Scarlett knew that he was stronger than her. She knew that if he set his mind to it, she’d be going whether she liked it or not. But that wasn’t going to stop her from trying. “You got what you came for, Wade. Now go away.”

  “Or what?” he taunted.

  How in the world had she ever found him attractive? she wondered. She was ashamed to say she’d been sober at the time. Being in a relationship with such a weasel would be much more understandable if she’d been on drugs. “I’ll call the police,” she wheezed.

  Just then, she saw her cell phone on the pavement. Wade, unfortunately for her, was able to move much faster and before she could do anything, his boot came crashing down on her only means of communication. She felt hot, fearful tears rise to her eyes—not because of the phone, but because of what the loss of it meant. Wade really could do whatever he wanted to her right now and there wouldn’t be anything she could do to stop him.

  * * *

  “Her ex is a creep,” Colton was telling his brother who’d insisted that he come along. “That’s why I was trying to give her money for a new apartment.”

  “Well, if he’s really as bad as you say then it doesn’t matter where she lives.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, I would feel better if…”

  “You want to try her again?”

  Keeping an eye on the road, Colton picked up his phone and began dialing. He didn’t think it’d do much good, but he’d give it a shot. His heart had been about ready to beat out of his chest ever since he’d heard Scarlett’s message. The fact that she hadn’t answered any of his calls only added to the fear that pounded under his breast.

  “Maybe she’s just ticked that you ignored her calls earlier,” Jason suggested. “Maybe she’s turnin’ the tables on ya, lettin’ you see how much you like it.”

  “After leavin’ me a message like that?” He hit the off button and set the cell phone down. He didn’t see the point of leaving yet another message. “If that’s the case, I’ma tan her tail all the way to Sunday.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to take them back. He hadn’t meant to let his brother in on that very private aspect of their relationship.

  His brother, however, took it in stride and did what he did best. He threw his head back and laughed. “That’ll be the day. You really think highly of yourself, don’t you, bro? Like I said, you’ve got lots to learn. Lots to learn.”

  “We’ll see,” he muttered the words low under his breath as he waited impatiently for the light to turn red.

  “She’s probably already gone home.”

  “I want to check the diner first, and if she’s gone, we’ll check her apartment.”

  “It’s your gas, bro. I’m just along for the ride.”

  Just then, Colton pulled alongside the diner, his headlights beaming onto a very gruesome scene right in front of him. Scarlett was being held in the air, kicking and screaming as her ex held her up by a fistful of hair.

  “Holy shit,” Jason swore, throwing open the passenger door.

  Colton was only seconds behind him. He couldn’t even remember if he’d put the truck in park before he leapt out the door. He couldn’t think of anything in that moment but Scarlett, and seeing that she was safe. And kicking Wade’s ass until he was nothing but a shriveled-up piece of flesh—that thought followed very closely on the heels of protecting his girl.

  “Let ‘er go!” Jason was the one to tackle Wade to the ground, not that Colton didn’t race him for it.

  Scarlett fell to the ground and Colton was by her side in an instant, pulling her into his arms and assuring her that she was okay. He couldn’t kiss her enough, doing his best to brush away the tears that were pouring down her cheeks.

  “Shh, baby. I’ve got you, honey. I’ve got you.”

  “I c-can’t be-believe you’re here,” she hiccupped.

  “I came to find you, baby. Shh, you’re okay. I’ve got you, and I’m not letting go. Don’t you worry.” Hugging her tightly to his chest, he glanced at Jason to see him delivering a solid punch to Wade’s pathetic face. He’d get one or two of his own in before the night was done, but right now the most important thing was Scarlett and she was shaking like a leaf.

  “I love you, Colton.”

  His heart constricted, as much for the words as the vulnerable way she said them. “I love you too, baby-girl.” He couldn’t remember the last woman he’d ever said that to. His mama, maybe. Yet, it was true just the same. He could feel it in every bone in his body, in the way that he wanted nothing more than to take care of her. “I love you too.”

  * * *

  “You could stay the night,” Scarlett suggested shyly, turning to look back at Colton moments after she’d opened the door. “If you want.”

  “I’d like that very much,” was all he said, although she could tell that he wanted to say much more. Probably about how she’d need all the protection she could get in a place like this. To his credit, he didn’t say it. In fact, he hadn’t said much about the situation, beyond trying to calm her down and reassure her that he wouldn’t leave her side until he was sure she was okay.

  It had been a long night. Both Jason and Colton had insisted on going to the police station, and had shaken off her feeble protests. It had been a funny thing, being stared down by two Fuller brothers. She almost hadn’t known what to make of it.

  Neither had Jason, it seemed. “This sure wasn’t the kind of meeting I had in mind,” he’d told her, offering his hand. “But nice to meet you, just the same.”

  They’d dragged Wade into the truck and shoved him into the backseat, moaning and sniveling. “I’d put him in the truck bed, but I’m afraid he’d jump out,” Colton told her.

  “Might serve us better if he did,” Jason had mumbled.

  But they’d ridden to the police station all the same, where she’d gone in and given her statement over and over again, and listened to the boys be questioned about their part in it. Initially, they’d written it up as an attempted mugging, until Colton insisted they know the full history. Now that the police knew it was a deliberate act, it seemed almost positive that Wade would serve jail time.

  “I can take the couch,” Colton murmured, shaking her out of her thoughts.

  It was just as well. She didn’t want to think about Wade anyway. She’d spent too much time on that ass-worm as it was. “I guess you could,” she remarked coyly, batting her long lashes at him.

  “Unless you have some other suggestion?”

  Scarlett was almost breathless with a wild mix of apprehension and excitement as she moved toward him. She never, ever made the first move, she never initiated, but God. She wanted him so badly it hurt. “I just might,” she breathed, her breath coming in fast and hot as she began to unbutton his shirt one button at a time. Her fingers were shaking, but once she had one worked free, momentum followed.

  Her jaw practically hit the floor when she’d finished. Colton’s chest was sprinkled with a small patch of dark, coiling hair and his abs were the most drool-worthy she’d ever seen. “You should quit the rodeo and model boxers,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

  “Is that what I should do?” His tone was gently teasing as he twined a hand in her hair. She tensed for the briefest moment, then relaxed when he began stroking her head. “Would you like your girlfriends ogling me?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want them to know it was you,” she amended. “Maybe, if they didn’t show your face.”

  “Oh, so you don’t like my face now,” he chuckled. “I could go around wearin’ a paper sack over my head, if you like.”

  “Don’t you dare.” She helped him out of the shirt, kissing his shoulder blade as she stripped him from it. The other shoulder got the same treatment, then she kissed her way down his chest, down to his delicious, sexy abs. When she reached a trail of hair that would undoubtedly lead to his dick, she paused.

  “I’m sure you’re tired,” he told her kindly. “If you’d like to get some sleep, I understand.”

  “I was thinking you might need some rest.”

  “Me?” he asked in surprise.

  “Well, sure. You did have a big race this morning, and then got into a fight. I know you can’t handle too much excitement for one day… old timer.”

  “What?” He threw back his head and laughed. “You little minx! I’ll show you old timer!” With a primal yell, he scooped her into his arms and charged to the bedroom, not slowing an iota despite her yelps of protest. He tossed her onto the bed easily, and before she’d even finished bouncing, he was on top of her.

  His mouth found hers and he kissed her as though he was a man dying of thirst and she the best water he’d ever tasted. She returned his kiss with equal ardor that surprised them both. But once her lips had touched his, she couldn’t get enough. She wanted her mouth filled with the taste of him, and satisfied that longing while her hands roamed his tan, perfectly sculpted body.

  “God, you’re sexy,” he murmured just before resuming their kiss.

  Her hands slid down to find the button of his jeans. More confident now than she had been earlier, she unbuttoned it and worked them down his hips. At the same time, he was yanking her dress over her head, helping her sit so that he could whip it off and then catching her before she fell back onto the pillows.

  They moved together as though they’d done it a million times before. As though they’d been made for each other. When he reached down and caressed her pussy through the thin fabric of her panties, she thought she’d come undone.

  “Don’t stop,” she moaned, arching her back.

  “Don’t you worry, darlin’,” he murmured, his voice husky. “I don’t plan on stoppin’ until you can’t take any more.”

  She groaned, shivering in delight as he traced her pussy lips and wishing he’d just take her soaked panties down. Colton seemed content to take his time. His fingers trailed over every inch of her skin, soon followed by his tongue. He explored her, piece by piece, until she was nothing more than a pile of liquefied jelly.

  “You taste good,” he said, and she smiled at the compliment. Then he bent his head and bit down on her nipple.

  Even though it was through the fabric of her bra, she felt it keenly—maybe because her body was tingling with desire for his touch. “Take it off,” she whispered.

  He silently obliged, reaching behind her and unhooking the clasp with the swiftness of a pro. Once her breasts hung free, he lavished attention on them, teasing the nipples until they stood taut and then taking them one by one in his mouth, sucking until Scarlett thought she’d died and gone to heaven. She wasn’t a virgin, but God, no one she’d slept with had ever paid her this kind of attention or made her feel so special.

  “I’d like to see that pretty pussy,” he whispered in her ear. “Can I—”

  Scarlett was nodding her head so vigorously that he broke out in laughter.

  “Alrighty then.” In one fluid motion, he whisked the panties down her legs. When the cool air hit her damp pussy, she shivered, making Colton grin. “I’ll warm you up, don’t you worry.”

  He bent, level with her belly button, and placed a kiss there. Then he slid down, kissing each of her hips, then her thighs. She parted them eagerly, and when he slid a finger inside to test her soaked depths, she let out a long sigh of pleasure.

  “Oh, you like that, do you?” he teased.

  “Very much,” she purred.

  “Well, I’ve got more where that came from.” With that, he added another finger and began to thrust the pair in and out until Scarlett was mewling on the bed, dancing to the rhythm of his fingers inside of her. When she didn’t think she could take anymore without coming undone, he withdrew, grinning at her.

  “You’re… amazing,” she gasped.

  “We haven’t even gotten to the main event,” he reminded her. “Unless… I mean, if you’d rather not…”

  Even if she had been, all it took was one glimpse at his bulging shorts and she would have been wide awake. A longing filled her—no, a need that she’d never felt before. She needed to have this man inside her, riding her, deriving pleasure from each other. In that moment, she knew that he could take all the awfulness of this night, and of the past week away and make her whole.

  With deft fingers, she reached toward the waistband of his shorts. Once his hard cock sprang out to greet her, she almost licked her lips in anticipation. She met Colton’s eyes. Just now, they looked like a lush, enchanted forest and she was dying to explore.

  He must have felt the same way, because he resumed his kissing, giving her skin such a thorough once-over that she was melting into the pillows by the time he was done. Scarlett couldn’t see how it could possibly get any better until she felt the head of his cock pushing at her pussy lips.

  With a guttural moan, she lifted her hips slightly, and he was inside with one powerful thrust. She shuddered at the impact, at the delicious way he filled her aching pussy. Not another word passed between them, but none were needed. Scarlett had never, ever felt like this before in her life and she never wanted it to end. As she met him thrust for thrust, she felt so happy that she thought she might be floating. When she came, it was explosive, causing her cry out and grip his shoulders tightly, raking her nails across his back.

  “God, Scarlett,” he grunted, finding his release on the heels of her own. He thrust hard, once, then again, before he collapsed beside her. “That was amazing.”

  Scarlett rolled over and looked at him with shining eyes and an impish smile. “You haven’t seen anything yet,” she informed him. Then she slid between his thighs and opened her mouth wide to lick him clean, his moans of ecstasy ringing in her ears.

  Epilogue

  “So, what do you think?” Colton leaned against the door, watching as Scarlett took in the room. It was a small house, only two bedrooms, but it had a spacious kitchen, and a large living room that they stood in now. All the blinds were open, letting buttery sunlight stream in and draw attention to the shiny blond wood floors.

  Scarlett spun around, practically unaware of Colton’s eyes on her. It was hard to take it all in. It was a beautiful little house, in a nice neighborhood. She could hardly believe it could be all hers. Colton said that all she had to do was say the word. Still, something niggled in the back of her mind.

  “I just don’t think I can let you buy me a house.”

  “We’ve had this conversation, honey. Nothing is gonna change the way I feel about you.”

  “I know you say that, but—”

  Colton covered the distance between them quickly and took her chin in his hand, pulling her gaze to his. “No buts, baby-girl, or I’ll have to bring that paddle out.”

  She gave a little shudder. “Yes, daddy. It’s just…”

  “You’re worried that you’ll owe me?” he guessed. This was a conversation they’d had more than once, and while he’d thought he’d laid her fears to rest, it seemed that he needed to reassure her one last time.

  “Maybe.”

  “Well, what if I told you that this house, if you chose it, would be in your name only?”

  Scarlett looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “But that wouldn’t be fair.”

  “It would be. If this is your house, then it should have your name on it, don’t you think?”

  “But it’s your money—”

  “And it would be my gift to you. It couldn’t be taken back, ever.”

  Scarlett couldn’t contain her giddy excitement. The idea of having a place to live where she didn’t have to worry about scrounging up rent every month, or having to worry about where she’d go if things didn’t work out… she couldn’t deny that it sounded great.

  “Are you sure?”

  “The only thing I’m not sure of is whether or not you want it. We could keep looking.”

  “No, this is the one!” she burst out. Spontaneously, she kicked off her shoes and began to twirl around the wooden floor in her socks, with her arms thrown wide. “I love it!”

  “Well, then,” he chuckled. “It’s yours then. I’ll call the realtor right away.”

  “Later,” she insisted, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Let’s look again.”

  “But I thought you said it was the one,” Colton teased, pulling on a lock of her blond hair.

  “It is. I just want you to dream with me.” They walked together through the house, hand-in-hand, admiring the stainless steel fixtures and the lighting. There was a reading nook in the bedroom that Scarlett loved. She couldn’t wait to put a bookcase there, full of books. The more she talked, the more excited she became.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Colton beamed at her.

  “You know… I was thinking…”

  “Hmm?”

  “I bet it gets pretty lonely in that trailer of yours.”

  “Ah… yeah. I guess it does,” he answered, clearly caught off guard.

  “Well, I just thought… if you wanted to…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Maybe you’d want to help me move in?”

  “Of course I will, baby.”

  “Maybe… maybe you could even bring your stuff, too?” She peered up at him through her long lashes.

  “Are you sure about that, baby-girl?”

  “Of course I’m sure, daddy.”

  Colton picked her up and spun her around until she was breathless with giggling. “I can’t think of anything better than to be with my girl twenty-four/seven. Someone’s gotta keep you in line.”

  “Don’t ruin the moment,” she teased.

  “And speaking of keeping you in line, I had some thoughts of my own about what that spare room could be used for.”

  “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

  “I was thinking of turning it into a nursery. You know, one for bad little girls.”

  Scarlett couldn’t hide the flush that creeped into her face. Yet, she wasn’t without excitement about the idea. Just imagining wispy, girly curtains, and maybe a changing table… it got her feeling deliciously squirmy on the inside.