The defeat in his voice wore on her heart. He chose to talk to her above his brothers, sought comfort from her presence. Not giving in to her second, third, or even fourth thought, she set her wine down again and scuttled across the soft cushion, wedging herself behind him to massage the thick, tight muscles.
“You can’t take this on yourself.”
“I have to watch out for everyone and keep this place running.”
He groaned as she dug her fingers into him. One by one, the tense cords loosened a fraction.
She stroked the couple of sexy, gray strands at his temple. “Your brothers are in this, too. Keep this up and you’re bound to be completely gray by the time you’re thirty-five.”
“I’m the oldest. It’s my job.”
“Have you contacted the ranch’s attorney? You should have legal representation.”
“Yeah.” He pulled away and rolled his neck, cracking the bones.
Feeling dismissed, she moved back to her seat.
“I’m waiting for Mr. White to call me back. He’s the one who drew up the original waivers the guests sign.”
“Don’t speak to the Millers until you’ve spoken to him.” She sipped her wine. “You know the case has to go through the National Advertising Review Counsel and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit before a decision can be made, right?”
Whoa. Where had that come from?
The glass wavered in her fingers, forcing her to hold it with both hands.
A frown formed on his lips. “How do you know?”
How did she? “Must have seen it on TV or something.” Which was impossible considering she rarely watched television. She searched for anything else that could help him, but found no more.
Without a word, she picked up his bottle and went to retrieve another. What else hid in her past? The little bits of her memory surfacing lately were maddening, like a puzzle still missing the main pieces. Returning with the beer, she handed it to him.
“Thanks.” He smirked, twisted off the lid, and drank.
She traced a finger along the rim of her glass and stared into her goblet. What was she to make of him coming here, bearing gifts, and seeking comfort?
Did
he want her as much as she wanted him?
“Darc, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“I wish you’d share the burden with your family. This is their problem, too.” His brothers looked up to him. The love flowing around the ranch left her wondering if anyone had ever loved her. Especially now that the one person she was closest with would be moving away.
She swirled the red liquid, noting it was half empty...Just like her life.
What was Jordan doing right now?
The brush of warm fingers on her cheek as Nick tucked a strand of hair behind her ear brought her gaze up.
“Hey, why the frown?”
“Nothing...” She stared at him for a long moment. The compassion in his eyes made her eventually confess, “It’s my friend, Jordan.”
“The one you lived with before you came here?”
“She’s moving to Nashville. Can you believe it?” She gulped her drink then continued. “Jordan and Ed don’t have a great track record of staying together, and yet she’s moving out of town with him.”
“I’m sure you’ll hear from her.” He guzzled his alcohol.
She finished off her wine. “Yeah. I just hope she knows what she’s doing.”
“How come Jordan’s the only person you talk about?”
His lowered voice caused a shiver to travel down her spine, and she swallowed the sigh in her throat.
The side of his lips lifted. “What?”
“Nothing.”
Sitting here, talking with him as a friend, her emotions overflowed. A tear slipped down her cheek. A friend’s voice didn’t cause you to want to rip your clothes off and his. Her vision blurred as her rims filled with liquid. She only wished he was a good enough friend she could tell him everything—why Jordan’s leaving made her feel so alone, about her accident and memory loss, and how thankful she was to be here on the ranch.
“Awe, hell, Darc, I didn’t mean to make you upset. Come here.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Just come here,” he said softly and tugged her over.
His soapy, male scent assaulted her nostrils as the warmth of his body seeped through her shirt.
He took the hat from her head and placed it together with his beer on the end table, then wrapped her deeper into his arms.
His spicy scent turned her brain to mush as she hid her face in his chest, absorbing his strength. The gentleness in the hand smoothing her hair back from her face created an ache deep within.
She rested her hand on his torso feeling the beat of his heart pounding under her palm, causing her breathing to quicken.
With a finger under her chin, he raised her face. His gaze probed hers.
She bit her lip.
Jump in. Live every minute to the fullest. Make new memories, a new life. Make him admit he feels it, too.
“I should go.” The words came out in a rush, but his hands held her in place.
Her eyes searched his handsome face. “Don’t you want to stay?”
Please.
“Damn.” Nick’s head lowered. His lips grazed her lips and pulled at the bottom rim before his mouth crushed hers.
She tasted beer, the alcohol proving more of a turn on than not. Not that she needed one. He was lethal by himself.
He lifted her leg, maneuvering her over him so she straddled his lap.
“We shouldn’t do this.” He breathed against her cheek, licking his way to the sensitive spot behind her ear.
Oh, God.
Waves of tiny sparks lit her skin.
Desperate to feel him, she slipped her hands beneath his shirt to caress his hot skin, letting her fingers memorize the dips and plains of every muscle, scraping a nail lightly across his raised nipple. His teeth nipped her throat, and moisture dampened her shorts as she rotated her hips on the coarseness of his jeans.
“If you keep that up, I’m gonna explode.”
The pressure of his hands on her hips held her in place. His heavy breath caressed her hair as he raised his head and stared.
Did he feel as crazy as she did? Her fingers traveled his upper body, past his thick collarbone and through his hair. Heat like an inferno absorbed her as she tugged his mouth back to hers.
His finger traced the V of her tank and drew the material down. “God, you’re sexy.”
The ache within her built. She thrust her breasts toward him, wanting, searching for more.
This isn’t a good idea, he’s my boss.
His thumb grazed her pebbled nipples, and all thoughts of the right thing to do vanished into thin air. As she tasted the salty skin of his neck, she pressed her breasts to his chest.
He groaned, and his fingers dug into her inner thighs, brushing her most intimate part. How could this be so wrong when it felt so right?
Chapter Nine
Pushing her head up and noting the dazed expression, Nick questioned the logic in staying any longer.
Logic, hell.
He’d thrown any common sense out the window the minute he picked up her hat and stood on her porch. The image of her lying beneath him refused to leave his mind—the swell of her breast, her long legs, and flat stomach. His fingers flexed and unflexed with the idea of pulling her shirt up to reveal her skin. A need, raw and primitive, raced through his veins.
Slow down.
If this thing between them stood any chance, he needed to let the feelings mature.
Stood a chance?
When had he decided to move forward? The notion bothered and elated him.
Delicate hands came up to rest on either side of his cheeks and the beautiful gaze searched his features. He only wished he knew what she looked for.
Bringing her mouth down, she grazed his chin, and he groaned. As much as the idea of ending the make-out scene killed him, he placed a finger over her lips to slow her down.
She sucked his finger into her mouth; her tongue swirled around the digit.
It took every ounce of his being not to give in to the urge to lay her back and show her what she did to him. “Darc...”
Eyes glazed over with passion, her head went back, exposing her flesh.
His restraint slipped as his finger traveled down her chin to trace the smooth column of her throat. Testosterone guided his moves, making any coherent thought impossible to grasp. He brought her mouth to his and plunged inside, his tongue seeking, exploring, wanting more.
Delicate fingers bunched his shirt to the center of his torso, the cool air kissing his burning skin.
Nick propelled her to lie back on the couch and raised the hem of her tank top. Never had he been aware of every nerve ending in his body. Just one more minute of this torturous, glorifying hell before he called a halt.
Gazing down at her flushed cheeks and red, swollen lips, she made the picture-perfect image of hot sex.
With one hand he smoothed her hair back while his other caressed her breast, her hip, and moved down her thigh. He placed his lips on her navel and tugged the waistband of her shorts down a fraction. The salt of her exposed flesh lingered on his tongue.
He tugged her leg up and stopped short at the sight of a large scar on her inner thigh.
“What happened?”
She pushed him off and stood in one quick motion, straightening her cloths with jerky movements. “I...I was in a car accident a while ago.”
“How long ago was your accident? It must have been recent for the mark to still be there.”
Picking up her empty glass and his bottle, she hurried to the kitchen. “It will always be there.”
When he imagined what she must have gone through, concern filled him. He followed her to the sink and placed his arms on either side of her. Her head bowed forward.
“You get hurt anywhere else?” Not able to resist, his lips suckled the back of her neck.
“It’s over, so let’s just drop it, okay?”
Feeling somewhat out of balance at the new questions arising, he conceded to her request. “For now, if that’s what you want, but know this”—he shifted her around and motioned a finger between them—“can’t be a one-night fling. It’d make your job here too difficult.” He ran a finger down her soft, silky skin. “We have to be sure we want to take this to the next stage—for both our sakes.”
“Didn’t we already?”
He rested his forehead on hers before kissing her brow. Anything more than the brief contact he was sure to take her on the damn floor.
“I should go. Don’t forget we’re riding in the morning.”
****
Darcy pushed the hair back from her face and repositioned her new hat, images of the previous night never far from her mind. She’d tossed and turned during the night with a yearning Nick fueled and the torment his words brought.
“You ready?”
Leading a buckskinned horse, the object of her agony entered the barn. He crossed to T.J.’s stall and put an arm around her waist, pulling her to his chest. The smell of horse and leather, man and spice caused a whimper to escape as his lips brushed hers.
This is not the time or the place.
Not that that stopped her from enjoying the feel of him.
“Mornin’.” His eyes darkened. “You taste like heaven.”
“And what does heaven taste like?” She rested one hand on his tanned forearm and stared up into his sexy face. The feelings he aroused were new and frightening. She didn’t want to jeopardize her job or friendships, but to ignore the growing attraction between Nick and herself held the same effect of denying the air she needed to breathe.
“You.” His smile lit up his eyes as he stepped away to put his horse’s lead rope through a bracket on the wall.
Instantly, she missed the contact.
“This is Ben.”
She stroked the side of the horse’s neck. “Hi, Ben.”
“Let’s get T.J.’s bridle on and we can ride.”
A smile touched her lips at the notion of getting back in the saddle—the one familiar place.
“Here.” He handed her the bridle and stepped forward to inspect the saddle she’d already put on T.J.’s back.
As he tightened the cinch, she slipped the straps over the horse’s head and buckled the end.
“Not bad. I’ll help you mount, then I want to show you the trails we’ve made in the woods. Once the guests arrive, we’ll be setting off on a two-night adventure.”
A hand squeezed her knee, causing a spiral of nerves to giddy up through her. The idea of sleeping with this cowboy under a blanket of stars warmed her cheeks.
Nick sauntered over to Ben, opened the gate, and led both horses through before mounting his own.
Darcy glanced at the woods up ahead. Peace and serenity, her mind cleared. She straightened her shoulders, her muscles loosening and moving in rhythm with the horse.
The muscles in his back moved when he shifted, and she recalled the warmth in those arms when they were wrapped around her, the safe, content feeling that had washed over her when he held her.
“Wanna trot?” A thick leg brushing hers found her next to the man in question.
His horse danced at the notion. “He knows I’m restless,” Nick said with a wink.
She sucked in her bottom lip. “Definitely.”
“Remember, if you wanna stop, sit back in the saddle and take a deep breath. If he doesn’t respond, pull his head around to your knee with one rein.” He demonstrated with his own mount.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Give him a slight squeeze with your legs and cluck once. If he doesn’t move, tap him—”
“I got it already.” She squeezed and clucked before he finished his instructions.
T.J. picked up the pace in an instant following the trail ahead of him.
Joy and excitement filled Darcy as her bottom rocked in the seat with each jolt. She urged him faster. Wind whipped through her hair. Her eyes watered. Laughter rang in her ears.
Laughter.
The spotted horse picked up speed, and she laughed harder as a red barn loomed in front of her.
“I told you, you could do it, baby girl.” Warm arms hugged her as she hopped down from the saddle. A floral perfume surrounded her.
“You looked great up there, kiddo.”
She laughed as an army uniform picked her up and twirled her around.