The Christmas Bride - A Western Romance Novella (Book 4, Burnett Brides Series) (12 page)

She turned around from the counter, and there was Wyatt right behind her. She ran into his hard chest. She glanced into his brown eyes and saw the fire burning in his gaze. She wanted to lean into his body and give herself over to his kiss, but she feared once his lips touched hers she’d go up in flames. She’d be lost, and that bed, that beacon from the other side of the room, would receive a workout like it’d never had before.

“Uh…” She grabbed the pan from the sink. “I need to get this on the fire. It will take at least an hour if not longer, and it’s already late.”

“Forget the damn food, Eugenia. The only thing I’m hungry for is you.”

“Wyatt…we can’t.”

She took a deep breath, the center of her body throbbing and pulsing and wanting to give in to Wyatt. Fear sent her scurrying past him, and she placed the beans on the stove.

“We’ve got to eat, Wyatt. Who knows how long we’re going to be stuck in this cabin? It’s snowing and sleeting and thundering and…”

A big flash of lightning filled the cabin, and thunder rattled the windows.

She squealed and ran toward him. He opened his arms and wrapped them around her. His embrace was safe and strong and secure, and what the hell was she doing? “That was close.”

Wyatt glanced out the window, his arms still tightly wrapped around her. “That one was too close. I was afraid it would have spooked the horses, and then we’d be walking once this all cleared.”

“They’re still there?” she asked, looking at him and thinking she couldn’t do more than one night in this small space with this man. She couldn’t do another night of the two of them confined together while her mind created images of the two of them together in that bed, naked.

His gaze met hers and then moved to her lips. “Yes, they’re still there.”

She slipped out of his embrace, needing to put as much distance as she could between them. If he kissed her, she’d be lost. She’d be in his arms. He’d be in her bed. “I need to check the beans.”

Hurriedly she put space between them. She took a deep breath and glanced around the cabin, needing to do something to keep the images in her mind at bay and Wyatt at arm’s length.

He walked up behind her and put his arms around her. “You’re shaking worse than a bride on her wedding day.”

Oh, that was not the image she needed. At least, he hadn’t said wedding
night
.

“I’m cold,” she said and didn’t move from his arms.

“Yeah, the fire is dying out some. I was trying to save that last log for in the morning. It’s going to get cold tonight.”

She pulled away from him and stepped to the side of the room. She glanced at the bed and then at Wyatt. “I can’t share that bed with you, Wyatt. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“There’s no way that I’m going to let you sleep on the floor. You can just get that idea right out of your head. I’ll be okay.”

They stood there staring at one another, an awkward silence filling the cabin. She didn’t know what to do.

She sank down into the chair near the fire and gazed into the flames. What were her boys thinking right now? Were they worried about her? Tucker would think she was at the ranch, and Travis would think she was with Tucker, and Tanner would just think she was okay.

Instead, she felt more danger inside this cabin than she’d felt out in the weather. Danger to her heart, not to her health.

He sank down into the chair across from her. “It’s getting late. It’s going to be a long night, so why don’t we go to bed? That way we’ll save lantern fuel, and you’ll be warmer in bed.”

“Okay,” she said, licking her lips nervously.

She got up, put a lid on the beans that were just about done, and put them on the counter. They would stay cool enough to last through the night. Right now she couldn’t eat a bite. She wasn’t hungry for food, but for Wyatt.

Eugenia took a sip of water and realized she’d have to go outside one last time. She turned to glance at Wyatt. She wasn’t going to say anything. She would just put her coat on, take the slop jar and go outside. Even in rough weather there were some things a lady didn’t share.

Picking up her coat, she shrugged into it.

He stared at her in confusion. “What are you doing?”

She didn’t answer but picked up the slop jar. “Oh for Christ sake, Eugenia, you are not going out in that weather.”

“Are you telling me what I can and can’t do?” she asked, an incredulous look on her face.

“I…oh hell. I need to go check on the horses one last time. Let me go outside, and you can do your business while I’m gone.”

“Thanks,” she said, grateful not to have to go out in the snow. The storm had slowed some, but icy flakes still fell from the sky.

He shrugged on his coat. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

While he was gone, Eugenia hurriedly did her business and then opened the door to empty the jar. The wind blew the door open the rest of the way, and she could see Wyatt down in the lean-to caring for the horses, making certain they were okay.

Snow pelted her face, and she hurriedly shut the door, shivering from the cold. The little shack felt cold again, so she threw the last log on the fire.

She pulled back the blanket on the bed and checked the sheets to make certain no creature had nested up under the coverlet during the summer, and then sank down on the lumpy mattress and took her boots off.

Her feet were still cold. She pulled her petticoat off, but left the rest of her clothes on and crawled beneath the covers. It felt good to lie down. She lay there with her eyes closed, hoping she could pretend she was asleep.

The door blew open, and Wyatt walked in with an armload of wood. “Thought since I was out there, I might as well bring in more wood.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him. His hat and his clothes were dusted with snow. God, the man looked like sin wrapped in a nice package.

Her body hummed in appreciation of the man as she watched him, his earthy brown eyes staring at her in the bed. An awkward silence filled the cabin.

He dropped the wood into the log holder and two mice went scurrying across the floor to the cabinets.

“Damn. More mice,” he said.

And she was going to make him sleep on the floor. She gazed at the hard wooden planks, and then she stared at this big, strong man.

He shrugged out of his coat and laid it on the floor. He dropped down on his knees, lay down and covered himself with her coat. Just as he reached for the lantern, a mouse scurried across the floor.

“Balderdash! You can’t sleep on that floor. When you turn out the lantern, the mice are going to come out to play.”

He sighed. “I think you’re right.”

She scooted to the very edge of the bed on the opposite side. “Get in bed, Wyatt, before I change my mind.”

Chapter Eight

T
he rattling window panes woke Eugenia, and she realized it was morning. An unfamiliar warmth enveloped her, keeping her toasty. Slowly it sank into her brain that an arm circled around her with her back against a very male chest. Something long and hard poked her in the back.

Wyatt. Oh my! It’d been many a year since she’d awoken to the feel of a man snug against her backside and the scent of him surrounding her.

Delicious tingles spiraled through her, awakening her body, reminding her of how long it’d been since she was with a man.

How could Wyatt evoke so many conflicting emotions? Her body betrayed her while her mind doubted her convictions. More and more her heart longed to join with his.

Sometime during the night they must have become entangled, and this morning his warmth cocooned her from the harsh cold in the cabin. She could see her breath frosting the air above their bed. The fire was nothing but charcoals, yet she’d slept better than she could remember.

“Good morning,” Wyatt said, his voice a whisper against her hair, her nerves dancing along her spine straight into her groin.

“You were supposed to stay on your side of the bed,” she admonished.

“I am. You’re on my side,” he said with a chuckle.

She glanced at the bed. “Oh.”

Her skirt was hiked up near her waist, the material trapping her. Not that she really wanted to move. It felt wonderful to be lying here like this with Wyatt. It was warm, sensual, and her body was pulsing in ways she’d long since forgotten. Waking up sheltered in his arms, there couldn’t have been a better way to start the day.

“I guess we should get up.” she said, not really desiring to move.

“Why?” he asked. “It’s cold outside these covers. I can see it’s still snowing, and frankly, I like you lying here next to me,” he said, his voice deep and low in her ear, sending tremors down her spine.

“It’s wrong, Wyatt,” she whispered.

“Nothing wrong with two people who care about each other keeping one another warm.”

Well, when he put it that way, it was true. She did care about Wyatt, more than she thought possible. She just didn’t wish to marry him. “I’d forgotten what waking up with a man feels like.”

“I’d forgotten what waking up with a woman feels like,” he said, his voice even deeper, sending delicious shivers of need through her. “I’m sure there are other things we’ve forgotten, too.”

An image of the two of them making love filled her mind. It wasn’t Thomas anymore that permeated her thoughts, it was Wyatt. And God forgive her, she wanted him. Wanted him like she’d never wanted before. Wanted him like she couldn’t survive without touching him.

Suddenly she rolled over and faced him, still curled in his embrace, and lifted her face to gaze into those earthy brown eyes and felt her lungs seize. “Wyatt…”

“Yes, Eugenia,” he said, his mouth inches from hers, as if he was holding back from kissing her.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in bed with a man,” she said, only knowing that she needed this man, and she had to have him now.

“I’ve haven’t been in bed with a woman since before Beatrice passed.”

She placed her hand on his chest, running it up over his shoulder. “I know some would consider what I’m going to say is wrong. But we’re here, in this bed…” she licked her lips and gazed into his eyes, needing him to understand but yearning for him just the same. “I still don’t want to get married. But could we…for just today, for just this moment act like we’re married?”

“Oh Gawd, woman. I thought I was going to have to go outside in the snow to take care of…” His lips came down on hers, and this time his kiss was demanding, not gentle or caressing. This time his mouth possessed hers, and she welcomed that possession. She needed this man right now.

His lips covered hers, and the doubts she’d held were banished as his tongue caressed the inside of her mouth, swirling and building a need she’d long since forgotten. He rolled her over onto her back, his lips never leaving hers as he kissed her until she thought she’d faint from the mounting pleasure.

She put her hand to his chest to push him away. “Wyatt, I’m not a young woman any longer. My body’s not…”

“I don’t care. I want you,” he said, his lips covering hers again, leaving her dizzy, her body more alive than she could remember.

He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “Are you certain about this?”

Her stomach clenched at the thought of him stopping. She reached up and began to unbutton his shirt. “Shut up, Wyatt, and get rid of these clothes.”

He laughed and rolled off her and began to remove his clothes under the blankets. When he finished unbuttoning his shirt, she pulled it off his back and tossed it to the floor. Next came his pants, and once they were unbuttoned, she pushed his trousers down, until he kicked them off along with his long underwear and threw them to the floor.

Naked, he rolled towards her. “Now it’s your turn,” he said and rolled her to her side to unbutton her dress.

Eugenia could feel his nimble fingers as he undid the buttons. He placed his lips along her back, and she shivered from the feel of his mouth against her spine.

“Hurry, Wyatt,” she said softly.

“Patience, woman,” he replied, kissing the back of her neck.

She’d never experienced being with a man like this before. She’d never ached so badly for a man that she threw all caution to the wind and only coveted the feel of his naked skin caressing hers. She’d never guarded her heart and yet given him her body.

With a gasp she quickly helped him shed her dress. A pull of the bow untied her chemise and lifted the garment over her head. And then she untied her bloomers and kicked them off.

She lay beneath the covers completely naked. He trailed his fingers from her shoulder past her hip. Gently he turned her over, and she faced him.

“God, Eugenia, you’ve never been more beautiful than you are right now.”

Their gazes locked, and in a not too subtle exchange as he expressed the need she knew her own eyes reflected.

She reached up and pulled him down to her, needing his lips to cover hers once more and vanquish her doubts. She craved him more than her next breath, but she didn’t need to marry the man. She only desired this moment of pleasure.

His lips released hers, and he kissed her neck, her chest until his mouth reached her breast, and he covered her nipple. She moaned as his tongue laved her hardened nipple, his teeth gently nipping her as he suckled her breast, sending tingles all the way to her middle.

So many years had passed since she’d felt loved. Never had she been so wanton, and yet it felt good.

She ran her hands along his back, feeling the strong muscles that girded this man. As she traced his ribs with her fingertips, he shivered in her arms, and she kissed the top of his head. Emboldened, she reached down and touched his throbbing member. He jumped when she wrapped her fingers around that solid muscle and caressed him.

“Oh, Eugenia, you know how to torture a man,” he said against her breast.

His tongue ravished her breasts, building a delicious sense of heat and need between her legs. Lost in the sensations his touch evoked, she moved her hips in an urgent invitation.

Sensing her unrest, his hand cupped her feminine mound and she moaned. “Oh yes, Wyatt.”