The Horseman's Heritage

by Jacki Bentley

  "Have you missed me, Ash?” He put his large hand around the back of her neck, his warm fingers threading through her hair, stroking. A hot chill went through her. Oh, help me. Ashley melted at his touch, swaying toward him.

  "It's been a long damn time.” Reese's voice sounded hoarse.

  "Yes,” she whispered and gave him a weak smile, looking totally sappy and lovesick, she'd bet anything.

  "Hell, it's hard for a man to remember the questions when faced with a sexy smile like that one, so full of feminine lure and promise."

  His words seemed to flow through her. His silver eyes mesmerized her. Ashley saw no reason not to tell him the truth. She'd missed him terribly. “Yes, it has been a long time. Yes, I've missed you. So much,” she said truthfully, and then stepped deeper into his embrace, burying her face against his hard chest.

  Reese sucked in his breath and swore his heart wrenched to a stop at Ashley's answer. God, she toyed with him. Flirted. Lured him in with her big green eyes. But she'd whispered the words without hesitation. She had missed him. He stiffened his knees to prevent them from buckling from under him.

  "You've missed me, Ash?"

  "Yes, damn you."

  He grinned. “I'm glad,” he whispered near her ear. “So glad.” The man he'd been last week would've hidden his relief from her. Getting her back could not be this easy. Or this fast.

  "Of course, I really have missed you."

  He stiffened and stepped back a bit. “Then why the hell have we been apart all these years?"

  Ashley shook her head slowly, regretfully.

  "I don't know what I expected today, baby.” He gathered her closer to him. “But not this. Not that you'd welcome me back like this.” Reese knew he sounded almost angry. Better step with care here. His old, arrogant ways threatened to return. “I could almost believe the past four years didn't happen.” He stroked her hair. Before, the only time she'd worn it loose was in bed. Now it was shorter, but just as lovely.

  "Your new hair looks pretty. Your eyes make me think of the ocean,” he said. “Galveston Bay. That endless kind of beauty...."

  "Reese,” she whispered, caressing his back.

  "A man could lose himself in those eyes."

  Ashley's hands cupped his ass. He jumped.

  "How did I ever think you a timid woman? You're all cat today. Slinky dress. Seductive, and feminine. Ready for a game of predator and prey, hmmm?"

  She laughed. “With me in the helpless role of prey, no doubt. Wait. You thought I was timid?"

  "At first I did. I soon saw the error of my assumption. Never timid. Not prey. A cat,” he insisted, his heart threatened to explode at the affect she had on him.

  With great effort, Reese summoned his slipping control, pulling it around himself like a cloak to salvage some self-preservation and masculine pride before he made a fool of himself.

  "A cat planning to pounce,” he smiled. “I think.” He kicked the front door shut.

  "Or a wolf about to eat someone,” she sassed.

  He threw back his head and laughed.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Six

  Reese growled. “Oh, God.” Ashley was back where she belonged. Stretching up on her tip-toes, her arms snaked around him tight. Her place was close to his heart, snuggling into his body. He closed his eyes. With a deep groan, he plunged both hands into the soft thickness of her hair and sifted the strands, reassuring himself she was really in his arms again.

  "Reese,” she whispered, her urgent tone raised his pulse. She brushed her body against his, seductively. He clinched his teeth.

  "I'm afraid I'll be unable to wait for your body like a civilized man,” he said as he found her lips with his. The time apart made his kiss harsh and rushed. Damn it all to hell, he was out of practice with a woman. He backed off and took a shuddering breath, fighting for self-control. He set her away from him.

  She lifted her arms and twined them back around his neck, bringing her soft, soft lips back to his. He felt the press of her breasts at his chest.

  He narrowed his eyes. She was openly seducing him.

  Too driven to ask questions, he kissed her ruthlessly and he found himself thrusting against her in need. Her mouth explored his with an insistence and longing she wasn't trying to hide. She left his lips and sank her small teeth into his neck. “Mmmm,” he moaned.

  The small bite reverberated through him, going straight for his groin, making him throb.

  "I've missed this fire and passion between us,” he whispered the words, husky and muffled against her hair. “Too damned much.” He withdrew his hands from her hair, half-pulling the strands that tangled with his clumsy fingers, then he traced her hips with his palms, bunching up her dress. He returned his lips to hers. She spread her legs, catching one of his thighs between them, leaning into him. Sweet Ashley.

  Tearing his mouth away from her lips, he kissed her neck, then the area above her breasts. Her breathing quickened.

  "Reese,” she whispered.

  "When did you move?” he rasped between kisses. He didn't quite cover his pressing need to know the answer.

  Smothered in sexual heat, Ashley's brain went all mushy. Why was he talking so much? Reese's words had a harsh, grating sound, the demand in them urgent. He looked as if he would ask the darn question again. Ashley tried to follow his line of thinking and failed. “Hmmm?” She let her head fall back, her eyes closed, lost in the feel of his callused hands as he skimmed under her dress from her hips to her belly now.

  "God, I can't fight fair this time,” he said.

  "You never have. You never have.” Ashley understood the question about her move was important to him. She sought his eyes. “Why?” she began. She swallowed. “Why do you want to know exactly when I moved?” Ashley's felt her hands tremble as she sought the feel of him beneath his shirt. She jerked the shirttails of his white shirt out of his waistband and found the top button. His shoulders and the course dark hair of his chest called to her. She wanted to see them again. One last time."

  He stiffened against her hands and groaned again. “Baby. Ashley. Too much. Too soon."

  She grinned as she felt a surge of feminine power at his unguarded response. Fair enough.

  He watched her a long moment from under his dark, dark brows. “Your eyes have darkened from blue-green to a deep jade now,” he said. “So damn beautiful."

  "You think so?"

  "I do. I need your answer, love,” he said, then kissed her left ear, drawing it lightly, gently into his mouth. She made a little squealing sound.

  Pulling away, he braced her back with a hand at each shoulder, annoying her with his control of the situation.

  "No more kisses just yet. Too much at stake for our future. Why didn't you let me know you'd moved?"

  She narrowed her eyes, puzzled, a little angry with him now. “Ah ... we weren't speaking to each other ... remember?"

  "Yeah. We were fools."

  "Mmm hmm. True.” Ashley ducked under the propping wall of his arms and with a tight turn, closed the space between them again. She shoved his shirt open and began stringing kisses across his chest on her way to his navel.

  She loved his husky gasp. She wasn't interested in this trivial day-to-day business just now. She wanted to make sure he went with her on this temporary journey to mindlessness.

  Gently, he caught her head, stopping her downward journey.

  "Please,” he rasped.

  She looked up into his eyes. “Please, what?"

  "Aw hell. Hell. Hell.” He closed his arms around her and kissed her, taking his sweet time, savoring her lips as if a last meal. After he released her mouth to breathe, Ashley stepped back as far as his arms allowed and slid her hands from his shoulders to his well-polished, sexy sterling-silver belt buckle he wore.

  She traced the embossing before slipping the hook from its clip. She knew this belt buckle well. He'd won it riding a horse named, Texas Belle, in a cattle-cutting competition in W
aco. She'd enjoyed the day so much, but the night that followed even more.

  His hand closed over hers, stilling her movements. “You want to ... answer me, honey?"

  Better, she thought, some of the arrogant demand had gone. His voice was low, almost gravely.

  "Answers, answers, answers. Later,” Ashley teased, continuing her task with his belt. She knew how to loosen this. It had a little prong thing that needed to back out.

  "Ashley."

  "I'll talk later. I'll answer whatever questions you have. Later...” Licking her lips, she observed his body. To her amazement, he began to tremble. “Uh ... much later,” she whispered, smiling as she took one of his masculine nipples in her mouth.

  "Hellfire,” he gasped. “Yes, later—baby."

  He stopped resisting altogether now. He allowed her to slide the zipper of his jeans downward. Helped her. Ashley smiled a self-satisfied smile. She'd won a small victory for now.

  With his attention focused on her actions, he was forgetting to move those wonderful fingers, which rested, splayed just below her navel. She nudged against him to remind him.

  This was her stolen time. She wanted some say in matters. No way to know what tomorrow would bring. She knew their relationship was doomed. Over.

  "God, Ash. I've needed you with me,” he said, his voice low and hot against her ear.

  "Reese, Reese."

  I want you like this every day of my life. To know I can walk into our home and find you there.’ He grinned. “Preferably in the master bedroom. To be able to look at you like this, with the sweet glaze of passion in your soft eyes any damn time I want. That would be ... Paradise."

  "Yes.” He had failed to rid himself of the arrogance, she mused.

  "The long separation deepened the sweetness."

  "I know. I know,” she agreed.

  "During the time apart, I felt empty.” He spoke as if words dragged from his soul. “Alone. Lonely."

  Watching Ashley, Reese struggled to control a surge of desire swamping his control again. Her seductive smile as she caressed his chest and his waist captivated him, tugging at his insides. His insistent conscience, the part of him questioning the ethics of taking advantage of his woman this way, warned him to stop. The risk of rushing things now, too soon, was unacceptable to him. He grinned at the thought. Who was taking advantage of whom here this morning?

  As if to punctuate his thought, she stripped his pants down his legs. “Hellfire, woman!"

  She stood back. “Step out of the jeans."

  Helplessly, he did as she demanded, kicking the jeans and his boots away.

  "It was like this before,” he said.

  "Yes, it was. Fast and hard. And out of control."

  "We spoke ... of wants ... of needs,” he said between kisses. “We made love but we never really talked at all."

  She stilled and looked up at him.

  "Never of the pain of the separations caused by our homes being so far apart,” he continued.

  She nodded agreement, her eyes pooling with tears.

  He frowned. It always hurt him when she cried. “What did I say, baby? What did I do to make you hurt this way?"

  She shook her head as if she'd rather not say. “Hold me ... Reese, please,” she pleaded, softly, reaching for him, pulling him almost off-balance. “Just hold me."

  "Yes. My pleasure.” He spread his legs to compensate, to balance, pulling her into the shelter of his legs again.

  He could hold her, if that was what it took to banish the moisture from her eyes. Heaven help him, he wasn't sure he wanted to know why tears gathered in her lovely eyes.

  He could wait for answers about her life since him.

  She was right. He could ask his questions later.

  He took her lips with his, pulling, coaxing a reaction from her.

  He got it. She kissed him back with sultry fury. His lips burned from joining with hers. “Ashley...."

  For the moment, it was enough to feel her against him, to love her again. Heat flooded through him, everywhere they made skin to skin contact. He took in a deep breath.

  "Mmmm,” she moaned.

  "I've missed you so much, my darlin',” he whispered against the satin skin of her shoulder, slipping her dress down, and making his way to her breasts, molding, caressing. She gasped. Just as he expected her to. Just as he remembered.

  The pulse at her neck seemed to go into overdrive. She arched against him again, another reminder of what they both wanted this morning. How did he get so lucky in finding that kind of responsiveness in a woman? How had he managed to lose her for four years?

  "What, Reese?” Her tone taunted and teased. She knew what she did to him. And he'd always thought her unaware of her impact on him. He pulled air in with shallow breaths. His pulse spiked as he felt her delicate fingers beneath his waistband of his Jockeys and slipped in.

  "In a hurry today?” There was merciless urgency in her actions, almost desperation.

  Whatever the cause, he hadn't encountered anything like it in their loving four years ago. He would think it the time apart. It had been a long time, but his heart nearly stopped as he realized it was more than that. Ashley was making love to him like she knew it was the last time she'd ever see him.

  He closed his eyes in pain. He still had work to do to win her back.

  "Slower.... “His voice caught. “Sweetheart.... “His breathing was beginning to go shallow, keeping time with his pulse. “Slow down. It's been a long time. We should ... er ... talk first, don't you think?"

  "No,” she answered.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Seven

  Reese gulped in a deep breath. He should push her harder to talk to him, to give him the answers he needed before making love to her. Why hadn't she come to him four years ago? But, Lord help him, he couldn't—did not have the strength right now.

  "No more talking,” she continued. Her voice echoed the emotion he sensed in her actions. It puzzled him, worried him.

  She shook her beautiful hair in a circle. He reached out and captured some strands.

  There should be some awkwardness, a time of feeling each other out again, brought on by so much time and distance between them. His instincts told him something was not right here.

  But now she kissed her way lower. Oh, dear Lord! It was all he could do not to yell out loud of his enjoyment as her mouth found his sex. After teeth grinding moments of staving off a climax as she coaxed and teased him with her lips and tongue, she came up for air.

  He was panting too much himself now to talk.

  She took his hand, led him over to comfortable looking long, L-angled couch with attached fainting chair thing. His clouded brain noticed she stepped out of her sexy, yellow dress as she walked. She threw a colorful quilt across the sofa, then sank to her knees in the cushions.

  No underwear. He took a few moments to look his fill at her nude body.

  "Come here,” she demanded.

  All he had on was an opened shirt now. His erection bobbed in the open air.

  "Reese, please,” she said.

  He approached her, stalling all the way

  There was more at stake here than getting laid. He hesitated for a moment, searching her eyes for answers.

  "Reese?"

  "No. Wait, honey, we really shouldn't do this so soon. Damn. You'll regret it later. I know you. You'll throw my ass out of here afterward."

  "No. No. You don't know me at all,” she snapped, a flash of fire in her gaze.

  Hell, hell. She looked angry now. Worse, hurt, as if he'd rejected her.

  "Wait.” He touched two fingers to her lips when she might have said more. Her warm breath against his manhood caused his lower body to clench and jerk.

  He saw an answering hesitation and uncertainty. She knew he was right, he saw it in her eyes.

  "Are you married to someone else?” she asked.

  "Hell, no!"

  "I will never ever regret this moment then,” sh
e said in a firm, sexy voice. “I promise you that."

  "Whoa. Whoa, damn it. There's too much at stake, Ashley. Our future."

  He grabbed her busy little feminine hands and held them still. He might call himself every kind of a fool later for stopping her.

  She grasped his manhood again.

  "God! You greedy little thing,” he rasped, but smiled as she stroked him. “Stop that a minute, will you?"

  "You're no fun to seduce."

  Reese grinned at her then wrapped the blanket around her and tucked it into her chin. He sat down by her, leaned forward and held her face in both his hands.

  "We ... sweetheart ... we can't rush this,” he demanded, but his breath came too fast, knowing he was in no position to make demands, bluffing his way through it all.

  "Tell me why not?” she asked.

  "I know it's been a long while for both of us, but I won't ruin this by leaping into bed with you. Then you hand my clothes to me and throw me the hell out."

  She just glared at him and snuggled into the blanket, but she didn't deny the truth of his statement.

  "I should've come for you before now instead of waiting for you to come to me like the pompous, self-righteous ass that I am. Was."

  She twisted her mouth in a cute little half smile, half grimace thing. “You're not an ass anymore?"

  "Nope. Not. Slower. Let's take it slower, please,” he whispered. “Please?” he asked seeking her eyes with his. He touched his forehead to hers.

  "Who are you and what have you done with my former lover?” she asked.

  He laughed.

  "Stay here with me a few days and you may change your mind about not rushing things like making love."

  "What do you mean, honey?” She'd completely lost him now.

  She smiled, as if at her own private joke. He couldn't understand the meaning behind the words, but he loved the secretive smile.

  He much preferred the sparkle of humor to the pain and sadness he'd seen earlier. “Tell me what's so funny, my sweet love?"

  "Oh, nothing, really,” she whispered. “I'm happy to see you, I guess. Even if you won't let me seduce and ravish you."