Authors: Cerian Hebert
“At least. It’s a good thing the house
is all set for occupation. Got the propane tank filled, some furniture moved
over and thanks to Thea, there’s some food in the pantry.”
Craig kissed her neck, his hands
stroking her belly and side. “Tonight we’re cut off from the world. I intend to
get my fill of you because it’s going to have to tide me over for a good long
time.”
Slowly she reached up and loosened her
hair from its damp ponytail, letting it fall down until it reached nearly the
small of her back. Craig’s eyes grew dark with desire. She could see the rapid
rise and fall of his chest. He stepped forward and she let him push her jacket
off her shoulders. “Let’s get this place warmed up,” he said huskily.
She knew he meant turning on the heat
throughout the house, but the inference was completely sexual and meant to turn
her on. It worked damned well.
As soon as they were sure the furnace
was working and they’d called Emerald and Shady H to let everyone know they
were stranded, they could finally feel truly alone. Quinn led Craig up to her
bedroom. Thankfully Thea had made sure the bed was made up and ready for her to
move in.
Without a word, Craig pulled her to him
and lowered his mouth on hers while he deftly unfastened the buttons of her
blouse. The top fell to the floor behind her. Then he loosened the hooks on the
back of her bra and that joined the shirt in the small pile.
As he touched one pebbled nipple, she
shuddered and leaned into his touch. It was as if it had been years since he
had touched her, not mere weeks, and she couldn’t wait. His desire would
consume them if she let it. She stood there and allowed him to strip her naked,
all the while staring at his entirely too sexy blue eyes.
Craig pressed kisses along her
shoulders. She inhaled his familiar scent, while his hands danced down her
back, through her hair, along her waist. He took forever, but each second was
pure bliss.
“It’s been too long,” he whispered
between kisses.
As he delved lower, tasting the hollow
of her neck, caressing her soft, flat belly, her want built steadily,
outrageously. It felt like her heart would explode. In a swift motion, he
yanked off his own shirt and shoved off his jeans, then picked Quinn up so her
legs wound around his waist. He was blessedly familiar, yet still set fire to
her body. He lowered her to the bed and with no further ado, filled her in one
swift, sure thrust. Quinn let out a deep, shuddering gasp then raised her hips
to meet his strong drive.
The hot glide of flesh against flesh
drove her wild. Watching Craig’s face transform from sexy and calm to intense
and driven amazed her. Such passion stored in this strong body that pushed her
so far. She couldn’t slow down the frenzy in the way she moved beneath him, met
his thrusts and matched them, taking hold of his buttocks so he could drive
harder and faster into her body.
She came, not once, but twice, crying
out his name is helpless desperation, before he had his release. Craig leaned
over and nipped at each peaked nipple, letting his tongue dance over her rose
tipped breasts until she saw the passion build up in his hooded eyes and tense
shoulders and arms. He sucked in a quick, harsh breath and bucked as he let go
within her, her name ragged on his tongue.
Craig collapsed on the bed next to her,
wrapped his arms around her damp body and pulled her close.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered next to him.
“My sentiments exactly. Come on, let’s
get under the covers and get warm. Get some sleep while we can. I have a
feeling we’re going to need it.”
They made the most of their night
together, getting dressed long enough create a makeshift dinner from the sparse
items in the pantry, before returning to the sanctuary of Quinn’s bed. It would
be the last night they’d have for a while under their new promise to slow
things down to a respectful pace. Craig memorized each inch of her body,
committing it to memory, as if he’d never see her again, never hold her again.
Which wasn’t true, but even a few months would seem like forever.
Quinn snuggled under a blanket on the
sofa and idly watched some movie. She tried not to be lonely, but two days had
passed since she’d last seen Craig and for a couple who’d made time for each
other on a daily basis since they found their way back to each other two and a
half months ago, two days seemed like forever.
Get used to it, kid.
That inner voice
sounded like it was grumbling. She couldn’t spend every moment of free time
with Craig and Marisol. Everyone needed a break, and they’d be back from
Minneapolis tomorrow. She’d see them tomorrow.
During the day she could keep herself
busy. There was so much to do, now her horses, and Craig’s had moved over to
the homestead property. Though there wasn’t so much training she could do this
time of the year, the horses still needed most of her attention. But her days
ended much earlier and though she spent much of her time planning out breeding
schedules and paying bills, she made sure she had plenty of time for Craig and
Marisol.
She and Craig went back to scratch. They
both kept their promise and hadn’t succumbed to the temptation of making love
again. Very little proved as torturous as the wait, but they were determined.
At least they had that last snowbound night here at the homestead. Since then,
though, they satisfied themselves with kissing, dating, and building a strong
foundation. Doing everything backwards, Quinn decided when she reached her more
frustrated levels. Never once did she stop wanting more, but she forced herself
to be an adult about it. That day would come, she told herself. And when it did
they’d be glad they’d waited.
But not seeing them for two days
frustrated her. She went back and forth wishing she could’ve gone with them and
wishing they’d stayed home. She’d never been this lonely before when they
weren’t around, but now, well it pressed down on the house, filled each
shadowed corner. Outside lay the remnants of this morning’s snowfall. Two feet
of the white stuff. Could’ve been worse. Areas north had gotten near four feet.
Quinn closed her eyes. The movie wasn’t
holding her interest and the sounds from it blended together into a bunch of
nonsense. Maybe she’d go to bed, but seven o’ clock seemed insanely early to
try to sleep. She never went to bed that early, even if she was up at
four-thirty every morning. She tried to doze anyway, but she wasn’t able to
completely shut out the sound of the television. Annoyed, she picked up the
remote and turned it off.
Expecting silence, her ears picked up a
tiny sound. She cracked an eye open, thinking maybe she’d just turned the
channel, but the television screen was blank
The sound grew, but remained tinny and
thin. It sounded a lot like jingle bells, but at a distance. Quinn pushed
herself off the couch and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. She went to
the window and looked out over the dark landscape. The moon glowed nearly full
and provided enough light to illuminate the bulk of the barn below and a few of
the out buildings. Light shone from Scott’s place, the bunkhouse addition at
the back of the barn. His girlfriend’s car was parked next to his. Nothing
outside seemed to move.
The sound increased in volume and the
closer it got, the more sure she was that they were some kind of bells. A dozen
of them, maybe more. She went to the front door and opened it.
Two lights moved across the snow and
then Quinn made out the shapes of two horses, next to each other, pulling a
sleigh. She laughed when she recognized Craig under a mound of blankets,
driving the contraption. He guided the horses onto the driveway and halted
them.
“What are you doing?” she called out.
“Get bundled up. I’m taking you for a
ride.”
Quinn didn’t take the time to question
him. She rushed to her room and put on her warmest pants, followed by a pair of
fleece sweats, her wool socks and a thick sweater. In the mudroom, she put on
her winter jacket, boots, hat and gloves and dashed out to where Craig waited.
“Where in the world did you get this?” she
asked him after he covered her up with blankets and gave her a sound kiss. “And
why didn’t you tell me you were home?”
“Actually, this is your brother’s. If
you’ve been paying attention you would’ve known he bought it last week.” Craig
guided the horses in a big circle and then headed out toward the prairie where
he’d come from. “Marisol and I snuck back into town this afternoon. If I’d
called you to let you know then you wouldn’t be surprised to see me, now would
you?”
Quinn leaned against him, pure contentment
sinking right down to the bone. “True. I’ve never been in a sleigh.”
The horses managed the snow surprisingly
well and they glided along at a good clip. The light from the lantern
illuminated the snow around them and sent sparkles everywhere. Above, the moon
shone brighter than she had thought earlier and gave the prairie an unearthly
look.
“Then sit back and enjoy.”
They headed toward the pond where they
swam and made love all those months ago. Though she’d seen it thousands of
times before, the changes in the landscape between summer and winter always
amazed her. Each held its own particular beauty, and she was hard pressed to
decide which enchanted her more.
This, she thought as she cuddled into
Craig’s warmth, had to be it. The jingle from the dozens of bells on the
horses’ harness rose merrily into the crisp air. She tasted the pure snow
kicked up into the air by the dashing hooves. Everything glistened under the
moonlight, turning the world into a magical place where only she and Craig existed.
How much more perfect could it be? Quinn
realized she sounded as romantic as Craig had once accused her of being.
Craig slowed the team down and stopped
the sleigh by the pond, now covered with a thick blanket of fresh snow. Later
in the winter, she’d convince Craig and Marisol to come out for a little
ice-skating, like she used to do when she was a kid. She’d ask Jacob to join, had
a feeling Jacob, with his busy schedule, would refuse.
“Can’t believe we were swimming here
just a few months ago,” she said, breaking the silence.
“And in no time we’ll be swimming here
again.” Craig hugged her to him.
“Mmm. Sexy. Very sexy.” She nuzzled his
neck.
“Quinn.” Craig’s voice wasn’t more than
a whisper. He kissed her temple.
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Craig took her hand and slid her glove
off. She glanced up at him. His eyes glittered in the moonlight.
“Quinn, I can’t imagine my life without
you in it. I never thought when Marisol and I came to live here I’d find the
woman of my dreams. And who would’ve thought she was the girl next door? Would
you do me the honor of becoming my wife, allowing me to be your husband?”
His words sent her heart thundering and
nearly swept the breath right from her lungs. From underneath the blanket he
brought out a small velvet box and opened it. She didn’t have to see the ring
to know what her answer would be. Tears blurred her vision of the diamond. “You
know I’ve honestly been dreaming of this moment all my life. Well, since I was
ten,” she murmured shakily and looked up at him. “I’d given up on it ever
happening, but now it’s here, well it’s more perfect than I could’ve imagined.”
She pressed a trembling kiss on his
mouth, clung to his lips for a long moment while she tried to get her senses to
stop reeling.
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a yes,” she replied in a whisper
and touched her hand to his cheek, tracing the dimple in his cheek. “Oh, Craig,
I can’t think of anything I’d rather do with my life than to spend it with you
and Marisol.”
Craig pulled the ring out of the box and
brought her hand away from his face, kissing it tenderly. She tried to keep it
from trembling, but did a lousy job of it. Craig’s hold was firm but gentle. He
slid the ring on her finger, brought it back up to his lips.
“Thank you,” he said simply. “I love you
so much. You’ve made two people extremely happy.”
Quinn knew he meant Marisol and realized
the girl must have known what her dad was up to. It warmed her heart to know
she had the girl’s approval.
She drew in her breath and savored the
chilly, fresh air, but she was warm and safe within the tight circle of Craig’s
arms. The diamond on her finger glimmered in the light of the lantern. Craig
swung the horses around and they headed back across the snowy plain. Quinn
smiled and the wind blew against her face. She lifted her gaze up and looked at
the black sky, filled with stars as glittery as her ring. Now she had
everything she could possibly want in the world, right under that South Dakota
sky.
Long Knife Creek Ranch was decked out
for a wedding. White and pink flowers were everywhere and soft spring sunlight
set them to glow.
Quinn stood in Jacob’s office, gripping
onto the rose and gardenia bouquet as if it were a lifeline. She didn’t know
why she was so nervous. The day couldn’t have been more perfect, clear and cool
with a slight, fragrant breeze riding in off the prairie.