Stream Ran Dry

by Jeanne Harrell

  They considered each other warily for a long minute, before she stepped aside slightly, inviting him in. She had a good notion to hit him upside his kooky head with her notebook, but let that notion die.

  Wyatt anxiously paced around her living room before walking quickly into the bedroom. She followed him, trying to match his quickened pace. Resigned, he sat down on her bed and looked up in her pretty face.

  “Are you sure about this, Becca? I’m not a catch and release sort of guy. And what you see is what you get.”

  When she smiled at him, his stiff posture relaxed and he lay down on the bed – She shrugged and lay down by him. He pulled her to him as she gently touched his face.

  “That’s good because what I see is what I want…”

  And then they were kissing. He made no pretense that there was anyone but her that he was thinking of. He kissed her face, eyes, chin and down her throat, breathing her name like a prayer. His hands began to roam freely over her body and she felt herself rising, up, up… It felt heavenly…

  Wyatt made her feel incredibly special and desired. She wanted to make him feel as special and ran her hands over his muscled chest, his smooth back… His breathing became more uneven with every soft touch. She kissed his throat, his chest, his hands… When she reached his jeans, she felt the hard bulge and started to unzip his pants. But soon she could feel him freeze up again… Now what? And was any guy worth this trouble?

  His mouth was still on hers when she tugged on his zipper and he grabbed her hand. She broke off the kiss. “…Wyatt? Honey?”

  She could feel him practically melt around her when she used that term of endearment. Rebecca knew, as well as she knew anything, that Wyatt wanted her very much… His desperate little sighs and uneven breathing gave him away. Every nuance gave him away… He’d whispered sweet things in her ear and kissed her everywhere, but when she started to take off his clothes, that was it…

  It all came to a halt.

  Rebecca sat up and couldn’t believe what was happening – again…

  “So…no sex then. Is that right?”

  Wyatt pushed himself up on the bed with his face turning red.

  “…Um.”

  She hurriedly got off the bed and stood up, smoothing her clothes. “I gather Missy won’t allow sex. Kissing yes, but sex no. Is that the idea?”

  His eyes flashed and he stood up next to her. “…Rebecca, don’t.”

  “You came back to me – twice. You want me as much as I want you. If you can’t put her in the past, we have no future, Wyatt. Don’t you see that?”

  He reached out to stroke her face. “…I...”

  “Well, I do, even if you don’t.” She strode quickly to her front door and jerked it open. “It’s been fun, Mr. Washburn. Don’t call me – I’ll call you.”

  Wyatt walked up to her. “Rebecca, please. Just give me some time to work this out.” He placed eager hands on her waist and pulled her purposefully to him.

  She shook her head. “We should be working out things together, if we’re going to be a couple. You need to leave… I don’t want to fall for you, if you can’t fall for me.”

  “Rebecca, no... Let’s spend the night together. Even if there’s no lovemaking, we can still be close.’

  She blinked at what he said. “…No lovemaking? Forgive me if I feel that my guy should want to have sex occasionally. We haven’t even made love once and you’re ready to negotiate about a schedule or something.” She shook her head and pulled his hands away.

  “I can’t do this. When I love someone, it’s all or nothing. You’ve made it clear you don’t want all of me, so I guess it’s nothing.”

  But Wyatt wouldn’t leave. He stood there in the doorway with the outside porch light reflecting a silhouette of his face. His eyes darkened and she wanted so badly to reach for him. He finally tilted up her chin and softly kissed her with all his heart. For a tough cowboy, she thought he had an awfully soft center…

  Her arms automatically curled around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her. He held her so tightly that he could probably feel her heart pounding. When their kiss finally broke, he nuzzled her ear and whispered, “I’ll get there, Becca. Please have faith in me…”

  Her breathing stopped and a lump formed in her throat. She knew she was falling for him. Breaking away from his arms, she continued to stare at him. Rebecca wanted so much to believe him. Someone had once said that love was so easy. Who in the world ever said that? This was hard, difficult and painful…She felt like her guts were being ripped out.

  “Could I text you?” he said tentatively. “Will you answer if I text or email you?”

  “We’ve gone from tongues to texting in under two minutes. Excuse me if I’m underwhelmed with the passion here.”

  “You’re being sarcastic.”

  “… You said you liked it…”

  “Well, I don’t. Tell me what you want. And may I come in and sit down?”

  “No, you may not.”

  “All right then, I’ll stand.” He reached for her hand. “What do you want, Becca?”

  When she gave him a stern look, he amended it, “I mean, Rebecca.”

  “… I want you to love me, Wyatt.” Her look was one of openness, honesty and sincerity… No guise, no pretense… “I’ll just lay that out there for us to see… I can’t believe I’m saying it myself, but it’s how I feel. And if you can’t do this because of your deceased wife, then there’s no hope for us. None…”

  “Do you love me, Rebecca?” He shifted closer to her.

  “There’s no way in hell I’m answering that to a man who won’t even make love to me. Sorry…”

  A small smile crept out. “…But there’s a chance.”

  “I think you need to go. This evening has been much too exciting.”

  “Please let me stay, Rebecca.”

  “Nope. Out…”

  “I’ll stay an extra day if that’ll help.”

  Her eyes widened. “What would that accomplish? Another day of confusion?” She shook her head. “It’s already one in the morning and I have to work tomorrow. You need to leave.”

  “… Will you sleep? Won’t you be thinking of me? Of us?”

  She swallowed hard. He was already beginning to figure her out. Rebecca knew she wouldn’t sleep very well now…She would be thinking of him. Their fragile relationship had subtly shifted… Out of the blue, he was becoming a necessary ingredient to her happiness and he still belonged to another woman! Shit! What switch in her brain had been activated for this to happen?

  “Yes, I’ll sleep just fine.”

  He gave her a doubtful look and began to walk down the path to his car. He turned around once to see if she was still watching him. She was… The pull towards her was getting as tight as a wound rubber band. He knew if he went too far, he’d fling back to her by some sort of natural force.

  When he’d finally gone, Rebecca locked the door and went into the bedroom to flop on her bed. She lay there for a good twenty minutes just trying to figure out what had just happened… And she was exhausted! Rebecca wanted to be with him so much her brain hurt… And what good did it do her? They’d tried twice and couldn’t even get their clothes off. She thought back to that first time she’d seen him at Mary and Rob Carson’s ranch. She knew then that he was going to be trouble for her. Why couldn’t she have a nice, easy boyfriend like Tim? Tim was actually beginning to sound good to her when…

  Her phone made a buzzing sound and she was receiving a text. Now what?

  She grabbed her phone and read:

  ‘Miss you. R u all right?’

  Pissed, she wrote back: ‘Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?’

  ‘Just thought you might miss me’

  ‘Why would I do that?’

  ‘Maybe because you love me too’

  ‘Too?’

  ‘Yes, too…’

  She paused, tempted to fling the phone across the room. Instead she wrote: ‘Say it, you chicken shit. Say
it if you really mean it.’

  ‘I love you, Becca. Please say that you love me.’

  Tears filled her eyes. Rebecca couldn’t even continue their ridiculous texting until her eyes cleared. In the meantime, he wrote…

  ‘Don’t cry.’

  Which pissed her off so much, she wrote, ‘You couldn’t say that to my face.’

  ‘I will if you’ll let me.’

  And that was it for Rebecca. She grabbed her purse and a jacket from the closet, although it was a hot night. She just needed something to cover her pajamas. She hopped into her car and drove over to the Bellagio a little faster than the speed limit allowed. The parking valet raised his eyebrows when he caught a glimpse of her pajama pants and tank under her jacket, but just took her keys and asked no questions.

  Rebecca saw it was now two in the morning and she wondered if she’d lost her mind. That was certainly a real possibility. The registration clerk wouldn’t give out his room number, so she took the elevator to the second floor and knocked on the first door she saw – 215. Obviously, she wasn’t thinking very clearly. A very nice elderly couple opened the door and she apologized for waking them. She knocked on 217 – that person wasn’t Wyatt either and was pretty angry at being awakened at two in the morning.

  The haze in her mind cleared and she finally thought to text him.

  ‘What’s your room number? I’m waking up everyone in this damn hotel.’

  ‘219’ came the immediate text.

  She was already there and just stood in front of his door, waiting, pushing her messy hair back… When he opened the door, she breezed in and they spent more valuable time just gazing at each other.

  Rebecca cleared her throat. “I think you had something to say to me.”

  He took a small step towards her. “I’ve never known a woman like you. What do you want from me, Rebecca Sawyer?”

  “…Everything, Wyatt Washburn. Is that too much?”

  He shook his head. “…You must know that I love you.”

  “Yes,” she said, “I knew that, but I was wondering when you’d figure it out.”

  They stood there grinning, speculating. Rebecca slipped out of her jacket and let it fall on the floor. She took a small step towards him and Wyatt licked his lips. She slipped off her pajama pants and raised her arms to slip off her tank. When Rebecca took another step towards Wyatt, she was completely naked and beautiful… He quickly covered the open space between them and swept her up in his arms.

  “Honey, I’m such an idiot,” he breathed in her ear.

  “…Don’t care. Take me to bed.”

  Wyatt picked her up and laid her on his bed. She slipped under the covers and watched hungrily as he removed his jeans, shirt and boxers. Damn…he was

  so handsome. When he crawled into bed with her and their naked bodies finally meshed, he breathed a relieved sigh. They cuddled closely together and he didn’t mind when she took ahold of his erection at long last. She was thrilled when he finally slipped inside her as they began to make love. It had taken all night for him to get here, but he was here at last… And – she decided when she rose higher and higher with him – he was definitely worth the wait.

  Sweet feelings swirled around them like snowflakes… He realized once again, as he was happily caught up in her, how wonderful love and lovemaking could be. His orgasm nearly took him by surprise -- it had been so long… That she came along with him was another tender surprise. They fit together like hand and glove.

  When they finished, he kissed her cheek, tucked her under his arm and they drifted sleepily together. “…Love you,” she said as she slipped into a deep, contented sleep. He mused that it was amazing two people could suddenly discover that they wanted one another so much…

  * * *

  They hadn’t moved too far from one another in the night. Rebecca had slept like the dead – She’d never slept so well, in fact. She stirred and shifted into Wyatt’s warm, sleeping body. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer still until her eyes popped open…

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “What time is it?” She bolted upright and looked around for a clock on the nightstand.

  “…Huh?” came a sleepy reply. His eyes slowly opened and he gazed up at her. He smiled when she didn’t try to hide her nakedness and pulled her down with him again. “…Call in sick.”

  “Would you say that if you had cows to milk?” she whispered.

  “…No milk cows.”

  “Yes, but go with the premise here…”

  “…Too serious… Sleep a while longer.”

  Rebecca reached over for her cell phone, realized it was only seven o’clock and texted Ella that she’d be late today. She thought again and amended the message before she sent it.

  ‘Taking the day off. Cover for me with Dave’.

  Wyatt wasn’t ready to get up yet and she really wanted to stay in bed with him a while longer. Nuzzling his sleepy face, she outlined his soft lips with her finger and began kissing his cheeks, nose and chin. He responded by moving on top of her, still with his eyes closed, and giving her kisses that turned her limbs to mush. She couldn’t wait for him to slip inside her and opened her legs to encourage him. His lips smiled on hers.

  “Help me,” he whispered in her mouth, his hands busy elsewhere.

  She guided him in and moaned when he filled her completely. The feeling was exquisite for them both and they moved together in sync. It all felt so familiar, like they’d been making love together forever. She already could tap into what excited him the most and he knew what would drive her wild. Being together was pleasurable, comfortable and hard to break away from. Spent, breathy and excited, they moved back from each other to catch their breaths.

  “…Enough… for now, miss?”

  “Are you always… so polite?”

  “When… a woman can do this to me – you bet,” he teased.

  He rolled off her and angled over to see her face. She was frowning.

  “What’s the matter? Are you all right?” She was counting something. “Becca?”

  “I’m okay. It’s just that we’ve been in such a rush, we forgot to use any protection. I’m trying to remember where I am in my cycle.”

  He smacked his head with his hand. “Oh, no.” He gave her an embarrassed smile. “And I didn’t bring any condoms with me because I didn’t want to jinx things.”

  She continued frowning. “We’re all right, I think. My period should be starting tomorrow.”

  “Do you have to rush off to work?”

  “Nope…” She slipped down under the covers and drew lazy circles on his very manly chest.

  “How about breakfast?”

  “I’d like that too…” She arched an eyebrow up at him and he laughed at her playfulness.

  He slid down by her and they lay on their sides talking. Wyatt put a warm hand on her hip.

  “I can stay another day...”

  “Good. What do you want to do? We can’t stay in bed all day.”

  “No?” He leaned over to kiss her.

  After a late breakfast and another delectable round of lovemaking in the shower, Rebecca took Wyatt off to see the town. They went on the roller coaster at the top of the New York, New York Hotel and wandered through the Egyptian attractions at the Luxor. They went to see the Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage Hotel and caught a medieval show and dinner at the Excalibur. It was a fun-filled day with lots of smiles, hugs and chatter. Wyatt was able to finally ask her the questions he was dying to ask and Rebecca learned more about Wyatt too. They spent the day entirely on their own with no interferences and distractions – like a honeymoon.

  Getting ready for bed that night, Wyatt was in his boxers brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Rebecca was rummaging around, trying to find her pajama pants. Since they were at her apartment tonight, she had left them at his hotel – she thought… Not finding them, he came out of the bathroom to see her looking incredibly sexy in a tank top and very sheer panties.

/>   “Wow… You always look so fantastic, honey.”

  “Ha… Don’t think so, but nice try. Compliments are always accepted,” she pulled down the covers.

  He stretched out in bed and pulled her down next to him. Kissing her sweetly, he wrapped his arms around her.

  “Come home with me, Becca,” he whispered in her ear. His breath tickled her neck and she giggled.

  “I have a job, Wyatt.”

  “Do you have any vacation time coming?”

  They pulled apart to look at each other.

  “…Actually, I do, but I doubt Dave will let me take it.”

  “Tell him you’re coming back to the ranch to do a follow-up story on the Allenville struggle.”

  “Huh…” She laid her hands on his chest. “You’re pretty devious, aren’t you?”

  “Only when I really really need to be.”

  “…And you need to be now?”

  “Yes, I want you with me, Becca.”

  She squirmed in his arms. “…Wait a minute. Aren’t you the guy who said he’d never make another commitment?”

  “…Ah…”

  “Didn’t you say you’d probably never marry again?”

  “…Well…”

  “Aren’t you the man who didn’t want to get tangled up with some city slicker?”

  He tightened his hold on her. “Yes, yes, and yes, damn it – But how did I know that you were right around the corner just waiting to drop into my life?”

  “I didn’t drop in, silly,” she grinned. “You came to Las Vegas to get me.” He looked pretty sheepish. “…Didn’t you?”

  “Yes… I was hoping. Pretty selfish of me, I know.”

  “You probably want me tied up like one of your rodeo steers, so I can’t move.”

  “Well, not literally – only figuratively,” he laughed and kissed her nose.

  She rubbed his chest and shoulders before sweetly kissing his lips. When she practically purred, he angled his lips and the kissing became serious… deeper ...needier.