Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,52
by herself. He placed his hands on her shapely backside, intending only to help her up. Her flesh was firm under the denim, tight under his palms.
She glanced around with a frown, and he realized he was taking too much time savoring the feel. Hell! Heat flooded his face, and he tried to look anywhere but at that part of her…but found it impossible. Finally, he gave her a little shove, and after quite a bit of wiggling, she settled herself on King’s back. With great effort to appear casual, he sauntered to his horse.
They rode out to the stand of mesquites that Ridge planned to remove in the near future to make room for his peach trees. The house looked small in the distance, framed by the blue sky overhead and the soft brown earth beneath. A slight breeze ruffled tendrils of Addie’s hair that shone like gold dust and framed her face.
It took all he had to look away. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, lose her, or he’d shrivel and die.
Tying their horses where they could nibble on the grass, Ridge set up some cans on a dead mesquite. Addie watched it all in silence, biting her bottom lip. She seemed nervous. Understandable. Failure did things to a person’s self-esteem, and hers was still fragile. His job—if possible—was to see that she did good. Acting nonchalant, he walked back to her, trying his best to watch for trouble.
He drew a line in the dirt with his bootheel. “Okay, come over here and stand behind this line.” When she did, he pulled one of his Colts from its holster. “First, you have to get used to the weight. A gun isn’t as light as you might think.”
She took the heavy weapon, and her arm dropped. His voice was gentle. “To start with, why don’t you use both hands to hold it steady?”
At least she could raise it level. He moved behind her and held her gun arm out in front of her, his hand curling around hers, pressing so close that daylight couldn’t shine between his chest and her back. Bad, bad idea. The breeze laid some strands of gold across his nose. Then came the light scent of wild roses, the brush of her body against his—the pressure of her tight butt rubbing against him that sent heat crawling from his belly.
Hell, he was roasting alive in the damn wool coat! His breathing ragged, he stepped away, turning his back to collect himself.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow and easy. He pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to think of planting turnips. Yes, that was something safe. Turn the fallow ground over, place the seeds in the freshly turned row, then cover them with soil.
Several long minutes passed before he swung around. She stared at him as though he’d lost his mind. She wouldn’t be wrong. As bad as he hated to, he disposed of the coat, draping it across his horse. He drew a long breath of air and took his chances. A minute passed before Ridge resumed his place behind her. “Look down the barrel and line the tip up with one of the cans.”
Ignore her softness and her scent curling around you. Pay no attention to her tight behind. Dammit, this is business! His voice came out raspy. “When you have them lined up, pull the trigger very gently. Don’t jerk it. Just smooth and easy.”
She followed his instructions to the letter. The bullet splintered the fallen tree, missing the cans.
“That’s all right. It was close. Actually, that was very good. If that had been a man, you’d have hit his chest. Good job.”
Addie whirled, grinning. Her lips were right there—plump and moist. So close. So perfectly shaped. So enticing. There was only so much a man could take. Awareness sizzled between them like ten thousand lightning strikes, and he had no damn sense.
Ridge put an arm around his tempting wife and claimed her as he had the previous night. Addie leaned into him, the Colt she still clutched crushed against his belly. He deepened the kiss, and she didn’t pull away. The only thing he felt was her in his arms, her body fitting into every inch of his as though God had created her just for him. The kiss carried him to a place he’d never been—where everything was perfect and right and there was no need for guns. Where he wasn’t a wanted man. And neither of them had to hide.