When his long, warm fingers encircled her ankles and set her heels on his hard thighs, her body began to ignite. Elise didn’t think she could be more turned on by the sight of Colt’s steady regard as he slowly slid his hands up her legs until he reached her inner thighs. As he applied pressure, she let her legs fall against the arms of the chair and sighed in anticipation of his next move.

  Colt’s lips quirked upward in a brief, sexy smirk as he pulled the belt around her waist. But when the knot loosened and the robe parted slightly, exposing her cleavage and a line of creamy flesh down the middle of her body, his smile faded. His gaze darkened and his nostrils flared as he pushed the robe out of the way, exposing her naked flesh to his view.

  Elise’s body burned as his gaze slid over her exposed skin. The cool air didn’t even faze her, she was so caught up in all that was Colt as he laid a warm hand on her stomach and another on her inner thigh.

  As his fingers trailed down her thigh to tease her dark curls between her legs, he said in a gravely voice, “Last night, as I pulled your naked body against mine, it was one of the hardest things I’d ever done—being a gentleman and not touching you the way I wanted to.”

  The seductive tone of his words made a shiver pass through her. Elise started to speak but her words turned to a gasp of pure pleasure when Colt thrust a finger deep inside her. Rocking her hips as he withdrew and thrust back in, she bit her lower lip before panting out, “Take me. I’m yours.”

  Rubbing his thumb over her clit while he added another finger to the first one, Colt raised one eyebrow, his expression cocky and self-assured. “You’re already mine, darlin’.”

  Elise couldn’t answer as he thrust even deeper, taking her heart rate higher. Instead, she gripped the arms on the chair, closed her eyes in sheer sexual bliss, and pushed against his thighs with her feet as her walls began to contract around his fingers.

  Riding the waves of her orgasm as long as she could, she sighed in contentment as he withdrew his hand from her body and put her feet on the chair. When Elise opened her eyes, it was to see Colt standing over her, his hand held out to her.

  She put her hand in his and stood. Colt slid the robe off her body and laid it down on the deck’s floor, making his intentions very clear.

  She grinned as she lay down on the floor, but when she turned over on her back, she inhaled sharply at the seductive picture before her.

  Colt stood over her, his expression intense, raking down her body as his fingers slowly unbuttoned his pants all the way. When his hard erection sprang forward, as he slipped his jeans down his muscular legs, her heart rate jumped tenfold. She swallowed the gasp that threatened to escape her lips. No need to give him a big head…one swollen one was enough, she thought with an inward chuckle.

  All humor fled from her thoughts as Colt moved over her. She barely had time to put her hands on his shoulders before he spread her thighs and slid inside her body in one swift thrust.

  Elise gasped in surprise at his aggressive possession, her lungs taking in the morning breeze blowing around them. Colt thrust deeper and then stayed buried as his gaze met hers.

  His shoulders and back muscles tensed as he supported his weight above her, then said, his tone husky, barely controlled, “Your body feels so right wrapped around me.” He paused and dipped his nose to her neck, inhaling her scent before he continued, “A sweet-smelling, perfect fit.”

  Her stomach flip-flopped at his sexy comment. Sliding her hands up his muscular shoulders, she ran her fingers through his damp hair at the nape of his neck as he lowered his head to her chest.

  When he sucked her nipple into his mouth, she arched her back and moaned, reveling in the feeling of his hard body pressed against hers while the warm sun shined down on them. The completeness she felt with him buried inside her, the surety that he wanted her here with him, made her bold.

  “I want you to make love to me, Colt,” she said in a breathless voice as his teeth grazed the pink tip, then bit down gently.

  Colt lifted his head and met her gaze, his own intemperate and raw, the hunger so palpable she could almost feel his desire emanating off his skin in heated waves under her fingers.

  She let out a cry of dismay when he withdrew from her body, but she sighed in sheer bliss when his lips brushed against her sex.

  Colt used his teeth and lips and tongue in perfect tandem to drive her to the edge, only to let her heart calm before he started the same buildup of arousal within her all over again. As her stomach tensed in anticipation for the third time, Elise grabbed his head and held him close, bucking against him, panting as her heart raced out of control.

  “Colt,” she begged between rapid breaths as her sex throbbed and her thighs began to tremble from the physical delay of her climax.

  His sapphire gaze met hers, deep unfathomable emotions churning behind them. “No others, Lise. Only me,” he ground out as he slid a finger inside her.

  Elise knew what Colt meant. He was committing as much as he emotionally could. She’d take what she could…for now. Her muscles contracted around his finger, but she whimpered with need for the thickness only his body could provide.

  With a determined expression, Colt moved and leaned over her as he turned his finger and pressed on her trigger spot deep inside. “Tell me,” he demanded, his tone sounding harsh, ragged.

  Elise reached between their bodies and wrapped her hand around his erection. “You tell me first,” she insisted.

  He withdrew his hand and shifted, pressing his erection against her entrance. For a long, agonizing moment he held her gaze as he hovered above her. When he finally slid inside her, the completeness of the act wrung a low, keening moan from her as he seated himself fully inside her.

  “There are no others for me.” He withdrew and slowly slid back inside, connecting his body with hers.

  Elise’s heart pounded at his statement. She clasped him to her and whispered in his ear, “No others for me either, Cowboy.”

  * * * * *

  While Colt spent all day on the ranch helping the rodeo crew prepare the animals and equipment for another long stint of rodeo travel, Elise worked in the office with Mace, bringing him up-to-speed on the online store and her suggestions for bundled merchandise and upgraded rodeo paraphernalia.

  They worked for several hours as they bounced thoughts and suggestions back and forth, further refining her business plan. After they ate a quick lunch at their desks, Elise and Mace got back to work until they both agreed on a plan that met his advertising and aesthetic vision for the website and her needs as part owner and web developer. A couple of hours later, she sat back and smiled after she completed the finishing touches on the changes to the website.

  “Not bad, Elise,” she complimented herself, proud of her work.

  “Let me see,” Mace called out from the doorway as he proceeded to walk around behind her desk and look at the website.

  As she clicked through the purchasing process, Mace nodded his approval with a broad smile.

  “What the hell did we ever do without you?” he commented as he sat down on the corner of her desk facing her.

  “Limped along,” she quipped. “By the way, did you ask George if he’d be willing to man the booth for a couple of hours each rodeo?”

  Mace laughed. “Didn’t take much convincing when I told him he’d get a raise.” Rubbing his chin, he continued, “Good idea on putting a brochure about the online store in each customer’s bag. That should get the word out there and help boost future sales.”

  “Why thank you,” she replied. “I do try my best.”

  “And then some,” Mace said as he stood and shoved his hands in his back pockets. “Time to shut down your computer now.”

  She gave him a what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about look as she glanced at her watch. “It’s only three-thirty.”

  Mace leaned over and moved her mouse, clicking the shutdown sequence saying, “Colt asked me to look out for you today since he’s not in the office.”

  “I’m not a baby. I’m fully capable of knowing when I’ve reached my limit,” she replied, indignant that these Tanner men thought to coddle her.

  Laughing, Mace reached for the clip in her hair and opened it. As her hair fell down her back, he said, “Nah, darlin’, we just want you to let your hair down a little earlier today.” Handing her the clip, his green eyes twinkled in amusement as he continued, “Actually, I thought you might like to help Nan out today.”

  Elise perked up as she followed Mace out of her office. “Help Nan?”

  “Yeah, Nan’s preparing the farewell dinner for the entire rodeo crew tonight. The guys usually eat a big meal and then go out to Rockin’ Joe’s for dancing and carousing before they have to head out on the road again. Marie’s been in the kitchen with Nan since this morning.”

  Elise grinned as they walked outside. “Guess you talked me into it. It’ll be good to catch up with my aunt while I help Nan.”

  Inviting smells wafted through the kitchen screen door as Elise pulled it open. Mmmm, smoked…something, she thought as she walked inside with Mace right behind her. Nan and Marie sat at the table, breaking the ends off string beans.

  “Hi sweetie,” her aunt called out, patting the chair next to her. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better today.”

  Elise sat down and picked up a handful of green beans. Snapping the ends off of a couple, she threw the beans in the pot in the center of the table and answered, “Yes, thank goodness my migraine went away. That was just miserable. I haven’t had a migraine like that since I was a teenager.”

  “Mace,” Nan called out as she got up from the table and whacked him on the butt, as he bent over her pot of beans, then put the spoon to his mouth for a taste. “Unless you plan on stayin’ and helpin’ cook, get your rear out of here.”

  Mace grinned and put the spoon down in the spoon rest on the stove. “Guess that’s my cue to leave. Colt’ll be chasin’ me down soon enough to help out.”

  After Mace left, Marie glanced up from snapping beans. “Just how hot and heavy are you and Colt, Elise?”

  Elise laughed. “Going straight to the point, aren’t ya, Aunt Marie.”

  Her aunt gave an unapologetic shrug. “When you get to be my age, dear, you learn the value of being direct.”

  Elise sighed while Nan stirred the beans and added more pepper to them. “Let’s just say Colt and I…well, we care for each other. To be honest, I’m not sure where we’re going, but I just wish he didn’t have such a bad history with his mom. I believe that’s one of the reasons why he’s still holding a part of himself back.”

  Nan sat back down at the table with a paring knife and began peeling an apple. “He had to grow up faster than most young men when his momma left his daddy. Stuff like that can stick with you for a very long time,” she finished in a philosophical voice. “Not only did he have to become a man quickly, but when his father died, he gave up his career in the rodeo and took on the role of a second father to his brothers too.” Her chocolate brown eyes met Elise’s across the table. “He’s a good man. If anyone can help him get over his past, you can.”

  Elise shook her head. “I don’t know, Nan. His feelings run pretty deep about his mom. I think with my background, he sees me as a woman just like her. He seems to fight a constant internal battle to trust his heart and me.”

  “There’s a saying, ‘Time heals all wounds.’ What I say is, ‘What time doesn’t heal, the need to survive, to move on and be happy, will take care of the rest.’”

  “Very well put, Nan,” Marie agreed with a nod. “Colt will come around.”

  “I hope you’re both right—that Colt will eventually let go of his past. I’d really like to be a part of his future, but I won’t settle for anything less than his total trust in me and us.”

  * * * * *

  Dinner was a complete success. Nan had set the meal up in the formal dining room, taking advantage of the bigger table. The fancier digs didn’t stop the rodeo crew from being on their rowdiest behavior. Elise loved it! They were in high spirits as they passed around the bowls of food and told rodeo stories about Cade and even some about Colt.

  She sat next to Colt and, near the end of the meal, while he ate his apple pie and ice cream, he laid his hand on her thigh under the table. It was a thoroughly intimate gesture, meant to be private, but the warmth of his hand, the feel of his fingers cupping her inner thigh affected her.

  As she’d taken a bite of her own dessert and some of the ice cream dripped from the spoon to her lip, Colt surprised her when he ran his finger along her bottom lip, then sucked the ice cream off his finger. She’d been so caught up in his smoldering, deep blue eyes staring at her mouth that it took a moment for her to realize the entire table had gone quiet as they watched her and Colt.

  Embarrassed to return her gaze to Colt and with heat rising up her cheeks, Elise picked up their empty plates and carried them into the kitchen.

  While she scraped off their plates, she smiled when she heard Colt giving a send-off speech for the crew. He was a good man. One she was proud to know.

  “He’s a good man,” a deep voice came from behind her, echoing her thoughts and startling her from her reverie.

  She turned to look into Cade’s indigo blue eyes. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  His dark gaze narrowed for a moment as if he were assessing her again. She could tell trust didn’t come easily for him either.

  “I wanted to say goodbye before I headed out,” he said in a gruff voice.

  Awww, these tough Tanner men made her want to take care of them all. With her emotions running high, Elise impulsively reached over and hugged Cade. His body stiffened when her arms encircled his neck, making her realize she must have made him uncomfortable. As she started to pull away, Cade’s arms came around her and he gave her a tight hug, pulling her full against his body. He whispered in her ear, “He’s a tough sonofabitch at times, but my brother’s got a heart of gold. I hope you’re here permanently when I return at the end of rodeo season.”

  Elise didn’t know what to say. She pulled back with tears in her eyes and a tremulous smile on her lips. Cade gave her one of his rare, devastating smiles and said, as he chucked her gently on the chin, “I’ve always wanted a sister.” Turning on his booted heel, he walked out of the kitchen, leaving her thoroughly speechless.

  Nan and Marie joined her in the kitchen to help clean up while Colt said goodbye to everyone. When Colt came in the kitchen twenty minutes later, he took the dishtowel from Marie and said, “I’ll take over. Why don’t you stay the night? Nan will make up a room for you.”

  “Thanks Colt, but I like to sleep in my own bed,” Marie said as she walked up to hug Elise goodbye.

  “Where’s Mace?” Elise asked Colt with a grin, knowing Mace would do anything to avoid kitchen duty.

  Colt snorted. “Where do you think? He’s gone over to Rockin’ Joe’s with the rest of the boys to send everyone off with ‘a proper goodbye,’ so he says.”

  “I’m heading out since the reinforcements have come. Take care, sweetie,” her aunt said as she hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll come visit again in a couple of days and I’ll bring my cruise pictures with me next time.”

  “You do that,” she encouraged as she walked her aunt to the door.

  After Marie left, Elise joined Colt at the sink. The sight of him rolling up his chambray shirtsleeves, revealing his tanned arms, the veins and muscles in them, drew her attention and appreciation. She smiled and turned to the sink as Nan added another pot to the suds. While they worked, Elise teased Colt about several of the rodeo stories the crew had told about him. Colt tried to distract her with whispered suggestions of what he wanted but still hadn’t had a chance to do to her.

  A knock at the screened back door had Nan, Colt and Elise looking at each other in surprise. It was eight-thirty at night.

  Colt set down the towel and moved to the door. When his entire framed stiffened, Elise knew something was wrong.

  “Hello, Colt. You look a lot like your daddy,” a woman spoke through the screen.

  Colt’s face turned to stone and he replied in a cold voice, “What are you doing here, Sharon?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Whoa! Elise thought, her heart jerking in her chest. Colt’s long-lost mother showing up out of the blue?

  “I tried to knock on the front door, but no one answered, so I came around to the kitchen door.” She gave a soft laugh. “Some things never change.”

  Colt folded his arms over his chest, an impassive expression on his face. “Why are you here?”

  She gave an exasperated sound. “Aren’t you at least going to invite me in?”

  “No—” Colt started to answer, but Elise decided she’d better intervene.

  “Of course he is,” she replied brushing past Colt and pushing the screen door open.

  As the tall, elegant woman with dark hair showing the beginnings of gray walked inside, Elise put out her hand, “I’m Elise Hamilton.”

  “Sharon Tanner,” the woman replied, her expression wary as she assessed Elise.

  Nodding to Nan she said, “Hello again, Nan.”

  “Harumph,” Nan snorted and turned to put a pot in the cabinet.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Sharon.” Colt’s voice sounded cold, emotionless.

  When Sharon smoothed her hand over her bob haircut, the gesture told Elise just how nervous she was despite her aloof appearance.

  “I received a phone call the other day from a woman who told me the ranch was being sold.”

  Who the heck called? Elise wondered, but when she met Colt’s gaze, she realized they both knew the answer. May.

  Sharon continued, “The woman said if I had anything I wanted to keep, I’d better come claim it.”

  Elise’s heart jumped at Sharon’s words and her spirits soared for Colt.

  “I have some things…a couple of family antiques I left behind I wanted to collect,” Sharon continued, dashing Elise’s hopes that she’d come back to see her boys…to make amends for deserting her family.