Protector: Doms of Mountain Bend Book 1 BJ Wane (best books to read for teens txt) 📖

“I can add Walleye to my short list of fish I’ll eat. Fresh caught is much better.” Lisa took her last bite, enjoying the breeze as they sat out on Shawn’s deck finishing dinner.

“My reaction was the same the first time I ate a catch, and I didn’t like fish at all at the time. Miss Betty always insisted we try a new food once, no matter how much one of us would balk. Eventually, we did it without fuss just to please her. Split the last roll with me.”

He picked up the soft roll from the bakery in town and buttered it, her attention drifting to his long fingers, and how he’d broken through her block, touching her in just the right way. She hadn’t figured out yet why his plunging strokes inside her pussy, his pressure against her clit, and his voice in her ear had set her off where Master Wade’s same expertise had failed.

“Oh, you go ahead. I’m full,” she stated as he held half the roll out to her. “I’ll take the dishes inside then get going.”

He had grilled vegetables along with the fish, and it was the best meal she could remember eating in a long time, that was what she kept telling herself as he helped clear the table and carry the dishes inside the cabin home. It was better to believe food was the reason for the contented warmth in her abdomen as she’d sat across from him and the burning intensity of his focused gaze for the past hour.

Lisa set the plates next to the large stainless steel sink. The inside of his house mirrored the log structure of the exterior with some walls of smooth, rounded logs and others covered with sheet rock and painted off-white. The high ceiling boasted dark wood beams and low-hanging fans in both the den and dining area, and several large windows let in an abundance of natural light.

“Will you join me at the club tonight?” he asked as she turned from the counter and he took her elbow.

“Sure, but I’ll meet you there. I have to change clothes.”

A wicked gleam entered his eyes. “I can bring one of my shirts for you to change into.”

She liked that idea way too much, since donning his clothing would hint at an intimacy that was neither true nor wise to wish for in a temporary relationship. “Thanks, but then I won’t have my car and it’s way out of the way to come back here to get it afterward.”

“Not if you stay the night.”

That idea appealed even more than wearing his shirt, and she tried stepping back from him and the longing to take him up on the offer, but he kept hold of her arm and shook his head. Without his hat, his thick hair fell forward, framing his rugged face.

“If you’re not ready, just say so, don’t retreat. I thought we had moved past that defense mechanism of yours now that you’ve reminded me when and where we’ve met before.”

“That doesn’t change the fact…”

“Yes, I know,” he cut in, displeasure coloring his voice, “you’re only here a short time.” He started to say something else then obviously thought better of it, huffing in frustration instead. “I’ll walk you out, and see you soon, then.”

Feeling braver and excited about returning to Spurs for another scene with him, Lisa grinned and went up on her toes to brush a kiss on his corded neck. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“So am I.”

Chapter Seven

A vehicle approaching from the direction of Clayton’s place snagged Shawn’s attention from shutting Lisa’s car door, and he stood back as she started for town. He cringed, recognizing Miss Betty’s purple Mazda realizing she was close enough to have seen him telling Lisa goodbye. Not that he wasn’t always happy to see her, he was. But given her penchant for lecturing them lately to find a good woman and settle down, he knew how she would take to him inviting a female friend to the ranch.

The first day he, Clayton, and Dakota had arrived on Buck’s ranch, he’d sat them down and drilled the rules into them. Number one: Show proper respect to his wife, Betty, at all times. Number two: What Betty wanted, she got. The man fucking doted on the woman, and neither he nor she was shy about expressing their love. Clayton was the only one between them raised with both parents, and Shawn remembered seeing sadness darken his friend’s eyes when Clayton had first watched the Coopers together.

If it weren’t for Miss Betty, as she’d insisted they call her, and her comforting hugs and homemade cooking to soften Buck’s gruff, strict control, Shawn doubted neither he, nor Dakota or Clayton would have given her husband a chance to turn them around. Bracing for questions he wasn’t ready to ask himself, let alone answer for someone else, he went to help her out as soon as she parked.

Taking her arm as she opened the car door, he zeroed in on the casserole carrier sitting on the passenger seat. “I was going to ask what brings you out today, but I see you’re feeding us again. At least, I hope that’s for me.”

Shawn bent down, and Miss Betty placed a hand on his chest, went up on her toes, stretching her five-foot height to five-foot-two to kiss his cheek. “I think Dakota and Clayton are already digging in, neither happy I didn’t stay and join them.”

“They forgot it was bridge night, didn’t they?” He took the wood handle of the quilted holder, catching a whiff of her mouthwatering enchiladas. “I wish I hadn’t just eaten. Damn that smells good. Do you have time to come in and say hi to the dogs? They know you’re here.”

She smiled,