Riding for Love (A Western Romance)

by Susedik, Tina

  Chapter 16

  Willow branches swayed in the breeze, weaving a sun-dappled sanctuary. Eve lay on her back, one arm above her head, the other resting on her still heaving chest. Would her body ever come down from the high it’d experienced? She paced her breath in time with the waving branches.

  “That was . . . wow.” She licked her lips and turned to Denton, his chest moving as rapidly as hers, eyes closed, one arm thrown across his forehead. He smiled, his long, brown lashes lying against his cheek. This was nothing like she’d ever felt before. Was it because Denton had had enough experience with women that he knew which buttons to push to send her soaring? Or was it because Denton was the right man for her? She prayed for the latter.

  “Yeah. Wow.” He laced his fingers through hers. “I’ve never experienced anything like this either.”

  “Who says I’ve never had anything like this before?”

  “What?” His head whipped to her.

  She couldn’t control her smile when he rolled to his side and propped his head in his hand. “I forgot what a tease you are.”

  Like a down feather, he smoothed his free hand over her flat stomach, firing her blood. “I think there are a lot of things you forgot about me.”

  “Hmph. I remember the mole on your left hip and the dimple in your right buttock. I plan on taking a long, long time reacquainting myself with the rest.” He pulled her over so they lay face-to-face, stomach-to-stomach. He rubbed her lower back.

  Eve copied his pose. “Really? I figured you were too busy to think about me.”

  “I may not understand what you went through after I married Marie, but a day never passed by that I didn’t think about you, wondered where you were, what you were doing, if you thought about me at all, and if you hated me as much as I deserved. Believe me, I carried a lot of guilt thinking about one woman while being married to another.”

  Eve tapped her fingers over his naked rear-end and pressed into him when his response bounced against her stomach. “I’m not sure I hated you but I was certainly angry. And while my heart was torn to shreds, I always thought about you, too.” She placed a quick kiss on his lips and sat up. “Let’s go for a swim.”

  “I didn’t bring a suit.”

  Eve stood and gave his sexy, sculpted body a once over. He didn’t support the general idea of geeky, doughy, wimpy accountants. She turned to the lake and gave him a smile over her shoulder that women had used to seduce men for eons. “I didn’t either.”

  “Uh, won’t someone see us?” he asked, searching the area for intruders.

  “Who could possibly see us? Besides it’s a little too late to worry about Peeping Toms.”

  She watched him take in the branches of the willow tree that hung nearly to the ground, their mass creating a dense shelter which was why she’d had no qualms about making love with him under the tree. “Someone would have to be pretty desperate to work their way through all this brush just to watch us skinny dip.”

  “Woman, you make me so horny, I believe I could make love to you in the middle of a stadium with 50,000 spectators watching.”

  “I’m not that brave.” She laughed and stretched out her hand to him. “C’mon. I’ll race you.”

  Taking her hand in his, he ran with her to the water. Before she was able to warn him, he released her, hit the bank, and dove in. A few seconds later, he surfaced at the edge of the willow branches dipping in the water.

  Eve slammed her hands on her naked hips, her breasts bouncing with anger. “Pretty stupid move, not checking the depth of the water before diving in. You could have broken your neck.”

  Then he stood and all anger for his foolish act left her, as did every drop of moisture in her mouth. Water sluiced down his muscular shoulders, his six--pack abs and lower, to his crotch, barely covered by water.

  She couldn’t move. Sparks rushed through her body, rooting her to the ground. If it weren’t for the water lapping at her toes, her feet would be singed.

  “Oh my,” she whispered.

  Why would a man like him want someone like her? She stared at him. Why question something so good? He wanted her; she wanted him. What more could she ask for right now?

  “Hey, you all right? Come on in, the water’s great.”

  “Perfect,” she said, dipping her toes into the shallow edge and executed a perfect surface dive, coming up next to him.

  Denton enfolded her in his arms. The water swirled around them as he kissed her with so much passion, her toes curled into the sand. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers.

  “God, Eve, how did I ever live these past ten years without you?” He ran his hands down her back to her butt and brought her against his groin.

  “I don’t know, Denton, how did you?”

  “With great, deep, aching loneliness.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “What happened when you moved to California?”

  Denton let her go and floated onto his back. Eve shivered from the loss of his heat, but paddled on her back beside him. The sun dappled through the branches of the willow as she moved beneath the canopy. She glanced at him. Staring at the sky, his hands moved back and forth gently at his sides.

  “Denton?” she urged.

  “After we graduated from college, I got a job with an accounting firm in California. Actually, it was Marie’s idea to head West. She graduated in theater and thought her career would advance better out there.”

  “But if you didn’t have a marriage, why not get a divorce and let her go to California alone?”

  He stood.

  Eve checked her chin for drool. “Let me guess, money.”

  “Bingo. I found I liked the state and my job, but after the divorce and Dad’s death, I decided to come back. By then she had moved on anyway to someone with deeper pockets.”

  Eve had been skinny-dipping here by herself for a long time, but talking about Marie made her feel self-conscious. She rolled over in the water and knelt down, bringing the water to the top of her breasts. “She’s back in town.”

  Denton frowned. “Who’s back?”

  “Marie.”

  His mouth dropped open. “Marie’s here?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why? How do you know?”

  Eve moved her hands back and forth in the water, creating ripples across her breasts. “I bumped into her at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “We weren’t talking, remember? Anyway, she was her usual pleasant self. Just like the good old days.”

  “Did she say why she’s here?”

  “Something about a class reunion.”

  “That’s right, our tenth class reunion. I can’t imagine her coming back for that. She always said she’d never return to ‘that one-horse town.’ Her words, not mine.”

  Eve shook her head. “Are you still so dense? Denton, obviously someone told here you’re here and Marie is afraid you will hook up with me.”

  “Well, she was right.” He sloshed through the water toward her.

  Denton wasn’t looking at her face, but at her chest. Glancing down, she realized the clear water gave him a full view of her breasts. She raised an arm to shield herself.

  “Don’t,” he said, taking her hands in his and pulling her up into his arms. “Don’t ever hide yourself from me again. You are a beautiful, incredible woman, and I would be proud to have you on my arm anywhere I go. In fact . . .” He leaned back and smiled into her face. “Would you go to my class reunion with me? Certainly would set some tongues a-waggin’.”

  Eve wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. Her heart tripped over itself. “You bet. Not only would I like to spend an evening with y
ou, but I would love to see the expressions on peoples’ faces when they see us together again. Especially Marie.” She paused for a moment. “Speaking of wagging tongues, how about putting yours to work again?”

  Denton grabbed her ass, hiked her up until she wrapped her legs around his waist, and slowly eased her down onto him. His mouth met hers and she forgot about Marie, the ranch, and the world beyond her sanctuary.

  Denton opened his eyes. Eve slumbered peacefully, her beautiful body exposed to the warm breeze and his view. The sun hung lower in the sky. His watch showed they’d slept for an hour. His stomach rumbled. Considering how many times they had made love, it wasn’t surprising he was tired and hungry. Something rustled in the grass beyond the pond. One of the horses nickered.

  “Eve, honey,” he whispered, shaking her shoulders. No response. “Sweetie, wake up.” He rubbed his big toe on the bottom of her foot. No response. He leaned over, massaged a breast, then kissed her.

  She giggled. “Took you long enough to finally figure out how to wake me.”

  “I’d pay you back for that except I’m hungry.” He opened the picnic basket. “Hell, there’s nothing left in here except an empty bowl and stripped-down chicken bones. Kinda like my stomach.”

  Eve ran a hand over his taut abs. “Mmm. Doesn’t look like a chicken bone to me. In fact . . .”

  “Eve, it’s getting late, and I’m hungry.”

  Eve peered up at the sky and stood. “If we stay here much longer, the mosquitoes will eat us alive.”

  “At least someone would get a meal.” He chuckled. “And dressed as we are . . .” He eyed Eve’s naked body from her bare toes to her bare breasts. “They would have quite a feast.” He closed the lid on the basket, then picked up her top and tossed it to her. “We’d better hit the saddle.”

  A few minutes later, fully clothed, they walked to the hobbled horses.

  “What on earth?” Eve swept out an arm to their surroundings. “Where are our horses? What did you do to them?”

  “Me?” Denton turned in a circle. “Why the hell would I do anything to the horses? Strange as it sounds, I want to ride back to the barn, not walk.”

  “Well, what happened?”

  Denton pointed to a broken branch. “Do you think Della snapped this off and walked away?”

  “Here’s another where Tilly was tied. It’s not broken, but cut,” Eve said, pulling the branch down. “Broken branches wouldn’t be so clean.” She let the branch snap back into place. “Why on earth would someone cut them loose?”

  “Or when?” he added, frowning. He hated to think someone watched them, considering their activities for the past few hours.

  “Shit!” Eve said, covering her face. “Someone must have been spying on us.”

  Denton took her into his arms. “Shh, sweetheart. Not necessarily. Some rustling came from the direction of the horses and they were nickering, which woke me. I just thought they were getting restless, but I couldn’t see them.” He looked over his shoulder. “I can’t see the lake from here.”

  She followed his line of sight. “The willow branches do hide the lake rather well. So whoever was out here couldn’t see us, right? But why would someone steal the horses? Do you think Ed had anything to do with this?”

  “Could be. I wonder if it has anything to do with the other things going on around the ranch.” Denton swatted a mosquito on the back of his neck. “Is there any chance the horses will find their way back to the barn, if whoever took them simply let them loose?”

  “I certainly hope so. Both Tilly and Della know the way back from the main lake, but not here.”

  “Well, we can figure it out when we back to the ranch. We need to get away from these damn mosquitoes.” He looked at the picnic basket in his hand, the blanket in hers. “The way the mosquitoes are dive bombing us, we need to get moving.”

  Eve took the basket from him and dug in a front pocket. “Eureka.” She held up a small can of mosquito dope. “Thank goodness I never took this out of the basket. I’m not sure how old it is, but it will better than nothing. Turn around so I can spray your back.”

  After Denton doused Eve, he dropped the container in the basket, took her hand and led her back to the trail watching for any signs of how the trespasser found Eve’s private lake.

  An hour and many mosquito bites later, Eve dropped onto the bench outside the barn and wiped her damp face with the blanket. “I can’t figure out why we saw no sign of anyone or the horses,” she said, scratching one particularly ferocious bite.

  Dent sat next to her. “The only thing I can think of is someone knows your secret trail and went in and out the same way. He would have had plenty of time to get out, even leading the horses. From the time I heard the noises to our getting dressed, packing up our stuff, and getting to the horses, someone would have been able to leave the area.”

  “But why?”

  “Who the hell knows, but if the horses don’t show up, we’ll have to call Dan about it.”

  She slapped her hands on her knees and stood. “As much as I want a cool shower and something to eat, I need to get the rest of the horses fed.” She disappeared into the barn. “Hey, Dent, come here.” Her voice echoed outside.

  At her call, he followed her into the dim interior. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He patted his horse on the neck. “At least we know theft wasn’t the reason.”

  “This is crazy.” Eve picked up the reins and led Tilly to her stall. She stopped and watched him do the same with Della.

  “Maybe it’s a message from someone who wants to scare you.”

  “It had to be someone who is familiar with the place.” She slid the saddle from Tilly’s back and placed it on the wall. “With no one else here today, it would be easy to lead both horses back here.”

  “Or he could have led them down your trail and let them come back on their own.” After removing Della’s saddle, Denton slid the blanket off, and grabbed a curry brush. “Someone still cut the branch.”

  Eve took a curry brush from a shelf and slipped the strap over her hand. “At any rate I’m just glad Tilly is smart enough to get both of them into the barn.” She ran the brush down Tilly’s flanks.

  “Hey, maybe it was the other way around. Don’t underestimate the powers of my horse, lady. Maybe Della led Tilly back here.” He patted the horse’s nose and spoke in singsong tones. “Isn’t that right, baby? You’re a smart horse, aren’t you, sweetie. The smartest horse ever.” He ran his hands down her sides. “Only a very, very smart horse like this would keep letting someone as inept as me get on her back without tossing him on his keester.”

  Eve giggled at his antics. “You’re crazy. The only reason she hasn’t tossed you on your ass is she knows you’re crazy enough to get right back on, and she couldn’t stand the thought of all the clumsy mounting.”

  “See, my little pet, you are the most intelligent equine on the face of the earth.” He patted Della one last time. He leaned his elbows on the top of the stall and looked down at Eve. “And what do you mean by clumsy mounting, lady? I thought my mountings today were very smooth. I mean, I didn’t recall hearing any complaints in-between your moans.”

  Eve snorted. “You ass.”

  “Well?”

  “Well nothing. You didn’t hear me complain, did you?”

  “Like I said, all I heard was your moans. Oh, and your sighs and your whispers and . . .”

  “I get the picture, Denton Johanson,” she said, her face turning red, her stomach tightening.

  “Hey, don’t ever be embarrassed with anything you do with me, Eve. I thought it was beautiful and wonderful and”—his voice dropped an octave—“very, very sexy.”

  She smiled at him and rubbed her hand over Tilly’s nose. “Okay, I’ll try not to be embarrassed, but you have to remember, this
is all new to me. Let’s feed the horses and then get something to eat.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’m starving.” He gave his horse a scoop of feed, topped off her water bucket, and closed the stall gate. “Do you want to go into town later for fireworks?”

  She moved a finger at him, urging him to come closer. When he stood directly in front of her, she wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him to her until her lips were just a whisper from his.

  “I’d rather make our own fireworks.” She took his hand and led him toward the house and a celebration of their own.

  Chapter 17

  Eve stood in front of the closet trying to decide what to wear to Denton’s class reunion. She took out a simple sleeveless red dress, then held it in front of her. Her reflection smiled back. The past two weeks had been fantastic. No, incredible. No, more than incredibly fantastic.

  After spending the rest of the night of the Fourth in bed, she tried convincing him he didn’t need to continue taking lessons to prove his sincerity. He tried persuading her to let him move from his cabin to the house, but she wasn’t ready. Now with Denton’s classes over, they didn’t get to be together as much, making their time together all the more special.

  Instead, he came over nearly every night for supper. Somehow Tom had sensed the change between her and Denton and had decided to play chaperone. He sat on the porch with them each night, sharing the news of the day along with a bottle of beer and discussing the continued small incidents plaguing the ranch. He stayed until Denton finally took the hint and went home.

  Eve was frustrated, both emotionally and physically. With only one night snuck in when Tom stayed in town, her hormones were raging through her body like a herd of wild horses. She took the dress from the hangar, shrugged off her robe, and slid the silky fabric over her head. The scooped neckline graced the tops of her breasts. She latched a silver necklace with an onyx stone around her neck, letting the stone nestle between them. The matching earrings dangled at her ears. She smiled at the memory of Denton’s placing the necklace around her naked neck and letting it settle on her naked body during their one rare night together.