“You pack a mean punch,” he said. “My face stung for an hour.”
She didn’t respond.
“I’m apologizing for what I said.”
“No need.”
Her feathers were still ruffled. She wouldn’t look at him. “There’s a need,” he said quietly.
This time when she turned to face him, she searched his eyes for sincerity. “Because I saved your life?”
“Not only that. You deserve better treatment. I spoke harsh that day. I could have tempered my words and not hurt you. Fact is, Rachel, I’m only here a short time. Wouldn’t do for us to—”
“To what, Cooper?” she asked pointedly, her pretty face in a scowl. “To have a decent conversation? To share a few moments together?” She rushed the words out, shaking her head in frustration.
He arched his brow. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
She set the basket down and stared at him, her hands set firmly on her hips. “Besides, you didn’t hurt me. You…you infuriated me.”
“Look, Jess told me about a man who didn’t treat you kindly. Someone who betrayed your trust. I’m not about to—”
“Jess shouldn’t have said anything. He’s overprotective of me, but the fact is, I handled Hank on my own. He didn’t hurt me, not in that way.”
“Who was he?”
Her shoulders slumped. She looked away for a few moments and then finally turned back to him. “My ranch foreman. I hired him shortly after Josh died. He seemed to take over so easily and I was indebted to him for helping keep the ranch from falling apart. I liked him, but not in that way. It was too soon and I was still grieving. The baby was all I could handle. But he took my gratitude as a sign of something more. Something I wasn’t offering. And then one night, he decided he’d take it anyway, coming to me uninvited.” Rachel stared at the ground for a moment. Her face twisted, as she seemed to struggle with the recollection. “That’s when I pulled my Winchester from my bedside and threatened to shoot off the parts of his body he couldn’t control.”
Cooper stifled a chuckle, this not being a funny subject and all, but the image in his head wouldn’t go away. “Did you now?”
She nodded with a look of satisfaction and pride. “I did. I ordered him off my land. Told him to pack up and leave that night. And he did.”
Cooper was about to tell her she wouldn’t have to worry about that happening with him, but he held his tongue. She had more to say, her eyes fixed on him. “I’m through grieving, Cooper. And I think I can decide on my own what’s good for me. Not Jess and not you. If I want something, and I’m not saying I do, but if I want something then it’s my decision. Seems to me, that’s only fair.”
“It is.” He couldn’t argue the point.
“Are you in some sort of trouble, Cooper?”
Puzzled, he barely shook his head. “No.”
“Married or betrothed to someone?”
Again, another short shake of his head.
She stared at him, her eyes clear and brilliant blue. “Then you don’t find me at least a little bit—”
He looked at her, her face a ray of sunshine against a stark black sky. She wore a heavy coat, but he knew what lay underneath. Not only the youthful, curvy body of a new widow, but he knew her heart—a heart that had been damaged by anguish. Cooper didn’t want to add to her pain, but she was earnest and brave to speak so plainly to him. “You’re beautiful, Rachel. There’s no doubt.”
She sighed and a small smile lifted her lips.
He searched her face, ready to reach out to her, to touch her cheek and bring her close into the folds of his arms. She looked at him, as if seeing the debate going on in his head. Her eyes drew him in like the pull of a river’s current. It was hard to stay on the bank and not dive in. But he didn’t move a muscle. He stood his ground, watching her breaths come in rapid bursts. “Another man might be able to give you what you ne—”
“I accept your apology, Cooper,” she said, with false bravado. She turned away briskly, but not before he saw disappointment fill her eyes. “Did you come back here for another reason?”
“To chop wood. I noticed your woodpile was low,” he said to her back.
“You’d b-best…g-get on with it then.”
And Cooper would have done just that if he hadn’t seen her hands tremble as she lifted a white petticoat from the clothesline. If he hadn’t heard the deep desolation in her voice. He moved behind her and put his hands on her rigid shoulders. “Don’t think I will now.”
She stood quiet.
“Rachel?”
She put her head down.
“Turn around.”
She moved slowly and faced him, the wind picking up enough to blow blond strands of hair onto her cheeks. Then she began speaking, and the words rushed out in a nervous stream that didn’t sound anything like the woman who’d saved his life. “You don’t owe me anything. It’s just that I thought that we, that is, you and I, well, I was begin—”
“Be quiet now, Rachel.”
She stopped suddenly, surprised by his command. “Did you just tell me to—”
“I did. I want your mouth open to me, but for a different reason.”
“Oh,” she said with a little gasp.
Then Cooper stepped closer, bent his head and kissed her.
Chapter Four
Rachel’s heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t breathe all too well, either, because Cooper Garnett was kissing her and time seemed to stop in that very moment. His lips were cold when they came down on hers, but it was only a brief second before warmth radiated all around them. He pulled her closer by the collar of her coat and she rose on tiptoe to garner the full impact of his kiss.
It was wonderful. He was wonderful. She wouldn’t think about how little she knew about him, or what his true circumstances were. She wouldn’t think how foolish this was, because at the moment, nothing seemed better in her life. This wasn’t a tentative kiss born of obligation. No, Cooper kissed her hard, crushing his lips to hers as if he meant it. As if she mattered to him. As if he couldn’t get enough.
He slanted his lips over hers again, nipping at her, whispering soft words and holding her around her waist, drawing her up closer with one hand while the other weaved into the wind-tangled tresses of her hair.
She knew by the impact of his kiss, that Cooper Garnett did nothing halfway. He was a man who exacted the full extent of his power and intelligence in everything he attempted. She’d only seen him in a weakened state and now that he was recuperating, he’d allowed her to see the man he truly was—a man who claimed what he wanted without hesitancy or intimidation.
Rachel smiled at the thought. He wanted her.
And while she kept waiting for guilt to override her desire, it didn’t come. She wasn’t swamped with a need to uphold her loyalty to her deceased husband. She wasn’t feeling terrible remorse, that another man, a new man, held her in his arms.
Her love for Josh would never diminish, but Rachel was ready to forge ahead with her life.
And that revelation brought an intense sense of relief.
She wrapped her arms around Cooper’s neck, teasing her fingers though the hair resting on his shoulders. She found the strands amazingly soft for such a strong man. The move intensified Cooper’s kiss, his lips pressing harder against hers with more demand. Small whimpers of delight escaped her throat. Her once-empty body now flooded with heat and desire that whipped through her so powerfully she gasped in surprise. Her breaths came up short. Her heart rate accelerated.
It pained her to move away from his mouth for even a second. He made her feel alive and vital and finally…like a woman again. The hollowed-out shell had been filled with life. She gazed into his eyes, fluttering hers, hardly believing she could be so brazen. “Johnny’s napping.”
He took half a second to allow her intent to seep in. Then he touched his forehead with hers, looking down at their boots standing toe-to-toe, and the shake of his head was enough to
crush her. “No, Rachel.”
She stepped back. The blow of rejection was instantly replaced with unguarded anger. “No? No? You kissed me like you—”
“I won’t take advantage of you.”
“I thought we had this discussion already,” she said through lips ready to tremble. If she let her anger go, mortification would set in, and she couldn’t face that now.
He wouldn’t look at her. He heaved a heavy sigh. “It’s not right, you and me. It could never be right.”
“Why?” she asked, truly confused.
“I came here for a reason, Rachel,” he said quietly but with the full force of his will. “I won’t stay after I find what I’m looking for. I’m no good for you.”
Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat and her pride. She had nothing left of it anyway. “Maybe that’s fine with me.”
His eyes turned black as the night. “You deserve more than that.”
Her eyes filled with moisture. “Noble of you,” she scoffed, shame rising with each moment she stood within his grasp.
Cooper rubbed the back of his neck, eyeing her now with such tenderness that she could barely stand it. Did he pity her—the wanton widow with no morals? Whatever he was thinking, he wouldn’t share his thoughts. They met each other in a long stare, then Cooper confessed. “You’re not easy to walk away from, Rachel.”
The words meant little to her. “But you will.”
He squinted as if in great pain. “Got to.”
But he stood there, waiting. And Rachel was the one to walk away. She picked up her basket of laundry and with her head held high, she walked through the yard and into the house.
It was a small victory, but at least she had that.
If nothing else.
Cooper rode into town, meeting up with the boys from the Double J Ranch at the one saloon in town. It was cowboy payday and that meant wranglers and ranchers from all over the county overflowing out the doors of the crowded establishment. Cooper had money in his pocket now, enough to lay down some bribes if need be to get the information he wanted.
Might not be necessary, he thought. He had all night to see the comings and goings at the White Stallion Saloon, and so he took up a seat in the corner giving him the best advantage and drank whiskey, waiting and watching. Chick stopped by with his friends and they sat down for a spell, but soon the impatient boys itched to lose their money gambling and left him alone.
After two hours, Cooper’s patience ebbed, as well. He’d refused three dance-hall girls their illicit advances, thinking instead of Rachel and her pretty blue eyes beseeching him today in her yard. His willpower strained to the limit, he’d had to refuse her. But all the way into town, his thoughts kept coming back to her and the powerful need inside him.
He’d not thought of a woman in that regard since Jocelyn’s death just six months ago. But every time he thought of his wife now, Rachel’s image came into view, casting a ray of light over the shadow in his mind. He couldn’t figure it.
He put Rachel out of his thoughts and got up from his seat, angry now that he’d wasted time waiting and watching for a man who clearly wasn’t here. He strode to the bar and ordered another whiskey, lying through his teeth, asking about his long-lost half brother who’d been burned on the face and neck to everyone who’d stand to listen.
The barkeep was his best bet, so he palmed him some cash, asking him to keep his eyes and ears out for such a man and report his findings back to Cooper.
After another hour of speaking with strangers and drinking whiskey, he waved farewell to Chick and the boys. Stinking drunk now, Chick told him they were staying in town overnight with tomorrow being Sunday and all. They’d repent in church for their sins tonight, Cooper figured.
He rode back to the ranch alone with his thoughts. While he should be thinking of his next strategy for finding Hollings, he kept drifting back to Rachel and the soft sweetness of her mouth. She tasted like warm honey and everything good. He had enough whiskey in him to let his willpower wane with impure thoughts of her. His body ached with need and tightened just thinking about what she’d offered him.
While he could have, and maybe should have eased his lust with the saloon girls in town, Cooper found no such desire for them. He’d go straight to hell for wanting Rachel like he did and not even the frigid cold night could hamper his need for her.
When he got to the ranch all was quiet, but he cursed when he saw Rachel’s lamp lit in her room. She was awake and probably knitting up those Christmas gifts. No one was around. The temptation to go to her was strong even as the effects of whiskey wore off.
He dismounted his mare and took a few minutes to unsaddle and groom the horse, putting it into a stall in the barn. By the time he walked outside again he hoped to see Rachel’s lamp extinguished. But instead, he saw the shadow of her silhouette framed by the window as she moved across the room with haunting beauty.
“Ah, hell,” Cooper muttered as he gave up the fight.
He knocked softly on Rachel’s door.
When she finally opened it, she faced him with a question in her eyes.
He scanned her, seeing the beautiful outline of her body from under the cotton nightdress she wore. “Maybe I’m not so noble after all.”
Rachel opened the door wider, glad to see Cooper standing there. His comment and the intense look in his eyes gave her hope. She gestured for him to come inside, and he entered quietly, removing his coat then let go a deep sigh as if he’d somehow lost the battle he’d been waging. She found herself being lifted up in his strong arms and carried into her bedroom. “Tell me no, Rachel,” he whispered with deep conviction.
“I won’t.” She stroked his jaw tenderly and laid her head against his chest. She wanted him here, more than even she imagined. Denying him wasn’t possible.
He accepted her decision with a slight nod she felt rather than witnessed. He set her down near her bed carefully, her feet touching the floor light as a feather. “You’re back early.”
He touched her cheek, the back of his fingertips ever so gentle, as if they were memorizing her skin. “Were you waiting for me?”
Dread had settled in her belly thinking he might be with a saloon girl in town. “I didn’t know if you’d come home at all tonight,” she whispered.
She saw him flinch when she’d said home, but his next words comforted her. “I couldn’t stay away from you.”
He nuzzled her throat, placing tiny kisses there, breathing in her scent and rubbing his nose in her hair. “This is a wagonload of wrong, Rachel.” The warmth of his breath tickled her throat. “But when I’m with you, I forget everything bad in my life.”
She arched her neck, relishing every sensation, and closed her eyes, his kisses making mush of her brain. “I feel…the same.”
“Do you?” He drizzled kisses up her throat now, his lips moving to her chin, her cheek and then finally, he set his mouth on hers and she inhaled deeply, her heart pounding. Little pools of heat curled down past her belly and she moaned lightly. Cooper parted her lips then and stroked her with his demanding tongue. Sensations ripped through her rapidly as he tasted the hollows of her mouth. With a groan, his tenderness gave way like a match to dry prairie grass. Flames erupted and his breathing quickened.
In one swift move, he pulled her nightdress up and over her head, baring her to him. His hands were on her instantly, tender but urgent as he caressed her skin and stroked over her back. His palms warmed her and brought chills at the same time. She leaned closer to him, murmuring his name.
Then he stopped and stepped away. Her heart stilled.
He gazed at her, naked to him but for a modest covering below her waist. “Rachel,” he said, shaking his head and whispering in awe as he lifted her face to his, “You can’t be real.”
She smiled deep in her heart. “I’m real, Cooper.”
His eyes shone bright with lust and craving. The look alone ignited fiery heat inside her that melted her bones. He dropped his hands and unfa
stened the buttons on his shirt. She helped him then carefully spread the material wide across his shoulders, noting his injury, healing well now. He pulled off his shirt and Rachel put her hands on his chest.
He closed his eyes as she stroked him, her fingers sifting through fine hairs and nipping at the twin disks that grew pebble hard. He was rippling with glorious muscle, and she touched him over and over, until his restraint vanished. He growled deep in his throat and once again lifted her, the look in his eyes one of an animal ready to devour his prey.
He came down on the bed kissing her with enough fire to burn clear through the mighty Sierras. Her body curved into his, his manhood pressing her belly, yearning for release. He held her head steady in his hands and moved his mouth to her throat once again, this time with sweeping long strokes of his tongue. She arched up, anticipating his next assault, and when his mouth found her awaiting erect nipple she cried out. Every stroke made her whimper with delight and whatever he couldn’t accomplish with his mouth he managed with nimble fingers.
Her body moved in rhythm with his. Wild undulations made her pant out her breaths. Cooper shed the rest of his clothes with smooth movements and then, he rose above her, both of their bodies aching for the release that would join and then claim them. He touched the most sensitive place between her legs and found moisture there. His fingers brushed over the spot again and again. An aura of bliss surrounded her like an unseen halo as she surrendered to him and simply enjoyed every caress.
The fire barely flickered, the burning logs falling victim to the cold but all Rachel knew now was heavenly heat. Cooper looked deep into her eyes and she nodded, anticipation growing. Carefully, he joined them, his manhood filling her and stretching the boundaries of her body. He waited with fierce eyes for her to accept him.
There was a little ache as she accommodated his size, her muscles remembering how to give way. Then he moved slightly and she moaned with pleasure and arched her hips, telling him without words that she was ready. He moved slowly, deliberately, and she came alive with each one of his thrusts that brought her desperately closer and closer to ultimate pleasure.
Western Winter Wedding Bells Page 24