Rocky Mountain Cowboy (37 page)

“Yes.”

“Eleven o’clock then. I’ll bring a bottle of champagne to toast the agreement— finally,” he laughed. “I know your dad would be thrilled with this decision.”

Jenny’s thoughts lingered on her dad. She knew that he would be pleased with
her decision to form a partnership with Hawk. She hoped he would also approve of what she’d done today to prevent the bank from foreclosing on the Bar F/Bar L. But what would he think of her feelings for his ex-partner? What would he think about her sleeping with Hawk? And what would he especially think of her falling in love with that foster boy he’d brought home so many years ago? Would he approve?

God, she missed her father so much still! She would dearly love to talk to him
now; to seek his counsel. She decided to stop by the cemetery on the way home. His gravesite sat next to a large blue spruce. When she walked up to it, she was surprised to find a beautiful new marble headstone with his name, date of birth and death, his brand, and the inscription:
Loving Father, Friend, and Partner: You Will Be Missed, But Never Forgotten
. The inscription brought tears to her eyes. She knew who had commissioned this. Hawk had told her he had ordered a headstone, but he’d never said a word about the special inscription.

She stood before it a long time and talked to her dad.

CHAPTER 22

“I went to the cemetery today.”

Hawk was stretched out on the sofa, his eyes closed, the back of his hand resting against his forehead. He’d come home from his latest hunting trip this afternoon
, safe and sound, but utterly spent. He’d been quiet and distant all through dinner. Eli had managed to get him to talk briefly about his trip and the buck one of his clients had given him as a bonus for their successful expedition, but beyond that he’d had little to say.

Jenny wondered if he was still angry with her. They’d said little to each other before he’d left. They really hadn’t made up after their argument the night of the dinner party. Geez, he’d really be mad if she told him what she’d done today! But he was going to find out eventually. She should just tell him tonight, but she hadn’t seen him or talked to him all week, and she’d missed him desperately. She really did not want to spend their first evening together arguing.

This week she’d finally admitted to herself that she was completely and unequivocally in love with him. It made her feel vulnerable and exposed, so much more open to being hurt deeply. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be in love with him, especially since she didn’t know how he felt about her. She couldn’t ask. She’d never ask. It had to come from him. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel pressured; to feel obligated to her.

“I really liked the headstone you had made for dad. The inscription was very touching. Thank You.”

He had dropped his hand from his forehead to stare at her. His distant expression eased into a soft smile. “I’m glad you like it. I had it ordered before you got here, otherwise, I would have asked you if there was something else you would have preferred engraved on it.”

“You said it perfectly.”

And she marveled at that— that they were so in tune with one another’s feelings and thoughts, at least when it concerned Tom. They had both loved him so much.

She sat on the coffee table, next to him, studying him. His head was resting on a pillow, and his long muscular body was lying lengthwise, stretched from one end of the sofa to the other, his stockinged feet
propped up on the armrest, ankles crossed.

The fire cast a warm glow over his body, which was clad in pale blue jeans and a snug white cotton t-shirt. His long black hair was still a little damp from the shower he’d taken. His face and forearms were darkly tanned from spending long hours in the o
utdoors these past three weeks.

He had returned from his latest hunting trip around four, on horseback, leading a string of horses he’d had at cow camp for his clients. He’d brought down all the gear he’d had up at the line cabin. This was the last of his excursions into the mountains. Hunting season for deer was over. Jenny wasn’t sure if he had anymore chartered flights, but she was relieved he’d be home more.

She watched as his eyes shut almost involuntarily. His long dark lashes robbed her of the magnetism of his laser blue eyes. She sighed at the loss. His lips were parted slightly, his teeth exposed by their sensuous curve, a stark white contrast to his dark bronze skin. She swept her eyes slowly over his long powerful legs, his muscle-defined arms and chest, his flat stomach, his denim clad hips. He screamed virility, strength, and masculinity.

He looked so sexy, so tempting lying there, Jenny physically ached for him. How long had it been since they’d made love, lai
d in each other’s arms? It seemed like forever. She wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to cuddle up next to him. But she could see that he was wiped out.

Rising, she went in search of a blanket. On the way back to him, she turned off all the lights. The flickering light of the fire was the only
illumination in the room. She tucked the fuzzy warm blanket around his shoulders and turned to go upstairs.

“Hey,” his voice echoed sleepily in the darkened room. “Where you going?”

She looked back over her shoulder and shrugged. “To bed.”

“Without me?”

He sounded so disappointed, she came back to him and sat down on the edge of the sofa at his waist. “You’re so tired, I thought I’d let you sleep.”

Hawk caught her hand and tucked it under his on
the flat of his stomach. “Not so tired that I want you sleeping alone, without me.” One arm reached out, curved around her shoulder and pulled her toward him. “Come lie down with me. It’s nice and warm here next to the fire.”

They had already divested themselves of their boots, so she slid in next to him on the sofa. They accommodated each other by turning sideways to face one another. Jenny slipped one arm beneath him and one arm around his neck. Hawk
held her hips in both hands.

After
capturing her her lips in a deep kiss, he kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, one side of her neck. “I’ve missed you.”

She pulled away to look at him. Her lips tingled with a faintly inquiring smile. “You weren’t too happy with me before you left.”

Hawk closed his eyes and quirked his mouth into a grimace. “I shouldn’t have left you thinking I was mad at you. I’m sorry. It’s just the frustration of everything that’s happened. I didn’t mean for it to spill over onto you.”

She placed a finger against his lips. “I understand completely. You’ve been under a lot of pressure. You can’t think you’re alone in this, though. I’m here to help. I’m here for you, if you’ll let me be.”

“I want you here.” He lifted a hand and cupped her jaw, kissing her. “God, I want you here!”

It was the most fervent confession of need Jenny had ever had from a man. She felt giddy with relief. Inching their way beneath his t-shirt, her fingers slipped
inside the waistband of his jeans.

It was a tough decision whether to go up or down. She chose an upward exploration of all the deliciously warm bare skin under his t-shirt. One pink frosted nail drew circles around his nipple, then slithered slowly across the broad contour of hard, sharply defined pectoral muscle.

Shifting, she pushed both hands up under his shirt and lifted it over the top of his head. His naked chest was a feast for her eyes and hands, then finally her lips. She was soon straddling him, tangled in the blanket she had put over him earlier.

All traces of sleep had vanished from Hawk’s eyes, though they were now slumberous with heated sensuality as he fit her more snuggly onto his hips and lifted off her own t-shirt in one smooth tug.

Beneath it she was wearing a lacy red bra that pushed her breasts up temptingly high. Hawk cupped their full round shape and groaned. “All week I’ve dreamed of making love to you. My fantasies just don’t compare to the real you. You’re so beautiful, Jennifer Fletcher. You take my breath away.” His hands slid underneath the soft lacy cups and lifted, then squeezed. “Do your panties match?”

Jenny smiled wickedly and rolled off of him. Standing beside the couch, she unsnapped her jeans and pealed the
m down her legs, watching his expression all the while. “They do,” she murmured. “And there’s no one in the house, but you and me.”

Hawk blew out a long breath. While she stood before him in her incredibly sexy underwear, he reached for the buttons on his jeans. His eyes never left hers as she watched him slip each button slowly from its denim hole.

God have mercy! He had been nearly dead with exhaustion after this final expedition, and now he thought he might be able to love her through the night! She had him tied in knots. One look. One smile. One kiss, and he was lost. She was staying, at least for the immediate future, and he’d been thinking a lot about what he wanted from her.

He knew Tom had secretly hoped that his daughter and his partner might hit it off romantically. Hawk was still wondering if he had fallen in love with her. Lord knew he wanted her; wanted her with everything inside of him!

As soon as his jeans were loosened, he pushed them impatiently down his legs. Stuck around his ankles, he shoved them free. “Come here, you;” he murmured to her, holding out one arm.

The moment she lowered herself onto his
magnificently naked body, he made short work of her bra and panties. Then he moved her beneath him on the sofa cushions and ravished her mouth.

“Hawk!” She moved her lips to his neck, then buried her face against the curve of his skin. Her voice throbbed with husky desire as she called out his name. Her arching, w
iggling body told him exactly how much she’d missed him.

With her arms locked around his neck and her long slim legs
straddling his hips, he drove into her in one sure ravenous plunge. Tight and hot and sweet. He sheathed himself as deep as he could.

Their week’s abstinence made their joining swift and forceful. Jenny climaxed with a sharp cry of ecstasy seconds ahead of his explosive ejaculation. His seed continued to pump into her for what seemed forever. As he waited for his heart rate to subside, he thought that if she wasn’t on birth control, she’d surely be pregnant after this incredibly potent episode of lovemaking. The possibility made him smile inwardly. Maybe that’s what he really wanted; her and a family to share Tom’s legacy with for years and years.

They moved upstairs after their first bout of lovemaking, and were just recovering from another, when Jenny turned and rose on one elbow to look at the man beside her. Hawk leaned across to kiss her, but when he tried to deepen the kiss, she pressed a hand to his chest. “Hawk, I have something I want to tell you.”

The sobriety in her tone gave him pause. “Sounds serious.” He stared at her thoughtfully. “You’re nervous.” His lips returned to hers,
lightly rubbing back and forth. “What is it, honey?”

She’d rehearsed this, but now all of her carefully practiced words flew out the window, leaving her scared to death. She looked into his incredible blue eyes and told herself to have courage.

“Hawk, I’ve....” She faltered the moment she began. “I’ve.... I’m pretty sure that I’ve….” Oh lord, she was stumbling all over herself here! Just get it out, she admonished herself sternly.

“You hurt yourself doing something?”

“No,” she laughed nervously, wetting her suddenly dry lips. With a deep fortifying breath, she cradled his face in one hand, then wove her fingers into his long hair.

“Hawk
…I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Once it was out, she searched his face for
a reaction, then rushed on at his slightly startled, befuddled expression. “I don’t expect you to tell me what you feel if you’re not sure yet. I mean, I... I don’t want to pressure you. Of course, I’m hoping you feel something… but I....”

Oh blast it all! She was making a mess of this! But she could tell he hadn’t expected this from her. Exposing your heart to someone had to be the worst thing in the whole world!

Hawk put a single finger to her lips and smiled. “Jenny, I....”

Whatever he’d been about to say was suddenly interrupted by Eli
. With a single knock on the doorframe, he stood in the open doorway. “Security at the airport just called,” he announced. “Guess your cell phone is down. I got the call at the bunkhouse. They scared someone away from the hangar where your plane is parked. The lock on the door was cut clear through. They think they mighta interrupted whoever it was before he could do more than cut the lock. Security wants you to come down and take a look around soon as you can.”

Torn between being mortified and
being alarmed, Jenny pulled the bed covers up to her chin and scooted up against the pillows. Hawk didn’t look the least bit unnerved. He just checked his wrist watch. “Hell, I can’t get another lock tonight. We don’t have anything around that will fill the bill, do we?”

“Not that I know of,” Eli answered. “Not one that would hold up to a bolt cutter.”

“Crap!” Hawk cussed, looking to Jenny, then to Eli again. “That means I’ll have to spend the night in the plane to keep it safe.”

“That’s not going to be comfortable,” Jenny sympathized