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“Me, too,” she said as they walked toward the bar.
“I’m having vodka and tonic. What about you?”
Her smile seemed to envelop him. “That’s my favorite drink.”
He ordered their cocktails from the bartender and walked with her to a corner of the living room. “Drake has a couple of riding horses. Do you ride?”
“Since I was three years old. Remember I told you my dad is a rancher.”
“I’ll see if we can go riding tomorrow morning. It’s best to ride early before it gets hot.”
“Yes, I know. I can be ready at six,” she said.
“Great. You’re a woman after my own heart.”
“We’ll see about that,” she said.
“Yes. We will. It’s been a lovely evening, Denise. See you at six. Good night.”
He found Drake in the dining room. “Do you mind if Denise and I borrow a couple of horses tomorrow morning at six?”
“Of course not,” said Drake. “I’ll have the horses ready when you get there. If Heather doesn’t feel like fixing an early breakfast, be here at a quarter to six, and you can eat with Denise and me.”
“Thanks. And thanks for a great evening. Good night.”
Once outside, Scott removed his jacket, untied his tie, put it in his pocket and strode down the hill to Judson’s house. He was headed somewhere with Denise, and she seemed willing to go along. But did she want and need the same things that were so meaningful and important to him? He was willing to be patient, even wait for a while until he found them.
Chapter 3
Denise arose early that morning, did her ablutions, dressed and ambled down the circular stairs. She nearly collided with Pamela at the door to the breakfast room.
“I am so sorry. Are you all right?”
“Fine,” Denise said. “If I asked why you seem so happy, I don’t suppose you’d answer. Where’s Drake?” she asked.
Pamela gave her a long, slow wink. “He is still in bed…in a state of happiness.”
“Gotcha. You love that man.”
“Oh, yes,” said Pamela “Why don’t you give Scott a chance? I watched the two of you last night. The man’s really into you, and you’re trying to show him how cool you can be. Denise, even when you really like a guy, you come off as cool. Heat it up a bit.”
“You and Heather think he’s interested in me, but he has yet to put it in words. I know he wants me. But after two years in Lithuania, he’d want the Wicked Witch of the West.”
“Listen! Heather and Scott were best friends. They worked together for five years. He introduced her to Judson, who was like a brother to him. She said he’s seriously interested in you, and I believe her.”
“If you’re right, I’ll find out,” said Denise. “But would you open your front door if nobody knocked and just stood there waiting? Of course not! If a man isn’t willing to take a chance, he definitely won’t win me over.”
“And if you don’t give him any encouragement, he’d be foolish to take a chance. Come on, let’s eat. Scott will be here in a few minutes.”
She scrutinized her friend. “Pamela, do you know whether Scott plans to eat before he gets here?”
“Now you’re cooking with gas. I’ll set a place for him. It’s Saturday, so Drake may sleep until seven o’clock.”
Minutes later, the doorbell rang and Denise looked at her watch. Right on time, she thought. “Hi, how are you this morning?”
“Great. This country air is bracing,” Scott replied.
“You look as if you’ve been up for hours. How are you this morning?”
“Fine. Come on in. Pamela and I are about to eat. Drake’s still asleep.”
His handsome face creased into a luminous smile. “Food. I was hoping that you’d save me something. I didn’t want to awaken Heather and Judson so early, and I haven’t found my way around in their ultramodern kitchen. Who cooked?”
“Hi,” Pamela said. “I did. Our cook usually isn’t here on weekends, unless we have several houseguests.”
Almost as soon as they’d finished eating breakfast, the doorbell rang. Pamela drained her coffee cup and got up from the table. “That would be Miles to let us know he has the horses ready. The stallion is named Big Red, and the mare is named Sandy. They respond to their names.”
After breakfast, they mounted the horses and started for the bridle path, a quarter of a mile beyond Harrington House, where Telford and his family lived. “You are an expert at this, I see. And something tells me that your horse knows it,” Scott said to Denise.
She patted the horse’s flank. “Horses and I get along like peaches and cream. See how Sandy looked back at me when I patted her. She practically smiled. Men could learn a lot from horses.”
“Yeah. And so could women. If you caress my flanks the way you caressed hers, I’d smile at you, too. Which way is the river from here?”
“A little beyond that fork in the road,” she said. “And you’ve never indicated that you want to be patted anywhere, not to mention your flanks. I make it a rule never to read between the lines. If you want me to know something, spell it out. Last time I took something for granted, it ended in disaster.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Ten years. Ten long years,” she said wistfully.
“Since then, I haven’t been within miles of any problems. I learn fast,” she said, immediately wondering whether she’d revealed too much.
“I’m sorry, Denise. I apologize for being too protective last night, but I guess you’re very adept at handling that. Are we arguing or merely getting to know each other?”
She pondered how best to respond to his question. She decided to be direct and honest with him, and slowed her mount to a trot. He did the same.
She gazed around at the perfect July morning, flowers in bloom, birds chirping and flitting around and squirrels scampering across the horse trail. “For years, Pamela has said that I don’t show people who I am. She says I’m cool, even when I’m interested in something or someone. If she’s right, I have misled a lot of people in my lifetime.”
“So we are not arguing. Good. The day we met at Judson’s barbecue, you were warm and approachable,” he said. “Maybe it was because of those worn jeans. The ones you’re wearing today are brand-new. Let’s tether the horses and walk awhile or sit on one of those benches and look at the river.”
“Okay. I love to look at the water. There’s something magical about it.”
He dismounted, walked over to Denise and raised his arms, and she lowered herself into them. “What would you think if I said I want you to fall in love with me?”
Her lower jaw dropped and, to her own surprise, her fingers gripped his shoulders. “Be careful, Scott. You impress me as a man who measures his words carefully.”
He held her closer. “Then I’ll phrase it differently. Will you give us a chance to see where we can take this relationship?”
“Is there some reason why you don’t kiss me? You’ve had three opportunities, and you’ve never taken them.”
“I pride myself on being a gentleman and treating women with respect. Right now, I am at the point of explosion, and I don’t trust myself to get any closer to you.”
She could feel the tips of her nipples tingle as her heartbeat raced. What would he be like and how would she feel if his superhuman control deserted him? Her head told her not to tempt him, but her body paid no attention.
“How will I know I want to give us a chance?” she asked him, ignoring the consequences.
He stepped back, gazed at her for a second, took her hand and walked to a wooden bench facing the river and sat down beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled close to him. His arm eased around her and tightened. She gripped his waist with her right hand, and then mindlessly she let her hand stroke and caress him. She heard him take a sharp intake of breath, and a second later, she was sitting in his lap. The fingers of his hand pressed the side of her right breast, and his other hand clutched the back of her head.
“What kind of proof do you need in order to decide whether you’ll give this relationship a shot?”
“Stop teasing me, Scott.”
A hoarse groan seeped out of him, and at last she felt his mouth on her. Shivers coursed through her as he tightened his grip on her, as his tongue traced the rim of her lips and pried them open. He invaded her mouth, and like a flame doused in gasoline, heat surged through her body until she nearly exploded. She felt hot, as though her body could catch fire. His tongue sampled every crevice of her mouth, every centimeter of it. She heard herself moan and had neither the will nor the power to stop it.
His fingers stroked and teased her breasts until she cried out. “I can’t stand it. Do something. Anything!”
He slipped his hand into her bra, released her left breast and rolled her nipple between his fingers, while his tongue swirled in her mouth as she inhaled it deeper into hers. As her moans escalated, she began crossing and uncrossing her legs, sought the friction she so desperately needed. He dipped his head and suckled her nipple in his mouth. Within seconds, he was hard and bulging against her. She didn’t withdraw, but moved closer to him.
“Denise!”
“More,” she said. “More!”
“Sweetheart! Baby. I’m on the verge of…” He abruptly pulled away from her. “Sweetheart, if we were in someplace private, we’d be making love right now. Do you realize that?”
“Yes,” she whispered, shaken and still trembling with need. “I’ve never felt like that before, and I…I’ve never lost control like that.”
She couldn’t tell him how badly she had wanted him inside of her and how badly she still did.
“Give me a chance, Denise. I want to give you everything that a man can give a woman, and I don’t mean material things, either. Are you listening to me?”
“After what just happened between us, Scott, I’d be foolish not to. I can’t believe I let myself—”
He interrupted her. “Let yourself go? I’m on cloud nine knowing that you trusted me that much.” Suddenly, his face clouded in a frown. “Are you afraid to trust me?” Scott said. “Why? Have I done anything that suggests I’m not trustworthy? Talk to me!”
“No, you haven’t. Quite the opposite. It was easy to…to let things move along. I thought physical attraction was the only thing I had to deal with. But now—”
“Now, you have to deal with your feelings. Don’t make me pay for whatever happened in the past.” He looked over his shoulder toward the horses. “Red and Sandy don’t seem to be having a problem. If she’s in heat, we’ll have to walk home.”
Thank God, she could finally laugh. How good it felt!
He asked her what was so funny. “If she was in heat, Scott, Drake wouldn’t have let her get within a mile of that stallion, and she would never have been so docile when I was riding her.”
He stared at her. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“You bet. Mares don’t like to be denied, any more than women do.” With that, she stood. “Let’s ride downstream. It’s beautiful down there, where the river curves.”
He slowly raised his six-foot-four-inch frame from the bench. “Fortunately, I’ve learned to control evidence of my sexual frustrations,” he said. “But as Scarlett O’Hara said, ‘Tomorrow is another day.’”
She’d think about that later. Liking Scott, even making love to him, would be wonderful. But he was looking for a serious relationship, and that scared her. She’d been there and done that. She knew that a woman was a man’s entire world until she gave him what he wanted. She was not going there again. But oh, Lord, how Scott Galloway made her feel!
They mounted the horses and cantered along the path until they reached the river bend. “I want to love and to be loved,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to be hurt, to live in emotional pain every day.”
From his vantage point atop Big Red’s back, Scott looked down at the lazily flowing river. The morning breeze blew plumes from the cottonwood trees into his face. He sniffed the perfume of the wild roses that were tucked among the blooming red and white crepe myrtle trees. All was right with Mother Nature, but what he wouldn’t give to say the same about himself!
So she was attracted to him. It was the thought of emotional intimacy that she couldn’t handle. I want her, and I’m going to have her. And once I get inside of her, I’ll show her how a man loves a woman. I’ll make her feel plenty. And when it’s over, she’ll remember what it was like, and she’ll need me. Not just any man, but me, because I don’t plan for it to be any other way.
“How often do you ride?” he asked her, having observed the ease with which she sat in the saddle.
“Not as often as I’d like. I travel a great deal for my work.”
So she was being evasive again. He stopped his horse. “Denise, if I ask you a question, and you don’t want to answer it, just say you’d rather not answer. I won’t be offended.”
“Do you have a short fuse, or do I annoy you?”
“If I had a quick temper, the State Department would have fired me years ago. It doesn’t help if you’re a diplomat. You learn to hide your feelings the way a bird covers its eggs. Haven’t you ever been close to a man, one with whom you shared your dreams and aspirations?”
“It’s a long story, Scott, and if you’ll forgive me, I’d rather not go into it now.”
“It’s all right. We’ll get there,” he said confidently.
“Why are you so certain?”
“Because I, for one, have a vivid memory. Have you forgotten what happened less than twenty minutes ago? Considering how you responded to me, do you think I won’t be back for more? Trust me, I will.”
“But Scott, that’s not… I mean, sexual attraction doesn’t guarantee anything.”
“You fell for the wrong man. And one day, you’ll know that for certain. It’s getting warm, and the horses are becoming agitated. Perhaps we should go back.”
“You’re right.”
“When will you be in Washington?” he asked her.
“Monday morning.”
“I want to see you Monday evening.”
“Scott, I…I don’t know if it’s such a good idea.”
“Why not? You have to eat, don’t you? Look, Denise, forget what I said a minute ago. You know what you want. You’re just scared as hell to take it.”
“That isn’t true, Scott. If I’m afraid of anything, it’s… I don’t know that woman who kissed you back there. She’s… I don’t know who or what.”
“Did you like her? Or are you scared of what you’ll do if she makes an appearance again? Trust me, I won’t let you do anything you don’t want to do.”
“No, but you’ll make sure that I want what you want. I know that a thirty-one-year-old woman ought to have her act together. And in most respects, I do. But I’m not willing to subject myself to disappointment. I picked up the pieces once, and that will be the last time.”
Tell me about it. For every unreliable and untrustworthy man, I’ll show you a woman who’s the same. “Whatever it was, you’re not willing to share it. Right?”
“Scott, I know I have to take chances, but right now, I am not up to taking this chance just yet.”
