Chapter 15

“Sorry you have to miss the free flan.” Rosie stood over a hot cast-iron skillet. She smiled to herself. It had been hours since they’d spoken with Hugh, and she had this image of him handing out flan to people whether they wanted it or not.

“Since I now have an ‘in’ with Fantastic Flans, I plan on eating lots of free flan.” Dallas was lying back on the sofa while she cooked dinner.

He was getting a little stir-crazy in the bed, so she’d moved him into the living room for a change of scenery. They’d been making periodic phone calls to the Lodge for updates. There were still twenty people missing, including nine members—three generations—of the same family.

Rosie felt guilty for even thinking of her car, but she had a bad feeling it was long gone.

She salted and peppered the two filets mignons she’d defrosted and laid them in the hot cast-iron pan. They sizzled beautifully.

“So, any idea what happened to my car?” She turned around and knew she looked sheepish but she couldn’t help it. “I know there are worse things going on, but Rhonda was my first adult purchase.”

“Her name was Rhonda?” He adjusted the pillow behind his head.

“Was?” She opened a can of green beans and poured it into a pot. She turned the nob on the stove and the flame caught under the pan.

“Yeah, I have some bad news. Rhonda didn’t make it.” He held up a hand. “But she did sacrifice her life for you.”

“I don’t understand.” She added salt and pepper to the beans. She really didn’t have much in the way of spices to make the canned beans edible.

“Well, it’s kind of complicated.” He scratched the back of his neck and avoided her eyes.

“Okay, I’m listening.” Was it just her or was he purposely being evasive?

“Rhonda went swimming. Some of the ranch hands saw her floating down the river. We didn’t know if you were inside when she took her swim.” He still wouldn’t make eye contact. “She was upside down.”

“Upside down?” How was that possible?

“Your Rover had flipped over and the tires were up. We thought you were inside and…” The word “dead” hung in the air.

She flipped the steaks. “Okay, I understand my Rover being upside down. Is that why you came looking for me?”

If he thought she was dead, then why risk his life looking for her?

“Yes. I needed to find you and make sure you were okay.” He kept his eyes down.

“Why? I mean, why not just leave it to the professionals?” He could have waited and let the first responders locate her. He didn’t need to risk his life for someone who everyone thought was dead anyway.

Was it possible he cared about her too much to wait? She felt a tingle right around her heart.

He finally looked up and stared her dead in the eyes. “I have more than just a big crush on you. I had to make sure you were safe because I care about you.”

The tingle turned into a full-blown glow.

She turned the heat off of the cooking food, slid a spatula under the steaks, and set them on a plate to rest.

She went to him. “I don’t know if I said thank you, but thank you.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I needed to get that out of the way before I did this…”

She swung a leg over his torso, straddled him, and lowered herself onto his lap.

The look of shock on his face was priceless.

“Just so you know,” she said, “we’re about to have sex, because I care about you too. I’m not doing this because I feel that I owe you anything. It’s important that you know that.” She whipped off her red T-shirt and kissed him for all she was worth.

His hands went to her back, pulling her down on top of him. “Just so you know, because I have a crush on you, I totally would have taken the pity sex. I’m man enough to admit that.”

“God, you’re cute.” She kissed him hard.

“I try.” His hands found her breasts. “I like you braless. I’ve been looking for a politically correct way of saying that all day.”

Her hands slid down his hard chest. “Funny, I’ve been trying to find a way to compliment you on your nice body. It’s harder than you think.”

“Not to put a damper on things, but I think the bed would be a better place for this.” He rocked back and forth. The dainty Queen Anne sofa creaked and groaned. “I don’t think this sofa can take it. Plus my range of motion is too limited. I want to make a good impression, and for that I need a sturdier piece of furniture.”

“Then let’s get you to bed.” She slid off him and circled his waist with her arm, helping him up. Their normal slow shuffle morphed into a super-fast-forward shuffle. She helped him onto the bed, and he lay back against the pillows.

He tried to pull her down on top of him, but she wiggled out of his grasp. She stood next to the bed, tucked her thumbs into the waistband of the yoga pants, and slowly shimmied out of them.

“Wow.” His eyes raked down her body. “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. In her experience, men would say just about anything to get laid.

He whistled as his eyes lingered on the cleft between her legs. “Miss Gomez, I believe you are missing some serious undergarments.” He nodded his approval. “You are really fucking naked. Wow.”

She leaned forward and her hands went to his boxers.

He lifted his hips and she pulled the boxers down his legs and gently worked them over his feet.

He was beautifully made. She let her eyes have free rein over the peaks and valleys of his stomach. They dipped lower and she mashed her lips together to keep from whistling her own approval. He was hard and ready.

“Being a responsible man, I feel that I should point out that we don’t have any condoms.” His eyes fixed onto her breasts.

She leaned over, picked up the backpack, and pulled out box. “I’m guessing it was Justus who packed the bag. She sent a box of twelve.”

He held out his hand, and she gave him the box. He had it opened and was rolling one down his shaft before she had time to climb into the bed.

She lay down next to him and ran her index finger up and down his chest. “I like your chest.”

He grinned like a fool. “Back at you Rosie Posy.”

“Rosie Posy?” She kissed his jaw and licked her way down to his left pec.

“The name I’ve called you in my head since the first day I saw you.” His muscles quivered under her tongue. He put a hand on her chin and tilted it up so she could meet his eyes. “It looks like you’re having all of the fun. Come back up here and kiss me.”

She licked her way back up his chest and laid her lips on his. His tongue darted playfully into her mouth as he shifted her so that she was straddling his good leg. He leaned forward, placing his hands on her thighs and sliding them up to rest on her ass.

He broke the kiss and his mouth found her left nipple. He licked and sucked.

He sat back and licked his lips. “Since my mobility is seriously limited, I’m going to need a little help.”

She placed a hand on the pillows on either side of his head and smiled down into his eyes. “Name it.”

“Could you inch a little bit farther up?” His hands went to her ass and gently urged her forward.

“Like this?” She worked her way up and stopped at the juncture of his thighs. She shifted, teasing his groin.

“That’s… really… really nice. But I need you to move a little bit farther up.” He urged her upward with the pressure of his hands.

She worked her way up and up until her core was inches from his mouth. “Like this?”

“Just a little bit more.” His hands moved to the front of her thighs and spread her legs even wider. He licked the inside of her thighs as his finger found her clit. He stroked and licked. She leaned forward, grabbing the wrought-iron headboard with one hand and tunneling her fingers through his hair with the other.

His mouth found her clit while a finger dipped inside her. Her body found his rhythm and warm heat tingled through her system, building to something more. Her hips urged him to move faster and faster and faster. Twinges of scorching pleasure burned through her. She urged him to move faster. The orgasm crashed through her and she arched her back, wanting to prolong it for as long as she could.

As heat streaked through her, her head fell back.

His hands circled her hips and moved her down his torso and settled her firmly on his cock.

This wasn’t right. She wanted to return the favor. “Wait, it’s your turn to—”

She made to climb off, but his hands clamped down, holding her firmly in place.

“Here’s the thing…” His breathing was labored. With his hands, he lifted her hips and then urged them down. “I’ve been fantasizing about this… pretty much… since the moment I laid eyes on you…” He bit his lower lip and his eyes closed as he moved her up and down. She caught on to his rhythm with her hips, and his hands found her breasts.

“How’s reality holding up against your fantasy?” Slowly, she sat up and then back down. Up and down. Up and down.

“You are better than I could have ever imagined.” His hands returned to her hips to try to increase the rhythm, but she was having none of that.

She had power over him, and that was the best aphrodisiac.

Sitting back on her knees, she took her time riding him.

His left hand moved from her breasts to her back, pushing her forward so that her breasts were close to his mouth. He licked and sucked one nipple and then the other while his right hand clamped down hard on her hip, insisting she increase their rhythm.

She relented and followed his lead. The harder she rode him, the more he seemed to want it. He took her nipple fully in his mouth as she drove them both closer and closer to climax. The orgasm exploded through her body, and she felt his pleasure overtake him too. She pumped her hips until the very end, and then she rolled off of him, sated and spent.

“That was amazing.” She was breathing hard and she’d worked up quite a sweat.

“Wow.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close to nuzzle his chest. His breathing was hard. “‘Wow’ really doesn’t do it justice, but my brain is broken and that’s the only word that comes to mind.”

Speaking of broken body parts… she glanced down at his ankle. “That was pretty athletic. Is your ankle okay?” She inspected the injury. It didn’t look any worse than it already had.

“Ankle? I have ankles? What ankle?” His breathing was slowly returning to normal.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She laid her head on his chest. “I know it’s too soon, but can we do that again? I feel like we have eleven more condoms to go. I hate to be wasteful.”

“I admire your thrifty nature.” He smacked her on the ass. “I plan on using every single one of those condoms.

“Good.” She liked snuggling with Dallas, and more importantly, she liked him as a person. She could get used to this. She could get used to having him in her life.