“Do I pass inspection?”
“You look nice. And there’s no need to be snippy.”
Well, this evening was going great so far.
Her mother steered her through the crowd before Devon could stop her.
“There’s someone I want you to meet.”
“Mom, I have a date tonight.”
Her mother stopped and looked at her. “Cole Davis?” She looked back toward the door. “Well, where is he? He couldn’t accompany you inside like a proper gentleman? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Stop it. We agreed to meet here. He’ll be here soon.”
“Uh-huh.” Her mother looked past her and smiled. “Oh, there you are. Just who we were looking for.”
A nice-looking young man in an expensive suit stepped up to them holding a drink.
“Devon, dear, this is Christopher Aldridge. He’s the governor’s nephew. Christopher, this is my daughter, Devon.”
Though Devon wanted nothing more than to retrace her steps back outside to call Cole and have him meet her somewhere else, she instead put on a polite smile and shook Christopher’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Why don’t you two dance?” her mother said.
Before Christopher could move to escort Devon to the dance floor, Devon intervened.
“I’m sorry, but could you excuse me? I need to go meet my date for the evening.” She extricated herself from the conversation without even sparing her mother a glance.
Please, Cole, be here already.
But as she crossed the room and looked first toward the entrance and then at all the faces around her, she didn’t see him. By the time she’d spent half an hour looking for him and avoiding contact with her parents, she feared she’d been stood up. It didn’t seem like Cole to do that to her, even if he was pulling away, but there were no messages on her phone and no sign of him.
She got herself a glass of wine and made small talk with a few of the people she knew from her parents’ company, all the while keeping watch for Cole. If he didn’t arrive soon, she was going to sneak out and go home. Part of her wanted to go be a hermit at her farm, but she had a business to run. A life to live, the same as she did before Cole Davis came back to town and made her start wishing for things that couldn’t be.
After a short conversation with the CFO of Diamond Ranch Western Wear, she unfortunately made eye contact with her mother. The look of smug satisfaction on her mother’s face was the last straw. Devon could hear her mother’s thoughts as clearly as if the woman had spoken them over a microphone.
I told you he wasn’t good enough for you. I told you that you’d regret getting involved with the likes of him.
Devon couldn’t stand it anymore. She didn’t care if it looked like she was running away because that was exactly her plan when she turned toward the front door...and saw Cole standing there in a dark suit and even a tie. He took her breath away.
When he spotted her, he smiled and headed in her direction. She would not let him know that she’d been about to leave, that she’d thought he’d stood her up.
“I’m sorry I’m so late,” he said as he reached her. “What do they call it? A fashion emergency?”
She laughed. “Never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth.”
“Seems the only suit I owned was no longer the right size. And Mom told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t showing up here in Western wear, though I think she kind of liked the idea of the look on your mom’s face if I did.”
“It truly would have been the highlight of the night.”
“I should have texted you, but I didn’t think it would take so long to get here. Traffic coming back from Austin was terrible, though. Not used to having to think about rush hour.”
Up close she could see that the tie he wore was a deep blue with a bit of shimmer in it.
“Well, the trip was worth it. You look very nice.”
He took her hands, making her heart leap, and lifted them out to her sides. “And you look gorgeous.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Thank you. I might have had a bit of help, as well.”
“You don’t need help to look beautiful, Devon.”
Her heart fluttered and her breath caught as she looked up at him and saw interest in his eyes. She knew she wasn’t making it up as part of her wishful thinking.
“May I have this dance?” he asked as the band started playing another song.
She nodded and allowed him to lead her into the marble-floored conservatory, which had been cleared out for the party. When he pulled her close, she decided all the work that had gone into getting ready for this party had definitely been worth it. She didn’t know where they’d go after this night, possibly nowhere, but in this moment, she felt like a princess dancing in the arms of her prince.
“I’m sorry I haven’t called you,” he said. The rumble of his voice vibrated through her.
“No reason to,” she said, trying to sound more casual than she felt.
“There was. I kissed you and then ran away like it hadn’t happened.”
Her heart thumped a bit harder. He’d brought up the kiss. What did that mean?
“I liked it. Too much,” he said.
“You did?”
He smiled, and she fell a little more in love with him. Thinking those actual words, giving voice to “love” even if it was only in her head, scared her. It made her too vulnerable.
“Yeah.” He lifted his hand and ran his thumb over her cheek. “I wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened because I can’t give you what you want. I know you want forever, and I didn’t want to start something with you when I knew I couldn’t give that to you.”
“Oh.” Did that mean he had feelings but just not ones strong enough to change his mind about commitment?
“Don’t get me wrong. I do want you, Devon, but it would have to be casual, no strings. No ring.”
Could she agree to that with how she felt about him? Would having him for a little while be better than not having him at all, or would her heart break when he finally called it quits?
Her friends were convinced that she could change his mind, or maybe even make him realize what he was already feeling, that maybe the third time was the charm. Devon wanted that to be true, so much.
Looking up at him, she made a decision. She was going to grab what happiness she could with him. And if it ended at some point, she’d deal with the emotional fallout then.
“Okay.”
His forehead scrunched. “Okay?”
“I like you, Cole, and I’ve been thinking about that kiss nearly nonstop since it happened.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I don’t want to pretend anymore.”
His grin was slow and just about the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. “Would you be opposed to leaving the party a little early?”
“Not in the least.”
A flash of something that she thought was desire shone in his eyes before he took her hand and headed toward the door. Devon noticed her mother heading in their direction.
Devon tugged Cole behind a group of men who were standing near the bar talking, guiding him out the conservatory’s exterior door instead of trying to make her way through the crowd to the front.
“What’s the rush?” Cole asked, laughter in his voice.
“My mother was incoming.”
She led him around the house through the backyard, but before they could turn the final corner, Cole pulled her to a stop and backed her up against the side of the house.
“And here I thought you were just anxious to be alone with me.”
Her heart thumped wildly at the warm length of his body pressed along her front. “That might be part of the equation.
”
He gave her another one of those devastating smiles before lowering his mouth to hers and kissing her so thoroughly, it put the kiss in the lake to shame.
Devon moaned into his mouth, which seemed to add fuel to the fire that had sprung up between them. Cole’s hands slid down the back of her dress to cup her bottom. Potent desire flooded the entirety of her body, and she gripped his upper arms to steady herself.
The sound of voices coming from the backyard worked their way through the haze of desire enveloping her, causing her to push Cole away. “Not here.”
“We can’t go to my house. Mom is there.”
“I don’t think my cat will mind if you come to my house.”
Though she hated losing contact with him, they drove separately. There was no way she was leaving her car behind at her parents’ house, inviting questions she didn’t want to answer. As it was, she knew she’d catch her mother’s disapproval for leaving so abruptly and without saying goodbye to her parents. Well, if this night ended up the way she thought it might, she could handle anything her mother threw at her.
Devon’s nerves danced all the way home. By the time she stepped out of her car next to her house, her legs were shaky with anticipation. Cole parked next to her and didn’t waste any time slipping from his truck and making his way to her. He pulled her into a hungry kiss without saying anything.
Was it possible for a person to combust from too much desire? If so, she was definitely on the verge of going up in flames.
“Inside,” she managed to say in between kisses.
She led him to the house, grumbling under her breath when she fumbled her keys at the door.
Cole chuckled as he stepped inside behind her. “Flustered?”
“Behave or I can throw you out.”
He framed her face between his hands. “You don’t want that.”
He was right. She didn’t.
More kisses followed until Honeysuckle gave an insistent meow, demanding to be paid some attention.
“Sorry, kitty,” Cole said. “Your owner is otherwise occupied.”
Honeysuckle mewed again, as if saying she didn’t think much of his response.
Cole chuckled but when his gaze captured Devon’s, all thoughts of the cat or anything other than the man in front of her fled.
He caressed her cheek. “As pretty as that dress is, I’d rather get you out of it. But I want you to be sure, Devon. I want you to know what you’re getting.”
She ran her hand up his firm chest. “I do.”
With that, she led him toward her bedroom.
Chapter Twelve
Devon hoped she didn’t pass out from the simultaneous firing of all of her nerves before she could get Cole to her bed. She still couldn’t believe he was here, in her bedroom, with her. If this was a dream and she woke up, she was going to be extremely ticked off.
When they reached the edge of the bed, Cole stepped up behind her and dropped his lips to the side of her neck. He worked his way up to her ear and when his tongue flicked the lobe, she grew unsteady on her feet.
Cole chuckled softly in her ear before placing his large hands on her shoulders. “Are you sure about this?”
She couldn’t look at him as she nodded, couldn’t find the breath to speak a single word.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said as he began to slowly unzip the back of her dress. “I won’t hurt you.”
She knew in the end she probably would get hurt, but she shoved those thoughts aside. If she couldn’t have forever, she was going to pay attention and savor every moment of this night.
When her dress dropped to the floor, she didn’t think she’d ever felt more vulnerable. Out of instinct, she wrapped her arms around herself. Cole spun her slowly to face him then guided her arms away from where they crisscrossed her front.
“Don’t hide yourself, Devon. You’re beautiful.”
She had no idea what to say to that.
“You don’t believe me?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He lifted her chin until she was looking into his eyes. “Don’t tell me that your mother told you you’re not beautiful.”
She shook her head. “No. I...I guess I just still feel like...” Her voice faltered before she managed to rein in some small portion of her nerves. “...Like that fat girl from high school.”
“You weren’t fat.”
He couldn’t have surprised her more if he’d said he’d wanted to be a cheerleader instead of the star of the rodeo team.
“I must have been better at hiding it than I thought.”
Cole took a step closer and framed her face with his hands. “It doesn’t matter who either of us was in the past.” Then he lowered his mouth to hers and showed her exactly how hungry he was for her.
Something unlocked inside her, a reserve that had always been as much a part of her as her hair or the heart now imitating a revving engine in her chest. She’d planned to take things slowly, luxuriating in every touch, every kiss, every single spot at which Cole’s body connected with hers. But a burning need to feel all of him filled her and burst forth.
Her hands went to his suit jacket and shoved it from his shoulders, then to loosening the tie.
“In a hurry?” he asked against her lips.
“Yes.”
Her single-word answer seemed to light a fire under Cole’s own ardor as he moved to unfasten his belt while she unbuttoned his crisp white shirt. He dropped his pants and kicked off his shoes, leaving him standing in front of her in less than she was wearing. Unwilling to deny herself anything, she ran her hands up and over the hard, toned planes of his chest.
Cole growled low in his throat and lifted her in his arms then stretched her out along the bed. Her heart beat so fast as he stripped her of her underwear and heels that it reverberated throughout her body, banging against the inside of her eardrums to the point she thought she might go deaf.
Cole trailed kisses all over her body, seeming to leave not one inch of skin untouched. Her hands gripped his back, feeling the play of muscles he’d developed from years of riding bulls. She nearly laughed hysterically when the thought passed through her addled brain that soon he was going to be riding her.
She ran her hands down his back to the curve of his hips. Feeling like she was inhabiting someone else’s body, she slipped her hands below his underwear and gripped his hips. The length of him pressing against her thigh hardened even more.
Cole didn’t say a word as he rolled away to the edge of the bed.
Panic swept through her like a shock wave. Had she gone too far? Or had he changed his mind? If so, she knew she wasn’t going to be strong enough to hold back her tears until he left.
But then he pulled off his underwear and bent over to get something. The sound of tearing told her exactly what he’d retrieved, and the center of her body ached in anticipation.
When Cole spread himself alongside her again, she got caught in his gaze and lifted her hand to place it against his cheek. He turned his head to drop a kiss into the center of her palm.
She couldn’t believe this was happening, that so many of her fantasies were becoming reality.
As if he could see the answer in her eyes to a question he didn’t have to ask, Cole settled himself between her legs, gently spreading them wider. A shiver ran throughout her body.
“Are you okay?” Cole asked.
“Yeah. It’s just...”
“What?”
She knew it wasn’t her best self-confidence moment, but she didn’t want him to be disappointed in their lovemaking. She shook her head.
“Nothing.” She ran her hands up his powerful arms and then his neck, twining her fingers through his close-cropped hair and pulling him down to her for a kiss that could s
ay more than words.
His hands gripped her hips as he pressed closer, closer until he slid home. Oh, merciful heavens, that’s what it felt like to have him inside her—home. The depth of that feeling should scare her, and it did a little, but it also sent such a well of warmth and rightness coursing through her body that the fear couldn’t overcome it.
She rose to meet his thrusts, thrilling at the sounds he was making as he held her close and fed both of their needs. Their mouths made love to each other the same as the rest of their bodies, and gradually their pace increased. The very core of her vibrated, growing closer to release. Cole must have sensed it because he increased his pace even more, sending wave after wave of pleasure through her.
As she reached the verge, she couldn’t kiss him anymore and still be able to pull enough oxygen into her lungs. She threw her head back against the pillow and strained upward as Cole made another powerful thrust that sent her over the edge, setting off what felt like an earthquake inside her.
She was still riding the aftershocks when Cole stiffened, his muscles straining, and found his own release. A powerful joy filled her at what they’d just shared, and she had to fight the need to grab on to him and never let him go.
No strings, he’d said, and she’d agreed to it.
Cole collapsed beside her but left one of his legs and his right arm draped over her. She loved the warm weight of them. He pulled her closer to him and smoothed her hair away from her face.
“We should have stopped pretending long before tonight,” he said.
Devon smiled, inside and out. Tomorrow, she’d deal with the repercussions of what she’d done, but for now she was going to bask in the happiest moment of her life.
* * *
COLE DRIFTED HALFWAY between sleep and being awake. He lifted his heavy eyelids to see Devon lying beside him, still naked and still as beautiful as she’d been when they’d both fallen asleep. As he’d made love to her, he’d been stunned by how beautiful she was, how giving. Of course, he’d known both things, but it was as if being together as they had, it had been magnified a hundredfold.
For a moment, he wished his experiences hadn’t ruined him for serious relationships because Devon was the kind of woman who made them seem plausible. But he had been ruined, and there was no going back to change that. He’d been surprised when Devon agreed to a casual relationship for however long it lasted. Surprised, but really glad. With her agreement, he’d been able to stop holding back how his very real attraction to her had been growing every day.
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