Until You

by Janis Reams Hudson

  She was grinning like an idiot. “Can we go again?”

  Gavin hugged her to his side and laughed. “We can go as many times as you want. What say we try a few other rides while we dry off, then come back.”

  Ridiculously disappointed at not getting to experience that heart-stopping plunge again, Anna nonetheless agreed.

  Her disappointment was swiftly forgotten at the next ride. They hit the Prairie Schooner, and snickered over the play on words. It wasn’t a covered wagon, but a stomach-jarring, up-and-down, backward-and-forward ride on a pirate ship.

  The Time Warp left her breathless as they swung up and over, dangling for an endless moment upside down high above the park. Anna squeezed Gavin’s hand with bruising strength and screamed. She loved it.

  They hit them all, the Swingin’ Six Guns that flew them out and around with centrifugal force on the end of what looked like a pitifully weak steel arm. The Silver Bullet with its huge, death-defying loop more than sixty feet in the air and Lord only knew how fast. The Terrible Twister, the Wildcat. And more water at the Renegade Rapids—a giant inner-tube ride down man-made rapids.

  They watched the staged gunfight at the OK Corral and ate cotton candy. At the Ring Toss, Gavin won Anna a small stuffed monkey.

  They hit the milder rides, the Tilt-A-Whirl, even the carousel. The evil gleam in Gavin’s eyes as he rammed into her in the Dodge City Bumper Cars had Anna screaming with delight as she spun her wheel and gave as good as she got.

  Then it was back to heart-pounding thrills on the Wardance, the Sidewinder, the Diamond Back—all the scary, thrilling stuff in one ride as it took them backward and forward, tossing them into a three-sixty loop in the middle of both trips and plastering them into their seats with the sheer force of gravity.

  “Food,” Anna begged as she wobbled away from the Diamond Back and past the Old West buildings fashioned after a frontier town. “I can’t keep this up without food.”

  Grinning, Gavin placed a knuckle beneath her chin and studied her face. “After that ride, your stomach can handle food?”

  “I’m starving.”

  He startled her with a quick kiss on the lips. “I love a woman with a strong stomach.”

  “Yeah, well, this stomach just got word from my nose that there’s barbeque around here somewhere.”

  Following their noses they found the Santa Fe BBQ Restaurant in the geographically impossible location right next to the OK Corral, which everyone knew, Anna informed him, was nowhere near Santa Fe.

  Gavin tweaked her nose. “We’re going to the Old Time photo place and you can be the schoolmarm.”

  “Pardon me, little lady.” A tall, lanky young man in a white cowboy hat, wearing a six-shooter strapped to his thigh and a tin star on his chest, stepped out in their path. “Is this here varmint a‘botherin’ you?”

  Snickering, Anna recognized him as one of the stunt-men /actors from the earlier gunfight. “Gee, I don’t know,” she told him, batting her eyes. “Is he wanted for anything?”

  Playing along, the “sheriff” stroked his chin with thumb and forefinger, studying Gavin through narrowed eyes. “Face looks kinda familiar. Mighta seen him on a Wanted poster.”

  “Not me, Sheriff, honest.” Delighted with Anna’s response to the fun, Gavin held up both hands. “It was my evil twin brother who robbed that stage. I’m an innocent man.”

  “Humph. Just see that you stay that way, young fella.”

  When he moseyed off to hassle a man drinking a beer, Anna collapsed against Gavin in laughter.

  By the time they finished eating, the sun was going down, firing the western sky in a dozen different shades of red, coral, mauve and rose.

  “Perfect.” Gavin grasped her hand and took her to the Ferris wheel. He was disappointed to realize the cars on this one were built to accommodate several people seated in a circle facing each other. He didn’t want to share the ride with strangers. There were certain aspects of a Ferris wheel ride that were, in his book, not to be tampered with.

  He got lucky when they ended up the first in line for the next car. He nudged Anna on board, stepped on behind her, then turned back to the attendant and blocked the gate. “Come on, man, have a heart.”

  The attendant, a forty-something man with a balding forehead and biceps the size of tree trunks, peered over at Anna, then shook his head. “I got rules.”

  Disappointed, but not defeated, Gavin let the man seat them and lower the bar to hold them in. Then the man turned back and stepped out of the car. “Course, I don’t gotta follow ’em.” With a wink, he closed the gate and sent them off on their own.

  “Nice man.” Gavin settled back and slipped his arm around Anna’s shoulders, pulling her close to his side as they advanced to let the next in line board the following car.

  Anna grinned up at him. “Do you always get what you want?”

  “I try my best.”

  As they slowly rose, notch by notch as the other cars filled, they looked out over the crowds, the rides, the games. The glorious sunset.

  Anna thrilled to it all, knowing she would remember this night for the rest of her life. “Thank you for tonight,” she said to him.

  With the cars filled, the wheel started its lazy turn, taking them slowly up toward the top to the accompaniment of tinny calliope music.

  Gavin leaned his head down toward hers. “I’m glad you’re having fun.” He meant to kiss her lips, but she turned her head at the last instant. “Anna?”

  Anna looked up at him and it seemed they were the only two people in the world as the ground fell away below, with nothing but a darkening sky above and the warm southern breeze in their faces.

  “Kiss me, Anna.”

  Once again Donna’s words echoed in her mind. Enjoy the ride while you can. Arching her neck to reach him, she whispered, “Yes.”

  As the Ferris wheel crested and started a slow descent, their lips met. The fire that shot to the pit of her stomach reminded Anna of the night she had handed him the phone and their hands had brushed. Sparks. Electricity.

  They’d been heading toward this night even then. Toward this magical time out of time, when nothing mattered but the two of them. There were no responsibilities, no bills to pay, no brother to worry about. No clock ticking away their time together.

  Just Gavin’s arms around her, his hip next to hers, his mouth devouring hers as if he were starved for the taste of her. Her own needy hunger answering his, her fears shoved aside. No room for them here.

  She dug her fingers into his shoulder and gripped him hard, ignoring the hoots and hollers from those standing in line for the next ride as the wheel carried them down, down, along the ground, then started back up. She floated with it, with him, but the sense of freedom came from his mouth on hers rather than from the ride. Oh, but his mouth was magic. Soft, smooth. Gentle now. Easing away.

  Her eyes fluttered open to find his watching her with a question, and a hint of wariness, in their deep blue depths. In answer, she smiled. “You taste like cotton candy.”

  Relief flashed through his eyes, as though he’d been afraid she would object to his kiss. After the way she’d acted yesterday, she couldn’t blame him.

  But tonight she wasn’t Anna Collins, dull, dependable bookkeeper. Tonight she was...Cinderella. He was her own personal Prince Charming, and she was having a ball.

  She refused to let herself think about what would happen when the clock struck midnight.

  When they left the Ferris wheel, Gavin took her hand and headed up the street. “Come on. Let’s find that photographer and have that old-timey photograph done.”

  She had to rush to match his long-legged stride. “Is it one of those places where we stick our heads through holes in giant pictures?”

  “Uh-uh. This one’s got costumes.”

  She batted her eyes at him. “I don’t think I want to be a schoolmarm. I’ll be the dance hall queen and you can be the dashing gambler.”

  Without missing a stride, he g
ave her a quick kiss. “We can be anything you want.”

  She laughed. “Actually I don’t think I have the nerve.”

  “Sure you do.”

  “We’ll see.” But just then one of the stands at the corner caught her eye. It only took her a second to decide. If she wasn’t herself tonight, and if she really could be anything she wanted... “Stop.”

  Gavin whipped his head around to find out why she was suddenly tugging him in the opposite direction. “What?”

  She looked at him with pure devilment in her eyes. To see her this way, laughing and outgoing as she’d been all night... This, Gavin knew, was the real Anna, the one she kept buried because she’d built her entire life around duty and obligations and a brother who drained her spirit. Tonight she was so animated, so alive and vibrant, she took his breath away.

  “You think we should?” she asked, motioning toward the stand in front of them.

  Gavin’s grin came fast and spread wide. “You’re on your own this time. I don’t go in for things like that.”

  “Ah, come on,” she wheedled. “I won’t have the nerve unless you do it, too.”

  His smile softened. “You’ve got a hell of a lot more nerve than you think.”

  She laughed. “I think I’m finding that out. But I still won’t do it alone. Come on.” She started dragging him toward the stand.

  What the hell, Gavin thought, letting her pull him along. What was one little tattoo, anyway?

  In the rearview mirror, the bright lights of Reno grew smaller as the Corvette flew east into the night. Next stop, Oklahoma.

  Stayed a little too long in Reno, Ben admitted silently. Just like he’d done in San Francisco.

  Sorry, Anna, he thought, chagrined. I wasn’t going to come to you, but now I don’t have a choice. He’d stepped in it good and proper this time. He was up to his eyeballs, and that was a fact. Yesterday he had heard that Gavin was looking for him. It was going to be bad enough facing him after taking his car. Ben could admit now that that had been a damn stupid thing to do.

  But he couldn’t go back without also paying off what he owed Gav. He had to have that money in hand. For once in his life he had found something more important than gambling and good times—Gavin’s friendship.

  And my latest stunt may have ruined it all.

  He had one chance now, and that was Anna. Anna would fix it. She always fixed things for him.

  She was sure gonna be surprised to see him, he thought with an uneasy glance toward his passenger seat. Oh, yeah, she was gonna be surprised, all right.

  But this would be the last time, he vowed, that he would go to her for help. The very last time. He hoped.

  Chapter Eleven

  Anna and Gavin got matching tattoos, but she chickened out on the dance hall costume.

  By the time they left the park it was after ten and Anna was pleasantly exhausted. The ride home on the bike, even though it was still eighty degrees, was chilly. She used it as an excuse to snuggle up against Gavin’s back.

  When they reached her driveway she climbed off the Harley and raised the garage door for Gavin to pull in beside her car. The heat of the day still lingered there, warming her cool skin. Before Gavin turned off the headlight she turned on the overhead light and waited for him at the kitchen door.

  There was something, as Gavin approached her, something warm in his eyes. “Thank you,” he told her quietly.

  Her breath sighed out. “For what?”

  “For tonight. I’ve never enjoyed a night this much.”

  Anna shook her head. “I should be saying that to you. It was the most special night of my life,” she whispered. She touched his cheek with her fingertips, surprised at the way his eyes slid shut and his face turned in to her hand. It seemed to her that there was a sudden lack of air in the garage. Either that, or her lungs had forgotten how to work.

  He cupped his hand over hers and pressed a kiss to her palm. Such a simple gesture, such a complicated response inside her. Hot tingles raced from the spot where his lips touched her, straight down to the pit of her stomach, and lower. Emotions swelled. Needs rose.

  He threaded his fingers through hers, brought their hands down together, and opened his eyes. “Let’s go inside, Anna.”

  What his words asked might have been simple, ordinary. But his eyes asked for a different kind of entry. With her gaze trapped by his, she opened the door at her back and stepped into the house.

  She’d left the light on over the sink. It gave an intimate glow to the kitchen as they crossed the floor. In the living room she turned on the lamp, disappointed when Gavin released her hand to move toward the stereo. A moment later, soft, soulful music filled the room.

  Gavin held out his hand. “Dance with me,” he said in that hushed, husky voice.

  Anna hesitated, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m not very good.”

  “I don’t care.” And he didn’t. But he didn’t think she’d say yes if he just came right out and asked to hold her. He wished she hadn’t reminded him last night that he’d be leaving soon. He couldn’t get it out of his head. He didn’t want to waste any more time. He wanted his arms around her, hers around him. He kept his hand extended, and waited what felt like an eternity.

  Finally she reached out and touched her fingers to his. It took an incredible amount of control to keep from grasping her and dragging her into his arms. He took a slow, deep breath and let it out, letting the music ease him.

  When she stepped near, he took her hands and slid them around his neck, slipped his around her waist. Gently he pulled her close. He swayed to the slow beat of the music, and Anna followed him easily enough, though he felt the tension in her muscles.

  “Whose music are we listening to?” she asked, arching back to look up at him.

  “That’s Boyz II Men.” He slid a hand up to cup the back of her head and press her cheek against his shoulder. “Their newest ‘Babyface’ CD.”

  “‘Babyface’?” Anna asked, to keep him talking. She loved the way his voice rumbled in his chest beneath her ear, comforting, hypnotic. Soothing. Arousing.

  “Another artist. He wrote the songs, sings with them on this CD.”

  She nuzzled her nose against him. “It’s nice. I like it. When do I get to hear some of your songs?”

  Gavin hadn’t realized he’d wanted her to ask. With most women, when they asked about his music, he cringed, because the next question was, invariably, how many famous people did he know. With Anna, a warmth spread through his chest. “Do you want to?”

  She raised her head and looked up at him. “What a question. Of course I do.”

  “We’ll go pick some up tomorrow, if you want.”

  “Why do we need to buy them? You brought a guitar with you. Why haven’t I heard you play it?”

  Gavin shook his head. “I don’t sing. Don’t have the voice for it.”

  Anna frowned. “I don’t believe that. I like your voice.”

  His lips twitched. “Maybe that’s because you haven’t heard me sing.”

  “Will I ever?”

  “Hear me sing?”

  “Yes.” She gazed up at him, her heart racing. “We’re running out of time, aren’t we.”

  He lowered his forehead to hers. “Not tonight.” He pressed his lips to her temple. “Tonight we have all the time in the world, and I want to spend it holding you.”

  The music swirled around them, soft, evocative, voices blended in perfect harmony singing of love, of loss, of heartache.

  Gavin ran his hands down her back, pulling her closer. “You feel so damn good.”

  His words made Anna’s heart swell in her chest. An empty, aching void opened up low inside of her. She turned her face into his neck and tasting him seemed the most natural act in the world. He tasted warm, slightly salty. Exotic. That her simple gesture should make him shudder was more heady than any wine. It filled her with confidence, with power. With the desire for more.

  “Please,” he whispered, “do tha
t again.”

  She did it again, and felt his body’s unmistakable response as he hardened against her abdomen. This time it was Anna who shuddered. When he cupped her hips and pulled her closer, pressed her softness tight against his hardness, a bubble of heat and moisture burst down low inside her. She thought her knees might buckle.

  He whispered her name and rained kisses down the side of her face until he worked his way to her lips, leaving a trail of fire in his wake, soft fire, beautiful fire that turned her muscles to putty. Under the pressure of his mouth, her lips parted, her neck weakened.

  Her response threatened Gavin’s control. He couldn’t let that happen. Not for his life would he send her running from him, hiding again behind distant politeness. Tonight he’d seen the real Anna, the warm, outgoing, fun-loving person she kept hidden from the world for fear of being hurt. He wondered if she had any idea how devastatingly appealing it was to him to watch her come alive the way she had tonight, the way she did with her music. He would cut off his right arm before he hurt her by pushing too hard, too fast.

  Oh, but how he wanted her. Wanted her to the point of obsession. But he would settle for this, for tasting her, for tracking kisses along her jaw, raking his teeth gently down her throat until she shivered with it.

  “I thought,” she said with a gasp, “we were supposed to be dancing.”

  Against her neck, Gavin smiled and nibbled. “I forgot.” He pulled the tucked-in sweater free of her jeans and spread his eager hands across the warm silky flesh of her back. “You make me forget a lot of things,” he added, reminding himself that there were things, like his leaving, that he had no business forgetting. Mindful of that, he resumed the slow fluid movement of the dance, pulling her closer, savoring her. Wanting her.

  The feel of his hands on her skin wiped from Anna’s mind any thought of sense, of practicality, of self-preservation. Her mind filled with him, only him, and the music of love that swirled around them. “What are you doing to me?” she whispered.

  “Dancing.” With teeth and tongue and lips, he nibbled her earlobe. “Just dancing.”