by R. C. Ryan
As it dropped to the floor she ran her hands up his arms, across his shoulders, and down his chest, making little humming sounds as she did. “You have the most amazing body.”
“Why, thank you for noticing, ma’am. It’s all yours. Do with me what you want.”
She gave a tortured laugh. “That’s really generous of you.”
“Anything for my lady.” He shucked his boots and jeans and dragged her close, pressing hot, wet kisses to the sensitive hollow between her neck and shoulder.
She arched her neck, loving the feel of his clever mouth on her flesh. But when he moved lower, down her throat, then lower still, to take one erect nipple into his mouth, all she could do was sigh and clutch blindly at his waist.
As he moved from one breast to the other, the pleasure continued building until it became so intense, she whispered, “Matt. Please. I don’t think I can wait.”
“Now I’m ‘Matt’ instead of ‘cowboy.’”
“I thought that would get your attention faster.”
“You have my complete attention, Nessa.” He tugged away her shorts and the tiny nude bikini beneath.
For the space of a heartbeat, all he could do was stare. “God, you’re incredible. I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”
And he did. Touching her everywhere. With teeth and tongue and fingertips he took her on a wild, dizzying roller-coaster ride that had her writhing with frantic need and trembling for more.
“Matt…” When she touched him as he was touching her, she could feel the raw passion blazing through him.
The moment her hands came in contact with him, he pressed her back against the rough door and kissed her until they were both struggling for breath.
His eyes were fixed on hers. “I thought I could be civilized, and show you all kinds of clever, seductive moves, but I can’t wait. I need you now, Nessa. This minute.”
With her back to the rough door he lifted her off her feet.
“Yes.” The single word was torn from her dry throat. She could barely speak over the feelings that had completely taken over. “I need you, too. Now.” She wrapped herself around him and let her head drop back as he thrust into her.
Her body had become a mass of nerve endings. Raw. Sensitive. She could feel him in every pore. His hands, those wonderful, calloused, rough hands, moving over her. His mouth burning a trail of heat down her throat.
He began to move with agonizing, deliberate slowness, and with each thrust she was moving with him, desperate to find release.
His thundering heartbeat kept time with hers.
As his movements increased, she moved with him, climbing frantically upward, higher, then higher still.
She could feel him pulsing with that same need, and rockets began going off in her head.
Her heart racing, her breath hitching, she climbed up and up, moving with him until behind her closed lids, brilliant fireworks exploded.
At his shuddering response she opened her eyes to see herself reflected in his blue depths, and could feel her body, her mind, her heart exploding in a shattering climax.
She shattered into fiery pieces before drifting slowly to earth.
“Sorry.” Matt’s face was buried in the hollow of her throat.
“Umm. For what?”
He knew he could die happy now. Or maybe he had. Maybe this was heaven. “I was rough.” He struggled to lift his head. He looked into Vanessa’s eyes. “I really intended to get us to the bed.”
“There’s always next time.”
His smile bloomed. “So you’ll go for seconds?”
“Or thirds.” She managed to move enough to bring a hand to his cheek. “As long as you promise you’ll do all that again.”
“Deal. In fact, I really wanted to do more. Lots more. But then I lost control.”
“Did you ever.”
“And it’s all your fault. You and that sexy smile.”
“I thought it was my sexy shorts and tank.”
“Those, too.” He caught her by the shoulders. “You okay?”
“A little weak in the knees. Hold on to me.”
“Happy to. I’ll never let you fall.”
“I know. That’s one of the many things I lov—” she caught herself in time and said simply “—like about you.”
He lowered his head and took her mouth. “That was pretty amazing.”
“Yeah.” She heard the torrent of rain on the roof. “Did I imagine fireworks?”
“I thought I heard some. Saw bright lights, too.”
She nodded. “Exactly. That was some trick, cowboy.”
“Wait till you see what else I can do.”
“You going to show me?”
“You bet.” He scooped her up and carried her across the room to the bed. “This is a tight space, but then I don’t think either of us will complain.”
“Not on your life. Now”—she wrapped her arms around his neck—“about those things you’re going to show me…”
“Did anybody ever tell you you’re a glutton, lady?”
“Hey. I’ve been on a starvation diet.”
“Me, too.” He nibbled her shoulder. “And now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to feast—” he moved lower, and heard her little hum of pleasure “—on you.”
Vanessa stirred and felt the mattress sag seconds before she looked up to see Matt beside her, holding out a glass of red wine.
She shoved hair from her eyes and sat up. “I can’t believe I dozed in the middle of the day.”
“Only for a few minutes. And only because you had some great exercise.” He handed her the wine and settled himself beside her in the narrow bunk. “It gave me time to haul in the supplies.”
Thunder boomed overhead, shaking the cabin. “It’s still storming.”
“From the looks of things, it may rain all night.”
“Gee.” She shot him a sideways glance. “How original. A storm holding us captive in this cabin, far from civilization. Whatever will we do?”
He laughed and reached for a second glass of wine on the small night table beside the bed. “Don’t you worry your head, little lady. We’ll think of something. Especially since you’re already naked and in my bed.”
“I figure I played hard to get long enough, cowboy.”
“Yes, you did. And nearly drove me around the bend, woman.”
“Now I’ll make it easier. I’m all yours.”
He drew an arm around her. “I feel like I won the lottery.”
“Yeah. I’m feeling like a winner, myself.” She turned to him. “This wine is really good.”
“From a friend’s vineyard.”
“They have vineyards in Montana?”
He smiled. “Italy. Last time I was there I toured his wife’s family vineyard and they shipped me a couple of cases. I told Burke to haul some up here whenever they arrived at the ranch.”
“Italy. You do get around, don’t you?”
“I do.” His tone lowered, deepened as he kissed the tip of her nose. “But right now, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than here. With you.”
“I’m glad.” She set aside her wine and wrapped herself around him. “I hope you don’t mind if I snuggle.”
He set his glass beside hers and gathered her firmly against him. “I think, Miss Kettering…” He felt the need rising again, and wondered how in the world he’d managed to wait so long for this woman. “I think snuggling is the perfect thing to do during a Montana thunderstorm. In fact, we should have tried this that first time we were up here.”
She was smiling, a lazy cat’s smile. “It wouldn’t have been at all professional of me to snuggle with a man I’d only just met.”
“I guess not. But it would have been a hell of lot more fun than discussing government regulations regarding wildlife.”
And then there were no words as they shut out the thunder, the lightning, the whole universe, and lost themselves in their newly discovered world of lovemaking.
Chapter Twenty-O
ne
Vanessa stirred as Matt slid from the bed. “Where are you going?”
The cabin was dark, except for the glowing embers on the grate. The sky outside the window was midnight black. Though the thunder and lightning had ceased, a steady rain beat a tattoo on the roof.
“I’m going to feed you.”
“Now? In the middle of the night?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m ravenous. And after all that exercise, I need to restore my energy—” he bent and kissed her mouth “—for the next round.”
“You make it sound like a prizefight.”
“More like a marathon. And we’re both winning the race.”
She chuckled. “All right. Now that I’m a winner, and awake, I’ll give you a hand with our midnight supper.”
She reached for his shirt, still on the floor where they’d left it, to cover her nakedness.
Matt was barefoot and stripped to the waist, wearing only his jeans, which were unsnapped.
She followed him to the little galley kitchen. “I’m glad you thought to bring along the last of our supplies. Was that by design or accident?”
He shot her a grin. “It was no accident. The minute I knew we were leaving that mountain retreat and I was going to be driving Gram Gracie’s truck, I decided to confiscate whatever was left.”
“Aren’t you the sly one.” She opened the metal container and removed several packets. “Chicken or steak?”
“Definitely steak.” At her look he added, “It goes with red wine.”
“Of course.” She held up another packet. “Rice or potatoes?”
“I’ll let you choose the rest.”
“A mystery feast then.” She set aside several packets and arranged the food on a cooking tin, which she then set over the hot coals.
While their food heated, Matt tossed a salad and divided it into two bowls, which he carried to the low table set in front of the fire, along with the bottle of wine.
A short time later, with a log blazing on the fire, and their meal ready, they sat, sipping wine and enjoying sizzling steak and twice-baked potatoes loaded with chives and cheese and sour cream, as well as a salad dressed with Yancy’s balsamic-vinegar-and-oil.
With a plaid afghan around her shoulders, Vanessa gave a sigh of contentment as she finished every bite. “I wouldn’t trade this moment for the fanciest meal anywhere in the world.”
“Have you traveled the world?”
“Some. England, Scotland, Ireland.” She thought a moment. “Spain. And the Greek islands.”
“Italy?”
She shook her head. “That’s on my to-do list. How about you? Besides Italy, of course.”
He topped off her glass. “All the places you mentioned. Plus Iceland.”
“Really?” She turned to him. “Why?”
“They import everything. And one of the things they import is Malloy beef.”
“That’s pretty impressive.”
He smiled and reached over to play with a tangle of her hair that had slipped forward. “I was hoping to impress you.”
She absorbed the little tingle of pleasure at his touch. “You don’t need to. I’m already impressed by everything I’ve seen here.”
“And I’m impressed by what I’m seeing.” He took the glass from her hand and set it on the table beside his before leaning close to kiss her. “I could look at you all day every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of what I’m seeing.”
With a sigh she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Same goes for me, cowboy. Who would have believed a hardworking rancher could be such eye candy?”
“You’re just trying to flatter me so you can have your way with me.”
“Maybe.” She looked up at him and batted her lashes. “Is it working?”
“You bet.”
They came together in a slow, languid dance of love.
Matt set a fresh log on the fire before joining Vanessa in bed. They sat side by side, listening to the soft patter of rain, sipping fresh coffee, and talking.
“That day we took a ride across the hills, you told me your grandmother is a pilot. I haven’t been able to put that out of my mind. I’m so impressed by her. How did that happen?”
“When she married Grandpop, there wasn’t much civilization around these parts except for a few dirt roads. The quickest way to anywhere was to fly, and at first she relied on her Frankie to take her. But then, after she found herself alone on a ranch with two sons, and Grandpop often a hundred miles away with a herd on one of the mountains, she figured she’d better learn to take care of herself. It was just a natural progression that my dad and uncle got their pilot’s licenses as soon as they were old enough. And just as natural that my brothers and I would do the same.”
“Do you remember the night your parents died?”
Matt’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s seared into my memory. The family in shock. The sheriff and Archer Stone, his deputy, trying to make sense of it. And the Great One, really agitated after returning from the crash scene.”
“He went there?”
“With his movie camera. He recorded everything he could. It’s just second nature to him. The snow-covered highway. The mangled car. The two blanket-covered bodies by the side of the road.”
Vanessa shook her head. “I don’t know how he could bear to even look at something so painful and brutal. Something so close to his heart.”
“He felt responsible.”
Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“He’d loaned his fancy car, the one he’d brought with him from Hollywood, to my folks for a night in town. Mom and Dad were so excited. Nobody ever drove that Rolls. It was parked in the barn, and probably would still be sitting there, unused, but the Great One urged them to take it as a special treat.”
“Oh, that poor old dear. No wonder he felt responsible.”
“The Great One believes this was no accident. He believes it was something sinister, and that there was a second pair of tire marks in the snow that night. We’ve all looked at the film, and we all agree there are other marks, but the authorities insist they were made by all the people who intruded on the scene. Besides the sheriff’s squad car and his deputy’s, there was a rancher passing by who saw the fireball, and a couple of wranglers tending a herd who heard the crash. And then my uncle and grandfather, who drove the Great One to the site. And there’s no disputing that there were way too many tire marks littering the crash site. According to the official report, it was just a terrible case of speed, a driver handling an unfamiliar vehicle during a snowstorm, and a layer of ice that made the roads dangerously slick.”
“Does your great-grandfather ever talk about it?”
“Not to us. He knows how painful it is. But I’ve come upon him discussing it with Yancy. Both of them are obsessed with long-ago Hollywood crimes, and I think they’re always trying to find a similarity between them and our family tragedy. But the minute any of us walk in, he changes the subject. Still, I doubt he’ll ever let go of his belief that a crime was committed. And it may have been avoided if my father had been driving one of the ranch trucks instead of a fancy Rolls Royce.”
Vanessa brushed a kiss to Matt’s shoulder. “How awful that he carries that guilt.”
“Yeah.” Matt stepped out of bed to retrieve the coffeepot from the fire and topped off their cups before climbing beneath the blankets.
He drew an arm around her shoulders, determined to change the subject. Even after all these years, he found it too painful to think about. “It has to be tough not hearing from your father the last few days, especially with everything that’s been going on. I know you two are close.”
“That’s the hardest part of all this. We’ve always talked every day. And now, with this blackout, I don’t even know how he’s doing. Not personally, and not with the trial.”
“I’m sure he’s missing you every bit as much as you miss him. But from what I’ve read about him, he’s tough as nails.”
“That’s the reputation the press gave him. The Iceman. But they don’t know the man I know.”
“No one ever knows family except those intimately involved.” He linked his fingers with hers. “Tell me about him.”
It was the best thing he could have said. It was like opening a dam.
“When I was little, he was busy working every case he could. My mom and I did everything together. And then, when I was thirteen, and my mother got sick, I remember him being home for days at a time. I kept pestering him with questions, but he was really good at evading. And then one day he just sat me down to explain that my mom wasn’t getting better. That all the treatments weren’t helping. And then he told me that she had cancer, and I was so scared, and so angry at him for keeping that secret from me when I could have been—” she paused “—nicer to her. Kinder. I could have tuned into her needs instead of selfishly worrying about school and tests and friends.” She took in a breath. “I told him I felt cheated. He understood my anger. And he promised me that he would never again keep anything from me.”
“And then I did the same thing as your father. I thought I’d spare you by handling things myself.”
“Exactly. I hate being afraid. But even more, I can’t stand being kept in the dark. I have a right to know what’s going on, so I can find a way to deal with it.”
The lines of worry in her face relaxed. Her voice lowered, softened. “As for my dad, once we got past the secrets, we formed a pact. And now, he’s just the best father. He really cares about everything I do. After my mother passed away, he did double duty, being both father and mother to me. He never missed a school event. He even took off work whenever there was a parent-teacher meeting or an after-school activity. He was just always there for me.” She sighed. “And now I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for him to pour himself into all the details of this trial while being forced to trust his daughter’s safety to others.”
“I’m sure he has plenty of eyes and ears. Not just the Chicago PD but any private investigators they’ve brought onto the case. You’re the daughter of an elected official. They’re all feeling responsible for your safety. They’re charged with reporting to him or to his office on a daily basis. I’m betting he knows more about you and your daily activities than you do about him at this point.”