Texan's Touch

SEVEN

DEEP INTO THE blackness of night, nichole stretched, moving against Adam for warmth. He rolled slightly toward her. Slowly, the brush of his breath against her throat tickled her awake. She lay in the darkness, feeling his chest rise and fall beside her own.

With fluid movements, she raised her hand and outlined the length of his body from shoulder to hip. He was thin, but she felt his muscles tighten as she traveled over them. The smooth softness of the cotton of his shirt contrasted with the coarse twill of his pants.

Leaning forward, she inhaled deeply. “Adam,” she whispered. No man had ever smelled so good. She’d know him anywhere, even in total darkness. The hint of shaving soap, wool, and fireplaces seemed baked, ever so lightly, into his skin.

Before she thought of what she was doing, Nichole leaned closer and ran her tongue along his throat, sampling the slightly salty taste of him.

When he didn’t move, she unbuttoned his collar button and tasted again of the warm flesh once hidden beneath his shirt.

She’d never been so close to a man and had no idea how a lady was to behave, nor did she care. In a few hours it would be time for her to go back to her world and she wanted to return with enough memories of Adam to last her a lifetime.

As his easy breathing became a rhythm in her ear, Nichole slipped the next button free and continued her exploration.

With his chest bare, she laid her cheek against the soft hair covering his skin and captured the pounding of his heart in her ear. In some small way, maybe because he’d saved her life, he was hers. If only for a few hours in the darkness of this one night.

Nichole pushed his shirt away and moved her hand over his chest and down to his waist as he slept soundly. He had not been a man who’d trained himself to awaken to the slightest sound or movement as she’d been trained. Now that lack of skill kept him soundly sleeping as she touched him.

She wondered if she was touching him as he’d caressed her the night they’d met. What had he said? It had been so long since he’d touched anything of beauty. No one had ever hinted that she might be pretty, much less beautiful. The only time Wolf complimented her was on her abilities as a Shadow.

She began at Adam’s face, letting her cheek gently rub against his, lightly tasting his flesh as she moved down. When she reached the plain of his abdomen, she rested her face against the warm softness of his skin. Smiling, she realized she felt very much like an animal nestled deep inside a winter cave with her mate. A hundred cold nights when she’d hugged herself to keep from freezing, she’d wondered how a man would feel beside her.

Adam moved in his sleep, threading his fingers through her hair.

Slowly, Nichole raised her head and straightened to reach his face.

His hand continued to stroke.

She tried to see if his eyes were closed, if he was still asleep. But, though her heart was suddenly racing, his breathing was slow and easy. Only the movement of his hand gave away any hint that he might have awakened.

As she lay very still, he rolled to his side and laid his free hand at her waist.

“Adam?” she whispered. “Adam, are you asleep?”

When he didn’t answer, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She hadn’t meant her exploration to be quite so bold and had panicked at the thought that she’d been caught.

His closeness now made it difficult to manage, but she moved her fingers between them and again began unbuttoning his shirt. At the second button, she decided to risk one more touch. He slept so soundly, she reasoned, he’d never know.

Her fingers crossed beneath the shirt and spread wide over his chest. The soft curls tickled her fingertips as she explored the hard plain of his chest.

He rolled toward her, trapping her hand over his heart as he buried his face against her hair.

“Adam,” she whispered in panic. “Adam, are you awake?”

His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer, bowing her back slightly. Her breasts pressed against his chest as his leg weighed heavy atop hers.

“No,” he mumbled against her ear. “I’m not awake. I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming a lovely woman is having her way with me.”

Before she could deny his claim, his mouth covered her lips.

Nichole thought she knew what a kiss from Adam would be like. After all, she’d kissed him twice. But this kiss was nothing like she’d ever experienced. This wasn’t just a kiss on her mouth, but over her entire body. His tongue parted her lips while his hands moved over her with a hunger that warmed her completely. She could feel his body moving above her, pressing, feeling, reacting to her slightest actions.

For a moment, she thought wildly of fighting. But the warm paradise he offered was too great to resist. As she relaxed beneath him, his hold lessened, but not his touch. His fingers seemed starved for the feel of her as he tugged against her clothing.

The kiss continued. She moved with pleasure and felt his body react to each of her shifts. At first, she thought he was controlling her, holding her, but when she pressed against him, she knew the control was hers, not his.

Her arms slid around his neck as her longing to be close met his. She held on tightly as his fingers slowly moved along her back and over her hips. He was erasing all the loneliness she’d silently borne with the years of no one holding her. He was soothing the little girl in her who wanted to be held and drawing out the woman with the warming passion of each stroke.

He broke the kiss and rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. He took deep breaths, holding her to him tightly as though she might evaporate like an image in a cloud. Then, he cupped her face and kissed her so tenderly a tear formed in her eye.

“Do you have any idea what we are doing?” he asked in a voice so low she barely heard him.

“No,” she answered honestly. She’d listened to a few of the rough stories the men had bragged about when they’d told of mounting women. None were anything like this. They’d laughed of riding women until they made them scream and of taking all they wanted. They’d never talked of kissing, or holding, or of feeling a heart beat against their own. Whatever they’d done couldn’t be the same as this.

“What am I doing?” she whispered as her hand moved beneath his shirt to touch flesh.

His sharp intake of breath told her of his reaction. He kissed her as his hands grew bolder along her body. The material couldn’t bar the warmth of his touch.

Finally, he rolled her gently to her side but didn’t move away. She could see his outline in the darkness. She could feel the warmth of him only an inch away, hear the long intakes of his breath, taste the remains of his kiss on her lips.

“Dear God, Nick, you’re making it difficult.” He combed her hair away from her face with his fingers. “You can’t imagine how deeply I want you.”

Nichole was growing confused. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question. If she said yes did it mean she understood what he was talking about? If she said no, would he think her a fool? She knew of fighting, and riding, and of weapons. She knew nothing of this, except that he felt good by her side and his hands made her feel alive all over.

“I know I want you to kiss me again,” she whispered. “I’m not a child, Adam.”

He kissed her cheek, then seemed unable to resist moving lower to her throat. His words fanned her skin. “You’re not a woman. You’ve never had a chance to be. It would be unfair of me to-”

She rolled toward him, moving against his side, letting him know she was all female.

Adam took the advance fully, without retreat. She felt his body jerk slightly as her body met his. Without a word, she raised her mouth and silenced any protest. For a second, he hesitated, then accepted her gift.

She wanted him to understand just how fully a woman she was and he’d taken the lesson without complaint.

Dawn crept across the room from the open window as Nichole felt Adam touching her as no one had ever dared. His fingers moved over her clothes as though no material separated them. She was a part of him and he needed to explore. He wanted to know every inch of her.

When she broke the kiss and leaned back her head to breathe, he tasted her neck while his hands cupped her breasts. The fabric did little to mask his bold touch or the heat he stirred with his gentle grip. He closed his fingers around the fullness of her breasts and lowered his mouth to hers. When her lips parted in the sudden wave of pleasure and surprise overwhelming her, his kiss deepened and his grip tightened slightly sending pure delight through her.

Several thuds registered before Nichole’s trained senses realized someone was coming up the stairs. The heavy footfalls could belong to only one man.

“Wolf!” she whispered as she shoved away from Adam.

Adam raised his head to listen, then reacted as if she’d yelled fire at the top of her voice. He rolled from the bed and began buttoning his shirt.

“What is it?” she asked as he dressed. “What do we do?”

“Wolf’s going to kill me!” he answered. “And I don’t blame him.”

“Nonsense.” Nichole almost laughed. “Why would he kill you?” Adam wasn’t making sense. Wolf wouldn’t kill him for kissing her. She’d done that before.

“For what I was thinking of doing.” Adam moved to the window. “For what I was about to do,” he whispered as she followed him. “For what I was doing.” He straddled the sill. “All seem just cause for murder.”

“Nick!” Wolf called from the landing. “Which room you in?”

Adam leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Trust me. If he catches me in here, I’m a dead man.”

Without another word, Adam slipped out the window. A shingle clattered to the porch below as he moved away.

“Nick!” Wolf bellowed as he opened the door.

She took a step and lifted her gun belt from the post. “I’m almost ready,” she mumbled, hoping she sounded sleepy.

“We’re burning daylight.” He glanced around the little room. “Don’t get lazy just because you got to sleep in a bed last night.”

“I’m ready.” Nichole left the room ahead of him praying her face would have time to cool before he got a good look at her.

Adam followed the shingle to the porch, dropping within inches of where Wes sat rolling a cigarette.

Wes jerked, spilling the tobacco across his legs and dumped the pack of papers in the mud. “Damn!” he swore.

Adam straightened and tried to act calm. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”

Wes dusted the tobacco from his pants. “I didn’t realize I was standing in a damned crossroads.” He met his brother’s stare.

Adam was too old to explain anything. “You’re up early,” he said, trying to sound casual and knowing he was making no sense.

“You’re dropping down a little early yourself, Doc.”

“Nichole’s leaving.” Adam tucked his shirt in. “I wanted to say good-bye.” He thought about how he’d been saying hello only a minute ago.

“I know. I helped Wolf saddle their horses.” Wes shoved the bag of tobacco back in his shirt pocket. “Been thinking of giving up smoking anyway.”

As he spoke, Wolf and Nichole tiptoed out of the house.

“Babes are sleeping!” Wolf yelled in what he thought was a whisper. “Daniel’s passed out on his bed.” He glanced at Wes. “You’ll say good-bye to them for us?”

Wes nodded.

Wolf turned to Adam. “And thanks, Doc, for saving my Nick’s life. I was sorry I couldn’t find you to kill you that day, but now I’m glad I didn’t. Like Nick said, you’re a fine man even if you did somehow end up on the wrong side.”

Adam didn’t know what to say. He felt sure Wolf would never utter such a thing if he knew that only a few heartbeats ago Adam had been holding Nichole’s breast in his hand.

They moved toward the horses. Wes talked with Wolf, giving him a few directions that would make the way back faster.

Adam had a moment alone with Nichole. He moved behind her and placed his hands around her waist to help her up.

“I don’t need any help.” She laughed.

“I know,” he whispered without removing his hands. “Do you have to go so soon?” His pride wouldn’t allow him to say more.

“We’ve got trouble back home, and I need to stand with Wolf and the others.” She had her duty and they both understood.

“About what happened-” Adam began.

She placed her gloved fingers over his lips. “No,” she whispered. “Not a word.”

If he said he was sorry, it would be worse than a bullet to her heart. If he begged her to stay, they’d both regret it. He belonged here, not with her. She might not know much, but she knew he had turned to her in grief and she’d be a fool if she tried to make it more.

Gripping the saddle horn, she pulled herself up. His hand slid from her waist to her boot, but he didn’t try to stop her.

“Until we meet again.” He offered his hand.

“We’ll never meet again,” she answered, knowing she had to cut the wound clean if it would ever heal. “You’ll be married soon with your life full helping Daniel raise the twins, and I’ll be a world away.”

“Let’s ride.” Wolf kicked his horse.

Nichole covered Adam’s hand as it rested on her leg. “I’ll never forget you.” She smiled and nudged her mount, already dancing to follow.

She was out of hearing distance before Adam answered, “Nor I you.”