Ain't No Angel (25 page)

“Tyler,” she whispered. Her trembling hand reached up to stroke his cheek. Others had told her that Tyler loved her. She had hoped it was true, but never quite believed it. Hearing him say it, the complete truth and sincerity in his voice, brought renewed tears to her eyes. Her heartbeats hammered wildly in her ears, and a feeling of utter peace and happiness swept over and through her. She’d found her destiny.

“I love you, Tyler.” The words rushed from her mouth, her voice raspy. She cleared her throat. “For the first time in my life, I know where I truly want to be.”

Tyler inhaled an audible breath, then leaned toward her and touched his mouth to hers, slowly, tenderly. Laney pressed her lips more firmly to his. Her hands slid down his face and neck to his chest, where she rested her palms for a fraction of a second. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, her actions growing more frantic with each passing moment. She pushed the soaked fabric aside, over his shoulders and down his arms. Her hands slid along the solid contours of his skin, back up his arms, then explored his chest and firm abdomen. She couldn’t get enough of touching him.  She had to show him that she loved him. Tyler sucked in a deep breath.

“Laney,” he whispered against her lips, and gripped her hands, halting her frantic movements.

Laney forced her face away from his. Her eyes widened, and she willed her breathing to slow. Never had she wanted to be with a man the way she wanted Tyler at the moment.

“I love you, Tyler,” she panted. Her confidence faltered. Were her actions too bold?

She stared at him, trying to read his features in the flickering orange lantern glow. “You, ah, do you think I’m being too forward, saying we need to remove our clothes?” She laughed nervously.

Tyler chuckled. “Forward? Woman, I’ll be the envy of every married man within a thousand miles of here. Every husband wants his wife willing and eager in his arms.”

“So, you’re the kind of guy who’s going to kiss and tell?” Her eyebrows shot up, and she smiled tentatively at him. She had to get her boiling hormones under control. Tyler frowned.

“Kiss and tell?”

“Yeah . . . you know . . . tell your friends. You know, after . . .”

He growled. “What goes on in my bedroom, or . . . in this case, in my barn, is no one’s business but yours and mine.” His lips twitched in a smile.

He pulled her to him, and kissed her again. His hands spanned her waist, then slowly slid upward. “I think removing our clothes is a fine idea right about now,” he mouthed against her lips. His palms inched up along the side of her ribcage, and Laney sucked in a deep breath. Ripples of desire coursed through her at his warm and sensual touch. He cupped her breasts, his thumbs grazing her nipples, then his hands moved higher to unbutton her shirt.

Tyler’s head dipped to her neck, and he nuzzled behind her ear while his fingers worked the shirt apart. Just as she had done with him, he pulled the fabric over her shoulders, his lips following the movement of his hand. Laney squirmed to rid herself of the shirt, then tugged the bottom of her chemise free from inside her pants, unbuttoning her denims in the process. She kicked off her boots, and wriggled and writhed beneath him, then shimmied out of her soaked pants. In the next instance, her fingers fumbled with the buttons on Tyler’s pants. He groaned, and drew in a deep breath.

Tyler leaned over her, kissed her mouth, and eased her onto her back, pulling the blanket beneath her. He cradled the back of her head in one hand, while his fingers wrapped around her wrist, stopping her from her mission.

“Easy,” he mumbled against her lips. “There’s no rush.” He eased himself onto the blanket next to her, partially leaning over her. He draped a heavy thigh across hers. “I’ve waited a long time for this. I’m damn well gonna take my time.”

Laney willed herself to relax back against the blanket, and closed her eyes. Tears squeezed through the cracks, and rolled down the sides of her face. The thought that Tyler truly loved her, and didn’t consider her a quick romp in the hay to be discarded the next day seemed too unreal to contemplate.

“All right, cowboy,” she breathed. “Slow and easy. You’ll have to lead this dance.”

She squirmed her arm free of his grip around her wrist, and slid her palms along his abdomen, then around his waist and to his back, savoring the feel of his chiseled muscles beneath her fingers. His stomach tensed when her hand grazed along the waistband of his pants.

“Laney, what are you doing to me?”

Tyler sucked in a deep breath. His gut tightened as her silky fingers explored every inch of his back, chest, and stomach. Her touch was going to drive him mad. Perhaps his idea of taking it slow wasn’t such a good one. He’d dreamed of this moment for weeks. Hell, thoughts of making love to her had entered his mind the moment he first set eyes on her. That he would ever fall so deeply in love with his wife still seemed incomprehensible.

The practiced and eager way in which her hands roamed over him melted his resolve to go slow. He’d known all along that she wasn’t an innocent. It didn’t matter. The way she quaked and trembled in his arms, and seemed unsure of herself with her frantic actions were not the ways a whore would behave. When she said she loved him, his heart had nearly burst from his chest. The intense glow in her eyes confirmed her words.

Tyler slipped his hand along the curve of her bare waist, and over her hip. He trailed his lips down her neck, between the valley of her breasts, and lower along her flat abdomen. He pushed the thin material of her chemise upward, and she shuddered beneath his touch. Her hands covered his, urging him to push the material higher. She leaned forward when he slipped the garment over her head, then relaxed back against the blanket, the straw scrunching beneath her.

Tyler gazed down at his wife. This wasn’t her first time. Why did she look at him with a hint of fear and apprehension in her eyes?

 “You’re beautiful,” he whispered hoarsely. His hands slid along all of her curves, committing them to memory, and he kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. His insides ignited, the feel of her bare skin on his driving him beyond any further endurance he possessed. 

Impatiently he kicked off his boots, and when Laney’s hands reached for the buttons on his pants again, he didn’t stop her. Together, they slid the britches past his hips and down his legs. Tyler groaned and leaned over her, covering her shivering body with his.

“Next time, we’ll be under the covers in my bed, I promise you that,” he mumbled against her cheek.

“Make love to me, Tyler,” Laney breathed.

Her legs parted while her hand stroked him until he could bear no more. Dammit, he wanted to go slow, make their first time last, but it was as if she didn’t know how to allow herself to be properly loved. He eased himself into her, and she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him fully into her. Her hips met his in time with each stroke, and Tyler lost his hold on sanity.

He tried to make their joining last, but her fevered response to him, the way she raked her fingers across his back and cried out his name sent him over the brink of rational thought. He plundered her lips while he drove into her, and she arched her back to meet his thrusts. Her body shuddered and convulsed just before his own release, and together they collapsed into their soft bed of straw. Tyler pulled her sweat-dampened body up close to his, and wrapped the blanket over both of them to ward off the chill in the air.

Laney clung to his neck, her breaths as ragged as his own.

“Next time, you’ll have to let me love you proper,” he panted.

She raised her head slightly, her wide eyes staring up at him. He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’ll have to teach me what that means.”

He stroked her cheeks with his fingers. The moisture rolling from her eyes surprised him.

“Laney?” he asked softly. He had little experience with the fragile emotions of a female. What prompted her to cry now? He kissed her lightly. “Do you regret what just happened?

Her eyes widened even more. “No,” she shook her head. “I just . . . hope that you . . .” Her voice faltered.

Tyler leaned over her. He touched his lips to hers while his fingers gently stroked her cheek, pushing some damp hair from her face.

“You hope what?” he nudged.

She sniffled, and laughed nervously. “I just hope that you’ll still like me tomorrow.” She turned her head, avoiding his gaze.

Her words jolted him. His chest tightened. “Like you tomorrow?” His eyebrows furrowed. He cupped her cheek in his hand, turning her head back to face him. “I said I love you. Why wouldn’t I like you come morning?”

She inhaled deeply. “Because . . . because that’s the story of my life, Tyler.” Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she sobbed against his chest. Tyler pulled her close. His mind reeled with questions that needed answers.

“You’re my wife, Laney,” he said slowly, not sure how to respond. “After what you and I just shared, lightning will have to strike me down before I ever let you go.”

She sobbed against his shoulder. Her entire body shook, and Tyler tightened his hold around her to prove his point.

“You’re an incredible woman, Laney. “And if it takes a lifetime, I’m gonna show you that you don’t have to wear the britches all the time.” He chuckled and pulled her closer.  

“I love you, Tyler.” He barely heard the raspy words, whispered against his chest. The sadness in her voice begged for answers, and Tyler vowed he would have them before this day was over.

Chapter 23

Laney raised her arm and swatted a hand at her face. Something tickled her forehead. Pesky bugs. She didn’t want to open her eyes and lose the wonderful dream she’d been having. A dream of being wrapped in Tyler’s arms. Feeling safe, secure, and truly loved for the first time in her life.

Her hand connected with something solid, and her eyes popped open. She almost shrieked in surprise to see Tyler’s smiling face staring down at her. Her head was cradled against his bare shoulder, and she inhaled the familiar scent of his skin. Awareness hit her that every nude inch of her was pressed up against his equally naked body. A ripple of pleasure rushed down her spine and settled deep in her belly.

Tyler’s fingers combed lazily through her hair, running from her forehead backwards, and Laney sighed.

“I thought you might sleep for the rest of the day and through the night,” he whispered, a wide grin on his face, then bent down and brushed a light kiss across her lips.

Laney’s arms snaked around his neck, and she pulled him more fully to her. She shivered involuntarily as a current of cold air hit her bare shoulder. The rest of her was deliciously warm under several blankets, nestled against Tyler’s body.

Images of their lovemaking in the barn came rushing back. The wind and rain had pelted the roof more forcefully than any storm she’d ever experienced, and matched the intensity of her feelings for the man making love to her. She had never felt safer, or been more enveloped in warmth, than she had been in the barn on that bed of straw, in Tyler’s arms.

Tyler simply held her while she cried after their wild and initial lovemaking. She had no idea how long she’d lain in his embrace, when he finally stirred and told her it would be best to head for the house.

“We’ll continue this in the comforts of my bed,” he’d whispered in her ear. “I have a promise to keep.”

Laney had strained her mind to remember what promise he was talking about, but when his hand trailed slowly along the contours of her hip and waist, scorching her with his light touch, his meaning became clear. They’d hastily slipped on their wet clothes, checked on the newborn and its mother, then dashed from the barn toward the house. Tyler held the blanket over their heads, not that it did much good to keep them from getting a thorough drenching again.  They splashed through the mud up the path leading to the house, laughing like a couple of children playing in puddles. Halfway there, Tyler tossed the blanket aside and scooped her into his arms, and kissed her soundly in the middle of the deluge.

Laney wrapped her arms firmly around his neck as he carried her the rest of the way to the house. Their clothes were quickly discarded just inside the door, and Tyler fulfilled his promise of making love to her with such tender care, it brought renewed tears to her eyes. Exhausted and fully satisfied, she must have drifted off to sleep while he held her in his arms. Something she’d never had the luxury to experience before. Most guys either left her bed immediately after, or rolled over and went to sleep themselves, leaving her less than satisfied and more lonely than ever.

 “I thought you were just a dream,” Laney murmured against Tyler’s lips and stretched against his solid form. “I can’t believe this is real.” She slowly slid her leg up along his thigh. “Don’t ever let this day end.”

Tyler rolled her to her back. He leaned on his forearms and hovered over her.

“Laney, I will be here tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that. We have a lifetime together.” He didn’t smile anymore. The serious look in his eyes, so full of love and concern for her left no doubt in her mind that finally, she had found the one person who would not abandon her.

She nodded. “I love you, and I trust you,” she whispered.

Tyler’s smile returned, and he planted another kiss on her lips. He eased away from her, and raised himself to a sitting position. He ran a hand through his hair, and left the bed. Laney’s eyes roamed over his nude backside while he rummaged in his dresser for a pair of britches. After pulling them on, he tossed a shirt at her.

“Unless you want to wear a dress.” He shrugged, grinning broadly. “Your britches and shirt aren’t dry yet.”

“Where are you going?” Laney asked.

Tyler stepped up to the bed, leaned over her while bracing his hands on the mattress on either side of her, and kissed her.

“It’s almost supper time,” he whispered. “A man’s gotta eat to keep up his strength. You don’t want me too weak to tend to my husbandly duties, do you?” His brows rose while his eyes twinkled with mischief.

Laney sank back against the pillow. She couldn’t help but grin. “Only a guy would think about food at a time like this.”

“I’m anticipating a long night ahead.” His smile widened.

She stared up at him. Her hand grazed his cheek. A second wave of apprehension flooded her. “Are you . . . are you disappointed that I’m not . . . that I wasn’t . . . pure?” Her heart hammered in her chest while she waited for his answer.

Tyler’s eyes perused her face. His expression was unreadable. He still hovered over her. “Let me get a fire going in the front room to warm the house up a little, and we’ll eat some supper. Then we’ll talk.”

He pushed himself upright. His eyes lingered on her, and his lips curved in a reassuring smile. “Come to the front room and sit by the fire when you’re . . . ah . . . dressed.” He pointed to the shirt he tossed at her a moment ago. Then he turned and left his room.

Laney stared after him. She pulled the covers away, regretting her move instantly as a cold blast of air hit her. “Why can’t we just stay in here?” she mumbled quietly to the empty room. She quickly pushed her arms through the sleeves of Tyler’s shirt and buttoned it up. Just like the one she’d worn on her first night, this one reached almost to her knees. Tyler hadn’t been pleased about it then. Today, he seemed to want her to wear only this shirt.

After a quick stop in her room to use the chamber pot and run a brush through the mats in her hair, Laney made her way to the front of the house. A glowing fire crackled in the fireplace, and pots and pans clanked loudly from the kitchen alcove. Curious, Laney tip-toed on her bare feet toward the sound.

Tyler stood with his back to her at the stove, stirring something in a sizzling skillet. Laney’s eyebrows rose in astonishment. Her eyes roamed his bare back, watching the play of his muscles along either side of his spine as he worked.

“You cook?” she finally asked, and walked up behind him. On impulse she wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed up against his back. Tyler turned slowly in her embrace. His eyes wandered downward, then settled on her face. His arms snaked around her, and he pulled her tightly against him, a smug smile on his face.

“Do you know how many nights I’ve lain awake, thinking of you wearing only my shirt?” His chest rumbled deeply while he spoke those words. Laney shuddered involuntarily.

“I thought you didn’t like that,” Laney answered, tilting her head upward and meeting his smoldering gaze.

He chuckled. “I liked it just fine on our wedding night. What I didn’t like was my wranglers and neighbors getting an eyeful of you. Promise me you’ll never show yourself like that to anyone but me again.”

“I’m sorry for that night, Tyler,” Laney whispered. “I didn’t know what was expected of me. I—”

“Hush, woman.” He kissed her lightly on the mouth, then pulled away. “I said we’d talk after supper.”

Laney swallowed back her sudden apprehension. What sort of questions would he be asking? What would he demand to know? She couldn’t lie to him forever.

“What are you cooking?” Laney peered around him at the sizzling skillet. “And how come you never told me you cook?”

Tyler turned his attention to the stove. “I’ve been known to scrape a meal together from time to time. I can fend for myself when needed, and I didn’t want to trudge through the rain to eat at the bunkhouse tonight.” He shot her a quick glance over his shoulder. “But, since I have a wife, and cooking is woman’s work, I’ll be more than happy to hand over the reins to you.”

Laney caught the twitch in the corner of his mouth before he faced the stove again.

“Well, we both know what happened the last time I tried to cook, so maybe you should take over that chore. There are plenty of men who do the cooking and household work in their family while the wife goes off to wo . . .” Her words trailed off.

Damn. She couldn’t afford slips of the tongue like that. Not until she told Tyler the truth. And she didn’t know when or how she was going to tell him that she was from another time. How would he react to something like that? Chances were he wouldn’t believe such an outrageous story, but what would he think of her for telling it?

Tell him one thing at a time, Laney.

Tyler pulled the skillet off the hot plate, and faced her. A wide grin spread across his face. “What a fine idea, Mrs. Monroe.” He winked at her, his eyes full of mischief. “I’ll let you run the ranch from now on, and I’ll just tend to the easy chores in the house.” He grabbed the material of his shirt at her waist, and pulled her to him. “One of the many advantages of having an unconventional woman for a wife,” he added in a sultry tone.

Laney raised her head toward his, bracing her hands against his chest. “You are a very progressive . . . uh, open-minded man, you know that? Especially for a cowboy of this time.”

Tyler laughed. “This time? Are you predicting that men will do the women’s work someday?”

Laney shrugged, and avoided his stare. She raked her teeth over her lower lip. Another slip of the tongue. He was so easy to talk to, and banter with.  Wouldn’t it be much better if he knew everything about her? Would it matter to him what time she was from?

His face sobered. “You were serious? Do men in eastern cities really do women’s work?”

“I guess some of them do,” Laney answered slowly. Evasively, she glanced at the steaming skillet. “Can we eat? It smells good.”

Tyler released her, and picked up the skillet. “Just some fried potatoes and bacon. That’s all that was in the house.”

“Sounds perfect,” Laney said eagerly, hoping to steer the conversation away from her slip up.

She pulled a couple of tin plates from the cupboard, and set them on the table along with forks. Tyler scraped food onto their plates, and sat across from her.

“Not bad,” Laney remarked, taking her first bite of potato. It was definitely on the salty side, but so was everything else she’s eaten while in the nineteenth century. All that cured meat was heavily salted. She would definitely ask Myra for more cooking lessons, and try to figure out how to modify the recipes to her liking.

Tyler ate in silence, his eyes constantly on her. Laney tried to concentrate on her food, but his intense perusal made it nearly impossible. It was dark outside, but the rain still fell steadily, judging by the water running down the windowpanes.

“Would you like some coffee, or some tea?” Tyler asked when his plate was scraped clean. He left the table, carrying both their plates to the sink.

“Maybe some tea, but I can make it,” Laney replied.

Tyler reached for her hand, and pulled her from her chair. “I’ll get it. I’m an open-minded man, remember?” He chuckled. “I’ll even let you continue to wear britches, as long as you don’t try and turn me into an eastern dandy.”

“Deal.” she nodded quickly.

He led her from the kitchen into the living room, and motioned for her to sit on the large leather couch. He disappeared momentarily, then came back with a quilt from his bed, and draped it around her.

“It’ll be warm in here soon,” he said. “I’ll get some water boiling.”

Laney nodded, her eyes on the dancing flames in the fireplace. She chewed on a fingernail while Tyler was gone. Dread and irrational fear flowed through her. Today had been the best day of her life. Would she ruin it all if she were truthful with Tyler?