RanchersHealingTouch (12 page)

“See that old abandoned shed up there? Is that going to be enough room to disassemble this thing?”

“Uh, yeah, I can do that. Don't know why you'd want it in pieces again after I spent weeks ironing out the damage and welding it together. Mind telling me what the hell's going on here, boss?”

Brax hesitates. His mechanic is as trustworthy as everyone else in his employ, but spilling Sadie's dangerous predicament isn't good for anyone.

“It's all my fault.” She says, stepping up behind them. “I'm on the run, Pete. I've done something I really regret, but I had to do it. Abusive asshole, long story. Please, will you do us this one favor? My life is in your hands...”

The old man stares at her for a few seconds, and then he laughs. “Never would've guessed we had that kind of excitement around the ranch in a million years. You've said enough to me. I'll do my best...”

The late summer sun sets just as the last big component falls apart. Brax hauls the parts to his truck, digging a long trench behind the ancient shed to bury the smaller things they can't take back.

Nobody's ever gonna look here.

Or so he hopes. Hiding Sadie's past is all that matters now.

“That's it,” Pete calls, stacking one last pile of metal up against the door. “We better pack up and get the hell out of here before anyone passing by wonders if we're holding a black sabbath in here.”

Being reminded of their peril makes him move even faster. Sadie sits on an old barrel, feeling her heartstrings tug with guilt as Brax groans with exhaustion.

Disassembling an entire car in a matter of hours isn't easy. Just a little while ago, she doubted it would work at all.

Luck had been on their side. Thankfully, the Mazda hadn't been under guard. Uncoupling the car from the tow truck went smoother than she expected when they followed the driver into another rest stop.

“Let's get the hell out of here,” Brax says, grabbing Sadie by the hand.

Pete is right behind them as they haul the last of the car's scrap into their vehicles. With engines sputtering, they're off, tearing across the expansive highway.

The return trip is dead silent. She can't sleep, even though her brain feels like mush.

The bitter guilt remains inside her, tuning her to its faceless static. Subconsciously, the sadness builds, until she lets out a heavy sigh that causes him to look over.

“I'm so sorry about this. Again. I just can't believe I did something so stupid. I shouldn't have abandoned you.” Sadie's heart lifts and falls like an autumn leaf spinning sadly in the wind.

“Everybody makes mistakes. Give me a few more months, beautiful. You'll learn to see how amazing you really are, especially when our baby's calling.”

She smiles, bathing in the warmth of his big hand nestled on her lower belly. Several miles ahead, Pete's car slows dramatically.

They're passing another truck stop roughly an hour from the ranch. The huge pink sign stands in the darkness, a lonely sentinel illuminating a bustling outpost in the flatlands.

“Hey, look! It's...” Sadie's voice drops off as horror swells.

“Detective Hank. I know. Let's just keep going.”

Brax looks up into his rear view mirror. His eyes sparkle with sharp alertness, not dropping fully to the road until the bright lights are just tiny stars.

At the Big Top Truckstop, Hank rubs the sides of his trousers, not caring if they split apart. The trembling tow truck driver in front of him spits a big blob of chewing tobacco, fighting to calm his nerves.

“Tell me again. Where did you last see the car?”

“Came out from filling up and grabbing a snack, and the damn thing was gone. Like I said, I didn't even see whether it was being driven away or hooked up to another truck. Bastards were too fast. They ripped my clamps out of their brackets too.”

Angrily, Hank spins away, staring off into the black void. In the darkness, the truck stop feels like the end of the earth, before everything drops away into nothing.

“But this isn't the Bermuda Triangle. They're out there somewhere, getting away with a capital offense. And without that Mazda, there's not a damn thing I can do about it.”

The man behind him grits his teeth and spits again. He shrugs and climbs into his truck's cabin, eager to get away from the self-absorbed agent and his monologue.

“All this wasted time out in this God forsaken country. Well, rancher, your luck won't last forever.

Nobody makes a fool out of me.”

Before he climbs into his car and begins the long trip to the state line, he slams his fist on the top.

The metal reverberation stings as it vibrates through his knuckles, jolting him to a higher state of wakefulness.

“I'm a patient man. I don't care how long it takes to get justice, or how much the force drops the ball on that stupid thug, Eric Derby. Justice is going to be served one of these days. I just have a feeling...”

Near the dirt road leading up to Weldon Ranch, Pete splits off and waves to his boss. Brax nods and takes the truck home. It's never felt so good to pull into his parking slot.

He turns off the ignition, looks over, and smiles softly. Sadie looks like an angel who's found her way into his cabin. Fast asleep and breathing sweetly, she looks more beautiful than the first time he saw her, more beautiful than any woman he's seen in his life.

“Come on, beautiful. Better get you upstairs. It's been one hell of a day...”

He's careful not to wake her as he carries her into the house. She sucks in air and shifts slightly when the mattress curls against her.

The bed is cold and empty, but not for long. Brax undresses and slides in next to her, wrapping his huge arm around her.

In his powerful heat, she sleeps peacefully. Tonight, there are no dreams, but soft formless shapes that roll and turn like fog, as though she's passing through a misty valley leading to an uncertain future.

Uncertain, but so much better.

Sadie wakes to the comforting snore of her cowboy turned body pillow. He's nestled along her entire body.

It's late morning. Late summer light peeks in through the shades, amber and gold, warming her several more degrees.

He really loves me. I get it now. This is what makes all the difference.

Deep inside her, the demons are gone. The last flash she had before waking up was of the great sea burbling up around her, but this time she controlled the ship, rising with the unsettled waves.

A lone figure sank to the depths. Sadie knows it wasn't her, but Eric, his cruel mask of rage wiped away by an impossible distance he can never cross to reach her.

Slowly, without waking him, she turns around. It's a pleasant surprise to find him naked while she's clothed.

Brax turns lazily in his sleep, tilting his head until his cheek is flat along her shoulder. She guides him to the big pillow, but only so she can lift herself up, drawing off her clothes piece by piece.

Being freed from the fabrics should cool her. But calm and coolness isn't possible when she hooks one leg over his, feeling his energy heat her more.

Familiar fire raises between her legs. She leans into his sleeping mouth, covering his lips with hers.

He groans, happily confused by the surprise pressure on his mouth. She purses her lips, taking his bottom lip, giving it the softest tongue strokes she can manage, hoping to bring him to life like a long slumbering Price.

My Prince. My Western Prince, King of the world. Or at least my world – and that's the only one that
matters.

Brax opens his eyes. His lust roars to life, a steam engine inside of him fed by her teasing kisses.

He groans again and kisses her back, probing much deeper into her lips than she dared with his. The sultry heat spills into her along with his tongue.

Their mouths mingle with carefree joy, romping in their quest to become one.

Soon, she lifts her hands, running them all the way through the hard peaks and valleys of his chest.

His strength amazes her just as much as his sculpted perfection.

No matter how he changes with age, she can't ever imagine him going flabby. This is the trunk of a man with a guardian's destiny.

“Hell of a wake up call, beautiful. But it looks like your eyes are just half open. You want me to wake you up
all
the way?” He winks, never taking his lips away from her earlobe.

“Go ahead. Make my day, cowboy. And make it a good one!” The old Clint Eastwood line makes

him chuckle.

His laughter is sweeter than soft birds in the lazy haze that's there after waking up. She tenses with grateful anticipation as his huge hands curl around her arms.

Sadie rolls with him, letting herself relax so he can shape her into position. No matter where he chooses to put her, she knows it's going to be good.

“I'm not letting you get away again. Don't make me chase you again, beautiful,” he says, standing and padding over to the closet. “This'll make sure that you stay put, right where I want you, pretty and ready for my use.”

“I won't let it happen again. But you're more than welcome to reinforce it.”

The ropes lay in a heap at the bottom of the bed. He lifts her up and turns her around, laying her face down.

Tying her hands to the wooden bar is familiar. But when he moves to her ankles, winding more loops over them and connecting each one to the tall knobby posts, she shudders.

I don't like being helpless for anyone else. But with you, I want to let go. Do it, Brax. Pin me down
for good...

“Go on. Give it a good pull.”

His smile roasts her. She curls her fingers and toes, moving limbs with all her might, but it's no use.

She can't budge in the tight wound ropes more than a couple inches.

Before she can think of anything else, the mattress sinks with his weight. The naked rancher hovers over her.

His kisses start at her dewy neck and move to her breasts. It's a humid morning, giving the sensation of making love in a sauna, but nothing can take away from the enjoyment she finds in his hands.

Brax's tongue dives low, wagging its way off her nipples, down her belly, all the way to her right knee. When he reaches his mark, he stops and turns up, sucking hard at her inner thigh.

She shivers. Every lick and kiss takes him one inch closer to her slit. The cruel anticipation adds to the tall flame inside her.

When he hits her
there
, starting at her clit, she loses it. Sadie's head snaps back and her feet kick toward his calves. The ropes' tension forces them into place as his mouth goes into overdrive.

He's sucking her hard nub up along his rippling tongue, listening to the primal growl rising in her pleasure cries. When her moans refuse to stop, he shoves his fingers into her, moving them like a second tongue along her most sensitive flesh.

His free hand reaches up, catching her right nipple in a rough pinch. The attack on all her sensual fronts sends her climax screaming up from the depths like an oil vein spewing its rich liquid.

“God! Bring it home, cowboy.”

One last brushing by his tongue sends her rocketing into the heavens. Her sex buckles around his fingers, tight and wet, sucking at the perfect movement inside her.

Brax doesn't break as her hips writhe in mid-air. His lips press deep – one more harsh spot binding her to the bed – keeping her sealed in pleasure's embrace.

Gasping, she lets the raging rapids in her bloodstream carry her away, feeling her nerves crackle and pop with delectable power. With muscles still twitching, she looks up to see him kneeling near her head, sucking her rich juices off his fingers.

“I'm gonna eat you whole, beautiful. And I know you're hungry to do the same...”

She eyes the swollen erection in his fist, feeling her desire surging strong. Opening her lips, he shifts closer. She takes him in her mouth.

The deep groove around his crown makes her moan. She can't stop thinking about how good it feels inside her, and how much pleasure she's sending into his body, firing a thousand of his nerves at once toward a vigorous stampede.

“Yeah! God, that tight little mouth can really make a man happy. Let's go deeper...”

It's hard to take his ballooning length further into her mouth. But for him, she makes the effort, knowing it will make him squirm with ecstasy.

She relaxes her jaw and paints his rugged underside with thick saliva. He's close to the back of her throat when he grunts.

If she didn't know any better, she'd guess that he was the one gagging, instead of her being on the edge. But amazingly, her throat doesn't catch.

She moves her tongue only a little bit, allowing him to do all the work. The rancher knows not to tempt fate with his fastest speed, settling for a softer, more sensual pace as he pushes himself along the plush carpet of her tongue.

Her eyes close. Sadie braces for his explosion, praying she can handle it.

But he pulls away, giving his cock one last pump in his hands. She opens her eyes uncertainly.

“Sorry, beautiful. That was incredible. But you know I only put my seed in one place, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let your sweet little body go to waste when you're all wrapped up for me so neat.”

Lightning crackles across their eyes. He moves between her thighs, holding his erection against her lower lips, rolling it gently and savoring the hot wetness he's about to enter.

Her clit pulses. A long trail of steam gushes up from her aching depths, unfolding through her nerves and meandering up her neck, until it feels like it's going to shoot out her ears.

“Jesus! Put it in me, cowboy. This is torture.”

He cracks a huge white grin. “I love it when you beg like that. It's your lucky day, Sadie. I'm gonna give you exactly what you want.”

Penetration is sudden, as awesome and shudder inducing as it was the first time. He goes deep.

She clenches her jaw, knowing that he's probing her fertile soil, even while she's pregnant. No, this cowboy won't be satisfied with anything less than a huge family.

Thank God I'm the one to give it to him. This is my purpose – breeding soil for Brax Weldon.