Redneck Romeo (Rough Riders) (36 page)

Dalton laughed snidely. “So when Dildo had his hands on you and his tongue down your throat—that was part of the plan to fool your boss? Give me a fucking break.”

Rory slammed her hands on the countertop. “Will you let me explain? Or do you have it all worked out?”

“Just like you had it all worked out when you stormed in here and laid out your theories as facts that I used you and lied to you? Not only about the application for the elk farm permit but about my real reasons for starting a goddamned relationship with you?”

That shut her down for a second. But she rallied back with, “Fine, I was an idiot, all right? Is that what you wanna hear?”

“I wanna hear why the fuck you spent all this time talkin’ to your ex-fiancé and he knew nothin’ about me. Or us. Because I’m nothin’ to you, is that it?”

“No. That’s not true, Dalton and you know it.”

“That’s the thing Rory, I
don’t
know it.”

She stared at him with guilt, shock and embarrassment.

Dalton hated he was still on such shaky ground with her. Would she ever believe he’d changed? What else could he do to convince her?

Rory blurted, “After our business discussion ended, he started saying all this ridiculous stuff about our broken engagement, regretting that he let me walk away without a fight. He said he wanted to try and win me back.”

Dalton couldn’t stop the snarl that accompanied, “The hell that’s ever happening.”

“By that time, I wanted to leave but I told him we’d listen to the band. He asked me to dance and then he kissed me.” Her gaze scrutinized his face. “You were there. You know I wasn’t kissing him back.”

“Alls I know is that I saw his hands on you and I wanted to rip them clean off his body.”

“You nearly succeeded.”

“Apparently not, because that motherfucker got in his licks.” Dalton took a long drink of juice.

“I know something else is eating at you. So just say it.”

“I also noticed that he and I…” He paused and watched her eyes. Even after all his attempts at showing her that he was around for the long haul, she still acted so wary. “We look alike.” He started toward her and she immediately retreated. “He’s tall. He’s got dark hair. Probably has blue eyes. And he’s totally fucking in love with you. Willing to fight for you. Remind you of someone else you might know?”

“This isn’t—”

“Answer. Me.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say. Just stop. Please.”

No way. He’d come this far. “So is it a coincidence that I look like the man you almost married? Be hard to tell us apart in a dark bar, wouldn’t it?”

“No.”

“What about in a dark room, Rory? When you were with me could you pretend I was—”

“Stop it. I haven’t been with you because you reminded me of Dillon.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure, all right? I was with him because at first, on the surface, he reminded me of you. But there’s no comparison, Dalton. None. You’re ten times the man he is.”

A few beats of stunned silence passed as he waited for her to elaborate or to confess she felt something more for him than she ever had for Dildo. But her mouth remained stubbornly closed.

So Dalton kissed her.

Passion, desire, need exploded—a melee of hungry mouths, frantic hands, avid bodies, harsh breathing and harsher kisses.

Dalton wanted to pin her down and fuck the memory of every other man out of her brain and out her body. Imprint himself on her, in her so she’d feel him as part of her even when he wasn’t around. Mark her with his mouth, his teeth, his goddamn hands so she’d see those marks and remember only him.

Rory dug her nails into the back of his neck. Then her hands moved down his chest, over his ribcage, across his belly, stopping at the waistband of his jeans. She nuzzled him, scattering kisses, nips and tiny licks on the cords straining in his neck. “Let me show you. Any way you want. Tell me what you want.”

“This.” Dalton pushed on her shoulders and she dropped to her knees. Her hands unbuckling his belt, unzipping his fly and opening his jeans. Then she yanked his boxers and jeans down, freeing his cock.

Her mouth, her goddamned mouth, so hot and wet and perfect; she destroyed him every time she sucked his cock like she was starving for it.

Well she was gonna get it all and then some tonight.

Rory worked him fast. Driving him to the point where his balls tightened, where he was more animal than man, teetering in that moment when he was so fucking close to coming he could taste it.

He yanked harder on her hair. He squeezed his fingers against the side of her face, digging his thumb deeper into her neck, holding her in place as he fucked her mouth exactly as hard and deep as he wanted.

Almost, almost
…he glanced down at her face and saw his hand fisting her hair so strongly it pulled her scalp. Saw the red mark on her cheek from his palm. Then he saw how she squeezed her eyes—in pain?—every time his dick hit the back of her throat.

You’re hurting her. You’re punishing her with sex.

Is that how you treat the woman you love—as a vessel to pour your anger and frustration into?

No. Goddammit no.

Horrified, Dalton abruptly pulled her off his cock and held her head in his hands. “Stop.”

“What’s wrong?”

“This.”

“Dalton—”

“Not like this. Never like this.” He shaped her beautiful face with his fingers. “I never want to touch you when I’m angry, Aurora. Never.”

She looked confused. “I don’t understand you.”

“I don’t understand myself sometimes. But this…isn’t right.” Dalton helped her to her feet and yanked up his clothing.

Then he took her hand and led her to his bedroom.

She was still breathing hard. Wariness darkened her eyes.

He stripped first. As he stood naked before her, his rush of masculine power had vanished, leaving him feeling vulnerable.

“Dalton,” she whispered, trapping his face in her hands, “Talk to me.”

“I love you.”

Rory blinked at him.

“I love you and the thought of losing you, of you walking away from me because I’m not the man you want…makes me crazy. It keeps me up at night. I’ve changed. But have I changed enough so you believe—”

She kissed him. “You are the man I want. Just you. I’m here with you and there’s no place I’d rather be.”

He traced her swollen lips with the pad of his thumb. “I was rough. I’m sorry.”

“Then you’d better kiss it and make it better, huh?”

Dalton kissed her. Touched her. Showed her.

She responded in that sweet melting way she always did, giving herself over to him completely.

After he’d removed her clothes and they were stretched out on his bed, skin to skin, heart to heart, he said, “You’re mine, jungle girl. Only ever mine. I’m never letting you get away from me again.”

Her satisfied moans rang in his ears as he showed her twice just how much he loved her.

“I’m still mad at you.”

Dalton’s gaze moved over her naked body. Lingered on her sex-mussed hair. Then he lifted that one dark eyebrow. “I can tell.”

Rory shoved him.

He laughed. “You can be mad at me more often if that’s how we work out our differences.” He leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on the cup of her shoulder. “That was…mmm.”

“Mmm? What’s mmm?”

“The sexual hum of a satisfied man. Mmm. I make that sound a lot around you. Thought you’d recognize it.” He propped himself up on his elbow and traced her nipple with his fingertip. “I don’t have a bunch of smooth words. What’s between us defies description. I never knew it could be like that. And it’s like that between us every damn time.”

Don’t know any smooth words, my ass.

“So why don’t you go on and get your mad worked out. I can take it.”

She sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me you applied for a permit?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were processing the applications?” he countered.

“Because it was supposed to be kept under wraps. But the people in the office knew what I was working on—I blame Hannah for trying to sabotage me. And the way I told you…” She shuddered. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you at all. Not only because I thought it’d cause problems between us. I know most ranchers—especially the McKays—are against this program.”

“True.” He stroked the upper swell of her breast with the back of his knuckles. “But somehow you forgot that I’m not a rancher anymore.”

“Also true.”

“And we don’t talk about our jobs. Me, mostly because I don’t have one. So can we have a rational discussion about what happened?”

“While we’re naked?”

“Yep.”

“Fine. When I showed up on Monday, why did you assume your family had something to do with me learning about your application?”

“Because I had a big goddamned fight with them about it on Sunday after the poker game.”

As Dalton told her what’d happened with the McKays, she felt even worse for how she’d handled it with him. “I’m sorry. I was way less than professional.”

He tipped her chin up and looked into her eyes. “Wasn’t your lack of professionalism that bothered me. I thought things had changed between us. That you understood I’d changed. But you believed the worst of me from the get-go, and I ain’t gonna lie. Pissed me off more than it hurt me. At first.”

Rory curled into him, resting her head on his chest and trying to wrap herself around him. “I’m sorry. This isn’t an excuse for the way I behaved, but seeing your application caught me off guard. I figured your family would apply in the hopes of getting selected so they could tank the program. But you’re serious about this.”

“Completely. Since I’ve been gone for three years I had no idea what’d been goin’ on with the laws until I saw it in the newspaper. I was really shocked to read the elk farm pilot program had made it through the Wyoming legislature and the lawmakers hadn’t bowed to the livestock producers’ demands and killed it in committee again.”

“Took them long enough. You should see the book of regulations just for the temporary permit.”

“I’m sure the regulations are brutal—I don’t envy you that—I’m just happy this trial might end the stranglehold that Yellowstone and The Tetons have had on the feeding grounds.”

She drew circles on his chest. “So this application isn’t a whim for you? And right now, I’m not asking as a WNRC employee, but as your…” Lover? Girlfriend?

“As my what, Rory?”

“As the woman who has humbly asked your forgiveness.”

Her response didn’t make him happy, especially in light of the fact he’d confessed his love for her.

“I didn’t plan on staying here when I first left Montana. Then my priorities changed and the elk farm opportunity caught my eye. I’ve done the research. It’d give me something to do here instead of returning to ranching.” Dalton’s palm skated down her arm. “My brothers are on board with my idea. One hundred percent. Even though the rest of the McKays are not.”

“I’m surprised they’re giving you full support.”

“I’m not. If I get awarded the permit, it’d give me a reason to stay and be part of the family again.”

Rory tried not to freeze up. She tried to keep her breathing steady. She tried not to think about what that statement meant. An ugly, horrible thought occurred to her. For once in their relationship, she had all the power. Her decision would determine whether or not he stayed.

Dalton’s hand cupped her face and he tilted her head back so he could look at her. “I’ve gotta know that you’re gonna give me a fair shot.”

She kissed the base of his thumb. “It’s good that this is out in the open. But it can’t all be out in the open. There are things I can’t talk about, Dalton.”

“You mean things about your job that you can’t talk about, right?”

“Ah, right.”

Dalton knew she was hedging but he allowed it. “Are we done talkin’ for now?”

“Sure. Why?”

“’Cause we’ve still got a lot of kissin’ and makin’ up to do.”

In the past ten days since their big blow up, Dalton and Rory had stuck to the parameters of not discussing specifics of her job. But he wondered if she had anyone to talk to about work-related stuff, because she was really stressed. She’d barely touched her lunch. “You gonna finish them fries?”

Rory slid the plate at him. “I told you not to order a salad because you’d be hungry.”

“I ordered a salad because you never finish all your food and I hate to see it go to waste.”

She didn’t say anything funny or cute in response, which wasn’t like her. She tapped her fingers on the table and stared into space.

“Something wrong?”

“Not looking forward to my next inspection.”

Dalton picked up her restless hand. “Want me to come with you? I’ll knock the guy around if he disrespects you.”