Winds of Heaven (18 page)

Her arms tightened around his neck as he arrived at the bed and lowered her onto the mattress, but he pulled free of her touch and reached over her to shove the suitcase out of the way. Silky lashes drifted down to shield her from the reminder of imminent separation. She wouldn’t think of empty days and nights. She couldn’t bear to think of empty arms.

Not now. Not when she could feel the warmth of him so close. Not when his scent was so deliciously near. Not when she could open her eyes and drink in the sight of him. Her hands lifted to him in silent supplication.

And then he was beside her, his body a shelter for her uncertainties, his lips a soothing draught of forgetfulness. Her senses swelled with wanting him, and her fingertips traced damp patterns across his shoulders.

When his mouth closed over the rosy invitation of her breast, Kylie shivered beneath the caress. As she moved her head back and forth against the satin coverlet, her hair splayed across the bed in silky wet strands. In some vague mist of awareness she realized that she and Nick hadn’t bothered with even the thought of drying the moisture that clung to them.

“Nick,” she whispered huskily, “the spread is getting all wet.”

With a total lack of concern for the state of the spread, Nick etched tiny spirals with his tongue over the slope of her breasts to the softly shadowed cleft between. His lips sent tender yearnings flooding through her mind as he worked his way up to the hollow of her throat and then hovered only a breath away from her mouth. “Just pretend you’re in the middle of a mountain stream ... with me.”

He sealed the image with a kiss, but Kylie knew there was no need for pretense. The reality was too beautiful, too wonderfully right for imaginings.

His breath mingled with hers as he claimed possession of her, and she gave herself completely to the wild winds of heaven that whirled through her. Her body was his to command, just as her heart was his to keep. For all her hard-won independence she needed Nick, would always need him.

With a final, willing sigh of surrender she released her love for him and felt it soar, free of doubt, into a realm of promise.

Chapter Nine

Morning came in varied segments of dreamy sensation. Kylie savored the slow awakening in Nick’s arms, absorbing the warm, sleepy scent of him and the delicious roughness of his body curled drowsily around hers. The travel clock beside the bed ticked mercilessly, counting off the seconds.

A sigh built in her throat, but Kylie held it in check. She didn’t want to disturb Nick’s rest by even the slightest alteration of her breathing. In an hour he would be on his way to San Francisco, and she wanted this time just for herself.

Wrapped in the intimacy of the silent house, she felt a secret delight in watching him. Sleep-tumbled dark hair lay across his forehead, and his chiseled features were relaxed and gentled. Her fingertip tingled with the desire to touch the laugh lines at the outer corners of his eyes. But she denied herself the tactile satisfaction, letting her gaze trace the lines instead and imprint them for all time on her memory.

She wanted to be able to remember how it felt to be so near to him, to summon at will the sweet seduction of her senses that even now suffused her with longing. How could she bear to remain in this empty house without him, separated by miles and the unresolved situation between them?

It would be wonderful if he asked her to accompany him, asked her to come home with him and meet his family. Kylie smiled softly at the old-fashioned thought. But even if he asked, she knew she couldn’t go. She had to complete the seminar.

The silence was shattered by a high-pitched alarm, and Kylie watched with tender amusement as Nick struggled awake. He groped for the clock and in a matter of seconds restored quiet. “Damn,” he muttered thickly. “It’s morning.”

“A very beautiful morning.” She leaned toward him and greeted his lips with a butterfly touch.

His hand curved at her nape and insisted on a more thorough kiss. “I see what you mean,” he said as he drew back from her mouth.

Kylie smiled into his gray eyes cloudy with dreams. “Good morning.”

“Hmmm. Good morning.” He punctuated the words with another kiss, a deeper, more demanding kiss, which invaded her senses.

She pressed into him with the faint hope of postponing the impending separation. A slow shudder ran the length of the arm that embraced her, and then Nick reluctantly, regretfully released her. “I’m already dreading tomorrow, when you won’t be there to wake me.”

“There’s a simple solution,” Kylie said. “I’ll just phone you first thing in the morning.”

His deep sigh reflected her own lack of enthusiasm for the idea. “Somehow I don’t think it will be a very satisfying substitute, but I suppose it’s my only choice.” He turned to look at the time and groaned. “Did I set that blasted alarm or did you?”

Kylie nestled in the curve of his arm, hungry for just a few more minutes of his undivided attention. “Yes,” she said simply.

“Yes, what?” he asked, his breath stirring her disheveled curls.

“Yes, you set it, and yes, I reset it. I thought you needed an extra hour’s rest more than you needed breakfast.”

“That was a damned impertinent thing to do, Kylie. Especially since I needed an extra hour with you more than I needed either rest or breakfast.”

“Considering your rather unpleasant disposition this morning, perhaps you need a cold shower.”

“Only if you’ll heat the water for me as you did last night.” He placed a provocative kiss at the arch of her brow and then made a smooth foray down the bridge of her nose until he could capture her lips.

Suddenly Nick’s manner was no longer teasing, and Kylie shifted to curve her arms around him and return his caress with an urgency born of loving. Never had she thought she would ache with the mere idea of being apart from someone.

His hands moved over her in long, searching strokes, as if trying to soften the almost desperate intensity of their embrace. She felt him struggle to regain control and tried to master her own runaway desire.

“Kylie,” he whispered at last, his voice husky with emotion. “I don’t want to leave you. I wish….” He rolled to the edge of the bed and swung his feet to the floor. He stood, the muscles of his back displaying his tension. “I can’t miss that plane, Kylie.”

He made a slow turn, and she felt the heat of his gaze on her, felt the strength of his desire and the tremendous effort of will he exercised in not physically touching her. “Maybe I’ll try that cold shower after all.”

She watched him walk from the room, heard the bathroom door close, and lay back against the tousled sheets. A cold shower wouldn’t be a bad idea for her either, she thought with a sigh. Why on earth had she reset the alarm? Had she really been so satiated with loving that she hadn’t realized desire would be born anew with the dawn?

Maybe subconsciously she had wanted this first goodbye to be brief and dissatisfying in the hopes it would speed his return. But it was too late for regrets. There just wasn’t time. And now she had no choice but to be glad for these few minutes alone to compose herself. At least Nick wouldn’t carry the image of a love-sick, sad-eyed woman with him to San Francisco. She would make sure of that.

In the bathroom Nick eyed his reflection in disgust. He was acting like some love-sick kid going off to college and leaving his high school sweetheart behind. And he hadn’t experienced such a failure of self-restraint in years. Of course he’d never before experienced anything close to the feelings Kylie aroused in him.

Kylie. The thought of her was a quiet ache inside him.

Nick gave the faucet a frustrated twist and bent to splash the cool water on his face. Rubbing the moisture away, he frowned into the mirror. “You can’t take her with you, Braden,” he said aloud. “You know you can’t take her with you.”

He knew it was true. The next few days would leave little time to spend with her in any case. He would be thoroughly immersed in the battle that was probably raging at this very moment. Not exactly a great time to introduce Kylie to the family. What would she think of his grandfather’s authoritarian approach to any argument? he wondered. And would she be as overwhelmed by his aunt as most people were?

Nick allowed himself the luxury of imagining Kylie’s reaction. With her assertiveness principles and progressive theories she would probably stir up more controversy than he could handle. He felt relatively certain that neither his grandfather nor his aunt would be open-minded and understanding about Kylie’s spirit at this particular time.

He could depend on his mother to welcome her, of course, but what Kylie’s reaction to such a gentle, unassertive woman would be Nick couldn’t predict. No. He stopped the speculation cold. This was simply the wrong time to take Kylie home. Besides, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to convince her to leave Santa Fe, and they still hadn’t settled the issue of that damn seminar. It was better for all concerned to wait until the situation was resolved.

By the time he’d dressed and finished packing, Nick had reluctantly convinced himself of the wisdom of his decision. At least he was convinced right up to the minute he put his luggage into the car and turned to say good-bye.

Kylie slipped into his arms with a determined smile. “Don’t forget to write,” she quipped.

“I hope to be back before the pony express could deliver a letter.” His voice was as resolutely cheerful as her own. “Don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone, okay?”

“Is that an order or a request?”

“Just a heartfelt wish.” Nick tightened his hold on her. “Kylie,” he began almost hesitantly, “put the seminar on hold for now. Please. I know you’re going to stay here. But do some sight-seeing. Relax and enjoy a vacation. As soon as this mess with Alex is straightened out, we’ll talk.”

“Nick, I know you’re worried about the situation here, but you don’t have to be. I can help, really I can. By continuing the training course I can help to keep the employees communicating with management. You don’t have to fight on two fronts. You handle the home office and let me handle things here. Don’t ask me to stop the seminar now.” Kylie had used all her powers of persuasion, and now she willed him to agree, but she knew by the look in his eyes that he still didn’t believe her.

His thumb stroked her cheek, and his mouth formed a wistful line. “I am asking, Kylie. Please don’t refuse.”

She couldn’t in good conscience agree, but she simply couldn’t find the words to refuse either. Finally her desire for a harmonious parting won out, and with a sigh she nodded. “All right, Nick. But only for a while.”

He accepted the compromise by brushing a finger across her lips. His farewell kiss was tender. His good-bye was a throaty whisper that Kylie knew would echo hauntingly in her every dream. She watched until the car was out of sight before returning to the house and the prospect of a totally unappealing vacation.

* * * *

During the next few days Kylie saw more of Santa Fe and the surrounding area than she really wanted to see. She had lunch with Stephanie and heard more than she wanted to hear about Alex. She had dinner with a very subdued Alex and discovered more than she wanted to know about his sudden, inexplicable attraction to brunettes.

The hours were busy with activities, yet Kylie felt as if she were constantly waiting. Waiting for night to ease her empty arms with sleep, waiting for sunrise to ease her empty dreams with wakefulness. Waiting for Nick’s calls, which both appeased her longing and increased her dissatisfaction.

Loneliness is a state of mind,
she told herself again and again, but she finally admitted that loneliness was a state of heart and therefore completely immune to logic.

By the end of the week Kylie had had her fill of leisurely activity. She found herself in her office at Southwest, thumbing through notes and chafing at the inopportune interruption of the seminar. Nick had made a mistake in canceling the sessions. The tension among the employees was almost palpable, and several times, as she walked through the building, she’d been asked when the training course would continue.

Whether he realized it or not, Nick had only heightened speculation among the employees, and Kylie was utterly frustrated by the knowledge that she could have helped to ease the strained situation.

Alex reinforced her frustration at every turn. He seemed quietly resigned since the fire, as if he were waiting for the verdict. Kylie discovered that, stripped of his arrogant self-confidence, Alex exhibited some of the likable character traits that Stephanie had known about all along. More than anything else Kylie regretted that now, when Alex was receptive and needed assertiveness training, the seminar was on hold.

Alex wasn’t happy about the delay and told her more than once that she should consider resuming the sessions. She resisted the temptation, though, reminding herself of Nick’s request. But as the days wore on and she sensed the growing restlessness at the mill, Kylie began to consider Alex’s suggestion.

Nick would disapprove. She had little doubt of that. But Nick was in California. A long way from the situation, and after all, she had told him before he left that the delay was temporary. He knew she had every intention of finishing the seminar when he returned. And each day that she allowed the delay to continue, she lost some of the trainees’ initial enthusiasm for the course.

When Alex told her in a tremulous but nonetheless authoritative voice that he wanted her to begin the sessions again the following week, Kylie was eager to agree. Despite his assurances that he would take the responsibility of apprising Nick and the home office, she decided to mention it to Nick herself.

Nick might not be thrilled with the information, but Kylie hoped he would go along with her. Besides, by now he had surely had time to consider the matter from her perspective and could agree that continuing the seminar would be best for all concerned. And even if he didn’t agree with her, it might be the catalyst that brought him back to her.

He had given no indication of when he might return. At first he had telephoned every evening, but the phone had been sullenly silent for the past two days. Well, Kylie decided, there was no reason she couldn’t phone him. And she would.