by Jane Toombs
“He doesn’t like men,” she said.
“Except for me? Obviously a cat of unusual discrimination and intelligence.”
“Vanity, thy name is Nathan.” She pushed him and he fell into the water.
He grabbed her legs and pulled her in with him, his hands traveling up until he held her in his arms. Water swirled around her, waist-high, doing nothing to prevent her from feeling his arousal. Denying her immediate stab of desire, she broke free and swam away from him.
He pursued and cornered her in the deep end where, with both of them clinging to the side, he kissed her with such intensity it was impossible for her not to respond. The next thing she knew, he’d turned her onto her back and was towing her with him as though she was a drowning victim. Which, in a way, she was.
They fetched up in the shallow end where he scooped her up, carried her out of the water and stood her on her feet. Wrapping his arms around her so she fit into him, he kissed her again, deep and hot. She savored the sensation of his lips on hers, holding him close, the faint taste of chlorinated water seeming as sweet as nectar.
After long moments she pulled away slightly to murmur, “You know this is leading us nowhere.”
“You sure?” His huskily whispered words tickled her ear. “I happen to have a destination in mind.”
Heat seeped through her at the thought of where he was taking them. That wasn’t what she meant, not at all, but it certainly was what she wanted, to take that passionate journey with him. Never mind anything past that, not here, not now.
Nathan unhooked the bra of her suit, sliding it from her shoulders so the fullness of her breasts pressed against his bare chest. He cupped her bottom to bring her closer, aching for the final closeness but enjoying the anticipation, not wanting to miss any of the pleasures along the way.
He needed to touch and taste her everywhere, to caress her until neither of them could wait any longer. When he felt her hand slide under the waist of his trunks, he caught his breath.
“Too many clothes,” she whispered against his lips.
Moments later they were twined together, both completely naked, skin to skin, the way it should be. How soft her skin was, smooth as silk and far more arousing. He bent his head to her breast, her moans of pleasure tickling along his nerves until he had to fight to control himself.
He lifted her feet from the tiled floor, holding her against him as he made his way to the exercise mat at this end of the pool enclosure. When they lay together on the mat, he kissed her hungrily, his hand sliding over the curve of her hip down between her thighs.
“Nathan.” Her sigh was a plea as her fingers closed around his arousal.
“Wait,” he murmured hoarsely.
She paid no attention, stroking him until he had no choice but to rise over her and ease into her welcoming warmth.
Jade raised her hips to fit herself to him completely, caught in such passionate need that nothing existed except making love with Nathan. His name echoed in her mind as her body echoed every motion of his, responding to an irresistible force that drove her up, up and over into beyond.
As in a dream she heard his cry of completion and knew he’d traveled with her all the way. Held in his arms in the warm comfort of the aftermath, she smiled, nestling against him.
“You are one determined lady,” he murmured. “When you decide the time is now, there’s no stopping you.”
“Did you want to stop me?”
“You know better. But earlier, what was all that ‘leading nowhere’ business about?”
She relished the feel of him next to her too much to let outside thoughts intrude. “We’ll talk about it some other time. Not now.”
He ran the tips of his fingers over her nipple, sending a frisson down her spine as the nipple peaked. Leaning over, he ran his tongue around the nipple, causing more trickles of excitement.
“Ever swim naked?” he murmured.
“Sometimes when I’m alone. It makes me feel wicked.”
“Not in company?”
Jade shook her head. “I guess Grandma was successful in raising a prude, after all. Something she’d certainly be pleased to know.”
Nathan caught her gaze. “Am I company?”
Looking into those blue, blue eyes so close to her own, unsure what she saw in them, her heart skipped a beat. Company? No. But what was he? Her lover, yes. And more. How much more?
Suddenly frightened by the direction her thoughts were taking, Jade sprang up from the mat, cried, “Last one in is a three-headed frog,” and ran to the pool.
They managed to shallow dive into the water at the same moment, both racing for the deep end. When she got there, she turned to push off only to be caught in his arms, held firmly and kissed. With neither holding to the side, they sank together like two linked stones.
Coming up sputtering, Jade grabbed the side. Nathan surfaced a second later. “See what you do to me?” he complained.
“If you’d drowned, it would have been your own fault.”
“And well worth it. Too bad I didn’t turn into that three-headed frog—I’d get two extra chances to kiss you. Since I gather you’re really a princess, who knows what I might have turned into then?”
Without considering her words, she said, “I’ll take you just as you are.”
The tenderness in his smile slipped into her heart. “There’s no other woman in the world like you, Jade.” His fingers traced the outline of her mouth. “No other lips like this. No other eyes quite so green, no face so beautiful. As for what’s inside that red head of yours—absolutely unique.”
Lips parted, she gazed at him, fascinated.
“The rest of you is beyond my ability to describe.” As he spoke, his hand slid down to caress her breast. “Although I could try by utilizing the braille method...”
Jade, raising herself by putting an arm around his shoulders, cut off his words by kissing him. As his tongue met hers, heat gathered inside her. Soon she felt an urgent need to be closer, and so she let go of the side to pull him to her.
The next she knew they were sinking again. When they came up, sputtering and laughing, without words they levered themselves out of the pool and, arms around each other, retraced their steps to the mat.
Jade marveled at how, when they made love, it always seemed to be for the first time, although progressively more uninhibited. As they lay in each other’s arms afterward, she wondered if she’d ever tire of lovemaking with Nathan. The thought was both exciting and scary.
Nathan, drowsy and sated, savored the feel of Jade next to him. He felt no need to turn away from her; on the contrary he wanted to hold her and cherish her. If he wasn’t so content at the moment, that thought might trouble him but right now he didn’t care about anything but being here with her in his arms.
Much later, after they’d showered and dressed, he took a reluctant leave of her to go back to his Tourmaline clinic and the pressure of his practice. Jade, he knew, would be following him down the mountain to pick up Tim from school. He waved to her as he pulled out of the driveway.
Somehow, it felt wrong to be leaving her. If they lived together, they’d share tonight, too, and all the other nights to come. But living together, presuming she’d agree, presented other problems. Her house was in Incline Village, at the top of the mountain. His practice was miles away in Tourmaline, and he had no more at present than an inadequate apartment—especially if they were able keep Tim.
He intended to fight for that right, but it did mean two bedrooms at the minimum. Living together also had dangers. Would she eventually expect marriage? No way was he going to do that again.
Nathan sighed. Best to leave things as they were, sort of an if-it-ain’t-broke-why-fix-it situation. Knowing Jade’s independent nature, he had a sneaking suspicion she’d never agree to their living together, anyway, so he might as well discard the notion as a pipe dream.
As she drove Tim home from school, Jade listened to his chatter with half an ear, troubled
by her increasing attachment to Nathan. Why, for heaven’s sake, tears had stung her eyes when he drove away from her house, as though he was leaving for good. How had she let herself slide into such a state?
“Can we go to Doc’s tomorrow?” Tim asked, breaking into her self-absorption.
“Not tomorrow,” she told him, realizing with dismay she wished they could. “But we’ll see him soon because his sister Laura is coming to Reno and he wants us to meet her.”
Tim didn’t respond for a while. “Maybe I don’t want to see her,” he said finally.
“Why on earth not?”
“’Cause I don’t want to give Freddie back to her.”
So that was it—he was still worrying about losing his frog friend and confidant.
“Laura’s a gmwn-up. She doesn’t need Freddie now. Besides, she already gave him to Nathan.”
Tim didn’t look convinced. Poor kid, he’d had so few things in his life to count on. “I promise you Freddie is yours,” she said firmly. “You won’t ever have to give him to anyone.”
To her relief, in a few minutes he was chattering again about the kids at school, apparently reassured.
She wished she had someone to reassure her that she wasn’t making the mistake of her life by getting so attached to Nathan. Too attached. The word love lurked just around the corner, she feared.
She’d never been in love with a man, not really. Temporarily infatuated with maybe one or two, but never in love. How could it possibly come to that with Nathan?
How did he feel about her? Oh, he wanted her in the same way she wanted him, but she really didn’t know if it went beyond that with him.
“To hell with love,” she muttered.
“You said a word we don’t use,” Tim told her, sounding remarkably like his teacher, Pat.
“worry.”
And sorry, too, she’d brought Pat to mind. Had she actually been jealous of the way Nathan looked at Pat? Obviously, otherwise she wouldn’t have made the remark about the woman being married to a biker. A fine state she’d worked herself into. What had happened to the old Jade, the one who always kept in control?
“I know a lot of words we don’t say,” Tim went on.
“Me, too,” she confessed. “But if you don’t tell anyone, I won’t, either.”
Tim giggled. “Okay. You know what? Munchie’s gonna get a husband so they can have babies. Hamsters have more’n one baby at a time.”
Deciding to spike any future mention of adopting one of the pending hamster offspring, Jade said, “Hot Shot wouldn’t like it if we brought home a baby hamster. He’d keep trying to get into the cage to catch the poor little thing. Cats think hamsters are like mice.”
“Yeah, I guess. Anyway, Hot Shot was there first and he’s my friend. Friends are ’portant.” Again he sounded like his teacher.
Friends were important. If her relationship with Nathan blew up in her face, would their friendship be destroyed, as well? She feared so.
Shaking her head, she tried to put him out of her mind. He occupied far too much of her thoughts as it was.
Nathan called on Thursday evening. When she heard his voice on the phone, her heart pounded like that of a teenager hearing from the boy of her dreams. Although she’d refused to admit it outright, she’d been waiting impatiently for his call ever since they’d been together on Monday.
“Laura flew into Reno last night,” he said. “She’s got an interview tomorrow, but then she’s free for the weekend. Think your brother would mind if I brought her along to the barbecue on Saturday?”
Damn that Zed! Here she’d deliberately not mentioned the family barbecue to Nathan so she wouldn’t be tempted to invite him. Then what had her brother done? Gone ahead and extended an invitation behind her back. Not that she minded Nathan’s being there at the ranch but what she didn’t want was for her brothers and their wives to assume she and Nathan were a couple. Apparently they already did, though.
Well, done was done. “I’m sure they’ll welcome Laura,” she told Nathan. “I’ll mention to Karen that she’ll be coming.”
“Thanks. See you then.”
As she set down the phone, Jade tried to dismiss her disappointment at his terseness. What had she expected—some kind of heartfelt declaration of his intentions? How ridiculous! Still, he could have said a few more words. That he missed her, for example. Or at least that he was looking forward to seeing her on Saturday.
Maybe what had happened on Monday meant more to her than to Nathan. And why in heaven’s name had it meant so much to her?
When she and Tim arrived at the ranch on Saturday, he left Freddie in the truck before running off to find Danny and Jasmine. More slowly, Jade carried her big bowl of coleslaw through the back door. She found Linnea sitting at the kitchen table rolling plastic cutlery into paper napkins while she watched Erin in the highchair.
“Tell me,” Linnea said after greeting her, “did Danny go through a stage of tossing everything on the floor and waiting for someone to pick it up?”
Jade nodded. “I remember only too well.”
“I missed that period with Yasmin.” Linnea’s tone was wistful.
Erin held out her arms. “Tee,” she demanded. “cup.”
Jade wiped the baby’s face and hands, extricated her from the high chair and hugged her.
“Down,” Erin insisted.
“The playpen’s on the back patio,” Linnea said. “We could sit out there.”
After Erin was deposited in the playpen, Jade eased into a lounge chair next to Linnea.
“I understand Nathan’s bringing his sister,” Linnea said.
“Yes, Laura’s in Reno for an interview.”
“But you’ve never met her?”
Jade shook her head. “I hope all of us together don’t overwhelm her.”
“It’s just as well she’s able to meet us before...” Apparently Jade’s stony stare changed her mind about what she was about to say because she wound up with, “I guess I’m speaking out of turn. Sorry. Maybe we’re paying too much attention to what Tim says.”
For some reason it hadn’t occurred to Jade that Tim might be telling Danny and Yasmin everything he and Jade did. She flushed, realizing how the fact that she and Tim had spent the night at Nathan’s could be interpreted.
At that moment Karen appeared around the corner of the house. She plopped down in a chair on the other side of Linnea and said, “What’s new?”
“I am definitely not engaged to Nathan, if that’s what you mean,” Jade said tartly. “Nor do I anticipate such a thing ever happening.”
“It sounds as though you two had a spat.”
Jade rolled her eyes. “There is such a thing as a man and a woman just being friends.”
Karen gave her a knowing look. “Of course.”
Deliberately turning to Linnea, Jade asked, “How’s the house coming?”
They were discussing the vagaries of contractors when Tim ran onto the patio and grabbed her hand, urging her up. “Doc’s here. We gotta go meet him.”
Deciding the courteous thing to do was to meet Laura first so she could try to introduce her gradually to the others, she followed Tim toward the parking area. But her gaze went first to Nathan, looking like a true Nevadan in faded jeans and a Tourmaline T-shirt. A damned handsome Nevadan.
His sister stood partly behind him as though using him for a shield against the unknown. Laura was prettier than she’d looked in the photo, although pale. She wore her long blond hair in a French braid and her eyes were not as blue as Nathan’s—more grayish.
Tim, gripping Nathan’s hand, stared apprehensively at her. “You’re Laura,” he said before Jade could greet her.
Laura smiled at him. “And you’re Tim.”
“Doc gave me Freddie,” Tim said. “He’s mine now.”
Laura blinked, obviously not tracking.
“He means Frederick Ferdinand Frog,” Nathan explained. “Tim has an affinity for frogs and Freddie’s become his
friend.”
“Tim knows Freddie was once yours,” Jade told Laura. “He’s been worried you might want him back.”
At Nathan’s mention of the frog, Laura’s face had gone blank. Now she shook her head slightly and crouched beside Tim, coming down to his level.
“I needed Freddie once, but I don’t anymore,” she said. “I know Freddie wants to be with someone who needs him—like you. He’s yours for as long as you decide to keep him.”
Tim offered her a tentative smile, then gestured toward the pickup. “He’s in there if you want to say hello.”
“Thank you, Tim, that’s very generous of you,” Laura said. “But Freddie and I don’t have anything to talk about anymore. You can say hello for me later.”
“Okay. He’ll remember you ’cause he doesn’t forget anything.” Danny shouted Tim’s name and he ran off, calling, “See you,” over his shoulder.
Jade held out her hand to Laura. “As you may have gathered during this rather unorthodox meeting, I’m Jade Adams.”
Laura shook her hand. “Tim’s a sweetheart. I can see why Nathan’s so fond of him. Obviously you are, too.”
They began to walk toward the house but were intercepted by Zed and Talal before reaching it. Laura’s reaction was to hang back, so once again she stood slightly behind Nathan. Jade’s curiosity was aroused. Laura hadn’t seemed particularly shy, but maybe she was.
Jade watched while her brothers, as usual in the presence of a pretty woman, tried their best to charm her socks off.
Laura’s response was polite but guarded; she was nowhere near as free and easy as she’d been with Tim. Zed and Talal bore Nathan off, leaving Jade to bring Laura to meet the others.
With the women, Laura seemed to relax, telling them they’d snagged the two most attractive men she’d ever seen. “In duplicate, yet. Unbelievable,” she added.
Just shy with men, maybe, Jade decided.
“Do show Laura around,” Karen urged. “Linnea and I will have cold drinks fixed when you get back.”
When they reached the gazebo by the pond, Laura climbed the steps and sat down inside, saying, “How charming.” She gazed toward the mountains, their peaks now bare of snow due to the hot summer sun. “I had no idea Nevada was so beautiful.”