Dusty Britches (44 page)

The announcement was made that the fireworks would begin
. E
veryone began gathering outside near the big field to watch the amazing display of gunpowder turned into color
light up
the night sky.

Dusty
hung
back from the rest of the group. Perhaps she understood too well Becca
’
s feelings of wanting to be
with Feller,
for she had no desire to join the others in the crowd and be painfully reminded that she was, for all romantic purposes, alone. So leaning back against one of the big trees, she smiled as she listened to the crowd
“
oohing and aahing
”
with each consecutive explosion toward the stars. She wondered where Ryder was and assumed
h
e would be wherever po
or Miss Raynetta found herself—
offering friendly companionship. She still could not belie
ve that particular revelation—h
er own daddy loved by someone and completely unaware of it? Not unlike Feller, maybe.

The hand
suddenly covering
her mouth from behind
and
the arm going around her waist startled her so that her heart seemed to skip a beat or two. But at once she recognized the chuckle from behind
her and wiggled from his grasp. She turned, slapping Ryder on the arm in reprimand
.

“
Ryder, you scared the waddin
’
out of me!
”
she scolded.

Ryder chuckled at her but said nothing. The look in his eyes
, however, was all too familiar.
Dusty actually stepped back from him.
“
What are you up to?
”
sh
e asked. He was up to no good; s
he knew from his expression.

“
Unfinished business,
”
he mumbled as he reached out, spun her around, clamped his hand over her mouth again
,
and, letting his arm go around her waist once more, lifted her off the ground
. He
pulled her behind the tree and into complete seclusion.

Dusty struggled, pulling at his hands, trying to loosen his grip. But he was much stronger
,
and she began to wonder
whether
she really wanted escape anyway. She ceased her struggling instantly when his arm left her waist
, his
hand now encircling her throat gently. Keeping his
other
hand over her mouth
,
he pulled her head to one side
,
and she nearly fainted from the euphoria of his kiss on her neck.

“
Forgive me, Miss Hunter,
”
he mumbled against her neck. Her flesh tingled from the delightful sensation.
“
But somethin
’
s put the devil in me tonight
,
and that little frolic in the loft with you just wasn
’
t long enough.
”
As Ryder continued to kiss her neck playfully,
Dusty
tried again to push his hand from her mouth
. At last,
he yielded, releasing her body
. Still, he took her face between his powerful hands, forcing her to look up at him
.

“What’
re you doing to me?
”
she asked him breathlessly, stepping backward and leaning against the tree trunk.

“What’r
e you doin
’
to me?
”
he sig
hed. He released her,
rubbing his eyes
with frustration. He
reached up,
taking hold of a tree limb as he leaned toward her.

“
Nothin
’
,
”
she squeaked out, not understanding his
accusing
manner.

“
Let me ask you somethin
’
,
”
he mumbled. His eyes were narrowed with
deep
intensity
as he looked at her—almost
hatefully somehow.
“
All that time you was hooked up with
Richardson
…how much time did you spend lettin
’
him kiss you?
”

“
What?
”
Dusty
breathed
.

“
I want to know,
”
he growled.
“
How often did he kiss you? And how did he kiss you? Tell me.
”

He was angry—
suddenly and unexpectedly angry. It sounded
as if
he w
ere
battling jealousy, but Dusty knew
it
couldn
’
t be. So what
did he want
her to say?

“
I don
’
t think I have to tell you anything about it,
”
she told him. His chest rose and fell with angered breathing.
“
And why would it matter to you? I
’
m sure you
’
ve had your share of women since you left me…left here.
”

“
I
’
ve kissed my share of women, yeah,
”
he admitted bluntly. Dusty tightly closed her eyes against any vision that might try to imprint itself on her mind
. Yet
when she felt him take hold of her chin
,
she opened them again to find him glaring down at her.
“
But there
’
s kissin
’
,
”
he mumbled, leaning down and kissing her multiple times in lingering succession. She was angry at
herself for letting him do it—
for returning his kiss even when they were in the midst of arguing.
H
is arms went around her
. H
e pulled her against his body
,
and the warm brown sugar of his eyes narrowed as he gazed at her and said,
“
And there
’
s kissin
’
.
”

Immediately
, his kiss was different—
far more intimate and demanding. He paused, taking her face in his hand and caressing the outline of her lips with his thumbs. When he pressed his body against hers, pinning her back against the tree, she gasped slightly, and he took immediate action in capturing the vulnerability of her parted lips with his own. Dusty let the tears of heartbroken bliss escape her closed eyes as she clutched at his shirt
with a frightening desperation
. His whiskery face was chafing the delicate flesh around her mouth, chin
,
and cheeks.
Yet
the scratc
hy feel of it was invigorating—
the strength of his body against hers overpo
wering in its dominant security—t
he moisture of his mouth, as ever, warm and sweet.

“
Which was it?
”
he asked, pausing the exchange.
“
How did you let him kiss you?
”
Dusty turned her head from him, embarrassed because of her tears and clutching at his clothing less possessively.
“
Tell me!
”
he demanded.
“
How did he kiss you? The first way or the second?
”

“
He
—
he never kissed me the way you…
”
she stammered.

“
Because he never tried…or because you never let him?
”

“B-
because I never wanted him to,
”
came her quiet answer.

“
Because you never wanted him to?
”
he
asked. H
is embrace
of her loosened
as his attention was arrested by her confession.
“
You were gonna marry him!
”

“
I didn
’
t want him!
”
she cried out suddenly, searching his face for understanding. She found only confusion.
“
You don
’t understand at
all, do you? Not really.
”

“I—
I think that I…maybe I don
’
t want to understand,
”
he admitted.

And she thought,
B
ecause you aren
’
t in love with me
.
“
Why are you here…with me…right now, Ryder?
”
she asked him.

“
Because my mouth has been waterin
’
after you all day long,
”
he angrily confessed.

She wanted to ask him why, but she feared the answer too much. Feared his answer would be far less than she dreamed of it being. She could not e
ndure the disappointment then—o
r ever. Better to live in ignorant bliss than have him tell her w
hat she could not bear to hear—
that she was only someone to have fun sparking with, not someone he loved. He leaned forward, taking one more deep, impassioned, succulent kiss from her mouth before starting to leave her.

But when he tried to step back, Dusty felt the tug on the front of her dress, reached out
,
and pulled him closer to her again and begged,
“
Wait!
”

He looked down curiously, following her pleading glance. Somehow during their interlude, the latch of his belt buckle had gotten caught in the lace at the waist of her dress. They were so entangled that Dusty knew his pulling away from her would tear the lace and ruin the dress.

“
What now?
”
she asked him in frustration.

He grinned and wiped the tear from her cheek with the back of his hand.
“
I guess we
’
ll just have to keep
—”

“
Hey there, young folks! What
’
re you all up to?
”
It was ol
d
man Leroy. He was drunker than a skunk and watching the goings
-
on between Ryder and Dusty with an amused grin.

“
Oh…um…I just had somethin
’
in my eye, Mr. Leroy. Ryder was helpin
’
me…
”
Dusty
replied
.

“
You take me for a fool, girl?
”
the old man chuckled.

Ryder smiled down at Dusty
and
then looked over to the kindhearted man.
“
Actually, Leroy,
”
he began,
“
I was out here makin
’
love to this gal
,
and looks like the lace of her dress is all a
-
tangled up with my belt buckle.
”

Dusty held her breath and closed her eyes in humiliation.

Old Leroy chuckled.
“
Well…you two folks keep a
-
fiddlin
’
at it
. I
t
’
ll all work out in the end.
”
With a wink, he rather staggered off toward the field.

“
Wise man,
”
Ryder said, smiling down at Dusty. She felt his hands slip between their bodies at their waists
,
and she looked away as he kept grinning all the time he struggled with their clothing. In a moment
,
he had freed the lace of her dress
,
and she smoothed it down, unable to look at him again for feeling shy at sharing such intimate moments with him.

But Ryder would not have her feeling ashamed or shy
. H
e put a hand under her chin
,
forcing her to look up at him.
“
It
’
s been quite a picnic, hasn
’
t it?
”