Rawhide and Roses (14 page)

“Where is everyone?”

Thad’s gaze met hers like a rock to the gut. “Everyone? Oh, they’re gone.”

****

He had to be honest with her.

If he hadn’t been anything else, at least she could go away from here saying he’d been that—honest. If she had half a brain, which he suspected she did, she had to know how he felt about her after last night.

He had to hold on a few more days. He had to keep his feelings for her under wraps until then. But there was no reason to be unkind to her.

Thad watched the panic flare in Kim’s widened eyes.

“Gone? All of them? Where?” Her voice cracked.

He tried to respond in as direct a manner as he could manage. “Most, anyway. Mack and Jillie went out on a little excursion this morning.”

“I’ll just bet they did,” Kim muttered. Thad knew she was trying to keep her emotions in check. “And the others?”

“Ben and Luke rode back with the lawyers and the other couple. Your friend Tim decided he’d played city slicker long enough. I told the wranglers to stay at the ranch. I figure Mack and I can handle you and Jillie quite fine by ourselves.”

Again, a hint of alarm played around Kim’s eyes. Thad tried to read her expression, but it was hard. Panic coursed up inside himself. Just why in tarnation had he used that choice of words?

Damn. The next several days were going to be long. It was all he could do to tear his gaze away from Kim’s beautiful face. And he was half afraid that if he ever got her in his arms again, nothing would stop him from taking his fill of her, either.

That’s why it couldn’t happen. Not yet. She fueled a different kind of hunger deep within him each time those damnable blue eyes met his.

“So, where are Jillie and Mack off to?” Her question broke his thoughts.

“Looking for bones.”

“Bones?
Bones?
” Her brow arched.

“Some members of a pack trip we lost last year.” Thad knew he shouldn’t have said the words the second they were out of his mouth.

“What?”

Kim’s high-pitched voice pierced the quiet and Thad jerked up his head in amusement. She had the most frightened look about her, soft and innocent at the same time. Her short blonde haircut furled around her head in a rather unkempt fashion, which made her appear even more impish. Her eyes were round as biscuits. He wanted to laugh out loud but was afraid she’d deck him from across the table. His heart felt full and heavy. She was so damned beautiful, so gullible.

“Just kidding. They’re looking for bones from an early
Fremont
expedition.”

There was a twinkle in Thad’s eye that Kim had never seen before. If she hadn’t been so alarmed a moment earlier, she might have thought his little joke funny. But the simple fact remained that his joking was cause for warning. She would never have dreamed Thad could possess a sense of humor. And it was not only charming, but shocking, because if this little hint of humor could crack some of that gruff exterior, then, well....

Then she was in a lot of trouble. She didn’t want him teasing her. Teasing led to flirting. And flirting led to other things. And those other things were what were going to get her into trouble if she let him get too close.

Be civil to the man, Kim. Keep your distance. And don’t fall into the flirting game. Then you’ll be safe.

“Oh,” she replied in a matter-of-fact voice. “John Fremont, I presume. Wasn’t that during the...let’s see, about the mid-1840s?”

A few days earlier Kim would have been out to prove she was about a whole lot more than manicured nails and expensive haircuts. Even though those things were important to her. She’d wanted to prove to him that she could pull her weight just like the rest of the crew. But now, well, everything was getting all mixed up. One minute she didn’t want him to know diddly-squat about her, the other she was trying to impress him with her cooking and her brain; and then the next she’s telling herself to stop flirting so it won’t bring on any more of his wonderful kisses. Oh, God....

What is happening here?

Thad’s face grew serious and as he spoke about the expedition. “About 1840, I think. A little earlier than his expeditions through the upper Rockies and
Oregon
. You know that’s how Starvation Gulch got it’s name, don’t you? I can’t remember all the particulars. Talk to Mack if you’re interested, but I think quite a bit of his party was lost during that expedition. Starved to death, I imagine. Mack’s been itching to take some of the guests out on a side trip to play amateur archeologist. I guess that’s what he and Jillie are doing today.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Kim mumbled and glanced past Thad’s head. If she knew Jillie, searching for old bones was the last thing on her mind. Jumping Mack’s bones was more like it.

“Why do you say that?”

She shook her head, her cheeks heating up. “Uh, never mind.” She shifted on the bench, picked up a biscuit and took a bite. “So,” she said a moment later, trying to act very nonchalant. “What are your plans for the afternoon?”

An awkward silence fell between them. Both their gazes met. Kim picked up the biscuit again and took another bite. The consistency of the bread was crumbly, making it difficult to chew. Or was it that her mouth and lips had suddenly gone dry? Finally, she swallowed, coaxing the bread down with a sip of hot coffee. At least it was wet.

“We have the afternoon to ourselves, I guess.”

Kim looked to her plate, suddenly ravenous, and shoveled a bite of cold scrambled eggs into her mouth. What was he suggesting?

“Anything you would like to do?”

She knew if she looked up at him, he would know exactly what she would like to do. But, they weren’t going to do
that
.

She swallowed the eggs and lifted her face. “You’re sure we’re alone?”

With his gaze locked on hers, he dropped his head in slow nod. Maybe a little alarm crossed his eyes. For a split-second she lost sight of those fathomless orbs when his cowboy hat dipped lower. Then suddenly, there they were again.

Piercing. Questioning. Playful.

What was he doing? Playing her for a fool? Was he ready for her to spring on him only so he could knock her down again like he did last night? Well, she wasn’t going to fall for that old hat trick, was she?

Not a muscle in Thad’s jaw jerked. His lips were taut and thin and straight as straw. He looked sexy as hell.

Oh, hell, I’m a goner.

She had no earthly idea what he intended, but she knew exactly what he wanted. And what he didn’t want. And that she didn’t want it either. Did she?

God help them.

Kim raked a hand through her unruly, dirty hair. “I… What I’d really like, Thad. I think I’d... I’d like to take a bath.”

Thad straightened in his seat and eyed. “A bath.”

“Yes.”

If he said one word about being a prissy little socialite, she’d blast him, Kim decided right then and there. It had been days since she’d felt clean and if she didn’t immerse her entire body into water soon, she figured she’d rot about any second. And the more she thought about, the more she decided she wouldn’t be denied.

Besides, a cold dip in the stream might keep her mind off warm sleeping bags and muscled arms wrapped around her. Involuntarily, she shivered.

But as her gaze met his, she didn’t see anything in his eyes that was the least bit condescending. What she saw was raw, reined-in hunger.

Oh. God.

Standing, Thad stepped back from the table, as though to end any conversation taking turns down paths he’d rather not venture, and peered down at her. Glancing at his plate, Kim realized he’d finished his meal long ago. She’d barely touched her own.

“Okay,” he said, moving away from her. “I’ve got some things to do around the camp, so you go for it. I’ll move the stock. Pack up some of the gear we won’t be using now. In fact, I’ll clean up the kitchen tent.”

“I can do that. You cooked,” Kim amended, rising.

Thad shook his head and put out his hands. Kim wondered if it was in an attempt to put up a physical barrier between them. “No. You’ve been cooking and cleaning all week. I’ll do it. Take your bath. It’s probably a pretty good time for you to do that. You remember the rules?”

Kim threw a blank look his direction before recalling his pre-trip instructions about not altering the environment in any way. The proper way to latrine. To clean the dishes. Take care of the garbage. To bathe. “Yes. I remember.” She had no desire to spoil the pristine beauty of the land surrounding her.

“Good. There’s an extra basin in the supply box over there. You know where the stream is. Take as long as you wish. No one will bother you.”

There was an awkward, tentative crackle in the air about them as Kim met his eyes, nodded, and retreated from under the dining fly.
No one will bother you
. His words rang loud and true in her ear.

The thing was, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be left alone.

Chapter Ten

Thad worked around the kitchen tent for a while, avoiding looking in the direction of Kim’s tent. He didn’t want to imagine her there, preparing for her bath. And when he heard her walk past, heading toward the stream, he purposely pointed his gaze toward the basin full of suds and dirty dishes so he could keep his mind on his task. But when he’d figured she’d just about reached the area where a stand of trees bordering the stream would cut off his view of her, he tipped his head up to stare across the horizon after her.

He caught just a glimpse of her golden-blonde head and her back as she disappeared through the trees, a towel thrown over her shoulder.

Why had he acted the way he had earlier? What had possessed him to literally tease and flirt, when the night before he’d practically told her he wanted nothing to do with her? Did he want a reaction out of her? Did he want her to banter back and forth with him? Did he want her to come to him, to make love with him? Was that what he was intimating when he’d made the comment about them being alone?

Probably, you loco SOB. You want time alone with her; you want to get to know her better. And not just her body.
 
Intrigued as he’d been by her pert beauty, it was true that he was also fascinated with the woman herself. And the feelings he had for her were going a lot deeper than he really wanted.

The next thirty minutes or so he tried to erase those thoughts from his brain and busied himself with feeding and moving the picketed horses, packing up a few unnecessary items, and burning some of their refuse. He tried like hell to obliterate any and all images of what might be happening on the other side of that stand of pines out of his mind.

Impossible.

Straightening his body from where he’d just compiled two boxes of food into one, Thad let his gaze rest on the area where he knew Kim was bathing. His eyes closed and he inhaled deeply, imaging the scent of floral-essenced shampoo penetrating his nostrils, and the feel of water-softened skin under his palms.

He imagined Kim standing naked on the stream bank, her body and hair slick with water and soap as she poured a basin-full over her head, letting the crystal clear water sluice over her skin. Glistening in the sunlight, her hands raised to her face where she pushed tiny droplets out of her eyes with her fingers, then threaded them straight back over her head, squeezing the excess water from her hair. Her breasts, peaked and raised toward the sun seemed to jut out into the
Rocky
Mountain
atmosphere like they belonged there, a part of the natural surroundings. In his mind, Thad reached out. Touched her.

A tremor ran through his body.

Shaking his head, the image disappeared. For a second. At the realization he was fantasizing, he also grasped the fact that there was a growing hardness developing just south of his belt. Desire for Kim coursed through him. Because of his thoughts and dreams of her the past few days, these feelings—this passion, obsession, he felt toward her—could no longer be ignored. He was going to have to do something about her. One way or another.

****

Kim was in heaven.

Immediately upon shedding her clothing, she’d waded in and sank to her neck in the water, letting the cool mountain stream slide over her body. With her arms draped over two nearby boulders, she leaned into the rocks and settled herself quite comfortably between them, letting her head fall back and her eyes close.
      

The water was cool, almost cold at times, but she didn’t care. The longer she stayed in, she got used to it and it felt wonderful. The grime, dust, and smoke seemed to ooze out of her pores. It was the most relaxing thing she’d experienced during the entire trip. Blue sky above. Small wispy clouds. Only the sound of the rushing water at ear-level.

The days of hell she’d endured prior to this moment were almost worth getting to experience this small piece of heaven now. She’d almost, almost, do it again.

Hell? Was that what this was?

Eyes closed, she reminisced the events of the past three days. The trail ride was a disaster. The breakfast at the Flying W was even worse. The first day of riding she’d been so damned saddle sore she thought it would be better to die. And then, to fall into her sleeping bag and into Thad Winchester’s arms was almost more than she could stand.