CHAPTER 20

Vince savored the heat in her brown eyes for a brief moment. Oh, yes, she wanted him. He couldn’t believe she craved him with the same intensity he felt for her, but that fire burning in her gaze was more than enough to tell him she did.

Three long weeks he’d suffered, watching her smile, watching her laugh, and remembering the velvet feel of her mouth. As he closed his eyes and touched his lips to hers, the sensation was everything he’d remembered. This time she met him halfway, her arms already around his neck, her breasts snug against his chest.

He didn’t have to wonder if she wanted the thrust of his tongue. She parted her lips and invited him in. He accepted that invitation without hesitation, sliding deep as she moaned in pleasure.

The last time he’d held her this way they’d been standing in the middle of town under a lighted sign. Not so today. He’d found a hidden paradise away from prying eyes. The birds wouldn’t gossip about what he and Georgie did here. The rabbits wouldn’t care if he peeled off her jacket and unsnapped her shirt. The squirrels wouldn’t give a damn if he reached behind her back and unhooked her bra.

She trembled in his arms and whimpered when he cupped one full breast and stroked his thumb over her tight nipple. Her satin skin was so warm, so supple beneath his fingers. But he had the hands of a working cowboy, rough and callused.

He interrupted the kiss to ask if she minded that roughness, but she pulled his head down again, her mouth hot and demanding. So he stroked and massaged her breast because she seemed to want that, and God knows he did. She groaned and pushed her hips against his.

He wanted to accept that invitation, too, but he wouldn’t. Couldn’t, in fact. True to his word, he hadn’t brought a condom. And that was as it should be. Foregoing that ultimate connection meant he could live with himself. He would give, but he wouldn’t take.

Yet he needed a little something for himself—the chance to see her breasts rosy from his touch and soon wet from his seeking mouth. Continuing to kiss her, he drew off her shirt and let it fall to the ground. Her bra was next, and when that was gone, he lifted his head to gaze down at her flushed face. “I want to look at you.”

Her lashes fluttered upward to reveal a gaze that spoke of total surrender. His chest tightened as he realized how vulnerable she was at this moment. He’d guessed that she hadn’t been with someone in a long time, and he was glad that she’d chosen to let down her guard with him instead of some idiot who would take advantage of her.

Resting his hands on her slender shoulders, he held her away from him and let the morning sunlight caress her pale skin. “So beautiful,” he murmured. “So sweet.”

She greeted his praise with a heartfelt sigh. “And so lonely.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.”

She was right, he thought. As a man, and one on the move, he’d had opportunities, whereas she’d had virtually none. He traced her collarbone with his forefinger. “No tan lines.”

“I’m inside a lot.”

Her full breasts bore the signs of his eager touch, though. He touched the red marks gently before looking into her eyes. “My hands are too rough. I’ve hurt you.”

“Not at all.” Her slow smile convinced him she meant that.

“I can make it better.” Leaning down, he kissed each reddened place on her delicate skin. Then he began to lap at those chafed spots with slow sweeps of his tongue.

Her breathing quickened and her lashes drifted downward again. “That’s very . . . nice.”

“There’s more.” Balancing the weight of her breast in his palm, he closed his mouth over her nipple and drew it in deep.

She whimpered and clutched his head with both hands as he sucked in and out, in and out. Her fingertips tightened against his scalp as she arched into his caress.

Following his instincts, he freed the metal button on her jeans and drew the zipper down. As he continued to cradle her breast with one hand, he slid the other hand inside her panties. His blood thundered in his ears as he tunneled his fingers through damp curls and found her slick, hot, and ready for . . . But they wouldn’t be doing that. No matter how his cock ached. No matter how desperate he was to sink into her body and find paradise there.

Instead he thrust his fingers deep. She clutched his shoulders and gasped. One stroke, two, three, and she was there, pulsing around his fingers, whimpering and shaking in the grip of her climax.

Yet he felt tension still buried deep within her. He suspected this had been only a preview of the passion she kept locked away. He wanted to free that passion, to unleash the bold woman who had charged toward him wielding a whip.

Releasing her breast, he sank to his knees and wrenched down her jeans, taking her panties with them. He shoved everything to the tops of her boots, which didn’t give him a lot of maneuverability, but enough.

“Vince . . .” She moaned in protest but didn’t try to stop him.

“Shh. I’m only kissing you.” He settled in. He’d always thought she looked delicious, and now he knew that she tasted that way, too.

“That’s . . . some . . . kiss . . .” She kept her balance by clutching the back of his head. “Oh, my.” She began to pant. “You’re pretty good . . . at this.”

If he was, it was only because he’d been practicing for this special moment when he could make Georgie come apart in his arms. Kneading her firm bottom, he nibbled and licked, sucked and nuzzled until her groans became low and throaty. When she gasped out a soft curse, he had a feeling he was getting somewhere.

So he zeroed in, pushing her a little harder, a little faster, guiding her relentlessly toward an orgasm that would strip away her civilized veneer and expose her primitive instincts. Her fingers tightened on his scalp and her breathing roughened.

Then she began to participate, tilting her hips and guiding his movements. “Yes, there.” She gasped. “Oh, Vince . . . oh, like that, just like that. Don’t stop.”

He wasn’t about to. He had her now, the gutsy, passionate woman of his dreams.

“Now! Oh, please, now!”

He sucked hard, and with a shout of pure triumph that echoed off the canyon walls, she erupted in a spectacular climax. She almost knocked them both to the ground.

He took a quick look and decided they weren’t beside any jagged rocks. Maybe the ground would be a good place to recover. After easing her jeans back up, even if they weren’t buttoned and zipped, he managed to guide her down so that her head and shoulders were on her jacket.

Then he settled down beside her. Miraculously, nothing jabbed into his side. The ground was lumpy, but they happened to be in an area without any serious hazards. He would have endured that if necessary, but he didn’t want rocks bruising her tender skin.

She lay there looking at him, her expression dazed.

“You okay?” He combed her hair back from her cheek.

She swallowed. “Yeah.” Her voice was husky. “I haven’t been this okay in . . . a while.”

“Good. I mean not that it’s been a while, but that you’re feeling better.”

Her mouth tilted in a smile. “You make it sound like I was sick.”

“No, I— You know what I mean.”

Her smile widened. “I do. You helped a frustrated lady out, and I appreciate it.”

Irritation pricked him. “Hey, I wasn’t simply doing my good deed for the day.”

“But there wasn’t much in it for you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You let me kiss you, hold you, touch you.” He hesitated. Oh, what the hell. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

Her gaze searched his. “Surely you haven’t been thinking about me ever since you left.”

“Not constantly, but I did think about you.” He traced her cheekbone with his finger. “It wasn’t only the Ghost I wanted to see when I came back. I honestly didn’t realize you were part of the reason I set up the reunion, but Mac and Travis helped me figure out that you were a big part of it.”

“And then I gave you hell.”

“Yeah, you did.” He grinned. “Which was no more than I deserved.”

She took a deep breath. “I like you, Vince. I like you a lot more than I thought I would.”

“Nice to hear.”

“I confess I’ve been wondering if . . . well, if the trail rides are a big success and everything, if you’d maybe stick around.”

“You mean for a year or so?”

Her gaze was steady. “No, longer than that.”

He wanted to tell her he would. No doubt she’d be happy about that because she was a long-term kind of woman. If he told her he’d be around for the foreseeable future, the barriers would come down and they’d become lovers. After today, he could imagine how wonderful that would be.

“But you won’t stay, will you?” Disappointment and sadness edged her words.

“Georgie, I don’t know how. Moving around and making new connections is what I’m good at. That’s why guest ranches are such a great fit for me. The guests come and they go. Just like me.”

“Maybe you could learn how to stay in one place.”

He cupped her cheek. “Maybe I could, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in that. I’ve been this way all my life.”

“But you could at least try it out!”

“That wouldn’t be fair to you. You deserve more than some cowboy who doesn’t know whether he could cut it. Even though promising I’d give it my best shot would probably get me into your bed.”

“It would.”

“Or you into my bed.” He tried to lighten the mood. “I’m past the age where I’ll climb up drainpipes and crawl through windows to have sex.”

A mixture of sadness and defiance shone in her eyes. “I could get you to do it. And the drainpipe on that Victorian would hold because I’m the one who bolted it on there.”

“If anyone could get me to climb a drainpipe, it would be you. And I’m sure you have it bolted down tight.” He brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheek.

“Then say you’ll stick around. I dare you. Take a chance.”

“I’m not taking that kind of chance with your heart, Georgie.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly.

She bit his lip.

“Ouch!” He drew back and swiped his tongue over his bottom lip. He tasted blood. “Hey!”

“That’s for being a damned coward, Vince.” She scrambled to her feet and began pulling on her clothes. “And for your information, it was a different part of me I was thinking would benefit if I convinced you to stay. Don’t worry about my heart, okay? What happens to it is none of your business.”

“Obviously.” He got to his feet and dusted himself off. So much for trying to be sensitive and caring. Now his lip was bleeding.

She finished dressing and stalked over to the overgrown bushes. “Meet you in the meadow.”

“Hang on. I’ll help you through the—”

“Never mind.” She crawled through the opening.

He winced at the sound of branches scraping her clothes, but she clearly wanted nothing to do with his help. Too bad he couldn’t have lied to her. All he had to do was make some vague promise about staying and she’d take it without asking questions.

But he wasn’t made that way. She’d asked an honest question, one that had probably required some courage on her part. He couldn’t shine her on just so he’d be allowed to make sweet love to her. And it would have been sweet, damn it. He’d thought so before and now he knew it for sure.

By the time he got to the meadow, she was there digging out their lunch from her saddlebag. She threw his sandwich at him. Good thing he was fairly coordinated. The water bottle sailed in his direction next. He managed to catch that, too, although he could swear she’d aimed for his head.

He thought that was it, which was plenty good enough, but then a cookie came at him like a tiny Frisbee. He plucked it out of the air, but a piece broke off and hit the ground. Reaching down, he picked up the broken piece. He was a sucker for chocolate chip cookies. That’s how he missed the launch of a second cookie and it fell at his feet.

He picked that up, too, and blew on it. A little dirt and grass wouldn’t hurt anything, especially when talking about a chocolate chip cookie. That seemed to be the end of the flying food, so he looked to see where Georgie had gone.

Not surprisingly, she’d retreated to a boulder over by Sing-Song Creek and sat with her back to him while she ate her lunch. Okay, he could take a hint. He found another flat rock at the edge of the meadow, which was about as far away as he could get without riding down the trail.

He wouldn’t leave her, but he wasn’t convinced that she wouldn’t leave him. She could have hopped on Prince and ridden away with their lunch, but that wasn’t Georgie. She might be royally pissed, but denying someone food would have been petty. She didn’t have it in her to be like that.

As he ate the sandwich she’d made, he thought about her putting it together this morning and felt a pang of remorse. If he’d kept his hands to himself, they might still be friends. They’d had a good morning, a nice morning, and then he’d allowed his libido to take over.

Oh, and he couldn’t forget that he’d admitted to her that she was the main reason he’d come back here. He never should have said that. Apparently the combination of her obvious satisfaction and his aching cock had made him temporarily stupid.

Or maybe, and this was depressing, he’d hoped she’d take pity on him and come to his hotel room tonight. He hoped he wasn’t that pathetic. In any case, he’d officially ruined their relationship, and it was totally his fault that she’d brought up the issue of him staying.

She’d naturally viewed his admission as one more piece of evidence that he was becoming attached to her and to this place. First he’d bought a horse and stabled him at Ed’s. Then he’d pushed past the boundaries of friendship during this trail ride. Then he’d capped that off by revealing his ongoing crush.

Eating made his lip sting, but that was okay, because he deserved a sore lip. He’d given her mixed messages, and when she’d tried to sort through the bullshit, he’d piled on more of it with his idiotic remark about not wanting to take a chance with her heart. Yeah, like she might fall in love with him. That was never gonna happen.

There she sat on that rock, her back straight as a lodgepole pine, probably cussing him out as she ate her lunch, and he wanted her more than ever. He tried to take comfort in the knowledge that she was less sexually frustrated than she’d been when they’d ridden out this morning.

She’d mentioned that she’d appreciated what he’d done for her. Okay, that’s why he’d told her about his long-standing crush. Now he remembered. Her comment had struck him wrong, like he’d done her some kind of favor out of the goodness of his heart because he felt sorry for her lack of good sex.

He hadn’t liked that image at all, so he’d wanted to let her know that he didn’t go around satisfying every deprived woman he ran across. This had been a special circumstance. How had he thought of it when they’d been on the trail? A moment out of time. A moment out of his effing mind was more like it.

She wasn’t eating her lunch anymore. Instead she just sat there staring off into space, probably thinking of how much fun it would be to bury him next to an anthill and pour honey on his head. Then she sighed so loudly that he could hear it clear across the meadow. Hell, the Ghost could probably hear it from wherever he was hiding out.

As if Vince’s thought had conjured him up, the gray horse appeared through the cottonwoods on the far side of the creek. Georgie went completely still. Vince glanced over to where they’d tied Storm Cloud and Prince. They stood motionless and alert, their attention fixed on the stallion.

The Ghost sniffed the air and surveyed the scene. Then he walked cautiously over to the creek, dipped his nose into it, and took a drink. He was less than ten yards away from Georgie.

Vince wondered if she’d ever been this near to the stallion before. Even if she had, it couldn’t be that often that she got up close and personal. Vince held his breath. Even the birds stopped chirping as silence descended over the meadow.

Suddenly the Ghost lifted his head, water dripping from his mouth. He looked straight at Georgie, snorted, and spun on his back hooves like a Lipizzaner. Then he bolted into the trees and was gone.

What a magical moment, and if he hadn’t driven a wedge between them, they could have shared it. They had sort of shared it, but from a distance. He was glad for her that she’d been the one down by the creek, the one with the best view. She must be thrilled.

She sat on the boulder a little longer and finally climbed down. As she walked back over to him, she kept looking over her shoulder, as if hoping the stallion would return. He didn’t, and so she continued toward Vince.

Fortunately her angry frown had been replaced with an expression of wonder. “That was amazing. I’ve never been that close. I could see a little notch on his ear. There’s a small crescent-shaped scar on his right foreleg. And he had a burr tangled in his mane. In fact, his mane and tail both need to be combed out. My fingers itched to do it.”

He smiled at the excitement in her voice. “I’m glad he showed up.” He also didn’t miss the contrast between her reaction to the stallion and his. He’d wanted to rope him. She wanted to groom him. But he must be making progress, because he’d had no desire to throw a rope at that horse today. None.

“Listen, I want to thank you.”

“For being a pain in the ass?”

She pressed her lips together as if working hard not to laugh at that. “Well, you are, but you’re also the one who said we shouldn’t dig up this meadow, and you’re absolutely right. If the trail rides camped here every weekend, it would be so stressful for the Ghost. He’d be afraid to come down to the creek. Besides that, you found an alternative. So thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He wished they could be a little less formal with each other, but at least she wasn’t throwing things at him anymore.

“We should be getting back. We’ll take a different trail from the one you used to get here three weeks ago. You can see if you like it any better or if you want to use the one you already know.”

“Great. Choices are good.” He wadded up the paper she’d used to wrap his sandwich. “Thanks for the lunch. It was delicious.” He wondered if she’d apologize for throwing it at him.

She didn’t. “I’ll take that back in my saddlebag.” She held out her hand.

When he gave her the crumpled paper, their hands touched. He longed to draw her into his arms and apologize for being a jerk, but that would be the wrong way to go about it. “Georgie, I’m sorry for . . . everything.”

She met his gaze and hers was sad. “Me, too.” Then she broke eye contact and walked over to Prince.

At that point he made a decision. The minute Wild Horse Canyon Adventures was a guaranteed success, he’d call Mac and Travis. Surely one of them would take over for him if they knew the money would be steady and the work fun.

It would be fun, too. Under different circumstances he might have stayed on the job longer. But he now realized he hadn’t been the only one with an ongoing crush. She might not want him to worry about her heart, but he couldn’t seem to help it.