HER IDEAL MAN

by Ruth Wind

  Olive was less suspicious. She moved forward with her trademark charm. "Oh, my Anna's found herself a very handsome husband," she said, and kissed his cheek. "Welcome to our family, Tyler."

  Tyler smiled. And, with amazement, Anna saw that it was his full, unguarded smile, complete with dimple and twinkling eyes. "It's easy to see where Anna gets her beauty."

  He still had not looked at Anna, and she didn't think her heart would stand the suspense much longer.

  At last he turned to her, his eyes opaque, and said, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

  Anna swallowed. "Sure. We'll be right back."

  He waited for her to navigate the furniture, then took her hand, lacing his fingers between hers. A good sign. To the others he said, "We'll be right back."

  He led her toward the dining room, but then took a turn into the hallway that led to the bedrooms, and Anna's heart plummeted. She tried to think of some excuse, something to blunt his disappointment in her, but for once couldn't even think of anything to babble about. Silently, he led her into the spare bedroom, at the very end of the hall, then reached behind him and closed the door. Quietly.

  Anna looked at him. "Tyler—"

  "Later," he said in a raw voice, and, with a swift gesture, pushed her against the door and kissed her. Not a sweet little kiss, either—a deep, hungry, erotic kiss. For a split second, Anna was stunned, but her body quickly recognized the proper course of action, and she flung her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to reach him better.

  He pressed his body against hers, all of him against all of her, and she felt the fierceness of his arousal, nudging her stomach. Then his hands slid down her buttocks, holding them even tighter together. His breathing was hurried as he broke the kiss to look at her, and Anna thrilled at his need of her, feeling valued and womanly and as sexy as a Victoria's Secret model.

  His eyes were a mercurial color, blazing and unmistakable. "I've been thinking about this all day, Anna," he breathed, and pulled her skirt up in back. "All day, I've remembered how you felt, how you tasted, and I couldn't wait another second to touch you again."

  She felt his hands against her bottom, felt him slide her panties down, and he kissed her, openmouthed, without closing his eyes. It was insistently intimate and unbearably arousing. Anna felt her knees weaken, thinking of everyone in the house. "Your mother is sure you're yelling at me," she whispered, and put her hands under his shirt.

  He knelt to push her panties down her legs, and lifted one foot then the other. "All the better," he said, pushing her skirt up, his hands sliding up the front of her thighs, his thumbs making an impossibly erotic trail on the inside, a trail that alarmed and excited her in equal measures.

  "Tyler, do you think—"

  He tucked her skirt into the elastic waist, holding her still, pressed against the door, and Anna looked down to find him looking at her nakedness, and for some reason, it made her dizzy. She let her head fall back as his mouth fell on her thigh, following the same trail his hands had made, only his tongue rose higher, and plunged into the secret heart of her, and Anna clutched his head. "Stop, Tyler!" she gasped. "I can't do this and go— Oh!"

  He nudged her legs apart, and with skillful hands and his even more talented mouth, he did things she had never even imagined could feel so good. It ceased to matter that her family was on the other side of the door, or that she would look like a Kewpie doll when they finished, or anything else. It only mattered that it was Tyler giving her such riotous, unbearable pleasure, that he was as out of his mind with need of her as she was with need of him. When she started to shiver uncontrollably, on the verge of release, he stopped. Anna made an involuntary sound of protest.

  Wickedly, Tyler untucked her skirt to let it fall around her legs modestly once again and stood up. "I think we've spent too long in here."

  "Oh, no," she whispered. "Fair is fair."

  She reached for the buttons of his jeans, but he caught her hands with a smile. "No, you don't. For one thing, I seriously doubt I could hold out. For another, I think you should suffer a little, the way I've suffered today."

  There was such thickness in her blood that Anna felt almost drugged. She moved a little, and her foot touched the edge of her panties. An idea bloomed in her mind, and she smiled. "Two can play this game, Tyler Forrest," she said, and bent over to pick up her panties. Neatly she folded them into a very small bundle and then, with a grin, tucked them neatly into her pocket.

  "Anna!" he said with a choked sound. "You can't tease me like that."

  With a smug smile, she opened the door and flounced out, exaggeratedly swinging her hips as she walked down the hall. Once, she glanced over her shoulder and saw him standing there, staring after her with a most unmistakable expression on his face. She laughed softly.

  The evening would prove to be interesting indeed.

  * * *

  Chapter 17

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  Tyler stared after Anna with a dry mouth. Her hair had been tousled by his fingers and fell in glossy gypsy curls against her neck. She sashayed provocatively down the hall, perfectly aware of his attention. And did he ever give her his attention—he couldn't tear his eyes from the round rear end swaying with exaggerated swings from side to side, swings that made her skirt slide sweetly, suggestively, over the flesh that he knew all too well was naked beneath the linen.

  She'd had to buy new clothes, but although this skirt had an elastic waist, the back was nicely tailored to show off one of her best qualities.

  He would die before he could get her back to the cabin tonight.

  Die.

  His skin felt flushed, and he closed the door against temptation, trying to rein in his raging hormones. He'd been able to think of nothing but Anna all day, a naked Anna, an Anna stoked to wildcat hunger by his touch.

  He'd forgotten, in the months since she was stranded at the cabin, just how intense the connection was between them. He'd forgotten how fierce she got, how incredibly, intensely sexy it was to have a woman respond to him with such uninhibited delight.

  It had been doubly hard to remember because in daily life, coming and going in her routine, that secret, wild gypsy was well hidden—like the purple glitter nail polish she'd worn on her toenails, below wool socks and snow boots.

  "Tyler!"

  Louise. Hastily, Tyler straightened, tucked in his shirt and prayed he didn't look as rattled as he felt. "In here, Ma!" He opened the door and nearly slammed into her.

  "What are you doing?" She scowled. "I hope you aren't going to make that poor girl suffer all night long. She's been on pins and needles waiting for you to get here."

  Suffer? Oh, she'd suffer, all right. Just like he was suffering—in the most delicious sense of the word. "I was—" he glanced over his shoulder "—just thinking about something."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Sulking, I suppose."

  "Sulking? About what?"

  "What did Lance tell you?"

  He was anxious to get back to Anna, and he impatiently took his mother's arm to lead her out. She resisted. "He said Anna's family flew in to surprise her." He chuckled. "And, boy, were they ever surprised."

  "So he told you they didn't know about the wedding or the baby or any of that."

  Tyler shrugged. "Yeah."

  "And that didn't make you mad."

  "Well, maybe a little." Truth was, he'd felt injured more than angry, but it had only lasted a moment. He'd remembered everything she had told him about her family and her place in it, and understood immediately how poorly the whole mess with him would make her look. "It's not too hard to understand, really." He paused. "Were you upset?"

  Louise gave him a puzzled expression. "Only because I was worried how you'd take it."

  And suddenly Tyler understood. She had been afraid he'd use this an excuse to distance himself from Anna. "She had a good reason." Just as he had good reason to hide the existence of Kara's house from her.

  "There's something not right here, Tyler Forrest. I d
on't know if you're lying to yourself, or lying to me, but this just doesn't feel right."

  A twinge of guilt touched him, but he brushed it away. "Don't borrow trouble," he said lightly, and dragged her into the living room with him. So that he could lust after his wife properly.

  And lust he did, all evening, just as she'd meant him to do. Her father insisted on taking the whole crew out to dinner at one of Red Creek's finest restaurants, and when he announced it, Anna shot Tyler a mischievous expression that sent his blood boiling all over again.

  And aside from the arousal their secret kindled in him, Tyler also found himself feeling extremely protective. He took her arm from the car into the restaurant, unwilling to let even the maître d' near her. At dinner, they sat side by side, and Tyler was barely aware of a single syllable of conversation. It seemed the only light in the world was seated placidly to his right, her black eyes glowing with passion, her cheeks rosy with color. When she leaned forward to pick up her water glass, he caught a lovely, discreet glimpse of the lacy edge of her bra and remembered all over again how sweet she'd tasted to him this morning.

  About halfway through the first course, he remembered that his aim was to put her into the same wildly aroused state she was managing to keep him in, and when he finished eating, he put his hand on her thigh, under the table. She gave him an amused smile, much like her gloating poker smile, and he was all the more determined.

  He turned to listen to the conversation on his left, an anecdote told in a hilarious manner by Anna's mother. He laughed easily, thinking it was obvious where Anna had gotten her storytelling abilities, but under the table, he eased up her skirt, a quarter inch at a time, until he touched the bare skin of her thighs and heard her suck in a breath. He removed his hand before she could grow alarmed.

  She stood up. "Excuse me a moment," she said, and headed toward the ladies' room. Tyler stared after her, knowing she was teasing him again.

  Her brother leaned close. "The Passanante women, they really get a glow when they're pregnant."

  Tyler straightened with a grin. "Am I that obvious?"

  "Hey, brother, that's what I've been waiting for all these years, for someone to look at my little sister the way you do."

  The twinge of guilt struck him again. There was a falseness to all of this, after all. He'd been lusting over Kara in his dream, and it had only been Anna when he woke up. Was that wrong?

  He really didn't know. Somehow, the lines between right and wrong, moral and immoral, were not as clear-cut as they once had been.

  And not for the world would he let her down tonight. Ruefully, he lifted a brow. "She's one gorgeous woman."

  Just then, she came out of the hallway at the other end of the room, and Tyler realized it was true. Anna was drop-dead gorgeous. He wasn't the only man in the room with his mouth hanging open—waiters and customers and even some of the women stared openly as she passed. He felt a queer, sharp twist of possessive pride in that.

  His wife. His woman.

  Taken one by one, there was not a single feature that set her apart particularly, with the possible exception of that lush, sexy mouth. But the whole was unbelievably sexy. The black hair, the dancing black eyes, her shoulders straight, head high. She walked with a kind of loose, confident awareness Tyler had not noticed before, and, with a slight smile, he realized it was something he'd given her.

  Tyler found his gaze on her thighs, lifting the skirt on one side, then the other, and could not help remembering—

  "Really gorgeous," he said aloud, his mouth dry.

  Jack chuckled and slapped him approvingly on the shoulder. "I'll make sure we don't keep you long tonight."

  * * *

  Anna thought the evening would never end, but at last they were all standing together in the parking lot, chatting cheerfully. Anna's mother slid up next to her and took her arm. "We'll talk tomorrow, all right? Your papa and me and you. Maybe we can have breakfast."

  "That would be wonderful." Anna knew she would be grilled, but nothing mattered tonight. Except Tyler. She shot a glance to where he stood under the streetlight, a head taller than anyone else there, his hair shining in the darkness, and she felt a shiver of happiness.

  Her prince no longer looked lost. At that moment, he was laughing at some joke her father had made, and the sound was deep and rich and full of life. Somehow she had helped bring that about—a peasant girl from Queens.

  It could only be magic.

  And that thought sobered her the faintest bit, for she had yet to pay a penny for the magic.

  Silliness. Fairy tales were one thing, but this was real life. Sometimes, wonderful things just happened. They didn't have to be explained or examined too closely.

  Curtis leaned sleepily on his grandmother. "Gramma, can I spend the night at your house tonight?"

  "Sure, sweetie. What about your bear?"

  Curtis yawned. "I don' need him. I have an angel mommy who watches over me all the time."

  "Oh!" exclaimed Anna's mother, softly. "Is Tyler a widow?"

  She glanced at her husband, a twinge of dread in her, but he hadn't heard the exchange. "Yes."

  "Poor little boy." Olive touched her mouth, and Anna knew her heart was going out to Curtis, and to his poor, departed mother, whom Anna would rather not have thought about just then. "I'm so glad you're filling her shoes."

  Anna repressed a sigh. She knew it wasn't meant to be such a backhanded compliment, but it was. She tried not to mind. "So am I, Mama."

  Finally, they all climbed into their cars, Curtis going to his grandmother's house, Anna's family to the hotel rooms they'd reserved. Anna and Tyler stood next to his truck in the nearly empty parking lot, watching them drive away.

  Now that they'd been waiting all night, Anna felt overcome with shyness, as if they'd never made love before. As if she'd been extremely silly by teasing him with her underwear in her pocket. She ducked her head. "Well, I guess we can go."

  Tyler nodded, and she wondered if he felt funny, too. "It's a really nice night. You smell that? It's almost spring."

  Anna lifted her head and inhaled the loamy scent of wet earth. "I do."

  Unexpectedly, he took her hand. "Do you mind if we take a short walk? I'd like to show you something."

  "Sure. What is it?"

  He winked. "A surprise. It isn't far."

  Without speaking, they walked to the edge of the parking lot and along the blacktop. "Here it is," he said, and pointed out a narrow path between thick trees.

  "What if there are bears?" She'd been hearing a lot about bears lately, and they scared her.

  "There shouldn't be any this early, but if we see one, we'll run." He tugged her hand, a light shining in his eyes. "C'mon. I promise it'll be worth it."

  And because she trusted him, she followed, surprised to find railroad ties laid into the mountainside as steps. The snow had melted this far down, and the ground smelled rich and fertile and spicy. After a short climb, the ground leveled off in front of a bubbling spring. Standing sentinel was a big pine with widespread branches; and a small grove of aspens. Illuminated by a three-quarter moon, the spot was faintly mystical and silvery. "It's beautiful," she said with a sigh.

  "I thought you'd like it. It's a shrine to Saint Blaise, established by some German settlers a hundred years ago. The waters are supposed to be healing."

  "Saint Blaise. I don't know him."

  "He was a healer." He turned to her, and she sensed a hesitance about him. "Will you drink the waters with me?" He cleared his throat. "Just to be on the safe side?"

  Anna, touched by his worry and his faith, nodded.

  "It's not too muddy this high, but be careful."

  "I don't mind a little mud." She knelt next to the spring with him, and together they bent to cup their hands and drink of the water, which was cold and delicious and faintly flavored with minerals. It was so good, Anna bent for another drink, and when she straightened, wiping her face on her coat sleeve, Tyler was looking at her ver
y soberly.

  He lifted a hand to her hair. "Thank you, Anna."

  "My pleasure." She stood up and brushed off her knees, then put a hand down to help him up. He waved it away and stood on his own, then took her hand and pulled her close.

  "Now, I think we have some unfinished business."

  "Oh, I thought you'd never ask." She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, kiss his beautiful mouth, setting free the passion she'd kept tamped down all night.

  Stumbling a little, they moved to brace themselves against an aspen, kissing deeply, piercingly, hands roving. Tyler unbuttoned her coat, and she unbuttoned his. Then his hands were on her blouse, and Anna stilled, allowing him to unbutton each button in turn, until he sighed and pushed it away, then covered her breasts with his big hands. "You fit my hands exactly right, Anna," he whispered.

  She swayed at the pleasure he gave her, closing her eyes against the silvery moonlight, simply accepting the loving attention he gave, his hands against her breasts, and over, and on her tummy, his mouth on her lips, then her chin, her ear, and her mouth again. She found her breath moving far from her, and heard his, hungry and low, against her ear.

  Slowly, he pushed the cups of her bra downward, until her breasts were uncovered in the moonlight, brushed with his fingers and the cold, and then his hot mouth was upon the tips, until her body trembled with the sensation of heat followed by the sudden lack as he moved to the other side, leaving the moisture of his mouth to cool the abandoned one in erotic contrast. Anna gripped his shoulders fiercely, crying out softly.

  His nimble hands moved to her hips, and Anna felt her skirt begin to rise, felt the air touch the backs of her knees, then higher, on her thighs, then blow across the most sensitive part of her, and his hands were on her naked buttocks, his mouth upon her breast, and Anna clutched him to her. "Tyler!" she gasped. "You have to let me touch you, too. I can't stand it."

  He raised his head, his eyes burning. "Touch me any way you want, Anna." He kissed her.

  She slid her hands under his shirt, at last putting her hands on that smooth, supple flesh she had so long admired. She brushed her hands over his waist, and up his back, and slid them around to the buttons of his jeans.