To Desire a Wilde (7 page)

As though everyone around them had disappeared, the noise from the cattle and ranchers yelling out orders all faded to nothingness and there was only her and Shilah, alone.

“Shilah…I'm fine,” she whispered and, after a long appraisal of her, he nodded his head shortly.

“Fine. But we're calling it quits after this last bunch.” When she opened her mouth to argue he cut her a look.

Ellie held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay…but tomorrow we'll be on an even tighter schedule. Hope you can handle it,” she quipped, but was secretly glad that he'd taken the decision out of her hands.

“Oh, don't worry about that,” he said, running a long, hot glance over her. “There's not much I can't handle, doc…. You'll do well to remember that,” he said. Without waiting for her reply, he tugged on the horse's
reins and galloped away, leaving Ellie's mouth open as she stared after him, wondering what the hell to make out of
that.

E
llie leaned back in her saddle, closed her eyes and allowed the cool air to blow across her hot skin, fighting back the disappointment she felt.

The day had been long, hard and dirty. With a sigh, she removed her hat, running a hand through her sweat-dampened hair.

They'd finished for the day, and the men had left, along with Shilah. After the day spent with him, working side by side, she expected…

“What exactly were you expecting?” she asked herself, aloud, in the dark.

She didn't expect what had happened—for him to leave along with the men and barely say goodbye to her.

After they'd left, she'd been torn. Although she was so tired she could barely move, she was also strangely restless. Not quite sure what to do with herself, Ellie had decided to go for a ride and had resaddled her horse.

Since her arrival, she'd yet to take a ride, remembering how it used to calm her, the feel of the wind blowing against her face, the natural sounds of the night, birds cawing, crickets chirping, mixed in with the occasional horse neighing and calf moaning, all blended together to make what Ellie like to think of as…

“Ranch music,” a deep voice filled in the thought.

With a start, Ellie's eyes flew open and she turned to see that Shilah had ridden up next to her. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't heard him.

“What?” she asked, turning toward him, telling herself that the reason her heart had jumped was because he'd scared her, and not because she was happy to see him.

He smiled across at her. “Remember, you used to call it ranch music?” he asked, and the frown on her face eased, softening into a smile and she laughed softly.

Ellie shook her head. “I can't believe you remember that.” She paused for a moment, and plunged in, asking, “Wanna go for a ride?”

“Thought you'd never ask,” he said with a slow grin.

 

Ellie reined in her horse, coming to a stop, completely out of breath.

They'd ridden for the last hour, and although she could have ridden another hour, she knew if she did, her body would be screaming at her in the morning from the aches and pains.

As she was turning to face Shilah, who'd slowed his horse down as well, she stopped, squinting.

“Is that what I think it is? It's still there?” she asked, pointing. In the distance stood a lone old cabin, one
she and Shilah used to play in, from the time they were children until she'd left the ranch.

He smiled at her. “It is…. Wanna check it out?”

Ellie hesitated, glancing down at her watch, the illuminated dial indicating the lateness of the hour.

“No, I better not. It's getting late,” she said, her tone wistful.

“Come on, El…I'll race you there,” he threw out the challenge. That was all she needed.

Pulling on the reins of her horse she nudged it, leaned down low, urging her horse to go, her laughter trailing behind her as she took advantage of Shilah's surprise and got a head start.

She made it to the cabin moments before he pulled in next to her, both of them completely out of breath.

He raised a brow at her, taking in deep, even breaths. “You cheated.”

“All's fair in love and war,” she replied, completely unrepentant of her unfair advantage. “Come on,” she said. Before she could dismount, he was there beside her, holding out his hand for her to take.

Together they walked up the short walk, until they reached the cabin, the old floorboards creaking beneath their booted feet.

“Hey, be careful,” Shilah murmured, cupping her beneath the elbow. “Here, let me help you.” She allowed him to help her navigate the rickety stairs, until they reached the door.

“You think it's unlocked?” she asked, biting her bottom lip and glancing up at him in question.

“Only one way to find out,” he said and leaned out, grasping the rusted doorknob.

When the door opened easily, Ellie gave Shilah a surprised look.

He grinned, motioning for her to go in front of him. “After you.”

Once inside, Ellie turned by instinct, memory flooding her of the layout of the place, and found a light switch. When the light flickered on, she smiled in surprise.

“Not only is it open, but it still has electricity,” she marveled, glancing around at the small cottage. As she did, memories of days gone by flashed in her mind.

“No, we never had the electricity turned off,” Shilah replied, following her as she walked through the small living room, running a hand over the back of the single sofa in the center.

A scarred coffee table was set in front of it, and in the corner stood a bookshelf still holding books.

Ellie turned to face him, a frown and a look of question on her face. “Shilah…it's as though we never left! I mean, everything is exactly like I remember it,” she said. Without giving him a chance to comment, she continued to walk through the small cabin, her amazement growing as she spun around to face him.

“Shilah?” she asked, confusion turning to dawning realization when she saw what looked like a blush darken his olive-colored face.

“Shilah…did you keep it like this?”

He avoided her glance, and she walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm. “Why?”

“Come on, El…you know why.”

Ellie felt as though all the air had been sucked from the room as his dark gaze settled over hers. Confused,
not wanting to try and figure out what it all meant, she turned away.

“I—I think we'd better go.”

“What are you so afraid of, El?” he said, pulling her around to face him, his face tightening with anger.

When Ellie tried to shrug off his hold on her, he placed two fingers on the side of her chin, forcing her to hold his gaze. “What about me scares you?” he demanded.

She placed her hands on his chest and shoved him away, suddenly angry. Angry at the situation, the way he made her feel…at herself for not being able to turn away from the dark promise in his eyes.

“Afraid of you?” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I'm not afraid of you or anyone else. Whatever misconceptions you have in that head of yours about me, you can just forget. I. Am. Not…afraid of you,” she reiterated, dragging each work out, staring at him defiantly. She ignored the inner taunting voice that asked who she was trying to convince, Shilah or herself.

The anger left his eyes, replaced with a look that made Ellie draw in a breath, her eyes widening at the intense way he was staring at her.

His unflinching gaze trained on her, his focus shifting from her eyes, down to her mouth, and back. She felt herself go still beneath his perusal.

It was as though he was trying to look into her very soul.

Ellie felt chill bumps feather along her spine, down her body, and trembled.

It was as though he sought to discern her every thought, push past every barrier she'd ever erected, barriers she'd worked her entire life to build.

In that moment, it was as though all the layers of her life came tumbling down. Her breath grew ragged, her chest heaved as she fought a battle she could not see, one that she'd been waging against the world in an effort to keep herself, her emotions, her very self at a distance.

She pushed against the stonelike wall of his chest to no avail. Angry tears rimmed her eyes, but she stubbornly fought against them, determined to hold them at bay.

“What—” She stopped, breathed in deeply before continuing. “What do you
want
from me, Shilah?”

For long moments he didn't speak, so long she wondered if he'd heard her whispered plea, or if he had, whether he would answer her.

She felt his finger beneath her chin, forcing her to raise her eyes to meet his.

The heated look in his eyes as he stared down at her sent a curl of desire through her body. A deep emotion filled his dark eyes' depths, so much emotion she turned her head away, unable to believe…accept what she saw.

She felt his lips touch the top of her head in a soft caress.

“It's just you and me, Ellie. Just like it always has been. You don't have to hide from me.”

He ran his finger down the side of her face. Before she realized what she was doing, Ellie turned into his hand, rubbing her head softly back and forth against his palm.

He turned her face so that she was forced to look at him, and she saw a small smile lift the corner of his sensual mouth. Although he smiled, there was no humor in his dark gaze, only simmering desire and something
more…intangible, fleeting, so fleeting that she thought she'd imagined it.

He leaned down and tilted her face to meet his mouth. He simply brushed his lips back and forth over hers in feathery strokes, before slowly lifting his head.

“I can't do this, Shilah. I—” She turned away from him, turned away from the smoldering look in his eyes, away from what his eyes were telling her he wanted from her.

Afraid to see her own need mirrored within his hot gaze.

“You don't have to
do
anything, Ellie.”

As she began to pull away he grasped the side of her face and placed another kiss on her lips.

Ellie released a shuddering breath.

“Just feel.”

This time when he lowered his head, he did so slowly, as though giving her time to move away, if that was what she wanted. To give her time to deny him…herself, the truth of what was brewing between them. A truth that stretched back years, a connection that went deep and one that left Ellie feeling shaken and afraid.

Ellie stared up at him, meeting his gaze, unable to move away.

His minty breath brushed the side of her face, the end of his nose nudged her cheek in a soft back-and-forth motion.

“The only other thing I want from you is to tell me you want me, Ellie,” he whispered, against the corner of her lips.

Ellie moaned, softly, trapped in the sensual web he'd created; one she had willingly allowed to capture her. “Tell me this isn't one-sided.”

She felt his hands tunnel through her hair, dislodging the band that held it back. Sifting his fingers through her strands, he tugged her close and slanted his mouth over hers.

In feathery strokes he ran his mouth over hers in easy glides, back and forth, his tongue sneaking out to lick across the seam of her lips.

The touch of his tongue was electric fire and as Ellie gasped, her mouth opened to allow him entry.

As soon as she opened her mouth to him, his hungry tongue invaded, swirling around the moist cavern of her mouth, running along the length of her teeth, end to end, before diving deep to leisurely lap and toy with her tongue, in a heated love play that wrung a deep moan from Ellie.

“Tell me that you want me as badly as I want you,” he said, his breathing heavy as he broke away from her.

“I—I—” She stopped, unable to voice what she felt in her heart. Confused, tears burned the back of her eyes. She couldn't put into words something she hadn't given a name to herself. With a cry, she turned away.

But, he wouldn't allow her even that.

He pulled her tighter, closer, until her breasts pressed hotly against the hard wall of his thick chest. His hands came out to cup her cheeks, brushing away the tears she hadn't known she'd shed.

Her hands came out to cover his, trembling.

She stared up at him with desperate eyes. “I—I don't know what's wrong with me.” The admission was torn from her, as emotions crowded in on her. “I just can't do this, Shilah, I just can't.”

“Let me take care of you, Ellie. No questions, no examination of what this is between us.” The ends of
his nostrils flared, his gaze going over her, as his hands trailed down from her face, down the side of her neck and over her body, deftly removing the jacket she wore, allowing it to fall on the floor beside them.

“No expectations, no recriminations.”

His fingers delved back into the back of her head, pulling her head closer while the other hand moved down her body, past the swell of her hips, and palmed her buttocks.

She drew her bottom lip into her mouth, her heart pounding when so close to him, their bodies pressed together, she could feel every long hard inch of his arousal as it pressed into her belly.

Her nipples spiked and she arched her back, as his hands slid up and beneath her sweater, his cool palms sliding against her overheated skin.

He slanted her head, and brought their mouths together, his tongue immediately invading her mouth again. He tugged at the lower rim of her mouth with his teeth and suckled it until she hissed in pleasure.

Of their own volition her arms crept up and snaked around his shoulders, tugging him down even closer to her.

Her body on fire for him, she mewled, rubbing her body against his, silently begging for him to continue his sensual assault.

One big hand reached for her breast, running his fingers over the silky material, thumbing at her nipple, pinching and toying with it until it pearled beneath his talented fingers.

Long, drugging kisses later, he wrenched his mouth from hers, his nostrils flaring, chest heaving with each
harsh breath he took. When he withdrew from her, her eyes flew open, a soundless cry of denial on her lips.

 

When Shilah broke their kiss, his breathing harsh, he stared down at her, his hands trailing over her nearly naked torso, until they came to rest at her breasts.

Although slender, her breasts were round, high and firm. He trailed his fingers over them, lifting them, cupping them in the palm of his hand.

Her sexy, lacy red bra was striking against her deep chocolate skin, the lace barely covering the slight swell of her breasts.

So damn sexy…just looking at them made his mouth water and his shaft thump against the constriction of his jeans.

He wanted…needed to see them. Feel them in his mouth…taste and caress them. The thought brought his erection to painful proportions.

He quickly unfastened the front closure of her bra and watched in hot fascination as her breasts bounced free. Her nipples, long and erect, looked like tight little cherries perched on top of a dark, decadent piece of chocolate cake.