“Lissa, are you crying?”
“N-no.”
She felt the other side of the bed dip as Shane stretched out beside her. A moment later, he wrapped her in his arms and turned her to face him.
“What’s wrong, angel? Why are you crying?”
His concerned tone and the feel of him holding her so tenderly against him was all it took for the floodgates to open. Sobbing her heart out and unable to stop herself, she clung to him as the torrent of emotion ran its course.
“I—I don’t know…why…that happened,” she said when she was finally able to get her vocal cords to work. She had never been more embarrassed in her entire life.
“I think I do,” he said as his hand continued to stroke her hair in a soothing manner. “You’ve had a hell of a day and you’re so tired you can barely keep your eyes open.”
His understanding words and the gentle tone of his deep voice helped ease some of her humiliation. “You’re probably right. I think this has quite possibly been the most stressful day I have ever endured.”
He reached over to switch off the lamp. Then, cradling her to him, he kissed her so tenderly another wave of tears threatened.
“Try to get some sleep, angel.” His arms tightened around her. “It’s all going to work out. I give you my word on that.”
Too exhausted to think about everything that had happened since her return to Aspen two months ago for the reading of her father’s will, Melissa snuggled against Shane and closed her eyes. Maybe with the morning light things would be clearer. Maybe then she would be able to cope with the fact that her life had spun completely out of control and there didn’t seem to be a single thing she could do to stop it.
When Shane led the gelding out of the barn and over to the fence, he smiled. “Does this horse look familiar?”
Lissa’s blue eyes twinkled with excitement. “He looks just like Smoky Joe.”
“That’s because he’s old Smoky’s little brother,” he said, handing her the reins. After hearing that the blue roan had been her favorite at Jarrod Ridge, Shane purposely chose the horse for her to ride to Rainbow Falls.
“Thank you,” she said as she softly stroked the horse’s velvet muzzle. “What’s his name?”
“He’s registered with the American Quarter Horse Association as Smoke Storm, but we just call him Stormy.” Walking back into the barn to get a saddle and blanket from the tack room, Shane returned to placed the saddle over the top fence rail. Then, smoothing the saddle blanket over the gelding’s back, he added, “I don’t want you to worry that he might be more than you can handle. In spite of his name, there’s nothing stormy about him.” He picked up the saddle and positioned it on the blanket. “I’ve seen kittens with more piss and vinegar than this guy.”
Lissa smiled as she hugged the animal’s neck. “Smoky Joe was that way, too. You could do just about anything with him.”
Shane nodded. “That’s why we bred the same mare and stallion several different times. The colts they foaled were all good-natured and perfect for people who aren’t used to riding a lot.”
“In other words, perfect for the inexperienced guests at Jarrod Ridge,” she guessed.
He pulled the cinch tight. “That was the idea.”
While Lissa and Stormy got to know each other, Shane quickly saddled his sorrel stallion. “Need a leg up?” he asked, turning to see if she needed help mounting the roan.
“I think I can get this,” she said, slipping her booted foot into the stirrup.
He stepped behind her in case she had problems and immediately decided that he would have done well to take her at her word. When her perfect little blue-jeans-clad bottom bobbed in front of his face as she climbed onto the saddle, the air rushed out of his lungs like helium from an overinflated balloon.
Holding her soft body to his throughout the night, then waking up with her in his arms this morning without once making love to her, had been a true test of his control. But Lissa hadn’t needed his lust. She had needed his comfort and he had been determined to give it to her or die trying.
Exhausted, emotionally spent and extremely vulnerable, she had tried to give the impression that she was fine. He knew differently and once he had taken her into his arms, she had finally let down her guard and accepted the support he had promised her. But not without considerable cost to his well-being.
With her breasts pressed to his chest and her delicate hand resting on his flank, he had spent the entire night aroused. And if that hadn’t been enough to send him hovering on the brink of insanity, he had awakened this morning with one of her long, slender legs intimately lodged against his overly sensitive groin.
That had sent him straight into the bathroom for a cold shower. By the time he finally stepped from beneath the icy spray, his teeth had chattered uncontrollably and he would have bet everything he had that he could spit ice cubes on command.
Unfortunately, his gallantry was beginning to wear thin. He wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to play the consummate gentleman without going stark, raving mad.
“Earth to Shane. Come in please,” Lissa said, bringing him back to the present.
“What?”
She laughed. “I asked if you are going to just stand there daydreaming or if we’re going for a ride?”
“Uh, sorry,” he muttered. He couldn’t tell her that he had been thinking about how much he wanted to hold her, how much his body ached to be inside her. “There are a couple of different ways to get to the falls and I was trying to decide which would be the fastest,” he said, thinking quickly. There was only one trail leading to the waterfall, but she didn’t know that and he wasn’t about to admit that he’d been fantasizing about stripping them both and making love to her until they both collapsed from exhaustion.
“How far is it to Rainbow Falls?” she asked as he mounted the stallion and they rode through the corral gate.
“It’s only about three miles as the eagle flies, but having to skirt some of the steeper terrain and due to all of the bends in the river, it takes a few hours,” he explained.
She gave him a wistful look. “I wish I had known about this trip before we left the lodge. I’d have brought my camera. I’m sure the scenery is going to be gorgeous.”
He decided not to remind her that once he made her his wife, she would be able to take as many pictures of his ranch as she wanted, any time she wanted. But he wasn’t a fool. If he did remind her of that fact, she would most likely come up with more ways they didn’t know each other and be on the defensive.
That was the last thing he wanted. His plan hinged on the element of surprise. When he played his ace in the hole, he had no doubt he would have her agreeing to marry him faster than he could slap his own ass with both hands.
“Shane, this is absolutely breathtaking,” Melissa said as they rode single file over the ridge and around a switchback into the upland valley.
“It isn’t much good for pasturing the horses, but I like to camp out here occasionally,” he said, leading the way down the slope.
“I love camping out,” she said, remembering the wonderful time she’d had when her father allowed her to go on a couple of overnight trail rides with some of the resort’s guests.
It had taken considerable thought on her part and several arguments with her father to convince him that she would be there to address any special needs of the Jarrod Ridge guests. He had finally relented, but only after she had pointed out that she would technically still be working for the resort and not just frittering away her time. God forbid that she did something with her time that she actually enjoyed, she thought, unable to keep from feeling resentful.
“What’s wrong?” Shane called over his shoulder.
Jarred back to the present, she focused on the man riding the big red stallion ahead of her. “Nothing. Why do you ask?”
Stopping his horse, he turned in the saddle. “I’ve seen happier faces on condemned felons.”
“The sun was i
n my eyes,” she said, hoping he would drop the matter.
“If you say so.” His expression told her that he wasn’t buying her excuse, but to her relief, he let it go.
She didn’t want to discuss the unreasonable demands Donald Jarrod had placed on his children. It was something she had spent her entire adult life trying to forget and she certainly didn’t want to ruin an otherwise glorious day thinking about her childhood. Besides, she didn’t know Shane well enough to share the dirt on a family that, up until her father’s death and the subsequent discovery that she had an illegitimate half sister, had an impeccable reputation.
They rode in companionable silence for some time before he pointed to the river. “As soon as we go around this bend, you’ll see Rainbow Falls just off to the right.”
Riding side by side once they cleared the tree line, Melissa’s attention once again turned to Shane. He was an expert horseman and handled the stallion with ease. But aside from admiring the way he sat the horse, she simply loved watching him.
With his black Resistol pulled down low on his brow to shade his eyes and a day-old growth of beard, he looked a little wild, possibly dangerous and totally delicious.
A tremor coursed through her and she had to re mind herself that lusting after the man was not conducive to getting her life back under control. Not only had she become pregnant because of it, the physical attraction she had for him was in danger of transforming into something deeper, something more meaningful.
Even though what she felt for him was probably nothing more than a temporary infatuation, in the end it could still do a lot of emotional damage and leave behind some deep long-lasting scars.
As devastatingly handsome and charming as Shane was, he just wasn’t the type of man for her. He had the reputation of moving from one woman to another, leaving a string of broken hearts in his wake. Given the circumstances they found themselves in now, that was one complication she could definitely do without.
He had made it clear right up front that he wasn’t looking for a lasting commitment. Neither was she. She had her own business in California and she might be returning to her life there once the year required to obtain her inheritance was over. She’d reasoned that it was better not to look for anything deeper than a casual relationship until she had decided what she was going to do. After witnessing what some of her friends went through as they tried to maintain long-distance commitments, she had quickly decided it wasn’t for her. Things never seemed to work out, and the hurt and disillusionment that went along with a breakup was something she definitely wanted to avoid.
Besides, she hadn’t really taken Shane’s proposal seriously. That’s why she had dismissed outright his outrageous suggestion that they get married. It had to have been a knee-jerk reaction to the startling news, and once he had more time to think about it, she was certain he would see reason. He would probably even be relieved that she’d had the foresight to turn him down.
The sound of rushing water brought her out of her disturbing introspection and, looking up, Melissa realized they had ridden around the bend in the river and arrived at Rainbow Falls. It was everything Shane had told her and more.
Cascading from the ridge high above, the water fell a good seventy-five feet onto the massive boulders below, then slowing, it formed the lazy river that meandered across the valley floor. What caught and held her attention more than anything was the faint rainbow caused by the sun reflecting off the mist created by the falling water.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said, understanding why it had been named Rainbow River.
“I was pretty sure you would like it.” She could hear the satisfaction and pride in Shane’s voice and knew he was pleased that she hadn’t been disappointed.
They stopped the horses along the riverbank just out of the icy mist and dismounted. As soon as her feet hit the ground, her legs felt as if the tendons had been replaced with stretched-out rubber bands and her muscles had turned to Jell-O.
When she took a wobbly step, Shane was immediately at her side to support her. “Are you all right?”
Nodding, she took another tentative step. “I should go riding more often. Maybe then I would be in better condition.”
Shane took her into his arms. “I think you’re in great shape, angel.” He laughed. “You’d have to be to twist yourself up like a Christmas bow in those yoga classes.”
“Yoga is more about stretching and relaxing the muscles.” Smiling, she enjoyed the feel of him holding her to him. “Horseback riding takes a certain amount of tensing the thigh muscles to help you stay balanced in the saddle.”
“Your thigh muscles don’t seem to be all that weak when you hold on to me,” he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. His deep baritone sent shivers of excitement streaking up her spine and her legs threatened to fail her for an entirely different reason this time.
Before Melissa had the chance to respond to his suggestive words, his mouth came down on hers and she forgot all about her weak knees or the internal lecture she had given herself about lusting after the man. All she wanted, could even think about, was the feel of his lips moving over hers with such gentle care.
When he used his tongue to coax her to allow him entry to her tender inner recesses, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on for dear life. As he teased and coaxed her to answer his exploration with one of her own, a lazy heat spread throughout her body and her lower stomach tightened with the ache of unfulfilled desire.
But the spell that seemed to hold her in its grip was broken when he moved his hands to lift the tail of her pink T-shirt and the icy mist coated her bare abdomen. The breeze had shifted, carrying the spray farther than when they first got off the horses and they were both getting wet.
Shane quickly moved them out of the way, but the mood was effectively shattered and not a moment too soon. What on earth had she been thinking?
She had forgotten all about why going blithely along as if nothing had happened wasn’t going to solve her dilemma. They hadn’t fully discussed or made any decisions about her being pregnant, and that was something they were going to have to address in the very near future. The pregnancy couldn’t be hidden indefinitely. Once she started showing, people were going to start talking and asking questions. She wanted to be ready with some answers when they did.
Unfortunately, it was always this way when Shane held her, kissed her. Sound judgment and common sense seemed to take a backseat to the passion and desire he created within her.
“I think we’d better…break out those sandwiches we made…before we left your house,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “I’m starting to…get hungry.”
His mouth curved upward in a wicked grin. “To tell you the truth, Lissa, I am starved to death right now. But my hunger hasn’t got a damned thing to do with food.”
Doing her best to ignore the excitement that his candid comment evoked, she walked over to the roan and began unpacking one of the saddlebags. “You, Mr. McDermott, are incorrigible.”
He laughed as he helped her spread a blanket for their picnic. “More like insatiable, angel.”
“That may be, but do the best you can to contain yourself,” she said, smiling as she carried their lunch to the blanket.
Kneeling at the edge of the fleece, she avoided his intense blue gaze as she placed the sandwiches on plates, then opened two small bottles of apple juice. If she looked at him, there was a very good chance she would abandon her resolve and that was something she couldn’t afford to let happen.
“We have things to talk about and decisions to make,” she said, taking a sip from her juice.
His expression turning serious, Shane lowered him self to sit on the blanket beside her. “Let’s put a hold on that for right now. We’ll have plenty of time to make our plans tomorrow.” Smiling, he reached for a sandwich. “You need to take today to relax and regroup, anyway. Yesterday was a pretty rough day for you.”
It was the first reference he had made t
o her meltdown the night before, and she was grateful that he didn’t seem overly interested in pursuing it now. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am,” he said, sounding so darned sure of himself, she wasn’t sure whether she should kiss him or take something and bop him with it.
Either way, she decided to take his advice. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to figure what to do about a carefree affair that had unexpectedly become a very serious issue.
Four
The first shadows of evening had just begun to stretch across the valley when Shane and Lissa rode back into the ranch yard. All in all, it had been a pretty good day, he decided as they dismounted. He had been more than a little pleased by her reaction to his ranch and looked forward to showing her more when they had time.
“I’ve been thinking that supper in front of the television would be nice tonight,” he said, leading their horses into the stable. “We can watch a movie on one of the satellite channels or pop a DVD in the player.” Unsaddling the stallion, he carried the tack and blanket into the tack room, then returned to the center aisle of the stable to do the same with the roan. “Although, I think I had better warn you. I don’t have much in the way of romantic movies in my collection.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” she asked, laughing as she reached for a brush to groom the gelding. “I have to admit though, a night of vegging out does sound nice. And whatever you choose to watch is fine with me. I’ll probably fall asleep before the opening credits even get started.”
Finished with brushing the stallion, Shane led the animal down to his stall, then returned for Stormy. “Why don’t you go on to the house and take a hot shower? It will only take me another few minutes to feed and water the horses.”
Without waiting to see if she took him up on his suggestion, Shane walked Stormy to his stall, then set about giving the animals oats and filling their water troughs. He was surprised when he turned around to find that Lissa had sat down on a bale of straw beside the tack room door to wait for him.
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