He did, by moving his mouth lower.
To the valley between her breasts. Down the flat expanse of her belly. Lower still. Parting her legs, he kissed the insides of her thighs. That was only the beginning.
Fulfilling her earlier request, he took her to places she’d never been and excited her in ways she never dreamed possible.
Natalie’s climax rocked them both. Granted, her experience was limited, but this went beyond her wildest expectations. It was an experience she wanted to reciprocate. When he’d settled beside her, she closed her hand around his erection.
“Lie back,” she told him, stroking his hard length.
“No.” Aaron gently disengaged her hand.
“But—”
“Later.” He grabbed the condom off the nightstand. “If you try that now, I won’t last. And I want to be inside you.” He tore open the condom and put it on. “Deep inside.”
Her cry of delight when he entered her was cut short by his mouth claiming hers. She lifted her hips, accepted him fully. He responded by increasing the rhythm of his thrusts. When he came moments later, her legs were entwined with his, her arms clutching him to her and her heart forever lost to him.
AT THE FIRST TINY WAIL, Aaron sat bolt upright in bed. Natalie’s bed. They must have fallen asleep. He shouldn’t be surprised. They’d made love twice, the second time slow and infinitely more satisfying. Afterward, they’d talked for at least an hour, mostly about their families and the ranch. Him getting up and returning to his bunkhouse never entered the conversation.
In the course of one evening, Natalie went from being someone with whom Aaron shared a strong attraction to a necessary part of his life. Staying away from her for the remainder of his stint at the ranch wouldn’t be possible.
Leaving at the end of next week might not be, either.
“She’s probably hungry,” Natalie said groggily and climbed out of bed. “I’ll be right back.”
He heard her stumbling around in the dark, a closet door opening and closing. “Can I help?”
She was putting something on. A bathrobe? “Go back to sleep,” she whispered.
Shiloh’s wailing intensified.
“What time is it?” Aaron sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
“Early. Really early.” She kissed the top of his head and padded down the hall to Shiloh’s room.
He leaned over and groped in the dark for his pants. Removing his cell phone from its carrying case, he checked the time. Three twenty-six. Early indeed. He didn’t have to be at the stables for another two hours.
The idea of going back to bed appealed to him. Three and a half hours of sleep wasn’t enough, not with a full day of work ahead of him. Add to that all the extra work cleaning up after the breakfast trail ride.
If he went back to bed, however, he’d miss spending every spare moment with Natalie. The choice was an easy one.
Tugging on his jeans and nothing else, he followed a dim light to the second bedroom. Natalie sat in a rocker by the cradle, nursing Shiloh and humming softly.
Longing pulled hard inside his chest, so incredibly powerful and yet so basic. A woman to love and a child of his own. He’d wanted that for years. Thought he had it with Hailey, only to be denied. Then Natalie came into his life and with her, Shiloh. The acute emptiness he’d lived with for the past two years was no more.
Would it return when he left Bear Creek Ranch?
He wished he didn’t have to go. At least not so soon. Longing warred with responsibility and the latter won.
“I have to spend a week in Phoenix,” he said, approaching her. “Maybe longer. Take care of some foundation business that can’t be put off. Then I’ll come back to the ranch.”
He stood beside the rocker and gazed down at her. Natalie didn’t show the least bit of embarrassment, not even when he lifted the flap of her bathrobe in order to see better. The thoughts and feelings running through him weren’t sexual in nature but rather something much stronger and far less fleeting.
“Come back permanently?” she asked in a low voice.
He dropped to one knee and rested a hand on Shiloh’s head. What little hair she had was blond and curly. Like her mother’s. She sucked lustily, her eyes flitting from Aaron to Natalie and back to him.
“That will depend on a lot of things,” he murmured, absently rubbing Shiloh’s head.
“Such as?”
He thought Natalie might intentionally be keeping her tone casual. “My meeting tomorrow afternoon with the gal from Air Waves Communications.”
“Are you going to take the job?”
“I have to do something. I’ve been kicking around too long now. Resting on past laurels.”
“I wouldn’t call the foundation kicking around.”
“Don’t get me wrong. The foundation’s important. But I’m finally ready to crawl out of the hole I’ve been hiding in. I have you to thank for that. And this ranch.” He chuckled. “Funny. I didn’t want to come here. Wouldn’t have if not for my accountant and her endless prodding.” His hand abandoned Shiloh’s head to stroke Natalie’s cheek. “I’m glad I did.”
She covered his hand with her free one, the look in her eyes tender. “Me, too.”
“Can I see you again tonight?”
“I’d love to hear how the silent auction went. And more about your job offers.”
“Maybe we can ditch the ranch and head into Payson. Find a nice, kid-friendly restaurant.”
“You don’t mind taking her?” Natalie shifted Shiloh to her other breast.
“Remember the ten, soon to be eleven, nieces and nephews? You’re not a Reyes if you don’t like kids.”
Her smile belied the trace of sadness in her eyes. “I didn’t know if it would be difficult on you being around a baby after losing yours.”
“It’s not.” If anything, Natalie and Shiloh made his loss easier to bear. “Will she go back to sleep when she’s finished?”
Shiloh’s eyelids were drooping and she’d lost interest in nursing.
Natalie propped her upright and patted her back. “She usually does.”
“Come back to bed afterward.” He brushed a flyaway hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
She leaned into his hand and made a small sound of contentment.
Shiloh promptly burped.
“Let me change her,” Natalie said. “I won’t be long.”
Stretched out in bed, Aaron waited for her. He kept mentally replaying the last part of their conversation. Being with her and Shiloh did erase his loneliness. Was that the entire basis of his feelings for them? Could he be substituting them for the wife and child he’d lost?
When Natalie joined him in bed, the feelings she evoked were fresh and entirely different from those he’d had for his late wife. When she straddled his hips and began to make incredible love to him, the nagging questions all but disappeared.
They returned later, however, and came back to haunt him again and again at unexpected times throughout the day.
Chapter Fifteen
“You missed a spot.”
“Did I?” Natalie doubted it but let Aaron dry her naked back anyway. She liked the sensation of his hands on her, and when he’d finished wiping off the last drops of water, imaginary or real, she smiled contentedly. “Thanks.”
His arms went around her waist and pulled her snug against him. “Anytime.”
He didn’t appear in a rush to get dressed and ready for work. Neither was she.
It was hard for her to believe that a whole seven days had passed with them waking up side by side, showering together and grabbing a quick cup of coffee before leaving for the dining hall and breakfast. She could easily imagine him toweling her dry every day for the rest of her life.
Natalie cautioned herself to go easy with the forever-and-ever thoughts about Aaron. They hadn’t discussed the future or what would happen when he left. Her fault. Whenever he brought up the subject, she changed it, not wanting to pu
t a damper on their remaining time together.
The inevitable could be postponed for only so long. As his remaining days on the ranch dwindled, reality set in, and their need to talk couldn’t be ignored. But, oh, the last week had been so nice. If only they could go on like they were for just a few more days.
He bent his head and nuzzled her neck. At the brush of his warm lips on her cool skin, shivers went through her. She stared at their reflections in the small mirror over the bathroom sink. The sight of his dark hair and tanned complexion beside her considerably fairer features made an evocative picture. If she didn’t have to wake Shiloh soon and get her ready for the babysitter, Natalie might be inclined to take Aaron back to bed.
“I’ll start the coffee,” he said and released her to hang his towel over the shower-curtain rod.
No longer distracted by his caresses, Natalie’s mind returned to their talk and the necessity for it. “I’ll be out in a minute.” She had no intention of discussing their future while standing naked in the bathroom.
“The gal from Air Waves called me again yesterday,” Aaron said ten minutes later when they were in the kitchen.
“Have you decided to accept their job offer?” Here it was, the perfect opening.
“I’m leaning that way.” He sat at the dining table, his legs stretched out. “I wanted to discuss it with you first.”
“Me?”
“I’d be traveling several days a week. The question is, where do I spend the rest of the week?”
She slid into the chair next to him. Striving for nonchalance, she asked, “Where do you want to spend it?”
“Here. With you. I figured you knew that.”
“I wasn’t sure,” she admitted shyly.
“What about you? Where do you want me to stay on my off days?”
The slight unsteadiness in his voice brought a smile to her lips. He was always so strong and confident. Seeing that trace of insecurity endeared him to her all the more.
“Here, too,” she reassured him. “But that’s a problem.”
“Jake.”
Her boss, and his dislike of Aaron, was the main reason she’d avoided this conversation all week.
“Not just him. My employment contract stipulates that no one other than Shiloh can live with me.”
Her contract actually stipulated that only spouses and children could live with her. She wasn’t ready to suggest Aaron and she get married just so he had a place to stay. Although the idea of marrying him had crossed her mind once or twice this past week…
“I’ll buy a place nearby. I saw some houses for sale on the road between the ranch and Payson.”
She laughed. “You can’t just go out and buy a house.”
“Why not?”
“Houses are expensive.”
“I have money.”
“No, you d—You do?”
“And more if I take the job with Air Waves. Their offer’s pretty generous. Why?” He cracked a grin. “Did you think I was broke?”
“Kind of.” Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment.
In hindsight, it had been silly of her to assume he was without resources just because he drove an old truck and trailer. Aaron had demonstrated his excellent business skills repeatedly and ran a successful foundation. He likely handled his personal finances with the same finesse.
“Okay,” she relented. “You can buy a house. Wouldn’t something closer to Phoenix or Flagstaff make more sense, seeing as you’ll have to travel so much? We’re two hours from the closest airport.”
“Phoenix and Flagstaff aren’t near you. I’m willing to drive if that’s what it takes.”
Quite a sacrifice he was making for her, one that called for a similar sacrifice from her in return. Was she willing?
Absolutely. Aaron was everything she wanted in a man, and she’d be a fool to let him walk out of her life.
“That leaves Jake.” Having committed to giving permanence with Aaron a try, she was eager to move ahead.
“You know, it’s funny.”
“What?” She got up from the table and went to the counter to shut off the coffeemaker and rinse out the pot.
“That Jake hasn’t said anything to us. One of the employees must have told him by now.”
“Maybe we’ve misjudged him, and he’s okay with the idea of us dating.”
“I’m more inclined to think he’s gathering his forces.”
So was Natalie. Every time Jake had buzzed her to come into his office this past week, she’d instantly frozen, afraid he was going to demand she stop seeing Aaron.
Aaron put his empty mug in the dishwasher. “I’ll talk to him today.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I think I should do this alone.”
Like Natalie would let that happen. “I know him better than you do. And I’m used to his temper.”
Aaron shook his head. “His problem isn’t with you, it’s with me. If you were dating someone else, he wouldn’t care.”
She stood in front of him, hands on her hips. “This involves me, too. I won’t be excluded.”
“Did I ever tell you I have a thing for bossy women?”
“That’s good or we’d be in real trouble.”
“Okay. You win.” He swept her into an embrace, taking her by surprise, and rested his chin atop her head. “Is Jake going to be in his office this afternoon?”
“I’ll check and call you if he isn’t.”
“Teresa can handle the last trail ride for me.” He kissed Natalie on the forehead. “I’ll meet you in the lobby around four.”
“Okay,” she said, her enthusiasm abruptly fading and anxiety taking its place.
If only her boss weren’t so unpredictable lately, she’d feel more at ease.
“GOODBYE, ELLEN,” Natalie said in a falsely chipper voice.
There was no response.
Both she and Alice turned their heads to watch Jake’s ex-wife breeze past them, then exchanged raised eyebrows. The door to his office had not been closed, allowing Natalie and Alice to hear bits and pieces of the conversation—make that heated discussion—that had transpired the last ten minutes.
Both women breathed a little easier once Ellen was gone.
“Good riddance,” Alice muttered softly and slipped into her office.
Evidently, she’d decided to wait a while before presenting Jake with the monthly reports, not that Natalie blamed her. She checked her watch, something she’d been doing every few minutes. Aaron was due momentarily for his talk with Jake. She wished he wasn’t coming on the heels of Ellen’s visit.
The thought was barely formed when her intercom buzzed, giving her a start.
“Natalie, can you come in here a minute?”
“Sure, Jake.” She picked up a stack of e-mails she’d printed out earlier, well aware she was taking them along with her as a potential distraction tactic. “What’s up,” she asked, sitting in one of the chairs.
“I’m okay,” Jake said.
“What?”
“Quit giving me the mother-hen stare.” His voice sounded tired but not angry.
“Sorry.” She shuffled the e-mails in her lap. “I couldn’t help hearing you and Ellen earlier. Everything all right?”
He rubbed his forehead. “She’s going on a trip in a couple weeks with Travis. To some resort in Cabo San Lucas. She needs me to watch the girls while they’re gone.”
“Wow.” Natalie wasn’t sure how to respond.
“I gave her a hard time about the short notice but the truth is, I’m thrilled to have the girls to myself for ten days. I just wish she wasn’t going with her boyfriend. The girls don’t like him much and apparently threw a fit when Ellen told them about the trip.”
Natalie watched the scowl on Jake’s face deepen and quickly utilized her plan B. “I thought you might like to look at these,” she said and handed over the e-mails.
All of them were from guests who’d attended the breakfast ride, expressing their thanks for the
hospitality shown them and raving about what a good time they’d had. Many promised to return the following year or to visit the ranch for a lengthier stay in the near future.
“Hailey would be very proud of you, Jake,” she said when he was done reading.
“For what?”
“The ride and the money raised. I heard the total came to over seventy-five hundred dollars.”
“I had very little to do with that,” he said, his tone dismissive. “It was all Aaron’s doing.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Without your support and your contacts in the community, he couldn’t have pulled off an event of such enormous size in so short a period of time.”
“That’s debatable.”
Natalie wanted to jump up and strangle her boss. If only he could get past his animosity toward Aaron and see what a great team they made, how their individual abilities and talents complemented each other. Maybe then she wouldn’t constantly feel as if she had to chose between them.
It was, she decided, a lost cause. Jake’s opinion of Aaron had been formed back when his much-adored little sister left to go on the road with her rodeo-champion husband. Nothing had happened since then to change his mind, not even a wildly successful breakfast ride.
“Is there anything else you need?” she asked. “I have to get back to the front desk.”
“There is. I was considering revamping our weekend package deals.”
“Oh, okay.”
For several minutes they discussed cabins and amenities and bundling them together at a discounted rate. Natalie had trouble staying focused. Her attention kept wandering back to Aaron and his impending arrival.
“I’ll update our Web site in the next day or two,” she said once they’d settled on specifics. “What about using excerpts from some of the e-mails and letters as endorsements?”
“Good idea.”
Thinking that was all, Natalie started to rise.
“There is one more thing.”
Responding to the change of tone in Jake’s voice, she slowly lowered herself into her chair. Here it was, the confrontation she’d been dreading all week.
“I’m not sure how to approach this so I’ll just come right out and say it.”
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