The Gentrys: Cinco

by Linda Conrad

  Sitting straight as a board, she looked as though she expected the roof to cave in at any moment—or for Richard Rourke to suddenly appear in the doorway. Neither of those things would be happening tonight, Cinco mused.

  "You look so tired," he said. "You've had a long day. Why don't you pull off your boots? I'll rub your feet for you, if you'll lean back a little."

  "Uh…" She looked at him as if he was Richard Rourke himself.

  This was nonsense. "Here. I'll do it for you." He knelt before her and tugged at her boot. "See? Doesn't that feel better? Relax."

  He pulled off her socks and began to massage her toes. His fingers gently kneaded her arches when a jolt of realization hit him. Just the simple act of touching her skin sparked an electrical current between them. He knew Meredith felt it, too, because her muscles tightened underneath his hands.

  So… It must be him she was afraid of, not Rourke. She was scared of what was obviously happening between them. Well, so was he. Whatever pulled him to her was strong, no doubt about it. But she had to know that he was here as her defender … not her attacker.

  "Honey, try to relax," he murmured. He went to the sink and filled a wash bucket with hot water. "Here, soak your feet in hot water a second. That should help."

  She did as he asked, but she looked scared and not comforted a bit.

  "Don't you know I would never hurt you, darlin'," he murmured, as he pulled one foot from the water and gently dried it. "I want to protect you and be your friend. Nothing is going to happen between us that you don't want. Not tonight. Not ever."

  She smiled at him then and finally leaned back against the leather. "Hmm. That feels so good."

  Her smile and her words should have eased his doubts. Instead nothing eased and everything tensed. All he could think of was leaning into her for another taste of those incredible lips … or maybe one more touch of his lips to that pulsating spot at the base of her neck. He swallowed the groan that threatened, deciding that he'd better do something playful and fun before his thoughts carried him into a place that he shouldn't go.

  Without planning—really without a second thought—he lifted one of her feet and lightly sucked on a big toe. He'd supposed that she'd be ticklish and he might get her to laugh and relax. That wasn't the reaction he got.

  Meredith gasped and her eyes widened. Then, in a lightning-fast move, she pulled her foot from his hand and reached for him. Grabbing his shoulders, she bent and placed her mouth against his. A little water had spilled from the bucket as she'd pushed it out of the way. And he was lost. Her lips were as moist and soft as he'd remembered.

  He licked her bottom lip. She tasted like coffee, cherries and something that reminded him of spring. He wanted more. A spiral of urgency spread like wildfire throughout his body, but he tried to dampen it.

  She'd only kissed him, after all. That was all this was going to be. All it could be.

  So he kept his hands at his sides and concentrated on where their lips were joined. He cherished her mouth, pouring his need to keep her safe into the kiss. She kissed him back—with the same longing and desire and need. He could feel it.

  A roar started in his head and he took her by the arms, moving her away so he could breathe.

  "Wow!" she said. "I've never kissed anyone like that before." She laughed lightly. "Let's do that again."

  He reached up to push back a wisp of golden hair that had fallen over her face, and left his fingers there to ring her ear and rub tenderly over her cheek. Bemused, he moved to sit beside her on the sofa. "As you wish, love."

  He used one hand to comb his fingers through her braid, freeing all of it with a light tug at the clasp she'd used. He wanted it hanging around her shoulders as he'd witnessed it once before … and had dreamed about it ever since.

  With his free hand he took hers, turned it over and placed a gentle kiss on her palm. Once again she jolted, and somehow the taste of her skin became erotic … sinful. He licked his way up to the pulse at her wrist, then beyond to the soft spot inside her elbow.

  Meredith heard a guttural moan. Knew it came from her. This was too much. The desire she'd thought she'd felt earlier turned to heat, smoked at the base of her spine and burst into flame.

  She reached for him then, sank deep into his embrace. He placed silken kisses on her neck and blew seductive, pulse-throbbing warmth across her jaw as he captured her mouth once again. She wanted this. Wanted him.

  Her need had moved past all reason. She couldn't remember ever wanting anything quite this way before.

  Meredith's mouth recognized his and she put all the eager, joyful hunger she was feeling into the kiss. Their tongues met, mated. That was what she wanted. More of that.

  "Make love to me, Cinco," she moaned. Her breath was short, raspy.

  She felt her nipples pucker in sudden anticipation of his attentions. And when she looked up at his face, she saw a corresponding desire. But he didn't make the move toward her that she needed so badly. He just gazed at her as if he wanted to save her from something—probably himself.

  He was too slow. She jerked her shirt out of her jeans and pulled it up over her head with one swift movement.

  "Please," she groaned. "Now … right now."

  Cinco groaned then, but didn't reach for her right away. "I have to see all of you. I need…"

  Watching her eyes carefully for any sign of distress, he undid her cotton bra and it fell away, leaving her wide-open for his perusal. He lowered his gaze and watched the rosy blush he loved so much as it worked its way over her chest and up her neck. But she managed to sit still and let him drink in his fill of her.

  The edges of his mind blurred and he quit thinking altogether. No woman had commanded him to take her before. It was more than sensual. It was—breathtaking.

  "Touch me now," she pleaded.

  He groaned and bent to taste one of her jutting peaks.

  He licked her and watched as the nipple hardened even more. Meredith groaned and arched her back, giving him more access.

  Laving, kissing and lightly sucking her tender tip, he massaged the other nipple with his free hand. He held her fast while he moved his mouth back and forth to each peak, feasting greedily. Her body seemed to flow into his.

  Cinco reached to undo her jeans. When the snap opened, he slid the zipper down and eased his hand inside to find the tight curls waiting for him at the juncture of her thighs. She was hot and moist, and Cinco almost lost all control right there.

  When she moaned again, he dragged her jeans off in one quick motion. She closed her eyes for a split second then reached for his belt.

  He had his own clothes off and in a heap on the floor before her next move. Standing in front of her as she reclined on the sofa, he watched her intent eyes as she looked him up and down.

  Cinco heard her breath hitch when her gaze landed on his jutting arousal. Catching the inside of her swollen lower lip between her teeth, she looked unsure of herself for the first time since he'd met her.

  "Do you want to stop?" he managed. Words stuttered in his throat, words to tell her that it would be all right.

  He bent on one knee before her and took her hand in his. "You decide. This is your show. We'll do whatever you want. Whatever feels good for you." It nearly killed him to say it, but he meant every word.

  Instead of an answer she placed both their hands on the tender inside of her thigh and sighed. A fleeting thought of the demise of the ice queen flitted through his subconscious before he groaned again and pulled her toward him.

  The flash of heat and desire in her eyes spurred him on. He was wild with need. Starting at the little indentation at the base of her neck, he kissed and licked his way down the center of her body, through the valley between her breasts, ringing her belly button and on to the pleasures waiting below.

  He gently pushed her back on the couch while his fingers tickled her thighs, and he watched as she opened them wide to accommodate him. Bending once more to reach his goal, he used his lips
to gently tug on the blond curls at the entrance to her center. Using a hand to lift her hips, gaining better access, he tenderly licked his prize. He sucked and laved her sensitive core while she bucked and cried out his name.

  "I've never…" she moaned. "Wait. It's too much. Too…"

  He couldn't have stopped then if his life had been at stake. And somehow it seemed as though it was.

  Cinco felt the trembling begin deep within her. A few more seconds and she came apart in a volcano of fiery sweetness. He slid onto the couch and crushed her to him as she gasped and moaned. Dazed and more aroused than he'd ever been in his life, his own breath came in short pants.

  But if this was too much… He wasn't sure what he'd do if she wanted to stop. But he would never push her to do anything she wasn't sure about. She'd had too much of that in her life already.

  "Oh, Cinco," she sobbed. "That's never happened to me before. It was … it was…" Meredith was stunned, stunned and more turned on than ever.

  Her breath was shallow with excitement. But Cinco was merely holding her in his arms and not moving. She got the feeling he was holding his own breath and waiting.

  Suddenly the mist lifted from her brain in an extraordinary blast of clarity. She held the power. She was really in charge of the situation—really the one in control.

  And Meredith knew exactly what she wanted. "More," she demanded. "Let's do more of that, too."

  "One second," he gasped, reaching for the jeans he'd shed only minutes earlier.

  He dove into the pants pocket and retrieved a small packet. Ripping it open, he rolled the condom in place with a remarkable dexterity. "For your security, love," he said.

  She shoved him down flat on his back on the couch and climbed over him, reveling in the feel of his rock-hard shaft pushing against her belly. He moaned as she turned the tables on him and took one of his nipples into her mouth. She sucked it while her fingers rubbed the other one.

  His hand dove through her hair, holding her head in place. But when she squirmed over his chest, he rocked and pushed her up into a sitting position. She lifted her hips automatically and he helped guide her slowly down to join their bodies together in the ultimate mating.

  On her knees, she controlled the pressure, finding herself doubly thrilled with the power it gave her. She watched his face as she lifted her hips slightly, then ever so slowly inched lower, pushing even farther onto him. He watched her closely, but she could see he was nearing the edge of his control.

  And for the second time in a few minutes, Meredith had a miraculous revelation. She trusted him. Trusted him implicitly not to hurt her in any way. The thought of that unsnapped the last of her reserves and undid the last button on her heart.

  She arched her back and took him deeper within her. Slipping a hand behind her to where their bodies joined, she gently stroked the tender skin on the pouch below his sex. He moaned and surged upward, driving himself more deeply than ever. She rocked wildly, moving up and down until the pressure within her threatened to explode.

  Cinco reached between them, finding the center of her sensation. One flick and a shower of molten sparks began shattering inside her again. His final thrust upward took them both over the rim of the volcano this time as they exploded together.

  Meredith collapsed on his chest and tried to remember how to breathe. He hugged her to him, and she heard him gasping as he caught his breath. Her body never felt so fantastic. Every inch of her sang with happiness.

  While she tried to concentrate on cataloging how marvelous they'd been together, her eyelids drifted closed and she fell into a warm nest of necessary sleep.

  Cinco awoke to find Meredith still sleeping, wrapped in his arms and sprawled across his chest. He thought back to the wild woman he seemed to have unleashed in her. She was spectacular and maybe just a little scary.

  Not that he couldn't keep up with her, he'd had no trouble with that. He was simply afraid that she'd suddenly come to mean too much to him. She didn't think she belonged on a ranch, and when the time came, she would be gone. For him that meant the emotions were just too strong.

  But, oh, how he loved the warmth of her lying against his chest. He could feel her heart beating next to his, protected and safe here in his embrace.

  In fact … his body seemed to like the nearness of hers a little bit too much. Wasn't it too soon for an old man of over thirty to be this hard again, he wondered? Apparently not. When Meredith squirmed in her sleep, trying to get more comfortable, he decided he'd better go check on Maggie.

  He eased Meredith over to her side and slid out from under her body. She moaned softly, then turned around and went back to sleep. She looked so lovely, her pale skin and hair contrasting against the dark brown of the leather sofa.

  Cinco went to the closet where they kept the cots and dug out a blanket. He gently covered her, then lingered a minute more to stroke her hair.

  Satisfied that she was sleeping in peace and that she was perfectly safe for the time being, he pulled on his jeans and crammed his feet into his boots. Just as he'd grabbed his flannel shirt from the floor, he heard Maggie making snuffling noises through the intercom.

  The sound she was making didn't seem quite right, he thought. Wondering what could be wrong with her, he stuck one arm through a sleeve and hit the door to her stall at a near run.

  The minute he was in the barn proper he knew what was the matter. Smoke! He thought he smelled smoke. And Maggie obviously thought so as well. Her eyes were bugged out, ears laid back, and she was pawing at the ground.

  Meredith. He swung around and plowed through the waiting room door once more, then crossed the room in two giant strides to be by her side.

  "Meredith, wake up," he shook her shoulder, hoping not to startle her too badly.

  Obviously a light sleeper, she was awake in an instant and sitting upright on the sofa. "What? What's wrong?"

  "There's a fire somewhere nearby. I haven't heard an alarm yet, and I don't know why not." He picked her clothes up off the floor and handed them to her. "But get dressed. We have to lead Maggie out of the barn and find out where the smoke is coming from."

  He'd never seen a woman dress as quickly as she did. Maybe it was the military training. Before he could turn off the nightlight and flip on the overheads, she was heading out the door toward Maggie's stall.

  Just as Meredith reached the stall door, a fire alarm bell sounded and the barn's sprinklers went off. She hesitated with her hand on the metal latch, looking toward Cinco to make the next move as water began pouring down around them.

  "Let me get Maggie," he yelled over the clanging alarm. "Then you follow us through the barn door. I don't want you to open the door first. Stay behind Maggie in case someone is out there waiting for you to show your face."

  By the time they made it outside, the entire ranch was awake and seemed to be coming toward them. Men in various stages of undress were shouting to each other over the alarm.

  Cinco handed Maggie off to one of them, then greeted an older man who looked to be in charge. "Jake, where's the fire?" he hollered.

  "Looks like it started behind the foaling barn in a stack of hay bales," the older man shouted back. "We should've been able to contain it there, but the durn thing jumped twenty feet to the barn's siding. I've sent someone to shut down the alarm, we'll be able to hear ourselves think in a second."

  As if right on cue, the alarm died. But the chaos of men shouting, animals making distressed noises, and the crackling sound of fire on wood continued unabated.

  The older man turned to Cinco. "The barn's empty now, right?"

  Cinco nodded and turned to look at smoke beginning to curl from the rooftop.

  "I can't believe this would happen when we're so short on help," Jake said.

  Cinco shook his head this time. "It still shouldn't take too long to douse the flames, should it? The sprinkler system was working."

  Meredith looked toward the barn and noticed flames had begun to lick their way out o
f the roof. The interior may be wet, she thought, but the wooden roof and siding were as dry as tinder.

  At that moment Abby showed up beside her, eyes wide with surprise and maybe a little fear. "Meredith, are you all right?"

  Meredith smiled to see the disheveled state of her new friend's dress and hair. "Yes. I'm fine. We all made it out just fine."

  It seemed that Abby wasn't as quick at getting dressed in the middle of the night as Meredith. Her Western shirt was only tucked in on one side, the other side hanging out below a down jacket that was buttoned up lopsidedly. Abby's hair stuck out in little wispy curls all over her head.

  Meredith put a tentative hand to her own hair and realized she hadn't stopped to brush hers back into her standard braid, either. How very unregulation of her.

  Just then her gaze landed on Cinco, and she tried to quickly finger comb her hair into some semblance of order. Without much luck.

  She wasn't entirely sure what she was feeling about him, but it seemed to be sweet and tender—and she suspected it might be a lot like love. But, of course, that was totally impossible. His life was here, controlling as much of his family and surroundings as he could. Her life was in the clouds and in civilization, learning to be on her own and taking charge of her own world.

  She didn't want to be in love with him. That would mean just one more hurt when it was over. And she couldn't take another person turning his back on her love.

  Cinco came up to her then. "Meri, go with Abby. She'll make sure you're safe. I'm going to help put the fire out."

  "I want to help," she told him.

  He shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous. We're going to try using the pumps and hoses from down here while one of the pilots uses the copter to fly water in from the river." He grinned at her. "Everything will be okay. We'll have it out shortly."

  Cinco turned to Abby then. "Don't let her out of your sight, and stay well away from the barn. I don't like the looks or sounds of this fire. I think somebody started it on purpose, and until I know for sure, Meredith could be in big danger."