“Excellent news. Sit there while I show off my expertise.” He stood and walked over to his pack. “We camping technicians love doing that, you know.”
“Then I’ll stroke your ego until you let me stroke something more interesting.”
His cock twitched and he turned back to her. “On second thought, maybe we should forget about the tent and just sleep under the stars.”
“No, thanks. This camping virgin wants to feel safe and cozy inside a zipped-tight tent.”
“Fair enough. So allow me to present a nylon tent.” He unrolled it with a flourish. “Lightweight, but capable of providing shelter for… whatever you have in mind.”
“Hm. You’ve admitted you spend more time in the woods than in your apartment, and I know for a fact that you like sex, so if this tent could talk, it—”
“It would say it’s brand new this season, barely used.”
Olivia’s gaze challenged his. “So are you saying that this tent has never experienced passion?”
Wyatt couldn’t help laughing. “Sadly, it has not.” Last year’s tent hadn’t seen any action, either. He’d have to go back to the tent before that before he could claim a tent with a sexual past. Or sleeping bags with a sexual past, come to think of it. These had been new last summer.
“Good.” She drank more wine. “I like that.”
He hid a smile. If she liked the idea of being the first lover he’d had in this tent, she might be getting possessive, which would be a good sign. It was a short trip from feeling possessive to serious pursuit.
“So, the tent is supported by these poles.” He assembled them quickly and fit them into the pockets in the nylon. “And presto, the tent is gloriously erect.”
She spewed her wine but fortunately it only went into the dirt and pine needles at her feet. “You said it like that on purpose.”
“Maybe.” He watched as she licked stray drops of wine from her mouth and his cock twitched again.
“What’s next?”
“A couple of self-inflating air mattresses.” He pulled the bungee cords off each one and opened the valves before crouching down and allowing them to unroll on the tent floor. One thing about new denim — it didn’t have much give to it when a guy had a hard-on. He stood, grimacing.
She gazed at his crotch. “Something else seems to be inflating.”
“Nice of you to notice.”
“I know nothing about camping, but it seems to me that once you put the sleeping bags on those rapidly inflating air mattresses, which are uber-cool, by the way, you’re in business.”
“Well, the tent’s ready, but I haven’t constructed a fire pit or gathered wood or…” He had the good sense to stop listing chores as she drained the last of her wine, set down the glass, and started untying her sneakers. He was even smart enough to grab the sleeping bags and unroll them on top of the air mattresses.
When he stood and turned back to her, he was greeted by a sight that put the ultimate strain on the fly of his new jeans. She’d taken off both her T-shirt and her bra, and was in the process of unfastening her jeans.
He must have let out a little moan of need, because she glanced up. “Those jeans look uncomfortable,” she said with a tiny smile. “Why don’t you take them off?”
“Great suggestion.” But before he did that, he rummaged in his pack for the item he should have pulled out even before the wine. Tossing the box of condoms into the tent, he proceeded to get naked, but he was slower than Olivia. For someone who had never been camping, she sure did know how to occupy a tent in a hurry.
By the time he dropped to his knees to crawl in, she’d unzipped both sleeping bags and was nestled on the soft flannel interior like a centerfold.
He took a moment to admire her lying there. This tent would never look the same to him, now. “I think you’re getting the hang of this camping business,” he murmured.
“I have a good teacher.” Her gaze roamed over him in frank appreciation. “Coming in?”
“You know it.”
“Don’t forget to close that zipper thing. I like being close to nature, but I don’t want nature to get too close, if you know what I mean.”
“I hope that doesn’t include me.” He turned back once he was inside and zipped the flap.
“Actually, I was just thinking that I don’t know you well enough.”
“For what?” He glanced back at her, hoping to hell she wasn’t about to shut down all his fantasies about having sex in this tent.
“I just think I need to get better acquainted with you if we’re going to share a tent tonight.”
“You want to talk… now?” He could barely contain his disappointment.
“I was imagining more of a hands-on learning experience.”
“Oh.” His disappointment evaporated in the heat of her gaze and his heart thudded heavily in anticipation of what she had in mind.
She patted the sleeping bag next to her. “Lie down on your back so I can get started.”
He complied because only an idiot wouldn’t follow directions like that.
She cupped his face in one hand and feathered a kiss over his mouth. As she began touching him, kissing him, and generally rocking his world, he had to agree she was becoming very well acquainted with all parts of his body, especially the part that had been standing at attention ever since she proposed this learning exercise. She licked and nibbled her way around that territory until he regretfully had to call a halt.
“But I have more to learn.” She closed her mouth over the tip of his cock and sucked gently.
“Any second now you’re going to learn that my control is shot.” He gasped and clenched his jaw. “And then you’ll learn how long it takes me to recover.”
She lifted her head and met his gaze, but she kept her clever fingers wrapped around his johnson. “So I have to choose between making you come or allowing us both to come.”
“That pretty well sums it up.”
“Let me think about it.” She ran her tongue over her lips as she slid her hand up and down in a motion guaranteed to produce results.
He grasped her wrist. “Much as I’ve loved this, and I have, I want to enjoy the entire experience, at least this time.” He removed her hand from his cock and rolled to his side. “We can fool around with this program later, but…” Rolling her to her back, he moved over her. “I want the whole enchilada, me and you, doing it the old-fashioned way.”
Her blue eyes darkened and her breathing changed. “I could be talked into that.”
“Good.” Balancing on his forearm, he reached for the box of condoms. Dexterity proved valuable as he opened the box one-handed and pulled out a foil package.
“I’ll take it from here.” She plucked it from his grasp and ripped it open. “Now that I’ve mapped the territory.”
“Just make it quick.” He groaned at the brush of her fingers as she began the task. “I’m holding on by a thread.” The snap of latex was music to his ears.
“That’s it.” She cupped his face and gazed up at him. “Bombs away.”
That made him laugh, but it didn’t stop him from burying himself up to the hilt. Laughing and thrusting made for an interesting combination, but soon the laughter faded as incredible friction claimed all his attention.
Holding his gaze, she arched upward, catching his rhythm and intensifying each stroke with movement of her own. Her lips parted and her breath came in tiny gasps, then whimpers, then cries of pleasure.
His breath hissed out as he felt her first spasm. “This is so good.”
She moaned. “Yes.”
He bore down, picked up the pace, felt his own climax hovering, reined it in. “I hope… we can… do it again… sometime.”
She gulped for air. “Me, too. Oh, me, too!” She came, then, his name a shout of joy on her lips.
Surrendering to the fierce pressure in his groin, he erupted with a groan of pure pleasure. As he lay there panting, careful not to collapse completely onto her, she sighed
.
“Now the tent has known passion,” she murmured.
“Yes.” He drew a shaky breath. “It most certainly has.”
Wyatt didn’t get the fire built until after dark, but he was enough of a pro to accomplish it using a flashlight. Olivia was suitably impressed with his skills and told him so. This camping gig was turning out to be fun.
She’d felt quite daring when she’d exited the tent naked as a jaybird, as her father would say. She’d put her clothes back on, though, because once the sun had gone done, the chill had set in. Knowing her hair was a mess after rolling around in the tent with Wyatt, she’d tied it back with the scrunchie she’d had the presence of mind to tuck in her pocket before leaving her purse in Wyatt’s truck.
As they ate spaghetti and drank more wine, Olivia’s thoughts went back to the reason they were here in the first place — Wyatt’s problem with Jack. In some ways, it was none of her business. And yet, it was her business if the feud between the half-brothers affected whether Wyatt would move his business to the Jackson Hole area or leave it in San Francisco.
If Wyatt moved to Shoshone, they had a future. If he stayed in California, they did not. She wasn’t ready to commit to that future yet, because she didn’t want another failed engagement on her conscience. But she wouldn’t mind having a fighting chance to create something lasting between them.
If she and Wyatt were ever going to be more than a fling, his attitude toward Jack had to be addressed before they returned to the ranch. She couldn’t think of a better time than now, when they sat snuggled side-by-side on a ground cloth in front of the fire.
Wyatt had set their tin plates aside and wrapped his arm around her waist as they finished their wine. They’d made wonderful love an hour ago, and she hoped they’d do it again soon.
But after another round of lovemaking, she expected both of them to fall into an exhausted sleep. It had been an eventful couple of days. She’d sleep better knowing they’d talked this out.
Maybe he was already rethinking his stance. She hoped so, and she’d start from there. “Wyatt?”
He pulled her closer. “Ready for bed?” His voice was rich with promise.
“Not quite.” She finished her wine and set her glass beside her. “I want to ask you something.”
“Ask away.”
“Now that some time has gone by, do you have any thoughts about Jack and the Last Chance?”
He tensed. “I’d rather not talk about Jack tonight, if you don’t mind.”
She gave a mental sigh. This wasn’t going to be easy, after all. “I do mind. I… I have a stake in this now. I’d like you to move your business here, and I’m worried that after your fight with Jack, you’ll reconsider that.”
He was quiet for a while, but he finally responded. “I won’t lie to you, Olivia. Jack’s behavior this afternoon makes me wonder if I’m just beating my head against a stone wall.”
“I wouldn’t look at it quite that way.”
“No? I told you what he said.”
“Yes, and you told me what you said.” She chose her words carefully. “Obviously each of you has an ax to grind, but—”
“But what, Olivia? How can I ever expect to make progress with someone as pigheaded as Jack?”
“Because he’s still devastated that your mother abandoned him and chose to raise two other sons?”
“Exactly! Jack got rid of the lousy mother and ended up with Sarah. But that jackass has the nerve to be upset with me, as if I had it better than he did because our mother stuck around while I was growing up.”
Olivia was determined to hang onto her patience. “But if you could see it from his viewpoint, then maybe—”
“How about if he saw it from my viewpoint? If he had to spend even a week with our mother, he’d be a raving maniac. I guarantee it.”
She said the words as gently as she knew how. “It’s not a competition to prove who suffered more, Wyatt.”
“I realize that, but her leaving him turned out to be for his own good!” Wyatt’s body had gone rigid with indignation. “Why can’t he see that?”
She gazed into his angry eyes. “Does it really matter what he sees or doesn’t see? Why not just acknowledge that he had a rough time, and move on? Why do you have to be right about this?”
“Because he’s wrong, damn it!”
“Who cares? When the stakes are this high, and you want to be part of this family—”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to! It’s obvious from everything you’ve done up to this point. Wyatt, be the bigger man. Extend the olive branch to your brother.”
“I’ve done that! He’s slapped it out of my hand!”
She jumped up to face him. “Because you insisted on claiming that you were more damaged than he was!”
“Olivia, I made the trip from San Francisco. Twice! Isn’t it time for Jack to step up?”
“It’s not a matter of stepping up! It’s a matter of wanting to heal this breach, of being willing to swallow your pride. I can’t believe you’d abandon the possibility of being part of this ranch community because you’re too proud to back down.”
“You don’t back down in front of a guy like Jack Chance. He sees it as a weakness.”
“Oh, good Lord! Spare me this posturing! Look, if you don’t somehow make peace with Jack, then you and I have no future, because I’m here to stay. You do get that, right?”
He gazed at her. “Yes, and I’m sorry.”
But he didn’t say he’d try to work things out with Jack, either. A blanket of misery enveloped her. She’d watched him pull off one heroic deed after another, including spending time with her father and losing gracefully at chess. She’d thought all he’d need was a nudge to be a hero in this instance, too. Instead he clung to his vision of what was right, a vision that would doom their relationship before it ever really blossomed.
Chapter Sixteen
There seemed to be nothing more to say, so Olivia helped Wyatt secure the camp for the night. They bundled the food and dishes together and used a rope to hang the bundle from a tree branch. Then they made sure the fire was totally out before they crawled into the tent, both of them fully dressed. Olivia put her shoes in the corner of the tent where she could find them easily.
“Let me get the flap.” Wyatt started to zip it.
“That’s okay. I might need to go out during the night.”
“You’re sure? I thought you were worried about critters.”
“I’m more worried about desperately having to pee and not being able to find the tab on the zipper.”
“Okay.” He settled back on his sleeping bag.
They lay there in silence, separated by their harsh words to each other. Although Olivia might have slept, she felt as if she spent the whole night staring into the dark, waiting for the first light of dawn. She’d had such hopes for Wyatt, but if he put his pride ahead of all he had to gain by staying in Jackson Hole, then he wasn’t the man for her. Time to cut her losses and get away from him before he broke her heart permanently. It already felt slightly cracked.
After an eternity, her surroundings became more visible. The sun wasn’t up yet, but it soon would be, and by then she wanted to be out of here. Wyatt slept soundly, his breathing rhythmic and undisturbed.
Her heart ached for him, and for Jack and their inability to see each other’s point of view. But she’d given peacemaking a shot, and Wyatt was more entrenched in his beliefs than she’d realized. Maybe Sarah would be able to effect some change in the status quo, but Olivia wouldn’t bet on it. Both men had grown up with a chip on their shoulders the size of that granite rock that marked the sacred site.
That rock was her destination now. Logic told her she wouldn’t make it all the way back to the ranch before Wyatt woke up and missed her, even factoring in the time he’d take to break camp. She might not even have the stamina to walk all the way back. But she could make it to that rock and wait for him there.
But she needed to leave a note so he wouldn’t panic. That was a challenge, but eventually she found a scrap of cardboard left over from the pasta box. A small piece of charred wood from the fire worked as a charcoal pencil.
Headed down the trail. See you on the road or back at the ranch.
Moving as quietly as she could, she crept out of the camp and started down the trail. Every second she expected to hear Wyatt calling out to her, but he must have been really exhausted because the surrounding forest was silent in the gray light.
Once she was out of sight of the tent, she sighed and quickened her pace. She’d made it. Without a pack to weigh her down, she should reach the dirt road in no time. Her hair swung forward as she walked, and as she shoved it behind her ears, she realized that she’d lost the scrunchie sometime during the night. She sure as hell wasn’t going back for it, though.
As she continued to walk, the forest creatures began waking up. Birds chirped in the branches overhead and the underbrush rustled off to her left. A squirrel hopped out, bounded across the trail, and scurried up a tree. Cute.
If Olivia were a heroine in a Disney movie, she would break into song about now and the forest creatures would gather round and join in. Then Prince Charming would add his voice to the melody as he rode toward her on his gallant white horse. He’d scoop her into his arms and true love would be born.
Yeah, right. She could kiss that fairy tale goodbye. Apparently the guy who’d come to her rescue riding his gallant white truck hadn’t read the script. It was all downhill from here. Ha.
She appreciated the ease of going down instead of up, though. And when she caught a glimpse of three deer watching her through the trees, she stopped to admire them. The sight of the deer reminded her that there was a whole world out there that didn’t revolve around her and her problems.
Count on a Cowboy Page 15