Bonds of Matrimony (22 page)

“You realize you’re
trespassing, don’t you?” he drawled, as he stooped and picked up her trousers
and shirt.
 

She stared dumbly at his
blond curls and tan face.
 
He had
no shirt on, and his chest was even more beautiful than she remembered.
 
She could feel the heat of him still,
remembering their kiss in room 217.

“Hello,” she greeted
guiltily.
 
“I didn’t realize I was
trespassing.
 
I was riding,” she
nodded at the horse, “and we ended up here.
 
Nobody was around, so I…”

He stood on the shore of the
pond, staring at her.
 

“Say something,” she
ordered, uncomfortable with his silence.
 
She wondered just how much he could see from where he stood and dipped
lower, treading water at a level that required her to keep her mouth closed.

“You’re face is sunburned,”
he finally said.
 
“Does it hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”
 
Another awkward silence followed.
 
“Are you going to stand there staring
at me, or are you going to leave so that I can get out?” she finally asked.

He grinned back at her,
seeming to have regained his composure.
 
“I’m not leaving,” he answered.
 
“I came for a swim, and I’m getting my swim.”

“Then I’ll be on my
way.
 
Turn your back,” she ordered.

He kicked off his shoes and
pulled off his socks.
 
“How’s the
water, Cochrane?
 
It looks
fantastic.”

Her heart raced in
panic.
 
Surely he wasn’t coming in
here with her!
 
Granted, it was a
large enough pond, but swimming naked with Colton Webb?
 
The Atlantic Ocean wouldn’t be large
enough to make her feel comfortable!

“Webb!” she shouted.
 
“Stop it!
 
Turn your back so that I can get my clothes on.
 
Then you can have your damned swim.”

He laughed and unbuttoned
his trousers.
 
They were opened
enough that she could see the trail of hair from his belly button.
 
The trail disappeared into the
waistband of his pants, and as he unbuttoned, she was able to see more and
more.

“Webb!” she tried again,
hating the desperate twang of her voice.

He laughed and stopped,
showing almost enough to be indecent.
 
“Okay.
 
Okay.
 
I’m teasing you.
 
Come on out.”
 
He stood on the shore with his arms folded, no shirt or
shoes, and his pants half undone.
 
But he did not turn his back.
 

She cocked her head at him
and scowled.
 

He finally surrendered with
a laugh and turned his back.
 

She swam for the shore and
ran to her pile of clothes.
 
She
clutched them to her and tried to dress at the same time, never daring to take her
eyes off of him.
 
“If you look, I
swear that I
will
cut your throat,” she
threatened.
 
His shoulders bobbed
with his laughter.
 
Once she had her
damp trousers buttoned and her equally damp shirt on, she said, “Okay.
 
I’m dressed.”

He turned and looked at her.
 
“Too bad,” he grinned.
 

She was suddenly grateful
for the sunburn.
 
With her entire
face looking like a tomato, Webb couldn’t possibly see the blush in her cheeks.

“Ouch,” he said gently,
moving toward her and examining her face.
 
He pressed a thumb gently against her cheek.
 
“Does it hurt?”

“Not much,” she answered,
very aware of his nearness.
 
His
hair was already damp with sweat.
 
Evidently, he was working as hard as they were today.

“Cochrane?”

“Yes.”

“I should warn you now.”

“Warn me about what?” I
asked, confused.

“You shouldn’t be here.
 
This is my property and my pond.
 
And you shouldn’t be here,” he
fumbled.
 

She knew then that he was
going to kiss her again, and her entire body was on fire.
 
But this heat was different.
 
It consumed from the inside.
 
She didn’t move when he took another
step toward her.
 
“Well thank you
for warning me,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say or do.

He reached for her and
pulled her against his body.
 
Her
hands were around his neck immediately, as their mouths found one another.
 
The kiss was frantic, tasting as much
as possible as quickly as possible.
 
He pulled back finally, gasping for breath.
 
“God, you’re beautiful,” he breathed.
 
He planted gentle kiss on her nose and
then her cheeks.
 
He left a moist
trail of kisses down her neck and then blew gently, raising the hair on her
neck and arms.
 
He kissed her mouth
again, tongue rubbing against hers erotically.
 
His hands pressed her back, pulling her body tightly against
his.
 
She could feel his arousal
nestled between her legs.
 
His
other hand was warm on her now cool skin, feeling its way under her shirt and
then up to caress her rib cage.
 
His thumb brushed the underside of her breast, and she sucked in her
breath.
 
He pulled back for a
moment as the pad of his thumb brushed the nipple, which responded immediately
by puckering tightly.
 

“Oh,” she gasped
delightedly.
 
She closed her eyes
to enjoy the pleasure even more.
 
And then he kissed her again.
 
He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth.

“Do you have any idea what
you do to me?” he asked huskily.

“Tell me,” she whispered.

“Touch me,” he ordered.

She allowed her trembling
hands to trail down over his shoulders.
 
She fanned them gently across his broad chest, loving the feel of the
golden hair beneath her fingertips.
 
She lightly brushed my fingers across his own nipples and watched them
respond appropriately.
 
She leaned
forward and gently kissed his chest, enjoying the rough touch of his blond
chest hair on her face.

He sounded like he was being
strangled when he groaned.

“Are you okay?” she asked,
suddenly worried.

He smiled down at her.
 
“I’m great,” he whispered.
 
He then leaned forward and kissed her
again.
 
His own hand trailed down her
side and slipped beneath the waistband of her trousers, resting on her
hip.
 
He then cupped her rear and
pulled her tightly against him.
 

She was beginning to
understand how badly he wanted her.
 
She could feel a warmth and tingling inside of her, and she was suddenly
perfectly aware of where this was leading.

“You feel so good to me,” he
muttered between kisses.
 
He
nibbled on her neck while his rough hands gently caressed her breasts.
 
She didn’t want him to ever stop.

“Stop,” she whispered in
agony.

“What?” he asked quietly,
licking her earlobe and taking it between his teeth.
 
Still, his hand worked its magic on her body.

“We have to stop,” she said
more firmly.
 
She pushed her hands
gently against his chest.

He dropped his hands to rest
on her hips.
 
His warm eyes were
clouded with passion.
 
“Why do we
have to stop?” he asked.
 
“Was I
hurting you?”

“No.
 
Nothing hurt.
 
It felt…beautiful,” she whispered.
 

He grinned down at her and
then leaned in for another kiss.
 
“No, Colton.
 
This isn’t
right.
 
I may not be in England
anymore, but I will be judged just the same.
 
I will be labeled and ostracized and—”

“Chase, nobody would
know.
 
Just you and me…and your
horse,” he added with a nod in her direction.
 
“You’re so beautiful and clever and so strong.
 
You don’t have any idea how appealing
you are, do you?”

“I have been in Texas for
one day now, Colton.
 
But you know
these people.
 
How would they treat
me if they knew that a young unmarried woman was carrying on with a man?”

“How would anyone know?”

“It would ruin me.”

He couldn’t meet her
eyes.
 
“Yes,” he answered.
 
“And if word got out, no man in town
would marry you.”
 

“Thank you for being
honest.”

“Do you hope to marry some
day, Chase?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Elisabeth has told me
stories about your attempts to deliberately discourage men from courting you,”
he answered with a small smile.

For the first time, she felt
embarrassed about her behavior toward the other men.
 
Until that moment, she had always considered her actions a
show of her daring independence.
 
Now she felt like a shrew.

“So has there ever been a
man that you
haven’t
discouraged?” he
asked with a sincere curiosity in his eyes.

Only you, she thought.
 
But she responded with hostility.
 
“I haven’t met a man worth
encouraging,” she snapped.

A hint of a grin pulled on
his mouth, but he fought to suppress it.
 
“So this,” he waved his hand toward her and then himself, “this is
supposed to be discouraging?”

She suddenly felt like he
was questioning her innocence.
 
“You think I’ve done this before?” she asked defensively.
 
“No man has ever touched me like
that.
 
Never.”

“Until now,” Webb added for her.
 
He didn’t even try to disguise the
proud arrogance in his voice.
 

“You have a talent with
women, don’t you?” she accused.
 
“I’ve heard your stories with my own ears.
 
Remember?
 
‘Mr.
Webb’,” she mocked nastily, “’you make me positively hum.’”

His eyes darkened, but he
remained silent.

“I am not a loose woman,
Webb.
 
I have let myself get
carried away with you, and I hope that you don’t think less of me for it.”

“Christ, Chase,” he
breathed, rubbing a callused hand over his face and into his hair.
 
His hair stood on end, and she longed
to reach out and smooth it down for him.
 
Instead, she clenched her fists firmly at her side.
 
“I think that you’re beautiful and
passionate and clever.
 
I don’t
think you’re a common tart.”

She narrowed her eyes at his
flattery.
 
“You have a talent for
making me forget myself.
 
Perhaps
it is best if I don’t see you any more,” she suggested.

“That isn’t necessary,
Cochrane.
 
I enjoy your
company.
 
You’re welcome to come
and swim whenever you’d like.
 
I
will promise to try to keep my hands to myself from now on…if that is what you
want,” he added.

Her grandmother’s words of
caution came back to her, bringing a deeper heat to her cheeks.
 
Or perhaps the heat of the sunburn was
finally kicking in.
 
“I won’t be
back for a swim, Webb, as much as you might wish I would,” she muttered.

“What is that supposed to
mean?”
 
Now it was his turn to
sound defensive.

“Only that
you
don’t stand to lose much if we were
caught like this.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,
Chase.
 
I would never do that to a
lady.”

She scoffed at his choice of
words.
 
If she hadn’t stopped him,
he most certainly would have ruined this lady, of that she was certain.
 

“What are you suggesting?”
he asked.

“You could get the pleasure
you crave, I would be ruined, my brother’s ranch would suffer as a result, you
could profit from his losses…do you need more explanation?
 
As if the thought hadn’t occurred to
you.”