“Yeah, but only when I wasn’t on the bull.” He flashed a megawatt smile that made her toes curl and her body overheat.
“Wow. So this is real. You’re my date?” Her voice squeaked on the last word.
“It looks that way. Is that gonna be okay with you, or are you gonna cut and run again?” His hands fisted at his sides as he waited for her response.
For a moment, she really wasn’t sure what her answer would be. Part of her wanted to flee in embarrassment for what had happened almost ten years earlier. The other part screamed for her to wrap her arms around him and never let him go. She drew a deep breath and allowed her gaze to meet with his. “I’m not going anywhere, cowboy.”
His hands relaxed and he stepped in to her. Strong arms circled her waist and pulled her against his chest. The feel of Chance’s lips on hers was a sensation she had long fantasized about, but reality far outstripped her memories. His firm, masculine lips settled over hers and pressed lightly at first. Soon his tongue dragged along the seam, seeking entrance to her mouth. She opened to him, growing dizzy from the lack of oxygen accompanied by a rush of warmth as he swept into her mouth to taste and caress. A low moan escaped from her and her knees turned to jelly. If his strong arms had not been supporting her, she would have puddled at his feet.
He groaned as he deepened the kiss, bending her near in half. Her hands settled on his wide shoulders, gripping him with a fierce intensity that mirrored their kiss. Hot flashes skipped across her skin as darts of pleasure zipped down to her pussy. Dear God, she wanted this man with an intensity to rival the sun. He pulled away from her, ending the kiss.
“Baby, I’ve been wanting to do that for damn near ten years.” His eyes blazed desire as his gaze roved over her face and down her upper body. Their hips remained fused together, letting her feel the hard ridge of his cock.
“You aren’t the only one that suffered all that time.” She tried to give him a sultry smile, but regret washed through her with such a powerful force that she stepped away from him and broke their embrace.
“Why did you cut and run, Beth? I woke up alone and thought maybe I had imagined having the best sex of my life with the most amazing woman I’d ever met.” The hurt in his voice only added fuel to the bonfire of her regrets.
Heat suffused her face, so she glanced at her watch to stall. “Maybe we should go have some dinner…”
Her sexy cowboy watched her carefully and apparently decided to cut her a little slack. “Okay. Dinner and talking first.” He nodded and turned toward the door. Picking up his hat to plop it on his head, he glanced back over his shoulder. “You coming?”
She let out the breath she was holding and snatched up her purse. Pulling up alongside Chance, she smiled again and attempted to casually stroll out. Turned out it was more of a run. He closed the door behind them and reached out to grab her hand. “There’s no race to win baby, let’s walk slow and easy. Maybe watch the sun finish setting.”
“Sorry.” Her heart pounded in her chest.
They strolled at a leisurely pace toward the main building, neither saying a word. Beth continued to worry about all the things that plagued her before. Could she trust him? Would he expect her to cook and clean for him? She really wasn’t the domestic type. What about her business? Could he live with a successful woman? Silently, she chewed her lip and worried all the way to dinner.
The maitre d’ sat them in a quiet corner of the restaurant that lent itself to cozy, intimate conversation. Seated, they looked over the menus. After a few minutes the waiter approached and took their order, which included a bottle of the merlot that Chance preferred when drinking wine.
Beth looked awful nervous sitting across the table. Once the wine was uncorked, tasted, and approved, the sommelier poured for the lady and then him. Alone again, he sipped the buttery red wine and watched the woman he’d dreamed of nervously guzzle hers. He leaned over and refilled her empty glass. Their salads came and after few more minutes of strained silence punctuated by chewing, he asked, “What have you been doing since college?”
She cleared her throat. “Working.” She paused to glance around the room as though the answers were hidden in a corner. “I work in advertising. Started out as an account executive and now I run my own agency. It’s taken six years, but Torrence Advertising is finally operating in the black and we’re winning top clients from some of the bigger New York City firms.”
While talking about her business she exuded a confidence that eradicated the nervousness. Her eyes sparkled and her voice grew strong with the conviction of what she was doing. Chance found it sexy as hell. “Advertising is a tough game. You must be fearsome in the boardroom.”
“Well, fearsome is a bit strong. I certainly don’t pull punches though. I play to win every time I pitch a new campaign. How about you? You said earlier that your rodeo days were over. Why?”
The waiter arrived with their meals, giving him a moment to prepare to answer her question. His accident wasn’t something he talked about a whole lot. She cut into her steak and looked up at him expectantly. “I got my leg stepped on by a bull nearly a year and a half ago. The break took three months to heal and then another three months for me to be able to walk right. From there I tried for six months to get back in the ring, but my leg just doesn’t feel the same. As much as I love bull riding, it just ain’t worth getting killed over. Besides, with all my endorsement money and some investments I made, I don’t actually need to rodeo anymore. Now I’m happy to work my ranch and manage my business interests.”
“Well, I’m glad you were smart enough to stop when your body called it quits. What kind of business interests do you have?” She ate her steak with gusto, all trace of her nerves gone.
“Let’s see, I have my clothing and riding tack lines along with a line of boots. I’ve also invested in some startup businesses that I’m waiting to see pan out.”
“Holy cow, Chance. You really did hit it big in the PBR. I’m impressed you did something with your good fortune besides piss it away on beer and… what did you call them? Buckle bunnies?” She laughed a deep sultry chuckle that warmed his insides and made his cock stand up and take notice. That, along with the tantalizing vee of her neckline, and he could have skipped the rest of dinner to get straight to dessert.
“My mama always said idle hands did the devil’s work. Besides, my body was my way of life for years before I hit it big. What good was wrecking that with booze, women, and late nights? I watched too many good cowboys wash out from playing hard in and out of the ring.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it aside. “So, Beth, are you going to explain to me why you ditched me that night? Because I’m not comfortable with this date going any further until I understand what happened.” He reached across the table and rested his hand on top of hers.
She flushed red again, hesitated. With a big sigh, she raised her gaze to meet his and nodded. “I guess you deserve an answer. Before I was born, my mamma was an up-and-coming model. She had a contract with a big New York modeling agency and was planning to move there in a few weeks. Then she met my daddy at a Houston honky-tonk. It was love at first sight, she said. Two weeks later she bailed on her contract, married my daddy, and settled down to take care of him. Nine months after that, I showed up and then in another two years came my little sister.” She took a sip of her wine, and when she looked back at him her eyes were filled with sadness.
“What happened, baby?” He squeezed the hand he still held captive.
“My mamma took us and we went to visit grandma, but we came home a day early. We walked in on my daddy chasing some naked twenty-year-old blonde around the house. Me just a toddler and my sister still in diapers, poor mamma took us and fled the house. She drove us around for hours before she could walk back in that house. When she did, he was gone. He left a note and said he’d made a mistake marrying her. A few weeks later the divorce papers came. It turned out he’d been cheating on her the entire time they were married. She was left destitute. No money. No job. No skills. She sold the house, moved home with her mamma, and worked as a waitress at a diner until I could afford to take care of her.
“Anyway, fast forward to the night we met. From my point of view, it could only be classified as magical. It was everything mamma said love could be, and it scared the ever-loving hell out of me. Pictures of us living in domestic bliss flashed through my head, but not one of those pictures included me putting on a suit and going to work at an advertising agency. The fear of making the same mistake my mamma did drove me out of your bed and kept me from returning your phone calls.”
