His Outback Cowgirl(10)

She shone her light further into the cave. Sure the temperature underground was cooler but if she was moving she’d stay warm.

“Bridie.” Ethan’s voice was quiet but as hard as the rock surrounding her.

She glanced sideways and wasn’t surprised to see his strong arms folded and his mouth firm. For a split second she contemplated going on without him but then she sighed, switched off the phone and returned it to her pocket. She needed to pick her battles. In their two days away there would be other times their wills would clash and times when she wouldn’t back down.

She followed Ethan as he returned to his seat. Instead of sitting beside him, she selected a smaller rock half a body length away. Her palm traced the smooth stone contours shaped by flowing water.

Ethan’s gaze tracked the slow glide of her hand. “This limestone’s been here since the ice ages.”

She stretched to touch the wall behind her. Her hand trembled as another shiver shook her. “That’s incredible. So old. This cave would have seen far more people than cattle rustlers?”

“Yes and frozen far more than one Aussie cowgirl.” Ethan scooted to his left and patted the space he’d left. “Here, move closer.”

She stayed still. There was no way she was getting up close and personal with Ethan even if it meant his body warmth would ward off her chill. She could take care of herself. Plus the thought of sitting near to him suddenly did strange things to her breathing. She might not be in search of The One, but she was only human and he was one hot cowboy. Her eyes flickered over him. Water glistened on the tanned skin of his throat where his top shirt button had worked free. The heavy wet cotton clung to his well-honed chest and shoulders.

“I’m good.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “The rain will stop soon.” But as she glanced past the dozing horses the downpour had thickened.

“If it makes you more comfortable, I didn’t ask you to move closer for you but ... for me. I’m as cold as the ice that would have filled this cave.” He held out his arm and she saw that goosebumps littered the tanned skin below his rolled up sleeve. “I also promise to mind my manners.” The corner of his mouth kicked into a grin. “I happen to want to keep my ribs intact.”

She gave into the smile in his eyes and the need to stay warm. “As if I’d damage your ribs? You then wouldn’t be able to ride. Don’t forget I’m supposed to keep you away from Henry for two days.”

She slipped into the space he’d left beside him. Her thigh rested against his. She sat straight and tall as the warm weight of his arm settled around her. Her message was clear. She wasn’t reliant upon him in any way, it was simply a mutual need that had them sit together.

“No, if you got a little too friendly,” she continued sweetly, “there are plenty of other body parts I could elbow.”

Ethan’s chest moved as his deep and husky laughter tickled the drying wisps of her hair at her temple. No longer did he smell of sundried laundry instead she caught the scent of wood and leather. She shivered but this time the tremors had nothing to do with being wet or the cold temperature of the cave. This time her body responded on a purely visceral level to the man holding her.

She wriggled and used the action to edge a little away from him. Nowhere in her plans to come to Montana to meet her half-brother and to grieve for her father had she factored in being attracted to a steady and slow-smiling cowboy. She wriggled again and drummed the heel of her right boot against the rock.

“Don’t you ever sit still?”

“Not often. I think the politically correct term my teachers used was ‘busy’.”

Ethan laughed softly and she fought another shiver. “And now you’re a ‘busy’ adult.”

“That’s right.”

Ethan’s arm lifted from around her and cool air replaced the heat of his touch.

“Just as well I know some tricks to keep a ‘busy’ adult still.”

He bent, studied the ground and then scooped up a small round pebble. “Here.” He uncurled her fingers and dropped the pebble onto her hand. “Play with this?”

She frowned. Not so much from what he’d asked her to do but from the sensation of his calloused fingers sliding over hers. The simple action warmed her from the inside out.

“Trust me.” He again put his arm around her. “It will help you sit still.”

Still frowning, she used her thumb to move the pebble. Warm from his touch, the stone rolled around in the hollow of her palm.

“How do you know this? You wouldn’t have been ‘busy’ as a child?”