He leaned over, a gentle smile on his mouth as he placed his finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to meet his amber gaze. “It ended tonight, querida. Never again will you have to relive it. Now it’s part of the past, and it will stay there. The pain won’t be so bad, either, and eventually you’ll remember your husband without hurting. Only the good feelings and good memories will remain.”
She managed to sit up, aware of his hand against her cheek. “How do you know all this?” she asked, her voice tremulous. She searched his eyes for the answer and saw only a tender flame within his lambent gaze.
“When Alicia divorced me, I thought it was the end of the world. It was a marriage arranged by my parents, and I was only nineteen, and so damn foolish.” He shrugged. “I eventually fell in love with her so totally that when her infidelity was discovered both families agreed that a divorce was the only solution.”
“But you said you loved her. Couldn’t you forgive her, Dominic?”
“I—yes, I would have, but she wanted to marry one of her lovers.” He hesitated, the silence emphasizing his pain. “I couldn’t keep her if she was unhappy.”
Cait reached up, caressing his face. “It must have hurt terribly.”
“No worse than watching Dave get killed, querida. Your pain came unexpectedly, and it’s taken this long to work out the shock. Mine was a slow, painful death. I distrusted all women because of Alicia. I blamed all of them for what she had become.” He leaned down, his mouth curving across her lips in a tender, searching kiss.
Cait moaned, her arms instinctively slipping around his neck. She molded her body against him, feeling the hard strength of his muscles. She felt cleansed and whole, and a new flame stirred to life deep within her body, a shiver of passion ignited by the deepening exploratory kiss he was pressing upon her willing lips.
His strong fingers moved like liquid fire down her back, trapping her possessively against him. Slowly they parted, and Cait was aware of her heart clamoring against her breast like a caged bird straining for its freedom. She stared up at him in wonder, meeting his golden eyes. Her lips parted and she hesitantly reached out, her fingers brushing his generous mouth. He claimed her hand, squeezing it gently.
“I want to love you,” he whispered huskily.
She closed her eyes, swaying against him in answer, a slender willow bending against a sturdy oak. Now Cait recognized the hungry light in his eyes. It was desire for her, and her alone. Somewhere in her spinning thoughts, she knew Dominic had waited until she had rid herself of the last vestiges of the past before bringing their physical bodies together in an act that could only mean a renewal of love. Something they both desperately recognized, wanted and were patient enough to wait and receive.
He gently laid her back on the bed, running his hand over her naked shoulder, down the side of her breast, to her flat stomach and the curve of her hip and long thigh. “God, you’re beautiful,” he breathed, leaning over, his mouth claiming her lips.
He tasted clean. Her tears were shared between them, tears spent in grief and claimed in love. Gladly she reached upward, pulling him down upon her yearning body. His fingers trailed down her back, making her shiver uncontrollably, moving now to cup her hips to pull her tightly to him. His stroking hand moved down her slender neck, pushing the strap of the gown off her shoulder. Cait clung to his back in anticipation of his purposeful kisses, which began at the base of her throat.
Her skin grew hot and tight around each breast as his mouth sought out the valley between them. A small cry of pleasure broke hardened peak and she moaned, arching her body demandingly against him, wanting…needing fulfillment more than she had ever thought possible.
She had never seen him naked, but now, in the weak moonlight that filtered through the window, she drew in a breath of utter delight. It seemed like agonizing hours before he had shed his clothes and returned to the bed, scooping her up in his arms and holding her tightly to him. Nuzzling him, Cait ran her fingers across the silken hair on his broad, well-muscled chest, down the steel length of his torso and lean waist. She felt him tense, a low groan coming from his throat, vibrating through her sensitive body. He could no longer remain quiescent and Cait felt herself respond to the fiery heat she had kindled within him.
He pulled a condom from the nightstand and quickly rolled it on.
This time, as it was meant to be, Cait touched and stroked his body, as if it were a finely tuned instrument. But the fire flowing achingly through her lower body had a life of its own, and she whimpered, begging him to complete the union, to make them one, as she had always desired.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, please, Dominic…yes…” His knee pressed between her straining thighs, parting them.
“God,” he whispered huskily, as his weight settled on top of her damp body, “so beautiful, so…”
She felt him hesitate, and she arched upward against him, a moan of momentary burning sensation surfacing and then the utter pleasure that quickly replaced it. She moaned, the sound caught in her throat. His head rested against her neck and jaw, and she felt him unleash his quivering body to protect her.
“Wait,” he whispered hoarsely.
“No…no!” The pressure built within her. She’d had no sex since the loss of Dave. Twisting her hips, feeling her heat and juices saturate him, easing the tension, she met him, their hips fusing together.
“God, I love you,” he groaned softly, and pulled her tightly against him as he slowly, deliriously urged her into higher and higher circles of heady, mindless pleasure.
She felt him thrust inward savagely, demandingly, just as she had known he would. A rippling cry of satisfaction clawed up her throat as she felt the volcanic explosion racing up her spine like a jolting electric shock, numbing her conscious mind into a cloud of exquisite joy. Tears trailed down her cheeks and a tender smile touched her bruised, parted lips as she felt Dominic tense. The growl of release from deep within his throat made her flesh tingle. Simultaneously, she felt her womb contact, felt the unrelieved pressure burst deep inside her. A hot flow of honey radiated down through her and she cried out, her back arching, her fingers digging deeply into his thick, tense shoulders. The pleasure moved outward like blistering heat, surging through her, meeting and melding with his own release.
Slowly, like the silence of a coming dawn, Cait became aware of familiar sounds around them. She rested her fingers on the soft mat of black hair across his chest, feeling the heavy thud of his heart against his ribs. Smiling blissfully, she weakly pressed against him and felt his arms tighten into an embrace. His rough, calloused hand moved down her arm, waist and hip in an unspoken gesture, and she closed her eyes. Sleep claimed her, pulling her down into a cottony world of cradled joy.
Sunlight stole softly into the bedroom, giving the pale lavender room a fragile radiance as light filtered through the lace curtains, creating soft patterns on the wall. Cait stirred, unconsciously pressing her length against the man who still held her in his arms. Recalling the night before, she smiled, stretching like a cat after a long, satisfying sleep. Dominic pulled her closer and Cait willingly complied, content, nestling her head beneath his chin. She moved her fingers across his chest in a random careless gesture and knew he had awakened. She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips to her cheek.
Each touch communicated what words never could. She had almost forgotten what it was like to run her hand over a man’s body and feel the muscles relax or tense accordingly, and she gloried in that discovery. More than anything else, she was ecstatic that Dominic needed touching and holding just as much as she did. It pleased her and she raised herself up on her elbow, her hair cascading across his chest as she gazed down into his amber eyes.
“You’ve given me new life. Do you realize that?” she whispered, meaning it in many ways.
She hoped he understood. Not only had he helped cleanse her old wounds, he had also showed her that she could respond as she had once before.
He reached up, cap
turing her clean jaw and drew her down until their lips met in a fragile kiss. Cait was hypnotized by the burning desire deep within his eyes as she drew only an inch away from his strong mouth. “It was a fair exchange, querida. You helped me discover a missing part to myself last night.” He caressed her hair, allowing the silken, gleaming strands of her hair to slip through his fingers.
“What do you mean?”
“I never thought I could deeply love a woman again.” He studied her intently, as if to memorize her face. “Do you have any idea how lovely you are? No, don’t laugh, querida. I mean it. Dios, the first time I saw you, I thought I was going to lose myself in the sea foam color of your eyes. It took everything I had, to keep from staring at you like a gawky young boy.”
She smiled tenderly, tracing the outline of his mouth with her fingertip. “You scared the hell out of me the first time I saw you.”
He laughed, the chuckle rumbling deep within his chest. “You hide your fears and wounds well, querida.” He frowned. “Too well, in fact.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I know a side of you that is so damn sensitive and giving. That facade you throw up at work is a good one, but it can work against you, too. I worry about that.”
Cait snuggled down into his arms, giving him a delicious hug of utter joy. “Well, if I roll over and play a woman at the site, nothing will get done.”
“One of these days, when the idea is accepted more, the women who follow you won’t have to hide their womanhood. Not ever.” He kissed the crown of her head, giving her a quick squeeze.
“Listen, whatever was wrong with me is right now, believe me,” she answered.
“Just what the doctor ordered?” he teased.
Cait shut her eyes momentarily. “God, that’s the truth. I never realized how tense I was until—”
“Well,” he murmured, pushing himself up and capturing her. “I’ll just make sure you stay relaxed for the rest of this project.”
She looked up at him, her eyes betraying the confusion she felt. “Dominic, where are we going?” she whispered.
He shrugged his broad shoulders and smiled indulgently, his hand trailing down her slender neck. “Keep your engineering rationale out of our relationship, mi leona.”
She grimaced at his retort and tried to pull free. Within moments Dominic had her gently pinned beneath him and she was vividly aware of his barely restrained control. He leaned down, kissing her soundly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she protested.
He grinned and nibbled at her earlobe. “Yes, you do, querida. Engineers are raised on a pablum of logic, rationale and geometry. Just don’t try and label what we have, what it is or where it’s going, because you could destroy it with too much analysis.” He trailed fiery kisses down her throat to her breasts. She arched instinctively. “Don’t think, querida, just act and react,” he growled huskily. He captured her nipple, suckling deeply.
What little logical thinking she had done was explosively detonated in her dizzied, frenzied senses. Time became a throbbing whirlpool of lights, color and a rhythm of bodies matched in unison to each other. She had had no idea of how thirsty her body had become in those long months since her husband’s death. His fingers trailed between her thighs, gently tracing her rim, feeling the wetness and readiness of her once more. In glorious moments of eternity, she became one with Dominic, a cry of pleasure bubbling from her throat. The orgasms spilled out of her, powerful and intense beneath his fingers and then as he entered her. Afterward Cait lay against him, totally spent, and absolved of the past. Only the faint smile in his golden eyes mattered, and she returned that intimate smile, nuzzling her head against his neck and jaw.
Later, as the intensity of their shared passion ebbed like an outgoing tide, Cait noticed, for the first time, how high the sun had become.
“It’s probably around ten,” Dominic replied lazily.
“Sinful, isn’t it?”
“Not in the least. Do you feel guilty?”
“No. I feel good.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Not anymore.”
Dominic grinned. “I’m talking about food, querida.”
“Oh. Well, yes, come to think of it, I’m starved.”
“Me, too. I have an idea.”
“What?”
“Let’s have breakfast at my ranch. It’s only a thirty-minute flight from BA. What do you say?”
Cait frowned, and he tapped her on the nose. “Stop thinking about the damn site. It’s fine.”
She grinned, embarrassed. “Do you read minds, too?”
“With special people, I do.” He touched her mouth with his in a lingering kiss. “And you are very special, mi leona. Now, how about breakfast? I’ll cook.”
“You’re on. I like scrambled eggs, in case you break the yolks.”
He laughed fully, embracing her. “I haven’t broken a yolk in two years.”
Chapter Twelve
Cait stared down at the two eggs in the frying pan. She muffled a giggle and stole a glance up at Dominic. “Well, one out of two isn’t bad. I’ll eat the scrambled one and you can have the good egg.”
She leaned against him for a moment in laughter. “I really don’t have a preference, master chef. I’ll butter the toast.”
“Mmm, good. Oh, bring the honey. It’s in the refrigerator.”
He put the plates down on a patio table beneath a silver-leafed eucalyptus tree. A high adobe brick wall surrounded the well-kept garden, and Cait inhaled the fragrant flowers.
“This is a lovely home, Dominic. Now I can see why you enjoy coming here.”
He poured the coffee and they sat down. “I’m here only three months out of the year at the most. The rest of the time I’m on projects.”
Cait dug hungrily into the eggs and took a bite of her toast. “It’s so peaceful here. I love this garden.”
“I knew you would. You have the earth in your soul, Cait Monahan.”
“That and bulldozers,” she said wryly. She felt more at peace than she had since Dave’s death. Dominic made everything feel right. No matter where he was, she treasured being there with him.
The flight from BA had been spectacular, and she had gotten her first glimpse of the true pampas, or the Camp, as it was called. She had had no idea what the Camp would be like. The smell of freshly cut hay filled the air with a heady perfume, and Cait inhaled deeply as she leaned against the wrought-iron chair, holding her coffee cup close to her lips.
Dominic glanced over at her. “You like the smell too.”
“Very much. It reminds me of my home in Colorado. Sort of makes me homesick.”
“Home is where the heart is, querida.”
She sipped the coffee, a glint in her emerald eyes. “Does being home make the philosopher in you come out?”
“Sometimes. Mostly it’s me company I’m keeping. Do you always make a man want to confide in you?”
She colored slightly and set the cup down. “Dave and I always talked a lot about what we felt, saw or heard. Maybe that’s it.”
“It’s a good habit to get into. I just wished that when I was younger, I had had the good sense to know that.”
Cait toyed with the china cup. “I can’t imagine any marriage surviving without a lot of honest communication.”
He picked up her hand, giving it a light squeeze. “Well, let’s talk. What do you want to do today? We don’t have to be anywhere until late Sunday afternoon.”
“I’d love to explore your ranch and see your famous gauchos, if that’s possible.”
He inclined his head. “All of that is possible, mi leona.” They walked across the patio toward a side door that led into a maze of paddocks. Cait sized up the broodmares, with their young babies.
“They’re thoroughbreds,” Dominic explained. “Father imported most of the stock off Kentucky farms. When I married, he gave me most of the bloodstock, and I took over the breeding end of the operation.”
&nb
sp; “Did you enjoy it?”
He rested his darkly bronzed arms on the paddock. “I enjoyed the foaling. Watching those colts and fillies struggle to stand, minutes after they were born, has always fascinated me.”
Cait laughed. “Dominic Tobbar, you are a big softy at heart. Why don’t you let it show more?”
His eyes darkened and he picked up her hand, continuing toward the barn. “Let’s just say circumstances quenched some of my natural exuberance. But”—” he looked down at, her “—”you seem to have a knack of bringing it out.”
At the entrance Cait brightened. Horses neighed in greeting as they walked down the center aisle of the spotless rows of box stalls. Dominic stopped at each one and introduced her to his charges. Finally, at the end, he slid open the door and lead a dainty bay mare out into the saddling area.
“This is Dirah. Do you recognize her breeding?”
Cait eyed the mare critically. She had a broad forehead, large, expressive black eyes and a dished face that sloped into a teacup muzzle. “Distinctly Arabian,” she decided.
“Very good,” he praised.
“Your favorite breed?”
Dominic lifted a blanket and saddle from the tack room and expertly saddled the mare. “Yes.”
“Did your father approve?”
“No. But then, he never did approve of much of what I wanted. So what was the difference?” He bridled Dirah and put the reins in Cait’s awaiting hand. “I wanted to breed Arabs with thoroughbreds to produce a better Camp horse, one with speed and endurance. The gauchos have always used those chunky little Spanish horses.” He pulled a tall chestnut gelding from the next stall, and Cait could see the best traits of Arab breeding in the horse. Within minutes, Dominic had him saddled, and they led them out into the sunlight.
“Here, you’ll need this,” he said, handing her a hat that reminded her of the type horsemen in the bull arena wore. He gave her a dazzling smile. “Ready?”
Cait mounted in one smooth motion. The bay mare sidled in anticipation. “Ready,” she answered.
The grass of the Camp lay in a carpet before them as they trotted away from the small ranch area. The movement of a good horse beneath her and the hot sun overhead made Cait doubly aware of her deep feeling for the natural world. Occasionally Dominic’s leg brushed against her own, and she gloried in the slight touch. It seemed so natural, and the day seemed to belong only to them.
When Tomorrow Comes Page 11
