Only Heaven Knows Page 11

“The punishment sounds a bit excessive for the crime,” Denver said as he laid the saddle bags near a fallen log that played double-duty as a bench.

  “Oh, I deserved it. I was always getting into trouble.”

  “Oh? What did you do?” As he led the horses across the clearing, Bryn followed along to help.

  Bryn only hesitated a moment before she began to confess the lesser sins of her youth. “I drank the sacramental wine once.” As Denver barked out a laugh, she confirmed his suspicions. “Yes, the Sister in the infirmary got me on this one too. I earned kitchen clean-up duty for six straight weeks and I had to write an essay on the sanctity of the Eucharist.”

  “Oh, Miss Bryn, you were a handful.”

  “Oh, that wasn’t even close to my greatest crime. I climbed on top of the roof and put Sister Martha’s pantaloons on the flag pole. My penance that time was three months of laundry duty. I don’t think I had any free time for several years.”

  “How did you come up with these stunts?” Denver asked as he dipped grain into buckets for the horses.

  “Dares from the other kids, mostly. I did it to cover up my natural tendency to excel.” She giggled. “No one likes the smart kid, but they all love the class clown.”

  After finishing with the horses, they made their way slowly back to the campsite. “What did you do to get on your parent’s bad side, or were you the good son?”

  Denver cleared his throat. “I wasn’t the good son, that was my little brother, Louis.”

  “I saw a picture of you two in your bedroom when I went in after the toilet paper.” She confessed her sin of snooping on a relieved exhale. “Louis looks just like you.”

  “Looked,” Denver said flatly. “Louis is dead.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She wanted to say more, but the normal platitudes didn’t seem appropriate. All she could offer was her sympathy. “It hurts me to think of you in pain.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Walking down to the edge of the river, Denver plucked a rock from the ground and tossed it across, skipping it five times in total along the smooth surface of the water.

  Sensing he didn’t want to talk about Louis, she changed the subject. “I’m so glad we came here instead of going to Hardbodies. I’m not really in the mood for loud music.”

  “Me either.”

  “I’d much rather be here with you than lost in a big crowd.”

  When Bryn turned to look at Denver, she found him staring at her with adoration in his eyes. Caught in a moment of admiration, Denver flipped a rock up in the air, twirling it end over end like a coin tossed to decide fate. Hauling back, he let fly again, this time managing six skips before the ripples stopped.

  Bryn watched in amazement. “That was so cool.” She rushed to his side. “How did you do that?”

  Denver couldn’t help but smile. “The things that amaze you just amaze me.”

  “There was a small pond behind the convent, but the only fun thing I could do there was feed the ducks and only whatever bread I could save from my plate.” She playfully poked him in the ribs. “Hey, I led a sheltered life. What can I say? And besides you love showing me new stuff.”

  “Oh, I love a lot of stuff about you, Miss Bryn,” Denver muttered under his breath.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing.” Sifting through the rocks in his hand, he picked the flattest one possible and took advantage of the opportunity, taking Bryn’s delicate little hand in his. “Open your hand.” She did as she was told, watching as he dropped a flat piece of river rock into her palm.

  Bryn closed her hand, feeling the hard, smooth object in her grip. She pulled back and chunked it at the water with an awkward sideways motion. It made a pathetic splooshing sound and sunk right to the bottom “Nuts!”

  Denver fought back a chuckle, not wanting to make her feel bad about her throw. “In order to achieve maximum skippage, you need to get down real low.” He bent over at the waist and let another rock fly, this time getting nine full skips across the moonlit expanse and almost throwing out his shoulder in the process, trying to impress this girl he was so captivated by.

  “Was that eight skips?”

  “Eight? Girl, we need to get you some spectacles. That was a full nine skips, with even maybe a tenth. I can’t tell for sure, it’s dark out here.”

  “The stars sure are nice, though.” Bryn craned her neck to look up. “They sparkle so beautifully out here.”

  Denver’s mouth moved without meaning to. “Not as beautiful as your eyes do.”

  This time his mumbled words didn’t go undetected. “Thank you.” His words sent a flash of heat to Bryn’s chest and her skin began to tingle. “May I try another one, please?”

  He pinned her with a stare. “Well. I’m not sure I should let you after that last pitiful effort.”

  “Oh hush, it wasn’t that bad. I can do better.” She playfully slapped him on the arm.

  “Damn girl, I have to work for a living, don’t be injuring me.” He took her hand again and dropped another rock in, this time closing her fingers with his hand. “Here, this one will be good luck. It’ll skip lots for you.”

  Bryn didn’t question the luck factor of the rock, she was captivated by how incredible it felt to feel his hand on hers. “I’ll do you proud this time, I promise. Okay, bend at the waist, right?” She looked at him for approval.

  “That’s right.” Denver stepped up beside her. “Here, hold it like this.” He manipulated her hand, placing the rock firmly between her thumb and forefinger. “You want to keep it as low as possible and flat as possible.” Bryn mimed the throw. “Good, just like that. Now, toss it as hard and low as you can.” Stepping back, he gave her room to operate. “And Miss Bryn…”

  Bryn stopped in the middle of a practice throw. “Yes?”

  “Don’t fall over and tumble into the water. No matter the color of your hair, it looks positively perfect right now. It’d be a terrible shame to muss it up.”

  Denver cringed at how lame he sounded. He felt like such a dork. Why was he powerless to say complimentary things to this girl? Something about her just made him feel giddy when he was with her.

  This time she hadn’t just overheard his compliment, he’d been out in the open with it and the knowledge thrilled her. Bryn rubbed the flat stone in her grasp to calm the nerves vibrating inside her. Bending as he’d shown her, she pulled back her arm and brought it across with a wide sweeping arch. The rock sailed through the air and collided with the placid waters, skipping once, twice…

  “Three.” Denver counted as it skipped. “Four. Five. Six! Well I’ll be damned. Six skips on your first real attempt. That has to be some sort of rookie record!” Bringing his hands together, he applauded her effort.

  Bryn grasped the hem of her blouse and did a curtsy. “Thank you. Thank you all.” She waved to an imaginary crowd, drawing a laugh out of her rock skipping coach in the process.

  Bounding back up the river bank, she went to Denver and threw herself into his arms. “I did it!”

  Before he knew it, Bryn’s lips were on his and the big cowboy nearly lost consciousness. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?” he asked with a big grin on his face. He felt better after spending time with her.

  “For being such a good teacher,” Bryn whispered, their lips only inches from touching again.

  “You’re welcome.” Wanting to kiss her again, Denver stroked her face with the pad of his thumb, waiting for the treasure before him to pull away. When she didn’t, he took a deep breath, trying to control the impulse to ravish her. “Well, are you ready to set up camp? I have an old tent and a couple sleeping bags. And don’t worry, if you want your privacy, I can sleep outside the tent next to the fire.” He remembered what she’d said earlier about being intimate with him, but he wanted to give her every opportunity to change her mind.

  As if on cue, a coyote let out a lonely howl in the distance and Bryn catapulted herself into his embrace. “I think I might be t
oo scared to sleep alone.”

  Denver sent up a special thanks to the coyotes.

  … “I think it’s spectacular out here. I don’t see a cloud in the sky,” Bryn called into the open air of the night, her voice echoing in the cavernous clearing. She twirled around in small circles, her arms stretched wide. “What can I do to help you?”

  Denver knelt to build the base for their fire using some chunks of 2x4 he’d brought along from home. “You could unpack the tent. I’ll get this going and then give you a hand. We can rustle up some branches to add to the fire in a bit. Take the flashlight and make sure to keep an eye out for rattlers, Miss Bryn. They love sugary little morsels like you.”

  Denver still couldn’t get what Bryn had said out of his head. They were going to ‘have fun’ together. He’d never heard more loaded words. He wasn’t sure if it meant telling ghost stories around the campfire or holding one another so tight they’d need the jaws of life to pry them apart. Oh, Denver knew which option he preferred, but Bryn was a contradiction. There were times when she seemed as pure as the driven snow, and others when she seemed to have the secrets of Eden hidden in her eyes. Either way, she was pure intoxication for Denver.

  He sat back against a boulder that sheltered the fire from any offending wind and crossed his booted feet. Bryn had managed to extricate his ancient tent from its beige canvas bag and was fumbling around with the poles right in front of him.

  “Well, don’t just sit there and laugh at me,” she said when she caught sight of his smirking mug. “Damsel in distress! Damsel in distress!”

  She’d managed to get the first pole together easily enough, but the second was proving to be a real pill. Denver watched her battle the silver metal piece for a few more moments before going to her aid. He took the support rod from her. “This tent is so old.”

  “It sure smells old.” Bryn wrinkled her nose.

  “It may be a bit small too, I’ve had it since I was a teenager. Me and Lou-” He stopped, violently jerked out of this fun moment by the memory of him and his brother using the tent in their backyard.

  Bryn was unfolding the tarp. “Louis, your brother. I’ve always heard it helps to talk about things that make you sad.” This was one of the things she missed. Since Sister Mary Estelle had passed, she had no one to talk to about her issues.

  Denver nodded, then continued speaking lowly. “We used to camp in this thing for hours. Looking at sports magazines under a flashlight when we were young and eventually graduating to girly magazines when we got older.”

  Bryn stopped and looked up at him. “Denver Bolden. You are such a bad boy.”

  The flames danced in the calm breeze of the night, illuminating every perfect angle of Bryn’s angelic face. “Sorry, Miss Bryn, but boys will be boys.”

  Fumbling with the offending pole himself, Denver finally snapped it together and was met with a round of applause. They worked in unison to put up the heavy old tent.

  “Kinda does smell in here, doesn’t it?” Denver commented when they stood looking in the open mesh door.

  “No problem, if the smell is too bad, we can just pull the sleeping bags outside and sleep under the stars.” Bryn seemed happy with her suggestion.

  After a trip to gather a little more wood, they found themselves leaning up against the camp rock, Bryn’s legs under the cover of an old blanket Denver had brought along.

  “Gets cool out here at night, doesn’t it?” He pulled the covers up higher over Bryn when he noticed her shiver.

  Not content with just the covers for warmth, Bryn shimmied in closer to her camping buddy, finding a spot in the crook of his arm. “That’s better.”

  “Having fun, Miss Bryn?”

  There was that word again. Even with very little space available, the word hung between them, filled with uncertainty and possibility.

  “I’m beginning to,” she threw back at him, causing Denver to smile. Having this little honey snuggled up against him felt so right, he was powerless to keep from sniffing her hair. She smelled like vanilla frosting and honeysuckle. His heart pounded in his chest, his cock filling with desire, his entire body feeling like he was literally sitting on the fire in front of him. He shifted, hoping to put enough strain on his jeans that the denim would keep his erection at bay. Moving to readjust himself was not an option at the moment and the thought of Bryn knowing his current predicament both thrilled and worried him all at once.

  His shift in position didn’t go unnoticed and Bryn’s eyes were drawn to the expanding bulge behind Denver’s zipper. Her eyes drew wide. She’d felt his excitement before, but seeing it happen before her eyes was something else entirely. As much as she tried, she couldn’t look away and the longer she gazed, the more Bryn was sure he was getting hard – because of her.

  How foolish, she thought, for a woman her age to be transfixed by the male arousal. But at twenty-two, Bryn wasn’t typical for her age. She’d never had a boyfriend or a social media account. She’d never posed for a selfie or fought with her best friend over a boy. Heck, the first time she’d seen a penis was within the pages of The Joy of Sex. Totally enthralled, Bryn was powerless to look away and she prayed Denver didn’t catch her staring and get angry.

  Next to her, Denver couldn’t read her mind, but he was pretty good at reading body language. If he wasn’t mistaken, Bryn was as aware of him as he was of her. In the firelight, he watched her eyes as they strayed to his crotch. He saw the sweet points of her nipples harden and peak beneath her shirt and her breathing turn to pants. More than anything, he wanted to turn her into his arms and claim her – show her how much he wanted her and just how his definition of fun was exactly what she needed to quench the fire he could see in her eyes.

  Lying in Denver’s arms, she was still. No one could tell there was a war being waged inside of Bryn’s mind. She was no longer in the convent. This was what people did in the secular world. They dated.

  They kissed.

  They made love.

  Although, she had no plans on becoming a nympho, Bryn was curious. She was more than curious. Being near Denver had awakened a longing inside of her. She wanted to be close to him. She wanted to share her thoughts, her dreams, and her body with this man.

  Snuggling even closer, she sighed deeply, placing a hand that shook, ever so slightly, on his chest. She reveled in the feeling of safety this closeness gave her. She would’ve felt safe in Daniel’s lion’s den if Denver Bolden were there to watch over her.

  “Comfortable?” Denver asked, his voice cracking just a bit.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Good.”

  Without thinking, Denver placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and a hand on the small of her back. He rubbed it up and down, enjoying how soft and sweet her delicate frame felt beneath his touch. Even in a too big, faded pair of jeans and a nondescript blouse, she still looked incredible.

  “Mmmm.”

  The little sigh that slipped from her lips turned Denver inside out and his manhood surged again. This time he bucked his hips a fraction, a maneuver that caused his jeans to loosen enough so the outline of his arousal wasn’t so clearly visible.

  Trying to lay as still as possible, Bryn was fighting a losing battle. Her body was taking over. With heart pounding, she ached to touch and be touched. Didn’t Denver feel it too? What was he waiting on? With her mind whirling, she found herself wanting things she’d never imagined wanting before. Closing her eyes tightly, she found the old mantra beating in her head. It’s wrong. Wrong. Wrong. But was that true? For her? She didn’t think so, not anymore. What she wanted seemed beautiful and almost…holy. “Denver?”

  Denver had been holding his breath – just waiting. She had such beautiful eyes. Luminous, long-lashed. Stunning. “Yes, Miss Bryn?”

  She hesitated, feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to ask for a kiss.

  When she didn’t say anything, Denver put a finger under her chin and tilted her head back. “Sounds like you’ve got a question in
mind. You can ask me anything, babe.”

  The pet name gave her courage. With her face still angled his way, she averted her eyes. “I uhhh…”

  “Just ask,” he encouraged with a smile.

  “Can I have a kiss?”

  Denver swore he’d never heard a sweeter question in his life. “Thank God,” he muttered, she had no idea the stress he’d been under, having the most desirable woman he’d ever seen within kissing distance and not taking advantage of that miracle. Without saying a word, he bent his head down to kiss her. Just a touch. She opened immediately for him, her mouth soft and warm, her tongue sliding against his in welcome. He groaned, knowing this was the most amazing kiss of his life. Slanting his mouth for an easier fit, he let his tongue mate with hers – moving and tasting.

  The fire on the ground at their feet flittered red and yellow flames, but it burned at merely a fraction of the heat ignited by their lips as Denver and Bryn continued to kiss. Unable to contain himself, Denver deepened the kiss, completely aware of her every response. When he slid his tongue along hers, she welcomed him, eagerly meeting his every need. This was more than a kiss, as intimate as sex, a linking of two hearts and two souls who needed one another more than they could admit.

  “Mmmmmm,” Bryn moaned at his tongue rubbed against hers, her hips lifting to meet and nudge against him. The man kissed like a dream. In his arms, she’d forgotten her regrets, her doubts, and her fears. She was lost in a haze of heat and male power, clinging to his strong body as if he were the rock of her salvation. He was huge against her, pressing hard against her sex. She felt her body change, soften, readying itself, opening like a rosebud to full bloom. Bryn gave herself over to it, pushing aside the doubts and upbringing that kept her sexuality chained.

  “We want to have fun, right?” Denver asked, pulling back from her mouth, leaving Bryn dizzy and breathless.

  Bryn’s eyes snapped open. His repetition of the phrase she’d so innocently used, now seemed crass. Surely, he felt it. What they shared was more than mere fun, wasn’t it? “Yes,” she whispered, because she didn’t want to say or do anything that would push him away.