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“I have no idea what the proper protocol is after casual sex.”

“It’s this,” he assured her.

She didn’t loosen up. Instead, she lifted her head to glance at the clock beside his bed. “I should probably get dressed and head back to my house.”

He grinned at her innocence. She was a breath of fresh air after far too many jaded buckle bunnies. He lifted his alarm clock up and set it. He showed her the time. “That early enough?”

She nodded. “You don’t mind me sleeping here?”

He tightened his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Close your eyes, Sienna. I’ll make sure you’re home before anyone realizes you were gone.”

“Okay. It was incredible, wasn’t it?” Her sleepy question told him she was in no condition to fight him about returning home. He was glad. For the first time in a week, he was damn tired himself and there was no way he’d let her walk back to her house alone in the middle of the night.

“That was just the beginning. We’re not finished by a long shot.”

He felt her lips lift into a grin against his chest. “I’m glad. I have a whole list of stuff I was hoping to try.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

The tension in her body began to fade as she whispered her fantasies to him. Whether it was the dark room, the haze of sex still lingering in the air or pure exhaustion, Sienna held nothing back as she shared her deepest, darkest desires with him.

His sweet nurse had an active, vivid, sexy-as-hell imagination. Despite having just come, Daniel felt his cock twitch when she described her favorite capture fantasy. He closed his eyes and let her words wrap their way around his own needs, feeding them. Sienna dreamed of bondage, sex in public, being chased, spanked. Jesus.

When her words came slower, he realized she was talking herself to sleep. He gently placed his finger against her lips.

“Shh. Go to sleep, beauty.” She was going to need her rest. Because Daniel was determined to give her everything. He’d fulfill all her fantasies.

And then he’d give her more.

Chapter 7

Sienna sat on the front porch, rocking slowly on the swing. While her eyes were taking in all the happenings of the ranch, she wasn’t seeing a damn thing. It was her day off. She’d intended to use the time to do a little Christmas shopping, but she couldn’t manage to wrap her head around the holiday.

After a week of sneaking out for midnight rendezvous with Daniel, she was tired, sore in places that had never hurt before and flying so high off the ground, she couldn’t see Earth.

So far, she and Daniel had managed to keep their change of status from friends to lovers a secret from her immediate family. Only her cousins knew. She smiled when she recalled the very long group grilling she’d received after her first night in Daniel’s RV.

She’d never seen Jade so impressed and, if she wasn’t mistaken, Sterling had appeared a bit jealous. Of her. It was fun to be the wild Compass girl for once. For the first time in her life, she could see the appeal of cutting loose, having fun, living on instinct.

She and Daniel had agreed to keep their relationship a secret because neither of them was sure how her father would react. Daniel needed his job and, given the fact Sienna had never dated any boy besides Josh, there were some unknowns in terms of how far she could push Dad’s protective streak. Sex with a boyfriend was one thing, but a casual affair with one of his ranch hands? Sienna had no desire to approach her father and say, “Oh, by the way, Dad, I’m sleeping with Daniel. But don’t worry. It’s nothing serious. Just fucking.”

Vivi and Hope walked out onto the front porch.

“There you are,” Vivi said, joining her on the swing. Hope claimed a rocking chair nearby. Vivi and Hope had a standing weekly lunch date. Usually, Hope would pick her up and take Vivi out somewhere special, but as their grandmother had just started to recover from a head cold, they’d opted to stay in today.

Sienna grasped her grandmother’s hand. “Did you two have a nice lunch date?”

Vivi nodded. “We sure did. Hope’s chicken salad is officially better than mine. My reign as ruler of the kitchen is over.”

They laughed, then Vivi lifted her face and took a deep breath. “The fresh air feels good. It’s a pretty day.”

Sienna agreed. They were having a brief respite from the chilly weather. Today’s sunshine actually felt warm for a change. “That’s one reason why I decided to hang out here rather than tackle the shops. Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’m going to pay for that later. I still don’t have Christmas gifts for James or Dad.”

Vivi pulled her sweater around her, her legs moving in time with Sienna’s as they rocked on the swing. “Your mom and I went in together to buy your dad that new saddle he’s had his eye on. That man will buy the boys the best of everything when it comes to riding equipment, but he never manages to get himself anything nice. I swear he’s used the same saddle for nearly twenty years. I can’t believe the thing hasn’t fallen apart.”

Sienna nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. Maybe you and mom are on to something there. I’ll talk to Daniel to see if there’s anything else Dad’s using in the stable that could stand to be replaced.”

Hope spent a few minutes listing all the things she’d bought for her family. Sienna grinned as she listened. Hope was the queen of Christmas. She usually had her shopping finished and her presents wrapped before Halloween. While Sienna wasn’t quite that efficient, she was typically in better shape by this time of the year. If she didn’t get her act together soon, she’d be doing the Christmas Eve dash with Jade and Sterling. Something she never thought she’d have to do.