by Fawn Bonning
“Damn right,” Cat said, pulling her shoulders back proudly. “Boob-job security.”
“God help me,” Melanie mumbled, shaking her head. “I’m Melanie, the dingaling who hangs around with these two on purpose. I work at a daycare where the five-year-olds act more mature.”
He grinned. “So, you’re from Florida, too?”
“She moved about a year ago because her mom was having financial problems,” Cat offered. “Who moves from West Palm Beach to West Virginia?” she asked, her nose crinkling. “She’s so damn selfless, it’s disgusting.”
“And she doesn’t just work at the daycare,” Deb added, “she runs the damn place. She’s the only one who can keep those monsters under control. She’s very good with children.”
“Absolutely,” Cat agreed. “The patience of a saint. I would be pulling my hair out if I had to wipe all those snotty noses.”
“Eww,” Deb groaned. “That’s gross.”
“What? I’m just saying she’s going to make an excellent mother someday.”
Melanie cleared her throat as she chewed.
He nodded. “I’m sure she will.”
“How about you,” Deb asked. “You have any kids?”
“Not yet.”
“I couldn’t help but notice you don’t have a ring on your finger.”
Melanie cringed. Deb could be so forward sometimes. It was just her nature. Most of the time, it didn’t bother her. She kind of got a kick out of seeing how people reacted. But not now. Now, she just wished she would shut the hell up.
“Nope,” he said, taking a sip of coffee. “No wife, no kids. My job keeps me pretty busy.”
“How long have you been a ranger?”
“Close to ten years.”
“Wow, you must like it then.”
“Yeah, I’ve always been attuned to nature. I feel right at home in the woods.”
“What do you know, so does Mel,” Cat said, reaching over to nudge her arm. “She’s always going on hikes in the woods and stuff, and she loves animals.”
“Yep,” Deb agreed. “She once tried for a week to coax this stray dog into her car. I told you about that, didn’t I, Cat, the one hanging around her church?”
“Yep. She has the patience of a saint and a heart of gold, and she goes to church every week, without—”
“Okay, you guys,” Melanie spoke through a mouthful of corned beef. “That’s quite enough.”
“What?” Debra asked. “We’re just making small talk while you finish up.”
“Yeah, well, I feel friggin’ wings sprouting.”
Cat tittered unabashedly.
Debra looked to the window as the wind outside rattled the panes. “You ever thought about moving to someplace different, Michael? Someplace warmer, maybe?”
He shrugged. “I’ve done some traveling. But I always come home. I love it here. The beauty, the solitude.”
“Well, do you always plan on being…solitary?”
Melanie set her fork down with conviction. “Debra, for Pete’s sake!”
“No,” he answered, leaning back in his chair, a sated grin gracing his handsome features. “Guess I haven’t found the right woman yet,” he said, staring boldly at Melanie.
“Is that so,” Debra said. “Just what is right to you?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, his green gaze unwavering. “Usual stuff, I guess. Intelligent. Good sense of humor. Generous. Nice smile. Selfless. Good with children. Patience of a saint and a heart of gold.”
Feeling the sudden need to busy herself, Melanie stood to clear the table.
“Pure of heart,” he continued, following her with his eyes as she collected plates, “of body.”
Melanie gasped as one of the plates slipped from her hands and went shattering to the floor. “Christ,” she muttered, and knelt quickly to pick up the pieces, promptly slicing her finger on a sharp shard. “Shit!”
Instantly, he was beside her, leading her to the sink by the wrist.
“I’m fine, really,” she insisted, attempting to pull away. “I—”
“Just let me have a look,” he insisted, holding tight. Turning on the faucet, he held her hand beneath the stream of cold water.
She watched the blood swirl down the drain, but she was feeling no pain. Her brain was too focused on the body pressing firmly behind her, pinning her against the sink. And his scent was overpowering.
She closed her eyes and held her breath, attempting to block out the desires that flooded through her, and making a mental note to go see Father Carmino as soon as she got home.
Behind them, she was only vaguely aware of Deb and Cat arguing about who would sweep and who would hold the dust pan, their words seeming to drift from a million miles away.
“Look,” Debra was saying in an exasperated tone. “There’s pieces over there, and some more over there. You have to sweep the whole area. Just…here, let me do it.”
Realizing that she was getting light-headed, she quickly drew in a breath, her lungs filling with his scent. She knew that she should probably push him away. That would be the decent thing to do. But somewhere deep down, she supposed she liked the feel of him pressed against her, because she made no attempt to do so.
And why shouldn’t she like it? She was a woman, wasn’t she? He was a handsome man who was obviously attracted to her. Why couldn’t she just loosen up a bit? It was just a little innocent fun, right? She hadn’t planned on being a twenty-three-year-old virgin. She hadn’t made a pact to hold out until she was married or anything. The right opportunity had never arisen, was all. Not that she hadn’t had plenty of opportunities. But none had ever felt right before. She just hadn’t been ready or hadn’t felt that magic spark that everyone was always talking a—
She froze as he pulled her finger from the water and brought it to his mouth. “Wh…what…” she sputtered. “Are you licking it?”
A deep rumbling chuckle vibrated against her back. “Just making sure it’s nice and clean, sweet Melanie,” he said, his warm breath at her ear sending a shiver to her toes. “We don’t want it to get infected.”
She wrenched her hand away. “Okay, that’s not weird at all.”
He was laughing as he pulled away. “I think I’d better add some wood to the fire,” he said as he headed for the living-room. “You’re shivering.”
“I think that just about does it,” Debra said as she dumped the contents of the dust pan into the garbage can with a loud clinking of glass. “How’s the boo-boo?”
Wrapping her finger in a paper towel, Melanie leaned back heavily against the counter. “It’s nothing.”
“Hey,” Deb whispered, sidling closer. “He really likes you.”
“Give me a break.”
“Come on! They don’t get any hunkier. Broad shoulders, tall and lean. And did you get a load of those eyes?”
“Yeah. They’re unusual, all right,” Melanie admitted. “And so is his smell. Did you get a whiff of him? What the hell is that?”
“I didn’t really notice,” Deb said. “I was too busy checking out his buns in those jeans.”
“How could you not notice? I even smell it now. I think it’s on me,” she said, putting her nose to her sleeve to sniff.
“I wouldn’t doubt it, with the way he was body pressing you in here. Anything…interesting pop up?”
“Oh, my god, you’re such a pig.”
“Come on,” she said, nudging her. “He’s a dream. You just have to close your eyes. Mr. Sandman,” she began to sing quietly, “bring me a dream. Make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen.”
“Are you serious right now? You know you’re tone deaf, right? Besides…he called me sweet.”
Deb’s face contorted in a grimace. “Dear God, no! The disgusting creep!”
“Yeah, well…he also…” She leaned closer to whisper. “He licked my cut.”
“Your what?” Deb gasped, her eyes popping wide.
“My cut, dingaling!” Thrusting out her wrapp
ed finger, she wriggled it in front of her nose.
“Wow, he works fast. I don’t usually let a guy lick my cut until after at least three dates.” Throwing a hand to her chest, she snickered fiendishly. “But I’d make an exception for him,” she added. “If you don’t move in on that, I will.”
“Be my guest.”
“Quit being such a stiff,” she said, giving her a nudge on the arm. “If you don’t loosen up, you’re going to end up a fifty-year-old wrinkled and very frustrated old maid.”
“You’re loose enough for the both of us.”
“Ha ha. Very funny. Now go in there, sit by the cozy fire, have a little rum and a long conversation, and, who knows, you may actually have something interesting to confess at your next confession.”
“Okay, that’s it,” she said, arching her brows. “I’m going to bed.”
“Mel! The night is young and so are we!”
“No. You and Kitty-Cat knock yourselves out. I’m beat,” she said, heading for her room and knowing without looking back that Deb’s jaw had dropped and her hands were propped haughtily on her hips.
~~~~
She lie in bed listening to Cat and Deb giggle and flirt with ‘Mr. Wilkins, forest ranger at your service, ma’am’, in the other room. Putting her nose to her shoulder, she breathed deeply. She could still smell him.
Rolling to her back, she threw her arms wide, her eyes drawn to the only light in the room, the tiny green LED of the fire alarm on the ceiling, a color strikingly similar to his eyes.
She’d done it again. Alienated herself from someone who was genuinely interested.
Pulling a pillow to her chest, she hugged it tightly.
It was probably for the best, anyway. Who the hell would lick the cut of a woman he’d only just met?
She giggled at such a ridiculous question.
Fingering the Band-Aid, she let out a sigh. Even if he was interested, North Dakota and West Virginia were quite a distance apart. A little too far to drive for a date. She wasn’t interested in any one-night stands, either. No way. Before anything sexual would ever transpire, there would first have to be a meaningful relationship. She wasn’t some floozy to be used for one night of pleasure and then kicked to the curb like a piece of garbage. Uh-un. Not her. As far as she was concerned, people took sex far too casually, trivializing something that was supposed to be beautiful and meaningful. She didn’t want to have sex. She wanted to make love. Was that asking for so much?
Throwing the pillow over her face, she pressed the sides over her ears, hoping to block out some of the flirty banter coming from the other room, it drifting in despite the whining wind outside. The storm was not letting up. If anything, it was picking up, the gusts rattling the windows and flickering the lights.
~~~~
It was about time.
Finally, Deb and Cat had retired to their room.
She pulled the alarm clock off the nightstand, holding it close.
Eleven forty-five.
They’d been out there giggling and flirting for over three hours, the shameless hussies.
Lying quiet in the darkness, she listened as their green-eyed guest moved about in the living room. She heard the sound of wood being added to the fire, the sound of dining room chairs being slid back into place, the clinking of coffee cups being placed quietly in the sink. She heard the creaking of floorboards beneath his feet as he made his way to the bathroom, the toilet flush, running water as he washed his hands.
Maybe he was washing more than his hands, she thought as the water continued to run for a while. She pictured him washing his face and then taking his shirt off to run the wash cloth over his chest. Did he have a hairy chest, she wondered, or smooth?
Throwing her hands over her face, she shook her head, rebuking herself for acting like the ditzy dingalings in the room across the hall.
Father Carmino’s ears were going to be ringing when she got through with him. She was going to need at least an hour to confess all her impure thoughts.
When the water turned off, she craned her neck to listen.
The creak of a door hinge gave away his location, then more floorboards as he made his way back to the living room…something indiscernible sliding along the floor. She heard the springs of the couch groan, and then there was only silence.
Gazing up at the green eye of the fire alarm, she listened to the raging storm.
Their whole week, all shot to hell.
She was surprised that this thought didn’t irritate her more than it did. The storm had, after all, delivered Ranger Wilkens, green eyes and all, to their front door.
As she began to drift, a song popped into her brain, spinning it round and around.
Buuum, bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum
bum, bum bum bum bum.
Mr. Sandman…bring me a dream.
Make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen.
Give him two lips like roses and clover,
And tell him that his lonesome nights are over.
Sandman…someone to hold…
would be so peachy before I’m too old.
So please turn on your magic, please.
Mr. Sandman, bring me…
Please, please, please…
Mr. Sandman…
Bring me aaaaa dreeeeam.
~~~~
A tantalizing scent crept into her dream—strong, musky, masculine. And then a noise filtered through—the slight creaking of a hinge.
Slowly, Melanie drifted back into the waking world.
She gasped, sitting up, trying to focus on the dark figure standing by the door.
“Shhh,” he whispered, putting a finger to his lips. “Don’t be afraid, Melanie.”
“What—”
“I know I shouldn’t be in here. I just…the electricity went out a while ago and I thought you might be getting cold. I brought you a blanket.”
He stepped from the shadows into the meager green glow of the fire alarm, and she gasped at the sight of him naked, a body powerfully built with wide shoulders and a strong muscular chest that was matted in dark hair. His stomach was ridged and his hips were narrow.
She forced her eyes back to his before they could examine further. “Are you out of your mind! Get out!” she hissed, her voice a harsh whisper in the darkness.
“Okay,” he said, tossing the blanket to the floor, “but first I need to tell you something.”
“Out!”
“You’re the right woman,” he whispered.
“What? You don’t even know me!”
“Sure I do.” He took a step toward the bed. “Pure of heart…pure of body.”
She pulled the comforter to her chin as his scent wafted to her. “Listen…I don’t know what Deb and Cat have been telling you. I…I’m sorry if I’ve somehow misled you. I didn’t mean to give you the wrong—”
He crossed the room in two long strides.
“Hey!”
“Shhh.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, he put a finger to her lips to silence her, and she nearly swooned at the touch.
“Get out,” she whispered, the tremulous words now more of a plea than an order. Her heart was hammering and her breaths were shallow.
His scent was consuming her, working its way into her brain with each terrified breath. And the way that he was looking at her with those eyes. It was obvious he wanted to kiss her. And the strange thing was, she wanted him to.
Or was it strange? Maybe it was perfectly natural.
She didn’t know.
She didn’t care.
“You’re so beautiful and you don’t even know it,” he said, running soft fingertips along her cheek.
Taking hold of the comforter clutched to her chin, he forced it from her tight grasp. “Easy now,” he said, tossing it aside. “Just making sure there’s no frying pan hiding under there.”
“Michael—”
“Shhh,” he whispered as he leaned slowly to her lips. “It’s time.”
Any protestati
ons she thought to utter were instantly lost as his lips touched hers, a gentle kiss, the tender nibbling clouding her senses. His other hand came up to cup her face as he gently lowered her to the bed.
She could feel the heat of him through the nightshirt, could feel the flexing of muscles as he settled himself on top. It occurred that she should just allow it to happen, just relax and enjoy a few hours of pure physical pleasure. No more worrying about who would be the first.
God! She was so sick of worrying about that. What was the big deal anyway? She just wanted to get it over with. Get it out of the way. She’d held out long enough. Who was she holding out for? What was she trying to prove? And why was his skin so hot, the hands on her face searing, the lips on hers blistering?
Like solder beneath an iron, she felt her resolve melt to a molten mess. He parted her lips, delving inside, his breaths quickening. And he parted her legs as well, settling solidly between.
There was a man kissing her! A man on top of her!
It was different than she imagined. In nothing but a nightshirt and undies, she felt vulnerable beneath him. Defenseless.
A trail of goose-bumps appeared in the wake of the hand that slid up her thigh.
With a moan, she wrenched her mouth away, gasping as he suctioned onto her neck with a rumbly growl.
The hand she brought to her chest was trembling as it grasped the small crucifix that rested there. It was her most treasured possession, bequeathed by her grandmother and worn ever since. Almost twelve years. Nothing fancy. A fine, delicate gold chain and—
Something clicked in her head.
This was wrong. Cat and Deb were right in the next room, for God’s sake! Had she completely lost her mind? She didn’t know this man! She didn’t know the first thing about him. There was no way she was going to blow years of restraint on a meaningless one night stand. When she decided that it was time, it would be with someone special, someone she loved. Not just a physical joining. A joining of minds and souls, a spiritual and physical linking all rolled into one. Not like this.