Chapter
Twenty
Jillian was catching on quickly. He could see her
begin to anticipate the horse’s movements. She could sense when
Toby was turning and the direction, even feel when the pace was
about to change. But through it all James was very aware of
her. Her hips were wedged firmly into the
vee of his legs, his thighs dwarfing hers. There was little space
between her shapely little bottom and his groin. His hands
tightened on her waist in spite of himself, although whether it was
to hold her away or pull her closer, he couldn’t say. The only
thing he was certain of was that his jeans had become very
uncomfortable.
“Why are you always so hot?” she asked
suddenly.
“What?” He really should stop glancing
down at her backside.
“Your body heat. You’re always so
warm.”
“High metabolism.” His voice came out
thick. He needed a distraction, but his brain wasn’t working again.
“Family trait. Does it bother you?”
“No. No, it’s kind of nice, actually. I
like it.”
She nestled back into him, making him
fight to stifle a groan as his body reacted. God, she felt good.
“You’re doing really well, doc. Ready to try it on your
own?”
“What? Wait!” She grabbed at his
hands.
“I’m not leaving. I’m just going to
move back a little and let go of you, okay? I’ll still be right
here. Put your hands up like before.”
“All right.” Jillian let her arms rise
out from her body like wings. “I’m ready. I think.”
James let go of her waist and eased
back from her body, putting some welcome inches between his
throbbing groin and her enticing little butt. The relief was
enormous, but it slowly dawned on him that the distance between
them was an illusion. The sun was low in the sky and cast golden
lights into Jillian’s hair. She was beautiful as she sat poised in
front of him, moving as the horse moved. He could feel that she was
in perfect synch with the horse now, beginning to instinctively
shift her legs as well. And he could feel her enjoyment blossom
into joy. For a few perfect moments she was in harmony with
everything around her, and that harmony seemed to radiate from her
and into him. He could hardly breathe, feeling her presence as if
it was part of him. The curious connection seemed tangible—and
transcendent.
James let the moment draw out as long
as he dared, then reluctantly slowed Toby to a walk. Jillian opened
her eyes and looked back at him, but he managed to dodge her gaze.
He knew he couldn’t muster a defense against those green eyes, not
at the moment. Maybe not at all.
“Is he tired? Do we need to stop?” She
lowered her hands, and James noted she now rested them on her legs
instead of seeking Toby’s mane again.
“It’s a bit more exercise than he’s
used to, and he’s carrying two of us. We’re going to head down the
coulee to the river. The horses can drink and the grass is good
there.”
“What the hell’s a coulee?” She sounded
if he had made up the word.
“City girl,” he teased. “The coulees
are the steep sandstone ravines that drop down to the river.
They’re eroded by rain and melt water, full of caves and fossils.
Bears and cougars too.”
“Really? Do you think we’ll see any
wildlife?”
“Well, it’ll be twilight by the time
we’re done.” And just what was he doing, he wondered, heading
further away from the farm? The horses could be watered in their
corrals just as easily, yet he couldn’t bring himself to head back
there yet. “Animals tend to move around more then, at dusk and at
dawn. Maybe we’ll get lucky and see some.”
I hope
so.
What? He lifted
his head and regarded her. For a split second he was certain she
hadn’t spoken aloud. Then he shrugged it off. Imagination. Had to
be. He couldn’t even hear his own brothers’ thoughts unless he was
in wolf form.
Twilight had already come to the deep
valley at the bottom of the coulees. The sky far above was gold
fading to mauve, and the evening star was bright in the south. A
faint breeze stirred the leaves of enormous trees, grown tall with
ample water and rich soil. The river itself was smooth and glassy,
reflecting the golden sky.
Jillian inhaled deeply, taking in the
cool air, rich with scents. Water, earth, green and growing things.
Abundant life. Forest primeval. She watched as ripples appeared
here and there on the river, fish seeking insects. Swallows darted
low along the water and ducks could be heard somewhere nearby.
There was a timelessness here, she realized. It could be 2011 or
1811 or 1411, and look just the same.
“I guess that’s why they call it the
Peace River,” she said aloud. “Despite being so big, it hardly
looks like it’s moving.”
“Looks are deceiving. The locals call
the river the Mighty Peace. It’s calm on the
surface but the water beneath is deep and moving very fast. A lot
of swimmers misjudge it and end up caught in the powerful current.
Some of them don’t escape.”
She was quiet for a long time after
that. James was very much like the river. Calm and steady on the
surface, but somehow she’d been drawn in and captured by the deep
current beneath. Would she escape? And did she really want
to?
All she’d known when she arrived at the
farm was that she was tremendously attracted to this man. But when
she’d decided to act on it, the results had been shocking. How
could she have known a kiss could have such power? How could
something as simple as the joining of lips flare all at once into a
fusion of souls? And God, that sounded so corny. But it wasn’t just
any kiss. If James hadn’t stepped back when he did . . . well, she
wasn’t sure she would have stopped him, and that was a little
scary. He was still a stranger, wasn’t he?
No. He might be
a little strange at times maybe, but he was definitely not a
stranger. She couldn’t explain how she knew that, but she knew.
That kiss had been less like the
‘gee-I’m-physically-attracted-to-you’ sort and more like the
‘there-you-are-at-last’ kind. Recognition, she decided. Almost
reunion. The physical desire was strong, but she realized that
wasn’t the only force driving them. At least, it hadn’t been the
only force driving her.
If James wasn’t a stranger, then what
was he, exactly? She knew that she felt good around him, solid and
grounded. Not less herself but somehow more. No one had ever made
her feel quite like that.
“A dollar twenty-seven for your
thoughts.”
“What?” She blinked up at
James.
“Your thoughts are worth a lot more
than a penny, doc, but a dollar twenty-seven is all I have on
me.”
She stood perfectly still then, just
looking at him. He could so easily pass for a Viking from another
age. The pale blond hair, the close blond beard that accentuated
the angles of his face rather than obscured them. The broad
shoulders and tall, powerful build. The piercing blue eyes. The
longer she looked at him, the more she realized that it was what
was in the eyes that called out to her, pulled at her. His brow was
often fierce and forbidding, and his eyes could be too. But in
their bottomless blue depths there was more. Much more. Knowledge,
pain, passion. And tenderness. This was a man who felt intensely,
who would love deeply. She still didn’t know everything about James
Macleod, but Jillian knew she wanted to learn.
She simply stepped into him then, slid
her arms up and around his neck, and tipped her face up to be
kissed. She wasn’t disappointed. His lips were hungry and so were
hers. He demanded and she yielded. She demanded and he gave. Heat
flared, raced over both of them like a brushfire over dry prairie
grass, until skin and blood were alight.
James hiked her up until her legs
circled his waist, supported her with a powerful arm while one hand
slid under her shirt and palmed a breast, kneaded it as he traced
her lips with his tongue. Jillian captured his tongue for a moment,
drew it into her mouth with exquisite slowness, released it as he
groaned deep in his throat. His hand on her breast became more
demanding, his fingers teasing the nipple unbearably. His other
hand cupped her bottom and squeezed it again and again until she
began to move against him. Even through her clothes, it was
electrifying to rub herself against his hard abdomen. A throbbing
tension was growing low in her belly, a pleasurable restlessness
building. She wanted more. She wanted the flame, the heat, she
wanted to burn down in James’s embrace. A hum vibrated in the back
of her throat as she arched against his powerful body, as he shoved
her shirt, her bra, up and out of the way. A moan broke free as he
left her lips and bent his head to Jillian’s naked
breast.
He lapped and teased at it with his
tongue, breathed hot on the nipple until she shivered with
pleasure. Then without warning James set her feet on the ground,
sank down himself until he was kneeling before her. He undid her
jeans and kissed her belly, undid the bottom button of her shirt
and lapped at her navel. He worked his way up until no buttons were
left—and Jillian couldn’t stand it anymore. She pulled off the
shirt, then unhooked her bra. Tossed it. Wriggled off her jeans and
kicked them away. Saw the punch of surprise and the flash of
arousal in James’s eyes. And reveled in the sensation of this man’s
strong hands on her bare skin. His mouth sealed again over a
breast, hot and moist, drawing in the nipple, tugging at it. Began
to suckle hard and strong. Yes, oh yes.
Jillian held his head to her, fingers locked in his hair, her whole
body shaking with waves of sensation. God,
yes. James’s calloused palm circled her belly where strange
pulls and tugs deep within her core echoed the insistent tugging at
her breast.
All that was left of the sun was a
fading glimmer of color on the far horizon. The first stars were
already making their appearance and the moon was on the rise. Here,
among the trees, the shadows were blue and purple. Her skin was
snow in the strange half light. But within, she was pure
flame.
James pulled back a moment, shrugged
out of his shirt. Stood and skimmed off his jeans. Jillian nearly
moaned at the sight of his naked body. He was even more gorgeous
than she had dreamed. Every muscle was powerful, defined. He was
broad in the chest, in the shoulders, but there was an animal grace
to his movements. Her gaze traveled appreciatively over his body
and came to rest on his long, hard erection. Tentatively, she
reached out a hand and ran her fingers over it. Her mouth curved as
he hissed in his breath between his teeth, as she saw those
powerful muscles quiver.
Smooth, so smooth. Kid leather over
polished stone. She slid her hand over the rigid length of him and
closed her fingers tightly, savoring the strength and hardness of
it. And hot. James’s body radiated heat but
this was fire itself. Jillian’s body clenched at the thought of
just how that fiery shaft might feel deep inside her . . . and for
a moment she had to fight to breathe.
She didn’t see James move. She blinked
and she was surrounded with his strength, with his heat, wrapped in
those muscled arms and held close. Skin to skin, head to toe, as
his shaft pressed and pulsed against her belly, as his big hands
roved over her backside. Then just as suddenly he scooped her up
and walked away with her through the trees and into a small
clearing.
“It’s a little softer here,” he
murmured and kissed her brow, her cheek, before easing her down.
Jillian had expected grass but found herself lying on something
surprisingly soft and spongy. She felt around her in
surprise.
“It’s just moss.” James answered her
unspoken question, then rested on his elbow beside her. He leaned
over and took her lips before she could think of any more
questions, ran a hand over the contours of her body, followed it
with kisses over her breasts and belly, then palmed the moist curls
between her legs.
She was restless and edgy now, needing,
needing. And he knew. He ran his hand
between her legs, long lazy strokes that reached all the way to her
tailbone and back. He gradually kissed his way down until he was
nestled between her legs, then lifted her hips in his large hands
until he could rest her knees over his broad shoulders. He bent his
head and ran his tongue along the delicate crease of her thigh,
slowly, much too slowly. Jillian shuddered hard with the
anticipation, every nerve shouting for James to hurry, please
hurry, gasping for air as her heart pounded in her ears. She could
just make out his face in the shadows, see him smile as he bent his
mouth to her, sampled her, savored her, then drank her
greedily.
A guttural cry burst from Jillian’s
throat. The sudden storm of pleasure had her gasping, made her body
pitch and buck like a small boat caught in a rough sea. Sensation
flooded her, swamped her with monstrous waves so racking and
intense that she shook with the power of them. She exploded into
the sky, into the sun, pulsing with a wave of heat that rippled
outward until the very clouds were set afire.
When awareness returned, Jillian found
herself lying beside James, looking into his Viking blue eyes. She
blinked a few times to focus, feeling stunned but managing a shaky
smile. He kissed her soundly, wrapping her up in his strong arms,
anchoring her, keeping her from floating away. Safe.
“Wow.” She didn’t know what else to
say, didn’t trust her voice anyway. She wasn’t too sure about the
rest of her body either. Languor. That was
the only word that seemed to fit the state her body was in, a deep
luxuriant languor. Jillian was certain she
was no longer lying on the bed of moss, but rather, was draped over
it like an empty coat. Perhaps she had burned up after all, from
the inside out. No bones left, just the hide.
“I feel like limp spaghetti,” she
blurted out.
James chuckled. “I think I liked ‘wow’
better.”
She grinned and brushed his hair out of
his eyes. Saw that those eyes had softened, filled with warmth and
humor. She saw something else in them too. The fire was still
raging.
James nuzzled her ear and took the lobe
into his mouth, suckling it as he had her breast. A heated hand
circled her breasts, her belly, nudged her legs apart and began to
stroke her folds. The orgasm had left her intensely sensitive, and
Jillian trembled beneath his touch, could hardly bear it. He
murmured into her ear, tickling it with heated breath, and her
entire body clenched and quivered. He pulled her closer, and
Jillian felt his fiery hot erection pressed against her thigh. A
finger slid inside her, explored as she moaned. Two fingers pressed
deep, deeper. Her hips rose of their own accord, thrust hard
against his strong hand but it wasn’t enough. She was aching all
over, edgy and wanting. Needing . .
.
Jillian whimpered aloud when James took
his hand away, but his muscled body was welcome as it moved over
her. She welcomed the heat and the weight of him, welcomed his face
over hers, framed by the starry sky. Welcomed his powerful legs
nudging hers wider apart. And moaned with a kind of delicious
exultation as he entered her. She felt herself slowly parting
before the fiery heat, giving way, stretching to take the fire into
herself until she had it all. It was bliss, luscious bliss, to be
filled so completely. James paused there, eyes closed as if also
savoring the sensation. He was still for a heartbeat, then
two.
Then he began to move. The exquisite
friction begot a deeply primal pleasure and Jillian became a wild
thing, digging her fingers into the muscles of his buttocks,
pulling him into her, thrusting her hips to meet his rhythm. She
panted out a plea for more, more. A
soundless vibration began to resonate within her, within him, as if
a tidal wave of unimaginable proportions was bearing down on
them.
Harder, faster, deeper. “Come with me,
Jillian,” he panted. “Come with me now.”
Battered, wave-tossed, lost at sea, she
heard his words above the thunder of her blood, the roaring in her
ears, and instinctively linked her fingers with his. She arched to
meet the strength of his body, the power of him as he filled her.
As he both moved her and anchored her. As he was both storm and
haven. They rode the cresting wave together, a pair of dolphins
skimming above the powerful surf until the ocean suddenly fell away
and they flew free.