Behind Closed Doors (12 page)

Like any married couple, they’d fallen into a routine. He and Anne had disagreed, but only over petty things. Her eyes would fill with tears and he’d let her have her way. When it came to ranch business or finances, she’d just smile and tell him to do whatever he thought best, so he’d quit trying to involve her.

He watched Beth pop a cherry tomato into her mouth, then pick up their salad plates and close the knife drawer with her hip. He doubted she’d have trouble expressing an opinion. Hell, he expected she had a whole lot of them. And if they disagreed over something, she wouldn’t hesitate to go toe-to-toe with him. He kind of liked the idea, though he didn’t have much experience dealing with a strong-willed woman.

She leaned in front of him to set his salad on the placemat and he got a tantalizing whiff of her vanilla-scented hair. “Oh, I forgot the salad dressing,” she said, brushing against his thigh and chest when she straightened.

The accidental touch brought a soft bloom of color to her cheeks. Now that was unexpected. The sudden tightening in his groin was not.

“I’ll get it,” he said, and pulled out her chair. “You sit.”

She hesitated, then started to squeeze past him.

He kissed her upturned face. Just a light peck on her cheek, another on the tip of her nose. He used a little more pressure on her parted lips.

When Beth finally needed to take a breath, she let out a soft gasp, her sweet warm breath teasing his chin and nostrils. “We aren’t going to eat, are we?”

“We are.” He forced himself to back up. Dammit, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t rush the evening.

“I really don’t care—”

“I do.” He didn’t wait for her to sit but headed back to the kitchen. “Anything else we need while I’m here? Steak sauce?”

“Um, no, we’re having the lasagna.”

“Right.” He heard her soft laugh and just shook his head. Here he was, a grown man, thirty-four years old, and he was gonna disgrace himself tonight. He just knew he would. He’d be lucky if he didn’t shoot his wad before he got her bra off. And wouldn’t that be a hell of a thing.

“Thank you.” Beth took the bottle of dressing he brought to the table. “You know we could’ve eaten in the kitchen, right? I was only teasing you.”

“Come on, you wore high heels and everything. Don’t tell me you weren’t expecting to eat at a table.”

“What you didn’t know was that while you were in the kitchen, I took my shoes off.” Her laugh was low, throaty and sexy as hell. “But eating dinner without plates...that’s where I draw the line.”

“Here I thought you were the adventurous type,” he said, and she gave him a sassy smile that had him serving up the lasagna real quick.

She dug in, not wasting time cutting dainty pieces or trying to scrape off any of the rich melted cheese. Instead, she twirled her fork to make sure she didn’t lose a single stringy morsel.

Taking his first bite made him realize he was famished. Used to eating alone, he had to remind himself not to start shoveling in his food. After three sizable forkfuls, he paused for a sip of wine.

Beth was awfully quiet, staring out into the darkness while she ate. He hoped he hadn’t dampened her mood. Though he had a feeling he’d made several wrong turns tonight.

“I don’t take this house for granted,” he said, and when she put down her fork, he realized he should’ve waited to set the record straight. “I love this place, I always have. The Lucky 7 started with seven acres of scrub brush. I built it from the ground up, and the house was every bit as important to me as the rest of the ranch.”

“I’m so sorry, Nathan. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“That didn’t bother me. That’s not why I brought it up.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Since I was thirteen I knew I wanted my own ranch. I left college a year early so I could get on with building something for myself. My grandfather left me and my brothers each seven acres. He probably figured we’d all end up staying on the Whispering Pines and working with my dad, but I appreciated the chance to see what I could do on my own.

“On breaks from school I used to come out here and mark the ground where I wanted the barn, stables, corrals...everything. Turned out some of the buildings weren’t in practical locations, so I had to tinker with the plans. But not the house. That never changed. I knew exactly where I wanted it and purposely built it at this angle. On the east side every room has a view of the sun coming up. On the other side you can watch it set behind the Rockies.”

“Quite an undertaking for someone so young.”

“I knew what I wanted and stayed focused.” He took another bite of his food, hoping she’d do the same. She sipped her wine but didn’t touch her fork.

“You must’ve married young,” she said, then looked as if she wished she hadn’t, which could mean his suspicion was accurate. She thought he was having trouble letting go of Anne.

He shrugged, continued to chew. “Anne was two years behind me. We waited a year after she graduated from college, mostly so I could get the Lucky 7 off the ground. I was twenty-four when we tied the knot. In retrospect...yeah, that was too young.” Nathan could see questions forming in her eyes. “Your food’s getting cold.”

“This stuff is so good I’d eat it half-frozen,” she said, and narrowed her gaze. “It’s scary but I’m kinda serious.”

He grinned. “I’ll be sure to pass that on to Kitty.”

“Um, what part of keeping this thing secret don’t you get?”

“Ah, my bad.”

“Look, you know I’m worried about how Lib would react, but I’m keeping this quiet for you, too.”

“I appreciate that, and while I don’t plan on broadcasting anything, I’m not concerned with Kitty or Woody finding out. Believe me, they know how I feel about small-town gossips. They’re trustworthy and won’t stick their noses in too far.”

Beth nodded, her gaze fixed on the fingertip she was running along the rim of her wineglass. “Nice crystal,” she said absently, then blinked and glanced around. “Everything is very...nice. You have wonderful taste.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with the decorating. And for the record, I hadn’t forgotten I have a table.... I use the kitchen every day to make coffee. Everything in the house, with the exception of my office, was Anne’s taste.”

He left out that Anne had bought him pottery and brass doodads for his office. They were gone now. He’d told Kitty to take whatever she wanted, and she hadn’t argued, not after he’d hurled a ceramic bowl against the wall in a fit of rage. Scared the bejesus out of the poor woman. She’d had no way of knowing he’d found Anne’s birth control pills a few minutes earlier. For two years his
loving
wife had led him to believe they were trying to start a family. Just another lie in a string of many.

Beth touched his hand. “Nathan? You okay?”

“Not used to talking so much at one time.” He drained his glass. “How about we finish eating, and then I’ll show you the rest of the house?”

“Perfect,” she murmured, and picked up her fork.

For the next five minutes they spoke very little and ate quickly. Nathan finished off his meal. He hoped the food would give him stamina, both before and after he got her naked.

By the time they cleared the table, every move they made was laced with the spark that had started this whole thing. Finally, he couldn’t stand it another second.

He pulled her against him as he bent his head. She automatically lifted her lips. He brushed them with what started as a light kiss, but quickly became more. She tasted like wine and temptation, and it was hard to resist lifting her onto the table and having her right there. Instead, he eased back, leaned down and kissed her breast through her clingy top and bra.

“Very sneaky,” she said, shuddering in his arms. “Let’s see what else you have up your sleeve.”

That was all the coaxing he needed. He hurried them both toward his bedroom, but halfway down the hall he pulled down the zipper of her denim skirt. Gasping, she retaliated by jerking his shirt from his jeans. She yanked again and two buttons popped off and hit the wall.

“Oops.” Her eyes widened. She covered her mouth. “I forgot they weren’t snaps.”

He drew her hand away and took advantage of her parted lips, slipping his tongue inside, mating it with hers and savoring her sweetness. Her body molded to him and her sexy moans went straight to his cock.

He was already hard. Too hard. Jesus. He’d known this would happen. He had to cool it, get hold of himself. Not behave like a stupid, impatient kid. But she was soft and warm and eager, her mouth continuing to seek his when he tried to draw back.

So much for good intentions. He freed the hem of her shirt and slid his hand underneath. The smooth feel of her taut, silky skin nearly did him in. He cupped the weight of her breast, frustrated with the bra preventing him from fingering her nipple. This was crazy. They could’ve been naked by now.

Lifting his head, he broke the kiss and moved his hands to her shoulders. She stared up at him in dazed confusion, then blinked. Her lips were pink and a little swollen. Temper sparked in her eyes and she went for another button.

“Wait,” he said, his hoarse laugh meeting a glare. “We’re almost—”

“I can do two things at once,” she said, making a grab for his shirt. But he caught her wrist and pulled her the rest of the way to his bedroom. He flipped on the light switch and the nightstand lamps filled the room with a dim glow. The bed was already turned down, the beige-and-brown comforter draped over a wing chair. Something made her giggle.

“What?” Watching her, he finished unbuttoning his shirt and shrugged out of it. Her attention was drawn to his chest, then down his belly. “I have a favor to ask,” he said, his voice a low, rough rumble.

“What’s that?” she asked, her gaze lifting from the front of his jeans to his eyes.

“Take off your top for me?”

She smiled and slowly pulled up the hem, exposing a satiny peach-colored bra. Then she drew the shirt over her head. Her honey-blond hair fell in waves around her slim shoulders.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, then looked her in the eyes again. “Dammit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Boots. Don’t go anywhere.” He sat at the foot of the bed to take the damn things off. He couldn’t stop watching Beth, though, as she looked around the room. Her gaze paused on the antique armoire and matching dresser. He’d never taken off boots so fast in his life. Once they were tossed aside, he captured her hand, tugged her close enough to stand between his spread legs.

Every instinct wanted him to finish stripping her, lay her down on her back and cover her body with his. It wasn’t easy, but he paused to savor the beauty of her pale skin, the slight quiver of her lower lip, enjoy the satisfaction of her body starting to arch toward him.

He drew her bra strap down her arm and kissed her shoulder. The satiny smooth feel of her made the need to have her beneath him more urgent. He unclasped her bra, then sucked in a breath when the fabric fell away from her breasts. Her flushed nipples had tightened into rosy buds. He pulled her skirt down her hips, ready to explode when she helped by doing a slight shimmy that made her breasts jiggle.

Quickly he finished stripping off her skirt until she stood before him in only her skimpy peach-colored panties. She inhaled deeply, and her bare breasts thrust at him. He touched them, brushing his thumbs across her aroused flesh. Then, when he couldn’t stand it a moment longer, he put his arms around her and drew a nipple into his mouth.

* * *

B
ETH COULDN’T SEEM
to stop trembling. Nathan’s arms tightened, steadying her. She caught her breath as he suckled harder. Realizing she was digging her nails into his shoulders, she curled her fingers into her palms.

Lifting his mouth from her breast, he stared at her with glazed eyes before his gaze moved to the fisted hands hanging at her sides. After returning them to his shoulders, he rubbed his palms down her back until he cupped her bottom. He rolled his tongue over her other nipple and she shuddered, whimpered, nearly begged. His skin was hot. So was his hungry mouth, and her hips automatically rocked against him.

With a husky groan, he lifted her into his arms and she clung to him as he carried her around to the side of the bed and laid her on the bronze-colored sheets. He touched her face, let his fingers trail between her breasts, over her rib cage, down to her belly, his gaze running half a heartbeat behind.

Normally she preferred smooth chests. His was the exception. Soft black hair peppered the olive skin between his small brown nipples and ran down in a narrow line to his flat, ridged belly. He had the perfect amount of muscle definition, and she was having trouble dragging her eyes away. But she had to see the rest of him, and surged up to tug at his open jeans.

“Hold on,” he said. “We’ll get there.” He cupped her shoulders, his hands firm but gentle, urging her back to the sheets. He smiled and kissed her mouth, using his tongue to gain entrance. Her eyes drifted closed, but she opened them when he broke the kiss and muttered a curse.

Beth found him leaving the bed, tugging down his jeans. “Want help?”

“No. Stay right there.”

Expecting a show, she was disappointed he hadn’t taken his boxers off at the same time. But then he was bending over her, and she felt the warm pressure of his lips on the side of her neck, the rough pad of his thumb circling her nipple, the dampness growing between her thighs.

Before she knew it he’d quickly, efficiently stripped her panties down her legs. She let out a gasp that he caught in his mouth. He swirled his tongue around hers as he slid his hand back up, slowly skimming the outside of her calves, making her breath catch when he moved to the inside of her thigh. Instinctively she squeezed her legs together. He deepened the kiss, keeping his hand completely still until she relaxed.

The first brush of his fingers against her damp flesh made her buck wildly. He joined her on the bed, dropped a quick kiss on her thigh and positioned himself between her legs. She started to protest the presence of his boxers when he bent his head and stroked his tongue against her. Her startled gasp was nothing compared to how high she arched off the bed. So high he gripped her hips to keep from breaking contact. His mouth was hot, his tongue sure, and he seemed determined to taste every inch of her.