Worth the Trouble

by Becky McGraw

  "Hiyah!!" she heard him yell and saw Reed rush forward.

  "Stay low over his neck!" she yelled when Reed stumbled and Ethan lifted up. Endless minutes ticked by as she watched both horse and man work to get to the top. By the time Reed heaved up and over the crest, her heart was in her throat and pounding hard enough to choke her.

  Scrambling off of Diamond, Rocky ran over and threw her arms around Reed's neck then gave him a big smacking kiss on the jaw. Smiling up at Ethan she told him, "Ya'll did good together."

  "Do I get a kiss too?" Ethan drawled in that big bad wolf voice, his green eyes glittering with humor and much more.

  Rocky just stared at him, her mind frozen in place, until lightning struck a tree about a hundred yards away, then thunder loud enough to deafen her followed right behind it.

  "We need to get out of here," she said shakily, then ran back and remounted Diamond. Kissing Ethan Cassidy was exactly what she wanted to do right then. His words had zapped through her body just like the lightning had through that tree.

  With him, that's all it took, he had that kind of effect on her, whether she wanted him to or not. Even knowing what kind of man he was, remembering the callous words he said to her, she still wanted him. Rocky was just a pathetic, weak woman unable to control herself around him.

  What she needed to do was remove herself from the temptation. Get away from him. Ride back to camp as fast as her horse would carry her. Then she would demand that Wes find her another search partner, or she was leaving. End of story.

  With this storm moving in though, she was stuck with him.

  Kneeing Diamond, Rocky clicked and she started forward. Yelling over her shoulder, she pointed and told him, "See that overhang over there by that pile of rocks. That should be good enough cover, until the storm passes."

  Rocky didn't wait for a response, she increased Diamond to a canter. Sprinting across the open field, she listened for hoof beats behind her to know that Ethan was following her. When she got within ten yards of the rocks, lightning hit about fifty yards from her and Diamond sidestepped, then reared, her eyes wide and frightened and her ears pinned back.

  Rocky knew that the horse wasn't fond of thunderstorms, and couldn't blame her for acting up. This storm was extreme, and she had been through a lot today.

  Knowing that didn't help her though when the horse remained on her hind legs, dancing backward, and Rocky felt herself sliding out of the saddle. Standing in the stirrups, Rocky leaned forward over her neck trying to push her front end down, but it wasn't happening, because right then thunder boomed loudly again. Diamond reared back further and threw her head almost hitting Rocky in the nose.

  Rocky knew the horse was going over on top of her, if she didn't get off. If twelve hundred pounds of horse landed on her, she would be crushed. Slipping her feet from the stirrups, Rocky dove right and pushed the horse left. Diamond fell over backwards then scrambled back up to her feet and took off across the field, saddle and all.

  Stunned, Rocky lay on the ground with her arm thrown over her eyes, and if losing her horse couldn't make things worse, the sky opened up right then and a sheet of rain drenched her.

  "Oh, God, are you okay, baby?" Ethan asked in a gruff concerned voice, leaning over her to shield her from the rain. "You scared the shit out of me."

  "I scared the shit out of me too," she told him then peeked up at his frowning face from beneath her arm. "Only thing hurt is my pride," she told him then sat up and swiped the rain from her face with her wet sleeve.

  Her heart was pounding in her chest from the adrenaline coursing through her body and her blood ran at freight-train speed through her veins. Rocky sucked in a deep shuddering breath trying to calm herself.

  "You sure?" he asked then pushed her shoulder. "Lay back down and let me check you out," he suggested, but she shook off his hand.

  "I'm fine, Ethan, really," she assured him. "Just shaken up." Damned shaken up.

  She got thrown often when working with young horses, but she hadn't ever been reared on like that by a horse who had been under saddle as long as Diamond had been. She was going to have to work with Diamond on more sensitization training, use a sheet of tin to simulate thunder. Even at her age, it would probably help.

  He huffed out a breath. "Yeah, me too...that was too damned close." Rocky could see the fear in his face, hear it in his voice.

  Involuntarily, Rocky's eyes slid longingly over his wet, white t-shirt shirt, which was now transparent and deliciously plastered to the well-defined muscles of his chest. Water slicked his dark hair to his head making it black as sin, then streamed down his face wetting his long eyelashes into clumps, accentuating the intensity in his green eyes.

  The desire to lick that water from his wet skin made her tongue tingle. Making love in the rain had always been a secret fantasy of hers. Making love to Ethan Cassidy in the rain would be the ultimate fantasy.

  And that's what it would remain, because as much as she wanted him, there was no way she was going to let herself go there with him again.

  "Keep looking at me like that and I'm gonna kiss you," Ethan warned, his voice gravelly, as he extended his hand to help her up. She took it and he pulled her up to her feet, but didn't release her hand. He studied intently for a minute, before he yanked her against his chest and stared down at her.

  She looked up into his eyes and they were filled with longing, but confusion too.

  "I am going to kiss you, Roxanne," he whispered as if he couldn't help himself, before his lips lowered toward hers. Anticipation of feeling his wet lips slide over hers shot through her. Just one kiss, she thought, there wasn't anything wrong with that. One last taste of heaven was all she was going to allow herself.

  When she finally tasted his lips on hers, Rocky moaned and melted into his arms, soaking up the hot, wet desire that ran through her. She frantically sipped the sweet rainwater from his mouth. His hands moved tentatively to her hips and pulled her closer, while hers slid up his wet chest, to loop at the base of his skull.

  Ethan sealed his mouth over hers and she reveled in the force of nature that was Ethan Cassidy's kiss. The rain poured over them, thunder rumbled overhead and lightning cracked, but none of that compared to the electrified kiss. It rocked her to her core, tossed her over a sea of heated desire, then swirled through her making her feel like she was floating. The storm swirled around them, the slow, wet kiss went on, and the banked fire inside of Rocky raged to an inferno.

  Her second fantasy surfaced and Rocky embraced it deepening her pleasure. Ethan was hers, he was a good man, someone who loved her, someone she could just be herself with. Around him, she could forget her insecurities, because he loved her just like she was, didn't want to change her, or use her.

  Emotion filled her chest, because that fantasy was a lot more farfetched than making love to him with the storm raging around them. He wasn't that man, and she wasn't accepting less.

  Reed neighed then snorted and brought Rocky back to reality. Breathing hard, her heart pounding in her chest like a runaway train, Rocky forced herself to pull away, before she did something stupid. Again.

  "We need to get under that overhang," she told him, and started toward the rocks. Her legs felt spongy beneath her, as she staggered toward the rocky overhang, then dropped to her knees and crawled through the water and mud to get underneath.

  Pulling her knees to her chest she hugged them, expecting Ethan to crawl under with her, but she saw he was leading Reed toward the trees, trudging through the running water that now covered the field.

  She wondered if the little lost girl had found shelter too.

  The thought of her being cold and wet, in addition to being scared, caused Rocky's heart to squeeze in her chest. That little girl was what was important here, what they were here to do was find her, she reminded herself, not make out in the middle of a storm.

  Resting her chin on her knees, she watched Ethan walk back toward her with his arms full, carefully splashing his way
back across the filed. It was getting darker now, the sun was almost down, and the temperature had dropped at least fifteen degrees.

  An icy cold blast of wind swept under the overhang and Rocky shivered, hugging her knees closer. Now that she wasn't moving around, her body temperature had dropped too. The wet clothes she wore stuck to her skin making it worse.

  Ethan stopped at the base of the rocks and dropped the items in his arms, then knelt and started unpacking things, stopping every now and again to swipe the rain from his face. After organizing the things, he unzipped a sizeable square package then pulled on one corner and like magic a small tent opened up. Standing, he found a flat spot on the rocks and sat it there, then weighted corner ties down with large rocks.

  Even though they left base camp believing they would return at dark, he had packed the tent. Evidently, it must have fallen from the saddle during her struggle with Diamond, because Rocky knew the rest of his supplies were in the saddle bags on the runaway horse. She knew the tent wasn't hers, she hadn't thought to bring it, had left it inside the tack compartment of the horse trailer.

  Ethan really was a boy scout, she thought thoroughly impressed with his forethought. The fact that he had forgotten his radio, made her feel a little better, but a lot worse at the same time.

  They had no way of communicating with Wes and the other searchers now, since her radio was in the creek. Leaning to the side, she pulled her cell phone out of her wet jeans then turned it on. She had plenty of battery left, but no service. The screen was fogged up too, so she imagined it was ruined. With a curse, she shoved it back inside of her pocket, shivered again then grabbed her knees.

  Her eyes drifted to where Ethan had been before, but he was nowhere to be found. Her heart kicked up a little in her chest and she leaned forward to look around the sides of the overhang. She didn't see him anywhere, but then the tent jostled and she figured out he was inside the tent.

  And he hadn't invited her to come inside with him. Even though it was a two-man tent, and probably a helluva lot warmer than sitting under this cold wet overhang. Chivalry was definitely deader than a doornail these days.

  Her breath caught when the front zipper of the tent came down and the wall parted. He glanced her way, but instead of waving her over there, he tossed out his wet jeans, boots and shirt, then zipped it back up.

  He was in there naked, and warm, probably snuggled up in a bedroll, which she also forgot to bring. She was sitting here cold, shivering and lonely.

  Life wasn't fair, she thought, with another shiver.

  And she was a dumbass for not thinking ahead. The farther the sun drifted below the horizon, the colder it got, and the harder the rain and wind came. The sides of the tent blew inward, but the tent stayed where Ethan had put it.

  When it was fully dark, Rocky heard a couple of coyotes howling over the wind and rain. She felt like a duck sitting out here in more ways than one. Her shotgun was on Reed's saddle over by the woods.

  This was bullshit, she thought, then crawled out from beneath the overhang. They were partners, and he needed to share that tent. Rocky made her way over the uneven slippery ground to the tent then stood outside in the rain contemplating pulling that zipper down. It could be like opening Pandora's box.

  Ethan was naked in there, and the tent was small. There wouldn't be a lot of room for her to avoid him. And the hot kiss a while ago proved her resistance to him was non-existent. A strong gust of wind whipped around Rocky causing her to shiver, and making the decision for her. With numb fingers, and shaking hands, she grabbed the tab and slid it downward.

  Soft snores stopped, then Ethan sat up and told her, "Take those wet clothes off if you think you're coming in here."

  Rocky stepped back, then sat down on a rock and took off her boots and socks, then stood and unfastened her jeans, before pushing them down her legs. Ethan watched her from the tent, his face unreadable in the darkness. Her cold numb fingers worked at the buttons on her shirt, and she finally managed to push the wet material from her shoulders.

  "Bra and panties too," he grumped when she stepped forward.

  "I don't think so," she told him and took another step.

  "If you want to come in here, you'll do it," he told her firmly.

  Rocky reached behind her and unhooked her bra and let it fall to the ground, then looped her fingers in the elastic of her underwear and slid them down her legs to step out. Covering her shivering body, she put one foot inside the tent, then crouched down and ducked inside.

  Immediately the warmth that had built up inside the structure enveloped her and she sighed then shivered again. Just being out of the cutting wind was a relief.

  "Here's a blanket, dry off with it," he told her then shoved it into her hands, before rezipping the front of the tent.

  Rocky toweled off her dripping hair, then ran the soft, warm material over the rest of her body. With another shiver, she wrapped the damp blanket around her shoulders, laid on the floor of the tent then curled into a fetal ball.

  She heard Ethan sigh, before he told her, "Roxanne, give me that blanket, so I can toss it out. It's wet."

  "It feels good," she murmured tiredly, then shivered again.

  He grabbed the corner of the blanket and yanked it off of her, then she heard the zip run down the track and then back up.

  "I'm cold!" she protested sitting up to glare at him, her teeth chattering.

  Ethan moved around, shifted things, then he grabbed her and pulled her to him, before throwing something warm and wonderful over her body. Rocky groaned and tugged the thick, fluffy cover over her head then snuggled into the warmth.

  "It took you long enough," he grumbled as he chaffed her shoulders, then slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his warm body. He spooned her even closer, and Rocky began to defrost very quickly. The man was radiating enough body heat to thaw out the North Pole. Because she couldn't help herself, she ran her cold feet along his calves then forced her toes between his ankles and sighed.

  "Better?" he asked, his sexy deep voice sending ripples of excitement through her.

  "Yeah, much...thanks," she told him then slid her cold fingers under his where they rested on her stomach.

  Rocky stilled when his hand moved lower on to rest on her hip, and he whispered near her ear, with gravity in his voice, "I need to tell you something...several things."

  Rocky hoped like hell he wasn't bringing up the night at the lake again.

  As much as she tried to shove it to the back of her mind to get through this trip, the memories kept coming back. That night was the best night of her life, but also something she wanted to forget, because as soon as the hot memories of him making love to her that night surfaced, they were eclipsed by memories of last night and his hurtful words.

  She was over it, needed to move on, not rehash things over and over.

  Right now though, that was really difficult with his spectacular body glued to hers skin to hot skin, and his hardness pressed against her bottom. The last thing she wanted to do was talk. What her body wanted her to do was turn over and snuggle into him for more.

  Indulge her fantasy of making love to him in this storm.

  This would be her only chance, only opportunity to do that. Tomorrow when the sun came up, she would have plenty of regrets, she was sure, but tonight she could forget his words and just feel.

  The remnants of that electrifying kiss in the rain earlier still buzzed through her body, along with the new sensations he was creating with the slow hypnotic circles he was making with his long fingers at her hip.

  The time for fighting was over, the time for making love to Ethan was at hand.

  The storm outside rivaled the one she was fighting inside, and she decided she would much rather deal with the one inside, instead of talking.

  Having sex with him was a biological urge, emotions didn't have to be involved. She repeated that in her mind a few times trying to convince herself, but fell way short of believing it. Huff
ing out a frustrated breath, she shoved the angel off of her shoulder, and turned to face the devil himself.

  "I don't want to talk, Ethan," she whispered then kissed his chest. With a flick of her tongue under his jaw then a kiss, she invited, "Make love to me."

  He was fitted perfectly at the apex of her thighs, and hardened more at her words. With a groan, he told her, "I don't want to make love to you again with this between us."

  "What this?" she said playfully, then slid her hand between them to stroke him slowly. "I think this has to be between us for it to happen," she told him with a laugh.

  "I'm not joking, baby," he said then sucked in a breath when she tightened her hand around him. She fitted her breasts to his chest, then rubbed them against his smooth warm skin, her nipples hardened and she sucked in a breath.

  Ethan growled, and suddenly she was on her back with him pinning her to the hard ground with his thigh over hers, before his mouth slammed down over hers. He kissed her aggressively, passionately, like he was trying to tell her something with his kisses that she wouldn't let him with words.

  Her head spun as she tried to process all of the intense sensations pouring from him into her. Ethan's warm palm closed over her breast and Rocky moaned as he kneaded her, then pinched her nipple between his fingers and rolled it.

  "We are going to talk," he said gruffly when he pulled his mouth from hers breathing hard. She couldn't see him in the dark tent, except when the lightning flashed, but when it did she saw glimpses of his intense eyes and dark expression.

  "Just make love to me," she whispered then leaned up and nipped his lower lip. "Please, Ethan, I need you," she begged then sucked his upper lip into her mouth and ran her tongue over it. "When we talk is when we get in trouble."

  Here, doing this, they were in perfect harmony, understood each other, it was when they talked that things went wrong.

  He studied her for a moment, like he could see her in the dark tent, but she knew he couldn't. And it was a good thing, because a tear tracked out of the corner of her eye as emotion balled up inside her chest.