CHAPTER 16
I had no idea how much time had passed in the tiny tent, I only knew that I never wanted it to end. With just a thin bedroll beneath us and two sleeping bags opened up on top of us, trying to sleep and stay warm would’ve been difficult anyway, even if we’d been able to stop touching each other.
But we couldn’t.
Totally wrapped up in each other, we slept intermittently, only to be awoken by the feel of the other’s lips, or a hand tracing the lines of a body, lighting a whole new fire and starting another wave of need.
When the first light finally surrounded the canvas and we could make each other out again, I knew the way he looked at me had changed. Deepened.
There was pure, feral lust there, the force behind the way he kissed me, working all the way down my body until I almost passed out from the sensation, his hands as skilled as his mouth.
But there was something else, something more profound, in the moments before and after.
I stroked his cheek, wondering if it was the same thing I felt, wishing I could get inside his mind as well as his body.
‘Can we stay here?’ I whispered, smiling as he wrapped himself tightly around me, his face pressed to my hair, breathing it in as he kissed my head.
‘As long as you want,’ he murmured, his voice rumbling deep in his chest.
‘What if I want it for ever?’ I asked, feeling him pause and move back so he could look into my face.
He let a silence fall as his eyes moved over me and he took my left hand in his, stroking my fingers.
‘I want you to stay for ever too,’ he began, his eyes holding mine. ‘But it’s your call. I know you have a life back home and with everything here as it is . . . I’d understand if this was just a one-time thing.’
I smiled, despite myself.
‘One-time? That ship sailed a while ago.’
He laughed, the tiny dimple above his lips forming, his eyes alight.
‘You know what I’m saying,’ he replied, stroking my hair, letting the curls run between his fingers.
‘I’m Wyoming born and bred, and here, however things look with tough guys and cowboys, it’s women that make the real calls.
Behind every decent man in this state is a much better woman, and if he’s lucky, she might be half as fine as you. ’
I smiled, waiting as he drew closer on our makeshift pillows, kissing the corners of my mouth.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting you,’ he said between kisses, the gaps shortening as I responded, pulling him down over me, wanting the weight of his body on mine.
‘Show me,’ I whispered.
It was some time before he finished showing me.
In the quiet that fell across us afterwards, the sounds of the landscape filtered through as the mountains awoke. The low, soft rush of the river beyond, a growing chorus of birdsong and the occasional rustle of the canvas, whipped up by the breeze.
‘Come with me,’ he whispered eventually, as our heart rates had returned to normal. ‘Brace yourself, though.’
Before I could protest, openly ogling his completely naked and utterly mouth-watering body, he pulled me up and led me by the hand out of the tent.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ I giggled as he pulled me with him, wearing nothing but a mischievous smile as we walked across the grass.
The lack of modesty had me looking around us, but other than the trees and a couple of birds of prey far above, we were completely alone.
He held me next to him, keeping the cold at bay as we looked across to the mist shrouding the valley below us, the light still tinged with receding night.
‘C’mon, rite of passage, you must’ve been skinny dipping before,’ he said as we approached the river. The very cold river.
‘I have but . . . oh fuck no!’ I shouted, but before I could escape, he’d picked me up in his arms and, my legs kicking, dunked us both in the freezing mountain water.
It was cold enough to take my breath away, and his too.
‘Give it a moment,’ he said, teeth clenched as I clung to him.
As I did, giving myself over to trusting him, knowing he’d never do anything to hurt me, the initial startling cold wore off, leading to a strange sense of accomplishment.
‘It’s actually okay, I think,’ I gasped after a moment, laughing as he grinned. ‘As long as we’re not about to get jumped by a couple of grizzlies.’
‘They don’t tend to come up this way too much,’ he explained, teeth gritted against the cold.
‘Okay, okay. Fuck the bears – can we get out now?’ I begged, so cold that I couldn’t even think about anything else any more.
‘All right, I guess so. It’s doing no favours for certain parts,’ he added, glancing down and making me laugh so hard that he dipped me in further, sparking a fully fledged splashing war.
Drenched and starting to freeze, when he held out his hand again, I took it without hesitation.
We ran back to the hot springs and jumped in.
‘You’re never gonna trust me again, are you?’ he said, grinning as he lay back against the edge. I dipped my hair back in the water to stop the freezing drips running down my back.
‘I trust you with all my heart,’ I replied without thinking, watching as his face changed, a seriousness taking over.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled me to him, right up against his body.
‘What have you done to me?’ he asked, searching my face as though the answer lay there.
‘Just walking into my life like that, turning up out of nowhere and turning it inside out.’ I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead as he closed his eyes.
‘I know it’s your decision, honey,’ he continued.
‘But if you want to know where I stand, then I never want to let you go. I’ve never had this, felt like this, not even close.
But it’s not just about me – you’ve only just ended a relationship, so . . .’
Desperate to say how I felt, I bit my tongue, knowing there were things that needed remedying first.
‘I have just ended it,’ I began, holding his gaze.
‘But it’s only this, between us, that’s made me realize there was never anything there to begin with.
I want to stay,’ I whispered, running my fingers across his cheek.
‘But first we need to fix this whole Elk Creek situation. I’m not sure how yet, but there’s no way I’m letting them have the last word.
I didn’t spend a whole fucking year with a bunch of asshat lawyers without picking up a few things.
And when that’s done, then we’ll see about this . ’
His smile widened suddenly, a wicked glint in his eye.
‘Well then, you’re gonna love what I did,’ he said, taunting eyebrows rising to match mine.
‘I recorded the whole conversation with that asshole on the drive, got the whole thing on my phone, clear as a fucking bell.’ My mouth popped open in shock.
‘As soon as the car pulled up, I figured they were only there to make more threats. Only thing we need to do is figure out how best to use it.’
Mind turning over, I bit my lip, concentrating.
‘Princess, you’ve got to stop doing that with your lips,’ he growled and just like that, he was grabbing my ass with both hands, ignoring my giggles as I wriggled away, giving in as one of his hands traced up my thigh and kept going until I gasped, melting into his touch.
‘Fuck . . . Cole,’ I said as I lay back against the opposite side, giving in to his hands.
‘Yes ma’am,’ he replied. ‘I’m on it.’
In my exhausted state, still damp and feeling somewhat delicate, the ride back was a slightly uncomfortable but peaceful respite to the previous twenty-four hours.
We rode as close together as Jasper and Domino would allow, their occasional bickering making both of us laugh. But really, my mind was turning everything over: Lil’s situation, the fake video, all the traction gained so far on social media.
I risked a glance at my phone as the ranch finally came into view. Opening my email, I ignored the latest two from Kyle and deleted them immediately. There was another, though, from the company I’d interviewed with just the previous day.
Offering me the job. And the salary . . . I raised my eyebrows. Holy shit. Twice that of my old job.
‘You okay?’ Cole asked, pushing Domino to catch up with us, Jasper’s long stride always keeping us slightly ahead.
‘Kind of,’ I replied, not wanting to lie, but not wanting to hurt him either.
‘Is it your ex?’ he asked, keeping his voice neutral.
I shook my head.
‘I mean, he is still emailing me, but I just delete them. No, it’s a job offer, from the place I interviewed with yesterday.’
He nodded, trying to gauge my reaction.
‘A good one?’ he asked, the neutrality struggling to stay in place.
I blew out a breath.
‘Yeah, it is,’ I answered, shaking my head. ‘But it’ll have to wait.’
He nodded, jaw clenched. The conflict between heart and head was intense: my stomach flipped at the thought of fixing the situation at home, being able to maintain my life far better than before; but as I looked over at Cole, at the face that’d filled my thoughts, been pressed to mine in every possible way .
. . the prospect of the job, of going home, felt . . . empty.
We got to the stalls and took the horses in, setting them up with a decent feed.
‘I’ll take over,’ he said, leaning over the door as I started to brush Jasper down. ‘You go in and wash up, rest for a bit. I’m used to being outdoors all the time, but I’m guessing you’ll be wanting a hot shower.’
I put the brush down, giving Jasper one last stroke and smiling as he leant his head into my shoulder for a moment.
‘You sure?’ I asked, coming out and standing in front of him. ‘I’m not a prissy city girl, you know.’
Cole smiled, his hand reaching for mine and squeezing it. I waited for the banter to follow, but instead, his face became serious as he took me in with an intensity that made my throat constrict.