The Tycoon's Tender Triumph (17 page)

Okay, so maybe he needed one more thing, he thought with grim amusement.  “Come with me, Chloe,” he urged as he moved inside her warmth.  He watched her face, getting clues from her face and her gasps what felt good.  It didn’t matter at all to him because every stroke felt mind blowingly good to him.  He had to clench his teeth to control his own climax, knowing she was very close to her own.  When he found a rhythm that she liked, he stuck with it, pushing her harder, pressing his body to make it better for her. 

His reward was to watch her explode, to feel her clench around him and he couldn’t believe at how strong his own climax was.  It felt as if she were draining every ounc
e of stress and tension from his
body.  As he collapsed, he pulled her to him, burying his face against in her neck and reveling in the amazing scent of this woman who had taken him to a place he’d never experienced before.

When he was finally able to breathe once again, he lifted himself up on his elbows and looked down at her.  He almost laughed at the cat-like satisfied expression on her face as she smiled up at him, her legs rubbing against his hips and her fingers trailing down his arms. 

“What happened?” he asked, wanting to know what had occurred to change her mind from twelve hours ago.

Chloe laughed softly and moved to make herself more comfortable, letting her hands run down his massive shoulders and chest.  “I thought I was the one to ask that question.”

Sam sighed and moved to his side, keeping her close.  He wanted to talk, to understand the events of the day, almost afraid to trust the luck of having this woman in his arms.  “Chloe…” he started out, then adjusted her as she snuggled up into his arms so she was more to her liking.  Using his shoulder as a pillow, she curled up next to him and closed her eyes, still smiling.

“Hmmm?” she asked sleepily.

“Don’t fall asleep, Chloe,”
he warned and leaned up so he could look down at her.

Too late, he realized.  She was already curled up, her breathing even and her hands wrapped around his arm.  Even in her sleep she sighed contentedly and Sam didn’t have the heart to wake her up and question her. 

He reached for the phone by her bed and called Jessy, letting her know that he’d be gone for the night and not to hold up dinner for him.  He then turned off the bedside light, pulled the blanket over their naked bodies and pulled her closer, rearranging the sleeping beauty against him.  He then stared up at the ceiling and tried to work through their previous conversations, looking for clues tha
t might have led to this turn of events
. 

Sam woke up and reached out to find Chloe, wanting her close to him again.  But as his hand moved across the sheets, the sensuous beauty who had turned to him over and over again during the night was no longer there.  He woke up fully and looked around.  It was just before dawn and a hazy light was shining through the windows.  But no Chloe.

He looked through the rest of the house, but she wasn’t in the shower or the kitchen, or even her father’s bedroom.  When he looked out into the driveway, he realized that even her dad’s truck was gone and her coat was no longer tossed over the sofa where she’d left it last night.

“Damn woman!” he growled and stomped to the bathroom to shower before pulling on his clothes, cursing the cold water
he endured for less than the five minutes it took him to clean up after the passionate night. 

He drove like a mad man over to his house, slamming the door as he walked through to the kitchen and damn if Jessy didn’t glance at him like he was a lunatic. 

“Where is she?” he demanded. 

Jessy turned back to continue stirring whatever it was she was cooking on the stove.  “I was hoping the ‘she’ you’re referring to was Chloe and ‘she’ was the woman you spent the night with and ‘she’ might have put you in a better mood.”  She glared back at him and said, “Obviously I was completely wrong on all my assumptions.”

Sam didn’t even bother to correct her before he stormed out of the kitchen and into his bedroom to change clothes.  He only took the time to throw on clean clothes before he was out the door again, this time heading down to the
stable
to find out if she had been there. 

Several of t
he ranch hands he questioned had seen
her, and he realized that Pepper was gone from his stall.  So he was slightly relieved that at least Chloe was on his property somewhere, but she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, he growled as he went back up to the house for breakfast. 

“Did Chloe at least stop and get breakfast?” he asked Jessy when he entered and tossed his coat onto a hook. 

“She took one of my famous muffins and I made her she had a thermos full of hot coffee.  I also packed some extra muffins and some fruit for her, but I’m not sure if she knew what was going on.  She had a kind of dazed look in her eyes.”

“Still?”

Jessy laughed, completely delighted with his reaction as well as the confused look on his face.  “Again, at the time, I assumed that was because you had spent the night with her.  But from that dumbfounded look on your face, I’m guessing there’s a different reason.  Care to tell me what happened and who you were with last night?”

Sam ignored her jibe and ate up the distance between the kitchen and Chloe’s father’s room, taking two cups of coffee with him. 
Jim
was getting more mobile, but Sam didn’t want him to push it too much.  Chloe already worried about her father too much. 

“Have you seen Chloe this morning?” Sam asked as he handed the older man one of the cups of coffee. 

“Sure,” Jim
replied, taking a long, fortifying sip of the brew.  “She brought me the newspaper, but she was in a big rush.  Didn’t mention where she was going though.”

“And you didn’t ask?”

Jim
chuckled and shook his head.  “Chloe has been all over this ranch several times over so I’m not worried.”  He paused for a moment.  “She did have an odd look about her though.  Not sure what that was about.”

Sam forced himself to stay and talk business for a few more minutes, ignoring the pain in his gut as he worried about Chloe but not wanting her father to think something was up.  Sam
had always suspected that Jim
wanted Chloe and him to get together, but there was a big difference between a father wanting his daughter to marry his best friend and business partner, and being okay with his friend and business partner sleeping with his daughter. 

“I’d better get to work,” Sam replied about fifteen minutes into the conversation.

Jim
watched as the man he considered a son walked out of his room.  Sam was so t
orn up and twisted into knots over
his pretty Chloe that he didn’t know what to do. 
Jim
knew, but he suspected that Sam was too much of a gentle
man to just toss his daughter over
his shoulder and bring her to bed. 
Jim
knew that Sam wanted to marry his Chloe so it didn’t bother him about the bed thing.  It just meant he would have grandkids sooner. 

Although those two were sure taking the hard road getting to those grandkids, he thought and made his way to the kitchen to get Jessy’s side of the situation.  The two of them regularly collaborated on getting Sam and Chloe together and the past few weeks had been harder than expected. 

Sam saddled his horse and headed in the direction one of his men had seen Chloe heading out earlier this morning.  He went several miles to the west, then backtracked, trying a different route.  He saw several fresh horse prints, but he wasn’t a good enough tracker to know if they were Chloe’s Pepper or another ranch hand’s
trail.  He kept fanning out in different directions trying to spot her, but three hours later, he gave up and returned to the
stable
, hoping she might have already returned.  She rarely stayed out this long on a saddle and if she was riding this long, she’d have a horrible time tonight with sore muscles. 

By nightfall, he was a mess.  She hadn’t been back to the
stable
when he’d returned, nor had she returned for lunch.  By mid-afternoon, he had organized a whole search party to find her, with several of the men already reporting back via cell phone that they hadn’t found her.  Those were the ones Sam had sent off to check the most dangerous areas, so at least he could ease his mind that she wasn’t in one of the ravines or fallen into the river on the east side of his property. 

He was running his fingers through his hair, worried sick and now even Jessy and
Jim
were becoming concerned.  So when she walked into the house just as dinner was normally being served, Sam almost lost it. 

“Where the hell have you been all day?” he roared.

Chloe turned and calmly shut the door.  “I heard from the other ranch hands that you had people out searching for me.  I’ve already gone around to all the men and apologized for being so thoughtless.  And I’m truly sorry, Sam.  I didn’t realize anyone would be out looking for me today.  I’m not normally back until this point anyway so it didn’t occur to me to check in earlier in the day.”

Sam had been prepared for defiance, braced himself for her yelling right back at him.  So when she calmly stated that she was wrong and apologizing for that, he wasn’t sure where to go with his anger.  It was still there, completely undiffused by her apology, but he was still sick with worry. 

“You should have checked in,” he said, but he pulled back on the tone, forcing himself to accept her apology even though he wanted to turn her over his knee and spank her adorable little butt. 

“I know.”  She turned to Jessy and
Jim
.  “I’m really sorry.  Dinner smells absolutely delicious.  I’m really hungry.  Would you mind if I grabbed something to eat?”

Jessy and
Jim
stared at
Chloe
, then back to Sam, wondering what might happen next between these two. 

Jessy was the first to snap out of it.  “Sure, darlin’.  Come on this way.  It
’
s about time you had a hot meal in that skinny belly of yours,” she mumbled as she led the way back to the kitchen. 

Jim
stayed and watched Sam for a moment longer before chuckling.  “She’s not going to change, Sam.  I can guarantee that I never figured her out.  One minute, she’s worry about her algebra test, the next she’s charging full force on a mission to clothe the homeless.  Trying to figure out which way she’s going to turn is part of her charm.”

Sam glared back at the man he’d looked up to for more years than he could remember.  “Does it ever get easier to deal with?”

Jim
laughed.  “Nope.  But it sure is fun to watch.”  With that, he shuffled into the kitchen on his crutches, leaving Sam to cool down and decide how he was going to deal with the woman he loved. 

Chloe was helping to dish out four portions of chili with sour cream, grated cheese and chopped onions when Sam walked in to join them for dinner.  He watched the three people he loved more than anything in the world and came to a decision. 

After
Jim
asked the blessing for the food, Sam waited two heartbeats before he made his announcement.  “Chloe and I are getting married.”

He only heard one spoon clatter to the table and knew who had caused the jumble.  Looking up, sure enough, Chloe was staring at him like
he
was crazy while
Jim
and Jessy simply passed the basket of biscuits, acting like he’d just announced that he was going to get the tires rotated on all the ranch trucks. 

“Good for you,”
Jim
said and started buttering his still warm biscuit, popping a chunk into his mouth. 

“’Bout time,” Jessy mumbled and put a biscuit on Chloe’s plate, passing the basket on to Sam.

Sam looked across the table and winked at Chloe, then sampled his chili, complimenting Jessy on a perfect bowl of the spicy stew. 

Conversation pinged across the table, wedding dates were discussed and it was settled that they would be married in the back of the house in April, when the weather was just starting to warm up but wouldn’t be too hot.