Riding for Love (A Western Romance) (17 page)

When they reached Tilly’s stall, she took the blanket and covered the mare’s back.

Denton placed the saddle gently over the blanket. “Am I riding Della again today? I’m used to her. She likes me. Hasn’t bitten or tossed me yet. And the best part . . . my backside isn’t even sore anymore.”

Eve gave him a mischievous grin. “You’re not.”

Denton slipped Tilly’s bit into her mouth and peered around her head. “I’m not what?”

“You’re not getting a horse ready to ride.”

Denton crossed his arms over his chest. “Hey, not fair. Why do you get to ride and I have to walk?”

Eve laughed. “No, silly. You’re not riding your own horse.” Eve sashayed past Denton and slapped him on the rear. “You’re riding
with
me.”

“I was rather hoping to,” he said, giving Eve a silly grin and wiggling his eyebrows. “I don’t know who else I’d be riding, but how am I getting to the pond?”

“Very funny, Dent.” She laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. “What I mean is, we’re taking one horse, Tilly.”

“Just Tilly? Will we both fit?” Denton tried to speak through his cotton mouth. His groin hitched, and in the few seconds it took her to answer, several of his own fantasies flashed through his mind. Since he couldn’t seem to remember what to do with them, Eve took the reins from his hands.

“Uh, we’re sharing a horse?”

“Yep.” Eve led Tilly from her stall.

“We’re riding together.”

“Yep.” She started taking things from the basket and putting them into the saddlebags.
Her skirt rose up the back of her legs each time she reached to place wine and other items into the bags.

Disappointment set in when she lowered her arms and the skirt slid into place. He followed like a lost puppy as she moved to the other side of Tilly, placed a blanket in the pocket, and lowered the flap. Did she raise her arms a little higher and push her nearly exposed rear end in his direction? Anyway, he imagined her rear was exposed.

He caught a glimpse of her face from the corner of his eye. Head down, hands resting on Tilly’s saddle, tears streamed down her cheeks. She tugged the bottom of her skirt down and inched up the top of her shirt.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered.

Denton stepped toward her. “Do what, honey?” 

She swept her hands over her body. “This, this fantasy thing. This isn’t me at all.” She covered her face with her hands. “I can’t imagine what you must think of me.”

He considered her for a moment. “What I think is that you’re an incredibly sexy woman and . . .” He stopped when Eve flipped up the flap on the saddlebag. “What are you doing?”

Eve sighed. “Let’s forget this ever happened.”

“What do you mean, forget this ever happened?” He took her by the wrist and turned her to face him.

“What the heck do you think I mean? I put Tilly back in the stall and take the picnic basket back to the house. You go your way, I go mine. You can go into town and enjoy the Fourth.”

Denton’s stomach dropped and his cock cried. His chance of finishing what they started years ago slipped through his fingers. He wanted to yowl. “We don’t have to do that, Eve.”

“Denton, I’m so embarrassed. Having a picnic doesn’t seem like a good idea anymore.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, rubbed the back of his neck, and let out a breath of air. “I understand, but what about your fantasy? I’d hate you to give up on it.” An understatement to end all understatements.

Eve snorted. “It was just a dream, Dent, and all it ever will be.”

Denton wanted to stomp his feet, drop to the ground, and pound his hands and feet in a full-out, no-holds-barred tantrum. Instead, he took a deep breath. “How about if we start over?”

“What do you mean start over?” she asked, resting her head on the saddle.

Denton crossed his fingers. “Let’s pretend this never happened, and even though you look fantastic in your clothes”—he swept his eyes over her from head to foot—“you’re obviously uncomfortable. And I never want you to feel that way with me. Let’s go back to our rooms and change into something more comfortable. And, as much as I’m intrigued by the whole riding a horse together thing, let’s use two horses and have a quiet picnic by the lake. No pressure. What do you say?”

Eve dropped her hands to her sides. His idea held merit. What if they started again? She would be herself and not act like a desperate woman aching to get laid, even if that was exactly what she was.

What did she have to lose? She couldn’t get any more embarrassed, and it would certainly be easier to ride in jeans than in the short skirt. With things at a friendly level and a quiet afternoon together at the lake, maybe their relationship would grow and they would eventually become lovers.

She hesitated. Denton took her chin in his fingers and raised her face. A tremor went through her when he brushed her hair behind her ear.

“You made all that food. Why let it go to waste? No one is here to question what we’re doing, why we’re changing clothes, where we’re going.” He kissed her forehead. “C’mon, let’s go celebrate the Fourth with a picnic like everyone else. Okay?”

Eve closed her eyes at the sensation of his gentle kiss on her forehead. How did something so simple send so many vibrations through her body? He kissed her nose. How could any woman in her right mind resist?

“All right. Let me loosen Tilly’s saddle and tie her off. I’ll meet you back here in fifteen minutes.”

As she walked back to the house, she wondered if she could actually go through with this. She glanced over her shoulder. Denton stood outside the barn watching her. The bulge in his pants made her nipples pucker and her muscles contract. Damn straight she could go through with this.

Chapter 15

Denton dug his fingernails into his palms. Time crawled as slowly as earlier. Eve had surpassed the fifteen-minute mark. The horses nickered at the hitching post. Hoping they’d still take one horse, but believing that probably wouldn’t happen, he’d gotten Della ready and had tied her outside next to Tilly. He then went to his room for, hell, when he got there he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t need to change clothes. Adding ice to the picnic basket
took about three seconds. Now here he was again, anticipating Eve’s appearance. Frankly, he didn’t care what she wore; she oozed sexy in anything.

He glanced toward the house when the screen door creaked open. His heart dropped. “Hell and damnation.” She wore the same clothes. Did her tight lips and gleam in her eyes mean she changed her mind again? Her long strides meant one thing, and he didn’t want to hear it. He thought about hog-tying her to Tilly’s saddle and riding off for their picnic. Not a good way to re-start a relationship. He pivoted and loosened the reins from the hitching post and turned the horses toward the barn.

“Denton, wait.”

He stopped and hung his head.

“What are you doing?”

“Me? What are you doing?” He swept her from head to toe. “Seems to me since you didn’t change clothes, we aren’t going anywhere, so I’m taking these two back to the barn.”

She placed a hand on his arm. “Why?”

“I’d say it’s obvious since you changed your mind that we’re not going to the lake.”

“I changed my mind about changing my mind about changing my clothes.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, Denton. I realized how foolish I was acting and decided to go with my instincts.”

Denton put both reins in one hand and other behind his back. He crossed his fingers. “What do your instincts tell you?”

Eve licked her lips. Her eyes twinkled and seem to hold promises of things to come. “Ride with me and find out.”

Denton swallowed around the lump in his throat as the lump in his pants responded to her sultry voice. “One horse or two?” He uncrossed his fingers and lifted the reins toward Eve.

She paused. “Let’s go with two this time. Baby steps, you know.”

He hid his elation when what he wanted to do was kick his legs up in the air and tap his heels together in pure joy. Her words ‘this time’ made it sound like there might be more in the future. He’d better make damn sure ‘this time’ was the best ‘this time’ of her life.

Eve took Tilly’s reins from him and tied them back to the post. “Give me a leg up?”

Denton tied off his horse and took in Eve’s long, long legs and short, short skirt. With shaking hands, he cupped his fingers together. She put her left booted foot into Denton’s intertwined fingers. He grinned, knowing damn well she could get on her horse herself, even with the short skirt. Hell, she could probably get on a horse dressed as the Michelin Man. She played him and he was enjoying every minute of it. She stepped into his hand. He nearly dropped her when the skirt rose higher and then higher again as she raised her right leg over Tilly’s rump.

Denton groaned. Once her leg went over and she sat, the skirt rode up to the tops of her thighs. He wasn’t sure, but he thought she was possibly, hopefully, maybe not wearing any underwear.

She pressed a finger under his chin, closing his mouth. “Is something wrong, Denton?” she asked, giving him a sultry smile.

He swept his gaze from her legs to her breasts. The top of one small brown nipple peeked from the shirt. His cock jumped. “Not a thing, babe, not one damn thing,” he answered, placing a hand on her thigh.

A shudder passed through Eve’s body and landed directly in her core. She closed her eyes and reveled in the heady sensation. Her nipples puckered and toes curled. If this is what it was like with simply his hand on her thigh, she couldn’t imagine what would happen when he got around to the real deal.

“Eve, are you all right?” Denton asked, interrupting her juicy thoughts.

She smiled down at him, placed a hand on his and tossed his words back at him. “Not a thing, babe, not one damn thing.”

“Well, let’s get going then, shall we?” He squeezed her bare thigh, sending more shockwaves through her body.

She took her eyes off Denton’s fine ass as he walked to his horse. He put his right hand on the pummel, stuck his left boot in the stirrup, and took a deep breath.

He gave Eve a weak smile.

“Getting on is not one of my favorite things about riding a horse.”

Eve smiled. “No? What is?”

Denton grunted as he rather clumsily swung his right leg over his horse’s rump and saddle. “Nothing.”

She didn’t realize she held her breath until he stepped his right foot into the stirrup and gently eased himself in the saddle. The townspeople probably heard his sigh of relief in town. She waited while he got the reins situated and guided his horse into a slow walk.

She rode up beside him. “You can breathe now.” He responded to her command, and his tense shoulders slowly relaxed.

“Loosen your grip on the reins,” she said softly.

He did as she said, and the horse stopped fighting the bit. He took another deep breath.

“Remember what I taught you. Relax and sit back in the saddle.”

The panic usually settling on his face whenever he got on a horse, settled into . . . well, she wasn’t sure what, but there was less fear or panic.

“You’re improving, you know,” she said as the horses entered the tree-covered part of the trail. The trees almost met at the top giving the trail a feel of a tunnel. Its coolness was refreshing against Eve’s skin.

“You think so?” His face lit up with pleasure at her words. “Seems to me I start from scratch each time I get on.”

Eve laughed. “Well, most of the time you act like you’re starting over, but your fear doesn’t last as long. You’re getting much better and faster at putting on the tack.” She gave him a sideways glance. “Why, you are almost as fast as Tony.”

Denton snorted. “Hell, he’s only ten.”

“Uh huh,” she responded with a stone face.

“And he needs a stool.”

Eve kept facing straight ahead, but couldn’t keep her lips from quivering into a smile. “Uh huh.”

“And cries whenever the horse moves.”

She nodded. “That’s why you’re getting better. You don’t cry anymore.”

For a moment Denton was quiet, and she worried she’d offended him this time. Then she looked at him.

The corners of his mouth turned up, and he burst out laughing. “Oh man, Eve. You’re terrific. What’s even better is that you can’t see me when I cry myself to sleep at night and wake up sobbing from the nightmares of falling off the horse, getting bitten by a horse, having to ride backwards on a horse or, worse yet, riding bareback.”

Eve joined in his mirth and then quickly sobered. She eyed the tract of land as they came closer to the opening in the trees.

“Eve, what’s wrong?”

She turned in the saddle. “What I would like to know is why.”

“What do you mean ‘
why’
?”

She swept her hand toward him indicating the horse, his boots, and hat. “I’ve asked you this before and you never answered me. Why are you taking lessons and putting yourself through what can only be described as pure torture?”

“I’d hoped you would figure it out, Eve,” he said quietly. She didn’t have an answer, so he continued. “Ever since I left for college, I missed you. The night at the restaurant I told you the truth. My marriage was doomed from the start. She’d tricked me and even though I tried to make the marriage work, I never ever stopped loving you and I never, ever loved Marie.” He switched the reins from one hand to the other and flexed his fingers. “Can we talk about this when we get to the lake?”

Eve shrugged. “We’re almost there anyway. I’ve waited this long, I guess I can wait a few more minutes to hear the rest of the story.”

They rode out of the canopied trail. The sun reflecting off the lake water nearly blinded her.

“I love coming out here, and each time, I am amazed at the beauty.” Eve guided her horse to the right.

“Do you get here often?”

“Not as much as I would like and hardly ever by myself. I always have a group of riders with me.”

“Then this is all the more special.” He viewed the grove of trees across the lake. “How much further?”

Eve pointed in the direction he looked. “There’s another place I went to as a kid. To me it was a magic kingdom, a place to escape.”

Denton swept his hand out, indicating Eve should lead the way. When they reached the far end of the lake, Eve pulled back on the reins and stopped. Denton rode up beside her. When she moved to get off, Denton put up his hand.

“Wait, don’t move.”

“Why?”

“Humor me, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, wondering what he planned. Her curiosity rose as he dismounted. He certainly couldn’t be going to lead the way because she was certain she was the only one who knew where they were headed.

She watched him swing his leg over the back of the saddle and drop to the ground. He tied the reins to a tree branch, leaving enough slack for his horse to graze on the surrounding grass. Her confusion rose as he came to her side. “Swing your leg over and put your hands on my shoulders.”

“Why?”

“Humor me.” He brought up his arms and placed his hands around her waist and slid up her sides until his thumbs rested under her breasts. Desire fired through her body as he held her until her toes barely touched the ground.

In the movies, she thought it a ridiculous way to dismount. But now, with his thumbs doing a slow trot under her breasts, his lower body pressed against hers, she may never get off a horse any other way, providing it was Denton who assisted.

When he moved his hand from under her breasts and set her on the ground, she protested and tried to replace them, until he cupped the sides of her face. His lips came closer to hers, and she eagerly met them. His kiss deepened as his tongue slowly caressed her lips and entered her mouth.

He stepped away too soon and rested his forehead against hers. She wasn’t sure who breathed harder. With each breath, her chest pressed against his. She wanted to rip her top and his shirt off and rub her bare breasts against him.

“Oh, man, Eve. You drive me crazy.”

Eve whimpered when he took another step back. She wanted more. More of his lips, more of his hands, more of his crotch pressed against hers.

Denton took her hands in his. “Wait, Eve. Let’s unpack first,” he said, his voice strained.

With her attention back on her surroundings, she realized that even though everyone went to town, someone might decide to ride the trails and find them lip-locked, hips suctioned together. They needed privacy.

When he moved to open the saddlebags, she stopped him. “We’re not there, yet. We can take the horses with us.” She released both reins and handed them to him. “You lead the horses while I move the brush. I hope this works because I’ve only ever taken Tilly through.” Eve nudged some bushes aside. “In fact, release Tilly’s reins. She’ll follow the path, but hold on to your horse. Della’s never done this before.”

Denton did as she instructed, and a narrow, well-hidden path appeared before him with just enough room for the horses to pass. Branches and bushes brushed against his body. After a few minutes, they emerged from the narrow walkway to a meadow and were greeted by another, much smaller lake surrounded by a profusion of wildflowers and woods. In awe of the beauty of the landscape, he barely registered Eve’s brief departure and return.

She took his reins. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe this. Where did you go?”

“I went back to re-cover the opening and brush over our trail. This is my sanctuary, and I don’t want anyone intruding.”

Denton was humbled she would show such an incredible, secret place to only him.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

“For what?”

“For sharing this with me.” Now, for sure, they needed to clear the air between them before going any further with their relationship.

In a low voice, sending shivers down his spine, she said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet, mister.”

She laid her head on his shoulder and Denton had a brief vision of skinny-dipping, laughter, and picnics. He even thought he heard a few wedding bells.

“Let’s eat,” he said quickly. He took the reins and re-tied the horses to a low branch.

Eve couldn’t believe what he said. Eat? After his jaw-dropping kiss and sexy way of getting her off her horse, he wanted to eat? All she wanted was for him to mount her and never get off. And he wanted to eat? “You’re kidding, right?”

Denton stopped untying the saddlebag and looked over his shoulder. “I would like nothing better than to rip that little piece you call a shirt off, then your teeny, tiny skirt right here, right now.”

“Good, because that’s exactly what you should do. Except, I think I hear a ‘but’ in your voice.”

He smiled. “Not the ‘but’ I want, but we need to clear the air about some things. I don’t want to make love to you with issues hanging over our heads.”

Eve placed her hands at her waist and tapped a boot. “We don’t have any issues.”

“Oh, sweetie, we sure do.” He handed her the blanket and bottle of wine. “I believe once we get them out in the open, our relationship will be even more than either of us could imagine.”