CHRISTMAS AT THUNDER HORSE RANCH by Elle James Page A

tongue.
    Slowly, he teased his way across her ribs, slid a hand between her legs, and parted her folds to stroke the strip of flesh hiding there.
    Her breath caught and held.
    When he started to remove his hand, she covered it with hers and pressed it down, encouraging him to continue.
    For someone who’d never had a lover, she learned quickly and wasn’t too shy to let him know what she liked.
    Before long, her breathing grew ragged and she dug her heels into the mattress, her bottom rising above the sheets as she called out his name. “Dante!”
    Her body pulsed beneath his fingers until finally the tension subsided and she fell back to the bed, with a shuddering sigh. “Amazing.”
    Dante cupped her sex and leaned up to kiss her full on the lips before lying on the bed beside her.
    “Wait.” Emma leaned up on her elbow, her hand going to the hard line of his manhood. “What about you?”
    “Watching you was enough for me.”
    She frowned, her fingers curling around him. “But you’re still...”
    “Hard?” He laughed though it took a lot for him to force it out. “I could drive nails with it right now.”
    “Then, please.” She tugged on him, but he refused to budge.
    “I don’t have protection.”
    “We didn’t have it last night.”
    “And that was pushing the limits. I won’t risk it again. Now, if you happen to have something...?” His lips twisted. “I thought not.” He tucked an arm behind his head and pulled her up against him. “I’ll take a rain check in the meantime. Sleep, Emma. I have a feeling tomorrow will be another long day.”
    Emma settled beside him, curled against his side. Whether he wanted her there or not, she wasn’t too proud to take advantage of his offer to hold her until she went to sleep.
    Warm, safe and satisfied, she drifted to sleep with a smile on her face. She had to remind herself she was an independent college professor and that when all this was over, Dante would move on and possibly never see her again.
    But while she had the chance, she’d take whatever scraps he was willing to throw her way. If it meant she was desperate and lonely...well, then it was true. She was desperate and lonely, and whatever memories she stored up during her time with Dante would have to do.
    In her life history, she was destined to be alone. The men who’d come and gone in her life had been prone to have an aversion to commitment. Emma had long since convinced herself it was her or at least the magnet she seemed to carry around that attracted men who refused to commit.
    Tomorrow was another day and she’d better get some sleep if she wanted to be awake when they finally made it to the Thunder Horse Ranch.

Chapter Eight
    Dante glanced across at Emma as she leaned back in the seat of the SUV he had rented for the next couple of weeks. She hadn’t spoken much throughout the trip and the circles beneath her eyes were more pronounced. Though she’d slept part of the night, they hadn’t really had a decent night’s sleep in two days.
    The back of Dante’s neck was stiff and he could feel some of the bruises and sore muscles he’d acquired in the helicopter and trailer crashes.
    He’d insisted on a four-wheel-drive SUV for the trip, knowing the roads to the ranch could be difficult during the summer and impassible in a two-wheel-drive vehicle during the harsh North Dakota winters.
    The insurance company would take their time sorting out the details of replacing the Jeep. A full investigation would have to be performed by the National Transportation Safety Board on the helicopter crash and the FBI would assist the state police with the case since it involved federal equipment and personnel.
    If Pierce and Tuck were in any shape to assist, theirs was the closest FBI regional office to the crash site. Though they would not be assigned the case, Dante knew they would be involved enough to keep him informed of the progress.
    So far, not a single terrorist organization or survivalist