Missy's Moment (The West Series Book 4) (8 page)

“Oh,” she frowned a little.

“What? You’re not thinking of backing out, are you?”

“Of course not.” She quickly turned her head towards him and gave him a defiant look.

“Good, because I have it all planed.”

“I was just wondering where I put my boots.”

He laughed. “If you can’t find any, I’m sure my cousins have a few pairs lying around that ought to fit you.” He glanced down at her feet. She was wearing a pair of black and white sandals that sparkled brightly in the light of the front porch. Her toenails were painted a deep red, making him think of a very juicy apple. He wondered if they tasted as good as they looked.

“What?” She glanced down at her toes with a frown on her face.

He shook his head clear and decided it was high time he headed home, since he couldn’t keep his mind clear. “I like your toes.” He chuckled and started to get up from the swing, but before he could, she leaned closer and wrapped an arm around him, holding him still.

“You know, I had hoped to sit on my couch and neck for a while, but I guess the front porch will have to do.” She leaned in closer and gently put her warm lips on his.

All thoughts of going home cleared from his mind. His fingers tightened and he gripped the bottom of her shirt. Relaxing his hands, he pushed them up until he touched her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Her mouth wouldn’t stop moving over his, and her tongue rubbed against his erotically, causing his mind to be lost in the moment.

She moaned. He moaned. Her hands had moved up to grip his hair in an almost painful fashion, but now they were starting to roam over his shoulders and chest.

His fingers dug into her hips, crushing her to his side. When he felt her move against him, he gasped for breath and pushed her back. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like he had to take it slow with her. He wanted too.

It was hell, but he finally pulled back from her. He waited until she blinked a few times and looked into his eyes.

“I’d better be going.” He brushed a finger down her cheek to feel the softness of her. Her blue eyes were foggy and he knew without a doubt that he was doing the right thing by taking it slow.

She nodded and leaned back. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Around ten?” He nodded. She turned towards the front steps, but then turned back towards him. “Listen, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“You know.” She crossed her arms over her chest, but then quickly uncrossed them and started pacing the small porch. “About me. I mean, that I’m…” She turned and looked at him. “You know.”

He shook his head no. “No, sorry.” Then he chuckled. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“About us. This.” She motioned to the front swing. “I’m not the kind of woman who jumps into bed with anyone,” she finally said, causing him to almost burst with laughter.

“Of course you’re not. If you were, I’d have no problem carrying you over that threshold, and I wouldn’t give a damn who knew that I’d spent the night in your bed.” He walked up to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Like I said, my mother died when we were young, but she did teach us a few things before going.”

She nodded and smiled a little. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

He nodded and then placed a soft kiss on those rosy lips of hers one last time.

“
J
ust because I haven’t ridden in a while doesn’t mean you have to take it easy on me.” She glanced over at Reece, who was on a dark horse next to her. Since leaving the barn almost a half an hour ago, they had crossed the field at a slow pace. So slow that she was beginning to wonder if the mare she was on could go any faster.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He looked over at her with a smile. She tried to ignore the skip in her heartbeat when he looked at her like that, but the truth was, that smile set off too many sparks in her body to ignore.

“We can go faster.” She hadn’t wanted to take off and leave him behind, but now she was thinking it would be a great idea to leave him eating her dust.

When he glanced over at her with a smile, she nudged her horse into a trot. When she noticed that he was right beside her, she pushed the horse faster until they were rushing across the field. The wind blew her hat onto her back, and she felt it pulling at her hair. Laughing, she stole a glance sideways to see if Reece was beside her. He was and his eyes were fixed on her, a large smile on his face as he steadied his horse into position right next to her.

She took that as a challenge and nudged her horse faster. They raced until they came to a small stream that crossed the field. Here there were trees and brush that would shelter them from the warm spring sun. Pulling her horse to a stop, she wasn’t surprised to see Reece stop right beside her.

“That was fun.” He had a mischievous look on his face.

“What are you up to?” she asked right before he moved his horse right next to hers and plucked her off the saddle. She landed in his lap with a gasp, which he covered up with his mouth on hers.

She’d dreamed about this last night after he’d left her hot and wanting. She hadn’t been able to think straight and it had taken her almost two hours to finally fall asleep. Then the dreams had started and no matter what she did, Reece had always been there.

“There,” he said, pulling back from her. “That’s better.” She shook her head and smiled. “What do you say to some food? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He helped her down and then dismounted from the horse himself. She followed him when he took the reins and tied the horses to a low branch of a tree near the water, allowing them to drink from the stream.

He took a large picnic bag from his saddle, spread out a large checkered blanket, and then started pulling plates and food from the bag.

“There are some cold drinks in my cooler bag.” He nodded to his horse. She walked over and untied a large brown bag. When she unzipped the lid, she realized it was full of ice. Sitting on the blanket next to him, she reached in and pulled out a couple bottles of water. Twisting the cap off, she took a sip. Ever since his kiss, she’d felt overheated. She reached in the bag again and took out a bottle of champagne.

“I got that to celebrate your new home.” He nodded towards the bottle. “I meant to take it by your place the other day,” he said, holding up two champagne glasses. When she took them from him, she realized they were plastic and smiled. He’d thought of everything.

They sat and ate their lunch together in the shadow of a large mossy tree, listening to the water run over the small pebbles in the stream. After she’d eaten half of her turkey sandwich and drank most of her glass of champagne, she leaned back and looked at him.

“How’s the leg?”

He chuckled and shrugged. “It’s okay. Still on duty?” His eyebrows arched in question.

She shook her head. “Just curious. I’m sure you’re used to it…all the bumps and bruises.”

He shrugged again. “It comes with its perks.” He looked up at her through his lashes and she felt her face heat, his meaning made clear by the look he was giving her.

“Still, you really should take better care of yourself.” She looked off across the field and sighed. “It’s been too long since I’ve been riding. I’ve missed it.”

“You look like you’re a natural at it.”

“Oh, I was taught by one of the best riders. Your cousin.” She smiled. “Haley made sure to teach all her friends. I remember when Haley, Holly, and I decided to take Dash, Fresco, and Bob—”

Reece interrupted with a burst of laughter.

“Alex’s horse.” She rolled her eyes and continued with her story. “We decided to take the horses on one of our first outings. I think we were thirteen. It was before Haley’s father passed away.” She shook her head. “Anyway, Haley had decided that we’d spend the weekend up at their old cabin.” She leaned back on the blanket after taking the last bite of her sandwich. “We were about half way up the hills when Bob was spooked by a snake and threw Holly. She landed square in the middle of a big pile of blackberry bushes. It took me almost an hour to clean up all the cuts on her arms. It’s one of the reasons I decided to become a nurse. That and the time I had my tonsils out.”

He leaned back next to her.

“So, what about you?” When he glanced at her questioningly, she continued. “Why did you choose to work with horses?”

He smiled. “They were the only thing in my life that didn’t talk back or hit.” He crossed his arms behind his head and rested back. “The first time my father put me on the back of a green
bronc, an unbroken horse, it threw me clear across the corral. Broke both bones in my wrist.” He held up his left hand and turned it several times. “My father cussed and yelled at me and swore that he’d never let me on another horse since I cost him two hundred bucks at the ER. Wore the cast for about a week, then sawed it off myself and crawled back on that horse til he stopped foaming and bucking.” He laughed. “When he finally settled down underneath me, that was the moment I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

She reached over and took his hand in hers. They were both lying on the blanket, staring up at the leaves in the tree above them, which blew in the breeze.

“How did you get into bronc riding?”

He turned over onto his side, resting his head in his hand as he leaned up on his elbow.

“After my father died, I had a pile of bills to pay.” He shrugged a little. “It was the only other thing I was good at which I could make enough money to help pay the bills.”

“Do you enjoy it?” She leaned over and mimicked his position.

“Busting?” She nodded. “Sure, but it doesn’t match the thrill of having that connection with a wild horse for the first time.” He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “Knowing that your training will carry with them for the rest of their lives…how much enjoyment they’ll have by connecting with their rider…”

She smiled and leaned down to place a kiss on his mouth. “You’re pretty amazing.”

He chuckled. “Not really.”

She shook her head. “It takes a certain kind of man to do what you do. You’ve been hurt doing it but you still climb back in the saddle and love it.” She shook her head, then gently cupped his face and kissed him again. This time she put more emotion into her lips. When she pulled back, her heart was racing.

She looked down into his green eyes and could see the desire in them. “Why don’t we pick up where we left off last night? After all, there are no neighbors to gossip or see what we’re doing today.”

This time the kiss had more power as his hands wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her down on top of him. It excited her to feel the hardness of his chest against hers, to run her hands up and down his muscular arms as his tongue played over hers. She used her hips and ground herself against him until she heard him moan and reverse their positions. Now she was pinned under his weight and enjoying the feeling of him hovering above her. His hands shook as they reached up and started unbuttoning her blouse.

She was thankful that it was still early enough in spring to avoid the sheen of sweat that one usually got by just stepping outside in Texas, but now she felt her body heat just from his touch. She moaned when he finally pushed her shirt wide. He pulled back, his eyes raking over her exposed skin, sending shivers over her body. Finally, she reached up and pulled him back down to her so she could tug at his shirt buttons. He laughed a little and pulled his shirt off his shoulders. He was wearing a white tank top and when she started tugging on it, he yanked it over his head and tossed it aside.

When he came back down to her this time, it was to skin on skin, and they both moaned with delight. The urgency grew and when she started to tug on his jeans, he pulled back and shook his head no.

“Missy, I’m trying to be good here.” He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. “God!” The word escaped him in a whoosh.

“Why?” She wrapped her legs around his hips to hold him closer. “Why not let ourselves enjoy the moment?”

He pulled back and looked down into her eyes. Then he shocked her by sitting up and resting his arms on his bent legs. He looked off towards the water. “It’s hard to explain.” He shook his head. When she leaned closer to him, he glanced over at her. “It matters.” She tried to hide her shock. “You’ve got to understand.” He turned and handed her a shirt. She smiled a little when she realized it was his. She put her arms in the sleeves and held it close to her. He sighed and looked off towards the water again. “Ryan and I had always planned to leave home together. Then he left me there and dad got sick.” He looked down at his hands. “After he died, I kind of went a little wild.” He turned and looked at her again. “There were a lot of women.”

She chuckled. “Reece, I’m no blushing virgin either.”

He shook his head. “No, I mean a lot. Buckle bunnies. That’s what we called the women who followed the rodeo circuit around. Their sole purpose is to bag a cowboy and well…” He shrugged. “I was one of the easiest around.”

She sobered. “Reece are you trying to tell me something?”