by Starla Kaye
As if he was thinking along the same lines, he eased nearer until barely an inch separated them. “I’m assuming you’re talking about getting on a horse, not climbing atop me.” He rubbed against her so she felt his erection. “’Course I kind of like when you climb on top of me.”
She shivered and pulled on her inner strength. This is not the right time. Could be. NO!
Covering up her disappointment, she teased, “Devil man. You’re not playing fair.”
He grinned, smoothing his hand over her cheek, thumbing her mouth.
Really not playing fair. She inched backward, her stomach fluttering with awareness. Her voice was husky, unsteady as she said, “This outing was your idea, cowboy. We’ve already postponed it once.”
He didn’t appear concerned about that. She barreled ahead. “Get your mind out of the bedroom. We’re going.”
Acceptance flitted in his eyes. “If you’re sure, darlin’.”
She nodded. Things were moving too fast between them. They needed to slow down. “I’m sure. Now, we need to get on the road. According to the directions you were given, it’ll take a couple hours to get to Makawao, remember?”
Feeling suddenly devilish, she reached out and gently cupped the long hard ridge pushing at the front of his jeans. Hmmm. Very nice. She could unzip…
She pulled her hand away, saw how his eyes had widened, and saw him suck in a breath. In another second he would be on her. Wrong time. Slowing down, remember?
Regretfully, but knowing her conscience was right, she headed toward the stairs.
“You’re a mean woman, Dr. Hart,” he said, as he took a second to catch up with her. “You got me so hard now that walking is damn difficult.”
She laughed and started down the stairs, giving an extra wiggle to her bottom, smiling to herself. He mumbled about her playing with fire. In truth, that’s exactly how she felt about their relationship: she was playing with fire. They came together in heated passion, and things just got hotter and hotter. She was sure going to miss all of that, and him, when he left the day after tomorrow. She’d be staying for another week. It wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable. The thought was too depressing to even think about.
* * *
Although the Piiholo Ranch pastures were nothing like those of his ranch in the Kansas Flint Hills, Sam felt comfortable here. The area where they were riding was spotted with Eucalyptus trees and a bunch of plants he didn’t recognize. All in all, it was on the pretty side. And their mounts were good ones, sturdy, quality stock horses. He was in his element and it felt good to be back in the saddle.
The mid-morning breeze stirred around them, gentle and warm, filled with a number of scents. Valentine’s unique perfume was the smell that struck him most and made him shift in the saddle. Damn, it didn’t take much at all when he was near her to become aroused. In spite of the bit of discomfort, it was a perfect day in paradise, as some might say. At least for him; he wasn’t so sure she felt the same way.
“Whoa, horse. Whoa!” she called out, drawing his attention. She had a tendency to call out in alarm every time her mare picked up her pace to just over a walk. But he had to give her credit, she was trying her best. This was most definitely not her element.
He chuckled and rode closer. “Darlin’, if you grip those reins any tighter, they’ll become embedded in your palms.”
“Don’t give me a hard time, buster. Sassy is starting to live up to her name.” She nodded toward the horse steadily plodding along. “See how she’s starting to change into a gallop? See?’ Her eyes were wide in concern as she hazarded a glance in his direction.
The mare’s pace hadn’t changed since they’d left the corral. “Not even close, sweetheart. She’s not even up to the beginnings of a trot.”
They’d been riding for over an hour and she had been a good sport, even if she was really leery of her horse. He decided to give her a break and find a place to rest for a while. Besides, he wouldn’t mind stretching his legs for a spell.
He glanced around and noted a nice grassy spot by the edge of the trees that looked good for a picnic. They could have ridden with a group and could have eaten lunch with them. But he had convinced the owners that he was more than capable of handling a ride on their own. The owner’s wife had sensed his desire for a romantic time together with Valentine and provided him with a picnic basket filled with food and a blanket to spread out to eat on. She’d also made sure they went a different riding direction than the group that had headed out at the same time. He’d given her an extra tip when he’d paid for the day, although she’d tried to turn it down.
“You ready to take a break from all this hard riding? See exactly what that sweet lady put in this picnic basket. I’m kind of hungry.” He didn’t want to add that he felt hungrier for her than for food. That would be obvious to her once she spotted the size of his erection.
“Really? We can stop now?” The desperation in her voice made him feel guilty about dragging her on this adventure.
It took them another ten minutes to cross the pasture at her mare’s steady walk, but he was okay with that. He kind of liked riding behind Valentine and watching the sweet sway of her bottom as the mare ambled along. ‘Course it was also making his situation more uncomfortable, but worth the discomfort.
When they reached the spot he’d been aiming for, he dismounted quickly and ground hitched his horse. As he turned to Valentine, he found her looking down at the distance to the ground as if she would be jumping off a cliff. He worked hard to keep a straight face and calmly lifted her from the saddle, ground hitching her horse as well.
Her legs started collapsing the instant her feet touched the ground. She latched onto him. “Sorry.”
If anything, he hardened even more. It was sweet torture holding her so close. “I’m not sorry at all,” he said huskily. His cock pushed at the confinement of his jeans. “Can you tell?”
“Is that all you ever think about?” Her eyes twinkled in amusement, but he saw heat in their depths as well. “I’m practically dying from muscles that are rebelling and you’re in deep lust.”
He gave her ponytail a playful swish, and then leaned over to nibble at her neck. “Occasionally I think about other things: the ranch problem, Shelby, life.” He moved against her, growing thicker, longer. “Mostly I think about sliding between your legs. Think about ramming deep inside you.”
She trembled within his hold and he could smell her arousal. She was so responsive to him and he sure as hell liked that. “I can’t help it. You’re just too damn tempting. I’m going to miss you when I leave tomorrow night,” he said quietly.
He thought he heard a sharp intake of breath. Then she slipped out of his hold and turned to reach for the picnic basket. “You say such sweet things, Sam. It brings a tear to my eye,” her voice was a bit shaky.
Nudging her aside, he undid the knot holding the basket in place. “Well, I’m not a trained romance therapist. I don’t know the right lingo. I’m just being honest.”
It took them a few minutes to stretch out the blanket and settle onto it. She’d been quiet the whole time, and hadn’t looked at him. He worried that he’d said something to offend her. As she opened the basket, he stopped her hand to make her look at him. “Did I say something wrong? I was just fooling around.”
“About leaving tomorrow?”
“No. I’d told the airline when I got here that if they had a cancellation on an earlier flight back to call me. They did. Yesterday.”
He studied her expression, and saw sadness, resignation. “Is that what made you clam up?”
“No, why would that bother me?” she questioned briskly. She looked deep into his eyes, searching for something, but he didn’t know what. After a few seconds, she glanced away.
“Anyway, you didn’t say anything to upset me. My mind just caught the word ‘honest’ and it got me to thinking. I haven’t been honest with myself or with my partners in a long time.”
The atmosphere had changed b
etween them. Even though she’d said he hadn’t upset her in some way, he thought she was lying. Maybe he hadn’t offended her exactly, but she’d started building an emotionally distancing fence between them. He felt it, and he didn’t like it.
He sat back and shifted them around until she sat between his legs. She resisted at first, and then she sort of gave in to whatever was bothering her. She leaned against him. The position felt right, being with her felt right. He didn’t want to press her about the change in attitude, so instead he said, “Why don’t you tell me what you mean?”
For several minutes there was only the sound of birds flying overhead and the soft whisper of grass waving around them. Then she sighed and said tensely, “I’m not happy working there. I haven’t been for a couple of years.” She hesitated. “The practice would be fine without me. My partners would have to get a real office manager, of course, but otherwise they’d get along okay.”
He moved his chin over her soft, silky hair, inhaling her scent. “Are you going to bow out of the partnership then? Can you afford to do the bed-and-breakfast thing you talked about by yourself?”
She smoothed her hands over the jeans on his thighs. An action he didn’t believe she was consciously thinking about, but he sure as hell was thinking about it. His cock grew even larger and nudged against her back. She didn’t acknowledge it, not even in play, like she had back at the resort. Something was definitely wrong.
Before he could comment about that, she finally answered. “I’m quitting the partnership. Even if I end up having to go work in another practice.”
She tentatively leaned her head back against his chest, but she felt stiff within his embrace. He held her as best he could, listened.
“If I sell my house in Kansas City and use some of my savings, I can afford to buy a B&B somewhere. And I can survive for a while, until I get my workshops up and running. But it’s all still a little scary. Starting over. Taking a chance.”
For a moment he forgot her change in attitude and thought about what she’d said. He’d been thinking the same thing. It would be strange not dealing with the ranch after all of these years. It would be damn scary to try something else, to take a chance on fulfilling a dream. But he wanted that chance so bad. He hadn’t intended to mention this, but he found himself saying, “While you were recovering yesterday, I had another talk with Shelby and Dale.”
She became even stiffer within his hold, and he wished he’d never mentioned the subject that always made them argue.
“Are you still pressuring them?” She scooted away from him to pin him with a disappointed look. “I thought we discussed this, and about how unfair it was of you to do that.”
Now he bristled. Yes, they were going to get into another argument. He was getting damn tired of having to defend himself, too. “I’m not being unfair about anything. The ranch is not only my responsibility, even though I’ve been the one running it all these years. Shelby owns half of it.”
She clearly didn’t care for his reasoning. “Did you badger them into agreeing to what you wanted?” She snatched a chicken leg from the picnic hamper and took an angry bite. She chewed for a second, and then pressed him, “Why don’t you let Jake buy the ranch? You said he was interested in doing so.”
He reached for a chunk of cornbread, annoyed. “I didn’t badger them. We discussed the matter.”
He bit off a piece of bread and thought about their meeting over lunch the day before. It had been Shelby that brought up the subject, not him. He’d wanted to, but he’d been hearing Valentine’s warnings over and over in his mind: about alienating his sister, about maybe losing her forever. He didn’t want to do that.
“I don’t like the idea of the Thompson Ranch going out of the family,” he finally admitted. The idea made him feel like he was betraying his ancestors.
“You need to get over that idea.” She huffed, dismissing the notion without any thought at all. “Did you finally tell Shelby why you really wanted to quit managing the ranch? About the veterinary issue?”
Suddenly he was the one who wanted distance from her. He was more than tired of butting heads over the subject of his ranch. These constant arguments over it made him wonder if the only thing between them was lust, because they clearly didn’t share the same values.
“Tossing aside family history might be easy for you, but it’s damn hard for me.” He sucked in a settling breath, but it didn’t help much. His gut ached with the disappointment he felt. Even though they hadn’t known each other all that long, he’d begun to think they might have something special. Something that he hadn’t had with another woman.
When she just sat there, looking irritated at his comment, he said briskly, “Yes, I told Shelby about the opportunity being offered me, and about my interest in being a veterinary. The whole thing surprised her. I guess she’d never known how much I like working with animals.”
“Knowing Shelby and how sweet she is, she probably felt guilty then. She probably turned to Dale and tried to get him to reconsider taking over the ranch.”
She’d sounded disgusted, like he was purposely trying to ruin his sister’s life. Her assuming the worst of him pissed him off. He decided it was a good thing he was leaving tomorrow. They were done. Yet the finality of that thought made his gut clench.
“Actually Dale spoke up first. He was the one who said he and Shelby would do some more thinking about it. I did not press them in any way, no matter what you believe.”
Her doubting him was clear in her expression. It hurt, even though he’d already been telling himself they were finished. That the future together he’d toyed with in his thoughts now and then had only been based on their compatibility in bed. “It’s time to head back. I need to get some rest before the dinner and rehearsal tonight.”
She blinked in surprise, paled, and then gave a curt nod. “Fine. I’m not feeling all that wonderful at the moment anyway.”
They didn’t say another word as they packed up the picnic and mounted their horses. Valentine hated the way their special day had fallen apart, all because of that stupid ranch. She understood his longing to go after his dream. She understood the ranch stood in his way. But she seriously doubted that Shelby and Dale wanted to give up their own new life to move to Kansas and run the Thompson Ranch. She was worried that the two young people would sacrifice themselves for his sake. Why couldn’t he give up on the idea that the ranch needed to stay in the family? Why couldn’t he consider Jake’s offer to buy the ranch? Lots of ranches left family’s hands these days, for any number of reasons. But she wouldn’t talk to him anymore about the matter.
She’d just nudged her horse into movement when Sam rode on ahead, leading the way, barely waiting for her to catch up. Her heart pinched; the air seemed to rush out of her.
Tomorrow. His casual announcement about leaving earlier than planned had caught her off-guard. Tomorrow was too soon. She’d wanted more time with him, even if they disagreed on the ranch matter. Now after she’d evidently overstepped her boundaries again, he was anxious to leave the island. He was ready to get away from her. She hadn’t meant to attack him about the Shelby and ranch issue, but the depression that had swept over her about his early departure had—for some insane reason—sent her on the defensive. She’d driven him away.
Watching him sitting stiffly in the saddle, tears misted her eyes. They’d had such fun, enjoyed each other, particularly in bed. She’d started to think she’d finally met someone she could really care for, someone who might really care for her. She sniffed back the threat of tears. No. She hadn’t met the man of her dreams. It was clear now she just couldn’t hang onto a man. It was time to accept that fact.
* * *
Several hours and many tears later, Valentine sat in the back pew of the small Baptist church and watched the wedding party rehearse for tomorrow’s wedding. She had begged off attending the rehearsal dinner, claiming a bad headache. It had been a bad heartache in reality. She shouldn’t have come here either. I
t shouldn’t, but it hurt her to observe Shelby and see how radiant she looked, how happy.
Sitting all alone in the shadowy part of the sanctuary, memories of her own wedding day swamped her. Now that she thought about it, she realized she hadn’t been nearly so excited at the time. She couldn’t remember ever looking at Jonathan with the same obvious love in her eyes that Shelby looked at Dale with. Had she subconsciously sensed even then that their marriage was doomed? Had Jonathan felt as forced into going through with the wedding as she’d felt? They’d met via their parents and gotten along easily enough. Somehow they just kept seeing each other after the initial meeting, until finally they’d found themselves planning a wedding.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, trying to relieve the tension thrumming through her. Her head really did throb now. It might have helped if she’d eaten something since the ruined picnic and coming here. But her stomach was too upset to handle food. Her whole body was too upset to handle anything. Again, she wondered why she’d come here tonight. She didn’t want to put any kind of damper on Shelby’s happiness.
She was about to get up and leave when someone came and sat down beside her. Even before she opened her eyes she knew it wasn’t Sam. The scent was different, yet familiar.
Her heart raced even as she opened her eyes and gasped, “Jonathan!”
The handsome man—make that pretty man—she’d been married to for three years smiled gently. Why hadn’t she noticed how “pretty” he was before now?
“I didn’t mean to startle you, Val. But I saw you sitting here, saw how… I don’t know… stressed and sad you looked. Are you all right?” he asked.
Although his phone call the other day had upset her, now she was glad of his presence. Maybe she’d finally gotten over what she’d thought to be his betrayal of her. Because now all she saw was the man beyond his gender preference, the man she had once enjoyed talking with and going places with. They could talk for hours on so many subjects. They just hadn’t been able to have a romantic relationship, and now she knew why.
