Before she could point that out, he asked, “Where’s your bag? I’ll take it to my room.”
Taking a step back, she walked over to open one of the dresser drawers and removed her nightshirt. “After I unpacked, I put it in the closet.”
He frowned as he pointed to the garment she held. “I’ve never known you to wear nightclothes.”
“That’s because you always left my place before I put them on,” she shot back. “And since you seemed surprised to learn that I do wear a nightshirt, I assume you don’t wear anything to bed.”
“Nope,” he said, grinning. “I don’t like the encumbrance.”
She shook her head. “This is what I was talking about earlier, Shane. If we had spent more time get ting to know each other, we would know these things.”
“You never wanted me to spend the night because you were afraid someone at the resort might find out and start gossiping about it,” he pointed out.
She couldn’t argue with him about that. It had been at her insistence that he leave Willow Lodge each night after they’d made love.
“But that’s water under the bridge now,” he said, shrugging.
Too tired to debate the issue any further, she nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and steered her out into the hall. “I’ll help you move your things to my room in the morning before we leave. Right now, we need to get to bed. We’ll have to be up early if we’re going to have lunch at the falls tomorrow.”
When he led her into his bedroom and turned on the bedside lamp, she took a moment to look around. A lot could be learned from someone’s personal space.
She wasn’t at all surprised to see the large room was decorated in the same rustic, masculine style as the downstairs. A king-size log bed with a Native American–print comforter and pillows dominated the room. The bright colors of the matching drapes contrasted perfectly with the dark log walls and heavy, peeled-log dresser and chest of drawers.
If she had ever had any doubts about Shane being the quintessential cowboy, they were gone now. One look at his choice of decor was all it took to know that he was a lot like the land he loved—rugged and a little wild. The type of man that was dangerous to a woman’s peace of mind. The very type women just couldn’t seem to resist.
“How long has your family owned the ranch?” she asked.
“A little over a hundred and twenty-five years.” He unbuttoned his shirt. “Hasn’t your family owned Jarrod Ridge about as long?”
Fascinated by the play of his chest muscles when Shane shrugged out of the shirt, it took a moment for her to realize what he had asked. “Y-yes, my father’s great great-grandfather started it and every generation since has expanded the business.”
“What do you think your generation will add to the resort?” he asked, unbuckling his belt and reaching for the button at the waistband of his jeans.
“I don’t know,” she said absently. She was far too engrossed in watching him reveal his magnificent body to worry about what would happen at Jarrod Ridge.
When he pushed the denim down his thighs, her heart skipped a beat. She had watched him strip off his clothes many times since they began their affair. She had even helped him take them off a few times, but the sight of his well-developed physique never failed to take her breath away.
“Aren’t you going to change?” he asked as he reached for the waistband of his boxer briefs.
He either didn’t know the effect he had on her or he was intentionally trying to drive her crazy. She suspected it was the latter.
Suddenly feeling as if she would burst into tears and not entirely certain why, Melissa quickly took off her clothes and pulled the nightshirt on. Walking around to the right side of the bed, she got in and closed her eyes. She was on Shane’s ranch, in his bed and pregnant with his baby. It was all too much to comprehend.
Overwhelmed by the events of the day and completely exhausted, she couldn’t stop a tear from slipping from beneath her lashes. She swiped it away with the back of her hand and turned onto her side in hopes that he hadn’t noticed.
“Lissa, are you crying?”
“N-no.”
She felt the other side of the bed dip as Shane stretched out beside her. A moment later, he wrapped her in his arms and turned her to face him.
“What’s wrong, angel? Why are you crying?”
His concerned tone and the feel of him holding her so tenderly against him was all it took for the floodgates to open. Sobbing her heart out and unable to stop herself, she clung to him as the torrent of emotion ran its course.
“I—I don’t know…why…that happened,” she said when she was finally able to get her vocal cords to work. She had never been more embarrassed in her entire life.
“I think I do,” he said as his hand continued to stroke her hair in a soothing manner. “You’ve had a hell of a day and you’re so tired you can barely keep your eyes open.”
His understanding words and the gentle tone of his deep voice helped ease some of her humiliation. “You’re probably right. I think this has quite possibly been the most stressful day I have ever endured.”
He reached over to switch off the lamp. Then, cradling her to him, he kissed her so tenderly another wave of tears threatened.
“Try to get some sleep, angel.” His arms tightened around her. “It’s all going to work out. I give you my word on that.”
Too exhausted to think about everything that had happened since her return to Aspen two months ago for the reading of her father’s will, Melissa snuggled against Shane and closed her eyes. Maybe with the morning light things would be clearer. Maybe then she would be able to cope with the fact that her life had spun completely out of control and there didn’t seem to be a single thing she could do to stop it.
When Shane led the gelding out of the barn and over to the fence, he smiled. “Does this horse look familiar?”
Lissa’s blue eyes twinkled with excitement. “He looks just like Smoky Joe.”
“That’s because he’s old Smoky’s little brother,” he said, handing her the reins. After hearing that the blue roan had been her favorite at Jarrod Ridge, Shane purposely chose the horse for her to ride to Rainbow Falls.
“Thank you,” she said as she softly stroked the horse’s velvet muzzle. “What’s his name?”
“He’s registered with the American Quarter Horse Association as Smoke Storm, but we just call him Stormy.” Walking back into the barn to get a saddle and blanket from the tack room, Shane returned to placed the saddle over the top fence rail. Then, smoothing the saddle blanket over the gelding’s back, he added, “I don’t want you to worry that he might be more than you can handle. In spite of his name, there’s nothing stormy about him.” He picked up the saddle and positioned it on the blanket. “I’ve seen kittens with more piss and vinegar than this guy.”
Lissa smiled as she hugged the animal’s neck. “Smoky Joe was that way, too. You could do just about anything with him.”
Shane nodded. “That’s why we bred the same mare and stallion several different times. The colts they foaled were all good-natured and perfect for people who aren’t used to riding a lot.”
“In other words, perfect for the inexperienced guests at Jarrod Ridge,” she guessed.
He pulled the cinch tight. “That was the idea.”
While Lissa and Stormy got to know each other, Shane quickly saddled his sorrel stallion. “Need a leg up?” he asked, turning to see if she needed help mounting the roan.
“I think I can get this,” she said, slipping her booted foot into the stirrup.
He stepped behind her in case she had problems and immediately decided that he would have done well to take her at her word. When her perfect little blue-jeans-clad bottom bobbed in front of his face as she climbed onto the saddle, the air rushed out of his lungs like helium from an overinflated balloon.
Holding her soft body to his throughout the night, then waking up with her in his arms this morning without once making love to her, had been a true test of his control. But Lissa hadn’t needed his lust. She had needed his comfort and he had been determined to give it to her or die trying.
Exhausted, emotionally spent and extremely vulnerable, she had tried to give the impression that she was fine. He knew differently and once he had taken her into his arms, she had finally let down her guard and accepted the support he had promised her. But not without considerable cost to his well-being.
With her br**sts pressed to his chest and her delicate hand resting on his flank, he had spent the entire night aroused. And if that hadn’t been enough to send him hovering on the brink of insanity, he had awakened this morning with one of her long, slender legs intimately lodged against his overly sensitive groin.
That had sent him straight into the bathroom for a cold shower. By the time he finally stepped from beneath the icy spray, his teeth had chattered uncontrollably and he would have bet everything he had that he could spit ice cubes on command.
Unfortunately, his gallantry was beginning to wear thin. He wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to play the consummate gentleman without going stark, raving mad.
“Earth to Shane. Come in please,” Lissa said, bringing him back to the present.
“What?”
She laughed. “I asked if you are going to just stand there daydreaming or if we’re going for a ride?”
“Uh, sorry,” he muttered. He couldn’t tell her that he had been thinking about how much he wanted to hold her, how much his body ached to be inside her. “There are a couple of different ways to get to the falls and I was trying to decide which would be the fastest,” he said, thinking quickly. There was only one trail leading to the waterfall, but she didn’t know that and he wasn’t about to admit that he’d been fantasizing about stripping them both and making love to her until they both collapsed from exhaustion.
“How far is it to Rainbow Falls?” she asked as he mounted the stallion and they rode through the corral gate.
“It’s only about three miles as the eagle flies, but having to skirt some of the steeper terrain and due to all of the bends in the river, it takes a few hours,” he explained.
She gave him a wistful look. “I wish I had known about this trip before we left the lodge. I’d have brought my camera. I’m sure the scenery is going to be gorgeous.”
He decided not to remind her that once he made her his wife, she would be able to take as many pictures of his ranch as she wanted, any time she wanted. But he wasn’t a fool. If he did remind her of that fact, she would most likely come up with more ways they didn’t know each other and be on the defensive.
That was the last thing he wanted. His plan hinged on the element of surprise. When he played his ace in the hole, he had no doubt he would have her agreeing to marry him faster than he could slap his own ass with both hands.
“Shane, this is absolutely breathtaking,” Melissa said as they rode single file over the ridge and around a switchback into the upland valley.