“It’s not a bear,” he said quietly as he drew her down beside him. “It’s a raccoon. They won’t hurt you.”
Libby breathed a sigh of relief. “I was afraid it might attack someone.” Her eyes had finally adjusted, and she could see him sitting there, shirtless, in just a pair of boxers. He had a beautiful body, all smooth muscle, just a dusting of gold on his hard, amazing chest. Soft heat curled low in her belly.
“I’ve never seen a raccoon,” she said, forcing her mind back where it belonged. “Except on TV.”
She caught a flash of white as he smiled. “They come looking for food scraps. That’s one of the reasons we keep everything packed up.”
“I guess I screwed up again. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“You didn’t screw up. You’ve never been camping. When we get back, I’ve got a book you can read on animals in the area. Next time you’ll know what it is, and you won’t be afraid.”
Next time. Something warm blossomed inside her. She wasn’t leaving yet. She would still have time with Sam. The warmth inside her swelled. She wanted to reach out and touch him.
“How’s your leg?” he asked, barely above a whisper, and yet she thought his voice had roughened.
“The aloe worked. I’m okay, but...”
“What?”
“But maybe you should...umm...take a look.” Oh, God, had she really said that? Was she making a fool of herself again?
Sam took her hand and placed it over his heart. It was beating as hard as hers had been when she rushed into his tent.
“If I touch you, Libby, I won’t want to stop. I’ll want to touch you all over.”
It was dark and quiet, the whole camp dead asleep, the other tents some distance away. Libby ran her hand over the muscles on his chest. “That’s how I feel, Sam. Every time I look at you, I want to touch you.”
A low sound came from his throat. Sam framed her face between his palms, and his mouth came down over hers. It was a soft, sweet, melting kiss that went on and on until she was clinging to his shoulders. Then suddenly it was more.
Desire rose inside her, turning her body hot and damp. She was wearing only a sleep-tee, no panties, no bra. It would be so easy just to... Libby slid her arms around Sam’s neck and pushed him backward on the cot. She started kissing him again, and he groaned.
Sam took it from there, lifting her astride him, pulling the sleep-tee off over her head and taking her breasts into his mouth. A rush of heat hit her, spreading like fire through her body. She could feel his erection pressing against her, big and hard, his callused hands gliding over her skin, moving down to her hips, then sliding between her legs to stroke her.
Sam kissed her again, and the fire inside exploded into white hot flame. It had been years since a man touched her this way, and it had never felt so good. Libby came with a violent, unexpected rush that had him silencing her cry with a deep, penetrating kiss.
Libby rested her head on Sam’s chest, and he held her as she drifted down, held her for what seemed like forever. Then he pressed a kiss on her forehead.
“No condom,” he said, and she realized he was still hard.
“Oh, Sam, I’m—”
“For God’s sake, don’t say you’re sorry.” He traced the outline of her lips. “We’ll make up for it next time.”
Next time. The words he had said before washed over her like a balm.
Sam eased her off him, and she noticed it was getting light outside. Apparently, it was later than she’d thought.
“You better get back to your tent,” he said softly. Then he slid his hands into her hair to hold her in place and kissed her one last time. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”
Libby just nodded. Every bone in her body felt limp and pliant without the stress that she had been feeling ever since her uncle died. A smile hovered on her lips. She had never been so bold with a man. She had always let the guy set the pace and just gone along with it. With Sam, it was different. Everything about Sam felt different.
Hurriedly, she slipped out of his tent and made her way back to her own. The sky continued to lighten. As she lifted the canvas flap, she spotted a hulking shape in the shadows.
Vince stepped out where she could see him and cupped the bulge at the front of his jeans. The faint curl of his lips said he knew what she and Sam had been doing in the tent. In the hazy dawn light, something dark and cold flashed in his eyes.
Fear slid through her, but Libby forced it down. She wasn’t letting Vince Nolan or any other man intimidate her again. Disappearing into the tent, she zipped the flap.
She’d decide what to do about Vince in the morning.
In the meantime, she would have to figure out what to do about Sam.
Chapter Ten
Sam wasn’t a man who spent much time on regrets. If he made a mistake, he left it in the past and moved on with his life. Last night, he had made a huge mistake, but so far he hadn’t figured a way to move past it.
Instead, all he could think of was finishing what he’d started. Or more accurately, what Libby had started. He almost smiled. He wanted Libby in his bed, and not for just one night, but even thinking about it wasn’t fair to Libby. And it wasn’t fair to him.
In a few weeks’ time, Libby would return to the city. With any luck, she would be a better, happier person for the experiences she’d had on the ranch. Libby would go back to the lavish, glamorous life she’d lived in New York, and Sam would stay here on the ranch, the only place he could ever be happy.
There was no chance of a relationship, no future for the two of them.
Hell, how had the word relationship even entered his mind?
He shook his head and concentrated on cooking breakfast, which everyone waited eagerly for Libby to serve. The bacon sizzled in a giant frying pan, and next to it a pan of scrambled eggs turned a perfect fluffy yellow. There was even a batch of biscuits he’d cooked in a Dutch oven over the open flames.
A thought that reminded him of Libby, the fire last night and the terror he had felt. Sam shook it off. Accidents happened. He knew that. Still, it was Libby, and the idea of her being hurt in any way sent a ball of dread into his stomach.
“Everything ready?” Libby asked. She was surrounded by Suzy and Jordy and the rest of the guests, all wearing eager, hungry expressions.
He nodded. “You got the plates?”
“Right here.” Libby handed them over one at a time, Sam filled them, and Libby passed them around. The kids ate first, then everyone else. It took three batches in all, the last for him, Big John, and Libby—though she passed on the bacon.