“I know.”
“Even when you returned you were so distant. You attended classes, then disappeared back home.”
“I was fighting to keep the girls with me. I was determined not to have them placed in foster homes. I was fortunate to be six and eight years older than they were. The added years gave me a bit of an advantage, but even so, it was really tough. I would have quit school if that had helped. Thank God Butch was there to talk to the authorities. He couldn’t take legal custody, but he was there and several of Mama’s friends insisted they were available to help supervise and offer advice if I needed help.”
“I felt like I let you down during that time.”
“How?”
“Because I wasn’t there for you.”
“I wouldn’t have accepted your help.”
“I know. I was afraid you wouldn’t accept my offer this time, either. I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth about how I felt.”
“You have to admit that I had good reason. I haven’t seen you or talked to you in years.”
“And you made it clear you weren’t interested in me.”
She curled up against him and brushed her lips against his. “I thought you hated me, that you lived to torment me. Besides, you always dated the most popular girls in school, the ones who could afford the fanciest clothes.”
“Do you have any idea how sexy you looked—and still look—in your jeans and Western shirts? I got into a fight one time when one of the team members made a suggestive remark about you. After that everyone was very careful about what they said in front of me.”
“I had no idea.”
“Will you forgive me for hiding my feelings from you?”
“That depends on how you want to make it up to me,” she said, her fingers wrapping around his rapidly hardening length.
With sudden motion, he rolled until she was beneath him. “I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you that my heart was in the right place. I just wanted to be a part of your life.”
She lifted her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down to her. “Well, cowboy, you finally got me into your bed. I guess you’re going to have to show me some of those skills of yours.”
Ten
A sudden gust of wind rattled the windowpanes and Megan glanced outside. The fierce autumn storm approached the ranch with dark roiling clouds rapidly covering the sky. Mother Nature seemed to be serious about reminding them summer was over.
She had spent the morning with Butch and the other two hands locating some of the stock and bringing them into pastures closer to the ranch building. Other than the wind, there had been no hint of a storm. Thank God they had brought the stock in from the outflung pastures.
Things were definitely looking up for the Circle B. The beef market was marginally better than it had been earlier in the year, and with any luck, the storm coming in would bring some much-needed moisture.
So much had changed in her life since her marriage with Travis. She wondered what she would have done without him. His generosity in advancing her the necessary money had made all the difference in the world to her. She was now able to meet her obligations, get needed repairs done and had the extra help so that she and Butch didn’t have to put in such long, grueling hours.
Everybody had taken a break about one o’clock this afternoon and, since it was Saturday, the three men had gone off for the weekend, although Butch had offered to be home tonight so that she wouldn’t be alone.
She insisted he enjoy his time off and spend the weekend relaxing with his friends. He had been working too hard for too long. She was pleased that he could rest more often now. He certainly deserved it.
Mollie was away at school, now. From her letters, she seemed to be settling in a little better now than the first few weeks she’d been gone when she struggled with homesickness.
Maribeth was involved with all the fall festivities in school. She was spending the weekend in town with friends.
The only thing that would have made Megan’s day perfect was to have Travis home. She worked to keep those thoughts out of her head. He kept in touch by phone and gave her his itinerary so that she could keep up with his travel plans, but there were times, such as now, when she missed him so much that she ached with it.
Since their wedding, he’d been able to spend several weeks with her, but never more than two or three days in a row.
The last time he’d been home, he’d told her that what he hoped to do was to work with horses once he got too old for the dangerous competitions he presently entered.
He was already designing a new barn where he could board and service horses as well as break and train them.
Megan realized that part of her problem today was that she wasn’t used to being alone. She wasn’t sure what to do with herself. For years she’d kept a full schedule working on the ranch and looking after the girls. Now, they didn’t need her all that much and the ranch was running more smoothly than it had in years.
She supposed it was time for her to discover what she could do if she didn’t need to be working all the time. Not that housework or cooking appealed to her, but she might learn to enjoy having some time to read and nap.
She was curled up with a book in the living room sometime toward evening when she thought she heard—between the sudden gusts of wind—the sound of an engine coming down the lane. Maybe one of the neighbors had dropped by for a visit. That was a new event in her life as well, having time to sit and visit.
She hurried through the kitchen and opened the back door. The wind almost grabbed it out of her hand. She let out a whoop at the sight of her visitor, dashed across the porch and made a running leap down the steps.
Travis was home.
He’d backed the truck and horse trailer into the barn and by the time she got inside he had his horse in one of the stalls and was pouring feed into the bin.
“Hi!” she said, pausing in the doorway.
He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Howdy, stranger. I was wondering if this place was deserted. Where is everybody?”
He stepped back with the empty bucket, smoothed his hand across the horse’s back and joined her in the opening of the stall. She stepped back so that he could latch the door. As soon as it was closed he turned and grabbed her up into his arms, swinging her around. “God, but it’s good to be home! I drove most of the night to get here.”
She was laughing breathlessly by the time he allowed her feet to touch the ground. “I wasn’t expecting you for at least another week. What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t keep my mind on what I was supposed to be doing and I was making dumb mistakes. A guy could get killed not paying attention. So I decided to come on home. I just needed to see you again.”
He swooped down and kissed her, a long, possessive kiss that made her blood sing. When he finally raised his head, he asked, “Where is everybody?”
“The men are gone for the weekend. Maribeth is in town.”
“So it’s just you and me?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
With a whoop he grabbed her hand and headed toward the barn door at trot. “That’s mighty obliging of everybody to give us some privacy, I must say. I’ll have to—” He came to an abrupt halt and stared out at the ranch yard.
The yard was rapidly filling up with hail that bounced on the ground like thousands of marbles. The wind was so strong the tree limbs were bouncing and swaying. Megan paused just behind him, her head resting on his shoulder as she witnessed the end of the drought.
“Look, Travis,” she said, pointing at what looked like a wall of water rapidly approaching them. “The rain is coming.”
The greenish-black clouds continued to roll so low overhead she thought she could reach up and touch them. The wind carried the smell of wetness.
He wrapped his arm around her as they stood there watching. “We don’t dare go out there now,” he said, his voice barely heard over the howling wind. “If the hail doesn’t
get us, the lightning might.”
The hail stopped as quickly as it had started. Within moments the rain hit hard, like a sudden waterfall. Megan took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of moisture that engulfed them.
Without a word Travis turned and, with his arm still around her, went back to the truck. He opened the door to the cab and reached behind the seat, pulling out a blanket. He dropped his arm from around her shoulders and took her hand, leading her to the ladder that gave access to the hayloft.
The expression on his face was all she needed to understand his intent. “Travis?” she asked, wondering at his audacity.
“Hey, this rain could set up its pouring for hours. We might as well get comfortable and get good seats to watch.”
She started up the ladder and felt his hand brush across her bottom. Grinning, she stepped off the ladder and waded into the loose hay. The window at the end of the loft was open, but facing away from the force of the wind so that little moisture came inside. Sheets of rain swept past the barn.
Travis moved past her and paused a few feet away from the window, spreading the blanket. With his usual grace, he lowered himself to the blanket and lay on his side, holding out his hand to her.
“C’mere, you,” he said, his voice sounding husky with need.
Feeling suddenly shy, Megan sat down on the edge of the blanket.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’ve missed you.”
“Well, honey, I’m here now and you’re wasting our precious time. C’mere.” He took her hand and playfully tugged her down beside him.
“I forget what it’s like being with you,” she said, allowing him to unsnap the buttons on her shirt. “After a while, it’s like I’ve dreamed it all…you and me…being married…everything.”
“While I spend my nights dreaming of being home curled up in bed with you, holding you, loving you. I’ve lost my enthusiasm for the road since I married you.” He slipped both hands beneath her shirt and slid it off her shoulders. While his hands were on her back, he deftly unfastened her bra and removed both items, leaving her bare from her waist up.
“You are so damn beautiful,” he murmured, leaning over and kissing one of her breasts. “I dream of doing this to you.” His warm breath gusted over her sensitive skin, creating a stream of chills across her.
Megan felt so strange. She’d been thinking about him, wishing for him, and now that he was here this all seemed too much like her fantasy to actually be happening. With a soft sigh of surrender, she discovered that she didn’t care. If she was dreaming, she didn’t want to wake up.
She feverishly fumbled to open his shirt and belt. He sat up and jerked off his boots, then reached over and helped her pull hers off as well. Their jeans soon followed.
The cool wind wafted over their nakedness. “What if somebody comes?” she whispered nervously.
“I’m countin’ on it,” he replied, grinning.
“I mean, company, or somebody?”
“In this weather? Not a chance. Even if they did, who would think to look for us up here?” He drew her back down to him and her thoughts scattered with the distraction of his chest pressed against her bare breasts. “Mmm,” he said with obvious satisfaction. He ran his hand down her spine, cupping her buttocks, then pulled her up tight against his heavy arousal.
She shifted so that he was thrust between her thighs. With deep sensuous pleasure she undulated her hips just to feel his slick hardness move enticingly back and forth.
He bit back a groan and flipped her onto her back. Before her head stopped spinning he was inside of her with a hard driving rhythm that almost took her breath away.
She felt as though she was burning up for him, starved for the taste, scent and feel of him. She hung on to him with her arms and legs wrapped convulsively around him, fully expecting to go up into flames at any moment.
The tension climbed…higher…higher…until she cried out just as he threw back his head with a moan, each one triggering the other’s release.
She sobbed with the beauty of the moment, wanting to capture and save this particular piece of time when she felt so much a part of him.
He rolled onto the blanket, never letting go of her, still panting for breath. She continued to place tiny kisses wherever her mouth could reach—along his jaw and his neck and his shoulder—even down to his chest where she nuzzled his flat nipple.
He continued to smooth his hands over her back and sides, following the smooth curve of her waist and hips, then lazily sliding to her front where he cupped and squeezed her breasts. Eventually he leaned over and pulled one of the rosy tips into his mouth, tugging lightly, while he caught the other one between his thumb and forefinger, gently massaging her delicate flesh.
She could feel him growing within her once again and she lifted her hips in invitation. A whoosh of breath accompanied his chuckle. “You’re downright insatiable,” he managed to say between his kisses and caresses.
“Me? What did I do? You’re the one who—” She forgot her line of thought when he tugged on her breast with his mouth once again, then carefully stroked it with his tongue in a soothing movement. “Oh, Travis” was all she could think of to say. It seemed to be enough.
The cold, damp air woke Megan and for a moment she was disoriented. Where was she? What time was it? Had she fallen asleep reading on the couch?
As she came more fully awake, Megan realized that Travis was curled around her, spoon fashion, so that only the front half of her body was exposed to the damp wind blowing through the open loft window.
The storm must have blown past them. The rain continued to come down in a steady, earth-quenching drizzle. The yard light that automatically came on at dusk cast its rays into the loft.
“Travis?” she whispered
“Mmm?” he replied without moving. He was still asleep.
“I think we can go inside now.”
He tightened his hold around her waist. In his sleepy voice, he said, “I don’t think I want to move.”
“It’s too cold to spend the night in the barn.”
“I’ve got you to keep me warm.”
She smiled into the darkness. “Not for long. I’m going in to take a hot shower.”
“Spoilsport.”
“You could always join me,” she offered.
After a moment he stretched and straightened, rolling onto his back with a sigh. “Now there’s an invitation and a temptation no man could resist.” He began to gather their clothes, tossing hers to her. “C’mon. Nobody’s here. Let’s make a dash for it.”
Giggling like children, they bundled their clothes and boots into their arms and made a mad dash across the soggy ground between the barn and the house wearing little more than, when they were born. Once inside, they didn’t slow down until they reached the bedroom upstairs.
With the help from the light of the hallway Megan felt her way into the bathroom and turned on the shower, tossing her clothes into the corner. Travis followed her into the small room. She glanced around at him and began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You.”
“Me? What did I do?” “I just wish I had a picture of you standing there buck naked wearing your Stetson.”
He grinned and readjusted it on his head. “Well, where else was I going to carry it? I had my hands full.”
She walked over to him and with a new sense of assurance placed her hands around him. Her touch made him change rapidly in size. “Now, wait a minute. That isn’t some kind of hat rack, woman.”
“Of course not,” she agreed. Stepping back, she motioned for him to follow her into the shower. He didn’t need any more coaxing. He tossed his hat through the door into the bedroom and climbed inside.
The shower stall was roomy enough for two, giving her the space she needed to cover him in foamy soapsuds, from his chin down to his toes. She concentrated on the swirls and designs she could make on his chest, drew diagrams aro
und his belly button and felt a particular sense of satisfaction when she heard him gasp when she meticulously soaped between his legs and around his hardened shaft.
She loved to watch the immediate responses to each of her soft touches. When he finally turned toward the water to rinse off, she wasn’t certain which one of them was quivering the most.
“My turn,” he said with grim determination, taking the soap away from her and making sudsy lather between his hands. Now she understood what he had gone through as she stood there trying to remember to breathe while he covered her breasts with soap bubbles. He lightly pressed…and gently squeezed…and intimately rubbed…until she was gasping.
“Why are you holding your breath?” he asked in an innocent voice.
She just shook her head because he was already exploring downward. His hands kept rubbing between her thighs, the heel of his hand pressing repeatedly on her mound of tight curls. She gave a quick sigh of relief when he knelt and continued washing and soaping her legs, ankles and arches.
Still kneeling he positioned her under the spray of water until the soap slid away from her body. Only then did he lean over and kiss her at that most intimate spot. She was already so aroused by all that he had done before that she could only moan.
He drew her out of the shower and quickly toweled both of them off, then carried her into the bedroom. Laying her sideways across the bed with her legs dangling, he knelt once again and with slow deliberation kissed and caressed her until she was sobbing with need. She was begging him for relief, for completion, for everything his lovemaking promised them when he finally stood and, wrapping her legs around his hips, joined them with a strong thrust of his body.
With his added freedom of movement he took control, varying his movements and his rhythm until she was once again whimpering. Slowly, stroke by stroke, he moved her into the center of the bed until he was able to stretch his length out on top of her, hastening his rhythm until they both felt the relief grab them, hurling them into completion and utter satiation.
Megan's Marriage Page 13
