the social scene, flying around the world at a moment’s notice... It’s not who I am. I don’t belong here. I feel like I need to leave and start over somewhere else.”
Rachel sat up, bringing him with her. “Noah, no. You are a member of the Adair family. You have just as much of a right to be here as they do. It’s not your fault someone stole you from your parents.” It broke her heart to see the man torn by his desire to stay where he finally had a home and family, and leaving because he didn’t fit in. “Things will work out.”
“Whit and Carson can’t be happy about me.”
“Landry is thrilled. She knew how much it meant to her father to find you.” Rachel lifted both his hands in hers and held them between hers. “You just have to give Whit and Carson time to get used to having you around permanently. They already know you—it’s just a matter of accepting you as their brother.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t come here to cause the Adairs trouble and heartache.”
“You can’t leave now. They lost their father and Patsy, their mother, is going to jail. Landry and her brothers may not know it, but they need you as much as you need them.”
Noah shook his head. “Why would they need me?”
“Because you were the missing link to their father’s past. The reason he had such a hard time accepting them. You have to stay and let them get to know you and you them.”
Noah’s fingers closed around hers and he stared into her eyes. “Okay. I’ll stay. But not for them, but because you asked me.” He smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Thanks.”
His mouth was soft, his gesture gentle. It could have been the kiss of a brother to a sister, but Rachel didn’t have sisterly feelings toward this man.
Over the past few weeks of riding lessons, she’d fallen deeper and deeper under his spell. He wasn’t like any of the men she’d dated. He was patient, caring and considerate of her feelings. The man didn’t have a shallow bone in his body and he didn’t give a damn about who could best influence his career or portfolio.
Though Noah thought he didn’t know who he was, Rachel knew exactly who he was: a real man who could be taken at face value and who would love his family dearly.
When he bent to kiss the tip of her nose, she tipped her head back. His lips missed their target, capturing her mouth in a soft brush of a kiss. Before he could pull away, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and pulled him closer, opening her mouth to him. It was up to him to make the next move.
Noah swept past Rachel’s lips to caress her tongue in a long, sensuous stroke. She tasted of mint and tea and her body was soft against his harder lines. For the past few weeks, he’d dreamed of wrapping his arms around her and holding her close just like this.
He leaned her back against the boulder and explored her mouth, touching, tasting and teasing.
Her slender hands, behind his head, separated and skimmed across his naked shoulders, down his back to his waist and lower to slip into the back pockets of his jeans.
His groin tightened and his kiss became more urgent. He wanted more of her. Leaving her lips, he blazed a path with his mouth across her chin, down the long, slender line of her neck and lower to the V in her button-up blouse.
He reached between them and flipped the buttons loose, one after the other, until her blouse fell open, exposing a lacy black bra. Her breasts swelled over the low cups. As he settled a kiss over each, her back arched off the boulder, rising to meet him.
He cupped one breast and pinched the nipple through the lacy fabric, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Rachel moaned, the sound making every nerve in Noah’s body come alive.
Pushing the cup of her bra aside, he exposed a rose-tipped nipple and captured it between his lips, tonguing it into a tight little bud.
Her fingers curled into his hair, drawing him closer.
After tasting one, he pushed aside the other cup and tasted the fruit of her other breast, laving his tongue across the tip until it too beaded in a tight knot.
When Rachel’s leg slid up the side of Noah’s, he fought for control. Just because he was now her social equal didn’t make it right to take advantage of her. With a huge amount of effort and constraint, he stopped himself before he went further.
Once he pushed himself up to a sitting position, he drew Rachel’s blouse together and grabbed his T-shirt. “We should get back before someone comes looking for us.”
Rachel sat up, straightening her clothes, twin flags of color high in her cheeks. “The way Diablo raced past me, I’d say it won’t be long before someone comes searching for your body.”
Noah pulled his boots on and stood, extending a hand to Rachel. “I’m sorry I took advantage of your kindness.”
She raised a hand. “Please. I’m not sorry you did.”
He grinned and cupped her cheek in his hand. He couldn’t resist one last taste and he bent to kiss her again. When he stepped away, he willed his pulse to slow. The woman had his insides humming, begging for more. “I hope you tied your horse up, or we’ll both be walking.”
“As a matter of fact, I did tie her up.” She led the way to a copse of trees where her white Arabian mare stood patiently.
Noah cupped his hands and stooped low. “You first.”
“No, I can ride on the back. You take the saddle.”
“No. I feel pretty stupid getting tossed off my horse, when I’m the one who is supposed to be teaching riding lessons. I deserve to suffer a little for that.”
“Is that what happened?” Rachel chuckled. “In that case, you should ride on the back.” She stepped into his hand and he lifted her up into the saddle.
Then he put his foot in the stirrup and mounted the horse to sit behind her and the saddle, wrapping his arms around her middle. Her waist was narrow and he liked the way it felt, small but firm.
Thankfully, Rachel set the horse off in an easy gallop, minimizing the jarring gait of a trot.
Noah held on, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. She smelled of honeysuckle and the outdoors and she was soft in all the right places. She calmed him and made him feel natural and at home.
Fifteen minutes later, as they neared the barn, she slowed the horse to a walk. When they rode into the barnyard, Landry emerged, leading another horse. An older woman followed, her brow furrowed, light brown hair pulled back in a neat twist at the back of her head. There was something oddly familiar about her facial structure, but Noah couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Landry called out. “I was just about to go looking for you two. When Diablo came back without his rider, I worried you’d been hurt.”
The woman behind her pressed a hand to her mouth and stared up at Noah.
Noah slipped off the
