This Time for Keeps

by Maureen Child

She flashed him an impatient glance and went on ac; if he hadn't spoken. "Nothing with you," she looked up at him suddenly, hope shining in her brown eyes. "I don't suppose there's anyone else I might have…”

  "No!" Frowning at her, he added, "You're not that kind of woman, Nora.”

  "Then what you're telling me," she said on a heavy sigh, "is that I'm a twenty-seven-year-old virgin."

  "I hope to shout you are."

  "Trust me," she grumbled. "It's nothing to shout about."

  "You're supposed to be a…" He waved his hand at her demonstratively. "Until you get married."

  "According to the rules written by men, you mean."

  "There are no rules," he snapped. "It's just the way things are, that's all."

  "So if I don't get married, I have to go to my grave as untouched as the day I was born."

  How in the hell had they gotten into this conversation, he screamed silently. And more importantly, how could he get out of it?

  "You're a good woman, Nora." He swallowed heavily and reached out to give her shoulder a pat. Hoping this would end the discussion, he added, "That's nothing to be ashamed of.”

  "But a good man can screw around with anyone he wants, is that it?”

  He frowned at the phrasing, but managed to understand the meat of what she was saying. Rubbing the back of his neck, he muttered, "That's different."

  She snorted at him.

  "I didn't make things this way," he reminded her. "They just are.”

  "Ninety-five years," she whispered and tossed one quick, angry look at the night sky. "A ninety-five-year-old virgin. Why the heck didn't you guys just plop me down in a convent, for God's sake?"

  His gaze followed hers and sharpened when a distant rumble of thunder rolled toward them.

  “Who are you talking to?”

  “Nobody important,” Nora said, already planning the speech she would make to her damn committee the next time she got hold of them.

  "You best go on back to the house," he said abruptly, apparently tired of this conversation. "If you get sick, we're not going on your damned cow hunt.”

  What did he have to be so nasty about, Nora wondered. He could have sex whenever he wanted. She should be the one getting surly. Well, this was just one more strike against the nineteenth century. Nora made a mental note to contact Larry, Moe, and Curly about this as soon as possible.

  It wasn't so much that she missed sex. After all, in her time, sex had pretty much become a game of Russian roulette. It wasn't safe to sleep around, not that she would have even if given the opportunity. She'd only had one lover before she had died so unexpectedly. And he hadn't exactly delivered what all of the romance novels she used to read promised. Of course, she had had high hopes for that blue-eyed lawyer. If only he hadn't bought those French fries on one certain night, she might have found out if there really could be fireworks.

  Now, living in the land of no ring, no sex, she would never know. She wasn't willing to marry somebody just to gain a bed partner. And she certainly wasn't foolish enough to fall in love again.

  Hell, maybe she'd just throw in the towel and become a fallen woman. She was rich. Maybe she could hire a gigolo.

  Looking up at Seth, she saw him watching her as though he expected her to start foaming at the mouth. What was so outrageous? Her talking about sex? Or the idea of the two of them actually being together?

  Suddenly, she had to know.

  "Didn't you ever want to?” she asked.

  His gaze narrowed and a muscle in his jaw twitched. "Want to what?"

  "You know," she prodded, certain he knew exactly what she was talking about "Didn't you even once consider the possibility of making love to me?”

  “No.”

  He said "no,” but a flicker of something else flashed briefly in his eyes. That same something that had prompted her into threatening to go alone with Richard on her cow hunt. She hadn't been serious, of course. She had just wanted to gauge his reaction to the idea.

  And he had reacted just as she'd hoped.

  Smiling up at him, she accused softly. "You're lying."

  "I've known you ten years, Nora," he said, jaw tight "I swear to you that during that entire time, right up until you were lying in your deathbed, I never thought any such thing." He took her elbow, turned her around, and started for the house.

  Ribbons of warmth snaked up her arm, unraveled in her chest, and wrapped themselves around her heart. Her breath quickened and her pulse rate rocketed.

  She dug her bare heels into the dirt, bringing him to a stop. When he turned to look at her, she dismissed the annoyance in his eyes and said, "What about after that, Seth?"

  "What do you mean?”

  She smiled and took a half step closer to him. His broad, bare chest, displayed by his open shirt, was enticingly near. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to feel his arms around her. She was so hungry for his kiss, she thought she might scream if he rejected her. "I mean, since I woke up… since I've been feeling better, have you thought about…"

  That muscle in his jaw twitched again. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, "I don't think we should be talking about this.”

  "Me either," she whispered, closing the small distance between them. "Enough talking already." She reached up, cupped his face between her palms and drew his head down toward her.

  With a quiet groan, Seth surrendered. His arms closed around her tightly, pulling her into him, flattening her body against his. She felt the hard ridge of his desire pressing into her abdomen and in response, small fires came alive in her bloodstream.

  His mouth claimed hers in a ferocious, yet somehow tender kiss. Sliding her hands up and over his shoulders, she held onto him as if it meant her life and gave herself over to the incredible sensations sparkling through her.

  He parted her lips with his tongue, stroking, caressing. She matched him touch for touch, eagerness singing in her veins. His breath brushed her cheeks, his hands swept up and down her back, exploring, feeding the flames of the desire consuming her.

  He smelled of soap and leather and danger. His arms, strong and muscular from years of hard work, tightened around her, lifting her clear of the ground and holding her tightly enough to him that she felt his heart pounding in time with her own.

  Bare feet dangling, she returned his kiss with every ounce of longing within her. A moment later, he tore his mouth from hers and set her back on her feet with a jarring thud that nearly rattled her teeth.

  "What is it?" she asked, breathing ragged. "What's wrong?”

  “What's wrong?" he repeated. 'This. What we're doing."

  "I thought we were doing great," she said, trying to make him smile. It didn't work. Inhaling sharply, she exhaled on a rush and tried something different. "It was just a kiss, Seth."

  He glared at her.

  "All right, so it was more."

  "A lot more and it can't happen again."

  Her nerves still trembling, she laid one hand on his arm and wasn't surprised when he visibly flinched. Maybe he was right. Maybe it shouldn't happen again. After all, she knew better than most people just how dangerous love was.

  But this didn't have to be about love, did it? There was nothing wrong with a little good old-fashioned lust, was there?

  "We're both adults here, Seth."

  "Then we should damn well act like it." Shoving his hands into his pants pockets, he jerked his head in the direction of the house. "Instead, we're acting like a couple of kids left too long unchaperoned on the porch swing.”

  "Seth…"

  "Go back inside, Nora. Please."

  If he hadn't said "please." she wouldn't have considered it. But before she went, she had to say something else. "You know, Elizabeth came to see me tonight."

  "Huh?" Clearly confused, he stared at her.

  “She told me you were dangerous."

  Even in the indistinct moonlight, she could see his features tighten.

  "Did she now?" he asked. "Did she say why?"


  "Yes."

  The lips she had just been kissing thinned into an angry slash. "So this was a test, is that it?" he demanded roughly. "You wanted to see if I was going to rip off your clothes and take you in the dirt?"

  Nora was almost ashamed to admit even to herself just how that visual image made her heart race.

  "What happens now, boss lady? Did I pass or fail?"

  "Oh, cut it out. There was no test. I knew she was lying when she told me her story." Of course, if she hadn't been sure of Seth, tonight would have convinced her. Any man who could be as aroused as he had been and abruptly stop everything for the woman's sake was no rapist.

  "Yeah? Why's that?" His stance was relaxed, his voice casual, as if he didn't care about her answer. But Nora knew different.

  "Because, cowboy, in the last few days I've made you mad enough that if you were a violent man, you would have been pushed over the edge."

  The set of his shoulders eased a bit, but he still looked wary. "Maybe," he said, "I just wasn't interested enough in you to push it."

  She chuckled, reached up, and touched her bruised lips with the tips of her fingers, then said, "I think we've pretty much put the lie to that idea."

  After a long moment, Seth gave her a careful smile. "I guess we have at that." He reached for her, but before he touched her, he let his hand fall back to his side. "But what happened here tonight doesn't really matter, Nora. I won't let it happen again.”

  “You won't?”

  He shook his head. "I think too highly of you for that. Besides, I promised your father on his deathbed that I would look after you.” Taking a deep breath, he finished, “That doesn't include bedding you."

  "Shouldn't I be the judge of that?" she asked.

  "No ma'am. My word. My promise."

  Strange, she had had to travel back in time to the nineteenth century to find a man of honor. And wouldn't you know he would be the very one who made her insides light up like the fourth of July?

  "I'm going to keep that promise to him, Nora," Seth whispered. "Even if it kills me."

  That didn't sound good.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Nora hurried through the silent house toward the hall leading to her room. She needed to be alone. To think. Every nerve in her body still sizzling from her short encounter with Seth, she had to decide if simple lust was going to be possible with him.

  Heaven knew, she couldn't afford to trust love again. Not after all the things she had been through over the centuries. Okay, fine, Huey, Dewey, and Louie had promised her ninety-five years in this life. But would that still hold true if she fell in love with Seth?

  Marking that question down in her mental notebook, she resolved to contact the Resettlement Committee as soon as possible.

  The long, narrow hall stretching out in front of her was dark. There were no windows to let in the moonlight and she hadn't had the foresight to take a candle with her when she left her room.

  Thankfully though, she'd had a few days now to acquaint herself with the layout of the furniture in the house. Moving quietly, so as not to wake up Richard and Elizabeth, Nora crept forward.

  When she slammed her little toe into the leg of a chair, starbursts of pain splintered in front of her eyes. Biting down on her lip, she clapped one hand across her mouth, grabbed her throbbing toe with the other, and hopped awkwardly in place. As the screaming pain subsided into a dull, pounding ache, she let go of her foot and leaned back against the wall to catch her breath. It was another moment or two before she heard the voices.

  She turned her head toward the door right beside her. Elizabeth's room. Someone was with her. Guiltily, Nora glanced around the darkened hallway, then moved closer to the closed door, straining to listen.

  The sound of Elizabeth's voice was easy enough to hear, but the words were too muffled to understand. Scowling, Nora strained to identify the other speaker. She held her breath, listening. A deep murmuring came to her, enough to know the person in the room with Elizabeth was a man.

  Both eyebrows lifted as Nora straightened up and stared at the closed door. Who the heck did the woman have in there? And how had she managed to sneak somebody into the house at nearly three o'clock in the morning?

  Maybe it was one of the hands. Mentally, she raced through the names and faces but came up with only one likely candidate for Elizabeth's bed. But Nora had been talking to Seth only moments ago, so it couldn't be him. Odd, she thought, the strange sense of relief that realization brought.

  But knowing who wasn't in there didn't tell her who the mystery man was.

  Frowning, she glanced guiltily over her shoulder at the dark hallway behind her, then cocked her head closer to the heavy oak panel that made eavesdropping so difficult. Whatever they were saying, Elizabeth sounded furious. Apparently, Nora thought, the other woman could get emotional without fainting. The man's calm, low-pitched murmuring sounded like nothing more than a large bee buzzing.

  Grumbling in frustrated disgust, Nora leaned in closer to the door until her ear was nearly resting on the wood.

  Elizabeth yelped suddenly.

  Nora jumped back, outraged. No matter what she thought of Elizabeth, she couldn't just stand there and listen to someone hurt her. But before she could decide whether or not to pound on the door and demand that whoever was in there stop abusing the woman, a new, fairly interesting noise reached her.

  Someone moaned softly. Nora turned her face and stared blankly at the polished oak door. In another moment, the unmistakable sound of furiously creaking bed springs wiped away her vague idea of a rescue.

  Nora sighed and moved back from the door. As the muffled shrieks of the bed intensified, a small, envious smile flitted across her lips. With a last look at the closed door, she started down the hall toward her own lonely room.

  Damn it, if Elizabeth could have a good time in bed, why couldn't she?

  #

  "You can't be serious." Richard said.

  This was the first time Seth could recall ever agreeing with Richard Bonner. The man had been going on about Nora's planned cow counting trip all during breakfast and showed no signs of stopping. Seth looked across the table at Nora and waited for the kind of response he had come to expect.

  Slathering strawberry preserves on a slice of fresh bread, Nora barely glanced at the blond man. "Why would I kid around about this?” she asked.

  "Really, Nora," Elizabeth spoke up while her brother sputtered. “You don’t actually believe that we would allow you to go off on this foolish adventure with a man, unchaperoned?”

  "I don't remember asking for permission," Nora answered. She swallowed, then took another bite before commenting, "You're looking well rested today, Elizabeth. Get a good night's sleep, did you?"

  Seth shifted his interested gaze to the other woman. Clearly unhappy about having to come downstairs to be fed, Elizabeth brushed at the purple feathers floating around the neckline of her silly robe.

  "As a matter of fact I did," she said, with a wary look at Nora.

  Nora simply smiled and reached for the strawberry jam again.

  "Now about this camping trip, dear," Elizabeth started right in again. "You can't expect us to approve of it."

  Seth took a sip of coffee and found himself almost enjoying this whole scene. The old Nora, of course, would never have suggested such a trip. But if she had, she would have immediately surrendered to Elizabeth's disapproval.

  This Nora, though, had a mind of her own and a stubborn streak to match. When did it happen? When had he stopped expecting Nora to change? To become the woman she used to be? And maybe more importantly, when had he started to admire the woman she was now?

  His fingers tightened around the handle of his coffee cup as he watched her happily ignoring the other two people at the table. Was it the kiss they'd shared in the moonlight? No, it was more than that, he knew. Much more.

  That was what worried him.

  Risking a quick glance at Hannah, who bustled into the room carrying su
pplies for the coming trip, he told himself how odd it was that only he and the housekeeper seemed to have realized that the old Nora was gone for good. Richard and Elizabeth both appeared hell-bent to prove that she was still the same manageable girl she used to be.

  Looking back to Nora, he was in time to see her tongue slide across her lower lip to capture a spot of jam. His insides tightened. His body hard, his breathing labored, he told himself for the hundredth time to forget about that kiss. To forget about the feelings she stirred up in him. To forget how well she fit in the circle of his arms.

  Pulling in a deep breath, he gulped at his coffee and was grateful for the burning pain that roared down his throat. Anything to keep his mind off what he and Nora had shared in the space of a few short moments in the moonlight.

  Nora spooned the extra jam onto her toast and shot Elizabeth a quick look. "Actually, I didn't think about what you and Richard would have to say about this one way or the other."

  "Really!" Elizabeth huffed.

  "Sweetheart," Richard tried a softer approach. "You must understand how inappropriate— how dangerous this idea is."

  Nora looked at him. "No, I don't see the big deal," she said. "Seth is my foreman. I'm his boss. If I want to go out and get a look at my own ranch, count my own cows, whose business is that but mine?"

  Seth shifted his gaze to look at the Bonners. He would have given money he didn't have to know what they were thinking. The two blonds exchanged a glance. Then, as if by silent agreement, Elizabeth spoke. "Nora,” she began, then added, "dear. A woman in your position must be very careful. Once your reputation is soiled, no decent man would offer for you."

  “Offer what for me?" Nora asked innocently enough, although Seth thought he saw a glimmer of humor twitching at her mouth.

  "Why offer you marriage, of course," Richard snapped.

  "But didn't you already offer?" Nora asked, her eyes wide.

  Seth set his coffee cup down on the table, propped his chin in the palm of one hand and got comfortable. This little show was starting to get downright entertaining.

  "Of course,” Richard said, "but you have yet to accept our engagement. If you should travel with another man, people will talk."