Page 246 of The Donovan Dynasty

“And lipstick.”

Some of which she’d obviously used, considering her lush red mouth was an invitation that he wasn’t sure he could refuse.On the other hand, if he started, he might not stop.

He grabbed her duffel bag and held open the back door for her.“If you can rouse yourself, you can come, too,” he said to Loopy.

The dog stayed where she was.Until Sofia walked out of the door.Then Loopy flipped over, scratching her nails on the hardwood as she scrambled to catch up.

He shook his head.

Outside, he opened the vehicle door for her to stow her belongings on the passenger seat while he placed her bag in the back where he’d found it.

She extended her hand for the keys.

“I’m going to have Ed drive it out for you because of the washed-out roads.You’re with me.”

She opened her mouth.

“Don’t argue.”He put a finger beneath her chin.

Smartly, she remained quiet.

Earlier, he’d wound up the weather doors, and now Loopy bounded up into the back of the ATV.When Sofia was also sitting, he took off.Loopy yipped and Sofia shook her head.

The main gate opened automatically, but the bump gates were tricky because of the amount of mud he had to deal with.The vehicle bogged down, making it difficult to gather enough speed.

“It really is worse than I thought,” she said.

“Was a gully washer,” he agreed.“No one predicted this.I still have to check on the guest house and ride the fences.”

When they met up with the foreman near the main road, Ed turned to her and said, “Your car’s going to need a wash.”

“Or two,” she replied.“Thank you for driving it out.”

Cade walked with her to the SUV and opened the driver’s side door.But before she could slide inside, he grabbed her hands, pinned then behind her and used that point of contact to nudge her closer to him.

He spread his legs wide, bringing them pelvis to pelvis.“Open your mouth for me.”He didn’t care who was watching.

He kissed her, devoured her, made damn sure she wouldn’t forget him anytime soon.

Chapter Nine

“I’m not sure how you do it,” Sofia said to her mother.

“They’re perfect.”

She’d arrived at her mom’s house an hour ago and the twins hadn’t given them a moment’s peace.Unless they were being held, they fussed.

Her sister was taking a nap, so Sofia and her mother hadn’t put them down.And since they were so active, trying to crawl up her, Sofia began to feel as if her thighs were a trampoline.Considering that she was still sore from the night before, that didn’t feel good.

“How did the meeting with Cade Donovan go?”

“Lots of possibilities.There’s a barn…” She pretended that one of the girls had captured her interest.“Depending on the setup, it could be used.And honestly, I can’t see why he doesn’t have an events center out there.”Well, except for his privacy.

And that mattered to him, even though she hadn’t respected that when she’d crashed his party of one at three o’clock this morning.Part of her had been surprised that he hadn’t lost his temper and thrown her out.But she was more saddened that he hadn’t opted to share his pain, even after she’d told him of her childhood.

After last night, she knew that whatever bothered Cade was deep.Serious stuff.

While he’d been out earlier, she’d started an Internet search to learn about his past, but she hadn’t looked at the results.She wished he’d open up to her, and she vowed to wait until he did.