By the time they parked the truck and made it inside the house Lexie was so aroused just from thinking of sex with her husband her pulse raced. Moisture flooded her panties, her cream evidence of her heated desire. The nipples on her aching breasts tightened to diamond-hard tips. A pulse throbbed low in her belly and in the walls of her sex, insistently trumpeting the intensity of her need. Would it always be like this between the two of them, instant conflagration whenever they touched, raging hunger whenever they were alone? She hoped they didn't burn themselves out before they celebrated their first wedding anniversary.A slight tremor shook Killian's hands as he hung his jacket on a peg in the mud room. She hooked hers next to it and, without a word, spun and headed for their bedroom. She'd almost made it into the room when his hands grasped her hips, turning her around to face him."I have to have a taste." His voice held that passionate, husky sound she loved."Have at it."She c
Lexie asked herself daily how she ever could have gotten so lucky as to have Killian fall in love with her and marry her. She'd fallen for him the moment he walked into Heart Starter, although her cautious heart had tried to put the brakes on. Now, well, she didn't even want to think of what her life would be like without him.Are you crazy, girl? Dithering and blathering when you have a near naked hot man who wants your body, and who loves you to distraction? Get your shit together.She kicked off the ugly but comfortable shoes she wore at work. Then, wetting her lips, she unsnapped her jeans and pushed them down her legs, wiggling her butt as she did so. Then she stood there in a thong matching the red bra, nothing more than a scrap of satin barely covering her mound. Discovering Killian had a thing for a bikini wax, she'd made it a habit to maintain it so no curls peeped out from the edges of the little triangle of fabric."Christ!" he growled. "Come here, Lexie. Let me run my tongu
Reaching around behind Lexie, Killian loosened the rope then lifted her to the bed. She knew exactly the position he liked for her, on her back with arms spread wide so he could bind her wrists to the headboard. He watched her the entire time he looped and knotted the rope, just as he always did. Checking for her discomfort. Checking for any sign of reservation. It was such a big part of what and who he was, a man whose love for her came before anything. She figured that was part of the reason she could be so uninhibited with him. She trusted him completely.She kept her eyes on him as he slid back onto his knees, pausing to place strings of kisses over the upper swell of her breasts. She arched her upper body to him, silently urging him to suck her nipples and torment them as he liked to do. In seconds, he obliged her, attending to first one taut bud then the other. His mouth was hot, his tongue even hotter as he swirled it around the tip. She bowed with pleasure when he bit down firs
They were both up early in the morning, despite the stresses of the day before and the absolutely incredible but exhausting sex of the previous night. Killian interviewed prospects for ranch hands while Lexie worked a full day at Heart Starter. He'd thought about what he wanted to say all the while he showered, while he dressed, and while he fixed their coffee. Now, when he sat down at the table with her, he carried the envelope from the Savannah Art Show Committee, dropping it on the surface between them. It was dumb luck he'd been the one to take the mail in the day it came. Otherwise, lord only knew if she'd have said anything to him.Lexie stared at it as if it might bite her."Are you ever going to open it?" he asked at last.She shrugged. "Maybe, although I'm sure it's a very polite rejection.""You won't know until you look."He wished he could infuse her with the kind of self-confidence she lacked where her art was concerned. He knew she'd never completely recovered from the di
"Lexie?" She looked up at the sound of Killian's voice. "Did I lose you, honey? I mean, I know I'm just a dumb cowboy, but I think I know good-""Shut up."Okay, he shouldn't have used the dumb cowboy bit. She hated when he did that. But still..."Shut up? Are you telling your wonderful husband to shut up?" He grinned, hoping she'd relax."Yes, I am." She rubbed her forehead, and he hoped this whole thing hadn't given her a headache. "You may be a cowboy, but you are not dumb""Okay, okay, okay." He sat up straight and held out his hands, palms facing forward. "Just trying to inject a little note of humor here.""Well, it wasn't the least bit funny." She wet her lips and leaned onto her forearms. "Killian, you are smarter than half the people in the state of Kansas, so quit the dumb cowboy jokes, okay?""Got it." He grinned at her. "Just not an art expert." Then he sobered. "But I do know good work when I see it. And yours is damn fucking good.""Okay." She let out a deep sigh. "I kn
Heart Starter was wall-to-wall people when the bell over the door sounded and Lexie glanced up to see Killian walk in with his familiar loose-hipped stride. She wondered if she'd ever get tired of watching at him. Broad shoulders and narrow hips defined his muscular frame, a body she loved running her hands over and feeling the hard planes and sculpted muscles. He wore his thick black hair a little longer than when they'd first met, but on him it looked good. A square jaw and high cheekbones defined the masculinity of his face. Altogether, he was one damn fine package.He met her gaze over the heads of the crowd and pointed to the kitchen in back. She nodded and continued filling an order. It was a good fifteen minutes longer before she could step away from the counter and go searching for her husband.Husband!God, how she loved saying and thinking that word. She smiled to herself. Their courtship had been fast and their marriage was still new, but she never had a doubt it was forev
It had taken some fancy talking on Killian's part to convince Lexie driving to Savannah was both exhausting and impractical."It's a fifteen hour drive, darlin'," he kept telling her. "We'll both be exhausted, and you want to be fresh and alert, right?""But if we drive, I can take my entry with me," she'd reminded him, not for the first time."Lexie." He'd reached out and pulled her against him. "Didn't you tell me FedEx offers customized service? That they do that all the time."She'd nodded."Then that's what we'll do. We'll drive into the city, and you can supervise the process yourself."She was such a bundle of nerves, and he did his best not to lose patience with her. He was already irritated because she hadn't allowed him to help her choose her submission pieces. What was the big fucking secret, anyway? For the most part, she allowed him freedom in her studio. He liked to watch her paint, when he had the time, and he loved everything she did.Patience, he kept telling himself.
God! Killian had to stifle the wave of jealousy surging through him."Oh, no." She answered him quickly. "No, no, no. I just don't want to give him the satisfaction of..." She stopped and caught her bottom lip in her teeth. "Of what, Lexie? Tell me?""Of thinking he's won. That he's chased me out of my art.""Then I think we need to stick with our program." He brushed his lips over hers. "But only if you can figure out how to relax. You'll pass out before the show if you don't.""Okay." She shook out her hands, a gesture he'd seen her use before when tense. "I'll work on it. But, listen. Right now I need to check on my painting."He wanted to laugh except he knew how serious this was to her."Darlin', you called them when you got the email it had been delivered. You called them again before we left, and you checked again in the airport while we were waiting for the luggage. I don't think they lost it."She did that nibbling thing with her lower lip that always drove him wild. He told
Rogue cleared his throat."I have something to say." The room grew so quiet you could've heard a pin drop. "This past year has brought a lot of changes for all of us. We've stepped out on faith to form an alliance none us ever expected. We've faced challenges." He held out his hand to Kit. "We've had to come to terms with our father, Dusty Walker, and his legacy." Rogue chuckled. "I'm glad I can laugh about it now. A man I scarcely know did his best to destroy me. But what I've gained is so much greater than what I lost." Smiling at Kit, he continued. "I have a beautiful wife, a baby on the way, and..." He raised his glass to his brothers and their ladies. "I have the best family a man could ask for.""Here, here!" Jackson cheered as the rest joined in with raised glasses and happy comments. "I think this calls for refills."Marliss, who was standing near, came forward with a tray full of drinks when, with a bang, the front door opened, and a tall, thin woman walked in. Her long, gray,
At approximately five in the evening on December twenty-fourth, the entire family arrived at Dusty's house on Osprey Lake. Marliss opened the door for the group as they crowded together on the porch, giving hugs to the women, and manly pats on the back to the brothers. Hunter jumped up and down with excitement."Oh, good." Marliss grinned at them. "You're all here together. Well, come on in and let's get to celebrating."Marliss and Lou had gone all-out in decorating the place. Flickering electric candles glowed in every window, pine greenery graced the mantel of the big flat stone fireplace, and garland wrapped in white lights ran along the railing of the walkway on the second floor.The tree was a massive white pine culled from a local grower, since no pine trees called Kansas their native home. Multicolored lights shimmered among the green needles, but no ornaments hung from the boughs.Theresa Walker had boxes of white bulbs that she'd always decorated the tree with, but after the
Killian took his wife's small hand in his, giving it an intimate squeeze as they walked to where the microphone had been set up. Anatole Rudman, one of the partners in the Rudman-Speight Gallery and a major sponsor of the competition, was already there, smiling at everyone."I want to thank everyone for coming," he began. "This is an important night for everyone. You all know why we are here, so I won't keep you in suspense any longer. We have some outstanding entries this year and the choices were very tough. Let's begin with third place."Lexie squeezed his hand harder than he thought she could for someone so small.He leaned down to her. "I don't care if you don't win one of their stupid prizes. I think you're the best artist in the world, and I'll take out an ad telling everyone.""Okay." She tried to smile, but it wasn't working well.They announced third place and then second, and, with each announcement, Lexie's grip grew tighter."And now," Anatole Rudman said, "we come to our
Killian spent most of the day cursing himself and calling himself all kinds of a fool. How the hell had he made such a mess? Of course Lexie didn't want anything to do with the asshole. He'd just been feeling so inadequate since they arrived in Savannah. He knew this whole thing was way out of his league and worried Lexie would wake up any minute and realize it.Now, he was the asshole, ruining what was probably going to be the biggest day of her life. At least her professional life. He had been blown away by her talent from the first moment he saw her paintings and, as subtly as possible, encouraged her to spread her wings again. The fact she'd applied to enter this prestigious art show was a big step for her, and now, he'd turned it all to shit. He'd play hell trying to make it all up to her.He wondered how he'd be able to do that. She'd spoken to him today only when absolutely necessary and then in the coldest of tones. He would have thought it pent-up anger except, in unguarded mo
Killian put a possessive arm around her shoulders. "Anything you have to discuss with my wife, you can discuss with me, too."Rick glared at Killian, a hint of disdain on his face. "Lexie and I have things to discuss that can't possibly be of interest to you. I'm sure you can excuse us for a few moments."Lexie finally found her voice. "I can't think of a thing we have to say to each other, Rick. Now, if you'll excuse us, we were heading for the bar."At first he stood in place, blocking them. Then he shrugged. "We'll see."She let out a long breath of relief when he moved away."You should let me take him out in back to the woodshed." Killian's deep voice was low, just loud enough for her to hear.She laughed, a nervous sound. "I don't think the hotel has a woodshed. Anyway, he isn't worth your time and trouble.""As long as he doesn't bother you, no problem."Lexie hoped Rick had gotten the message to stay away because she knew full well Killian was in no mood to tolerate him.The ne
Lexie peered in through the open doors to one of the hotel's smaller ballrooms, taking in the activity inside. A large crowd-she knew more than two hundred people had been invited-were milling about, the chatter of conversation a loud hum that flowed out to the wide hallway. Most of them would be at the reception tomorrow night, also, the one where the prizes would be awarded and the artist selected for a gallery show. Tonight was to give people a chance to chat ahead of time with the artists and generate buzz in advance. She thought she was prepared for this, but she had a sudden attack of stage fright, the butterflies in her stomach dancing the fast jive. Now that she'd left the solitude of the ranch and the protection of her hotel room, could she really do this?Would Rick be here? What would happen if they met again? After he'd used his family's money and influence to make sure he won that last competition instead of her, she'd sworn never to put herself in this situation again. Ye
"Never done this before?" Killian sure hoped not."Are you kidding?" Lexie stared at him. "Who with? Besides, you're the only man who has ever thought up special things for me.""Well, hang on for the ride, honey. It's gonna be a good one." Maneuvering so he could reach his hands down between her legs, he spread the lips of her sex to get maximum exposure for the jet stream. "Now, start sipping the champagne. That way you've got bubbles inside and out."Her thighs tensed against his legs as the bubbles hit her, teasing at her sensitive flesh. Those sweet little noises she made whenever they made love drifted on the steamy air. He didn't know how much he could take of her moving her nicely rounded little ass back and forth against his cock and balls, but he was determined to hold off until he made her come this way."Oh! Oh! Oh!"She tried hard to squeeze her legs together, but Killian was focused and relentless. He felt the tension rise in her body, the tightening of all her muscles, h
Killian left Lexie's skirt in place, covering her thighs to the knees, but slipped his hands back up and lightly stroked her full labia. She trembled beneath his touch, trying to squeeze her thighs against his hands and draw them in tighter, urge him to touch her everywhere. But Killian was on a mission, and he wouldn't be deterred. He stroked her lips with his thumbs, brushed his knuckles against her thighs, and squeezed her soft mound with his fingers. When she was squirming beneath him, he rose, helped her to a sitting position, and unzipped the back of her dress, lowering it to her waist."I don't know why you even wear this." He stroked his thumbs over the satin of her flimsy bra. "I'd like you much better without it.""But I don't think you'd like the people of Savannah getting an unrestrained view of my goodies bouncing when I walked, would you?""Hell, no. I'm the only one who gets to enjoy them, and don't you forget it." To emphasize his possession, he lowered his head and cap
Lunch had been wonderful, and they'd even had wine with it. Then they'd decided to do a little strolling and walked through historic Savannah, an incredible section of downtown. The four-block city market had a variety of shops and outdoor café tables and chairs for weary walkers to rest their feet and their wallets. Late in the afternoon, they'd stopped for ice cream cones and eaten them silently as they people-watched.By the time they returned to the inn, he noticed Lexie had relaxed fractionally, but he knew she needed something more to take the edge off before the reception tonight. He ached for her as she battled her unpleasant memories. He wanted to do something, anything, to remind her how cherished she was and that the damn award didn't mean as much to him as she did.But he also knew how the past ate away at her. He just hoped if he saw that bastard Rick he could restrain himself from punching out his lights.As soon as they were back in their room, he pulled her into his arm