Playing for Keeps (Hope Valley Book 10) Read online

  “It’s kind of a bummer they live so far away,” I lamented as I stared out the window at the streetlights whizzing by.

  “It does. I miss them a lot. We’ve always been tight, so not having them close is tough.”

  “Did you ever consider going back to Wyoming?”

  “I did for a while after I got out of the Army. But it’s hard for some people when they come back. Trying to find our place in civilian life when we’d spent so long serving our country. I didn’t want to be so far from home, but Linc’s setup was here, and I knew it was the closest I was ever going to come to feeling like I was doing what I was meant to do, you know?”

  It was the deepest into Dalton’s past that we’d ever gone, and I felt like I was getting to see a whole new side of the man I’d never expected.

  “So, all of you who work for Lincoln, you’re all former military?”

  “Yep. He got it, understood that regular nine to five jobs just wouldn’t work for some of us. He was one of those people. So he started Alpha Omega. Had a buddy who had a buddy who knew Linc, told me all about his operation, so when I got out, I came here. My folks were pissed at first, then bummed. They’d wanted me to come back. But my dad is ex-Army also, so he got it, and he eventually talked my mom around.”

  “I’m glad you have them, cowboy,” I rasped through the emotion making my throat thick. “You’re lucky. Don’t take that for granted.”

  He gave me another glance, his fingers flexing around mine, and when he spoke, he did it with so much tenderness I was thankful for the darkness of the cab so he couldn’t see my eyes had grown glassy. “I won’t, Charlotte,” he promised. “I know what I’ve got. Back in Pembrooke and also right here. I’m not taking any of it for granted. Believe me.”

  Well damn. That was really nice.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Charlotte

  I let out a sharp, keening cry as stars exploded behind my eyelids. I came so hard my thighs began to tremble, locking around Dalton’s head as he kept at me, driving his tongue as deep inside me as he could go.

  My fingers tangled in his hair in a death grip, trying to pull him away from my sensitive folds at the same time I fought to keep him right where he was.

  Before my release had a chance to taper off, Dalton moved, pushing back onto his haunches to look down at my naked body spread out across his bed.

  “Fuck, but I’ve been wanting to do that forever. Knew you’d taste fuckin’ fantastic, baby,” he grunted. “Sweet as honey.” A tremble worked its way through me as he dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, wiping my glistening arousal from his lips. I wasn’t sure why the hell watching him do that was so damn erotic, but it was, and even though I’d just come, I felt that pressure building low in my belly once more.

  He reached between his spread thighs, grasping the root of his impressive erection and giving it a squeeze. A needy whimper was ripped from my chest as he stroked himself upward, like the motion of his hand was directly connected to my body and the sounds it made.

  “Like what you see?” he asked, a glint in those liquid steel eyes that was downright wicked.

  My mouth had gone so dry as I slowly watched him jack his long, thick cock, all I could do was nod.

  The muscles in his strong, powerful thighs bunched as he moved over me, stopping for only the briefest second to press a kiss to the scar on my abdomen before finishing his climb, causing my breath to hitch. His weight felt like a warm, secure blanket. I spread my thighs, giving his hips room to press against mine, and when he dragged the underside of his cock through my folds, I sucked in a gasp. He slid back and forth, back and forth, the blunt head of his erection nudging my clit with every upward stroke.

  “Fuck me, you feel so good,” he grunted. “So hot.” His eyes came to mine, that quicksilver warm enough to heat my blood. “You on the pill, baby?”

  “Y-yeah.” I nodded in quick, jerky movements.

  His voice was abrasive and gravelly as he declared, “Want to feel you with nothin’ between us.”

  “I want that too.” Oh God, did I ever!

  That was all the encouragement he needed. He shifted his hips, pulling back just enough for the head to slip into place. As soon as it hit my opening, he drove in as deep as he could go.

  I screwed my eyes closed and threw my head back on a cry as Dalton barked out a string of curse words.

  “Jesus, fuck. You’re so goddamn tight.” He pulled out an inch and nudged back in, trying to give my pussy a chance to adjust to his size. “You okay, baby? Did I hurt you?”

  “No,” I panted, feeling a thin sheen of sweat mist over my skin. “It’s so good. So full. Need you to move, Dalton.”

  He didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled out nearly all the way before powering back in. Over and over.

  I’d never felt anything so incredible in all my life. His thick shaft stroked places inside of me that had never been reached, not even with the vibrator I’d spent way too much on during a time in my life—not so long ago—when I’d sworn men off for good.

  “Mmm, Dalt,” I moaned, wrapping one leg around his driving hips while bracing the other in the mattress so I could raise my hips up in time with each powerful thrust.

  “Eyes, baby,” he ordered. “Let me see you.”

  I could only force my eyelids open to half-mast, but what I saw when I looked at him stole what little breath I still had in my lungs. Watching his gorgeous face, his strained jaw, the thick cords in his neck as he moved over me and inside me was, I imagined, like looking at Michelangelo’s David or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was pure, unadulterated beauty.

  “Christ,” he grunted, the driving force of his hips growing even stronger. “So fuckin’ beautiful.”

  The pressure building in my core started to grow more intense, coiling into something I knew was going to undo me so completely.

  Dalton dropped his forehead down on mine, his whole face pinching like he was in excruciating pain. “Wanted this for so goddamn long. I wanted to go slow with you, take my time,” he rasped. “But you feel too fuckin’ good.”

  God, I loved how much he wanted me. I wanted him just as badly. I craved him more than chocolate and coffee and Muffin Top’s donuts combined. “Don’t go slow,” I said, my voice coming out in a plea riddled with desperation.

  I hadn’t thought it was possible for him to fuck me harder than he already was, but his thrusts grew more brutal after that, almost punishing. There was the smallest, most infinitesimal thread of pain that only sparked the pleasure. Like adding salt to caramel, it only made it that much better.

  I lifted my arms, bracing my palms against the headboard to help keep me in place as he fucked me hard enough to drive me up the mattress.

  “Your pussy’s like a glove.” He grated, the exertion making sweat build along his forehead. “I knew you’d fit me perfectly.”

  That pressure in my belly grew and grew. “Yes, Dalton,” I hissed, quickly losing control as I powered my hips up into his. “So good.”

  “I feel you, baby. Let go. Give it to me.”

  I couldn’t hold anything back. That pressure snapped, my muscles seized, and it felt like a million fireworks were exploding into a blistering array of lights and colors inside me. I cried out so loud my ears rang and my throat burned like I’d swallowed sandpaper.

  The orgasm went on and on as Dalton plowed into me like a man possessed. I wasn’t sure if it was just one long release or several back to back, but either way, I was left boneless and utterly spent by the time Dalton shoved his face into the bend of my neck and buried himself deep inside me.

  I felt his release, every hot spurt as he came inside me, coating my sensitive walls. The sounds he made, the hard, animalistic growl that rattled his chest, was one of the best noises I’d ever heard, even better than his chuckle, and knowing I’d been the one to set him off like that sent a rush of adrenaline flooding my veins, providing a high I never wanted to come down from.


  His arms gave out and more of his weight came down on me as he sucked air back into his lungs. I trailed my fingertips in a whisper-light touch across the rigid muscles of his back as he licked and nipped at the cord in my neck.

  “Holy shit,” I said on an exhale once the power of speech came back to me. “We should have started doing that a long time ago!”

  He chuckled against my neck and pushed himself up so he could grin down at me. “Been trying to tell you that for a while now. Glad we’re finally on the same page.”

  My mouth was still gaping open as I gave my head a shake in wonderment. “I mean . . . seriously. Go us, right?” I lifted my hand for a high-five. “We should get a medal for what we just did.”

  His whole body began to shake with silent laughter, making mine jiggle with it. “Jesus, you’re cute when you’re being ridiculous.”

  I gave his shoulder a playful shove. “I mean it! Doesn’t it just feel wrong that we don’t have a stadium full of people applauding us right now?”

  “Hang on.” He leaned over, careful not to break our connection, and snatched his phone off the bedside table before coming back. He fiddled around on it for a few seconds, then, out of nowhere, the sound of people cheering and clapping filled his otherwise quiet room.

  “They make an app for everything nowadays,” he said with a grin. And a moment later, I burst into laughter.

  The applause stopped, and when I eventually got hold of myself, he was looking at me with so much affection my chest grew warm. “You good?”

  I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down as I gave that some thought. “Yeah, cowboy. I’m great.”

  He leaned in, dragging his nose along the side of mine in a gesture so intimate I swooned right there beneath him. “Good. Then I’ll let you rest up for a little bit. But fair warning, baby, I plan on doing that to you several more times before morning.”

  “Oh good,” I stated with a smirk on my face. “Something to look forward to.”

  “Sissy, please don’t go! Don’t leave me!”

  My eyes flew open, a weight like an anvil resting on my chest, making it hard to inhale or sit up. My eyes took a while to adjust to the faint early morning light barely bright enough to come through the windows, and it took a second for me to get my bearings and remember where I was.

  The voice from the dream eventually faded away, leaving me wide awake. I stayed in the comfort of Dalton’s bed, wrapped in the safety of his embrace until I felt stable enough to move.

  I didn’t want to disturb Dalton, who was sleeping soundly beside me, and I knew there was no chance of getting back to sleep, so I lifted his arm from around my waist as carefully as possible and slid out.

  I managed to find my panties and pulled them on. With no nightgown in my overnight bag at Dalton’s instruction, I tiptoed across the room, grabbing the dress shirt he’d worn the night before from the floor, and slid it on. I slipped each of the buttons into place and rolled up the sleeves as I slowly crept out of the room and down the hall.

  We’d been in kind of a rush the night before, eagerly tearing at each other’s clothes almost from the moment he put his truck into park in front of his house, so I hadn’t gotten much of a look. What I had been able to see through the headlights of his truck the night before was a gorgeous white farmhouse with a black tin roof, a huge wraparound porch, black shutters that bookended big windows, and a red door.

  That was the extent of my tour. I’d been in his arms, my legs firmly wrapped around his waist, and my lips fused to his from the front porch all the way to his room.

  This was the first chance I’d had since getting here to have a look around, and in an effort to shake off the darkness that lingered like sludge after a bad dream, I decided to take full advantage—after finding a bathroom and getting the coffee started, of course.

  Once my business was taken care of, I moved into the main part of the house, on the hunt for the kitchen. The mouth of the hallway opened up into a large, open-concept space.

  The floors were a beautiful rustic wood stained the most gorgeous grayish brown. That incredible colored wood was tied into the cathedral ceilings in the form of long, thick wooden beams that extended from the start of the living room just off the hall, all the way to the kitchen at the other end.

  The furniture was exactly what you’d expect to see in a farmhouse with a hint of masculine edge that was all Dalton: buttery distressed leather in rich browns.

  To contrast the wood floors, three of the four walls were painted a soft, creamy off-white that complemented the fourth wall at the very back of the house that was framed with huge panes of glass that allowed the sunlight to stream through.

  If I thought the view from my tiny apartment was breathtaking, it was nothing compared to what Dalton got to see every day from the comforts of his living room. The beauty of it was something you’d expect to see as a photo filter on your phone, but standing there just then, watching the sky change colors with the rising sun, was very, very real. No photo could have ever done this view justice.

  Tearing my eyes away, I hustled into the big open-plan kitchen just off the living room. White cabinetry was offset by gray concrete countertops that fit Dalton’s personality to perfection. I located everything I could possibly need to brew a pot of coffee and started one as I rummaged around the cabinets for a mug.

  Like I figured, there wasn’t any creamer in the fridge but I did find milk and a canister of sugar on the counter.

  With a cup of coffee doctored to perfection, I hustled to the door off the kitchen that led to the incredible back deck and went to watch the sunrise.

  The sun had started cresting the tops of the trees that surrounded Dalton’s property. From my vantage point, it looked and felt like I was standing in the world’s best treehouse.

  As I watched a kaleidoscope of colors burst to life in the sky, announcing a beautiful day to come, the last remaining dregs of darkness from that dream faded away with the rising sun, but even with all that beauty stretched out before me, the sadness lingered.

  Instead of shoving the memory back into that box in the coldest, darkest recesses of my mind and locking it tight so it couldn’t get out, I did something I hadn’t done in years. I closed my eyes and let it spill out, the scene playing on the back of my eyelids like an old-school film projector.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Charlotte

  I’d been so absorbed in the memory of the last time my sister and I had spoken, so overcome with the accompanying emotions swirling inside me that came with it, that I hadn’t realized Dalton was awake until his hands landed on my hips, jolting me from the past with a startled yelp.

  I whipped around, placing my hand on my chest and blowing out a breath as my heart rate returned to normal. “God, you scared me.”

  “You okay?” A concerned frown marred his chiseled features as he took the mug from my hand and set it on the railing so he could pull me against his bare, broad chest. I loved how small and safe I felt tucked against him, and as I lifted my palms to rest them on his warm skin, I felt a sense of calm I never would have suspected, given the thoughts that had just been running through my head. “I was saying your name. Thought you’d heard me.”

  I pasted a smile on my face, hoping it was passable, considering it felt more than a little stiff. “Sorry. I must have been distracted by your view.” I waved my arm outward in an effort to shift his attention to the sky beyond and off my face. “It’s beyond gorgeous out here, Dalton.”

  His eyes flicked over every inch of my face, taking it all in very closely like he was checking for any kind of deception, and when he asked, “You sure, baby?” I got the impression he read through my lie.

  I’d gotten really good at hiding my secrets over the years, but as I worked to get a lock on my emotions and get my mask firmly in place before I could give anything away, I was swamped by a sense of guilt. There was a part of me, a big part, that wanted to tell him the truth . . . about everything. B
ut I held fast to that promise I’d made years ago, even if it had only been to myself. Staying away from her was the only way I could guarantee she’d live a happy life. As much as it hurt—and it hurt worse than anything I’d ever experienced—I was determined to do it.

  “Yeah. I’m good,” I assured him, pushing up on my tiptoes to brush my lips against his. “It’s all good.”

  “You’re up early. I woke up and you weren’t in bed with me.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.” I dragged a hand through my hair, encountering tangles made from our amorous night. “I have trouble sleeping from time to time.” All the time, actually, but I didn’t feel the need to tell him that. “It’s not a big deal. I just didn’t want to wake you up.”

  He wasn’t buying it. Along with the concern that was marring his handsome brow, there was what I suspected was a hint of frustration mixed into those gunmetal eyes. He knew I was holding back, and as much as he was trying to be okay with it, I could see the struggle etched into his chiseled features and carved into the strong lines of his body. “You’re holdin’ back,” he rasped, his voice still thick with sleep. “I felt you toss and turn in your sleep last night. You can trust me, Thumbelina. You know that, right?”

  Damn it.

  I let out a breath so big it felt like my lungs were being wrung empty. “I know,” I whispered.

  His fingers beneath my chin pressed upward, tipping my face back to his. “I get you don’t feel like you can give me your secrets yet, but I’m here. I’m not goin’ anywhere, baby. One day you’ll trust that.”

  I hadn’t thought it possible to feel any guiltier than I already did, but with that caring statement, Dalton had just proved me wrong. “I’m sorry,” I breathed out, feeling small and scared of what it could mean for us if I couldn’t find the courage to give him everything.

  I wasn’t sure if it was because he could hear the desolation in my voice and knew the struggle I was waging just then was getting the best of me, but I knew he’d let it go—at least for the time being—when his penetrating gaze shifted and he gave me a rakish look. His hands slipped down to my ass, giving it a delicious squeeze. “Next time you have trouble sleeping, I want you to wake me up. Maybe I can do something to wear you out again.”