How to Wrangle a Cowboy (22 page)

He touched the small of her back as she swayed. Worried he’d think she was hesitating, she took a step forward, but she wasn’t sure where this was headed. Was she staying or going? She looked up at him for an answer and felt that now-familiar heat as her face pinked in a blush.

Dang.
She was in a perpetual state of flustered embarrassment whenever he was around. He probably thought she was intellectually challenged and had a sunburn.

Nodding toward a door on the far side of the living area, he followed her as she crossed the small living area.

The bedroom behind the door was unnaturally neat. The bed was smooth and unrumpled under a blue-and-brown plaid comforter, and the nightstand held a lamp. Just a lamp. No pocket change, no old receipts.

Obviously, this wasn’t his bedroom. She felt absurdly disappointed.

“Where do you sleep?” she asked. “This looks like the guest room.”

“On the sofa, mostly.” He looked a little embarrassed. “It doesn’t seem worth it to mess up the bed for just me. Plus I can hear Cody if he needs anything. I worry he’ll forget where he is or sleepwalk. The loft could be dangerous.” He looked down at the floor, then back up at her. It was as if he’d taken a moment to decide how much of himself he should share. “I still can’t quite believe I’ve got him back. I don’t want any closed doors between us.”

Her heart stopped its frantic dancing and melted into a glob of sweet, sticky goo.

“You’re a good dad.”

“I hope so,” he said. “I have a lot of years to make up for.”

“From what I’ve heard, that wasn’t your fault.”

“I guess.” He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Why are we talking about this?” His voice was low now, low and sexy, and he briefly grazed her lips with his own. “We have way better things to do.”

She opened to him without a shred of shyness. It was a good kiss, a
cozy
kiss, the kind where both of them smiled all the way through. But then he touched, with one cautious finger, the dimple on her left cheek. She felt a sudden rush of warmth and curled her arms around his neck as her heart unstuck itself and danced a happy Wild West hoedown. Who knew a dimple could be an erogenous zone?

Shane Lockhart did. As a matter of fact, he knew a lot of things. His lips were gentle, and his breath was scented with mint. His kiss held so many feelings—affection, regret, desire—especially desire.

When he finally pulled away, she felt like she was glowing from the inside out.

“Dang.” He traced her brows, the straight line of her nose, her lips. “You’re so beautiful. And there’s a light in you—a kindness that makes you glow. I think you get it from Grace.”

She smiled. “I think you’re half in love with my grandmother.”

“Who isn’t? But it’s you I want. The real you, not just the parts that are like Grace.” He kissed her again, lightly. “I want the part of you that went off to school, even though you grew up rich.”

She hadn’t been rich, really, but she could see why he thought so. As a child, she’d never realized what the ranch was worth, and when her mother passed away, she and her dad had been left with so many medical bills they’d lost the house. But Shane didn’t need to know that.

He kissed her again. “I want the part of you that worked hard, even though she married a doctor.” And again. “I even want the part of you that defied Bud and married the wrong man.”

“The stupid part? You really want that part?”

“The strong part. The sure part.” He ran his finger down her nose again, then traced the line of her jaw. “The part that stands up for herself. You wouldn’t have run if you’d been in Tara’s position. You’d have stayed and made the best of it.”

“Some people would say I’m running now,” she murmured, nesting her fingers in the slight tuft of chest hair revealed by the neck of his shirt.

He circled her upper arms with his big hands, looking down at her with eyes that seemed to see into her soul. “You ran to the right place.”

* * *

Gently tugging at a lock of hair, Shane forced Lindsey to face him. When she did, those eyes were just inches away—those eyes and those lips.

The kiss was different this time. Shane had kissed her gently before, and he’d kissed her passionately. But those kisses had been about attraction—about the desperate way they wanted each other. This kiss was about respect. About caring. There was something new there, something perilously close to love.

She wasn’t sure a man had ever kissed her like that. Shane might not be much for telling her how he felt, but he seemed more than willing to show her. With a tiny whimper she was sure she’d be embarrassed about later, she did her best to put her own feelings into the way she kissed him back.

Or was she imagining things? Maybe it was all wishful thinking. Maybe he was using her.

There was an open window above the bed, and she could hear the distant call of a poor-will and the buzz of nighthawks as they swooped for insects in the dying light. The whispering breeze that caressed her skin carried her secrets far, far away, where no one would ever know she’d gone and fallen for the foreman.

The man’s dark eyes and quick mind had penetrated every mask she’d worn over the past few weeks. She felt as if he saw the real Lindsey—the smart but insecure, slightly lost person who knew she needed to change her life but had no idea what direction to go.

“Earth to Lindsey.”

“Sorry,” she said. “I was just thinking.”

“You were worrying.” He touched the little crease that formed between her brows when she fretted. “There’s nothing to worry about. Just be with me. Just for now.”

“Zen cowboy, living in the moment.” She touched his lips with one finger, tracing the seam and marveling at how perfectly made he was, like a sculpture. “I like that.”

He stroked her hair back, then cupped her face in both hands and kissed her again. She felt as if the two of them were wrapped in a warm shroud of mutual bliss, and every wall she’d built to protect her heart came tumbling down. If he was using her, she didn’t care. He was making her happier than she’d ever been in her life.

He gently lifted the hem of her T-shirt and swept it up and over her head. She relished his sharp intake of breath when he saw her breasts, cupped, thank goodness, in one of her prettier bits of underwear.

Slowly, he stroked one finger down her chest and into her cleavage, his eyes filled with something she’d never seen there before—a sense of wonder. Reaching back, she started to unclip her bra, but he put out a hand to stop her.

“Jeans first.”

So he was giving orders now? She supposed she should have balked, but she liked it. She liked it a lot.

“All right.” As she stood and unbuckled her belt, she gave him a saucy smile that trembled at the edges with nerves, excitement, and heart-pounding anticipation. “But you have to take off something too.”

His shirt was gone before she could even kick off her boots, and she was momentarily distracted. She’d seen him shirtless before, of course, working in the barn, mowing the lawn, and best of all, playing football with Cody.

But then she’d had to sneak peeks when he wasn’t looking. Now, she had full license to stare, and stare she did. His pecs were square and perfect, with dark nipples and a dusting of hair that teased the taut muscles of his abs and disappeared into his jeans. He’d already undone the snap, and she could see a tantalizing V of paler skin in the opening.

With one leg half-out of her jeans, she balanced on the other. She probably looked like a shell-shocked flamingo—until she fell over.

Onto the bed, fortunately. Laughing, Shane caught her and kissed her again, his hands busy helping with her jeans, her bra, her panties. Next came his own, and suddenly, they were both naked, with no barriers between them.

Nothing hidden, no secrets.

His hands stroked her skin, leaving a trail of tingling nerves behind. Starting with her breasts, he traced her curves, lingering in surprising places—the smooth, tender skin at the sides of her breasts, the dip between hip bone and belly, the smooth spot behind her knee. He explored her body in such minute detail, she wondered why she wasn’t embarrassed. Maybe it was because she felt so appreciated. He touched her with reverence and occasionally murmured a soft, wordless sound that sounded to her like approval.

She found her own hands wandering, exploring him in the same way. With Rodger, she’d had goal-oriented sex; she’d wanted a baby, and he’d wanted an orgasm. Then, after Daniel, she’d simply wanted to make him come so he’d leave her alone.

The memory hurt until she remembered that even in the early days, she hadn’t really enjoyed sex with Rodger. She’d wondered then if something was wrong with her, if she didn’t feel what other women felt.

Well, she was feeling it now. Her whole body was alight, every nerve tingling with pleasure. Obviously, Rodger simply hadn’t been man enough for her.

She giggled at the thought and Shane gave her a quizzical smile.

“Sorry,” she said. “I just had a thought.”

He lowered his brows, faking anger. “I told you, no thinking.”

“You said no worrying. But I was just
thinking.
”

Gently, he closed his teeth on her shoulder. “What were you thinking about?”

She purred. “I was thinking you’re more of a man than I’m used to.”

He flashed a predatory grin that told her she’d been right.

Oh, this was going to be good
.

* * *

Other women had come to Shane’s cabin, for one night or even, in one case, three. But when Cody arrived, his love life had screeched to a halt. He didn’t want his son to be subjected to a parade of “mommies” that appeared at the breakfast table, then never returned.

Lindsey was the first woman he’d allowed near his son. He hadn’t had much of a choice, of course, but looking down at her, with her bright smile and smooth skin, her laughing eyes and lovely mouth, he thought he might like to have an actual relationship for once.

Not that he really knew what that meant. He’d failed miserably the one time he’d tried, with Tara. After her, he’d done his best to make sure the women he slept with had no expectations.

But Lindsey made him want something more than a one-night stand. Not only was she great with Cody, softhearted, and wise to the ways of the West; she also seemed to enjoy sex as much as he did. Maybe more.

Right now, she was exploring his body with her small, smooth hands. They glided over his chest, traced the ridges and hollows of his ribs, and explored the crease that ran from his hips to his groin with a gliding motion that made his breath catch.

“Go slow,” he said. “I want this to last.”

“Me too.”

Her voice was breathless and light. Everything about her was so delicate, so feminine, that she made him feel more of a man. He wanted to protect this woman, to keep her safe. He wanted her to lean on him. Depend on him.

He’d never wanted that from a woman before.

He kissed her again, doing his best to show her how he felt. He sure as hell couldn’t tell her, since he didn’t understand it himself. There were no words for the connection between them, but when her tongue met his in a sinuous dance of seduction, he knew they’d found a secret language, one made up of quick breaths and sighs, touches and tender looks.

Holding himself above her, he changed the mood of his kisses from tender to teasing and back again, then worked his way down her body, kissing her neck, her shoulders, her beautiful breasts.

He laid a row of kisses down the center of her belly, then pressed a line of them across the crease of each hip. Moaning, she opened to him, letting him see that her secret center was slick with desire.

She tasted like honey, strawberry wine, and soft, willing woman. He felt her muscles clench as she arched her back and moaned, responding to every stroke, every touch. Slowing his pace, he made her purr with pleasure before he softly fluttered his tongue over the sweet nub of her desire.

She sucked in a breath that sounded like shock mingled with pleased surprise, and he closed his lips and sucked, thrumming his tongue against her until her body tightened like a strung bow.

She rocked her hips once, twice, then a third time, and he brought his fingers into the mix—stroking, probing, gliding inside her until she moaned and writhed. She responded to every move, twisting and moaning, then suddenly grew quiet.

Lifting his head, he looked up the long, pale line of her body, past her breasts with their peaked nipples, and saw that she’d thrown her head back in ecstasy. Her long hair swirled over the pillow in flowing curves, and her brow was furrowed.

Was he hurting her? He shifted his weight and lightened his touch, but she looked even more distressed.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed. “Don’t stop. Just do…that…more.”

He tilted his head back, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his jaw. He was going to lose it himself, just from hearing her say that.

But this was about her, so he had to hold back. Opening his eyes, he did “that” more—and a few other things too.

God, he loved to touch her. He wanted this all the time—every night and every minute of the day. He’d never known a woman to be so responsive, so easy to—to love.

He could feel himself falling. He knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t remember why.

So he let go of everything—of conscious thought and self-imposed rules, of all the risks that didn’t seem to matter anymore—and let himself fall.

Chapter 27

Lindsey couldn’t believe the intensity of the feelings Shane called up in her. When Rodger had done this—well, he hadn’t done this, actually, but when he’d tried—it had felt like a medical procedure. He’d told her surgeons, with their talented fingers, made the best lovers. Well, surgeons didn’t operate with their tongues, did they? And that was the skill that mattered.

She almost laughed at the thought, but then Shane touched the tip of his tongue to just the right spot, right where she needed him—there,
there
—and it was even better.

Amazing.