Rocky Mountain Haven

Chapter Five

Gabe Coleman stared his cousin down. Daniel tore his gaze from the chessboard for long enough to flash him the finger.

“Ha, getting pissy won’t help you. Either you have the moves to make or you don’t,” Gabe taunted. One mistake later, Daniel groaned as Gabe slid his bishop across the board and took out the castle guarding Daniel’s king. “Checkmate. Again,” he gloated.

“Dammit, you never win this often.”

“You don’t usually suck this bad. What kind of mind-altering drugs you taking to be so brainless?”

Daniel eased back in his chair and grabbed his beer. “Nothing illegal or immoral. At least, not yet, anyway…”

Now that was interesting, coming from the most puritan of the Six Pack clan. Gabe popped up and headed for the kitchen. “Let me grab a refill, then I want details about that comment.”

Their regular chess nights were far from regular, but Gabe always enjoyed the times he got together with his cousin. He tugged open the fridge and grabbed another couple of brews.

“Nothing really to tell. Nothing I would share. Maybe never anything.” Daniel ended with a growl of frustration. He accepted the bottle Gabe held out then paced the distance between Gabe’s tiny living room and the window overlooking the road.

While it wasn’t anything near big enough to host a party, Gabe found his one-bedroom apartment over the garage was a godsend—mostly because it had gotten him out from under his dad’s roof.

“Sounds as if you’ve got a bee up your butt.”

Daniel shook his head. “Just…you remember that woman the twins were teasing me about back in July? She’s living in town.”

“No shit. That’s great.”

“She’s living next door to me in the Peter’s house.”

Fate had a twisted sense of humour. “Now, that’s both great and weird.”

“It gets weirder. She’s sleeping in my old bedroom, and she says she’s interested in me.”

Gabe stopped in the middle of seating himself, caught in a half crouch. He laughed as he lowered himself the rest of the way to the couch. “You win. Totally the best story I’ve ever heard. Sounds like you’ve been a good boy and everything’s coming your way for a change.”

Daniel sighed. “Yeah, that was my response last Friday when she talked to me. But I’ve called her daily since, and every time there’s been no answer.”

“Screening her calls?”

“Maybe, or busy with her kids but—”

“Kids.” Gabe raised a brow. “You didn’t mention that to me last summer. About her having kids.”

“I didn’t know.”

Silence hung between them for a minute. Gabe took a long swig of his beer as he calculated the best thing to say. Daniel deserved better luck in the female department than he’d gotten. “So…you think she’s changed her mind?”

Daniel resumed pacing. “I don’t know. I guess, I don’t want to push her, but dammit, she said she was interested.”

“Exactly. So you should go after her. Seize the day, carpe diem, all that shit.” Daniel made a rude noise and Gabe grinned. “Suck it up, that’s what you’re always throwing at me.”

“And look how well it works. You’re doing all the same old things you did before I started taunting you. Still sitting here, in what you called a piss-poor situation. Still not trying anything new. I mean, you came back to Rocky because you said it’s what you want, but I don’t see much cheering happening. Well, other than about your shiny new truck. But even that doesn’t seem to be making you happy.”

“Shiny it is, but you know it’s more the bank’s truck than my own. I’m making payments—I ain’t dancing in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow yet.” They both sat heavily, bottles in their hands ignored. Gabe snorted in disgust. “We’re damn sad creatures, ain’t we? Twenty-nine and twenty—what are you again, twenty-five?”

“Six.”

“Twenty-six, and stuck the same place we were last year. Except for you trying to trade up on girlfriends.”

Daniel hissed. “Please, let’s not bring Sierra into this. That’s over and done, and if I never see her again, I’d be happy.”

Gabe didn’t blame him one bit. “Nothing worse than a woman deciding what you got isn’t enough.”

The music in the background thumped for a bit, then Daniel tossed back the rest of his drink and slammed the bottle on the tabletop. “You’re right. It’s time to take my own medicine. Carpe diem means now, and not down the road. And you’re going to join me.”

What the hell? “You tossed a few too many idioms into that last one, cuz, between medicine, fish and roads. What’re we doing?”

“I’m going after a certain woman and getting a straight answer out of her. You…well, you’re going to figure out the one thing you most need to do, and you’re damn well going to do it.”

The crazy enthusiasm shining in Daniel’s eyes was contagious enough to get anyone’s blood pumping. “One thing?”

“One thing. I mean, neither of us can make all the changes we want in one day, but we need to get started sometime, right?”

No shit. “So, is this a support group for procrastinators anonymous?”

“Damn right. You in?”

“Hell, yeah.” Which one thing wasn’t going to be easy to decide, but he could do it. “But I’ve got to think on it more before picking what to aim at.”

Daniel moved back to the chessboard. “Hey, my task’s easy. I get to track down a certain schoolteacher and convince her she will be seeing more of me. And that’s while working around her teaching schedule, her kids and my chores.”

“That’s all? Sure, sounds like a fucking spring breeze.”

Daniel grinned. “Actually, you know what? I’m excited about the challenge of figuring her out and making her take me on. I mean, it ain’t what I thought I’d be doing this fall, but it feels right.”

Gabe thought hard. Yeah, there was no getting around that there wasn’t going to be an easy thing to make some changes in his life, but it was damn-well time. “Excited isn’t the first word that comes to mind, you know.”

“Stupid, excited—same thing.”

They moved back to the chessboard and began a new game, but this time Gabe found it tough to concentrate.

One step. The first step to changing things and making his life better. What was it going to be? A million questions and ideas raced through his brain, all clamouring for attention.

Carpe diem. Seize the day. Maybe it was about time to do something other than simply drift.

Daniel leaned on the wall opposite her second-floor classroom, acknowledging the few students already dismissed from their classes. Two teenage girls giggled as they passed, eyeing him carefully, and he fought to hide his smile. He was far more interested in the woman waiting for him behind that door.

Even if she didn’t know he was here yet.

After he’d dropped her back at the house on Friday and left her without a kiss, he knew she’d been confused. And still aroused, even after her climax. He’d wandered back into the trees, wishing he could jerk off like some horny teenager. He had a stupid desire to remain by the house and stare at her silhouette as she moved around the house—the urge was far too Peeping Tom-esque to be obeyed, but damn if he hadn’t felt it.

Especially when a light flashed on upstairs right before the house slipped out of sight. Discovering she’d taken the room he usually slept in? He could picture in his mind what she saw around her, and the thought of being in the king-sized bed with her made his cock ache even harder.

Like he’d complained to Gabe, all he’d gotten was the damn answering machine, and now that it was Friday, time was up. If she’d changed her mind about wanting to see him, he wanted to hear it from her in person. Otherwise, enough of this pussyfooting around—she’d asked him for some experiences and he was dying to give them to her.

The bell rang, and he uncrossed his arms, shifting his weight forward as the door swung inward and a long line of students flooded out, laughter and chattering filling the air as after-school excitement rolled through the student body.

“Daniel.”

He acknowledged one of the local boys they hired on a part-time basis to help around the ranch.

“You here to see Ms. Danube?” The youth grinned when he nodded, and turned around to shout back into the room. “Hey, Ms. D, you got a hot date or something?”

Daniel gave the kid a thump on the head with his knuckles. “Be polite, or you’re mucking stalls all day long tomorrow.” He eased past the rest of the bodies exiting and stepped to the side of the door, searching for Beth.

She stood behind her desk, frozen into immobility as she stared back. The room quieted, and she shook herself, turning away to stuff papers into a folder. She kept her eyes averted. “Daniel. I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“If you answered your phone, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

She laughed, a snuffily sound that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. While she probably wouldn’t appreciate being told it, she was kinda cute when she was embarrassed.

Her upper body shifted as she took a deep breath before turning to face him. “I’m just not sure how this is going to work.”

“You changed your mind?” He spoke quietly, pulling the door shut behind him. She shook her head, and he let his satisfaction show in his grin. “Then we need to find a way to make it happen. Avoiding me isn’t going to do the trick.”

Her gaze flicked past him to the door. “You’re not planning anything here, are you?”

Oh damn. He hadn’t, but her expression made him change his mind. “You thinking about dirty things to do in a classroom, are you now?”

“Daniel—we can’t get caught.”

Oh yeah, she definitely had something on her mind he hadn’t expected. He paced back to the door and locked it, pulling down the blind to cover the only window into the room on the hall side. Second-story windows on the opposite wall? There was no way anyone could see in from that direction. He pivoted slowly on one heel to see she had the desk clutched so hard with both hands her knuckles were turning white.

“Boys’ bus gets home at four thirty, right?”

She nodded.

He stepped closer, his cock slowly rising to press against the zipper of his jeans. She watched him warily, a mix of anticipation and anxiety in her eyes. “What I’d like to do is strip your clothes off, lay you flat out on the surface of your desk and fuck you senseless.”

“Jesus, Daniel.” The words escaped in a whisper, her eyes huge.

He dropped a hand over his cock and rubbed, attempting to get the damn thing to stop aching so hard. He swore he heard blood thumping in the back of his brain.

“You enjoy dirty talk, don’t you?”

She breathed rapidly as he approached, the pulse in her neck drawing him like a magnet. “It makes me feel weak.”

He lifted her and sat her on the desk, spreading her knees carefully, the heavy brace surrounding her leg clunking on the wooden surface. He hated to see the contraption on her, a constant reminder of the pain she must have experienced. Must still experience. One step took him between her thighs, and the warmth of their bodies connected. She gave a little moan, and his dick jumped involuntarily. Fuck, this was going to kill him.

“You made me a list yet?”

“I…I started to. It’s at home.”

He lifted her chin and licked her lower lip. Sweetness flooded his system. Damn she tasted good. He nibbled on the pouting flesh and stole one swipe into her mouth with his tongue.

She shivered.

He leaned away enough to stare into her eyes. “You keep the list. If I do anything you don’t feel comfortable with, you just say no, and I’ll stop.”

“You don’t want to read it?” The tension in her torso decreased a notch, and he smiled. They were now in full-body contact, and she was relaxed against him, all warm and soft, her breasts nudging his chest.

“I don’t need to. If I miss anything you really want to try, I hope you’ll tell me in person.” He brushed their lips together, needing to taste her. Now that he knew where they’d end up, although not the when, he could enjoy and take his time.

She was a woman meant to be savoured, not gobbled in a rush.

If her heart beat any faster, she was going to fall over in a faint. The whole long masculine length of him pinned her in place, one hand on either side of her thighs as he leaned his torso against hers. The kiss he pressed to her lips was gentle, his tongue and lips moving over her like a placid breeze. She let herself stroke his chest, palms to the soft cotton of his shirt, the firm muscle underneath tempting her.

She checked her anxiety level. Nothing but a buzz of sexual desire ran through her veins, and she was so relieved. Beth drank in the sensation of power and passion mixing together in his touch.

Oh man, she was really going to do this. She wanted to. Needed to. It was another step in taking back control of her life. The life that had changed so subtly over the years she was still shocked she’d missed the signs of things going wrong. Her husband had made her feel incompetent and undesirable. The emotions Daniel raised were completely different.

He held her in place, his hips rocking slowly, the ridge of his cock branding her body as he dipped his tongue into the tender part of her ear. A shiver took her and he chuckled. “Miss Beth, you are making it very difficult to go slow.”

She didn’t want slow, not if fast meant she’d get to touch him sooner. She grasped his collar and pulled his lips back to hers, driving her tongue into his mouth and groaning as he rocked over her clit again.

They feasted on each other and time slipped away. Beth grew lightheaded, her limbs heavy. Blood pooled in her breasts, her sex, bringing with it an aching tingle of need. She wanted so much right now.

Daniel broke away and they both gasped for air. His eyes twinkled with mischief. “Sweet Lord, you’re making me drunk on kisses alone.” He held her cheek for a moment, brushing a thumb over her lower lip. “Hold still.”

One button at a time he slipped her blouse open, their hips in contact as he opened the fabric to reveal her skin, her bra. Her breasts showed through the thin fabric, nipples puckered tight.

“That a favourite?” He ran a finger along the edge of the lace. Lord, he must be able to feel her heart pounding.

“No. Why?” He kissed her cheek again, a brief chaste kiss before pulling away, reaching for something on her desk. When he held up a pair of scissors her throat went dry. “What…?”

“Trust me?”

She fought the tremor of terror inside. She was in a classroom, for heaven’s sake. He was a well-known and reputable man around town. Imagines of knife-wielding maniacs had no place in this fantasy.

“Yes,” she squeaked.

“I’ll buy you a new one.” He pulled the fabric from her body and slipped his hand between the elastic and her skin. Then he put the tip of the scissor against his fingers and snipped. Deliberately, carefully, he cut away the supporting fabric of the cup, leaving behind the bones of her bra. The swells of her breasts were completely bare, the underwires remaining for support. He put the scissors away, slowly closed the drawer and piled the shreds of fabric on the edge of her desk. Every one of his movements made her expectations rise by the second.

Then he sat in her chair, adjusted the height and rolled between her legs. He kissed her belly button before looking into her eyes with that dark, dangerous expression she was coming to recognize and anticipate. It stole her breath away. Leaning forward, he licked a line up her torso, tonguing the fabric under her right breast. Another lap took him higher, drawing a circle around the tingling peak of her nipple. He sucked the whole tip into his mouth, pulsing his lips, and a line of heat drove from his mouth through her body straight to her core.

Oh Lord, it felt good. Every suck, every brush of his teeth on her skin made her feel more and more alive. From one side to the other he alternated, the cool air of the room brushing the wet skin he left behind, contrasting hard with the heat of his mouth. One hand, then two, came into play, cupping and lifting, massaging and pinching until she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“You’re beautiful, Beth, curvy and womanly in all the right ways.” Another nip to the tender undercurve made her gasp, her panties soaked with the moisture flooding from her sex.

“Damn…” He suckled hard and stars formed before her eyes. “Daniel, please…”

She wasn’t sure what she was asking for, only that she needed. Needed something more than what he was currently giving her.

He rose from the chair and caught the back of her head in one hand, drawing their mouths together while he played and teased her body with the other. Her muscles felt tight, ready to explode, and she rubbed wantonly against him, trying to find the missing component that nagged her.

Then he pulled away.

He stepped back, breathing heavily, and his gaze swept her body like a heated brand. He wiped his mouth carefully, then lowered a hand and adjusted himself through his jeans. A wave of desire rolled over her. Fucking on the desk sounded better and better by the minute.

They stared at each other, Beth clutching the edge of her desktop. The solid surface prickled her fingertips, the minute scratches from a thousand pens itching her hypersensitive skin.

Daniel stepped closer and tugged her blouse together, slowly doing up the buttons. The cool fabric brushed her nipples, driving her crazy.

“You have to pick up anything on the way home?” He smoothed his palms down her waist before lifting her off the desktop.

What? “Daniel, I…” Her nipples stood proud, stabbing the front of her blouse. “Aren’t we going to do anything else?”

He chuckled as he touched a fingertip to one of the points. “I came to talk to you, to plan a date. You’ve got enough time to beat the boys home if we head out now.”

The boys. Her blood was boiling, and she was going to die if she didn’t get…something. But he was right.

“I can’t believe you’re stopping.” Samuel would never have left himself unsatisfied.

“We’ve got time, sweetheart, and anticipation is a part of the fun. If you’ve had nothing but slam-bam sex, you may not know it, but delayed gratification is very rewarding.”

She shook her head in frustration and turned to gather her things. “Didn’t have it on the list you made me start, that’s for sure.”

He brushed the tattered bra scraps on her desk into his fingers then shoved them all into his pocket before offering her his hand. She accepted it, his clasp warm and solid. The admiration in his eyes felt good, even as the fabric rubbing her nipples sent shivers down her spine and made her sex ache. He unlocked and opened the door and offered his elbow.

“You really surprise me, Daniel.” He made her body tingle, and not knowing what he was going to do next had the potential to drive her nuts. But it was a good uncertainty. She didn’t feel as if he was a moment away from taking a swing at her, more of a “what’s inside the box” kind of curiosity. She adjusted her jacket to cover her breasts better since her nipples still stood at attention.

“I surprise you because I think your body is beautiful?”

She stumbled, and he caught her, steadying her easily. The mischievous twinkle in his eye made heat flash across her face.

“Shh, not in the school.” The second-floor hallway was empty now, doors wide open, her fellow teachers gone already, but the echoes of voices grew louder as the two of them moved toward the stairs.

“You planning on hiding from me some more, Miss Beth, or are you going to start answering my calls?”

Somehow she had to make this work. No matter how awkward, she wanted it. “I’ll answer. It would be best to talk when the boys are gone to bed. Can you call later in the evening?”

“I could. I could also come over.”

The way her whole body reacted she figured something had to give, and soon. But she would stay in control of the situation.

“I don’t think that’s wise.”

He tugged her to a stop, turning her to face him. “I’m not going to do anything to upset the boys on purpose, but either you’re serious about this or you’re not. I’m not going to be led around like some dog for you to pet when you get the urge. Either you say no right now, and I’ll bow out of your life, or you stop saying yes with your body and no with your actions.”

Beth’s heart pounded, her mouth gone dry from a momentarily rush of fear. But when he stood close, his hands gentle on her arms as he looked into her eyes, there was nothing there that said he wanted to control her.

He only wanted her to decide.

“What’s it going to be? Do you want to go ahead? You think about it, and let me know, because while I’m a patient man, Beth, I won’t let you yank my chain like this. I won’t let you start one way and expect you to change later because that’s not fair to either of us. It’s all or nothing. So why don’t we make it your call. You contact me if you want to go ahead any further.”

She hadn’t been fair, even if she had good reasons to hesitate. “It’s impossible to think straight with my bra in pieces in your pocket.”

A reluctant grin shimmered to life. “I’m hoping when you call, you say yes. Then the next time I cut something off you, it’ll be your panties.”

Beth swallowed, the racing beat of her heart making her lightheaded. He was right. She needed to stop being wishy-washy about this. Although, when they did find a time and place to be truly alone, she wasn’t sure her body was going to survive.