I shiver, my nipples somehow hardening even more. Sam’s eyes don’t stray down from my face, but he still pulls the flannel off his muscular shoulders and stands up to drape it across mine. His body heat envelops me, spreading through my limbs and drawing a faint, satisfied sigh from my lips.
I stick my arms through the sleeves and inhale his manly pine scent before letting myself meet his eyes again. His jaw tics.
“Eat, Baby Red.”
23
SAM
Her eyes blaze when I use her nickname.
Texting it to her was a mistake. When I woke up in the loft on Duke’s couch, I was anxious to talk to her. My head was still cloudy from getting bashed in so many times the night before. It slipped out. She didn’t reply, so I went searching for her at Holden and Rosie’s.
Then I found out that she wason a date. Less than five minutes after she must have realized that I was the anonymous man she’d been sexting on a dating app, she went on a date with that fucker.
I’m going to rearrange his facial features.
I feel zero remorse for running him off. That’s the third time I’ve had to witness her smiling across a table from him, andit will be the last.
I saw him at the cage fight, and by the look on his face when he scurried out of here with his tail tucked between his legs, he knows I did.
She reaches across the table and steals a piece of my bacon. When she nibbles on it, I start digging into the food. My ribs hurt like hell every time I move, but my body is ravenous. I burnedthousands of calories last night, but I was in too much pain to eat anything before passing out.
When I look up again, she’s finally eaten a few bites and stopped shivering. The waitress returns to fill our coffees up. I fish my black Amex out of my wallet and hand it to her.
“To-go boxes?” she asks.
Dolly nods.
I look down at her barely touched plate and lift a brow. She rolls her eyes before taking another tiny nibble of the pancake.
I shake my head before reaching across the table with my fork and cut off a decent-sized piece, dipping it in her syrup ramekin for her and holding it up to her lips. Her eyes don’t leave mine, even as she obediently opens her mouth for me.
She closes her lips around my fork and takes the bite. Her cheeks flush.
Good girl.
I repeat the movement with a piece of my bacon. She bites it off with her teeth, her dark eyes never leaving mine as she chews.
There’s a first time for everything. Crashing her date, eating his food, and turning it into breakfast foreplay might just make my top five moments with Dolly Mae.
Until you finally start making good on your promises to tie her to your bedframe.
Now that the secret is out about Ropes, she knows I don’t view her as a sister and never have. She knows I want her in my bed more than I want anything in life. Denying it now seems pointless.
The waitress returns with my card and the receipt. She hands the to-go box to Dolly. I tip fifty percent and stand. Once she finishes putting the last of her food in the box, Dolly stands with me. I take the box from her and grip her elbow, leading her out of the café. A few onlookers turn their heads to study us, clearlycurious about how she got here with one man and is leaving with another.
I’m sure the small-town rumors will spread like wildfire. They always do in a place like La Pradera. It’s the least of my concerns right now as I lead Dolly out to my truck. My parking job is shit since I got here in such a hurry. After Pops had told me she left with a guy in a red pickup for breakfast at Loretta’s, I’d broken every speed limit to get here.
I open the passenger door for her, keeping ahold of her elbow until she’s seated. I walk around to the driver’s side, climbing into the leather seat with a sigh. I’m relieved she’s here with me, safe.
We sit in tense silence for the drive. Once we pass the iron entrance to Redford Ranch, her eyes drift over to me, but she doesn’t comment on it. When I pull through the rock gate at Moonlight Ranch, I see her fold her arms over her chest out of the corner of my eye.
I pull into the covered carport on the side of the house. Dolly doesn’t wait for me to open her door before she flings it open and marches toward the side door to the kitchen. I follow in quick pursuit, wincing when I step down from the driver’s seat and the movement sends a stab of pain up through my chest.
I make it to the door right after she does, stopping her attempt to slam the door in my face with my hand. I grimace, stifling a groan of agony.
She’s nearly sprinting now, heading up the stairs. I stop by the front door to grab the rope hanging by the hooks in the entryway before I follow her up. Anticipation is building in my veins, even when I hear the door to her room slam shut.
