She watched him warily but with complete absorption. He touched her cheek, and she didn’t flinch. Good.
“I won’t insult you like that again, Dori.” Her cheek was softer than the petals of the rose he’d brought her. Desire burned slow and steady in his groin, but his touch was light, his tone gentle. “Please give me a chance to show you I know how to build without rushing.”
Her angry gaze mellowed and her lips parted ever so slightly.
He smoothed a strand of hair back behind her ear. “If you’ll let me, I’ll put up a solid foundation, and only use the truest wood and the strongest nails.” He drew closer, and sweet heaven, she didn’t move away. “This is the most important task I’ll ever have in this world,” he murmured as her wildflower scent threatened his control. “Trust me, and I’ll do everything in my power to get it right.”
Then he kissed her, slowly and with a restraint that nearly killed him. Velvet and honey beckoned him to deepen the kiss. He almost gave in and took her fully. But a shred of sanity remained, and he lifted his head to gaze into dark eyes that spoke of surrender. He wanted to shout with joy, but he swallowed his triumph and reminded himself that he’d only mortared the first brick in place. Heart pounding, he settled back in his seat and buckled his seat belt. Then he replaced his hat and tugged on the brim, as if for emphasis.
She sat looking at him for a full minute. Then, with a small smile, she swung the convertible in a lazy turn and headed away from civilization once more. He closed his eyes in gratitude. Maybe this argument would be the rockiest part of their relationship, he thought. Then he remembered Devaney. But after that kiss he’d vastly increased his estimate of what he’d tolerate just to be near Dori Fitzpatrick.
DORI GRIPPED THE WHEEL tight to keep from trembling. No man had ever talked to her like that, echoing her belief in the sanctity of marriage, a belief she carried like a precious jewel deep in her soul despite her disillusionment with Jimmy. A first kiss had never felt like that, either—so rich, yet so brief. She wanted more, although after all her speeches she couldn’t let Tanner know that. At least not yet.
Maybe everything had to do with her lucky number. She’d never put it to such a critical test, but Tanner seemed to be the one she’d been destined for all her life. Still, before she became too dizzy to think clearly, she’d better find out more about this apparent dream man.
“I’ve—” She paused and cleared her throat. Talking wasn’t so easy after a kiss like Tanner’s. “I’ve explained why I wrote in to the magazine,” she said. “But I’ve wondered ever since I saw your picture why in the world you were in it.”
He hesitated a few seconds before answering. “I guess the simple truth is I was lonely.”
“Lonely? Was there a plague that killed off all the women in Dallas?”
He chuckled.
“Come on, Tanner. I may be a small-town girl, but I’m not stupid. If you were lonely, all you’d have had to do was stroll into one of those singles’ bars I’ve heard about and find yourself somebody. I guarantee women would be hanging all over you, with a body like yours.” Dori realized what she’d said and winced. So much for playing it cool. “What I meant to say is—”
“Don’t change a thing, Dori.” He was laughing now. “I liked the statement the way it was.”
“Don’t be getting a big head, Mr. Jones. Handsome is as handsome does. So, did you have dates or not?”
“I had dates,” he admitted.
“Ha. I knew it. You’ll have to come up with a better reason than loneliness for putting your picture in that magazine.
“Nope. That’s it. I had dates, but they always seemed to be with the wrong kind of women for me. I couldn’t imagine taking any of them home to my mom and dad and introducing them as my wife.”
My wife. The phrase, coming from Tanner, sounded warm and intimate, the exact opposite of the belligerent, possessive way Jimmy had always said it. “That’s important to you, what your folks think of your wife?”
“Yep, sure is.”
“And what wouldn’t your parents have liked about these women you’ve been dating?”
“They seemed to be focused on material things.”
Dori smiled, relieved to have something make sense at last. “Well, I can tell you why. Flashing twenty-dollar bills around the way you did in the café is a surefire way to attract women who like spending money.” She sent him a look of triumph.
“You may have a point.”
“Of course I do. Now, I don’t think much of a stingy man, either, but you can’t give a woman the impression you plan to buy her any little thing her heart desires. Greedy women will be on you like flies on horse poop.”
“What if I told you I want to buy you any little thing your heart desires?”
She turned down a dirt road and slowed so as not to stir up too much dust. “In the first place, I wouldn’t believe a word of it. Unless you planned to run up a huge debt. Don’t forget, I’ve lived around construction workers all my life. My daddy and momma had to leave Los Lobos and move to San Antonio because that’s where the work was. Just about killed them to leave me and Little Jim, especially when I had to go through all that trouble. They tried to loan me money to hire a good lawyer, but I couldn’t take it. They don’t have any to spare. I’m sure you don’t, either. Throwing money around makes me think a man is either stupid or trying to make up for some sort of sexual inadequacy.”
Tanner seemed to be caught in a coughing fit.
Concerned, Dori pulled to the shoulder of the road and shut off the ignition. “What’s wrong? Are you allergic to dust or something?”
“No,” he choked out.
She realized he was laughing. That had been the cause of his coughing fit. “What’s so funny now?”
“Which—” He gasped and shook his head. “Which do you think I am?”
“Which what?”
“Stupid or sexually inadequate?”
“Oh.” She remembered his potent kiss and doubted he was lacking in that area. Neither did he seem particularly stupid. “Well, I’ll make an allowance for this being an unusual situation. But if you kept doing that, I’d be worried.”
“With luck I’d get the stupid label.”
Her body warmed at his implication that soon she’d have discovered he wasn’t inadequate. “People in our circumstances have to be careful with money, Tanner. I don’t put a great deal of importance on it, but on the other hand, we need a certain amount to live on, and there’s always our old age to be considered.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I got the strangest tingle down my spine when you said our old age.” He turned to her. “What do you think, Dori? Is there a chance we’ll grow old together? Can you picture rocking chairs on the porch and visits from the grandkids?”
Her heart thudded in her chest. “I don’t know.”
He opened his door and unlatched his seat belt. “Come on. Let’s take that walk in the moonlight.”
When she joined him at the front of the car he slipped his fingers through hers and they started down the dirt road as if they’d been taking walks together for years. Water ran in an irrigation ditch nearby, filling the air with the scent of rain. Dori tried to remember a single time she’d ever taken a walk with Jimmy Jr. They’d driven out to the back roads when they were dating, of course. But Jimmy hadn’t wanted to leave the car, or more specifically, the back seat.
Dori paused and lifted her chin skyward. “Look up,” she said. “And take off your hat.”
He lifted off his hat by the crown and held it against his thigh as he gazed into the night sky. “My God. I’ve never seen so many stars. They go all the way to the horizon.”
“Because there’s nothing to block them. No mountains, almost no trees. You should see a sunset out here, Tanner. The whole sky’s on fire.”
He stood quietly for a while. “It’s not just Little Jim holding you in Los Lobos, is it?”
“No. I was raised here, and I got used to having
all that empty space around me. When I go where there are lots of trees, or mountains cutting out the view, I get claustrophobia.” She also suspected why he’d asked the question. His home was East Texas. “There’s talk of construction work picking up in the area,” she said. “My daddy’s keeping track of it, because he and Momma would love to move back.”
When he didn’t respond right away, she glanced at him. He was staring off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.
“I know it seems stark at first, but give yourself a chance to get used to the openness,” she said. “How long have you lived in East Texas?”
He brought his attention back to her. “About fifteen years.” He squeezed her hand and replaced his hat as they started down the road again. Crickets chirped in the dry grass beside the road. “It’s not the terrain that I’m in love with, although some of it’s real pretty, Dori. I’d like you to see it. Lakes so blue you’d swear somebody dropped food coloring in them. But the…business opportunities are better there.”
“You need to talk to my daddy. What’s your trade?”
“I’ve done a little of everything. I have both a carpenter’s and an electrician’s license. I can frame when necessary and drywall in a pinch.”
“Goodness, Tanner. You could find a job around here, I’ll bet.” She paused, becoming unsure of herself. “If you wanted to,” she said more softly. “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, should we? I mean, you haven’t even met Little Jim yet.”
“Tomorrow, right?”
“It’s my day with him. He wants to go see the Power Rangers movie again, and it’s finally come back to the budget movie house in Abilene. That may not seem too exciting, but—”
“Dori, you have something to learn.” He pulled her to a stop and caught her other hand to bring her around in front of him. “Just being with you at last is exciting to me. And I think something low-key like going to the movies is a perfect way to start out with Little Jim. Besides, I don’t know who the Power Rangers are. Sounds as if I’d better learn if I expect to have anything in common with him.”
“That’s for sure.” She smiled with relief that he approved of her plans. “I thought that would be a low-cost thing we could all do together, and he loves McDonald’s, so we don’t have to spend a lot of money entertaining him. He’s not used to that from me, anyway. Just from Jimmy Jr.”
“I think I can manage a budget movie house and McDonald’s,” Tanner said with a trace of sarcasm. “Maybe I can even squeeze out enough for an ice-cream cone on the way home.”
“Now, don’t take that tone! Remember what I said about throwing money around.”
He chuckled. “I doubt I’ll ever forget. Every time I reach for my wallet I’ll wonder if I’m displaying my sexual inadequacies.”
She gazed at him standing before her in the moonlight, his face cast in shadow from the brim of his hat. In his yoked Western shirt and snug-fitting jeans he projected the epitome of all her sexual fantasies. Her pulse quickened and she couldn’t look away.
“You’d better stop that,” he said.
“Stop what?” she murmured.
“Looking at me like that.”
“Why?”
“Because it makes me want to kiss the living daylights out of you.”
The blood sang in her ears. “Maybe that’s exactly what I want you to do.”
4
TANNER HADN’T HEARD such a tempting invitation in a long while. The first kiss had been an experiment and could have become a disaster, but this time Dori had asked.
She stood before him, her uniform carving an alabaster silhouette against the night sky. Stars twinkled around her shoulders and tangled in the windblown tresses of her hair. Her gaze lifted to his with the innocence of a child, but the seductive curve of her mouth suggested the passion of a woman. Tanner was too entranced to move.
She smiled and guided his hands around her waist. “You’re not going to turn shy on me now, are you?”
“Not shy, just dazzled.” His fingers encountered the warm cotton of her uniform. He discovered he could span her waist with his hands as he drew her close and savored the first soft contact with her breasts.
“My goodness.” Her breathing became shallow as she gazed up at him. “I don’t recall ever dazzling a man before.”
“I’m sure you have.” His glance traveled over her face, memorizing the graceful arch of her eyebrows, the fathomless depths of her eyes, the beckoning fullness of her mouth. “You just didn’t know it.”
“You’d better not be overcome by it.” She reached for his hat and dangled it from the brim behind his back as she wound her arms around his neck. “You haven’t kissed me yet.”
Her taunt almost destroyed his control, but he took a deep breath and maintained his equilibrium. She might be used to a grab-and-grope kind of guy, but he wanted to separate himself from that type of low-life lover. Smiling, he slid his fingers through her luxuriant hair and found the elastic fabric holding it captive. “When I was a kid I was always the slowest at eating an ice-cream cone, too. I figured when something was that good, you should make it last.” He eased the circle of material from her hair and tucked it into his back pocket. “And this,” he continued, burying his fingers in her hair once again, “is going to be very good.”
“Oh.” The word came out almost as a sigh.
“And very slow.” He lightly massaged her scalp and combed his hands through her hair, reveling in the silken richness that slid through his fingers.
Her eyes drifted closed in pleasure.
“You are a rare and beautiful woman, Dori.”
Her eyelids fluttered open and she gazed at him.
“One who deserves to be treated with tenderness and care.” He bunched her hair in his fist and inhaled its sweet aroma before releasing it, letting it tumble down the slope of her breast. “One who deserves a lover who takes his time.”
“You’re a sweet-talkin’ man, Tanner,” she said. “I’ve been warned about men like you.”
“Have you?” He cupped her cameo-perfect face in both hands and brushed his thumbs across her elegant cheekbones. Every touch bought a jolt of pleasure that settled deep within him and fed the fire. “And what have you been warned about?”
“Momma always said a sweet-talkin’ man could break your heart.”
“So can an ugly-talking one,” he said gently.
A flash of sorrow in her eyes made his heart ache. “True,” she whispered.
“I don’t intend to break your heart.” He dropped a light kiss on her brow, and when she closed her eyes once more in surrender, he moved his lips to each quivering eyelid. “I intend to make it sing.”
She took a long, shuddering breath as he feathered kisses at her temple, her earlobe, the curve of her jaw. As he dipped to the hollow of her throat, he savored the creamy texture of skin that heated beneath his lazy ministrations. When his lips returned to her cheek and found the corner of her mouth, she moaned softly. He moved with deliberate care to the other corner. She murmured his name.
“I’m here.” He hovered close and drank in the warmth of her breath on his face. “Right here.” When at last he brought his mouth down to hers, the pleasure was so intense he felt as if he might explode in her arms.
He abandoned himself to the ripe bounty, growing dizzy on the riches she offered. He’d had no idea, he thought fleetingly. No idea at all. He felt himself drowning in her eagerness as she parted her lips and invited him inside. He shifted the angle of his mouth to go deeper and she welcomed him with a little whimper that roused him to a frenzy of wanting—wanting that made him crush her closer and increase the pressure on those sweet lips. Wanting that had to be overruled. Somehow.
With a groan he wrenched his mouth from hers. Chest heaving, he relaxed his grip and stepped back, but the look in her eyes still held him prisoner.
She struggled with her breathing, too. “I…think you…did,” she managed to whisper.
He fought for air and
cleared his throat. “Did what?”
“Kissed…the living daylights out of me.”
Laughter helped, but he was still trembling with need. “Unfortunately, that’s not all I want to do right now.”
Her gaze drifted downward to the aching bulge in his jeans. “That’s not unfortunate,” she murmured. “Just premature.”
“Would you think I’m crude if I asked by how much?”
Her dark eyes sparkled. “Are you asking for a construction timetable?”
“Yes…no. No.” He pushed aside the urge to haul her against him for another round. “But if we’re going to postpone making love to each other, you’ll have to help me out.”
“I will, Tanner.” Her smile was mysterious and knowing. “If you hadn’t stopped just now, I would have stopped you.”
“If you say so,” he said cautiously, not quite sure he believed it. She was still too close for comfort, and he started to back away from the temptation she presented.
She grabbed his arm. “Careful where you step. I dropped your hat while you were kissing me.”
“Did you now?” He gave her a long look.
“Well, yes. I got a little carried away, but I still could have stopped you. I was in command of myself enough for that.”
“I see.”
“Don’t be difficult. Certainly you agree that we need to get acquainted on many levels before we satisfy ourselves sexually?”
“Of course,” he said. The concept of satisfying them-selves, especially with the delightful drawl she gave the word satisfy, sounded pretty darned appealing at the moment.
Her eyebrows lifted as if she expected a more complete answer.
“I’m sure it’s a very good idea to become friends before we become lovers.” He tried to say it with conviction.
Holding Out For A Hero Page 4