Dusty Britches (60 page)

Her hands traveled the breadth of his broad shoulders, up over his neck, finally resting on his face. When she finally found the courage to glance up at him, it was to find that his eyes had narrowed
,
his expression that of completely pleased anticipation
. It gave her hope and courage—
that playful, mischievous smile she loved so much. Quickly
, she
focused her attention to his mouth and moved slightly to kiss him.
Yet
panic and fear stalled her
,
and she winced at the pain in her frightened soul. What if he refused her? What if he refused her there with Miss Raynetta looking on? How would Miss Raynetta ever find the courage to approach her father? But when she looked up at him, he smiled warmly, the sweet brown sugar of his eyes reassuring her he would not fail her. Again she looked at his mouth.
Simply kiss him
, she thought. It was simple enough, wasn
’
t it? She
’
d kissed him before, hadn
’
t she? But this was different. There was no reason for it! Nothing had led them to it
.

Watching Ryder
’
s mouth until it was so close she had to close her eyes, Dusty moved toward him until she felt the softness of his lips against her own. He was still. Yes, he let her kiss him, even returned the kiss, as much as he could
—
considering how softly and how quickly she kissed him. Casting her
gaze
down for a moment before facing his, she drew in a deep breath. When she looked up at him again, he quirked one side of his mouth in a smile of satisfaction. His expression was nothing less than entirely inviting, and with every shred of courage she had left, she moved closer to him, letting her body press lightly against his. Still
,
h
is arms did not go around her; h
is strong hands were not
at her waist. And she wondered—
had it taken such profound courage as this for
him each time he’d kissed her
when she had not responded with a reassuring touch? No inviting caress?

She ran the fingers of one small hand across his lips before raising herself to kiss him again. This time
,
she did not pull away so quickly but let herself breathe of the scent of his face. Her kisses, however self-propelled, were met with perfect acceptance and delight. He did not deny her. In fact, a moment later, she went limp against him as his hands caressed her waist for long moments before he finally locked her in the power of his arms. Instantly, Dusty surrendered to his dominant power and co
nfidence. His will was paradise!
Everything else was driven from her mind, including the existence of Raynetta McCarthy looking on. His mouth suddenly left
hers and traveled to her neck. Sh
e pressed her hand against the back of his head, enraptured by the feel of his kiss on her skin. His chin nuzzled her collar, forcing it down so he could kiss her throat briefly before his hands cupped her face, his obsessively crav
ed
kiss finding her mouth once more. A matter of a week had been
far
too long to deny herself the attentions of Ryder. A day would
’
ve been too long,
she thought. An hour—a minute!

In the next moment
,
when he broke from her and swept her
into his arms,
carrying her hurriedly toward the barn, she faltered in her confidence and whispered,
“
I
’
ll explain later.
”

“
You don
’
t have to explain,
”
he mumbled.

“I-
I do,
”
she told him.

By now
,
he had reached the barn and let her feet drop to the ground.

“
You don
’
t have to…
”
she began, wanting to release him from any obligation he felt to kiss
her further because of what he’
d said to her.

“
You know I want to. And besides,
”
he whispered, putting his mouth to her ear and causing her knees to buckle,
“
I haven
’
t kept my promise.
”

Taking advantage of her weakened state, he pressed her body back against the barn wall with his own. He took her face in his hands for a moment as he began to fulfill the promise of a kiss she
’
d never dreamed possible. There in the shadows and privacy of the barn, Ryder Maddox proceeded to weave a spell of passion about Dusty
breathing
of magic. With his simple caressing of her throat, arms, face
,
and hai
r, he somewhat hypnotized her—
kissing her tenderly, teasingly, furiously
,
an
d demandingly—
thereby sending her sense of reality to some sort of obliteration for a time. But was it, she wondered, because he kissed her any differently? No. It was because she had sought him out and in doing so had surrendered the resistive part of her present between them each time before. His kiss wasn
’
t any different, only more delicious and thirst-quenching because she received it differently
.
He
’
d known it would happen! He
’
d known that once she came to him without being coaxed or trapped or teased, it would indeed seem all the more dream
-
fulfilling to share in it with him.

She had never fathomed how incredible it would feel to r
un her fingers through his hair—t
o caress the b
road expanse of his shoulders—t
o find that she could kiss him! Often his mouth would leave hers to scatter tender kisses along her nose, forehead, and neck, teasing mercilessly. Each time she would whisper some quiet hint to him she preferred his kiss on her mouth, he obeyed her without hesitation. She delighted, somewhat impishly, at her ability to control him so completely with a simple whisper or a hand pressed to his stomach.

“
I
’
ve got chores to do,
”
he mumbled between kisses once.

“
I know,
”
she answered breathlessly.

He released her then, stepping back and running his fingers through his already tousled hair. They looked away from each other shyly for one moment before he grinned at her
with mutual understanding
.

“
There
’
s wood to chop now
.”
He pointed an index finger at her, winked
,
and chuckled,
“
But anytime you want me for somethin
’
like that again
,
you just let me know.
”

Dusty knew her cheeks were burning with the blush
seeming
to cover her whole being. What had she been thinking? She watched him leave the barn and shake his head in apparent wonderment before retrieving his ax and going about his labors.

Still trembling with delight, Dusty straightened her skirt and smoothed back her hair before leaving the barn
. She blushed deeper still when Ryder looked over, winking
at her again. She returned to where Miss Raynetta had retired to the porch swing.

As Dusty approached, Miss Raynetta frowned rather nervously and began fanning herself with her hand.
“
I guess I better be careful what kind
a wagers I make in the future,
”
the now terribly agitated woman sighed.

“
Don
’
t lose your nerve, Miss Raynetta,
”
Dusty warned, sitting next to her.
“
You
’
ll never know how much courage that took for me!
”

“
But the…the rewards were bountiful in your favor, sweet thing. I
’
m an old woman!
”

Dusty smiled. She understood all too well Miss Raynetta
’
s worries, her fear. Again,
h
eaven seemed to intervene
,
and Dusty looked up to see her father striding toward them, a contented smile on his handsome face.

“
Oh, my dear, no!
”
Miss Raynetta sighed as Dusty glanced at her
with daring
.

“
Daddy!
”
Dusty greeted dramatically as
Hank
stepped up onto the porch in one smooth stride.

“
Hey there, punkin!
”
he greeted.
“
Miss Raynetta…I can
’
t tell you how it warms my heart to see you and my girls gettin
’
on so well.
”
Dusty was encouraged
,
and she couldn
’
t help but elbow Miss Raynetta in the ribs. The woman immediately scolded her silently with a poke in her own.
Yet
she felt the woman
’
s heart aching as her father added,
“
It
’
s like having three p
u
rty little girls to my name rather
’
n only two.
”
Yet Dusty didn
’
t interpret the comment the same way as Miss Raynetta, no doubt, did. She sensed more hidden meaning than her father would care for her to have. Miss Raynetta
’
s anxieties fairly oozed from her every pore, and as
Miss Raynetta
began to wring the fabric of her skirt, Dusty determined
s
he needed a little shove.

“
Well, I
’
ve go
t too much left to do in gettin’ ready for tomorrow, Daddy.”
Leaping
up from the swing
suddenly, she offered,
“
Why don
’
t you sit down here and take the we
ight off your feet for a minute?
I
’
m sure Miss Raynetta is plum sick of my chatter.
”

“
Don
’
t mind if I do,
”
Hank Hunter si
ghed, sitting down promptly,
stretching his feet out before him. He propped one heavy boot over the other and sighed again, stretching his arms out on either side of him along the back of the swing.

Dusty almost giggled and yet felt profoundly sympathetic for Miss Raynetta
,
who squirmed uncomfortably as Hank
’
s arm brushed her shoulders. Odd to realize she knew exactly how Miss Raynetta felt. No doubt the woman
’
s heart was beating so hard inside her bosom
s
he feared Hank could hear it. No doubt his arm brushing her shoulders had sent her body bubbling up in goose bumps.

In that brief moment, Dusty looked at her father differently than she ever had before. Hank Hunter was a profoundly handsome man
—n
ot just because he
was her daddy but because
it was fac
tual! His shoulders were broad. He
was tall and his body still
muscular and strongly defined—a very
youthful build. It amazed Dusty all at once to realize that her own father was someone
who
could easily send women of all ages swooning.

“
Well,
”
Dusty sighed,
“
I
’
m off. You two have fun now.
”

Dusty felt a little nip of guilt
pinch
her stomach at Miss Raynetta
’
s widened eyes and mortified expression.
Still
, it was just a little nip. Calmly going into the house, she immediately motioned to Becca
,
who was sitting
at the table shelling peas. T
he two sisters quietly dashed into their mother
’
s old sewing room with a window
looking
out onto the porch.

Shhhh
, Dusty mouthed. She and Becca crawled on their hands and knees to finally sit beneath the open window. Becca
’
s eyes sparkled with excite
ment, and Dusty was certain that
at least part of their radiance was the lingering knowledge Miss Raynetta had been right about Feller.