Page 41 of Rocky Mountain Devil

Having Rafe pay attention to her like this was…

A shiver rippled over her skin as he kissed her, this time right under her ear, his hard body brushing her back and sending need ricocheting through her core.

This? Was perfect.

Most of the time they’d spent together over the years had been before school and during lunch. Once the school bell rang to end the day, he’d hop on the bus to head home, and she’d walk back to the pastorate, so outside of school hours it wasn’t as if they had spent masses of time together.

And they certainly hadn’t spent time together likethis. With that edge of something other than friendship warm and pulsing between them.

When he touched her, a sense of familiar was there. But it wasn’t her good friend who gave her hips a squeezing caress before he grabbed the wooden support under her and stepped back, lifting her high in an arc.

Heck, he’d pushed her on the swings before, the two of them talking nonstop about whatever it was that was on their mind at the time.

This was different because they were no longer children. There weren’t childish activities stealing though her mind as he pushed her. The swing slid forward smoothly before reaching its peak then drifting back to his strong hands. He caught her on each upswing, pulling her slightly toward him before giving a firm push that sent her soaring.

Beams of light shone through faint cracks, dancing with the dust floating in the air. The heady scents of the ranch filled her on every breath.

But those things faded every time she got close to him. New sensations buzzed through her system. It must have been her imagination because they weren’t physically close anymore, not while she was swinging, but it seemed as if the air itself got warmer near him. The hard slope of his body behind her a barrier she could sense.

Laurel pumped with her legs to make the swing go faster, climbing higher as a lovely, dizzying sensation grew. She might not know exactly what they were doing, but this was fun, and she wasn’t letting go of a single moment of joy.

A timeless moment later Rafe gave her a warning tap. “My turn.”

On the next return swing, he caught hold of the wooden base and slowed her, walking forward rapidly then holding the seat steady so she could slip off to the hard wooden floor.

“You want me to push you?” Laurel asked, moving out of his way as he settled onto the narrow board.

“Nope.”

She gasped as he caught her around the waist and tugged her into his lap.

“Rafe—”

“Hold on to the ropes,” he ordered, walking backward slightly before leaning back and lifting his feet from the ground.

He had one hand wrapped around her waist, but the other held the rope, and thank goodness, because she couldn’t have kept them in place when he increased their speed.

If it had been just her she would have felt slightly off balance, but his iron grip held her in position on his lap, the solid muscles beneath and behind her forming a wall, while the arm around her waist pulled their bodies together tightly.

She relaxed, trusting him to take care of them. “If the swing breaks, you’re going to be a pancake,” she warned.

A laugh escaped, but there was more than amusement in the sound.

Desire. Need.

Lust.

The heat between them instantly ratcheted up a level.

They fell into a rhythm, moving together. She’d lean back on his chest, their legs extended as they flew forward, glimpses of the fields beyond them dappled with sunlight and shadow visible through the open loft window. Then he’d curl his body forward, stomach muscles flexing as he pressed against her, swinging backward with the weight of her body pressed to his strong forearm. He’d rolled up his shirtsleeves, and her breasts rested on the bare skin of his forearm.

The urge to get naked hit hard.

They moved together in a rhythm that sent her body thrumming. She fought to keep from moaning, but it was impossible to stop a note of pleasure from escaping as he pressed his lips to the side of her neck and murmured. “Comfy?”

“Only you would think about fooling around on a swing, Rafe Coleman.”

“Are we fooling around? You’ve got a dirty mind, Sitko. We’re just swinging.” But the arm around her body shifted slightly, and his hand drifted higher, brushing the underside of her breast.