Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Heat

“Hey, I needed to find out if you’ll be around for the picnic in a couple weeks’ time. There’s still a few spots open for helpers.”

Eve nodded. “I’ve started university, but I’m back in town most weekends. Let me know where you need me and I’m there.”

Jaxi gave her a quick hug before working the line, walking slowly back to where Blake waited. Her plan worked wonders—by the time she’d returned to him she had a dozen more names for the volunteer crew.

Blake had a dark expression in his eyes as he took her hand and pulled her close. She looked up in confusion at the change in his attitude. When there was break in the conversation with Matt and Helen, she tugged him to the side and pulled his head down to whisper in his ear. “Something wrong?”

His hands on her hips squeezed for a second before spilling around her to caress her back. He sighed, then lifted her chin. “I’m glad you’re you.”

Jaxi paused. “That’s cryptic.”

“Just don’t leave me alone with Matt and Helen again, okay? I swear you could give that woman a bag of gold and she’d complain about how heavy it was.”

Jaxi laughed against his neck. So she wasn’t the only one Helen rubbed the wrong way. “I’ll be like glue.”

“You done all your visiting? Planning on sitting next to me for the show?”

“Of course.” She poked him in the ribs, and his face lit up as he focused in and kissed her, right there in the middle of the waiting line. She wrapped her arms around him and gave back completely. It was like no one else was around—just her and him, and caring, affectionate touching.

“The doors are opening.” Matt’s laughter broke in and pulled them apart.

Blake held his hand toward her. Jaxi slipped her fingers into his and let him lead her into the theater. She smiled sweetly at the older couple she recognized who stood beside them as the two lines merged.

“Evening. How’s your grandson doing with his therapy?”

Mrs. Bridges gave a quick nod. “Better all the time. Thanks for asking. Oh, and can you tell Marion I’ll be by in a few days with that pattern she was wanting?”

“Sure thing.” Jaxi waved and let Blake pull her along without even looking where he was taking her.

“You know everyone in town or just about everyone?” They’d stopped in front of the concession. Jaxi’s stomach growled and his eyes widened. “Damn it, I thought you were kidding about still being hungry.”

Warmth and contentment filled her. They chatted, teasing and joking easily. Waiting for their snacks, glancing around and pointing out coming soon movies they were looking forward to. By the time Jaxi had a full armload of food, she’d just about figured out what was out of the ordinary.

While he made her thrill with every touch and every glance, the heat tonight was something altogether new. It was…familiar and tender and less about wanting to roll around naked with the man and more about getting to plan for the future.

It felt different.

She had thought things through, but until this moment, it had never registered as a reality. How being in love with him meant all the different parts of being in love. Being by his side, not just now, but years from now.

The Bridges slipped into seats a few rows ahead of them, Mr. Bridges helping his wife in first. Careful, tender.

Jaxi blew out a slow breath and swallowed hard. She was going to be in tears if she wasn’t careful. Somehow she had to haul in her foolish emotions before she ended up blubbering like a damn idiot.

Blake managed to balance his tray and still touch her shoulder to guide her to where Matt and Helen had saved seats.

She sneakily managed to avoid having to sit next to Helen. It made her sad that she didn’t like the woman more, but she wasn’t going to waste time figuring out why. She wasn’t the one kissing the chick, Matt was, and if he was happy, that was all that counted, she supposed.

They were all seated, and she leaned into the protective circle of Blake’s arm along the back of her chair.

“Blake. What are we watching?”

He chuckled. “Well, blood and guts were shot down by Helen, Matt refused the chick flick, and if I want to watch a historic anything I’ll stick with the History Channel. You got action. That okay?”

That was more than okay. The last thing she needed tonight was a tearjerker. Action, tension. Those would be perfect.

Guns. Hmm, some guns would be good.

Chatter died around them, the lights dimmed and Jaxi caught a glance of Blake’s profile lit by the flickering motions on the screen. His square jaw, the strength in his features. She stared, mesmerized. She thought she’d memorized his face long ago. Stolen glances at the dinner table while she was dating Travis. Times around town as he loitered for a few minutes, chatting with the men, and she’d stopped in some hidden space to watch him.

There was something new in his features she’d never seen before. The strength, still there. The almost frightening beauty, rough but undeniably attractiveness.

He turned to face her, and her breath caught in her throat. Something deep and dark rolled out from him and softened as she watched. He wasn’t trying to be the man of the family or the person in charge. Hunger and need and a light filled with the promise of laughter right behind it shone in his eyes.

She couldn’t inhale. It was too much, too powerful and beautiful. The corner of his mouth twisted upward, and suddenly it was all she could do not to throw her arms around him and never let him go.

He stole the popcorn container from her and placed it on the floor, then slipped his hand around the back of her neck and slowly, oh so slowly, drew her lips toward his.

“Hey. Down in front.”

Jaxi cursed silently as Blake paused, their mouths less than an inch away from each other. Was that…?

“Oh, stop your whining. There’s nothing happening yet.” Jesse’s light tenor tickled in her ears.

Joel snorted in response. “On the screen or in front of us?”

Oh lordy, this was not real. Jaxi swallowed hard for minute. Blake never lost his smile. “You want to pretend they just ain’t there?”

He tugged a little closer and their lips met. Jaxi opened eagerly. Who the hell cared if they gave the twins a show? Served them right for coming out and crashing the party.

“If they keep that up, it’s gonna be tough to enjoy the special effects.”

Jaxi froze. Blake jerked back in a rush, and both of them spun to examine the row behind them.

“Now, Mike, hush. The movie’s not started. It’s just the trailers.” Marion waved at them from two seats down, Mike grinning broadly at her side, his arm tucked around her shoulders.

He shrugged tolerantly. “Okay, fine. You kids go ahead and enjoy yourselves.”

Jaxi turned to face the movie screen, placing herself as exactly in the middle of her seat as she could. At her side, Blake did the same, although he snuck his hand over to grasp hers. The upcoming movie trailers played across the screen, and she wondered when the time warp back to ninth grade had taken place.

His elbow bumped hers, and she glanced over, wondering what was going on. Then a complaint rose from behind them, and she grew even more curious. Blake squeezed her fingers, then guided her hand toward his lap.

She resisted. Oh my God, no. She’d been longing to touch him, but not in the dark of the theater with his entire family seated around them. That would be like some nightmare of a sexual experience.

He tugged harder and unless she wanted to make a huge fuss, she had no chance of winning an arm wrestle with him. She faced forward resolutely in the hope nothing would show up on the screen that would brighten the room enough to allow people around them to see her touching…popcorn?

His grin shone white against the darkness for a second before he turned and seemed to ignore her. But his fingers reached over hers and pulled some of the corn from under her grasp. Then he leaned back, and as she watched, a fast glint of something flew through the air.

“Fuck.” Jesse gasped a second later. “Sorry, Ma. I meant, damn, something hit me.”

His whispered complaint was all she needed to understand the rest of the story. Blake’s shoulder was all warm at her side, his fingers held hers tight, except when they both took turns surreptitiously tossing popcorn over their shoulders, attempting to hit Jesse and Joel most often.

It was silly and childish, and one of the most right moments Jaxi had ever experienced in her life. No rules, no expectations. Just fun, and being literally surrounded by family.

She rested her head on Blake’s shoulder and contentedly munched on another licorice stick.

Jaxi pushed through the laundry room door and jerked to a stop. Travis straightened up from the washbasin and turned to face her, his expression tight.

Oh my God. She hadn’t just seen what she thought, had she? “What the heck—?”

“Don’t. Just…don’t go there.” He grabbed a bloody shirt from the ground and tried to duck past her, but even with the basket in her hands she was fast enough to get in his path and block his rapid retreat from the small room. “It’s nothing. I didn’t think anyone was around, okay?”

She shoved the basket of clothes onto the top of the dryer and reached for him, batting away his hands as he tried to stop her. “No one was. I came in early to get a few things cleaned up while the house was still empty. Where the heck you been? Your dad was livid this morning when you didn’t show up for chores.”

As she spoke she turned him, tugging on his belt until his strong back was in clear view. A shudder shook her as she took in the damage. “Oh, Travis.”

His shoulders sagged, all his bluster escaping like air from a balloon. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Of course you don’t. When did you ever want to talk about these things?” She pushed him to the side and snatched up a clean rag, soaking it under warm water. “Fine. I won’t ask questions, but I am fixing you up. Get over here.”

The misery in his eyes was hidden as he bent forward to rest his elbows on the washer, giving her easy access to the multiple rows of welts crossing his back. The skin was swollen, broken in spots. Dried blood clung to him, fresh red oozing from where the barely set scabs broke away from the cuts.

Jaxi bit her lip to stop from blurting out all she wanted to say. Instead, she worked steadily, as gentle as possible as she pressed the cloth again and again to his flesh, softening and cleaning away the blood. A shiver raced over his skin, a low grunt of pain as she touched a particularly bad section where the cuts lay in crisscross fashion over each other.

She couldn’t take it anymore. “Belt?”

He hissed as she used the cream from the first aid kit on the topmost line, careful to make sure she coated the welts thoroughly. “Thought you weren’t gonna ask questions?”

“Yeah, well, I thought you weren’t such an idiot to let someone mark you and then leave you in bad shape. There’s supposed to be two sides to—”

“This is definitely talking you’re doing. I know what it’s supposed to be like, okay. It just doesn’t always work the way we want it to.”

Jaxi left her hand on his back, the warmth of her palm pressed cautiously against his skin in the hopes her touch would blunt the words. “You seem to have that happen a lot, Travis. Not work out the way you want.”

He tensed, straightening up and twisting to face her. A pulse beat in the vein in his temple. “Sometimes it’s been good. But yeah…my luck’s been shitty at times. Someday that will change.”

She stared at him for a moment. Whatever sexual attraction they’d had between them had been fleeting—on her part mostly because of his likeness to Blake. She still didn’t know if he’d really cared about her or if having her around had been the ultimate cover-up to help keep his secret indulgences hidden.

Travis’s dark eyes held hers for a moment before he dropped his gaze. “Thanks for your help.”

She nodded. Moving was the only way to deal with her frustration. She pulled a clean T-shirt for him from the dryer, placing it on the metal surface. “Is there anything else I can do?”

Jaxi swallowed hard as he reached out a hand and cupped her cheek. He rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone, a light, delicate touch. It was less seductive than needy, as if he was attempting to draw strength from their connection.