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She knew in her heart that she should stop him, but the night and her senses were against her. She couldn’t pull away from him any more than she could stop breathing—or still the wretched pounding beat of her heart.
Just once more, her mind screamed, drowning all her doubts. Just love me once more.
As his weight pulled her downward, onto that very patch of ground where they’d made love so long ago, she didn’t protest, but fell willingly, accepting his passion for what it was and meeting that delicious desire with her own driving needs.
For as long as he stayed, she would be with him. And she would cherish each moment even as she knew that as surely as the sun would come up in the morning, Denver would leave.
Chapter Ten
“I saw it happen,” Mitchell said, as he and Tessa examined Brigadier in his stall the next day. The stallion’s head hung low and he favored his right front leg. “He picked up a loose piece of gravel in the yard.”
Tessa’s brows drew into a worried frown. “Poor baby. Let’s take a look.” Tessa lifted the hoof, then moved quickly when Brigadier tried to nip her. “Hey, watch it!”
“I’ll hold his head,” Mitchell offered, stroking Brigadier’s sleek neck. “I hope he doesn’t turn up lame. That could spoil your deal with Nate Edwards.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Tessa said sharply, her fingers running expertly along the edge of the stallion’s tender hoof. Brigadier rolled his eyes and his ears flattened as she worked. “Looks like a bruised sole,” she thought aloud. Brigadier snorted and jerked hard on the lead rope. “Find the toolbox and help me get this shoe off.”
Together they removed the shoe and Tessa pared out the bruised area of the inner hoof. “I’ll pack it with a poultice, but we’d better call Craig Fulton and have him take a look at it,” Tessa said quickly.
Craig was a young veterinarian who lived on a ranch nearby. He operated a clinic for large animals and house pets that was located on the outskirts of Three Falls.
“I’ll call him,” Mitchell offered.
“Good. I’ll finish here.”
Mitchell left the barn to phone the vet while Tessa cleaned the bruised area of Brigadier’s hoof then packed it with a poultice. Once assured that the stallion was comfortable, she rubbed his jagged white blaze and handed him a piece of apple. The fruit was whisked out of her open palm before she had time to blink.
“Thank goodness you still have your appetite,” she said, patting his soft muzzle before closing the gate to his stall behind her.
The barn door squeaked open and Tessa, expecting Mitchell, glanced over her shoulder. Denver! She’d left him less than an hour ago in the study, but her heart tripped at the sight of him.
Tall and masculine, he winked at her. “I thought I’d find you here.”
Her pulse leaped.
Dressed in a gray sport coat, black slacks and a crisp white shirt, he was dashing and handsome and, unfortunately, looked as if he belonged in a high-rise office building in some huge city.
She, on the other hand, was wearing dusty jeans and a checked blouse. Not exactly haute couture.
“Brigadier’s favoring his right foreleg. I think it’s a bruised sole,” she explained.
“I know. Mitch was on the phone in the kitchen.”
“Eavesdropping?” she teased.
“About horse ailments? Hardly. I’m on my way back to Helena. Jim Van Stern called. He has some legal papers he wants Ross to draw up.” He reached her and wrapped his arms
comfortably around her waist. “I thought you’d like to join me.” He flashed her a devilish grin and his blue eyes danced irreverently.
“I’d love to,” she admitted. She wanted to be with him every minute of every day.
“Then do it,” he whispered into her ear. “Just this once, indulge yourself. We could spend the night, order room service for dinner and never leave the hotel again.”
“Now who’s the dreamer?” she quipped, though she tingled inside.
He kissed her neck, his lips warm and inviting. “Come on, Tess.”
More than anything she wanted to go with him. “You know I can’t, not with Brigadier lame.”
