Dance in my Heart

by Jones, Marjorie

  “Some of the families here needed some things. More than I needed horses I rarely have time to ride, anyway.”

  He approached the fence and whistled loudly. A black horse with a white star in the center of his forehead dashed to the barbed wire and blew a loud greeting.

  A smile rent his face, revealing his even white teeth. Her heart skipped a beat as she committed his expression to memory.

  The horse leaned his head over the fence and Hawk pressed his forehead against the long snout, scratching behind the animal’s ears with both hands.

  If anyone had told Candice a week ago she would be completely relaxed in the middle of nowhere watching a man commune with a horse, not a single yellow cab or subway station in sight, she’d think they were crazy. But an image of making a home in a place like this suddenly appealed to her.

  But only with Hawk.

  Another piece of her heart jumped toward him and she winced.

  She hoped he didn’t notice.

  “He’s very beautiful,” she spoke quietly, not wanting to interrupt, but needing to say something, anything, to get her mind off the impossible.

  “He’s a she. This is Blaze; that red one over there is Kennedy, the Appy belongs to Jake and there’s a Pinto around here somewhere we call Warchild. Nobody rides him unless they want a battle on their hands.”

  His deep rich laughter filled her, making her palms itch and his flesh tingle.

  Lightning flashed and thunder vibrated the air around them with a loud, sudden crash. She jumped closer to him. Hawk’s body heat reached out for her, soothing her like a favorite blanket.

  “We better head back.” He took her hand in his larger one.

  Fire burned through her with more electrical current than any bolt of lightning.

  By the time they reached the house, his arm encircled her shoulders and she leaned into him. She climbed the steps, surprised when he didn’t follow, but turned her in his arms. Standing one step up from him, she still had to look up into his eyes, thought not so far as she normally did.

  His smoldering black orbs examined her features as if he too wished to remember her face forever. She felt her blush suffuse her cheeks before she averted her gaze.

  His fingers grazed her jaw, gently bringing her face back to his. Then his palm covered her cheek as his fingers imbedded in her hair.

  “If you stay here tonight, I’ll make love to you again.”

  He stated the fact plainly, the tilt of his head the only indication she needed to respond. It wasn’t an invitation, but a warning.

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “I don’t want you to think badly of me, Candy. I have nothing to offer you.” He moved his other hand to mirror the first, holding her head with gentle strength. He studied her lips and she willed him to taste them again.

  “I know that, too.”

  He hesitated for only a second before he claimed her mouth with explosive passion. A moan escaped her throat as she felt herself leaning into his chest. He feasted on her lips before delving inside her mouth with his tongue, thrusting and teasing in a promise of things to come. Her whole body trembled against him with wanting. When one hand left her hair to cup her breast, her body responded with liquid fire low in her belly.

  Her arms circled his neck and pulled him closer. She wanted to be inside him as badly as she wanted him inside her. He trailed his kiss away from her mouth and her head flew back of its own design. He nibbled her neck until his lips settled in the hollow of her throat.

  He urged her from the steps to the porch and Candice didn’t know how she’d managed to control her own movements without falling down. Her knees might as well be made of wax. Melting wax.

  He broke off his attentions when he reached the door. Panting, he paused a moment before he opened it and led her inside.

  Claiming her hand again, he dragged her inside behind him. The final quarter of the Timberwolves game shouted from the television while Jake threw a Dorito at the screen. He turned at their entrance.

  Hawk pulled Candice behind him as he led her through the living room toward the bedroom hall. “We’re going to bed, Jake. Knock on my door before eight a.m. and you die.”

  “Yeah, whatever. That’s what I figured. You want me to turn down the tube?”

  Hawk looked at Candice and allowed what he knew to be a wicked grin to spread across his face. Remembering her passion, he drawled, “No. You might want to turn it up.”

  He laughed at the adorable blush pinking Candice’s cheeks. Her eyes widened to full moons.

  “Way too much information, man,” Jake responded as he used the remote to increase the volume of the game.

  Hawk never broke stride as he led her to his room. The house had only two bedrooms, but they were both master suites, so he locked the door behind him, knowing they’d have no reason to leave before dawn. Except maybe a midnight kitchen raid. He had a feeling he’d need to keep his strength up.

  For a moment, he did nothing but stare at her. More than beautiful, her features haunted him like some fey creature sent to torment and taunt. His jaw clenched as desire to hold her forever coursed through him. He pushed it way. He should be happy he had a chance to hold her again. And he was, for the moment. Even as the realization he couldn’t keep her invaded his mind.

  “Kiss me, Hawk,” she called to him quietly.

  He did. He renewed his attention on her full, pink lips, suckling until he felt them swell under his ministrations. Her chest rumbled with a soft groan, trembling against his diaphragm. He broke the kiss long enough to remove his T-shirt and toss it across the room. He dove on her neck, using his teeth to tease her hot flesh as he unbuttoned her top, slid it from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, then used one hand to unhook her bra. He pulled one strap down with his hand and the other with his teeth. His loins swelled and pulsed, begging him to remove his jeans. He stopped kissing her and drew a ragged breath. Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth; sheer willpower the only thing preventing him from spilling in his pants.

  She controlled his every thought. He belonged to her, and if she asked it of him, he’d spend the rest of his life worshiping her. She owned him.

  Candice sat down on the edge of the bed, her full, naked breasts swaying gently with her movement. He reached for her, but she brushed his hand away.

  Running her hands over his butt, she scooted him closer to her. He took a shaky step and gasped as her delicate fingers grazed his erection through his jeans. She pulled open the top button and he groaned. He formed fists at his sides to keep himself from throwing her on the bed like some crazed beast.

  She opened the second button on his 501’s, her face so close to him he could feel her hot breath as it wove its way through his jeans. Finally, his member sprung free and she wrapped her hands around him. He thought he would die.

  Please, don’t let me die before she’s finished.

  He leaned his head back, letting her explore him with her hands. When he felt the soft heat of her lips, and her humid, heavy breath on him, he looked down to find her nipping lightly on his swollen shaft. She backed away and looked up at him with doe eyes and an evil smile.

  “Oh, god,” he groaned through clenched teeth. “I can’t stand it.”

  “You want me to stop?” she teased.

  “No,” he answered.

  He watched her move her mouth closer to his shaft and kept his eyes trained on her as she swallowed him. He felt his climax growing in his groin. His stomach rumbled in anticipation. She moved her mouth slowly up and down his shaft, licking and nibbling until he thought he would explode inside her. She shoved her head forward, taking as much of his length as she could inside her throat.

  He pushed her back then. “Stop,” he groaned. “I can’t take it anymore.”

  She grinned up at him as she lay down on her back. Her arms above her head, she stretched like a cat in a sunny window. He stretched beside her, taking her breast into his mouth as he worked the button and zip
per on her jeans. Then he pulled the denim and her lace panties off together and settled his face between her legs.

  “I owe you one, I think.” He knew he smirked as what could only be described as anticipation crossed her face.

  He ran one finger over her pink, wet flesh and almost hummed as the flower of her desire opened for him. He followed his finger with his lips and tongue. She writhed against him as he lapped at her center. He lifted her legs over his shoulders and her skin seared him.

  “Omigod, Hawk. Don’t stop. Oh god!” she screamed.

  Her orgasm throbbed against his tongue and she tasted sweet; smelled of woman. Her juices dripped over his chin as she clenched her legs. Still he continued to worship her with his mouth. Only when she came a second time did he grant her new request that he stop.

  He reached into his bedside table and removed a condom. Tearing it open with his teeth, he put it on with shaking hands. She opened her legs for him and welcomed him home with a heavy sigh.

  Still wrapped in her descent to earth, she clung to him as he pushed himself inside her.

  Warm. Tight.

  Home.

  He moved his hips slowly, allowing her body to conform to his size. Letting her take the lead, he waited until her shifting pelvis begged him for more. Then he thrust inside her with mindless abandon, allowing her throbbing womb to take him over the edge.

  He lost himself in the world existing only for them. If only the real world did not exist, he could stay with her forever.

  She came around his shaft embedded deeply inside her, and whispered into his chest. The words muffled against him, but he heard them clearly enough.

  “Love me, Hawk. Please love me.”

  The real world crashed around him.

  Chapter Ten

  Fear wrapped around Candice like a web. Would Hawk still be next to her if she opened her eyes? Inhaling the rich male scent of the pillow beneath her head, she forced her lids up and breathed a sigh of relief as she found Hawk staring at her. He lay on his side, his head propped in one hand.

  “Good morning,” he whispered, his voice rough with sleep.

  “Good morning,” she answered as she pushed herself up to mimic his position.

  “I’d ask you how you slept, but I don’t think either of us got much sleep. You are a wild-woman.”

  She released a nervous laugh. Only with him. She’d never done half the things she’d done with Hawk with anyone else. Not even her husband, and she’d considered their sex-life one of the good points of her failed marriage.

  “I have to go to work.” Hawk sighed, but made no move to leave the bed.

  “So do I.”

  “You need to call a tow,” he laughed. “And get a new rental car.”

  She laid her head into the crook of her arm as she remembered her out-of-commission rental and groaned aloud. She needed to write her article and get it back to New York. She didn’t have time to track down tow-trucks and deal with the red tape of a car-rental counter.

  “But first, I think we should take a shower.”

  Her ears perked. Sliding her gaze over the heated pools of his eyes, and then over the hard planes of his smooth, heavily muscled chest, she raised an eyebrow. “We?”

  “Oh, absolutely. I’m big on water conservation.”

  She laughed again. Okay, so she didn’t have time for this either. But she didn’t care.

  Two hours later, she climbed off Hawk’s bike in front of his office building. Several young men stood over the open hood of her car. Instantly riled, she felt her temper flare.

  “Hey, Mike. I think it’s the starter.”

  The starter? They weren’t trying to strip the car, they were trying to fix it. Shame clawed its way over her, pricking her flesh with knowledge she wasn’t as cosmopolitan as she thought.

  The boy in the middle waved to Hawk. She recognized him from yesterday. He was one of the young men Hawk had met with before they went to lunch.

  “Thanks for looking at it for me, Jeremy,” Hawk replied as he stowed his helmet and gathered his pack from the saddlebags.

  “You asked him to fix my car?”

  “Yeah. I called him last night. The kid’s a whiz with anything under the hood.”

  “But I can’t fix it. Don’t have the parts. Sorry, Miss Lincoln.”

  “That’s okay. I called a tow from Hawk’s place a couple of hours ago.”

  “I have to get to work.” Hawk faced her and took her into his arms.

  “I know. Don’t worry about me. I won’t get in your way. I’ll just wait out here for the truck.”

  He kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose. She inhaled the tangy scent of his leather jacket and smiled.

  In a voice low enough the boys couldn’t hear, he whispered, “Thanks for last night.”

  She didn’t know what to say, except, “You’re welcome.”

  You’re welcome? She cringed inwardly.

  “Can I see you later?”

  Her heart stopped. The last thing she expected him to offer her was another chance to see him. Last night had been a bonus. Icing on a huge, erotic cake. Could she risk seeing him again? Knowing he already held every piece of her heart and knowing she held none of his?

  She didn’t have a choice.

  “Yes,” she answered, the word in her head filled with hope and promise.

  “Good. I’ll cut out of here early and meet you at your hotel about eight?”

  “Sounds good to me.” Another night writhing in his arms sounded more than great.

  “I hope you packed your glad rags, because I’m taking you dancing.”

  A real date? She nearly choked. This might be getting out of hand. But she couldn’t resist smiling. “I’ll be ready.”

  She watched his sauntering stride as he walked toward the doors of his office. He exchanged high-fives with the boys as he passed.

  “He’s a good guy, Miss Lincoln. Are you his girlfriend?”

  Her attention snapped toward Jeremy Littlefeather. She didn’t have an answer. Thankfully, the truck arrived and she didn’t have to come up with one.

  The boys said goodbye and meandered as a group toward the residential streets. She frowned as she wondered which of the houses she’d seen last night and again this morning housed the troubled young Jeremy.

  “You need a ride back to the city?” The driver appeared friendly enough as he wiped his hands on a red cloth then tucked it back into the pocket of his coveralls.

  “Yes, please.”

  Her bona-fide date with Hawk sprung into her mind. She had some shopping to do.

  ~* * *~

  “Michael?”

  Hawk lifted his eyes from the computer screen and rubbed the ache from them with both hands. “Yeah, Celeste?”

  “Mary Cadrieux is here to see you. She’s pretty upset. Have you got a minute?”

  “Sure, what’s wrong?” He felt his brows close. Foreboding dread slithered up his spine.

  “I’m not sure. But she’s been crying.”

  “Send her in.” Hawk moved the financial files off his desk and stood to meet Mary at the door.

  A pretty girl of fifteen, she normally possessed the classic grace of her people. But when she came through the door, her shoulders slumped heavily and she hugged herself tightly around her waist.

  “Mary?”

  She raised red eyes toward him. Instead of speaking, she sobbed and ran toward him. He caught her in his arms as her momentum nearly knocked him over.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” His voice choked. He’d never seen her like this before.

  “I’m sorry, Mike,” she cried. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t mean it. But he wouldn’t listen to me. I tried to make him, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  “Who, Mary? Make who do what?” Dear God, let him be wrong. Not Mary.

  “I’m...,” she began as she hiccupped a sob. “I’m pregnant.”

  Hawk’s eyes fell closed as he held her tightly.

  Fifte
en. And pregnant.

  He searched his memory for an image of who could have done this to her, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing her with a boy.

  “Who, Mary? I’ll need to talk to him if I’m going to help you.”

  She stiffened. “No, you can’t,” she begged.

  “I have to, Mary. This is serious.”

  “I know, but I already told him and he doesn’t care.”

  Bastard.

  “Is he Native, or White?” At least he’d know where to concentrate his search. He would find the kid whether she liked it or not. Only question was, search the res, or search town.

  “Mary… It’s going to be alright. I’ll help you. But you have to help me. You didn’t do this by yourself. Now tell me.”

  “He’s Ojibwe,” she confessed into his chest.

  Damn. He thought of his conversation with Jeremy Littlefeather yesterday. He’d come by to vent his frustrations concerning a girl. Jeremy wouldn’t tell him which girl he talked about, but it had to be Mary. Jeremy was only sixteen.

  “Jeremy,” he voiced his suspicions.

  She shook her head. “No, not him.”

  He pushed her away from his chest and bore his sympathetic eyes into her tearful one. “Mary. Tell me who,” he demanded.

  She withdrew for a hesitant moment before fresh tears cascaded over her streaked cheeks. “Justin Cross,” she wailed.

  Fury like he’d never known surged through him. He tightened his grip on her shoulders before he released her for fear of hurting her. Justin was twenty-four years old. This was more than horny kids not taking the right precautions; this was a crime.

  He swallowed against the sick twisting in his stomach. “You wait here.” He grabbed his jacket and keys and headed toward the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  Hawk stopped at the panic in her voice. “Don’t worry about it. Just wait here. I’m going to have Celeste call your mother. If she gets here before I come back, tell her I’ll stop by tonight and talk things over with her.” He looked into the scared girl’s face. “Your mother is good woman. It will be okay.”