Authors: Calista Fox
StudinTexas (17 page)
She stared deep into his eyes and that ray of light and hope
that always speared her when she was with him gripped her once more.
“I don’t care how long it takes you to heal,” he said. “I
just want to help you. I want to be with you, Sky. Always.”
Her heart swelled. Tears prickled her eyes. “Sam.” She
wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him.
He embraced her and whispered in her ear, “I was hooked on
you the second I saw you. That first time you came to the ranch. I love you,
Sky. Let me take you home.”
She blinked, a few drops rolling down her cheeks. “To the
cottage?”
“Mine, not the one on Jack’s property.”
She nodded. “Yeah. That one.”
His head dipped and he kissed her. Softly. Sweetly.
Sky was instantly whisked away in the flood of emotions and
sensations he evoked. She missed him more than anything she could possibly
fathom and wanted him more than she wanted her next breath.
Tearing her mouth from his, she said, “Now, Sam. Take me
home now.”
He unraveled from her and took her by the hand. She grabbed
Morgan in the crowd and said, “Look after my guitar and take my Escalade back
to Daddy’s tonight, since y’all are still staying there.” She handed over the
keys. “Oh,” she added. “Mama’s recipe box is in the glove compartment. You and
Macy might want to look ’em over. Share with Tara too, okay? I’ve got a date
with this studly cowboy.” She winked.
Morgan gave her a quick hug and whispered, “Does he have a
brother?”
“Already engaged, but I’ll keep my eyes open for you.”
They hugged again and Morgan said, “Mace and I love you.
Come see us again. Soon.”
“Come see me,” Sky countered. “In Wilder. At the ranch.
You’ll love it. I promise a weekend there will inspire your artistic sides.”
“Deal.”
Sky walked briskly with Sam to his truck. He opened the door
for her and she climbed in, securing her seatbelt. He joined her and shot a
heated look her way that curled her toes.
“You did wait,” she said, though he’d told her he wasn’t
good at that.
“I couldn’t push. I mean…I wanted to. Damn, how I wanted
to.”
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad you
didn’t. I needed to talk it out with the right people, Sam. You understand
that, don’t you?”
“I gave you that advice upfront for a reason. Doesn’t mean it
was easy to accept the ‘right people’ didn’t include me. But then again… If
we’d been together when I’d come back from Afghanistan…” He shrugged and let
out a long breath. “I’m not sure I could have talked my feelings out with you.
I felt guilty and I wouldn’t have wanted you to think differently about me.”
“Exactly,” she said. “It has to be reconciled in your own
mind before you can share it with someone else.”
His hand smoothed over her hair and he grinned at her. “I
had to be me again, before I could be with someone else.”
“Yes.” He eyed her a few moments, and Sky finally added, “I
think I’m me again. If not wholly, suddenly getting closer by the second…”
Sam leaned over and kissed her. Then he started the truck
and drove them back to the ranch.
When they reached the cottage, he led her to the tall
windows and sank into a chair that looked out at the lake. With her in his lap,
he kissed her again. His fingers threaded through her hair, then trailed down
her neck. As their tongues tangled, he unbuttoned her shirt. He palmed her
breast and gently squeezed before whisking the pad of his thumb over her
nipple, hardening it behind the lacy cup.
Sky moaned. It felt so damn good to have his hands on her
body again. He caressed her breast while deepening their kiss. Her insides
ignited.
She broke their kiss and tugged on his T-shirt, hauling it
over his head and tossing it aside. Her fingers glided over the taut muscles of
his shoulders and arms. Her lips grazed his neck and then his pectorals. Her
tongue flicked a small, pebbled nipple and he groaned.
“Darlin’, you make me hard in a heartbeat.”
She licked him again. Then she stripped off her blouse and
bra. She stood and worked the fastenings on her jeans, toeing off her boots at
the same time.
Sam pulled a condom from the front pocket of his jeans, and
she grinned at him.
“I like that you’re prepared.”
“Didn’t think we’d be able to keep our hands off each
other,” he told her.
“And you were right.”
Seconds later, she was naked. Sam yanked apart the line of
buttons on his fly. He wore loose boxers beneath. Sky straddled his lap.
He dropped the condom on the end table and then his hands
roamed her body. He cupped her breasts and suckled her nipple.
Sky’s head fell back, her spine arching. He drew her other
nipple into his mouth, then he rolled both of the taut peaks between his
fingers and thumbs.
Her pussy ached for him and she rubbed herself against his
erection.
Sam grunted. He skimmed a hand down her stomach and massaged
her clit with his thumb. She lifted slightly off of him, and he eased a finger
inside her.
“Already wet for me,” he murmured against her breast.
“Yes.”
He stroked her inner walls while the heel of his hand rubbed
her clit. His mouth was alternately on her breasts again. His free hand kneaded
an ass cheek.
Desire skittered through Sky and her breathing picked up.
Sam worked a second finger into her pussy, and a throaty moan fell from her
lips.
Her fingers combed through his hair. She kissed his
forehead. His temple. Inhaled his manly, earthy scent—the cologne she’d come to
love mingling with his heat.
He stroked a bit faster, and her hips jerked.
“I’m going to come.”
Her soft panting filled the quiet room. Lust pumped through
her veins, making her skin tingle.
Sam curled his tongue around her nipple, and that was the
last straw for Sky. The erotic sensations inside her swelled and burst wide
open.
“Sam!” She came on a powerful rush of passion and
exhilaration.
He withdrew from her and hugged her tight. Her breasts
pressed to his chest. Her face buried in the crook of his neck.
She muttered against his throat, “Feel free to do that to me
every night from here on out.”
“That specifically, or am I allowed to change it up?”
“Let me rephrase,” she said, her breathing still heavy.
“Feel free to do
whatever
the hell you want to me every night from here
on out.”
He chuckled. “Good to know. I have plenty in mind.”
A wicked thrill chased down her spine. “I’m sure you do.”
She lifted her head and kissed him. Then she reached for the
condom and tore the packet open. She maneuvered his cock through the opening of
his boxers and rolled the latex down his thick shaft. She guided the tip along
her labia, back and forth.
Sam groaned. “Stop teasing me.” His tone was dark with need.
Sky’s hips pressed down, and he sank into her. She took him
all the way in and rocked with him, slowly.
“Jesus,” Sam ground out. “Tight and wet. You feel
incredible.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I really have missed
you. My nights are hell without you.”
He kissed her, then said, “Maybe someday, we’ll forgo the
condoms.”
Sky grinned. “You want kids?”
“I want everything,” he said in a territorial voice. “With
you.”
Emotion gripped her. “Sam.” She sighed against his lips.
“You really are something else.”
She kissed him as they moved together, their liplock turning
as searing as their lovemaking. Sam picked up the pace and her hips undulated.
His cock filled and stretched her, eliciting fiery sensations that consumed
her. Their tempo increased. He thrust deep into her, causing her to wrench her
mouth from his and suck in a sharp breath.
“Come with me,” she said.
Sam let out a low growl. Sky rode him a bit faster. His grip
on her waist tightened.
“You make me lose all control,” he told her in a strained
voice.
“I just can’t get enough of you.”
He thrust harder and everything within her exploded. She
cried out his name. Squeezed his cock, milking it.
“That’s good, darlin’,” he whispered. “Just that like.”
And seconds later, she felt his thick shaft pulse inside
her. His body convulsed.
“Oh Christ, I love you,” he said on a harsh breath.
Sky collapsed against him. He embraced her.
When their wicked panting slowed, he said, “Marry me.”
“Yes.”
She didn’t have to think twice about it. She’d finally,
finally
,
gotten it right.
With Sam Bennett.
Three months later
The double wedding ceremony was held on the event lawn of
the inn. Seemed all of Wilder had gathered for the nuptials, not to mention
Sky’s family, her friends from Luckenbach and a few celebs she remained in
contact with, including Silver Monroe and her new husband, Kolby Marx. Sky and
Sam had attended their wedding weeks before in Hawaii.
Sam’s parents came down from Dallas and took an instant
liking to Sky—not a big surprise, given her bit of fame. Though, Sam had to
admit that his dad and Judith expressed a sincere amount of sympathy for Sky’s
recent troubles, and Sam respected their compassion, unexpected though it was.
The dual nuptials broke the record for most guests the inn
had hosted, and it took hiring temporary chefs, servers and bussers from Austin
and San Antonio to pull off the reception, which had to take place both indoors
and outdoors.
Parquet flooring had been laid out down by the lake for
those who wanted to dance. Two bands alternated playing—Sky’s choice, of
course, being the Waylon Jennings tribute band.
Sam twirled her around the dance floor
.
He smiled at her and said, “Darlin’, I didn’t think you
could get any prettier. I was wrong. You’re doing more than taking my breath
away tonight.”
She beamed. “That’s because I am deliriously happy.”
“That dress is something else too,” he said as his gaze
drifted over her. “Damn near stopped my heart when I saw you coming down the
aisle.”
Her daddy had escorted her. Sam had literally thought his
heart skipped a few too many beats to be healthy as he’d watched her glide down
the rose petal-covered aisle. She wore a one-shouldered white gown that hugged
every inch of her sinful-looking body. It had fancy ruching and glittery
accents and a slit that went all the way up to the top of her left thigh.
Reese had been beautiful in her lacy, off-the-shoulder
dress, but in Sam’s mind and heart, nothing compared to his new bride.
He pulled her in close and told her, “I realize we’ve moved
pretty fast with this relationship, but I never had a single doubt, from the
moment I asked you to marry me, that this was meant to be.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “Cupid did help us along. I
swear, Reese knew from the time I came back to Texas that we were going to end
up together.”
“Helpful that she knows both of us well enough to think
that.”
“Agreed.”
He brushed away a drop on her cheek. “I am one lucky son of
a gun.”
She shook her head. “No one’s luckier than me.” She laughed
suddenly. “I can’t believe I actually get to say that. Who would have thought
it when I was hiding out in Luckenbach? Yet here you are, in a tuxedo with
cowboy boots, looking like a cowgirl’s fantasy come to life.”
“I do aim to please.” He winked.
Sky’s smile brightened. “And you make good on that promise
every night you’re not out saving horses.”
“Good thing there’s plenty of acreage between our cottage
and Reese and Caleb’s.”
Her big blue eyes sparkled. “Since it’s our wedding night,
something tells me we’ll be shaking the rafters. And, before I forget, I want you
to know that I am more than happy to continue showing my appreciation for this
ring you bought me. My God, the diamond is bigger than Reese’s.”
“Well, I don’t like to be upstaged, you know?” He chuckled.
“But really…I just wanted you to know how much I love you.”
“Right back at ya, cowboy.” She kissed him. The crowd
cheered.
Sam would have said life couldn’t get any better than at
that moment, but he knew the good times were only beginning. Someday, they’d
have kids. So would Reese and Caleb.
And the Bennett brothers’ legacy would live on in Wilder,
Texas.
Calista Fox in a multi-published, award-winning author of
contemporary, suspense and paranormal erotic romances. She began her
professional fiction-writing career in 2004, following a successful career in
PR, where she specialized in writing speeches and Congressional testimonies.
Her books have received rave reviews and she is also the recipient of a
Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Novella.
Calista is a member of Romance Writer's of America and two
of its Phoenix Chapters, Desert Rose and Valley of the Sun Romance Writers. She
has served on the Board of Directors, been the newsletter director and chaired
the annual Golden Quill Contest for the Desert Rose Chapter. She is also a
member of Passionate Ink, RWA's erotic romance chapter. In addition, Calista
gives presentations and workshops on writing novellas.
Calista attended college on a Journalism scholarship and has
worked on newspapers as an editor and reporter. She holds degrees in General
Studies and Communications. Calista lives in Arizona, but travels frequently to
places like Mexico, Europe, San Diego and Washington DC. She has traveled the
country by Lear Jet, always with her laptop in tow, and is a spa aficionado!
Calista welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
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Calista
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Rugged
and Risque 1: Devil in Texas
Rugged
and Risque 2: Adonis in Texas
Rugged
and Risque 3: Cougar in Texas
Better
with Age
anthology
Body
Scenes
anthology
Passionate
Peridot
anthology
Rugged
and Risque 1: Devil in Texas
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Stud in Texas
ISBN 9781419949647
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Stud in Texas Copyright © 2014 Calista Fox
Edited by Briana St. James
Cover design by Willo
Cover photography by romancenovelcovers.com
Electronic book publication January 2014
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