The Reluctant Rancher (10 page)

“
I don’t think that would be such a good idea,
”
she said, trying to draw away.

“
That’s the second time you’ve said that.
 
Don’t you know what you want?
”
 
Luke
’s big
hand wrapped around the
nape of her neck, holding her still as he lowered his head.
His warm breath caressed her cheek
.
 
“
I know what I want
.
I want you.”

He wanted to kiss her.
 
He wanted to take her satin soft mouth just as he had a thousand times in his dreams.
 
He knew she’d taste as tart and tangy as the juice from sun sweetened cherries.

She gnawed on her lower lip
.

“
Don’t do that,
”
he commanded.

She looked at him, still
worry
ing the tender flesh.

“
God, Mary,
”
he groaned.
 
“
A man can only take so much.
 
I’ve got to taste you, baby.
 
Open your mouth for me.
”

“
I do
n’t think I should.”

“
Don’t think,
honey,
j
ust feel.
”

She was feeling alright.
Her lips parted with a moan and Luke began his sensuous assault in earnest
,
licking the fullness of her lips before coverin
g her mouth with his. H
e deepened the kiss, feeling her body jerk at the intimate b
rush of his tongue against hers.

“E
asy, baby,
”
He soothed her much as he had Lucifer earlier.
She reminded him of a high stru
ng filly. New and untried. Eager and excitable.
He growle
d
as heat exploded inside of him, starting at his heart and racing outward.
 
Never had he felt like this before from a simple kiss.
 
He stroked the tip of his tongue over her small, even, white teeth and the roof of her mouth, urging her to open more fully to his touch.
He devoured her mouth when she complied with a soft groan.

His touch grew rough and Mary whimpered, the sound as soft and low as that of a newborn kitten.
 
Even at the sound of her distress, he refused to break the intimate contact with her sweet lips.
 
But he
drew back to nibble gently at the
sweet curve of her mouth.
S
everal moments passed before he
ended the kiss.
 
When she would have moved out of his embrace, his arms closed hard around her refusing to let her go.

He could feel her body quivering and the surprising trembling in his own limbs.
 
Not that his quaking could be seen with the naked eye.
 
No, this rumb
le started somewhere deep inside
his soul.
 
He felt the layers of ice that surrounded his heart break away, replaced by light and warmth.

He smoothed the hair from her face, hooking the stray strands behind her ears.
 
”
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.
 
I forg
et what an innocent you are.”

“
I’m not an innocent,
”
she protested

Nudging her chin up
,
he asked.
 
“
You are a virgin, aren’t you?
”

To know no man had ever touched her warm skin in the most private act known between a man and woman sent the blood surging throughout his body.

Green eyes met gray.
 
She jerked free. “I
have nothing to be ashamed of, Luke Tanner.
 
There are hundreds, no thousands of thirty-two year old virgins around
.”

“
Let’s not get carried away
, little girl,
”
he grinned, drawing her close once a
gain despite her token protest. “
I’m glad, Mary.
 
Really glad.
”
 
He nuzzled the side of her neck, his teeth lightly nicking the slender column of her throat as he whispered against her skin.
 
”
Do you know what the thought of your innocence does to me?
”

She let her hands flatten against his chest, her fingers found the thick matt of hair edging from beneath his shirt.
 
With one hand he reached up and pulled the snaps apart. He pressed her hand to his naked skin
and
shuddered as she explored the newly exposed territory. “That’s it, sweetheart.
 
Touch me.”

He pressed another string of biting kisses along the curve of her jaw before turning his attention to the shell of her ear. He traced its delicate outer rim with his tongue.
 
Fierce waves of desire washed over him as she rose to her tiptoes and shyly echoed his caress. He knew she would be just as eager to learn how to please him in other ways.
The thought fanned the fire already burning in his belly.

He pressed the hardness of his body against her softness, letting her feel the strength of his desire.
 
He needed this woman to know just how badly he wanted her.
 
How badly he wanted to lay her
down
in the hay and sate his body with hers.
This time his kiss held equal parts desire and pent-up denial.
 
Luke bruised
the rosy softness o
f her lips
as he took her with his mouth. Recognizing
that he needed
to ease his
fierce
possession
her lips
,
to pull back on
his desire
before he scared her
, he
forced himself to retreat,
suckl
ing
the pretty, pouty
flesh
of her bruised lips gently with
his own.
 
The action drew sounds of pleasure from deep within her throat.

Luke struggled with his conscience as his desire threatened to escalate out of control, almost pushing him past the point of no return.
 
The feel of her small hands on his chest played havoc with h
is senses.
 
Mary had gotten under his skin and burrowed her way into his heart.

H
e broke off the bone melting kiss and buried his head in the soft, smooth skin of her neck, knowing he couldn’t continue.
 
Not and
keep his sanity.

H
e cupped her face in the palm of his hands.
 
Her lips were swollen and glistened with moisture.
 
Moisture from his mouth.
 
He silently groaned and almost said to hell with his good intentions.
 
She felt so alive in his arms, so vibrant.
 
And he felt so alive in hers.

Fighting the desire that threatened to overwhelm him, he drew back
.
 
He was always in control.
 
Always.
 
He moved away before his animal instincts overcame him
.

“
You were right.
 
That wasn’t such a good idea after all.
”
He grabbed
Lucifer's reins and walked into the pouring rain.

The next morning Mary rose early, prepared breakfast and hid in her room while Luke and his grandfather ate their meal.
 
She knew she’d taken the coward’s way out, but she co
uldn’t face Luke.
 
Not yet.
 
L
ooking out her bedroom window, she saw him leaning against the dusty pickup that would carry them to town.
 
She watched as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his jacket.
 
He reminded her of the old advertisements on television – a rough and rugged man of the open range.
 
A cowboy through and through.
 
As if sensing her scrutiny, he turned his head and looked into her second story window.
 
Mary quickly moved behind the c
urtain before he could see her.

God, his kisses yesterday made the memory of every kiss s
he’d ever had before disappear.
And she couldn’t believe she’d been so bold!
 
Touching him, tasting him.
 
She’d never felt that kind of desire before.

And he wanted her.
 
She had seen it in his eyes, felt it in his touch.
 
It made her feel as warm and gooey inside as the chocolate chip cookies he loved.
 
And beautiful.
 
It made her feel so beautiful.

Mary knew she couldn’t hide in her room forever. She went downstairs, running into Joseph in the hallway.

“
Did you sleep well, Mary?
”
The older man helped her with her coat.

“
Fine, Joseph,
”
she lied.
 
She hadn’t slept a wink, reliving every moment in the barn over and over again.

“
Well, I’m glad someone did,
”
h
e muttered as he led her out of the house.

“
A
ren’t you sleeping well?
Maybe you should talk to Dr. McAllister about that today.
”

“
Not me, darling.
 
That grandson of mine.
 
He was up half the night.
”

“
Did one of the mares go into labor?
”
 
On one of their walks Joseph had shared Luke’s more recent ‘stud’ service. Lucifer had covered three of
the brood
mares in early fall
and they were expecting
the new arrivals any day.

“
No, not yet.
 
I don’t know what’s wrong with boy.
He hasn’t
slept well
for days.
 
He hasn’t been this restless since his wife left.
”

Mary shivered
as she imagined Luke spending
sleepless night
s because of her. She wanted him to need her. To
want her
to the point of madness. To n
eed her the way he needed his next breath. His passion would be as explosive as – as, well, explosive as the episode in the barn. But hotter.

As they neared the truck, she avoided his gaze. It was bad enough remembering the kisses they had shared, much less the other images her daydreaming
mind
had created.

“Good morning, Mary.
”
Luke dropped his cigarette
and put it out with a sharp movement of his boot.

“Good morning,
Luke.” S
he
tried to figure out a graceful way to slide into the
truck.
Gra
nted she was tall, but it took quite a bit of
leverage power to hop into the high cab of a ranch truck.
 
As she stepped onto the running board, she felt Luke behind
her, his hands
helping her ascend.
 
For one exquisite moment, she let herself rely on the s
trength of his tall body, inhaling
the tobacco and leather smells embedded in his jacket, lingering on his skin.

All too soon, she found herself seated between the two men.
 
Mary tried to concentrate on the scenery and not the feel of Luke’s hard muscular leg pressing against hers as he drove.
 
She was grateful when Joseph finally spoke.

“
When in the blue blazes is someone going to change that confounded sign?
”
 
One long finger pecked repeatedly against the window as Joseph pointed to a bright green highway sign that greeted people at the edge of town.
 
Its large white letters proclaimed:
Fiddler Creek
,
Wyoming
, population 782.
 
“
That census taker was as drunk as the darn fool who founded this town.
”