Page 13 of Hard Rain Coming

Dallas’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’re not coming along?”

“I wish.” Benton’s mouth thinned out, his expression dark. “Aside from the fact that I have a meeting with my lawyer tomorrow, one I can’t miss, I don’t want to leave Nora for that long. Cal and Millie are busy with their new baby, and Scarlett and Taz have their hands full with three. And Viv, well, like I said, she’s not the mothering type. Wouldn’t be good for either of them.”

“Fair enough. Don’t worry about things. We’ll get the herd moved down to the southern pastures and ready for winter.” He opened the truck door. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Oh,” Benton said, moving out of the way. “I almost forgot. Lenora showed up around an hour ago, and I think she might be at your place.”

Shit. “Thanks.”

On one hand, Dallas wasn’t in the mood for any kind of company, but he supposed if he had no choice, a nice quick session between the sheets with Lenora would be the kind of company he was looking for.

Ten minutes later, he pulled into his driveway and spotted her rusted-out Chevy parked where it shouldn’t be. He frowned, knowing it was useless to dwell on it, but damn, he’d told the woman more than once to park to the side.

Pansy, a gray-and-white mix of shepherd and wolf, came loping up from the barn, and he gave the dog a good scratch before wandering down the lane. He’d check on his animals, then head inside to get laid. If God was in a giving mood, Lenora would be on her way home before he had to ask her to leave.

As it turned out, Lenora wasn’t exactly in a giving mood. She sat at the kitchen counter and scowled when he walked inside.

“Where were you last night?”

Dallas chucked his jacket and walked over to her, blood thick and thoughts dark. Lenora was an attractive woman who knew the drill. But at the moment, it appeared she’d tossed aside the rules he’d laid down when they first started up together. Mainly, she had no say in his life, and he wasn’t interested in anything they did outside the bedroom.

Her blonde hair hung in silky waves down her back, and those baby blues flashed with anger. She glanced at him and pouted, her plump lips exaggerated as she looked up at him from beneath her long, obviously fake, lashes.

“I waited for over an hour,” she said, facing him and gesturing toward the general vicinity of her body. She leaned forward. “The men who are lucky enough to get some of this don’t make me wait. Ever.” She emphasized ever. “You were supposed to meet me.”

Christ, she was whining.

“I helped Benton with a problem.”

“No shit.” Her lips thinned. “I heard the problem was Vivian Bridgestone.” She said the name as if it were poison on her tongue.

“We’re not talking about her.”

Lenora opened her mouth to speak, but he moved so fast, he saw the surprise that lit up her eyes. Something dark unfurled inside him. Something that had nothing to do with Lenora. He leaned down, all that anger and darkness inside him boiling over. He needed an outlet, and she would do.

“If you’re not here to screw, then leave.”

Her eyes widened. He should have felt bad for being such a bastard, but the truth was that he wanted her to leave more than he wanted to screw her. Which, in and of itself, was sad because she was right. Not many men would turn her away. What the hell was wrong with him?

She was silent for a few moments, then, decision made, pushed him back so that she could slide off the chair. There was no more talk. She reached for his belt and undid his jeans, freeing his cock with expert hands.

She knelt down and took him into her mouth, while his hands sank into all that blonde hair that fell over her shoulders. As she worked him over, Dallas’s head rolled back. This felt good. Real good.

And yet it wasn’t a blonde he visualized as he slammed his eyes shut and held her in place. It was a brunette with shots of copper in her dark hair and eyes that had drops of the sky in them. This wasn’t right. Using Lenora while the ghosts of his past wandered his head.

And yet, bastard that he was, he’d take it. All of it. And hope that it chased away the shadows.

Chapter Five

“Can I pet your doggie?”

It was Monday afternoon, and Vivian was in the backyard doing what it was she did every day, which wasn’t much at all. She’d been sitting in the sun for the past hour, enjoying the fall warmth and quiet. She’d brought a book along, but hadn’t managed to get past page three.

“What’s your doggie’s name?” Her niece Nora crept closer, blue eyes wide with interest. The little girl had given Vivian a wide berth since she’d been back in Montana, probably because she sensed just how nervous little people made Vivian. But a dog, it seemed, was enough to draw her in. Enough to engage this stranger who was her aunt.

“When I got her, she was named Lilith, but I call her Lily.”

“Why?” Curious, Nora was now an inch or so away, her long blonde hair a mess of tangles that needed a brush. Badly. Sheesh, didn’t her brother own one?