Honeymoon With the Rancher (Harlequin Romance)

by Donna Alward

  He led her out into the warm air, over prickly grass that tickled her legs and then she felt the dull hardness of patio stones beneath her feet.

  “Open your eyes.”

  She lifted her lashes and squinted against the sun. Suddenly Sophia understood. They were at the pool. There was water in it, the reflection of the sun glimmering off the surface and filling the air with dancing light. “The pool!” she exclaimed, delighted. “You had it filled!”

  “I had them come when we were gone. I wish you could enjoy it now, but I’m afraid it is too cold, and it needs time for the chemicals to balance. But I’ll test it in the morning and you should be able to cool off and work on your back float tomorrow afternoon.”

  Sophia didn’t know what to say. Of course this was part of the repairs Tomas had talked about but she got the feeling he had put a rush on it just for her. He clearly took pleasure in the surprise and the realization made her heart give a little skip. She took a step forward, could smell the sharp tang of chlorine and could feel the cool water on her skin even though it was just in anticipation. After all his bluster about the fire and repairs and lack of amenities, he had put a rush on the pool. To please her? Or to get her out of his hair? After what he’d told her on the bridge, Sophia wondered.

  “Thank you, Tomas. For everything. For the day in town and for this great surprise.”

  “It had to be filled anyway,” he replied. “You can enjoy it while I’m working.”

  Sophia couldn’t help feeling a little deflated. Would it be so difficult for him to say a simple ‘you’re welcome?’ Perhaps they’d broken through some barriers today, but it was clear that he wanted to get on with his work around the estancia now that she had the pool at her disposal.

  “Yes, but it didn’t need to be filled today. Tomorrow I’ll help you with the chores and in the afternoon we’ll go for a swim.” She smiled her prettiest smile. She sensed that after this afternoon, he was trying to keep her at a distance. He would not get rid of her that easily. Tomas needed a bit of fun as much as she did. “It’s no fun alone.”

  For a moment he hesitated, but she stuck out her hand to seal the bargain. Finally he took it, his big hand encompassing her smaller one until it all but disappeared within his fingers.

  Tomas looked down at Sophia’s glowing face and felt his heart do a little slide.

  She had his number, no doubt about it. She’d seen through his attempt to pass it off as no big deal. He had done it to please her and for that reason only—the arrangements had been made before this afternoon and what happened in town. “I thought it might help your hip,” he said, pulling his hand away. “And any other sore muscles from the torture I’m putting you through.”

  She smiled up at him. He wished she’d stop doing that. She had a beautiful smile, easy and unaffected and it did funny things to him. Like today, on the bridge. What had he been thinking, kissing her back like that? Baring his soul?

  “You are quite a taskmaster, but it’s not torture,” she teased. “I’m having fun. Truly.”

  “Right,” he answered, and sent her a skeptical look.

  She turned to look at the sparkling water. The flickering refraction of the sun on the surface lit her face, a shifting pattern of light and shadow that captivated him. “Whatever the reason, Tomas, it was awfully thoughtful. Thank you.”

  “Stop thanking me. If you remember correctly, you told me it should have been here waiting for your arrival.”

  Her cheeks coloured a little and an unfamiliar current seemed to heat him from the inside out. It was getting harder and harder to deflect her warmth and charm.

  “Don’t remind me, okay? I acted like a spoiled brat.”

  “I saw through that fairly quickly.” Sophia had exhibited a fair bit of heart and willingness over the last few days, meeting each challenge he’d set out for her. He could add beautiful and compassionate to that list of qualities. It all combined to become a package to be reckoned with.

  That he was even considering reckoning with her at all was shocking. He took a step back, a frown puzzling his brows. After hiding away for so long, the thought of consciously making a decision to move on was strange, even if he had been leading up to it for months. Now Sophia was insisting he join her in the pool tomorrow. He shouldn’t, there was too much to do. There should not be any repeats of today’s kisses or locked gazes, and the thought of her in a bathing suit, the cool water smooth against her skin…

  He swallowed, trying to erase the image but failing utterly. Tomorrow night Maria and Carlos would return. The hours that he would have alone with Sophia were numbered, and he was surprised to find he didn’t want them to end.

  But what was the alternative? It would be wrong to let things go any further. She was a guest, he was the host. And there were things she still didn’t know about him. Couldn’t know, either. All she’d done since her arrival was stir things up. The more time they spent together, the more she seemed to sneak past his defences, and he had to put a stop to it.

  Everything would settle again once Sophia went back to Canada. The estancia would be back in tip-top shape and they would go on as usual. The thought should have alleviated his worry, but it didn’t. Because what he really wanted was more time with her.

  And that was the most dangerous thing of all. The truth was she was cultivating feelings in him that scared him to death with their intensity.

  “You knew I was afraid?” she asked, bending over and trailing her fingers in the water. He imagined the feel of her cool fingertips on his skin and swallowed.

  “You covered it well. It was in the little things.”

  She nodded, making swirls with her fingers, random little shapes that rippled outward from her fingertips. “What things?”

  “The look in your eyes. The way you tried to smile but didn’t quite succeed.”

  Her fingers stopped moving. “I didn’t realize I was so transparent.”

  Tomas went to her then, put his hand beneath her elbow and nudged until she stood beside him, the pool water dripping from her fingers. “Not your fault,” he said quietly. “And you were right about some things. The estancia does have to hold a certain standard.”

  She smiled then, not a trace of fear or nervousness in her face. She was beautiful this way—unspoiled, artless. Irresistible.

  “The estancia is perfect, Tomas, just as it is.”

  There it was, that burn that started deep within his belly every time she used that husky voice on him. Her acceptance of the estancia was simply another thread weaving their connection together.

  He wanted more. It shocked him how much more. She had plagued his thoughts ever since they’d kissed in the yard. It hadn’t just been anger that had driven him to take her in his arms. It had also been fear and need and desire. Emotions he’d locked away long ago, determined not to feel them again.

  The banked fire in her eyes only fed the flames of desire burning through him. There was a flush to her cheeks that was caused by more than the sun beating down on them, and her eyes shone up at him. It suddenly seemed like too much work to carry on fighting against the attraction that kept flaring up like a hotspot that refused to go out. Forget what if and the past. It was over and done. What if he took her in his arms right now? What would happen then?

  His gaze dropped to her lips. “You need to be careful when you look at me that way.”

  Her lashes fluttered as he leaned closer. He knew what he wanted. The same thing he’d wanted ever since he’d kissed her on the bridge. He wanted to lose himself in her, just for a little while. To live again, as he hadn’t lived in three years. It had been his choice. Always his choice. But Sophia had awakened something in him. Curiosity. And hunger. He wanted more.

  She tried to hide it, but he knew she was just as curious about him as he was about her. It was in the sidelong glances, the way she pulled back from the little touches as though his skin was on fire. The way her lips tasted. The little sound she made as their kiss ended. Was she
even aware she did that? Did she know how hard it was for him to walk away? He wasn’t sure he could any longer.

  He watched, fascinated, as her tongue sneaked out to wet her lips. She was nervous. Somehow the thought was comforting. He was glad she wasn’t taking this attraction—if that was what it could be called—in stride. He wasn’t completely insensitive to what she’d been through. She’d caught her fiancé with another woman, for heaven’s sake. She’d come on her honeymoon alone. A deliberate act of defiance, but he could see through it to the insecurity underneath. He adored her for it.

  They were only a breath apart. “You, Sophia, are a delightful contradiction.”

  “What sort of contradiction?”

  Her lids fluttered open and he could see the reflection of himself in her pupils. Had he ever needed a woman with such intensity? He cupped her face in his hands, gathering strength from feeling her soft skin against his palms, finally giving in to the insane desire he’d been feeling ever since she’d arrived and making the conscious decision to let it have its way. “One side gutsy and brilliant. The other side fragile as a flower. Both sides equally attractive, you see. Querida, there are times I’m not quite sure what to do with you.”

  “Querida…” she murmured, their lips only inches apart, “What does that mean?”

  His heart clubbed, hearing her say the Spanish word, wanting to hear her say it again. “It means darling,” he replied, and the simple voicing of the sentiment ratcheted everything up another notch. Darling. Was she his? Or was he hers? Did it matter?

  She lifted her hand and put it over top of his, then turned her head to kiss his palm. “Querida,” she murmured thoughtfully. “Tell me, which side do you like most?”

  Her voice was soft, but it shook, and Tomas knew he was sunk.

  “This one,” he replied, and lowered his mouth.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SOPHIA melted against him. Finally. Her body seemed to breathe the sentiment as she returned the kiss, looping her arms around his neck and losing her fingers in his hair. Her heart accelerated as she let herself give in to the moment, realizing where she was and who she was with and just awed enough to be stunned by it all. She felt like a butterfly set free from a cocoon. No longer the Sophia of old, but a reinvented one, seeing new places, trying new things. And one of those things was a very sexy Argentinian willingly in her arms.

  The kiss gentled and Tomas pulled his lips away from hers, though they hovered near her ear and his breath sent shivers down her spine. His hands rested on her hips. Suggestion slid through the air and Sophia felt all her nerve endings kick into overdrive. She ran her hands down his shoulder blades, marveling at the taut muscles beneath the cotton of his shirt.

  And then he touched his lips to the soft spot behind her ear and whatever else was in her mind fled.

  The early evening sun sent a blaze of amber light across the yard as Tomas slid his mouth across her cheek and captured her lips again. He pulled her against him with a new urgency and the air caught in her lungs.

  “Tomas, I…” She wanted to find the words but somehow couldn’t string them together. How could she explain how much she wanted him? How touched she’d been that he’d confided in her this afternoon, and how awed she was that he wasn’t pushing her as she’d expected? How could she resist a man who had loved so deeply? She knew perhaps she should be careful. He was moving on but reluctantly so. It was potentially a red flag, but as his hands spanned her waist she knew that the depth of his feeling for Rosa was part of his allure. He was touching her so gently, so reverently, that she was afraid she’d melt into a pool at his feet.

  How could she explain how special he was and then express her own hesitation and fear? Why did she keep holding back? She was twenty-five years old and an independent woman. Why did it have to be so difficult to make the choice to move forward?

  She sighed with bliss as his lips touched the underside of her jaw, the curve of her neck. His hand trailed over her hip to cup her bottom.

  She knew why she held back. She was smart enough to know that the way they were holding each other—touching each other—created a certain expectation. It was foreplay. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him. She did. She closed her eyes and knew she shouldn’t let her inexperience matter so much. What was she waiting for? Tomas would be gentle and… Her body shivered with pleasure as his fingers played in her hair. And thorough. A gasp erupted from her lips as he licked the column of her neck.

  But Tomas wasn’t expecting a virgin.

  Gently he cupped her jaw with his hand. “Are you sure, Sophia?”

  Of course she wasn’t. Everything her body was screaming right now was at war with her heart and head. Making love for the first time was important. She wanted it to go right. She didn’t want to be awkward or show her inexperience. She wanted it to be with the right person. As she looked up into his eyes, her heart thumped. She knew he was a good man. His actions had shown it and this afternoon had confirmed it. But she wasn’t able to form an answer to his question.

  Tomas didn’t wait. “Sophia,” he murmured, and did what every woman fantasized about at least once in their lives—he scooped her up in his arms. The first time he’d done this, after her fall, had been a surprise. This time it was filled with a darker intention, and it thrilled her right to her toes.

  With strong, purposeful strides he carried her to the door of the house and into the cool, shadowed hallway. She looped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to the side of his throat, tasting his warm and slightly salty skin. She could do this. She could. She wanted to. Here, on the wild plains of South America, with the warm, scented wind wafting through the windows, carrying the sweet sound of the finches in the bushes outside. Here nothing else mattered. Just Tomas. And her. Two damaged souls healing each other.

  He took her to the room he occupied in the family quarters at the opposite end of the house. It was smaller than her room, and hadn’t been through the obvious renovation of the guest wing. But it was warm, with woven mats covering the floor and a homemade blanket stretched out on the bed. The window was open, the draft tingling over her skin as Tomas laid her carefully on top of the blanket.

  And, oh, he was so gentle. Instead of using his physicality to dominate, he shattered her with patience, opening up all her nerve endings and making her feel beautiful, desirable beneath his touch.

  He took his time, removing the clip from her hair, letting the weight of it fall around her shoulders. He sank his fingers in it and Sophia closed her eyes, luxuriating in the feel of his hands against her scalp.

  “I love your hair,” he said roughly, tightening his fingers so that he controlled her head. He lifted and brought her face up to his. “The colour of flames,” he said. “The colour of sunset on the pampas.”

  Then he was kissing her again. It was heavenly, and a bit surreal knowing he couldn’t seem to help himself. She moved against him, feeling the warmth of his skin through her shirt.

  She was in danger of losing herself completely as he disentangled his hands from her curls and made short work of her light blouse. Trepidation vibrated inside her, but she pushed it away. She wanted this. She trusted him. It wasn’t until he reached for the button of her jeans that she couldn’t breathe and instinctively put a hand down to stop him. “Tomas…”

  “Too fast?” His breath was laboured now and the room seemed full of his heartbeat as she pressed her palm to his chest.

  “It’s not that, it’s…”

  But how could she tell him? She felt the heat rush to her face. What would he think of her? She already felt awkward and like a teenager trapped in a woman’s body. And Tomas was such a strong force, so much larger than life. He’d suffered so much. She was awestruck by him and felt so completely out of her league.

  “What is it, querida?”

  He was calling her darling again and it made her heart want to weep. He was still holding her, but his brows had drawn together and she now felt utterly silly seeing th
e concern darkening his eyes. She felt a sting behind her nose and the ridiculous urge to curl up in his embrace to make everything right.

  “Sophia?” He put a finger under her chin and lifted it, forcing her to look into his eyes. Why couldn’t this be carefree and easy? Why was it so hard to let go of the past and step forward into a new, reinvented Sophia? Instead she felt nothing but mortified. And the caring way he was looking at her now told her he deserved an explanation. No, not just an explanation. The truth. Nothing but the truth would be right for Tomas. Not after today.

  “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

  “I have never…I mean…”

  He chuckled, the lines clearing from his face in relief. “Sophia, I wouldn’t think as much of you if you did this all the time. I cannot deny I feel a connection to you that is very unexpected. When you first arrived…” He paused, shook his head. “I have hidden myself away for a long time, Sophia. You know that.”

  Oh God. He thought her reservations were about having a one-night stand? Once more she felt unbearably young and naive.

  If only it were as simple as a one-nighter. If that were her biggest obstacle, she’d not stand a hope of coming through this with her dignity intact. But she had to tell him. It wasn’t as if he wouldn’t find out… Her breath caught as she realized exactly what would happen.

  “No,” she stopped his hand, which was reassuringly stroking her shoulder. “Tomas please…” the words came out all strangled and she fought her way through them “…I’ve never done this before.”

  “This…” There were the wrinkles again as he sat back, clearly confused. “You mean…”

  “This,” she replied meaningfully. “Any of it.”

  “You’re a…”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice finally coming out strong and clear. “I am.” And the little voice inside her had to know. “Does it make a difference?”

  He reached out for her hands. “Matter? Of course it matters! Sophia, you must be…”