“School seems so unimportant with Mike in such bad shape,” Amy Beth said, her voice muffled against his chest.
“It’s going to take Mike a long time to get well.” If he gets well at all. “It doesn’t make sense to put our lives on hold. You need to finish up your classes, so you’ll be available to help over the summer, if Mike needs you.”
Amy Beth heaved a sigh. “I suppose you’re right.” She looked up at him, her mouth twisted in a rueful smile. “You always are.” She freed herself from his arms and looked over his shoulder. “At least she’s gone.”
Rye glanced over his shoulder and saw that Lexie had taken off. He let go of his sister, shaking his head in frustration as he turned to stare at the door. “Damn it all to hell!”
“Were you really about to kiss her when I turned on the light?”
“What?” Rye turned back around in time to see the speculative look in Amy Beth’s hazel eyes, so similar to their mother’s. He felt an embarrassing flush heating his throat and stuck his hands in his back pockets.
“Because it looked to me like the two of you were getting pretty cozy. What’s going on, Rye?”
“Lexie’s been helping out with Cody while Mom’s gone.”
“I thought you hated her guts.”
“I never hated her. I just—”
“Really?” Amy Beth interrupted. “Then why have you never had a good word to say about her?”
“I haven’t said much of anything about her.”
“Exactly! So why did you invite her to move in? And don’t say it was because you needed her help with Cody.”
“But I did—I do—need her help.”
“You could have asked me.”
“You need to be in school.”
“You know I would have come at a moment’s notice.”
“She’s Cody’s mother.”
“Yeah, and I’m his aunt.” She stuck her hands on her hips. “Spill. What’s going on, Rye?”
Rye knew Amy Beth wasn’t going to stop until she got an answer. So he gave her one. “I want to get to know her better.”
“Why?”
“Give me a break, Amy Beth.” When she arched an inquisitive brow, he added, “This is none of your business.”
“Holy crap! You want to jump her bones.” She leaned back against the sink and crossed her arms. “You sly dog. What happened to make you cross the Waterloo?”
Of course Amy Beth had gotten to the crux of the matter. Rye shrugged. He didn’t owe his sister an explanation. He couldn’t tell her the truth anyway. Not until he knew it himself.
“The point is you’re not needed here,” he said. “The sooner you return to school the better.”
“Are you sure Grizzly Girl will come back?” She held up a hand when he opened his mouth to object to that description of Cody’s mother and said, “Vick lit out of here the first chance she got.”
“She’ll be back because she wants to spend time with Cody.”
“And with you?”
“Yes, pest. With me, too.”
“This is too delicious! I can’t wait to share it with—” She cut herself off. Tears welled in her eyes again, and one spilled over. “With Mike,” she whispered.
He took her in his arms again as she sobbed. He didn’t reassure her that everything would be all right. Things were pretty damned messed up right now, and there was no telling what might happen with Mike or what the fallout might be from the secret Rye was privy to now. Besides, his own throat was too painfully swollen to speak.
Amy Beth sniffed, then pushed herself away. “You better go after her tonight. If you wait until tomorrow, you’re liable to change your mind about having her around. Or she’s liable to change hers. I don’t want to be responsible for ruining the romance of the century.”
“You won’t be ruining—”
“Anything,” she finished for him. “Just go. Tell her I’ll be out of here by tomorrow, and she’s welcome to use my room.”
“You’re a pretty great sister,” Rye said softly.
“It’s easy to be a great sister when I have a seriously stupendous brother like you.”
Rye croaked a laugh, because speech was impossible. He grabbed Amy Beth’s arms, kissed her on the forehead, then leapt back as she tried batting him away. A moment later, he was on his way to find Lexie and talk her into coming back.
VICK WAS HALFWAY home when she realized she was going in the wrong direction—away from Cody and Rye. She heaved a sigh of vexation. She shouldn’t have run away. She should have stayed and fought for her right to spend time with Cody. And with Rye. For a long time, she’d felt like she deserved to be punished for her decision to give up Cody. She’d considered the restricted access she had to her son as a penance and had stoically endured it.
She’d also wallowed in regret after bolting like a scared rabbit from the powerful—and frightening—feelings for Rye that had emerged during the single night they’d spent together. Loving a man was simply too risky. Easier not to get involved. Except, in both instances, her attempts to avoid pain had left her without a child she’d loved from the moment of his birth and a man she might have loved forever.
Vick believed she’d finally forgiven herself for making two such monumentally bad decisions and moved on, stronger than before. But look what she’d done. At the first sign of resistance from Rye’s family, she’d bolted.
Vick shook her head in disgust, slowed her pickup, and looked for a place to turn around. Unfortunately, the narrow, rutted dirt road that led to her cabin didn’t have a lot of space for maneuvering. Considering the consequences if she got stuck in the mud and snow, she decided to drive the rest of the way home, pick up a few things she’d forgotten when she’d first packed, and head straight back to the Rafter S.
Vick was in her bedroom when she heard a knock at the back door. Her first thought was that Pete must have been released from the scene of the accident sooner than he’d expected and had come to see if she wanted to spend more time together. As she headed for the kitchen door, she realized it wasn’t Pete’s face she wanted to see when she opened it. Which meant she needed to tell the deputy how she felt. It wasn’t fair to string him along to avoid facing her feelings for another man.
“Pete, I—” Vick cut herself off when she discovered someone else standing on her back porch. Her heart jumped. “Rye. What are you doing here?”
“May I come in?”
She hesitated, then took a step back to make room for him. She shivered, closed the door to keep the cold air out, then put her back against it. “I was just picking up a few things before I head back to your place. Don’t tell me I’m not welcome. I don’t care what Amy Beth says. I’m Cody’s mom, and I intend—”
His kiss cut her off.
Rye’s arms tightened around her, and he took possession of her mouth as though he’d been waiting a thousand years to taste her. All the longing, all the unrequited need she’d thwarted were there in the urgency of his seeking tongue. Passion rose with startling speed, and it was hard to catch her breath, impossible to catch up with the overwhelming wave of emotion that threatened to knock her off her feet. His hands tangled in her hair, and she gasped as he angled her head and took her deep again.
She craved his kisses. Trembled at the feel of his hands on her face. Shivered as his hot breath trailed along her throat. She wanted it all too much. Wanted it enough that, if she lost it, she would be devastated. The more yearning she felt to have Rye finish what he’d started, the more fear she felt that she was making yet another mistake.
She braced her palms against his muscular chest and whispered, “Rye.”
Vick didn’t know why she hadn’t said “No.” That single word would have stopped him cold. Saying Rye’s name in a throaty voice had the exact opposite effect. It was another sign of the ambivalence she
felt. She wanted Rye, had yearned for his touch ever since she’d left his bed in Jackson. But then, as now, fear warred with desire.
Tonight, desire was winning the battle.
She froze at the sound of a heavy knock, and they both turned to stare at the kitchen door.
“You expecting company?” Rye asked.
“No.”
He met her gaze and said in a husky voice, “You want to answer that?”
Considering how isolated her cabin was, they both knew whom it had to be. “Not really,” she said. “But I think I should.” Sure enough, when she opened the door, she found Pete standing on her back porch.
Before she could speak he said, “Rye’s truck is here.”
“He came over to…” Make love to me. She didn’t speak the rest of the sentence, but she was sure Pete got the gist of it.
“May I come in?” he said.
A shadow appeared at Vick’s shoulder, and she felt the shimmering tension as Rye took a stand at her right hip. The two men squared off like barnyard dogs, stiff-legged, neck hairs hackled.
“Guess you changed your mind,” Pete said to Rye.
“Guess I did,” Rye replied.
Pete’s shoulders squared and his leather-gloved hands fisted, while Rye’s stance widened. Vick realized that if she didn’t say something, they would likely go for each other’s jugulars. “I’m sorry, Pete.”
She saw the flicker of disappointment in his dark eyes, watched his lips flatten and a muscle jerk in his jaw, and realized he was more invested in the possibility of this relationship than she’d thought.
“You sure about this?” he said, his gaze shifting from her to Rye and back again.
She would have spoken, except her throat had suddenly swollen closed. She gave a jerky nod.
“Good night, Vick. See you ’round.” He turned his attention to his rival, touched a forefinger to the brim of his Stetson, and ducked his chin in acknowledgment of defeat. “Rye.”
Rye nodded and said, “Pete.”
Vick stood frozen, struck numb with disbelief at the ultimate civility of the encounter between the two men, as Rye shoved the door closed. Before she could say a word, he swept her into his arms with a curt, “Bedroom?”
To the victor goes the spoils.
Vick just had time for that thought to flash in her head before Rye followed her pointing finger down the hall, his long strides eating up the distance and giving her no time to change her mind.
He dropped her on her feet beside her perfectly made bed, in a room lit by a tiny night-light along the wall, and threw back the covers. He was already reaching for his belt buckle as she shoved his sheepskin coat off his shoulders. He popped several buttons on her wool shirt, and she heard them clatter across the wooden floor, creating raucous music along with the jingle of his belt buckle and his zipper coming down. She wasn’t far behind Rye, toeing off her Ugg boots and unzipping her jeans.
He yanked his wool shirt off over his head along with the long johns shirt under it, then shoved her bra up out of his way, his mouth latching on to a nipple as his hand slid inside her unzipped jeans to claim her sex, which was already hot and wet.
He murmured his approval in the brief moment before his mouth found hers again.
She thrust her hands into his hair and returned his kiss with an urgency that shocked her. He fumbled as he shoved her jeans and scrap of underwear completely out of his way, but his hands were sure as he grasped her bare ass and pulled her tight against the pulsing length of him. Their breathing was harsh as her nails dug into his shoulders, and her breasts molded themselves to his chest.
He toppled her onto the bed, unwilling to wait, shoving his own jeans and hers down far enough for their bodies to mate. He was inside her in a single thrust. She whimpered, lifting her hips as she struggled to be closer, urging him deeper inside.
He suddenly stopped and looked into her eyes. “Are you protected?”
“The pill.”
He smiled wryly.
That hadn’t worked the first time, but the chances of it failing again had to be infinitesimal. For a moment she thought he would speak, but he merely tucked a stray curl behind her ear before his mouth found hers again, his tongue mimicking the sex act, while his body held still inside her.
She felt inner muscles clench at the feel of him throbbing and fought not to come. She didn’t want this to end. She didn’t want him to leave. She didn’t want to face the decisions that would have to be made when this was over and done.
Rye made a guttural sound in his throat and began to thrust again, long, deep strokes that reached inside to her core. His mouth found her breast, and he sucked and bit to the edge of pain.
She clasped his shoulders and hung on for dear life, feeling her body reach for the bliss they’d experienced once before. For something exceptional. For something that had never happened before or since.
At long last, when she thought she couldn’t bear the pleasure anymore, he spilled himself inside her with a primitive cry of satisfaction. A moment later, her orgasm rolled over her, tumbling her like waves crashing against a rocky shore.
He held her close for only a moment before he separated them and rolled onto his back, his arm stretched across his forehead hiding his face.
She felt bereft. And suddenly afraid. Where were they supposed to go from here? Why had she let him in the door? Why had she let him into her bed? Why had she let him into her body?
Vick had often wondered if she’d imagined the magic she’d felt with Rye, how his touch was different from any other man’s, how his kisses made her insides quiver. She’d forgotten the exhilaration she’d felt caressing the ribbed muscles in his chest, forgotten the feel of his buttocks in her hands as she wrapped her legs around his hips. Most of all, she’d forgotten the joy she’d experienced in the moments afterward, when their lungs heaved and he slid away, pulling her close to hold her next to his heart until their breathing was quiet again.
She remembered what he’d murmured before he’d slipped into sleep. “I don’t want this night to end.”
Tonight he wasn’t speaking. It seemed a lifetime before he turned onto his side, perched his head on his palm, and stared down at her.
Vick felt self-conscious being half naked under Rye’s intense gaze and resisted the urge to remove the bra twisted across her upper chest or otherwise cover herself.
“This is a hell of a thing,” he said.
Vick sat up and turned her back on him, realizing with absolute and horrifying certainty that this had been another mistake. A really bad one. “You can leave anytime. There’s nothing keeping you tied here.” She flinched when she felt his hand on her shoulder and realized he was sitting up behind her.
“I wish that were true,” he said.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Cody is—”
“This has nothing to do with our son.”
He unsnapped her bra, and she pulled it down and off her arms and threw it aside. “Then what are you talking about?”
His hands slid around her and possessively cupped her breasts. “This.”
She put her hands over his and lowered her head as he nosed her hair aside and kissed her nape. “This is just sex,” she said.
“I wish that were true,” he murmured for a second time, his breath heating her flesh.
“If it isn’t just sex, what is it?” she demanded, doing her best not to succumb to his lovemaking before he explained himself.
Rye stopped kissing her, and his hands slid down to frame her waist. “Hell if I know.”
She pulled herself free and bent to grab her shirt from the floor and pull it on before turning to face him. Unfortunately, it was missing enough buttons that she had to hold it closed with one hand. “Then I suggest you take yourself home until you figure it out.”
&nb
sp; She wasn’t sure what she’d been hoping for when she’d given him the ultimatum. Maybe that he would give her a better explanation, to clear things up between them. Instead, he stood, pulled up his jeans, and tucked himself in—not easy in his surprising state of arousal—zipped his jeans, buckled his belt, and went hunting for the rest of his clothes. He found them and was dressed a few moments later. He grabbed his coat off the floor and turned to face her.
When he reached for her, she took a step back.
“I want to kiss you.”
She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak over the knot of pain that had formed in her throat.
“I’ve tried to get over you,” he said almost angrily. “Tried for years. It didn’t work. Now that I’ve had another taste of you, I know what I feel isn’t going to go away.”
“This can’t happen again.” She met his gaze, her stomach in knots. “It’s dangerous to get involved. Right now we’re able to parent Cody without friction. But the truth is you’ve never forgiven me for the choice I made all those years ago.”
He made a face, but he didn’t deny it. He opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything.
“Until that happens, I don’t see a relationship between us going anywhere.” She wanted to ask him why he’d come to her door tonight and what it meant that he had. She wanted to savor again the feeling of being cherished in his embrace. She wanted to rub her cheek against the whiskers that had burned her tender flesh as they made love.
“I better go.”
She didn’t say anything to stop him as he headed for the door to her bedroom, his cowboy boots, which he’d never removed, thumping on the hardwood floor.
He stopped when he got there and turned to face her. “I came here to tell you Amy Beth is heading home first thing in the morning. I’ll need you to take Cody to kindergarten tomorrow and pick him up afterward.”
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