by Sara Daniel
Finally, her cousin said, “You’re not the complete asshole I expected. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll put you on a horse and send you out toward Rosalind on the condition that she signs none of your documents until the lawyers in my legal department have looked them over for her first.”
Relief hit him so hard and fast, Luke nearly swayed. Extending his right hand, he said, “Deal.”
***
Tucked off the main trail, Rosalind lay on a blanket on her favorite knoll. Hidden from view by trees and the natural rise of the ground, she could keep the real world at bay and pretend Luke hadn’t shown up insisting they put an immediate end to their already-dead marriage.
But, perhaps because it felt like a fantasy rather than reality, she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t kissed him. The wellspring of emotion when she’d done so had led to the most amazing, beautiful sensations she’d experienced since the last time they’d made love. While caressing him, she’d memorized each of his features to play over and over in her mind for the rest of eternity.
After closing herself off from all emotion for so many months, she’d become overwhelmed by the sudden overload, sobbing the way she’d promised herself she would never do in front of him. Well, she’d done it, revealing her weakness and how badly he’d hurt her.
Grazing close enough for her to hear the crunch of field grass between his molars, Smokey nickered, a tone usually reserved as a welcome to other horses. More horses, she could deal with. Human riders, she could not.
She twisted to look. A single horse and rider crested the hill and turned down the side path toward her. Her breath caught. Rather than a real-world intrusion, the gorgeous man approaching embodied her deepest fantasy.
Although she’d been tough on Luke for refusing to try to mount a horse, some people couldn’t and shouldn’t attempt to ride. She wasn’t a doctor, and hadn’t been privy to his medical information for over a year. She no longer knew the extent of his capabilities. But that hadn’t stopped her from unleashing a tirade on him.
Georgina whinnied a greeting, and Rosalind stood on shaky legs to greet the team. “What are you doing out here?”
Luke’s crooked smile nearly sent her fragile heart into cardiac arrest. “You said I should stop making excuses and try to ride, so I did.”
“Nice. I guess it would be rude to say ‘I told you so.’” Maybe if Rosalind played it cool, the act would keep her from throwing herself at him again.
“How about I’ll let you say it if you help me dismount?”
She helped grown men dismount on a regular basis, but wasn’t so naive she assumed she’d be as unaffected by his closeness as she was with the resort guests. Still, she wouldn’t deprive either of them because of her weakness. She moved to the left side of the horse and took control of the reins.
“Put some of your weight on my shoulder and back as you climb down. You can also hang onto the saddle horn while you swing your right leg over to keep the weight off your left leg until you have your right side under you to support you. How did you get on Georgina?”
“Your cousin tossed my sorry ass up here. Although, I ended up riding for so long I thought maybe he’d sent me out in hopes I’d never return and archeologists would find my skeleton in a fifty years or something.” Luke chuckled, the rumbling tone sending shivers through her belly. Using the horse’s strong back to support his weight, he maneuvered down, avoiding putting pressure on his left side.
Javier. Interesting. The guys must have worked through their macho posturing and moved on to male bonding. She almost wished she’d stuck around to witness the transition. Maybe Javier would tell his wife Caroline, about the exchange, and Rosalind could convince her to share her insight.
“I can’t vouch for Javier’s intentions toward you, but I know he’d send out a search party for Georgina if the two of you didn’t return by dark.”
Luke snorted. “You might have mentioned that before I got off the horse.”
She grinned. “This is my favorite spot on the ranch, besides the stables, of course. I won’t let you die and ruin the atmosphere with a decaying body.”
Releasing the horse, he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Keep talking like that, and I might get the impression you care what happens to me.”
His banter lifted her heart. What a relief to have a conversation without every word between them launching an emotion-packed grenade.
She motioned him toward the frayed quilt. “I don’t have a chair for you to sit on, but you can share my blanket.”
After he released her and stepped away, she loosened Georgina’s saddle and tucked up the reins, allowing her to graze freely next to Smokey.
Luke sank to the ground with an awkward shuffle, stretching out first his injured left leg, then the right. For some yet-to-be-determined reason, he’d followed her rather than accept her request for alone time. Thankfully, he hadn’t brought any papers that she could see, so impatience didn’t appear to be the cause.
In the relatively short time she’d had to think, Rosalind had already gained some perspective. She would be alone for the rest of her life with years to regret not taking advantage of every moment with Luke. So, she tugged off her boots and lined them up in the grass at the edge of the blanket, balancing her hat on top of them. Then she lay back next to him and stared up at the impossibly blue sky.
A few puffy white clouds passed over. Luke shifted, the denim of his jeans rustling, a sound that shouldn’t have been sexy but was.
“I need to apologize for making you cry,” he said.
She turned her head toward him. Lying on his right side, he faced her, torso propped up by his elbow, his cheek resting on his open palm.
She could have wept simply from the gorgeousness of his pose. Instead, she said, “No apology necessary. It’s not the first time I’ve cried over you. I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
His eyes clouded. “I hadn’t witnessed it before, and I hate knowing I hurt you that much.”
Hated it, maybe, but not enough to change his mind about pushing her out of his life. She angled toward him. “I didn’t mean for my crying comment to sound so pathetic. I don’t cry over you all the time. I have a good life here, and I love what I do. I’m going to be fine when you leave.”
Of course, she would be heartbroken, but she could live a pretty good life with a broken heart.
He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “You are an amazing woman.”
Skin tingling from his gentle touch, she blinked at the unexpected compliment. She obviously hadn’t been amazing enough for him, but she still appreciated the affirmation. “Thanks. I’m glad the app you worked so hard on became a success. I’ve talked to some guests who use it, and they are delighted to have the extra financial and identity protection.”
“You don’t use it?”
“As soon as you figure out how to integrate an app into a bridle or a saddle, I’ll be first in line. Until then, I’m about as low-tech as you can get.”
“Still no cell phone?”
“I always thought the last holdout on a technology should get some sort of prize.” She grinned, working hard to keep the conversation light despite her intense curiosity about his life without her. “Are you still doing all the techy stuff with the app?”
“I’ve hired a couple of guys who keep up with the daily maintenance, so I can focus on long-term development and investor relations.”
“Investor relations? You?” She’d had to stop him from punching the poor bank officer who’d turned down his loan application. Thankfully, Alex had believed in him enough to back his dream and help him launch his post-military career.
He grinned. “Yeah, I knew you’d see the humor in that, but I can schmooze when I have to.”
“I know you can.” She tipped her face toward the clouds again. Luke had the charisma to win anyone over whenever he chose to turn it on. Having a wife who preferred the company of horses over people wouldn’t win any converts. From a business standpoin
t, dumping her made sense.
Warm lips pressed to hers, and her eyes popped open. Luke skimmed his mouth over hers with such delicious perfection. She lifted her arms and encircled his neck. Nothing could be more heavenly than lying under a clear blue sky and kissing the man she loved.
He caressed her cheek, each stroke so tender and sweet. Instead of crying for the experience they would never repeat, she savored every second in his arms. He kissed a trail along her jaw and then teased her earlobe until she shivered.
As he chuckled against her ear, she captured his still-smiling lips with her own. Dragging her fingers through his hair, she massaged his scalp the way he’d always enjoyed when his hair had been shorter. The strands had grown long enough to sift between her fingers, but the same groan of pleasure spilled from his lips.
He slipped his tongue between her teeth, increasing the fervor of the kiss. She wanted to continue watching the passion and intensity blossom on his face, but, unable to keep her eyes open, she let her other senses take over. Managing to cherish and ravish her at once, he explored her neck and throat with gentle caresses.
When he cupped her breast, she arched, hating her clothing for preventing skin-on-skin contact. Kissing him harder, she tugged his T-shirt from his waistband until she could drag her hands underneath and knead his warm, smooth back.
His sinewy muscles rippling in intriguing ways as he shifted, Luke tugged apart the first snap on her shirt. “How far do you want to take this, Rosalind?”
“Further than you want to go.”
Chapter Six
If Luke hoped she’d be the one to jerk the reins of common sense on the runaway horse of desire, he was mistaken. Rosalind pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it away from the blanket.
“If you believe that, you don’t know me as well as you think you do.” He captured her hand with his own and pressed it on the fly of his jeans.
Oh Lord. Her mouth dried, and her stomach flipped at the thick, hard evidence of his desire. She’d been prepared for his size, but not Luke’s visceral reaction to her. Regardless of the questionable status of their relationship, he still wanted her. Desperate not to throw away her final chance, she opened his jeans. “Yes. I want you inside me.”
“Promise?”
Till death do us part. She swallowed the vow from years ago so she wouldn’t scare him into changing his mind. She’d take as much as he offered. Somehow, it would have to be enough to last her until death.
“Yes.” She tugged on his neck and kissed him again, letting her lips and tongue converse with his in the one language where he’d always agreed with her.
He ripped apart the rest of the snaps then raised her above the blanket to peel the shirt away and unhook her bra. Once he’d bared her chest, he laid her back again and lifted his mouth from hers. “You are so beautiful.”
“You make me feel beautiful,” she whispered, drifting her fingers through his hair again.
With a brush of his mouth across her chin, he trailed lower, resting his face in the center of her chest, his hands cupping the sides of her breasts. Contentment radiated off him, an emotion she hadn’t felt from him since he’d lost his leg.
Despite her core pulsing with desire and her breasts aching for his attention, Rosalind would have happily ignored her needs to lie unmoving, basking in his tenderness, for the rest of her life.
Capturing her nipple with his mouth, Luke swirled his tongue around it and tugged with his lips. No longer able to lie there and let him control every aspect of the encounter, she arched. He continued to play with her nipple, enrapturing her, while unbuttoning her jeans. Eager to help him shed her unwanted clothes, she elevated her hips.
Moving lower, Luke kissed the underside of her breast then journeyed down her navel. He dragged her jeans and panties down together before rolling to his side. Drawing his hands along each leg, he chucked her jeans next to her boots in the grass.
He sat up and freed his cock from his open pants. It bobbed as he ogled her from top to bottom, his gaze searing her nerve endings and melting her core.
“Touch me,” she begged.
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
He smiled and glided his tongue along her inner elbow. She jerked in surprise, the emotion immediately replaced by another shot of desire. Moaning her need, she opened her legs in invitation. He propped her foot on his shoulder, caressing her thigh then skimming his lips across the sensitive inner skin.
“Trace your finger along my slit.” She’d meant to issue an order, but instead she begged her desperation for his intimate touch.
“If it’s what you want.” He drew the digit down her aching clit and along her soaked slit, spreading her wetness from front to back and then to her clit again.
“Luke, again, please.” The leg propped on his shoulder shook uncontrollably. Perilously close to coming from the way he watched her with heavy-lidded eyes, mouth half open, chest rising and falling, she tumbled to the razor edge of pleasure from his glorious touch.
Grasping her hips, he lifted her to his face. With one long stroke, he licked her from top to bottom then teased her clit with quick flicks of his tongue.
Rosalind clenched the blanket in her fists, needing to scream but not wanting to let the pleasure culminate and end so quickly. He thrust his tongue inside her, and she couldn’t hold back. Waves of pleasure slammed through her, and she convulsed, yelling his name.
Damn, she’d come so hard and fast. She’d never whipped so far out of control with so little warning, and she couldn’t bear if Luke mocked her for doing so. But when she peered up at him, the intensity on his face never wavered. He lowered her slowly and then took a condom from his pocket. As soon as he’d sheathed himself, he reached for her again.
Of course, he would never mock her performance. Shame from thinking so filled her. She knew him better than that. He intended to continue to draw out her pleasure and his own, as well.
Gathering her strength, she pulled her boneless body to a sitting position. She didn’t want to just come again. She wanted to connect, to make love, to become one.
Straddling his lap, she sank down, driving his thick, full cock inside her. “Luke.”
“Oh yeah, baby. You feel so good.”
She kissed him, tasting her pleasure. While she hurtled toward another climax, guaranteed to leave a permanent imprint on her, he called out with a generic baby, as if he didn’t know the name of the person who made him feel so good. She couldn’t let their encounter continue in a one-sided vein.
“Say my name,” she whispered. “The version you only use when we make love.”
Instead of speaking, he gripped her hips more firmly, plunging with long, sure deliberation. Needing him to see who he made love to, she bit his lip hard enough to force him to open his eyes. He drove his tongue into her mouth while pumping with hard, frantic tenacity.
Whether he purposely held back on giving her the personal nod she desired or had simply moved beyond speech, she couldn’t tell. She could barely conjure her own name as she squeezed his waist with her thighs, drawing him in deeper, determined to show him how unforgettable he was to her.
“Rosie,” he gasped.
Any triumph dissolved in the swirling vortex of longing. She’d missed him so much, missed the hot, desperate need, missed the perfect melding of bodies.
“Ah, God, Rosie. You are so sweet, so perfect.”
She kissed him hard, cutting off the words she’d wanted so badly to hear, but could no longer handle without succumbing to tears. She would not break down in front of him again.
“Oh fuck, I’m coming. I can’t hold it back.” He stiffened, his hands digging into her ass cheeks. “Come with me, Rosie, please.”
Luke never lost control. Never. And because he did, she spiraled out of control. His desperate command rocketed her over the edge. She clung to his torso and buried her face in his neck, rubbing his thundering pulse. She had everything she wanted. If only she could h
ang on to it and never let it end.
If Luke had his way, he would have stayed buried inside Rosalind forever. But he hadn’t had his way since those assholes around the world had showed their love for him with a not-so-friendly grenade.
He held her for as long as he could stay still, but, finally, his hip became too twitchy. He lifted her to ease the pressure on his leg, and she shifted off his lap, ending their connection.
While she reached for her clothes and began dressing in silence, he cleaned up and tucked his cock in his pants then lay back on the quilt and stretched his hip.
They hadn’t talked about the reasons he’d ended their relationship, as he’d intended when he set out to find her. He couldn’t regret what had happened, but he also couldn’t marshal the insensitivity to bring up a list of reasons he couldn’t stay with her in the aftermath of such incredible sex.
Luke waited for Rosalind to finish dressing and cuddle against him. Instead, she tugged on her boots, affixed her cowboy hat on her head, and stood. With a single whistle, she garnered both horses’ attention. He sighed. Not only had the time for talking passed, their peaceful interlude had come to an end, as well.
While she commandeered the animals, adjusted their gear, and murmured to each one, Luke reluctantly stood. A few tentative paces assured him his leg wouldn’t give out, but he still limped like a pathetic old man. If he couldn’t get back on the horse, he’d have to reconsider the scenario of future archeologists digging up the remains of his body. He’d never accomplish the return trip to the resort on foot.
“Georgina’s ready for you if you’re ready for her,” Rosalind called.
“And how’s that going to happen? You as my stepping stool is not an option.” He wouldn’t risk injuring her by making her bear more of his weight than she could handle.
“But this stump over here is, and you’ll be able to do the rest, as long as your arm and core muscles are as strong as they used to be.” She gestured toward a wide, flat, two-foot tall tree stump.
