Julie Garwood - Come the Spring

moved away from him. He was obviously still irritated by her

inappropriate remarks.

She decided to ignore him until he was in a better mood. Her

surroundings enthralled her, for everything was so lush and green. She

worked the stiffness out of her legs by walking along the bank of the

basin. The waterfall wasn't anything like Rockford Falls. It was much

smaller and not nearly as grand, yet just as enchanting. A steady

stream of water poured across a jagged ledge above, and as it spilled

into the pool below, the drops of water, like prisms, caught the

sunlight and refracted it into a sparkling rainbow of colors.

While Cole took care of their horses, she prepared their camp. After

gathering sticks for the fire, she laid out their bedrolls and the

picnic Josey had prepared for them.

"Food's ready, " she called out.

"I'll eat later, " he called back.

He finished brushing the horses and let them graze on the sweet

grass.

The sound of the water rushing down the rocks was soothing and too

enticing to resist, and while she ate, he went to the edge of the

waterfall, stripped out of his clothes, and dove into the crystalline

waters.

The cold water did help him take his mind off of Jessica, and he was

able to remember why he didn't want to touch her. Strings, he thought

to himself. The woman was definitely desirable, but she came with

strings.

Besides, she wasn't the kind of woman a man could bed and leave. She

deserved better than thatţsomeone better than he was, he qualified.

Why, then, did he get so hot and bothered when he pictured her with

another man? He had no right to be possessive, and yet that was

exactly what he was.

"Are you going to stay in the water all night? " The question pulled

him out of his dark thoughts. He got out of the water, haphazardly

dried himself off, and put on his pants. When he returned to camp, he

moved their bedrolls closer to the rock ledge as a precaution in case

of rain, restacked the kindling she'd collected, struck a match to

light the fire, and then sat down on his bedroll to eat.

Since he knew that Josey had prepared the food, he wasn't surprised it

tasted terrible. Jessica hadn't complained about the taste, but from

the amount of food left over, he knew she hadnwt eaten much.

She did eat most of the peppermints Josey had packed. She was chewing

on one while she gathered clean clothes, a towel, and soap. She

removed her clothes, got into the water, and "-s l used the gently

cascading waterfall as a screen to shield her from Cole.

It was cold but not unbearable. She lifted her hair away from the nape

of her neck and backed into the running water with her legs braced

apart, her head back, and her eyes closed. The gentle massage soothe

the tension out of her, and in no time at all she was completely

relaxed. It was sheer heaven.

He felt as if he were in purgatory, and he had no one to blame but

himself. He shouldn't have been watching her bathe. It was wrong and

intrusive. He couldn't make himself turn away, though, and if that

made him a voyeur or a lecher, so be it. She was incredibly lovely.

She stood waist high in the water, and her every movement was so

sensual and graceful. He watched her lather her neck and arms, then he

had to close his eyes while he battled the urge to dive into the water

and join her.

Maybe strings weren't so bad after all. He pushed the thought aside

and opened his eyes again. The erotic scene was so compelling he could

barely breathe. His entire body reacted, and every muscle felt hard

and coiled with the need to touch her.

His mind was flooded with one lustful intention after another, and he

realized he was going to be in real trouble if he didn't control his

thoughts soon. With a loud groan, he stretched out on his bedroll and

stacked his hands behind his head. He was a light sleeper, and if she

got into trouble or needed him, all she had to do was call out.

He counted cattle, he counted sheep. Then he started counting the

number of ways he wanted to make love to her.

"Cole, are you asleep? " He didn't open his eyes when he answered

her.

"No."

"Is something wrong? You sound hoarse."

"I'm fine. What do you want? " "I wanted to know if it would bother

you if I made noise.

" "Doing what? " "Target practice." He sat up and spotted the gun in

her lap. "Where did you get that? " "Tom Norton gave it to me. "

"Put it away."

"I want to learn to shoot with some degree of accuracy."

"No, you don't."

"I'm going to learn how to protect myself. I don't particularly like

guns, and I had hoped never to own one, but the Blackwater gang changed

everything. I'm responsible for taking care of myself and my son, and

I'm not going to let anyone hurt us."

"Dry your hair and go to sleep." She pushed a wet strand of hair over

her shoulder, then opened the box of bullets Tom had purchased for her,

and began to load the gun.

He tried not to get mad as he watched her shoot at an impossible

target. She was driving him nuts because she kept making the same

mistakes over and over again, and when he simply couldn't stand it a

second longer, he got up.

He came up behind her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her

up against him, then took hold of her hand that held the gun.

"Exactly what are you shooting at? " he demanded.

"The tree straight ahead. What did you think I was shooting at? " she

asked.

"The stars. You're too high, sugar." He spent the next twenty minutes

teaching her, and, honest to Pete, he hated every second of it.

She shouldn't have to be learning such a skill. She should be in a

parlor somewhere sipping tea while Caleb played at her feet. She was a

lady, and ladies didn't carry guns.

He made the mistake of giving her his opinions. She vehemently

disagreed. "I've admitted I don't like the idea of carrying a gun, but

I'm going to until every one of the Blackwater gang has been captured,

and if that means I'm no longer a lady, so be it."

"You sure are pretty when you're angry. Your eyes sparkle."

"A lot of women carry weapons for . . . What did you say? " She

turned her head to look at him and bumped into his chin. "I said

you're pretty, " he repeated.

He rattled her with the compliment. "Thank you, " she stammered before

looking away so that she could concentrate.

"Women who live in the Wild West must carry guns because there are all

sorts of . . . What are you doing? " He had bent down and was

nuzzling her neck. "I'm kissing you, but don't let me interrupt your

tirade. You were saying? " "There are wild animals . . . like bears

and other predators . . . and . . . " She paused to sigh, then tilted

her head to one side so he would have more room to explore the side of

her neck. The sweet warmth of his breath against her felt wonderful

and made her shiver. She knew she should stop him from taking such

liberties, and she would do just that, she promised herself, in just a

little while.

"Predators? " he asked when she didn't continue.

"Yes, there are lots of predators."

"Where? " She had lost her train of thought. "I don't know. . .

somewhere." He laughed softly. "I'm getting to you, aren't I? " He

asked the question as he slowly turned her in his arms and lowered his

head so that he could give her a proper kiss. His body had other

ideas. The second she put her arms around his neck, he roughly pulled

her up against him until her breasts were pressed against his chest,

and hungrily kissed her. His mouth took complete possession of hers,

his tongue penetrated, and for long breathless minutes he made love to

her with his mouth. Her body fit his perfectly, as though she had been

made just for him. She was so sweet and sensual and loving.

And innocent. The reminder helped him regain his senses. He couldn't

quite make himself let go of her, but he did let her catch her

breath.

Gently tugging on her lower lip with his teeth so she would open her

mouth again, he kissed hard and thoroughly, and then released her.

She wouldn't let go of him. Trembling with desire, she kissed him with

all the pent-up passion and longing inside her. She became the

aggressor, imitating the erotic way that he had kissed her, timidly at

first and then boldly when he wrapped her in his arms again. He

growled low in his throat when her tongue touched his.

God, she was sweet. She tasted like candy. Her abandon shook him, and

he knew that if he persisted, he could overwhelm her senses and make

love to her. She was too innocent to think about consequences.

One of them had to think about tomorrow, and he knew it was up to him

to stop now.

He pulled her arms away from his neck and took a step away from her.

"I shouldn't have done that, " he said gruffly.

Dazed, she watched him walk away. "I'm glad you did, " she

whispered.

"I wanted to know what it would feel like . . . " He turned back to

her. "I'm not an experiment, Jessica." She could see the anger in his