Page 90 of Spilling the Tea

“I need you to look at me, baby.”

When her gaze locked on his, something happened. She wasn’t sure exactly what. All she knew was she felt the connection and knew he did, too. Then she felt his muscles tighten, and his erection seemed to expand even more inside of her when he threw his head back and yelled her name. Not once, but twice. The nerves in her body sizzled, her brain raced, and her inner muscles continued to contract, trying to pull everything he had to give, and she willingly took.

As the storm raged outside, inside her bedroom, locked in each other’s arms, they were determined to take each other to a place of excruciating pleasure. And they did. Over and over again.

***

The sun’s rays slipped through the window blinds, and Chance came awake and immediately knew something was different. He was in bed with a woman curled in his arms. He’d awakened in such a position plenty of times, but never had doing so felt so right—like this was where he belonged.

The scent of their lovemaking lingered in the air, and he inhaled its essence. Last night had been wild…and it had touched him in a way no other lovemaking session had. This was thefirst time he’d thought of it as making love and not having sex. She wasn’t a woman to just take to bed; she was a woman he could share a beer with, go dancing with, and have deep discussions with. She was also a great equestrian, making him believe the claim she’d learned to ride as a child. She was also a woman who wouldn’t hesitate to give him hell if she felt it was warranted. She’d done it once, and there was no doubt she could and would do so again. He was all for it.

Zoey stirred in his arms, and he glanced down at her, wanting her to see him when she opened her eyes. She did, and the way her lips curved in a smile nearly took his breath away. He was no longer swamped with conflicting emotions and knew exactly what he wanted. When she eased up to offer her lips to him, he took her mouth with a pang of hunger and urgency he doubted he would ever get used to. Zoey Pritchard could rock his world. Instead of letting it be a turnoff, it was a turn-on.

Chance released her mouth, lay there, and held her because he thought the moment had called for him to do so. He wanted to do so. They had shared an extraordinary night, and he intended for them to have a similar day. “Hungry?”

She chuckled. “Why? Are you going to feed me?”

“Yes, at my place. The weather has cleared, and the sun is out. Maybe we can try our luck riding to the fruit grove, and you can spend the day with me. This is the third Sunday of the month, so Mom expects me to show up for dinner. I’d like you to come with me.”

She pulled back. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. “What will they think?”

He reached out and caressed her cheek. “They will think I’ve come to my senses. They’re already crediting you for making me want to live again.”

“I can’t take credit for that.”

“Yes, you can.” And he meant that more than she would ever know.

Later that night, when Zoey slid between the covers alone, she couldn’t help but recall how her day had gone. They had made love again while their clothes were drying. Then they showered, got dressed, and rode the horses to his ranch. After feeding the horses, they went into his ranch house and prepared breakfast together. For a man who’d just told her last week that he didn’t invite women to his home for a meal, he definitely didn’t mind having her there a second time.

After breakfast, they saddled the horses and rode to the fruit grove. After picking plenty of grapes and other fruits, they returned to the cabin for lunch. He’d left and told her he would return in a few hours to take her to dinner. It was nice meeting his parents and grandparents.

It had been good seeing Reese and Kenna again, and she got to meet their adorable twins, Landon and London. She also met his brother Emerson and liked him immediately.

It was apparent his family was surprised when she walked in with him, but they’d made her feel right at home, and before long, she felt like part of the family. Chance would be leaving tomorrow to attend a special three-day meeting with the Texas Cattlemen’s Club in Austin with his uncle Jake and brother Reese, and wouldn’t be back until Thursday.

Keeping true to his word not to make their relationship just about sex, Chance had helped her wash the fruit and packaged it up. He would show her how to make wine from grapes next weekend. When she had walked him to the door, he had kissed her goodbye and left. And boy, what a kiss it had been.

Now she was in bed and ready to read the rest of her great-grandmother’s diary. She anticipated meeting with Ms. Felicia on Tuesday. She had a lot of questions to ask; specifically, why she hadn’t told her about Waylon’s engagement to Victoria Madaris.

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Iappreciate you taking me to the mall to pick up my knitting supplies, Zoey.”

“I’m happy to do so. Thank you for agreeing to talk to me today instead of Thursday. I read my great-grandmother Deedra’s diary, and I have some questions I need to ask.”

When she arrived at Whispering Pines, Ms. Felicia said she needed to go into town and asked if Zoey would take her. Her son Jake was in Austin, and Diamond had left to take the kids to Jonathan and Marilyn’s house to visit Justin and Lorren’s kids, who were in town.

“Go ahead and ask your questions, dear.”

“Thank you. Why didn’t you tell me my great-grandfather Waylon had been engaged to Victoria Madaris? It was in Deedra’s diary, along with why they married.”

Ms. Felicia didn’t say anything for a minute, and then she said. “I didn’t think sharing that information with you was important. He and Deedra were married for fourteen years before she died.”

“I know, but it was a sad situation for the both of them.She never stopped loving her deceased husband, and he never stopped loving Victoria. Although Waylon and Victoria’s story was told through Deedra, it was based on what he’d shared with her, and I could still feel the love he had for Victoria.”

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