Moments In The Quiet
I
Cara felt her fingers beginning to chap from the harsh soap as she scrubbed the dishes. It was late. Far too late to be doing such work, but there was no one else to do it. She had never been one to idle or one to let anything lapse.
She vaguely heard the door open behind her to the left, but she ignored it. One of the boys coming to get something or possibly ask for more cake. And if they did, she'd stop what she was doing and fetch for them. With a teasing sort of scolding, of course. The cooking and cleaning were her duty, surely, but so too was the task of keeping their feet on the ground and their heads from getting too swelled. Cowboys were prone to such things.
"Save the rest of that for tomorrow."
The sound of Jacob's voice made her jump. She hadn't been expecting him to be the one creeping into her kitchen at this hour. But she hid her surprise by carrying on just as she was. "Work needs doing. I'll not leave it for tomorrow," she replied.
He came up right behind her, which she sensed more than actually heard or felt. "Leave it for tomorrow," he whispered right into her ear.
His hands rested on her hips, just under where her apron was tied. His lips brushed the shell of her ear and dragged down the side of her neck, leaving the faintest of kisses in his wake.
Cara's hands stilled and her eyes fluttered closed. She hated to admit weakness about anything to anyone but oh, she was weak for this man. This strong, terrible, beautiful, kind, hardheaded man.
"What're you doin' to me, Jacob Dutton?" Cara asked with a shaky voice.
He chuckled, his chest vibrating with it against her back. "I'm fixin' to seduce you, woman."
She dropped the dish and scrubber in the sink and turned around. "You know, ordinarily I'd say I'm far too clever to be seduced by the likes of you," she told him, giving him her best steely gaze.
His clear hazel green eyes sparkled at her in the dim lamplight and he grinned rakishly. "Ordinarily?"
Cara pursed her lips, trying not to smile. "You've caught me in a vulnerable moment," she confessed.
Jacob laughed and pulled her fully into his arms, kissing her soundly.
She had no choice but to wrap her arms around him, too, and melt into the familiar comfort of his strong body.
Perhaps the dishes could wait until the morning.