When they got out on the trail side, their blanket was waiting under a tree. She took a comb from her saddlebag and corralled her wet hair into one thick braid down her back. They ate their sandwiches and munched on apples, then stretched out on the blanket side by side to let her suit and his jeans dry a little more before putting on the rest of their clothes for the ride back to the house.
It was peaceful in the dappled shade of the tree, with the soft roar of the falls across the creek. And it had been a long, busy week. He dozed for a while and woke to the sound of the wind stirring the branches above them. He rolled his head and looked at Jordyn. She lay on her back and seemed to be sleeping. He admired the soft curve of her mouth, became fascinated by the way her gold-tipped eyelashes fanned across her smooth cheeks.
And then, as if she could feel the weight of his gaze on her, she turned her head and opened her eyes halfway. “Will.” She smiled at him.
He couldn’t resist. He levered up on an elbow and bent over her. “Tell me not to kiss you again.”
She didn’t tell him any such thing. On the contrary, she lifted one hand and cupped the back of his head, her soft, cool fingers threading up into his hair. “Will...”
The invitation in her half-shut eyes tempted him powerfully—enough that he decided there really was no reason he needed to resist. He lowered his mouth and he kissed her, a long kiss, slow and deep, a kiss that tasted like apples and sunshine. A kiss that only led to another kiss.
And another after that.
With a happy little hum of sound, she turned her pretty body toward him. They lay on their sides, facing each other, her slim, cool hand moving over him, caressing his shoulder, his chest, the back of his neck. Her bare knees brushed his legs, setting off sparks even through his damp jeans. She kissed him so eagerly and murmured encouragements, “Will...yes...oh, yes...”
He touched her, too, running his hand into the dip of her waist, and up over the sleek outward curve of her hip. And he didn’t stop there. On he went, his fingers gliding down the outside of her thigh—and back up again.
Her skin was so smooth, warm from the sun, dusted with baby-fine, barely there golden hair. He couldn’t get enough of the feel of her under his hand. He ran his fingers down her spine, reaching the back strap of her suit top and resenting it mightily. But he was past that quickly, following her smooth skin on down—only to encounter the barrier of her suit bottom.
He really wanted her bare.
Bare. Yeah. He wanted all of her bare.
He went on kissing her, losing himself in the taste and the sweet, clean scent of her. And by then, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to let his hand glide back up again to the clasp at the strap of her suit top. It was the work of a few seconds to get it unhooked. Just a flick of his thumb and index finger...
Jordyn gasped, bringing up her hand between them to keep the top from falling off.
That woke him up. They pulled back at the same time and stared at each other, both of them breathing hard.
Her eyes had a dazed look, and her mouth was plump from his kisses. “I, um, really don’t know if we should...” The words died in her throat.
The ability to speak seemed to have temporarily deserted him. He gaped at her, shocked at himself. Great way to look after little Jordyn Leigh. Take her for a ride and get her out of her swimsuit. What was the matter with him? He shouldn’t be let out in public without supervision.
Damning himself for a low-down dirty dog, he sat up. “Get up and turn around.” He said it way too gruffly.
She pushed herself up to a sitting position but didn’t turn. Instead, she continued to stare at him, her eyes wide—with hurt. “Will. Why are you mad at me? What’d I do?”
“You didn’t do anything.” He made a real effort to speak more gently. “And I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at myself. I shouldn’t have been kissing you—and I damn sure shouldn’t be taking off your suit.”
“It’s okay.” One of her shoulder straps fell down her arm. She pressed the top of the suit harder against her breasts to keep them covered. Damn, she looked good, all flushed and flustered, that mouth of hers so plump and sweet. In a sad little whisper, she insisted, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“The hell I didn’t.” He barked the words at her. She made a startled, wounded sound. He wanted to grab her and hold her and promise her it would be okay. But he knew where that would lead—to more kisses, more caresses, more opportunities to get her out of her swimsuit.
Uh-uh. She might be one fine kisser, but she was also a virgin. Or she had been until a week ago. He was supposed to be looking out for her and making up for whatever might have happened between them last Saturday night, not trying to get her out of her clothes.
“Turn around,” he commanded, more harshly than he should have. “I’ll hook you back up.”
Still holding the top of the suit in place, she gathered her pretty legs to the side and turned her body, showing him her back, which was slim and soft and tempting, just like the rest of her. “I...I was just thinking that we ought to stop, is all. That things were maybe going a little further than they should—that is, I mean,” she stammered adorably, “that you and me, together this way, well, it wasn’t really in the plan.”
“Damn right it wasn’t.” He got hold of both dangling straps as she reached back to catch her damp braid and guide it over her shoulder, out of his way. He hooked the straps together again. “There.”
She fiddled with the shoulder straps and tugged on the front a little, adjusting it to cover her. “Thank you.” Slowly, she turned around and faced him. “See? No harm done.” A pretty blush flowed upward over her velvety cheeks.
He looked at her, so sweet and sexy, with her mouth still swollen from his kisses, beard burn reddening her tender skin—and all he wanted was to start kissing her again. “We should get going.”
“If you’re upset,” she said in that prim little voice she used when she lectured him, “I think we should talk it over. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. Nothing has happened here that I wasn’t okay with.”
“I’m not upset,” he lied. Because there was no damn way he wanted to talk about it. What good would talking do? Except to get him angrier at himself than he already was. “Come on. Let’s go.”
For a minute she just sat there, watching him with a hurt and chiding expression. He knew she wouldn’t let it go. She would start lecturing him about how they needed to hash it out, that communication mattered and all that crap.
But then, without a word, she grabbed her jeans from the edge of the blanket and started getting dressed. Relieved that she’d given it up, he pulled on his shirt and boots, and set his hat on his head. They packed up what was left of the lunch. He rolled the blanket and hooked it behind his saddle. They mounted up and started back.
He took the lead. The ride to the house was uneventful.
And neither of them said a word the whole way.
* * *
At the house, Will told her he’d take care of the horses. Jordyn left him and went inside.
She had plenty to do. She made mac and cheese with ham for dinner and popped it in the oven. While it baked, she put away what was left of the kitchen stuff. Will never came in. Apparently, he had something important to do outside.
After what had happened at the swimming hole, she felt all edgy and strange. It had been so good, kissing Will, sitting on his lap up by the falls—lying with him on the blanket and kissing him some more. She couldn’t help kind of wishing that she hadn’t stopped him, that she’d just gone on kissing him, while he took away her top and then the suit bottom and then, well, wherever things had gone next. She had a feeling it would have been lovely.
But then, really, was that what she wanted? After all these years of telling herself that someday she would find someone special, s
omeone to give both her heart and her body to?
No. Really. Making love with Will, no matter how good it felt, wouldn’t be right.
Why not? asked a defiant, yearning voice in the back of her mind.
Good question. Because the really odd thing was that somewhere deep down inside herself, she had started thinking that making love with Will would be very, very right.
And that got her all confused all over again—maybe even more confused than she’d been when she woke up married to him last Sunday morning. She didn’t want to feel confused, thank you very much.
So she decided not to think about it. She would just go about the rest of her day and forget what had happened at the swimming hole.
After she finished with the kitchen stuff, she took the mac and cheese out of the oven and left it on the stove with the lid on to cool a little. She got the salad ready and stuck it in the fridge. Then she went upstairs and did homework until she was three assignments ahead of where she needed to be on Monday.
When she came back down at six, she found the lid off the mac and cheese and a big hole in the middle of it. Half the salad was gone.
Will had left her a note on the counter. Going into town for a beer with Craig and Rob. Back late. Don’t wait up.
Really? And to think she’d called him charming back at the swimming hole. Not to mention, let him kiss her until her clothes started falling off. She had to be out of her mind to even imagine that she might want to make love for the first time in her whole life with him—or possibly the second time, depending on what had happened Saturday night.
The jerk. He’d be lucky if she ever spoke to him again.
* * *
Will met his brothers at the Ace in the Hole on Sawmill Street. They drank beer and played pool, and he tried to forget the feel of Jordyn’s soft lips on his, the scent of her skin, the joy on her pretty face as she shot down the falls.
Craig asked him why he hadn’t brought Jordyn to town with him. He muttered something vague in reply. Rob pulled him aside and told him how happy he was for him.
“You got it all now, man,” Rob said. “That sweet ranch and Jordyn Leigh, too.”
“Thanks,” Will said in a tone meant to end the conversation.
Rob didn’t take the hint. “I always kind of had a secret thing for Jordyn Leigh. But you know how she is—not easy for a guy to get close to. The way she can look at a guy, like she has a pretty good idea of what’s going on inside his head. That used to freak me out a little. And I always felt like she never took me seriously the times I tried to work up the nerve to ask her out.”
Will suggested in a low growl, “Tell me you didn’t just say you had a secret thing for my wife.”
Rob arched an eyebrow and backed away. “Whoa, man. Jealous much?”
“I’m considering punching you in the face.”
Rob grunted. “The hell you are. If you were gonna hit me, you’d have done it by now.”
“Don’t ever tell me that again.”
“I was only sayin’—”
“I don’t care. Don’t say it again.”
“Sheesh. Who put the burr under your blanket?”
Will didn’t answer. Over at the pool table, Craig had missed his shot. Will picked up his pool cue, gave his baby brother one last dirty look and turned for the table.
By ten, he couldn’t take it anymore. He felt like a complete SOB—probably because he was acting like one. He shouldn’t have just eaten that nice dinner Jordyn cooked, left her that curt note and disappeared while she was still upstairs. What kind of guy did stuff like that?
An SOB, that’s who.
“I’m heading home,” he told his brothers.
Rob grinned. “Give Jordyn Leigh a big kiss for me.”
Will felt his lip curl—and not in a smile. “You are just beggin’ for it, aren’t you?”
Rob made kissy noises.
Will turned and left before he lost it and beat the crap out of his own flesh and blood.
At the ranch the lights were still on downstairs. Will stopped the quad cab in the dark, a ways back from the house. He turned off the engine and sat there for a while, feeling like a first-class loser, knowing he had to go in and make amends, afraid he’d only mess things up worse when he tried to make them better.
But he couldn’t sit out here in the dark forever. Finally, he made himself get out and go in the house.
The TV was on in the living room. He could see the big screen flickering through the front window. It went off when he let himself in the front door. He pushed the door shut behind him as Jordyn got up from the sofa and came to stand in the arch between the front hall and the living room.
“Will.” She wore jeans and a little pink T-shirt, her wheat-gold hair loose on her shoulders. Her face was set, her eyes full of mutiny. She said, much too pleasantly, “You’re home earlier than I expected.”
He opened his mouth—and curt words came out. “I told you not to wait up.”
She tipped her head to the side. Her shining hair tumbled down her arm. And then she folded both arms over those breasts he wanted so badly to see naked. “I was going to do exactly what you said in your note. Just go upstairs and not come down tonight,” she said, her tone so calm and reasonable, it made him want to break something. “In fact, I was considering not speaking to you again for an extended period of time. But then I thought that would just be childish, that what I really needed to do was to wait for you to come home so we could work this out tonight.”
He opened his mouth again—and shut it before he could lie and insist that there was nothing to work out.
She left the archway and came toward him, her bare feet with their pink-painted toes whispering across the plank floor. “You have something to say?”
Yeah, I want to kiss you some more. I want to do all kinds of things to you, and I want to do them now. “I...” That was as far as he got. He was an idiot, no doubt about it.
Her face softened. She was such a fine woman. Better than he would ever deserve, that was for sure. “I’m listening.” She said it gently, though he’d done nothing at all to warrant her kindness. “Go ahead.”
His mind went blank. Stalling for time, he took off his hat, turned and hung it on the hook by the door.
When he faced her again, she hadn’t moved. She was still just standing there, still so pretty it almost hurt to look at her—and still waiting for him to say what he had to say.
There was nothing for him to do but buck up and take a crack at an apology. “I was disgusted with myself for my behavior at the swimming hole. Instead of owning up to that, I took it out on you. That made me feel even madder at myself. I sent you inside and took care of the horses by myself so that I could have a little time to figure out how to tell you I was sorry. Then, the longer I stayed outside, the harder it got to think about facing you—so when I came in and you were still upstairs, I took the world’s fastest shower, put a big dent in that excellent pot of macaroni and cheese you made for our dinner, zipped off that mean note and got the hell out.”
When he stopped speaking, the front hall seemed to echo with silence. But at least she was still standing there. At least she hadn’t turned on her heel and headed up the stairs.
She asked, “Is that all?”
He shrugged. “Rob has a crush on you. And I’m sorry, Jordyn Leigh. I’m really sorry for the way I’ve behaved.”
She looked at him for what seemed like half a century. Finally, she said quietly, “I accept your apology.”
His heart seemed to bounce toward his throat. “Er, you do?”
“Yes, I do.” She offered her hand.
He took it, fast, before she could come to her senses and change her mind about forgiving him. He wrapped his fingers around her slim ones—and suddenly everything was
right with the world. “Whew.”
She chuckled. “You think I let you off too easy?”
“Yeah. Probably.” He reached up, ran his other hand down her shining, silky hair. She let him do it, too, gazing up at him with trust in those beautiful china-blue eyes. “Thank you,” he said, his voice ragged and low.
“You’re welcome. You want a beer or some coffee?”
“Coffee sounds good.”
“Come on, then.” She led him to the kitchen.
He put the water in the coffeemaker. She popped in the filter and spooned in the grounds. They stood together at the counter as it brewed, neither of them saying anything, which was fine. Words seemed unnecessary right then. It was just the two of them in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee to brew, and that was enough.
They filled their mugs and sat in the breakfast nook.
“I’ll be awake half the night,” she said ruefully, “drinking caffeine at this hour.” She took a big sip, anyway. And then she set the mug down and wrapped her hands around it the way she had last Sunday morning in Kalispell, when he took her to that little restaurant for breakfast and they made their Divorce Plan. “And what do you mean, Rob has a crush on me?”
Why had he mentioned that? He had no idea. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She drank more coffee. “There’s no point in saying you’re sorry if you’re only going to turn right around and tell me a lie.”
He gave in and busted to the truth. “I don’t know. He was giving me a hard time tonight, saying how I had it all, the ranch I’d always dreamed of—and you. Then he said he’d always had a thing for you, but you never took him seriously.”
“Rob had a thing for me?” She waved a hand in front of her face. “Oh, come on. You know Rob. He was just giving you a hard time.”
“So I probably shouldn’t have threatened to knock his teeth out, huh?”
“Will.” She sat up straighter in her chair. “You didn’t...?”
“Actually beat the crap out of him? No, I only threatened to—and you’re right. He was probably just joking around.” Will didn’t know if he believed that or not. But what did it matter? If Rob actually had considered asking her out, well, it was too late now. No Clifton alive would move in on another man’s woman—especially not his own brother’s wife.
The Maverick's Accidental Bride (Montana Mavericks: What Happened At The Wedding Book 1) (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) Page 13