Jodi Thomas - Ransom Canyon

She waited.

He brushed her shoulders lightly as he leaned in again and touched his lips to hers.

Quinn’s mouth was so soft. Her bottom lip trembled slightly.

His fingers tightened over her shoulders, and he pulled her closer, kissing her lightly until her mouth opened. Then, without hesitation, he kissed her completely.

She didn’t pull away. She simply accepted his advance. He lifted her arms and set them on his shoulders as he continued. If she wanted to be kissed, by hell he’d kiss her.

Slowly, her body melted against him.

He finally broke the kiss, but he didn’t turn loose of her. “Any objections if I undress you?” His hand moved over her back and came to rest on her hip. “I’ve never said so, but I like doing that.”

She leaned her head back as his fingers moved over her blouse. He watched her face as he slowly unbuttoned first her blouse, then her jeans. He liked the way she always left something on for him to finish, and tonight he was doing it all.

Standing before him she closed her eyes as he kissed his way down her body. Then, she took his hand and led him to her bedroom.

They made love slowly, tenderly, as they always did. Only after both were satisfied Staten held her tighter than ever before as though just discovering what a treasure he had in his arms.

When she drifted to sleep, he found himself kissing her. He couldn’t get enough of the feel of her. He’d been starving all week and finally she was beside him, warm and soft. For a while she moved in her sleep, welcoming his touch, but when he deepened the kiss she woke with a jerk.

For a few minutes he held her tight, gently caressing her, whispering her name in the darkness.

When she calmed, he pulled her close. “I want you again if you’ve no objections, Quinn. I don’t want to leave and wait a week to be with you again.”

Her big eyes widened with uncertainty, but she nodded slightly, and he made love to her for the second time. But this time they both knew he wasn’t just loving a woman out of need. He was loving Quinn.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lucas

LUCAS REYES STOOD in the corner of the cafeteria and watched the mayhem. School was like the gathering of the clans in Scotland at Culloden. He’d read all about the great battle on the moors when the MacDonalds, the Jacobites and the French all met to fight the English in 1746. The English brought rifles and the men of the mighty clans of Scotland were wiped out that day. Highlander blood turned the earth red, and some said the thunder of the muskets still echoed off the hills.

Maybe the cafeteria wasn’t quite that bad, but the cliques were clear. In his grandfather’s day they would have been separated by race, but that no longer played a role. Neither did money. Now the division was more by interest. Each clan at Ransom Canyon High wore the markings of their tribe, though. The geeks, who always seemed to carry more books than anyone else. The jocks in their letter jackets. The cheerleaders with their designer purses and perfect spray-on tans even in January.

Several tiny towns and dozens of ranches fed into Ransom High, so there were more groups than he could name. Lately the goths were making an appearance, along with a dozen or so freshmen who looked like they were straight out of the Harry Potter movies. Big round black glasses and all that.

For a country school, this place was the best, Lucas thought. Folks around poured money into computer labs and libraries for their kids. Where city schools were cutting extra programs, Ransom Canyon High had the best in music and arts. Lucas knew when he headed to college he’d be prepared.

The idea of learning, without the cliques around, excited him.

“Hi, Lucas,” Sarah Rodriguez said as she circled him.

“ Hola , Sarah,” he answered. He’d known Sarah most of his life and she’d always been sweet. He almost hated to see her grow up and join one of the groups. Maybe she’d be one of the few, like Lauren, who kept her own identity.

“My folks are having a belated New Year’s party this weekend. You coming with your folks?”

“If I get off work in time. I’m riding for the Kirkland ranch all weekend. He’ll have us working cattle until dark, but I’m not complaining. He pays great.”

The bell rang, and she started off. “See you, if you make it in.”

He waved back, thinking that with her three older brothers, she was comfortable talking to guys. Sarah was pretty, like her mother, with long midnight-black hair that hung down to her waist, but Lucas couldn’t help but think he was starting to prefer sunny blond hair that fell down straight without a hint of a curl and bangs long enough to shade eyes framed in glasses.

Lucas glanced across the cafeteria as Lauren left a table where she’d been studying alone. Despite the noise, she read her history book while she ate her sack lunch. Her blond hair had curtained her off from the world. He thought of catching up with her but decided not to.

Somehow in all the talk about what had happened at the Gypsy House last Saturday night, Lucas had fallen out of the picture. Reid Collins had told everyone about how he saved Tim and Lauren, about how they were trapped at one point, about how Tim almost died. But Lucas’s part in the whole thing must have gotten left on the cutting room floor.

He didn’t care. If kids knew he’d been there, they’d only ask him questions, and at some point, his account of the night and Reid’s would cross.

Better to let Reid tell the story. Tim wouldn’t be back at school for another week or more, and by then the topic would be past tense. Lauren was so shy, he was sure she wouldn’t talk about it. If Tim had any brains left, he would say he couldn’t remember how it all happened, so with luck the whole thing would be yesterday’s news very soon.

Lucas walked toward class, smiling. He’d remember the blood debt Lauren owed him. Maybe someday he’d tease her about it. And, he remembered kissing her. She was the first girl he’d really liked that he had kissed. He might be leaving after summer for college, but he’d remember Lauren long after he forgot everyone else at this school.

He rushed alone down the emptying hallway, feeling proud that he’d managed to stay out of any cliques. He saw no point to them. High school was only a passageway to what he wanted in life, nothing more.

To his surprise, Lauren caught up to him and fell into step beside him. For several seconds they just walked, but he slowed his pace a bit to match hers.

“I want to talk to you,” she finally said without looking at him. “The story of what happened Saturday night has changed so much I don’t even think I was there. Now Reid Collins claims Tim was hanging on by a thread, and we could all hear the ghosts whispering. I would have probably broken both legs in the fall from the window if he hadn’t caught me. And—”

“I know,” Lucas interrupted her. “According to Reid, I wasn’t even there. Which is fine with me.”

She stopped and turned to him. “But you were there. You saved my life. Reid can lie all he wants to, but I’ll never forget. I owe you a blood debt.”

“Let Reid’s legend live, querida . You and I will remember and that is enough.”

“Like the kiss at the hospital. Between you and me, right?”

“Right.” He smiled, remembering.

“It was the best kiss I ever had.” She laughed.

“It was the only one you’ve ever had,” he teased. “When I find you in a few years, I’ll ask you again how I compare and see where I stand then.”

She blushed and ran ahead of him into her class.

Lucas stood watching her disappear, knowing they were both late but not caring. She’d forget about him, but he’d remember Lauren. She’d be the only girl he’d ever call darling in any language. Funny thing was, Lauren would probably never know just how special she was.