“You know I want to.”
“Then why not do it?” She glanced over at him. “What’s the harm?”
“Damn it, next you’re going to suggest we can be friends.”
“You’d be wrong there, cowboy. We can be friends if you want, but mostly I crave your body.”
He risked a quick look at her and she had a saucy little smile on her face. He couldn’t help laughing. “I see how it is.”
“I should hope so. We’d planned on another three nights of hot sex. That didn’t happen.”
“You noticed.” He grinned.
“I certainly did. So if I come back up here on my spring break, do you think you could work those three nights into your busy schedule?”
“Yes.” God, but he didn’t want her to leave. She was everything he’d ever wanted and more. “I think that can be arranged.”
16
MOLLY HAD TWO objectives for this trip to the airport with Ben—to put them both at ease, and to establish that this wasn’t a permanent goodbye. She was proud of herself. She’d accomplished both goals in the first two minutes.
Now they could talk easily for the rest of the trip. They caught up with Jack and followed the tractor as it slowly carved a path to the highway. At the end of the road Ben honked the horn in farewell and they were on their way to Jackson.
“Are you definitely coming back for spring break?”
She turned toward him. “Are you definitely driving over from Sheridan if I do?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll be here for spring break.”
“Good.”
She cherished the enthusiasm in his voice. This wasn’t the end, after all. She didn’t need promises of forever. It was too soon for that, but at least she’d been given a reprieve from the awful prospect of never seeing him again.
“I’ll probably visit the ranch before then, though.” He drove below the speed limit. The road had been plowed, but patches of ice remained. “I’ll be making saddles for all three of the guys in exchange for Calamity Sam.”
“That’s terrific.” Thank God she hadn’t somehow screwed up his business opportunity at the Last Chance. “They’re getting a great deal.”
“So am I. Calamity Sam will bring in stud fees that should eventually allow me to buy a mare. Morgan gave me the name of a real estate agent she knows in Sheridan, and as soon as I get home, I’ll start looking at horse property. If I can find a place that has a studio I can use for my saddle business, I can give up the shop I’m renting in town.”
“I’m excited for you, Ben. Sounds like fun.” It also sounded like permanence. He’d already established a business there. Once he bought property and horses, he’d be there to stay.
All weekend she’d watched him interact with the Chance clan and she’d detected a subtle shift in his attitude. He no longer tried to protect himself from the emotional pull of that family. He might think his business deal with the Chance brothers was the link between him and the ranch, but she thought it was more likely an excuse to spend time there.
She predicted that by summer he’d be making regular trips between Sheridan and Jackson Hole, and the visits wouldn’t always be about horses and saddles. He was going to let the Chance family adopt him.
Moisture gathered in her eyes, and she quickly blinked it away. They were happy tears, she told herself. This was the best thing that could happen to Ben.
But it meant the end of a dream she’d barely admitted to having. Now that it was dead, she realized how much she’d wanted it. What a foolish fantasy, too. There’d never been a real possibility that he’d someday bond with her immediate family and move to Arizona.
As much as she longed to see him at spring break, maybe it was a dumb move on her part. She should have thought it through before making that suggestion. Early this morning her plan had seemed brilliant, a way to stay connected as, over the next few months, Ben gradually changed his mind about having his own family.
But she hadn’t put all the pieces together. The discussions he’d had with the Chance brothers about saddles and horse breeding hadn’t included her. Although she’d known he was considering buying property, she hadn’t grasped what that meant. By coming back over spring break, she’d only get more hooked on someone who’d put down roots hundreds of miles away.
On the other hand, knowing their parting at the airport wasn’t a permanent goodbye would make that moment easier for both of them. But if she was only postponing their inevitable split, was that fair to either of them? Her head began to hurt.
“You’re awfully quiet over there.”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
She could admit that she’d been reconsidering whether they should see each other again, after all. But why make the rest of the drive a miserable one for him? “It’s not important.”
“If it’s not important, then you’d tell me, which means it is important and you don’t want to tell me.”
She liked knowing that he was a smart guy, but in this case, she wished he’d been a little slower on the uptake. Maybe she could talk around the subject. “Leaving you today is going to be hard.”
“I know, which is why I’m glad we have the spring break plan. In fact, if you can give me the exact dates, that would make it more real. I can put it on my calendar so I can look forward to it.”
So much for that strategy. “I was just thinking that if leaving you today will be tough, then leaving you in the spring will be even tougher.”
“Maybe not. You said you could come back in the summer.”
She swallowed. She’d done this to herself. If she was willing to come back in the spring and enjoy some good times, then why not repeat it? If she was mostly in it for the sex as she’d implied, then periodic visits to Wyoming made perfect sense.
But although she’d tried to convince herself that great sex was the drawing card, it wasn’t anymore. At first it might have been, but she wasn’t positive of that, either. She was the optimist who believed everything would turn out all right in the end.
So, naturally, she’d believed a miracle would come along so they could solve their issues. Even his statement about not wanting children hadn’t stopped her. Vasectomies could sometimes be reversed, or there was always adoption.
Now he might marry and adopt kids. He seemed to be moving in that direction. But she had a vision of how her life would unfold—her parents as loving grandparents, her brothers and sisters-in-law as cherished aunts and uncles, and their children as cousins and playmates. In Arizona. Within thirty minutes of each other.
“I may be all wet,” Ben said, “but I can’t shake the feeling that you’re reconsidering that spring break plan.”
She took a deep breath. “I am, and I’m sorry.” She clenched her hands in her lap. “I didn’t think it through.”
“I wondered about that,” he said softly. “It did seem a little too good to be true.” He sounded sad, but resigned.
Her heart ached for him. “I hate the thought of never seeing you again.”
“Likewise.”
From the corner of her eye she could see his jaw clench, and she hated that, too. “But I’m...really beginning to care for you.”
“I’m not surprised.” His voice was tight. “You care for everybody.”
“Not the way I care for you.”
“Well...” He cleared his throat. “We both know you shouldn’t fall for me. So if that means saying goodbye today, that’s what we’ll do.”
She didn’t respond to that for fear she’d start crying. And here she’d been so proud of herself because she’d supposedly found a way to make the drive relaxed and fun. It sure wasn’t fun now.
After an eternity of silence except for the crunch of the tires on icy patches of road, Ben flipped the turn signal to go into the airport’s parking lot.
“You can just drop me off.”
“I’m going in with you. I want to make sure you get on the flight okay.”
She couldn’t very well argue. He was driving. “All right. Thank you.”
He insisted on taking charge of both her suitcase and her carry-on, so she was left with only her shoulder bag as they battled a stiff wind on the way into the terminal. The place wasn’t very crowded. Several flights had been canceled.
She glanced at the flight information monitor to double-check her flight. Then she blinked and looked again.
“It’s canceled,” Ben said.
“It wasn’t when I checked my phone ten minutes ago!” She heard the desperation in her voice, but she had to get out of here. Part of it was her eagerness to be home for Christmas, but most of it had to do with the man standing by her side. Being with him had become too painful to bear.
Leaving him with the suitcases, she went to the counter, but the woman only confirmed what was on the monitor.
Molly fought panic. “But it’s not snowing.”
“No, but it will soon. And the winds are treacherous right now. All planes have been grounded until further notice.”
Molly groaned. This couldn’t be happening.
“I’m sorry.” The woman’s smile was sympathetic but firm. “We hope to resume service in the morning, so your best bet is to stay close, either in the airport or at one of the hotels nearby.”
“Thank you.” Taking a deep breath, Molly turned and walked back to where Ben waited with the luggage. “I’ll just stay here. Something might open up.”
He searched her face, his dark gaze troubled. “How soon?”
She shrugged and did her best to look unconcerned about it. “Not sure, exactly, but I’ll be fine. You’d better take off. Everybody was worried about the road between here and Sheridan, so I don’t want you to get stuck.”
He blew out a breath and nudged back his Stetson. “Look, Molly, I’m not leaving you here when there’s only some vague promise of a flight eventually. Did they say if it would be today?”
“It won’t be today, but that’s no problem. I can—”
“Damn it, Molly. Did you seriously plan to spend the night here by yourself?”
“Why not?”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know where to start. Sure, I know you could do it if you had no other option, but you have another option. Come on.” He picked up her suitcase and started toward the door.
“Where are you going?” For one wild moment she wondered if he planned to drive her all the way to Arizona.
“To a hotel.”
“Okay.” That made more sense. She might have taken a cab to a hotel if he’d left anyway. “You can just drop me at whichever one we come to first.”
If he replied she didn’t catch it. She was too busy staying upright as they went back to his truck. Maybe the airport authorities knew what they were doing when they’d grounded the planes because of the wind.
He helped her back into the truck and stowed her luggage. She called a couple of nearby hotels to find out which had vacancies. In short order she was able to direct Ben to a medium-priced place that had several rooms available.
As he pulled the truck under the portico at the entrance, she unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to him. “Thank you, Ben. I’m not going to make this a long, drawn-out speech, but I will always cherish what—”
“Good God, woman.”
“What?”
“I’m not dropping you off here, either! What do you take me for?”
She gulped. “So, what were your plans?”
“To stay with you until you get a flight out of here, of course, like any decent human being would do. I suppose we could book two separate rooms, but all things considered, that seems like a waste of an opportunity.” His gaze was steady.
“Oh.” Her heartbeat tripled, at least.
He reached out and brushed a knuckle over her cold cheek. “What do you say, Molly? It seems Fate has thrown us together again. Shall we have one last fling before we call it quits?”
Her chest and throat were so tight it was a wonder she could talk at all. “Okay.”
He smiled. “That’s my girl.”
She thought about those words as they registered and rode the elevator to their third-floor room. My girl. It had sounded so sweet, so natural. He’d only meant it as a casual endearment, not a statement of fact, but how she wanted to be his girl. If only the price weren’t so damned high.
But she didn’t have to think about that, now. Once again, the parameters had been set. They’d enjoy each other for whatever time they had and go their separate ways.
As Ben swiped the keycard, his hand trembled slightly. That was the only outward sign that he wasn’t calm and composed about spending the night with her. For her part, after a weekend of wanting and not having, Molly felt like a hand grenade with the pin pulled out.
He stood back and gestured her inside. She walked into an ordinary hotel room with a built-in desk, matching bedspread and drapes, and one easy chair in the corner. There was nothing remarkable about the place.
Then Ben came in and put down her suitcase. When he closed the door and flipped the security latch, she turned to him. In that instant, the room ceased to be ordinary. Her heart pounding, she held his gaze as she unzipped her red parka.
Ben stepped toward her, his dark eyes filled with heat. A shudder moved through his large frame.
She couldn’t say who groaned or who moved first, but suddenly they were in each other’s arms and tearing at each other’s clothes and kicking off their boots. In mere seconds she was down to her underwear, and her glasses were gone...somewhere. She had no idea if she’d taken them off or he had.
And she didn’t care, because his talented mouth was covering her with kisses as he stripped off her bra. Her panties ripped as he pulled them down and she didn’t care about that, either. When he picked her up, she wound her legs around his waist and pushed her bare breasts against his soft mat of chest hair. Then she bit his shoulder.
His low laugh was the sexiest sound she’d ever heard. “Want this, do you?”
“Desperately.”
“That makes two of us.” He laid her on the bedspread and followed her down, his rigid cock nudging her damp folds. His first powerful thrust lifted her off the bed.
This time she laughed. “Yes!”
“Yes.” The word was almost a growl. Then he began to move, each stroke delving deep into her quivering body.
How she loved the way he claimed her! And there was no other word for it. She surrendered to the delicious sensation of being taken by a man who’d been pushed to the limits of his control.
His heavy breathing blended with her gasps of pleasure as he drove home again and again. His eyes burned with a fierce urgency that sent fire through her veins. She held his gaze as the first tremor rocked her body.
The flame in his eyes leaped and he pumped faster. He coaxed her up, up, until she lost herself in the glory of an orgasm that whirled her like a carnival ride and brought breathless cries to her lips.
He didn’t pause, and his command tore through the mists of her climax. “Again.” He bore down, the rapid friction of his thick cock sending her back to the top of the roller coaster and over into a second screaming descent.
This time he hurtled down with her, bellowing in satisfaction as he pushed deep, his big body shuddering in the grip of his release. Braced on his arms, he gazed down at her as he gulped for air. Gradually his intense expression relaxed into a bemused smile. “You bit me.”
She took a shaky breath and smoothed her hand over the red spot on his shoulder. “I know. That’s so unlike me.”
His glance slid over her and heat smoldered in his eyes. “I don’t think so. I think it’s exactly like you.”
“It isn’t! I’ve never bitten a man in my life!”
“Until me.” He sounded pleased with that.
“Unusual circumstances. We had one night of great sex, and one crazy moment in the tractor barn, and then we couldn’t do anything because the house was full of people
. Naturally I was a little frustrated by that.”
His smile was more than a little smug. “I noticed.”
“So were you, smarty pants.”
“Oh, I won’t deny it. This weekend was pure torture. By the time we walked into this room, I was a ticking time bomb. However, I’m not the one who bit.” He chuckled. “You are.”
“You aren’t going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Nope. Because the thing is, under that college professor persona you have going on, you’re a wild woman, Molly Gallagher. And until the weather clears, I’m going to prove it to you.”
17
BEN HAD BEEN given a few more precious hours with Molly, and he planned to make the most of them. When she flew out of here, he would never see her again. He’d known from the beginning he was wrong for her, and now she’d apparently accepted that, too.
But he wouldn’t have to face their final goodbye until tomorrow. At this very moment he had a naked Molly lying beneath him, gazing up with those amazing green eyes. He was already getting hard again.
He could stay right where he was and start all over, which would be fine, but he had an unfulfilled fantasy to satisfy. “Let’s find your glasses.” He eased away from her and climbed out of bed.
“That’s very sweet.” She sat up. “But if we broke them during that episode, that’s okay. I have a spare pair at home and I can wear my contacts in the meantime.”
“I hope I didn’t break them.” He surveyed the carpet as he searched for them. “But thanks for being willing to share the blame.”
“They’re my glasses, so I should have taken them off if I was worried about them.”
A rush of emotion took him by surprise. Pausing in his search, he gazed at her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not blaming me.”
Her breath caught. “Oh, Ben.” She started to leave the bed.
“Stay there. I can see better than you and you might step on them.”
“All right.” Her voice was warm with compassion.
A Last Chance Christmas Page 15