Winter's Embrace (8 page)

Winter’s eyes widened and her lips formed an O. She
slipped easily into his arms and they danced nice and slow. Having her in his
arms had never felt quite like this. The love he felt overflowed and he hoped
that she could feel it. He needed her to feel it.

Finally, the song was over, but Stone didn’t want to
let her go. The ends of his mouth tilted up when he realized she was holding on
to him, too.

The magic of the moment was spoiled when Colt grabbed
her hand and led her into a lively two-step. Stone watched briefly, before he
strode over to the pair, and grabbed
Winter’s
arm.
“Sorry, Colt, but she’s taken.”

Both Colt and
Winter
looked
at him as though he had two heads.

“Stone…” Winter shook her head at him.

“You’re my woman and I don’t want these two yahoos
thinking that they can come over and paw you.”

Winter pulled away and put her hands on her reddening
cheeks. “They brought us a tree and we were just having fun.”

“You call having two men, brothers, vying for your
attention fun?”

“Stone, you know us, we’re not like that.” Colt picked
Rachael up and gave her a quick kiss. “You be good to Faith now.”

“I will. Thank you for my new dolly.” Rachael kissed
Colt on the cheek.

Caleb reached for her.
“Happy
holidays, Ray
Ray
.
I’m glad Snoopy likes his
bone.”

“I love you, Caleb.”

“Right back at you, Ray
Ray
.”
Caleb handed Rachael to Stone. “No
hard
feelings,
buddy. See ya soon.”

Stone turned to look at
Winter
,
but she wasn’t in the room. He’d really done it this time!

Chapter Seven

The silence in
Winter’s
room
worried him. She’d shut herself in and wouldn’t answer him. Rachael looked
ready to kick him with her shiny, patent leather shoes and Stone couldn’t blame
her, he’d been an ass once again. Even Snoopy gave him the evil eye.

“Will you be all right with Snoopy and Faith if I go
in to see
Winter
by myself?”

Rachael hugged her new doll closer and nodded.

Stone knocked once on
Winter’s
door and entered without an invite. His heart dropped to his stomach when he
saw her all huddled up in her bed. She glared at him and turned away.

Her misery was his fault and he felt gut kicked. He
never seemed to be able to do the right thing where she was concerned.
Christmas was fast approaching and he hoped to be practically engaged by then.
It wasn’t going to happen because he’d been completely selfish in his pursuit
of
Winter
.

“I’m sorry,
Winter
. I’m just
a big country hick who has no manners or regard for anyone else’s feelings. If
you want to go, then go. I won’t hold you back. I realize now that you’ve never
had many choices in life, and a lot of it has been my fault.”

Staring at her, he saw the desolation her gorgeous
eyes, held and it scared him. Slowly, he approached her bed. She stiffened, but
he kept on course. The bed dipped as he sat on it and scooted over to where she
was huddled.

He took her hand, intertwined his fingers with hers
and kissed the back of her hand. When she didn’t pull away, it heartened him.
“If you want to make a life for yourself somewhere else, I will buy you a house
and get you a job.”

Winter turned and considered him, her eyes full of
doubt.

“Anywhere you want.”

Silently she sat very still for a while. Then she
shifted so that she sat across from him, staring at him. “Why is it always so
hard between us? I realize that I’ve lived my life waiting for you to come back
and it was plain wrong. I never grew, never found my own likes and dislikes.
Hell, I never even left town hoping that one day I’d catch a glimpse of you.
Pathetic really.
I have never dated, never made friends, and
I mainly kept to myself while you carved out a wonderful life for yourself.”

There was a pause as she got off the bed, walked to
the window, and leaned her forehead against the frosty pane. “I don’t love you,
Stone. I love the memory of you, the memory of us.” She turned and gave him a
ghost of a smile. “It’s my own fault—it has nothing to do with you. I do want
to make a new life. The one you offered me on Halloween. I want a job and my
own house and I have the feeling that if you wanted, you could have that house
ready right after Christmas. I love Rachael and I couldn’t leave her.”

Stone swallowed hard. “And me?”

“I already told you. I don’t love you, mainly because
I don’t even know you. I’m attracted to you and whenever I look at you I want
you to kiss me senseless, but I need to get to know you as the man you are, not
the boy you were.”

Stone stood and walked to her until they stood toe to
toe. Reaching out, he tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. “I
will get the house ready for you. I won’t pressure you anymore but there is one
thing…” He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “I want to kiss you,
too.”

Leaning down, he caught her soft lips with his. He
slanted his lips over hers until she opened for him. Wrapping his arms around
her waist, he hauled her closer and deepened the kiss. Little moans of
excitement rewarded him and when she wrapped her arms around his neck, his
heart sang. Not all was lost.

* * * *

If
Winter
had just one wish,
it would be that their kiss would never end. Stone’s masculine lips captured
hers, branding her. Her heart fluttered and all thought fled. His lips on her
neck seared her soul and she couldn’t deny the chemistry between them. That had
never been the problem.

Clinging to his neck, she broke off the kiss and hid
her face against his shoulder. Her legs didn’t want to cooperate with her so
she clung tighter. His heart pounded fast and hard, matching hers. As soon as
the strength rushed back into her legs, she pulled away.

His hooded gaze sent delightful shivers through her
body. It was more than just chemistry, it had to be. The chemistry between them
scared her and the stars disappeared from her eyes.

“So you’ll get the house ready?”

Stunned, he stared at her. Breaking the stare, he
turned from her. “I promised didn’t I?”

Before she could answer, he walked right out of her
room and closed the door behind him. Frowning, a chill settled over her and her
stomach churned. Why couldn’t she completely trust him? Life would be so easy
if she could only believe him. But remembering the phone call he had made to
her ten years ago, she didn’t know if she ever could again.

The ache in her heart was unbearable. She meant what
she’d said about not leaving Rachael and she did want to get to know Stone all
over again. Some part of her kept holding back and it didn’t seem to be
anything she could control.

Maybe with time, or maybe not, but torturing herself
was self-defeating. She needed to grab the bull by the horns. Sighing, she
realized that she didn’t know where to begin.

“Mama!
Mama!”

Winter opened the door. One look at a tearful Rachael
was all she needed. Scooping up the little girl,
Winter
sat back on her bed with Rachael on her lap.

Winter kissed her head and rocked her. “What is it, my
sweet?”

“My baby.
Something is wrong with my baby, Faith.”

Puzzled, she looked at the doll. She looked fine.
“What’s wrong does she have a fever?”

Rachael looked up at her and rolled her eyes. “She’s
not real, you know.”

Biting back a smile,
Winter
nodded.

“Her hair, it’s her hair!”

Winter took Faith, examined her, and quickly glanced
at Rachael’s hair. Rachael had cut Faith’s hair, but hadn’t gotten to her own.
Relieved, she gave the girl a gentle smile. “We could make her a hat.”

Rachael looked up at her, her eyes full of worry. “Do
you think she will like a hat?”

“I bet she would love a hat and I could make a
matching one for you.”

Rachael’s beaming smile became a balm to her heart.
Cuddling the little girl close, she breathed in her smell and smiled. This was
worth it and Rachael was worth it. Everything else would just have to wait.

“Crisis solved?”

Winter jerked her head toward the door. The cause of
all her emotional upset stood against the doorframe looking sexier than any man
had a right to.
“For now.”

He was the very devil and he knew it. She was in for
the ride of her life and she hoped to land on her feet.

* * * *

The next day, Stone stared at her plump, dewy lips in
anticipation. It wasn’t as though they’d never been together. Just remembering
how it used to be, his whole body tightened. Tonight was the night, no more
waiting. His stomach clenched and he prayed that nothing waylaid his plans.

“Are you sure that Rachael is fine spending the night
with the O’Malley brothers? I know that she loves Colt and Caleb, but maybe
she’s too young.” Her furrowed brow made him smile.

“You know that she loves those two cowpokes. Besides
she’s going to teach them how to make Christmas cookies.”

“I know but…wait Christmas cookies?”

Stone grabbed her hand. “Put your coat on. I have
something to show you.”

Winter’s face lit up. “What?”

Somewhere along the way, her happiness became his. Her
glowing face warmed him and he hoped she liked her surprise. “Come on, I’ll
show you.”

Winter studied his face before she finally nodded.
“All right, cowboy, let’s see what you have.”

The blustery winter wind surrounded them as they
stepped outside. Stone put his arm around
Winter’s
waist and pulled her close. Just having her near warmed him in the bitter cold.
He pointed them in the direction and they began to walk. Winter glanced up at
him, but he ignored her scrutiny and continued. It didn't take but a minute to
walk to the foreman’s house: Winter’s new home.

She stopped right in front, staring, and he couldn’t
tell what she thought until her arm went around his waist and squeezed.

“You like it?”

“How would I know? I haven’t seen the inside yet.” The
excitement in her voice pleased him.

Winter squealed as he lifted her into his arms and
carried her inside. Setting her down, he watched her expressions. From her
smiles, he knew that she approved.

“Like it?”

She took off her coat and whirled in a circle. “Like
it? I love it. I never imagined.” She walked into the kitchen and ran her hands
over the granite counter. “It all looks new.”

“It is.”

With a tilt of her head, she pinned him with her
stare. “I thought you were just going to fix it up. I never expected, I never
asked…”

“It was time to give this old place a face lift. I
only had them leave a few pieces of furniture. I figured we could go buy new
stuff.”

“No. You will not be buying me new furniture. Stone, I
work for what I get and I pay my own way.”

Stone walked over to her. He stood toe to toe with
her, gazing at her averted face. He put his finger under her chin and lifted
her face toward his. “Don’t let pride get in your way.”

Her eyes shimmered. “It’s not pride. I don’t know what
it is. One minute I want you with my whole being. I want to be in your arms, in
your bed. Then something comes and places a black shadow over those thoughts
and I become wary.”

Opening his arms, he drew her to him. He loved the
feel of her in his arms. She felt so right. “I wish I knew how to rid you of
all doubt.”

“Why don’t you show me the rest of the place?”

The tour consisted of the whole house except for the
bedroom. He felt like a big fool. Maybe lighting candles in the bedroom was a
bad idea. It had seemed so perfect before. When he finally opened the bedroom
door, she gasped.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? It’s so
beautiful,
I
never imagined anyone would do this for me.” Reaching up, she put her arms
around his neck, pulling his head down so she could kiss him.

Her velvety, full lips were a taste of his future and
he couldn’t get enough of her.

“You’re sure that Rachael will be all right with Colt
and Caleb?”

Stone grabbed her hands and pulled her toward him.
“She loves it over there. Besides I have my neighbor,
Summer
,
Holden’s wife, on standby if needed.” He kissed her behind the ear and enjoyed
the resulting shiver.

“The bed, it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen a
four-poster bed before. Pictures, of course, but it certainly is impressive.”
Winter kissed his cheek. “You did all this for me?”

“Of course and not just for a one night stand either.
I want you to be happy and I’m not feeding you a bunch of lies. I have missed
you every single day we were apart.”

Pulling away, she gazed into his eyes.

“I can sense your hesitation and, believe me, I
understand. I know I’m the cause of the look of doubt in your eyes.” He
caressed her satiny cheek with the back of his hand. “Trust me.”

The whole room brightened with her smile and when she
nodded at him, he thought his heart would burst. He’d been given the gift of a
second chance and it humbled him.

He kissed the side of her neck, and the resulting
shiver gave him all the confidence he needed. Her top and bra were off in
record time. He could feel her trying to unbutton his shirt with shaking hands.
He quickly took over embracing her skin to skin.

Lifting a hand between them, Stone stroked her
breasts. Her hardened nipples excited him to no end. Sitting on the bed, he
pulled her down, laid her on her back, and he kissed one, then the other
pebbled nipple. Her little moans enthralled him and when he felt her hands
running over his chest, he couldn’t wait any longer.

He reached and unbuttoned her jeans, pulling them off,
revealing black lace panties. Stone grinned, but just as quickly, he took them
off her.

“You are so beautiful, more so than I remember, and
your skin is like the softest down.” He ran his hands up her creamy thighs,
kissing everywhere he touched while she squirmed beneath him.