Broken Fences (A TroubleMaker Novel, #1) (11 page)

 “Colden…” she
moaned, imaging him moving deep inside of her.

“What? Tell me,
my pretty, pretty girl,” he coaxed with two aggressive fingers inside her, one
strong hand secured to her ass, and eyes that were still fucking the hell out
of her. Fully aware of what he was doing, toying with her, the smug, irritable
man had the audacity to smirk.

She glared down
at him, discouraged with herself for needing him so bad. The falling had
stopped, Dusty had finally hit bottom. She’d fallen for Colden James all over
again. “I-I hate you,” she hissed, her hips meeting his every thrust as her
body begged for more.

“I know, sweetheart,
but you’re still gonna give me what I want, aren’t you?”

“Damn it!” she
cursed, holding back an honest “Yes!” She didn’t want to admit it, but that
selfish pussy of hers wanted nothing more than to get closer to that wicked
smile. Her back arched.

“Oh yeah. You’re
gonna give me what I want,” he huskily taunted before that naughty smile of his
melted back into her. With both hands, he reached under her ass, pressed her
against his mouth, and vigorously rubbed his strong lips back and forth over her.

The friction and
the hungry look in his eyes cracked open the burning heat from within, finally
setting her orgasm free.

Even after the
earth-shattering orgasm, her body ached for more. She tried to catch her breath
as she lifted her head to look down at Colden. His forehead was resting on her
thigh. His eyes were closed, his nostrils flaring. He, too, was trying to catch
his breath. Tilting his head to the side, from the corner of his eye, he
glanced up at her, and she noted a hint of apprehension.

What’s he got
to be so nervous about?

His large hand
hit the edge of the bed, and he pushed himself into a standing position. With
his chest rising and falling beneath his shirt, his eyes remained fixed on her.
She lay naked on the bed, but it was Colden’s vulnerability that stood,
unprotected, in the room.

Dusty eased
herself to the edge of the bed with Colden silently watching. She got up on her
feet.

His jaw
flinched. “Damn, girl,” he said, taking another thorough inspection of her
naked body. “You’re gorgeous.”

The compliment
infused her confidence, and she took a step toward him.

“But you’d
better not come any closer.”

“Why not?”

“Because, ever
since you pranced that sweet little ass of yours into Odessa, I’ve wanted you,
and the one night I took you up against old man McAllister’s fence…well, hell,
that couldn’t even lick a fraction of what I need from you.”

“What you need
from me?” She inched nearer, loving the sound of those words.

“Oh yeah.” He
gazed down, touching her with his eyes. “There’s not one part of you that I
don’t want…or
need
.”

She reached out
and gathered the bottom of his shirt in her hands. “Good, because there’s not a
part of me that I don’t want to give to you.” She pulled his shirt up over his
head, then tossed it on the floor to join her pile of clothes.

Colden watched
her shaky fingers as they fumbled with the button of his jeans. “I can’t make
you any promises,” he quietly admitted.

Pulling down his
zipper, her hand stilled. She looked up at his strict, beautiful face. “I’m not
asking for any. I just want tonight.”

He grabbed her
and pulled her against his warm, hard body, cradling her neck in his hand, a
powerful taking that stole her breath away. He placed a finger on the underside
of her chin and tilted her head until their eyes met. “Don’t misunderstand my
meaning,” he said, his mouth cascading over hers. “I want more than just
tonight, Dusty. I’m just not in any position to make any commitments right now.”
This time, his lips didn’t brush hers. Instead, they covered her with heated
need—aggressive, desirous, savoring need.

“Tonight,
though,” his fingers tightened on her neck, “tonight you will be all mine,” he
growled.

“I’m all yours,”
she whispered the truth. Not breaking from his potent stare, her steady fingers
found his hips. She tugged down his pants and wrapped her hand around his
thick, torrid flesh. He groaned, and she stroked him harder. He felt so
powerful in her hand. A burst of hot liquid soared between her thighs, causing
a moan to surge from her.

He took a step
closer, wrapping his arms around her. His strong, big hands grasped her by the
ass, and he pulled her up. Impulsively, her legs wrapped around him. He thrust
her up, and as her body came back down, the thickness she’d held in her hands
just seconds ago completely filled her. She threw her head back and let out a loud
cry as she stretched open for him.

Allowing her
body time to conform to his fit, he held her snug. “You okay?” he breathed into
her ear.

Her arms
tightened around his neck. “Yes.” Recognizing the unwarranted concern, she
said, “Ya know, while I may not have had a man in six years, I haven’t left my
needs, uh…neglected. There was, um…some probing involved.”

“Fuck, Dusty
Owens! You’re gonna kill me saying things like that, girl.” The vibration of
the husky tease tickled her flesh. He rubbed his lips across her neck. “Well,
now I’m gonna be the one doing the probing, and I guarantee it’s gonna feel a
lot better than any sex toy of yours. Just let me know when it’s all right to
move.”

“Like this?” she
asked, certain he didn’t intend to have sex with her while standing up.

“Yes, just like
this,” he assured her with a wicked grin.

“You can do it,
uh…like this? Really?” She had always assumed it was one of those things, like
the jump over the bar, that only happened in the movies and her books. But
Colden’s confident gleam told Dusty it was time she stopped underestimating the
man’s capabilities. Her insides tightened with anticipation as the realization
hit her that he could do anything he said he could do.

He chuckled. “I
sure the hell can. Besides, after the image you just put in my head, all those,
uh…extracurricular activities, I’m afraid the second I put you on that bed and
lay on top of you, that might be it for me. I don’t wanna deny you at least one
more orgasm before I get mine.”

“But we don’t
have a fence or wall to lean against and…I-I don’t think—”

Her words were
blunted by the indent of strong, gripping fingers. Colden pressed their bodies
closer together, guiding her hips up and down, each time going deeper. Her
bare, sensitive clitoris chafed against him, her nipples peaked, and her skin
seemed to burst into flames. On the brink of another earth-shattering climax,
she cried out each time she pressed down to meet his every upward thrust.

Holding Dusty in
his arms, every muscle in Colden’s body was strained and taut. He’d thought it
would have weakened his need for release, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
On the contrary, it only intensified every feeling. The contact of their flesh,
the friction of her tightness around him, and the way she grabbed and pulled on
him from the inside was about to make him explode.

Still, he had to
hold out for his pretty girl. He couldn’t promise her tomorrow, but he’d be
damned if couldn’t give her one more orgasm before he took his own release. He
squeezed her nice ass and held Dusty until her body stilled.

It took a few
moments for her to stop moving, but when she did, their eyes met. Hers were
glowing with hunger. “Colden…” In nothing more than a harsh breath, his name
had fallen from swollen red lips.

“Shh…” He hushed
her with a kiss. “Hold me tight.” He slipped his hand between them, searching
until he found her soft budded flesh. The second he touched it, Dusty let out
the most beautiful sound, something between a cry and a moan. Holding tightly
around his neck, her hips bucked to move freely. “No, sweetheart. Stay still.”
He kissed her until her body went slack and that sexy sound of hers vibrated
against his lips. “There you go. Relax. Let me play with you.”

“But I-I want
you now,” she said, her tone throaty and destitute.

Intensifying the
pressure, he stroked her more rigorously. “And you shall have me, but first I
need you to…” He nipped her bottom lip. “In the worst way, I need you to cum.”
No sooner did the words leave his mouth those sexy sounds of hers turned into a
shudder of satisfied screams.

She pulled his
hand from between her legs. “Now! I need you now!”

Trying to stay
inside of her, he lowered her to the bed. With his jeans still wrapped around
his ankles, he shuffled over her and kicked them away. Dusty’s soft body
encased him as he slid deeper into her warmth.

“You are
perfect.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead, slowly easing himself out of her.
She gazed up at him through heavy lids and long lashes that veiled dark,
wanting eyes. “So perfect,” he breathed, then arched and plunged his hot hard
flesh back inside. He delved deeper into her with each rhythmic push, and she
matched his insistent need.

Everything
inside surged to his already heavy balls, to the tip of his rigid, hot,
pulsating flesh. “This is it,” he said, his throat dry and scratchy. He gripped
her hips, pressed them into the mattress, and pumped himself repeatedly into
her until…

“So perfect,
sweetheart!” His teeth clenched. “Fuck, Dusty!” He called out her name once
more before everything inside of him spilled into her.

Chapter
Eleven

Not fully awake,
Dusty felt a faint tickle on her arm. It could have been a bug, but recalling where
she was and who she was with, she didn’t want to risk taking a look. She didn’t
want to move. She just wanted to stay there forever. The tickle feathered up
her arm. Curiosity getting the better of her, she blinked, and when her eyes
focused, she glanced over.

Propped up on an
elbow with the side of his head in his hand, Colden was gazing down at her in
the bed, smiling as he drew little circles on her shoulder. “Good morning,
sleeping beauty,” he said in a sexy-as-hell morning voice.

The odd giddiness
in her belly from the endearment made her beam like a princess for about a
millisecond before she blinked the ridiculous fairytale silliness away. “What
time is it?”

Colden leaned
down and swept a chaste kiss across her shoulder. “Around nine thirty.”

“Nine thirty?”
She never slept that late. Then again, her recent “extracurricular activities,”
as he’d called them, hadn’t involved Colden and oh so many orgasms. He’d kept
her up half the night, though she wasn’t about to complain about it. For all
she knew, the fairytale could end with a curse, locking them up in that motel
room forever, and she would have been perfectly fine with that. It was about
the only way she’d be able to forget reality, about The Bucking Barrel, Sissy’s
wedding, and the fact that Colden James really felt absolutely nothing for her.

The night
before, as she lay in bed, naked in his arms, Dusty had realized that Colden
couldn’t care a whit about her. He knew the danger he’d bring to Odessa when
his cover was blown. He knew it would be too risky to stay at his family’s
home, so he chose to take advantage of the ancient-history crush she still had
on him. He’d purposefully swindled her into letting him hide out at her place,
and that had put Dusty in danger. If Colden had an iota of care for her, he
wouldn’t have done any of that.

His claim that
he’d come back for her was a lie. He’d really come back to protect his family. And,
sure, Dusty was aware of all of that prior to spreading her legs for him, prior
to opening her heart to him. Yes, before she allowed him into her, body and
soul, Dusty had accepted that Colden James wasn’t in love with her. As she
assumed, he was only looking out for himself. Much like holding a gun, the
government had also taught him a screw-others-and-protect-yourself mentality.
Now, she’d been screwed, both literally and figuratively. She owned the blame
for it, though, because she knew exactly what he was doing, and she’d let him
do it—not once but three amazing times.

Colden gathered
her into his big arms and pulled her on top of him. As if he sensed her
distress, his eyebrows crawled together. “What’s wrong?”

She tilted her
head from his view and buried her face in his warm chest. Mentally
acknowledging that she’d messed up was one thing, but to admit it aloud would
be an entirely different story.

He didn’t press
her for an answer, and things were quiet for a few minutes. “Don’t worry,” he
finally said, stroking her hair. “I’m taking you home today.”

Her head jolted
up, and green, cautious eyes were gazing down on her. “You are?”

“Yes.” He drew a
finger lightly down her cheek. “It’s safe now.”

“Oh.” She paused
to soak in the moment, Colden lovingly caressing her. “Good.” She slumped back
down on his chest, rested her chin on her hands, and gazed up at him while the
gentle touch of his fingers continued along her hair.

“Like your
family, Sissy was in danger too, huh?” Her cousin had decided to move into the
James residence when Dusty purchased her own home. She wanted to give Dusty her
own space, but Sissy couldn’t stay with her father, a man of very few words
after her mother had passed away. Of course, Sissy and Jimmy slept in different
rooms. Mrs. James was a liberal woman but not that liberal.

Colden’s hand
stopped moving. “No, never,” he assured her. “There have been agents assigned
to look after my family, Sissy included. Everyone’s safe, Dusty. I promise, I
never would have let anything happen to your cousin.”

“So that’s why
you had the gun with you when we went out to dinner?”

“Yes.”

“And that guy,
the one at my house, who was he?”

“He was working
for Riggs, the gun-smuggler I was assigned to while I was undercover.”

“So when your
cover was blown, this Riggs sent that creep to my house to kill you?”

“So it seems.
Special Agent Jack Norton, the man in charge of the investigation, hasn’t
officially updated me on the situation yet, but I’ll get all the details when
we get back to Odessa.”

“Did Jimmy and
your family even know what was really going on? That they were being watched by
the Feds?”

He shook his
head. “The undercover creed means we can’t talk to anyone about what we’re
doing, kind of like a sequestered juror or something. That’s safer for
everyone. I’m sure now that DeSanto’s in custody and Riggs has been
apprehended, Norton’s no doubt informed my family.”

“They caught
Riggs?”

He shrugged.
“They must have. Norton said DeSanto gave them enough to go on and pretty much
assured me they were about to take the man down.” He tucked a few strands of
hair behind her ear. “We’ve been cleared to return home.”

Guilt consumed
her. Over the past few days, every chance she’d gotten, she’d given him hell.
“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been a pain in the ass,” she said in a near whisper.

His lips turned
up a little. “It’s partly my fault. I was afraid that if you knew I’m one of
the good guys, you’d walk right out that door. Other than handcuffing you,
there wouldn’t have been much else I could do to stop you. I had to keep you in
the dark a little for your own good.”

“Ah, so you were
trying
to scare me?”

“I know, I
know.” He grinned. “You weren’t scared. You were just…pissed.”

“Yeah, well,
that’s putting it mildly.” She smirked. “Really, though, I could never be
afraid of you,” she said under her breath as she drifted her eyes from his
strong hold and looked at his shoulder. His tattoos curled up to his neck, and
she followed the scrolling trail down his arm and his left side. “Hey!” For the
first time, the swirly design transformed before her eyes. “It’s a…oh my God!
It’s a tree.” She touched his side and ran her finger up it. “This is the
trunk, right?”

“Yep.”

“Now that I know
what it is, I can make out the branches.”

“The guy I was
assigned to, Riggs, owns a legit’ tattoo shop. Every time the FBI took someone
down because of my intel, a week later, I’d have the son-of-a-bitch add another
branch.” He chuckled. “He kept asking me why I didn’t let him just finish it
all at once.”

“And what’d you
tell him?”

“That I prefer a
slow work-in-progress because it means more.”

Dusty looked at
him in awe. Like the break in her heart, Colden had permanently altered himself
to remind him of the past. She rested her head on his chest. Even if he had
broken her heart again by putting her life in danger, staying at her home, and
then dragging her ass with him on his little unexplained, impromptu road trip,
a small part of her couldn’t blame him for it. Some sacrifices were inescapable
when trying to look out for the greater good, and in some sense he’d been
looking out for hers.

* * * * *

Dusty hadn’t
said a word during the trip back to Odessa. Like in the bed that morning when
she’d been concerned for her cousin, Colden sensed her distress. In the truck,
he tried to place his hand over hers, but she pulled away. She’d always
affected every part of him, and that rejection wasn’t any different. His chest
tightened, muscles tensed, and his jaw clenched as he tried to keep his concern
locked up inside.

He hadn’t lied
to her the night before. Promises were something he couldn’t offer her, but
with the Riggs situation contained, Colden could finally start to think about
his future, one that wouldn’t involve him being anybody but himself. It was
time for him to be Colden James, and while he was doing that, Colden wanted
Dusty by his side.

Truthfully, he’d
fallen in love with Dusty years ago. He’d been in love with her ever since
she’d tossed not only her attitude but also those dark, sultry eyes his way.
They had reached right inside and had stolen his heart. He’d been hers ever
since, whether she knew it or not, and now the time had finally come for him to
claim her as his own.

He decided
during that quiet truck ride that after he settled things with Jack Norton, he
would give Dusty what she evidently needed— promises. Then maybe when he
reached for her she wouldn’t pull away. Of course she still might, but after he
came clean, he wouldn’t let her get away with it so easily. After he proclaimed
his love to Dusty Owens, there wasn’t going to be anything she could do to get
rid of him.

Six years ago,
he had run from what he felt for her, and he’d regretted it every day since. He
went to Detroit because an agent had been killed and because the government had
said they needed him. He left because working for the ATF had always been one
of his dreams. Those events did play a role, but the truth was, once he’d had a
taste of Dusty, the feelings that had assaulted him—like none he’d ever felt
before—had scared the hell out of him. So, when the opportunity to run had presented
itself, he took it.

Now, he was no
longer a scared, reclusive young man on the run from the keeper of his heart.
Colden was an entirely different person, ready to face what he felt for Dusty
Owens. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

He pulled into
Dusty’s driveway and parked behind Sissy’s car. He grimaced when he saw Dusty’s
truck still sitting on the front lawn, with a bullet-blown tire.

As soon as he
killed the engine, Dusty opened the door and jumped out without a word.

“I’ll be back
after I meet with Jack Norton, and—”

“Don’t bother.”
She pulled her bag over her shoulder, fixing her eyes on her stranded truck.
“Now that it’s safe for your family, you can stay with them.”

“That’s not why
I was staying with you,” he said, but she refused to look at him. “Dusty, we
need to talk.”

Black eyes
flashed at him, emotionless and defeated. “We’ve got nothing to talk about.
This genie is done granting you wishes. Go stay with your parents, St. James.”

“Dusty, I—”

The stony façade
ruptured, and her face became alive with pain. “What? What do you want?” Her
voice cracked. “Don’t think I don’t know what you really came back here for. It
was for them, not me. You only said that to convince me to…” Her eyes glossed
over with what appeared to be tears, and his body went numb. “I get it though.
I would have done the same thing to protect my family, but in looking out for
them, you put me in danger. You knowingly brought it into my home, directly to
me. You didn’t think or care about that, did you? Let’s face it, Colden. You don’t
care about me. Never have. You just used me for—”

“No!” The
meaning of her harsh accusations took a few seconds to sink in, but when they
finally did, he started to jump out of the seat to go to her.

Dusty shoved out
a warning hand to stop him, and the unwavering, hurtful look on her face put
his body in motion to a complete stop.

Glad he was
gripping the steering wheel, he clenched tighter. Anger consumed him. He didn’t
want to cause more problems by reacting too harshly. Instead of releasing the
angry beast by trying to explain himself, he decided to give her some space. She
needed time to think about what she was exactly implying. After all, he had
kidnapped her and locked her up in a motel room. Of course she would have mixed
feelings about the whole situation, about him and what, if anything, was going
on between them. He’d stolen years of togetherness away from them and, although
he really didn’t want to waste any more time, he could give her a few more
hours to settle down, to see why he’d stolen her from her life for a few days.

Before he left,
he took a deep breath, softened his tone, and said, “I’ll be back in a couple
hours, and we
will
talk.”

Ten minutes
later, Colden pulled up to the local police department and met with Jack
Norton. The five-minute conversation not only killed his future plans with
Dusty, but it also had Colden an hour later jumping on the next flight back to
Detroit.

* * * * *

“There’s no
need, Sissy. He’ll be here,” Jimmy James tried to convince a pouty Sissy.

Dusty sat in the
background, watching the two of them, as she nursed a beer. After the rehearsal
dinner, they’d decided to stop in at her bar for a few drinks.

“When did you
talk to him last?” Sissy spat.

“The day he
left, but—” Jimmy said, attempting to defend his AWOL best man and brother.

“Stop!” Sissy
ordered with a stomp of her foot.

Jimmy let out a
noisy sigh, but Sissy’s future husband was smart enough to keep his mouth shut
and his ears open.

“So you don’t
know for sure that he’ll be here for the wedding, do you? I’m not gonna have
Dusty walking down the damn aisle alone.” She put her hands on her hips. “You
need to pick a replacement, and you need to do it now!”

Dusty shook her
head and giggled, fully aware that, as usual, Jimmy James was about to do her
cousin’s bidding. Much to Dusty’s surprise, however, he grabbed Sissy around
the waist and pulled her to him.

“Now you listen
here, my little love.” He snatched her by the chin. “I get that you’re nervous
about our special day, but I’m not gonna let anything or anybody ruin it for
you.” Sissy tried to turn away, but Jimmy pulled her chin back in his
direction. “If Colden says he’ll be here, he
will
be here.” Before Sissy
could respond, Jimmy bent forward and kissed her, not at all in a hasty way.
No, the way Jimmy James kissed his soon-to-be wife right there in the middle of
the bar had every girl in the place feeling it to the toes of her boots. When
he finally pulled away, Sissy was breathless. “Now, I don’t wanna hear another
word about it, okay?” he said, pulling off that wicked James smile, the one
Dusty had covertly been missing for the past few days.