What the Heart Desires

by Victoria Rose

  And she knew that she should be feeling guilty about all of the personal sacrifices he had been making for her, but she wasn’t.

  She loved that he was there. She was becoming more and more dependant on him too. She honestly didn’t know what she would do if he suddenly disappeared from her life, even for a couple short days. She would be devastated!

  She reached for the pillow on the other side of the bed that still had an imprint of his head on it, and hugged it close to her naked breasts. The pillow still smelled of his shampoo and aftershave. She buried her face into the softness and breathed in his familiar scent. Then she ran her hand over the space where he had slept last night.

  So much had happened between them. Another broad smile appeared on her face. This was all so surreal to her. She had never known this amount of happiness existed before until she met Keane Whitmore, and fell in love with

  him.

  She shut her eyes and moved her leg back and forth over the side of the bed where he had been. It was still warm. She wished that he was still in bed with her. She put her head back on the pillow and thought about what they had shared.

  She had no regrets. It was everything she had hoped for and more.

  Keane had done things to her body that made her feel as if she was floating on

  stars. She had completely lost herself in him; over and over again. He had taken control of her body in ways she didn’t even know were possible!

  And she had no doubt now that he was the man for her. Last night had proven it—it was the beginning of something new and wonderful between them.

  She sat up slightly off the pillow and stared at the door, wondering if he was coming back to her. And she kept watch until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She stifled another huge yawn and rolled onto her side, taking Keane’s pillow with her, hugging it against her bare breasts.

  She fell asleep not long still smiling.

  Chapter Seven

  Keane was cooking breakfast when she stumbled into the kitchen a little before

  noon. She had slept soundly, only to be awakened when she’d heard him coming

  into the house. That was over two hours ago.

  A strong wind must have slammed the door shut because she heard him swore when it went in with a loud bang! She had lain in bed and waited to see if he would come up the stairs to see her. Then she had heard him going into his office, instead. And he had stayed there for some time.

  He must be behind in his work and needed some time to himself—that was why she hadn’t gone looking for him. She had stayed in bed, thinking about him, and every thought and image had brought a new rush of emotions for her. She was overwhelmed by the joy, happiness and longing she was feeling loving Keane the way she did.

  Keane still hadn’t appeared by the time she’d taken a hot shower and gotten dressed. She had been hoping that he would be sitting on the bed waiting for her when she stepped out of the shower. He was usually in her room by now to say hello, before disappearing again.

  His office door was wide opened when she went down the landing, but he wasn’t in there. He probably didn’t have a lot to do, she thought. Then she heard him whistling in the kitchen, and headed there. He was standing next to the large Viking stove with a dish towel thrown carelessly over his left shoulder, looking like a domestic god.

  “Hello, sleepy head.” He turned around and flashed her a wide grin.

  “Hi, yourself.” She beamed at him.

  She was happy to see him. It was such a nice warm feeling being with a man

  you loved, and who you knew without a doubt loved you back.

  She went over to where Keane was standing next to the stove and wrapped her arms halfway around his waist. She leaned her head on his upper back and smiled.

  “I was just about to bring you up a tray.” He spun around to kiss her. “I didn’t

  expect to see you up this early.”

  “It’s after noon, honey. Did you really expect me to sleep the day away?” She rubbed her hand across his lower back.

  He gave her a sly wink. “I thought you would be too exhausted to do anything else.”

  She giggled, reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I have become accustomed to your passionate love making, honey. I think I

  can keep up with you by now. Besides, it has been hours since you left.” She kissed him on the lips. “And to think that I thought that I was the one who was wearing you out.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I recharge very quickly.” He gave her a naughty look. “I can prove it to you if you want.”

  He tried to reach for her, and she giggled and slipped out of his reach.

  “I am good, thanks!” She grinned at him.

  “Is that a no?” He sounded disappointed.

  She blew him a naughty kiss. “How can I say no to the most exciting, handsome and sexy man I’ve ever met.”

  “Then prove that I am all that!” He threw the towel on the counter and took a step towards her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him.

  “Convince me, baby!” He buried his face in her cleavage, and passed his lips and his tongue over her smooth skin, pausing to kiss the top of her breasts that were showing in the low cut blouse she was wearing. “Let’s go back upstairs,” he whispered, drawing her swiftly into his hardness.

  Becca giggled and untangled herself from him.

  “Are you really that insatiable?” She grinned and tapped him lightly on the

  shoulder to push him away.

  He wouldn’t budge. “Only when it comes to you, darling. I can’t get enough!

  You are a sweet addiction that I don’t ever want to quit!” He caressed her breasts with his fingers. By now he had managed to get her breasts partly out of her bra, and he covered each one with his mouth, toying and tweaking her hard nipples with his ravenous tongue, taking them between his lips to suck on them hungrily.

  He lifted his head and kissed the side of her neck. “I can’t help the way I’m

  feeling about you, honey.” He told her in a low husky voice. “I just want you, always!”

  “And so do I, darling, but just not now.”

  “Why not? Are we on some sort of boring schedule!” He gave her a small pout.

  “No. What if someone walks in?”

  “They won’t—I’ve given the staff the morning off. And we have been very spontaneous up until now.”

  Becca smiled at him and stroked the side of his face.

  “I know that, honey,” she whispered, her lips touching his seductively. “I just think that we should have some breakfast first. You will be able to contain yourself until then, won’t you, darling?” She pouted her lips and ran her hand

  down the front of his jeans, touching the bulge that was swiftly rising there.

  She had to be the strong one, she thought—she must!

  Keane let out a deep sigh. “You drive a very hard bargain, you know that! This

  amounts to pure and simple torture!” He reached for her hand and pressed her open palm firmly against his front. He raised his eyes to meet hers, giving her a very weak look. “I’m powerless here, please, help me!”

  Becca met his eyes with humor. “You will have your turn to return the favor later, but right now I am famished!”

  “For me, I hope!” He tried to pull her into his arms again.

  But she gave him a mischievous grin and sidestepped him.

  “Let’s put it this way, darling; we have all night. But right now I need to eat.”

  Keane groaned. “I will hold you to that.”

  “And I expect you to.” She gave him a wicked grin, and went around the other

  side of the Viking stove to watch him cook. “How long have you been cooking

  those?” She eyed the pancakes hungrily.

  She had regained her appetite only days ago, and she had been eating up a storm of Keane’s and the staff’s delicious cooking since then. And wit
h all the pleasurable work out they had been doing both between the sheets and outside of them, she found that she was constantly hungry.

  “Another two or three minutes and they will be good to go.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t bring me up a tray. It’s time I start having my meals at the

  table like everyone else.”

  “And to think that I like pampering you! I love the reward that comes with it

  after.”

  “Oh, you will still get your reward, honey, and lots of it, too, but it just won’t be for waiting on me. I should start helping out around here, too. I am sure that there are things I can do.”

  “Not so fast! There’s no need for you to do that. The staff is quite capable of keeping things up and running around here. Besides, you aren’t cut out for house work!”

  “Really! Where did you get such a crazy idea from! I have been picking up after myself for as far back as I can remember. No one has ever done it for me.”

  “That’s even more reason for you to relax and take it easy, give yourself a well deserved break!”

  “It won’t hurt to help now and then. Besides, I need something to keep me

  busy.” She persisted.

  “I thought that I was enough distraction for you.”

  “You are, but I need a different kind—one that I don’t enjoy doing so much.”

  She took a strawberry from the glass bowl on the countertop and bit into it.

  “Oh, these are sweet!” She wiped the juice that was running down her lips,

  and took another bite.

  “I had you in mind when I chose them.” Keane leaned in and bit off piece of

  the strawberry she had just brought to her lips. “Umm, they really are

  delectable!” He nibbled on the piece between her lips and smiled at her.

  He tried to pull her into his arms, and she slipped away.

  “You need to feed me before I starve!” She peeped into the large skillet. “They look delicious. Didn’t know you cook.”

  “Blueberry and banana pancakes make from my very own secret recipe, incase you are wondering,” he told her proudly.

  Becca glanced at the huge mess on the counter, including the two empty plastic containers that had the blueberries in them, and smiled.

  “I could tell. I didn’t think they came from a box. So, where did a rich guy like you learn to cook—boarding school?”

  “You have a very amusing way of putting things, honey, but to my defense, rich guys, as you like to call us, do have remarkable cooking skills,” he told her with a light-hearted laugh. “See, I’m proof of that!”

  “Yes, of course.” She giggled. “But seriously, I always assumed you had someone doing the cooking and cleaning for you.”

  “I learn from the cook. As an only child growing up, I hanged around the kitchen staff a lot. My parents were gone for weeks on end at times. They become my second family. We had the same chef for almost thirty years. Marco was a genius. He would challenge me to come up with my own creations. And I did, though I’m not certain where they ended up after. I just didn’t understand at the time that it was a smart way for Marco to get me out of his hair and keep me busy. I actually looked forward to those cooking lessons!”

  She laughed. “Well, they certainly paid off, darling. Look at you—you are a cook now!” Her hands went around his waist again. “I missed you.” She gave him a small pout.

  “You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn’t want to wake you. I had to go make my rounds.”

  She seemed nonplussed. “Rounds?”

  “Yes, darling, the ranch isn’t going to run itself.” He drew her close to him. “I pitch in from time to time.”

  “You, a ranch hand!” Becca flashed him a surprised look, then a very confused smile. “It’s hard to believe it! I thought you hired people to do those things for you. This seems like a fairly large ranch.”

  “And it is. I do have a number of people working here, but they do need some

  time off to spend with their families too. I help with the basic things whenever I can. Besides, this is the only time I get to do some good old farm work. I like getting my hands dirty. And a few calluses won’t hurt either. This place is therapeutic. It gives me a chance to escape my usual crazy life in the city.”

  She was suddenly interested. “How much work do you do here?”

  “Let’s see, apart from tending to the livestock, and fixing some broken fences

  to make sure that they don’t wander off—a lot. Spring time is the busiest, follow by harvest time. We breed horses and cattle, plus we have a diary section that produce milk and milk products. And a year round organic green house, with lots of vegetables and some fruits. These strawberries are a crop from there. We grow wheat, and any fruit and vegetable you can think of.”

  “You do all that here?”

  “Yep! There are hundreds and hundreds of acres of farmland around here. How about going out with me after lunch?”

  They were sitting down at the table now, and Becca paused to look at him. She returned the fork to her plate.

  “Out?” There was a shocked look on her face.

  “Yes. On the north side of the ranch. We have some livestock pastured there,

  thought I can do with your help herding them back into the barns. Some of

  the cows are due to give birth in a couple weeks. The vet thinks it’ll be better to get them back inside the barn.”

  She gave him a wide bemused look. “Me.” She let out a small nervous

  laugh. “A ranch hand! I would probably scare the cows away—send them running in the next direction, or into early delivery. I don’t think I have ever been up close to a farm animal before.”

  “Nonsense! They will love you! They may be cows, but don’t underestimate

  their intelligence.” Keane smiled at her, and took a bite of his pancake.

  “Now that’s funny! We are talking about a bunch of cows here, aren’t we?”

  “Oh, come on. It will be fun. We can have a picnic after.”

  “A picnic!” She put her fork down and burst out laughing. “Have you taken a

  look at the weather outside? We are knee deep in snow, darling! Where in heaven’s name are we going to sit down and eat!”

  “I know of a place.” Keane reached across the table for her hand. He slipped

  his fingers into the palm of her right hand and began caressing it. “It has a hot spring. We can take a dip.” He smiled mischievously at her. “But if you don’t want to come, I will...”

  “Okay! Okay! I never said I didn’t want to come.” She couldn’t bear being away from him. “Since you put it that way, I will come with you! I’ve always wanted to take a dip in one of those things, anyway.”

  “You do know that we are talking about skinny dipping here, right.” A suggestive smile appeared on his lips.

  “What do you think I was going to wear? I don’t have a swim suit!” she told him in a demure voice.

  She trailed her fingers down his arm.

  “Good! Good!” Keane caught her hand and brought it up to his lips. He kissed

  each of her fingers lightly.

  Then he stood and came around the table, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He leaned over and nuzzled the side of her neck. “Can you be ready in twenty minutes?”

  “I hope I don’t regret this.”

  She got up and reached for the dirty plates.

  “You won’t! I will take these.” He took the plates from her hands.

  “But…”

  “No buts, darling—I cook, I clean up my own mess. Besides, Lila will be here shortly. I will just stack them in the dishwasher.”

  “You are spoiling me rotten.” She protested.

  “That’s what I’m here for.”

  She dropped her napkin onto the table and pushed her chair back into the large table. “At least let me wipe down the counters.”

  “No need.” He came back and
pecked her on the lips. “Don’t tell me that you don’t like the attention.”

  Her hands went up to toy with the buttons of his shirt. “How did you guess?”

  She got down to one, then two of them before he brought his hand up to cover

  hers.

  “Don’t start something you can’t finish, darling. There will be consequences!”

  He gave her a provocative grin.

  “Ooh!” She looked at him and smiled. “I like that!”

  “Besides, we don’t have a lot of time. We have to leave soon.”

  She kissed him on the cheek. “Not even for a quick make out?” she whispered close to his ear.

  Keane grinned at her. “We have to get going, darling—no time!”

  He swept Becca up in his arms and headed for the stairs with her.

  He set her down on the first step. “Now go get change into something warm.” He slapped her lightly on the behind.

  And Becca giggled and fled up the stairs, shrieking.

  Chapter Eight

  They rode out a little after one.

  Becca didn’t feel comfortable riding the brown mare Keane saddled for her, so she rode with him. And he didn’t try to coax her into getting onto the horse either. He just accepted her hesitation as a possibility that she had never ridden before. He helped her mount the black stallion, and Becca sat behind him on the horse, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist as he took off in the snow.

  “Are you okay back there?” He slowed down several times and turned his head around to glance at her.

  “I’m fine.” She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and smiled. “There’s no possibility of me falling off this horse, is there?”

  As much as she loved being this close to him, she was still terrified that the horse might lose its footing and throw her to the ground.

  One of his hands went up to circle hers. He stopped the horse and spun around to look at her.

  “Not with the way you are holding onto me.” He chuckled. “Charlie is a good

  boy.” He leaned in and patted the horse gently around the neck. “He knows these

  slopes. He will be very careful. Besides, he knows he’s carrying precious cargo!”