The Lies Uncovered Trilogy (Books 4, 5, and 6 of The Dancing Moon Ranch Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the party, after she had a couple of drinks and started dragging on a joint someone passed around to her, and some nameless guy pulled her onto his lap and started doing things that seemed to heighten the effects of the booze and pot, everything became a blur, until Rick's face swam into view, confusing her and making her wonder how he got there, then remembering nothing until she was hit with a blast of icy water...
    A shadow fell over the entrance to the grotto. "I thought you might be here."
    Sophie looked up to see Rick's tall frame blocking the entry. Odd, she'd never noticed how thick his shoulders were until now, or the extent of his chest, nicely-defined beneath his white tee shirt. Even in the subdued light she saw that he had well-developed biceps, like he'd been working out, which surprised her. It had been over a year since she'd last seen him and it was like she'd left behind a boy and returned to find a man, and it was a whole new experience.
    "You gave me a hell of a scare," Rick said, making no move to come in. "I thought you took off walking to town. I drove half way there looking for you."
    "After last night, I would've thought you'd be glad to be rid of me," Sophie said, while moving lower into the water so he wouldn't see her naked below the surface, yet finding it a little tantalizing too, Rick seeing her that way. It would be a strange new concept, wanting Rick to see her in a sexual way. That had not been the kind of relationship they'd had over the years.
    Continuing to stand at the entry, Rick said, "You ready to talk now?"
    "No," Sophie replied. "I came here to listen to the sounds and sort things out on my own. It works better that way." About the last thing she wanted was to rehash with Rick what happened at the party. She'd managed to block it out of her mind, or at least the pot and alcohol allowed her to do that. Accusing him of being impotent right before all but demanding he have sex with her, and talking about that, was another. But she did intend to set a few things straight. "Just for the record. I didn't like what was going on at the party," she said, "but I'm not going back to living like a nun either, so don't try to lecture me on that."
    "Yeah, well, just for the record, I can get it up," Rick said, "but you're not where I'm going to put it, to lay it out to you in your new vocabulary, but that doesn't mean I'll turn my back on what's going on with you right now either, and we are going to talk."
    To Sophie's shocked surprise, Rick shrugged out of his tee shirt, tugged off his boots and socks, stripped down to his briefs and started into the pool. Even in the dusky twilight of the cavern she could see he was aroused beneath his briefs, which elicited a strange feeling low in her belly, which disturbed her. They'd been friends since they were kids and it never occurred to her to look at him in any other way. The odd thing was, after the cold shower, when she stood in front of him wearing only a towel, she'd wanted him to take her virginity because she felt rebellious and defiant and was determined to go against everything her parents had preached over the years. Now, things were different. Having sex with Rick wasn't an option. It took her out of her comfort zone with him. She also suspected he'd stripped down to his briefs to prove he wasn't what she'd accused him of.
    Eyeing him across the water, she said, "I'm sorry about what I said last night. Obviously you don't have a problem. But it bothers me that you're like that with me. That's not the way it's supposed to be with us."
    "I'm a man," Rick said. "It happens, so forget what's going on and either listen to the sounds or talk things out."
    "I'll listen to the sounds," Sophie said, wondering why she hadn't countered Rick with the kind of verbal sparring she had in the past. Instead, she closed her eyes and rested her head against the rock sidewall and said nothing. Still, she couldn't seem to let go of the image of the well-muscled