Ultimate Texas Bachelor

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  There was a flicker of concern in his eyes, as if he had something on his mind. Then he shifted gears and said, “How about we make something together?”

  Lainey found his casual tone disturbing. Was she reading more into his sympathy—and his passionate kisses of just hours earlier—than there was? This was, after all, a man with a string of abruptly started and abruptly ended romances behind him. Pretending she wasn’t the least bit unnerved by her growing feelings for him, she stuck her hands in the pockets of her trim black skirt. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

  “Can’t, really. But I can grill. And as you’ll note—” he pointed to the box sitting next to the back steps “—Lewis brought home charcoal and a grill for me to put together. So if you can wait for me to get a shower, I’ll assemble that and we can cook some steaks out here tonight.”

  “You don’t have to go to all that trouble,” she said.

  Brad flashed her a crooked smile. “It’s no trouble.” Without waiting for her to comment further, he disappeared inside the house and up the back staircase.

  He returned fifteen minutes later as Lainey was sliding a prepared salad into the fridge. She had two potatoes ready to go into the oven, broccoli ready to steam. And not nearly enough to do given how handsome and sexy he looked in jeans, boots and a navy button-up shirt. His hair was still damp from the shower, his jaw freshly shaven. As he neared her she caught the whiff of his aftershave lotion and her heart skipped a beat.

  Brad grinned as awareness roiled inside her. “Don’t you look as jumpy as a long-tailed cat around a rocking chair.”

  Lainey rolled her eyes but did not bother to dispute the truth. She was nervous.

  Brad plucked the screwdriver out of the toolbox in the pantry, then paused and gave her a hard look. His dark brow arched in surprise. He put down the tool needed to assemble the grill and crossed to her side. “Hey, you’re not worried about Petey, are you?”

  She felt breathless and confused. No, I’m worried about being alone with you. Worried that if we spend more time together on an intimate level, I’ll end up forgetting why I’m here, get in even deeper. Assuming she wasn’t already in much too deep….

  When Brad had kissed her this afternoon, she had moved from impulsively accepting comfort to wanton need in no time flat. Had they not been where they were—in his truck in broad daylight—she knew they would have ended up making love. And once would not have been enough.

  “Because I guarantee Travis will keep a good eye on them,” he enthused.

  He stepped closer, and her skin registered the heat. Hands on her shoulders, he grinned at her in a way that sent her pulse skyrocketing.

  “The triplets are going to be out there in the tent with them, camping cowboy-style, too, so…everything will be fine. Petey will have a great time.”

  “I know and I’m glad.” Maybe this was the time to get it out in the open. Talk about what happened earlier.

  “But just because Petey’s gone, and Lewis is gone…doesn’t mean that…”

  He drew closer, all six foot three inches of him brimming with a curiosity that was distinctly male. And distinctly disturbing. His gaze traveled over her, the desire in his eyes unmistakable as he gathered her in his arms, aligning her soft body against the harder length of his.

  “Doesn’t mean what?” he asked playfully, as if knowing what she was going to say.

  Lainey mocked him with a toss of her hair and planted both hands on the width of his chest. “That we…” She lost her train of thought as he pressed his lower body against hers. Her hips were lodged against the kitchen counter, making escape impossible, but she angled her head and chest back as best she could. Unfortunately, her evasive movement only served to plant her hips more firmly against his.

  “…have to pick up where we left off this afternoon?” He pretended not to notice the traitorous weakening of her knees and the heavy thudding of her heart. Just as she pretended not to notice the strength and heat of his desire.

  His eyes lit up as he removed her forearms from his chest, draped them over his shoulders, then brought his head down to hers. Their warm breaths met and blended. “Okay. I’m willing to go back to the beginning. Start over…”

  “Brad…”

  Lainey never finished the sentence. His lips were on hers in a kiss that exuded tenderness and caring, his sweet yearning to simply be with her. Just that simply, all the blossoming emotion she’d felt for Brad, all the passion, came flooding back. Her reservations receded as she was kissed into silence, seduced by the magnetism that made her want to be his. In that instant, the world fell away, and it was only the two of them, this moment in time. Lainey knew, more than anything, what she wanted from Brad. Closeness and love. The unconditional admiration and acceptance that had always eluded her. The desire only Brad could give her. With Brad, she felt she had the potential to be a whole person. Not just a wife or a mother or a woman who never quite measured up in the eyes of those around her.

  “Alone at last,” Brad murmured contentedly, kissing his way from her lips to her ear to the slope of her neck.

  No kidding, Lainey thought.

  He drew back. His gaze turned gentle. He traced the curve of her mouth with his fingertip, the fragile caress heating her blood. “I’m about to make a move on you,” he told her softly.

  A move she had been waiting for forever, it seemed. Although, it had only been a matter of days since their paths had crossed again, this time in an intimate and meaningful way.

  “So…” He framed her face with his hands, the raw vulnerability in his expression giving her the courage to acknowledge what had been in her heart all along. Flashing her a sexy grin, he teased as he tunneled his hands through her hair. “Speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

  Experience had taught Lainey that moments like this were fleeting, at best. As complicated as their situation was—even if he didn’t yet know it!—she wasn’t going to bypass the chance at love. “I’m not going to resist,” she told him, aware she wanted to make love with him so badly she ached. “I want this, too.” More than you’ll ever know….

  “Now we’re talking.” Grinning, he lowered his head and delivered a breath-stealing kiss that had her middle fluttering weightlessly and her nipples tingling. “Let’s get comfortable, woman.” He swept her up in his arms in a manner that was all the more possessive and carried her toward the stairs—not stopping until he had reached his bed.

  He lowered her to the floor and kissed her again, shattering whatever caution she had left. She surged against him, moaning, her arms coming up to wreathe his neck. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping her mouth, tasting, stroking, teasing, until her whole body was alive, quivering with sensations unlike any she had ever felt. It felt so good to be wanted, so right to be held against him this way. She melted against him helplessly. She could feel his arousal pressing, hot and urgent, through their clothing and yearned for closer contact.

  She stepped out of her shoes, then reached for the belt buckle, the zipper on his jeans. “And speaking of getting comfortable,” she teased as she eased him out of pants and shirt, shoes and shorts.

  His manhood sprang free and proud. The rest of him was just as masculine and beautiful. Rippling muscles. Smooth, satiny skin. Whorls of sable-brown hair. Lainey could have stood there admiring him forever.

  Brad had other ideas.

  “That, darlin’, works both ways.” Wanting her “more comfortable,” too, he reached for the hem of her knit top, drew it gently over her head. The zipper on her skirt was next. She trembled beneath his questing fingers as he divested her of bra and panties.

  Her whole body was quaking as he paused to admire her, before slipping those off, too.

  “You are so beautiful, so sexy,” he murmured.

  Wanting to savor everything about this night, Brad let his glance sift slowly over Lainey, then lowered her gently to his bed. She was stunning, any time of any day or night, but she had never looked more radiant th
an she did at that moment—her cheeks flushed, her silky cap of hair fanning out across his pillow, framing her beautiful face. His gaze moved over her full breasts, her supple waist, the inches of fair silky skin, before dropping to the shadowy vee. He knew it was way too soon for this to be happening, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to make her his. He kissed her breasts, the hollow of her stomach, softly stroked the insides of her thighs. Their lovemaking was wonderfully sensual, hot and wild. He took the lead. Lainey responded. Savoring the sweetness of her unexpected acquiescence to him, he stroked and licked and nibbled until perspiration beaded her body and she could barely breathe. She gasped, the whimper of sensation turning into a flood of ever-escalating need. Feeling her tremble uncontrollably, he slid up her body. Hard as a rock, he fit his lips over hers once again, demanding, coaxing, tempting, pleasing. Until there was no holding back, no denying the blistering need. Sensations ran riot through him as she arched her back, opened her knees and wrapped her arms around his back, her legs around his waist. He entered her with a long stroke. Her body closed around him, cloaking him in warmth. Savoring the intimacy and the wonder of it all, Brad moved inside her, slowly at first, then with more and more urgency. Lainey moaned against his mouth, her tongue twining urgently with his, taking up the same demanding rhythm as their bodies. The insides of her thighs rubbed the outsides of his. And then there was no more holding back, no more clinging to control, and Brad joined Lainey at the edge of ecstasy and beyond.

  “YOU REALIZE WHAT JUST HAPPENED is exactly what Bunny thinks has been happening all along,” Lainey murmured as they lay together in Brad’s bed.

  “Smart woman, that sister-in-law of yours,” he deadpanned, running a hand down her arm, eliciting delicious tingles everywhere he touched, as well as where he didn’t.

  “I’m serious.”

  His expression shifted from playful to compassionate. “I know you are,” he said gently. He moved so he was on top of her once again. The possessive look in his eyes made her catch her breath. “But Bunny’s not right about everything.”

  “She isn’t,” Lainey repeated, knowing if they made love again the way Brad clearly wanted to make love to her, she would not be able to blame their encounter solely on passion and a yearning for intimacy, for connection with someone that went soul-deep. Instead, she would be forced to admit their coming together this way—this soon—meant much more. Joining bodies again would be joining hearts and souls, and she would fall all the way in love with him. The vulnerability of a move like that scared her. Not sure she was ready to let him all the way into her heart, when he had yet to learn everything about her and the terrible fix she found herself in, she tensed.

  “No, she isn’t,” he replied firmly. Mistaking the reason behind her unease, he looked at her with all the gentleness she had ever wanted. “You can trust me, Lainey. This isn’t a fling. It isn’t a one-night stand or a temporary thing. What I feel for you is going to last.”

  Forever sounded pretty good to Lainey, too. But she knew it was too soon to be making such promises to each other, even if she was sure her feelings for Brad weren’t ever going to change, either. She let out a slow breath.

  “Things happen, Brad.”

  He continued to watch her in that unsettling way. “What are you talking about?” he asked in a low voice.

  I’m going to have to tell you the truth eventually, about the article I’m writing and researching for Personalities. Heck, I should have already done so, Lainey thought.

  Aware he was still waiting for her to continue, but too selfish to ruin what had been the most wonderful night of her entire life by confessing everything to him now, she merely said, “I’m not sure either of us can know how we’re going to feel one, two weeks from now, never mind six months down the line.”

  “Well, I do,” he told her confidently. He framed her face with his hands, his weight on her as soothing as a warm blanket on a winter’s night. “I’ve never felt this way about a woman before.” He looked at her lovingly as he traced her lip with the tip of his finger. “I’ve never trusted anyone the way I trust you.” He pushed aside the ends of her hair and kissed his way down the exposed line of her throat to the U of her collarbone. “Never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

  His heartfelt words only made her feel worse. Lainey splayed her hands across his chest, her fingers sliding through the thick mat of chest hair to the warm smooth muscle beneath. “Brad—”

  But it was too late, he was already claiming her body with his hands. Tendrils of white heat swept through her as his mouth moved sensually on the hollow between her breasts, then returned with devastating slowness to her mouth. She gulped in air, aware of the tantalizing warmth spreading through hard muscle and satiny skin, and lower still, the stirrings of his renewed desire. She’d never known such power as a woman. Never felt such an immediate, intense connection. When she was with him like this, the future shone hot and bright as the Texas sun.

  “I know my rep as a ladies’ man and a heartbreaker,” he said, pausing to kiss her full on the mouth again, “but all that’s behind me now. I want you, and only you. But if you want me to stop,” he murmured, arousing her as he kissed her once. And then again. And again. “I will.”

  Lainey moaned as his hand cupped the weight of her breast, his fingers closed over the nipple, massaging it into a point. The pleasure was almost as unbearably erotic as his kiss, and everything around her went hot and fuzzy except the seductive pressure of his mouth on hers.

  “No. Don’t stop.” She sighed her pleasure as Brad rolled so that she was lying on top of him.

  He brushed the hair from her face. “Sure now?”

  She let her lips come down on his, firm and sure. “Very,” she whispered back, knowing she was betting everything on the two of them and their ability to meet the very difficult challenges that lay ahead. “I want you,” she whispered, aware her heart was beating double-time as she gazed into his eyes. Lower still, where their bodies touched, there was an altogether too-familiar warmth pooling. Need, burning deep inside.

  He kissed her back, forcing her lips apart. “Show me how.”

  Determined to show him she could be as bold and exciting a lover as he was, Lainey kissed him leisurely, then knelt astride his thighs, letting the sheet that had been covering her fall away. Swallowing the rest of her inhibitions, she let him look his fill, then slid lower down his body. Her hands skimmed over his skin, touching, learning, loving, exploring. Aware she had never felt sexier in her life, Lainey shifted once again, using lips and teeth and tongue, taking him to the spontaneous combustion stage. More than anything she wanted this to be a mutual giving of pleasure.

  “Lainey,” he groaned, his eyes dark with wanting her, dark with need.

  He’d driven her mad with desire the first time they’d made love. Now she took him to the brink, until he could stand it no more, until he was reaching for her, insisting, then she was moving astride him once again. Slowly, she lowered herself, taking the hard, hot length of him deep inside. Then she drew herself up, so that she was once again on her knees. He brought her down to him, their mouths mating just as their bodies did, in one long, hot, delicious kiss. Then Brad shifted and she was beneath him once again. Moments later, as their bodies merged, it felt as if he was a part of her…heart and soul. And for the first time Lainey discovered what it meant to come together, as equals. She hadn’t known she could want a man like this. She hadn’t known she could give and take like this. But she did, she thought, as the passion overtook them once again.

  Chapter Eleven

  “What do you mean I’m in one of the New York City newspapers?” Brad asked the person on the other end of the telephone the following morning as he and Lainey lingered over breakfast in the ranch house kitchen. They had been up most of the night making love, yet both were still filled with adrenaline and energy. Until now, they hadn’t been able to stop smiling or kissing or touching.

  Whatever Brad wa
s hearing from the person on the other end of the connection was putting a damper on his spirits, fast.

  He grimaced. “I’ll check the Internet. Thanks.” He hung up the phone.

  “What’s going on?” Lainey asked, surveying the haunted look in his eyes.

  “Come with me and we’ll find out.” Brad headed for his office, where he fired up his computer. Seconds later, he was on the Web site he’d been told to read. Sure enough, there was a publicity picture of Brad taken during one of the Heart Ceremonies on Bachelor Bliss. He was handing a woman an engraved invitation to stay on for future episodes, but where the contestant had stood was a blacked-out silhouette of a woman and a large white question mark, under the caption His cheating heart.

  Lainey scanned the accompanying article along with Brad.

  Who would have guessed heartbreaking bachelor Brad McCabe would be caught in the arms of a mystery woman in a Dallas motel parking lot yesterday afternoon. Witnesses said the beautiful, blond mystery woman was as distressed as the handsome hunk to be caught canoodling in broad daylight, by a bunch of teenage girls. A check with the motel in question noted Brad McCabe had not checked in yet, nor did he have a reservation under his own name, so no telling what his original plans were for the hot summer afternoon. When contacted, ex-flame Yvonne Rathbone was quoted as saying tearfully, “The secret’s out. I think he was involved with her all along!”

  “What?” Brad erupted, as he finished reading the nationally syndicated gossip column the same time as Lainey. “I don’t believe that witch!”

  “Why would Yvonne say you were cheating on her?” she asked, her brain already going into reporter mode.

  “Because she doesn’t want people to know what really—”

  “What?” she demanded, frustrated he hadn’t finished. Darn it all, she wanted to be able to clear his name! Get his reputation back for him.