|
3382094
|
His brain might know that she was all wrong, but his dick kept pointing in her direction.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
c1a01de
|
head.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
e97f918
|
Where's Chase?" Maya said. "I want to guilt him into getting my bags for me." Zane gave a sigh of the long-suffering. "How many?" "Four, but two of them are small." "You're going on a cattle drive, not touring the capitals of Europe." Maya leaned toward Phoebe. "He's always crabby when people invade his precious ranch. Hmm. Actually he's crabby most of the time." Zane's scowl didn't seem to affect Maya, who linked arms with Phoebe, then use..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
e66ecf8
|
You're right," Phoebe said. "We both need coffee." "And a change in subject. Come on. Zane sent me to find you and bring you back for breakfast." She grinned. "Apparently he's worried about you." "He worries about everyone," Phoebe said, trying not to be pleased by Maya's words. "It's his nature." "That's true. Zane would love to be in charge of the world. He gets off on bossing people around." "It's not that," Phoebe said. "He takes his re..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
0a8f00d
|
What will you do if you lose your real estate license?" "I've been trying to figure that out. I need to have a plan. So far, nothing's been coming to me. I was talking to Manny about it and--" She broke off. "Just so you know, Manny doesn't answer." "Good thing. If he did, I'd worry about you both." "I would hope so. Anyway, I don't have a plan yet. I always thought I'd stay in LA, but having been out here has shown me that maybe I'd like s..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
23fe798
|
You're right," Phoebe said. "We both need coffee." "And a change in subject. Come on. Zane sent me to find you and bring you back for breakfast." She grinned. "Apparently he's worried about you." "He worries about everyone," Phoebe said, trying not to be pleased by Maya's words. "It's his nature." "That's true. Zane would love to be in charge of the world. He gets off on bossing people around." "It's not that," Phoebe said. "He takes his re..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
37228d1
|
Zane isn't for me," she said firmly. Maya laughed. "That sounds really good, but I can't help wondering who you're trying to convince."
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
6792c81
|
Zane liked her. At least Chase thought he did, and she was gone enough on the man to be willing to accept the gospel truth from a seventeen-year-old.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
16aa9ae
|
Instead she was struck by the thought that she'd never felt worthy. That was the reason she was always rescuing the world. She was trying to earn her way into heaven. Barring that, she was trying to earn her way into happiness.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
7072436
|
The combination of his teeth gently grating on her skin and his tongue flicking back and forth was the most erotic experience of her life. A sad statement on her sexual experiences, but still true.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
320f535
|
The first was that he drew her earlobe into his mouth and sucked. It didn't sound like much. Had someone described the event to her she would have been mildly impressed, but not overly so. However, having it actually happen was very different.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
5e601f3
|
It was heaven. Pure and simple paradise. Even as he kissed his way along her neck, his palms circled, his fingers kneaded, and she sent up the white flag of surrender.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
507efa9
|
Reason returned and she wanted to wince. Had she really begged him not to stop? "I, um, want to tell you--" She broke off, not sure what she wanted to say to him. She looked at his face, but the night was too dark for her to be able to see what he was thinking. Besides, how was she supposed to think when the man's hands were still down her pants?"
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
30c8b2f
|
I have to know," he murmured. Know? Know what? Before she could ask, he moved his right hand across her hip to her belly, then slipped it down between her legs. His fingers slipped across slick, swollen flesh. They both sucked in a breath. He pulled his hand free and carefully zipped and buttoned her jeans. About fourteen thousand questions flashed through her brain, but she settled for the most important one. "What did you have to know?" "..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
44213f9
|
coffee
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
f3d1bfc
|
She'd been so hopeful that people would forget her.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
a45829b
|
I know he makes mistakes, but basically he's a good kid," she told him. "Trust him, and trust yourself." She looked so earnest, he thought, as aroused as he was amused. "You're the one who shouldn't be trusting me," he told her, right before he kissed her. As he lowered his mouth to hers, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. She leaned into him, her slender body warm and supple in his embrace. Her lips clung, then parted. When..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
4f44628
|
We can't," he said gently, ignoring the hardness and the pain in his groin. "You deserve better than something hot and fast up against a tree." She swallowed. "I'm not so sure about that."
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
aa356fb
|
Sounds like we have company," he said. "We're close to Stryker land. Guess they decided to say hi. You go on ahead. I need a few minutes." When he pointed at the front of his jeans, she blushed. "Oh. I see your problem. Well, you could walk right behind me and no one would notice." He chuckled. "I'll wait it out. Go on."
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
bf4572d
|
He crossed the bare dirt until he reached the fire. His brother didn't look up as he approached, but he didn't walk away, either. Chase figured that was about as good as it was going to get. He stood there, shifting his weight, then finally cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about before," he said gruffly. "I misread the situation. I can't figure out why I did. I know you wouldn't hurt Phoebe. It's just...I saw her laying there and I reacted." ..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
51fc25c
|
The night was still and cool, with no hint of stars above the cloud cover. The forecasted rain had yet to fall, and he was beginning to believe that they were going to get through the cattle drive without some kind of disaster. Even as the thought formed, he made a fist and knocked on the log. No point in tempting fate. Not when there were still two days and plenty of miles between his greenhorns and the safety of the house.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
91a2f7f
|
Maya sat with Phoebe and Chase. He didn't linger on that group, because he knew what would happen. His gaze would settle on Phoebe, and he wouldn't want to look away. Not with the firelight making her eyes shine and her skin glow. Not with the sound of her voice easing inside of him and tying him up in knots. She was five kinds of temptation with just enough hell thrown in to make things interesting.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
895b50d
|
Life is short. You have to do what you can while you have the chance.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
755ba06
|
She held out the box of fudge. "I made this. I don't know if you like chocolate. If not, you could take it into the office or..." Instead of taking the candy, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside. The second the door closed behind her, she was in his arms, his mouth on hers."
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
da4df95
|
There's magic in loving someone. It's like a part of the universe changes every time we open our heart.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
6feb33f
|
So it can be done, if you're willing to work at it. There's no magic, there's just believing.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
0b63e17
|
Zane liked her. At least Chase thought he did, and she was gone enough on the man to be willing to accept the gospel truth from a seventeen-year-old. That being the case, when she walked into the clearing before dinner and saw Zane sitting in a camp chair with an empty seat so conveniently next to him, she gathered her courage and walked straight toward it. "Hi," she said as she sat next to him. Zane nodded. Trying not to be discouraged--ju..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
9e13a85
|
If you hang on too tight, sometimes things get broken. If you don't let go sometimes, the bad stuff can't get out and the good stuff can't get in." He"
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
cd51a3f
|
Brides tended to travel in packs.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
2d670a9
|
down the hall toward the meeting rooms. At the far end, she saw a familiar figure wrestling with a vacuum. As she watched, Courtney tripped over the cord and nearly plowed face-first into the wall. A combination of love and frustration swelled up inside her. There was a reason the phrase was "pulling a Courtney." Because if someone was going to stumble, fall, drop, break or slip, it was her baby sister."
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
f3f1a79
|
American flag appeared on the screen. "Between 2001 and 2012, nearly sixty-five hundred American soldiers were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. During that same period of time--" the screen shifted to the face of a battered woman clutching two small children "--almost twelve thousand women were murdered by their husbands, boyfriends or a former partner. Even now, three women are murdered every single day by the man who claims to love them."
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
aa62f03
|
thought as he faced President Newham at
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
9485620
|
It's good to learn stuff. It keeps us young.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
dc0c82c
|
She breathed, she walked through her house and knew that nothing was ever going to be the same again.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
1cc8d61
|
Wilma's favorite is the time you nailed his girlfriend's doors and windows shut so she couldn't get out for their date. That's a good one, but my favorite is the time you laid down right in front of his car right there.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
d3ab023
|
Glasses hid his eyes, which were his best feature. Her ex-husband was pale, slightly flabby, at least he had been the last time she'd seen him naked, and had the beginnings of a bald spot on the top of his head. His chest was furry to the point of making her wonder if his family tree held the evolutionary missing link.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
d24aed1
|
all the way to her toes...and her soul. Her arms hung at her sides and she curled her fingers into her palms. She wanted to touch him, she wanted to hold him and be held, only it wasn't that simple.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
f0d5758
|
She ignored the fact that he would also want her to keep moving forward, to have a life, to be happy. All impossible concepts
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
1911681
|
We all have to deal with something. I know that to be true. They say God never gives us more than we can handle, but I say sometimes He assumes we're stronger than we are. Life is a challenge.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
a698845
|
How do any of us get out of this life alive?
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
853e086
|
You did good today." Chase shook his head. "No, Zane. I made a big mistake. Phoebe could have died out there. We could have lost the steers. All because I pulled some stupid stunt. I'm sorry." Zane's throat tightened. He tried to speak but couldn't. So he wrapped his arms around Chase and pulled him close. "It's okay," he managed at last, his voice hoarse. "I screw up all the time, too. The thing is, I never let you see that." Chase hugged ..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
5893e9c
|
He'd been the one to lie and cheat in their relationship. So why was he punishing her? Why-- Who cared why, she told herself. She'd just spent a week on a cattle drive. She'd saved fifty steers from drowning. She'd crossed a raging river and had lived to tell the tale. Jeff was beneath her notice.
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
4bc4e7c
|
He kissed her again, pulling her up against him and running his hands up and down her back. As he deepened the kiss, he became aware of clapping, cheers and catcalls. No doubt Chase had gone into the restaurant and rounded up the whole Fool's Gold crowd to come watch the show. Zane figured they might as well get their money's worth. He pulled back slightly and took her hand in his as he lowered himself to one knee. He took off his hat and s..
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |
|
94f2cde
|
Not at the same time." He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. "I've never been into the group thing. After the first five or six times, it's not all that fun." "You're not impressing me with stories like that." "What"
|
|
|
Susan Mallery |