Fall to Pieces (15 page)

Cute, smart, funny, and relatively humble
despite his mega success. They talked about everything from his
plans to change over Lewis's traditional cattle operation into one
that focused on raising organic, grass fed beef to feed the growing
market, to trends in the tech industry, to their childhoods.

There were no awkward silences, none of the
lapses in conversation from the time their first courses were
served to when Molly whisked their dessert plates away.

There were even a few sparks. Nothing that
gave her that weak-kneed, vertigo-like feeling she got when she got
too close to someone who shall not be named, but definitely some
nice warm tingles when he smiled at her across the table and
brushed her hand.

Enough so that when he bent his head to kiss
her after he walked her to her car, she tilted her head back to
enjoy it. It was... nice. A lingering press of the lips, not too
hard, not too soft, no aggressive tongue action but interested
enough to let her know that there was more where that came
from.

And enough that when he suggested they get
together again in a couple of weeks after a trip back to San
Francisco, she didn't hesitate to say yes.

The porch light on the main house was still
on when she got back to the ranch a little after ten. Otherwise the
place was dark and still, the only sounds from the wind blowing off
down from the mountain and the occasional whicker or stomp of a
hoof coming from the barn.

As her feet crunched up the gravel drive, she
couldn't keep her gaze from wandering over towards Dylan's
cabin.

Like the rest of the buildings, it was dark.
Was he sleeping?

Had he gone out to find his own
entertainment?

She didn't see his truck, but sometimes he
pulled it around the back. She wasn't about to go check.

She stifled a sigh, reminding herself that it
was none of her business how Dylan chose to spend his time away
from her. He didn't care what she was doing, as he'd so bluntly
reminded her.

Time for her to return the favor.

"You have a good time?"

The rough voice came out of nowhere. She
muffled a shriek as her heart jumped to her throat and her feet
came about three feet off the ground.

She knew it was Dylan almost immediately, but
that didn't stop her pulse from pounding out of control as she
turned around. "Jesus Christ, you almost gave me a heart attack,"
she said as walked over to where he was nothing more than a bulky
form hidden by the shadows next to his cabin.

"So did he show you a good time?" he
repeated, not bothering to apologize.

The skin on the back of her neck prickled as
she got closer, sensing a tension in him she'd never felt before.
Anger, too. And maybe aggression? It emanated off him in waves,
making her pause. "It was nice," she said simply, forcing herself
to hold her ground as he took a step closer.

Soon, he was mere inches away, and she picked
up on something else as well. "Have you been drinking?"

He let out a rough chuckle. "Not enough."

Her instincts were going haywire, telling her
to leave, even as she knew in her heart there was no reason to feel
threatened. "Is everything okay? You seem... upset."

His harsh laugh cracked through the darkness
as he stepped even closer. "You want to know what my problem
is?"

She nodded, not sure if he could see it in
the dark. Not sure if she actually wanted to know.

"My problem is I spent all night feeling like
I was being chewed up from the inside out at the thought of you out
with another man. My problem is that I can tell you, myself, and
anyone else who will listen that I don't care who you go out with,
and it's all a huge, fucking lie."

Stunned by his revelation, Sadie stood frozen
as she tried to process everything. Was he saying he was jealous?
Over her?

"And I know if I had even a shred of decency,
I'd stay the hell away from you."

That knocked her for a loop. "Why in the
world would you think that?"

"Because I'm not the guy who's going to stick
around and settle down in the nice house with the picket fence. As
soon as I'm cleared for duty, I'm gone. No ties, no
commitments."

"You think if we sleep together I'll expect a
big commitment?" She challenged. "I'm a grown up, Dylan. I know the
difference between sex and love," she said with false bravado. With
Dylan, all bets were off. But if her choices came down to having no
strings attached sex with Dylan or nothing at all, she damn well
knew which way she would go.

"I don't know, Sadie." She could see his head
shaking in the shadows. "You're not like other girls—"

"How do you know what I'm like?" she said,
closing the distance between them. "You still think I'm that same
awkward girl following you around with puppy dog eyes." She heard
his sharp inhale as she flattened her hands against his chest and
slid them up to his shoulders. Heart pounding at her own boldness,
she whispered, "I'm not a girl. I'm a woman. And I know what I
want."

His muscles turned to stone beneath her
fingers as she froze, and her stomach flipped with panic as she
realized he was going to push her away.

Then all thoughts fled as his big hand
wrapped around the back of her neck, his fingers fisting in her
hair as he tilted her head back for his kiss.

Unlike Tucker's gentle, polite inquiry,
Dylan's kiss was all hunger, and yes, aggression as his mouth
crushed against hers.

Lips parted, tongues thrust as he kissed her
so hard their teeth clicked together. Sadie's response was instant,
instinctive as she wrapped her arms around his neck and parted her
lips eagerly for his assault.

She'd imagined this a million times, but
nothing could prepare her for the heat screaming through her at the
first touch of his mouth on hers, the feel of his hands sweeping up
and down her back as if he couldn't get close enough, fast
enough.

They both groaned as his hand swept down to
the curve of her ass, pulling her close until she could feel the
thick heat of his rock hard erection nudging between her
thighs.

An answering rush of heat and wetness flooded
her sex. He slid his hand down her leg, urging her to hook it up
and over his hip as he backed her against the porch rail.

She drank him in, his hot, salty taste mixing
with the smokiness of the liquor he'd consumed. The scent of him,
clean soap and male skin mixed with the sharper scent of
arousal.

For her. He wanted
her.

The mere thought made her standing leg buckle
as her pulse beat hot and heavy between her legs. He grabbed her
around the waist to steady her, and then with a low curse against
her mouth he lifted her feet from the floorboards.

At his urging she wrapped her legs around his
waist, gasping as her sex made contact with him. Even through the
layers of clothes, she could feel his heat, pulsing, brushing
against her with every step until she was sure she was going to
come before they even got their clothes off.

He pushed open the front door and walked them
to the bedroom, dropping her legs so his hands could work on the
buttons running down the front of her shirt. Through it all his
mouth never left hers, kissing, licking, sucking as he murmured
sentence fragments her sex-fogged brain could barely
comprehend.

Waited for this. Crazy. Wanted this. Can't
stop.

No way was she going to ask him to. Her own
hands went to work, tugging his shirt up over his head, running up
and down the acres of smooth skin stretched tight over rippling
muscles. A gentle tug at her back and her bra slid down her
arms.

Then it was hot skin on hot skin, making them
both gasp at the contact. The coarse hair dusting his chest abraded
her nipples, making her moan. His echoed in response as his hand
came up to cover one breast, kneading, squeezing, rolling the tight
peak between his fingers until she had to dig her fingers into his
shoulders to stay on her feet.

The rough sounds of their breathing echoed
through the darkness as his hands skimmed down her belly to
unbuckle her belt and unbutton her jeans. He shoved them, along
with her underwear, down her thighs. Sadie quickly kicked off her
shoes and stepped out of the clothes.

And there she was, naked in Dylan Decker's
arms. Something she'd fantasized about countless times, but never
believed would really happen.

So much different, so much better, than
anything she'd ever been able to make up in her head.

No way could she have imagined the heat, the
hunger emanating from him, like he could barely keep himself from
throwing her down on the bed and ravaging her like some kind of
conquering warrior.

No way she could have imagined how his hot
mouth and rough hands would feel against her skin, teasing, sucking
her nipples, sliding between her legs to feel how hot and ready she
was.

He backed her over to the bed, pushed her
back against the pillows and reached out to switch on the lamp
resting on his bedside table.

The warm glow flooded the room, and she felt
a wave of self-consciousness as Dylan's gaze locked on her naked
form. Sure, she'd mostly grown out of her awkwardness over the
years, but she was still a little knobby around the knees and
elbows, and her breasts, while suited to her slim frame, were
hardly centerfold worthy.

"How the fucking hell did you get so damn
hot?" His rough words, the way he licked his lips like he wanted to
devour her, sent all of her doubts packing.

He quickly kicked off his boots, leaned down,
and retrieved a condom from the drawer of the bedside table.

We're really going to do this.
Her
mouth went dry as another wave of moisture surged between her
thighs.

Her breath caught in her chest and she
watched, mesmerized, as he dropped his hands to his waist and
flicked open the button on his jeans.

The buzz of his zipper echoed through the
room and then he was shoving the jeans off his hips. He wasn't
wearing underwear. She took a brief moment to notice that detail
and then all rational thought fled at the sight of his naked body
in the pool of lamplight.

Chiseled didn't even begin to describe him.
There wasn't an ounce of fat on him, his corded muscles standing
out in tight relief against tan skin dusted with dark hair. He
looked big and rough and ready for anything,

Speaking of ready,
she thought,
swallowing hard as her gaze skittered down his ripped abs and
lower. His cock jutted eagerly out from between his legs, long and
thick and straining almost up to his navel.

The knot of desire between her legs tightened
almost painfully as she anticipated what it would feel like to have
the whole, huge length of him buried deep inside of her.

She wasn't going to have to wait long. Under
her hot gaze, Dylan reached for the condom, ripped it open, and
smoothed the latex down with one smooth stroke of his fist.

He climbed on the bed and slid his hands up
the inside of her thighs, urging them wider. Sadie watched, breath
frozen in her chest as he held himself firmly in his hand and
guided himself between her legs.

The muscles of her inner thighs quivered as
she felt the thick head of his cock circling, stroking her clit as
he bathed himself in her wetness.

"Jesus, you make me so hard I feel like I'm
going to blow apart," he murmured as he pressed against the opening
of her sex. She let out a shuddery sigh as he squeezed his way
inside, shifted against the stretching sensation as her body
struggled to take him.

A low moan rumbled from his chest, drawing
her gaze up. His features were pulled tight, his mouth a hard line,
the muscles of his jaw clenched against his fast, sharp, breath.
"Christ, Sadie, I want to.. I can't.. promise next time I'll go
slow."

A sharp cry erupted from her throat as with
one, firm stroke he thrust his full length inside her. Her hands
fisted against his back as every muscle stiffened against the
invasion. She told herself to relax, but after two years of
nothing, her body was wholly unprepared to take on a man Dylan's
size, no matter how turned on she was.

He drew back, and she struggled to conceal
her wince. She'd wanted this, she reminded herself, and clearly so
did he. No reason to ruin it for both of them.

###

Dylan felt her wince and froze, feeling like
he'd had a bucket of cold water thrown in his face. What the fuck
was wrong with him, going after her like a cave man when he knew
how long it had been for her?

"Oh, shit, Sadie, I'm sorry," he pulled back,
slowly this time as he came down over her to rain kisses across her
cheeks.

"It's okay," Sadie said. "Really, you can go
ahead." There was no concealing another little wince as he pulled
out another inch.

It should have made his dick wilt like an
orchid in the desert, but he was so damn hot for her even her
obvious discomfort couldn't keep his dick from throbbing and
straining to get back inside her.

It did, however, give him back a small amount
of the self-control that had abandoned him under the combined
influences of scotch and raging lust. Enough to allow sufficient
blood to flow from his dick back to his brain and remind him that
when he fucked a woman his primary purpose was to make sure she had
an even better time than he did.

"You don't have to," she whispered as he
pulled all the way out.

He silenced her by covering her mouth with
his, taking it in a slow, deep kiss that had all the passion but
none of the out of control hunger of before. He slid his tongue
against hers, licking, sucking, tasting, forcing himself to go slow
until he felt some of the tension leak from her body. "I'm sorry
about that," he whispered again. "Sorry I got carried away."