“Pete always believed there was good in everyone. I’m not surprised he thought Drew was helping with your support and certainly not surprised he wasn’t. Like I said, I met your father a couple of times.”
She leaned her head against the back of the chair. “I don’t really think of him as my father. I never have. He wasn’t a part of my family. Neither was my grandfather. We scraped by without their help. Then my mother married Adam, when I was seventeen. He was the closest I’ve ever had to a father figure.”
“But Pete would’ve liked to be a part of your life.”
“Yeah, but I still can’t help thinking it was too little too late. He could’ve contacted me after Drew died.”
“Maybe he didn’t know how.”
“I wasn’t that hard to find.”
“No, I don’t mean a physical address. How do you go up to someone you’ve never met and introduce yourself as a long-lost relative? I’d think it would be pretty hard.”
“I guess I’ll never know since he died before I had the chance to meet him.” Damn, all that wasted time.
Silence reigned for a few minutes, each lost in their private thoughts.
“Hey, come on, I want to show you something,” Lance said, and some of the tension dissipated.
Nina cocked a sassy eyebrow. “I’ve already seen it.”
Heat flared in his eyes and for a second she wished she had kept her smart mouth shut for once. Especially since that same heat was flaring inside her.
“Trying to talk your way into my bed, boss lady? I’d say that bordered on sexual harassment.”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed.
“Nope, you won’t have your way with me quite so easily next time.”
“You’re so funny I can’t stop laughing,” Nina said, with more than a touch of sarcasm, but, at the same time, giddiness tickled all the way down her spine, then back up again.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her chair. “Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you can get lazy.”
“Where are we going?”
“Do you always ask this many questions?”
She thought for a moment. “Yes, I do.”
“Well, just trust me.”
“Hmm…if I remember correctly, the last time I trusted you and let you take my picture I ended up naked.”
“Not my fault. You started it with ‘show me yours and I’ll show you mine.’”
He was never going to let her forget. Not that she ever wanted to forget a second of the delicious sexual experience they’d shared.
“Okay,” she grumbled. “I’m right behind you.” As if he didn’t already know that, since he still held her hand. She had to admit she liked the way his warmth transferred to her. If she wasn’t careful, she could really start to like this cowboy.
As he pulled her inside the barn she had to wonder exactly what his intentions were. Wicked thoughts filled her mind. She’d never had sex in a barn. Would someone walk in on them? She wasn’t sure she liked that idea. Threesomes were not her thing.
“Here, come closer,” he whispered.
She probably shouldn’t trust him. After all, she still didn’t know that much about him. She only knew he had a great smile, and he seemed really nice, and he was funny some of the time, and he was good at sex. Really good.
But she did as he asked and peered over the gate. “Oh,” she said, with more than a touch of awe, as she looked at the newborn colt standing on pencil-thin legs. “When was it born?”
“Last night. It’s a little filly.”
The mare looked up and nickered, then bent her head to check on her baby.
“What’s her name?”
He shook his head. “Don’t know. You’ll have to ask the owner.”
It took a few seconds for her to comprehend. This was her colt. The filly, and the mare, for that matter, belonged to her. That odd giddy feeling swept over her again. She actually owned something. Other than her car or camera equipment.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“How strange it feels to own a ranch, let alone a horse and her newborn. I don’t think I really felt a sense of ownership until I read my grandfather’s diary.”
“It’s because he’s not just a relative you’ve never met anymore. He’s given you a greater gift than this ranch—he’s given you roots.”
She thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I guess he has. But that doesn’t mean I won’t sell the place after the three years are up.”
“We’ll see.”
Yes, they would see. She had a life outside of this ranch and she damn well planned to return to it. She should be able to find enough cowboys in Silver Gulch whom she could photograph so that Mica would be satisfied.
And there was still Lance. She would get him to drop his pants and pose. Only this time she’d make sure she held on to the camera. There’d be no more “you show me yours and I’ll show you mine”! At least, not until she had her centerfold picture. Her grin was more than a little devilish.
Eight
The next afternoon Nina hurried to the porch when she heard a truck lumbering up the drive. UPS. Her stuff was here.
She refrained from jumping up and down and clapping her hands. She was the owner of a ranch. She should act the part. Okay, maybe a small jump.
Stuffy was just not in her nature.
Finally, she’d have a darkroom to develop her film. She’d taken pictures all over the ranch yesterday: Maxine rolling out a piecrust, Lance talking to another cowboy, the new colt, Lance carrying a bale of hay—she’d taken a lot of pictures of Lance.
The UPS truck came to a rocking stop and the driver got out and went to the back of the truck. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. She kept telling herself only a few more minutes and she’d be tearing into boxes.
The doors creaked open, and then he disappeared inside and returned with a dolly. After loading it down with boxes, he pushed it toward the house. She signed for her stuff and began carrying the boxes inside, attempting to stay calm, but it felt too much like Christmas.
“Is that the stuff for your picture-developing room?” Maxine asked, wiping her hands on her apron as she grabbed a box and followed Nina.
“It’s called a darkroom. And, yes, it is.”
“If it’s a darkroom, how are you going to see?”
Nina laughed. “I’ll use a safe light, a low-intensity red light. It’ll provide just enough illumination that I can work, but not so much that it will damage the pictures.” She set a box down and went after another one, but when she got to the porch Lance was examining one of her purchases. He looked up when she stepped outside.
She took the box from him. “I’m taking over part of the mudroom and turning it into a darkroom,” she explained. “If I’m going to be here for a while I’ll need a place to develop my film.” She raised her chin, waiting for him to argue.
He picked up another box. “You’ll probably need a partition to separate it from the back door. That way you won’t have someone inadvertently opening it and ruining your film.” He looked at her, giving her that crooked smile that warmed her from the inside out.
“I was going to hang a dark blanket on a rope.” Lord, why did she sound so lame?
“I can have a partition up by the end of the day.”
“Thanks.” She watched as he walked past her. This wasn’t good. She was starting to like Lance the more she was around him. It would be harder to convince him to do something she knew he’d regret.
But as the morning moved into late afternoon, she couldn’t help relaxing more and more. And true to his word, he had a wooden partition up in very little time and had even framed in a door.
She surveyed her small space and liked what she saw.
“Looks like you’re ready for business,” Lance said as he came up behind her.
Her space just got a whole lot smaller as it filled with testosterone. She took a deep breath and faced him. Her head told he
r that had been a bad move, but if it was so bad, why did being this close feel so damn good?
He brushed back behind her ear a lock of hair that had escaped her ponytail, his fingers trailing down to cup her chin.
He’s going to kiss me.
She tried to swallow, but her mouth was suddenly dry as powder. Goose bumps spread over her arms. She wanted him so bad her body trembled with need.
There was nothing to stop them. Why not enjoy a little late afternoon sex? Maxine had left a few minutes ago. They had the house to themselves. He could strip her right here if he wanted.
Her nipples tightened as a deeper ache spread across the lower part of her body. Her eyes fluttered closed. Take me, her mind screamed as she leaned toward him.
Pounding on the back door jarred her eyes open.
“Hey, Lance. You in there?”
Lance’s sigh washed over her. “Yeah, I’m here. What do you need, Stan?” he called back but was still looking at Nina as if he were memorizing every one of her features. “This had better be good,” he mumbled.
“Bulldozer plowed through the fence to the Pattersons’ place.”
“Bulldozer?” Nina asked.
“One of your bulls,” Lance explained.
“He’s trying to breed old man Patterson’s cows. You know how pissed Mr. Patterson got the last time. Thought you’d want to know,” Stan continued.
“Damn,” he cursed under his breath. He’d be glad when the crusty old rancher found a buyer for his place. A frown turned his lips downward but just as quickly they curved upward. “Seems like that bull and I had the same idea.” His gaze swept over her. “Hold that thought until I get back.”
If he thought she would twiddle her thumbs until he…
He swiftly lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss was quick, but it had the desired effect. So maybe she would have a few fantasies about him while she waited for him to return. “Hurry,” she said as he reached the door of her darkroom.
Desire flared in his eyes. “I’ll shoot the damn bull if I have to.”
She laughed, knowing he wouldn’t. When she stepped to the back door, Stan took off his hat and crushed it between his large hands. “Ma’am.” He nodded.
Nina barely had time to return his greeting before they were gone. With a sigh of regret, she turned back to her darkroom, eager to start developing her pictures since sex was now out of the question. But Lance had told her not to lose her train of thought. She frowned. How did he know what she was thinking? Was it that obvious? She smiled wryly. Probably.
She poured chemicals into the appropriate developing trays and went about the process of turning negatives into pictures. She felt like a mother giving birth. Excited over the thought that what she’d waited for was about to come forth. Would it be like she expected? Would other people see what she saw?
Some people might say she was crazy taking her work so seriously, but it was much more than just taking pictures. Her camera was an extension of herself. Taking her pictures was who she was and she couldn’t not take pictures even if her life depended on it.
She held her breath as the first negatives began to develop. Lance riding the horse. Sweat trickling down the sides of his face. She drew in a shaky breath. Lance with his shirt off. She’d been so right knowing he would take a great picture. He was the quintessential cowboy.
She worked steadily, developing negative after negative and hanging the pictures on a cord to dry, slowing only when she came to the pictures of when they went riding. Lance with his shirt off, then his pants, wearing only briefs. Strong, lean thighs. Her mouth began to water.
The next pictures caught her off guard. For a moment she’d forgotten he’d taken the ones of her. She looked wanton, her hand touching her bare breast, eyes half closed as she waited for her lover. Then completely naked, legs open in invitation.
Her nipples tightened, and her hands shook as she hung each picture. She didn’t notice the door opening just enough that someone slipped inside, but she heard the intake of breath and whirled around, heart pounding.
“Lance, you scared me!” When he didn’t speak, she wondered if something was wrong. “Lance?”
“My God, these are magnificent.”
He reached toward the hanging pictures, but she grabbed his hand. “They’re…uh…still wet.” And they weren’t the only things feeling a little damp. When she realized she was still holding his hand, she let go and took a step back, but because of the small size of the room, she couldn’t go very far.
“That’s some camera you have there,” he said.
She looked at the pictures of her touching herself, partially nude, just a strip of scarlet panties, then completely nude. “Maybe they’re ready to come down now.” The small space was closing in on her.
This time he grabbed her hand, pulling her against him as he turned her around. Her back fit snugly against his front, against the bulge in his pants.
“You’re so damn sultry looking. Like a woman begging for hot, dirty sex.” He cupped her breasts, his thumbs scraping across her nipples. She almost groaned when he moved his hands away, but it was only to move to the hem of her T-shirt. His hands caressed her bare midriff before slowly pulling the shirt up and over her head.
“I like the one where you’re touching your breasts,” he said close to her ear. His hot breath tickled her neck. He unfastened her bra and let it fall to the floor. Taking her hands in his, he brought them up to her breasts.
She drew in a sharp breath as her palms caressed her sensitive nipples. The ache inside her grew, burning.
“Don’t stop,” he told her as his hands moved lower, unfastening each silver button on her jeans. “Tell me what you’re feeling as you touch yourself.”
“My breasts are throbbing.”
“Squeeze your nipples. Roll them between your finger and thumb.”
She hesitated.
He was in the process of pushing her pants down, but as if he sensed she’d stopped, so did he.
“Do it,” he whispered. “Don’t ever be ashamed or embarrassed because you find pleasure with your body.”
She squeezed, gasping as the tingles shot over her abdomen and settled between her legs.
“That’s it.” He shoved her jeans over her hips, her thong following.
She kicked out of them and stood in the middle of her darkroom completely naked, touching herself in a way that she’d never touched herself when someone else was in the room, and she felt damn good doing it.
He turned her around until she faced him. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful with the red light glowing around you.”
He knelt in front of her. Slowly, he slid his hands up her legs. She closed her eyes, letting the pleasure wash over her as his hands caressed her ankles, up her calves, all the way to her thighs.
“Spread your legs.” He nudged her legs open. “That’s it,” he breathed, the softness of his breath against her curls causing her to whimper. “You like that?” Before she could answer, he was blowing softly across her sex again.
“Yes,” she said. Tremors of pleasure erupted inside her.
He stroked the inside of her thighs. “What else would you like me to do?”
A blaze of heat engulfed her. “Taste me,” she whispered, but he heard and parted her lips.
She grabbed his shoulders to steady herself as his tongue found her sex and glided over it. Her whimpers turned to cries as the ache inside her grew. He sucked her into his mouth while his finger slipped inside her.
“Ahh, God, Lance. Please, don’t stop.” She couldn’t think; she couldn’t breathe. Yes, this was good. So damn good. “Oh…yes…I’m coming…oh, damn…it feels…ahhh.” Spasms of pleasure wracked her body.
She couldn’t say when his mouth moved away from her, but she was vaguely aware of hearing the tearing of a foil packet and then he was sliding inside her as she leaned against the wall for support. She grabbed his shoulders as he filled her. The heat began to build again. He brought her legs
up and she wrapped them around his waist. He slid deeper. She heard his groan, but she was already lost in her own haze of passion.
Her body tightened as another orgasm convulsed over her. Lance growled from low in his throat, his body jerking forward. Their ragged breathing filled the tiny space.
This was what sex was all about, she thought to herself. Odd that in all her years of living, she’d never experienced this heady rush of such exquisite gratification.
Nine
Later that night, Nina carefully rolled over and eased from Lance’s bed. As she stood, she stretched her arms high in the air. It felt good to be alive. Grabbing one of Lance’s shirts from his closet, she slipped her arms into the sleeves and buttoned the two middle buttons.
Making love with him had been hot, and for the first time in her life she felt complete. Sleeping curled up against his warmth had been pure heaven.
With a deep sigh trailing after her, she padded softly toward the door, but halfway there, something on the floor caught her eye. Frowning, she bent to pick it up. Her hand closed over the crinkled cellophane.
She straightened, her gaze slowly moving over the man sleeping in the bed. Could she be that wrong about him? Was he trying to scare her away? Or seduce the ranch from her? Scattering signs there was a ghost in the house or sweet-talking his way into her life until he was married to her?
He groaned and turned onto his side. Lazy lids opened to stare at her. “I miss you.”
She crumpled the cellophane in her hand and smiled. She was being foolish. Lance’s character was exactly as it appeared and nothing more.
“I haven’t gone anywhere,” she told him.
“You’re not lying next to me.” His gaze slowly trailed over her. “You look better in my shirt than I do,” he commented.
“And I’m starved. We skipped dinner.”
“You’re right.” He charged from the bed, coming straight at her in all his naked glory, and grabbed her.
She screamed but threw her arms around his neck as laughter bubbled out of her. “I’m hungry,” she said, moaning when he nuzzled her neck.
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