The light was on in his bedroom, but it was the shadows moving in the kitchen that gave away his presence. His head appeared at the doorway when she got out of the vehicle. The outside light flicked on as he came down the path to meet her, pulling open the gate before she reached it.
“Libby, is everything okay?”
“At home with Tom and the kids, yes.” She took a fortifying breath. “But not with me and you, Nathan.”
She took in his handsome face, a face now looking haggard and tired. He hadn’t shaved, and dark shadow was smattered with gray to match his sideburns. The deep lines under his eyes proved what Tom had told her was the truth. Nathan isn’t dealing with this any better than I am.
The reality of the situation brightened her heart. Maybe there was something they could do, but she wasn’t prepared to risk her kids’ future to satisfy her sexual urges.
He lifted a finger and stroked it down her cheek.
“What are you doing here, sweetheart?” His eyes burned into hers. “Are you planning to have your wicked way with me again, or are you here to torture me?”
Libby groaned as she turned her lips into his palm. She held his hand to her mouth and ran her tongue over the rough skin, licking and kissing until he moved it away. He grabbed her face in both of his hands, pulled her mouth up to his. Libby clung to him as he kissed her senseless. She gulped for air, unwilling to release his mouth from hers, but desperate to taste all of him. She traced her lips around his rough chin, down his jaw line to his neck. His body pressed into hers, and she moved her hips with him, both of them trying to get closer to each other. Nathan picked her up and turned to the house. He walked up the stairs, through the kitchen, and carried her down the hallway to his room, gently laying her on his bed.
He eased his body down beside her, holding himself up on his elbows as he gazed into her eyes.
“Tell me what you want, sweetheart.” He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip.
“I want you, Nathan. But I want you for more than just one night here and there. As much as I want sex with you, it’s not all I want. I want you to make me feel like I’m more to you than a warm body in your bed or a way to increase your land holdings. I want to be with you because you want me and my family for what we are, not just for what we have.”
“Sweetheart.” He groaned, dropped his head and shook it from side to side.
Her heart clenched. He doesn’t want me. It is just the sex and the station. She had known that all along, but she’d wanted to believe otherwise. Pushing him away, she rolled away and sat on the edge of the bed.
“You bastard.” She stood on shaking legs and walked from the room, down the hallway, trying to make it out to her car before she broke into tears.
“I don’t want your bloody farm.” His voice reverberating down the hallway toward her.
Libby stopped and leaned her shoulder against the wall, her heart pounding.
“Did you hear me, sweetheart?” He paused a moment. “I don’t want it. I never did.”
She dropped her head and breathed, waiting for more. Libby felt him approach from behind her.
His breath was warm on the back of her neck, and it took all of her will not to turn around and fall into his arms.
“I never wanted it,” he said raggedly. “Your uncle kept offering it to me every time I brought some of his flea-bitten stock back. He thought what he had was top class, but he was old and out of touch with reality by the time he died. Maybe it was top stuff years ago when your grandfather had his hands on the reins, but by the time he passed on, it wasn’t worth much. I didn’t have the heart to knock him back, so I went along with him. I’m not into hurting old folks for the sheer hell of it.”
Libby turned her head as his fingers played with a loose tendril of hair. She wanted to believe him, but she held back, still not sure she was satisfied with his answers. “Why did you treat me like you did when I arrived then; was that for the hell of it or to make up for your generous ehaviour toward my uncle because he didn’t leave you the station?”
“No. I’m sure Tom filled you in on my past love life. I had no plans on being bitten again, certainly not by a city chick not used to the ways of country life. No amount of love can make up for the harsh climate and hard work out here. You kind of need to be bred to it in most cases, and I didn’t think you’d last the distance, sweetheart. City girls don’t as I know from experience. I wasn’t prepared to let myself fall in love with you only to watch you walk away when things got to be too tough, but you’ve proved you’re different from most. You aren’t scared to get your hands dirty or fight for what you want. You must have more of your grandmother in you than I thought.”
“That doesn’t excuse what you said when you found us stranded on the side of the road.” She slowly turned around to face him. “Or for the looks of disdain the day we crossed paths at Aarons office.”
“I’m sorry.” His lips touched the back of her neck and she shuddered. “It was rude and uncalled for, I know that, and if you really want to know, I felt like a jerk saying it. But when you walked into the office
