Lahat ng Kabanata ng Satisfying Her Darkest Fantasies: Kabanata 821 - Kabanata 830

“Oh, baby. It’s okay. See? He’s not dead. Just banged up.”Groggily, Mike Morgan said, “Hiya, punkin. Didja see me wreck? I think we oughta buy that steer and grind him into hamburger, huh?”Mary stepped around the end of the stretcher. “Channing. Thank you so much for watching Callie.”“No problem. Is everything okay?”“We’ll know more tomorrow. As it sits now, Mike has a torn ACLthat’s gonna require surgery. We’re heading off to Omaha in a little bit for X-rays and tests. And probably a trip to the operating room.”It sounded so serious. So permanent. Everyone knew—but nobody said out loud, that this could be a career-ending injury for Mike Morgan.“Is there anything I can do?”Mary bit her lip. “I haven’t really thought it through until now, but it’s occurred to me we can’t take the horse and the horse trailer along with us to Omaha.”Colby moved in behind Channing. “Don’t worry about it, Mary. Take care of your family. We’ll get your horse and trailer back to your ranch somehow.”

“Of course, I never could share that little secret fantasy with Steve. To be the focus of the attention of two men? Yeah, sign me up.”“Hello?” Cash said through the screen door. “I hear voices, you guys in here?”Gemma froze. Her panicked gaze flew to Channing’s. Had he been eavesdropping on their conversation?“Yeah. Come on in, Cash,” Channing said.He sidled in, pausing just inside the door, practically wringing his black Stetson in his rough-skinned hands.“What’s up?”“Just wonderin’ if you gals were thinkin’ about goin’ to the opening dance tonight?”Gemma opened her mouth to object but Channing shot her an arch look. “Yes, we are. Why?”“Colby had two tickets and he sent me over here to give ‘em to you.”Channing bit back the urge to ask if Colby had given Cash the two tickets because he didn’t plan on attending tonight with her. “Thanks.Are you going?”“I reckon I’ll pop in for a bit.” Cash stared hard at Gemma. “You will be dancin’ with me, Gem. Don’t try to hide because I’

“Goddammit, Channing, that’s not what I wanted… Oh fuck that feels good. Oh, darlin’, just like that. Baby, don’t stop.”Channing sucked him off, taking her own sweet time to build him to madness. Dangling him over the edge of reason again and again before she relented to his begging whimpers and finished him in her mouth.Colby staggered backward and sagged on the bed.She escaped to the bathroom. Maybe if she cowered in there long enough he’d fall asleep and she could sneak out because being here was a bad, bad idea.Two seconds later, two raps sounded on the door. “Channing? You okay?”Crap. “I’m fine.”“You gonna hide in there all night?”“Maybe.”Colby laughed. “Well, as long as I’ve got your undivided attention, let me set you straight on a few things.”“I can turn the water on so I don’t have to hear you,” she said with false syrupiness.“And I can break down this cheap-ass door so you’ve got no choice but to listen. You really want that, darlin’?”“No.” Before he could sweet-t

Channing winced at Gemma’s hard slap of words. “No. But maybe you’d like to give me a chance to explain myself before you go jumping to conclusions.”“Fine. I’m listening. But even you gotta admit things are different now.”“Yeah, they’re probably worse, Gem.” Channing leaned against the concrete wall and resisted beating her head into it. She closed her eyes.“How long is Colby going to be in the hospital? A week? Two? When he’s well enough to leave, he’ll have to return home to the ranch because he won’t be able to take care of himself. His family will expect to do that, as they should. You really think they’ll want me—a strange woman from the East Coast—around?“Do you think Colby will want me underfoot? God. When he was injured in Greeley he’d get all pissy whenever I fussed around him. The man is stubborn. And proud. He didn’t want me to see him as weak so he took chances he shouldn’t have. That injury wasn’t nearly as serious as this one is. He’ll have months of physical therapy

“That horse nearly throd you clean into the funeral parlor, boy.”Whoops of cowboy laughter cut through the dusty air.Gemma Jansen hung on the edge of the trash-talking bronc riders, waiting for a break in the conversation. The rodeo announcer’s voice reverberated through the arena stands as he pumped up the crowd for the next event: steer wrestling.“I didn’t break nothin’, but he shore loosened my jaw so’s I tasted some dirt.”Another round of male laugher.A baby-faced kid shoved a plug of tobacco in his cheek. “I’d rather have a bucker like him than the last one I had. Shoot. That bronc couldn’ta tossed off a baby blanket.”Gemma jammed her hands in her jeans pockets and sauntered closer to prop a hip against the muddy tailgate. “Afternoon, boys.”Immediately slouched postures straightened. A couple of the younger fellas even removed their hats. Aw. Their mommas would’ve been proud at their show of respect.Still, it made Gemma feel…old.Feel? Hell, she was old enough to be any o