“On second thought, I don’t want you to think at all right now. I just want you feel.”
His lips came down over hers, covering her cool lips with his warm mouth. She could’ve pretended she was surprised, but that would’ve been a lie. She’d wanted him to kiss her. She thought about it all the way back to that first day in the barn when he’d walked in wearing a million dollar suit and expensive shoes no one would ever be caught dead wearing in a horse barn.
Reaching up she wrapped her hand behind his neck and held on to him, allowing him to kiss her and for her to feel things she hadn’t felt in the very long time.
His assumption had been right. She’d never been kissed like this before. The boys she had known in high school were just that. Boys. Right now, she was in the arms of a man who was quickly becoming a drug to her.
That’s why she had come with him so willingly. Tabby was strong. She knew that. There was a vulnerable side of her that only Kas had managed to bring out. What surprised her the most was that it didn’t make her feel fragile like she’d been after her parents’ death. In his arms, she felt strong. With his kiss, she felt alive and hungry with a passion she’d searched for and had only previously found while riding.
As his lips left hers, she fought to get her bearings. His arm was still wrapped around her waist holding her tight. All those fears of falling had been forgotten while Kas had been kissing her.
She drew in a slow breath and looked at the desire still filling his eyes. Yet, she wasn’t afraid. It only made her own desire more potent. Kas was intoxicating. The drug she never knew she needed and now feared she couldn’t live without.
“Are you ready to answer my question?” he asked.
“Your what?”
His smile widened with amusement. “Have you ever been kissed by a man?”
“You must be awfully sure of yourself to ask me that now, Kasper Dobbs.” He waited as if he needed to hear her say it. “I’ve never been kissed. Not before you.”
She could tell he didn’t believe her. But he didn’t know what she meant. She’d had boyfriends before in high school. But she hadn’t dated anyone seriously since her parents had died. Somehow it seemed strange to her now. But looking back, she’d thrown all of her passion into riding. None of it was left for anyone else.
“No one has ever kissed me like this,” she whispered as she stretched up to be closer to him again. “And just so you know, I wouldn’t mind it if you did it again.”
There were so many reasons why she shouldn’t let this go any further. There was a strong possibility she’d come back and be able to ride again. She couldn’t imagine not riding Tenterhook, but she could. Someone like Kas could help make things easier if he sponsored her. He’d shown enough interest in Tenterhook and her riding ability to consider it.
As he moved his face closer to hers again, her stomach suddenly fell. What was she doing? For that matter, what was he doing? And why was he doing it?
Just as his mouth was about to touch her lips, she pulled back. His expression was filled with confusion and pent up desire.
“This is too…”
“Too what?”
“It feels…wrong somehow.”
He took a step back but still held on to her. “What could possibly be wrong about my kissing you? Or you kissing me?” He pulled her to him gently but deliberately. “And you were. I wasn’t in this all by myself.”
“I know. I just…things are so up in the air.”
He looked up at the sky and then back at her. “They usually are when you’re falling for someone.”
Her pulse quickened. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Why don’t you enlighten me?”
“You’re leaving Sweet. Maybe not today. But eventually. New York is a long way from Montana.”
He nodded and then sighed slowly. “Yes, it is.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous to get involved with me? Someone could get hurt.”
His smile was slow. “In case you haven’t figure it out, I’m not afraid of a little danger.”
He kissed her gently on the lips again. She didn’t stop him even though she knew somehow that she’d be hurting when he left Sweet. Instead of dwelling on it, she simple shut her mind off so she could feel his kiss and let it fill her like a thirst that needed to be quenched.
Voices in the distance startled her enough to make her pull away and turn quickly, losing her balance. She felt her booted cast slip forward, away from her skate. She tried to gain footing but the booted cast was too high. Then she lost footing of her skate and felt her body sway backward.
Kas tried to catch her, but in the tangle of each other’s arms, he lost his balance and they both fell to the ice. They lay there for a brief moment just laughing and looking up at the blue sky.
The voices got louder. She turned her head and saw three men wearing hockey gear standing by the bench.
The one in front said, “Do you two need a few minutes?”
Embarrassed being found that way, Tabby let Kas help her up to her feet. She spent the rest of the afternoon watching Kas and his friends skate around the ice playing hockey. She even forgot for a brief moment that she was alone, and that her competition days with Tenterhook may very well be over. She didn’t think. She just felt.
Sweet Montana Sky: Chapter Seven
The holidays had come and gone. Ever since her parents’ deaths, Tabby always wanted to get through the holidays as quickly as possible. Having the rodeo season over for the winter, until the finals in February, gave her too much time to linger in painful memories.
Trip never
