The Rebellious Rancher. Kate Pearce

curtain billowing in the breeze.

      Ben sat beside her, his hard thigh aligned with hers, and she reached for his hand and just held it tight. He made no effort to speak or rush her out the other side. She again got that sense of how much a part of him this valley was, and how comfortable he was with its wonders.

      If it weren’t for Ben she would be completely by herself. How often was she ever alone like this? Silver wondered. Just sitting and observing rather than being observed? Her breathing slowed, and her shoulders dropped in a way that all her yoga and meditation classes had never achieved. If it weren’t for Ben she would never have known that such an amazing space existed. Part of her wanted to stay there forever to experience the power of nature and suck that energy into her own spine.

      She shivered and Ben put his arm around her. “You ready to go?”

      “Not really,” she confessed. “It’s blowing my mind.”

      He chuckled; the warm sound reverberated around the rock cave and settled somewhere in her stomach.

      “I’m glad you like it. Some people get freaked out by the lack of space.”

      She finally tore her gaze away from the waterfall and looked around the small cave. “It’s okay. I don’t feel trapped in here at all.”

      “I did have second thoughts about your claustrophobia just before I stepped through,” he confessed. “But I thought you’d let me know real quick if you wanted to get out.”

      She shivered again and made herself stand up. “It’s definitely damp, but I’m really glad you brought me here.” She looked up at him, noticing the droplets of water caught on his eyelashes and his beard and couldn’t look away. “Thank you. I really mean it.” She went on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

      He stared at her for a long moment and then slid his hand under her chin. “I know I’m going to regret this, but what the hell.”

      He kissed her with such urgency that she kissed him back, letting him inside her mouth, curling her tongue around his and giving as good as she got. He wrapped one arm around her hips, bringing her entire body in contact with his. With a convulsive shudder, she pressed closer, just as he wrenched his mouth away from hers and stepped back, breathing hard.

      “Jeez, I’m sorry. That was way out of bounds.”

      Reaching forward, she grabbed hold of his damp T-shirt and hauled him back in. “That was going really well until you had to spoil it.”

      He stared down at her. “How about we get out of this cave and go and set up camp?”

      “Coward.” She let go of his shirt and pushed him back on his heels. “Fine. Why don’t we do that?”

      Chapter Six

      Silver put up her tent with far more ease than she had the night before and placed her bedding inside. She changed into her jammies rather than putting on a clean pair of jeans, and brushed out her hair, which was a mass of frizz. When she crawled out, Ben was already lighting a fire and had set a lantern next to him. He glanced over at her but didn’t turn around.

      “You can dry out your clothes on the bushes or set them near the fire.”

      Silver stalked past him and spent a few minutes spreading out her jeans and T-shirt next to Ben’s. She could hear the horses munching on something, and the distant roar of the waterfall. She wanted to hold on to the feelings she’d had and how it felt to be kissed by Ben Miller.