Page 27 of Beyond Montana's Sky
Her heart stopped in disappointment, and then when he began to massage her scalp, stuttered to life again.
“What are you…?” But the kneading of his fingers felt so heavenly, a moan of pleasure threatened to replace the rest of the question. She pressed her lips together to hold in the sound.
“Your husband must have loved doing this for you.”
“My hair was my maid’s job, not Nathaniel’s.”
“He missed out then.”
Cai’s fingers moved to rub her temples.
“Seems I was the one who missed out.” Edith couldn’t believe how flirtatious she sounded.Maybe he did not hear.
“Like this, do you?” he drawled the question.
She deliberately evaded answering. “You try wearing pounds of hair on top of your head, stabbed withhairpins into your scalp, and then laterhatpins,” she said tartly.
“Doesn’t sound comfortable. Do you ever just wear your hair down in a braid? I know some of the Anderson ladies do, although not when they go to town, of course.”
“For bedtime. Otherwise, not since I was sixteen and was allowed to put up my hair and let down the hems of my skirts.”
His fingers tightened against her scalp, rubbing in small circles.
She couldn’t help a little sigh of pleasure escaping.
“Sounds like your husband missed performing one of his husbandly duties.”
“Nonsense!” Edith said in an instinctive response, straightening and pulling away. “We had complete marital harmony.”
“Marital harmony, eh.” He drawled.
“There’snothing—” she said staunchly, needing to defend Nathaniel, to defend their marriage “—like conjugal harmony with the one you love.”
“Sounds rather boring and not really like you. You are an opinionated woman of intelligence and…energy. I imagine your husband had his hands full with you.”
“Nathaniel and I were in complete accord,” she said stiffly, regretting the loss of the contentment of a few moments ago.
“Now, I know you’re fibbing, Edith. No two people, no matter how loving, no matter how compatible, will achievecompleteaccord. I’ll wagermost-of-the-timeaccord is the best two married humans could accomplish.”
Nonplused, she fell silent. Cai was right. She knew he was right. Yet Edith also knew she and her husband had never argued.Why was that?
He finished, walked around to her front, and handed her the brush. “I would imagine that times of maritaldis-harmony could lead tointerestinguh—” he said with a wicked glint in his eye “—reconciliations.” He chuckled.
The sound tugged at something primitive inside her, and heat flooded her body.
This will not do.Swiftly, Edith gathered her hair together and loosely braided the strands into a tail that she tied off with the blue ribbon. She gave Cai her polite, hostess smile and stood. “Perhaps it’s time we went to bed.”
* * *
Cai watched Edith close off and decided to let her be. The way his emotions had come at him in the last twenty-four hours—the up-and-down jarring was as bad as riding a bucking bronc. He could use some distance and a chance to smooth out his gait. If not for the storm, he’d escape to the stable for a spell. Being around horses usually soothed him and restored his equanimity.
On the other hand, he relished the sparks of life Edith ignited and fanned to flames. After the dark time of Aurie’s illness and death, when he was either sad or numb, he savored laughing, teasing, and feeling passion. Hopefully, even when Edith left for Boston, he’d retain some of those sparks.
Perhaps it’s time we went to bed.If only Edith knew what visions her words sparked. She had no idea how tempted he’d been to kiss her tonight, and he’d had a feeling, at least a few times during the evening, she wouldn’t have minded.
But Cai didn’t dare. He didn’t trust his control. For that matter, he didn’t trusthercontrol. He sensed under that icy exterior she often displayed was a passionate woman. She was a widow, after all, not an innocent girl, who—aside from a lack of head rubs—apparently had been well loved.
So, Cai kept a tight rein on his body. He knew one night with Edith, or even a couple if the storm lasted, wouldn’t be enough. He suspected even years wouldn’t be enough.
