The Rancher (14 page)

"Are you sure?"

She nodded her head. "Yes. It's
been an eventful night and I'm exhausted. I just want to go home,
crawl into my own bed and sleep for a week."

She'd been expecting an argument
and when Abigail and Emmaline got involved, it grew heated.
Questions about Ethan rose and as much as Laurel wanted to answer
them all, she couldn’t. Holden was the one who needed to hear it.
He was the only one who really mattered.

No one was happy about her
leaving but Morgan walked her back to the school anyway, Tristan
following behind at a distance to keep a watch and make sure no one
was following them. They didn't trust Ethan and she was slightly
amused at how cautious they were.

Morgan entered the room in the
back of the school first, made sure no one was inside and waited
until she'd bolted the door behind her before leaving. She'd seen
him linger by the side of the building for a few minutes when she
peeked out the window and she knew he'd be close by regardless of
what she told him.

She didn't have a doubt in her
mind about Ethan. He wouldn't hurt her. Not physically, anyway. He
may say things that hurt her feelings but it was nothing she hadn't
heard before from her father. The memories of his hurtful words
would remain with her always.

Pushing away the depressing
thoughts, she removed her dress, got ready for bed and sat down at
the table to try and think. She wasn't sure what to do. Her heart
told her to dig in her heels and refuse to budge but that scared
little girl in her wanted to flee again. To protect her heart at
all costs and run.

She stood, fetched water for tea
and had drunk two cups before someone beat on the door so loudly,
the wood quaked against the frame. Her heart leaped into her throat
and she wondered who was on the other side of the door, Holden or
Ethan. Not that it mattered. She didn't want to talk to either of
them.

Another furious bang and
Holden's voice drifted through the wood, her name yelled
angrily.

"Laurel! Open the door. I know
you're in there."

Chapter Nine

Swallowing to dislodge the lump
in her throat, or was it really her heart, she stood, crossed the
room and unbolted the door. Holden barged in, slammed the door back
shut with one foot and sent her a look that chilled her to the
bone.

"You're married?" He shook his
head, laughed and jerked his hat off his head, tossing it across
the room. "All this time I've been making a fool of myself asking
you to marry me and you already have a husband?"

She tried to speak but he shoved
away from the wall, paced the length of her small room and glared
at her on every pass, grumbling and voicing his displeasure. "Why,
Laurel? Was all this some game to you? Did you enjoy seeing me
grovel like an idiot, beg you to marry me like some love-sick fool
knowing nothing I ever said or did would make you change your
mind?"

Ten minutes of listening to him
rant and rave and Laurel leaned back against the wall, watching him
make laps over her rug and even managed to hide a yawn when his
back was turned. She wasn't about to complain because of his
behavior. Truth be known, she was happy he even bothered to come
back. She didn't think he would. Once Ethan started spouting his
lies, Laurel thought for sure Holden would have gone back to the
ranch and never thought of her again.

She was contemplating the
split-ends of her hair when she noticed Holden had stopped yelling.
She looked up, saw him on the other side of the room staring at
her. "What?"

"Have you heard anything I've
said?"

"Umm…most of it." She bit her
lip to keep from smiling.

Holden narrowed his eyes,
leaning his head to one side. "Which parts?"

Laurel straightened and dropped
her braid. "I heard the part where you think I've been lying to
you. Which I haven't done. I also heard something about Maggie and
how she'd never deceived you and the fact that I did was
unforgivable." She met his gaze and let him see how much that
statement hurt. "I've never lied to you, Holden. I've been honest
with you from the beginning. I told you the day I brought Alexandra
home, and I found out you lived here, that nothing would ever
become of this. You were the one who insisted. You were the one who
wouldn't give up. And this is the reason I've told you no so
adamantly."

"Because you were already
married?"

"No!" She took a deep breath,
regretting she'd yelled. "We're not married." Her cheeks heated and
without being told, she knew her face was red. "I left him at the
altar."

Holden raised one eyebrow. "So
you agreed to marry him, then left?" At her nod, he said,
"Why?"

She hated retelling the story.
It was humiliating to rehash it all, to even remember how she'd
been used. Holden crossed the room, stopped in front of her and
hooked a finger under her chin, lifting her head so she'd look at
him. "You know what? I don't want to know. It doesn't matter." He
stared down at her, the truth of his words shining in his eyes. "I
love you, Laurel. I've loved you from the moment you smiled at me
in that noisy saloon in Missoula. I wanted you forever the first
time I kissed you. I still want you, regardless if you have a
husband or a fiancé you left at the altar or whoever the hell he
is. I want you for my wife and I'll not take no for an answer."

Abigail's words filled her head
again and it was all Laurel could do to keep from crying. She
stared up at Holden, the admission of her own feelings on the tip
of her tongue but fear kept her silent. Ethan claimed to love her
too and he'd ripped her heart into shreds. Could she take that
chance again? Did she want to?

She blinked away the stinging in
her eyes. "How do I know you won't hurt me a year from now? Or five
years from now?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and
leaned his head to one side. "Define hurt?"

She started to answer but he cut
her off before she had a chance.

"Will I get on your nerves and
make you mad? Probably. Will I irritate you to the point you'll
make me sleep outside with the horses? More than likely. Will I
beat you, betray you, take you for granted or toss you aside?
Never. I love you, Laurel. I'd never do anything to purposely hurt
you. That's a promise."

Lord she wanted to believe him.
Wanted with all her heart to let her guard down and just let what
happens, happen. "Will you take other women to your bed?"

He looked shocked by the
question but shook his head and said, "No. I don't want other
women. I want you."

"But what about later? Say,
years from now when I'm old and fat. Will you want someone else
then?"

Staring down at her, something
in his eyes told her he knew why she was so fearful of commitment.
He smiled, lowered his head until his lips lingered just above her
own. "I'll never be unfaithful to you, Laurel. You have my
word."

She sighed, the tension in her
body draining as he closed the distance and kissed her. "No more
secrets, Laurel. No more hiding from me." Wrapping his arms around
her, he smiled and hugged her to him. "I've been nothing but honest
with you from the beginning. I want you. Always have."

She nodded, relief filling her
to the point of exhaustion. "What about Ethan?"

"What about him?" he asked. "Do
you want to marry him?"

"No. I would have never left
home if I had."

"Then there's nothing to worry
about where he is concerned."

"He's not going to leave,
Holden."

"Well, that depends on what you
do between now and the next time you see him."

"Meaning?"

He grinned and hooked a finger
under her chin so she couldn't look away. "Will you marry me?"

She shouldn't have been shocked
by the question, he'd only asked her the same thing a dozen times
before but for the first time, she wanted to say yes without
hesitation. Looking up at him, she smiled and said, "No."

His grin widened, the hand under
her chin lowering to the top of her nightgown, tugging on the
ribbon holding it closed. "So you do want to marry Ethan."

"No."

His deft fingers freed her
breasts before sliding into the front of her gown. "You don't want
Ethan. You don't want me. What is it you want, Miss Montgomery?" He
tweaked one nipple, causing a moan to spill from her lips. Her eyes
closed, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. "Marry me, Laurel,
and the problem with Ethan will go away."

She opened her eyes and looked
up at him when he tugged her gown down over her shoulders, the
material pooling at her feet. A bit of mischief lurked behind his
eyes but she saw his desire for her there, too.

Holden Avery wasn't like any
other man she'd ever known. He was a breed of man truly unique. He
trusted and forgave with a blink of the eye and she'd be a fool to
let him go. So why couldn't she say yes?

He gave her little time to
contemplate an answer. He lowered his head, his lips tickling a
path across her breasts before sucking one taunt nipple into his
mouth. Laurel closed her eyes, let her head fall back against the
wall and just enjoyed the sensations he elicited.

His lips burned a trail between
her breast and her pulse leaped when he knelt before her, untying
her bloomers, before kissing the soft skin of her belly. He pulled
her bloomers down to join her gown near her ankles, his mouth
venturing lower, his tongue hot and wet on her hip. When he reached
the juncture between her legs, her knees went weak.

Parting her folds, he kissed and
suckled her, his tongue burrowing into her and greedily taking what
he wanted. He lifted her left leg, placed it over his shoulder and
didn't stop licking her until tremors caused her limbs to shake,
small anguished sounds tore from her throat and she'd grabbed his
head with both hands, to push him away or pull him closer, she
didn't know. She shifted her hips, brought him closer to where she
needed him and cried out as she climaxed, her body convulsing so
hard she was bucking against the wall.

When she was spent, sucking in
lungs full of air, he lowered her leg. His hands slid up her body,
his lips following the trail he left before he let go of her.
Hearing a rustle of fabric, she opened her eyes, and watched him
remove his cloths as his gaze bore into her own. When they both
stood naked, he smiled, ran the back of one finger down her cheek
and wrapped his other arm around her. "I'm not leaving until you
say yes."

Picking her up, he carried her
to the bed, positioned himself between her thighs and slid into her
body with such aching slowness, she thought she'd die from the
waiting. The pace he set was meant to torture, she was sure, and he
never let his gaze leave her own.

It took only minutes for her
body to heat again, for small tingles to course through her limbs
and she clung to him, her nails biting into his shoulders. When he
said, "Marry me," Laurel's heart felt so light, she thought it
would burst. Tears burned her eyes, her arms around his shoulders
tightening and the word yes was on the tip of her tongue. She
climaxed moments later, her tears spilling forth to mingle with her
cries of ecstasy, Holden's own hoarse cry joining hers.

When he stilled and collapsed
beside her on the bed, Laurel could do nothing but stare up at the
ceiling and try to remember how to breathe. Small shocks of
pleasure rode her limbs, an incessant throb pulsing through her
body letting her know she was alive and Holden's arm, so strong and
steady, holding her close to his side.

She sighed, and then turned her
head to where he lay. He was watching her, love shining in his
eyes. "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of getting hurt again."

Holden shifted, pulling her
closer to his side and rested his chin on the top of her head.
"Tell me about Ethan."

Laurel toyed with the hair on
his chest while thinking. "Our marriage was arranged by my father
before I left for college. Ethan saw no need for me to continue my
studies because he saw me as doing nothing after marriage but
taking care of him, our home and any children we would have and he
told me repeatedly I couldn't go away to school. I refused to be
stopped. I wanted more. I wanted to teach and I wasn't going to let
him stop me. With my father's persuasion, Ethan relented and I left
for Boston and got my degree."

She wrapped her arm around
Holden, burying her face into his neck and let memories that still
caused pain to engulf her. "He was such a gentleman. So dashing. He
courted me with a flourish no one in Seattle had seen in years.
During my time in Boston, gifts and letters would show up weekly.
When I returned home, he produced lavish gifts, took me on picnics
and even hired a circus to set up their tents on the outskirts of
town to celebrate my birthday." She exhaled a breath and smiled
when Holden's arms wrapped around her tighter. "He told me he loved
me, that he'd do anything in his power to make me happy and when he
wasn't courting me, he was doing all he could to help my father.
Ethan is quite adapt at turning nothing into something
extraordinary and with his help, my father's business grew in a
matter of months. Profits were up and everyone was happy. Most of
all, me.