RanchersHealingTouch (5 page)

It doesn't seem good enough. I wish I had a nice dress here. Something to put on and greet him
properly.

She's halfway dressed before she realizes how silly her thoughts are. Sadie laughs, letting her high pitched humor bounce off the mirror.

Calm down. It's not like you're meeting him for a date...are you?

There's nothing definite. She think she knows the answer, but she can't be sure.

She spends extra time sprucing up her hair. Before she heads out, the top button of her blouse comes off, just enough to let him see the slim patch of skin leading to her cleavage.

I'm not going down there with any expectations. This is the least I can do for him after everything
he's given me.

Maybe I just want to feel desired by a man too. Even if I can't remember the last time that ever
happened...

She walks into the kitchen, slow and quiet. Brax is serving up the biggest steaks she's seen yet, giving her a break from cooking. She wouldn't be surprised if they came directly from his own healthy cattle.

He pulls out a chair for and looks up. The rancher tears off his hat and clutches it to his chest, awe struck by her presence.

The shower has left Sadie's skin glowing. To him, she looks like an out-of-place angel, freshly purified and sent to this world, landing in his kitchen by some odd stroke of luck.

“You're looking real nice tonight,” he says, quietly kicking himself for the understatement.

“Thanks. The food smells delicious.”

She sits and digs into the side salad, devouring his tasty work with gusto. They eat quietly at first, like two old friends enjoying a long delayed reunion.

“You know, I'm just gonna say it: you've impressed the hell out of me since I got back.” Brax's fork clinks on the plate.

The loud sound reverberates in her ears. She smiles, blotting the corners of her mouth dry after making good progress on her steak and potatoes.

“It's nothing. I'm just glad I've
finally
found something I can do around here.”

“It was just a matter of time. The beautiful ones always have something great that's more than skin deep. I knew I'd find it with you if I just kept trying.”

Oh. This sounds a lot more like a date after all...

Sadie's face warms. The pleasant heat wafts through her veins, warming parts of her much lower in her body.

“Have you had any luck remembering anything yet?” He stops eating, eying her very seriously.

The sweet mystery in front of him is irresistible. Brax knows if he can uncover her origins, maybe he can understand her better. And a little knowledge can go a long way when it's mixed with a cowboy's charm...

“Not much.” She frowns, letting the sickly dreams and flashes rise to the surface. “I've been having these visions...little bits and pieces of things I remember. They're scaring me.”

“Scaring you?”

“Yeah. Like something out of a nightmare. I'm in an old house in a small city, and there's a tall man. I think he's dealing drugs. Then I have these other flashes where I'm cooking on a stove or sorting things...and I don't think I'm doing it with my own free will.”

Brax's stare grows more intense. He watches small red splotches surface to her white skin, betraying the depth of her dismay.

“I wish I could remember more. I really do. But then again, there are parts of me that don't want to remember any of this.”

I hope he doesn't think I'm a coward. I'm telling him the truth. Doesn't that count for something?

Her thoughts are broken by Brax's large hand sweeping across her shoulder. It's a brisk, gentle movement, like a feline comforting a shivering kitten.

“I get that. I think you should keep trying, Sadie. Maybe if we can find out where you came from, we can settle a few things. Who knows, you might have family or friends back home who could help you more than I could.”

“I don't think so. I don't feel it.” Her silverware clatters to the table.

The tension is rising. Now, her nerves feel taut, stretched to the point where they may snap any minute.

“Everything I know about my old life scares me. I don't know who or what I am. Would you want to find out if you saw the things I did? Dangerous men, ugly junkies, and vapors that burn your lungs?”

“I'd still want to know. Call me stupid or ignorant, but confronting our demons is the best way to get rid of them. That's my two cents.”

“I can't do it! I don't want to go back there, Brax. I don't even want to know where
there
is.”

Crap. Now the tear dams are breaking, rolling down my cheeks like lava. There goes the pretty skin
he loves.

“Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. No matter what, you're safe. You're safe right here.” His chair tilts, its legs screeching on the tile.

Sadie leans naturally into his guardian embrace. His muscles are the only peace she knows,

unshakeable and addictive, the same way she should feel underneath the covers at night.

I shouldn't have to feel nervous and scared all the time. But I do. It hits me hard, no matter what I do
or where I go, except when I'm wrapped in his gorgeous arms.

“I'm just...a blank slate, Brax. Nothing makes me happy except staying here with you. This ranch is a hundred times better than the life I came from. Don't ask me how I know, but I do!”

“I didn't know you felt so sure about this place,” he says quietly.

“Well, I do. And not just the ranch either – I feel damn sure about you. Nobody's ever cared for me the way you do. I'm sure you just see me like a bird on your porch with a broken wing, but it's so much more than that to me.”

His hands move down her back, slowly pulling her off the chair. She stands and feels his short stubble on her forehead. It's wonderfully scratchy, a happy irritation from the real world reminding her that this isn't a dream.

“Look at me.”

Sniffing, she meets his eyes. They're filled with fire again – brilliant as the inferno she saw when he approached Dinkie after their last dust up. But this is different.

The darkness around the flames glows with a richer hue. His stern eyes draw closer as his head moves down.

Sadie's whole body shakes when his lips land on hers. They're firm, sweet, and sure as the prairie outside, transferring their timeless comfort into her body.

There's no stopping her nerves now. Every network inside her bristles with desire, lighting her up with sharp currents from head to toe.

Kiss me harder, cowboy. Here, let me open my lips for you. I want to feel your tongue deep inside me,
and then so much more than just your mouth.

Her hands claw at his back, picking up a small bundle of fabric. He grunts lightly into her mouth, invading her with the strong muscle she's burning for.

His tongue sweeps come fast, swift and determined as a pirate's thieving strokes. His stubble rakes her chin softly as he goes deeper, holding her small tongue to the bottom and flogging it again and again.

Sadie's moan runs into his body and passes down his throat. The exchange of raw current continues, energizing animal instincts buried in his masculine soul.

The kisses keep coming, and so do his hands. They're pulling her close, as though he's trying to make her melt into his body.

Her legs part, hooking gently around his large flanks. Brax grabs for her bountiful ass and lifts her clear off the ground.

If it weren't for the plates, he'd slam her onto the kitchen table. Now, his tongue peels back and she's licking at his bottom lip, driving him wild with her little teasing laps.

Jesus! It's more than any rancher can take and keep his sanity.

Silverware, a plate, and a glass go crashing to the chair. They're past caring about the noise as he plants her at the edge of the table, fisting her long locks in one hand and kissing her rough.

Yes! This is how I want it. But you can go harder, cowboy. It's rough and real that keeps me alive,
that keeps away those horrible dreams...

She traces the strong hills on his back, round peaks bulging with desire. Her hips rock into him, a little too high to grind along the erection she's sure is there.

Sadie bites into his lip, scratching hard at his back. The rancher pulls away a second later with a surprised groan.

“Fucking hell. Where'd you learn to do that, girl?”

“Don't know. Why don't you find out what else I can do? This is the kind of therapy I can get into.”

With a purr, he lifts her off the table. Her heart pounds as his boots tap the wooden floors, making the long journey to the steps leading upstairs.

She has a feeling it isn't the guest room that waits. They're going straight for his bedroom, the spartan wooden chamber with the big old bed she's caught glimpses of from the hallway.

As soon as they're inside, she breathes deep, refilling her lungs with the air in his private chamber. It smells just like him, all sexy man and sharp cologne.

“You ready to do this, beautiful?” The gentleman inside him has to give her one last chance to back out, but the beast next to it is screaming “no!”

“Hell yeah. Break me, cowboy. I want to come so hard I forget that I ever had a life before you.”

His face contorts with brutal need. He lets her fall on the bed and covers her with his weight, pinning her wrists to the bed.

Their mouths pick up where they left off. Her tongue flicks against his, hungry and seeking.

She can barely stand the feel of her panties, sopping wet against her skin, wet just for him.

His stubble makes her shudder as he lowers his face. Brax draws his lips away, landing them on the soft curve of her neck.

Her legs jerk. Delicious surprise flows through her as he sucks and nibbles at her neck, kindling new fires with every stroke of teeth and tongue.

Bite me, you bastard. Sink your teeth in good and hard.

Coiling her hands tight around his neck, she pulls him in with all her might.

The rancher's strong neck is no match for her, though. He continues lifting up and trailing his way toward her cleavage.

His powerful hands land on her chest, giving her breasts a hard squeeze through the fabric before he goes to work on the buttons. They come off in his anxious fingers one by one, giving them both the same joy a child has unwrapping his birthday presents.

“Take me the way you want, Brax. Tonight, I'm yours, and I want you do to whatever you want to me. And I mean
anything.
”

It feels good to hand over control. The darkness is welling up in her again, manifesting itself in new fantasies where he pillages her like a barbarian.

God, just savoring his skin is more than I imagined at this point. But if he surprises me the way I
want...I can't imagine what will happen.

Her thoughts break the moment she feels her shirt opening. The tight violet bra is in his hands, the cups stretching delightfully each time he covers her globes, pulling hard.

He shifts, moving his fingers underneath her. The hook comes apart in record time, driven by precision and mindless lust.

Grinning, he tears her bra away and hurls it across the room. The cool air feels good against her cream colored breasts.

The hard dark tips of her nipples immediately draw his eyes. He sinks down, open mouthed, mauling her with his hands as he sucks her right circle far into his mouth.

Sadie's head dashes from side to side. The pleasure blazes into her like wildfire.

His wet brush strokes and hard teeth surround her nipple. And the tongue lashes come faster, the pressure tightening, just as his free hand reaches to her uncovered breast and begins plumping it to a lush, balanced fullness.

Holy shit. God! Is it possible to come from getting your nipples sucked alone?

He releases her just before she can find out. He kisses her soft belly, bringing his hands low to cup her ass through her jeans.

No more waiting around. I have to show him everything.

Her fingers work her belt and the top clasp of her jeans. Seeing her furious work, Brax hooks his hands on both sides of her jeans, ripping them down her legs.

The wet blotch on her panties and fragrant pheromones make him smile. His face dive bombs,

aiming his lips right below her navel, dangerously close to the waistband of her panties.

He sucks her skin hard. Sadie's hips lift automatically, pushing her into the magnificent pressure.

She chews her lip. Teasing her is hell, but it's the best kind of hell a woman can know.

Brax kisses lower, a couple more inches, seizing the elastic top of her panties in his teeth. He pulls back and lets it fall to her skin with a resounding snap.

“I'm going to get these off and screw you to the floor, beautiful. Tell me you've never had a man want you this bad before...and if you can't remember, we'll just say this is the first time.”

“Yes! Pull me apart.”

Shallow breaths stream out her lips as his hand reaches just above her wet slit. He grabs her underwear and pulls – hard.

The soft fabric rolls across her legs, passing below her knees, her calves, and then it's off. It's a relief to be naked on his bed.

She shifts her hips, clambering up toward the pillows. But he has no intention of letting her escape.

Brax grabs her thighs and shifts them apart, smashing them to the mattress. His calloused hands are rough, powerful masters of her legs, parting them for his intense mask of desire.

Oh, no. I didn't expect him to go there with his mouth. I don't know if I can handle all this –

“Ahh!” Sadie jerks as soon as his lips land on her folds.

He digs in, quickly opening her with his mouth, testing the soft, slick, delicious velvet within. His tongue goes deep, making circles in her honey.

Through the blinding pleasure, she feels him testing her, using his tongue to sense what he'll soon have wrapped around this erection.

“Oh my God! Don't. Stop.”

Brax listens. A wolfish intensity fills him, driving him deeper into her.

His arm braces itself against her thigh, holding her open, while his hand moves just above his face.