Vivid (26 page)

"Why?"

"I thought she might enjoy it."

Vivid strolled over to where the snowshoes
were hung on the barn wall and made a point of observing them as she waited for
his reply. "And what is this?" she asked, taking down a long pole
that had what appeared to be a small snowshoe on the end. "Another kind of
snowshoe?"

Nate set the fork in the bale and crossed
the barn to where she stood. "No, that is a lacrosse stick."

"Lacrosse?"

He took the stick from her hands and
turned it over. "It's a game played originally by the People. They call it
Little Brother of War."

"War?" she asked.

"War," he answered.

Judging by the look on his face as he
handled the stick, Vivid deduced lacrosse held a very special meaning for Nate
Grayson. "How is the game played?" she asked.

"There are two teams. The object is
to carry the ball in this cradle at the end of the stick and throw it past the
other team's goal."

"The entire stick or simply the
ball?"

"The ball."

"Do women play?"

"No."

"You say that with such
firmness," Vivid quipped, smiling.

"Because I've learned a few things
about you, Lancaster, and I'm telling you now, women do not play lacrosse. We
play an annual game in the autumn, and you are not going to be allowed on the
field. It's a man's game."

"Men say the same thing about
voting," Vivid pointed out saucily.

"I'll bet that mouth of yours has
been getting you in trouble since you were born."

"You have learned a few things about
me, haven't you, Nate Grayson?"

The air was fairly crackling by now.
Devouring her with his eyes, he reached over her shoulder to rehang the
lacrosse stick on the nail behind her. His presence spread over her like a
thick coat of warm honey.

"Let's see what else I can
learn..." she heard him whisper, and anticipation rushed over her like the
strong winds of a storm. When he lowered his mouth to hers, passion swept her
away.

Vivid knew this shouldn't be happening,
not again, but she couldn't help herself. She responded with an instinctive
parting of her lips, which he brushed with his own before very slowly nibbling
each trembling half. He was the only man to ever kiss her this way, the only
man to teach her passion, and because she'd always been an avid pupil, and
because the man was Nate, Vivid wanted to learn all he desired to teach.

Nate thought her mouth too sweet, her body
too soft. Her vividness couldn't possibly have been meant for a mere mortal
like himself, but he feasted on her with the hunger of a starving man. Her
virgin responses were like spring rain to his parched, long-buried emotions. As
he brushed his mouth over her ear, her jaw, and the sweet chocolate expanse of
her throat, his desire welled with an intensity he'd never known he possessed.
His vows to never touch her again meant little when she was in his arms. He
wanted her as he had never wanted a woman before, the consequences be damned.

Vivid trembled when his mouth began to
explore the skin beneath her jaw. His kisses against her throat were hot,
feverish. She could feel his hands mapping her back and shoulder, then his
thumb rubbed softly against the nipple of her breast. She heard herself moan
breathlessly as he toyed and teased. This, too, was new, so new that she could only
stand on shaking legs and relish the sparkling intensity. He wantonly coaxed
the other nipple to a pleading tight point, and when they were prepared to his
satisfaction, he dropped his head and bit each bud gently through her shirt.
Were it not for his strong arm bracing her back, she was certain she would not
have been able to stand.

Vivid was so caught up by the whirlwind of
passion, she offered no protest when he slowly began to undo the buttons of her
blouse. She offered no protest when he eased aside her chemise. For the first
time in her life, she felt the lips of a man teasing her breasts, and all she
could do was moan softly and ride the storm.

Her nipples pleaded but he gave no
quarter, not with his lips nor with the lightning tip of his tongue. Her whole
world seemed centered on the fire charging through her, and when he lifted his
head, his eyes held a glittering reflection of her own.

Nate reclaimed her mouth, savoring her
response and how perfectly her behind fit his palms. He eased her into his
hardness while he languidly and brazenly slid his hands over her hips. The
thought of exploring the warmth she treasured between her thighs made him want
to undress her fully and take her to the pinnacle of desire, but he would not
compromise her so recklessly.

Nor could he stop. He couldn't stop
kissing her lips or teasing her dark-tipped breasts. He couldn't resist
lingering against the scented hollow of her throat any more than he could
resist breathing.

Vivid trembled in response to his bold
play. She'd never experienced such soaring sensations. Her nipples were
pebble-hard and damp from his attentions and the brazen hand moving so
possessively over her hips and thighs made her moan in the silence of the barn.
She sensed herself losing control, could feel herself wanting to succumb to
this heat no matter the consequences. She eased her lips from his to halt this
sweet torture and her own potential downfall. "Nate..."

"Yes..." he said in a husky
voice as his thumbs rubbed softly over her nipples. Hearing her gasp in
response made him place another lingering kiss on her open mouth.

"We...must stop, Nate."

Vivid wanted to kiss him forever and
fought to remember that they had to end this interlude.

"You're right," he whispered
while nibbling her bottom lip. "God, Viveca you could sell these kisses
and make a fortune."

"You wouldn't want me selling my
kisses...would you?"

"You know what I mean..."

They finally parted.

Under his hot scrutiny, she took longer
than normal to adjust her chemise and redo the buttons with shaking fingers.
The heat spiraling through her made her vulnerable still. She had to turn away
from him so she could breathe.

Nate chuckled in response to her actions.
He ran his eyes over her hips as she worked on her blouse. They'd been lush and
yielding in his hands, her thighs soft and firm. He wanted her so badly, he
ached.

When she turned to face him again, she
appeared to be more in control, but her eyes bore the remnants of passion and
her lips were swollen from his kisses. "Well?" he asked her softly.

"Well—they certainly didn't
teach me anything about this in medical school."

He grinned. "No?"

"No," she replied, smiling
shyly. "I always assumed only the man benefited."

"You have a place on your body that's
made only for...benefits. Did you know that?''

Avoiding his eyes, because she'd never
heard of such a thing, Vivid shook her head no.

"Well, you do," he told her in a
quiet voice. He wanted to be the one to show her the true pleasures awaiting a
woman as vividly passionate as she, but that service would be rendered by the
man she eventually married. The thought of some stranger sharing her kisses
made his jaw clench.

"Will you let Magic accompany
us?"

He cleared his mind of the visions of
another man kissing her as heatedly as he'd done, and said, "I see no real
harm in it. And as long as Aunt Gail goes along, I won't have to worry about
you getting my daughter lost."

Vivid took mock offense. "I'm getting
better at finding my way, you can ask anyone."

Then she added, "Besides, with Eli coming
along we'll even have an escort."

"My cousin is going?"

Vivid realized too late she shouldn't have
mentioned Eli's involvement. "Uh, yes. Abigail and I thought an escort
might be needed."

"And you asked my cousin."

"Abigail asked her son." Vivid
sighed with frustration. "Abigail and I assumed you would be too busy to
take a mid-week holiday on such little notice."

"I am."

"Well, there you have it."

She peered into his hard-set face and
asked softly, "Please, can we not turn this into another battle?"

He wanted to please her, so he acquiesced
with an inclination of his head. "When are you planning to leave?"

"Three days from today. Mary Jane
Garrett, the famous lecturer, will be speaking on Friday."

Vivid could tell he was still displeased
with the idea of Eli as their escort, but his failure to argue the point eased
her mind. "I should head back to my cabin."

Nate didn't want her to leave, but he knew
if she stayed, she'd wind up in his arms again. "It's probably best. You
had enough trouble fastening your shirt buttons the first time."

The heat of his eyes sent her throbbing
senses into another spiral. Vivid realized she wanted him to kiss her again,
but outside of brazenly asking, she did not have enough experience with men to
know how to bring it about. "Um, thank you for giving your permission for
Magic."

"You're welcome," he said,
lowering his gaze to her mouth. He was sure those lips would haunt him for the
rest of his life if he weren't careful.

A reluctant Vivid left him in the barn.

A reluctant Nate watched her go.

Still reeling from the passionate
encounter, Vivid walked back to her cabin and found Eli Grayson seated on her
front porch. She slowed her steps, wondering if he'd be able to tell she'd been
kissing his cousin a moment ago, but decided that would be impossible.

Eli stood at her approach. "Hello,
Viveca. I'm still waiting to do the story you promised for the paper."

Vivid remembered they'd made the date more
than a month ago. "Eli, I'm sorry. I've been so busy I forgot. Come on
in."

They'd just gotten comfortable when Nate
knocked on the door, "Lancaster, you in there?" he called.

"Come on in, Nate," she called
back.

He entered, started to speak, but upon
seeing his cousin, said, "Sorry. I'll come back later."

"Hello to you, too, cousin," Eli
drawled.

Nate turned to him and said, “I thought
you were only going to be around for a few days."

"Changed my mind. Thought I'd avail
myself of the scenery for a bit longer," he said, smiling at Vivid.

Nate looked at Vivid, and she felt
embarrassment creep into her cheeks. She explained, "I promised Eli a
story for his paper."

Nate's expression did not change. Vivid
again wondered why the two cousins were so hostile toward each other. She also
wanted to know why Nate had come back. Simply looking at him and remembering
what they'd shared made her want to be in his arms again.

"I'll be back later," he said
and then he left without a backward glance.

After a few silent awkward moments, Vivid
and Eli spent an hour or so talking, laughing, and telling stories about their
youth.

"Nate and I found an abandoned bear
cub once," Eli said, reminiscing. "We must have been about Magic's
age. Uncle Absalom always told us, never ever pick up a bear cub, not even if
it was dead. Well, this cub was crying and wailing something fierce for its
mama."

"Poor little thing."

"Save your sympathy," Eli said
with a grin.

"What happened?"

"Well, we'd always wanted a bear cub,
and Nate figured Uncle Absalom would let us keep it if it were an orphan, so we
picked up the cub and started for home. About a half-mile into the trek the
woods got very silent. There were no birds, no wind, nothing. The whole forest
seemed to be holding its breath. Then we saw her. The big mama bear came
barreling out of the brush like a locomotive. She stood probably six feet and
weighed maybe five, six hundred pounds, and she was one angry bear. The only
thing that saved us were the trees. If we had been on flat open ground, she
probably would have run us down and killed one or both of us, but the trees were
pretty dense. To this day I remember us running and screaming and ducking in
and out of trees until I thought my lungs would explode. We hopped onto the
trunk of that big oak over by the Crowley place and started to climb. The bear
climbed up after us."

"Bears can climb trees?"

"Yes, ma'am, and pretty fast,
too."

"How'd you get away?"

"We kept climbing. She eventually
gave up and went back down, but she waited on the ground for us for over two
hours. At that point in my life it was the most scared I'd ever been."

"So did the two of you ever try to
rescue another cub?"

"Never." He laughed.
"Never. But just so you remember, if the woods ever go silent like that,
it probably means there's a bear about, and you need to be going in the
opposite direction. Fast."

Vivid vowed to remember.

They talked a bit longer about politics
and where each thought the nation might be heading after the upcoming national
election. Eli looked over his notes and thought he had enough information on
the Grove's new physician to write his story, so he stood to head back to town
and his room over the newspaper office.