Santa Fe Fortune (17 page)

“I’m starting to see where he got his name,” Gwen said with a grin.

Dan shot Gwen a smile that set her tailbone tingling. He was phenomenally handsome standing there with his horse. She couldn’t wait for them to carry her away.

“Okay, cowgirl,” he said, “ready to ride?”

“Whoa, boy!” Dan steadied Rascal under the fine cast of starlight. They stood in the riding ring just outside the barn. “Just do what I told you,” he instructed Gwen. “Grab on to the saddle horn there, put your right foot in the stirrup, and then hoist yourself up.”

Gwen was a little worried about being all the way up there by herself. “Rascal’s not going to take off running before you get a chance to join me?”

Dan chuckled and lightly patted the saddle. “No worries, little lady. You’ll be fine.” Gwen felt her face flush as she struggled with the stirrup that kept swinging away from her. “Here you go,” Dan said, holding it steady for her.

Finally, she got her foot inserted, but it was an awfully big hop to the top.

“Need a boost?” he asked.

“Maybe a small one.”

Gwen felt firm hands around her waist. “Now,” he said. “Pull up.” Gwen felt her other foot leave the ground as he lifted her with incredible ease.

Suddenly, she went soaring onto the saddle, her left leg swinging over the other side of the horse.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Dan said with a wink. “I’m coming right behind you.”

In an instant, he was mounted at Gwen’s back. He adjusted himself in the saddle, then scooted her toward him, securing her against his chest with his left arm. Gwen felt happy and wild and free out here in this desolate darkness with her rugged rancher man.

“Best settle in for a while, Ms. Marsh,” he said, hugging her to him. “You’re in for quite a ride.” With that, he gave a loud command to his horse that sent the animal trotting.

Gwen’s heart raced in rhythm to Rascal’s hoof beats as they moved along the mountain trail that carried them northward. As they distanced themselves from the ranch’s outbuildings, a huge sky opened up into an arching one hundred and eighty degrees. Billions of constellations appeared to compete with each other to take up dark space. “I’ve never seen so many stars,” Gwen said, breathless at their beauty.

“That one up above is Polaris, the North Star, and that one over there,” he said, pointing toward the horizon, “is Venus, the Morning Star.” He held her a little tighter, his voice a whiskey whisper in her ear. “Venus is the goddess of love, you know.”

Gwen caught her breath and held it. Was he saying what she thought he was? “That’s what I’ve heard,” she answered, leaning back into him. Was it her imagination or could she actually feel his heart pounding beneath their thin jackets?

Dan rode them to an overlook that overhung the hills below them and positioned them perfectly beneath the open sky. “Want to hop off for a moment?” he asked.

Gwen nodded, unable to find her tongue. She’d never felt so much emotion for someone, or from them either, she thought, glancing in his eyes as he helped her dismount.

Once on the ground, Dan led her away from the horse and into his arms. “I’m so glad that you came here,” he said. “Came away with me to Paradise Ranch.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” she said, gazing up at him.

He settled his palms on her cheeks, then brought his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly.

“Gwen,” he said, his voice husky in the shadowy space between them. “My dear, sweet woman. How did I ever get lucky enough to meet someone like you?” He kissed her again, and this time his mouth lingered.

Dan trailed his fingers through her curls, lightly strumming her nape. He pulled back a bit and dove into her eyes with his, their souls melding in the warm heat between them. “I have to tell you something,” he said. “Something important.” Gwen’s pulse rocketed. She didn’t realize until now how desperate she was to believe… Nor had she truly understood how deeply she felt it.

Dan drew her body up against his with one strong arm and cradled her chin in his other hand. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. In fact, I tried my damndest to avoid it. But the truth of the matter is it was useless. All my efforts came to one end.” He gazed at her deeply, his eyes midnight blue in the starlight. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Gwen. No holds barred, one hundred percent, absolutely, positively in love. It’s a feeling I thought I’d never find again, and one I’ve never felt so deeply.”

Gwen tilted her chin up toward him, powerful yet helpless in his arms. She was not the weak, confused woman she’d been when she came here. She was strong now and sure of herself. What she knew most definitely was that she was head over heels, desperately in love with this man. That rendered her powerless to fight against those emotions. She could no longer deny what had been building in her heart all this time. “I love you too,” she said softly. “More than I ever thought I could love anybody.”

His mouth hovered over hers as he brought both arms around her, holding her close. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that,” he said, closing the distance between them. He kissed her with a passion then that caused her to feel light-headed and hot all over. She wrapped her arms around him as he held her tighter, their whole hearts, souls, and hungers pouring into their kiss.

Rascal stomped on the ground and whinnied loudly.

Gwen pulled back and grinned. “He’s not jealous?”

“Doubt that,” Dan said with a chuckle. “He’s got his own little filly friend back at the barn.” He studied the horse, who was growing agitated. “Probably just cold, tired, and hungry. How about you?” he asked, jostling her playfully in his arms. “Ready to head back?”

“That depends,” she said, cocking an eyebrow. “Will there be this kind of kissing back at the house?”

Dan grinned and playfully patted her rump. “That can be arranged.”

Fire shot through her veins and heated her belly. It wasn’t only kissing she wanted to do, and Dan’s patting her backside had driven that message home. Gwen wanted to be with Dan as completely as a woman could be. He loved her, and she utterly adored him. She ached for them to be closer than mere kisses. As hot and wonderful as those were, she knew now they could never be enough.

Dan lightly stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “Penny for your thoughts, cowgirl?”

“I was just thinking about how wonderful you are,” she said with a grin. She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick, firm kiss on his ultra-sexy mouth.

“Oh, good. That means we’re on the same wavelength.”

He gave her a quick peck back, then took her hand in his. “Rascal’s getting restless,” he said, leading her back to the horse. “Probably misses his filly,” he said with a wink.

Their trip back to the barn was even better than their journey out here. There was a new closeness between them as Gwen settled into Dan’s arms and they rode at a steady pace descending the mountain trail. She felt warm and safe nestled up against him, and the beauty of their surroundings was spectacular. The heavens twinkled above them like a black-satin sheath studded with diamonds. Cool breezes blew, rippling her hair and raking her senses with the scents of wildflowers and desert sage.

Gwen wanted to freeze this moment in time and stay out here with Dan forever. This wasn’t just any ranch; it was like their own private paradise, a special place made for just the two of them. While Gwen knew it was loaded with campers during certain months, that didn’t negate the sense of privacy this vastness leant, no doubt the whole year through. This space was a bounty of wilderness and natural beauty so rich and raw it almost hurt to absorb it. There was so much to take in, from the gorgeous mountain peaks to the surrounding flat-topped mesas and impressive cylindrical buttes. To see them in the moonlight was both eerie and breathtaking at once. Gwen felt as if she’d been transported to a fantasy realm, one utterly in contrast to the small East Coast beach towns she knew.

Gwen had never seen anything quite so romantic or been with a man she adored more. Dan’s kisses were hot and wonderful, and he’d said he loved her. She felt heady from the moment and the swirl of emotions churning inside her. When Dan had pulled her to him, she’d wanted nothing more than to feel closer still. Gwen was glad she’d waited for the right man and the right time. She felt her heart unfolding like a flower emerging from a frost and into the sun.

“Still doing all right?” he asked, his breath tickling her neck.

“Perfect,” she said, smiling back at him. “I love it here.”

“I’m glad,” he said, tightening his arms around her.

Dan dropped Gwen at the main house before riding Rascal back to the barn. He thought she’d be more comfortable waiting for him there, plus he needed time to sort through his thoughts. The way Gwen kissed him on the trail had set his heart on fire. She was so warm and yielding with that incredibly sensual mouth, her hot, curvy body molding against his. Dan had held her to him, his hands exploring the subtle lines of her nape, waist, and back. He’d ached to investigate further and taste that delectable neck, trailing his kisses down even farther. Heat tore through him like a wildfire out of control. He gripped the saddle with tense thighs and steadied the reins in one hand, unzipping his jacket with the other.

Gwen loved him. She’d said it as much with her eyes as with her words. That knowledge gave wings to Dan’s heart and caused it to soar. He couldn’t recall ever feeling emotion this intense for a woman. Gwen was gorgeous and funny and smart. She had a hard-edged sass about her but could be sweet and sensitive too. She likely employed those skills as a schoolteacher, allowing her to be both firm and kind to her students. Dan thought of his Paradise campers, positive they would adore Gwen. She’d be good with them too.

Dan swallowed hard at what he’d been thinking. He wasn’t just dreaming of sleeping with Gwen; he’d mentally started planning their future. Dan glanced back over his shoulder at the main house, its windows warmed cheerily from the lights indoors. He’d built that place as a bachelor pad but now was starting to envision it as something more. In his mind’s eye, Dan saw children there, and not ones from the camp. There was a pretty, curly headed little girl rushing into his arms and calling him Daddy.

“Whoa there, buddy!” Dan said aloud, as much to himself as to his horse. Rascal obediently came to a halt, and Dan dismounted. Could he really be thinking about marriage and kids with Gwen? Dan had been forced to confront those thoughts with Elena, and they’d pained him deeply. Feeling as if he might be pinned to a woman he didn’t love for the rest of his life had filled him with an overwhelming despair he feared he’d never escape. He’d hoped that over time, and in the common interest of the child, things between him and Elena might change, that he’d somehow grow to love her in an appropriate and respectful way. Then again, he worried he might not. It was to be an uphill climb with those unrelenting memories of one very kissable cowgirl hovering over him for eternity.

Dan glanced back at the main house, wondering if the idea of having a family with him had crossed Gwen’s mind. He understood how hard it was for her to trust somebody again. She’d been through a horrible marriage, and it had taken her all this time to recover. She’d let down her guard and allowed him into her heart, nonetheless. It was written in those beautiful brown eyes every time she looked at him. Nothing in the world could disguise it, and nothing in the universe made Dan happier.

Yes, he wanted her, damn it. He wanted her not just with his heart and soul, but with his body too. He swore that if he got that woman under the covers with him, it would be about a week before they ever came up. Dan would have to call in a cook and housekeeper as reinforcements. He’d be mighty obliged to arrange it too. But was being with Gwen now in that way the right thing? She’d endured so much hurt for such a long while. Dan didn’t know whether she’d kissed a man since her ex. He had an even stronger suspicion she hadn’t slept with one. This made it all the more important that if Dan and Gwen were to get together in that way, Dan had to make damn sure the moment and circumstances were right.

****

Chapter Twelve

Gwen nervously checked her hair in an oval mirror surrounded in New Mexican tile. It hung in the passageway leading from the great room to the kitchen and stood beside the
coatrack
over which she’d draped her leather jacket. Her cheeks were still flushed pink from the night air, and her hair had been tousled by the wind. Gwen’s skin warmed at the memory of Dan’s touch. His fingers had raked through her curls, then traced the line of her back as his hungry mouth overtook hers. She recalled barely having the strength to stand in his arms. If there’d been a place for him to take her and lay her on the ground, she would have let him. Gwen strode to the kitchen and fixed herself a glass of water, her face and chest flashing hot.

She hadn’t felt these yearnings for a man in such a while, she couldn’t name the last time. It had to have been with Robert, and back at the beginning. That beginning was so hazy now, she felt as if she were examining it through a clouded glass. Even if she’d wanted Robert then, those impulses had nothing on the raging pull she was experiencing now. With Robert, she’d in many ways been a girl, a college kid engaged to her first love. Tonight, she was a woman with the accumulated experiences that had made her both jaded and wise.