License to Love (11 page)

Chapter Seven

Music had been a hobby, one he’d always enjoyed, but tonight
his music became a love song for Missy. He put his feelings for her into his
music, hoping she understood his longing, his need to touch her, his need to
take her breath away.

The others clapped along with her when he finished the last
song, but he looked into her wondrous brown eyes only, gauging her response.

Romance, anyone?

To everyone he said, “Smells like dinner’s done.” He didn’t
want to make a big show of it, and he’d seen what he wanted from Missy. She’d
listened with more than her ears, leaning forward, her face enraptured.

After he carried the turkey to the table, he carved while
everyone filled their plates.

“Did you cook for the rest of the year?” Alice asked Brent
with a laugh, “You don’t think we eat this much, do you?”

He shrugged and glanced at Missy. She returned his smile
with a secretive one, a shared look. With her hair pulled up, she looked different.
Sophisticated, but not aloof like when he’d first met her. It helped that she
wore a soft green sweater and not a silk suit.

Funny thing was, he itched to pull her hair free and watch
it tumble down around her shoulders— after kissing her neck like crazy. He
hadn’t thought of that. Maybe he liked it up... for a while.

“Gonna daydream all day, or are you hungry?” Dale intruded
into his fantasy. One look at Dale grinning at him told Brent his thoughts were
pretty apparent.

“Don’t wait for me, dig in,” he joked right back. He didn’t
care if everyone could tell what was on his mind. As long as Missy got the
hint.

She glanced at him but looked away quickly.

“Pie anyone?” Dale asked, adding to Missy, “You have to try
my apple pie.”

“I’ll try to fit in a piece.”

Brent could see her surprise when she bit into the first
bite. “Can all the men around here cook and bake better than me?”

Brent liked Dale’s pies, but what he really wanted for
dessert was the woman sampling a bite. He watched her savor it, her eyes
fluttering shut, and then opening to look right at him.

A blush crept up her neck and onto her cheeks. He needed to
be careful or she’d start thinking he was some sex starved maniac. Well, truth
be told, he hadn’t even dated for two years so maybe he was. But that wasn’t
really what he wanted from her, or the only thing, anyway. He wanted to touch
her and please her… he just wanted her, all of her.

Brent’s manners insisted he didn’t rush everyone out the
door after dinner, but he couldn’t wait to get Missy alone.

On that thought, he cleared the table and let his company
talk. Glancing back at them, he saw Missy’s gaze on him. His legs. She worked
her way up and seemed to stop right below his belt. He let out his breath when
she moved on to his stomach. She lingered there, too. Then his chest.

She was chewing her lips. Someone help him.

Finally she looked up at his face and went flaming red.
Oh,
yeah, baby, I’m watching you, too.
He smiled.

Rubbing her neck, she turned back to Alice, who wore a sly
smile.

“Well, I think we need to be getting home.” Alice spoke loud
enough for Dale to hear as she stood. They normally stuck around to put things
away and help him clean, so he knew Alice was trying to give him and Missy
privacy. Ivan sat with his wife on the couch, nearly climbing in her lap, so he
looked equally pleased with the idea.

Missy’s face had gone from red to pale. He’d let her leave
if she gave the slightest indication she wasn’t ready to be close to him. Maybe
he scared her. He’d gobbled her up with his gaze all night. Where had his
self-control gone? Right in the gutter, along with his thoughts.

Dale and Alice wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving and
left. He knew they’d exchanged a look about the heat between him and Missy. But
hell, he couldn’t hide it. He’d never wanted anyone like this before, and he
didn’t care who saw it.

After Ivan and Tina drove away, Missy turned to him with
questioning eyes, her mouth parted. He felt a leap of excitement when he read
the feelings there. “I’m not used to feeling like this.”

Let me touch you.
He felt like a boy on a cliff,
staring at the deep water below.
Jump, and it’ll be over.
But he didn’t
move yet.

“Want help cleaning up this mess?” She glanced around, a
hand on her neck again.

“I didn’t get you alone to clean.” He pulled her into an
embrace without thinking or questioning it. “I’ve wanted to kiss your neck all
night.”

His mouth made her moan, and she leaned her head back. Brent
trailed his mouth up to her ear and his hands slid into her hair. The clip holding
her hair up popped.

She didn’t care.
Kiss me!

With one hand, he brushed her hair over her shoulder and
slid his hand down the silky length of it. Since their bodies were pressed
together, he felt her body heat through her clothing. It made him want to feel
that heat skin to skin.

They mirrored smiles at each other when her head tilted back
to look at him. Heaven help him, he couldn’t hold back with her.

“Missy . . . if you don’t want to kiss me, you’d better run
now.”

She halfway smiled at that same warning.

“No way. I’m staying.” Her brown eyes held desire, not fear.
He saw the cloudy look in her eyes, and brought his mouth down on hers. Soft, warm
and ready. To gain her trust, he kept the contact light at first. But she
parted her lips in an invitation.

He felt like he took flight as she melted into him, molded
every inch of her to his body. Clinging to him, she welcomed his advance,
meeting his tongue. Urgency to devour her overwhelmed him.

Her sweet kiss turned passionate. She tilted her head, wrapped
her arms tighter around his neck, and kissed him with the same wildness he
felt.

He deepened the kiss when she moaned, but then she
hesitated. Pulling back, he saw her open her eyes to meet his gaze. She looked
both amazed and puzzled.

Murmuring, he asked, “Friends can kiss once in a while,
can’t they?”

“I’ll allow it today.” She looked at his lips and leaned
forward. Without looking away from his mouth, she ran a finger across his top
lip, then bottom.

He imagined pushing her back on the couch and kissing her
breathless, but he needed her trust.

“I love your mouth.” His words came out a whisper.

Suddenly her mouth landed on his, her body against him. She
shocked the socks off him by slipping her hands under his shirt and spreading
her fingers across his stomach.

She chewed on his bottom lip to drive him crazy. The kiss
deepened.

She pulled him with her and fell back on the couch. “Touch
me.”

Had she somehow seen his fantasy in his eyes?

“Are you sure?” He didn’t plan on pushing things. She didn’t
answer, just grabbed his hand and pulled it against her. So she wasn’t an
uptight city girl, but an adventurous siren.

Had she ever seemed like a city girl? He gave into the
fantasy, letting his hands explore, feeling her soft skin under her shirt. He
ran a hand slowly up her back, feeling her arch. A tiny voice warned to take it
slow but he couldn’t resist caressing her stomach, thinking about more. Her
body lifted into his touch.

A loud knock sounded at the door, causing him to pause.

She clung to him, shaking her head. “Don’t answer it.”

What could be so important? He hadn’t felt an earthquake. He
didn’t smell smoke.

For the life of him, he couldn’t pull away from her. The
knock got louder, then Dale called his name.

“Damn it all!” Brent jumped up to answer the door, saying
over his shoulder, “He’ll walk right in here if we don’t answer.”

He threw open the door to scowl at Dale. “Is something on
fire?”

Dale looked baffled. “You better get out here, the stable
roof’s leaking bad and pouring water all over everything. We’ve got a muddy
mess in there and some unhappy horses.”

Dale left before Brent could grab his coat. Missy rushed to
come with him.

“Listen, you don’t need to be out in the cold and wet.” He
didn’t think she’d know how to help anyway.

Her dark gaze held his, looking determined as heck to go
with him.

“Fine, come on, I don’t have time to argue.” He turned
toward the door, and she followed him into the dark night. The rain fell slow
enough to look like snow, but it wasn’t cold enough for that.

After several steps, he thought about how he’d spoken to
her. Looking over, however, she didn’t look angry. “Listen, getting interrupted
like that . . . it, uh, it doesn’t feel so great. Sorry I snapped at you.”

The corners of her mouth rounded in a smile. “Forgiven. I’m
not too thrilled, either. That’s why I didn’t want to sit there by myself.”

Really? He wanted to tease her, but they were close to the
stables. One reason Brent liked having Dale around was he kept everything in
top shape. Right now, however, he wasn’t happy with having to fix something the
minute it needed fixing.

Dale placed a ladder against the side, with the tools close
by.

“I’ll hold, you go up first,” Brent directed Dale. Missy
stepped back as Dale climbed. Brent turned to her when Dale reached the roof.
Her head went back to look up, and she looked scared.

He chucked the rolled-up tarp up and made sure Dale caught
it, then he picked up the toolbox to take up with him.

“Hold the ladder for me?” Judging from the look on her face,
she didn’t like heights. He wasn’t about to ask her to come up.

“Okay, go.”

He didn’t rush since the ladder was wet, and he had to perch
the box on a rung, take a step, and then move the toolbox. He reached the roof
and looked down through the darkness to call out, “You can go in the stables
and I’ll call when we’re coming down.”

The lone flashlight he’d thought to bring didn’t do much in
the way of lighting. Dale used his own flashlight to light his workspace. With
the rain and tilted roof, it wasn’t a fun job, but they got it done. He was
beginning to regret coming out to fix it tonight; it really could have waited.

“Missy!” He had to bellow her name out since she was still
inside. She ran out and understood he wanted her to hold the ladder. Once they
were both on the ground again, he said, “Let’s survey the damage.”

With only five boarder horses, their total came to fifteen,
and Missy had moved them so every horse was in a dry stall.

“I wonder why a little water set them off.” Dale rubbed his
beard. “Horses usually like to stand in the rain.”

Brent shrugged since there wasn’t any way to tell, but it
might have been that Dale was worried and decided the horses were too. Dale
thought of this place like his own, and Brent couldn’t fault him for being so
diligent in his job. He noticed Missy had gotten the horses into dry blankets
for the night.

“We’ll take care of this,” Brent told Dale. “You can head on
home.”

Dale nodded to them on his way out. Missy had been quiet and
he turned to her now. “You have a way with them, you know. They’re settled down
like nothing bothered them.”

She didn’t answer, and he knew she was thinking over what
had happened between them in his house.

“Warm enough?” His coat had gotten soaked through while he
hammered the tarp down.

“I’m good. We’ll be done soon anyway.” She started back to
the wet stalls. “This isn’t so bad. It’ll dry now that new water isn’t dripping
in.”

“Let’s head out, then.” He waited for her to turn around and
look at him, but she didn’t. She started for the door.

Curious reaction. “Would you like to come back to my place?”

Now she turned. “I . . . I’m not sure.”

He didn’t plan to push things, not when she looked worried
about something. “Okay, I’ll walk you home.”

At his words, her shoulders relaxed and she tried to smile.
His instinct had been on, but what scared her? He put an arm around her on the
way, and was grateful she leaned into him, accepting his comfort.

They hurried through the rain, not that they could get any
wetter.

At her door, he asked, “How about you and I go out tomorrow
night?”

She didn’t hesitate on that one. “Sure.”

Maybe she just needed to take it slow. Now under her porch
roof, he rubbed her wet hair. He pulled her chin up and sank his mouth onto
hers, finding her lips as cold as his own. He kept the kiss light and added
another to her forehead before sending her inside.

Once her door was shut, he headed home, not caring about the
cold drizzle coming down or the stable roof.

* * * *

Missy stood facing her bathroom mirror when she heard
Brent’s truck. No time to change her clothes again. Still nervous about taking
this step, she didn’t wait for him to knock, but grabbed her jacket and purse
and walked outside to meet him on the porch.

Memory flashes from the night before hit her, once again
sending desire through her. She’d kissed him until she couldn’t think.

He stepped out of the truck, looking dangerous in his tan
cowboy hat, a crisp dress shirt, and his long legs in new jeans. Dangerous to
her hormones, that was. He looked so good she ignored the flowers.

He checked her out, up and down. Then again. “Guess you’re
ready.”

He looked dumbfounded, but she didn’t find it as funny.
Another time, maybe, but now she just liked knowing she did that to him.

She met his gaze. “I heard you coming and didn’t want to
wait inside.” She took the flowers he handed her, brought the red roses to her
nose, but she wasn’t expecting them to smell so rich, deep, and somehow of
love. “Come in and I’ll put them in water.”

She turned and took them with her, letting him follow.
Like
the view from back there?
He seemed so entranced by her. She was aware she
had some curves, but his adoring eyes, and hands, took her unprepared.