Wishing on a Rodeo Moon (Women of Character) (16 page)

"Right
about here, where you and I kiss and make up," he murmured.

Tye
leaned heavily on the crutches, aware of the reaction of various parts of her
body to his words and the heated look that came with them. She felt totally
enveloped by a rush of want and need. Jake. She wanted Jake. His chest was
close, the scent of him around her, in her nostrils. She drew in a deep breath.
She wanted to take a nose-dive into his chest and not come up for air.

"All
right." Tye threw him a daring smile. "You proceed from the middle
and I'll tell you if I like it." Some part of her acknowledged that
eventually she and Jake would be lovers. She wanted it, craved it, knew it was
inevitable. A delectable little shiver raced across her bare back. Tye could
hardly wait. She ran her tongue over her lips. She didn’t want to wait.

#

Jake saw
the imp surface in Tye. He felt as if the years rolled back. This is the Tye he
remembered. Did she realize how fascinating he found her? She had guts and a
liberal amount of nerve. She was getting on with her life, instead of letting
it pass her. Her courage touched him. He had loved her when she was seventeen.
But now, she had matured into so much more than he remembered. For a moment he
regretted that time had erased their love. Jake wished he knew how to handle
the newly rekindled desire he felt.

"Proceed
from the middle? I don’t want to scare you now. I know how skittish you
can be."

Tye
smiled, and it lit her eyes. "Do your worst. We’re old friends,
remember?"

Jake’s
body reacted instantly. She looked perfect. His hands itched to trace the
slimness of her waist, the rounded curve of her buttocks. She appeared to be in
a happy, daredevil mood, yet he sensed a tenseness about her, as if she was
afraid he would stare overlong at her stump. Jake couldn’t help his
curiosity about the changes she had undergone. He wasn’t sure himself how
he felt about the absence of her lower leg. In the end Jake knew it
didn’t matter how he felt about it. What mattered was that Tye regained
control over her life and accepted herself for the way she was now.

With a
strong measure of control, Jake leaned forward and placed a deliberately chaste
kiss on her lips. To his amusement, she looked chagrined. "Am I going too
fast?" he asked, making a show of stepping back.

"Maybe
it's the company you keep. Let me try," Tye suggested, moving closer until
the thin layer of Lycra was the only thing between her skin and his chest. Jake
drew a deep breath at the contact and held himself rigid. He wanted to crush
her close to him, but he held back. He was a grown man. He could control
himself. For the moment, Jake let Tye set the speed.

Tye’s
tongue traced his lips, then delved inside. Jake felt the weight of her
suddenly in his arms. He stepped closer to her, his arms enveloping her. He
lifted Tye up against him as she turned her face into his neck. Jake groaned as
her lips nuzzled his neck. He struggled to keep his head as her slim hands ran
quickly, tantalizingly along his back. Jake bit back the groan of pleasure
building in his chest.

After
several moments, Jake let her drop back down to her toes. Vaguely, he felt his
chest heaving, like he had run hard. "Now that's what I'd call middle
ground. We should meet on it more often," he said, his voice rough with
want and need. Jake held her head against him, feeling her tongue wet along his
jaw. "Jesus! Tye."

She gave
a gurgle of laughter and did it again, then rested her face against his
collarbone, her warm breath touching his skin.

"I
concur," she said in a husky voice. She rubbed her cheek against his
chest. "You smell good, Jake, but your skin is hot. I think we should go
into the pool and cool off."

"Mmm."
That was about all Jake could manage as he lifted her hair and kissed his way
across the sensitive skin of her neck. Her immediate response was to melt into
him, and the hot awareness in Jake built to a powerful need. Not sure he wanted
to follow blindly where this was leading, Jake pulled himself up and out of the
seductive aura that Tye exuded.

"How
about that swim?" he said briskly.

Jake
could almost see the wheels inside her head working. He knew the situation
could go either way. She might be hurt he had pulled away or she might be
thinking of the next step in their relationship. Jake wanted to make love to
Tye, he wanted it with everything inside him. He wished it wasn’t so, but
there was no denying the truth.

"You’re
right, Jake!" She exclaimed. "A swim is the solution."

Jake
watched as she tossed her hair back. He had tried like hell to keep his
distance these last few weeks. Part of him knew he was asking for trouble big
time. He and Tye had had their shot years ago. Another part of him wanted to
race ahead and take the decision away from both of them. He wanted to go on gut
instinct alone. Gut instinct was telling him to claim what Tye offered and not
let go. They were adults, not kids.

"Come
on, last one in is a loser. And I'll warn you I don't intend to lose!" Tye
pushed him away from her. Jake saw her hop back when he put out a hand to catch
her. Off balance, Jake fell backward into the pool. Before the water closed
over his head he saw Tye jump in beside him.

They
surfaced together.

"You're
going to pay for that," he warned, treading water.

Jake
read the exhilaration on her face, the sheer glory of living. She threw her
head back challengingly and laughed. "Do your worst...or best, Jake
Miller," she invited throatily. "But make sure you do a good job of
it."

Staring
at her through slitted eyes, Jake pulled himself from the pool and stood on the
edge. Very deliberately he unzipped his jeans and yanked them down, knowing his
boxer shorts didn't leave much to the imagination. If she was going to back
away Jake intended to give her the opportunity right now.

#

Tye
couldn't tear her eyes from Jake, her eyes stuck on his lower anatomy so
starkly outlined by his wet shorts. Jake turned and threw the jeans out of the
immediate circle of light, giving her a perfect view of his trim backside. A
cowboy behind, to be sure, the kind that looked perfect in jeans or just about
anything. Or nothing, she thought, gulping water. She coughed and gagged, holding
onto the side of the pool. Drawing a ragged, embarrassed breath, Tye tried to
inhale past the chlorinated water in her airway.

Somewhere
above her she heard Jake laughing softly, and she knew he wasn’t fooled
by her. He knew he’d caught her off guard.

"This
boring old boy caught you by surprise, eh, Tye?"

Tye
didn’t answer. She had seen a naked man before, but never frontal,
personal, someone-she-knew type of naked man.

Never
Jake Miller. She had wanted to make love with Jake ten years ago, but
he’d held back each time when things reached fever pitch. Maybe he had
known she was too young to handle the consequences back then. They had both
been too young.

A splash
told her he had re-entered the water. Tye twisted her head around, once more
able to breathe normally. He was behind her, not touching, but there, smiling,
challenging her to continue where they had left off.

Tye kept
her eyes on his face, wondering if for once she had bitten off more than she
could chew. Had she met her match in this man? Maybe something of her doubts
showed on her face, or in her eyes, because Jake swam away, then around her in
circles.

"Ever
skinny-dipped before?" he asked lightly.

Tye
considered his question. "Will you believe me if I say only with other
women?"

"I
didn't mean to shock you." His words mocked her.

She
could tell by the glint in his eyes he was lying. Tye would have laughed,
maybe, if he wasn't so close. "I'm not easily shocked." Was she
really a prude? She considered the question. "I never thought of myself as
a prig, but on the other hand," she admitted truthfully, "I've stayed
away from men and women relationships for awhile."

"Are
we having a relationship?" Jake asked curiously. He reached out his hand
and let the strands of her hair float atop his upturned palm.

"There's
a possibility, isn't there?" Some of the tension eased inside Tye and she
took a reviving breath. "I'm not very experienced at this," she told
him flatly.

"I'm
not one for casual flings either."

Tye began
to feel chilled. She pulled herself from the pool and dangled her foot in the
water. "Casual or otherwise, I've tried it...getting seriously involved.
The leaving is more agony than it's worth when two people want different
things." She threw her head back and pushed her wet hair away from her
face. "You know what I mean, Jake. Look at our history."

"I
would like to think we’ve moved beyond who we were as teenagers."

"In
some ways of course we have, but some experiences..." Tye shifted
sideways. "There’s no sense pussyfooting around. What I'm trying to
say is my experience is pretty narrow," she finally blurted. "Despite
my reputation, the partying...I’ve never been with a man. I’m
afraid you’re going to be in for a big disappointment if you believe everything
you’ve heard about me."

If Jake
found her admission startling, he didn't say a word, but swam away from her.
She watched his arms cleave the water as he circled back toward her. He rested
his elbow on the pool edge beside her thighs.

Gently,
he pulled her close, urged her face down to his. Their mouths met, and Tye slid
into the water against him, moved down his water slick body, her leg twining
with his. It felt good, until her residual limb bumped against him with the
movement of the water. Tye felt her eyes widen in shock. Her gaze latched on
Jake’s face as she tried to gauge his reaction. Would he show distaste,
revulsion?

Jake ran
a fingertip down her nose, his mouth curving slightly in a smile. "When
I'm with you, Tye, we're on equal ground. I feel as inexperienced as any
kid."

Tye
licked her lips, trying to breathe normally. She felt her spirits lift. He
hadn’t pulled away from her, her leg. She wound her arms around his neck,
feeling the pool water push her up against him. The contact was her undoing.
She needed more than his water-cool skin against hers. She had missed him the
last two weeks. A part of her yearned for him. The feeling had grown steadily,
but she had determinedly filled the hours, riding, walking, exercising, all the
while knowing she didn't want to stay away from him. All the while knowing she
would soon be leaving.

"Maybe
we should be inexperienced together," she whispered, using two fingers to
push the hair from his eyes. She reveled in her freedom to touch him. It might
not last, this freedom, but it felt wonderful in this moment.

Without
a word Jake put his hands on her hips and pulled her through the water with
him, to the opposite side of the pool. At the ladder, he lifted her out, then
followed, pulling her upright. His hard, muscled arms carried her to the
cushioned chaise in the shadows and he let her stand once more.

Lifting
the cushions, he positioned them on the pool deck, then helped her sit on the
cushions. Knowing Jake watched her, Tye crossed her arms and very slowly slid
one bathing suit strap down, then the other. She felt incredibly sexy. For the
first time since her accident, she felt unselfconscious about her body and the
changes it had been through.

Jake
knelt beside her, one hand reaching forward as almost reverently, it seemed, he
cupped her breasts. His head moved closer and she caught the glint of his eyes,
his face so serious, before his hot mouth dropped to her skin, his lips moving
to heat her water-cool flesh. The sensation of his hot mouth on her skin was
erotic, mind blowing. Tye cupped the back of his head. Feverishly, her fingers
traced the bones of his skull, sensitive to the silky texture of his hair. She
dropped her head back, concentrating on the sensation of Jake's mouth. Jags of
awareness vibrated through her, one after the other. Never had she been so
aware of her own body's needs. She had ignored those very needs for a long
time. Early on, it seemed, Jake had spoiled her for another man.

Jake's
hands wiped the droplets from her skin slowly, sensuously, as if he liked
touching her. Tye watched Jake’s face, so serious and intent, as his
hands continued to trace over her arms and shoulders. Leaning over her, Jake
grabbed a towel and slowly dried her body, the material semi-rough and sensuous
against her ultra-sensitive skin. His hands beneath the towel traced an
erotically stimulating path across her skin.

Pulling
the towel from his hands, Tye did the same for Jake, enjoying his muscled body
beneath her palms. She rubbed the cloth over his chest and watched the dark
hair spring back. Gently, she laid the towel behind his neck and rubbed it
through his hair, her fingers tracing the bones at the back of his skull.
Lastly, Tye dried his shoulders, then moved the towel aside so she could touch
the warm brown skin with her mouth. She couldn’t resist that temptation.
Touching Jake was a glorious temptation.

Abandoning
the towel Tye lay back and reached her arms to Jake as he hovered above her.
The light was behind him, throwing his face into shadow. She traced a finger
along his lean cheek to the corner of his mouth. Jake turned his head and
nipped her finger, then licked and kissed it. Jake placed a hand on either side
of her. Tye felt so strung up with desire, she didn't care if she ever moved.

"I'm
a patient man, Tye."

"That’s
a strange choice of words," Tye murmured. "Right now I don’t
want words, Jake." She placed her open palms on his chest, curled her
fingers into the springy hair and felt the delicate quiver of muscle. Jake wanted
her as much as she wanted him.