Saying goodbye to the Cherokee was going to be much more difficult than Sandia expected. The evening had stretched on with games and dancing, good food and lots of laughter.
They were such warm and giving people, so playful and funny, she’d completely forgotten herself and felt right at home. But this wasn’t home, and she knew she would be leaving soon.
Sandia had caught Caleb watching her a couple of times as she tumbled about with the children. The look on his face was a mixture of sweet pride and carnal desire. He was a puzzle, this cowboy.
She wasn’t exactly sure where the pride was coming from, but the desire was something she was feeling too. Sandia wasn’t about to admit it to him, though. She had to sort out more pieces of the puzzle first.
As the last of the Cherokee disappeared into the night, and Sandia dropped her hand from waving, Caleb slinked his arm around her waist and pulled her body to his.
“Amazing, aren’t they? Now where were we?” he said, peering down at her in a way that sent a clear message about what he was planning next.
She impulsively pushed him away, feeling a little angry at him for spoiling the cheerful mood of dancing with such sweet children.
Clearly, he thought the kiss earlier was an indication things were going to go his way. Think again, cowboy, Sandia mused to herself. “You thought we were gonna share that bed inside? Just because you’re attractive and smooth? Caleb Wolfe, you’re a playboy. That’s what you are. A cowboy playboy.”
“Very clever. You should be a poet, Sandia Maria Molina,” he said, neither admitting nor denying her accusation.
“Ha! Is that all you got? Mr. Time Traveling-Rambling Man. Been all over the world…a girl at every port!”
“This isn’t a fight, and your cow poking don’t work on me, missy,” he shot back, not denying or admitting that either.
Her lips thinned. He was so infuriating. Would he ever let down his walls? Let her get past the cool exterior?
Their gazes held for a moment or two, as though staring each other down, before Caleb turned, stomped inside the cabin, and a moment later reappeared with a couple of large fur blankets.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sleeping out here, by the fire, under the stars...go on, you’ve got the place to yourself.”
She watched as Caleb laid out the furs next to the flames. Then he removed his vest and his holster, setting them beside the pallet. Next, he took off his boots and propped his hat on top of them. Then, his shirt came off.
Sandia found herself catching her lip between her teeth as his perfect abs rippled in the firelight. Her breath caught, and her jaw dropped when he reached for his pants and unbuttoned the top button. Stopping, he looked at her and said, “Do you mind?”
The question, asked in a flirtatious tone, snapped her out of her trance. Hoping he hadn’t noticed how her cheeks were heating, Sandia harrumphed, turned on her heel, and went inside, giving the door a satisfying slam on the way in.
As she stood in the dark room, her heart pounding, and breaths coming in quick gasps, she thought, No way am I letting him get the better of me. But there was so much about him that made that difficult, so much about him, that made it hard to keep her guard up.
With that idea stirring up rebellion in her heart, she pulled open the door, stormed over to where Caleb was settling in between the furs, grabbed his discarded pants on the ground next to him, and thrust them into the fire.
“What in Sam Hill you’d do that for?” Caleb shouted as he swung upright, the furs sliding down to his hips, showing off his distracting chest again.
“I didn’t want you to have the last word,” Sandia said, feeling like she may have gone too far, but it was too late to take it back now.
Suddenly, Caleb burst out laughing, completely breaking the tension. So much so, Sandia started laughing too.
They watched, laughing in unison, as his pants were incinerated. Until a loud CRACK filled the air.
“Oh, no,” Caleb said, looking alarmed.
“What? What was that?”
“I had some spare bullets in my pocket.”
Another loud CRACK and the sound of a bullet splintering a nearby tree had Caleb jumping up and tackling Sandia to the ground.
“Duck and cover!” he yelled as another bullet exploded from the heat of the fire.
He scooped Sandia up in his arms and dove inside the cabin, rolling her on top of him behind the thick wall of logs. And just in time, as a bullet pierced the door and lodged in the opposite wall. He held her there as two more shots rang out, hitting the house with disturbing thuds.
“Okay, I think we’re in the clear now.”
“I’m so sorry! I had no idea!” she exclaimed, burying her face in his chest. Of course, that’s when she remembered what he was wearing, or rather, what he wasn’t wearing.
“No harm...we’re all in one piece,” he said jovially, then looked up at the hole in the door and added, “You certainly know how to leave your mark on a place.”
“Why in the world did you have bullets in your pocket?”
“Why in the world wouldn’t I?”
“Because they’re bullets!”
“I’m still not understanding your question.”
The twinkle of amusement in his eyes let her know that he was teasing her.
So instead of feeding the fire, she drew her eyes down to escape his blue-eyed gaze that saw way more than she wanted. Then her eyes rounded when she took in the fact that he was completely naked and she was laying on top of him. “Red boxers, with clocks printed on them? Really?” Noticing how the fabric was a little shiny, she reached down and touched them. “And silk?”
Caleb let out a full-bellied laugh, shrugged his shoulders, hooked one finger under her chin, and then drew her face back to his. “They’re far more comfortable than the old long underwear; I can promise you that.”
“I’m sure they are,” she laughed.
As the humor in his expression was replaced with the same desire she’d seen earlier, her giggles faded away.
Once again, Sandia was overcome with the yearning to kiss him. Why was she being so foolish when she knew better? She rose up onto her elbows, her gaze fixated on his mouth. What was she was doing? Why couldn’t she stop? Within less than a second, she was crushing her lips against his.
When he promptly welcomed the attention, she hated herself a little for encouraging him. For starting this. But he was such a good kisser; she once again found it far too difficult to think rationally.
This isn’t wise, that little voice inside her head reminded. Sandia groaned at the annoying voice but kept on going, her fingers finding their way to his hair, lacing through it, her mouth moving over his as she consumed the taste and smell of him.
Caleb rolled her onto her back, came over her, and continued the passionate kiss, his tongue greeting hers in the kind of hello in which words weren’t needed.
Sandia moaned with pleasure and traced her fingertips around his torso, wrapping her arms even farther around him, pulling him closer even though he was already as close as he could get.
The logical voice in her head again pressed for control. The illogical voice in her head chimed in this time, egging her on, stirring up her imagination. When she felt her self-restraint slipping beyond her reach, Sandia mentally forced herself to swim for the surface.