River on Fire (River's End #5) Read online

  Glaring at him, she pushed her hair back. Her feet had found a shallow spot where she could stand up. She started to rise out of the water when she glimpsed a new problem. “Damn it. Look what you caused,” she hissed more quietly. He delivered her much further downstream than the crowd and kids.

  “I’m looking,” he answered, keeping his tone mild, and tipping his head slightly downwards at her words. Hailey immediately flushed with embarrassment as she realized what his gaze was fastened on. She tugged her tank straps over her bra straps to hide them before sinking back into the water. “How do you propose I go back now without advertising this to everyone?”

  “Don’t worry; it’ll be dark soon.”

  Her glowering gaze grew fiercer. “What on earth propelled you to do such a childish thing?” she asked, trying to adopt a chiding tone. He smiled easily in response and swam a few inches closer, entering her personal space. Grabbing her by the waist, he held her solidly against him as his lips whispered into her ear and she tried to squirm away.

  “You needed to have some fun. Lighten up; you even made your kids laugh. Look at them.”

  She stopped temporarily to look where he pointed. Her kids, Brianna included, were back to laughing, talking, and floating on the water with Cami and Charlie. The tranquil sight released her entire body and a sense of profound relaxation and relief washed over her. “It’s so rare to see them both so happy like that. Having fun, I mean.”

  “It’s okay for you to have a little fun too, even if only for a few minutes,” he said with his mouth still close to her ear. He was fighting the strongest urge to bury his lips into her hair. But he didn’t. Hailey turned her head sharply in response to his words, almost jerking to the side. Her mouth opened and a small breath escaped before their gazes met and hung there.

  “And that’s where you come in?”

  “Maybe… yeah,” he answered, his tone just as soft and inviting as hers. They weren’t kidding around. They weren’t flirting. Seconds ticked by as the river flowed past them and the daylight kept slipping away. A soft breeze tossed drafts of warm air around them.

  Hailey eventually wussed out on their eye lock and tipped her chin down before staring out at the water. “You should really stop, you know.”

  “Stop what?”

  Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself off the sandy bottom. “I’m not explaining it. You know what I mean.” She paddled towards shore and asked Jacob to grab her an inner tube, which she floated in with her fingers trailing in the water. Jack and Erin left. Shortly afterwards, so did AJ and Kate. They yelled to Cami that she had a half hour to get home.

  “This spot is incredible. No wonder you didn’t want to give it up to the resort.”

  Joey swam circles around her, leaving her alone so he could mess around with Charlie, and naturally Jacob too. The two boys were racing each other by swimming upriver and Joey joined in. He had the muscle and authority to give them a real challenge. After half an hour, Cami had to go home so Brianna volunteered to walk back with her. Hearing that, Charlie and Jacob were instantly out of the water and up the beach trail, obviously conspiring about something. The girls quit drying off hastily and ran after them. A few minutes later, a series of high-pitched screeches and screams suggested the boys must have hidden in the lengthening shadows just to scare them.

  All the while, Hailey floated downriver, alone and contemplative. Joey swam underwater and took several powerful strokes to distract him from the thoughts of Hailey and the exacerbating heat. He was trying to burn off some of the feelings rushing through him. Nerves. He nearly coughed as the realization struck him all at once. Why the hell would he be so nervous to talk to a woman? It was completely unprecedented. But with Hailey, he was. When he stood up, his shoulders were barely above the surface. Hailey floated up in a black inner tube.

  “Dark enough to hide in now?” he asked, smiling with glee. She glared at him.

  “Glad I no longer have an audience. Your little stunt left me looking like a wet t-shirt contest winner.”

  “You liked it. You were steaming up and kept staring at the water with longing but you were too lazy to go back and put your swimsuit on.”

  She grimaced and smiled finally. “How did you know that?”

  “The look on your face.”

  “Which was?”

  “Longing. You wanted to join your kids. But Brianna’s unreasonable wrath and anger made you hesitate. I might be out of line here, but you’ve got to quit letting her do that, and that’s another story.”

  “Why do you keep giving me advice on parenting? You don’t even have kids. You’d have been only ten years old to have Brianna.”

  That put it in its proper context. It being the age factor. Hailey was hung up on it. Joey wasn’t. He saw the numbers there and felt the vibes from the person he saw before him. She wasn’t good at blending them. Her strident tone indicated that was not her intent.

  The dusk obscured her figure when she stood up finally, still clutching the round, black inner tube around her waist and tucking it up under her breasts so there was no chance of Joey seeing anything. She stepped out from the water. The warm air was soothing now, where earlier, it had been almost unbearable with so much heat. Especially while they were playing volleyball. She dropped the inner tube to grab a towel Joey left on the log.

  “You lose a dry towel for your mean stunt,” she called out to him as he dipped under the surface once more before emerging from the water. The water ran in steady drops down his sleek body. He squeegeed his hair between his fingers and more dropped droplets fell.

  The air felt nice on his wet body and he flashed a smile. “Enjoy it.”

  She wiped her exposed skin impulsively. Her khaki shorts had soaked up more water than the rest of the material and kept dripping uncomfortably down her legs. She turned, wrapping the towel around her middle, and shocked Joey further when he saw her shorts drop to the sand with a soft plop! Something tightened in his stomach. He realized she was only wearing her damp panties and standing just a few feet away from him. Never mind that she was covered from her waist to her ankles in the heavy terry-cloth towel. Still, there was something Joey found very erotic about the image. She kicked her shorts up and hooked a finger in them to carefully place them on the log near her. “That’s better. Those felt awful. Thank you very much.”

  Joey tried to keep calm, turning his gaze towards the water. It was almost black now, but for the pale white line across the river that rapidly slid under the inky surface.

  “Fun, Hailey. You just needed to have some fun. Wet shorts are a minor price to pay for an authentic smile. And you did smile and look happy.”

  She sat behind him on the log and started finger-combing her wet hair, tugging intermittently at the occasional snarls. Joey was pleasantly astonished when she stayed. He sat down near her and she glanced at him from the corners of her eyes. Silence hung between them for several long moments as the night shadows swallowed the land. Stars glittered as a three-quarter moon began to descend, snatching the fading light.

  She finally sighed. “It was a lot of fun. This place is so much fun.”

  He turned and glanced at her. The towel opened above her knee, revealing more skin. Joey battled the strong, almost torturous, desire to rest his hand on the skin above her knee. He longed to rub, pat, touch, and explore her wet body higher and higher, seeking the damp barrier of her underpants and then…

  He squirmed as his hungry body reacted to his fantasies and instantly averted his gaze. What was that? He felt like he was sixteen. Ready and willing at any time for any partner. Kind of like the way Brianna acted toward him. But now he didn’t fantasize about women because he didn’t have to. In the past, if he wanted a woman, he simply asked her out. But he didn’t know how to approach Hailey. But he wanted to. He yearned for Hailey. The woman next to him had such a pretty, engaging smile. Seldom did she allow it to appear. She had a soft voice and a gentle way about her. Her fierce determination to fix things
with her kids went so far beyond the effort her daughter showed toward her. He respected that. He respected her. He liked her. He looked forward to her company. At the very sight of her, he almost ran toward her like a hungry puppy. A reaction unlike any he’d had to any woman ever. Still… she was a guest of the ranch. It wasn’t like she’d be staying around here for any length of time. Nothing could come of it and Joey was tired of nothing ever coming into his life. He lacked deep connections. Sure, he had deep bonds with his family, but he wanted to feel that with a partner, an equal, a woman, a girlfriend. He wanted a damn girlfriend that truly mattered to him. Like all three of his brothers found. He used to scoff at them. First, he was too young to even be interested in girlfriends and wives. Later, he just pitied them and was repelled at the idea, saying how glad he was not to be tied down with anyone.

  But now? Now, he wanted what they all had. And the first woman that even began to capture his interest was a transient tourist in the area. Hours of driving stood between their homes. It was not a feasible beginning for any kind of real relationship. Especially one that started out as a vacation. No one meets their soul mate on a freaking vacation. It was a summer fling, a mild flirtation, a brief liaison. It was fun too. He should know, having indulged in it time and time again. Why would he go looking for that?

  But his damn heart, head, and even his body refused to listen to reason. Leaning towards her, he was watching the breeze catch a few wisps of her hair that frizzed out from her scalp as it dried. The rest of her mane was still damp and heavy on her head. He lifted his hand and smoothed the hairs back over her temple and above her ear. She froze at his sudden contact. He almost did too. What was he doing? She’d surely reject him. It would be humiliating. Awkward. He’d have to hide on his own ranch, the place where he lived and worked. She’d have to leave. Check out. Maybe even claim sexual harassment.

  But none of the dire warnings could stop him.

  “It’s nice to see you having fun. You have a lovely smile. When you release your kids, especially Brianna, and their troubles, and let yourself, the real you, smile, it’s hard to look away from.” He almost winced. It sounded like a trite line. One he wasn’t above using in the past either. Only he wasn’t using a line this time; he meant it. He watched her chest rise and fall as her head turned barely an inch but enough for her gaze to find his. Her tongue was visible on her lips.

  “I’ll bet you’ve used that line plenty of times before. It must be easy for you, huh? Except you forget who you’re doing it with.”

  The age thing again. He held her gaze in the dim light. Keeping his tone low and light so as not to scare her, he sought words of diplomacy and tact. He wanted to tell her before she bolted, or packed up and left, but he had trouble finding the right words to apologize. The signals she was giving off were strong: she had no interest in him. Not like this. But there were a few fleeting glimpses of something more that gave him a sliver of hope to hang on to. He really liked her. He was inexplicably attracted to her and couldn’t talk himself out of it.

  “No. How many women have I hit on before who have a daughter named Brianna? That right there shoots your accusation to hell. I meant what I said to you, Hailey Starr. The woman right next to me, now.”

  “I don’t want to be hit on,” she whispered, licking her lips, her eyes widening in abject horror.

  “I don’t want to hit on you,” he replied. “It feels a lot different than that. From what I usually do.”

  He kept his eyes riveted on hers. Then they roamed over her face, her cheeks, and mouth, where they rested. Holding his gaze steady, he gently leaned forward, all the while keeping it slow. Hailey had every opportunity to bolt, or slap him, or stand up, or simply turn her head, but she didn’t. She stayed rooted to the spot and her eyelids rounded like saucers as the whites of her eyes showed even more. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Joey twisted his torso, and lifted his hands so he could cup her jaw with both of them, cradling her face. He was inches from her as his eyes rose up to find hers. He wanted to seek her permission. She swallowed. Her throat vibrated and she blinked longer, letting her lashes fall over her eyes as she barely seemed to hold her breath. Was it in anticipation? He sincerely hoped so.

  Joey’s mouth finally touched hers. Gently, and ever so softly, their lips touched and caressed the other’s. He held her reverently, and her bones felt so fragile and bird-like in his hands. His thumbs moved to caress the soft skin bracketing her mouth and he withdrew his mouth from hers to watch when her eyelids fluttered open. She could move away. She would now. But no. She just stared deeply into his eyes as his remained fastened on hers.

  Then he leaned in again and this time, he applied more pressure and she pressed back. Her lips stayed closed, but their wetness set off a strong reaction inside his body. He slipped his tongue between her lips; then her tongue darted out in response. Eagerly, her mouth consumed his mouth before he could further attempt to enter hers. She leaned towards him, letting their mouths feast, twisting their tongues and pursing their lips. They moved and he finally had to let go of her face in order to brace himself on the log to keep from falling off. The pressure of her leaning towards him was becoming unsustainable. He managed to grab her shoulders as his arms held her, pressing harder into her kiss and losing his breath. His heart tapped and pounded in his chest. His entire body reacted to her.

  His hands longed to abandon her back and gently brush her damp hair, holding the back of her neck, and rubbing the skin there. But he didn’t do that. He gently ended the kiss, withdrawing his tongue and peppering her in a series of kisses that eventually returned to her lips. They rested with their foreheads together, their warm breaths mingling and their eyes firmly fastened on each other in a deep stare.

  “Joey? What…” she whispered but her words faded as she held his gaze. He was sure she wanted to ask, What are we doing? or Why did you do that? Those and more questions flooded her confused mind. But while staring into each other’s eyes, in the dim hours of the night, words ceased to matter any longer and none needed to be exchanged. They were communicating every thought between them with their eyes. Joey loved hearing the sound of her husky voice saying his name, however. It stirred up his body and made his heart pound harder.

  Slipping his hands into her hair, he pulled her face towards his to gently kiss her lips again, her cheek, the side of her eyes, and her temples. He placed her face against his neck. Winding her arms around his neck, she let her body press against his side and finally relaxed in his embrace. The night fully engulfed them and Joey felt like he’d come home at last. Something deep and heavy filled his heart with warmth. Her warmth was radiating inside him, empowering him. He closed his eyes to absorb the affection her body offered him, and the satisfaction it set off in his chest. A single kiss ignited what might have been the first time Joey ever considered a woman as something he desperately needed, wanted, and loved.

  Chapter Five

  SHIVERS BROKE OUT OVER Hailey’s arms and she trembled as she rested against Joey’s damp, hot skin. He must have felt her chill because he gently pulled her closer to him. His surprising embrace. It was long and sweet and so unlike the heated, hungry kiss that had her wet and willing in about three seconds. Embarrassingly easy. Like losing the top of her head easy. But Joey didn’t push that dynamic. No. He pulled back. He kissed her and then… he held her. Eventually, she moved around to signal she had to leave.

  As they parted, she kept her face pointed downward. It was puerile, like something Brianna would do if she felt uncomfortable. Instead of addressing it head on, she childishly pretended nothing was happening. She took more than enough time just getting to her feet, guardedly clutching the towel close to her. “I should get back to the cabin, you know, in case the kids come back.”

  She was making lame excuses obviously. When was the last time she felt shy over a kiss? A simple kiss. It was nothing. There was no reason for her to feel awkward or self-conscious; it was a kiss. An exchange of hot spit. Reall
y, there was absolutely nothing more to it than that. It didn’t mean anything and it really did not have to be weird. People with less of a shared history than she and Joey possessed did it all the time. So… what’s a kiss? Nothing.

  Except Hailey felt flustered and confused because that kiss seemed like so much more. That was ridiculous because they were nearly opposite in everything about them: from their gap in ages, to their looks, their conflicting stages in life, their relationship statuses, their jobs and even where they both lived. They had nothing in common.

  However, she could not deny that he was the first person in she didn’t know how long to make her smile. And it happened a lot. She smiled an awful lot whenever she was around him.

  He stood up behind her without replying to her inane comment because she was nearly shaking with raw nerves and visibly flustered. Additionally, being half turned on, she almost didn’t recognize what it felt like anymore.

  He remained quiet but indicated for her to go up first on the beach trail. They didn’t speak for the rest of the way back to the main part of the ranch. Looking back at the area where all of his family had houses, Hailey’s curiosity overtook her. “Which one is yours?”

  “That one.” Joey waved towards a small rambler with a covered porch. The rear view overlooked the river and a peaked overhang covered the deck and patio set. What a perfect spot to enjoy the river. She was impressed, but ignored the sensation. Glancing around, she spotted a large A-frame two-story house with huge wings jutting off from each side. Another house was essentially a log cabin, and reminiscent of the main house but much smaller. He waved toward them. “That one is Jack’s and the other belongs to Ian.”

  How strange, she thought. They all had their own little lane here, their own private neighborhood. And each house was completely different from the others.

  She thought he’d stop there and leave her, so she stood still for an awkward moment. “Um, I should—”