by Ruth Langan
She touched a finger to his face, tracing the curve of his lips, the arch of his brow. “You were so…”
He wondered if she knew what her touch was doing to him. “So?” he prompted.
“So…sexy.”
He felt his body begin to tense. It didn’t seem possible that he wanted her again so soon. But he did.
His hand snaked out, his fingers imprisoning her wrist. “That’s exactly how I feel right now. So be careful. You keep that up, we’ll be right back where we started.”
She looked startled. Then a lazy little cat smile touched the corners of her lips. “Really?” She leaned down, allowing her hair to tickle his chest as she covered his mouth with hers.
“Yeah. Really.” He pulled her down on top of him and ran his hands down her back, then up her sides, tracing the fullness of her breasts.
She made a sound in her throat that could have been a purr. Then she wriggled over him until he was fully aroused.
Suddenly he rolled her over and kissed her until they were both breathless. And then, with soft sighs and whispered promises, he took her on a slow, languorous journey. This time, there was none of the storm and thunder and desperation. It was all slow heat and long, lazy caresses. With soft touches and moist, butterfly kisses they drifted on a cloud of contentment, as though they had all the time in the world. And as the heat grew to an inferno and the need built until they were breathless, they took each other to an even higher plane, before settling slowly back to earth.
“Oh. This is great.” Erin and Hazard sat in the middle of her bed, sharing wine and pizza.
Erin was wearing her new pajamas. Plain white cotton with white satin piping. She’d left her hair long and loose, but had retrieved her glasses. She looked, Hazard thought, like a completely different person from the one who had arrived, all buttoned up and quivering with nerves, only days ago.
Hazard had pulled on his jeans, but was still barefoot and shirtless. A man completely comfortable with himself and his surroundings. “Yeah. You did a great job of heating this up.”
She glanced over. “Are you talking about the pizza or the evening?”
Surprised, he threw back his head and roared. “My, my, Dr. Ryan. Aren’t you becoming a wicked woman of the world, all of a sudden.”
“All your fault.” She picked up another slice and tipped back her head, to catch the dripping cheese. “You’ve corrupted me. Now you’ll just have to live with what you’ve done.”
“Does this mean you’re going to come sneaking into my room every night and seduce me?”
She arched a brow. “Hmm. Now that sounds promising. Actually, I thought you might want to come to my room.”
“Just try keeping me away.” He topped off her glass and then his. “Nice of my brothers to keep the bar stocked.” He studied the label of the wine. “I think Ace brought this back from Spain.”
“Do you ever travel with them?”
“Once in a while. When it’s absolutely necessary. But I prefer to stay here at the ranch. Things just seem to run more smoothly when I’m looking over everybody’s shoulder. Peterson and Cody have a handle on things, but they’re not the owner, and the other wranglers know it.”
“So the chores don’t get done the same way as when you’re here.”
He nodded. “They’re good guys, for the most part. But you know the old saying. When the cat’s away…” He shrugged. “I’m hard on them at times. Especially during calving. This is a tricky time of year. We’re dealing with newborns. With the weather. Snow one day, sunshine the next. With predators. Wolves know this is the best time to have themselves a tasty morsel of helpless calf. And now this new problem.”
She touched a hand to his. “I want you to know I’ll do everything I can to uncover the cause of these deaths.”
He smiled, that wonderful smile that always touched her heart. “I never doubted it.” He indicated the pizza. “One more slice.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Me, neither.” He lifted the carton and set it on the night table, then set his glass beside it and reached for hers.
She blinked. “What are you doing?”
“I wouldn’t want you to spill red wine on those brand-new pajamas.” He moved closer. “Have I told you how adorable you look in them?”
“Adorable?”
“Yeah.” He reached for her glasses and set them aside. “You’re so cute, I could eat you alive. In fact, I think I might.” He reached for her buttons, undoing the first, then the second, all the while watching her eyes as they widened, then began to soften as he slid the top from her shoulders.
“You’re not still wearing that corsage, are you?” He nibbled at her neck.
“No. Why?”
“Because.” He brought his lips lower, to the sensitive column of her throat. “I can still smell roses. It’s on your skin. Here.” He nibbled, tasted. “And here.”
She gasped and brought a hand to his chest. His heartbeat was thundering.
“Let’s see if it’s everywhere.” With one quick tug he had her out of her clothes and lying beneath him.
He caught her foot in his hand and pressed kisses to her instep, her toes, her ankle. “Yep. The lady even has rosie tosies.”
She started to giggle. “Hazard, stop. That tickles.”
“Too late. I can’t stop now.” He ran nibbling kisses up the inside of her leg, pausing at her knee, then moving higher, to her thigh, then higher still.
Her giggles stopped, replaced by a gasp.
He lifted his head. “Would you like me to stop now?”
Her eyes were already glazed with passion. For a moment she wasn’t sure she could speak. But she finally managed to lift a hand, then weakly let it drop back to the sheets. “If you stop now, I’ll have to kill you.”
“I’ll say this, Dr. Ryan. You’re an amazingly quick study.”
He lowered his head. And slowly drove her to the edge of madness and beyond.
Chapter 10
“What are you doing?” Erin awoke to find Hazard staring down at her with almost fierce concentration.
“Watching you sleep.”
In fact, he’d been awake for more than an hour, watching while Erin slept in his arms. It had been the most amazing thing to watch. The way her long, pale lashes cast shadows on her cheeks. The way her lips curved in a dreamy smile while some pleasant thought drifted through her mind. The way her hair fell in soft waves, dipping over one eye in a most seductive manner.
It was fascinating to realize that beneath this very soft, very feminine appearance, was a brilliant mind, which, until recently, had known only discipline and order. It had been so satisfying to watch her learn to relax and have fun.
She yawned. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know. I never even bothered to look at the clock.”
“Don’t you have chores to see to?”
“Yeah.” But he made no move to get up. “I’ll see to them in a while.”
She bit her lip. “I’m not sure I can just lie here and be lazy. I’ve never tried it before.” She began to wiggle around.
He frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for my pajamas. I wonder what happened to them.”
“I think they went the way of your corsage.”
“You mean…?”
He nodded. And shot her a wicked smile. “I think I ate them.”
She couldn’t help laughing. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You could try kissing me. I’ve been thinking about nothing else for the past hour.”
She leaned over and pressed her mouth to his. At once his arms came around her, molding her to the length of him. She wasn’t surprised to discover that he was fully aroused. She’d learned, throughout the night, that it took little more than a touch of the hand or a brush of their lips to start the fire blazing between them.
All night they’d loved, then dozed, then loved again. And each time it was different. At
times soft and easy. As though they’d been together for a lifetime. At other times, so hot and fierce they were rocked by the intensity of the passion that flared between them.
“Do you know what I want to do?” he managed to whisper against her mouth.
“I think I have a pretty good idea.”
He leaned over her, loving the spark of fire in her eyes. “Oh, Dr. Ryan. You haven’t a clue.” He ran wet, nibbling kisses across her cheek, along her jaw, before claiming her lips. His fingertips had already begun to weave their magic. “But I’m about to show you.”
He cut off the words she was about to say with a kiss so filled with hunger, it robbed her of speech.
And then there was no need for words, as they lost themselves once more in their newly discovered love.
“Would you like to use the shower first?” Erin lay in bed, feeling pleasantly sated. She’d never before spent a morning like this. Of course, she’d never spent a night like the one they’d just shared, either. The thought had laughter bubbling in her throat.
“What’s so funny?”
“Us.” She shook her head. “Who would have believed this?”
“Yeah.” He looked over at her and joined in the laughter. “Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t go to our proms all those years ago. Who knows what might have happened?”
She shook her head and sat up, no longer shy about her nakedness. “This never would have happened to me back then.”
“Why do you say that?” He reached up and idly twisted a strand of her hair around his finger, loving the silky feel of it against his work-roughened skin.
“Because I believe in fate. And I was fated to wait—” She almost said, for you. Instead, she finished lamely, “Until I was ready.”
“I’m glad you waited.” He drew her head down and kissed her with such tenderness she felt a lump rise to her throat.
To hide the sudden rush of emotions, she scrambled out of bed. “Since you didn’t speak up, I’m going to shower first.”
She walked away and turned on the taps, then stepped into the shower. A minute later she looked around to see the door open. Hazard stepped inside.
“I missed you.” He walked closer, stepping under the spray with her. And as the water poured over them, they came together in a flood of passion that caught them both by surprise.
“I can’t believe the mess we made in here.” Erin moved around the kitchen, pulling down crepe paper streamers. She was dressed in her new jeans and sweater. Her hair fell in damp tendrils around her shoulders.
Hazard had pulled on a plaid shirt and jeans.
Both of them were barefoot.
The radio was still tuned to the oldies station. Robert Palmer was singing about being addicted to love. It had them both grinning like conspirators.
“We had other things on our minds last night, as I recall.” Hazard reached for the glittery ball that hung in the center of the ceiling.
Just then the back door opened and Ace strode in, carrying his briefcase. Behind him was Cody. Both men stopped short and stared around with matching looks of surprise.
Erin froze. Her first thought was to duck out of the room. But she couldn’t seem to make her mind and body work in sync. And so she stood perfectly still, while crepe paper streamers trailed from her hands to the ceiling, where they were still taped.
Hazard glowered at his brother. “What’re you doing here?”
Ace grinned. “I live here. Remember?”
“I mean today. Weren’t you supposed to be gone for a couple of days?”
“Yeah. I got done early. And I always look forward to your warm welcome.” He turned to Erin, whose cheeks were bright pink. “Looks like somebody had a party.”
“No. I mean, yes. Well, actually…” Her voice trailed off and she turned helplessly to Hazard.
“We had a little…prom here.”
“A prom?” Ace’s grin widened. “You two?”
“Hell.” Hazard reached up and yanked down the glittery ball. “I don’t owe you any explanation.”
“Nope. That’s true.” Ace sauntered across the room and tossed his briefcase on the table. When he caught sight of the half-eaten pizza and the empty wine bottle, he arched a brow. “Now that’s a new breakfast, even for you, Bro.”
“We had it last night.”
“Oh. Looks like you forgot to wrap the leftovers.” Ace turned. “What’d you have this morning?”
“Nothing yet. We were just getting to it.”
Ace lifted his hand and stared pointedly at his watch. “It’s almost noon. And Cody tells me you never even bothered to show up for your chores this morning.”
“I was a little busy.” Hazard turned to the old cowboy. “Thanks for picking up my chores. You can go ahead up to Peterson’s. I’ll be along later.”
“Sure thing, Hazard.” Cody cleared his throat. “’Morning, Erin.”
She gave him a nervous smile. “Cody.”
The old cowboy looked from Erin to Hazard and began whistling a little tune as he walked out.
When he was gone, Ace glanced from Erin to his brother. They were studiously avoiding looking at each other. Erin looked for all the world like a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar. And Hazard looked as though he’d like nothing better than to engage in a down-and-dirty brawl to clear the air.
“Guess I’ll go change.” Ace started past Erin, then paused. “I like your hair like that, Doc. You ought to wear it down more often.”
“Thank…thank you.”
He turned. “I’ll be going into Prosperous in a while. You two need anything?”
“Nothing.” Hazard’s jaw was so tight, the word came out in a snarl.
“Yeah. Well, if you think of something…”
“Ace?”
He turned to his brother. “Yeah?”
“Get out of here.”
“I’m going.”
“I mean right now. Or I’m going to break you in half.”
“Yeah. Sure. I can tell when I’m not wanted.” Ace walked away, chuckling.
When they were alone, Hazard looked over at Erin. “Sorry. I never expected him back so soon.”
“It’s all right. I just feel so—” She looked down at the crepe paper streamers in her hand.
Wanting to comfort her, Hazard crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders. They were shaking. Alarmed, he caught her by the chin, forcing her to look at him. Instead of the tears he’d anticipated, he saw that she was silently laughing.
Laughing?
Relief poured through him. “You’re not mad?”
“Oh, Hazard.” She could hardly speak over the laughter that bubbled up and exploded through her. “We looked so silly.”
“Yeah. I don’t know when I’ve felt more like a damned fool.”
“Two fools,” she said, laughing harder.
He threw back his head and roared. “You realize it’ll be all over the ranch by tonight.”
“It’s nobody’s fault but ours.”
“Yeah.”
They laughed harder, until tears actually streamed down their faces. Finally, when they managed to compose themselves, Hazard pressed his lips to her temple. “I guess I’ll have to do at least a few of my chores. I can’t ask Cody to carry the load alone. Can you finish up in here?”
She nodded.
“All right. I’ll see you at dinnertime.”
He started away, then returned and kissed her long and slow and deep. “I just needed that to tide me over until tonight.”
“Thanks. I needed it, too.” She returned the kiss.
He got almost to the door before he turned back and kissed her one more time.
Then he forced himself to walk away. Once outside he leaned against the door and filled his lungs with cold air. Then he started toward the barn. Knowing all the while that what he really wanted to do was go back inside and carry her off to her room. To shut out the world and make mad, passionate love to her all day long.
&nbs
p; “Thelma sent some stuff for dinner.” Ace walked into the house carrying a huge paper sack.
“What is it?” Hazard looked up from the freezer, where he’d been studying Maggie’s neatly labeled meals and wondering how he and Erin would manage to prepare them. He slammed the door with a sigh of relief.
Erin had chosen to set the table, since it was something she thought she could handle without looking too clumsy.
“I don’t know. Thel didn’t say. Just said she told Slocum to fix us something special.” Ace began to sort through the various carry-out cartons. “Hmm. This one’s a corned beef on rye. And this is a container of salad. This looks like—” he dipped his finger, tasted “—spaghetti sauce. So I guess this must be—” he opened another “—umm-hmm. Spaghetti.” He fished a package from the bottom of the bag. “Bread sticks. Fries. I think she’s included everything we ever liked through the years.”
“She must know you pretty well.” Erin filled glasses with water and placed them on the table.
“Yeah. She was the closest thing to Mom’s kitchen when we were growing up.” Ace bit into a bread stick. “I think she misses cooking for us now that Maggie’s in the family.”
“How old were you when you lost your mom?” Erin looked up from her work.
“Five. And Hazard was eight and Chance ten. Seven years later we buried our dad.”
Erin glanced from Ace to Chance. “So young. How did you manage to hang on to the ranch after you lost your dad?”
“By sheer hard work.” Ace grinned. “I used to goof off at every opportunity. But not Chance and Hazard. They took it seriously. They were old enough to know what they stood to lose.” He turned to study his brother, who was filling a coffeemaker with water. “Hazard was the one who kept us in line whenever Chance and I got carried away with our big dreams. He kept reminding us that without the ranch, nothing else would matter. And he was right.”
Hazard shot him a quick grin. “Wait a minute. Am I hearing right? Are you actually paying me a compliment?”
“Yeah. And you’d better savor the moment. You may never get another one.”