Fated for Love (7 page)

He used his finger to tip her chin up until she had no choice but to meet his gaze, which sucked her right in. She felt like putty waiting to be touched, molded,
taken
.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

He stared down at her, and she wondered if the heat of their embrace sent the same lustful rush through him as it did through her. She was suddenly certain he could feel—or see—how much she wanted him to lower his mouth to hers. Just one kiss. One kiss would calm her nerves, satiate her greedy desire.

“I shouldn’t have brought you up here.” His eyes darted away.

And just like that, her hopes deflated.
I’m an idiot
. How could she respond to that? She’d blown any chance she had with him. Not that she’d had any chance to begin with, but she’d thought—
hoped
—that his bringing her here was a sign of something more.

“Why…did you?” She had to ask. She had to know.

“I’m not really sure. We were talking, and it felt right to share this place with you.”

“Then you realized I’m afraid of heights and socially moronic around you? I could have saved you lots of time.” She pushed away from him, stumbled backward, then clutched for him again.

“Sorry. Sorry.”
I have to leave. Forget staying a day. I need to call a cab and get the heck out of here tonight. Maybe out of Trusty, too
.

“What? No. Neither of those things.” He lifted her face again, and this time there was no misreading his annoyed and slightly angry dark eyes. “I meant
on top
of this boulder
. Christ, Callie. You’re afraid of heights. Why’d you let me pull you up here?”

Because you’re hot and I’m stupid
. She swallowed her words and dropped her gaze.

“God, I’m an idiot.” He lowered her to a seated position again. “Don’t move. Don’t stand. In fact, don’t breathe for a second, okay?”

She managed a nod at his careful command as he climbed down the boulder, stopping midway. He held his hands toward her, and she wondered how the hell he wasn’t falling backward, because she definitely would have.

“Callie, scoot forward on your butt. Don’t stand up.” Another command.

She scooted forward, and when her feet were inches from the edge, her heart raced again. Goose bumps chased the hair on her arms upright, and she stopped cold.

“I…can’t.”

“Just get your legs off the edge, and I’ll take you down.”

“How about…you leave me here and come back with a ladder. Or firemen. Yes, firemen would be even better. Three, please.”

He cracked a smile. “Firemen? To climb down an eight-foot boulder?”

“Hundred foot. Not eight. There’s no way it’s only eight feet, and I’m not going to look over the edge to find out, but I remember. It’s at least fifty.” She crossed her arms to keep him from seeing her tremble.

“Look me in the eyes, Callie.”

She did, feeling embarrassingly silly.

“Do you trust me?” he asked with a soft, thoughtful gaze.

She nodded.

“Can you come a little closer? I promise I won’t let you fall. You can even pretend I’m a fireman.”

She laughed a little and bit her lip again.

“You’re incredibly cute when you do that.”

Cute? Cute!
“You find scared women attractive?” She scooted forward, and he grabbed her just above her knees, on the bare skin below her dress, sending another shot of warmth to her naughty parts.

He let out a soft laugh under his breath. “I find attractive women attractive.” Their eyes met and held for a hot second. “I…” He shook his head and his eyes grew serious again. “I need to get you down from here.”

“I can stay right here. Really. If I lay back and don’t move, I’ll be okay.”

He sighed, and she realized that he was probably wishing he’d never run into her.

She closed her eyes. “Okay, tell me what to do.”

“If you scoot forward a little more, I can get a good grip on you and carry you down. You’re safe with me, Callie.”

She scooted forward with her eyes closed, trusting him as he gripped her hips and lowered her against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and in two of his giant steps, they were on level ground again.

“You can open your eyes now.”

“No, I can’t,” she said in a croaky voice.
When I open them, I have to unlock my arms and pull away, and you feel way too good to do that
. She felt him shake his head, and she forced herself to open her eyes. Oh boy. There was no misreading the desire in his eyes or trapped behind his zipper, which was currently pressing against her belly. For another hot second they stared into each other’s eyes, before he pulled back and stepped from her embrace.

“Come on. I’ll make sure you get home safely.”

She couldn’t move as the reality of his pulling away struck her.
He pulled away
. She definitely needed to leave.

They walked in silence out of the woods with Sweets beside them, and Callie felt him distancing himself even further, which didn’t surprise her in the least. She knew she was far from his type, and she’d just spent their time together proving it.

As they crossed the bridge, she forced her thoughts into words. “I’m sorry, Wes. I’m sorry they lied. I’m sorry I freaked out back there. I just—”

He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, stopping halfway across the bridge and pinning her in place with a piercing stare. “Callie, you didn’t do anything wrong. So you’re afraid of heights?” He shrugged, and something else flashed in his eyes before he shifted them away.

Desire
.

Oh Lordy. I must be dreaming
.

He shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans and looked in the direction of her cabin. “Come on. We’ve got an early ride tomorrow. You’d better get some rest.” He stopped at the bottom of the porch stairs, hands still deep in his pockets. His eyes darted to the dark cabin, then back to the trail, everywhere but at Callie.

She got the message loud and clear. “Thanks, Wes.” She took a step toward the stairs and felt Wes’s hand gently touch her arm. She turned and found his dark brows knitted together. He was leaning forward, as if he’d been intent on kissing her or whispering in her ear. She hoped for the first.

“Callie,” he said just above a whisper.

He felt it, too. He had to, regardless of the conflicting messages he was sending. She saw it in his eyes, felt it in the heat that swirled around them, sending shivers down her back. Her lips parted in anticipation. His Adam’s apple jumped as he swallowed, then licked his lips. His mouth was a breath away from hers.

A light flicked on in the cabin, and his eyes shifted to the door.

He looked down at Sweets, sitting beside his feet, then back at Callie. With a nod, he turned and walked away, leaving Callie to stumble up the stairs, wondering what the hell just happened.

FRIDAY MORNING WES paced his cabin floor, beating himself up for taking the walk in the woods with Callie. He’d liked talking with her and hearing about why she’d become a librarian, and once she’d begun to relax, he’d enjoyed being with her even more. It felt natural to share his most private place with her, the spot he’d never shared with anyone.
Christ
. He’d made a big mistake. Seeing her as the shy, intriguing girl who picked out his reading material went right out the door. One look in her sultry dark eyes and he’d lost his ability to think clearly. Suddenly, he’d felt the soft pillows of her breasts pressed against him and the curve of her hips filling his palms. He’d smelled her fresh, feminine scent, and that was it. He was a goner. If that damn light hadn’t turned on, he would have taken her in a kiss that would have led to God only knew what else. He needed to get his emotions in check before the trail ride today.

The trail ride presented another issue. He had a feeling she had no experience on horseback, and given that she nearly climbed under his skin at the height of the boulder, he had concerns about how she’d do riding a horse.

A few minutes later, he and Sweets headed down to the stables, where Cutter had already saddled the horses and packed the supplies for their ride. Usually Wes joined their guests in the saloon at the end of the trail ride, but this morning, with the sun high in the sky and the crisp mountain air promising a warm day, his gut clenched at the thought. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold himself together when he was near Callie without everyone else seeing how she turned him on. He didn’t trust himself to be around her in a situation where they were drinking. He’d need all of his mental faculties in order to keep from reaching out to her. There was no way he’d be at the saloon tonight.

He heard Cutter’s voice before he saw him come around the side of the barn.

“Here you go, ladies. Your wrangler awaits you.” Cutter waved to Wes.

Bonnie’s camera hung from her shoulder like an extra limb. She, Kathie, and Christine all wore shorts and sleeveless shirts with the telltale signs of bikini straps tied around their necks. Callie wore a short skirt and—
sweet Jesus
—a bright blue bikini beneath a blousy white top that stopped just above her waist, revealing two inches of toned stomach sweet enough to eat off of.

Wes shifted his eyes to Cutter, who raised his brows in quick succession before heading into the barn. He cleared his throat in an effort to concentrate on something other than running his hands up Callie’s thighs and tasting every inch of her. He settled his hat on his head to distract himself from the thought.

Focus on the activity and do your damn job
.

“Good morning, ladies. Ready for the trail?”

Callie’s eyes were trained on the ground.

“You know it.” Kathie’s hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She walked up to Chestnut, a red-coated mare, and stroked her side. “Can I just climb up?”

“In a minute.” He hated to embarrass Callie, but after last night, he needed to know exactly how much experience she had. He no longer trusted a damn thing on her application. “Have all of you ridden before?”

“I grew up on a farm.” Bonnie wiggled her fingers in the air.

“I had a thing for cowboys at a young age. Riding lessons at six years old.” Christine adjusted her red sun visor on her forehead.

“Me too,” Kathie said. “Plenty of experience.”

Just what I thought. Callie is the only one with little or no experience. “Callie?”

Her cheeks flushed, and she nibbled her lip again. Damn it. Why did he want to hold her every time she did that? The way her girlfriends watched her with bated breath, as if they’d all stopped breathing in anticipation of her answer, didn’t escape him.

“I’ve ridden,” she said quietly.

Right. Never ridden a day in your life. Great
. If she’d mentioned that last night, he could have given her a private lesson, but now he’d have to take her at her word or risk embarrassing her further.

“Super. Why don’t you take Chance?” He patted the white horse with black spots. “She’s a gentle girl.”

Callie drew her shoulders back. “Which one is the least gentle?”

Bonnie stepped closer to her. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t need the most gentle horse.” Callie held Wes’s stare.

That would be Glory, and there’s no way in hell you’re riding her
. He nodded to a brown mare. “That would be Jazz.” What the hell was she trying to prove?

“Okay, Christine, you’ll be on Flash, and, Bonnie, you can take Brownie. It looks like Kathie’s already made friends with Chestnut.” Wes glanced at Kathie, who had her cheek pressed against the horse’s neck.

“Brownie. Yum.” Bonnie brushed her hair from her face and went to Brownie’s side.

“Today we’ll be riding up the mountain. We’ll take it at a nice, slow pace so you can enjoy the views. We’ll be stopping for lunch by a creek, and then we’ll head back. There are riding helmets right inside the barn, and if you have to use the ladies’ room, I suggest you do it now.”

“Oh, bathroom. Good idea.” Kathie put her hands on her hips. “Anyone care to join me?”

Bonnie and Christine flashed quick smiles at Callie and followed Kathie into the barn. Wes had a feeling he and Callie were being set up, which meant that she had told her friends about their little trip into the forest last night.
Fucking perfect
.

He came around Chance’s side and found Callie fiddling with the stirrup. “Hey.”

“Hi.” The bravado she’d shown in front of the others was gone, and shy Callie was back in full adorable blush.

“Listen, Callie, I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable last night. I’m sorry I took you up on the boulder. I should have picked up on your hesitation, and…”
I’m sorry I almost kissed you.
Only he wasn’t sorry. He still wanted to kiss her.

“I’m fine, Wes.”

She took a step toward the back of the horse and he grabbed her arm. She whipped her head around.

“When’s the last time you were around a horse?” He held her arm tightly as she tried to pull away.

“Why?”

“Because if you walk behind even the most docile horse, you take a chance of being kicked into tomorrow.” He closed the gap between them and lowered his voice. “Callie, I can delay the trail ride and give you a quick lesson. Twenty minutes, that’s all it’d take.”

She pressed her lips together, and he could see her contemplating a response. She looked down at his hand gripping her arm and he released her.

“Safety first, okay?” Goddamn it. He wanted to protect her from getting hurt, like he would any guest, but the way she was looking at him, like she was angry and hurt all at once, nearly brought his arms around her again—and that was
nothing
like he felt toward other guests.

She sighed. “I’ve ridden once, okay? A pony at a county fair. On a lead. But how different can this be?”

He was glad she trusted him enough to be honest. “Night and day. Do your friends know?” He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out to her again.

She nodded.

“Great. Then give me twenty minutes. Please. I don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”

She rolled her eyes and he knew he’d won. She took a step toward the horse’s rear again and he took her by the shoulders and turned her around. Callie was too smart to have forgotten the recent directive, which meant he had the same effect on her that she had on him.