He was silent for a moment, not wanting to expend the mental energy to answer the question. She’d want more than the “I don’t know” that was the simple truth. “Never really thought about it.”
“Married?”
“Well, I guess. By then I should be.”
“Kids?”
“Maybe. That’s always been the vague plan.” He paused, turning his face toward her. “My cousins all seem quite happy starting families, so that’s got me thinking in more concrete terms. But I need a wife first, and...” He flipped up a palm and let the words trail off.
“Are you still with the FBI in ten years?” she asked, her eyes and her voice noticeably softer.
He snorted. “I guess that depends on how the Bureau’s investigation into Charlotte’s claims goes. I might not be working anywhere. ’Cept maybe the prison laundry room if criminal charges are brought.” He flashed a wry grin and tried to laugh off the topic, even though the reminder twisted his gut into knots.
For her part, Summer leaned on an elbow and hovered over him, her expression fierce. The sun lit her gold hair from above, framing her face, so from his perspective she reminded him of a lioness defending her cubs.
“That will not happen. Not as long as I have breath in my body. I’ll be your character witness, your alibi, whatever it takes. But I will not let them railroad you on charges so completely out of line with your true character that—” she sputtered. “That—”
The sunlight. The fire in her eyes. The passion in her voice. Something tipped the scales he’d been balancing.
Emotion surged in him, and he caught the back of her head with one hand as he levered the upper half of his body toward her. His eyes zeroed in on her pouting lips. He moved closer, his nose bumping hers and—
He balked. The image of standing in his boss’s office defending himself from Charlotte’s false charges roared through his mind, yanking him back from the brink. He made a frustrated growling noise in his throat and flopped back on the rock. Clenching his jaw, he stared at the sky through the web of cottonwood branches.
Then Summer’s face moved into view, a piercing truth shining in her eyes. “Nolan?”
He sighed and shifted his gaze away from hers. “I know. I almost... It was just...an impulse. Forget it happened. Okay?”
“Forget what? Nothing did happen.”
“Right.” He exhaled, but his nerves still felt jittery.
“Nolan,” she said more determinedly and put her cool palm against his cheek, drawing his gaze back to her. Her cheek twitched in an impish grin, then she ducked her head and pressed her lips to his.
Chapter 11
Summer’s pulse skyrocketed the instant her mouth captured Nolan’s. The rush of sweet sensation that poured through her shocked her. She’d kissed her share of men before, but none had ever affected her the way this mind-blowing and impetuous kiss did. A crackling energy sizzled through her veins. Heat swamped her. Her intention had been just to press a flirty kiss on his lips then retreat. A taunt. An experiment, really, to explore an unknown. To test a theory.
Several stumbling heartbeats passed before she regained her senses and pulled away. She blinked Nolan into focus, prepared to flash a smile and tease him about his reluctance to be spontaneous, about him losing touch with the boy who used to take any dare. But the words died, unspoken, because the feverish look in his eyes shook her anew.
“Say yes,” he said, his tone low and desperate. “Tell me you want me to kiss you back.”
Say it? Did her kiss not speak for her? “Yes, Nolan. Yes.”
Before she could crack a grin or form a wisecrack, he renewed the kiss, his lips parting to draw more deeply on hers. After that, Summer’s mind shut down, and she operated on pure sensation, feelings. She let instinct and emotion take the lead. Her bones seemed to melt, leaving her mellow and pliant in his embrace. Coherent thought was replaced with the thrum of sheer bliss roaring in her ears.
Nolan’s hand stroked down her body, tracing the dip of her waist and the curve of her hip. When his fingers reach her bottom, he squeezed gently, and fresh waves of heat and pleasure poured through her. She canted her hips forward, pressing closer to him, encouraging him. She wanted more. Craved his touch in her most intimate places. Needed to feel him in a deeper—
He broke the kiss with a gasp. She felt the shudder that raced through him as his lust-blurred eyes clashed with hers. When she tried to kiss him again, he caught her cheeks between his hands, stopping her.
“Why did you kiss me?” he asked, breathless, his hands still framing her face. “I thought we agreed to keep things platonic.”
Her gut swooped. What?
“I...was curious.” She gulped air, her gaze searching his before adding, “And the moment felt right, so I followed the impulse.”
Lifting her eyebrows, she tossed his question back at him. “Why did you kiss me? I thought you wanted a strictly professional work relationship.”
He released a slow breath, and the tension in his muscles relaxed. With his eyes sparkling playfully, his mouth twisted, and his gaze narrowed as if weighing his reply. “I do. But we aren’t at work right now, are we? And you said yes.”
“What if I’d said no?” she teased, and when a shadow crossed his face, she immediately regretted her thoughtless joke.
“Then I’d have backed away.” His face contorted with pain. “I completely respect your right to say no.”
Hoping to erase the darkness from his mood, she tweaked his chin and flashed a saucy grin. “Then it’s a good thing I said yes, huh?”
She stretched forward to brush a kiss across his ear and whispered, “I dare you to do it again.”
When he hesitated, as if rethinking the wisdom of following this path, she slid a hand to the back of his head and pulled him closer. She kissed him hard, leaving no question that she was all in.
Finally, he surrendered and sank into the embrace. Nolan wrapped his arms around her, anchoring her body close to him, and his hand traveled over the curve of her hip to her back. When his palm stopped over the clasp to her bra, he hesitated as if waiting, again, for permission.
Summer pulled back from their kiss long enough to catch her breath and repeat her consent. But as she opened her mouth, a disturbing noise reached her from the bank of the creek.
She froze, cocking her head to listen. The noise returned, louder, more urgent.
The horses were whinnying frantically, clearly agitated by something.
She braced a hand on Nolan’s chest and turned her cheek when he moved in to continue the kiss. “Wait. Listen. Something’s upset the horses.”
He raised his head, casting a glance toward the area where they’d tied the animals. Concern colored his face as he rolled to his feet. “You’re right. C’mon.”
He held a hand out to her to help her up. They hurried across the stepping stones, feet slipping and splashing in the cool water, as they rushed back to the bank.
Both horses pranced restlessly, tossing their heads, but Ginger was particularly agitated. As they approached, Ginger loosed a high-pitched squeal and bucked hard, jerking her reins free from the branch where Summer had tied her. Nolan ran forward, his hands raised, hoping to calm the frightened animal—and narrowly avoided getting kicked as Ginger reared again, tossing her mane and whinnying frantically.
“Nolan!”
Summer started toward him, and he waved her away. “No! Stay back!”
Ginger bucked again, then took off across the meadow, dragging her reins and a piece of branch she’d broken from the tree. Summer’s heart sank as she watched the frightened mare bolt away.
Cody, too, yanked at his tether and danced sideways, his eyes wild.
Summer searched the ground, looking for a snake or some other reason why the animals had spooked. Until something flew in her face with an angry buzz. She f
einted right, dodging and fanning at the hornet that hummed by her head. Then another followed, and she caught her breath. “Nolan, hornets! The horses must have disturbed a nest!”
He was already swatting the flying pests away from Cody and working quickly to unravel the knotted reins from the tree. “Get back. They’re swarming!”
She hated to leave Nolan to rescue Cody alone, but it didn’t take two people to untie a horse. Her heart thundered against her ribs as she stumbled away from the angry, circling hornets. Guilt stung her, realizing she should’ve scoped out the area better when she picked the tree to tie Ginger off. She cast a glance in the direction the russet mare had run. Gone. She was nowhere in sight now.
Nolan charged toward Summer, leading Cody. As they put even more distance between themselves and the disturbed nest of hornets, Summer fell in step beside Nolan. After they’d darted several hundred yards away from the tree and angry swarm, he stopped and bent at his waist to catch his breath. Summer, too, gasped for oxygen, but as she panted for air, she stroked Cody’s withers and searched for evidence the horse had been stung.
“Easy, boy,” she wheezed, her chest heaving as she gulped air.
Nolan straightened and began examining Cody’s other side. “Did you see which way the mare ran?”
She nodded, then realizing that from his vantage point behind Cody, he hadn’t seen, she said, “I did. But she’s out of sight.”
“We have to find her.”
“Of course.” Summer found a welt on Cody’s neck and winced. “Poor boy. I’m sorry that old buzzer got you. It’s my fault.”
Nolan angled his head to see around Cody. “How is this your fault?”
“I chose that tree to tie the horses to, and I didn’t see the nest in the ground.”
“I tied off there, too, and didn’t pay attention to whether there was a nest. I share the blame.” He moved around the gelding, who still chuffed nervously. “Are you all right? Did you get stung?”
“I don’t think so.” She spotted the red welt on his neck then, and reach for him to examine the sting. “Oh, Nolan! Ouch. How many got you?”
“Just a couple, I think. I’ll be fine.” She watched him grit his teeth and pluck a stinger from a swollen spot on his arm.
She pointed out a spot or two on Cody where the insects had attacked the horse, and she gently stroked the gelding to ease its nerves.
Nolan frowned. “Let’s get back to the house. I don’t know what sort of first aid you give a horse for a sting, but I don’t want to delay getting this guy attention for his.”
“Agreed.” Only then did her brain shift from the imminent threat of the hornets to the fact that her transportation back to the house had run off. “Um...”
Nolan continued murmuring softly to Cody, calming the horse. He glanced at her and quickly divined the reason for her hesitation. “We’ll walk for a while, give Cody a few more minutes to settle a bit, then we can ride double. I think Cody can manage it. Right, boy?”
He stroked the horse’s nose, and Cody’s ears relaxed, a sign he was calming down.
“What about Ginger? We need to find her.”
“We do,” Nolan said, even as his gaze scanned the field. “Keep your eyes open for her as we go in. If we don’t find her on the way, I’ll head back out with a fresh horse and one of my cousins to find her.”
They set a course for the stable, across the weedy meadow, and Summer’s thoughts rewound to the moments just prior to the hornet attack on the horses. The kisses she’d been sharing with Nolan... His hands exploring her curves, sneaking under the hem of her shirt... The tantalizing warmth of his fingers against her sensitive skin—along her spine, at her nape, behind her ear.
Nolan seemed lost in thought as well, and she hated to ask where his thoughts might be. She could well imagine he was castigating himself for breaking his rule about keeping things platonic. When she reflected on what he’d told her about Charlotte and how she’d seduced him, pushed him to violate his ethics about working relationships, guilt bit her. She’d done the same thing, hadn’t she?
“I’m sorry,” she blurted in the taut silence.
He cut a side glance to her. “Stop kicking yourself. You didn’t know there was a hornet’s nest.”
“I... I meant the kiss.”
Now his gaze whipped back to her, and his stride faltered. “You’re sorry it happened?”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and ruminated on the question. “No.” Drawing a slow breath, she met his penetrating stare. “I’m sorry I pushed. You set boundaries, and I ignored them.” She huffed her frustration. “I’m no better than Charlotte.”
“Whoa.” He stopped walking and faced her. “Don’t go there. This is entirely different.”
She raised both hands from her sides, palms out. “Is it? I knew better, but I allowed my impulsiveness to override common sense.”
He aimed a finger at her. “That. That right there is why this is wholly different. You acted on impulse. There was real emotion and genuine gut feelings motivating you.”
She wrinkled her nose, not following. Impulsiveness and emotionality were anathema to the Nolan she knew.
“Charlotte set me up. It was a preplanned, devious trap. She used me to manipulate her husband, then when she changed her mind, I became the sacrificial lamb. She didn’t care if I got hurt in the process.” He pulled his shoulders back. “Did you set out to hurt me when we kissed?”
Her jaw literally dropped. “No! Never! Nolan—”
He jerked a nod. “I rest my case.” The muscle in his jaw flinched as he gritted his teeth, and his eyes darkened. “Besides... I kissed you first. I’m the one who should apologize.”
“Almost kissed me. I finished the job.” She stepped closer, flattening a hand on his chest. “Are you sorry it happened?”
His gaze clung to hers, his pupils growing larger, and beneath her hand, she felt the rapid thumping of his heart. “No.”
She smiled, then he spoiled the moment by adding, “I should be. And I know it can’t happen again. So...let’s promise not to talk about it anymore. Okay?”
Her heart plummeted to her toes. Her reaction to his request told her what she’d not dared to accept. She wanted more with her best friend than a quick exploratory kiss. She wanted to pursue a deeper relationship, a physical relationship, a romantic relationship with him.
A croaking sound escaped her throat, which he apparently took as assent.
Moving alongside Cody, he stroked the horse’s withers and patted the empty saddle. “I think Cody’s calmed down enough for us to ride now. Need a hand up?”
She swallowed her disappointment over Nolan’s withdrawal and considered the climb into the saddle. Cody was at least a hand taller than Ginger. Not an easy step up for someone of her height.
Nolan, apparently reading her hesitation as a need for assistance, put his hands under her arms, his fingers splayed on her ribs. “On three. Ready? One, two, three.”
Summer grabbed the saddle horn, poked her toe into the stirrup, and tried to swing her leg over Cody’s back. But came up short. Her tight jeans just hadn’t been designed with climbing or horseback riding in mind. Before she could change her mind, she felt Nolan’s hand plant squarely in the center of her bottom. He pushed, and she was lifted high enough to settle in the saddle. Heat stung her cheeks. She couldn’t decide if the prickle was embarrassment for needing so much help, or the natural response to having Nolan’s hand grip her so intimately. Maybe some of each. She didn’t have time to debate the subject long before Nolan swung onto Cody’s back with her. She slid as far forward in the saddle as she could, but he was still pressed snugly against her—legs, lap and chest.
Summer squeezed the saddle horn and swallowed hard. The ride back to the ranch would be both excruciating and heavenly.
* * *
N
olan was in a special form of hell, where pleasure was his torment. Summer’s tush was seated firmly against his lap, and no attempt at distraction was enough to keep his body from responding or his libido in check.
Summer couldn’t be unaware of his arousal, yet she tried valiantly to keep the conversation on neutral topics. Her latest text from Avery about the twins. The questions she had for his cousins about the investigation into Patrice’s death. Even stories of how she’d adopted Yossi, her cat.
“I’d gone through two rooms full of cats at the Humane Society and couldn’t decide. I hadn’t found the one that just...clicked, you know?”
He knew. He’d felt that click the moment his lips touched Summer’s. Call it fate or kismet or soul mates, but the powerful rightness of kissing her had shaken him to the core. And scared the hell out of him. And like a coward, he’d retreated. He didn’t know what to do with the intense feelings that had blindsided him. Because...it was Summer. Summer!
He responded, as he had throughout her monologue, with grunts and single-word answers. He was pretty sure if he said more, she’d hear in his voice the sexual tension that had a stranglehold on him.
“I was about to leave when someone pointed to the bottom row, a little out of the way. This gray kitten was sort of tapping on the window. When the shelter worker took that kitten out, the little guy leaped into my arms and settled right in like he belonged there. And just like that, I was decided. He was the one.”
Again he grunted.
She sighed. “I’m boring you.”
“No. You’re not.” You’re turning me on. I’m just trying to preserve my sanity.
The faint rumble of engines drew his gaze toward the house. Two ATVs materialized in the distance, headed for them.
“Looks like the cavalry is coming,” she said, and Nolan leaned to the side to peer past her.
When the vehicles reached them, Hays driving one and Jonah on the other, Nolan reined Cody to a halt.
The men cut the engines so they could talk without shouting over the roar of motors.
Colton 911--Deadly Texas Reunion Page 13