“I’d forgotten how good all of this tastes,” she said, licking the barbecue sauce off her fingers. “I guess I was more nervous yesterday than I thought. I didn’t eat very much, and what I did eat, I don’t remember actually tasting.”
He stretched out on the blanket and folded his arms beneath his head. “You didn’t act nervous.”
She began to gather up their scraps and carefully stored the leftovers. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “I thought it was obvious to everybody, especially you.”
“Nope. You acted like getting married was something you do all the time.” He draped his hat over his nose with one hand while patting the blanket beside him. “Settle down and rest…let some of that food settle. Maybe we’ll go swimming again before we leave.”
She yawned. “My sleepless night is catching up with me now that I’ve filled my tummy.” After placing the food back in her saddlebag she stretched out on the blanket on the opposite side from him. Within minutes, she was sound asleep.
Travis couldn’t get enough of watching her. He could easily spend the coming weeks and months following her around, watching her many moods and listening as she dealt with life on the ranch.
She was so active, so vital, and most of the time so unselfconscious. He found her fascinating. At the moment she was sprawled bonelessly beside him like a child. Her total innocence and lack of sexual awareness continued to keep him off-balance.
She seemed to take their skimpy attire in stride while he fought to control his response every time he looked at her. That was the biggest reason why he’d chosen to wear the cutoff jeans to swim in. They were more likely to camouflage his unfailing reaction to her whenever he was around her.
Travis had a plan, and he wanted to follow that plan, but he hadn’t taken into account just how difficult being with her, living with her, was going to be for him when he couldn’t make love to her.
He sighed, and closed his eyes. Even the thought stirred him. He was really in bad shape. It was probably a good thing he was leaving tomorrow.
He must have dozed off. The next thing he heard was a slight murmur from Megan. He glanced over and saw that sometime in the past hour or so, she had turned on her side and was now facing him. The strap to her swimsuit had slipped off her shoulder so that the top drooped across her chest.
Without giving the gesture much thought, Travis sleepily reached over and slipped his fingers beneath the strap to return it to its proper place. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him, still more than half asleep, herself. His hand stilled on her sun-warmed arm. His fingers reflexively moved across the satiny skin.
“Did you sleep?” she asked.
“Some.” He continued to stroke her shoulder and arm. Instead of replacing the strap, his movements slid it even lower, exposing a larger expanse of her breasts.
He kept his eyes on hers as he moved his hand until it slid inside her suit and cupped her. Instead of recoiling from him, she smiled and her eyes drifted closed once again. She arched her back so that her breast pressed deeper into his cupped hand. He bit back a groan.
This was insanity. She was still more than half asleep. He couldn’t take advantage of her. And yet…and yet, he wanted—no needed—to touch her, needed a tantalizing taste of her sweetness.
Travis slipped the other strap from her shoulder and inched the top down her body until it rested at her waist. She smiled without opening her eyes.
He leaned down, touching the tip of her breast with his tongue, before sliding his lips around her, gently tugging.
She squirmed, her hips lifting slightly as she moved closer toward him.
He knew he didn’t dare risk the strides he’d gained by getting her to marry him. However, he also knew he couldn’t stop touching her. Not just yet.
He nuzzled her breast, first tugging, then soothing the pebbled tip with quick flicks of his tongue, moving from one to the other, placing soft kisses on the plump underside.
Languidly lifting her hand she touched his head, running her fingers through his hair. Her thumb caressed his ear. She continued moving her legs and hips restlessly.
Unable to resist such a seductive temptation, Travis continued to place tiny kisses in a meandering path across her breasts and down to her waist, eventually pushing her suit down…down…down her body and legs until it was removed.
He continued to caress her with his mouth and tongue, all the while cupping her breast…gently molding and tracing its shape with his hand.
He swirled his tongue in and around her belly button, causing her to moan and spasmodically move once again. When he raised his head to look at her, she was watching him, her eyes glittering.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, his voice shaking.
“So are you,” she replied softly.
He closed his eyes. “I’ve got to stop this. I can’t—I know you—” He opened his eyes again.
“We are married,” she offered timidly.
“Oh, yes. We’re definitely married.”
“Well, maybe it would be all right if—I mean…” Her voice trailed off.
He leaned on his elbow and looked at her with a burning intensity. “Will you let me love you?” he asked.
Her eyes seemed to grow larger as she stared back at him. He waited, not wanting to rush her. If she said no, he was determined to leave her alone…but he prayed that she wouldn’t say no.
Slowly she nodded her head.
That’s when it hit him. This wasn’t why he’d brought her out here. He had thought—Dear God, what had he thought he was doing? She watched him, her face flushed, as though wondering what he would do next as she lay there beside him, wearing nothing more than a slightly apprehensive expression.
As though he was waiting for something—or someone—to stop him, Travis hesitantly placed his hand over her mound of tight curls, slowly slipping his fingers into her honeyed depths.
She was…oh…so warm there…warm…and slick with arousal. With an abrupt movement he reached down and unsnapped his cutoff jeans, then raised his hips enough to shove them down his legs.
Her eyes widened at the sight of his erection. He knelt between her legs, then braced his hands beside her shoulders and began to kiss her—long, possessive kisses…he tried to show her the familiar rhythm with his tongue, hoping she would understand and not be frightened.
When he lowered himself to her she gave a little whimper of impatience, sliding her arms around his waist and holding him tightly.
He rested against her briefly before he entered her, pushing slowly, easing a path. She was so hot and so tight.
She took control by the simple act of raising her hips to meet his careful thrust. Travis could no longer hold back and began to move in an overheated rhythm that quickly set both of them afire.
She clung to him, which further inflamed him, pushing him further and faster until he didn’t have the strength to hold back a moment longer.
Megan let out a soft cry and tightened her grip around him and he gratefully recognized the spasmodic contractions that told him she had reached her peak. Her sudden cry had caused him to lose whatever control he’d clung to. His chest heaved in an effort to fill his lungs with much-needed oxygen, and he closed his eyes with a sense of joy and gratitude for what they had just shared.
Megan was his now. At long last and forever, Megan belonged to him. He would never let her leave him, not now. Whatever he had to do to keep her, he would do it.
“Are you okay?” he finally found the air to say.
“Mmm-hmm.”
Her face was buried in the curve between his shoulder and neck. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“Uh-uh.”
He wrapped his arms more snugly around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Are you ever going to speak to me again?”
She nodded.
“Then say something. Anything. What is it? What do you want?”
“More?” she asked dreamily, stroking hi
s back from neck to buttocks before leaning back to look at him. Her smile had a definite smirk to it.
The relief he felt was overwhelming. “Oh, baby. You’re something else,” he whispered. “I was so afraid…”
“Afraid? Of what?”
“That you would hate me. We never really talked about this part of the relationship. I was afraid to bring it up. But when you said you didn’t want to share your room, I took that to mean you didn’t want to have an intimate relationship with me.”
She sighed and allowed her head to drop back to his shoulder. “I didn’t think I did. I mean—it’s all so confusing. The marriage wasn’t supposed to be real but somewhere along the way, during all the dress fittings, and plans and all, it began to feel that way to me. I guess I tried so hard to pretend that our marriage was just like everybody else’s that I began to believe in it, myself.”
He gave her a leisurely kiss. When he finally pulled a few inches away from her, he said, “I’m glad, because that’s exactly what. I wanted all along…a marriage like everybody else’s.”
She blinked. “You did?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Then why didn’t you say something.”
“I did. I asked you to marry me.”
“But not because you loved me,” she noted.
“Don’t ever doubt my feelings for you, Megan O’Brien Kane. I love you, oh, my, yes I do. I have loved you since you wore pigtails down to your waist. Why do you think I gave you such a terrible time? I wanted you to notice me.”
“Oh, I noticed you all right!”
“But you weren’t supposed to hate me.”
“Oh, Travis…” She kissed him. “This is all so confusing. My feelings are in such a jumble.”
“It’s okay, baby. You don’t have to explain. If you’ll just let me love you, and live with you when I’m home, that’s all I ask. I don’t intend to change any of the rules on you. Everything is just like it was.”
She rubbed her hand across his chest. “Not exactly. I’ve never seen a naked man before. I’m not sure I’ll ever forget that sight!”
He grinned. “Well, maybe being around a naked man on a regular basis will make it less strange for you.” He sat up, grabbed her around the waist and carried her to the edge of the water. “Now I’ll show you how much fun skinnydipping can be!”
It was dark when they arrived back at her ranch. He told her to go inside while he put Daisy away. He watched her wander into the house and shook his head.
The older he got the more he realized that he didn’t understand women. Not at all. He thought she would be upset with him for pushing the boundaries between them. At the very least, he had expected a stronger reaction when he told her how he felt about her. She’d appeared more bewildered than angry. He had to believe that her willingness to make love with him was a positive sign. She didn’t appear to have any problem with consummating their marriage. One hurdle had been overcome.
He wished he hadn’t already paid his entrance fees for this week’s events. If he could spend more time with her, perhaps he could show her the kind of relationship he wanted them to have.
Then again, maybe they both needed some time apart, just to allow things to cool down. Nothing in their relationship had been normal from the very beginning. Why did he expect something different now?
By the time he walked into the house, Travis wasn’t certain what was expected of him next. He felt more confused than ever.
Mollie and Maribeth were sitting in the kitchen.
“Hi, Travis,” Maribeth said brightly. “It’s weird having a man around the place. But it’s kinda nice, too. Are you going to be here long?”
He removed his hat and hung it by the door. “As a matter of fact, I’m leaving in the morning.” He forced himself to ask in a casual voice, “Uh, where’s Megan?”
Mollie answered. “She’s upstairs. She said she thought she rode too long today and she’s sore and achy. I think she’s taking a bath to ease her muscles.”
Travis fought to keep his composure. Hell’s bells, what had he done to her? Hadn’t she been the one teasing him with—
“Well, uh, guess I’ll head upstairs myself. I’ll probably see y’all in the morning, then.”
“Are you hungry?” Mollie asked behind him.
He paused. “No. We had a lot of food with us today. I’m fine.”
“G’night, then.”
“Night.”
Travis went upstairs and down the hallway to his room. He didn’t hear any noise from either the bathroom or Megan’s bedroom. He would see her tomorrow, of course, before he left. He’d talk to her then, make sure she knew that he hadn’t meant to hurt her or make her feel—however she was feeling at the moment.
He reached the door to his room and opened it. The bedside lamp was on, the covers were turned back and there was the sound of sloshing water in the bathroom. The door to the bathroom was open.
“Is that you, Travis?” Megan asked from inside the bathroom.
“Uh, yeah. I’m sorry. I forgot about your using this bathroom. I’ll go back downstairs for a while. Don’t rush on my account. I’ll just—”
“Don’t be silly. This is your room. Come on in.”
He tentatively stuck his head around the corner. She had bubbles floating on the water of the old-fashioned tub. She had slid down into the tub so that her chin barely cleared the bubbles.
“There’s room enough for you in here if you’d like,” she offered.
Travis’s heart did a double-time beat at the unexpected invitation. “You don’t mind?”
“I wouldn’t have invited you if I minded, now, would I?” She gave him a saucy grin. “Are you going to be shy with me?”
“No, of course not. I was just surprised, that’s all.”
“Well, c’mon in, then.” She lifted a soapy arm and gestured to him.
Travis needed no further encouragement. He jerked his boots off, hopping on first one foot, then the other. He got out of his jeans and briefs, and crawled into the tub as he shed his shirt.
Megan was laughing even as the waves he made almost swamped her. She hastily sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest. She watched him settle himself at the other end of the tub, his long legs fitting around her.
“Aaah, this is wonderful,” he said, feeling the heat soothe his body. He allowed his eyes to drift shut before he remembered his concerns. He straightened, opening his eyes.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She smiled. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“Maribeth said you were tired and that you thought you’d overdone the riding today.”
Her smile widened to a mischievous grin. “I hardly thought it appropriate to explain to a sixteen-year-old what I’d been doing to create some unaccustomed tender spots on my body.”
He leaned forward and slipped his arms around her, pulling her toward him and turning her so that her back rested against his chest. He hugged her to him, loving to feel her pressed so intimately against him. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t. Not really. I was just a little uncomfortable for a while, and having to get back on Daisy didn’t help matters. I’ll be fine. I’ll just stay on the ground for the next few days. There’s enough work around here to keep me busy without needing- transportation.”
Their new position gave him access to her and he unashamedly took advantage. He cupped her breasts, leisurely moving his fingers over and around their plump roundness.
Her hands weren’t idle, either. She caressed his thighs lazily, from knee to hip, trailing her fingers from side to side, lingering on the sensitive inner thigh area.
“I wish I weren’t leaving tomorrow,” he finally said wearily. “I never thought that—”
“That I’d fall into your arms quite so easily?”
“No! I didn’t intend—Well, of course I’d hoped, but I wasn’t going to take advantage—”
“Travis—” She turned her head so that h
er lips were almost touching his neck. “We haven’t done anything wrong, you know. We don’t know anything about the future, but for now, we can spend this time together, enjoy each other’s company and see what happens.”
“If I hadn’t already paid my entrance fee, I’d cancel this trip, but this is an important event in the circuit and I—”
She placed her damp fingers across his lips. “I don’t want to cause you to have to choose between me and what you do, understand? I wouldn’t want to be placed in that position. I’m not going to do it with you.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her gently. “We’re going to make this work between us. I want our relationship to last.”
“I’m glad. I feel like I’ve been dreaming this weekend. But if I am, I don’t want to wake up. I had no idea having a husband could be so great.”
He shifted, pulling his legs up and standing, hauling her to her feet at the same time. She turned and looked at him, puzzled.
Travis stepped out of the tub, lifted her out and briskly toweled her off. After giving his body a few quick swipes he took her hand and led her into the bedroom and over to the bed. He stretched out on the bed and patted the space next to him. She willingly slipped in beside him and he pulled the light covers over them.
Taking her into his arms, he said, “Do you remember my last year in school, when I was playing football?”
“Yes, of course.”
“What I’ve never told you was that I was trying to work up enough nerve to ask you to go to the homecoming dance with me that year.”
“Homecoming?”
“Yeah. Then two weeks before the dance…” His voice trailed off.
Her voice sounded strained. “My folks took us to Fort Worth for the weekend. The girls and I had gone to a movie matinee and they were supposed to pick us up after the show…only they never came back.”
He held her close to him. “I just wanted you to know that even back then you were very important to me. I just didn’t know what to do or say after everything happened. I remember you didn’t come back to school for almost a month.”
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