Loving Lauren (16 page)

Lauren woke to the feeling of Chase kissing her neck. She snuggled into him and wrapped her arms around his naked shoulders as his mouth moved slowly over every inch of her shoulders. His hands were on her hips and when he started moving them higher, she held her breath. He pulled her shirt up a little, exposing her stomach to the cool morning air. His fingers played over the line of her jeans, tugging until they rode low on her hips so he could run a finger lightly over her exposed skin.

“Tell me to stop,” he mumbled against her skin.

She shook her head. “No, don't.” She buried her fingers into his hair and pulled his mouth to hers. The kiss was heated and she felt her toes curl as he took it deeper, pulling her under as his hands tugged on her jeans.

He slid them slowly down her hips and off her legs. Her cotton panties were still in place and he pulled back and looked down at her. Her tank top was hiked up, showing most of her stomach. She was sure her hair was in a ball of knots.

“So beautiful.” His eyes roamed over every inch of her. Her breath hitched as he ran a finger lightly over her ribs. He looked into her eyes as his fingers traveled lower, pulling at the rim of her panties. She moaned and closed her eyes, tilting her head back as he slowly exposed more of her skin.

She'd never been this exposed before. The morning sun was streaming into the netted roof of his tent. The bright colors flooded her senses as he gently pulled aside the cotton and touched her with his fingertips. Her shoulders bounded off the sleeping bag and she let a low moan escape her lips as more colors exploded behind her closed eyelids. He placed a hand on her stomach to hold her still.

“My god,” she thought he'd said, but she was too busy to ask as she felt him touch her where no one had before.

She was a live wire. He couldn't get enough of her. The bright colors of the sunrise were streaming into the small tent and he wished more than anything to freeze this moment in his brain forever. Her dark hair was pooled over the sleeping bag, and her lips were pink and swollen from his kisses as she lightly bit on her bottom lip to keep herself from screaming. Her skin glowed in the daylight and he wished they had hours so he could explore every inch, taste every inch. When he pulled down her cotton panties and exposed her pink skin, then ran a finger gently over her, he was surprised when she exploded and melted in his hands. She was even more beautiful during orgasm than he'd ever imagined. If he did this to her with just a simple touch, what would she do when he finally made love to her?

It took all his willpower to pull her clothes back on her as she recovered. He knew there was a time and place for everything and getting Lauren in bed was something he wanted to save for the right time, the right place.

“Chase? Aren't you...”

“Shhh, there's plenty of time later.” He pulled her close and kissed her eyes and face. “You're so beautiful. Your hair sparkles in the morning light.”

She chuckled.

“What?” He leaned up and looked down into her face. “Did I say something funny?”

Her eyes slid open slowly and she smiled up at him. “It's all very funny. You. Me. Here. Like this.”

“What's so funny about it?” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her nose.

“Well, there for a moment it actually sounded like you were going to start spouting poetry.”

He smiled. “So, maybe I feel like giving you poetry.” He leaned back further as she pulled herself up onto her elbows.

“Johnathan Chase Graham, the second.” He winched at his full name. “I doubt you would know a line of poetry if it sprouted teeth and bit you on your arse.” She smiled at him.

“I think that I shall never see,” he began with a smile, “a poem as lovely as a tree.”

She laughed and listened patiently to the whole poem, then clapped her hands when he was done. He loved her eyes when she smiled. They completed his day and he couldn't help but smile back at her.

“Very well, I stand corrected.” She sat across from him, her knees tucked under her as she pulled on her t-shirt.

By lunchtime, he was wishing for another dip in the stream. Not only was it hotter than yesterday, but they had found and repaired three large holes in the fence. They’d had to haul a dozen or so large branches off the wires and she'd even produced an ax so he could chop some of the larger pieces up so they could move them away from the fence line.

They sat in the shade of a cluster of trees and he gulped down as much water as he could to cool his body. Finally, he took a handful and splashed himself over the head and face. Even Dingo had given up and lay in the shade, choosing not to run around chasing squirrels.

“I can't believe you thought you could do this all by yourself.” He looked over at her. Sweat streamed down her face, causing her hair to stick to the sides of her neck and face.

“Well, usually there aren't this many downed trees.” She looked up and down the fence line and frowned. “We had beetles come through here last year and a lot of the pines were killed off.” She pointed to a dozen or more dead pines that stood in the distance. “I suppose I'll have to pay someone to come back and clear out some of the larger ones. Otherwise we'll be doing this all over again in a few months.”

He smiled. He didn't know if she realized it, but she'd included him in her future plans.

After lunch, they headed across the field and started making their way back to the house. By the time they made it down the hills, the sun was already set and they had to let the horses lead them across the field to the barn. When he dismounted from Buster, he realized that his ass wasn't the only thing asleep on him. His legs felt like jelly and he was sure there were blisters on the insides of his thighs from the saddle.

He'd been raised riding horses, but had never ridden this much in a two-day stretch before. He walked over and helped Lauren down from her horse, knowing that if he felt this bad, she probably did as well. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him.

“I always love coming home after a long peaceful trip.” She reached up on her toes and kissed him. He lost himself in the moment, his aches and pains totally forgotten as her mouth traveled over his. He leaned closer to her and bumped her back into the horse as he deepened the kiss. The horse snorted and pushed them back until he had to catch himself and her to keep them from falling. They laughed, then got to work putting the horses away for the night. It took almost two hours for him to get back to his place. When he walked in, he fell onto the couch and was unconscious in under a minute.

The next morning he woke to pounding on his door. He yanked the door open, preparing to yell at whoever was on the other side, but caught himself when he saw Haley standing on the porch, a squirming Buddy in her hands.

“Good morning. We figured you would be up by now.” She handed him Buddy and looked over his shoulder into the small house.

“Thanks for watching him,” he said in between dog kisses.

“Oh, he was no problem at all. I even taught him a few tricks while you were gone.” She smiled and he realized how much she looked like Lauren. They had the same hair, eyes, and smile. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

“Yeah? What kind of tricks?” He set the little dog down as Haley walked past him, into the living room.

“I've never been in one of the ranch hand places before.” She stood in the middle of the floor and did a quick circle. “Nice.” Then she called for Buddy and he quickly rushed to her side. “Sit,” she said in a soft voice, and to his surprise, the small dog sat on its bottom, its tail wagging a million miles per hour. “Lay.” The dog quickly lay down and looked up at her. “Good boy, now stay.” She pointed to the ground, then turned and walked down the small hallway to his bedroom door. Buddy watched her, his tail still thumping the ground. When she disappeared, he let out a low whine. Then, from the other room, she called, “Come.” Buddy bounded up and ran as fast as his three legs would carry him into the next room.

Haley walked in, holding Buddy in her arms, smiling.

“We still need to work on a few others, but he's a smart one. Aren’t you?” The small dog licked her on the face as she laughed.

“I can't thank you enough for watching him.”

“Oh, it was no trouble at all.” She handed him back the dog. “Besides, Lauren told us what happened the other night.”

For a moment his mind went blank and all he could think about was Lauren lying naked in his sleeping bag.

Then she continued. “About someone trying to break into her tent.”

“Oh,” he recovered. “Yeah. Well, she handled that pretty well all by herself.”

“Yes, well. Alex and I don't like it when she disappears up to the hills all alone like that. We've been telling her for years that there are vagrants living up there. Do you know that I overheard your father telling Mr. Holton that there were actual moonshiners up in those hills? Then, just a few years back, I guess, the sheriff caught a group of men growing marijuana plants.” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. He noticed that Haley was a little taller than Lauren and about twenty pounds skinnier. He smiled a little and realized he liked Lauren's extra curves.

“Well, it's a good thing you went along, anyway. She was pretty upset about the state of the fence and just this morning she hired the Johnston brothers to clear the line of all the pine's the beetles killed last season.” She started walking towards his door. “Thanks again for watching out for my sister.”

“Anytime.” He smiled. “Thanks for looking out for Buddy.”

“Anytime.” She smiled and closed his door behind her.

He turned and looked down at the small dog. “Buddy, is it possible to fall in love with someone's family, too?” The small dog tilted his head, like he was trying to understand what Chase was saying. Then he realized that he'd said it out loud. He'd known for years how he felt about Lauren. Hell, when he'd proposed marriage seven years ago, he'd known that he loved her. But it was a different kind of love than what he was feeling now. Now he wanted her completely and he knew he needed to set out to show her how much she needed him. He knew he needed a plan, and he decided there was no time like the present.

Walking to the back, he decided a shower and a shave were first on his list.

She was running late. She hated to be late. At least when it came to her time off. It wasn't very often that she took a night off to enjoy herself.