Chapter Nine
E ven with all the layers of clothing between them, her puffy jacket, his outdoor coat, there was something about being in Cal’s arms that felt almost unbearably intimate. His gaze never strayed from her face, his attention absolute. She’d never been the subject of such intense focus before, and it felt like being stripped bare from the inside out.
How did he make it seem as if he saw every last bruise and flaw and still thought her beautiful and magical and worthy of his attention? Should she rejoice in his regard or run from it? Or maybe tuck in close, with her head against his chest, and close her eyes and listen for his heartbeat?
That. Definitely that, as their dance shuffle slowed to a sway and both his arms came around her to pull her closer. She could feel the slight shift in his body as he leaned into the embrace without putting all his weight behind it.
The way he harnessed his size and strength so as not to overwhelm her made her feel protected. His gentleness made her feel cherished. The steady rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek made her senses quicken as if she was a teenager again, brand new to boys and longing.
“This is nice,” he murmured, and she could feel his lips move against her hair as he spoke.
She tightened her arms around him, far as they could go. “Yes.”
“Not sure Red would approve.”
“Is that what you’re after? His permission?” She pulled back enough so she could see his eyes. “Because short of raising the dead, which, let’s not …” She glanced toward the circle of empty deck chairs. “I know he looked up to you. Is it too delusional to think he’d only want the best for me and Sam?”
His lips curved, revealing a flash of even white teeth. “We could run with that theory, yeah.”
And he lowered his head and kissed her.
He was pure heat beneath those cool, mobile lips, and so very willing to get lost in the moment. The hunger he didn’t bother to conceal hit hard, and her response came from somewhere way down deep. She let it rise, and it was all too easy to stand on tiptoe and wrap her arms around his neck and keep right on climbing.
When he lifted her effortlessly to balance her butt against the railing, she wrapped her legs around him and gasped at his unmistakable erection. Big man, every last bit of him, and was it too early to be thanking all her lucky stars in the sky for his endowment and her good fortune? What if he didn’t know how to use it? Except…
Grind.
His hands settled on the globes of her butt to adjust her position until his hard length scraped at her just so, and…
Drag and roll and oh . Cowboy knew what he was doing. He kissed her again, capturing her gasps, and then pulling his head back and rewarding her passion with a boyish smile and another roll, and then another one of his all-consuming kisses and, why, yes, Cal, do press on and see where that goes .
His eyes flashed fire in the light of the rising moon as she arched against him, and he never broke rhythm or even a sweat as passion rose swiftly. Eyes to the sky and her feet off the ground, nothing but Cal to ground her and call her home.
“Are you getting a clearer idea of what I want from you yet?” he asked.
“Getting there.” Very, very quickly!
“Good. Take what you want,” he rumbled. “Go.”
And she flew.
*
Returning to earth took longer than the journey into the heavens, but inevitably Beth had to come down. Reality crept in with every gasping breath of icy winter air, even if another slow, searching kiss slowed her descent.
Kissing was good. Kissing meant she didn’t have to talk or try to explain her abandoned reaction to what had been barely more than a kiss.
What would she be like if she ever got him naked?
“Gotcha,” he murmured, and he didn’t sound smug, exactly, although he had every right to be. He did, however, sound deeply, unrepentantly satisfied.
She could quite happily spend a lifetime trying to spot the difference. “You dark horse.”
“Mostly, I get likened to an ox.”
“Their loss,” she told him airily. “You’re the best kept secret in the valley. In the county. Possibly the entire Northwest.”
“You just want me to do that again.”
He wasn’t wrong. “You’re also very bright,” she said as he began to laugh, a deliciously low rumble that warmed the night.
“I want to surprise you. Court you,” he murmured. “Do whatever it takes to make you bloom and grow. And I want to go slow, and savor every step of the way, because that’s how I roll. Are you in or out?”
“In. Definitely in.”
He lifted her off the railing and she twined around him like a limpet as he carried her back to his deck chair and settled into it, deftly rearranging her with her back to his chest and her legs rested on top of his as he stretched out with his boots atop the big round table.
She fussed with her arms and his, doing her own bit of rearranging, and then they were settled and she heaved a satisfied sigh beneath this starry, starry night. “Can I court you, too?”
“Will there be paint-and-sip nights involved? Because that’d require extreme sacrifice on my part. I like home-baked surprises, though.”
“What about skinny dipping in the secret hot springs?”
“There are no secret skinny dipping hot springs in this valley. I would know.”
“What if I said I knew a place in Paradise Valley, on private land, and I know the owner?”
He reached for a strand of her fine, straight hair. “I’m willing to be led. On occasion. If the time is right and the reward plentiful.”
She closed her eyes and let the steady rise and fall of his chest relax her. “Do you think it might be wise to lay off the kissing and cuddling in public until I get my, ah, enthusiasm for it under control?” Even slightly under control would be a stretch but she was sure that with time and familiarity it could be done.
“I won’t keep my interest in you secret now that I’ve declared it. That’s not my way.”
She threaded her fingers through his. Everything about him was big including his hands, and the stretch for her fingers was substantial. “That’s not what I’m asking. You’re physically—”
“Overwhelming?”
“I was going to say irresistible.” She turned in his arms to better see him, but she could only see the harsh planes of the side of his face. “Do you really see yourself as an overwhelming ox?” Because if he did… “You really need to work on your self-image.”
He smiled and stared at the stars. “Dark horse, you said. A stallion. Obviously.”
Certain parts of him had begun to soften.
“You could be a Clydesdale,” she murmured, warming to the notion. “Like from the ads. The one who’s best friends with a puppy.”
“Is this your idea of a compliment?” He sounded way too amused.
“A hundred percent yes . A powerful, majestic, gentle giant who never forgets a friend. Let’s not forget the puppy.” Sam had been wanting one forever, but Red had never had one and Beth hadn’t wanted to add to her list of chores. Maybe soon, she could think about the acquisition of puppies. A Christmas gift, or, more cynically, a bribe for when they went to live in Marietta.
Her gaze shifted briefly to the empty chair with a beer in front of it. “I like this Halloween ritual you’ve got going on. What else do you say to your ghosts?”
“I ask them to watch over the people they loved in life.” His arms tightened briefly around her, a reassuring squeeze. “I tell them to rest in peace.”