” He flashed a grin. “You now have a delightful reminder to follow my instructions. Taste the eggs. I make very good eggs.”
After wriggling to find a comfortable position, she started on her breakfast. It was delicious, and she was surprisingly hungry. But one of the nicest things was the fact she could eat and express enjoyment without having parental disapproval hovering like one of last night’s storm clouds. “I’ve never enjoyed dry toast for breakfast.”
“Then why do you eat it?”
“My mother approves of toast, and I prefer peace in the mornings.”
“Ah, well. Eat and enjoy.”
“Have you always wanted to manage pubs?”
“I sort of fell into it. My parents owned the original pub, and my older brother wanted to travel instead of manage a pub. I was the next choice. Now that Quinn is back at home, the three of us have a hand in the business.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“I do, most of the time. I enjoy the interaction with the public.”
“Most of the time? What parts don’t you enjoy?”
“The paperwork drives me nuts, and occasionally it would be nice to get away. I manage a few nights at most and usually spend them here at the cabin. You’re not alone in wanting to explore more of the world.”
They chatted with none of the morning-after discomfort she’d experienced in the past. They laughed and argued and agreed to disagree about their tastes in music. If only Dallas had been another man. Any relationship between them would be temporary. She knew and accepted the limitations, even though they chafed her sense of fair play.
“Ready to go out and play in the great outdoors?”
“I am. Do you have some spare clothes I can change into afterward? I didn’t bring many with me.”
“My younger brother left some of his stuff here. Don’t worry. We’ll find something for you or baring that, I’ll make sure the cabin is warm enough for you to go naked.”
“You want to see my boobs.”
“Guilty,” he said. “You have gorgeous breasts. Nice arse too.”
“What about the dishes?”
“We can do them later.” He stood and held out his hand.
Laura let him lead her to a mud room where he found her a jacket, gloves and a hat. There was even a pair of gumboots, which with the aid of two extra pairs of socks, sort of stayed on her feet.
Outside the sun was doing its best to creep from behind cloud cover. She caught her breath at the first lungful of crisp air. It was so cold her teeth ached.
“Tell me again why this is a good idea,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s meant to be spring, but it feels like the middle of winter again.”
Dallas laughed, his breath misting out in puffs of white. “It’ll be fun. Don’t you enjoy having fun?”
Laura thought about her mother’s social schedule and shuddered. “Not when I’m at home. While I’m at the apartment, my life is a bit more relaxed.”
“But you have toted wood before?”
“No. You’ll have to give me instructions. Brr, it’s freezing out here.”
Dallas hooked an arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her lips. His mouth was cold, yet a zip of heat arrowed down her body. “I’m going to enjoy teaching you to get dirty.”
“I get the impression you aren’t talking about chopping wood.”
“And you’d be right,” he whispered, dipping his head to steal another kiss. “Let me grab the chainsaw.”
Dallas kept her busy. She carted cut pieces of log to the shed next to the cabin while he cleared the tree off the driveway. After half an hour, her shoulders and arms ached in concert with her butt, and her brain vibrated with the whine of the chainsaw. Splotches of mud, from where she’d stomped through puddles, decorated her bottom half like badges of honor, and she was warm now. Very warm. Gawking at Dallas’s backside, seeing the ripple of muscles while he worked the chainsaw heated her through more than her exertions.
The silence when he stopped working was absolute.
“Looks as if we’d better hurry,” he said, his gaze wandering the darkening sky. He grabbed an armload of wood, and she followed suit. Ten minutes later, they were done. “Thanks for helping.”
“You’re welcome. It was fun.” She grinned at him, then spoiled everything by tripping. Her arms windmilled and she saved herself from a face-plant by catching herself with her hands. Her splash into a puddle—deeper than it looked—was the final indignity.
“Are you okay?” Concern filled his rugged face, and it was all she could do to stop herself reaching out to test his stubble beneath her fingertips. The exertion had given color to his cheeks while his blue eyes glinted with secrets.
“No, I’m not. I have water seeping through my clothes. You’ve worked me like a slave, and I’m sweaty.” The quirk tugging at the corners of her mouth spoiled her litany of complaints. She hadn’t had so much fun in years.
He grinned and offered her a hand up. “You’ve done a great job.”
“I notice you didn’t refute the slave status.” God, she loved the way his grin lit up his eyes and made the shadows fade away. So pretty. Was it soppy of her to want to stare into his eyes?
Hell yeah. Of course it was. Temporary, remember?
Once upright, she pressed against him and slid a sneaky, muddy hand beneath the hem of his rugby shirt. He yelped at the cold. Laughing, she danced away and headed for the cabin at a fast trot.
At the thundering sound of footsteps, she sneaked a glance over her shoulder and saw he’d almost caught her. “You’re too fast.”
“You’re slow.”
“You try running in oversized gumboots.” A laugh huffed out of her when his hands settled around her waist. “Why didn’t you have sex with me last night before we went to sleep? Why did you wait until this morning? Damn, I didn’t mean to blurt that out. Broken filter.”
“But you want to know the answer?”
“Yes.” She didn’t understand why he’d attended to her needs and taken nothing for himself.
“Laura.” He tugged her to a stop and turned her to face him. “Questions don’t bother me. I want you to feel happy and confident about our interactions. Occasionally, I’ll want to surprise you.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“I wanted to look after you,” he said simply. “I’d spanked you and your emotions were all over the place. It was my responsibility to care for you.”
“But—”
“I’m not a beast. Delayed gratification won’t kill me. Once we’re inside and warm again, we’ll play some more.” His gaze bored into her, a smile playing around those sexy lips of his. “Don’t worry about me, but do wonder about the type of punishment you have in store for placing wet, muddy hands on me.”
“I’m all a shiver.”
Dallas shook his head, seemingly amused by her irreverence. “I’d say they’ll try to get the pass open tomorrow, if they can. I’ll need to get back to Napier anyway.”
“I’ll have to ring the garage about my car. You’ll give me a ride back to Napier? I told Mother I’d drive to Clare, but there’s no point for just a few hours.”
“Of course. This last load of wood should do us and give me plenty for the next time I visit the cabin.”
Inside again, Laura headed to the shower while Dallas sorted out the fire. She dressed in a thick robe and socks, winding a towel around her damp hair. While Dallas took a shower, she made them hot chocolate and sat in front of the fire, drying her hair.
Dallas strode into the open plan area, his presence filling the room. Her breath caught when she met his gaze. Lord, what had this man done to her? Put something in her food? She wanted him so much. He came to a halt in front of her, his eyes blazing with need. Sure hands unfastened the belt of the robe he wore.
“I want you to go down on your knees and suck me off.”
“Now?”
He gave a curt nod. “Place a cushion under your knees.”
The stern, confident note in his voice got to her, pushed her to a different place. He’d used the same tone last night. It made her want to jump to attention, made her want to please him, made her think about keeping him in her life.
Slowly, she rose from the couch and picked up a mint green cushion. The decorative embroidery was scratchy in her hands, the other side a silky contrast when she placed it on the ground and sank to her knees.
The scent of hot chocolate and wood smoke teased at her, and when she glanced up at Dallas, the fresh citrus note of his shower gel filled her nostrils. She drew a sharp breath and focused on his cock. It was long and hard, the head ruddy with arousal.
Her hand trembled when she reached for his shaft. The skin was smooth beneath her fingertips. She glanced up, the intensity in him transmitting hot messages of lust through her body. Her nipples prickled insistently against the nubby fabric of her robe. Heat bloomed between her thighs.
She swallowed. “I haven’t done this much.”
“Would you like me to give you instructions?”
Relief blasted away the creeping anxiety. She wanted to learn and most of all, she wanted to please him. “Yes, please.”
“Take me more firmly in your hands. I won’t break.”
She nodded, fascinated by his body. She’d never been so up close and personal with a penis before, her previous experiences having taken place in dark bedrooms. “You can’t call a penis pretty.”
He let out a snort, her quick glance telling her she’d surprised the sound from him.
“Shush,” he said. “No talking unless I ask you a direct question. Run your hands up and down my shaft. Explore it with your hands. Touch my balls and fondle them. Don’t squeeze my balls too hard unless I tell you.”
Laura followed his instructions, noted the moves that made him shiver, the ones that pulled forth a hiss of pleasure. His musky scent combined with the citrus of the shower gel, and under her ministrations, his cock grew larger, harder.
“Now use your mouth on me. Explore with your tongue.”
Laura followed the instructions, grateful for his direction. No snapping or impatience, and the orders didn’t feel like commands. He tasted musky, slightly salty. Every time her tongue hit the underside of his cock, his breath caught. Pre-come seeped from his slit, and she licked it away. She tested his balls with her tongue and manipulated them with her hands before returning to his shaft.
“Good. That’s good,” he said. “Now I want you to take my dick into your mouth. Lick it. Suck it. Once you’ve played more, I’ll do some shallow thrusts. If it’s too much for you, wrap your hands around the base and control how much I can push inside your mouth. Questions?”
“No.” She got busy and felt his desire ratchet upward and the increase of fluid leaking from his tip.
His hands came down to wrap in her damp hair. He tugged to the knife-edge of pain, but the sensual ache helped ground her, made the experience more real. She’d always thought of this as an act to make a man happy, but she was enjoying sucking off Dallas. She wanted to please him and followed each pithy order until he gave a soft curse.
She froze.
“Keep going, sweetheart. You’re doing a good job.”
She licked harder, faster, took more of him into her mouth, getting a rhythm going. He swore softly, but she continued without pausing and then he was coming, his hard thighs trembling, his hands still holding her head. At first she froze, then she swallowed automatically.
Dallas relaxed his grip on her hair. His cock dwindled in size, and she licked him clean before backing away.
“Great job,” he whispered, helping her to her feet.
“Your hot chocolate will be cold.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He guided her over to the couch and tugged her down on his knee, his arms wrapping around her as he cuddled. Laura leaned against the hard wall of his chest, both proud and satisfied. He’d told her she’d done well. It made her realize how few compliments she received from her family. And no one ever cuddled her. The security she experienced with him made her subterfuge worthwhile.
Dallas might expect her to walk away after they returned to Napier, and that was what she’d originally intended. But this closeness she felt, the edge of tenderness in his actions made her yearn for more. A future.
Sighing inwardly, she wished things were different. Having a relationship with the enemy would come at a cost—the price possibly too steep for either of them to pay.