“Maybe, but you wouldn’t be teaching fourteen to sixteen hours a day.” He stacked his cards and put them on the bedside table. “Tomorrow I’m going downstairs and walk outside.”
Her heart gave a tug. When Joe started walking with his crutches and Nate healed enough to be up and around, she would have no excuse to stay at Grandpa’s. She’d be back at the ranch and might never see Nate alone again.
In spite of her reluctance, she pasted on a smile and said, “Glad you feel well enough. Lex and Belle are coming tomorrow. I expect everyone will be here for dinner tomorrow night. Maybe you’ll feel well enough to join us.” She sank onto the chair by his bed and clasped her hands in her lap.
“Something wrong?”
She hated to burden him, but could contain her worry no longer. “Oh, Nate, I think I made a terrible mistake insisting Fiona work for Grandpa.”
He looked incredulous. “Where could she find a better place than here?”
“Nowhere, of course. But,” she sought the words to explain her surprise and dismay, “They...argue. All the time. If Fiona says black, Grandpa says white.”
“Maybe because you’re tired and worried about Joe, you overreacted.”
“I don’t think so. No one in our family acts like that. I haven’t known Fiona long, but you know how friendly and easy to get along with she was on the trip here. It’s not like Grandpa to act that way, either.”
Nate took her hand and tingles shot up her arm. “Hmm. Guess they need time to adjust to one another’s ways.”
“What if they never do? Oh, my stars, I should never have meddled. I meant to help, but I’ve created a difficult situation for two nice people.” No easy solution presented itself to solve this dilemma. She’d worried about it for days.
“Nonsense. Grandpa needed a housekeeper. Never find a better one than Fiona. Place practically glows in the dark.”
“Yes, and she said she likes it here.” She sighed. Maybe she had overreacted. “Oh, perhaps I’m worrying for nothing. I certainly hope so.” She stood and leaned over him to plump the pillows. “Let me fix these. They’re all lumpy and lopsided.”
He leaned forward, then moved lower to lie back. His head rested on the fluffy pillow and he watched her as if he expected more from her. Her breath caught in her throat. The pounding of her heart sounded loud as the drum of a brass band.
“Did you tuck the children into bed and kiss them goodnight?” he asked, his arm snaking around her waist.
“Yes, before I came in here. They’re all three sleeping soundly. Luke and Cindy even remembered to put away the toys.” She recalled Joe’s crooked grin when she kissed him and it brought a smile to her face.
Nate looked up at her and moved his hand in slow circles at her waist. “Do I get a good night kiss, too?”
Awareness hummed through her body. Her mouth went dry as she remembered their last kiss. Almost without realizing it, she flicked her tongue across her lips.
His arm secured her as she leaned back to meet his stare. Those wolf’s eyes blazed with passion. Mesmerized, captured by his gaze, she fought her growing desire. Try as she might, she could think of nothing but his touch and the way it made her feel, and her longing for it once again.
“Will, um, will you go right off to sleep as they did?”
“I don’t think so.” His strong hands settled at her waist and tugged her gently toward him.
She allowed him to guide her until she sat at his side. His tawny mane needed a trim and an errant lock fell across his forehead, taunting her to brush it into place. Her fingers tingled in anticipation, needing to touch his thick silken hair.
“I’ve thought about this all day,” he said and pulled her into his embrace.
Being wrapped in his arms felt like coming home. Unbidden, a sigh escaped her. “Lord help me, so have I.”
She stretched out beside him. Her hand rested at his waist below the bandages protecting his ribs, and her breast brushed against his chest. Leaning on one elbow, she pushed up to lean over him. Her unbound hair spilled across his chest. He pulled her to him and his mouth possessed hers. She melted into the molten kiss.
At first fiery and demanding, he softened the onslaught. He nibbled at her lower lip, then his tongue teased the edges of her mouth. Heat coiled at her core and she sought more of his taste, craved more of his touch. She slid her hand to cup his strong jaw, pressing him to her. Her tongue met his and mated in a sinuous dance. Tasting, delving, exploring.
A moan of pleasure escaped her when his hand found her breast. She arched with pleasure, her head tipped back. As she broke the kiss, her soft moan escaped. His lips trailed the tender line of her throat. How she had longed for his touch.
She wanted to caress his skin, wanted his hands on her bared body. As if they shared the same thoughts, he sought her dress. Her hands slipped under his shirt, skating along the planes of his hard abdomen to stroke broad chest muscles.
When he eased away, she followed him seeking his lips again, craving more of him.
He gripped her arms and gasped, “What are we doing? Anyone might come in and see you here like this.”
His gaze traveled along her and she knew what he must see. Tousled hair, kiss-swollen lips, the front of her dress undone.
“Then let’s lower the light.” She roused herself enough to extinguish the lamp. With no moonlight shining, inky night surrounded them. “Everyone’s asleep but us.”
“Sarah,” he whispered in the darkened room. “I won’t deny I need you here with me, in my bed. But think about the risks.”
“Right now I can think only of you.” She lowered her head to his chest. How right this seemed. She belonged with this man.
“I want you, sweetheart, but, besides the fact that we shouldn’t, I haven’t the strength to do much.”
“Let me then. Tell me how.” There must be a way, she must experience his wizardry once more.
His hand seared a path along her bared shoulder. “Then heaven help you, for I need you too much to resist this chance.”
She lowered her head to meet him. Gentle as a butterfly’s kiss, his lips trailed her brow, her cheek, and nipped at the corners of her mouth. She wanted more of this enchantment. While he teased and enticed her with his mouth, he slipped her dress from her and tugged at the ties of her chemise.
Her trembling fingers found the buttons of his shirt and she opened each one, then pushed the shirt aside. He stopped long enough to remove the garment and his drawers, all he had worn in his sick bed. At the same time, she removed her petticoat. The muted rustle of soft cotton in the quiet night was barely audible over their deep breaths.
His hoarse whisper stopped her. “No, let me.”
Her hands stilled. He tugged the chemise up, and his mouth closed briefly over her freed breast. A wave of desire started there and coursed through her body. He paused to slide her drawers down, the fabric tickling her sensitized flesh. One by one he rolled her stockings off, his lips trailing kisses on the bared skin. Delicious sensations shot through her making her shiver with anticipation. Soon she was bare as a babe, reveling in his touch.
She felt his hands glide slowly over her as if he memorized the feel of her. Her bones melted from the heat his of loving attention. She lay languorously under his spell. Belonged only to him. No other man would ever know her this way.
He slid a hand to the juncture of her thighs and she parted her legs to allow him access. His finger slid into her femininity as his thumb nudged against her bud. Lightning jolted through her. The ecstasy of his gentle thrusts sent her writhing against him, the sweet ache building and creating a hunger for more, more.
When the waves of joy pinnacled and lessened, she pressed her lips to his shoulder and touched the tip of her tongue to his heat. She trailed her mouth over his nipples and sought to bring him pleasure as he had her. His quick intake of breath signaled her success.
She touched his manhood, the soft outer skin a contrast to the rigid shaft within. He
moaned. Her fingers slid over the velvet length, and felt a dewy drop bead at the tip. She ran one hand down, cupping him, enjoying her exploration, and felt his body tense. Power surged through her.
“Come to me,” he whispered. “Climb on top of me.”
Belatedly, she remembered his injuries. “Your wounds? How can we, um, do more?”
He pulled her onto him and she stretched against his length. Her legs rested atop his and she felt the bandage on his thigh and ribs against her bare skin. The hot, hard proof of his desire pressed against her belly, promising fulfillment to the burning need deep within her. But how could he share in the motions of lovemaking and not aggravate his injuries?
“The wounds,” she repeated.
“They’ll be all right. Pull your knees up beside me.”
She followed his instructions. The tip of his rigid arousal pressed against her moist feminine folds and she took him into her. The hard length of him stroked the fiery ache burning deep inside her core. She heard his sigh of pleasure before he spoke.
“You’re in control now.”
Though he couldn’t see her in the darkened room, she shook her head. “No, I have no control. My need for you rules me.”
He pulled her shoulders down to let him suckle her breast. Fire surged through her. Longing to cry out in a haze of joy, she willed herself to be silent. She braced her hands against the pillow on each side of his head to keep her weight from his injured shoulder and ribcage.
His hands gripped her hips while his lips worked beguiling magic on her rigid nipple. She wanted to take more of him inside her, needed to fill herself with him. He thrust upward and they moved in concert, slowly at first then increasing in speed. Each time she took him deeper.
All sense of time and place abandoned her. Only the two of them existed in the world. She soared among the stars. Rockets burst and showered around her. Every fiber of her thrummed with electrifying pleasure. When she thought she would explode from the sheer ecstasy of the moment, a stunning rapture erupted within her. The warm sensation of his seed shooting into her accompanied her peak.
Sated, she spilled herself across him using her forearms against the bed to protect him from her weight. He held her close, his hands skimming along her skin. She breathed in his scent, hoping to inhale a part of him to savor. At last, she roused enough to slide to his side and nestle against him.
“Did we reopen your wounds?” Her fingers traced the bandage at his shoulder, seeking the moistness that would indicate fresh blood.
“I’ve never been better in my life.” He kissed her hair, her brow, her eyelids.
“I wish we could stay like this forever.”
“So do I, sweetheart. I want to hold you through the night and wake with you beside me in the bright light of day.”
Though she had promised herself not to, she said, “If you stayed in Kincaid Springs—“
His hand cupped her jaw and his thumb slid to silence her lips. “Sarah, I never said I would stay. There are things I can’t control. Believe me, if I can work things out, I will.”
Hope blossomed in her heart. “You mean, you might stay?”
He heaved a mighty sigh. “Oh, hell. There are so many complications, things I can’t tell you about. Things that would anger you and make you hate me if you knew.”
“Nothing would make me hate you. I don’t have to know everything about you, just what you want to tell me, just that you want to be with me. All I need is you with me for as long as you’ll stay.” Wanting forever, needing it desperately, she feared voicing it would drive him from her.
She heard the catch of his breath but he said nothing. Perhaps there was nothing to be said. Perhaps this was all he could provide. At the same time, she sensed their deepening bond these past few days. Since he had rescued Joe, there had been a difference in him.
Lying in the dark, she pictured Nate’s mischievous smile, the twinkle in his amber eyes. In her mind she saw the way he talked to the children, the way they sought his attention. She had caught him watching her time and again as if he committed to memory each move she made. Luke and Cindy visited him several times each day, and he chatted with them as if he were a part of their family. Several times he had even donned the robe Grandpa lent him and limped across the hall to sit with Joe and talk or play checkers.
Suddenly, the realization of tonight’s folly hit her. She recalled the hiding place of the pessary at the ranch.
She hadn’t used the pessary tonight.
Tonight she might have caught a baby, and it was at her instigation. His willingness did nothing to lessen her responsibility. Driven by her love for him, she’d taken yet another step away from propriety.
As appalling as exposing a child to the shame of an unwed mother might be, she yearned for Nate’s child. Moreover, she wanted half a dozen of his children, and she wanted him with her to raise them. They should share whatever life brought, grow old side by side.
How could the ladies claim merely to endure their husband’s attention? They must not feel the connection, the love, she held for Nate. She could no more deny his touch or her need for it than she could deny her need for air to breathe. If that branded her a harlot, then so be it. Her love was strong enough to carry that slur.
But she wanted Nate to stay in Kincaid Springs with her. He didn’t know it yet, but he belonged here. There must be a way to convince him to stay. She had shared her body, her children, her family with him. What else could she offer?
Chapter Seventeen
Laughing and chatting adults and squeals from children formed a din that rivaled any carnival. Nate navigated slowly down the stairs. He’d had the devil of a time making himself presentable. Already tired from dressing and sprucing up, he relied heavily on the cane Drake had brought him and kept one hand firmly on the banister. He thought he knew how Samson had felt after Delilah had shorn his long locks.
As amazing as Nate’s brief time with Sarah had been last night, it had drained him of the little strength he’d regained since the cave incident. Not that he made any complaint. Though he had tried to resist the temptation of her body for her sake, he was glad she persisted. Her passionate response humbled him, made him grateful to be a man. Her man. Recalling her beguiling lovemaking caused his body to respond in ways he’d best forego for the present. He sought a distraction, and concentrated on the steps and the people.
Ahead, Storm carried Joe, who held crutches for use after they were down the stairs. Luke and Cindy cavorted with their new cousins, weaving through the throng of adults. He spotted two children he didn’t know, a boy of about five or six with chestnut hair and a younger girl with hair as red as fall sumac. When the children spotted Joe, they raced toward him clamoring for his attention.
Sarah stepped forward and made shooing motions with her hands. “Not too close. Give Joe room to move the crutches.”
Nate followed the crowd into the large parlor. Pearl and Rosilee Tremont spoke to a woman with her back turned toward him. Gabe and Drake stopped midconversation with a stranger: a few inches shorter than the other two men, he had a shock of dark rusty hair and a face in which smiles had left their tracks. He stepped forward and extended his hand.
“I’m Lex Tremont and you must be Nate.”
Nate shook his hand. “Guilty as charged. Nice to put a face with your name after hearing so much about you.”
“Same here. The whole town’s afire with talk of your rescue of Joe.”
“Gabe did as much as I did. In fact, he had to rescue me as well as Joe. I’d be a goner if it weren’t for him.”’
“You almost were anyway,” Gabe said. “After you left for town in the wagon, the sheriff noticed the rope pulling against the rock frayed almost in two.”
Nate felt himself pale, but forced a smile. “Guess I owe Storm a new rope.”
Lex put a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “You’ve met my parents, but let me introduce you to my wife.” He kept his steps slow enough for Nate to keep abreast. �
�Belle, darling, this is Nate Barton, Sarah’s friend who rescued Joe.”
Nate watched her turn and the ready smile on her face freeze. He felt as if a mule had kicked him. Damn, it was the doxie he and Cal had helped to Pearl’s place back in Tennessee that time. If he’d met her on the street, he would never have known her. Only because of the association with Pearl and Sarah did he recognize the sophisticated beauty before him now as the shy young saloon girl of seven years ago.
From the panic he saw in her eyes, he knew she remembered him, probably remembered his real name. Did her husband know her previous occupation? True, she’d hardly been with Roxie more than a few weeks before that customer beat her near to death. That must have ended her career as a soiled dove. He held his breath, wondering if she’d denounce him.
As if she fought for air, she nodded and said, “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bart...Barton.”
He took her hand and bowed over it. “The pleasure is mine, Ma’am.”
Fiona called them in to dinner and they flowed toward the dining room. Fiona had set the ten children at the table in the kitchen.
When the adults had gathered around the table, the Judge said to Fiona, “You’ve miscounted. There’s only eleven places here. We’re one short.”
“Can’t I count as well as anyone? This is a family gathering. I’ll be eating in the kitchen to keep an eye on the wee ones.”
“You’ll eat in here. Polly and Emily can watch the children.”
She speared him with a glare and crossed her arms. “They have their hands full cooking and serving. It’s help they’ll be needing, and it’s help I’ll be giving.”
The Judge stepped toward her and crossed his arms. They looked like two playground bullies, each daring the other to cross the battle line. “Then you should have asked the day girl to come.”
The others in the room stilled and shifted uncomfortably. Sarah chewed her lip as her gaze darted from her adopted grandfather to Fiona. Clearly she felt the cause of any disagreement between the two. Nate hated the worried frown marring her beautiful face.
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