Read With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1) Online

Authors: Sharon de Vita

Tags: #Contemporary, #Romance, #Fiction, #Reporter, #Small Town, #Screts, #Childhood, #Investigate, #Kidnapping, #Sensuality, #Salvation, #Family, #Trust, #Mysterious Past

With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1) (10 page)

BOOK: With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1)
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“Hey, Slick, don’t cry.” Like most men, the sight of tears on a female was enough to scare him into the next country.

“I’m not crying,” she insisted with another sniffle, swiping at her nose with the back of her hand and trying to project an air of dignity.

“Yes,” he said with a wicked gleam of humor, trying not to grin. “I can see that you’re not crying. Your eyes must just be leaking. I hate when that happens.” Using his thumb, he brushed a tear from her cheek. His touch was gentle, almost reverent against her fragile, pale skin. He realized he could get used to touching her. “It all worked out.” Deliberately, he gentled his voice as he stroked a finger down the curve of her cheek. “The boys are healthy, well cared for and totally loved and wanted. Spoiled rotten, if the truth be known. Mrs. Taylor may be a crank, but she adores those boys and is a mother figure to them in a lot of ways.” Jake shrugged, thinking about his former sister-in-law. “It’s Kathryn’s loss as far as I’m concerned. Those boys are everything, more precious than gold and worth more than anything money could buy.”

Rebecca gave another watery sniffle. “Family, right?” she said with a shaky smile.

“You got it, Slick. Nothing’s more important than family.” His words seemed to cause a fresh spate of
tears, alarming him further. “Hey, Slick, come on now, stop that.” Jake tilted her chin toward him again, letting his gaze settle on that beautiful mouth that was trembling slightly now in an effort not to cry.

Jake looked at her lips and an ache began inside, an ache he’d been fighting since the moment he’d laid eyes on her. He was a man who was used to getting what he wanted, to taking what he needed, and what he needed right now was to know if she tasted as sweet as she looked.

“Jake.” Eyes wide, Rebecca lifted a trembling hand to his chest, her heart pounding like a trapped, wounded bird. His intentions, his
desire,
were clear.

He was going to kiss her.

The thought almost stilled her heart with fear.

His intentions were in his eyes, which were dark with something primitive and slightly dangerous. She’d heard about the male desire to possess, to mate, but had never experienced it, let alone been the
object
of it before.

“Jake.” She knew she couldn’t allow this to happen. But all she could think of at the moment was that his eyes were so unbearably blue, so unbearably beautiful a woman could quite easily get lost in them.

Rebecca let out her breath slowly, carefully, then unconsciously licked her lips, which had become dry.

“Rebecca,” he whispered back. His eyes were watchful as he slowly lowered his mouth to hers.

Just a taste, he assured himself.

Just one to appease his curiosity.

Certainly no harm could come of it.

Then he could forget this itch, this craving for her
that had been annoying him since she’d walked through his front door.

Slowly, with deliberate care, he angled his head, lowered his mouth and watched Rebecca’s eyes flutter closed as she sighed.

He felt as if his breath had been yanked from his lungs. The world seemed to tilt and spin as his lips touched hers, and he felt the punch echo all the way to his soul.

A mere taste was not enough, he realized immediately, ignoring the warnings that were clanging loudly in his ears. He reached for her with both arms, pulling her tightly against him until she was all but plastered against him as his mouth took more, craved more.

Her lips were like wine, sweet, drugging, making his head swim, his body ache. He ran his hands up and down her back, across the silk of her blouse, feeling the warmth of her body beneath, the swell of her breasts, the hardness of her nipples pressing against him.

He wanted her naked and warm under him, arching, wanting him, needing him, wrapped around him as they took that slow, sensuous ride into pleasure. A pleasure that would leave them mindless, spent, sated.

Lifting a hand, he cupped her neck, needing to feel skin against skin. He felt her pulse thudding wildly in time to his own, and found it only increased his own need, his own desire. His breath quickened, until it thundered out of his lungs, a painful reminder of what his body needed, craved.

Rebecca.

He wanted to be patient, gentle, but he couldn’t. He
hadn’t expected this, not from her. She’d been so cool, so distant. But he’d glimpsed the passion, the heat in her, and wondered if she’d use that heat and passion for something other than her work.

Now he knew.

Her passion, this frenzied need to touch and be touched, was as fierce in her as it was in him. It pleased him to know that he could arouse her to this level with just one kiss.

But it wasn’t going to be enough, he realized, deepening the kiss, pulling her even closer until he couldn’t tell his heartbeat from hers.

As he gathered her even nearer, Rebecca moaned again, her hands clutching the front of his shirt like a lifeline. She’d been absolutely certain she was going to push him away, to stop him. To stop the madness that she was sure would ensue.

But the moment his lips touched her, the moment she got her first potent taste of Jake Ryan, every thought in her head melted in the heat.

She’d never experienced anything like this: a kiss, a simple kiss that left her head swimming, her heart pounding, her body aching with need, desire.

Feelings.

My God, why hadn’t she realized there were so many feelings possible? Because until this moment, she’d never allowed herself to feel anything.

But this…this was glorious. Heady. Addictive. She wondered how she could have possibly lived so long without this wonderful experience of knowing what it felt like to kiss a man as if her life depended on it, to
hold on to him as if she might fall off the world if she didn’t.

She wanted.

Something she’d never allowed herself before. Ever. The ache that pummeled her body, making her vividly aware of Jake, also made her feel suddenly, wickedly alive, as if she’d just been awakened from a very deep sleep.

Her breasts ached. An almost unbearable yearning low in her belly had her arching against him, pressing herself tighter to him, wanting to ease the ache, but not really knowing how.

Angling her head, she followed the movement of his mouth, unwilling to let go of this glorious feeling just yet. Her fingers clutched, then clung to his shirt as she tilted her head to be able to taste him better.

Jake’s hands, so large, yet gentle on her back, made her vividly aware of the soft silkiness of her blouse rubbing against her bare skin. The resulting wave of friction made her want to peel the material off so she could feel his hand against her skin.

His flesh to her flesh.

When she laced her arms around his neck and opened her mouth, Jake’s low moan as he responded in kind, dragging her further and further into this hazy wave of passion, brought reality crashing back.

“No.” With a great deal of effort, Rebecca drew back and laid her hand on his chest again—this time to keep him at bay, to get some much needed distance from him. From that incredibly talented, glorious mouth.

What had she done? Looking at him, she found her
vision blurred with passion, her mind clouded with desire. How could she have let this happen with him? It was unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable, and might have jeopardized everything she’d come here for. One moment of madness could have forever ruined a life of discipline and control. Disappointment in herself was not something she was accustomed to, but Rebecca felt it now, sharp and shameful, and vowed this would be the first and
last
time she ever did anything so foolish.

She had to swallow before she could speak coherently. “We…can’t. This…can’t happen.” Words were her life, but every word she knew seemed to have deserted her. Stunned, she pushed back her hair and shifted so she wasn’t touching him anywhere, then tried again, aware that he was looking at her with an air of amusement that was just a tad annoying. “We can’t do this, Jake.” She shook her head, wishing she knew the right thing to say under the circumstances. But she’d never
been
in these circumstances. “This can’t happen again.”

“I didn’t think it was that bad,” he said with a grin, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Jerking away from his touch, because it set off a new round of desire that dazzled and delighted her, Rebecca numbly shook her head.

“No.” She licked her lips, still tasted him, and realized it made her yearn for him, for more. It couldn’t happen again, she repeated firmly. She’d taught herself never to want or need anything. She’d picked a helluva time to forget all she’d learned.

She made the mistake of looking at him, and felt
her stomach slowly roll in a wave she now recognized as desire. She wanted nothing more than to move right back into his arms and kiss him again.

But it wasn’t going to happen.

Not ever again.

“It wasn’t…bad,” she said firmly, not trusting herself to look at him. “It’s just that I cannot afford to compromise my professional objectivity or integrity.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his expression change, and she dared a glance at him, wishing her heart would stop thudding. It was so loud she feared he’d hear it. There was an expression of curiosity on his face. “I never get emotionally or personally involved with anyone I’m professionally involved with.” Her chin lifted and she forced all emotion to cool. “It would be totally unethical and could compromise my work.”

Jake’s mouth quirked in amusement. The ice princess was back, and he apparently had once again been relegated to the poor hapless peon. Her fire had cooled, her passion had been banked, but beyond them, shadowing the depths of her eyes, that haunting vulnerability was back, making his own heart ache for whatever had hurt her.

It was an absolutely amazing thing to watch the way she turned on and off like a light switch. How the hell did she do that? he wondered. More importantly, why?

He wished he could have been annoyed or angry, but he only felt a desperate desire to pull her back into his arms and protect her from whatever had put that haunting sadness in her eyes.

“That’s the first time a woman’s ever told me my kisses were unethical.”

“It’s not funny,” she snapped, aware that she was more annoyed at herself than him. How could she have compromised this entire project, knowing how important it was? “I’m sorry, Jake, but this is
not
going to happen again,” she said, her voice firm, emphatic. Before he could react, she threw open the car door and hopped out, not trusting herself to be so close to him in the small car. “Now, I’ve got work to do. Thanks for the ride into town. I’d appreciate if you’d deliver my belongings to the carriage house while I go see Tommy.”

Head high, heart still pounding, Rebecca turned and marched toward the double doors of the ranch house, determined to put this behind her. Time away from Jake Ryan would do nothing but good, she decided, determined to keep her distance—at least her physical distance.

Jake watched her, his eyes cool and assessing, his pride a tad wounded. “Not going to happen again?”

He shook his head as he started the car, his gaze lingering on the pleasant sway of her backside. He smiled slowly, touching a finger to his lips, which were still warm from her kisses. “Don’t count on it, Slick.” He put the car in gear. “Don’t count on it at all.”

 

She’d spent almost three hours with Tommy, grateful to have something to divert her from the scene with Jake, and grateful to delay the time when she’d actually have to face going back to the carriage house.

She’d had no time to prepare herself for doing so, and right now, after the events of this day, she was more than a bit unsettled.

Her emotions were in absolute turmoil today, way too close to the surface to be controlled. She comforted herself with the thought that all of this emotional response was atypical, nothing to worry about, brought on by any number of things, not the least of which was her mother’s death. Seeing Tommy Ryan again had been another factor, not to mention her unusual and totally out of character reaction to Jake Ryan. And then, of course, being offered the opportunity to return to the only place she’d thought of as home.

No wonder she was in such turmoil.

Once she was able to coolly, calmly analyze all that had happened today, to put things in their proper perspective, she’d be able to carefully control her emotions once again.

Since she’d had a lifetime of practice, she was absolutely sure she could.

After gathering up all the papers Tommy had graciously agreed to let her borrow, Rebecca drove to the northernmost part of the ranch, where the coach house was located.

Inexplicably nervous, she hesitated for a few moments, sitting in the car, watching the setting sun, letting herself adjust to being here, giving herself time to get her emotions under control.

She hadn’t realized it would be this difficult, she thought, as she finally dragged herself out of the car.
Slowly, she opened the front door of the house, but couldn’t do more than step inside the door.

Cobwebs of memories engulfed her like a strong net. Valiantly, she fought them back, struggling to break free of their hold, trying to keep a tight rein on her emotions, trying to stay cool, objective as she glanced around the familiar living room.

The door was still open behind her, allowing the dusky light of early evening to filter through, casting her shadow across the plank wood floor.

Almost paralyzed by the ghost of memories that seemed to have crawled out of the woodwork to mock and haunt her, she could do little but stare at her own shadow as she tried to harness all the emotions that threatened to come tumbling out.

Pressing a hand to her heart, she was surprised to feel a pain so strong it seemed to radiate through her.

So many memories were here. If she closed her eyes, she knew she would be drawn back through time.

Twenty years.

She continued to stare at her shadow, but it was no longer her adult shadow, but as it had been the last time she’d stood in this house—the slight, wispy shadow of a frightened, lonely, seven-year-old child.

BOOK: With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1)
9.11Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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