Authors: Lorraine Nelson
With three girls in tow, Lacey had always been
an efficient shopper, and today was no exception. She knew the girls’ sizes and
their color preferences and was able to pick out three pairs of cowgirl boots
in record time—a splashy red pair for Rena, black for Lynne, and white for
Abby. Then
as well. Her eyes automatically went to a tan pair with horse imprints in a
chocolate brown. He even bought them each cowboy…er, cowgirl hats to match.
When they returned to the ranch, all was quiet.
The girls had been sitting in the living room but came running when she and
“We were afraid we’d have to leave before you
got back,” Lynne said as
packages.
“I told you we’d be back in time,”
much faster shopper than you girls are.”
His grin took the sting out of his words, not
that the girls paid any mind. They were too busy oohing and aahing over their
new hats and boots.
“This is great! Now we don’t have to worry about
looking out of place,” said Abby.
“You are all too beautiful to look out of place
anywhere you go, but if it makes you feel better about fitting in, then I’m
happy to oblige.”
“Thank you, Papa,” they said in unison and then
burst into giggles as they ran to the hall mirror.
A knock on the door heralded Michael’s arrival.
To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. He stood,
open-mouthed, and gaped at the visions in front of him as
“It’s seems you’ve made a conquest already,”
said
wits about you, I think the girls are a mite impatient to be going.”
“What? Oh, yes. Come along, ladies.” He gave his
head a shake. “Wow! I might have to call in reinforcements to protect your
girls tonight. Ravishing!”
The girls giggled.
“Is there any danger?” Lacey asked.
“None whatsoever, but they sure do clean up
nice.”
Rena slapped him playfully on the shoulder as Lynne
gave him a once over.
“I could same the same about you,” Lynne said.
And it was true. He wore skintight Levi’s and
shiny black cowboy boots. He had on a black leather jacket and a black Stetson.
Lacey thought he was good-looking, so she could just imagine what her daughters
thought.
“Behave yourselves and have fun,” Lacey said as
they trooped outside. The cold wind bit into her cheeks, and she was glad she
still wore her jacket as she stood beside
locked the door. Her skin tingled where he touched. Anticipation had her
panties becoming damp at her lusty thoughts.
“Alone at last,” he said, hauling her close
against his chest and embracing her in a warm hug. “I’ve wanted to give you a
proper welcome since you arrived. May I kiss you?”
She glanced up, searching his eyes, his
expression, for a clue as to what he was feeling. Lacey saw her own desire mirrored
there. “Yes, I’d like that.”
Their first real kiss in over twenty years was a
tender meeting of lips, an exploration on both their parts that she hoped would
never end.
coaxing them to life as only he could. Her arms wrapped around his neck,
pulling him closer…needing him closer. Her fingers restlessly traveled through
his shoulder-length hair, the feel smooth, silky. When he raised his head, she
felt bereft, wanting to cling to him and never let go.
Had she been this wanton with him before? This needy? Or had the years
of abstinence just caught up to her?
“Lacey?”
“Yes?” she said, opening her eyes once she
realized her lids had closed.
“I’ve missed you, darlin’.”
“I’ve missed you, too,
What are we going to do about it?”
A slow, sexy grin replaced his solemn
expression. “Well, if I was twenty years younger, I’d carry you off to bed and
make love to you.” He glanced toward the stairs. “But even then, that curving
staircase may have put paid to that idea.”
Lacey smiled back but said not a word as she
took his hand and led him to the stairs.
“Are you sure this is what you want, Lacey?” he
asked as she stepped up on the first step.
She turned to him, cradled his face between her
palms, and kissed him. “This is exactly what I want,
I’ve been waiting for you for most of my life. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
With one hand on the rail, she climbed the stairs, his soft footfalls letting
her know he was right behind her.
He caught up to her at the bedroom door, his
arms coming around her from behind. With gentle moves, he pulled her flush
against his front and nuzzled her ear before moving down to her neck. She could
feel his hardness pressed against her lower back and knew he wanted this as
much as she did.
She turned in his arms, shoved the door closed,
and backed toward the bed, pulling him with her. When her knees came up against
the mattress, she let go of him to pull her sweater over her head. His reaction
didn’t disappoint.
breasts, testing their fullness before leaning forward to suck a nipple into
his mouth. He paused for a moment to look her in the eyes, desire burning
brightly in his.
“You’re every bit as beautiful as I remembered.
Maybe even more so.”
“And you are still my handsome cowboy. More
muscular than I remember, but I like the way you filled out.” She grabbed his
shirt, the snaps popping open as she yanked the front sections apart. “I want
to see you.”
She pushed his shirt off over his shoulders, and
he soon disposed of the T-shirt he wore beneath. A sprinkling of dark chest
hair tickled her nose as she pressed her lips against one nipple, her hands
making their own foray across his chest and lower until they rested on his belt
buckle. “Am I being too bold?”
“Not at all, my love. I am yours to do with as
you wish. I’ve always been yours.”
He swooped in for another kiss, a scorching hot
mating of mouths and tongues that sent myriad sensations running through her
body. His hands felt good on her back, traveling up and down the expanse of
skin so tenderly she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feelings he evoked. Soon
it wasn’t enough.
Lacey unfastened the buckle on his belt and
undid the snap and zip of his Levi’s before pushing them down his muscled legs,
boxers and all.
“Hang on, sweetheart. The boots have to come off
first.” He sat on the edge of the bed and lifted first one foot and then the
other as he removed his cowboy boots. Next went his jeans and socks. He drew
her into the V of his legs and kissed her belly button, driving her wild with
need. Who knew such a simple intimacy could have such compelling results?
His hands slipped inside the waistband of her
jeans and circled around to the front. The whoosh of her zipper preceded the
loosening of her jeans, and
her legs and off over her stocking feet. Once she was as naked as he was,
eagerly perusing her nude form. When he pulled her close again, he buried his
face between her breasts and held her.
Lacey ran her hands through his hair, luxuriating
in their closeness, but when he made no move to further their intimacy, she
tipped his head up to face her. “Don’t stop now, cowboy. I want to ride.”
His sexy grin lit up his entire face, and he
scooted backward on the bed, drawing her down beside him. “I have no intention
of stopping, I just needed a moment. We don’t want this ending before it even
begins.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, you do have that effect on me.”
“Good to know.” She knew her face wore a silly
smirk, but she couldn’t help it. To have such an effect on him after all this
time fed her ego to no end. Then she sobered, biting her lip as she worried at
her lack of experience. “
His face fell. “You changed your mind. It’s all
right, love. We have plenty of time.”
“Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just
that, well, I haven’t…”
“Any protection? I do.” He grinned and started
to rise from the bed.
“No, you big lug!” She pushed him backwards onto
the bed. “Let me finish. You don’t need protection. I had cancer three years
ago. The baby basket is gone.”
“Aw, babe. I’m so sorry you went through that
alone, but if it’s not that, then what’s bothering you?”
She heaved a restless sigh and rolled over onto
her back. “I haven’t been with anyone in years, and I don’t want to disappoint
you.”
He rose on one elbow and looked at her, wearing
a puzzled expression. “How many years?”
Oh, how his ego was going to inflate. Should she
lie to him? Make something up? No, she’d always told the truth and wasn’t going
to start lying now. “It’s been over twenty-three years,
Surprise had him arching an eyebrow. “What? You’ve
never? No one?”
Lacey shook her head as she watched for his
reaction. “There’s been nobody since you.”
“But you are so beautiful, so loving and giving.
I find that hard to believe.”
Her body stiffened at his words, and she went on
the offensive. “Well, what do you expect? I had three girls to raise and a
business to run. It’s not as if I had plenty of free time on my hands.”
His fingers were gentle as they caressed her
cheek. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. Bad choice of words on my part. I’m
just surprised—and glad—that the men in
didn’t make a play for you.”
“Really? You don’t mind that I’m inexperienced?”
“Lacey, my love, you couldn’t have given me a better
gift. No woman could ever compare to you.”
He kissed her then and her body relaxed, melted
into his as they came skin-to-skin and passion flared again. No further words
were spoken as he reacquainted her with the intimacies they’d once shared. When
he spread her legs and positioned himself above her, she nodded her consent.
Slow and steady, inch by glorious inch, he slipped inside her. It felt as if
she were a virgin all over again. The pain was sharp, yet short-lived, and she
moved against him, thrust for thrust, glorying in his loving as he rode her to
completion. She could have sworn she saw fireworks as the climax washed over
her, through her, leaving her weak, yet energized and wanting more.
“Wow! I
don’t remember us being this good together.”
“That’s because we no longer need to sneak
around and hide our love. And I do love you, Lacey. I never stopped.” He rolled
off and held her against his side, his breath warm on her face as he spoke.
“Except for the girls.”
“I think our daughters know we still love each
other, so this should come as no surprise.”
She eased herself away from him and sat up. “I
can’t just blurt out that I’m screwing you. What on earth would they think of
me?”
“They’d think you’re a woman in love…a woman who
has needs.”
She shook her head violently, felt her hair
flying every which way. She must look a mess. “No, I’m not ready for them to
know. Can you understand that?”
He sighed heavily. “Yes, I can. One step at a
time. Okay?”
Lacey let out the breath she hadn’t been aware
of holding. “Thank you,
“Race you to the shower.”
“Together?” she asked.
“Yes, together. Save water and have more fun at
the same time.”
Visions of them in the shower with warm water
sluicing over their bodies had her insides tingling anew. “All right.” She
scrambled out of bed but stopped dead in her tracks as footsteps sounded in the
hall. “Darn! They’re back already. They can’t find you in here.”
“What do you suggest I do? I’m too big to hide
under the bed.”
“
something. Get dressed. Go. Get out of here.” She grabbed her clothes and went
to the bathroom for a quick shower. By the time she got back to the bedroom, he
was gone and she breathed a sigh of relief. Or was it regret for the rushed end
of their time together? She hoped no one had seen him leave.
Coward.
Yes, she was a coward, but what
else could she do?
She made the bed and then opened the bedroom
door and stepped into the hall, immediately hearing sobs coming from the next
room. Lacey knocked on the girls’ door, but when there was no answer, she
turned the knob and walked in. Rena was lying on the bottom bunk, crying her
heart out.