Vanishing Dreams: Vanishing Dreams (Devil's Bend #2) (8 page)

Dalton woke with the sun shining through the windows, no blinds or
curtains to stop the cruel intrusion. He was warm beneath the blankets, pressed
up against the sweet woman still in his bed.

Honestly, he had expected to wake up alone. But he wasn’t.

Katie was sleeping beside him. He was spooned up to her back, his
erection pressing against her, eager to find its way into the warmth he
remembered from the night before. She must’ve felt it, too, because she moved,
sliding her smooth backside against him, making him moan.

Without thinking, Dalton lifted her leg and eased between her thighs,
pressing against her entrance and slowly sliding inside.

Her soft moan had his breath hitching. God, she felt good.

And yes, he knew what was missing. There was no latex barrier
separating them. Just skin to skin. Her soft heat enveloped him, her pussy
tightening around him as he pulled her against him, pushing his hips forward
slightly until he was buried to the hilt.

“Katie.” God, she felt so damn good. Too good.

He knew he should’ve pulled out, shouldn’t have started something that
he couldn’t finish, but heaven help him, he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay
right there, connected to her.

When she rolled over onto her stomach, he followed, refusing to pull
out of her. And when he was kneeling behind her, he ground his hips against her
ass, pushing himself deeper as he held himself up with his arms. He kept his
movements slow, unhurried, enjoying the silky grasp of her body, the way his
cock tunneled in and out of her.

So good.

He wasn’t sure anything felt better than being inside her.

Pressing gentle kisses to her shoulder, he continued to screw into her,
rotating his hips, relishing her soft moans. And when she linked her fingers
with his, he felt that same overwhelming emotion bubble up in his chest.

Then the memory of the night before came to him. What she’d told him,
obviously when she’d thought he was asleep. She loved him.

He tightened his grip on her fingers, pumping into her and retreating
slowly, fucking into her from behind. “Oh, God, Katie,” he whispered, his voice
rough with the emotion that had consumed him.

“Make love to me, Dalton,” she urged softly, her voice raspy.

“I never wanna stop, darlin’,” he told her, his lips traveling up to
her neck. She smelled sweet, a scent he would never have enough of.

God, he loved this woman.

The feeling should’ve scared him to death, but it didn’t. What he felt
for her was so right, so real. Something he’d never felt before, and he had no
idea how they’d gotten this far. This fast.

But it was the truth.

What had started out as friendship had morphed into something so great
he was shocked by how much he felt for her.

“Dalton.” Katie drawled out his name, her soft sigh making his cock
harden more than he thought possible. “Oh, God, Dalton. I’m gonna come.”

Dalton knew he should’ve pulled out of her, but he couldn’t. He didn’t
want to. He wanted to spend the rest of his life right there, making love to
her first thing in the morning. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

When her pussy clamped around his dick, he sucked in a breath. He tried
to do the right thing, tried to pull out, but he couldn’t. Or maybe he just
refused to. Either way, his release took him, and he came deep in her body, the
sensation unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

He’d never had sex with a woman without a condom, and yet he’d just
come inside Katie without one. He had no idea whether she was on the pill or if
what they’d done could possibly have other repercussions.

The strangest part of all … he just didn’t care.

If they made a baby, then that was what was supposed to happen.

He only prayed she felt the same.

Two hours later, Dalton was climbing into his truck. Katie had left a
short time before, kissing him good-bye on his front porch before walking away
from him. He’d felt an odd pang in his chest as he’d watched her leave, but he
chalked it up to his need to possess her. As much as he wanted to keep her
there with him forever, he knew it wasn’t possible.

At least not yet.

He had to take things slow.

For now.

He arrived at the stable to find Cooper shoveling hay into one of the
stalls.

“Mornin’,” Dalton greeted him as he placed his hands on the wood
railing, peering through the slats at his friend.

“Mornin’,” Cooper replied. “When’d you get back?”

“Last night,” he answered.

Cooper propped the pitchfork against the stall wall and stepped out
into the wide walkway. “Where’d you stay?”

“My place.”

“It’s ready?” Cooper asked curiously.

“Almost.”

Cooper cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly wanting more details.

“Katie stayed with me last night.”

Dalton waited, watching Coop, expecting him to say something, but he
didn’t, so he spoke. “Say it.”

“Say what?” Cooper asked. “What do you want me to say, Dalton?”

“What’s on your mind?”

“You sure you know what you’re doin’?”

“Me?” Dalton asked, incredulous. “You’re askin’ me that?”

“Come on, man,” Cooper snapped. “Katie’s not one of those groupies you
can just toss to the side when you get done with her.”

“Who said I was gonna be done with her?” Dalton countered heatedly.

Cooper studied him for a moment and then his eyes widened. “Oh, shit.”

Dalton grinned, unable to help himself.

“You went and fell in love with her?”

“Don’t sound so shocked, bro. It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“Yeah? I figured that, but I was bettin’ on later. Much, much later.”

“Well, stranger things have happened.”

“I’m not sure they have,” Cooper retorted.

“Sure they have. Look at you,” Dalton said, nodding his head toward
Cooper’s house. “You’re shackin’ up with a woman you’re gonna marry in just a
few months. Can’t say I saw that one comin’.”

Cooper grinned, clearly proud. “Okay, you’re right. Stranger things
have happened.”

Neither of them said anything for a moment, but then Cooper’s
expression turned serious. “Man, just be careful with Katie.”

Dalton cocked an eyebrow, waiting for Cooper to elaborate. He couldn’t
understand why his friend was giving him the talk about women, but he damn sure
intended to find out.

“She’s quiet, that one. Don’t you find it strange that no one knows
anything about her?”

“I know plenty,” Dalton stated firmly, his anger pulsing just beneath
the surface.

“Do you?”

“Yeah, I do,” he snapped.

“Where does she live, Dalt?”

Okay, fine. He didn’t know as much as he wanted to know, but they were
moving in that direction. “It hasn’t come up yet,” he told his buddy.

“No? Then why’d you ask Tessa?”

“Because I wanted to know.”

“But you couldn’t ask Katie directly?” Cooper asked.

“Man, I don’t know where you’re goin’ with this, but I suggest you get
there fast.” Dalton was quickly losing his patience. As good of a friend as he
considered Cooper, he’d never expected the man to look down his nose at him
when he just wanted the guy to be happy for him.

Sure, Katie had some secrets. She didn’t open up as easily as he would
want her to, but that was part of her appeal. Eventually, she would tell him
everything. And in the meantime, they’d take things slow.

He thought about waking up with her in his bed, the way she’d felt when
he’d slipped inside her first thing, the tight grip her pussy had had on his
cock. No protection.

Okay, so slow wasn’t exactly working out that well for them. But she
hadn’t said anything when he’d mentioned that they hadn’t used a condom. In
fact, her expression hadn’t changed, which he took to mean she had already
known.

“Well, I was hopin’ you’d be happy for me, man,” Dalton said, pushing
away from the railing. “Sorry to rain on your fucking parade. I didn’t realize
you were the only one allowed to be happy.”

“Damn it, Dalton,” Cooper yelled. “That’s not what I’m sayin’. I just
don’t wanna see either of you get hurt. That’s all.”

“Good. Then we’re on the same page.” Dalton turned and walked away.
Cooper had said his piece, and Dalton made a mental note to avoid any personal
conversation where Katie was concerned, because clearly the guy wasn’t ready to
be happy for anyone but himself.

Goddammit.

Somehow, Dalton managed to shake off the conversation he’d had with
Cooper earlier that morning. At least long enough to get some things done
around the ranch. Since he wasn’t yet on the payroll, he was limiting what he
did, especially since they’d taken on a few additional volunteers to get
through the colder months. He spent a little time with the horses, checked on
the few animals they’d recently acquired for a small petting zoo for the
children who visited, and then he took one of the four-wheelers out to check on
a new section of fence that was being put up.

With nothing else left to do, he made his way back to his house,
showered, and then decided to head down to The Rusty Nail for a beer. The place
was deserted, but it was early afternoon on a Sunday, and even though the big
television on the wall was playing whatever football game the few people wanted
to watch, the rest of the town was probably spending time with their families.

“What’s up, man?” Jack greeted him when he marched up to the bar,
sliding onto one of the empty stools. “Didn’t know you were back in town.”

“Got back last night,” Dalton told Jack, who was obviously managing the
bar solo that afternoon. “How’re things goin’ round here?”

“Slow and steady,” Jack offered with a smile.

Jack Rollins was Tessa’s little brother, although “younger” was
probably the more apt description, because the guy was in no way little. He was
a behemoth, in all honesty. Six foot six inches, probably right at two hundred
fifty pounds of solid muscle, the guy made Dalton look like a fucking infant.
And that was saying something, because Dalton wasn’t a small guy, either.

“Tessa off tonight?” Dalton asked when Jack leaned his elbows on the
bar, his eyes slowly scanning the room.

“Yep. Told her I’d fill in.”

“What about Eric?”

“The four of them were goin’ on a double date,” Jack offered.

Dalton could only assume Jack was referring to Cooper, Tessa, Izzy, and
Eric. He knew Izzy and Tessa were close, and by default that meant Eric was
probably around a lot. Not that Dalton gave a shit. Really.

“On a Sunday?” Dalton inquired.

“Some movie came out last week. They were headin’ down to Austin to
check it out.”

Dalton sipped his beer, watching Jack as he scoped out the room. The
guy was a contradiction. Funny one second, intensely serious the next. He was
seriously protective of his sister, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing when
Tessa ran a bar that had been known to have its fair share of fights break out.
Sometimes on a nightly basis.

Jack seemed intently focused on someone in the bar, and Dalton glanced
over his shoulder to see what the younger man was looking at. He noticed a
handful of guys sitting at a table near the wall. They were getting a little
rowdy, but not more than usual. Then again, it was still early, and if they
kept at it, they’d probably be unruly before the night was out.

“Have you heard from Adam?” Dalton asked, referring to Jack and Tessa’s
oldest brother.

“He’s doin’ good. On the force now. Loves that shit.” Jack turned his
full attention back to Dalton for a moment.

“Dallas PD, right?”

“Yup. He’s talkin’ about moving back here in a couple of years,
transferrin’ to one of the local PDs.”

“That’ll be good,” Dalton said, lifting his beer to his mouth again.
Jack’s attention was back on the group of guys, and Dalton tried to tune
everything out to see what they were talking about. Another quick glance over
his shoulder and it was then that he realized just what had Jack on edge.

“Little cock-sucking bastard,” the guy sitting closest to the wall said
to the other. “Oughta string his ass up by the ankles and take a bull whip
after him. Gotta beat the faggot out of ’em. Only way to take care of the
problem.”

Yeah, well, Dalton would disagree.

Suddenly, his irritation from the conversation he’d shared with Cooper
that morning lit a fire in his gut, and the next thing he knew, he was on his
feet. Slamming his beer on the bar, he turned and headed toward the four guys.

“Did I just hear you correctly?” Dalton asked, none too kindly.

“What’s that, Dalt?” the guy asked, sounding as though he considered
them to be friends. He got that a lot, especially around Devil’s Bend. Because
they hung out at the bar he frequented, they assumed he should be added to
their list of friends.