Wishing on a Rodeo Moon (Women of Character)

by Brannigan, Grace

  "Right about here, where you and I kiss and make up," he murmured.

  Tye leaned heavily on the crutches, aware of the reaction of various parts of her body to his words and the heated look that came with them. She felt totally enveloped by a rush of want and need. Jake. She wanted Jake. His chest was close, the scent of him around her, in her nostrils. She drew in a deep breath. She wanted to take a nose-dive into his chest and not come up for air.

  "All right." Tye threw him a daring smile. "You proceed from the middle and I'll tell you if I like it." Some part of her acknowledged that eventually she and Jake would be lovers. She wanted it, craved it, knew it was inevitable. A delectable little shiver raced across her bare back. Tye could hardly wait. She ran her tongue over her lips. She didn’t want to wait.

  #

  Jake saw the imp surface in Tye. He felt as if the years rolled back. This is the Tye he remembered. Did she realize how fascinating he found her? She had guts and a liberal amount of nerve. She was getting on with her life, instead of letting it pass her. Her courage touched him. He had loved her when she was seventeen. But now, she had matured into so much more than he remembered. For a moment he regretted that time had erased their love. Jake wished he knew how to handle the newly rekindled desire he felt.

  "Proceed from the middle? I don’t want to scare you now. I know how skittish you can be."

  Tye smiled, and it lit her eyes. "Do your worst. We’re old friends, remember?"

  Jake’s body reacted instantly. She looked perfect. His hands itched to trace the slimness of her waist, the rounded curve of her buttocks. She appeared to be in a happy, daredevil mood, yet he sensed a tenseness about her, as if she was afraid he would stare overlong at her stump. Jake couldn’t help his curiosity about the changes she had undergone. He wasn’t sure himself how he felt about the absence of her lower leg. In the end Jake knew it didn’t matter how he felt about it. What mattered was that Tye regained control over her life and accepted herself for the way she was now.

  With a strong measure of control, Jake leaned forward and placed a deliberately chaste kiss on her lips. To his amusement, she looked chagrined. "Am I going too fast?" he asked, making a show of stepping back.

  "Maybe it's the company you keep. Let me try," Tye suggested, moving closer until the thin layer of Lycra was the only thing between her skin and his chest. Jake drew a deep breath at the contact and held himself rigid. He wanted to crush her close to him, but he held back. He was a grown man. He could control himself. For the moment, Jake let Tye set the speed.

  Tye’s tongue traced his lips, then delved inside. Jake felt the weight of her suddenly in his arms. He stepped closer to her, his arms enveloping her. He lifted Tye up against him as she turned her face into his neck. Jake groaned as her lips nuzzled his neck. He struggled to keep his head as her slim hands ran quickly, tantalizingly along his back. Jake bit back the groan of pleasure building in his chest.

  After several moments, Jake let her drop back down to her toes. Vaguely, he felt his chest heaving, like he had run hard. "Now that's what I'd call middle ground. We should meet on it more often," he said, his voice rough with want and need. Jake held her head against him, feeling her tongue wet along his jaw. "Jesus! Tye."

  She gave a gurgle of laughter and did it again, then rested her face against his collarbone, her warm breath touching his skin.

  "I concur," she said in a husky voice. She rubbed her cheek against his chest. "You smell good, Jake, but your skin is hot. I think we should go into the pool and cool off."

  "Mmm." That was about all Jake could manage as he lifted her hair and kissed his way across the sensitive skin of her neck. Her immediate response was to melt into him, and the hot awareness in Jake built to a powerful need. Not sure he wanted to follow blindly where this was leading, Jake pulled himself up and out of the seductive aura that Tye exuded.

  "How about that swim?" he said briskly.

  Jake could almost see the wheels inside her head working. He knew the situation could go either way. She might be hurt he had pulled away or she might be thinking of the next step in their relationship. Jake wanted to make love to Tye, he wanted it with everything inside him. He wished it wasn’t so, but there was no denying the truth.

  "You’re right, Jake!" She exclaimed. "A swim is the solution."

  Jake watched as she tossed her hair back. He had tried like hell to keep his distance these last few weeks. Part of him knew he was asking for trouble big time. He and Tye had had their shot years ago. Another part of him wanted to race ahead and take the decision away from both of them. He wanted to go on gut instinct alone. Gut instinct was telling him to claim what Tye offered and not let go. They were adults, not kids.

  "Come on, last one in is a loser. And I'll warn you I don't intend to lose!" Tye pushed him away from her. Jake saw her hop back when he put out a hand to catch her. Off balance, Jake fell backward into the pool. Before the water closed over his head he saw Tye jump in beside him.

  They surfaced together.

  "You're going to pay for that," he warned, treading water.

  Jake read the exhilaration on her face, the sheer glory of living. She threw her head back challengingly and laughed. "Do your worst...or best, Jake Miller," she invited throatily. "But make sure you do a good job of it."

  Staring at her through slitted eyes, Jake pulled himself from the pool and stood on the edge. Very deliberately he unzipped his jeans and yanked them down, knowing his boxer shorts didn't leave much to the imagination. If she was going to back away Jake intended to give her the opportunity right now.

  #

  Tye couldn't tear her eyes from Jake, her eyes stuck on his lower anatomy so starkly outlined by his wet shorts. Jake turned and threw the jeans out of the immediate circle of light, giving her a perfect view of his trim backside. A cowboy behind, to be sure, the kind that looked perfect in jeans or just about anything. Or nothing, she thought, gulping water. She coughed and gagged, holding onto the side of the pool. Drawing a ragged, embarrassed breath, Tye tried to inhale past the chlorinated water in her airway.

  Somewhere above her she heard Jake laughing softly, and she knew he wasn’t fooled by her. He knew he’d caught her off guard.

  "This boring old boy caught you by surprise, eh, Tye?"

  Tye didn’t answer. She had seen a naked man before, but never frontal, personal, someone-she-knew type of naked man.

  Never Jake Miller. She had wanted to make love with Jake ten years ago, but he’d held back each time when things reached fever pitch. Maybe he had known she was too young to handle the consequences back then. They had both been too young.

  A splash told her he had re-entered the water. Tye twisted her head around, once more able to breathe normally. He was behind her, not touching, but there, smiling, challenging her to continue where they had left off.

  Tye kept her eyes on his face, wondering if for once she had bitten off more than she could chew. Had she met her match in this man? Maybe something of her doubts showed on her face, or in her eyes, because Jake swam away, then around her in circles.

  "Ever skinny-dipped before?" he asked lightly.

  Tye considered his question. "Will you believe me if I say only with other women?"

  "I didn't mean to shock you." His words mocked her.

  She could tell by the glint in his eyes he was lying. Tye would have laughed, maybe, if he wasn't so close. "I'm not easily shocked." Was she really a prude? She considered the question. "I never thought of myself as a prig, but on the other hand," she admitted truthfully, "I've stayed away from men and women relationships for awhile."

  "Are we having a relationship?" Jake asked curiously. He reached out his hand and let the strands of her hair float atop his upturned palm.

  "There's a possibility, isn't there?" Some of the tension eased inside Tye and she took a reviving breath. "I'm not very experienced at this," she told him flatly.

  "I'm not one for casual flings either."

  T
ye began to feel chilled. She pulled herself from the pool and dangled her foot in the water. "Casual or otherwise, I've tried it...getting seriously involved. The leaving is more agony than it's worth when two people want different things." She threw her head back and pushed her wet hair away from her face. "You know what I mean, Jake. Look at our history."

  "I would like to think we’ve moved beyond who we were as teenagers."

  "In some ways of course we have, but some experiences..." Tye shifted sideways. "There’s no sense pussyfooting around. What I'm trying to say is my experience is pretty narrow," she finally blurted. "Despite my reputation, the partying...I’ve never been with a man. I’m afraid you’re going to be in for a big disappointment if you believe everything you’ve heard about me."

  § Chapter Twelve §

  If Jake found her admission startling, he didn't say a word, but swam away from her. She watched his arms cleave the water as he circled back toward her. He rested his elbow on the pool edge beside her thighs.

  Gently, he pulled her close, urged her face down to his. Their mouths met, and Tye slid into the water against him, moved down his water slick body, her leg twining with his. It felt good, until her residual limb bumped against him with the movement of the water. Tye felt her eyes widen in shock. Her gaze latched on Jake’s face as she tried to gauge his reaction. Would he show distaste, revulsion?

  Jake ran a fingertip down her nose, his mouth curving slightly in a smile. "When I'm with you, Tye, we're on equal ground. I feel as inexperienced as any kid."

  Tye licked her lips, trying to breathe normally. She felt her spirits lift. He hadn’t pulled away from her, her leg. She wound her arms around his neck, feeling the pool water push her up against him. The contact was her undoing. She needed more than his water-cool skin against hers. She had missed him the last two weeks. A part of her yearned for him. The feeling had grown steadily, but she had determinedly filled the hours, riding, walking, exercising, all the while knowing she didn't want to stay away from him. All the while knowing she would soon be leaving.

  "Maybe we should be inexperienced together," she whispered, using two fingers to push the hair from his eyes. She reveled in her freedom to touch him. It might not last, this freedom, but it felt wonderful in this moment.

  Without a word Jake put his hands on her hips and pulled her through the water with him, to the opposite side of the pool. At the ladder, he lifted her out, then followed, pulling her upright. His hard, muscled arms carried her to the cushioned chaise in the shadows and he let her stand once more.

  Lifting the cushions, he positioned them on the pool deck, then helped her sit on the cushions. Knowing Jake watched her, Tye crossed her arms and very slowly slid one bathing suit strap down, then the other. She felt incredibly sexy. For the first time since her accident, she felt unselfconscious about her body and the changes it had been through.

  Jake knelt beside her, one hand reaching forward as almost reverently, it seemed, he cupped her breasts. His head moved closer and she caught the glint of his eyes, his face so serious, before his hot mouth dropped to her skin, his lips moving to heat her water-cool flesh. The sensation of his hot mouth on her skin was erotic, mind blowing. Tye cupped the back of his head. Feverishly, her fingers traced the bones of his skull, sensitive to the silky texture of his hair. She dropped her head back, concentrating on the sensation of Jake's mouth. Jags of awareness vibrated through her, one after the other. Never had she been so aware of her own body's needs. She had ignored those very needs for a long time. Early on, it seemed, Jake had spoiled her for another man.

  Jake's hands wiped the droplets from her skin slowly, sensuously, as if he liked touching her. Tye watched Jake’s face, so serious and intent, as his hands continued to trace over her arms and shoulders. Leaning over her, Jake grabbed a towel and slowly dried her body, the material semi-rough and sensuous against her ultra-sensitive skin. His hands beneath the towel traced an erotically stimulating path across her skin.

  Pulling the towel from his hands, Tye did the same for Jake, enjoying his muscled body beneath her palms. She rubbed the cloth over his chest and watched the dark hair spring back. Gently, she laid the towel behind his neck and rubbed it through his hair, her fingers tracing the bones at the back of his skull. Lastly, Tye dried his shoulders, then moved the towel aside so she could touch the warm brown skin with her mouth. She couldn’t resist that temptation. Touching Jake was a glorious temptation.

  Abandoning the towel Tye lay back and reached her arms to Jake as he hovered above her. The light was behind him, throwing his face into shadow. She traced a finger along his lean cheek to the corner of his mouth. Jake turned his head and nipped her finger, then licked and kissed it. Jake placed a hand on either side of her. Tye felt so strung up with desire, she didn't care if she ever moved.

  "I'm a patient man, Tye."

  "That’s a strange choice of words," Tye murmured. "Right now I don’t want words, Jake." She placed her open palms on his chest, curled her fingers into the springy hair and felt the delicate quiver of muscle. Jake wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  "Sometimes the words have to be said."

  Tye placed her palm flat against his ribs. "What are you telling me?"

  One of his hands captured hers and his long fingers splayed her fingers wide. "All I’m saying is we've got all kinds of time."

  "I'm impatient by nature," Tye admitted, smiling. She’d always lived for the here and now, damn the consequences.

  Jake smoothed her hair out, spreading the wet strands over the cushion. "Believe me, I feel the same way."

  "But?" Tye tensed, a slow spiral of emotion settling in the pit of her stomach.

  He let out a deep breath and his gaze met hers. "Maybe we're not ready to take this step."

  The words were a dash of cold on the hot emotions surging through Tye. She tried to stay calm, but a certain hurt wended its way through her.

  "If you’re having doubts, Jake, just come out and say so." She moved to sit up, but Jake's hand cupped her shoulder and held her still.

  "Hang on a minute, don't get riled up."

  Tye felt a sting inside, an abrupt coil of tension. "Well, what do you suggest? I'm ready to take this further, but you're not."

  "Oh, no, you've got that wrong, sweetheart. I'm ready to go as far as you need." His voice was calm, the words slow and measured, lessening the sting Tye felt. "I want you to consider this: we've barely spoken to each other in two weeks, hardly even seen each other...and here we are with suddenly nothing between us but some words." His gaze moved over her bare breasts as if to emphasize his words.

  "We ignite, and right now that feels like enough. I want to find out where it can go. I’m ready to take that step." Tye felt like a defiant teenager. She took a deep breath and tried to get a grip on her emotions. She had never been good at containing emotion.

  Jake put a fraction more space between them and gripped the back of his neck with one hand. "I don't want the mere fact of passion bringing us together." He shook his head with disgust. "Geez, I can’t believe I’m saying this."

  Tye bit on her knuckles. "Let’s cut to the chase. The fact is neither one of us can forget what happened before."

  "I'm not trying to forget anything. All I'm saying is if we get involved, we’re both adult enough to realize it’s a matter of body chemistry." Jake gave an exasperated sound. "Hell, I don’t know. Call it unfinished business. Maybe we both need to carry this to the next step and then it’ll be played out like it should have been ten years ago."

  "So you’re saying we should have an affair, get this thing that’s plaguing both of us out of our systems." Tye felt a piece of her heart shrivel. Her skin felt clammy, the night air suddenly too cool.

  "I’m not sure what I’m saying. You mean a lot to me, Tye, otherwise this situation here and now would never materialize. You’ve always been under my skin. I'm the type of man who can’t ignore that."

  Tye bit back the cry of despair that wan
ted out. "You make me sound like a sliver you need to extricate." Tye put up a hand and pushed herself back from Jake. "I take life one day at a time, Jake, even more so since the accident. But even I draw the line at a relationship that sounds so cold and clinical."

  Blindly, Tye reached for a towel. With shaky fingers she pulled her bathing suit back into place and wrapped herself in the towel. The air had a bite in it. Damn! She felt like she was back to square one; vulnerable and exposed.

  "There’s nothing cold and clinical about any relationship we’ll ever have." Jake said dryly. He stared at her until Tye met his gaze. Heat leapt up her neck and into her face. She knew he was right, but now the mood had changed.

  Jake stood up and disappeared into the shadows. When he returned, his jeans clung to his lean legs damply. Tye watched him, a feeling of sadness overcoming her. He had been right about one thing; they would have been good together. A part of her ached because she knew that wasn't going to happen. He wanted something she couldn't give. A promise to walk away and not want more. Isn’t that what he was outlining in black and white? Sleep together, get rid of this bothersome desire and then they could each go their separate ways. Six months ago Tye might have pulled that off. Taken what Jake offered and walked away with head held high. But not now. Lies and deceit had a way of coming back to you. She had seen it first hand with her own family. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t love him.

  Jake walked over to the pool and retrieved her crutches. As he handed them to her, Tye smiled regretfully, hiding her pain.

  "I do have to admire you, Jake, any other man wouldn't have thought twice about taking what was offered." Her heart didn’t want any other man.

  "The door isn't closed, Tye."

  The words caused a shivery sensation to delve down her back, but she made no move toward him. She couldn’t tell him she loved him. She’d feel like she was pleading for him to make love with her. Obviously, he no longer loved her. It was ten years too late for her to come to her senses.