Unbound Pursuit (18 page)

“Still,” Tal mused, “it’s your herd. You’re a cowboy at heart, Wyatt.”

He couldn’t see her eyes behind those dark glasses, but he felt the warmth in the smile she shared with him. “I s’pose I am.”

“I’m no cowgirl, that’s for sure.” Tal leaned down, patting Silver’s short, thick neck. “Sorry, old guy, but my butt is sore from riding you.”

Chuckling, Wyatt said, “Oh, you have your herd, too. You had your sniper unit at Bagram. You ran herd on them. You took care of them like a good cowboy or cowgirl would take care of his or her horse and cattle. Only they were men and women instead.”

“I traded in my lariat for a sniper rifle,” she said, grinning over at him.

“All kinds of herds in the world,” Wyatt agreed amicably.

“Do you think Mattie would ever want to help run the ranch?”

Wyatt shook his head. “No. She made it clear to Mom and Dad years ago that she loves teaching the little ones. That’s her life. That’s where she’s happiest, Tal.”

“I think Jake and Cat would be good keepers of your ranch,” Tal agreed. “They have that dedicated work ethic you need to keep a ranch afloat. They aren’t lazy. They’re working seven days a week.”

“Farming and ranching aren’t for the faint of heart,” Wyatt agreed drily. He pointed ahead of them. “Take that little trail you see coming up on your right. That will lead us to a nice grove. The trees’ll be bare, but the stream is there, and there’s a nice place for a picnic lunch on the bank for us.”

Silver seemed to know exactly where the picnic spot in the box canyon was located. There was a happy, gurgling stream filled with rocks and colorful gravel, the water clear and about four feet wide. There was long, yellowed grass on either bank, and Tal liked the bare-branched trees that grew on either side of it, as if it were an avenue. Water was scarce in these parts and the lushness, even in winter, seemed extravagant compared to the desert around the hills where the canyon stood.

*

Wyatt had placed
their gray wool blanket next to a tree. He leaned up against the trunk with Tal in his arms. They had eaten lunch and drunk their champagne, and he’d coaxed her to come and sit across his lap and angle herself comfortably across his body. As she settled in, her head resting on his right shoulder, her gaze on him, her hand smoothing the fabric across his chest, he absorbed the love he saw in her half-closed eyes.

“This is nice,” he murmured, leaning over, kissing her unmarred brow. “This is what life is really all about, moments like this.” He cupped her hip in one hand and his other arm wrapped around the center of her back, keeping her tucked in against him. He liked the way her breasts pressed into his chest. Liked the way she fit him like some long-lost part of himself that had finally come home to him.

“I love this,” she whispered, stilling her hand against his recently shaved jaw, smiling up into his stormy gray eyes. Tal knew that look, could feel his erection pressing insistently against her hip. There wasn’t a time when they didn’t desire one another. “I love you, Wyatt.” She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his mouth, feeling an urgency to connect with him in the most intimate of ways. His mouth was cherishing, sliding against her lips, opening her with his urgency. Moaning, she pressed herself against him fully, her arm curving around his neck, hungrily welcoming his mouth against hers. Their breathing became erratic and her heartbeat sped up as he moved his large hand in a caressing motion over her cheeks, tantalizing her with another form of teasing that made her even more damp. Wyatt was a supreme male animal, there was no question. She’d never had a man turn her on sexually so swiftly, so deeply, as he did. He made her needy for him; any touch he would give her, any stroke of his hand, was as necessary to Tal as breathing. No man had made her feel this way. Ever. Until Wyatt.

Slowly, he disengaged from her wet mouth, staring through narrowed eyes into hers. “This is nice, too,” he said gruffly.

Lips tingling, her lower body erupting with need of him, she laughed breathily, caressing his jaw. “You are a certifiable hunk, Lockwood. All you have to do is look at me in a certain way, and I want to throw you on the floor and take you right then and there.”

“I like your fantasy,” he growled, holding her tight against him, moving his hand over her cheeks, continuing to subtly tease her core, the crotch of her jeans already turning damp. “I feel the same way about you, darlin’. It plays hell with me when we’re at Artemis. As much as I’d like to lock that office door of yours, tear your clothes off, and take you on the floor, it isn’t gonna happen.”

Sighing, she said, “No . . . but it’s nice to go home at night knowing you’re with me and we can do it there.”

Giving her a satisfied look, eyes gleaming, Wyatt said, “Yes, it’s happened a few times, hasn’t it?”

Laughing softly with him, Tal nodded her head, snuggling her brow against his jaw, happier than she’d thought she could ever be. “Everything’s perfect, Wyatt . . . everything,” she said, closing her eyes.

“Yeah, it is, darlin’.” He felt her completely surrender over to him in every way, that sweet smile of hers tipping up the corners of her mouth. He watched the sunlight dance through the branches of the tree overhead, shifting blue highlights through the strands of her hair. “Happy?”

“Completely.”

“Lookin’ forward to marrying this cowboy come June?”

“Mmm, very much. How about you?”

He watched how relaxed Tal’s face became. Wyatt knew that her job, the responsibilities she carried daily, weighed heavily on her. Tal had the experience, the character, to handle it all, but he knew she was a creature of deep feelings that always ran parallel to her life as a businesswoman and a leader. “Oh, I’m a happy camper. Not only will we get married in Kuşadasi, I’ll get to take you away to Tahiti, where we’ll dive for black pearls. That sounds exotic, like you,” he teased, kissing her brow again. Drowning in her barely open eyes, those thick black lashes enhancing their rich green color, he saw the corners of her mouth curve up more.

“Well, I had to think of a honeymoon place where you could use your SEAL training. Scuba diving in the clear waters of Tahiti seemed like a fair trade. You’re letting me get married in my mom’s home country where I was born, and the town where her family is, so I wanted something of equal value that you’d enjoy, too.”

“You’ve always been built like that,” Wyatt murmured, becoming serious as he searched her shining green gaze. “You’ve always been fair and thought of others. Sometimes, before yourself.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And I appreciate that. I’ll teach you how to scuba dive, and yes, we’re gonna find some black pearls, for sure. I gotta find enough so a necklace can be made for you as a wedding gift from me to you.” Wyatt knew that black pearls were Tal’s favorite jewelry. They were some of the most expensive pearls in the world. She had a pair of black pearl earrings that her mother had gotten her when she was eighteen, a high school graduation gift, and Tal loved wearing them.

“We’re very lucky,” Tal said. “Not many people find the love of their life, Wyatt.”

“Well,” he said, grinning, “I had to chase you for years, woman, before you said yes. That wasn’t luck. That was pure Texas perseverance at its finest.”

Tal giggled; she loved his boyish good humor. “Point taken. You’re right. I wasn’t an easy catch.”

He settled her against him a little more so that he could absorb her face and expressions fully. Her head was tipped back on his shoulder and upper arm. “No, but you were worth the wait,” he told her, getting serious. “And we need to talk about what’s made you dive deep since the ambush. Are you ready to share it with me?” Sometimes, Wyatt had to prod Tal to come out of her shell. By nature, she was an introvert, a quiet deep thinker; she said little, handled responsibility like a champ, but he knew she needed to air her thoughts and feelings from time to time, too.

“Well,” he said mischievously, “do I lay you on this blanket, strip you down, and tickle your ribs until you scream ‘uncle’ and give me what’s in your head and heart? Or not?” Wyatt had done this to her before. Tal was very ticklish, and they’d roll around with one another across the carpet in their living room, laughing until tears were running down their faces. He saw a glimmer come to her eyes, her mouth curving.

“No . . . not today. You don’t have to tickle it out of me, cowboy.”

“Well, I was kinda looking forward to that,” Wyatt murmured, gazing around their secluded and very private area. “I can picture your gorgeous body naked, lying on this blanket next to me.”

“Hmm, well, we’ll see,” she said. “This ambush brought up all my fears of losing you, Wyatt,” Tal began, her voice low and emotional. “Your taking a bullet to your Kevlar just brings home the fact I could lose you in a heartbeat. Quite literally.” Her voice wavered for a moment. “It just brought up everything regarding Brian, and I was projecting those feelings on you and me.”

“I could have handled that situation with you a lot better than I did,” Wyatt told her quietly, sliding strands of hair away from the side of her face. “And I figured your crying the other day had everything to do with that, but I wasn’t sure.” He saw the anguish come to her eyes over his statement, knowing he’d focused correctly on what the real issue was: the loss of a loved one.

“I know you didn’t do it on purpose, Wyatt. I know you well enough, have known you long enough, to see that you don’t go around arbitrarily hurting people.”

“But I hurt you.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry about that, Tal. You’re the
last
person in the world I’d ever want to hurt.” He cupped her cheek, holding her gaze, which was glimmering with unshed tears. “Look, you and I both know there are no guarantees in life. We’ve lived on the edge of danger for nearly a decade. No one knows it better than we do, Tal. And maybe . . . maybe I should have done something else.”

“What?” she asked huskily, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“You know how hindsight is twenty-twenty? It’s always easy to see what I should have done after the fact.” He caressed her cheek with his thumb, staring deeply into her green eyes, which were fraught with grief, worry, and love. “Maybe if I’d been thinking about us and not just me, I’d have gone to you first and asked if you
wanted
me to go on that op with the DEA. But I didn’t do that, Tal. I just knee-jerked and went without thinking of how it might affect you, given your past and losing Brian in a gunfight, too.”

Wyatt grimaced. “I’ve lived by myself since eighteen, and I’m thirty-one now. I’ve not had to take a partner into consideration when I had decisions to make. It’s not an excuse, mind you. All things being equal, I should have consulted you first. I shouldn’t have just assumed you’d be okay with me going on that op, because you weren’t. I screwed up with you big-time, and I’m feeling damned bad about it.”

She rested her cheek in his open palm, closing her eyes, her heart tumbling with love for him. Feeling his regret, hearing it in his drawl, seeing the anguish in his gray eyes, helped her to come to terms with everything she’d been thinking deeply about. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him. “Wyatt, you’re not a mean person. That’s not in your bones. I never took your decisions in that light.”

“But you’ve been thinking about them. I can see it and I can feel it.”

“Yes, I’ve been plowing and sifting through everything. I wanted to understand why I was feeling like I was. I didn’t want to put all the blame on you. That’s not the kind of relationship I want with you. We’re both adults. I know this is a major crisis for me, more than for you, because it brings the past roaring back at me. This is
my
issue. Not yours. And I shouldn’t have gone overboard emotionally before carefully thinking through everything. I have a tendency to feel first and think second.” She quirked her lips and saw amusement in his dark gray gaze. “I should know better. I learned as an officer to put the feelings away and take a cold, hard, logical look at what’s really taking place. And also,” she sighed, “not make judgments one way or another until everything is on the table and can be properly sorted.”

“That’s what snipers do best,” he agreed, moving his thumb tenderly across her temple, pushing a few more strands of her black hair behind her ear. “What did you eventually decide?”

“That my personal experience, while important, was in the past,” she said. “That really, you or I could die at any moment. Silver could throw me off and I could hit the ground, crack my head open on a rock, and be dead. Or you could be driving the pickup truck to Van Horn and get T-boned by another truck and die.” She shook her head and muttered, “My issue got triggered by you going on that DEA op. It got exacerbated when you finally came clean about taking a heart shot to the Kevlar from a bullet fired at close range at you. It’s my wound, Wyatt. I didn’t realize how open it still was until this DEA ambush happened. There’s a lot more work that only I can do to heal it up.”

He digested her logic and loved her even more, if that was possible. A woman who could think through her emotions was something that he’d always valued. He hadn’t always been able to find one, but Tal was the total package. “I don’t disagree with your findings about yourself,” he said, skimming her arm with his fingers, always wanting to touch her, let her know in a hundred different, daily ways how much he loved her. “From now on,” he told her gravely, “I’ll be talking to you first if I want to put myself in some kind of jeopardy.”