He swept his hand around the nape of her neck and brought her lips to his, kissing her with a depth of passion that swamped him. He broke out in a sweat. Then again, Mae always heated him up. And now, with her body undulating against his cock and his need for her at an all-time high, he was desperately feeling the heat.

  “Let’s get up,” he said.

  “Mmm, good idea.”

  He stood with her, intending to get out of the tub. But she had other ideas. She got up on her knees and took his cock in her wet hands, looking up at him as she encircled her fingers around it and began to stroke it slowly.

  For a few seconds he forgot to breathe, mesmerized by the movements of her hands, the way she pleasured him slowly, easily.

  And then she took him in her mouth, her sweet lips closing over the head of his cock.

  He could have gone off right then, but the sight of her, the feel of her hot mouth taking him in, was so damn good he wanted it to go on forever.

  Her mouth and her hands did magical things, making him tighten and thrust and wish for release while at the same time mentally begging to hang on, because it was a slice of heaven on earth and he couldn’t get enough.

  But he felt the waves and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

  “Mae,” he said, her name coming out breathless and husky. “Mae.”

  That was all he could manage, because she gave him more, deeper, and he lost it, coming as he groaned and held on to the wall for support while his legs shook from the force of his orgasm.

  Sweat trickled down the sides of his face and he still held on to the wall when Mae stood and reached for him. He grabbed on to her, kissed her deeply, then they stepped out of the tub.

  He let the water out, then turned on the shower for a cool rinse. She stepped in with him, rinsing quickly as she shivered.

  “That’s cold.”

  “You made me sweat.”

  She dashed out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying off quickly and disappearing into the bedroom. He dried off and followed her, meeting her at the bed where she lay, beautifully naked and spread out.

  He took a sip of water and then lay down beside her.

  “I’m not sure I’ve got any strength left.”

  “That’s okay.” She climbed on top of him. “You just lie there. I’ll do all the work.”

  He swept his hand over her back. “I was just kidding about having no strength. I can do this all night long.”

  “Oh, I know.” She gently scraped her nails along his chest. “Let’s see how long.”

  He gave her a half smile. “Think I’ll cave before you, huh?”

  As she rocked against his quickly hardening cock, he let out a groan.

  “Oh, I think you will.” She leaned down and brushed her lips across his, whispering against his mouth. “Let’s get started.”

  Chapter

  twenty-six

  Kane had gone off with his grandpa and his dad to pick up some lumber to build something or another. Mae had only been half listening because it had been early and she wasn’t at her best until her second cup of coffee.

  They had finished eating before she’d come downstairs, and were out the door in a hurry, so she’d eaten with Tess and Donna. Tess didn’t have anything pressing to deal with this morning, so it was nice to spend time with both of them.

  “How did Kane seem last night?” Tess asked.

  Mae felt the immediate blush all over as she recalled their hours-long sex session. She didn’t actually recall which one of them had passed out first. It might have been a simultaneous thing. All she knew was that she was deliciously sore and very satiated.

  “He seemed fine, though we didn’t talk about it.”

  Donna nodded. “I think he might need some time to process it all. When my parents told me they were going to get divorced, it took me a week or so for it to actually sink in. I was numb.”

  She’d make a note not to push him to talk about his feelings. Donna was right. It probably would take him a minute to regroup and ponder his feelings about the whole thing.

  If it were her that it had happened to, she’d feel the same way. He’d thought his parents’ marriage was solid, only to discover that it was falling apart and he hadn’t even known. She couldn’t imagine the shock he’d gone through. Which meant she was going to have to give him all the space he needed.

  “It’s good he has you here,” Tess said. “I think you keep him from getting in his head about this.”

  “You think so?”

  Donna nodded. “We do.”

  It was quite the compliment. “Well, thank you. But really, it’s been helpful for him to be here with all of you. He’s told me how much family means to him. I’m glad he was here when he found out.”

  “He means everything to us, too.” Donna took the last bite of her scone and took a sip of coffee. “He belongs to us as much as he belongs to James.”

  Tess nodded. “Sometimes more so. Or at least that’s how Donna and I always saw it.”

  Donna reached over and took Tess’s hand, squeezed it. “When he’d come here for summers, his parents weren’t always with him. So we’d teach him everything we thought he should learn.”

  “That’s true,” Tess said. “Like respect for the outdoors, how to treat animals.”

  “And how to respect women,” Donna added.

  “Definitely that. And Dad taught him all about the horses and the land. Things he didn’t learn in the city.”

  “Invaluable lessons, all of them,” Mae said. “You helped raise a fine man.”

  Tess gave her a confident smile. “We think so.”

  It was clear how much Tess and Donna loved Kane. It showed in how he treated her, too. She’d dated quite a few men. Some awesome. Some not so much. She ranked Kane high up there on the list of honorable men.

  After Tess headed outside to work, Mae helped Donna clean up the kitchen despite her protests, then went outside to see what she could do to help. She cleaned the horse stalls alongside Lana, one of the staff whose dad also worked at the ranch as a trainer. Lana attended college and worked part-time on the ranch whenever she was on break.

  “I’ve been comin’ here since I was six years old,” Lana said as they hauled in fresh straw for the stalls. “It gives me a chance to hang out with my dad, and be near the horses.”

  “You love the animals.”

  “I do. I’m going to veterinary school.”

  “Oh. How exciting for you. That’s hard work.”

  “It is. But it’ll be worth it in the end.”

  “Yeah, it will.”

  After she finished cleaning stalls, Lana went off to do something else, which meant Mae was left with nothing to do. She went to the stalls to visit her favorite horse, Annie, surprised to see that she wasn’t in there, so she wandered outside to see if she could find her.

  She asked around and someone told her Annie was working out at the racetrack. Since she hadn’t been there yet, she had to ask for directions. It was left of the arenas, and when she found it she gasped at how big it was. She supposed it had to be good-sized for the horses to be able to stretch out and run. Adam was at the track along with a couple other people, including the jockey who currently sat atop Annie, taking her on a walk around the track. Mae didn’t know that Adam and Kane had returned from their errands, and she had searched the area for Kane as she’d headed this way but hadn’t seen him. Figuring he was busy elsewhere, she walked near the track, stopping by Adam but not saying a word. She was entranced by Annie’s utter beauty as the jockey took the horse through her paces.

  And when he urged her into a trot, and then a full run, Mae held her breath. She was like dark lightning, as if her feet weren’t even touching the ground. She flew around the track, as graceful and beautiful as anything Mae had ever seen. The jockey finally slowed and edged her into a walk, cooling her down.

  “She’s so beautiful,” Mae said.

  “That she is,” Adam said. “She’s a perfect horse. Just about ready for her first race.”

  Mae looked over at Adam. “She hasn’t raced yet?”

  “Not yet. But she will. And she’ll be a winner.”

  “You can tell?”

  “We’ve run enough racehorses through here that I can tell a winner from one who can compete but will never be a champion. Annie will be a champion.”

  For some reason, that made her so happy.

  “What are you doing out here?” Adam asked.

  “Just…wandering. Is there something you need me to do?”

  He shook his head. “You’re not here to work. Enjoying yourself?”

  “Yes. You have an amazing ranch. Thank you for letting me come here.”

  He studied her, his face all craggy lines and years of wisdom. “My grandson’s lucky to have you in his life.”

  Momentarily shocked, she didn’t know what to say. But then she found her voice. “Thank you. I feel pretty lucky being part of his life, too.”

  “Because of his movies?”

  She laughed. “Honestly? I think that’s the least interesting thing about Kane.”

  Adam tilted his head back and laughed, then turned and headed back toward the main arenas, so she walked with him. “That’s what we all think. I always wanted him to be a rancher, but the kid followed his own path.”

  “A lot of us do. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched a couple of his movies. He’s a very good actor and he can embody a role very well. But I don’t think that defines everything he is as a person. He has so much more to offer.”

  “No wonder he likes you. I’ll bet you challenge him, too.”

  Her lips curved. “I try my best.”

  They reached one of the arenas and stopped. Adam laid his hand on her arm. “You keep doing that. My Elizabeth, she kept me on my toes every day of her life. I miss that.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Me, too. But I got good memories of Ellie and me, and those will last me until we’re together again.”

  “That’s a sweet perspective, Adam.”

  “It’s what keeps me going every day.”

  “What keeps you going every day?”

  Mae looked over to see that Kane had asked that question. She hadn’t even heard him come up to them.

  “Coffee and the occasional whiskey before bed, kid,” Adam said. “Where you been?”

  He motioned with his head toward a spot off to the north. “I took the tractor and cleared some brush on that spot you wanted to build at. Got it mostly cleared, but wanted to talk to you about digging a trench.”

  “Okay. I’ll be along in a bit. I want to see how this training is going first.”

  “Sure.”

  Kane walked away without asking Mae to come with him. She wondered if he was upset with her, so she followed, nearly jogging to keep up with his long-legged stride.

  “Hey,” she said, but he was still about six steps ahead of her. “Kane.”

  But still, he kept walking, which was starting to irritate her.

  “Kane. Stop. Dammit, stop.” She ran and grabbed his arm, squeezing it. “I said stop.”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “What do you mean, what? I’ve been running this whole time to keep up with you, calling your name, asking you to stop. And you ask me what? What the hell is going on with you?”

  “Nothing. I’m…busy.”

  “No. You’re angry. At your parents. Not at me, remember?”

  He blew out a breath. “Yeah. Sorry. I woke up in a pissed-off mood thinking about my parents and I didn’t mean to take it out on you.” He stepped closer and smoothed his hands up and down her arms. “I really am sorry. I need to take out my irritation on chores. And maybe I need some space.”

  She thought he needed to talk it out, but that wasn’t how he felt right now, so she’d abide by his feelings. “Of course. Come find me later?”

  “Yeah, I will.” He gave her a quick kiss and walked off, leaving her standing there all alone.

  Okay, so he was in a mood, and now she was, too.

  She wandered back toward the main barns and found Shadow and Lucky sleeping in the shade of one. The dogs woke up when they sensed her approach, their tails wagging as they ran up to her.

  “Hi, pups.” She crouched down to pet the dogs, laughing when they both licked her face. “Aww, thank you.”

  “Careful. You keep letting them do that and they’ll follow you home when you leave.”

  Mae looked up and smiled at Tess. “I don’t think I’d mind.”

  “Where’s Kane?”

  Mae stood. “He’s off doing something to work off his anger. He’s in a mood and wants to be alone.”

  “Ah. That’s typical. He always was a brooder. As a kid, when he got pissed off he’d climb into the tree house and lift the ladder so none of us could get up there.”

  “So you tormented him?”

  Tess shrugged as she lifted up a bucket and made her way to the barn, so Mae followed. “Us? No. But him? He was a little shit. Hiding twigs and mud in our beds, emptying our shampoo and replacing it with dish soap, wiping his goobery fingers on us. Little-boy stuff. He thought he was funny. My sisters and I? Not so much.”

  Mae wrinkled her nose. “Why are boys so gross?”

  “Probably because he knew it would bother us. I have to admit that we gave it back to him tenfold. It’s tough when you’re outnumbered by women. We did the same thing to his dad when we were all kids. James backed down, but Kane? He threw it right back at us. I tried to be on his side but he was a brat and made it hard.”

  Mae grinned. “I don’t have siblings so I have no idea what that dynamic is like. But the people I work with—my friends—are three sisters. I’ve borne witness to several of their battles, so I can well imagine the difficulties. Sometimes it is the people you love—especially family—who get under your skin the most.”

  Tess was gathering supplies and paused, looking at Mae. “You speak from experience, not just observation.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Family can be rough sometimes. I commiserate.”

  Mae appreciated that Tess didn’t ask probing questions. First, she didn’t want to bring up her complicated relationship with her mother. Second, Kane was going through enough, as, she was certain, was the whole family. The last thing Mae wanted to do was pile on with her own family history.

  So she’d let Kane have his space, and they’d talk later.

  If he wanted to. If not…

  She didn’t know what she’d do. She cared about him. Maybe too much. And that scared her. She’d gone into this with him wanting to keep things light and easy between them.

  Nothing felt light or easy right now. It felt deep and complicated. Sometimes warm and exciting. At other times frustrating as hell.

  She didn’t know how to feel about that.

  Scared. That was how she felt. Scared. Because every day her feelings for Kane grew exponentially.

  The thought of falling in love again made her stomach hurt. The possibility of being hurt again made her heart twist inside her chest.

  How could she have let this happen?

  Chapter

  twenty-seven

  It was their last day here. Kane’s last full day on the ranch, and his last opportunity to talk to his dad, to make peace.

  The only problem was, he wasn’t feeling peaceful. He was angry—at both his father and his mother—and he didn’t know what to do with all these feelings. And the more he thought about how they had shut him out of what had been going on, the more pissed off he got.

  He didn’t need the intimate details, or all the details. But they could have told him they were having problems, that they were in counseling. That they had separated. Some kind of preparation instead of finding out abruptly that they had ended their marriage. And the only reason he’d found that out had been by accident, because he’d overheard.

  Plus, his mother refused to even talk to him about it, let alone come and see him.

  Tension coiled around him like a hungry snake, squeezing him so tightly he could barely breathe. He was going to have to find a way out of this vise of anger, and soon, because in a few days he’d be due back on set, and he needed to be ready to roll.

  Right now he was anything but ready. All he wanted to do was punch something. Repeatedly.

  The door opened and his grandpa and father walked in, both of them laughing, which only increased Kane’s ire to the nth degree. His dad looked happy. Relaxed, even, and all Kane saw was red.

  “Morning, Kane,” his dad said. “Your grandpa and I took an early morning ride to oversee some of the fences. I forgot how good it felt to get out there and breathe in that cool morning air sitting on the back of a horse.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe you can take some time off from your precious job and remember where you came from.” Kane took a sip of his coffee. It tasted as bitter as the words that had spilled from his mouth.

  “Watch it, boy,” his grandpa said.

  “Sorry,” Kane muttered.

  Dad grabbed a cup and pulled up a chair at the table. “No, Dad, that’s okay. Kane’s right. I haven’t been here in a while. I’ve ignored a lot while focusing on work. My family. My marriage. It’s cost me and I’m fully aware of that now.” He looked over at Kane. “I can see how that’s hurt you. My not being there for you. I’m sorry. I’ll do better in the future.”

  He wanted to blurt out that it was too late, but he kept that thought to himself. “Sure. Thanks.”

  Mae was suspiciously absent during breakfast. He’d been so in his own head when he’d gotten up, he hadn’t even checked on her. Was she sick?

  He headed upstairs, surprised to see she wasn’t there. He went back downstairs.