she’d first left him, she’d prayed that he’d follow her, take her home and make everything right. When he hadn’t, it had broken her heart. But she’d tried to go on. To rebuild her life. She found a new job. Found an apartment. Made friends.
And still there was something missing.
A part of her she’d left here, at the ranch.
With him.
Looking up into the dark blue eyes that had captivated her from the first, she said, “Don’t stop, Justice. Please don’t stop.”
He kissed her, hard and long and deep. His tongue pushed into her mouth, claiming her in a frenzy of passion so strong she felt the tide of it swamp her, threaten to drown her in an overload of sensation.
From the top of her head to the tips of her toes, Maggie felt a rush of heat that was incredible. As if she were literally on fire, she felt her skin burn, her blood boil and her heart thunder in her chest. While his mouth took hers, his clever fingers unzipped her slacks so that he could slide one hand down the front of her, beneath the fragile elastic of her panties to the swollen, hot flesh awaiting him.
She shivered as he stroked her intimately. She parted her legs for him, letting her slacks slide down to pool on the floor. She didn’t care where they were. Didn’t care about anything but feeling his hands on her again. Maggie nearly wept as he pushed first one finger and then two deep inside her.
Sucking in a gulp of air, she let her head fall back as she rode his hand, rocking her hips, seeking the release only he could give her. The passion she’d only ever found with him. She heard his own breath coming hard and fast as he continued to stroke her body inside and out. His thumb worked that so sensitive bud of flesh at the heart of her, and Maggie felt her brain sizzle as tension coiled inside her, tighter, tighter.
“Come for me, Maggie,” he whispered. “Let me watch you shatter.”
She couldn’t have denied him even if she’d wanted to. It had been too long. She’d missed him too much. Maggie held on to his shoulders, fingers curling into the soft fabric of the long-sleeved shirt he wore, digging into his hard muscles.
Her mind spun, splintering with thoughts, images, while her body burned and spiraled even closer to its reward. She’d never felt anything like this with any man before him. And after Justice…she’d had no interest in other men. He was the one. She’d known it the moment she’d met him three years before. One look across a crowded dance floor at a charity event and she’d known. Instantly. It was as if everything in the world had held utterly still for one breathless moment.
Just like now.
There was nothing in the world but him and his hands. His touch. His scent. “Justice—I need…”
“I know, baby. I know just what you need. Take it. Take me.” He touched her deeper, pushing his fingers inside her, stroking her until her breath strangled in her throat.
Until she could only groan and hold on to him. Until her body trembled and the incredible tension within shattered under an onslaught of pleasure so deep, so overwhelming, all she could do was shout his name as wave after wave of completion rolled over her, through her, leaving her dazed and breathless.
And when the tremors finally died away, Maggie stared up into Justice’s lake-blue eyes and watched him smile. She was standing in the living room, with her pants down, trembling with the force of her reaction to him. She should have been…embarrassed. After all, anyone could have walked into the ranch house.
Instead, all Maggie felt was passion stirring inside again. His hands were talented, heaven knew. But she wanted more. She wanted the slide of Justice’s body into hers.
Licking her lips, she blew out a breath and said, “That was…”
“…just the beginning,” he finished for her.
Chapter Two
Sounded good to Maggie.
Yet… She glanced around the empty room before looking back at him. “Mrs. Carey’s not here, but—”
“Nobody’s here,” he said quickly. “No one’s coming. No one is going to interrupt us.”
Maggie sighed in relief. She didn’t want any interruptions. Justice was right about one thing—their past was gone. The future was gray and hazy. All she had was today. This minute. This one small slice of time, and she was going to relish every second of it.
Her fingers speared through his thick, soft hair, her nails dragging along his scalp. He always kept it too long, she thought idly, loving the way the dark brown mass lay across his collar. He had a day’s worth of dark stubble on his jaws, and he looked so damned sexy he made her quiver.
Her breasts ached for his touch and as if he’d heard that stray thought, he pulled back from her slightly, just far enough so that his fingers could work the buttons on her pale pink silk blouse. Quickly, they fell free and then he was sliding the fabric off her shoulders to drop to the floor. She stepped out of her slacks, kicked off her half boots and slipped her lacy panties off.
Then he undid her bra, tossing it aside, and her breasts were free, his hands cupping her. His thumbs moved over her peaked nipples until she whimpered with the pleasure and the desire pumping fresh and new through her system. As if that climax hadn’t even happened, her body was hot and trembling again.
Need crashed down on her, and at her core she ached and burned for him.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, drawing his mouth from hers, glancing down at her breasts, cupped in his palms. “So damn beautiful.”
“I want you, Justice. Now. Please, now.”
One corner of his mouth tipped into a wicked smile. His eyes flashed and in an instant he’d swept her up into his arms, stalked across the room and dropped her onto one of the wide sofas. She stared up at him as he tugged his shirt up and over his head. And her mouth watered. His skin, so tanned, so strong, so sculpted. God, she remembered all the nights she’d lain in his arms, held against that broad, warm chest. And she trembled at the rise of passion inside her.
She scooted back on the sofa until her head was resting on a pillow. Maggie held her arms out toward him. “What’re you waiting for, cowboy?”
His eyes gleamed, his jaw went tight and hard. He finished undressing in a split second but still Maggie thought he was taking too long. She didn’t want to wait. She was hot and wet and so ready for him that she thought she’d explode and die if he didn’t take her soon.
He came to her and Maggie’s gaze dipped to his erection, long and thick and hard. Her breath caught on a gasp of anticipation as Justice leaned down, tore the back cushions off the sofa and tossed them to the floor to make more room for them on the overstuffed couch. The dark green chenille fabric was soft and cool against her skin, but Maggie hardly noticed that slight chill. There was far too much heat simmering inside her, and when Justice covered her body with his, she could have sworn she felt actual flames sweeping over them.
“I’ve missed you, babe,” he told her, bracing himself on his hands, lowering his mouth to hers, tasting, nibbling.
“Oh,
