“Excellent. I’ll be right back.” He clicked his tongue and guided Smudge around the tree and over toward her campsite. After walking the horse around the campsite awhile, Luke dismounted.

He’d come prepared for the duration, with supplies in two bulging saddlebags. Unsaddling Smudge, he put the saddle, blanket and bags over by Naomi’s tent. “Welcome to your home away from home, Smudge.” He replaced the horse’s bridle with a halter and led him down to the stream for a drink.

His promise to “be right back” might have been overly optimistic. Returning to the campsite, he tied Smudge to a tree while he found a good grazing area near the tent. Then he pulled a ground stake out of a saddlebag, along with a mallet, and planted the stake. Finally he transferred Smudge’s lead rope from the tree to the stake.

That should take care of the horse until tonight, but he understood why Naomi chose to hike out here instead of riding. A horse was one more thing to deal with. Still, he had limited time to be with her, and even with these few chores, he’d saved valuable minutes by riding instead of hiking.

After scratching Smudge’s neck and giving him a handful of carrots from his pocket, Luke walked down the path Naomi’s hiking boots had created during her many treks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this excited about being with a woman.

He could easily guess why that was. Her interest in wildlife indicated that she was as interested in adventure and exploration as he was. At least she was now. He cautioned himself not to make assumptions of how she’d be in the future.

But he didn’t care about the future. At this moment he had the green light to spend quality time with a woman who studied eagles. That would make everything more exciting, including the sex. He had condoms in his saddlebags and in his pocket. Life was good.

He’d look at the eagles first, because he really was interested in them, and because if he didn’t look at them first, he might never get around to it. After he’d checked out the eagles, he intended to kiss Naomi until they both couldn’t see straight. That dramatic race over here had made him feel like a conquering hero.

“Coming up!” He climbed the ladder and thought of Rapunzel. Naomi was also a blonde, but he appreciated being able to use a ladder instead of her braided hair to reach her tower.

“Hurry!” she said.

“Why?” He hoped it was because she couldn’t wait to feel his hands on her.

“Both parents are there for feeding time! It’s like a family portrait.”

Luke smiled. She really dug those eagles, and he liked that about her. Any woman who was passionate about one thing had the capacity to be passionate about other things, too. He’d sensed that about Naomi from the beginning.

Once he reached the platform, he was struck again by the spectacular view. This platform would be an awesome place to watch the sunset. He’d keep that in mind for later.

She glanced over at him, her color high. “Here.” She took off her binoculars. “Take a look.”

“Thanks.” He accepted the binoculars, but he couldn’t resist cupping the back of her head and giving her a quick kiss. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She sounded breathless.

That was good. She would be even more breathless before long. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. Eagles and a hot woman. What could be better than that?

“I think the nestlings have grown a little.” She came to stand next to him. “Tell me what you think.”

With her standing so close and radiating warmth and the tantalizing scent of arousal, he couldn’t think very well at all. But he made a valiant attempt. Lifting the binoculars, he focused on the nest.

To his surprise, he did notice a difference, even if it was slight. “They’re growing, especially the bully. Look at that little sucker, shoving the other one out of the way. C’mon, you. Let the little one have some food.”

She chuckled. “So you root for the underdog?”

“Doesn’t everybody?” Between having her right beside him and the incredible view of the eagles, he was on sensory overload.

“Humans often do. We’re at the top of the food chain, so we can afford to worry about the weak link. Wild animals don’t always have that luxury.”

“Good point.” Luke desperately wanted to slide one arm around her and pull her close, but he knew what that would lead to. Once he touched her, there would be no eagle watching going on.

“Most of the time they’re focused on survival.” Naomi sighed. “They’re so vulnerable.”

“You mean the babies?”

“And the parents.”

He focused on the sharp beaks and strong talons of the male and female eagles. “They look so powerful.”

“I know. But all it takes is a shortage of food, or a car windshield, or an electrical wire, or a gun. We nearly wiped them out.”

“Thank God we didn’t. Now people are into watching them instead of shooting them.”

“Which means I’m employed. That reminds me that I need to make some notes. Can you keep track of the feeding session and report what’s happening while I type?”

“Sure.” He missed her warmth the second she moved away to sit at her folding table, but he couldn’t forget that she had a job to do. That’s why he’d planned to stay overnight. She wouldn’t be watching the eagles once darkness fell.

He hoped she’d go along with the plan. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if he should have checked with her first. They’d been hot for each other last night, and he was still burning, but she might have cooled down since then.

Well, he’d find out soon enough. In the meantime, he’d act as her research assistant, which wasn’t a bad deal. In fact, he considered it a privilege to be involved, even a little bit, in her work.

“After they leave the nest, will you have any way of tracking what happens to them?”

The steady click of the keys stopped for a moment. “No. I won’t be banding them. It’s too invasive.”

“I agree.” He went back to describing the movements of the eagles, and she continued to type.

Then she paused again. “I take it you got the afternoon off?”

“Yes, I did. Okay, it looks like the father is getting ready to leave the nest.”

She started typing again. “When do you have to go back?” The keys clicked rhythmically.

“Tomorrow morning.”

Her typing came to an abrupt halt.

Although his back was to her, he swore he could feel the intensity of her stare. Suddenly it seemed several degrees warmer on the platform. “If that’s okay with you.”

Behind him, the laptop closed with a soft snap.

“I won’t interfere with your work.” Lowering the binoculars, he turned around, hoping he hadn’t misjudged, hoping he would find…Yes. The same emotion sizzling in his veins heated her blue gaze. His pulse hammered as he held that gaze.

Slowly she stood. When she drew in a breath, her body quivered. “Interfere with my work.” She stepped out from behind the small table. “Please.”

EVER SINCE LUKE had come charging toward her across the meadow, Naomi had felt like a shaken bottle of champagne ready to blow at any second. Intellectually she’d known that leaping from his horse and scaling the platform would be silly, but her romantic heart had wanted him to do that all the same. She’d wanted to be taken in a mad rush of passion that gave her no time to think.

But he’d taken freaking forever to deal with his horse, which was a good thing but didn’t scream eagerness on his part. So she’d concluded he was here as much to see the eagles as to see her, especially after he’d mentioned them before he’d ridden over to the campsite.

But now…now he looked the way she felt. His throat moved in a quick swallow. “How sturdy is this platform, anyway?”

Her heart rate climbed. “Sturdy enough, but—” She thought of the logistics. Both of them were wearing complicated clothing.

“Right. We’re both way overdressed for this.”

“We are.” She thought longingly of her transparent nightgown and the entrance she could make if they were in a hotel room instead of on a wooden platform twenty feet above the ground. Instead she wore extremely unsexy hiking shorts, a T-shirt and, most problematic of all, hiking boots.

No man should be forced to remove his lover’s lace-up hiking boots before they had sex. So that meant she needed to undress herself. Then she thought of what fun it would be to watch Luke strip down right here on her observation platform. Anybody could make a luxury suite seem seductive, but how many people could say they’d had sex in a tree?

She turned and grabbed her camp stool. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to slip into something more comfortable.”

A slow smile made him look even more breathtakingly handsome. He took off his hat and laid it brim-side up on the platform. “I knew we were going to get along.”

“That’s a different hat.” She unlaced her boot and pulled it off along with her sock.

“Sarah’s going to see what she can do with the other one.” He unsnapped his cuffs as he watched her pull off her other boot. “But if you ask me, one ruined hat is a small price to pay.”

Her body tingled from the gleam in his eyes. “You don’t know that yet.”

“Yes, I do.” He unsnapped his shirt.

“I might be lousy at sex.”

He laughed.

“Really, I might. You know that underdog syndrome we talked about?” She stood and the wood felt warm under her bare feet. “Those are the guys I tend to pick.”

“So I’m an underdog? Ouch!” He pulled off his shirt and dropped it to the platform.

“Oh, no.” Her gaze traveled lovingly over his broad chest. “You’re no underdog.”

“That’s a relief.” He sent her a sizzling glance as his hands went to his belt buckle. “Better get moving, Perkins. You’re falling behind.”

“No, I’m not.” But she’d been caught standing motionless and staring. She’d admit that. “You still have your boots on.”

“So I do.” He paused, his fingers at the button of his jeans. “After you take off your shirt, how about tossing that stool over here?”

“I can do it now.” She reached for it.

“Please pull off your shirt,” he said softly. “Your boots seemed to take forever. I thought I’d go crazy.”

She paused. Until now she’d been so focused on him that she’d forgotten that he might be as eager to watch her undress. “Don’t expect sexy underwear,” she said.

“Why would you wear sexy underwear when you’re camping?”

With a smile, she echoed his earlier comment. “I knew we’d get along.” Then she grabbed her T-shirt and yanked it over her head.

“Mmm.”

His murmur of approval sent heat flooding through her, and moisture gathered between her thighs.

“More.” His voice sounded husky. “The bra, too.”

She trembled as excitement warred with her natural modesty. “I’ve never stripped for a man in broad daylight.”

“I’m honored to be the first.” His chest expanded as he dragged in a breath and let it out slowly. His glance was hungry. “Come on, Naomi. I want to see you with sunlight on your breasts.”

Pulse hammering, she reached behind her back and unfastened the hooks of her white cotton bra. Then she drew it off and let it fall to the platform.

His gaze held hers for a few seconds before dipping. Then it returned to lock with hers. His voice was tight. “You’re incredible. And I want to touch you more than I want to breathe.”

Her nipples tightened and she quivered with longing. “Then touch me.”

With a groan of surrender, he eliminated the space between them and crushed her in a fierce embrace. Bare skin met the solid wall of his chest, and she gasped at the pleasure of that first contact.

“I need you so much.” His mouth found hers as he pulled her in close, letting her feel the hard ridge beneath the fly of his jeans.

The urgency of his kiss drove her wild. No man had ever wanted her like this, as if he couldn’t contain the passion gripping him. Keeping her firmly wedged against his crotch, he continued kissing her as he leaned back enough to cup her breast in one large hand. His moan of need vibrated through her.

His hands were calloused from his work, and that only made his touch more erotic. She squirmed against him, aching for relief from the tension that tightened with each thrust of his tongue into her mouth and squeeze of his hand on her breast.

Desperation drove her to shove her hand between them and unfasten the button on his jeans. As she began working the zipper down, he lifted away from her, giving her access. When she slipped her hand inside his briefs and wrapped her fingers around the silky power of his cock, he began to shake.

He lifted his mouth from hers and gulped for air. “I’m going insane.”

She moaned as his thumb brushed her nipple. “Me, too.”

“We have to…We’re not…”

“Condom. Do you…?”

“Yes, but I haven’t…my boots are still…”

Her fevered brain searched for the quickest way for them to achieve their goal. “The stool.”

“Oh.” He let her go long enough to find the stool and grab it.

She used that time to get out of her shorts and soaked panties. When she turned back to him, he was sitting on the stool pulling off his boots, and he held the condom packet in his teeth.

“Forget the boots.”

The one he’d been holding fell from his hand with a clatter as she stood before him, trembling with urges stronger than she’d ever had in her life. Those urges made her bold.

“Put on the condom.” She braced her hands on his broad shoulders.

His breathing ragged, he quickly did as she asked.

“Now…” She gripped his shoulders. “Help me down.”

Hands at her waist, he looked into her eyes as he supported her slow descent.

She felt the nudge of his cock.

Lightning flashed in his brown eyes. He shifted slightly, found her moist entrance. “You’re drenched.”

“Your fault.”

“Hope so.” His jaw muscles flexed as he drew her down.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she moaned softly.

“Too much?”

She shook her head, unable to speak as he took her deeper and touched off tiny explosions all the way down. So this was what they wrote books and songs about. Now she knew what she’d been missing.

At last she was settled on his lap, her feet on the platform, her body gearing up for what promised to be a spectacular and imminent orgasm. The advance-warning signals rippled through her, making her gulp.

He continued to hold her gaze, but his jaw muscles tensed even more, making the cords of his neck stand out. Sweat glistened on his powerful chest. “Don’t move.” He shuddered. “I don’t want to come yet.”

But she couldn’t control what her body craved. An involuntary spasm rocked her.

He sucked in a breath and squeezed his eyes shut. “Don’t.”

“Can’t…help it.”

Slowly he opened his eyes again, and a wry smile touched his mouth. “You’re potent.”

“You, too.” Another spasm hit.

He swallowed. “Okay, if that’s going to keep happening, we might as well go for it.”

“Yes, please.”

“Oh, Naomi.” Laughter and lust sparkled in his eyes. “I had no clue.” He drew in a shaky breath. “Ride me, lady. Ride me.”

She did, and it was a very short ride. She came almost immediately, gasping with the wonder of it, and he followed two strokes later with a groan wrenched from deep inside him. Quivering in the aftermath, she leaned her forehead against his damp shoulder and listened to the labored rasp of his breathing.

A soft breeze sighed through the pine needles and brushed against her skin. Gradually she became aware of small birds chattering and the rustle of a squirrel in the branches somewhere nearby. She’d always felt a part of nature, but never more so than at this moment.

Luke gently massaged the back of her neck. “That was quite a beginning.”

“Uh-huh.” She wondered if sex was always this good for him, but she wouldn’t ask. “Am I too heavy?”

“Light as a feather.” He ran a hand up her back. “Soft as satin.”

“I suppose we’ll have to move sometime.”

“Definitely. Especially if we want to do this again in the near future.”

She lifted her head to stare at him. “How near in the future?”

He grinned at her. “That was just a warm-up.” He gazed into her eyes. “Am I shocking you, Naomi Perkins?”

She didn’t want to admit that she’d never been with a guy who suggested more sex immediately after having it. Apparently she really had been choosing from the shallow end of the gene pool, picking underdogs with a low sex drive.

“We don’t have to have sex in the near future,” he murmured. “If you need more time, we can wait.”

“I don’t need more time, but I thought that you, being a guy, would.”

“If I weren’t starving to death, I’d be ready to go in about ten minutes, but I’m hungry. Are you?”

She hadn’t given herself a chance to think about it, but she’d skipped lunch. “Yes, I’m hungry, but I’m all set with my energy drinks and a few munchies. I doubt that you—”

“You’ve got that right. I brought food enough for both of us, so save your energy drinks for when I’m not here. That way there’s no danger of history repeating itself.”

“I wouldn’t spill it on you again, I promise.”

“You never know.” He traced the outline of her mouth with the tip of his finger. “You could be drinking one of those green concoctions, be hit with the sudden need to have sex with me and knock the bottle over in your hurry to rip my clothes off.”

She laughed. “That’s pretty far-fetched.” In reality, it wasn’t, but she had to be careful not to let him know how powerfully he affected her.

“So you say, but please humor me and don’t open one of those while I’m here, okay?”

“Do they carry a bad association for you, then?”

“Actually, no. It’s a good association, but even so, I don’t care to repeat it. The energy drink served a purpose by bringing us together, so I’m done with it.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Let’s disengage and I’ll head back to the campsite and fetch our lunch.”

“Okay.” She eased away from him and stood. “FYI, there’s a little garbage bag over by the cooler.”

“Thanks.”

She walked to the far side of the platform to give him some privacy to deal with the condom. How odd that she wasn’t embarrassed about strolling around the platform naked. At least she wasn’t until she saw a rider at the far edge of the clearing. “Yikes. Someone’s coming.” She scrambled for her clothes.

“You’re kidding.” Luke zipped his pants. “Damn it. Where did I set the binoculars?”

“On the table. You’d better put on your shirt.” She scurried around getting her clothes back on. Fortunately they always looked rumpled. She used the stool to balance as she put on her socks and hiking boots. That stool would always have the memory of what they’d used it for today.

Luke peered through the binoculars. “It’s Jack. And he’s got little Archie in the saddle with him.”

“Oh.” Naomi felt silly for not remembering. “That’s my fault. I told him to bring Archie to see the eagles sometime.”

“And he picked today. I wonder if that’s pure coincidence.” Luke put down the binoculars and picked up his shirt. “Emmett’s supposed to be the only one who knows I’m out here with you.”

“So you talked to him?” She took the elastic out of her hair and redid her ponytail.

“Last night on the way home.” Luke buttoned his shirt and tucked it into his jeans. “He reluctantly accepted the idea that you and I would be hanging out together during my time off.”

“Then it’s probably coincidence that Jack decided to come out today.” She was grateful that she hadn’t been wearing makeup. She turned toward Luke. “How do I look?”

He smiled. “Like a woman who’s been up to no good.”

“Really? What’s different about me? Is my mouth red?”

“A little, but not much.” He rolled back the sleeves of his shirt instead of fastening the cuffs.

“Doggone it.”

“Hey.” He took her by the shoulders. “I was kidding you. You look fine. I’m probably the only one who would notice a postorgasmic gleam in your eye.”

“Luke! I don’t want to have a gleam in my eye!”

“Sorry. You probably can’t do anything about it. I’m pretty good at detecting that gleam, but most people aren’t.”

“I’ll bet Jack is. Before he married Josie, he was quite the ladies’ man. I wish I had a mirror.”

“Trust me, you look fine. That’s not what’s going to get us in trouble.”

She stared at him. “What’s going to get us in trouble?”

“I unsaddled my horse and took the time to stake him out in a grazing area. A short visit wouldn’t have required all that. I would have left Smudge ground-tied beside this tree.”

Naomi groaned. “Then I guess we’ll have to see what kind of reaction Jack has to that. He’s not a blabbermouth, so maybe this won’t get back to my folks.”

“Yeah, Emmett said they wouldn’t like it.”

“Only because they want me to find a guy who’s steady. That’s not you.”

“Nope. Not me.”

The sound of hoofbeats grew louder. Naomi glanced at Luke. “We could sit down against the tree and pretend we’re not here.”

“Like you tried to do with me?”

“Right.”

“Forget it. If Jack brought his son all the way out here to see the eagles, he’d haul him up on this platform even if he thought nobody was here. Then he’d find us hiding and looking guilty as hell.”

“You’re right. That would be embarrassing.”

“And because we’ve stood here debating the issue for too long, there’s no time for me to climb down and disappear into the woods.”

That made her laugh. “Hardly. Even if you made it down the ladder, you couldn’t get away without Jack hearing you sneaking away through the trees. That would be just as bad as staying here and facing the music.”

“At least we’re dressed. And we’re not actually in the midst of—”

“Oh, God.” She put her hands to her hot cheeks. “What if he’d ridden up twenty minutes ago?”

“Little Archie would have gotten an education.” Luke shrugged. “He’s a ranch kid. He needs to understand the facts of life.”

“He’s only two,” she said in an undertone. “He doesn’t need to understand anything yet.” She took a calming breath. “This could have been so much worse. I’m grateful that it wasn’t.”

“Naomi!” Jack’s deep baritone drifted upward. “You there?”

She walked to the edge of the platform. “Hi, Jack! I sure am. Hi, Archie!”

The little blond toddler waved wildly. “Hi, hi! Birds! See birds!” He didn’t look much like his dark-haired, dark-eyed father. Instead he’d inherited his fair coloring from his mother, Josie.

He was an adorable kid, beloved by his parents, aunts and uncles and grandparents. Naomi’s heart did a little flip-flop. No matter what awkwardness the situation produced, this child deserved to see the eagles. He was very young, but even early memories could have a lasting impression, if only in his subconscious.

“Come on up,” she called. “I have a surprise for you. Luke’s here.”

Jack tipped back his hat and gazed up at her. “Oh, is he, now?”

Archie bounced on the saddle. “Luke! Wanna see Luke!”

Luke joined her at the edge of the platform. “Hey, buddy! How’re you doing?”

“Luke!” Archie stretched his arms up. “Wanna see Luke!”

“We’ll be right there,” Jack said. “Make sure the eagles are ready for their close-up.” He dropped his reins, gripped Archie around his chubby middle and dismounted.

“Archie seems excited to see you,” Naomi said quietly.

“I’ve done some babysitting now and then.”

She glanced over at him. The drifter babysat for little children? That didn’t fit his supposed philosophy of not becoming attached to his surroundings. Little kids like Archie could grab hold of your heart and refuse to let go. “You’re a man of many parts.”

“I am.” He gave her a cocky smile and lowered his voice. “After they leave, I’ll show you some of them.”

<1...3 4 5 6 7 9 >

На страницу:

Перейти

5 из 9