Rawhide and Roses (15 page)

Shaking herself, she opened her eyes to stare into the sky above her. Even in the cold water, her body was becoming aroused at the thought of she and Thad sharing the same sleeping bag.

And his kisses. Oh, she’d felt lost when he’d kissed her. Her body had responded with unabashed passion. She’d wanted him to stay. Wanted him to come to her later that night.

And didn’t want him at the same time.

There could be no future between her and a
Colorado
cowboy. There was nothing to ever come between the two of them and she really wasn’t the kind for a vacation romance. She couldn’t wait to get back to
Kentucky
. To the security of her own little world. Where she was safe.

Safe? From a man whom she obviously had feelings for and who apparently had some kind of feelings for her.

So why was she laying here, fantasizing about how good his arms felt around her and what his kisses did to her insides, thinking about escaping to her safe little life back in Kentucky?

She didn’t know.

It was hell. A hell of her own making.

But the thought kept nagging. What
would
be the problem if she and Thad entered into some kind of relationship? The problem, she deduced, was that their two worlds just would not mesh. Rather, they would collide, and it would be a ugly collision.

She’d worked hard to earn her counseling degree and it was the one thing she felt proud of, the one thing that excited her about getting up in the morning. Her students were important to her, they depended on her, and she on them, sometimes probably too much, to make her life seem worthwhile.

What would be here for her in this mountain wilderness? Ranch life? Heck, she could barely ride old Sunshine, what kind of a ranch wife would she be?

She startled herself at that thought. Wife? Why would she even think that? There was nothing between she and Thad but some overactive hormonal activity. In fact, maybe if they just went on and got it out of their systems, then all the agonizing would be over with and they could enjoy the rest of the trip. Perhaps....

No, even if that thought brought enticing images to her mind, she couldn’t let that happen. Could she?

After a half an hour or so, Kim rose from the stream, not really wanting to lather up and rinse on the bank as Thad had instructed before they’d left the Flying W. She recalled his instructions to the letter. “Soap is soap, no matter how biodegradable,” he’d told them. “We don’t want to spoil the natural environment so we take pains not to. By soaping and rinsing on the bank, we can avoid directly putting the detergents into the clean mountain water, letting the soil naturally filter any pollutants.”

As much concerned about the environment as the next person, she’d always taken care to buy products which would not hurt the environment, such as biodegradable soaps and detergents. She recycled her newspapers and soda cans, and took care to conserve her water. And glancing around her, she hated to think of anyone spoiling this beauty with trash and chemicals.

But oh, wouldn’t it feel so damn good to actually bathe in this cool, meandering stream?

Begrudgingly, she rose from the water and approached the bank. After retrieving the wash basin, she dipped it into the stream and filled it with water, then carried it up the bank. There she quickly soaped her body then splashed and poured water from the basin over her to rinse. Now for her hair, she thought, which felt incredibly gritty and oily.

Picking up her shampoo, she stared at the bottle and longed to plunge her head and body into the stream and wash and rinse until the last bit of grime was lifted from her scalp and washed away. How was she going to get her hair really clean, lathering and rinsing up here on the bank?

She bit her lip and stared toward the camp.

No. She wouldn’t.

She peered down at the shampoo bottle. Nature’s Essence. Rose petal scent. Made from natural herbs and plants. Turning the bottle over, her gaze trailed down to the ingredients list at the bottom. She grinned. Certainly a shampoo composed of all natural plant materials and dyes could do no damage to the environment, could it?

Absolutely not.

Convinced now, she decided she’d use only a minute amount. Just enough to cleanse her hair and give it some bounce again. And to smell that rose petal scent, well, it might give her just the tiny bit of luxury she needed to get through the rest of the trip.

She glanced once more at the camp. She couldn’t see on the other side of the pines, but she knew Thad was back there. He’d promised she’d not be bothered. There was no reason why she shouldn’t enjoy a bit of pampering now, was there?

He would never know.

Quickly, she turned back toward the stream, shampoo bottle in hand.

Wading in to deeper water than before, she sat the bottle on a rock. Ducking beneath the surface to wet her hair again, she came up and swiped the excess water out of her eyes before she reached for the shampoo and squeezed a dime-sized mound into her palm.

Standing, the water moving past at hip level, she raised her hands and gently massaged the shampoo into her hair.

Luxuriating in the feel of the silky soft bubbles in her hands, rubbing them fully into her scalp, she closed her eyes and sighed as the lather made trails down her shoulders and breasts.

“Ahhh...” she whispered, “I had no idea how wonderful it would feel to finally be clean all over.”

The rose scent wafted over her, making her feel both pampered and sexy. She breathed deeply, her fingers delicately massaging her scalp. After a moment, she lowered herself closer to the water, rinsing the bubbles from her shoulders, and running her hands down her body to splash away any excess lather. After that, she fully ducked beneath water’s surface again to rid her hair of the shampoo.

When she rose from the water, she spied the bottle on the rock. Kim spontaneously stood and reached for it, and without thinking, popped the lid and drizzled the creamy pink lotion over her arms and breasts and belly.
   

Suddenly, she felt deliciously wicked and seductive.

Her movements were slow and methodical. One hand rose to her neck as she lifted her head toward the sky, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply of the crisp mountain air. Her fingers carefully caressed her skin as they trailed closer to her breasts. Upon contact with the slippery shampoo, the pads of her fingers glided over the mound of first one breast then another, her other hand joining in the gentle caress. The lather from the shampoo bubbled through her fingers as she felt her breasts grow taut, her nipples already pebble hard and alert from the cool water.

As she cupped both breasts, she threw her head back further as the image of Thad burst into her mind. He was standing behind her. She was breathing heavily. And it was his large, rough hands caressing her breasts, pinching her nipples, and causing the desire to race up within her, not hers. A small moan escaped her lips as when in her fantasy, his hands lowered to her belly and massaged the pink shampoo into her skin. He pulled her tight against his hard, unclothed male body, causing tremors to erupt inside her as his fingers snaked lower.

“Oh, Thad…” she rasped, going fully with the fantasy.

She slid lower into the water, her knees buckling, imagining Thad lowering her into his sleeping bag. She could feel his lips on the back of her neck.

Hot. Breathy. Biting.

“Oh, Thad,” she breathed again.

“Oh, Thad, what?” came the stern voice from not far away.

****

It was his fantasy come to life.

At first he’d decided to risk only a glimpse through the pines. But the second he caught sight of her, he couldn’t pull away. No matter how much he wanted to, or how hard he tried. Which anymore, really wasn’t that much.

He was held spellbound by her beauty. Mesmerized by her delicate features against the harsh, craggy mountains. Entranced by the way her fingers and hands slid over her silky skin. Bewitched by the expression on her face, eyes closed, lips mumbling soft, incoherent words to the sun.

As he’d stepped through the trees, he knew she could see him, should she decide to open her eyes. He knew he was taking steps which he may not be able to retract. He knew, that one way or another, if she did open her eyes and see him standing there, watching her, that things between them would never be the same.

He knew there would be no turning back.

His gaze was drawn to the lather sliding down her body, clinging in luxurious bubbles to her satiny smooth skin. Her fingers caressed and teased her breasts, then slid lower to her belly. Her chin raised to the sky and he watched as her chest lifted in tiny pants and her lips opened slightly, sucking in shallow sips of air.

And in his mind he mimicked every movement she made with his own fingers, his own hands. They burned with want of touching her, teasing her. His lips ached to taste, his teeth to nibble.

Hellfire and damnation.

What was he doing? Deep inside, every primal urge known to man churned and thrashed. His palms ached to hold her flesh. His fingers craved to rake through her hair, to sluice the last bit of lather from her body. Every corpuscle he possessed had surged to one, throbbing area of his body and his brain had lost all ability to think coherently.

Thad jerked his gaze away from her body, as painful as it was, and paced several feet to the left. He had to leave. He couldn’t stay one second longer. He had to get a handle on his out-of-control libido.

His gaze rested again on Kim.

Lather. Puddles of soap. Floating down the stream.

She was mumbling. Saying his name?
           

He stepped forward, listening, just to be sure. He spied the shampoo bottle on the rock. Damn.

He needed an excuse. He needed...something. His desire for her was racing out of control.

Maybe he could channel that desire into something else.

Anger? What else was new?

And there was only one thing he could be angry with her about, at this very moment. She had purposely undermined his orders.

She slid lower into the stream. “Oh, Thad...” she breathed. He didn’t like the passion in her voice. It made him that much more aroused.

“Oh, Thad, what?”

Her eyes snapped open. A look of utter horror flashed over her face. And within the matter of about half a second, she plunged beneath the water. The lather lifted from her body and rushed down the stream.

He waited a second or two longer, and finally, she surfaced. Her head timidly stuck up out of the water.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Get out of there,” he barked.

“I’m taking a bath. Go away,” she shouted from the stream. “You promised!”

“You’re finished. Did you forget how I told you to bathe? There was to be no soap in the stream.”

“I didn’t forget, you moron. It’s all natural. Completely biodegradable. Look.” Kim reached to the rock, grasped the shampoo bottle, and hurled it.

It hit Thad just above his right knee.

“Sorry.”

Thad glared at the soapy ring on his thigh then lifted his stern gaze her way. “You’ve had long enough. Now, get out. You’ve already disobeyed my orders. I want to make sure you don’t do it again.”

That word obey just didn’t sit well. Kim took a moment to assess the situation. Her fondling fantasy notwithstanding, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. She’d done nothing wrong. He had no reason to speak to her in such a manner.

“I’m not finished.” She turned her head and swam a little further out.

“You are finished.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I do think so.”

“I’ll leave when you leave.”

“You’ll leave when I tell you.”

She’d had just about enough of his male macho, caveman antics. “Go to hell,” she tossed back.

Thad threw up his hands. “I’m already in hell!”

She giggled under her breath. Thad was obviously as frustrated by the entire situation as she. But the devil in her took over. She could hardly resist teasing him. Tempting him. Forcing his hand on this issue.

And besides, she might just enjoy teasing him. Baiting him. Tempting him.

She wanted him to come in after her.

“It’s only hell if you say so, Thad.” She stood. The water rushed by at her waist, making a trailing vee in the water. She faced him fully. And for once, knew exactly what she was doing. “If you want me out of the water, then come in and get me.”

Silently, she prayed. If he walked away from her this time, it would be all over. She’d walk back to the damn ranch herself, if she had to, but she’d not stay one moment longer in his presence. Why she was putting herself through this humiliation, she didn’t know. She was working on instinct, here, pure and simple. She had no earthly idea where it would lead.

Nor did she care.

His eyes met hers and bore deep. Even though several yards of water and earth separated them, a beacon connected them. She was breathing hard. She knew he was too. Then his chest heaved once more and Kim was sure he’d made a decision.