The Reluctant Rancher (20 page)

He stripped himself of his jeans
then pulled hers down her legs. She hadn’t replaced her underwear. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her to far corner of the room. Th
e
bed accepted their weight easily. His body was taunt and tight with need. But he had taken from her before. This time, he would be the one to give.

He revers
ed their positions, leaving her
to straddle his thighs.

Luke lay still and willed himself to take this slow and easy. He
unbuttoned her shirt
and let it fall open.
It said something when she didn’t protest that he had undone the buttons all the way. He smiled to himself
and savored the small victory. He enjoyed it even more when she
felt her thighs rel
a
x
and settle more firmly around
his waist
.
He rubbed his erection agains
t th
e entrance of her body. She felt like satin
,
soft and smooth – and oh so hot.

“I want to be there,”
Luke whispered huskily. “
Deep inside you.”

“I need you there.”

“
Then take me, Mary. Take all of me.”

“Show me.” She m
oved
jerkily
against his rigid length. “Show me how.”

The fingers of one hand bruised her buttocks as he urged
her up.
He parted
her opening
with the other hand and fitted
them
together
.
She pushed down, he arched up. They repeated the action, in and out, again and again until he lost all sense of being. Where she went, he followed, gi
ving her control
.

His body baulked at the restrictions he place on it. The cabin was too hot, too small. He clenched the woolen blanket in his fist as she moved.

Long seconds later, Mary’s movements
again
became jerky and uneven. She leaned forward an
d placed her hands on his chest, h
er hair a tangled c
loud around
t
h
em.

“Help me, Luke,” she pleaded. “Help me.”

Know
ing her pain,
sharing her
need, Luke coul
dn’t fight his release. Suddenly,
he was the leader
, pushing
her toward the very limits
of their passion
. She clung to him
as they dropped off the edge of the world, a brilliant flash of feeling suspended half-way between heaven and earth.

CHAPTER NINE

When Luke and Mary returned to the ranch the next morning, they discovered the sheriff of Fiddler Creek had issued a county wide order for evacuation.
 
After almo
st two weeks of continuous rain,
Fiddler Creek rose steadily, well on its way to overflowing its low banks.
 
The town folk knew that the river which brought the gift of life to the fertile valley also held
the power of their destruction.
This had the potential to be the worst flood since the late 1800's.

As the hours passed
, t
he crisis escalated
, leaving
littl
e time to think, much less talk. A
nd certainly no time for regrets
.

While Luke helped his men move the cattle into the upper pasture, Mary drove to town.
 
She tried not to think of the night
past
.
 
Or the softly spoken promises.
 
She harden
ed her heart and
made up her mind to simply think o
f it as a
moment she would cherish forever.
 

All women dreamed of finding that one special man who made them, a
nd them alone, feel beautiful.
 
Of being a
warm, desirable woman who could drive any man mad with wanting.
 
And last night, with his voice, his touch and his taste, her rugged rancher had made her feel just that.
 
And that knowle
dge, no matter what the future held
, could never be taken away.
 
And for that alone
,
he would alw
ays have her deepest thanks and
her greatest love.

Once she had reached her office,
Mary
boxed up her files.
For once she thanked her mi
litary upbringing which made her somewhat obsessive about neatness. The important documents and records were easily found
.
She followed the advice of the other storeowners and
moved what belongings she could
in
to the crawl space above her efficiency apartment.
 

With such a small space, little of her furniture could be saved.
 
She eyed her beautifully upholstered office chairs
and sighed in regret.
 
If she had been thinking
 
straight she would have asked Luke to borrow a truck.
 
But then they hadn’t spoken on the ride home from the shack, or during t
he ensuing hours that followed.

And she couldn’t justify asking Mark
. He
was busy helping the members of the community.
Some families had generations o
f memories to try and save.
She told herself not to mourn the loss of her things.
 
People were much more important than belongings.
S
he had done everything she could.
 
She just hoped her insurance would cover the majority of any damage if it did flood.

Bending down, she lifted a
box. Just as she reached the door, Luke stepped inside.
She stumbled and almost fell as he took the box from her unresisting hands.
 
”
Luke, w
hat are you doing here?
”

“
What the hell are you doing here?
”
he snapped.
 
His eyes had turned a dark green, indicating his displeasure.

Mary
’s mouth went dry.
 
Never having professed her love before, she didn’t know how to act or what to say.
“
I needed to get my
records just in case it floods.”

“
Why didn’t you get one of the hands to help?
”

“
They were busy.
 
And so were you.
”
 
She took
her
cue from him and
pretend
ed
nothing had happened last night.

“
Is this all you have?
”
He indicated the other boxes by the door.

“
There are a few more things in the office if you have the room
.” If he had brought a truck, maybe
she could at least salvage her chairs.
 

“
Let’s get what you need then I’m taking you back to the ranch until this is over.
”
 
His voice held a note of steel as he loaded the boxes in the back of his covered truck.
 
Within minutes th
ey had the chairs loaded
.

“
I can’t go with you, Luke,
”
Mary said once they had finished.
 
”
I promised to help at the community center.
 
The town is going to try and build a levy along the west side where the river is the highest.
 
Jennifer and the other ladies are setting up a soup and sandwich station for the workers.
”

“
Damn it, woman,
you need to
leave.
 
Let the town worry about itself.
”
 
Exasperation covered his face.

“
I can’t, Luke.
 
This is important t
o me.
”
 
Didn’t he see she couldn’t just walk away and leave her friends?

“
All I understand is that if you insist on staying here you’re going to be caught in the middle of town when that water decides to come this
way.
 
You’re going to the ranch.”

“
I am not,
”
she stated calmly.

“Oh, yes you are’
”
Luke stated just
as calmly and took
a step in her direction.

“N
ow, Luke.
”
She backed away
from the annoyed gleam in his eye.
“
Can’t we talk about this?
”

Luke fo
llowed
her
, his steps slow and deliberate.
W
hen she came up against a wall
, he placed
his hands on either side of her head
, imprisoning
her.

“
I told you once,
t
here’s only one way to deal with a wil
l
ful woman.
”
 
He captured her mouth before she could move away, kissing her deeply and without restraint.
 
Mary lifted her arms,
encircling his neck
. S
he plunged her fingers through the ebony satin of his hair.
 
It was the most tender, yet most poignant kiss she had ever received.

“I’ve missed you,” he said roughly, his breath hot
against her throat.
 
“
All this time I’ve been riding around in this damn cold rain the only thing I could think of was how I felt in your arms last night, surrounded by your warmth.
”

“
Luke.
”
Her insides melted remembering
the kisses and caresses th
ey had shared in the dark of
night.

“
Mary?
”
Mark called from outside the glass doors.
 
“
Are you ready?
”

Mary stepped away, her arms fa
lling to her sides. Mark
pushed open the door
. He slapped his friend on the shoulder. “
Man, am I glad you’re here.
 
We need all the help we can get.
 
Did Mary tell you the town is trying to build a levy?
I don’t think it will hold but it’s worth the try.
 
Jennifer sent me to make sure Mary was packed and ready to leave.
”

“
We were just on our way out,
”
Mary assured him
. She t
ouch
ed
her
braid as Luke moved away. She could only guess how she must look
,
her hair mussed by his caressing hands.
 
“
Isn’t that right, Luke?
”

“
Right,
”
Luke stated
.
 
”
We were just on our way out.
”

* * * * * *

The town had the levy built within a few hours.
 
No one knew whether it would withstand the force of the raging water or not.
 
Mark
had a
seemingly endless supply of strength and patience
and
encouraged the townspeople as they filled sandbag after sandbag.
 
Hour after hour, Luke worked beside his friend, never once complaining about the backbreaking work.
 
He stopped
only to call the ranch and order
all his hands into town to help.

“
You did a fine job out there.
”
Mark complimented Luke sincere
ly
as they walked to the heavy burlap tent erected near the bank to provide
relief from the damp night air.
The heavy rain punished the town as the storm grew in strength.