Undeniable by Alison Kent Read Free Book Online

family firm will just have to grind to an end without me.”
    “I don’t know. Hear tell Darcy’s doing all she can to stake her claim to the throne,” said Boone.
    Except Boone knew as well as Dax that Dax’s father would never crown a female successor. A pang of guilt punched the center of Dax’s chest and he struggled to draw breath. If nothing else, he needed to see Darcy. And soon. His sister didn’t deserve to be left to fight the good Campbell fights as well as the bad ones alone.
    Yeah. This had to be done. “Why don’t I ride out and find Diego, get him to help me with the fence? You two can get back to whatever else needs doing.”
    “And why would you volunteer to do that?” Boone asked from where he was leaning both forearms on the bed of Dax’s truck.
    “I was thinking of heading into town early in the morning. Having breakfast with Darcy.” When his partners both started in with the loud and colorful words, he cut them off. “Hey. I’ve been back a week. I need to see her.”
    Casper nodded, though still had to ask, “You gotta do it on company time?”
    “It’s Darcy, man. And I won’t be long.” But wanting to be all aboveboard and honest since he needed his friends at his back, he added, “Arwen, I’ll see on my own.”

FIVE
    A RWEN’S FAVORITE ROOM in her house was the bath. The pink and aqua retro tiles made her happy, as did the pedestal sink. Taking out a back porch storage closet she knew she’d never use had allowed her to enlarge the room by half. She’d added a skylight, French doors into a dressing area, and turned the room into an oasis with flowers and candles, with music, with all the mirrors a girl could possibly need.
    But nothing matched her love for her vintage claw-foot tub. Knowing exactly the size and shape she wanted, she’d searched for months before finding one to fit her needs. And every night when she stretched out her legs and sank chin deep into water that smelled of herbs and a hint of citrus, she forgot the hassle of haggling with dealers, of driving miles to find no such advertised tub existed.
    Owning the saloon meant long days and late hours. She rarely got home before three a.m. and almost never slept past nine. Unwindinghappened a lot faster with the warmth of the water surrounding her, and the stars twinkling above took her mind off everything else. Tonight, however, even with the stars and the water, relaxation was proving problematic.
    And her problem’s name was Dax.
    She was sore,
so
sore—her inner thighs from the sexual calisthenics, her nipples from his beard stubble and teeth. Her clit from his hard, grinding thrust. He’d stretched her and scraped her and left her raw. But even now, soaping her tender skin, she loved knowing it was Dax who’d done this.
    What she still hadn’t figured out—and probably needed to—was why she’d let him get to her in the first place all those years ago. They’d both grown up in Crow Hill, though had never run in the same circles—unless she counted attending the same schools, which didn’t make sense to do. All kids living in the speck of a town went to school together. And she sure hadn’t felt for Bubba Taylor the things she’d felt for Dax.
    Thinking of those things… She closed her eyes, raised her knees, spread her legs, and let her fingers linger between them. One finger stroked one side of her clit, a second finger stroked the other. Up and down she rubbed, pulling at the sensitive flesh, pinching the hard knot of nerves. The water sloshed as she squirmed, as each deeper pass brought her closer to re-creating that first glorious breach of her body by his.
    Glorious. Yes. It was the only word that fit. She’d waited her entire adult life to have Dax in her bed. Or in this case, to have him back her up against a door. Those minutes in her kitchen, though all too short, had been furious and consuming and so
so
hot. And yet… She hooked one foot over the tub’s edge, eased her fingers