Someone was chanting “Oh my God, oh my God,” and it must have been her, because his mouth was busy sucking her nipples, first this one, then that one, a little harder, a little softer, tension in her entire body mounting tighter and tighter, and she was bumping against his erection again and again, and—

  She spent eternity frozen, every muscle in her body contracted as she came apart, wave after wave of pleasure swamping her senses so that she wasn’t aware of anything but Tanner, soothing her body with his hands, stroking her through the aftershocks of her orgasm, holding her tightly as she began to relax, keeping her safe in his arms.

  And yet she still quivered with need.

  She ran restless hands over Tanner’s back, to his—her—sweatpants, around to the front, covering him with her hand, cupping him, stroking through the soft fabric, but that wasn’t enough. She needed him in her.

  He groaned when she slipped her hand over the waistband, slid her thumb over the slippery head of his cock, stroked him.

  “I need… I want… Can we…” she stammered.

  He grabbed her hand, holding it between their bodies, breathing heavily. “I’m not exactly prepared—”

  “Under the kitchen sink,” she said, jerking her head to indicate the cabinet behind her.

  “Of course.” He chuckled. “That’s where I keep mine, too.”

  “And because you never know when you’re going to want to have sex on the floor of your camper.”

  He grinned. “You’re amazing. Just fucking incredible.”

  Then there was more of that incredible kissing while they pressed themselves as far against the opposite wall as they could while he opened the cabinet far enough to reach inside, and—

  “In the flowerpot. Can you feel it?”

  “No…”

  She was going to have to get up, even though her legs felt like rubber because her muscles had abandoned ship.

  “Wait. Got it.” He shut the door and loosened his hold on her, presenting a strip of condoms.

  ***

  This was happening. This was actually going to happen. There was a strip of condoms in his hand, and Jen was squirming next to him, trying to get her pants off, trying to get his pants off, and he was going to have to get this condom on and get inside her and not come the second he did, not because he’d never had sex before, not even because it had been a really fucking long time since he’d last had sex, but because this woman was more than he ever could have imagined, more than he ever deserved, and he was so hard, but his brain wouldn’t stop—

  “Do you need help?” Jen asked, panting slightly.

  “No.” He might have sounded too sharp, but if she touched him, now that he could feel her bare thighs pressed against his, the scent of her arousal making him both weaker than he could imagine and ready to climb castle walls and fight dragons, it would all be over. “I’ve got this,” he said, kissing those incredible lips once more, trying not to get distracted but finding it hard to stop. Other parts of him were hard, too, so he reluctantly drew his lips away from hers to focus on what he was doing, and he got the damned thing on, almost coming because she was watching him do it, and while she watched, her own hand slid down…

  He closed his eyes and groaned. “There is so much I want to do right now. I want to touch you, and taste you, and watch you touch me, but—”

  “If you don’t get inside me in the next ten seconds, I’m going to literally die right here on this floor, and now you only have four seconds.”

  It took him two to have her on her back, his knees between hers, poised over paradise. “Are you ready?” he asked, sliding his fingers between her folds, making sure she was good and wet, because—

  She growled. “You’re late.”

  He lowered himself slowly as she squirmed, making a slight mewling sound as he guided himself toward her entrance.

  “Please,” she panted. “Please.”

  “You gotta stop wiggling,” he panted back.

  “Oh.” She reached between them then, her hand hot on him as she made sure he was—in.

  He didn’t think he’d ever felt so incredible in his life. He probably had, though. Probably the last time he’d been… No, he wasn’t going to think about that now. But damn, the sighs and whimpers she was making, her creamy skin, that crazy red hair, knowing she’d already come in his arms once, ready to make it happen again…

  “Would you stop thinking and start moving?”

  So he did. He rocked into her, again and again until he thought he’d die, as the heat gathered at the base of his spine, deep inside of him, growing tighter until he was sure he couldn’t hold out any longer. But he did. Somehow, he managed to hold on, just a little longer, until once again, gripping his shoulders with steel and crying out, she came.

  Her body tight, tighter, pulsing around him, he followed her over the edge, falling farther and harder than he’d ever gone before, into oblivion.

  Chapter 20

  Something cold and wet startled Jen from the best night’s sleep she’d had in—

  Oh wow. There was a furry little dog—a matted, tangled mess of a furry dog, panting her doggy breath right into Jen’s face, adding her cold, wet nose as needed. There was a big, warm pallet of Tanner behind her, arm slung over her waist, light snores buzzing in her ear.

  “Hey, Trixie,” Jen murmured, edging from beneath Tanner’s arm, trying not to disturb him. She suspected he didn’t sleep much, so every extra minute was golden.

  She tiptoed to the bathroom, though she knew each step jolted the entire camper. After she took care of business, she brushed her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror. Not too bad, she decided. No big raccoon eyes, since the little makeup she’d put on for the barbecue at the ranch had mostly been washed off in the rain between the movie and the… Whoa. The best sex of her life. Which was probably why her lips were so red and puffy this morning.

  And why she was still naked. And why she was going to sneak back into bed with Tanner and find out if morning-after sex might be half as amazing as night-before sex.

  She opened the door as softly as she could, but found that Trixie, having failed at getting Jen to immediately scrounge up breakfast, was on her pillow, licking Tanner’s face as he waved a half-asleep hand in the air.

  Okay, well, morning-after sex might have to be after-Trixie’s-fed-and-pottied sex. “Come here, Trixie,” she said, grabbing the first thing she could find in the way of pants—the ones she’d given Tanner to wear for all of half an hour last night—and her T-shirt.

  She checked on the chicks, who peeped softly in their pretty new cardboard box. She’d have to move them to the swimming pool incubator soon enough. For now, they were fine, though.

  She glanced at Tanner, but he appeared to have fallen back to sleep. She opened the camper door and tiptoed out behind Trixie, who immediately bolted for the goat pen, where Angus and the girls bleated their desire for freedom—and breakfast.

  Angus, Kim, and Khloe were happily munching breakfast, and she’d just opened the container of rabbit chow when the camper door opened. Tanner came out, wearing his jeans, carrying the still-damp shirt.

  His naked chest was incredible in the morning light. He rocked a farmer’s tan like no one ever had.

  But he was dressed. In his wet jeans. Jen’s stomach dropped as cold heat rushed through her body.

  “Hey, uh, I need to get going,” he said, fiddling with the truck keys, finding them way more interesting than Jen’s face, apparently.

  “Oh. Okay.” Why hadn’t it occurred to her that he might be all Wham! Bam! Thank you, ma’am?

  Because he hadn’t been a jerk before now.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if he wanted breakfast, or at least coffee, but every morning-after she’d ever witnessed with her mom, every time the next perfect guy left… It all came back to her, and she was not going to be that girl. Or rather she wasn’t going to act like that girl, no matter how she felt.

  She straightened her shoulders and mustered her best smile and said, “Thanks for, um, the movie and… Anyway, thanks.”

  “Sure.” He looked at her, a slight crook to his mouth which gave her a moment’s hope. But then he focused on Trixie, who was busy running circles around the goat and sheep. “Come on, Trixie,” he called.

  Trixie ignored him.

  “Shit,” he muttered, and strode off toward the goat pen. “Damn it, Trixie, come here!” he said, not quite angrily but definitely without his usual patience and humor.

  Jen’s heart was feeling like it had little spiderweb cracks, and all she wanted to do was curl up with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s to spackle it, but she managed to say, “You know, she can stay here if you’re in a hurry. I’ll get her corralled and you can collect her when you bring my car back.”

  Did her attempt to sound upbeat come off as needy? Was there too much I hope you’re coming back to hang out with me and not be weird?

  Tanner turned to her then and said, “You know, I was thinking. Maybe you should adopt Trixie. She seems to like it better here where she’s got some livestock to protect.”

  Jen blinked. “But isn’t she your dog?”

  He shrugged. “Not really. I’ve been working with her since she came to the ranch, but she’s too interested in shepherding everyone to be a service animal, so I know she’ll be adopted out.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” She wanted to say How can you let that sweet little pup go? And also she wanted to say Yes, yes, yes!

  “Think about it. She can stay here for the time being.” He stood there for a long moment as though he were trying to make a decision. Then in one swift motion, he came close, pecked her lips with his, and walked back to his truck like his boots were on fire.

  “Okay, well… Have a nice day!” she called after him, as he opened the door and got in his truck.

  He didn’t look her way as he lifted a hand on the way down the driveway.

  ***

  If he could have, Tanner would have timed his arrival at the ranch to coincide with everyone else’s let’s-go-to-town-and-walk-the-dogs time, but the universe knew better than to let him have that kind of luck. No, instead of finding the ranch deserted, it was filled to the brim with wide awake and painfully observant soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.

  “Woo-hoo, Beauchamp doin’ the walk of shame!” fought with “Does she have a sister?” and “I hope you used protection!” as he stalked across the dining room floor of the bunkhouse to his quarters next to the kitchen. He helped design this place. Why hadn’t he insisted on private entrances?

  He managed to flash a devil-may-care smile as he entered his bedroom, but lost it the second the door was closed.

  He flopped onto his bed, but jumped up immediately, remembering that his pants were still damp. Cursing, he struggled out of the pants and shirt, tossing everything in the corner. He’d get it into the washer before it got moldy. Or he wouldn’t. Dragging some clean stuff out of a drawer, he started to get dressed for a day of getting crap from everyone. It would have been one thing if he’d come home with a smile in his heart after a nice morning roll in the hay. He could put up with teasing for that, but instead, he was all about screwing up an amazing time with an incredible woman.

  He was such a loser!

  He felt bad for the way he’d acted around Jen, like what they’d done, like she didn’t matter to him in the slightest. But that wasn’t true; he was just nervous when he’d first awakened, and like a chickenshit, he’d feigned sleep until she was outside and he had a chance to gather his wits. Which of course had given him time to get freaked out about whether or not she had regrets, so he’d been nervous when he’d gone outside, wanting to give her space, to let her know he wasn’t planning to move in and become one of her mom’s user-loser boyfriends.

  But when he’d blurted out that he was leaving, she hadn’t seemed to care one way or the other. For a moment something flashed across her face, but he couldn’t tell if it was pain or relief, and the fact that he didn’t know was yet another example of why he had no reason getting cozy with Jen.

  She deserved a man who could gauge her feelings better. Some kind of knight in shining armor, rather than a loser who left a path of destruction everywhere he went.

  But in the end, she’d smiled and told him to have a nice day.

  Have a nice day?

  What did he expect? For her to drop to her knees and beg him not to leave? No, even if that’s what she wanted, she wouldn’t do that, especially not after his awkward-as-hell goodbye kiss. That was a kiss-your-fourth-grade-girlfriend kiss.

  At least he had another chance to make things right today when he and Jake took Jen’s car back to her.

  Dressed, he shoved his feet into dry boots and prepared to catch more grief. He opened his bedroom door and came face-to-face with Adam, the one man on the ranch who had not been in that dining room when he’d come in.

  Was he here now to dole out some extra-special boss-type abuse?

  “Good. You’re dressed. Take a walk with me.”

  Or maybe he was there to give him his walking papers.

  Tanner knew better than to fill any silence with bullshit, so he didn’t ask any questions or offer any unasked-for answers, just nodded and followed Adam back down the hall, through the nearly empty dining room, and out into the muggy sunshine.

  “Nothing like a good thunderstorm to make sure the humidity doesn’t fall below a hundred and ten percent,” Adam said.

  “The mosquitoes will be mighty happy for a few days,” Tanner agreed. They walked without speaking for a few minutes, following the fence line past the kennels, past the agility yard, and stopping next to the field Bullet was calling home these days.

  The horse in question snorted and trotted around the small field, slowing to a walk before stopping a few yards from Tanner and Adam. He eyed them mistrustfully, but Tanner thought he recognized a hint of mischief in his old friend.

  “He looks a lot better than he did when he got here,” Adam said.

  “Yeah, we’re going to have to start cutting back on the grain before he gets too fat.”

  “Too fat for, say, a saddle?” Adam asked.

  Tanner let out a sigh and hung his head for a moment, although he knew the minute they started walking this way that this was going to be the topic of conversation. “Yeah. Too fat for a saddle.” He held up a hand to forestall anything Adam might say next and added, “I still don’t think he’s the right horse for this kind of a gig, and I’m sure I’m not the right guy.”

  Adam took off his ball cap, ran a hand through his hair, put the hat back on, and squinted at the sun. “I disagree. I think you’re the perfect man for the job. I don’t know about the horse, but if he can’t earn his keep, he might have to go.”

  “I’m paying for him,” Tanner said. “You don’t have to worry about his keep.” He knew that sounded sarcastic, but damn it, he wasn’t in the mood for this argument right now. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t have to be.

  “Where’s Trixie?” Adam asked now.

  “She’s…she stayed at Jen’s place. I was about to come talk to you about her.”

  “Jen or Trixie? ’Cause if it’s Jen I might have to refer you to Lizzie and Emma.”

  “Ha. No, Trixie. I suggested Jen might want to adopt her. I should have talked to you first, but she’s already flunked out of service-dog training, and she keeps taking off and going over there anyway. It seems like a good placement.”

  Adam nodded. “She takes after you.”

  Tanner bristled. “I thought you said we weren’t talking about Jen.”

  Adam slapped him on the shoulder. “Take it easy. Just kidding. She seems nice, and for whatever reason, she likes you.”

  “She is. Nice.” He left out the information that she might not like him so much anymore. “And she and Trixie get along well. She’s got that goat and a couple of sheep, which seem to be entertaining enough to keep Trixie busy.”

  “Staying all alone out there most of the time”—Adam shot Tanner a side-eyed smirk—“it’d be good for her to have a dog. And even though Lizzie’s ten miles away at the moment, just in case she’s listening, I have to add that I’d make that suggestion to anyone living alone in a rural area. Always a good idea to have an extra set of eyes and ears around the place.”

  “I agree. A few weird things have happened out there, and I’ll sleep better knowing Trixie’s guarding her six.”

  “On the nights when you don’t have her back.” Adam held up a hand. “Sorry! You left yourself wide open for that one.”

  Tanner shook his head and laughed.

  “What kind of stuff has happened?” Adam asked.

  “I’ve fixed that fence and gate several times now, but the animals keep escaping.”

  “Maybe she’s got an especially clever raccoon in the neighborhood?”

  Tanner tilted his head, considering. “Could be. But she also had a thing with the chicks she ordered through the mail. Someone claiming to be a friend of hers picked them up at the post office, but she doesn’t know anyone in town but us.” He went on to explain about the blood and the way Trixie guarded the chicks like they were her pups.

  “She have a crazy ex-boyfriend?” Adam asked.

  “Not that she’s mentioned.”

  “Look out for her, and we’ll keep our eyes and ears peeled, too. Let me know if you need help with anything,” Adam said, meaning he was willing to gather his friends and help with an ass-kicking if necessary.

  It was good to have friends, even if you didn’t always understand why they put up with you.