Sweet and Wild (20 page)

“Thank you for dinner,” she said when
she opened her eyes again. She turned her gaze on him, and the smile, he knew,
was for him now.
I love you
she’d told him the other day, and in the
darkness, with only the light coming from the house reflecting softly on her
face, he could see it in her eyes. He wasn’t sure what he’d do about it, but he
was already caught up in her current.

She slipped her arms around his waist
and pressed her body against him. God, she smelled good. She felt good, her
small body with all its womanly curves, and all he had to do was close his eyes
and he could see her unclothed, feel her smooth skin and feel how well her body
fit with his. Perfectly.

“I want you,” he murmured against her
hair. How in the world was he going to deal with the way his body raged for
her? He couldn’t have her right now. Didn’t know when he could.

“And I love you,” she replied unabashed.
Before he could say anything, she pulled his head to hers. The gentleness of
her lips on his was devastating. Lingering. Perfect.

Before it could deepen, she pulled back,
caressed his cheek and then walked away without another word.

It was damned hot. Quinn licked her
lips, but she had no moisture in her mouth to do the trick and her lip balm was
in the barn. Along with shade, a bottle of water and escape from the ninety
plus degrees. She was determined to get that halter off Fire. This time,
though, she had Scott with her, as per Craig’s rules. Scott held a tub of grain
and Quinn was ready, as soon as the horse started to feed, to remove that
wretched piece of nylon from his head. A snatch and grab.

Today Fire didn’t have much energy
either. The temperature made even him listless and when they approached, he
didn’t do much more than pin his ears back and give a half-hearted stomp of a
hoof. He didn’t turn his back on them as he usually did.

“Hey there big guy,” she said, her voice
soothing. “We got a treat for you. You can have it in trade for you letting me
take that halter off.”

Fire didn’t move. He glared well for a horse,
but he stood dead still.

“We’re just going to come to you, okay?
No need for you to move. Just going to put it down. There’s a good guy.”

Within a yard of the stallion, Quinn
motioned Scott to put the tub down. She nudged it closer to Fire with her
booted toe, keeping close attention to the horse’s mood, watching for any
indication of bad behavior. Interest wavered in his chocolate brown eyes. One
ear flicked forward and he lowered his head just a bit.

“Wait until he’s got his nose in the
bucket,” she instructed Scott. “It’s all about patience. Don’t want to startle
him when we’ve come this far.”

Fire stepped forward to investigate the
tub further. Both ears shifted forward and Quinn knew he’d taken his attention
off them, but not completely. He was still on guard.

“He’s tricky. Okay, Fire, I’m going to
just reach out. Don’t worry, I would never hurt you, would I?”

Her first contact with him was a soft
touch on his neck. What a mess, his copper coat matted with dried mud. He
needed a bath, a good curry and a comb to take out the knots in his long mane.
She’d do it too—before the summer ended, she swore this horse would look like
the champion he was.

His nose remained in the tub as he
nibbled the grain. Quinn stepped closer, ran her hand gently toward his ears
and the buckle to the halter. So far so good. She drew in her breath and
glanced over at Scott. He watched her wide-eyed, a smile on his mouth.

Loosening the buckle was harder than she
expected due to the age of the piece and the amount of dirt caked into the
metal and nylon. She sucked in her breath as the horse shifted his back end,
ready to make a quick escape if need be, but Fire kept eating and Quinn kept
moving her fingers to free the nylon strap.

“Good boy, see, I got it undone,” she
told Fire and let the strap go, then carefully she took hold of the halter
above the horse’s ears and lifted, eased it up so it was free of his head. Now
she only had to get it past Fire’s mouth.

“Mission accomplished,” she said with a
sigh and held up the offending headpiece. “Let’s leave him with the grain and
call it a good day. We’ve got a lot of work to do with this guy, but for now
I’m not going to push it. Tomorrow we’ll see how he likes a brush. His coat is
appalling.”

“He scared my dad,” Scott admitted.
“Took a hoof in his backside when Fire was a yearling and he pretty much left
him alone after that. He always said he was going to get that horse turned
around, but they were just words. It’s too bad.”

“Yeah, but we won’t let him go to waste.
I think deep down there’s a sweetheart in that boy.”

They left the paddock and headed for the
barn. The halter was going to go straight into the garbage. “You think you’ll
be okay here for a while?” Quinn asked. “I’m going to ride out and check out
the grazing in the south corner. I’m thinking of going to auction over in Rapid
City and look at a few horses.”

“I’ll be fine. There’s enough to keep me
occupied for a few hours.”

“Cool.” Life had become so much easier
since Scott and Tom came to work with her.

Quinn saddled Piper up, attached two
canteens to the saddle and headed out toward the south.

Last night’s storm left the trail muddy,
but Piper picked over it with sure-footed ease. Emerald was a beautiful, if not
small spread. The grass grew a pale green mixed with gold. Along the ridge of a
low hill a line of cottonwoods and squat, scrubby pines added dark green to the
pallet of colors. Not much breeze moved through the tall grass, but when it
did, Quinn lifted her face to it. Blue sky met rolling hills on the horizon and
she was overwhelmed with the sheer vastness of the land. It looked so empty,
but she knew better. It teemed with life. Prairie dogs, antelope, and insects
of every shape and size. Birds zig-zagged through the air like aerial acrobats.
Such freedom. She longed for it too, but was willing to do what was needed in
order to grab a few minutes of that kind of freedom.

The area she headed toward bordered the
Shady H. When she reached the fence line she looked longingly in the direction
of where the ranch buildings would be. No, that was off limits except when
invited. Despite the pleasant evening she’d spent with them, Quinn knew she
couldn’t just show up unannounced.

She’d have to wait. While she waited,
she’d work.

Then she came upon the pond. She
remembered swimming there when she was a kid. Best swimming hole around.
Perfect for a hot summer day. Just like this one.

“Well, why not,” she said to Piper and
dismounted. After ground tying the mare,  Quinn kicked off her boots, pulled
off her jeans and socks, unbuttoned the light, long sleeved blouse she wore,
left them in a heap in the grass, and headed for the water.

***

Even after fifteen years, Craig knew the
trail between Shady H and Emerald Ranch well. Though the path had grown over
now with grass, flowers, and other fauna that populated the South Dakota
prairie, he still knew it step for step. When he was sixteen and just falling
in love with Elise Hahn he’d built a gate between the two properties so he
could ride over with ease. The rickety gate still functioned and he used it
now. He was working, but decided to take advantage of the circumstances and
proximity to Quinn and ride over.

He didn’t get too far on the Emerald
side of the fence when he saw Piper grazing in the tall grass. Quinn was
nearby. He slowed Thunder from a lope to an easy jog and headed in the
direction of the roan, then stopped the horse in his tracks.

Her royal blue tank top molded to her
breasts, leaving nothing to the imagination. Neither did the pair of very tiny
underwear. Both were wet and she wrung water out of her long hair. He allowed
himself a moment to gawk and lust. Her figure was flawless, young, lithe, and
womanly. Even though he knew each curve, each inch of her lush body, seeing it
like this, under the sun with water glistening on her lightly tanned skin made
him want her. His body tightened with anticipation.

Then she saw him. Her hands gripping her
hair, breasts thrusting out against the thin material of her tank, she froze,
her eyes wide in surprise. She didn’t cover up. She just stared and then said,
“You alone?”

“I am.”

She visibly relaxed, dropping her hands
to her hips. The expression on her face changed from nervous surprise to
seduction.

“Are you just passing through?” She
picked her way through the grass, her hips swaying in a sexy sashay.

“Looking for you, actually.”

Quinn stopped at Thunder’s shoulder and
put a hand on Craig’s leg.

“I think you found me. What can I do for
you?”

Craig slipped off Thunder’s back and
pulled her damp body into his arms. She was cool from the pond and felt good
against his hot skin. It was good to hold her again without worrying anyone was
watching or would come along. They were completely alone.

Quinn parted her lips expectantly and he
took her invitation, dipping his head toward her and captured her mouth with
hungry urgency. No time for niceties, his need for her overwhelmed him and all
that mattered was her body, what it did to him, what he could do to her. He was
drunk on his passion. Her tongue tangled with his in a dance that sent his
blood swirling with heady speed. With her firm breasts thrust against his
chest, he felt the pebbled nipples and eagerly cupped one. Quinn moaned against
his mouth and stood on her tiptoes, rubbing her half-naked body against his.
Damned clothes. He wanted them both naked.

Quinn pulled back, her breath catching
unevenly in her throat. She didn’t stop touching him though. Her hands glided
up his chest and then down around to his buttocks. Bold woman.
His
bold
woman.

“How long do you have?”

“My mom took Marisol into Pierre for a
few hours. I had to see you. Didn’t plan on this, but I couldn’t stay away.”

Quinn grinned and slid a finger along
the dimple at the corner of his mouth before brushing it softly on his lips.
“Care for a swim? The water is perfect. Just the thing to beat this sun.”

Oh my God. Yes, it would be just the
thing.

“Why don’t you unsaddle Thunder and let
him graze. Then take some of those clothes off.”

He did what she suggested, keeping his
eyes on her. Her body glistened as her skin dried. Wisps of auburn hair lifted
in a warm breeze from the west. As soon as Thunder was hobbled, he turned his
attention fully on her.

“Ready?”

Craig took off his hat and dropped it on
the ground next to the saddle then started to unbutton his shirt. With her eyes
fixed steadily on him, he felt as if he were doing a strip tease for her. She
had an amused smile fixed to her lips. Well, she’d get a show all right because
seeing her in that sexy tank top and slip of material she called underwear,
aroused him and only one thing could be done about it.

As he removed his shirt, so did she,
pulling the tank top up over her head and then dropping it on the ground. She
wore a pale pink bra underneath and reached back to release the hooks. It slid
to the ground, exposing her full, dusky tipped breasts. His mouth went dry and
suddenly it felt as if the temperature rose another twenty degrees. The panties
came next and she was standing in front of him completely naked.

“You are beautiful,” he murmured, not
able to take his eyes off her.

She grinned and turned her back on him
so he had a view of her rounded buttocks. She glanced over her shoulder. “You
are too. Now hurry up and get naked so I can appreciate the view.”

He couldn’t move until she was in the
water up to her waist, it was too fascinating to watch her. She turned back and
waited expectantly for him. Quickly he kicked off his boots and shoved his
jeans down over his waist. As soon as he did, he saw the smile spread across
her face. What a vixen. Not a shy bone in her body, the body he longed to
possess.

The water was colder than he’d expected,
but it did nothing to diminish his persistent arousal. Nothing would cool it
down but feeling her legs wrapped around his waist and the grip of her hands on
him. As soon as he reached her, she slipped under the surface of the water. He
felt her length brush against his legs as she swam past him and resurfaced
behind him.

“Come on, darling, you’re going to have
to work a little. Play a little.”

Oh, he could play. He ducked under the
water and swam toward her. He could see her legs in the murky water and as he
swam by them, he reached out and stroked her thighs. He felt the shudder of
water around her as his fingers encountered the tender juncture of her legs.
Yes, that was good. He wasn’t going to be the only one in this torturous turned
on state. When he resurfaced, he wiped the water from his eyes and gazed at
her. The smile was gone and passion simmered in the blue depths.

“Enough with the games,” she muttered
and swam to him. She wrapped herself around his waist and impaled herself on
him. The swiftness of the movement shocked him, and then pure animal instinct
took over. There was no ease in the way either of them moved. He gripped her
buttocks and drove himself into her as far as he could strain, pulled back and
thrust again. Quinn moaned against his shoulder, nipping at his flesh while her
fingers dug into his back. She turned pure wildcat in his arms, kissing and
scratching lightly, holding herself back in an effort not to hurt him. They
rocked against each other, splashing water.