“The only reason I kissed Rosalie was because I was raw inside from watching you and John. I apologized to her afterward, and to her parents.”
That was so like the Tanner she knew so well and loved so much. She leaned back then, just her head, to ask him, “Will you marry me, Tanner Maxwell?”
He didn’t say yes or no; instead, he answered with, “I have to warn you, besides a small savings account, I’m pretty much penniless.”
“I don’t care,” she said honestly.
He lifted a brow. “I’m not so certain I even have a job anymore.”
“I am. Walter knew you wouldn’t desert him. Matter of fact, we had a disagreement over who you’d have a stronger allegiance to.”
“Who won?”
The way he was looking at her lips had them trembling, and she had to lick them before answering, “Me.”
“Only because Walter can’t say no to you.”
His gaze was still alternating between her eyes and lips, and she couldn’t wait much longer. “What about you? Can you say no to me?”
“You know I can’t.”
“So you’ll marry me?”
“Yes.”
She barely had time to relish his answer when his lips touched hers and shattered her ability to think. He didn’t stop kissing her until she was so breathless and limp she may have entered a different universe for all she knew. Then as reality returned and she found herself truly home, she asked, “Tomorrow? You’ll marry me tomorrow?”
“I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t prepared to marry you tomorrow.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too,” he said. “I think I have since the day I found you in the barn, but having never felt it before, I didn’t know what it was. Not until Walter announced he’d sold the ranch to me. I knew then if I ever had to make a choice between the Double Bar and you, I’d choose you. Even if that meant walking away so you and another man could live here.”
“I don’t want to live anywhere without you,” she insisted. “Not ever again.”
Tanner kissed her again, and this time there was no coming up for air. The passion between them grew steamy and fiery, and nature stepped in, took its course. Tanner unbuttoned her shirt, teasing her with warm kisses and asking when he’d given her permission to wear his shirts.
Anna assured him he’d never given permission, but he’d never said she couldn’t either, and laughed while disagreeing that his shirts looked better on her than him. The shirt, along with the rest of her clothing and his, were soon forgotten.
Tanner lowered her onto the bed as if she was as fragile and breakable as her new keepsake box, and Anna liked that. It made her feel cherished and loved. Tanner’s words though, softly whispered and followed by kisses that had her body humming, were even more wonderful.
He took his time, caressing and teasing specific points on her body until she was wrought with desire so strong she could barely breathe. The promises he kept whispering of what was to come had her heart thumping and, when his mouth, warm and moist, found one of her nipples, she buried her hands in his hair while becoming so caught up in the sensation she sank deep into the mattress, relishing the intensity of it all.
There was more, though. His body was hard, taut with muscles and contours, and he tasted so wonderful, she couldn’t stop herself from suckling on his neck, his shoulders, or from running her hands along the length of his back when he shifted, positioning himself on the bed beside her.
Warmth spread through her loins as his hand slid over her stomach, across her hip and along her inner thigh. The smoldering heat there was like red coals, ready to burst into flame, and with the pressure of his touch, a gentle, firm weight was all it took.
“Tanner,” she gasped, “I can’t take much more.”
“I want you to be ready, so it doesn’t hurt.”
She grabbed his face, tugged his lips to meet her frantic ones. After a thorough kiss, she explained, “Trust me, the pain can’t be as bad as the waiting. It’s killing me.”
“You always were impatient,” he said.
“I’ve waited my entire life,” she insisted.
His kiss was more potent than any drug she’d read about, and the commotion he created between her thighs by entering her with his finger had her body aching and burning, begging for more. She grasped his sides and tugged for him to roll on top of her, knowing what she wanted, what she needed.
Finally he shifted, and Anna, unable to wait, tugged harder, wanting him to hurry. Just as she thought she might lose her mind from wanting, he entered her—barely. That’s when she knew a form of bliss mixed with torture. It wasn’t enough and she strained upward, opening for him to fully take her.
The strength and power of his body was magnificent, the feel of his muscles working beneath the skin as he tried to move slowly, captivating, yet Anna’s desire could no longer be held in check. She wrapped her legs around his thighs and arched her hips.
Not even the quick slice of pain made her flinch. She’d been on the brink, the very edge of existence, and that one swift movement brought her home.
She moaned aloud at the pleasure it instilled, and again when Tanner started moving. Each gliding thrust took her forward, toward some destination only the two of them knew about, and it became her one desire to arrive. Tremors overtook her body, and her hands, wrapped around Tanner’s upper arms, felt the way his arms shook.
Still, they traveled onward to that unknown destination, until she once again felt suspended, as when he’d kissed her in the barn. Momentarily hanging there, on some unexplainable plane, their gazes met, smiling as they arrived at the same time.
The calamity was divine, a perfect and just riot of sensations that burst between them. Offshoots spread through her system, wave after wave, and she held on to Tanner the entire time, as if they were on a boat together, riding the wild swells as one.
When everything slowed, Anna was so spent she didn’t have the energy to lift a finger, yet had never felt so wonderful. So complete.
Tanner rolled off her, kissing her shoulder as he snuggled up to her side, and leaned over her to gently ask, “Are you all right?”
Her vision was blurred; at least it should have been. However, there was no fog. His handsome face was crystal clear. Her brain took a moment to process everything, then with a nod, she replied, “Better than all right. I’m home.”
He lifted her hand then, kissed the fingertips before wrapping his fingers around hers.
“I guess Walter was right.”
“How’s that?” she asked.
“There are Christmas miracles. Angels, too.” He kissed the end of her nose. “All wrapped up in one little package. My bride-to-be.”
She laughed and ran a fingertip along the side of his face. “And here I thought you were my Christmas miracle.”
“We’ll share.”
“Oh, yes,” she answered. “We’ll share.”
They shared another miracle a year later. Tanner Maxwell Jr., who many, many, years later inherited the Double Bar Ranch from his father.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781472004147
CHRISTMAS COWBOY KISSES
Carolyn Davidson/Carol Arens/Lauri Robinson
© Harlequin Books S.A. 2013
First Published in Great Britain in 2013
Harlequin (UK) Limited
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