She watched him swing his leg over the back of the saddle and drop to the ground. He tied the reins to a tree branch, leaving enough slack for his horse to graze on the surrounding grass. Her confusion rose as he came to her side. “Swing your leg over and put your hands on my shoulders.”
“Why?”
“Humor me.” He brought up his arms and placed his hands around her waist and slid up her sides until his thumbs rested under her breasts. Desire fired through her body as he held her until her toes barely touched the ground.
In the movies, she thought it a ridiculous way to dismount. But now, with his thumbs doing a slow trot under her breasts, his lower body pressed against hers, she may never get off a horse any other way, providing it was Denton who assisted.
When he moved his hand from under her breasts and set her on the ground, she protested and tried to replace them, until he cupped the sides of her face. His lips came closer to hers, and she eagerly met them. His kiss deepened as his tongue slowly caressed her lips and entered her mouth.
He stepped away too soon and rested his forehead against hers. She wasn’t sure who breathed harder. With each breath, her chest pressed against his. She wanted to rip her top and his shirt off and rub her bare breasts against him.
“Oh, man, Eve. You drive me crazy.”
Eve whimpered when he took another step back. She wanted more. More of his lips, more of his hands, more of his crotch pressed against hers.
Denton took her hands in his. “Wait, Eve. Let’s unpack first,” he said, his voice strained.
With her attention back on her surroundings, she realized that even though everyone went to town, someone might decide to ride the trails and find them lip-locked, hips suctioned together. They needed privacy.
When he moved to open the saddlebags, she stopped him. “We’re not there, yet. We can take the horses with us.” She released both reins and handed them to him. “You lead the horses while I move the brush. I hope this works because I’ve only ever taken Tilly through.” Eve nudged some bushes aside. “In fact, release Tilly’s reins. She’ll follow the path, but hold on to your horse. Della’s never done this before.”
Denton did as she instructed, and a narrow, well-hidden path appeared before him with just enough room for the horses to pass. Branches and bushes brushed against his body. After a few minutes, they emerged from the narrow walkway to a meadow and were greeted by another, much smaller lake surrounded by a profusion of wildflowers and woods. In awe of the beauty of the landscape, he barely registered Eve’s brief departure and return.
She took his reins. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe this. Where did you go?”
“I went back to re-cover the opening and brush over our trail. This is my sanctuary, and I don’t want anyone intruding.”
Denton was humbled she would show such an incredible, secret place to only him.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
“For what?”
“For sharing this with me.” Now, for sure, they needed to clear the air between them before going any further with their relationship.
In a low voice, sending shivers down his spine, she said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet, mister.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and Denton had a brief vision of skinny-dipping, laughter, and picnics. He even thought he heard a few wedding bells.
“Let’s eat,” he said quickly. He took the reins and re-tied the horses to a low branch.
Eve couldn’t believe what he said. Eat? After his jaw-dropping kiss and sexy way of getting her off her horse, he wanted to eat? All she wanted was for him to mount her and never get off. And he wanted to eat? “You’re kidding, right?”
Denton stopped untying the saddlebag and looked over his shoulder. “I would like nothing better than to rip that little piece you call a shirt off, then your teeny, tiny skirt right here, right now.”
“Good, because that’s exactly what you should do. Except, I think I hear a ‘but’ in your voice.”
He smiled. “Not the ‘but’ I want, but we need to clear the air about some things. I don’t want to make love to you with issues hanging over our heads.”
Eve placed her hands at her waist and tapped a boot. “We don’t have any issues.”
“Oh, sweetie, we sure do.” He handed her the blanket and bottle of wine. “I believe once we get them out in the open, our relationship will be even more than either of us could imagine.”
How on earth was a woman supposed to respond to a man who wanted to talk and share his feelings? How could any sane woman reject a statement about a relationship being better than she imagined? A woman would be plain crazy to turn him down. And if by relationship, he meant sex, she’d be doubly crazy. In her opinion, men didn’t even like the word relationship let alone want a better one.
“Where should we set up?” Denton interrupted her thoughts.
Eve pointed to a large willow tree with half its branches hanging over the water, one of her favorite places on the ranch. They passed through the slender branches and entered her private world. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the grass with patches of light.
Denton set the basket down, tipped his cowboy hat back on his head, and whistled. “This is unbelievable, Eve, like entering an entirely new world.”
“I used to come here when I was a kid to hide from the fighting. One time I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until morning. You know what?”
“What, honey?”
“When I got back to the house, I expected to get yelled at, spanked, grounded, but no one realized I’d been gone all night.”
Denton wrapped her into his arms. “Oh, honey. How old were you?”
Eve dropped her chin to her chest. “Eight or nine.”
She couldn’t hug him back due to the blanket in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other. Oh, but how she wanted to sink her body into his embrace, feel safe, wanted, comforted in his arms. But . . .
Denton leaned back, still holding her. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure, Dent.” She turned away, set the bottle of wine on the ground, and shook out the blanket.
Denton took the other end and they spread it on the ground. He set the picnic basket on one end and sat crossed-legged. He opened up the basket and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Well, let’s see what goodies we have here.”
Eve remained standing and followed his movements. If he would only look at her, he would see what goodies she’d brought for him.
Rays of sunshine sparkled through the branches onto his hair. A halo of light appeared around his head. She sucked in a breath. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time. Seeing him as the man he was, not the boy who’d broken her heart. She needed to listen once and for all to his story while holding her anger at bay, although her anger was dissipating with every day she spent with him.
She plunked herself down in front of him, sat cross-legged, close enough to him their knees almost touched.
Denton raised his head from retrieving the paper plates and stopped. “What?” he asked, wondering why her face had gone from bewildered sadness to what appeared to be bewildered happiness?
Eve smiled, one he’d never seen before, well, at least not for a long, long time. Something major had just happened and he had no idea what. It was like walking into the middle of a joke and not understanding the punch line while everyone else laughed.
“Let’s eat and talk,” she said, taking the plates.
Denton breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the wine and Eve filled the plates with fried chicken, potato salad, fresh fruit, and vegetables. They discussed the beauty of the lake, raced to see who could identify various birds first and wondered whether they might be able to view the fireworks fro
m town.
“I’ve never been out here on the Fourth. I always hear the fireworks at the house, but never see them,” Eve said.
“Never?”
“Not even once. I’ve never brought anyone out here with me, either.”
Denton paused, the fork full of potato salad inches from his mouth. “Never?”
“You’re the first.”
He felt a bubble of joy start in his stomach and work its way to this mouth. He couldn’t suppress a grin. “I’m the first?”
Eve slapped him on the knee. “Oh, you jerk. The first one here, not the first to . . . you know.”
His smile slipped. “Oh,” he muttered.
“Oh come on, Dent. You can’t honestly believe I’m a virgin, can you?” A frown creased his forehead. “Oh, for Pete’s sakes. I’m twenty-seven years old. I went to college. I met boys.”
“Boys? Like in more than one?” He tried to stamp down the jealousy replacing his happiness.
“There’s no reason to be jealous, Denton. Besides, you’re certainly not a virgin, and I bet Marie wasn’t your only woman.”
He swallowed the lump of salad lodged in his throat. “I’m not jealous,” he retorted. “And it’s none of your business who I’ve slept with.”
Eve patted his knee as if he was a little boy. “If you say so.” She took a sip of wine. “Anyway, it is none of my business who you’ve slept with, just like it’s none of yours. But you were going to tell me about you and Marie.”
Denton took her plate, put it on top of his, and placed them in the basket. When he reached for the other dishes, Eve put her hand on his arm. She gave him a look that said she wasn’t going to fall for his delay tactics.
“I know, I know.”
“Well, it was your idea to come clean.” Eve placed the last of the containers in the basket.
Denton raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I know. It’s just that what I have to say is what I already said at the restaurant.”
Eve pursed her lips and blushed. “But, I can honestly say I was in no mood to listen then.”
“And now?”
“Yes, Denton. I am ready to pay attention.”
Denton reached for her. “Come here, I want to hold you while I tell you a tale.”
Eve shook her head. “No. Face-to-face.”
He took her hand and with a sigh, repeated his story. He hoped she was listening to him this time. Not just the words, but how he was saying them, how much he regretted hurting her. She pressed his fingers when he was done. He took it as a good sign.
“What happened after you married Marie?”
“Well, she wanted us both to quit school right away and live with my folks.”
“Why on earth would you do that? Money?”
“I think so. I said I wouldn’t quit, and if she wanted to she had to get a job, she . . .”
“Went ballistic?”
He snorted. “When she realized I wouldn’t budge, she didn’t talk to me for weeks.” Denton picked at a stray thread in the blanket. “I’m not sure which was worse, her screaming, crying, and throwing things or her silent treatment. I chalked it up to pregnancy hormones, but she was just a spoiled brat. At least her not talking made it easier to study. A short time later, she said she’d had a miscarriage.
“I was devastated at the loss of my child. After that, I studied more and more and she started going out nearly every night. I was busy with classes and homework, and by then didn’t care what she did.
“One night, she talked me into going out with her and some friends, and then tried getting me drunk. At least I was smart enough not to fall for that again.” He paused and closed his eyes, remembering how foolish she had made him feel. “I talked to one of her friends who was pretty well looped. Man, did she fill me in on the details of Marie’s so-called pregnancy.”
Eve squeezed his hand. “You mean she faked the pregnancy?”
“That, and so much more. This woman said Marie drugged my drink the night I supposedly got her pregnant. Had to be true because she never attracted me in that way. The woman seemed to think it was all pretty damned funny.”
“That bitch. What did you do then?”
“The next morning I skipped class for the first and only time since high school.” Denton leaned back against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
“She skipped so many classes she was in danger of flunking out. Because of her ability to memorize data, she managed not to fail. Anyway, I called her on the deception. To give her credit, she didn’t deny a thing.”
“I would have punched her lights out.”
“She said she did it because she loved me so much, had loved me for years and couldn’t bear to be without me.”
“Did you fall for that line, too?”
Noting her sarcasm, Denton gave her a small smile. “Are you kidding? Her tears and so-called remorse fell on deaf ears this time.”
“How long did you stay married?”
“Well, I made a deal with her.”
“What kind of deal?”
“At her rate of behavior, she would never make it through school. I told her I wouldn’t divorce her as long as she quit going out all the time, studied, and got good grades. I would pay for her schooling.”
“You sound like a parent, not her husband. Where were her folks? Why didn’t they pay for her school?” Eve clipped a leaf from a swaying branch and shred it apart. “Sounds like all she wanted was your money.”
“You hit that one right. Her parents only acted like they had money, and were actually flat broke. They needed a sugar daddy for their little girl. I refused to give them money, so they washed their hands of her. If I had cut her loose, she wouldn’t have been able to afford school.”
“So, for the sake of a conniving little—hell, I can’t even think of a word bad enough for her—you stayed married to someone who drugged you, tricked you, lied to you, someone you say you didn’t love, because . . . exactly why?”
Denton leaned forward and hung his arms on his raised knees. “I guess because I felt sorry for her.”
“Why the hell did you feel sorry for her? She always got what she wanted in high school and then finally you.”
Denton shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess because she’d had to play a role so long, pretending to be rich to fit in.”
“And yet, she made my life hell in high school when all along she wasn’t any different than me.”
Put like that, Denton understood why Eve was upset. “Well, fortunately for her, and unfortunately for you, it was a carefully guarded secret.”
Eve clenched her fingers into her palms to keep from slugging him. “You mean it was okay for me to be treated as dirt because everyone knew I was poor and, yet, people treated her like a queen because they thought she was rich?”
“Now don’t get all upset, honey.” He grabbed her hand as she tried to stand and pulled her into his lap. He groaned. “God, I missed you, Eve.”
His lips pressed against hers, the light pressure heading clear down to her toes. As the kiss increased, her toes curled. All thoughts of what had happed between Denton, Marie, and herself disappearing.
A crow cawed, breaking the spell. She broke away and tried to control her breathing. She palmed his cheek. “You’re a good guy, Dent, but nice try.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kissing me as a distraction.” His tongue slid over his lower lip and she imagined him caressing her lips with it. She moaned, but managed to bring her thoughts back to the conversation.
“I did not kiss you as a distraction, Eve Dayton.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, I kissed you because I couldn’t help myself. I needed to kiss you.”
“Needed t
o?”
Denton smiled, wrapped his arms more securely around her, and whispered into her ear, “Needed to like I need to eat, like I need to breathe, to sleep, to . . .”
Eve edged back. His smoldering eyes gazed into hers. A small grin played across his face.
“I get it, Dent. I get it, and I believe you.” With both of her hands on the sides of his face, she kissed his right cheek, then his left. “I’m going to move on. I’m going to move on with you.” She pressed her lips against his and murmured, “If you still want me.”
In a quick movement, one she wasn’t sure how he managed, he rolled her onto the blanket. His tongue danced with hers, their chests pressed together, legs entwined. His hand crept up her side, slid under her top, and cupped her breast. Finally.
“Did you say something?”
“Mmmm? No.” She couldn’t stand it anymore. Needing more skin-to-skin contact, she wriggled out of his arms and reached to remove her top.
Denton stopped her hands. “Wait, let me.” He gently slid the shoulder strap down, revealing the tops of her breasts. “I’ve been dreaming of doing this forever.” He slipped the top down over her breasts exposing them to his eyes. Her nipples puckered. “My dreams were never as good as this.” He covered a breast with his large hand.
Eve closed her eyes, reveling in the sensations of the warm breeze and his hot hand touching over her. Then his mouth covered one taut nipple, drawing it into his mouth. Her eyes flew open. A frenzied need of desire pulsed through her body.
“Mmm. I missed the taste of you.” He sucked the tip harder. “I missed the touch of you. Hell, I missed everything about you.”
At the same time his free hand tweaked her other nipple sending jolts of fire spiraling into her core. Her sex constricted, wept with the need to join with him.
“Oh, Dent,” she whispered, watching his tongue lick back and forth on one breast and then the other. “I’ve never . . . I want you to . . .” She gave up trying to talk and let him work his magic.
Riding for Love (A Western Romance) Page 17