I closed my eyes tight in a flinch.

Boy, Tate could land a verbal blow.

Carefully, I rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling thinking of all Tate said, all Wood said, all Wood didn’t say and all I didn’t know about Tate.

Then I thought about my Dad, who still worked the farm even though he had a couple boys he’d hired to help him do it. Then I thought about if he could, or should, continue doing that and if he couldn’t, or shouldn’t, what would happen to our farm.

Then I thought about Tate more.

This took awhile and included me attempting to get comfortable and find sleep in three different positions. After I tried the third, I knew sleep wasn’t going to come.

Moving cautiously so as not to wake Tate, I slid the covers back and started toward the opposite side of the bed, trying to remember where Tate threw my pajamas.

I didn’t even get close to the edge of the bed before an arm hooked around my belly and I was on my back in the bed.

“Where you goin’?” Tate muttered, his voice drowsy.

“Can’t sleep or get comfortable,” I whispered. “You go back to sleep, I’ll –”

I stopped talking because Tate rolled me to face him then his hand slid over my bottom.

“Happen every night?” he murmured, still sounding sleepy.

“No, honey,” I answered, pushing lightly against his chest. “Go back to sleep.”

He lifted his head and then his face was in my neck.

“On the road,” he said there, his hands moving on me, “at night, I’d lie awake wonderin’ if you were sleepin’ okay.”

“That doesn’t sound very focused,” I whispered as his hand slid down my hip, my leg and then lifted my leg at the knee to hook it around his hip.

It didn’t sound very focused but it sure sounded sweet.

“It wasn’t,” he whispered back and I felt his teeth nip my ear, his beard tickling my jaw and neck, his hand slid between my legs and his fingers moved whisper-soft against me.

“Tate,” I breathed as I moved my h*ps to press into his hand.

“Like that, Laurie,” he murmured.

“What?” I breathed again as his hand kept moving, still soft, so light.

God, such a beautiful tease.

He’d done that a lot earlier. It wasn’t fast and hard like the first time. Tate was a man who knew how to take his time and make a woman’s body sing.

“Those little hitches,” he answered, lips still at my ear.

“Hitches?”

“In your breath,” he explained. “You gettin’ excited, like to hear that, baby.”

His finger suddenly slid inside and my neck arched back as my back arced forward.

“Yes,” I whispered, my arms moving around him to hold on tight as his finger moved in and out.

“Christ,” he whispered, “like that too.”

“Not as much as me.”

I felt his lips form a smile against my neck. His thumb trailed soft, teasing my clit.

My breath hitched again and my h*ps pressed into his hand.

“You like that too,” he noted.

I didn’t answer.

After more of his sweet torture, I called, “Tate, honey?”

“Yeah, baby,” he answered.

“Am I under your skin?” I whispered as my h*ps moved with his hand.

He replied instantly, “Oh yeah.” His thumb tweaked my cl*t harder, my h*ps jerked and a low mew slid out of my throat as the fingers of one of my hands slid into his hair and the other arm held on tighter. “Fuck yeah,” he growled and his lips left my ear, his mouth found mine and he kissed me, wet and deep.

Then he stopped playing and started playing which led to Tate f**king me so hard, when he was done, I couldn’t move.

Luckily Tate could move. He rolled me so my back was pressed to his front, his arms both went around me tight, his knee bent, taking mine with it and his weight settled into me, pressing my front into the bed.

“Sleep, Ace,” he muttered into my hair and I heard him but I heard him a nanosecond before I was out.

Chapter Eleven

I Ain’t Fifteen

I woke before Tate and laid in bed listening to him breathe. I was again tucked to his back with my arm resting on his waist and I could see the eagle close up.

I stared at that eagle inked into Tate’s skin and it hit me.

I was under that skin.

Me.

This beautiful man in front of me had me under his skin.

I smiled and lightly kissed the eagle’s wing at his shoulder blade then carefully left the bed. I went to the bathroom, brushed and flossed my teeth, washed my face and grabbed my shampoo, conditioner, bath wash, shave gel and razor. I got in the shower, did my business, got out, toweled off and wrung out my hair. Then I wrapped the towel around me, quietly left the bathroom and went to my suitcase.

I was pawing through it, thinking I’d go with the baby pink and ecru lace underwear when I heard movement in the bed.

I started to turn but didn’t finish when a strong arm was locked around my belly, my feet were off the floor and my body was turned sharply toward the bed.

Automatically my knees came up, my hands went to his forearm and I shrieked a girlie, “Tate!”

He made no response because we were at the bed, he twisted and we were falling, Tate on his back, me on top of him. He let me go and I rolled off his body but didn’t get very far when he tagged me and dragged me back so I was under his big, heavy frame.

“Took a shower without me, Ace,” he growled, his deep voice rougher with lingering sleep, his handsome face soft with it but his eyes were intense in a way that was too sexy for words.

“You were asleep,” I told him.

“Consequences,” he muttered and before I could respond to that bizarre reply, his body shifted, he yanked the towel off me and my whole body jerked with the force he used.

“Tate!” I girlie shrieked again but his body rolled back over mine and then he captured my mouth with his.

Then I found out that consequences for not waking Tate to take a shower with me were so divine, after he was done meting them out and I was lying face down in bed unable to move while I listened to him shower, I decided I’d sneak a shower without him at any given chance.

The problem was, the shower I had with him was just as divine.

Lucky for me, these were my problems.

* * * * *