Free Devils on Horseback: Zeke, Book 3 by Beth Williamson

night’s wages because of this.”
    Zeke hadn’t thought about that, but she knew there would be consequences for starting a brawl. “You got a free dinner.”
    She chuckled softly. “Can I have more?”
    Zeke gave her more cornbread and sat beside her. They stayed there for the next three hours. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he’d never felt as comfortable with a woman before, not even Lucy. Amazingly enough, the urge to drink hadn’t appeared once. They polished off the cornbread and the second bottle of milk. It was the oddest, yet most memorable meal he could remember.
    In fact, he wanted more than a meal, he wanted to find out what her lips tasted like. Naomi was smart, funny and damn sexy. Zeke’s attraction to her roared through him, making him break out in a sweat as he tried to stop thinking about how attractive she was. He hadn’t been with a woman in nearly a year, and he wasn’t sure what would happen if he gave into his baser urges with Naomi.
    When the grey light of dawn crept into the building, Naomi looked up at the small windows. “I can’t believe it’s almost tomorrow already.”
    Zeke felt a pinch of regret that the new day had appeared, ending an almost perfect six hours with a woman.
    “Me neither.”
    “Do you think Lucy will be mad at me?” Naomi stood up and stretched, the fabric of her dress pulling against the apple-sized breasts, hard nipples pointing straight at him.
    “Nah, not for long. She knows how those cowpokes get. My guess is she got twice as much money for the damage and kept them all happy by arresting the person they thought started it.” He raised one brow. “So you made her business even better.”
    “Well, it wasn’t on purpose. All I want is to live and work in peace.” The underlying pain in her simple statement hit Zeke square between the eyes.
    He took her hand in his, the first voluntary contact they’d shared. She looked down at their joined fingers, then back up at him, her brown eyes clouded with confusion.
    “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
    “Neither do I.” His voice sounded hoarse and shaky.
    Fear mixed with the most powerful arousal he could remember. Instead of giving into the fear he’d been living with, he did what he’d been aching to do since he’d seen Naomi. He took her in his arms and kissed her. Sweet, sweet heavenly saints, she tasted like cornbread, woman and home. Once he’d had one kiss, he took another, then another until he lost count of the hot, melting sensations. Tingles raced down his spine and straight to his dick.
    Not one to miss a party, his staff stood at attention, straining against his trousers, knocking to be let out. Zeke’s rush of blood from the rest of his body had his head spinning.
    He took a breath and leaned his forehead against hers, feeling her shudder beneath his touch. Her sharp fingernails dug into his arms and he knew she must feel as out of control as he did.
    “Please don’t stop.”
    Her whispered plea was not what he expected, but he welcomed it.
    “I do like to please a lady,” he murmured just before he captured her mouth again. Reining in his snarling urges, he forced himself to savor each second with her. Slowly, he nibbled on her lips, alternately licking and nipping at the plump, delicate skin. A kittenish mewl burst from her mouth and he swallowed it.
    Zeke scooped her up and set her on the desk, spreading her legs wide enough to step between them. He smelled her arousal and his nostrils flared with the musky, delicious scent.
    “Naomi, I—”
    She put her hand over his mouth, her gaze dark and guarded in the gray light of dawn. “Don’t open your mouth and ruin it, Sheriff. I might change my mind if you do. Let’s just feel good.”
    Sounded good to him. A woman who didn’t want to talk before getting busy was a novelty, but who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? Especially one who fit so nicely in his arms.
    “Tell me what you like