An Old Fashioned Romance

From The Touch of Sage by Marcia Lynn McClure

Sage giggled.  “And over a cloud of dust.  You’re filthy!” she told him.  Reb smiled and looked down at his chest.

“Yer purty roughed up, too, Miss Sage,” he teased, nodding at her.

“Not as much as you are,” she said smiling.  A thick coat of dust covered Reb from head to toe and without any forethought, Sage moistened one index finger, reaching out and running it down the solid muscles of his chest.  Holding the finger up for him to inspect she said, “See?”  But Reb’s smile had faded instantly, his eyes narrowing as he stared at her.

Abruptly he reached out and caught her wrist in his hand as if to keep her from touching him again.

Slowly he shook his head, whispering, “No, no, no.”

Sage was horrified!  How could she have been so forward, so indecent?  Before he could reprimand her further, she opened her mouth to apologize, but the words never left her throat.  In the next instant, Reb’s grip on her wrist tightened, pushing her hand down and holding it at her back.  His other hand rather roughly cupped her cheek, pulling her face to his as his mouth descended on her own in a firm, moist, very intimate kiss.

Sage stood stiff, frozen with astonishment. Having experienced very few such moments in her life, not only was she surprised by Reb’s unexpected attention, she was entirely awe-struck by the demanding, passionate nature of his kiss.  The space inside her chest burned hot, uncomfortably so.  Her fingers and toes were numb, her knees weak, every inch of her body even her hair, seemed to quiver with some euphoric tingling sensation!

Reb’s hand, holding hers at her back, released her wrist, joining his other hand in cradling her face.  The whiskers of his mustache and goatee, brushed the flesh around her mouth softly and Sage’s mind began to whirl in a mist of enchanted emotion.  Her knees being weak, Reb’s driven, delicious kiss bewitching her, she let her hands press gently against his chest.  His mouth pressed even more firmly to hers for a lingering moment before he suddenly broke the seal of their lips, taking her hands in his and letting his thumbs caress her palms as he looked down at them.

Abruptly he dropped her hands, turned and loosened the cinch of the lame horse’s saddle.

“I better clean up a bit before I come in for breakfast,” he mumbled.  Sage stood still for a moment, struggling to steady her breathing and to find her balance.  She felt dizzy, almost faint…the lingering affects of Reb’s masterful kiss.

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