She welcomed the warmth of his arms as they slowly enclosed her in a hesitant embrace. Her hat slipped from her head as she rested her cheek against the hard chest. She looked up, laughing when she realized that she still had the bandana pulled up over the lower half of her face.
Her laughter was choked off as she met Jared’s eyes over the top of his scarf. They impaled her with the intensity of their gaze. The brows were dark and the lashes were tipped with gold. The laugh lines at the corners of his eyes were white where his squinting had kept them from tanning like the rest of his face. The brown irises were flecked with gold. Sherry or amber or topaz.
Slowly he reached out and took the bottom of her bandana in his fingers and lowered it. It was a caress. He stroked her lips with his thumb. Only then did he lower his gaze from her eyes to study her lips as his fingers traced their shape, savored their texture, marveled at their softness. They trembled beneath his touch. Leisurely he lowered his own bandana.
She leaned into him as his arms drew her closer. Without conscious thought, her hands went to his waist, then around to meet at his back.
His lips came to hers gently, softly. Barely touching them, he whispered, “Lauren.” Then his mouth closed over hers. His lips moved over hers expertly, persuasively. His tongue teased them until they were shyly parted and she met the tip of his tongue with her own. A low moan escaped Jared’s throat and his hand went to the small of her back to press her against him. Her fingers splayed over the muscles of his back. Losing all timidity, she opened her mouth to the hungry plea of his.
“Now that is a touching sight,” Rudy said, laughing.
Chapter 13
Lauren and Jared jumped so violently at the sound of the amused voice that their movement startled their horses.
“Having a nice time?” Rudy queried innocently. He had seen them riding toward the boulders and had followed them into the shelter.
Jared snarled at him. “Lauren was cold and I remembered that I had a poncho in one of my saddlebags. I was getting it out for her.” He was infuriated with himself for explaining their kiss like a guilty schoolboy.
“Yeah, you were warming her up all right. Looks like you were getting pretty hot yourself.” Rudy would have l
oved to continue taunting Jared, but Lauren was the greater sufferer. When he saw her distress, he softened. “We’d better get home. Gloria was worried when the Norther blew in and sent me out to check on you.”
Jared had extracted an old, worn woolen poncho from his saddlebag and unceremoniously pulled it over Lauren’s head. Roughly plopping her hat back onto her head, he remounted Charger. She could tell by the way he sat rigidly on the stallion’s back as he rode away that he was angry. Probably with her.
She and Rudy followed him at a distance. Her brother-in-law gave her a reassuring smile.
Jared was seething. It didn’t matter to him that Rudy had seen him in a tender embrace. He wasn’t shy. He and some of his cronies had even shared whores, cheering each other on. What bothered him was that Rudy had witnessed his susceptibility to Lauren.
She had lured him into kissing her. Those damn captivating eyes, full of tears produced by the cold wind, were hard for any man to resist. The raven tendrils whipping cheeks rosy from the exertion of their ride cried out to be caressed. That body which had tormented him all day with its nearness had been impossible to release once he held it against him.
Above all, he resented her composure. She retained that superior coolness no matter what happened to them. She hadn’t panicked at the charcoal burners’ camp. She hadn’t been violently ill when he told her about the atrocities inflicted on Crazy Jack. Everyone at the ranch adored her. She fit right in.
Damn her!
* * *
Dinnertime was subdued. Everyone ate almost silently. Gloria, Maria, and Rudy recognized one of Jared’s black moods and spoke to him with the care of one walking on thin ice. He growled his responses.
Lauren was completely withdrawn. She spoke to no one except for an occasional please or thank you. Her head bowed, she stared into her lap as they sat in the living area after dinner. Her fingers would wander to her watch subconsciously and draw comfort from it as she always did in times of stress.
Outside the wind howled, and the fireplace, cheerful though it was with the crackling fire in it, could not lighten the atmosphere of gloom.
“We had visitors today, Jared,” Rudy said cautiously.
“Who was that?” Jared appeared completely bored.
“The Vandivers. Father and son.”
“Goddammit,” he cursed. “What did they want?” Rudy had his undivided attention now.
“They said they were over at the site of their new power plant and just stopped in to say hello.”
“Like hell. The power plant will be fifteen miles from here.” Jared stood up and crossed to the fireplace. He stared into it for several seconds, then glanced smugly at Lauren. “It’s too bad we missed them. Lauren has developed quite an attraction to Kurt.” The words were deliberately provoking.
She jerked up her head and met his challenging stare. She was the first to avert her gaze, humiliated and angry with herself for being such a coward and not rebuking him.
There was an embarrassed silence in the room for long minutes. The pendulum clock ticked loudly and the logs in the fireplace shifted, showering Jared’s boots with sparks as he maintained his stance on the hearth.