by Linda Turner
“Lise—”
“Looking back, I realize that he was so wrapped up in my mother that he couldn’t see anyone else but her, but as a child, I assumed there had to be something wrong with me. And no one ever did or said anything to make me feel differently. I didn’t get invited to the local dances. No one flirted with me the way you do. I could stand toe to toe with the boys and look them in the eye, and I guess I intimidated them. They didn’t seem to think I was attractive, so neither did I.”
She offered the explanation simply, without apology or anger, blaming no one, and it was all Steve could do not to sweep her into his arms, carry her to his cot and show her how she could ignite a fire in him that burned all the way to his soul. But if he did, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop. So he took her into his arms and had to be content with kissing her like there was no tomorrow.
When he finally let her up for air, he was hot and hard, and she was clinging to him. Letting her go was the hardest thing he’d ever done. “One day soon,” he promised her roughly, “I’m going to show you just how beautiful you are. And when I do, you’ll never doubt yourself again.”
Chapter 7
He didn’t kiss her again for days.
His promise ringing in her ears, Lise found herself watching Steve every chance she got…and waiting. Waiting for the moment when he reached for her again, kissed her again, made good on his promise to show her just how pretty she was.
Just thinking about it made her heart turn over in her breast. How would he do it? she wondered, a shy smile of anticipation curling the corners of her mouth. Day after day, work brought them together, and although he didn’t bring up the subject again, it was there every time their eyes met. And without saying a word, he made her want him.
Their relationship had changed subtly, in the most fantastic way, and she loved it. Oh, he still teased her, but she had a feeling that was for appearance’s sake so the other men wouldn’t guess how serious he was. She knew, though—she saw the dark promise in his eyes—and she couldn’t sleep at night without dreaming of the moment when he would take her in his arms. This time, she promised herself, he wouldn’t let her go.
On the fourth day of the roundup, the entire camp picked up and moved again, this time twenty miles toward the station. As soon as the tents, corral and chuck wagon were set up, everyone but Cookie immediately saddled up and went to work.
Riding into the bush with the men, Lise told herself she wasn’t deliberately seeking out Steve. It was just coincidence that she and he both ended up checking a cross fence while the rest of the men began to round up the cattle. When they found a stretch of downed fence, it was only natural that they ended up repairing it together.
It was a relatively small job, one that could have easily been completed in less than an hour, but it took them twice that long. Setting new fence post and stringing barbed wire, they talked as they worked and never noticed the passage of time.
“So you went to school over the radio?” Steve said with a frown as he strung a second row of wire. “How did that work? Did you mail your homework in or what?”
“We had two-way radios that we used to communicate with the teachers at Schools of the Air,” she explained as she helped secure the wire to the post. “This far from town, it’s the only practical way to have a school.”
Moving to the next section of fence that needed to be mended, she stopped suddenly, lifted her nose to the air and sniffed. “Mmmm. I smell roses.”
“Yeah, right,” Steve retorted, grinning. “We’re in the middle of the desert. There can’t be a rosebush within a thousand miles of here.”
“Actually, there used to be one about a half mile past those rocks over there,” she said, nodding at a strange assortment of rocks piled on top of each other like a small fort off to her left.
“What do you mean, used to be? If it’s dead, you can’t smell it. Hell, you couldn’t smell it if it was alive, not if it’s a half mile from here.”
“This is the bush, Steve,” she retorted with a wry smile. “The Aboriginals will tell you that a lot of strange things happen here. I don’t know what it is about this area, but I know that my mother did plant a yellow rosebush in the front yard of the cabin she and my father built when they first bought the station. The rosebush died before I was born, and my mother never tried to plant another one, but every time I get anywhere close to the cabin, I swear I can smell roses.”
For a split second, everything inside Steve went still. Was this the cabin he’d found the receipts for in the computer? He’d assumed it was destroyed when the main house was built. Questions hammering in his head, he said casually, “I don’t know what you’re smelling, but it’s not roses. Maybe your mother planted some other kind of plant.”
“No, she learned her lesson with the roses. The water table in this area is really low. That’s why my parents didn’t build the main house here. They didn’t realize how dry it was until they built the cabin.”
“That must have been tough,” he said, “living way out here without much water.” Watching her like a hawk, he had to fight the urge to pump her for more information too fast. If he was too pushy, she might get suspicious and clam up on him.
“Actually, they were very happy at the cabin,” she said absently as she concentrated on making sure the new fence they’d constructed was tight and sound. “My mother loved it there. That’s why my father made sure the cabin was kept up all these years—he knew how much it meant to her.”
“You mean it’s just like it was when they were living there?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve never been inside. No one has but my father.”
Bingo! Every nerve ending in his body on alert, Steve arched a brow at her. “Why?”
“It’s a special place,” she replied quietly. “My father goes there sometimes when he’s home…to grieve.”
Steve sincerely doubted that. Another man might have still grieved for his dead wife after all these years, but Steve had a hard time believing that a cold bastard like Simon could have loved any woman that much. If he was going to the cabin by himself and not allowing anyone inside, he was hiding something, and it was a fair bet that it was records of his traitorous activities.
Finally! Steve thought in satisfaction. He was getting somewhere. Now all he had to do was to slip away from the others and search the cabin, and he wouldn’t have to seduce Lise. When he eventually made love to her—and it was only a matter of time before that happened—it would be for himself.
Caught up in his thoughts and the fence repairs, he didn’t notice that the wind had picked up until it suddenly threatened to blow his cowboy hat off. Grabbing it, he glanced up…and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the dark red cloud of dust swirling across the bush a half mile to the east. “What the hell!”
At his side, Lise, looked up and went pale as a ghost. “A dust storm! And it’s coming this way. We’ve got to get out of here! Now!”
She didn’t have to tell Steve twice. The urgency in her voice had him reaching for the reins to his horse and hers before the words were even out of her mouth. A heartbeat later, they were both in the saddle and riding hell-bent for leather, uncaring that they’d left their tools and fencing supplies behind them in the dirt.
There was no way they were going to outrun the storm, and they both knew it. Dust particles were already peppering them from the back, stinging their skin through their clothes, and the situation was quickly becoming desperate. They only had minutes before they would be engulfed by the storm, and camp—and the shelter of their tents—was still miles away.
“This way!” Lise said hoarsely, turning Thunder toward the rock formation three hundred yards away.
The wind rushed at them from behind with an angry snarl, tearing at their clothes and hair and half blinding them. Her heart in her throat, Lise hunkered down in her saddle and draped herself over Thunder’s neck, urging him to go faster. Beside her, Steve did the same th
ing on his mount. They seemed, however, to be moving in slow motion. The storm was right on their heels, threatening to swallow them whole any second now, and the safety of the rocks never got any closer.
Just when Lise was sure they didn’t stand a chance, time jumped into fast forward. They galloped into the circle of rocks and pulled up sharply as the full force of the storm hit. Before she could cry out a warning, the blowing sand blasted her, cutting through her clothes and filling her nose and throat. Choking, blinded by the thick dust, she slid off Thunder and clung to the saddle, coughing as she tried to find her bearings.
“There’s a cave!” she called hoarsely to Steve, only to lose sight of him in the cloud of dirt. “Steve? Where are you? I can’t see you.”
“Here,” he growled. Appearing beside her out of nowhere, he looked like a bank robber with his hat pulled low over his eyes and a handkerchief tied over his nose and mouth. “Hold on.” And with no more warning than that, he swept her off her feet and strode through the storm like Rhett Butler carrying Scarlett up the stairs of Tara.
Lise buried her face against his throat. She never knew how he found the cave. The storm had caught her off guard, and she was totally disoriented. Not even sure which direction they were moving, she couldn’t have found the cave if her life had depended on it.
Steve didn’t have that problem. In a matter of moments, he stepped into the dark, cool confines of the cave. Only when they were far enough from the entrance to escape the blowing sand did he stop and set her gently on her feet.
“Are you all right?”
In the silence of the cave, his voice was deep and raspy. Shivering from their ordeal, Lise was thankful he continued to hold her tightly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a close call, and she was still shaky. “Just give me a minute,” she replied hoarsely. “I’ve seen dust storms before, but always from the security of the house. That was too close for comfort.”
Steve agreed. Holding her close, he couldn’t remember the last time a storm had blown up so quickly without him noticing it. It wouldn’t have this time, he was forced to admit, if he hadn’t been so distracted by Lise. She’d smiled at him and confided in him, and he’d forgotten what planet he was on.
And things weren’t much better now. Outside, the storm continued to rage, howling like a banshee, but it was Lise who had his full attention. She was trembling, and that was nearly his undoing. She was a strong woman—she didn’t get rattled very often. When she did, all he wanted to do was wrap her close and protect her.
Knowing that, he should have released her and put as much distance as possible between them. He ached to make love to her, but it wasn’t going to be here, dammit. She was an innocent and deserved more than the dusty floor of a shallow cave.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to step away from her. Not yet. Tenderness tugging at his heart, he pulled his handkerchief from where it had slipped down around his throat and gently wiped the dust and sand from her face.
Blushing, she cringed in embarrassment and caught at his hand. “I must look like I’ve been rolling around in the dirt.”
“You look beautiful,” he said sincerely, and meant every word. He didn’t care that she was covered in a little dirt—she had a natural beauty that would have found a way to shine through a mud mask.
And suddenly, it was very important that she know that. Pulling free of her hold on his wrist, he once again lifted his hand to her face, but not to clean it. Cupping her cheek in his palm, he said, huskily, “Look at me, Lise. I’m not kidding. I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life. You must know what you do to me.”
Caught in the warmth of his eyes, she desperately wanted, needed, to believe him, but it was just so hard. He could hurt her so easily, and she didn’t even think he knew it. “Steve—”
“Let me show you,” he said softly, and leaned down to kiss her.
It seemed like she’d been waiting all her life for him to do just that. The second his lips touched hers, the cave, the dust storm blowing outside, the ground beneath her feet, dissolved. There was just Steve, and a kiss unlike anything she’d ever dreamed of.
Soft. His lips were so soft. With a sweetness that brought tears to her eyes, he kissed her slowly, gently, as if she was made of spun sugar and he only wanted to taste her with his tongue. And just that easily, he made her feel beautiful.
And it didn’t end there. One kiss gave way to another, then another, and neither of them noticed the force of the storm blowing outside. Her heart hammering wildly, Lise moaned as his hands trailed over her back and hips, then slid around to her breasts. “Steve!”
“I know.” His voice rasped. “Doesn’t it feel good? You’re so pretty, sweetheart. Let me touch you.”
Her blood hot, her body throbbing with restless need, she couldn’t deny him…or herself. Murmuring his name, she curled into his hand and kissed him hungrily.
Just that easily, she gave herself to him and had no idea how the trust she placed in him humbled him. He’d never met another woman like her. Strong and sweet, fiery and incredibly innocent, she was everything a man could want in a woman, and she drove him wild. She was the virgin, but it was his fingers that trembled when he reached for the buttons of her blouse. And it was his breath that lodged in his throat as he slowly slipped her blouse from her shoulders and saw the lacy bra that covered her breasts. Who would have expected lace from the oh-so-practical Ms. Meldrum?
Delighted, he arched a brow at her as he trailed a finger down the center of her breasts. “You surprise me, sweetheart. The other day, you were wearing cotton. Is this for me?”
Heat climbed into her cheeks, but she met his gaze boldly, her smile flirtatious. “Maybe. I like pretty things just as much as the next girl. Just because I work with cows all day doesn’t mean I don’t like lace.”
“I’ll remember that,” he promised, and leaned down to kiss the top of her left breast.
Her breath shuddered through her lungs, liquid heat streaked through her blood, and any further conversation between the two of them became impossible. Eager to touch and kiss him as he did her, she peeled his shirt off and felt her mouth go dry at the sight of his chest. She worked every day with men who often worked bare-chested in the sun—it took more than that to impress her. But then again, she’d never seen a man quite like Steve. Hard and sculptured and bronzed from the sun, he had the look of a Greek god. And she couldn’t resist touching him.
Lifting her hand to his chest, she stroked him in wonder and felt him shudder under her fingers. Surprised he was so susceptible to her touch, she glanced up and found him watching her with eyes that were hot with desire.
“Do that again,” he growled softly. “I dare you.”
She’d been around cowboys too long to walk away from a dare. Especially when it felt so good. A half smile on her mouth, she said archly, “What? Like this?” and stroked him again.
With a low groan, he reached for her, and this time when he kissed her, there was nothing slow and easy about it. His mouth wet and urgent on hers, he unhooked her bra with a snap of his fingers. Before she realized what happened, her breasts tumbled free…into his waiting hands. “Oh!”
“Oh is right,” he groaned, caressing her with a soft touch that was guaranteed to drive her slowly out of her mind. “That’s it, sweetheart,” he coaxed when she curled into his touch. “Just let me love you.”
That was what she wanted, too, though she hadn’t known how much until right then. She needed him to touch her, kiss her, love her until every thought, every breath began and ended with him. “Now,” she murmured, kissing her way up his chest to his neck. “Love me now.”
Steve told himself he could stop whenever he liked. But then she pressed a petal-soft kiss to a spot just below his ear and nearly brought him to his knees. What was left of his control shattered, and with a growl that came from low in his throat, he snatched her in his arms and brought her to the ground with him.
“Steve!”
Chuckling, he grinned at her. “I just love it when you say my name that way. Do it again.”
She couldn’t stop herself—not when his hands slipped to the snap of her jeans. “Steve.”
“Oh, yes,” he groaned and rolled to his back, taking her with him so she wouldn’t be scraped raw on the rocky ground.
She opened her mouth to protest that that wasn’t fair to him, but the words died unspoken on her tongue when he kissed her again, and the rest of his clothes and hers seemed to melt away. His hands trailed over her, caressing every dip and curve of her body, and just that easily, he made her burn.
Outside, the storm continued to rage, but it was the pounding of her heart and the roar of her blood in her ears that she heard when he touched her and made her want something she couldn’t put a name to. Whimpering, aching, she moved restlessly against him, too breathless, too innocent to tell him what she needed.
But even as she struggled to find the right words, he understood. “Easy, sweetheart. That’s it. Take it slow and easy. I’m right here,” he murmured, kissing her tenderly as he protected them both. “I’ll take care of you. Just trust me.”
She did—more than she’d ever thought possible. Caught up in the sweet magic of his kiss, she welcomed him as he settled under her, then he was easing into her ever so slowly, and the rest of the world ceased to exist. There was only Steve and the heat and strength of him. He moved under her, and urgency fired her blood and coiled deep inside her. Her breath catching on a sob, she clung to him as her hips caught the rhythm of a dance she would have sworn she didn’t know the steps to.
And Steve loved it. He’d known she had too much fire in her to be passive in his arms, but he’d never suspected just how giving she could be. She was an innocent—or at least she had been until a few moments ago—but she held nothing back, throwing herself into their lovemaking like a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and wouldn’t stop until she got it. And she had no idea what that did to him.
