The woman had no idea the power her demure innocence held over him.
“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise.”
“Is it?” she cringed, enthusiasm tangling with trepidation. “I thought so at first, but then I wasn’t so sure. I tried to call, but you didn’t answer, and excitement got the better of me, so here I am.”
Her jumpy laugh drifted down his spine like a sensual stroke of her finger, striking fire to his blood.
“Looks like you’ve already been out riding this morning.”
“Nope, I haven’t even had a chance to see Storm today.” She toyed with the loose, dark braid falling over her breast. Her face, beautiful by any measure, broke into a confident glow. “But apparently I earned the title of Rancher this morning.”
A host of feelings ranging from thrilled to disheartened sucker punched him so hard it momentarily robbed him of words. Walker Ranch was rapidly becoming the most complicated tipping point of his existence. Complexities of his heart tangled with complicated business prospects. Dreams and goals he’d envisioned since he was a boy, now battled against one another in his mind and heart.
Turmoil swiftly retreated from his inner discourse witnessing the giddiness building in the up ticked lines surrounding her gorgeous mouth.
Ignoring the frenzied thumping of his heart, Nash offered, “Congratulations! What brought this on?”
Lifting a small shoulder, she tossed him an easy shrug, but exhilaration rode through her honey-colored eyes like a wild horse galloping through an open field. Wiggling in her boots, she pranced toward him, pride and excitement oozing from every pore.
“I delivered my first calf this morning!”
“Now that’s a trade you don’t learn every day.”
Throwing out a checkmark with her pointer finger, she snickered, “I’m adding that to the one thousand and one other things I never expected to do in my life.”
Closing the short distance between them, she sauntered toward him. Nash opened his arms and captured her around the waist, molding her body to his frame. Burrowing his face into the curve of her neck, he buried his own disappointment beneath the layers of her bliss.
Nash cupped the side of her jaw in his palm, coasting a thumb across her cheek. The familiar fresh scent of lavender blended with sunshine and outdoors, flooding his senses with her untamed spirit. His gaze lingered over her striking features, studying every detail of each lightly freckled curve.
Oblivious of her own strength and the power it possessed, her beauty was only enhanced by her growing fearlessness.
“I’m so proud of you. Monty didn’t let you name it, did he?”
The tips of her shoulders sagged as she huffed out a tender breath. “No. I tried, but they weren’t having it.”
“Never name your livestock.” He gave a soft double tap to the tip of her petite nose. “It’s not a wise idea to get too attached.”
A rattle of awareness vibrated through him, unsure if the cautionary words were meant for her safety or his own. She leaned in close, capturing his bottom lip between her teeth, taking an intimate nibble as she wedged her hips between his thighs. Extinguishing the alarms going off in his head, he took her mouth, devouring the sultry kiss she offered, one lick at a time.
Ember eased out of the connection, her sweet breath drifting over his face as she nuzzled her nose to his. The open display of affection spurred an onslaught of strange feelings that mysteriously appeared every time she was in his presence.
Their eyes caught, and he sank into the dark brown abyss, drinking her in like a fine whiskey. Bringing her hands to his chest, she released a sensual sigh and burrowed into the crook of his neck, melting against his sculpted frame.
“Are you busy?” Lusty hopefulness sang in her quiet voice.
Manipulating the end of her braid between his fingers, Nash explained, “I have a—"
The loud thud of the front door closing, followed by the sound of high heels clicking on the stone veranda, drew a sharp twist of Ember’s neck. As a head full of bleached blonde hair came into view at the top of the grand stairs, Nash felt her stiffen a little before breaking their embrace, putting a few inches between them.
Gathering her hand in his, he cleared his throat announcing gruffly, “Ember, this is my younger sister, Susie. Susie this is—”
“Half. Half-sister,” she interjected, batting her extended lashes melodramatically. Gliding down the stairs, spitefulness forged into a sneer as she tossed an icy glare between them. “Sam and I are brother and sister. Nash is our half-brother.”
It was an explanation, a redundant dig, he’d heard a hundred fucking times over his lifetime. Nash had one exploitable weakness, and his sister basked in the pleasure of watching him squirm every chance she got. The vile bitterness that charged through her wretched heart only got worse with age and alcohol. There was no way for him to prepare Ember for the possibilities of what might come out of Susie’s mouth. You never knew when it was coming or how bad it would be. You just knew it was going to be a shitstorm.
Ember winced drawing a tender gasp of air into her throat at the layer of contempt riddling his sister’s tone.
Susie’s arrogance bled through any forced subtleties. “So, you’re Walker’s daughter, huh?”
“Weren’t you just leaving?” Nash delivered a cool, curt response. Attempting to shield Ember from the oncoming verbal assault, he straightened his stance edging his way in front of her.
“I have a few minutes.” Pleasant disdain dripped from Susie’s tone, raking over Ember in a tortuous performance as she paraded her way down the steps. “So, you’re the big secret.”
Through the grip of their connected hands, Nash felt Ember recoil at Susie’s brashness. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her lips downturn, pushing her mouth into a tight line.
“Excuse me?”
“You must be the love child everyone is buzzing about.” Susie curled her fingers into quotation marks while tossing out a scornful eye roll.
An edge of anger cut through Ember’s gaze like a bolt of lightning falling from the sky. “What the—”
A protective growl rose in his throat, igniting the weighted air. His composure fractured. Nash moved between them, shielding Ember from the sharp fangs protruding out from beneath his sister’s lips.
“Get the fuck out of here, Susie. Take your trash talk somewhere else.”
“Figures, you’d stick up for her.”
Dark rage boiled through him causing an extreme shift in his demeanor, a feeling of protection he’d never felt so vehemently before. His nostrils flared with each labored breath.
“Don’t you have one of Dad’s colleagues to blow?” He spit through gritted teeth.
Susie’s obnoxious smile splintered.
“You do make the perfect pair.” She scoffed indignantly, hurling daggers at Nash over her shoulder as she slithered toward her car.
Ember stepped out from behind him and squared her shoulders, calling out before Susie slammed her car door, “Yes, yes we do make the perfect pair.”
Fury reverberated through her like the force of turbulent water making its way over the boulders in the river that separated their properties. The heavy rise and fall of her chest sent a rush of her breath wafting against his neck.