Rick couldn’t hold back the grin. “I never pegged you for the jealous type.”
Summer cast him a sidelong glance. “Because I’ve never been jealous.”
“Never?”
“Nope. I have this philosophy. A guy you have to fight for isn’t worth having.”
Rick scratched his head. “That’s pretty harsh.”
“Not really.” She gave a shrug. “If he wants somebody else, then he doesn’t want me.”
He reached out and caught her chin on two fingers, turning her face to him. “I want you.”
A smile teased at the edges of her mouth, and he realized he was being played. He brushed his thumb across her lips, watching her eyes close in response. He couldn’t have stopped himself from kissing her if the whole world had been watching.
But the world wasn’t watching. They were alone. He kissed her forehead and both of her eyes and the tip of her nose.
“Somebody might come in.” Her words had hardly any breath behind them.
“I don’t care,” he said, and kissed her on the mouth long enough to elicit a sigh from them both when they broke away.
“Mmm.” She smiled as she opened her eyes slowly. “Tara told me to stay away from the barn.”
“Why is that?” He smoothed back a strand of hair that had worked loose from her braid.
“She didn’t want it to stir up my hay fever.” She patted the horse’s neck and laughed at the joke he’d somehow missed.
She seemed totally at ease with the horse, which intrigued him. “If you grew up in Paducah, how’d you get so comfortable around horses?”
“Kate’s grandpa has a farm, and he had horses we used to ride. I loved it. I begged Mom and Dad for a horse, but they didn’t think I was responsible enough to take care of one.” She shrugged. “They were probably right.”
“At least you realize that now.”
“That...and a whole lot more.”
The talk was taking a serious turn that Rick didn’t want right then. They only had a few minutes. “Bet you’re looking forward to the ride next week, then, aren’t you?”
“I am, but it’s been a while, so it’ll probably make me really sore.” He watched her demeanor change, saw the impish gleam come into her eyes as she tilted her head and looked up at him. “How about you? Has it been a while since you’ve...ridden?”
Rick wasn’t sure she was still talking about horses. “Yeah, it’s been a while.” He tried to keep a straight face. “But I think I can remember how to do it pretty well.”
She licked her lips, her eyes never straying from his. “I love sitting in the saddle, the feel of the horse beneath me, increasing its speed slowly from a walk to a trot and then a gallop.”
Rick trailed a finger down her arm and felt her shiver. “My favorite way is bareback. Using the movement of my body to control the direction. Running my hands into the silky mane...”
She drew a long breath, closing her eyes in an invitation he gladly accepted. He kissed her again, feeling the fire from her tongue consuming him, throwing his world into a spin he had no desire to control.
He drew back and looked at her, not even trying to contain the awe he felt. “Is kissing you as wonderful as I think it is? Or is it just all the pent-up passion? I mean, do you think it will be this good...afterward?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to finding out.”
“Me, too.” He brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek, flushed with desire and from the heat in the barn. “Think we better leave before we catch this place on fire?”
She kissed the horse’s neck and gave him a final pat. “Yeah, I feel my hay fever kicking in.”
They started toward the barn door, but she stopped. When he turned toward her, her brows were drawn together in concern.
“What is it?”
“Something I’ve been wanting to ask you about, but I wasn’t sure I should...yet.” She took a deep breath, and he could see this was difficult for her.
He met her eyes straight on. “You can ask me anything. What’s bothering you?”
“Semper fi.”
“O-kay.” Confused and more than a little surprised, he drew the word out. “What about it?”
“You still take it seriously.”
He rested his fists on his hips and nodded. “Very.”
Her teeth chewed at her bottom lip before she spoke. “Will you always be a marine? At heart, I mean?”
“Always. Forever. That’s what it means.” He remembered the look of doubt in Summer’s eyes when the girls asked him about the slogan.
“Do you ever take time off from duty. I mean, you know...time just for yourself?”
His gut tightened. “Not very often,” he admitted. “But...maybe the right person could help with that.”
“Yeah? What kind of person would it take?” A shadow darkened her eyes.
“Somebody very different from me, I think. Somebody uninhibited. Somebody with a vivacity for life. Somebody with a wild-child nature...”
Her smile was gentle, like she was talking to one of the kids. “I know somebody like that.”
“Well.” He gave her a wink. “Maybe you could fix me up with her.”
She pursed her lips as she considered his suggestion. “I dunno, Warren. You may be beyond fixing.”
She was kidding, but Rick flinched involuntarily at her words. How many times after a particularly grueling nightmare had he thought that very thing?
Her smile tightened, worry marks forming between her brows. Rick hurried to lighten the moment. “Yeah, I might require the motherload of all fairy princess magic.”
That brought a smile to her lips.
They moved from the barn into the sunlight. The Old Homeplace looked like a beehive swarming with kids.
“I have to disagree with you about one thing, Summer.”
Sarcasm tinged her laugh. “One thing? You disagree with me about everything. What this time?”
He stopped and made sure he had her full attention before he spoke. “There are people worth fighting for.”
He heard her sigh, and he couldn’t tell if it was one of contentment or something else completely.
* * *
SUMMER TRIED TO LOSE HERSELF in the tranquil chirping of the crickets outside her bedroom window, hoping to find enough peace to allow sleep to come.
She stared at the clock. Thirty-four minutes had passed since Rick left her, and she was still dizzy with desire for him. The heat of his hands on her back as they’d wandered under her shirt during an extremely long, hot kiss blazed in her imagination as if she’d been branded by them. The nerves in her palms still tingled from smoothing over the muscles in his back, which tapered down to his waist.
They were playing with fire, but keeping their hands off each other was asking the impossible, and not something either of them wanted to do. And while it didn’t exactly give relief, it helped move things to a more adult level.
She concentrated on the ache in her core. It wasn’t an ache—it was a need...and it didn’t hurt. In fact, it was quite yummy and it made her feel alive and breathless with anticipation.
She laughed, realizing that she was, indeed, panting, just at the thought of the time when she and Rick would finally get to make love.
Tara had been right about getting to know each other first. She’d barely broken through that shell, and there was so much more she wanted to know about him. The outside was all steel and rock, but sometimes—and apparently she was the only one who saw it—she glimpsed vulnerability beneath. He kept it covered well, but it was there. It came out at certain times. Usually with the kids...or when he mentioned Dunk...or the way he looked at her in the moonlight.
It made her want to open him up and examine everything inside that made him who he was.
But right now, it made her hot...and thirsty. A cool glass of lemonade might offset enough of the heat to allow her to sleep.
She eased out of bed, not
bothering to turn on any lights as her eyes were well adjusted to the darkness, and the sparse furnishings left the space uncluttered.
Coming out of the bedroom into the living room, her eyes caught the movement and her body froze, paralyzed by fear.
A second later, the adrenaline kicked in. A scream tore from her lungs.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
OH, GOD! HE’D KNOW THAT VOICE anywhere. That’s Summer!
The scream propelled Rick out of bed and onto the path with no thought of shirt or shoes. His only thought: Get to Summer.
He and Kenny reached her porch at the same time.
“What do you think’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Rick used his size to jockey through the screen door first, noticing it was slightly ajar. Kenny followed close at his heels.
The door to Summer’s bedroom was closed. “Summer?” Rick called as he crossed to it.
“Snake.” Her voice sounded far away and an octave higher than usual. “In the front room. Big snake.”
A faint scent of ammonia that hadn’t been there a half hour before made the hairs on Rick’s neck rise. His hand was on the doorknob when he caught sight of the movement in his peripheral vision.
A long, dark line undulated from beneath the couch.
He leaped and turned on the light in time to see the black snake making for refuge under the refrigerator.
He pointed toward it. “Snake.”
“Shitfire!” Kenny pulled his gun.
“Damn it.” Rick pushed the young man’s outstretched hand toward the floor. “For God’s sake, put that thing away. You can’t shoot it in here. You’ll put a hole in the floor...or in me.”
Kenny made no movement to holster the pistol, but he kept it aimed at the floor and used his other shaking hand to wave toward the creature. “We’ve g-got to...to...g-get that thing...outta here.”
“Agreed. But it’s a black snake, Kenny. Not a cobra.”
Kenny retreated a few steps toward the door. “Th-they’re all co-cobras to m-me.”
“Well, trust me, this one’s on our side, and from the size of him, he’s a good mouser, so we want to keep him around.” Rick put his hands on his hips and deliberated. It wasn’t an idea he relished, but there was only one way to get the snake out of the cabin unharmed.
He turned to the security guard. “Put the gun away.” Kenny hesitated, but then did as he was told. “And stay out of my way.”
Kenny’s eyes went wider than Rick thought possible. “Wh-what are y-you gonna do with it?” The guard’s backside was already pushing the door open.
“Just stay out of my way,” Rick ordered.
The snake stopped with several inches of its body sticking out from under the refrigerator. Rick flexed his hands open and closed a few times, taking deep breaths, reminding himself that black snakes could be quick to bite, but weren’t poisonous. “Grab, tug, run, toss. Grab, tug, run, toss.” And try your damnedest not to piss your pants.
One last breath, and it was time. The snake started to move again and would soon be settled under the fridge...and a mad son of a bitch to deal with.
Rick grabbed the tail, tugged and ran as fast as his legs would take him, keeping the writhing creature at arm’s length and thanking the Lord the whole time for long arms.
A leap off the porch and a few long strides gave momentum to his slinging movement. The black snake sailed through the air, landing with a thump near the path into the woods.
Rick leaned forward, bracing his hands on his knees, taking deep gulps of air as he watched the shadowy mass slither into the shadows.
“If he comes crawlin’ outta there during my watch, he’s a dead son of a bitch, good guy or not,” Kenny called from a safe distance away.
“You don’t have a tranquilizer dart, do you?” Rick walked back toward Summer’s cabin.
“No, why? You want to put him to sleep if he comes back?”
“I was thinking I may need it for Summer.”
He heard the night watchman’s nervous laugh...headed away from the direction of the woods.
“Summer, it’s okay,” Rick called. He crossed the small living room and opened her bedroom door. The room was empty, but light shone from under the bathroom door.
He went over to it and rapped lightly. “Summer?” Listening for an answer, he caught the sound of her soft cry. Slowly, he opened the door and peeked in.
She was huddled in the bathtub, eyes wide and wild. “It was a big sn-sn-snake. I nearly stepped on it.”
Rick pushed the door wide-open. “It’s okay. It’s gone now.”
“Oh, Rick!” She launched herself at him, and he caught her. Her arms clutched his neck, and her legs wrapped around his waist. “I was so scared.”
He held Summer close as he walked to her bed and sat down with her, too keenly aware of her breasts pushed taut against him with only the thin material of her top separating them from his bare chest. “It’s okay.” He stroked her back and used what he hoped was a soothing voice. “I’m here. You don’t have anything to be afraid of.”
“Did I wake the kids?”
He snorted. “Those old A/C window units in the dorms are so loud, a helicopter could land and it wouldn’t wake the kids.”
“I shouldn’t have screamed like that, though. It caught me totally off guard. How do you think it got in?” Her cheek rested on his shoulder while her warm breath came in jerks, bathing the side of his neck.
“The screen door doesn’t shut well.” He leaned back to look at her, brushing away the wet hair clinging to her face. “We’ll get Charlie to fix it tomorrow. I should’ve already taken care of it.”
“Tomorrow?” Terror returned to her eyes and she shuddered. “I can’t stay here tonight. Can I stay with you? Please? I can sleep on your couch, and I’ll be really quiet.”
He pulled her to him, trying to ignore the erect nipples and remain logical as he thought it over. The logical answer would be to share his bed and make love all night, but that would go against the agreement they had. He was positive he couldn’t share a bed with her and not make love to her, but he didn’t want her sleeping on the couch, and the couch wouldn’t be nearly big enough to accommodate him comfortably.
“Do you want to go home for the night? I could take you if you’re too shaky to drive.” He hoped she didn’t jump on that option. She shook her head against him. “By the time we got there, it wouldn’t be three hours until we’d have to get up and come back.”
They could switch cabins for the night. Other than knowing he was sleeping in her bed and her scent filling his head all night and keeping him so hard he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep, he couldn’t think of a reason that wouldn’t work. “You can sleep in my cabin. I’ll come back here.”
“No.” She shook her head in protest. “I won’t let you sleep in this snake-infested place.”
Her drama made him laugh. “One snake, which probably came in through the open door, does not qualify a place as infested. And sleeping with a snake around doesn’t scare me nearly as much as the thought of sleeping under the same roof as you.”
She huffed and grabbed a tissue from the box on her nightstand to wipe her nose and eyes. “I promise I’ll be good.”
He hugged her. “That’s what scares me.”
* * *
SUMMER’S STOMACH DREW INTO a lead weight as they walked out onto her porch. Rick’s strong hand clutching hers helped, but the snake was out there somewhere in the darkness, so when Rick stepped off the porch, her feet wouldn’t follow. She froze in terror, jerking his arm back. “I can’t do this.”
“No problem.” In one smooth move, he scooped her up. She clutched his neck, feeling the security of his steel body as he strode toward his cabin, loving the feel of his bare skin pressed to her side, against her arms, under her hands.
An unexpected flashlight beam illuminated Rick’s face, causing her to gasp. Kenny.
“Summer’s going to spe
nd the night in my cabin,” Rick explained.
“’Bout time.” Kenny continued on his rounds.
With Summer’s help, Rick maneuvered the door to his cabin open and kept going toward his bedroom without breaking stride.
“Just put me on the couch, Rick.”
He ignored her and passed it by. When he laid her on his bed, she opened her mouth again, but his lips closed down on hers, smothering her protest, causing her breath to sputter in her chest.
Fear of the snake ebbed away into the recesses of her body while another emotion coiled and struck with a vengeance.
Rick brushed his knuckles down her face as he straightened. “Good night,” he whispered.
She flung her arms around his neck. “Don’t leave.”
“You’re safe here.” With an arm to each side of her, he leaned down to touch her lips again with his. “You don’t need to be afraid.”
She moved her hands to his face. Their gazes tangled. “I’m not afraid. I want to be with you, make love to you. I don’t want to wait any longer.” She watched him swallow, and he straightened again. Her hands slid to his chest and on down to the chiseled planes of his abs. His breath caught beneath her touch.
“But we agreed that making love would only be a distraction.”
She sat up, too, bringing her face within inches of his, brushing the backs of her fingers against his temple and into his hair. “You’re the distraction. Not sex. I can’t keep my mind off you whether we make love or not.” She inched closer, speaking against his mouth. “I think not doing it is making it worse.”
His relieved rush of air warmed her lips. “I thought it was just me.”
Their lips came together in a kiss that burned with urgency. Their tongues collided, and she moaned into his mouth as the heat swept through her heart and outward to every part of her, burning away any doubt that this was the right thing to do. She wanted this...wanted him.
She raised her arms, and his hands slid under her tank top to sweep it up and off in a motion that interrupted the kiss for only a second, but when his fiery mouth reconnected, it wasn’t to her mouth. He nibbled along her jaw to her earlobe and behind her ear. She gasped and sighed until her breathing became so erratic she grew dizzy.
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