Divine Phoenix(Divine Creek Ranch 10)(64)

Del shuddered lightly and felt the orgasm tingling at the head of his leaking cock. It was either leave or make a fool of himself if he kept on with thoughts like that. “I have to go, guys. I can probably get a few more hours of work done on the barn.”

Lily’s brows drew together. “I’m sorry if I interrupted your conversation. You don’t have to go.”

Del held up his hand, and he gingerly rose from the couch, mindful of the painful erection stretching toward his hipbone, which she could probably see once he stood. “Not at all, Lily. I just feel…restless. I need to get more done on the ranch while the good weather holds.” I need to get out of here before I embarrass myself. He was blown away by how much his fantasies and the sight of Clay holding and caressing her had turned him on.

Her delectable lips parted on a faint, disappointed sounding syllable. “Oh.”

Clay seemed let down but hid it well as Lily rose from his lap. If she saw Del’s hard-on, she didn’t reveal that knowledge to him. He put his coat on and buttoned it, glad for the extra layer before hugging her. The fragrance of her shampoo and her own natural, womanly scent wafted into his nostrils when he buried his nose in her hair as he returned the hug.

“I’ll bring you some real groceries and some more meals next week,” she said as she gazed up at him. Was it his imagination when he saw a hint of some deeper emotion in her eyes? She seemed to want him to stay, but he didn’t want to hang around torturing himself with the mental images that had paraded through his mind earlier. Thoughts of her shapely thighs spread wide as he fucked her in the recliner, her hair thrown back in wild disarray all about them.

“Sure thing, Lily Bell.”

“I have leftovers all packaged up for you in the refrigerator. Let me get them.”

She hurried to the kitchen and Clay looked at him with sympathy. “I know, Del. I know how you feel. I think about her all the time now. How she sees herself is so fucked up, but we’re going to get past it. I’m glad you’re considering what I said earlier.”

That embarrassed him ever further thinking about how fast his cock had run up the white flag of surrender and gotten on board with Clay’s suggestion.

Del nodded and took the opportunity to adjust his cock to a slightly less painful position, eliciting a chuckle from Clay as he did the same. “We’re a pair, aren’t we? How can this end well, bro? With both of us wanting her.” Surely jealousy would catch up with them eventually. Balance between them would be impossible.

Clay smiled and laughed. “I think your mindset may change after the hog hunt, Del. I’m not too worried about that.”

Lily entered the living room with a bag full of plastic food containers. “Here you go, Del. I filled one with pumpkin pie and another with pecan pie for you, since you can’t stay for dessert.”

Del smiled and kissed Lily’s cheek. “Thank you, Lily Bell. You’re very good to me.”

Lily blushed and replied, “I’ll bring the other stuff next week. And thank you for my new purse.”

Del had been so relieved when she had a happy hissy fit over the tooled leather handbag he’d given her for Christmas.

The weather might’ve been nice outside, and he would probably get a lot done this afternoon at the ranch, but he wished now that he’d kept his stupid mouth shut and let the afternoon play out the way it was intended. Not that it would’ve been more than just mental torture. He knew things wouldn’t have gone beyond fantasizing about her because of the tattoo situation. A plan started to formulate in his mind as he thought of her mark. He’d intended to get some ink work done once he got back to the States and it might make the whole subject more approachable to her if she knew of his intentions.





Chapter Fifteen




Clay put his key in the lock at six o’clock the following Tuesday evening. Lily had left the shop midmorning after telling him she needed to go grocery shopping and get some cooking done for Del.

As he removed the key and pushed open the door, the scent of a chicken casserole and other culinary delights filled his nostrils and made his mouth water. He put his keys on the kitchen counter and smiled to see all the individual foil-wrapped packages that were lined up on dishcloths. She’d made enough food to feed an army and had obviously gone to a lot of trouble. There were also freshly made pecan pralines lined up in neat rows on wax paper on one counter.

“Lily?”

The house was quiet, so he went to the first place he thought he’d find her.

“Lily?” he said softly, not wanting to disturb her if she was resting. She’d looked tired the last couple of days, preparing for tests along with everything else she had on her plate.