Cassie's Cowboy Daddy (8 page)

But that was the least of his worries at the moment. The packhorse had dislodged several items as it pitched and ran down the mountain. He needed to get down and assess what they had left of their supplies and what they were missing.

He quickly judged the distance they'd traveled. They were too far from the house to make it home by dark. Win, lose, or draw, they were going to have to spend the night on the mountain with a minimal amount of camping gear.

 

Cassie watched Logan squat and sort through what remained of their supplies. He didn't look happy.

“Is that all we have left?” she asked cautiously.

Nodding, he rose to his feet. “We have a granite coffeepot, but no coffee, some jerky and a couple of candy bars in my saddlebags, one sleeping bag and no tent.”

“Will we be able to make it back to the house before dark?” She had a sinking feeling she already knew the answer, but decided to ask anyway.

“No.”

His clipped answer made her feel worse. “Look, I said I'm sorry.”

“Tell that to Samson.”

She walked over to him and, propping her hands on her hips, glared up at him. “How was I to know that stupid bear was the one you raised from a cub? To me, one bear looks just like any other—hairy, with big claws and a lot of teeth. And for your information, Mr. Logan Murdock, where I come from, they're all considered wild and
very
dangerous.”

“Samson isn't,” he said stubbornly.

“Well, if I ever meet up with Samson again, I'll try to keep that in mind and give my best effort to containing myself.” She walked over to sit on a fallen tree trunk, propped her elbow on her knee and rested her cheek in her hand. “Just tell me what we have to do to get through the night.”

“You're going to sit tight while I go find some wood to build a fire.” He started to stalk off into the forest, but turned back. “And do me a favor, will you?”

“What's that?”

“Try not to send any more of the wildlife running for their lives.”

She knew it was childish and she would never tolerate it from the twins when they got older, but she couldn't stop herself. She made a face and stuck her tongue out at his retreating back.

As she sat there waiting for Logan to return to the edge of the little clearing, she looked around at the mixture of pine and aspen trees, watched a rabbit nibble on grass and heard an eagle's shrill cry as it circled somewhere in the sky above. The rabbit scurried for cover at the sound and she realized that even though it was the most breathtaking place she'd ever been, it was still a harsh environment where the law of survival still reigned supreme.

Maybe that's what appealed to her about the area. She liked the idea of her daughters growing up knowing that, although the scenery was unquestionably beautiful, the land commanded respect and discipline. Here they would learn to become strong, capable women who appreciated the beauty of life as
well as respecting its harshness. Just as she was doing.

Lost in thought, she jumped when Logan strolled back into the clearing, his arms loaded with wood for the fire. He arched a brow, but apparently knew better than to mention her frightened movement. Either that, or the glare she sent his way had worked, because he wisely let the moment pass without comment.

“Did you see any signs of the packhorse?” she asked hopefully. She really felt guilty about frightening the poor animal.

Logan shook his head. “Smokey's traveled these mountains enough with me that he knows his way around. We'll find him grazing somewhere down in the meadow on the way home tomorrow.”

“He'll be all right?” She wanted to make sure the horse would come to no harm.

“Should be,” Logan said, nodding. He arranged sticks and dried leaves around the stack of small logs he'd laid for their campfire.

“Why do we need a fire if there's nothing to cook?”

When he looked up, his expression held a mixture of amusement and exasperation. “Three reasons. First, since the lanterns went down the trail with Smokey, I didn't figure you'd want to stumble around in the dark. Second, it should keep the wildlife away so you don't scare the hell out of them. And third, I'm not in favor of freezing our asses off tonight when the temperature dips down in the low thirties. Any more questions?”

“No.”

He took a small box of matches from his vest pocket and in no time had a nice fire blazing. Rising, he picked up the coffeepot. “There's a spring about a hundred yards from here. I'll be back in a few minutes with water.”

Cassie nodded, then watched Logan until he disappeared among the trees. He had to have the widest shoulders and sexiest rump of any cowboy in Wyoming.

Honed by years of physical labor, the man's body was absolutely gorgeous. Remembering the feel of his warm skin and his hard muscles pressed to her the night they'd fallen on the bed made her cheeks warm and her stomach flutter. When he'd kissed her, his mustache had grazed her lips, her throat, her breasts and heightened her passion until she'd lost every ounce of common sense she possessed.

What would it be like for him to kiss her now that he'd shaved? He'd said he wouldn't kiss her again. Did he mean it?

A part of her wanted him to take her into his arms and make her feel the way she had the other times he'd kissed her. But another part of her wanted him to stay as far away as possible.

Both times he'd held her, touched his firm lips to hers and explored her with his tongue, she'd lost all control and given in to a need that was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It was as if he'd awakened something deep inside her that she hadn't known existed. Something that both excited her and at the same time scared her to death.

What would it be like to make love to Logan? To see all of his magnificent body? To feel it touch every part of her? To have his strength buried deep inside her body as he held her close?

A wave of longing coursed through Cassie, making her shiver. Suddenly too restless to sit, she stood and began pacing. But the movement did little to divert her overactive mind. Why hadn't she thought things through, instead of insisting that he bring her along on his trip? Why couldn't she have waited to see the rest of what she'd inherited until someone else could come along with them?

Several facts seemed to invade her brain at once—details that she definitely should have considered before they left the Lazy Ace. They were up in the mountains, miles away from another living soul. They were spending the night together. And they might…

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. “Don't think about it.”

 

Logan stared across the campfire at Cassie. What the hell was wrong with her? When he'd returned with the water she'd been walking the perimeter of the clearing like a caged animal. But as soon as she'd seen him, she'd hurried over to the fallen tree, plopped down and avoided looking at him. And she wasn't talking much, either.

He'd tried several times to draw her into a conversation, but hadn't gotten more than one or two words out of her. And most of those had been “no.”

Removing his Resistol, he scratched his head. She
wasn't thirsty. She wasn't cold. And she wasn't hungry. What the hell was left?

She put her delicate hand up to her mouth to hide a huge yawn. Of course. That had to be it. She had to be bone tired. They'd left the house around six that morning, ridden all day and it was well past ten now.

“Would you like for me to get the sleeping bag spread out for you?” he asked, rising to his feet.

She looked at him then. “Where are you sleeping?”

So that was it. She was having reservations about their sleeping arrangements. Well, that made two of them. It was bothering the hell out of him, too.

“I'm staying up for another couple of hours,” he said, stretching and rotating his shoulders. “I want to keep the fire going a while longer.”

“Oh.” She looked thoughtful. “Our jackets were on the packhorse. Will you be warm enough?”

He almost laughed. Almost.

Instead, he shrugged and tried for a nonchalant expression. There was no way in hell he could tell her that after watching her all evening and seeing the light from the fire play across her beautiful features, thinking about lying next to her in that sleeping bag had him hotter than a prize bull in a herd of eager heifers. Nor could he tell her that when he did turn in for the night, he was going to have to crawl into the bag with her or risk freezing off vital parts of his anatomy.

“I'll be fine,” he said, picking up the thick insulated roll. He checked to make sure the area was clear
of rocks and sticks, then spread out the bedding, unzipped the side and stepped back. “It's ready any time you are.”

When she just stood there looking at him, Logan shifted from one foot to the other. Was there something else she wanted him to do?

“What?” he asked.

“Turn your head. I want to take my jeans off.”

At her announcement, the flame in the pit of his belly flared up and his instantaneous arousal pushed against his jeans. He hadn't even given thought to the fact that they'd be taking off their clothing.

But Cassie wasn't thinking about that. She was just trying to get comfortable. She didn't realize that she wouldn't be spending the night in there by herself. But he did.

“Well?”

Nodding, he quickly spun around and walked to the other side of the campfire. He tried not to think as he stood there staring into the darkness, trying to force air into his lungs. But his memory was far too good.

He'd seen her luscious body on two separate occasions—the night they'd fallen on her bed and the afternoon she'd come down with the flu. Remembering the sight of her perfect breasts and her moans of pleasure when he'd taken her into his mouth made his jeans damned uncomfortable and his breathing problems worse.

When he heard the sound of the zipper sliding up on the sleeping bag, he took a deep breath and turned
around. Good. Cassie was lying on her side, facing the other way.

Right then and there, Logan made a decision. Unless it got colder than a well digger's ass in January, he was staying out of that sleeping bag.

H
ours later and colder than he'd been in years, Logan shrugged out of his vest, pulled off his boots and shucked his jeans. Shivering, he unzipped the side of the sleeping bag. He'd been fine for a while, but as the temperature dropped to the low thirties and a slight breeze blew down the mountain from the snow-capped peaks at the higher elevations, he'd damned near frozen his tail off. Among other things.

Doing his best not to wake Cassie, he nudged her over a bit, then shimmied into the insulated bedding. He quickly zipped the side, then lay there shivering. He could feel her warmth pressed to his side. He would not turn to her for warmth. He wouldn't.

His teeth chattering, he finally gave up, turned over and spooned her. Her warm little body felt good as he snuggled against her back, and some of the chill that had seeped into him began to recede.

He tried to ignore the smell of baby powder and sweet, warm woman. Why he found the combination so damned erotic, he didn't even want to try analyzing. Some shrink would probably interpret it as being a subconscious desire to procreate with Cassie. The thought lit a spark of warmth somewhere deep inside him and began to spread to his lower regions.

Tilting his head back as far as he could, he tried his best to escape the intoxicating scent. He figured the way his luck had been running lately, a storm would probably come up, it would start raining and he'd drown. He almost laughed. Drowning would be preferable to having Cassie wake up and find him in an undeniable state of readiness.

When she moved in her sleep and wiggled her bottom against his groin, Logan closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He had to keep his mind off the fact that the only thing separating him from paradise were two scraps of cotton—his briefs and her panties.

He mentally ran through the list of things he and Hank still needed to repair on the foreman's cabin. It didn't help.

He tried easing himself away from her, but damned if she didn't follow. His lower body tightened and expanded.

Taking a deep breath, he mentally ran through every batting average of every baseball player he'd ever heard of. When that didn't work, he held his breath and tried willing away his arousal. There wasn't enough blood left in his brain to concentrate on anything but the feel of Cassie's cute little bottom pressed against the part of him that wanted her to be there the most.

She sighed and murmured his name in her sleep. He came to full erection. His eyes popped open and, looking skyward, he prayed for divine intervention.

Cassie turned in his arms to face him, her legs tangling with his. He stifled the groan that had been building from the moment he crawled into the sleeping bag. But when she draped her arm over him and burrowed closer, the softness of her breasts indicated that she'd taken off her bra before crawling into the sleeping bag. He couldn't stop it. The sound came rumbling out of him and he automatically tightened his arms around her.

He watched her lashes flutter, slowly start to lift, then snap wide open. Before she could start the tirade he knew was inevitable, he shook his head. “Don't say a word. Just turn back over and stop your damned squirming.”

He might have known she'd ignore what he'd told her.

“I thought you said you were staying up?” It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

“I got cold,” he said through clenched teeth. “Now, turn over and go back to sleep.”

“I can't.”

His face so close to hers he could see tiny flecks of brown in her green eyes, he glared at her. “Why not?”

She stared back at him. “I can't move.”

“Why?”

“You're holding me.”

Instantly loosening his arms, he waited for her to move. She didn't. She just lay there gazing at him. “Dammit, Cassie, it's taking everything I've got to
be a gentleman. Now, roll over, or I swear I won't be responsible for what happens.”

Her eyes wide, she turned over and he breathed a sigh of relief. It was short-lived.

“Logan?”

It would be a lot easier on him if she'd just go to sleep. The sound of her voice saying his name was playing hell with his good intentions.

“What?”

“Could I ask you something?”

He sighed heavily. “What do you want to know, Cassie?”

“Tell me why you shaved your mustache.”

“It's not important.” How could he tell her that, although he wasn't planning on kissing her, he'd shaved just in case, so she wouldn't get any more whisker burns?

“The twins are going to be disappointed.”

He knew he shouldn't ask. The sound of her soft voice was driving his libido into overdrive. But instead of letting the matter drop, he allowed curiosity to get the better of him. He didn't like the idea of Cassie or her babies being disappointed in him in any way.

“Why do you think that?” he asked.

“They liked the feel of your mustache. It tickled their hands and made them laugh.”

Her soft voice, the scent of her and the warmth of her body so close to his own were playing havoc with his good intentions. He wondered what Cassie thought.

“What about you? Will you miss my mustache?” He couldn't believe he'd asked what had been running through his mind.

Her hip brushed his erection as she turned over to face him, and Logan sucked in a sharp breath. But when she brought her hand up to touch his upper lip with her finger, he closed his eyes and tried to remember all the reasons he couldn't make love to her. He couldn't think of a damned one.

“Yes.” She looked thoughtful. “I think I will miss it. It was soft and made my lips tingle.”

He'd given being a gentleman a damned good shot, but Cassie wasn't cooperating and he was tired of trying. Catching her finger in his, he brought it to his mouth and kissed the tip. “But don't you remember the promise I made you about a week ago?”

She looked confused. “That you wouldn't kiss me?”

Logan smiled and shook his head. “No, sugar. I never said I wouldn't kiss you again. I gave you my word that I'd never leave a mark on you.”

She continued to stare at him and Logan watched desire begin to darken her eyes. “So you shaved because you intended to kiss me while we're up here in the mountains?” she asked, her soft voice sending a ripple of longing straight to his core.

“Not exactly, sugar.” He chuckled. “I shaved because I didn't want to run the risk of breaking my promise in case we did kiss.”

“Oh.” She looked thoughtful for several long moments, then, smiling, asked, “Would you kiss me so I could see what it feels like without your mustache?”

He stopped breathing and couldn't have forced the air out of his lungs if his life depended on it. When he finally got his voice to work, he shook his head.
“Sugar, don't get me wrong. There's nothing I'd like to do more than to kiss you until we're both senseless. But all things considered, it wouldn't be a good idea. I don't think I could stop with just a kiss.”

“You're probably right.” She smiled. “I doubt that I'd be able to stop, either.”

With her simple admission, his heart felt as if it slammed into his rib cage, then took off at breakneck speed. Was she telling him she wanted to make love with him?

“Cassie?”

From the light of the campfire, he could see her close her eyes for a moment, then open them. Her gaze met his, steady and sure. “Yes.”

All the fight went out of him and he pulled her close. Burying his face in the red-gold cloud of her hair, he asked, “Sugar, are you sure this is what you want?”

She nodded.

Taking a deep breath, he struggled with what needed to be said. She was a nester, and no matter how much he'd like things to be different, he couldn't in good conscience offer her any kind of commitment.

“Cassie, I'm not making any promises.”

“I know,” she said softly. “I'm not asking for any.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead and held her close. As much as he would hurt physically, he'd rather endure whatever hell he had to go through than have her regret one second of making love with him. “I don't want you having any regrets.”

“None.” The sureness he detected in her voice
convinced him she meant what she'd said. Her hands unsnapping his shirt put that certainty into action.

Spreading the chambray back, she placed her soft hands on his chest and stroked his skin with her fingertips. “You're beautiful.”

He chuckled. “Sugar, I've been called a lot of things in my time, but beautiful never has been one of them.”

She smiled. “It should be. Your body is perfect.”

“Not as perfect as yours,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers.

Cassie's eyes drifted shut at the contact of Logan's lips on hers, and a surge of longing stronger than anything she'd ever experienced coursed through her. When he slipped his tongue inside to stroke, tease and entice hers, her heart skipped a beat and her body tingled all over.

He continued to explore her with his mouth as he eased her onto her back. Pillowing her head on his forearm, he threaded his fingers through her hair and ran his other hand along her side, down to her hip, then smoothed it over her bare thigh. Every nerve in her body sizzled to life and shivers of excitement ran through her at the feel of his callused palm tenderly chafing her sensitized skin.

Logan brought his hand up to her stomach and released the button at the bottom of her flannel shirt. Slowly, surely, he pushed each small disk through its opening, then brushed the garment aside. Cupping her breast, he broke the kiss to nibble his way to the hollow at the base of her throat. His tongue darted out to touch the rapid fluttering there, then he nipped
and kissed his way down the slope of her breast to the sensitive tip.

He raised his head to look down at her, and the desire she saw in the depths of his navy gaze stole her breath. His smile reassuring, he lowered his lips to her nipple. The feel of Logan taking her into his mouth, his gentle suckling of her puckered flesh caused her blood to thicken and course through her like warm honey. At her moan of pleasure, he increased his demands and an empty ache began to build deep inside her.

She held his head to her and reveled in the hot sensations flowing to every cell in her body. He trailed his hand down her abdomen and she raised her hips as he pushed her panties out of the way. Touching her gently, he parted her legs, and the coil inside of her tightened to deep need. Stroking and teasing, demanding and coaxing, he created a firestorm within her, and she thought she'd die from the passion racing through her. Never had her excitement been higher, the heat within her more intense, than it was at that very moment. Never had she wanted a man as much as she wanted Logan.

But just when she thought she'd die from the intensity of her need, he lifted his head to smile down at her. Catching her hand in his, he guided her to the hard ridge of his arousal, straining at his cotton briefs.

“I want you to touch me, Cassie. I want you to feel how much I want to make you mine.”

His deep baritone, roughened by the strain of unfulfilled desire, flowed over her, and as she touched him, Cassie felt him surge beneath the cotton. It
wasn't enough. She wanted to feel his taut skin, the velvet warmth of him. She wanted to bring him the same pleasure he was giving her.

With his help, she shoved his briefs down his thighs and caught the length of him in her trembling hands. Encased in the sleeping bag as they were, she couldn't see him, but closing her eyes she memorized his length with her fingers, his strength with her palms.

His groan of pleasure encouraged her, and she boldly stroked him until his big body shuddered from the strain of barely leashed desire.

“Open your eyes, sugar,” Logan said through gritted teeth. “Look at me.”

Doing as he commanded, she felt her heart race when her gaze met his. She'd never had a man look at her that way. Logan was laying his soul bare, allowing her to see the storm raging within him, showing her how deeply his hunger for her ran.

He held her captive with his eyes, and their gazes locked as they explored each other with their hands. Cassie thought she'd die from the empty ache Logan had created, but the intense passion she watched build in his deep blue eyes told her that he was feeling the need just as deeply as she was.

“Please, Logan. Make love to me now.”

She watched a troubled look suddenly replace the passion on his face. Stopping the sensual torment, he closed his eyes, took her hands in his and clutched them to his chest. He leaned his forehead on hers and took a deep breath, then another.

“I'd rather die than say this, but…I can't make
love to you, sugar. I didn't plan on this happening and I don't have anything to protect you.”

If they stopped now, she knew for certain that she'd die from wanting. She quickly did a mental calculation and thanked the heavens above that she'd always been as regular as clockwork. “I don't think we have anything to worry about. It should be a safe time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He groaned and wrapped her in his arms. “You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that.”

Cassie would have told him how much she agreed, but at the moment she couldn't. The feel of his big body against her chased away all thought and left her with nothing but the ability to feel.

She'd never in her life pleaded with a man to make love to her, never believed she ever would. But in Logan's arms she was doing a lot of things she'd never done before. “Logan, please make love to me.”

Without a word, he kissed her with such mind-shattering tenderness it brought tears to her eyes. Moving restlessly against him, she found him with her hands and once again marveled at the power of his arousal, his need for her.

He slipped his hand between them to chafe the nub of her passion, then slipped his finger inside to stroke her to frenzied readiness. She felt as if she'd go up in flames at any moment.