The Rancher (10 page)

"Well." She tried to get her
heated cheeks to cool but failed miserably when her gaze drifted to
his mouth. Lord he had such nice lips. They were soft, too, she
remembered and of all the men she'd ever kissed in her life, none
had done it so expertly as Holden did. "Thank you for a lovely
evening." He smiled at her, shifted his weight to one foot and
Laurel felt dizzy all of a sudden. The anxiety was killing her.
"Good night!"

She whirled on her heel, rushed
inside her room and slammed the door, her heart beating so hard
against her ribcage she felt foolish. She was a grown woman, not
some simpering school girl but she felt like one. Giddy.
Breathless. Hopeless.

Falling in love with a man she
barely knew.

Sighing, she leaned back against
the door, her arms falling to her sides. "You are an idiot,
Laurel."

Turning her head toward the
window, she wondered if she could see him from there but didn't
dare move. If he saw her staring out at him, she'd die of
mortification.

* * * *

Holden was half way down the
street before he stopped, turned around, and walked back to the
school house.

Since the moment Laurel had
slammed her door in his face, he'd gone over everything Morgan had
learned about her, and told him about, and every piece of
information he was able to get from Laurel himself and none of it
explained why she was so stand-offish at times.

Or why he got the impression her
surly attitude was all an act.

She confused him more often than
not and tonight was no exception. It had been a long time since
he'd courted a woman and from what he remembered, there were
certain things one hoped he got at the end of the evening. A kiss
goodnight being one of them. A kiss he'd been anticipating until
Laurel shouted goodnight to him and slammed the door in his
face.

He'd seen her gaze linger on his
mouth as they reached the room behind the schoolhouse and that was
all it took for his cock to take notice and jump alive as if a hot
coal had been shoved into his pants. He hadn't made his intentions
of courting her be known yet, but by the time he left town tonight,
Laurel would know it.

Rounding the school house, he
didn't stop until he was on the little stoop by her door. He
knocked, the sound loud in the surrounding stillness and when
Laurel opened the door, her shocked gaze landing on him, he was
near shaking with the need to have her.

She'd let her hair down, all
those glorious curls dangling down her back and framing her face so
perfectly, and he almost forgot why he'd turned back around and
banged on her door as he stared at her.

"Holden? Did you forget
something?"

He forgot something all right.
His manners. "Yes Ma'am. I do believe I did." He reached for her,
weaving his fingers into her hair and pulling her toward him,
kissing her without another word, her shocked gasp giving him the
entrance into her mouth within seconds. Her hands clutched his
shirt and it only took a few seconds to realize she wasn't fighting
him like he thought she might, but was clinging to him, her tongue
tangling with his own, little mewling noises escaping her throat
and making the incessant throbbing in his groin more profound.

She pulled away after long
moments, panting for breath, and those amber eyes he'd admired the
first time he saw her were shining with something he hadn't seen
directed at him since the night he'd spent with her in
Missoula.

Lust. Desire.

Her arms were around his neck in
the next instant, her mouth so hot and wet against his own. Holden
wrapped her in his arms, pulled her into his body and took
everything he wanted from that kiss. Deepened it until he had
trouble breathing past his need for her.

She took a step backwards and
pulled him into her room, the door kicked shut without ever
breaking contact with his mouth.

He turned her, braced her back
against the door, his fingers moving into those luscious locks of
hair and he was hard and aching by the time she pulled back for
air. Her eyes glistened. Her lips wet and swollen and it took
everything in him not to guide her to the bed and have his way with
her.

Laurel inhaled a few deep
breaths and blinked lazily at him. "I didn't want anyone to see us
on the stoop." Her hands slid away from his shoulders to rest on
his chest. "If anyone caught you in here, I would lose my job."

"I won't let that happen." She
blinked up lazily at him, licked her lips and sent his thoughts
racing in directions they shouldn't have. "I didn't come back to
invite myself to your bed so your position as school teacher is
safe."

She nodded, her gaze lowering to
his chest briefly. "And why did you come back?"

He grinned and put a finger
under her chin, lifting her head so he could see her. "Because I
wanted a kiss. I thought that was obvious." Even though the room
was bathed in shadows, he could see her cheeks redden.

"Is that all you wanted?"

He laughed. "Not by a long shot,
darlin', but I'm a patient man. I can wait."

She smiled up at him, lifted up
on her toes and kissed him again, this time without the frenzy of
hurried motions. It was soft, lingering and he cursed his neglected
groin for demanding so much attention and distracting him. When she
broke the kiss, her lips swollen from his kiss, he knew being a
gentleman would be harder than he thought it would. Especially when
she whispered, "Make love to me."

* * * *

Common sense told her to let him
leave but she'd made many stupid decisions in her life, what was
one more? He was still staring down at her, his breath as labored
as hers. She raised her hands, her fingers brushing the buttons on
the front of his shirt and the need to touch him, skin to skin was
too much.

She popped the first button,
glancing up at his face as she unhooked the others. "Don't read
more into this than there is, Holden."

He watched her hands, his chest
rising quickly as she reached the last button on his shirt. "And
what is this?"

Laurel nearly sighed when she
pulled his shirt apart, his chest displayed in the filtered light
coming from the single lamp on the table. She looked up into his
eyes and licked her lips. "I want you."

His nostrils flared, his hands
resting on her waist, tightening.

"I'm not making any promises
about the future. Call me selfish but all I want is for you to make
love to me like you did in Missoula. Make me feel something other
than misery."

He stared at her for long
minutes, the thoughts crossing his mind shining in his eyes before
he nodded his head at her. "One day at a time, Laurel." He pulled
his shirt from his pants, tossing it to the floor.

Much like their one night in
Missoula, they undressed each other amid breathless kisses, their
clothes thrown across the room to land in a growing pile on the
floor. The air inside her room was cool but she ignored it, the
warmth of his body more than enough to keep her from shivering.

He kissed her again while
cupping her bottom in his hands, lifting her slightly until she
felt him against her slick folds. She broke the kiss, stared at him
as he slid inside of her, and her sharp inhale of breath filled the
silence in the room.

Bracing her back against the
door, he grabbed her left leg, wrapped it around his waist and
never took his eyes off of her as he slid in and out of her, the
heat from his body burning when they made contact.

He watched her, intense
concentration on his face as he loved her and it wasn't until her
stomach clenched that she realized how different this time was from
their night in Missoula. Then, it had been all about the pleasure
of it. Rough, mindless abandon with one goal in mind. Now, it was
felt soul deep. She could see it in his eyes, feel it burn in her
own, and her heart ached to the point she couldn't breath.

Wrapping his arms around her, he
picked her up, turned and walked to her small bed, laying her down
before kissing her. Their limbs entwined, sweat soaked skin slid
against the other and when he lifted his head to look at her and
whispered, "marry me," she grinned, wrapped both legs around his
waist and said, "no."

His thrusts became harder while
his soft whispers of "marry me" were a constant echo in her
ear.

When she climaxed, her nails
were digging into his back, her hips lifting to meet his thrusts,
she bit her tongue to keep from screaming out, "yes" to his adamant
demand.

He stopped long enough to let
her catch her breath before he started moving again, the intense
look on his face still there but something in his eyes promised
things that made her stomach quiver. His thrusts became harder, his
head lowering to capture one nipple between his lips and as he
suckled her, his cock filling her so completely, Laurel knew she'd
never be able to stick to her plan. Not with him. She wanted him
too much. Her body craved him to the point of desperation. Ached to
have him, always, and she knew… consequences be damned, she'd let
him have his way and have her. She just hoped her heart would
survive it.

Chapter Seven

A rooster crowed somewhere in
town and Laurel blinked against the inky darkness of her room.
Holden stirred behind her, his arm tightening around her waist, his
lips tickling a path across the back of her neck. She smiled and
pulled the blankets up, tucking them under her chin.

They lay quietly for long
minutes, neither speaking, fingers seeking out warm places on each
other's skin until Holden sighed, kissed her shoulder and crawled
from the bed.

Laurel watched him dress,
admired the play of muscle under his skin and wondered if she was
doing the right thing. In the heat of the moment, the mind could be
fooled enough to accept almost anything but once the sun rose,
would letting this man love her seem as wonderful as it had the
night before?

Old fears resurfaced, the play
of memories that tormented her most days whispered for her to
protect her heart. To not trust him but when he turned to look at
her and smiled, she willed her heart to silence.

It had been so long since a man
looked at her like that. Looked at her as if he saw nothing but her
and the feeling was euphoric. She returned his smile and sat up,
tucking her knees into her chest while securing the blankets around
her. "Can you make it back to the ranch without anyone knowing you
were out all night?"

He chuckled and shook his head.
"Not likely. The ranch hands will see me come in but Alex should
still be in the bed." He picked up his discarded hat from the
ground and dusted off the brim. "She's the only one I care about
knowing. The rest don't matter."

He crossed the room, his booted
feet hitting the floor loud enough to echo in the silence. Sitting
on the side of the bed, he pushed her hair over one shoulder and
leaned down, laying a kiss to the skin he'd exposed. "Thank you for
last night."

Laurel blushed, glad the room
was bathed in shadows. "Don't thank me. It makes it seem sordid if
you do."

"All right." He stared at her
for several long moments before grinning. "Can I come calling on
you again?"

It was Laurel's turn to laugh.
"I'll feel completely used if you don't."

"Does that mean I can court you
openly, then?"

The moment of truth. Did she
want him to court her? Men didn't court women for lack of better
things to do. They did it in an attempt to woo them into marriage
and Holden had already told her that's what he wanted. Did she?

Memories of the past night
replayed through her head and the pleasant shivers of anticipation
running laps up and down her spine were answer enough. She leaned
forward, kissed him softly on the lips and smiled when she pulled
away. "Don't do anything crazy. I've had enough attention as it is.
Having you come running to town everyday with bushels of flowers
will be embarrassing."

Wrapping her in a hug, he kissed
her until her toes tingled, her stomach clenched and desire burned
hot and needy through her body.

"I'll try not to embarrass you,"
he said. "But be warned, I've not courted a woman since before I
married Maggie. I'm prone to over do it on occasion."

They talked until the sky
started to lighten with streaks of pink and orange then she wrapped
herself in the bed sheets and walked him to the door. More kisses
and soft whispers filled the air and when he asked to escort her to
the dance the following weekend, she didn't dread the prospect of
going. She had something to look forward to now.

Letting go of the past was
harder said than done but it was time to come out into the open and
shine as she once did. And with the man now sneaking around the
side of the school house, she knew that was once again
possible.

* * * *

The sun was peeking over the
mountain when Holden drew to a stop by the barn. Pete, one of the
ranch hands, gave him a knowing smile as he walked over and took
the reins of his horse from him before leading the animal into the
barn.