Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [31]
He continued to watch her; getting turned on just from seeing how her throat moved as the cool liquid flowed down it. His eyes were so focused on her throat that he didn’t notice that she had stopped drinking.
“Stone, you can have this back now.”
He blinked. “Oh,” he said, reaching for the canteen.
“Thanks again. The water was delicious.”
“You’re welcome. It’s natural spring water,” he said, thinking that she was delicious, too. Instead of putting the canteen away, he pulled the top back off and began drinking some of the water, deliberately tasting where her mouth had been.
When he finished he licked his lips, liking the hint of a taste of her that he had gotten from the canteen. He glanced up to see her watching him. She didn’t say anything but just continued to look at him. And he looked at her. Then he felt it, that deep, hard throb in his gut that made him want to snatch her off the back of the horse and tumble with her in the grass. His body was already hot and was beginning to get hotter, in need of physical contact with her.
He saw how her cheeks darkened and he saw the moment desire filled her eyes. He also saw how fast the pulse was beating in her neck and the way she took out her tongue to moisten her already damp lips. His gaze slowly dropped to her blouse and saw how the nipples of her breasts were straining against the material. Her breathing, as well as his, was erratic. He heard it. He felt it. He wanted to taste it.
“You had enough?” he forced his gaze back to her eyes, as he tried like hell to get his thoughts and mind, and especially his body, back under control.
“Enough of what?” she asked, her voice soft, somewhat husky and definitely sensual. Her gaze was still holding his.
“Water.”
She blinked and he saw that her features relayed both her confusion, as well as her longing for something she didn’t quite understand yet. But she would in time. He would see to it. “Yes, I had enough,” she said, after drawing in a deep breath.
He smiled. She hadn’t had enough of anything yet. After putting her canteen back in her saddlebag he went around and got back on his horse. He leaned over and handed her reins to her. “Come on,” he said huskily. “Let’s continue our ride.”
Six
U p until a half hour ago Madison thought she was hungry, but now something was affecting her appetite…or rather someone.
Stone Westmoreland.
She tilted her head as she watched him. He was standing some distance away tending to the horses. She was sitting on a stump eating one of the sandwiches Mrs. Quinn had packed for them and drinking a cold can of cola, while her eyes were glued to Stone.
She was attracted to him. There was no use denying it since that fact had already been established a few days ago. But what she couldn’t understand was why she couldn’t get past it. Why did a part of her want to act on it?
It seemed that although her mind was definitely on him, his mind was on the horses. He hadn’t looked her way since they had stopped for lunch. She should have been grateful, but she couldn’t deny being bothered by the fact that he could dismiss her so easily. But then, hadn’t she laid out the ground rules last night? And hadn’t those ground rules included a statement that anything developing between them was to be placed on the back burner? Evidently he had taken her at her word and intended to adhere to it.
She let out a deep sigh and the sound must have caught his attention. He lifted his eyes to hers, holding it for several long moments, saying nothing but looking at her. She met his gaze without flinching while desire stirred in her stomach, hot, thick, the likes of which she’d never experienced before. Without a sound, without a touch, and over the distance of twenty feet, she actually felt the heat of his gaze as tiny shocks of warmth began inching