Читать книгу A Christmas Seduction - Daire St. Denis - Страница 12

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When on vacation I always make a point of trying new things. After all, isn’t that what traveling is all about?

Jo Duval

ONE SECOND SHE was feeling warm and flirty, and the next the cold hand of dread wrapped itself firmly around her throat. Squeezing.

The boy was running their way followed by the three hounds from hell, nipping at his heels. It made no difference they had amusing names. The dogs were big, they were loud and they had incredibly sharp teeth. Just then, the boy’s father called to him from the porch, telling him to come inside. With a groan, the boy made his way to the house, complaining the whole way, leaving the dogs with no one to molest...except her.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Jo hid behind Thad, pressing herself right up against his back and clutching his arms like they were life preservers. If she could have crawled into his skin, she would have.

The sharp sound of Thad’s whistle only made her clamp on more fiercely, and while she was aware of him speaking, she could not make out the words.

Eventually, Thad took hold of her hands and got her to release him as he eased her into the circle of his arms. “Hey. Hey,” he said softly.

She opened her eyes.

“It’s okay.” He smiled down at her. “I sent them away.”

Dammit. So much for her attempt to be someone different on this trip.

“You are seriously scared of dogs, aren’t you?”

“You think?” She forced a laugh even though her fear was anything but funny.

“What happened to you?” He brushed a wisp of hair out of her face.

“I got bit.” She tried to recall the incident, but it was vague. “I barely remember it because I was so young, but ever since I’ve been terrified of dogs. It’s...incapacitating.”

She looked up and realized—oh, shit—she was fully ensconced in Thad’s big, strong arms, her mittened hand resting on his chest, an affectionate gesture, much like she’d witnessed between Gloria and Dillon an hour ago. While she may have invented a seductive scenario starring Thad this morning, he was a complete stranger, someone she’d known for less than twenty-four hours, and finding herself wrapped in his arms—while very nice—was a little too familiar.

She backed away from his embrace and he let her go.

“You interested in overcoming that fear?”

“Maybe. But...” She was about to say not today when he whistled, a short, sharp sound, and the older dog, who she assumed was Sue, ran over, her offspring following right behind. Though one stopped to sniff, nosing around in the snow before setting in to dig with a vengeance.

“And...that is Digger,” he said wryly.

She remembered the name from last night. In the daylight, the animals were certainly friendlier looking. The one named Humper sat and stared with his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth. Digger, a mostly black dog with white tips on his ears, just kept digging, turning one way and then another, snow and dirt flying out from behind him.

The dog named Sue sat by her master’s leg, gazing up at him with adoration before turning that gaze on Jo. She could see the intelligence in the dog’s face, her eyes rimmed with white fur, like she was wearing a mask, almost appearing human as she blinked at Jolie.

Okay, maybe they weren’t so bad.

“Put your hand out.”

“Huh?”

Thad took her arm, pulled off her mitten and arranged her hand palm up. “Let Sue sniff you.”

When the dog approached, Jo’s automatic response was to pull away, but Thad held her hand in place. The dog sniffed her before resting its chin in her upturned palm.

“Oh.”

Thad knelt down beside the dog, still holding Jo’s hand. With his other hand, he scratched the top of the dog’s head. “She likes it, right behind the ears. Like this.” He gazed up at her, his blue eyes brighter in the sun. “Give it a try.”

I can do this. I can.

Hesitating for only a second, Jo let her hand be guided by Thad’s until she was touching the soft fur on the top of the dog’s head. She buried her fingers into it, scratching gently.

“Now you’ve got it.”

The dog shifted to lean against her leg and Jo jumped. She pulled her hand away, not because she was scared but because the dog’s movement startled her.

She looked at her hand. “Oh, my God,” she whispered. “I touched her. Did you see that? I touched a dog.”

“Did more than touch her. You gave her a real good scratch.”

“I did, didn’t I?” On some level, Jo knew how ridiculous it must seem, that she was overjoyed by the simple act of petting a dog. But to her this was huge, and the result was that she felt invincible. Superhuman. Like she could do anything, anything at all.

So she did. When Thad stood, she turned toward him, put one mittened hand on his cheek while her bare hand gripped the front of his jacket. Then she went up on tiptoe and kissed him full on the mouth.

* * *

HER LIPS WERE cold but that didn’t stop Thad from enjoying City Slicker’s mouth slanting generously over his. She started to pull away, but he stopped her by threading his fingers through her hair—silky soft—and holding her close. He intended to warm up those lips, taste the inside of her mouth, get her to taste a little more of him if she was willing.

Yep. She was willing.

He’d suspected that full mouth of hers was made for kissing, and he was right. While the woman might be apprehensive when it came to animals, her kiss indicated that she’d be anything but wary when it came to messing around beneath the sheets. An image of just such a scenario had Thad adjusting her head so he could kiss her even more deeply.

Suddenly she gasped, sucking the air right out of his lungs and into hers as she pulled away, staring up at him like she was just seeing him for the first time.

“Oh, my God. I kissed you.”

“Yes, you did.” The hand on his chest pushed but Thad held on, not letting her get away just yet.

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?”

She tilted her head to one side. Blinked. Opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. Finally she said, “I’m not...” then paused. After another couple of rapid blinks, a small smile touched the edges of her wide mouth. “You know what? I’m not sorry.”

“No?” He felt his lips turn up, mirroring hers. “Good. ’Cause I’m not either.”

“I’m glad.” She gazed into his eyes, half smiling, half frowning, as if she couldn’t quite make up her mind about the situation.

“I wouldn’t complain if you wanted to take another shot—”

“Thad?”

Shit. He turned to see Curtis walking across the yard. “You gonna come help finish chores or what?”

“Yep. I’m on my way.” He squeezed Jolie’s hands. “Chores call. You coming?”

Her features still waffled between a smile and a frown. She settled on the frown. “Uh...you know what? I’d better go do some work myself.”

* * *

SITTING AT THE DESK in her room, Jolie tried to work on her article for Travel America, except every time she started typing, she found herself caught up in an instant replay of kissing Thad. She should be embarrassed...except she wasn’t. At all. How could she be when Thad was such a good kisser? The way he held on to the back of her head, tilting her the way he wanted her, holding her close? The way his lips were both soft and firm, lulling and commanding all at once?

Divine.

The way he’d used his tongue on the inside of her lips, tracing them, tasting her?

Heavenly.

The way he tasted of black licorice?

Delicious.

She ran her thumb over her lips, letting her lids flutter closed in recollection, playing the kiss over one more time, adding a few embellishments along the way. Like Thad’s hand dropping to her ass, his head dipping low in order to whisper naughty things in her ear.

Glancing at the top of her screen, she read through some of her previous entries. Be the person you’ve always wanted to be... Try new things.

“What are you going to do, Jo?” she asked herself. Was she just going to write those things for the sake of the article? Or was she going to live them?

Pounding the desk, she muttered, “Dammit. I’m going to live them!”

A second later, a knock sounded at her door and when Jo called for whoever it was to come in—what if it was Thad?—the door opened and Gloria peered inside. “We’re heading out to find a tree. Do you want to come?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

She grabbed her jacket and followed Gloria to the porch, where the rest of the guests had congregated. Their hostess introduced everyone: there was the father-and-son duo, Simon and Zak, and a young couple, Kaylee and Evan.

“We just got married last month,” Kaylee explained, beaming with happiness. “This is our first Christmas together.”

After congratulations, Gloria said, “I hope we can make your stay a memorable one.” Then she clapped her gloved hands. “And we’ll start by finding the best damn Christmas tree there is. Dillon says the nicest ones grow up on that ridge.” She pointed to a spot that looked an awfully long way away. “As long as everyone’s game, we thought we’d ride up there.”

“As in, horses?” Jo blurted amidst the sounds of excitement from the rest of the guests.

“Yes. Is there anyone who hasn’t ridden before?”

Jo raised her hand. Other than Zak, she was the only one, and her resolve to be the daring, adventurous Jo she’d always wanted to be slipped.

“Why doesn’t Zak ride with me for his first time,” Dillon offered.

While Zak complained that he wanted to ride his own horse, his father nodded, saying he thought it was a good idea.

“Evan and I can ride together,” Kaylee piped up, winking at her new husband.

“What about you, Jo?” Gloria asked. “Do you want your own horse, or would you prefer to ride with someone?”

“She can ride with me.” Thad was leaning against the rail, watching her carefully. His gaze created a little tickle at the back of her throat.

“Okay,” she replied thickly. “I’ll ride with Thad.”

“That’s settled, then.” Gloria pointed toward the barn. “We’d better get going. The sun sets early this time of year.”

Jolie followed the rest of the group toward the barn, feeling light-headed. It wasn’t nerves exactly; it was...excitement? Excitement and anxiety all mixed up together?

With a dash of arousal?

She could still feel the effects of Thad’s gaze, which was warm, probing...kind of like his tongue.

Once inside the barn, her mixed feelings only intensified. Horses were beautiful animals, but they were also big and scary, which both thrilled and terrified her. Then she considered Thad. There was something seriously hot about watching a man do something he was really good at, and he was clearly good with horses. Good with animals in general.

People, too.

Within no time at all, Thad, Curtis and Dillon had saddled up six horses, and everyone who knew what they were doing mounted. Once on top of his horse, Dillon leaned down, instructing Zak to take his hand so Dillon could pull him up in front of him. Evan did the same with Kaylee.

It was just Jo left.

“Take my hand,” a deep voice said from above her.

“I’m a little bigger than the others,” she replied, feeling insecure all of a sudden.

“I got you.”

“You said that last night.”

“I don’t make the same mistake twice.” He grinned. “Now put your right foot in the stirrup to give yourself a boost.”

She did as she was told and, true to his word, Thad pulled her right up onto the horse. It was awkward getting her left leg over to the other side, but thanks to her biweekly yoga routine, she managed it without any mishaps.

“There now, you all right?” Thad asked, the words tickling the inside of her ear.

“I’m fine,” she said, wriggling in the saddle. “But this can’t be very comfortable for you.”

“On the contrary. I find it very comfortable.”

“Oh!” Jo wasn’t sure if her exclamation was the result of Thad’s big body snugging right up to hers—his thighs on either side of her legs, his chest pressed against her back, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist—or because the horse had started moving. She leaned back into him and the horse stopped.

“As much as I enjoy you leaning against me,” he whispered roughly, “you need to sit up straight for the horse to move.”

“Oh...okay.” She sat up and the horse started walking again, following the others out into the yard. It was such a strange sensation, sitting up so high on the back of an animal, swaying side to side with the horse’s undulating gait. Completely unnatural...yet kind of cool, too.

“You okay?” Thad asked softly.

His deep, melodic voice sent shivers into the pit of her stomach. “I’m okay.”

“You let me know if you’re not.”

“I will.”

The other horses moved off ahead of them in single file and they brought up the rear. Slowly.

“You’re tense.”

“Am I?”

“Yep, and the horse senses it.”

“I don’t know how to not be tense.” She tried to turn in the saddle to face him, felt off balance and swiveled back around, grappling for the knobby thing on the saddle.

He tightened his arms around her and she immediately felt better. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, his scent reminding her of their kiss.

“Talking is a good way to keep the mind occupied, so you don’t overthink things.”

“Okay.”

When she didn’t say anything—because quite frankly she was still thinking about that kiss—Thad said, “Want me to start?”

“Sure.”

“Where you from?”

Before she could answer, he said, “No. Let me guess... Chicago.”

“How’d you know?”

“Well, you’re clearly from the city and you sound like Gloria when you talk.” He flashed a grin. “She’s originally from Chicago, too.”

“And you’re from Louisiana. Am I right?”

“Good ear.”

“What brought you all the way out here?”

He was quiet for a few moments. “Work, mostly. What about you? What brings you to a guest ranch in Montana?”

“Same. Work.” This time when Jolie had the urge to turn her head, she controlled it. “I’m writing an article about the ranch for a magazine.”

“You’re a writer, huh?”

“Yes.” She liked being called a writer.

She leaned back and the horse stopped.

“Miss Jolie,” Thad murmured. “You need to sit up.”

“Sorry.”

“So...” he said. “You’ve never touched a dog, never ridden a horse. Now look at you. This day is full of firsts for you.”

“That’s my goal for this trip. To try new things, every day.”

“It’s a good motto.”

The other horses were getting farther and farther ahead. Jolie didn’t mind. She liked feeling as though it was just her and Thad on this ride, cozied up together, getting to know one another...

Suddenly an unpleasant thought intruded. “I suppose this is nothing new for you.”

“Riding? It’s part of the job description.”

“No. I mean, taking care of the guests.”

His arms stiffened around her. “And when you say ‘taking care of,’ what exactly do you mean?”

“You know...flirting with the guests.”

“Are you asking if I go around kissing guests on a regular basis?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

He transferred the reins to his left hand and gently caressed her thigh with his right. “I do not go around kissing guests. And may I remind you who kissed who first?”

She covered his wandering hand. Not because she wanted him to stop; only because she couldn’t think straight when he was doing that. “I was excited. It was meant to be a little peck.”

“That wasn’t a peck.”

“You’re the one who made it into something more,” she insisted, smiling as she recalled the kiss. Again.

“Is that the story you’re going with?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Jolie marveled at how easy it was to banter with this man. Along with her lack of skills with animals, repartee was another art she had not even come close to perfecting in her twenty-eight years.

“You must be a very good writer, because you’ve got quite an imagination on you.”

She laughed, partly because she was enjoying herself and also because Thad had just voiced her thoughts. She’d never had that happen before.

Feeling good, Jo said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Last night...” She hesitated, but only for a millisecond. “Did you see me...inside the tub?”

He leaned close, his mouth right beside her ear. “You mean did I see you naked?”

“Yes,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

“Well now, a gentleman would lie and say no.” He took a deep breath, like he was inhaling her scent. “The question is—” his breath sifted the hair at the side of her head, making her shiver “—would you like me to be a gentleman...or not?”