Heart So Sweet: Book 3 in the Great Plains Romance Series by Corrissa James Page A

can keep Andrew in his place, keep him from hurting you.”
    Tate dropped his head to Susannah’s breast, using his lips and tongue to make the nipple hard. Susannah moaned, both in pleasure and in aggravation that he could make her lose control of her body so easily.
    “Tate!”
    “I can take care of myself, Annie.” He never lifted his head from her breast, and his hot breath sent heat waves down her abdomen. He shifted to lie on top of her, giving himself full access to her body. He trailed kisses down her neck and along the tops of her breasts as his knee nudged her legs open.
    “And if he tries to hurt me?”
    Tate’s head whipped up, and the hardness in his eyes sent an icy cold feeling down her spine. “Then I’ll kill him.”
    “That’s not funny.”
    “It wasn’t meant to be.”
    She tried to push him off her, to get out from under him, but he wouldn’t budge.
    “Let me up.”
    “Stop. Look at me.”
    She avoided his gaze, kicking her legs and pushing against his chest. “Let me up or I will scream.”
    “Susannah Clark, calm down and look at me. I am not going to hurt you.” When she finally relented and looked up at him, he continued. “I am never going to let anyone hurt you. But if you think it would be better to have Lucas’s support, then I will get his blessing and make sure everyone knows about it. Okay?”
    “How are you going to do all that?”
    He smiled, showing his dimple. “You’ll just have to trust me on that one. Deal?”
    She eyed him for a moment before finally relenting. “Deal.”
    He kissed her, tenderly at first, but it quickly escalated to the point that she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer to her, and soon both of them were riding waves of ecstasy.

Chapter Sixteen
     
    For the next several days, Tate struggled with his promise to Annie. During the day, while patrolling the county, he would consider every possible way to prove to Lucas that he was good enough for his sister. The problem, of course, was that each argument required Lucas to agree to at least listen to Tate, which meant being in the same room with him. Yet it had been several months since Tate moved back and a decade since he’d left in the first place, and Lucas still couldn’t stand to be in anywhere near him.
    So how was he supposed to convince the man to approve of his relationship with Annie?
    At night, Annie would sneak over to Tate’s cabin after everyone on the farm fell asleep. She was adamant that they be careful until Lucas made it known that he approved. Although the secrecy heightened their passions, it was taking its toll on Tate, especially when he’d wake up the next morning to find her gone. If they saw each other in town, they went out of their way to avoid being seen together as they both knew that the gossips in small towns were always on the prowl.
    By Wednesday morning, Tate’s frustration was at a boiling point, so as soon as Annie left, he got up and made coffee, determined to find Lucas and get everything out in the open, once and for all. He considered driving over and confronting him at breakfast, then realized he’d just be asking for trouble if he faced off with the man on his home turf.
    The morning’s pale pink skies greeted him as he headed out to his SUV, smiling. He wouldn’t give Lucas any advantages in the coming discussion. Instead, he’d confront him where he was at his most vulnerable.
     
     
    “Sorry, sheriff. You just missed them.”
    Tate frowned at Trish James, who was sitting on her porch, a cup of coffee in her hands. Her sister-in-law Miranda sat with her. Both women eyed him as if trying to discover some secret written on his face.
    “Well, I guess I’ll have to stop back later.”
    “What’s this all about anyway?” Miranda glanced from Tate to Trish and back again. “Are you going to arrest my brother again?”
    “Hush, Miranda.”
    “I will not.” She stared at Tate, her eyes hard. “If Garrison is shooting his mouth