“I look like a refugee from
Cole chuckled low. “Who cares? I’m a sure thing, remember?”
“That’s an excellent point. I’ve never had a man see me at my worst and not had to care about it.” She sat down in the big armchair and eased her saddle-sore legs under her. This was restful, in a bizarre sort of way.
All those years she’d spent fussing and primping and worrying. Cole could see her in a gunny sack and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference. Come to think of it, this was pretty close to a gunny sack.
“This is your worst?” asked Cole.
She smoothed back her wet hair and nodded. “Pretty close.”
“At least there’ll be no surprises in our marriage.” He headed into his bedroom.
Sydney leaned back into the soft cushions. He was forcing her to think past the wedding. What would they do? She had to take the Thunderbolt to New York. But what if Katie didn’t get pregnant right away?
Would they keep up the charade? And if they did, would Sydney stay
She scanned the cabin again. It was a quaint little place. Maybe too quaint.
The kettle let out a shrill whistle. She waited a couple seconds, but Cole didn’t appear. Finally she flipped off the blanket, groaned and straightened, then hustled toward the kitchen, nearly colliding with him as he appeared out of the bedroom.
He was shirtless. His feet were bare. And the button at the top of his clean jeans was undone, revealing a flash of skin below his washboard abs.
“Sorry.” She put up her hand to forestall the collision and it came flat against his chest.
His fingers closed over her elbow to steady her and his thighs brushed up against hers.
“You okay?” he asked
She nodded, her heart skipping double-time. This was one good-looking cowboy. He looked great in his clothes, but out of them… Hoo, boy.
He reached over and shut off the burner.
Then his hand came up to cover hers, pressing it into his chest. His skin was warm and smooth. She could feel his heart thudding against his rib cage.
Her fingers made out the ridge of a horizontal scar. It was an uneven gash, three inches long, and she wondered what had happened.
From the little she’d seen of his life, she knew it was rough and physical. But what had caused this? And what other secrets were there on the body she’d admired for two days?
Before she could voice a question, their gazes met. His eyes turned a deep, ocean blue, and she inhaled his scent, marveling at how familiar it had become.
He slowly reached out to stroke her hair. Sensations washed over her like warm rain, and she longed to lean into him and absorb the full warmth of his strength. She held his gaze instead, finding flecks of gray among the storm-tossed blue. His look was turbulent, challenging.
He dipped his head ever so slightly. Then he stopped and his eyelids came down in a long blink.
“Is it just me?” he asked, refocusing. “Or is this a really stupid idea?”
She couldn’t stop the slow, sultry smile that grew on her face. “It is a really stupid idea…”
His lips parted. “But…”
“Have we ever let that stop us before?”
Four
Cole was going to kiss this woman.
Stupid decisions were his stock-in-trade around her, and he saw no reason to give that up now.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said in all honesty, brushing the pad of his thumb across her cheek.
“So are you,” she responded.
He grinned at that, sliding spread fingers through the thickness of her hair.
To his surprise, she rocked forward and placed a hot, moist kiss on his chest.
He sucked in a tight breath, and she kissed him again, her soft lips searing into his skin. It took a second to realize she was tracing the scar on his breastbone. She was kissing away his pain, soothing what was once a gaping wound, calming a memory he’d sworn he’d have to fight forever.
His hands convulsed and he tilted her head, searching her eyes for the reason behind her caring touch. What he saw was smoky jade and simmering passion.
Lightning exploded in the sky above them. Rain crashed down on the shake roof and clattered against the window-panes. The oak trees creaked and the willows rustled as the wind whipped the world into a frenzy.
That same storm swirled to life inside him. He couldn’t wait another second to taste her lips. He dipped to capture them, touching, tasting, savoring. They were as lush as he’d imagined, but sweeter, more giving, the perfect shape and size and pressure.
He kissed her again, this time pulling her soft body against his, opening wide, praying she’d follow suit. His skin was on fire and his chest tightened with a deep longing.
She parted her lips and a small moan escaped. The sound tugged at him, surrounded him, buried itself deep inside him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on tight.
He inhaled her scent, wishing the moment could go on and on. He wanted to close his eyes, block out the world, lose himself in her, pretend nothing existed outside their cocoon.
But that was impossible.
The world did exist. The world of Kyle and Katie and the Thunderbolt. He slowly pulled back.
Her face was flushed and her eyes were glazed.
He suspected he looked exactly the same way.
She rubbed his chest and eased off with a deep breath. “Guess it’s good to get that out of the way,” she said.
“Our first kiss?”
She nodded, her gaze fixed somewhere below his neck. “Yeah. Could have been awkward in front of Katie.”
“I’ll say.” He stepped back, raking a hand through his damp hair. “Now at least I’ll know what to expect.”
“Me, too.”
“So it wasn’t such a stupid idea after all.”
“I think it was quite brilliant.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Brilliant.” He took a tight breath. “I’m, uh…” He gestured vaguely toward his bedroom door then escaped quickly and grabbed a clean shirt, stuffing his arms into the sleeves.
Brilliant was just the word.
When he returned to the living room she was curled up in the armchair again with a pen and paper in her hands.
“We should talk logistics,” she said.
Cole’s steps faltered.
Maybe her mood could shift one-eighty in the blink of an eye, but he needed a few minutes to recover. He made a show of securing his buttons and tucking the shirt into his waistband, before he dropped down onto the couch and met her eyes.
“What have you got so far?” he asked, struggling to get back on an even keel, trying to ignore that fact that she was wearing his clothing.
She tucked her auburn hair behind one ear. It was beautiful even when it was wet.
“How fast do you think we can pull this off?” she asked.
“Why? You in a hurry?”
She glanced up in surprise. “Yes. I’ve got a whole display to coordinate. Dozens of pieces.”
“I don’t think Katie’s going to buy love at first sight.”
“I didn’t mean this afternoon. It’ll take a couple weeks to prepare the gallery.”
