“Now,” she finally said, “I’m ready for everything. A fulfilling career and hopefully, a loving, stable relationship. Maybe I don’t deserve that, but I want it.”
She made him want that, too.
“I already have contracts with four nonprofit clients Shea sent my way. They were too small for her, but perfect for me. So, to answer your question, I’m not really looking for a husband, but I’m definitely trying not to attract the wrong kind of guys anymore.” She leaned her head back against the seat and laughed. “I’m not very good at that, am I?”
“On the contrary. I think you’re very good at not finding the wrong type of guys.” Eric took her hand in his again. “Maybe it’s your definition of wrong that’s off.”
Chapter Three
WESTON, COLORADO, WAS a small ranch town, markedly different from the fast-paced city life Kat was used to. Here, dressing up meant a nice pair of Levi’s and shinin’ your boots, and she loved it. She’d been to Hal Braden’s ranch a number of times, but the breathtaking view of rolling hills and green pastures never failed to fill her with a peaceful feeling, which shockingly overrode the nervous energy of riding in the rental car in close proximity to Eric. Small talk had come surprisingly easy, even if most of it was laced with flirty comments and naughty innuendos. The more time Kat spent with Eric, the more she liked him. But she couldn’t ignore the warning bells going off in her head. The man was a definite player, and she was over that part of her life.
It was well after midnight when they finally pulled down Hal’s dark driveway.
As they stepped from the car, Eric pointed to the horses in the pasture. “Do you ride?”
“No, but it’s on my list of fears to conquer.”
“How’s that going for you? Conquering your fears?”
Kat watched her handsome driver with interest as he rounded the car and grabbed his bags from the trunk. He’d asked her several personal questions on the drive over, like what she did with her time now that Brianna was gone and how her best friend traveling so much affected their relationship. Most guys wouldn’t give a hoot about such things, or even think to ask. She liked that about him. He wasn’t as self-centered as she’d originally pegged him.
“Okay,” she finally answered. “I’ve got a few left to overcome.”
“Like?”
“Gosh, I don’t know. Like flying, maybe, as you saw.”
“You did great on the plane tonight.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can do better. And my other fears are sort of silly. I know you’ll laugh, but I used to be afraid of driving fast.”
He arched a brow.
“Don’t worry. I totally love driving fast now. Of course, fast in Richmond means sixty-five miles per hour. Nothing like the high speeds you and Hugh drive.” She reached for her bag, and he touched her hand.
“I’ve got it.”
“It’s okay. I can take it.” She didn’t want to lead him on, but there was no denying the heat between them, which had only gotten stronger on the drive over.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to sleep with me for me to carry your bag.” His lips quirked up, and before she could respond, he added, “But you’ll want to, and who am I to try to dissuade you?”
Hell, yeah, she wanted to—but she couldn’t go there. Not at the Braden ranch and not with a man who’d already proved that he could easily turn her world upside down—and would then move on.
“Eric, I’m not sleeping with you again.” No matter how much I want to.
He closed the trunk, and with moonlight shining down on his gorgeous face and his eyes boring into her, he stepped closer and said, “If the airport was all we’ll ever have, then how about one final kiss?”
“A kiss?” She was already salivating at the thought.
“One kiss.” He stepped closer, causing their thighs to brush, and she felt the heat of him from her head to her toes and in all the best places in between. “Then that’s it. A send-off, if you will.”
“A send-off.” This guy was trouble with a capital T. She’d like to get him off, not send him off.
The darkening of his eyes told her that he didn’t miss the breathlessness she felt. He ran his fingers through her hair, settling his warm palm over the nape of her neck and sending a now slightly familiar rush of anticipation through her.
“Tell me no,” he said in a rich voice, “and I’ll back off.”
No, was on the tip of her tongue, but it got lost somewhere between please and kiss me now. She clutched the waist of his pants, unsure of her voice, and hoped he’d take it as confirmation that she wanted the kiss just as much as he did.
“Kat,” he whispered against her lips. “You’re not going to be able to forget me. I won’t let you.”
He sealed his lips over hers, and their bodies bumped, causing the bag he had slung over his shoulder to slide down his arm and crash against their hips. They both smiled for a blink of an eye, and then his mouth was claiming hers again, pulling her in to his taste, his scent, the slick slide of his tongue over hers. She tried to hold on to her thoughts—make it a short kiss, a short farewell—but his hand sank to her ass, pressing her against his formidable erection, and her thoughts spun away. No man had ever tasted so good, tested her resolve so aggressively.
When their lips finally parted, she kept her eyes closed, reveling in the electric currents coursing through her body, the stinging of her lips, the ache of desire in her loins. His fingers brushed through her hair, and she heard him exhale a soulful breath as his forehead touched hers. She opened her eyes and found him looking at her in a way he hadn’t before. His gaze was tender, a little confused, and intense with something more than desire. She wanted to take a picture and disappear into that look for hours.
“Who are you, Kat Martin?” he whispered. “You feel so familiar, like I’ve known you forever.”
The porch light turned on, and neither of them moved. She wasn’t sure they even breathed. The sound of the front door opening broke through her foggy brain. She forced herself to swallow the thick taste of desire and take a step back. But their eyes held, and she had a strange feeling that she’d left a piece of herself with him.
ERIC COULDN’T SHAKE the feeling that he’d met Kat before. He searched her eyes, looking for some sense of recognition beyond the obvious, but he sensed he was alone in his recognition. The relief was bittersweet. She stirred memories of his troubled youth, memories that he usually kept buried so deep that no one could unearth them. Only these memories were laced with something pleasurable. Fleeting feelings of happiness that broke through his treacherous upbringing.
Kat touched her lips, as if she could hold in the heat of their kiss, but it was the lingering look of desire in her eyes that told him there was no way in hell she was going to forget their kiss. He knew he couldn’t. How could he when she was so sweet, so sexy, and sparked such good feelings inside him?
He slung her bag over his shoulder and stepped in close as Hugh and Brianna descended the porch steps. Kat was nibbling on her lower lip again, watching their friends approach, and he could read the worry filling her eyes. He touched her hand, prepared to reassure her that he wasn’t going to say anything to Hugh and Brianna, when her eyes narrowed.
“That never happened,” she said harshly before pasting a smile on her lips and hurrying into Brianna’s open arms.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Brianna hugged her. “And I’m so glad you met Eric. How did you guys hook up?”
Kat’s smile fell flat, a beat that Hugh obviously didn’t miss as he shot a quizzical look at Eric.
“We met in the rental car line,” he explained quickly, “and decided to save a few bucks.” Kat’s relieved sigh was a nod of approval.
“I’m so glad. Come on. The kids and Hal are asleep, of course, but I’ll get you settled in your room.” Brianna and Kat headed for the house.
Both men were well over six feet, and they stood eye to eye. The coy look in Hugh’s dark eyes w
asn’t lost on Eric as he embraced his friend.
“Good to see you, Hugh.”
“It’s been a while. How was your trip?” Hugh closed the trunk of the car, and they headed down the gravel path toward the front door.
“Great. No issues other than the delays.”
They’d known each other since their early racing days, when they’d shared everything from secrets to women. But love had changed Hugh, and even now, a few years and a baby later, Eric could see the fulfilled look in his friend’s eyes.
“Want to talk about the vibe you two are giving off?” Hugh asked.
Hugh had been too good of a friend to Eric for him to lie to him, but he also had the unexpected urge to protect Kat’s privacy.
“She’s a gorgeous woman. I’m a good-looking guy. We’re gonna have some kind of vibe.” Easy enough and not a lie.
“There is truth in that statement, my friend.” They climbed the porch steps, and Hugh touched Eric’s arm before opening the door. “Eric, how are you really? Anything new on the parental front?”
Nothing like starting with the hardest subject. “I’m well, and no. Nothing new. They live their simple, and thankfully sober, lives, and I live mine. I’m glad to be here, though, Hugh. Nothing beats a weekend at Hal’s.” Eric had gotten a job at the racetrack when he was fifteen, and a mechanic had taken him under his wing. At sixteen, he’d moved out. Eric had thought about reaching out to his parents many times those first few years, but it had been too painful seeing the people who were supposed to care for him being unwilling to care for themselves. And later, when they’d finally cleaned up their lives, they were still disinterested in him. To this day, their interaction was minimal.
Hugh searched his friend’s eyes, and Eric wondered what he saw there. The longing for a childhood he’d never have, unresolved anger toward his parents, or the longing for a woman who had somehow infiltrated the walls he’d built around himself and who’d overtaken his thoughts in the space of a few hours.
“Well, bro,” Hugh said. “You’re here now. Let’s get you settled in.”
Settling in wasn’t something Eric had ever been good at, but between the Bradens’ welcoming arms and the knowledge that Kat was inside, he wanted to try.
Chapter Four
AFTER A SLEEPLESS night of beating herself up for what she’d done with Eric, Kat decided to forgive herself. After all, she was only human, and Eric James was some kind of sexual god. Any woman would have given in to his sweet seduction.
Now if she could only stop thinking about him.
That wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon. She’d spent the entire night reliving their last kiss, playing over the sound of his voice when he’d said he felt like he’d known her forever. She couldn’t deny feeling a thread of familiarity when they’d kissed in the driveway, but she’d assumed it was because they’d been kissing in the airport and those kisses were still fresh on her mind. As was the rest of what they’d done.
It was almost six o’clock Saturday morning, and Kat was sitting on the back patio, listening to the sounds of the ranch coming to life. She’d always been an early riser, and with the time difference between Virginia and Colorado, her body thought it was eight o’clock. The sun peeked over the mountains, sending ribbons of pink across the sky, and not for the first time, she wondered what it would be like to live someplace like this, away from the noises and smells of the city and surrounded by family. Hal’s sons Treat and Rex owned the neighboring properties to the ranch. She knew Treat and his family were away at one of the many resorts he owned. She’d seen Rex, a burly cowboy with linebacker shoulders and long, ink-black hair topped with an ever-present Stetson, down by the barn when she’d come outside. Rex ran his father’s ranch, and it seemed to Kat that he worked from dawn to dusk.
“You look a million miles away,” Eric said as he came through the patio doors, looking devastatingly handsome in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt that stretched tight over his muscular chest and biceps. His voice still carried the grogginess of sleep, and his hair was standing on end, as if he’d just rolled out of bed. She wondered if that was his daily look, sexily rumpled.
He sat in the chair beside her, and she noticed his feet were bare, and for whatever reason, it upped his sexy factor even more. She loved a man who was confident and comfortable in his own skin, and Eric was the epitome of both. She smiled, taking in the warmth in his eyes and the absence of the intensity she’d seen last night.
“Just thinking about what it would be like to live here,” she answered.
He handed her his coffee mug. “Sip?”
“Sure. Thanks.” She closed her eyes, savoring the warm liquid. “You take cream and sugar, too. That’s convenient.”
“I’m sure we have a lot in common,” he said as she set the mug in his hand. He raised his index finger and placed it over hers, holding her hand gently in place.
Her pulse quickened. Guys hit on her all the time at the bar and she never paid them any mind. But something about Eric made her entire body take notice, and most curiously, her heart warmed when he was near.
He smiled and released her finger. Even without his touch, their threaded connection remained, and she tried again to remind herself that he was a one-night stand, not a potential boyfriend.
“I have a place in upstate New York like this, in the Silver Mountains. I don’t have horses like Hal does, but I’ve got about a hundred acres of wooded mountain property with a stream that runs through it. It’s nice. Quiet.”
“Sounds beautiful. Do you spend a lot of time there?”
He sipped his coffee and shook his head. “Between my race schedule and my charity efforts, I don’t get as much time there as I’d like.”
She wondered how much of his time was spent chasing women, too, and it bothered her that she cared.
“I figured you’d be tired after our late night. I expected to be alone for the sunrise.” He took another sip of his coffee and gazed out over the mountain.
“You came out specifically to watch the sunrise?”
He nodded. “I always do when I’m here. There’s nothing more beautiful than a Colorado sunrise.” He brushed her hair from her shoulder. “Except, it appears I was wrong. You’re far more beautiful than the sunrise.”
She laughed. “There you go again, showing me all your mouthy talents.”
“You haven’t even begun to see how talented my mouth can be.” He rubbed his scruffy chin. “But that wasn’t a line, even though it sounded like one. I’m sorry if I came across too strong, or managed to turn you off in some way, but I’m not going to deny how attracted to you I am.”
She felt her cheeks heat up and shifted her eyes away. He turned her chin, so she had no choice but to look at him.
“Are you embarrassed by my honesty or turned off by it?” His gaze was serious, his words sincere, and she felt her heart warming again.
“Do you always say what you’re thinking?”
“Yes. My filter is set rather low.” He smiled and handed her his mug again, which she gladly took. She needed caffeine for this conversation. “Do you always avoid answering questions that make you uncomfortable?”
“Do you like to make me uncomfortable?” She couldn’t stop herself from playing along. He was different from any man she’d ever met, and as much as his directness repeatedly caught her off guard, she was completely drawn to it, to him.
“That’s a loaded question.” He turned in his chair, bringing his leg between hers. His hand came to rest on her knee, but his heated gaze never wavered. “I might be purposely trying to push your buttons, but it’s only because I find you incredibly attractive and interesting.” He leaned in close, sucking all the air from her lungs. “Were you able to forget our kiss?”
Her lips tingled with the reminder.
“Tell me something, Kat. Do you remember every man’s kisses like you remember mine?”
Hell no.
“Do you still feel my lips on yours? The pre
ss of our mouths, the slicking of my tongue over yours? Do you still taste me the way I still taste you?” His thumb stroked slow circles on her knee, making it hard for her to think. “Last night when you were in bed, did you close your eyes and remember the feel of me filling you up the way I remembered the tight hold your body had on me?”
He paused, and she didn’t know if it was for effect or because he saw that she was no longer breathing. Either way, she was thankful, because her body was so tightly wound that he nearly had her coming apart with nothing more than words—and that damn thumb of his, which was sending pinpricks of desire racing up her thigh.
He lifted his hand from her leg, leaving a wave of cold air behind, and he cupped her cheek, brushing that talented thumb over her lower lip. She could barely breathe as he leaned in even closer.
Kiss me.
“All night I thought about what it would be like to wake up with you in my arms. To kiss you good morning and feel your body soft and warm against mine. I want to kiss you, Kat. One kiss.”
She didn’t think before the whisper left her lips. “Kiss me.”
He pressed his lips to hers lightly, warm and sweet. Her insides quivered at the tenderness of this unobtrusive kiss, the delicious feel of his mouth touching hers. When he pulled away without deepening the kiss, she had a burning desire for more, and that’s when her brain began kicking into gear again. She shook her head, trying to ward off the dreamy intimacy he’d suffused her with. What was she doing?
“Last night was supposed to be our last kiss,” she reminded him.
He smiled. “Did you want it to be?”
She pushed to her feet, feeling agitated and annoyed at the way her body thrummed from his touch. She was frustratingly turned on. No, she didn’t want that to be their last kiss, but she didn’t want a weekend fling, either. He was watching her as she paced the patio, and that annoyed her even more, because she knew he sensed her frustration and was just letting her pace it off. That should piss her off, but it was another goddamn turn-on, the way he was so in tune with everything about her. She’d never met a man who looked that closely into her feelings or her actions.
Daring Her Love Page 4