Hot. Moist. Decadent. Images of Dustin drizzled in chocolate, her tongue tracing the path of the sweet, sticky substance, teased her brain. She nearly came. She wanted him, despite the war raging in her head, despite the stress of settling Gran‟s estate.
She looked into his eyes, popped a bite of chocolate into her mouth and slowly chewed. Her tongue snaked out to catch a crumb from her lower lip, and she moaned, savoring the dessert. She imagined sucking the brownie from his cock, smearing the frosting on her breasts and letting him lick it off…
“Mmm, you are absolutely right. I‟ll have to ask the cook if I can borrow some of that frosting for tonight.” Stew on that, Dustin Dumen.
She brushed past him and walked out of the lodge with as much calm as her racing heart could muster.
“Where are you going?” Bridgette called, catching up to her on the sidewalk.
Shannon shrugged. She didn‟t want to talk about her reawakened feelings for Dustin. “I‟m tired, I need a nap.”
“A nap?” Her cousin‟s nose wrinkled up in a confused scowl. “It‟s too late for a nap.”
She fought back an impatient sigh. “You and the rest of the girls go out shopping and do what you planned to do for a few hours. It‟s been a long day, and I‟m wiped out.” Not to mention she still had to deal with her mother at some point. Carolyn had left three messages on her cell phone. Gran would have been disappointed if Shannon didn‟t return the calls and face her demons head on.
Bridgette gripped Shannon‟s hand. “Honey, you know I‟m here if you need to talk, right?”
Shannon laughed. “Oh, for pity sake, I‟m tired, not suicidal. Get out of here.”
They hugged and Bridgette turned on her heel and rejoined her friends in the main lodge. Shannon trudged up the sidewalk to her cabin. Once inside, she flopped on the bed and called her mother.
“Shannon, it‟s about time you called. We need to deal with this estate stuff.”
“Hello to you, too, Mother. Why, yes, I did make it back safely from Paris.” She rolled her eyes. Carolyn Piermont had always had a one-track mind—and it was permanently stuck on money.
“Don‟t be a bitch, Shannon. I simply want to get everything settled so we can get on with our lives.”
Shannon‟s mind automatically translated her mother‟s statement. I want to grab my inheritance and sell my portion of the farm so I can get even more money.
“As you‟ve stated time and time again.” Her spine stiffened and her skin crawled with anger. “I take it you‟ve seen the attorney about the will?”
Carolyn heaved a sigh. “That old crony refused to tell me anything until you were back in town. Now that you are, we‟ll go see him first thing in the morning.”
Typical.The woman never bothered to worry about anyone else‟s plans or thoughts. The world was supposed to revolve around Carolyn. God, she missed Gran. “Fine. The sooner the better.”
Shannon ended the call, her heart heavy. Not once had Carolyn asked about her life in New York or if she was happy. After all these years, she thought she‟d be over Carolyn‟s lack of maternal instincts. But she wasn‟t and the woman‟s curt treatment still rankled.
A yawn overtook her, and she dropped her phone to the bed. There was over an hour before the bonfire, and if she had any hope of staying awake for any part of it, she needed a nap.
****
Swaying meadows and dancing butterflies gave
way to cicadas buzzing under the hot Texas sun. Shannon sat on a checkered blanket by a babbling creek. A shadow blocked the sun, and Dustin stood there, a mouth-watering grin on his full lips. “I hope you don‟t mind me dropping in on you. I thought we could get caught up without an audience.”
Shannon nodded dumbly and patted the blanket beside her in silent invitation. A quick peek revealed no one else lurking about. She studied him. Tight denim clung to his long legs, and instead of his typical wrangler shirt, he wore a snug navy T-shirt. Her mouth watered and her pussy clenched. God, he was fucking sexy.
He sank to the ground and trailed a finger down her cheek bone, bending so his mouth hovered above hers. Her body quivered with delight. “It‟s really good to see you, Shay.”
He produced a basket from behind his back. It contained a bottle of wine, glasses, and a platter of assorted cheese and fruit. He set the basket on the blanket and uncorked the bottle. After filling a glass, he handed her the white wine along with a small plate of food. “I noticed you didn‟t eat much at dinner and thought you could use a snack.”
“Thank you.” She accepted the offering in a daze. The gesture was thoughtful, and the whole scene was a bit surreal. How often had she fantasized about coming back to Bandera to be like this—all warm and romantic—with Dustin?
She took a sip of wine. Cool sweetness bathed her tongue. A bite of cheddar cheese followed the wine. “Mmm.” His presence intimidated her, looming, sucking up all the oxygen in the air. “So what do you want to talk about?”
He lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug. “What else? I want to talk about us, the us that could have been if you hadn‟t walked out, and the us we can be now that you‟re back.”
She barely kept her mouth from falling open. Did he really think they had another chance? The possibility threw her off guard. She had quit her job as a stylist in New York to come home and work for another house in San Antonio. She chewed absently on another piece of cheese.
She finally raised her gaze to find Dustin watching her, a smile playing on his lips. “What now?”
Hi smile grew. “You practically purr when you eat.”
“I don‟t purr.”
Hazel eyes sparkled in amusement. “You most certainly do, and it‟s sexy as hell.”
“There‟s nothing wrong with enjoying food.” Shannon popped a bite of cantaloupe into her mouth for emphasis and washed the fruit down with a sip of wine. Sweet melon mixed with the slight tang of Riesling, the flavors blending and dancing across her taste buds. She couldn‟t help it when she moaned.
Dustin raised a perfectly arched sandy eyebrow. “That good, huh?”
Shannon nodded and treated herself to another bite and sip. Deep in fruit bliss, she chewed slowly and dropped her head back. “You‟ve got to try it.”
“Don‟t mind if I do,” he murmured and claimed her lips with his own.
