The Reluctant Rancher (16 page)

As she stared, a rivulet of water followed the natural contours of his body until it disappeared into the waistband of his jean
s, drawing Mary’s eyes with it.
His sodden jeans clung to his male curves. Breathless, she dragged her eyes back to his face, which matc
hed the thunderclouds overhead.

“
I came to rescue you.
”
 
She tried her best to keep her voice even, though laughter swelled in her chest.
 
She could understand how he might
 
feel a little out of sorts.

“
Your horse came back without you.
 
We thought you might be hurt,
”
she went on to explain when he just stood there, not saying a word.

Luke snorted, his hands on his hips in an aggressive stance.
“
Lady, nobody should have come out in a storm like this.
 
And especially not a greenhorn like you.
 
There’s liable to be flash floods.
 
If you were one of my hands, I’d fire your ass for pulling a stunt like this.
”
 
He glared at her, his brows drawn together in a fierce scowl.

She looked down at him from her perch
high atop her h
orse.
“
Well, I’m not one of your hands and you can’t fire me.
 
We have deal, remember?
But if you stand there much longer, I might just leave your ass out here in the rain, since you seem to like it so much.
”

Her words seemed to deflate his anger a little
.
He removed his hat and raked his fingers through his sodden hair.
 
“
Damn it, Mary
, y
ou shouldn’t have come.
”

He swung him
self into the saddle behind her and t
he
laughter died in the back of her throat at the feel of his heavily muscled chest at her back.
 
Suddenly Mary felt as out of sorts as Luke looked.

“
Somebody had to,
”
she pointed out
,
more than a little breathless from his close proximity. Mary knew having to accept her help
irritated the hell out of him.

“
This is no job for a woman.
 
I hired you to look after Joseph, not play cowhand.
 
Why didn’t Hawk come if all of you were so all fired worried?
”

“
Naomi’s in labor.
 
He thought there’d be hell to pay if he left.
”
 
Mary struggled to suppress her gasp of pleasure as his arms closed around her.
 
Despite his soaking, he
was
warm and rock solid.
 
So
wonderfully
alive.

“
He was right,
”
Luke said, and she could see he admitted it grudgingly.
 
“
That animal i
s going to be Lucifer’s finest offspring yet.
 
A real champion.
”

“
What happened to your rain gear?
”
She tried to turn in the saddle but the tightening of his arms stopped her.
 
He buried his cold
face against the side of her neck
.
A moment passed before he whispered.

“
I lost it.
”

“
How did you lose a slicker –
and a shirt?
”

“
Believe me, honey, it wasn’t easy.
”
 
He took the reins of the red sorrel and
clicked his tongue
. The horse surged forward
.
 
In minutes, they reached the top of another knoll and Mary had her answer.

“
He stole them.
”
 
Luke pointed to a small white and red calf chewing on a yellow raincoa
t that matched the one she wore.

Mary laughed
.

“
You find that funny?
”
Luke bit out sarcastically.

“
Yes, yes, I do,
”
Mary
didn’t want to reveal the
true source of her happiness.
 
“
But I still don’t understand how he got them.
”

“
In case you missed it, there’s a mud hole the size of the
Grand Canyon
down there.
 
I wasn’t about to spend the whole day wet and muddy after I rescued the ungrateful thing, so I took them off.
”

“
And he stole them?
”

“
Yeah, he stole them.
”
 
Luke’s dark gaze dared her to say more.

“
I hate to be the one to tell you this, Luke, but I don’t see your shirt anywhere.
”
This time Mary had the good sense to smother her laughter.

“
What?
 
That’s my lucky poker shirt
!
”

“
Maybe you can get it later,
”
she suggested.

“
We’ll find it now.
”
Luke urged the horse down the steep incline.

“
Wait,
”
she protested
.
“We need to get you
someplace warm and dry, not worry about a shirt.
 
A shirt can be replaced, but you can’t.
”

“
Hell,
”
he muttered.
 
”
You’re half frozen.
”

Mary didn’t have the heart to tell him she felt as snug as a bug in a rug because his big body provided more warmth than any heating stove ever had.
 
The shiver stemmed from something much more fundamental than rain and wind.

“
Did you tell Joseph we’d come straight back?
”
 
Luke shifted in the saddle.

“
He told me to head to the line shack if the storm got too bad.
He said it had a shortwave.
”
Mary grasped the saddle horn
, desperate
to keep herself away from the press of his hard body.
 
Away from temptation.

“
That’s a smart man, my grandfather,
”
Luke murmured, his breath a warm breeze across her ear.

A lump of anticipation settled in the pit of Mary’s stomach as he headed north.
 
Away from civilization.
 
Away from everything and everyone.
 
She shivered again
and
savored the warmth of his breath on her neck.
 
It wouldn’t hurt to enjoy him for just a moment, would it?
 
No one said anything had to happen.
 
They’d go to the line shack, spend an hour or so waiting out the storm and be back t
o the ranch before sundown.
She leaned into his embrace
and
his arms
pressed
her, if possible, even closer.

Both were instantly, siz
zling-ly
aware that only a few wet layers of cloth stood between them. Between them and heaven.

He shifted the reins into one hand while the other tilted her face up to his.
“
Yo
u are so damn beautiful.”

Luke slipped his
hand inside her yellow slicker and
Mary shuddered
as he found her swollen nipple
. He plucked the large, swollen
nub
with his calloused fingers
, playing it
like a fine musical instrument.

“I want you Mary. God how I want you.” He moved his hand, s
p
laying his fingers against the curve of her generous hips. Slowly, torturously, he lowered his hand, skimming past the snap of her jeans to briefly touch the part of
her that wanted him
most. He shifted their weight and pressed her backside against his aching need.
His mouth closed over hers and his tongue nudged her lips apart. Mary was lost.
 
She didn’t stop him as he kissed her with savage n
eed.
She couldn’t.
 
She wanted Luke Tanner more than she wanted to draw her next breath. She opened her mouth, accepting without quest
ion
his complete and total control.
She matched him stroke for stroke, their mating tongues a sweet prelude to what they both knew was to come.

CHA
PTER EIGHT

Nothing more than a tumbled down one-room shed, the line shack sat at an odd angle, the whitewashed planks leaning in the direction of the blowing wind.
 
Practically built into the side of the mountain, it had withstood years of abusive weather.

Luke dismounted first
. He h
elp
ed
her from the saddle and
held
her upright until she found her balance.
“
Go on in.
 
I’ll take care of Lady Jane
.
”

Ma
r
y nodded
, reluctantly tearing
her eyes from his perfect physique.
 
He epitomized everything she had ever wanted in a man.
 
And
so much
more.
 
Shaky legs carried her inside the tiny dwelling that proved to be much roomier than she would have believed.

A blackened, pot-bel
lied stove sat in the center and served
as both a source of heat and the means by which a meal could be prepared.
 
A rickety wooden table with two chairs and an old fashioned tin cabinet, more rust than white, completed the so-called kitchen.
 
The room housed only one other item of
furniture, the biggest
bed she’d ever seen.
 
Determinedly she turned her back on the inviting softness.

Now shivering in earnest, she removed her wet slicker and equally sodden shoes.
 
A box of matches lay on the shelf above the stove and a stack of kindling rested on the floor.
 
She soon coaxed a small flicker into a roaring fire and the pleasant warmth quickly scattered the chill in the air.

She held her hands to the greedy flames and closed her eyes.
Immediately an image of Luke imposed itself on the backs of her closed lids.
 
The kiss they’d shared on the back of the ho
rse had left little
doubt that he wanted her.
 
She’d felt the fine tremor in his hands as he’d held her and heard the raggedness of his breathing as they rode.

But Lord help her, she didn’t know what to do.
 
If he offered, should she take the passion in the dark of the night, or hold out for her heart’s desire and find herself still alone and lonely come the morning light?

One thing was perfectly clear, she loved Luke Tanner.

But she wanted the whole enchilada
–
home, hearth, family, and yes, the passion filled nights.
 
She wanted the world.

“
Oh, Lord, which way is right?
”
she muttered out loud, more confused than she’d ever been in her entire life.

“
What did you say?
”
Luke
closed
the door
, shutting out the now driving rain.
 

The sight of him,
all
muscled, shiny wet, and provocatively male, sent mo
re shivers shooting through her
.
 
She licked dry lips.
 
“
Um,
 
I said we need some light.
”