A Breath of Heaven (El Camino Real Book 1) Read online

  Shivers and sparkles of bliss began to sizzle and bloom within her vagina. A feeling of desperation overwhelmed her. She wanted to grab onto him, hold him and never let go. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she enclosed him, her arms around his neck. The tension in her pelvis was amazing—the sense that she was about to loosen from the moorings holding her to this earth and be flung out into the starry night. Cade’s thrusts became more forceful, he pumped faster, increasing his speed and Abby began to convulse, her muscles jerking as every part of her sought to be closer to him, a part of him.

  “That’s right, Abby-girl. Come for me. This is incredible.” Their pants and moans of hunger filled the room.

  At that moment, she would have given anything to see how they looked. He would be magnificent, his big body covering hers, thrusting between her thighs. The slap of their bodies together was only fuel for the fire and when he whispered in her ear, “I can’t get enough of you,” she flew apart, simply exploded and the white-hot perfect bursts of pleasure took her breath away.

  Cade slipped his arms beneath her, lifting her, plunging inside of her over and over, nipping her neck until he bellowed and tensed, filling her womb with hot jets of seed. He gasped, whispering words of praise, his chest heaving. Abby moved her hands lovingly over his body, the fine sheen of sweat a testimony to his satisfaction. “Are you all right?” She traced the outline of his mouth with feathery caresses.

  Cade buried his face in her neck, his breathing deep and hard. “I think you may have killed me, but I’ll die happy.”

  A slightly nervous gasp of joy bubbled from Abby. She’d made love with Cade and the world hadn’t ended! “I’m happy, too. I’ll never forget this. Thank you, so much.” With a sigh, she settled into his arms, happier than she could remember being in a long, long time.

  “You’re welcome, Abilene.” He put a teasing note in his voice. He didn’t want to scare her off with how deep his feelings were. Cade moved to her side and held her for a long time. He thought about getting up to clean them, but decided a shower could wait ‘til the morning. Tomorrow, he intended to find answers to some of his questions. Abby’s fears had to be stemming from something and if it was the fire, he needed to know. Because there was one thing for damn certain—he had no intention of letting her slip back into her shell.

  * * *

  OMG! He was real! Abby held her breath. She was draped over Cade like a blanket. The morning sun was just filtering through the curtains as she peeked at the face of the man who’d made love to her the night before. Goodness! For a second or two she let herself enjoy the sensation of being nestled against his hard body, wrapped in his arms. Dang, she couldn’t let herself start to dream. This was only temporary.

  Easing from his embrace was hard, in more ways than one. First, he was big and had her pinned to him in the same hold he used to take down a steer, his arm around her neck and shoulders, and second, she didn’t want to move. But she needed to. She needed to get out of bed and back to her own room before he opened those big black eyes. The dark of night had hid the flaws on her body which would be starkly apparent in the light of day.

  Taking a huge risk, she placed one very soft kiss on his chest and began edging her way out of his embrace. He grumbled a bit in his sleep, let her go and rolled over. Abby breathed a sigh of relief as she eased out of the bed. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she tiptoed from the room. As quickly as she could, she showered and dressed. On her way out, she got a message from Ridge Anderson. He had a prize cow who was having trouble calving. Abby assured the rancher she was on her way. Taking time to message her assistant, she left instructions for the morning. On her way out the door, she thought about leaving Cade a note. Cade—damn, just the thought of him made her smile. Twirling a lock of hair around her finger, Abby debated on what to say. Finally, she decided to tell the truth—or part of it, anyway.

  Cade

  I have to go to work, but I couldn’t leave without telling you how much last night meant to me. Thank you so much. I will cherish the memory for as long as I live. Please forgive me for my weird requests, and believe me, you don’t want to know all of my issues. Ha! But, thank you. Maybe, if you’re not busy, we could go hunt a Christmas tree together when I get home. If nothing else, I’d like to see us become the friends we used to be.

  I offer an olive branch and a white flag. How about it?

  Have a good morning. There’s plenty of breakfast food for you in the fridge.

  See you later

  Abby

  Propping the note up on the bar, she grabbed her heavy coat and hurried off to help a new life into the world.

  * * *

  Friends? Friends? Cade didn’t feel like a damn friend. Folding the note and jamming it into his pocket, he poured a cup of strong coffee. He’d slept better last night with Abby in his arms than he could ever remember doing so before. The only problem had been waking up alone. Several times during the night he’d stolen a kiss. When she was sleeping, Abby was as cuddly as a kitten. And when he’d woken up with morning wood, he’d reached for the woman he’d dreamed of having in his bed for years and had come up empty handed. Now, he was determined to find out what the hell was going on, if he could.

  To get his blood pumping, Cade hiked the distance from Abby’s cottage to the main house. Walking up to the massive stone lodge, he kept his hands deep in his pockets. It was warmer than the day he’d fallen into the pond, but the weather was still dang cold. His breath made a fleeting cloud as he moved over the frost covered ground. A whooping rumble announced a helicopter was landing. Cade knew the closer it got to the wedding, the more guests would begin flying in from all over. As he neared the big entrance gate, he saw people milling around like bees. The ceremony itself would be held in the lake pavilion, a large guest house with massive windows facing the chain of three lakes which decorated the expansive grazing lands where some of the finest bred horses in Texas roamed free.

  “Cade! Over here! Come join us.”

  Looking over, he saw Jase and Justice standing at the entrance to one of the big barns with an attached stable. “Are you two hiding out?” He happily angled his path and met them outside the corral gate.

  “How did you guess?” Jase grinned. “Come in here. I got some coffee strong enough to float a pistol. Want a cup?”

  “Sounds good.” He stepped into the warmth. There was a wood stove in the corner and a table to one side that held an old coffee pot. This was one of his favorite places on the property. When he’d first come to El Camino, he’d done a lot of hiding out in here with his Dad’s horse, Whiskey. He remembered Jase and Justice sleeping out here with him and the horse, doing their best to make him feel less alone. Of course, it had all been redone after the fire. “I need to talk to you two about something.”

  “If it’s about your tuxedo, don’t even start. I know we’re all going to look like western penguins, but I can’t help it. This wedding isn’t exactly going my way. I have to write vows.” Jase made a face. He sat down on a bale of hay, and pointed to another for Cade to sit on.

  “Plus, Scout lost out on his ring bearer position.” Justice laughed and Scout ‘woofed’ when he heard his name called. Cade held out his hand and the ancient German Shepherd came to greet him.

  “Yea.” Jase sighed. “We’d already rehearsed and everything. He got his feelings hurt.” He knelt down by his dog and rubbed the old mutt’s ears.

  “Are you sure you’re ready to get married, Jase? You don’t exactly strike me as an eager bridegroom.” Cade asked sympathetically, hoping he didn’t overstep.

  “Hell.” Jase stood up. “I have to take the plunge sometimes and Pam is hot as hell.”

  Justice took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna bite my tongue, since I’m the best man and all.”

  Cade decided not to voice his opinion either. ‘Hot’ was important, but there had to be more to a relationship than sex. He had to grin. He and Abby had more than sex—they wrangl
ed, locked horns—hell, it was exciting and thrilling. Plus, he respected her, a lot. Life with Abby would never be boring. “I wish you all the best, Jase. You know that.”

  “Thanks, now what did you want to talk about?”

  “Abby.” He said the word like it explained everything.

  Jase guffawed. “We can’t be held responsible if she accosted you or performed any type of Chinese water torture on you, buddy.”

  Cade didn’t say anything and Justice tensed, eyes narrowing. “What’s going on?”

  “Well, I—” Cade began, uncertain as to how to approach a subject he found difficult to bring up with her brothers.

  “Hold on.” Jase checked his phone. “Damn, I’m being paged. I’ll catch you two later. I have to greet Great Uncle Felix, whoever he is.” With a frown, he hurried off.

  Justice stood and walked up next to Cade. “Talk to me, Tallbull. I can sense whatever is on your mind is important.”

  Crossing his arms, Cade leaned back against the wall. “I need to understand why Abby has this stupid idea she’s not appealing to men.” He thought it might be a good idea if he didn’t admit they’d slept in the same bed the night before. Justice, however, was more on the ball than Cade gave him credit for.

  The big King squared his shoulders and put his hands on his hips. “I knew it was a mistake for you to stay at her house.”

  “Before we go any further, let me assure you that I hold Abby in the highest of esteem and my intentions…” He paused and locked gazes with his friend. “...are entirely honorable.”

  “If you hurt her, I swear I’ll—”

  “I would cut off my arm before I hurt her. You know that.” Cade didn’t blink. He’d never been more serious about anything in his life.

  Justice relaxed a bit and Cade wondered at his own admission. Funny, he had no qualms. He’d set his heart on Abby Grace King a long time ago, and now he felt he had a shot—if he didn’t blow it.

  “What do you want to know?” Justice asked in a low even tone.

  By his friend’s resigned expression, Cade realized that whatever there was to reveal was fairly serious. He was almost nervous, but he needed to understand. He weighed his words carefully, not wanting to embarrass Abby or offend her brother. “Did something happen to Abby? To be as beautiful and perfect as she is, Abby is very shy and insecure.”

  Justice scrubbed his face. “I don’t want to know any details of whatever you two have been doing or not doing,” he growled.

  “Has she been hurt? Perhaps in that fire you all told me was so inconsequential?”

  Shaking his head, Justice let out a long breath. “You mean the fire that broke out right about the time you left for the NFR rodeo, the day you went into the barn for your daddy’s spurs?”

  Cade was shocked. “Are you trying to say that I started the fire?”

  “No, no.” Justice paced back and forth on the hay covered floor. “Damn! I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you. I begged her to tell you then, but she was adamant you must never know what she went through or how it happened.”

  “Talk to me, King.” A tense, uneasy feeling swept over Cade.

  “Remember, I was on the phone with Dad when he told you to go get your father’s spurs. Right after that, Mom wanted to talk to Abby and I went to take a shower. When Abby got off the phone, she went back outside to say goodbye to you. As soon as she got on the porch, she heard the horses whinnying and smelled smoke. Cade, Abby went crazy. She ran right into that burning barn.”

  “Damn! How bad was she hurt? I never knew! I know she loves those horses, but—” He didn’t get to finish, Justice cut him off.

  “Of course she loves the horses, but it wasn’t the horses she went in to save.”

  Dead silence filled the barn for a moment while Cade processed what Justice had revealed.

  “What do you mean?” He couldn’t bear to guess. A rising sense of helplessness made Cade weak.

  “She thought you were in the barn, Cade. Abby ran into a blazing structure to find you. True, the horses were all saved, but I couldn’t stop her. She tore out of my grasp and started up the stairs to the attic screaming your name. The ceiling collapsed. A beam knocked her to the floor. By the time I could get it off of her she had been hurt pretty badly.”

  From the look on his face, the memory was painful for Justice to relate, but every word was like a knife in Cade’s heart. “She was burned.” He didn’t have to ask where. He knew.

  Justice cursed. “It just wasn’t fuckin’ fair. No one should have to suffer as she did, but for a woman to be—” He stopped, cleared his throat and continued. “She begged us not to tell anyone, especially not you. Abby changed that day, Cade. She went from being a girl filled with hope in her future to a woman with no faith in her own worth.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Cade shook his head, solemnly.

  “Yes, by God, it matters!” Justice yelled. “Don’t you see?” He hit the wall of the barn with his fist. “She pushed you away because she thought you wouldn’t want her anymore. She’s been pushing you away ever since. And you let her!” Abby’s oldest brother looked at Cade accusingly.

  “Fuck!” Cade stood up and began stalking back and forth across the room like a caged panther. “I thought she pushed me away because she’d changed her mind about us! People used to judge me because of the color of my skin—”

  Justice interrupted him. “Not Abby. Never Abby, you know that.” He was still speaking with a raised voice, his emotions running high.

  “Justice, why didn’t you tell me this ten damn years ago? Don’t you know I love her?” Cade’s anguished voice filled the room.

  “I wanted to, but she made me promise. But the way you two carried on, hell, I thought you hated one another.”

  Cade walked right up to him. He was so hurt and so angry. “I have loved her every damn day since I was sixteen years old! Do you think a few stupid little scars would change the way I feel? She’s my life!”

  Justice smiled. “Well, then what are you going to do about it?”

  * * *

  Twin girls had been born to Queen B that morning. The birth had been difficult. Beefmaster calves were always good size, but these two had been overly so. They had been backward in the birth canal and Abby had tried to turn them, but she’d been unsuccessful. So in order to save mama and babes alike, she’d performed an emergency C-section. This had only been her third one and she was exhausted, but they’d all survived and Ridge had given her a bonus check and asked her out on a date. She’d taken the money but turned down his gracious invitation. The only man she had any desire to date was Cade. But she’d already experienced a miracle, so she couldn’t expect another one.

  Bubbles tickled Abby’s nose. Relaxing, she yawned and rubbed bath gel down her neck and over her breasts. The soothing bath salts were doing their job. When her hand slipped down to the area where she’d been hurt, she closed her eyes, skating her fingertips over the place of her shame. It was obvious where the skin grafts had been applied. The feel, texture and color were a little different than the rest of her body. For the first few years the color had been darker, finally fading from purple to red, to mauve and finally to pink. Abby had trained herself not to look at it. She could actually get dressed in front of a full length mirror and her gaze never settled below her waist. Wax jobs were useless for her, she had no down or fuzz to remove. Yet, she’d been able to make love with Cade. Being in his arms had been a dream come true.

  Oh, well. Finishing up her bath, she stood up and reached for her towel. Time to quit daydreaming. She had a wedding and a holiday to get through. And a man to face…

  “Abby! Where are you? I have a surprise for you!” Cade’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

  “Oh, no! I’ll be out in a second!” She called frantically.

  The shock of hearing Cade’s voice made Abby lose her footing and she sloshed a big wave of water out on the floor as she sat back down with a giant splash, just as
he walked into the bathroom.

  Kersplat!

  “Good Lord, honey! Are you all right?” He’d heard her say something, but he hadn’t realized she would be all wet and soft and naked. “Talk about a pleasant surprise.”

  He reached down in the water to fish her out and she came up sputtering and fussing. “Put me down, you big moose.”

  Cade laughed. If he thought their nighttime peace talks had changed their normal razzing routine he was wrong. To tell the truth, he was relieved. He loved every facet of Abby’s personality. “I see you’re squeaky clean.” She was iced with bubbles and foam like a delicious sweet confection, but she still scrambled for the half-soaked towel like it was her soul’s salvation. Lord Have Mercy! He got an eyeful of curves and dips and valleys, smooth white skin and pink tipped breasts. There was nothing in the world wrong with this woman and he was going to tell her so. “Abby—”

  “Why in the world would you come in on me while I’m taking a bath?” she yelled.

  “Because I’ve got a—”

  “I’m a lady, Cade Tallbull. We aren’t married. We had sex…” She was yammering. Blushing. Embarrassed, trying to cover up what needed covering up without him seeing anything he shouldn’t.

  No, they weren’t married – yet. But if he had his way…“And the sex was very good.” He interjected clearly. “I want to do it again.”

  Abby continued making her case. “But that doesn’t give you the right—” What did he say? “What did you say?” She had been talking so hard that she might have missed something important.

  She looked up at him and he looked down at her. He couldn’t resist. She was so beautiful. Cade hauled her up to him, all wet and wiggly and kissed her till she was trembling with need and gasping for breath. Now, this was the way to control a woman. When she was quiet, he answered her question. “I said I wanted to make love to you again.”