by Cora Seton
“I agree,” Titan spoke behind her, causing her to jump.
“Oh, you startled me!” She held a hand over her heart, her cheeks flaming because he’d heard what she’d said.
“Sorry.” He drew her close, his eyes going from warm to hot. Sweeping his thumb over her cheek, Titan covered her lips with his. The kiss started slow and sweet, but his hand tightened at the back of her head and he moaned, kissing her as if this were their last moment on earth and he wanted to make the most of it.
Long, sweet, deep and wet.
Titan let his lips slide from hers, placing a few tender smooches on her neck. When he raised his head, she looked at him like she’d just experienced a fuckin’ miracle and he felt like all the pieces of his world were falling into place. “Let’s go before I make love to you.”
Makenna panted, every part of her was tingling. “Would that be a bad thing?”
“No, but I have plans for later,” Titan promised. “I want our first time to be special.”
“I wish it was my first time,” she said quietly.
Titan held her close. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you forget. We’ll replace all of those bad memories with good ones.” When she smiled, he captured her hand. “Come on.” He led Makenna out and helped her back up on the horse. This time she easily fitted herself to his body, loving the teasing touches and kisses Titan gave her as they made their way through the grazing cattle.
“Did you count the herd? Is there any missing?”
“Two, a cow and a calf.”
He didn’t sound too worried, so Makenna relaxed as they began their circuitous journey around his property. “I like that you still do this on horseback. So many ranchers have started using four-wheelers, haven’t they?”
“They have, but the topography out here on Devil’s Backbone is very rough and uneven. I’ve seen people flip those ATVs. It’s an easy way to get yourself killed. I responded to one call where a girl had half her face torn off after she was thrown off and slid on rock. She had plastic surgery, she’s fine now, but horses are much safer in my mind.”
“I’ll take your word for it, since I took a dive off of Luna earlier.”
He squeezed her tight. “I know, I wasn’t taking good care of my baby. I’ll do better. Promise.”
He was making light of it, but his sentiment warmed her. His attitude toward her was as different from Damien’s as night from day. But she’d known it would be. That was one of the reasons she’d be drawn to him.
Soon they arrived at the fence and began making their way beside it, as close as possible. At one point, she could see her own house. “Damien’s home.” Makenna pointed. “I wonder what he’s going to do. I wish he’d move away.”
“I checked. He didn’t lose his job, which is a crock of shit.” Titan couldn’t have kept the bitterness from his voice if he tried. At that moment, the ringtone on his phone sounded.
“I didn’t know you could get reception out here.”
“Yea, there’s a tower not far from here,” he said as he answered. “Sloan.”
Makenna could only hear part of the conversation, but it was enough to know the person was calling in connection to the latest fires.
“How did we miss that?” Titan asked, then he listened before responding. “Let me know what you find out.” Once he’d hung up, he cleared his throat, moving Makenna’s hair from off her shoulder. “That was the Fire Marshall. They think they’ve identified the source of the grass fires.”
“What was it?”
“Liquid paraffin, highly flammable.”
“I don’t really know what that is,” Makenna admitted.
“There are several uses, everything from lamp oil to an ingredient in make-up, but it burns with absolutely no smoke and no odor. The only way the forensic guys found it was noticing an odd residue on a rock at the origin of the fire.”
“That’s nothing like you expected, is it?” Makenna could tell Titan was disconcerted.
“No, and what’s really strange is that the same substance was found on the floor at Allie Langston’s. The reason the Fire Marshal didn’t note it before was because she had candles and one of those electric lamps that heated fragrance oils.”
“Yes, I gave her one when she moved into her house and the oils I bought for her were vanilla and jasmine scented.”
Titan nodded. “Since there were other things like that in the room, the significance of the paraffin didn’t hit Kirkland—until they found more at the grassfires.”
“So, the same person set all three fires,” Makenna said lowly.
“Yes, and we’ll find out who, I promise. When we get back tomorrow, I’m going to help him do some investigating. The sheriff is going to find out if any of the local stores sell anything like this.”
“I guess they can match the chemical compounds.”
“I’m sure they can, I’m not as up on this stuff as I should be. When you’re a volunteer, you just don’t get the in-depth training that firefighters have in the bigger places.”
“I hope you find whoever set them.” Makenna didn’t voice her suspicions about Damien again, but they were on her mind. “And I hope there are no more.”
“I know what you’re thinking and I believe you,” Titan whispered. “We won’t stop looking into this until we know the truth.”
Chapter Eight
‡
They rode on, but Makenna’s eyes kept cutting toward the house she’d lived in with Damien. She knew how evil he could be and she put nothing past him.
“Look, there’s the gap,” Titan exclaimed, pointing. Dismounting, he walked through the brush to get to the fence. “This was no accident, the wire was cut.”
Makenna knew she might be paranoid, but she even suspected Damien of doing this. “Can you fix it?”
“Yea, whoever did it was an amateur. They cut it next to the post. I can pull the strand tight again. I just have to put a few fence staples in.” He returned to the saddle to get his hammer, the wire stretcher and the staples.
While he was turned to face the fence, Makenna decided to join him, which wasn’t as easy as she first thought. The tennis shoes she wore didn’t give her any grip on the stirrup and the top of Valiant’s back was a long, long way from the ground. Still…if she could just hold on to the saddle horn and swing her leg over… “Oh, crap…” she murmured as her foot slipped and down she went.
But this time she didn’t hit the ground. Strong arms caught her in mid-air. “I can see now that catching you when you fall is going to be a fulltime job.”
Makenna didn’t argue, she was just glad he was willing to take on the task. “Can I help?
“Sure.” He showed her how to hold the wire. “Watch your fingers, those barbs are sharp.” Before they were through, they found two more places where the wire had been cut. At the last one, Makenna saw the errant cow and calf wandering about fifty yards down a hill near a small stream. “There they are!”
Together they herded them back through the gap. It didn’t take Titan long to fix the fence, but it did take a couple more hours for them to ride about half the distance around. “I’m getting hungry, how about you?” he asked.
“I could eat a horse.” Makenna sighed, her stomach rumbling.
“Shhhh, you’ll make Valiant nervous.” He teased. “I propose we head back to the cabin. I still want to check the rest of the fence, but I’m ninety percent certain those are the only gaps. Most of the other borders the road and I drove around that part a couple of days ago.”
“I’m not tired, so don’t worry about me,” she assured him.
“Well, there’s still the matter of the surprise,” he reminded her.
“Okay. You convinced me.” She sighed happily.
As Valiant picked his way back down the trail toward the cabin, Titan talked to her about his life and asked questions about her own. Even though they’d known one another for some time, this was their first chance to really share. “What are some things you like
to do for fun?”
Makenna thought about her answer. “It’s been a long time since I was able to do a lot of the things I used to enjoy.” As she spoke, she held his big hand in her own, rubbing the veins on the back, rubbing his strong fingers, tracing the lifeline in his palm. “Years ago, I used to run, I enjoyed getting out in the fresh morning air. I also played guitar.”
“I want you to play for me.”
Titan’s immediate request made her laugh. “Oh, I’m pitifully out of practice. How about you? What do you do when you’re not riding the range or heroically saving lives?”
“Well…” Titan’s hesitation had Makenna looking over her shoulder. “You’re blushing! What do you do?” she asked with a giggle.
“Well, I have two things I like to do. One goes along with my macho image and one doesn’t.”
“Tell me.” She smiled. “I want to know the non-macho first.”
“Okay, okay, it’s not that bad. I study and collect wine. The local vineyards in this part of Texas inspired me to learn as much as I could.” Titan gave her a sheepish smile. “I’d like to think I’ve become an expert of sorts.”
Makenna was impressed. “I think that’s great. You’re a connoisseur. I’d love to know more about wine. Will you teach me?”
Feeling inspired, Titan had an idea. “I’ll take you out to one of the vineyards soon, introduce you to my friend and we’ll have dinner at his restaurant.”
A thrill shot through Makenna. This is what life and love should be like. “I can’t wait. So, what’s the macho hobby?”
“I’m a blacksmith.”
He didn’t have to say more. “Of course you are, I can see it.” Now she knew where he got all of those muscles. “I can just see you swinging a big hammer, hitting an anvil, sparks flying.”
He couldn’t help teasing her. “Do you have any interest in seeing what I can do with my big hammer?”
More than he realized. Makenna blushed. “I’m sure you’re very talented.” If she just wasn’t so nervous. “I’m getting hungry.” Like a coward she changed topics.
“So am I, baby, so am I.”
Makenna was almost certain he wasn’t referring to food. But she didn’t ask.
When they returned to the cabin, Titan threw a couple of steaks on the outside grill while Makenna prepared a salad with the ingredients he’d packed. Wine wasn’t the only thing he knew, she was impressed with the food choices he’d made. There were cherry tomatoes, arugula, even those tiny ears of corn she loved. He’d also packed potato salad and cheesecake. They had an amazing meal. And as soon as it was done, he took her by the hand. “Now for the surprise.”
“Oh, you mean the meal wasn’t it?” She was only halfway teasing, the meal would’ve been plenty. What she was interested in was more of what he’d shown her on horseback. It was as if Titan had flipped a switch, opened a floodgate of emotions and needs that only he could fill.
“No, go slip on your swimsuit. We’re going swimming.”
She remembered the spring he’d mentioned. Makenna had no idea what it would be like. She kept picturing a stream of water shooting up out of a few rocks like a water sprinkler. As much as she was anticipating the scenery, the prospect of seeing Titan skinny-dip was a bigger draw. Digging in the bag of clothing he’d brought along, she was dismayed to find out he’d left off the scarf-like cover-up Allie had loaned her. The bathing suit wasn’t the most revealing she’d ever seen, but there would be an awful lot more of Makenna showing than she was used to. “You can do it,” she encouraged herself. “This isn’t Damien, this is Titan.”
Changing clothes in the comfortable bathroom, she recalled his hands on her breasts. He’d said he couldn’t wait to get his mouth on her. She shivered in anticipation. When he smiled, her world lit up and the way he looked at her made her feel so special, which unfortunately reminded her of all the ways she wasn’t. When he’d asked about the intimate relationship she’d shared with Damien, Makenna had told him she couldn’t speak of it. Damien’s sexual pleasure had been tied directly to her pain. What he’d done, the methods of his satisfaction, Makenna pushed to the far reaches of her mind. She wanted to forget, she wanted to begin anew with Titan. She wanted to know what it was like to be with him.
Once she was dressed, Makenna stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself. Damien would say she looked fat, even though he often deprived her of food. Her husband enjoyed criticizing her. She knew she wasn’t model skinny, but Titan seemed to like the way she looked.
“You can’t get any more beautiful than you are, Makenna,” Titan called from the other side of the door.
She smiled. That man always seemed to say the right thing. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the biggest towel she could find, wrapped it around herself and went to meet Titan.
When he saw her coming, he hid a smile. If she thought that terry-cloth towel was going to deter him, she was barking up the wrong tree.
“I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost,” he muttered, eyeing her appreciatively.
“That would be hard in a two room house, Cowboy.” She held on to the ends of the towels like they were a life preserver and she was being tossed in a stormy sea. “I was just having second thoughts about this swimsuit.”
“I’ve been having second thoughts about it too…and thirds…and fourths.” He pushed his hat back on his head and crossed his big arms over that chest she thought should be a national monument.
“I know you’ve seen me in it before, but I’d had several margaritas at the time. I was basking in a false sense of fashion security.” Even as she grumbled, she was moving closer to him. “Just don’t look at me too close. This belongs to Allie and it’s about two sizes too small.”
“Well, if it’s bothering you, when we get to the spring, you can take it off.”
Titan’s matter-of-fact solution made Makenna laugh. “I can’t win with you, can I?”
Putting an arm around her waist, he guided her toward the door. “Au contraire, my dear. You’ll win with me every damn time.”
For some reason, she was beginning to believe him.
A ten minute walk took them from the front porch of the cabin to the very edge of one of the foothills. “These limestone hills are riddled with caves and springs,” Titan remarked as they came upon the first outcroppings of rocks.
“Yea, I’ve seen some of them,” Makenna answered. “There’s a small one near the house where a stream of water flows from a crack in the rocks about nine months out of twelve. I call it the ‘squirrel shower’. I’ve always envisioned walking up one day and seeing a squirrel standing on his back legs, washing under his arms with a little loofah.”
Titan threw back his head and laughed. “I love being with you.” He held her hand as they traversed some rough ground. “Careful. Not too much farther.”
Makenna didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it. This was no pond in the pasture. Titan led her into the mouth of a small cave. Her eyes widened as she saw the opening was much smaller than the cavern they entered. “It’s breathtaking,” she whispered.
“This is my own private paradise.” He beamed. “Only a handful of people know about this place. My uncle kept the location of this spring pretty much to himself and I’ve followed suit.”
Her eyes mapped the magical place. Enough light shone through the opening so she could see a deep pool of crystal clear water. Bubbles decorated the top as water flowed into the cave from an underground aquifer. “I love it,” she breathed reverently. “It makes me think of those tropical grottos I’ve seen in movies.”
“This pool feeds the Blanco River through an underground stream. Cave divers have tried to follow the path, but it’s too narrow.”
Makenna was listening, but mostly she was watching. As he’d promised, Titan hadn’t brought clothes to change into. Instead, he began to strip. “Is the water warm?” she asked, trying not to stare. She found a large flat rock to sit on. No way was she getting in the
water first.
“It’s not a hot spring by any means, but the water is comfortable.” His signature white cowboy shirt went first, revealing a chest which rose powerfully from lean hips. She let her gaze slide over massive shoulders, then down over the bulge of his biceps. If she didn’t know how gentle he could be, Titan’s size would’ve made her nervous. Damien had always used his strength against her, but Titan would use his to defend her.
The boots, socks and jeans went next until he was down to a pair of gray boxer briefs. The light in the cave was dimmer, but she could clearly see the outline of his cock. He was aroused. When he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his underwear and began to push down, Makenna’s breath hitched in her throat. Her gaze darted up to his eyes and she saw he was watching her closely. “Do you want me to leave them on? I can.”
“No, it’s okay.” She was acting silly. Just this morning she’d held him in her hand. In her mouth. “I want to…” Enunciating what she wanted to do was impossible. “Sorry, the cat’s got my tongue, I guess.”
“Lucky cat.” The material bulged as his hands worked beneath the soft cotton, revealing the solid length of his manhood little by little. Each time she thought there would be an end to it, an additional inch was revealed until the broad head lay throbbing against his thigh.
Makenna couldn’t help but stare, realizing he was too heavy to stand upright. She gulped, her insides clenching. Allie had wondered if the size of his cock matched the rest of him. Now she could tell her for sure it did. The sight of him caused her body to respond. She felt her nipples tighten and her pussy soften.
“Ready?” He held out his hand and she took it, rising.
“I think so.” Makenna knew he was speaking of more than just a dip in the spring. He stepped in first, never letting go of her.
“There’s a gentle slope. It starts out about three feet and the deepest part is a little over my head. Can you swim?”