The hair on his calves tickled Lee’s hips and she drew her feet back as close to her body as she could. She wasn’t quite ready to touch him intimately, especially not with her toes.
Lee looked up, risking eye contact, and giggled. Tag shot her a quizzical glance. She bit her lips together, then lost it.
He frowned and paused, washcloth in one hand, soap in the other. “What?” he asked.
“Do you always take a bath with your hat on?” she asked, struggling to control the quiver in her voice.
Tag blushed a deep shade of red and shut his eyes. He tugged the Stetson off his head and tossed it across the room in disgust. It landed in the sink. “Guess I blew the image, huh?”
“You were working on an image?”
“You know, persuasive cowboy, bubble bath, cool, suave approach. Coop had a little talk with me before we came up here.” At least Tag had the sense to look embarrassed.
“You’re taking lessons from Coop? He must be eighty years old!” Lee didn’t even try not to laugh this time. The idea of Tag listening attentively while the old cowboy told him how to finesse a woman was just too much.
“Yeah, well, he got the girl, didn’t he?” Tag laughed along with her.
“Good Lord, Tag. It took him sixty years. Have you got that much time?”
He stared at her for the longest stretch. Stared until Lee knew she counted each beat of her heart, each breath she took. She and Tag both blinked at precisely the same moment.
“Whatever it takes,” he said, reaching for Lee. He tugged gently on her hand and she floated to him in the warm water, finally coming to rest with her back against his chest, his arms comfortably wrapped around her waist.
“I thought you didn’t want to get involved,” she said, doing her best to ignore Tag’s blatant erection against her backside. “Isn’t that what this whole fake marriage is about? A temporary relationship to keep your grandmother happy?” She tilted her chin so she could see his face.
He looked as confused as she felt.
“It started out that way,” he said. “Maybe it still is that way. I don’t know, Lee. Damn.” He rubbed her shoulders. “I enjoy being with you . . . a lot. I want you all the time. It’s just, I . . .”
“Your grandmother told me about your parents,” Lee said, interrupting before he said even more to hurt her. “Gramma Lenore said their marriage wasn’t very happy.”
“My father was a country boy, my mother belonged in the city. She hated it here but Dad would have died if he’d done what she wanted and left the Double Eagle. Instead he stayed and drank himself stupid every night to forget her, but she came back just often enough to remind him of what he couldn’t have. Their marriage was a nightmare that never should have happened,” Tag said. “So was my grandmother and grandfather’s. I grew up hearing my parents argue whenever they were together and listening to my grandfather say terrible, hurtful things to my grandmother. I’ve never seen a marriage that didn’t bring both people misery.”
“My parents were happy,” Lee said.
“How do you know?” Tag’s hands tightened on her shoulders. “You said you can’t remember your own name. How can you remember your parents being happy?”
Lee turned around so that she knelt in front of him. The water barely covered her breasts. “I don’t know much, but I know that. Tell me, if you’ve got so many questions about us, if you’re so afraid of getting involved with me, why did you take off your clothes and get into this tub? It certainly wasn’t because you wanted me to scrub your back now, was it?”
Tag’s blue eyes sparkled. “That’s not all that bad an idea, Lee. If I just sort of turn around . . .”
Lee laughed and grabbed the washcloth out of his hand. “I know I’m willing to take a chance on you, you stubborn lug. Are you willing to take a chance on me? I don’t know my past, Tag. I certainly don’t know what the future holds, but . . .”
His lips covered hers. Lee realized she didn’t give a damn about the past or the future, not when the present tasted so wonderful, not when it was presented with a mouth that fit so perfectly with hers.
At some point in her hidden past Lee surmised she must have at least read about making love in an oversized claw-footed tub. She knew she’d never done this before, never personally experienced the dreamlike sense of floating weightless while skilled hands skimmed over her slick body, while lips and teeth and tongue pleasured her until the ecstasy bordered on pain.
She cried out as Tag positioned her over his body, then settled her down upon him so that he entered her with a slow and steady thrust. Slow enough and steady enough to give her time to adjust and accommodate his heat and size.
Rocking gently, Lee rode him, loath to splash more water on the floor. Within seconds Tag took control, holding her hips in his strong grasp, raising and lowering her against him in an ever-increasing tempo.
Her entire world centered on Tag, on that point where their bodies meshed until she felt herself tightening, the spiraling heat growing, burning, dragging the air from her lungs, the thoughts from her mind until she shattered, falling into a hundred thousand separate pieces of a woman who had once been whole.
Tag called out. Lee heard her name like a groan of pain as he emptied himself into her. She fell against his chest, limp and shivering. He still pulsed within her, and Lee clenched her thighs more tightly around his hips.
Holding him. Keeping him close.
Afraid if she let him go, he’d be gone forever.
HE’D EXPECTED awkwardness. There’d been none, at least on Lee’s part. She hadn’t asked for promises of love, only that he take a chance. Hell, he’d taken more than a chance. Tag couldn’t believe how dumb he’d been, making love without protection.
Over and over again, and he’d never even considered the consequences. That’s what his parents had done, why he’d come along just four months after a wedding that never should have happened. Lee stirred beside him on the narrow bed, her eyes still shut, a contented little half smile on her lips.
They’d finished bathing each other, eventually, then cleaned the water from the bathroom floor, eventually, and finally tumbled into bed to make love again.
Now bright moonlight filtered through the open window. Lee blinked and gazed up at him from her spot cuddled under his arm and Tag couldn’t believe he wanted her again.
Sudden screams pierced the silence, punctuated by Bob the Dog’s frantic barking. Tag bolted out of bed and grabbed the rifle he’d left by the front door. “It’s the mustangs,” he said. “Don’t worry. They’re just curious about the new kids in the valley. This’ll run ’em off.”
Startled awake, Lee did the only thing she could think of . . . she followed Tag out the door. He aimed the rifle into the air and fired. A loud blast shattered the night, followed by the thunder of pounding hooves and the sound of tearing brush. The silence that ensued was as unnerving as the screams had been. Bob the Dog trotted up the steps to sit by Lee’s side and nudged her bare leg with his cold nose.
Sounds of the four horses shifting restlessly in the small barn echoed through the wooden walls. “I’m going to go check on the animals,” Tag said. “The mustangs won’t be back for a while. They were probably just curious about Nitro. Nothing gets their attention like another stud in the area . . . or a mare.” He grinned, giving Lee a look hot enough to melt wax, then pointed to something behind her. “Grab that flashlight by the front door, will you?”
Lee stepped back into the cabin and fumbled around the small table in the dark until her fingers landed on the cool metal flashlight. She switched the beam on, catching Tag in its brilliant shaft of light. He stood a few feet away from the porch, the rifle over his shoulder, his bare skin gleaming in the light. Lee thought of a Greek statue, the perfect definition of lean muscle, cords and sinews.
“Don’t you think you should put some pants on?” she asked.
“No one here but us, sweetheart.” Tag grinned and held his free hand out. Lee handed him the flashlight but he grabbed her wrist instead. “Come with me,” he said. Hesitantly, Lee allowed him to lead her out to the barn. She wasn’t used to walking around stark naked in the moonlight, especially when there could be all kinds of wild things nearby.
Somehow, though, knowing Tag was leading the way with a rifle over his shoulder made this little jaunt feel more like an exciting adventure. She waited by the barn door, close to where he’d left the gun, while Tag settled Nitro, Daisy and Chief with an extra taste of grain and a few quiet words.
He fed Dandy as well, then clipped a lead rope to the big horse’s halter and led him out of the stall. “Turn off the light,” he instructed Lee. She flipped the switch, plunging the barn into darkness.
Slowly, as her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she realized she could see more than she’d expected. Moonlight filled the small valley, throwing the surrounding trees and hillsides into dark relief, bathing the open areas with an ethereal glow that made the wildflowers glisten and sparkled off the tiny creeks and ponds.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
Dandy grunted and Lee glanced at the big horse. Tag sat astride like a naked warrior ready for battle, his long legs gripping Dandy’s middle, one arm stretched down to grab Lee.
She tried but couldn’t suppress a nervous giggle. “You don’t actually expect me to ride a horse naked, do you? Lady Godiva I’m not. My hair’s too short. Besides, it’s nighttime. It’s dark out, you idiot!”
Tag grinned at her, his teeth glinting in the pale light. Obviously that was exactly what he expected.
“What about the wild horses? Won’t they come back?”
“C’mon, Lee. They’re not coming back, not tonight, anyway. Think of this as a new experience.” He scooted way back on Dandy’s rump and gestured with his free hand. “It’s too pretty to stay inside. I thought we’d just ride out into the meadow where we can see the stars.”
“You can’t see the stars. It’s too bright out.”
“You just said it was too dark. Make up your mind.” He wiggled his fingers just under her nose.
“Oh, what the . . . it’ll never work.” Lee grabbed his wrist. Before she knew what happened Tag was shifting her into position in front of him on Dandy’s bare back.
This was definitely a new experience. Lee gripped the horse’s broad shoulders with her knees and tried to position her tender crotch on the animal’s bony withers. Tag held her firmly around the waist, his chest plastered along the length of her back, and urged Dandy forward.
There was something to be said for the rocking motion of the animal’s slow walk, the sensation of all that muscle and sinew moving between her legs. Lee tangled her fingers in Dandy’s mane and hung on for dear life.
Snippets of conversation entered her mind, an argument she’d had about . . . about . . . “Tag,” she asked, leaning away enough that she could turn and watch his face. “Have you ever made love on horseback before?”
His grin looked almost feral in the moonlight. “Nope,” he said. “Why? Got some idea cookin’ in that forgetful brain of yours?”
“I vaguely recall somebody telling me it’s impossible, but I was just wondering . . .”
“I take it you’re looking for proof,” he said. “Kind of like a scientific experiment, right?”
“I guess you might call it that.” Dandy continued his slow, measured walk out into the pasture. His stiff hair abraded Lee’s tender knees and thighs, but the sensation wasn’t completely awful. Neither was Tag’s obvious interest in the subject, interest that was making itself known quite solidly behind her.
Tag draped the lead rope over Dandy’s neck and rubbed his hands slowly along Lee’s sides, reaching clear to her knees with his gentle strokes. “Turn around,” he whispered, spanning her waist with his big hands. “Let’s find out how impossible it is.”
She raised one leg over Dandy’s neck, tucked the other one up and turned, with Tag’s help, until she straddled his thighs, facing him. Dandy continued his steady pace even as Tag scooted back on the horse’s broad rump to give the two of them more room.
Giggling, Lee lifted herself up just enough to come down firmly planted, with a little help from Tag, on his erection. Dandy paused, turned, and gave the two of them such a disgusted stare that they both dissolved into laughter.
“C’mon, now,” Tag pleaded. “Don’t make me laugh. We’re doing this in the name of science, Lee. It’s important we get it right.”
“Oh, I think we’re getting it right,” Lee said. If the tiny shudders and shivers building at her center were any proof, they were way past right. She clung to Tag’s shoulders as Dandy picked up the pace, headed for something of interest only to a horse on a moonlit night. Bob the Dog, trotting alongside, barked and nipped at Dandy’s heels.
Dandy broke into a trot.
Without warning it struck, a climax so powerful, so perfectly timed between Lee and Tag that the aftermath left them boneless. Lee collapsed against Tag’s chest, giggling, sighing, then shrieking in outrage when they both slipped off of Dandy’s broad back into the mucky wet grass alongside a narrow creek.
Thank goodness she’d landed on top of Tag. She sprawled across him, her body jouncing with his muffled laughter. “I trust you’re not injured,” she said, trying so hard to keep her voice serious, but failing miserably.
“Oh God, woman. You’re trying to kill me.” He wrapped his muddy arms around her. Lee shrieked again when the wet muck plastered her sides.
“It was all in the name of science, Mr. Martin. Good scientists take risks.” She sat up, grabbed a handful of mud and grass and threw it at his chest.
Tag didn’t fight back. He merely wrapped his arms around her and rolled both of them into the creek. The icy water took her breath away. At least most of the mud went with it.
They stood up, shivering, still giggling, both streaked with mud. “Well, now you can tell whoever said you can’t make love on a horse that they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Tag said. His teeth chattered over the words. “We’re gonna end up with hypothermia if we don’t get back to the cabin and dry off,” he added.
Lee’s teeth chattered so much she could only nod her head in agreement. Hard to believe just moments ago she’d felt hot enough to light coals.