He shifted under her as she sank down on his lap. His cock slid inside of her and she moaned again. This was it. Wyatt inside of her was what she needed. She rode him as if they were both racing toward something but in her heart she knew they were racing away from something.
That no matter how good the sex was, they both weren't ready to face their fears and take a chance on each other.
She bit his shoulder angry, sad and turned on at the same time. He clutched her buttocks with his hands, drove himself up into her harder and harder until she was shaking and desperate for her climax. He thrust up into her one more time and then jerked his hips away, pulling out of her as he spilled himself. She held him until he was spent and then both stared into each other's eyes.
She wanted to have the right words but they escaped her.
"We could-
He put his fingers over her lips. "We can't."
She pushed herself to her feet and took a few steps away from him. Her legs were still shaking and she wasn't cold any more. But she felt so vulnerable. She looked at him as he carefully tucked his cock back into pants and buttoned his shirt.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not my dad, Juliette. I'm not going to leave a trail of broken hearts behind me."
"How do you know that for sure?" she asked.
"One night is just for fun. There's no time to fall in love and we can both look back on this as a fond memory. We haven't gotten bogged down in emotions and that way I can never disappoint you."
"You already have."
He gave her a hard look. "Fair enough. Better to leave now then before I do any more damage."
He walked toward the door of the stall and she felt the need to do something stupid like call him a name or make him face her. But she knew that was anger. She wanted to fight so maybe the ache that had started deep inside of her would go away.
But as she heard him get on his horse and leave the barn, she had the feeling the ache wasn't going to go away.
And everything that had felt right suddenly wasn't.
Chapter Seven
‡
Being married obviously agreed with his cousin Ryder Ford. He looked relaxed and happier than Wyatt remembered seeing him in the last few years. But then being attracted to his assistant and not acting on it had probably been the cause of some of the tension. Or maybe it had been knowing that his uncle had four sons and not the two everyone else thought he did.
There was a part of Wyatt that wondered why he couldn't have the same easy going attitude that Ryder did. His cousin was a successful lawyer, newlywed and all around content guy.
Ryder didn't have that cloud of intensity that seemed to follow him around like a big ass thundercloud. He rubbed his hand over his chest.
"How was the honeymoon?" Wyatt asked as his cousin came in and sat down. Ryder had recently gotten married to Addison Wells his former legal secretary. Addison was the newest lawyer at Ford, Gamble & Lannigan. Wyatt's office was in the Kelly tower that was nestled in a curve of a tributary of the Pedernales River. The plate-glassed walls afforded him a nice view of Whiskey River's historic downtown.
Over the last few days there had been times when he was sure he'd caught a glimpse of Juliette walking through Founder's Square past the statue of Booze. But he knew that was simply wishful thinking.
"Nice. But then relaxing on a beach for a week with the woman of my dreams-what else would you expect?" Ryder said with a wide grin.
"Glad to hear it. We missed you at the Boots and Bangles gala."
"Don't I know it? My momma wasn't too happy that we skipped it but Addison and I needed a honeymoon. How was Paloma?"
His mom had been full of herself as usual. The party was her baby and had been since Boots and she had married. If there was one thing Paloma and Boots had agreed on, it was that she knew how to throw a damned fine party.
"Not happy at first that the Blues were there but she relented a little later in the evening. I know she'd deny it but I think Nicholas charmed her. That man is hell on wheels for women. If I had a sister I'd lock her up while he was in town," Wyatt said.
Ryder laughed. "Anything else fun happen?" Ryder asked. "Did the Blues start any trouble?"
"Nah," Wyatt said. "Everyone enjoyed themselves."
He hadn't seen Juliette since he'd left Lavender House on the rainy Sunday afternoon. He'd left her. There were no two ways about it. But he hadn't been able to forget her. The taste of her lingered in his mouth and he'd had a tough time sleeping the last three nights.
And normally that was more than enough with any woman. But she'd haunted him since the last time he'd seen her.
He dreamt about her. Saw her when he was walking through the halls of the ranch house and even one time thought he smelled her perfume on the wind.
Of course he hadn't. It was some sensory hallucination that made him believe the woman he'd thought one night with would be enough was haunting him.
After all the women he'd loved and left, it might be some sort of karmic payback. But hell that didn't mean he liked it.
"Can I get you a drink?" Wyatt asked his cousin as Ryder started pulling out papers from his briefcase.
"I'm good. I had the papers drawn up that you asked for. I really think you should reconsider your position on the factory. The deal isn't in Kelly Boots' favor," Ryder said.
"It's better this way. Juliette and Ariana need the factory up and running sooner rather than later. I had the resources to get it all fitted out to the plans they wanted. This isn't a Kelly Boots deal, Ryder. This is to come from my personal account."
"Okay, but I doubt they are going to want to take a hand-out. They are both pretty fierce when it comes to business," Ryder said.
"Just go to Juliette," Wyatt said. "She'll understand why I did it." He didn't want Juliette in his office looking all business-like while he was picturing her in his bed.
"Okay. This contract with Nicholas as a spokesman for Kelly Boots. It only will be worth our time if he can get back on the circuit, and we have yet to come to an agreement about that. I did a damn good job of making sure none of you boys could get out of it per Uncle Boots' request."
"Yeah, you sure were loyal to him," Wyatt said.
"Hey, I thought we were past that. I let you kick my ass at poker," Ryder said.
"Let me? I beat you fair and square," Wyatt said. "We could use him as a spokesperson. Even if he's not on the circuit we could have his poster up in our sales stalls."
"Good point. I will finalize that document and get it over to Nicholas to sign," Ryder said.
Ryder collected the contracts that Wyatt had signed and a few minutes later his cousin left. Wyatt stood up and walked over to his window, looking down on Whiskey River. The town was so much a part of his history, his life; he often wondered how the Blues felt coming here and learning that they were part of the Kelly clan. There was a statue in the square of Booze Kelly their ancestor who had spilled barrels of whiskey into the river giving the town its name.
He'd grown up with it.
No matter what Juliette had said there was no way that they could ever have been two people without a history. She knew his and he only sort of knew hers. That she'd run off to Paris after she'd graduated high school but he had no idea what had brought her back.
He wanted to know.
He craved that information bout her the way he craved her body. He missed her kisses and the way she'd felt in his arms. But she was gone.
The way he wanted her to be. He'd been the one to put the distance between them. He'd thought … hell, it was very noble and his mom would have given him an earful for it, but he'd thought if he left her things would be back to normal for him.
But they weren't. He still missed her. Which was why he'd just made sure they'd have no reason to see each other again.
Of course if his brother married her cousin he might have to see her.
Oh, hell.
If only his big brain had been in control the night of the gala then maybe he wouldn't have given in to his desire for her. But he had.
He had.
She had.
And he wouldn't go back and erase that night for anything. He wanted more from her. But had no idea how to go about it. How to get to see her again because his entire life he'd been running. Running from the fear that he'd be like one of his parents. One who loved too much or one who loved too little. The truth was probably somewhere in between but he'd never known for sure and hadn't wanted to risk it.
Not until now.
Not until Juliette.
He'd walked away before and most of the time it had been the right choice for both him and the woman involved but this time he couldn't just move on. She was still in his mind.
He went back to his desk trying to figure out his next move when the door slammed opened and Juliette walked in.
"Really? You send your cousin to buy me off."