Читать книгу Wyoming Rugged - Diana Palmer - Страница 9

CHAPTER FOUR

BLAIR LOOKED DOWN at Niki, at the glorious beauty of her young face, when the spray from Old Faithful hit her and she laughed. She held up her hands, enjoying the mist. She was so young. His heart clenched at the sight she made. Other men, even married ones, were staring at her, their expressions as revealing as Blair’s. Niki was like spring personified.

The spray was making patterns on her bodice. Under it, her nipples were hard from the cool sting of the water. She laughed, glancing at two young men nearby who were staring at her so intently that Blair felt himself bristle. The way they were staring at her was disturbing. One of them started to move closer, smiling like a predator. She stopped what she was doing and glanced at Blair worriedly.

“Come here,” Blair said in a hushed tone, and curved her into his side, holding her so that her soft breasts were pressed gently into the warmth of his broad chest. He gave the approaching man a glare so hot that he went back to his friend, and they quickly left the geyser.

“Why were they staring at me like that?” she asked under her breath.

He looked down into her wide, curious gray eyes. Eyes like a September fog, he thought to himself. Soft and warm, full of dreams.

“Blair?” she prompted.

He bent his head so that his lips were right against one small ear. “Your body is reacting to the mist, but they thought it was them.” He said it through his teeth. He didn’t like other men staring at her. “Especially the one who started to talk to you.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, shaken by the feel of his powerful body so close to her own, by the heavy thud of his heartbeat right against her.

He drew back. The black eyes that stared down into hers were narrow and glittery with some undefined emotion. “Don’t you?” he asked, and he moved away from her just a breath, his eyes on her bodice.

She looked down at herself, but she didn’t see anything that should disturb someone. Her wide eyes searched his.

She was so damned innocent that he wanted to throw back his head and scream. She didn’t know. She had no idea what secrets her body was betraying.

He half turned toward the erupting geyser. “I’ll explain it to you when we get back to the car. Watch the geyser.”

His arm contracted. She pressed her cheek against his broad chest, aware of hard muscle and soft, cushy hair under his cotton shirt. She loved the way it felt, being close to him. The people around them vanished. The geyser was erupting, and she hardly noticed it. Blair’s arm was strong and comforting, and just for these few minutes, there were only the two of them in the whole world. It was a moment out of time, out of space, when the impossible seemed possible. She closed her eyes, savoring his breath against her forehead, drinking in the sexy, masculine scent of his cologne, loving the warmth of him against the faint chill of early spring air.

Blair was trying not to notice his own body’s reaction to Niki. She was sixteen years his junior. They were a generation apart. But her breasts were firm and soft, and he wanted to touch them with his mouth. She needed a younger man. Her heartbeat was so strong, she was shaking, he could feel it. She was struggling to breathe normally. He looked down at her pretty bow-shaped mouth and wondered if she’d ever been kissed by anyone who knew how.

“Gosh, that was great!” a young boy exclaimed from nearby. “Can we stay until it goes off again, Dad? Please?”

There was a deep chuckle. “Sorry, kiddo, we’ve got hotel reservations in Billings, and it’s almost an eight-hour drive.”

“Awww, Dad...”

The voices drifted away.

Blair moved back from Niki, averting his eyes. “We’d better get moving, too,” he added. “It’s a long drive home.”

“It really was something to see,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes as she smiled. “I’ll remember it all my life.” Truth be told, the geyser wasn’t what she’d remember, but she wasn’t about to confess that to him.

* * *

HE PUT HER into the car and slid in beside her.

“You said you’d tell me what happened, at the geyser,” she reminded him.

He stared at her quietly, his black eyes narrow and somber. “Niki, what you know about men could be written on the head of a straight pin,” he sighed. “You don’t have a clue what was going on.”

“You could just tell me,” she prompted with a smile.

His big hand touseled her long, pale blond hair affectionately. “It will sound stark.”

“So?” She searched his eyes. “You’re my friend.”

“I am.” He drew in a long breath. “Honey, a woman’s body gives away secrets. The spray hit your blouse, and the tips of your breasts went hard.”

She flushed, but she didn’t look away. “And...?”

“And cold water isn’t the only thing that makes them that way. Desire has the same effect. You were getting some pretty intense attention from two men nearby, especially when you smiled at them. They thought it was a come-on,” he added quietly.

“I...didn’t know!” She averted her eyes and folded her arms across her breasts. “Oh, gosh!” She grimaced. “I went all the way through college, and I didn’t know that, about my own body,” she added miserably.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” he said roughly. “Niki, I never meant to embarrass you. I’m sorry.”

She shifted, her eyes out the window as she fought down raging self-consciousness. “They never talked about things like that in health class,” she said. “Dad never had that sort of conversation with me, and Edna’s just as repressed as he is. I didn’t know!”

He pulled her into his arms and wrapped her up tight, burying his face in her throat, against her soft hair that smelled of wildflowers.

“You’re so uninhibited,” he groaned. “I love it. Men want you, honey. It’s a very natural reaction. You’re very pretty.”

She drew in a breath, so happy that she could have died of it. She sheltered in his arms, feeling safe, secure. Her face nestled in his warm throat. She had to fight the hunger to kiss it.

She breathed in the male scent of him, heady and delightful. “Does it always happen, when women feel desire?” she asked in a husky, shy tone.

“Yes.”

“Does it happen to men, too?” she asked suddenly.

He chuckled. “Yes. But men swell in other places, as well.”

Her face was flaming. “Blair! I’m not that dim!”

“Never mind,” he mused. “We’ll leave that discussion for another time. Right now,” he said, moving her away, “we need to get home. It will be dark before we get there.”

She buckled her seat belt. “Thanks, Blair,” she said without looking at him.

“For what?”

“Explaining it to me.” She shrugged. “I’m just grass-green.”

“We all were, once, Niki. Don’t sweat it.”

She drew in a long breath, and her fingers went to the bracelet he bought her. “Thanks for my bracelet, too.” She glanced at him. “I’m sorry the hotel brought back sad memories for you.”

“I went into it thinking it would be the perfect marriage,” he sighed.

She smiled. “I remember. You were engaged, and you were so happy. I hoped that it would be a good marriage, that you’d have kids and she’d take care of you...” She stopped when she saw his expression. “Sorry,” she said quickly. “Will there be any more animals in the road to stop and look at, do you think?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Some, perhaps. But we’re going back another way. We probably won’t see many.”

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled for deer, just the same,” she added. “I remember one of Daddy’s friends ran into one on the highway. It totaled his car and almost killed him. The deer ran away, but he found it dead the next day in a ditch near the accident.”

“They can cause serious injuries,” he agreed.

“Do you hunt?” she asked.

He smiled. “I don’t have the time,” he said. “Business takes up most of my life.” His face hardened. “I haven’t had time for a lot of things.”

“If I’m hiding at home, from men, aren’t you hiding in your business from life?” she wondered aloud, then ground her teeth together at having made such a personal remark. “I’m sorry, Blair. I shouldn’t have said that.”

His hand had contracted on the steering wheel until the knuckles were white. But it slowly relaxed. “The one time I didn’t hide, I had my heart torn out of me,” he said coldly. “Never again.”

She winced at the raw anguish in his tone. He’d loved his wife. It must have been pure hell to end up like this, to lose her. But it hurt to hear him say that, about Elise. Niki loved him, and he was never going to love her back.

She swallowed. She hated his wife for the way she’d treated him, but there was no accounting for human emotions. People couldn’t help who they loved. She glanced at him. “Isn’t there a chance that she might come back?” she asked quietly. She wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn’t with her.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” The way he said it went through her like an arrow. He’d never used that tone with her in all the time they’d known each other.

She started to apologize again and thought better of it. She turned her attention out the window and watched the landscape passing by until darkness fell over it.

* * *

IT WAS A long, silent ride home after that. He pulled up in the driveway of the Ashton ranch. She didn’t wait for him to open her door. She climbed out and went ahead of him through the front door. The television was on in the living room. She had a glimpse of her father’s blond hair before Blair caught her arm and pulled her right back out the door.

He closed it again and looked down at her in the dim light from the windows. “It’s hard for me to talk about her,” he said after a minute. “I’m not used to sharing things, personal things, with anyone. But that’s no excuse for snapping at you the way I did. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she managed. “I won’t do it again.” She forced a smile, moved away from him and went inside. She called to her father before she made an excuse and went up to her room. She managed to hold the tears back until then.

* * *

WHEN SHE GOT up the next morning, after a sleepless night, her face showed the ravages she couldn’t camouflage even with makeup.

She went downstairs and hesitated at the dining room door. Nobody was up except Blair. He was sitting at the table, dressed in gray slacks and a yellow knit designer shirt, sipping black coffee.

He looked up when he heard her. His own face looked worn, as well.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” she replied. “Is Edna up?”

He shook his head. “I made coffee.”

“Thanks.” She went into the kitchen and fetched a cup from the cupboard. She was pouring herself a cup of coffee when she felt the warmth of his big body behind her. His hands went to her waist and tightened. She felt his breath at the back of her head.

“You didn’t sleep, did you?” he asked deeply.

She swallowed. “I said stupid things...”

He turned her around to face him. He didn’t let go of her waist. “So did I,” he said curtly. “Stupid, hurtful things. I can’t leave like this. Not with you hating me.”

“I don’t...hate you,” she managed.

He smoothed back her long blond hair, his black eyes intent on hers. “It’s hard for me to share things,” he began. “I keep it all inside. I hate my marriage. I hate remembering it.”

“I know. It was my fault. I should never have brought it up.”

He drew in a long breath. His eyes had dark circles beneath them. He looked so tired. She reached up impulsively and smoothed the frown between his eyes. “Don’t brood so much,” she said softly, her eyes adoring him. “Life is sweet. Every day is a miracle. You have to look ahead, not back, Blair.”

One big thumb smoothed over her soft mouth. His eyes were oddly intent on it. “So they say,” he replied quietly.

“I’m going to apply for that job at your mining company,” she said with a pert grin. “There. How’s that for getting out of the house?”

The frown came back. “Niki, that’s a field geology position. The pollen...”

“No, not that one,” she corrected. “The clerk’s position. You know, filing and stuff in an office.”

“You’re overqualified for it.”

She shrugged. “Hey, it’s a job, right?” she teased.

He drew in a breath. “It isn’t a clerk’s position. It’s a personal assistant position, in the vice president’s office. He hasn’t started interviewing for it. If you want the job, it’s yours.”

“That wouldn’t be fair...”