Chapter 6
The drive was longer than she had expected and she fell asleep on his shoulder. Marcel tried to go slower as to not wake her. He liked the way she felt against him and when he looked down at her, he knew that there was nothing he wanted more than the woman beside him. Marcel hoped that everything would go well while she was there. The fact that she was already in love with horses was a start and he felt like it was a good sign. Now if he could just get his brothers to behave themselves, it would be even better.
“Davina.”
He said her name softly, waiting for her eyes to pop open. When he saw her blue depths he smiled at her in the dark. “We’re here. Let’s get upstairs and get you settled in a bed so you don’t have a kink in your neck tomorrow.”
“Thanks. I can’t believe I went to sleep. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry. I was hoping that the trip wouldn’t be too much for you.”
“I can see why you stay in the city for the week. That would be an impossible commute every day.”
Marcel nodded and opened his door. Holding his hand out, he helped her out and up to the house. He left the bags to retrieve once he had her settled, but true to the form of his usual life, it didn’t work out the way it was supposed to. Leanna’s family was staying in town and they were using up the guest room. That left his room for Davina and Marcel had to find his own place to sleep. The couch was short and not very comfortable, but he was home and was asleep fairly soon after laying down.
When the morning came, his body had him awake before the sun came up. It was the way it had always been and now instead of coffee on the balcony as the city woke up, he was able to make a cup and go to the front porch. He wanted Davina to watch the sunrise with him. It was his favorite part of the day and Marcel wanted to share that with her.
As he made his way to his room, he knocked softly and waited for an answer. After a few moments of silence, he pushed it in slowly, calling her name out. He liked to see her first when she woke up, her face and expression still open. Those eyes are what made him want to stare. They were dark and mysterious, even before she had woken up fully. Marcel hadn’t wanted to see a woman so mussed before, wishing that he could wake up to Davina every morning. Instead of waking her from her bed alone, Marcel thought of a time when he would be beside her.
He tried to push the thoughts away, blaming Elna for putting them in his head to begin with. What he wanted now was he wanted it all. Marcel had never really wanted marriage and a family, until he had met Davina. When she opened her eyes and finally answered in a soft voice, that was all Marcel could think about was what it would be like to have it all with her.
“It’s time for the best part of the day.”
Davina’s eyes traveled down his body, the jeans she hadn’t seen before and the button-up shirt still undone, showing her his hard chest. “Um, what is that?” Her mind was on anything but the weather outside at that moment.
“Sunrise, remember?”
“Oh yeah. Just give me a second to get dressed.”
He seemed to notice then what she was wearing or the lack of cover on her bare shoulders. His face got a little hot as he excused himself, moving out of the room in a flash. Davina swallowed hard and got out of bed. It was still dark with the beginnings of light streaming through the slats in the blinds. She hadn’t seen much of the place the night before, being half asleep and the darkness.
Getting up, Davina got dressed and tried not to think of the hard body she had just seen. She had not seen that coming. Who would have known that he would be so hard underneath, his muscles not from working out, but real work that men used to do. Davina smiled to herself and checked her hair in the mirror. She looked tired, but hoped that he could look passed the lack of makeup. She really just couldn’t be bothered. That had to be one of the fine points in country living.
Marcel seemed to like the ensemble when she came out and he handed her a cup of coffee. “I think I almost like that look better than last night.”
“Really?”
His eyes swept down to her jean shorts and T-shirt tied at the bottom. The only thing that would have been better was if he was actually able to kiss her like he wanted to so badly in that moment. That was the only way that it could all somehow be better. “Definitely.”
He made her blush, becoming something of a pattern. “So are you ready?”
“Where are we going?”
“Just out front. You don’t have to go far for a view out here.”
She walked beside him and then behind as they made their way out to the front porch that wrapped around the front half of the house. He urged her over to the porch swing, lined up perfectly to watch the first rays come over the horizon. Davina was still sleepy and used that for a reason to put her head on his chest. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Marcel leaned back, loving the feel of her against him. “Not at all.” She felt right laying on him like that.
***
Davina didn’t know what she felt, but after their morning together and the moment she had thought he would kiss her, she was feeling some kind of way about her boss. There was no making it something that it wasn’t. She wanted him badly and though he didn’t seem to realize how much, she was going slightly mad with need.
Marcel was ever the gentlemen. Helping her whenever he could, but the touch would only last as long as needed. When he helped her up on the horse for their ride, his fingers only lingered long enough for him to get her squared away and then he had moved back, putting distance between their bodies. It drove her mad and the ride itself didn’t help when they stopped for a rest. He was hot and took his shirt off and not only was she jealous that she couldn’t do the same, but she was also dying to touch the bare skin revealed.
He had seemed to not realize the affect he had on her and she had tried her best not to show it. Davina didn’t know how good of a job she did, but she did know that he had driven her to the point of insanity and her body wanted him to stop being such a gentleman and take her like his eyes told her he would.
“Are you ready to go Davina?”
She looked up and smiled at the man on her mind. He was constantly there and she wondered how the week would be different now that they had spent so much time together, sharing so much about themselves to one another.
“Yeah, though I can see why you don’t want to leave this place.”
“It grows on you, doesn’t it?”
“It does. I wish we could stay longer, but it’s back to work in the morning.”
He sighed with her and then shrugged. “There is always next weekend. The way my mother is acting, she is already itching to get out of the bed and back to work.”
Davina nodded and packed the last few things in her bag. She was going slow, not wanting to admit that there time together was almost over. She didn’t want it to be over. She wanted to stay there with him forever, but that was not to be. Davina reminded herself that she was independent, had a good job and couldn’t throw everything away for a man, even one as wonderful as Marcel.
“Will you be leaving as soon as she is back?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation from him. He couldn’t get out of the city fast enough and he was still convinced that he was going to lure her back home with him. The way the day had went, Marcel felt like he was on his way to making that happen. “I can’t wait till I don’t have to leave the ranch. This is where I grew up and where I want to raise my family one day.”
Davina liked when he talked about the future. She wanted her own family and the backdrop was idyllic there at the Callahan Ranch, but something held her back from even thinking of a life like that. “It would be a good place to grow up for children. I certainly wouldn’t want to raise a family in the city. That’s why I have waited till I am older and have fulfilled myself with my career first.”
“Your career means a lot to you?”
She nodded and didn’t catch the sadness that took over his eyes. Davina was still young and not ready to settle down. Marcel was. He was several years older and with renewed pressures for him to do just that, it almost made her off-limits. Marcel didn’t have ten years to wait for her to do what she wanted to do in the business world.
“It does mean a lot. I guess I always figured if you have kids early, that takes away chances of ever getting anywhere.”
He shrugged, not sure what to say. “I never had that drive, though I guess I didn’t have to. I will always have work here and it is what I like to do. It doesn’t get much better than that for me.”
Marcel grabbed her bag and started out of the room with a frown on his face. She wasn’t ready yet and he couldn’t get over that disappointment. He cursed Elna for putting the hurriedness into him. Marcel hadn’t worried about women and marriage before, but now it was all he could think about. Maybe he was just projecting and the feelings he felt were just him trying to feel something.
As soon as he thought it though, his mind rejected the idea. Davina was someone special and maybe he just had to learn to be patient.