you’re going to have to ask yourself, sunshine. I’m a pretty trustworthy guy. I always keep my promises.”
She clawed my shirt, a sultry smile crossing her face. “Yes, I guess you do.”
The scent of her perfume wafted into my nostrils, creating such a wave of longing that I would be forced to keep my hands off her for the rest of the night. Unable to help myself, I crushed her mouth with mine, pulling her tightly against my chest. I would never be able to get over the feel of her in my arms or the worry that had almost consumed me.
As she pushed her tongue past my lips, the savage beast inside me took over, passion roaring to the surface.
Whimpering, she raked her fingers down my jacket, crawling them underneath as she ground her hips against mine.
My cock was at the point of aching, my balls tight as drums. When I broke the kiss, I shook my head and cupped her jaw. “Careful or I just might take you right here.”
“Oh, no, you won’t,” she purred.
“Hmm… It would seem that you need to earn your surprise.”
She slipped her hand between us, sliding her fingers to my cock. “And how can I do that?”
“You can certainly do that later.” Grinning, I whipped her around, pushing her toward one of the saddle racks, pushing her over and immediately bringing my hand down hard and fast against her backside.
“Ouch! What the hell are you doing?”
“Such language for a beautiful woman. I think we need some serious work on correcting your behavior.” I smacked her several additional times and as she tried to flail, I was forced to pin her arm behind her back.
“You are so mean.”
“So you’ve told me how many times?” I couldn’t keep a grin off my face as she kicked up her boots, one after the other, struggling to get away. “You better maintain your position, or I’ll pull off my belt.”
“No. No! I’ll get you for this,” she moaned.
I refused to stop, spanking her long and hard, prepared to rip off her clothes for a little pre-dinner wickedness.
Until I heard the sound of at least two vehicles.
Sighing, I shifted my gaze toward the set of open barn doors. “Looks like we have company.”
Danni managed to wiggle out of my hold, blowing me a kiss before running her fingers through her hair.
“I hope nothing’s wrong,” I said as the headlights remained on.
When I felt her hand grasping mine, an odd feeling settled into my stomach.
“You know I love you, right?” she asked.
I tipped my head, seeing tears in her eyes. “With all your heart. What’s wrong?”
She touched my cheek in such a gentle manner that I shuddered. “Sometimes, cowboy, you ask too many questions.”
After finally hearing several vehicle doors open and close, I turned my attention toward the entrance, watching as Scorpion walked in, his swagger matching the goofy grin on his face.
“What the hell is this, some kind of intervention?” I asked, laughing at my own joke.
He shrugged, his eyes immediately shifting toward Danni. “Something like that.”
“Okay. What have you two cooked up?” I said in a demanding tone, noticing Bryce and Caroline coming in.
Danni released her hold, backing away from me, tears sliding down her face.
“What is going on, guys? I don’t like this.” Now my tone was more demanding.
Scorpion placed his fingers between his lips, whistling.
For all the dreams and nightmares, the ugly visions that had nearly thrown me into the kind of despair that I wasn’t certain I’d be able to recover from, this moment was something that I would remember with honor.
As Hawk walked closer, a leash in his hand, he also gave Danni a nod. “I heard a story about a dog that you couldn’t seem to get out of your mind from Danni. She tasked me to attempt what I thought would be impossible. Only with Scorpion’s help were we able to find him.”
In shock, I glanced at Scorpion.
He grinned, rubbing his eyes and looking away. “I had to go to DC to get him and bring him back.”
When Hawk leaned over, whispering something to the dog, the pup’s tail began to thump. Then he released his hold just as I dropped to my knees, tears forming in my eyes.
“Apollo.”
As he came running, jumping into my arms, I realized that now, I could heal.
And I could love.
Snow.
It fell across the city, the lightly falling flakes a reminder of just how precious life could be. Although a portion of my heart was heavy,