Nikki smiled self-consciously, looking at the floor, but he lifted her chin. He stepped closer, staring into her glittering green eyes with his piercing blue ones. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her gently. His hand snaked around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, his other hand moving from her jaw through her silken hair.
She could feel his pleasure pressing against her thigh. The heat of his body was making her bubble with desire. She kissed him back passionately, savoring the taste of him, the soft stubble of his cheek grazing hers.
He pulled back for a moment. She worried that he was hesitating: reconsidering his timing, reconsidering the situation. She knew it was now or never. She raised her eyes to his and saw a look of wicked desire. “What do you want to do?” she asked seductively.
“I want to kiss you,” he said, putting his lips gently to hers. “Head” — he kissed the soft, tender skin in the hollow under her ear — “to” — moved his mouth across the taut tendons of her neck — “toe”. He licked the long strut of her collarbone and sucked on the hard, curved end of her clavicle.
He unbuttoned her shirt, kissing each piece of revealed skin like a secret. She shrugged the soft linen from her shoulders, the supple, satiny skin of her voluptuous breasts spilling delicately over her lacy periwinkle bra.
Tristan hardened as he moved his mouth down her chest bone, between her breasts. He was enveloped in her soft, lavender fragrance. He unhooked her bra with one hand. She gasped and giggled as her breasts sprang free. He nuzzled the velvety skin beneath the generous curve of her breast, his hot breath tickling her.
Rubbing her pert nipple between his thumb and forefinger, he slowly moved his mouth around her breast. She held her breath, waiting in eager anticipation for--
His mouth closed around her nipple and she squealed zealously. He rolled the delicate bobble of her breast with his tongue, pressing it lightly to his teeth and feeling the quickening rise and fall of her chest.
She pushed her fingers roughly through his gorgeous, tangled hair, humming under her breath as he kissed down her stomach, spreading his wet lips across her hips, kissing along the waistband of her jeans, and delicately unbuttoning--
Suddenly, he stood up, grabbing her by the waist. She barely had a moment to register what was happening and giggled as he tossed her on the bed. On her back, she panted as he repeated his kisses down her body. But when he reached her jeans this time, he didn’t stop.
He carefully unzipped them, and then slid the denim off her smooth, alabaster thighs, revealing a lacy thong. He smirked at her, fingering the lace seductively. He kissed her hips again, this time following the line of the bone in a V along the lace.
Pushing her legs apart, Tristan nuzzled between the heat of her smooth, pulsing thighs. He kissed the soft inside of her legs gently, relishing the feeling of her squirming with exhilaration. Moving up, he teased her underwear to the side and put his lips to her pleasure.
Nikki sighed as a delicious heat rose in her. Her back arched as it rushed through her, a tingling feeling that shot from her stomach to her toes, that twined itself around her heart and lungs and made her cry out.
Tristan wiped his mouth against the creamy inside of her thigh, feeling his own pleasure growing with every moment. He crawled over her panting body, and she laughed as he kissed her.
She kissed his strong neck and pulled his t-shirt over his head. His muscles were etched on his chest like an Adonis. She sighed, stroking his sculpted abs, letting her finger trail across his smooth body to his jeans, bulging with desire.
He kissed her again, this time pulling her on top of him as he rolled underneath. She kissed him back, harder, hotter, with growing urgency, and they pulled off his jeans together in a growing frenzy of passion. She felt him pulsating beneath her as she pulled his pleasure into her. They cried out in unison, and she moved on him, slowly at first, and then gathering speed as she felt him growing.
If the rest of the house had been awake, they may have heard Nikki’s half-screamed cries of delight; but the late hour meant that the moonlit lovers were the only ones who could hear each other's pleasured moans. Lying together on Nikki’s bed, Tristan stroked her hair, and she drew circles on his chest as they each recovered their breath. The tragedy had not passed, but at least they were not alone.
Tristan thought of Anita, sleeping only a few doors down. Was she dreaming of him? Or was she seeking comfort in Raoul?
The silence was not uncomfortable, and although Nikki was guarded he found her easy to be around. There was a lightness about her that was encouraging. It was only when she shook herself from his embrace, kissed his cheek lightly, and began rummaging for a nightdress in her dresser that he broke the silence.
“You read the Times?” He said, pulling on his boxers.
“Yeah, I get it delivered here especially,” she said, pulling a pale blue cotton nightdress over her head. It skimmed her ivory thighs.
“Not into Horse Weekly?” he grinned.
“That’s Anita. No, economics for me.”
“You really like it, huh? Anita says you’re studying?”
“Well, I’m trying to,” she sighed.
“What do you mean?”
She sat on the bed beside him. “When I finished high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. This is everything I’ve ever known, and I had this feeling I wanted to head to the city, I wanted to work in business, with money — but I was afraid of change. Afraid of leaving.”
“So you came here?”
“Yeah. And for a while it was interesting, it was fun, I love the girls, even the horses. But I never really stopped craving that dream. I guess it sounds stupid.”
“No! Not at all. If you want it, you should go.”
“I know. I decided I was going to go, this year. I applied for a bunch of schools, and... well, I was exhilarated, you know? But I’m also worried--”
“--I’m sure they’ll get back soon,” Tristan cut in.
“They did,” Nikki said quietly. “I got an offer, from Chicago.”
“That’s amazing!”
“It is. But I wasn’t worried about getting an acceptance — I was worried about what happened if I did. If I applied and was rejected it was easier because at least I tried and then maybe I could just be, and stop chasing dreams. It’s easier to be disappointed. Hope and potential mean the work is just beginning.”
“Don’t you want to go?” Tristan asked, his dark brow furrowing in confusion.
“No, I do! I’m just worried about leaving.”
“Oh. You haven’t told the others yet?”
“I haven’t told the university yet.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know if I can leave them. And especially after everything that’s just happened. With all that’s happening with the ranch and Weattie… I can’t just leave. Bella has been doing accounts for years, but I pretty much took up payroll and invoices from the start. I can’t just dump all of that on her.”
Tristan turned to her, putting a friendly hand on her shoulder. “Nikki, you are one of the best people I’ve ever met. And I hope that I can call you my friend.”
She laughed, raising an eyebrow. “I think that we could probably say that.”
“Ok, well then, from one friend to another: you have to go. You have to follow your dream. You’ll regret it forever if you don’t. And none of your friends here — Anita, Bella, Jo, Sally — none of them would expect you to stay for them. They’re adults and they can handle themselves. And they would want you to be happy. They will champion you all the way to the finish line. Friendship is about support. You’ve shown your support for them, and I’m sure they will support you if you ask them to.”
Nikki smiled. “Yeah, I hope so.”
“Well, I know so. Come here.” He gave her a hug. “Will you call Chicago in the morning?”
Nikki paused, considered her life on the ranch. She weighed up her tangible life against the possibility of wh
at it could be. Of what she dreamed it could be. “Yes.” He squeezed her tighter, and they lay back on the bed together.
“Friends, then?” She said, as they lay, side by side.
“Yeah.”
“Do you do that with all your friends?” she asked, laughing.
“Only the hot ones,” he joked.
“Well, I guess we all need that friend once in a while,” she smiled, rolling over and turning off the bedside lamp. “Thank you,” she whispered in the dark. He kissed her cheek gently before he rolled the other way. They slept soundly, not touching, but safe in the knowledge they were not alone.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
-
The next morning, Anita woke up to the sudden feeling of empty space as Tristan got up from the bed.
“Tristan?”
“Nope.”
Jo. Just another dream, then.
"Nothing, nothing," she said, turning over to look at the ceiling. It had been a strange dream, and with every passing moment, she remembered less of it. She had been looking for him — or had he been looking for her? His voice lingered on the edge of her mind, calling out to her. He’d been in the stables, but when she had gotten there, he had disappeared, to appear on the horizon, in the pasture, then at the lake. But every time she had reached him, he had gone. She had jumped into the lake after him, certain he was there — or had she fallen? Anita shook her head clear of the dream and the memories that rose up with it and rolled over to watch Jo picking clothes off the back of a chair.
"Hey, the other day," she remembered, as she watched Jo throw on a shirt, "did you want to tell me something?"
"What?" Jo asked, frowning.
"Never mind. What are you doing?"
Jo had slipped into a pair of jeans and was halfway out the door.
"It's late, and the horses need feeding and Sally... Sally and I are going to the guest house. We want to see if there's anything we can save."
Anita nodded but said nothing. Jo knew as well as her that there was nothing to salvage from that wreck. Anita herself had gone back briefly after they had all returned from the hospital yesterday morning, and the place had looked a disaster. But she understood Sally and Jo's need to see for themselves. Sally must be terrified.
After Jo had left, Anita gave herself five more minutes and then got up. She threw on a dress — she would take care of ranch work later, she decided, Jo and Sally were already on it and lessons hadn't started again yet, so there was an extra person to take care of one less job.
She put on a dress, a light summer one she had bought on impulse at a summer market a few towns over, and which fit flatteringly around her curves, without losing the breezy flow the light cotton gave it.
Pulling her hair up into a messy knot she headed for the stairs — and walked straight into Tristan.
“Oh, hey,” she said, surprised. She flashed back to her dreams: she’d spent all night chasing him, and she’d finally caught up.
“Hey,” he said, his piercing blue eyes guarded and cautious. “How, em, how’s it going?”
She hesitated. “I… I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
He let out a huge, relieved sigh. “I’m sorry, too. I said some really terrible things to you, and I don’t think I’ve been fair to you.”
She smiled shyly. “Same. I think I might have jumped to conclusions, and--”
The bathroom door opened and Nikki emerged in a cloud of steam, hair dark and slicked back, her skin glistening with droplets of water, a fresh white towel wrapped around her.
She didn’t notice the tension between Anita and Tristan, deep in conversation at the top of the stairs. “Morning’ cowboy,’ she joked, winking at Tristan as she passed them, heading into her room to get dressed.
Anita knew in that moment everything that had happened behind closed doors last night. Tristan saw the realization dawning on her face and started stuttering an apology.
“It’s not what it looks like--”
“You are unbelievable,” she spat, turning away before he could explain.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she went to the kitchen to boil the kettle. Raoul was sat at the dining table, eating a slice of toast and drinking a strong-smelling coffee.
"Morning," he said, without looking up. Then, noticing who she was, he sat up a bit straighter. "Hey."
They hadn't seen each other since the stables. "Hey," she replied distractedly. She was still thinking about the overly familiar way Nikki had greeted Tristan.
“How, um, how are you?”
“Yeah, I’m ok.”
“You maybe want to go riding later?”
“Yeah, whatever.” Anita sat down beside Raoul, sighing loudly.
"We could--" Raoul began when Tristan and Nikki entered the kitchen.
There was a terse silence. Raoul coughed.
"Good morning," Tristan finally settled for and sat down opposite Anita as if nothing had ever happened. He stared at her, but she looked resolutely at her tea, avoiding his piercing blue eyes.
"Mornin'," Raoul replied cautiously.
Nikki made herself and Tristan coffee with the hot water left in the kettle, and she sat down beside him. The four sat in silence, with Nikki looking sideways at Tristan, who was staring at Anita, who was looking in her tea. And Raoul was still slowly eating his toast, wondering if they were really going riding later.
Tristan cleared his throat and began to speak, but Anita cut him off.
"So," Anita said, turning to Raoul, "want to go down to the lake later?" She ran a finger up his tanned, work-hardened arm. He hesitated for only a moment before the bewildered expression on his face fled, and he grinned.
"Sure," he said, "absolutely."
She heard Tristan inhale sharply but said nothing. She took no notice of him.
"Great," she said. "There's this hidden little spot past the jetty that feels like you're cut off from the rest of the world."
"Sounds great," Raoul said, before he went back to his toast, somewhat more voraciously than before. Tristan and Nikki drank their coffee in silence, but Anita could see them, glancing at each other.
The relief was almost tangible when Bella entered the kitchen. She was already dressed for ranch work, her braids in disarray. One had a piece of straw sticking out of it. It would have been comical, Anita thought, under different circumstances. Her boots, normally shined to near-blinding perfection, were covered in mud and muck. She carried in the smell of hay and horse that made Anita feel so at home.
"Morning," she said grimly and sat down.
"You look good," Anita commented.
"Thanks. Just mucked out the stalls.”
“On your own?” Anita hadn’t forgotten about the horses. She never could. But every once in a while, she was allowed a rest. She would not have slept in if she’d known Bella was doing it all on her own, though.
“Jo helped. A bit.”
“Oh.” What a pair, Anita thought. If Bella had been acting strange since the fire, she was well-matched by Jo. Anita had always known Bella to go through moody, thoughtful spells, but Jo had always been there for a chat, or a beer, or a mood lifter.
“It’s fine, don’t look so guilty. I wanted something to do, anyhow. But you guys will have to take them out to the field today, Weattie's coming in."
"What?" Nikki asked, setting down her coffee. “Why? And why didn’t you say?”
"Sorry. Slipped my mind. With all that’s been going on… He wants to talk about insurance, I think."
"What does that have to do with us?" Anita asked.
"Well, the insurance for the building would go to the owner, so Weattie," Nikki explained, "but all of the stuff inside belonged to us. Some of it was pretty valuable."
"And it was all insured?" Anita asked. She couldn't picture anyone insuring a bed, or a bedside table, or that old couch.
"Well, it would all be under the same insurance, but Weattie would give us a part that went towards furnishing and all that."
; "Either that or he pays for the new furnishing," Bella said. "Is there any coffee left?"
"Yeah," Nikki said.
"Thanks." As she busied herself pouring coffee, the tension at the table rose again. They all ate in terse silence. Raoul finished first. He polished off the toast at the speed of light, then cleared his plate and cup, though not before giving Anita a wink.
"Meet me at the stable? We can take the horses out together.”
Bella raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Do you guys need a hand?” Nikki asked lightly, “Though, I should probably be here for Weattie’s visit.”
“Why, because nobody else can possibly know what’s going on?” Anita snapped, gathering up her own plates. “Bella, let us know when Weattie gets here, I want to hear what he has to say.”
“Yeah, sure.”
She left the house in a huff, briefly bumping into Jo, who was on her way in.
“Hey,” Jo said, “listen, do you think we could…”
“I gotta go, horses need me,” Anita said. “I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”
“I… Yeah, fine,” Jo said, defeated. She stepped inside and kicked off her boots.
Bella looked up when she came in.
“Coffee in the kitchen,” she said. Jo nodded and turned around after a rushed good morning to Tristan and Nikki.
“Guys,” she heard Bella’s voice next door, “someone’s got to milk the cow and collect the eggs. Do you mind? I’m tired as a bear.”
“Yeah, sure,” said Nikki.
“I’ve never milked a cow,” Tristan added helpfully.
“I’ll show you, it’s not so hard.”
Jo lingered in the kitchen while the two of them pulled on boots and left. Then she made her way back to the living room.
“Bear?” She asked. She took a slice of toast off Bella’s plate and sat down.
Bella shrugged. “They hibernate.”
Fair enough.
“So, them two, huh?” Jo nodded towards the door.
“Looks like it. I’m surprised, really, I thought it was Sally. Well, I thought it would be Anita, but…” She shrugged. Then she caught Jo’s eye. “You know, I think Anita’s up to something. With Raoul.”
Love Tangle: Riding Bareback Page 12