by Lisa Plumley
The bounty hunter stared at her. Then he began to laugh. Uproariously. Julia heard the hearty sound of his laughter circle the hills and mountains surrounding them, as loud as though it echoed off the pine boughs and oak branches and was redoubled by the action. He bent over, clutching his middle.
She considered kicking him. Her shoes were pointy. His shins were within reach. She felt fairly certain an indignant jab would gain his attention and restore his sobriety.
But then Julia remembered she was a well-mannered woman. And, more importantly, she’d brought all this upon herself with her dratted curiosity. It would not be right to assault Mr. Corley for the sake of it.
“It’s not that funny!” she said.
“Oh, yes.” His chuckles subsided, long enough for Graham to sweep a mirthful glance over her person. “It is.”
“It’s not. And it’s very ungentlemanly of you to laugh.”
“It’s unladylike of you to contemplate bedding down with me on a pile of pine needles,” he pointed out, his smile revealing a dimple at the edge of his mouth. “But I’m happy you did…or are.” His smile widened. “I knew you had passion.”
She was stymied. As discourteous as the ideas behind them were, the words sounded complimentary coming from him.
“That’s, er, irrelevant,” Julia said, trying desperately to regain the propriety she’d lost. “It was mere intellectual curiosity that made me ask. Nothing more.”
“It was much more.”
He was right. She was as curious as any woman—possibly more so. As a girl, the boys had been more interested in copying from her slate than in stealing kisses in the schoolyard. As a grown woman, the Avalanche men had tried courting her…until she’d begun discussing politics, philosophy and literature.
The best of them had tried debating in their turn, but it seemed nothing discouraged the average man like being proved mistaken in his notion of Darwin’s theories, or some other subject. In the end, Julia had realized she would either need to bury her intellect for the sake of pleasing a man, or forever wonder what a true kiss felt like.
She’d chosen wondering.
And now, for the first time in quite a while, she found herself regretting that decision. Perhaps if she’d pretended ignorance a bit more often, she would have gained the experience to meet Mr. Corley on more equal footing now.
But that couldn’t be helped. She’d simply have to forge onward, Julia decided, and extricate herself from this mess some other way.
“You’re right,” she admitted, not looking at him. She lay her hand on the trunk of the pine tree beside them, and offhandedly examined the thick layers of bark. “But only because I felt close to you just then, and knew you would not judge me.”
Graham tilted his head, watching her closely. Waiting. “You’re right. I’m no one to judge you, or anyone.”
Julia took a deep breath. Glancing at him from beneath her lashes, she said, “These are called strawberry pine trees. Do you know why?”
If the bounty hunter was befuddled by her sudden change in topic, he didn’t show it. He shook his head.
“Because someone—I don’t know who—discovered that if you get very close to one of these trees…” Julia captured his hand in hers again, and pulled him closer. “And if you close your eyes and inhale, very carefully…”
Gently, she demonstrated. Angling her head so her wide hat brim didn’t interfere, she leaned near enough that her nose almost touched the rough bark. “The bark smells exactly like strawberries. Strawberry pine. See?”
Silence. Julia opened one eye, to glimpse Mr. Corley watching her with a bemused expression. You’re daft, his reluctance to follow suit said. But the tenderness in his gaze told another, more captivating story.
“Why aren’t you trying it?”
Graham shifted. Looked downward. “I’m not a fanciful man.”
“It doesn’t require fancy. Only willingness.”
“I’m short on that, too.”
“You’re not!” Laughing at his obstinacy, she squeezed his hand in hers. “You were willing to contemplate pine needles. Try this, too.”
“’Tis girlish.” He squinted at the pine tree, as though the bark might somehow contaminate him with skirts, bustles and high-swept hair if he came any closer. “I’m not—”
“Please. For me?”
That seemed to settle it. Casting her a silly face, Graham closed his eyes and then leaned nearer. In encouragement, Julia leaned closer, as well. His actions—however silly the bounty hunter thought they were—touched her heart.
“Do you smell it?” she asked. “Like a giant strawberry?”
He grunted.
Resting her forehead against the rich-scented bark, Julia looked at him fondly. “I declare. With your eyes screwed shut and your forehead scrunched up like that as you concentrate, you make quite a picture, Mr. Corley. It’s charming.”
“Shhh. I think I’m getting it.” He waved his hand for silence and inhaled deeply. “If I can only—”
“You’ve done enough,” Julia said. “More than you can ever know.”
Her heart filled with gratitude. That, and something more. Something she would never have thought herself capable of expressing, and yet…an idea occurred to her, and for once in her life, cautious Miss Julia Bennett decided to act on impulse.
She ducked beneath Graham’s arm, placing herself between him and the tree. She lay her hand against his cheek, to steady herself. And then, then…she kissed him.
Chapter Eleven
What surprised hermost, Julia thought wildly, was his warmth. The bounty hunter fairly burned with heat. And although all she did was quickly press her lips to his clean-shaven cheek, a great deal of that heat seemed to be transferred to her, right away.
Graham held utterly still, one hand braced on the bark above his head, the other wrapped partway around her middle—a placement accidentally arranged by the way she’d stepped up to him with their hands joined. His big body seemed to go rigid beside her. It was as though some magic swirled in the air between them, and could only be felt if they stood very, very close together.
Julia wanted that magic. She wanted his warmth, and she wanted…something more. Rapidly, before she could come to her senses and change her mind, she levered herself on tiptoes and kissed him again.
“Julia,” he began. “You—”
“Oh! Of course you must think me terribly rude.” Some sort of intoxicating sensation burbled inside her. It was as though she’d drank gallons of the Emporium’s fizzy soda waters, all at once, and they’d somehow filled every inch of her body. “I’m sorry, but I was simply overcome by the—”
“That’s not what I—”
“—moment.” Giddily, she squeezed his hand, still united with hers within her skirts. “Please, Mr. Corley. I hope you won’t think me unpardonably forward when I ask this, but…may I kiss you again?”
His grin was like sunshine, warming her all over. “You don’t have to ask.”
“Oh, but I must! I don’t think it would be proper to simply assault you, whenever I wished. Do you?”
“Proper? You’re asking the wrong man.”
“Of course I’m not.” His eyes drew her in, deep blue and intent. His jaw intrigued her, solid and square beneath her palm. His mouth fascinated, compelling her to… “I’m sorry. I’ve quite forgotten what we were talking about.”
Julia glanced upward, puzzled.
“Assault by kissing,” Graham supplied helpfully.
“Oh, yes.” With a sigh, she remembered. Wrinkling her brow, she contemplated her next move. More than anything, she wanted to be truly daring and kiss him on the mouth. “That’s right.”
As though guessing her thoughts, Graham spoke. “You can move a little further east on that kiss next time, if you want.”
Julia frowned. East? Which way was…? Determined to play along, she lowered her arm and pointed left. She raised her eyebrows.
He shook his head.
She pointed right, and he nodded.
Encouraged, Julia raised up and kissed him again, an inch to the right. Pleased, she lowered again, keeping her gaze fastened on that place on his cheek, so she could better gauge the next kiss.
“Further east,” he suggested.
She complied.
“Further.” His voice sounded tight, strung with some emotion she couldn’t name, and did not ease with the next kiss.
“Further.”
Julia hesitated. “I’m running out of cheek to kiss.”
“I know.”
“I’ll—I’ll have to kiss your lips. I hope that’s all right.” She stared at his mouth, wondering how it would feel against hers. Excitement filled her. “I wouldn’t presume to—”
“Presume anything you want,” Graham said, his voice a rasp of emotion. “I’m at your mercy.”
What an interesting notion! A burly, mysterious man like the bounty hunter, wholly at her disposal. Filled with courage at the thought of it, Julia edged upward.
Their breath mingled. His gaze met hers, and she thought she glimpsed a needful depth to his expression. Slowly, she inhaled, prolonging the silent union between them. And then, simply because she couldn’t wait any longer, Julia kissed him.
Their lips met, and Graham’s whole body tightened. His hand grasped hers more firmly. Swept away by the thrill of the moment, Julia closed her eyes and savored the press of his mouth on hers. His lips were firm, warm. His rumble of pleasure vibrated between them, setting her senses atingle. ’Twas wondrous to be kissing him, she discovered. And it was over with much too quickly.
Breathless, Julia lowered. Her heart pounded wildly, and her breath quickened. Doubtless, she’d been too bold. But the impulse to touch him had been too strong not to heed. Once Graham had agreed to smell a pine tree, for her sake alone, she’d truly been lost. It was daft, but true.
She gazed upward. As she watched, Graham opened his eyes. In their depths, all the wonder she’d felt was reflected, redoubled, renewed. Her heart gave a little skip, and Julia knew that things would never be the same between them.
Whatever happened now, there would be no going back.
The realization should have scared her—would have, most likely, before the time she’d spent with Graham. But being with him so often during the past weeks had made her feel…braver, somehow. Actions that Julia had shied away from in the past suddenly seemed open to her. Remarkably so.
Graham looked at her. Seriously. “You’d better take off your hat.”
She touched it, and frowned. “Why? I’m quite sure I angled my head properly, so I wouldn’t jab you in the eye with the brim. With some practice, it’s likely I’ll master the technique even more perfectly.”
At her mention of “practice” he grinned. Leisurely.
“I don’t want it to get crushed,” he explained.
“It won’t.” Now that she knew how this kissing business worked, Julia felt much more confident. “Don’t worry.”
“I’m not so delicate at kissing as you.” With an air of warning wholly befitting a man like him—a wandering man she could never give her heart to—Graham came nearer. “I’ll try not to be too rough, but I can make no promises once I’ve touched you. Take it off.”
His movements, steady and sure, fairly pinned her against the tree trunk at her back. At her front, the bounty hunter spread his hands on her hips and held her possessively in place. He nodded toward her hat.
His bossiness should have summoned up miles of etiquette rules from her head. His arrogance should have pricked her temper. Instead, insanely, Julia found that neither of those things happened. In this, she didn’t mind that the bounty hunter took the upper hand.
Quite likely, that was because of the smoldering, wickedly intense look he’d given her while doing so.
With an arch of her brow to show him she wouldn’t be commanded except by her own choosing, she plucked out her hatpin. She removed her hat and thrust the pin into its crown. Feeling exposed and a little vulnerable, Julia tossed the pair onto the saddle blanket a few feet away. They landed with a breezy spin that brightened her mood, and made her impromptu assignation with Mr. Corley feel downright fun.
“Thank you,” he said politely, sweeping off his own flat-brimmed hat.
Then he tilted his hips forward, pinning her more firmly to the tree behind her. He raised his hands, touching her upswept hair for the first time. He lowered them slightly, cradling her cheeks with an expression so loving it made her sigh.
Slowly, Graham angled her face, gently preparing her for what came next.
It was, Julia discovered, a kiss. One unlike any other. It began slowly, chastely, with their lips brushing only faintly. It built with tender little nips, all along the fullness of her lower lip. It intensified with a nudge of Graham’s tongue at the seam of her lips, became sweetly intimate when she opened to him. Their bodies pressed closer as their mouths angled and delved deeper, and it was all Julia could do to grasp Graham’s shoulders and hang on.
Kissing him called forth every bit of longing she’d ever known, every ounce of need she’d ever felt when he’d looked at her. It united them in a way Julia could scarcely describe. It was tender and fierce by turns, heartfelt and wicked in equal measure. It was all that she needed and not quite enough, and when Graham finally drew away, she couldn’t suppress a sigh.
“Oh! Oh, my!” she whispered.
He smiled. The rogue.
She touched her lips, somehow feeling as though they’d changed…right along with the rest of her. Her mouth felt the same, but being kissed by the bounty hunter had transformed her nonetheless, Julia was certain. It had turned her into a woman, with a woman’s wants and a woman’s needs—and they did not, to her surprise, center around leaving Avalanche as quickly as possible. Instead, they focused on Graham Corley…and how best to convince him that what lay between them deserved greater exploration.
New love was like that, Julia supposed wistfully. Deserving investigation and attention and—oh, something more, she told herself hazily as Graham leaned closer and smiled again. Something that mattered little when he looked at her that way.
“Too rough?” he asked.
“Rough? Oh, no.” She felt a wide, silly smile spread across her face. “That was…perfect. Just perfect.”
“’Tis a shame Asa wasn’t here to see it,” Graham went on. “He’d have believed our betrothal was real, for certain.”
Julia’s heart sank, just a little.
“My father?” She choked out the words, trying desperately to recover from their kiss as fully as Graham seemed to have done. “More than likely, he would have been appalled at my behavior.”
“Why? Surely he was in love, once.” The bounty hunter studied the fallen pine needles beneath their feet. “Wasn’t he?”
“Madly. With my mother, of course. They came to the Territory together, determined to begin a new life here.” Julia leaned her head against the tree trunk behind her, wishing Graham would put his arms around her again. Their kiss had been so stirring, so…brief. Conversation was all well and good, but when compared with a kiss, it turned up decidedly lacking, she decided.
Nevertheless, she continued: “She believed in him, and he cherished her. That is why my papa insists I find a man who loves me to take me East. He says it’s impossible to be truly happy without love.”
Graham looked up. His shrewd expression put her instantly on guard.
“And what do you say?” he asked.
I say I believed him the instant your lips met mine, Julia thought. I say I never knew what it was to need someone, until now. But she could not bring herself to say the words aloud.
“I say we’d better head back,” she told him instead, moving briskly to retrieve her hat from their picnic blanket. “It’s getting late.”
As she settled her hat atop her head and pinned it in place through the knot of her upswept hair, she felt the bounty hunter’s gaze on her. His scrutiny continue
d for so long, in fact, that Julia began to believe Graham had guessed the truth—she’d fallen in love with him, however unwisely, in the space between one kiss and the next. Between one sniff of a strawberry pine and the determined silliness that had engendered it in the first place.
Ducking her head, Julia darted a glance toward him. Would he challenge her? Ask her to speak of her feelings? She didn’t think she could. A lifetime of hiding her emotions had schooled her against anything so reckless as that.
Graham’s face was impassive. If he did know how she felt about him now, in the wake of their kiss, it wasn’t revealed in his expression…nor in his voice, when he spoke.
“I’ll walk you to the edge of town,” was all he said.
After helping to gather their things, Julia accompanied him. She kept herself calm, and even managed to carry on a spirited discussion with Graham about the various people he’d met in town. But all the while, Julia’s mind was spinning.
The spinster of Avalanche had fallen in love—wildly, madly, improbably in love. And in this, as in all things, she had no intention whatsoever of letting chance have its way. Somehow, someway, she would find the courage to tell Graham what was in her heart, charade or no. And, heaven help her, she would do it soon.
At the edge of the mountainous forest, Graham stood in the shadow of a towering strawberry pine and watched Julia step from the rocky path onto the grassy yard that bordered the church. It was the first building at this edge of Avalanche, and the civilizing effects of town could already be seen in the flowers and clipped bushes bordering the church steps. From there, the road leading inward wound directly past the white clapboard building and made its way into the heart of town, where businesses faced it on both sides.
With her feet safely on the grass, Julia paused. She looked over her shoulder at him, her expression lost to the distance separating them. Graham fancied he saw sadness there, and a reluctance to leave him…but in truth, he had no better luck guessing what Julia was thinking from afar than he did when they were a hairsbreadth apart.
She raised her arm and waved. Solemnly, Graham raised his palm to her, his salute feeling more a goodbye than any had before. More than ever, their limited time together weighed on his mind, and he was not a man who easily pretended anything he did not feel.
