Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Haven

He chuckled and her face heated. “We call that liquid courage around here, darling, and you had some. I want you to know I was serious back then when I said I was interested in you. I’m even more interested, knowing you’re not a city girl living in some high-rise apartment hours away from me.”

“Maybe I’m not staying.”

“Then maybe while you’re here, we should spend some time together. I’m a good man, Beth. I’m not talking about taking over your life. I’m saying you intrigue me and you make my body ache. I think our attraction is something worth exploring.”

He moved closer. Her pulse pounded, and she tilted her head involuntarily to keep their eyes in contact.

Another step.

“I want to kiss you,” he growled. Their bodies were close enough their heat meshed, and a gasp of need escaped her throat. “Do you want to kiss me?”

Oh God. “I shouldn’t.”

“But do you want to?”

Desire and being responsible warred within her. Accepting his touch tonight would make it all that much harder to turn him down the next time.

He pressed closer yet, and their torsos connected, his groin rubbing her belly. Her back hit the wall as he caged her without using his hands. Their lips brushed, and she sucked in his air, the full body of his flavour rolling over her tongue like a fine wine. He kissed her tenderly, not the white-hot passion she’d replayed over and over in her mind from the bar scene, but a worshipful caress that started and finished with their lips.

When he pulled away his pupils were huge, his smile even wider.

“Good night, Beth.”

And he walked away, down the path that led into the trees.

Daniel took his time making his way home, stopping by the swimming hole to stare into the swirling water. His thinking place—the spot he’d retreated to when the noise and bustle of being a part of huge family grew too much.

He’d needed to find quiet. The middle child of six, his daddy would joke, which meant he’d always had one or another of his brothers around. He’d learned to be the peacemaker, to walk the most serene path possible. At least in the public eye.

A ripple spread from the rock he tossed, small waves carrying across the slow-moving section of creek. Beth was a widow—he hadn’t expected that. Something in her actions in the bar had struck him hard, and he wanted so badly to explore the way she had let him take control of her in that hallway before the time and place had ripped them back to reality. She hadn’t acted like a grieving widow. She’d said as much, but she must have been with the man for a number of years. Lance had to be at least eight.

Heck, the boys were another whole issue. Daniel loved kids, but they weren’t what he was focusing on right now. It was the woman who fascinated him. Although, if he did get involved with Beth, she’d probably have all kinds of rules about not seeing the kids and keeping things secretive. He had a buddy in town who was dating a single mom, and he’d shared stories that reminded Daniel of having to crawl in the windows at two a.m. to avoid the wrath of his daddy for missing curfew.

He stood and dragged his fingers through his hair. Ahh, shit. The vision of Beth’s eyes haunted him. Why in the hell couldn’t he just walk away? Did he want to have to hide and balance dating and dealing with kids? The ache in his belly screamed far louder than the warning in his brain.

It wasn’t about being totally in lust, although getting to continue the adventure they’d interrupted so long ago excited him a lot. No, it was something else altogether. Something drew him and damn if he could deny the need.

Baggage and all, he was determined to see where this thing between them could go.

He strode through trees, twilight enough to guide his path. Before he even hit the porch, he smelled his daddy’s pipe, the aromatic tobacco lingering on the air. Daniel took the steps two at a time, dropping himself into one of the comfortable chairs on the deck.

“Beth and the boys get home okay?” Mike puffed his pipe then blew a long slow stream of smoke into the air.

Daniel shook his head. “You adopting more strays? They got home fine.”

His father rocked his chair a few times, the rhythm of the porch boards creaking soft and low. “She was surprised to see you today. You want to share what that’s about?”

Daniel coughed. Last thing he wanted was to tell the truth. “No.” His father raised a brow. “Sir.”

Mike didn’t say a word, just lifted his pipe to his lips. He smoked in silence, and Daniel tapped his fingers against his leg.

Damn it. His father did it to him every blessed time.

“I met her in Calgary when we took in a shipment of furniture in July. I hoped to see her again, but we…lost touch.”

Silence reigned. The fall noises were subtler than the spring. The crickets fell silent earlier as the temperature dropped quicker in the evening. The soft sounds of the animals in the coop and the barns carried on the air occasionally, but it was a calm night. Peace filled his soul, the motions of his father rocking, even and slow, like a familiar balm. In the distance, the sound of the guest cabin door closing rang out.

“That’ll be Blake saying good night to Jaxi. He’ll be here soon.” Mike pointed the mouthpiece of his pipe at Daniel. “I don’t know it all, but that lady in the Peter’s house needs some caring for.” Daniel moved to speak but his father held up a hand. “If you’re interested in her, you treat her nice. Understand, son?”

“I always treat ladies nice.”

The firm command in his father’s eyes made him hesitate. It was outrageous how he could be in his midtwenties and still reduced to a schoolchild by the man.

Blake wandered around the corner, his expression so dreamy Daniel couldn’t hold in his chuckle. His father joined in and Blake grinned sheepishly.

“I look like a love-struck fool, don’t I?”

The three of them laughed together, sitting on the porch in the full dark, and Daniel relaxed into the peace offered by his family. Finding Beth had turned all his previous plans to dust. Which was just fine—tomorrow was another day.

He could hardly wait.

Beth wandered the house after the boys finally settled. She wished it was as easy for her to put aside the excitement of the day and fade into sleep. The water boiled, and she made a cup of tea and carried it onto the porch to sip while she stared into the dark September sky.

Tell the truth, Beth. She sighed into her cup. Yeah, what she really wished for was someone to tuck her into bed.

And not just any someone—Daniel.

There was a part inside her that was scared to death of getting involved with a man again, but as her sister and parents had pointed out, not all men were like Samuel. Not everyone had the desire to control every facet of her life until she couldn’t breathe.

But her late husband hadn’t started that way either.

The next days passed in the usual blur of activity, getting the boys to the bus on time and rushing to her own teaching position. Arranging play dates and settling further into the community. She saw the Coleman boys around town occasionally, once Travis and once Blake, and both times her mind shot back to Daniel. No matter how full she made her to-do list, the damn man preoccupied her mind. After asking a few casual questions of her co-workers and other people she’d gotten to know, Daniel had come through with a squeaky-clean report.

Would getting involved with him really be so terrible?

By Friday, after a week’s worth of crappy sleep where she tossed and turned all night, she’d come to a conclusion. She could wear out the battery-operated boyfriend she’d finally had the courage to purchase, or she could find another way to deal with the lust driving her. She didn’t need a man in her life full time, but she sure could use one part time.

He’d offered. He was attracted to her. Maybe he’d even be willing to show her something other than sex in the missionary position.

As long as she was the one who got to call the shots, this could work out well for them both.

The house was quiet, the boys all off at a birthday party. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, tucking her T-shirt in a little more, buttoning and unbuttoning her sweater. It was one thing to decide she was ready for some casual sex, another to inform Daniel of his role in that decision. Beth plopped down on her bed and sighed, her reflection taunting her. Yeah, the sleepless nights really added to her appeal as a sex symbol, dark shadows under her eyes. It took a rush of sheer willpower to force herself out the door and across the small bridge before she could change her mind, again. She’d never know if she didn’t take the chance.

The barns and outbuildings on the other side of the trees were brightly lit, and she hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she’d even find him at home on a Friday night, but there was no way she was going to phone. If nothing else, she’d walk to the main ranch house, say hello to Marion and Mike then retreat to the Peter’s house to wait until it was time to pick up the kids.

She found him in the barn. Her throat and mouth flashed dry as she watched him rake something straw-like from a stall. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, and his biceps rocked with every pull of his arms. Tight muscles showed under the jeans, under his shirt—damn, he was just so good looking from boots all the way up to his slightly mussed hair. A throb hit between her legs and she bit her lip. There was nothing wrong with her physical response.