He was a breath away from claiming her mouth with his when she shocked him by curving her fingers around his neck and stretching up on her toes.
Her kiss was soft, tentative. A question where his kiss would have been a command. But that made it all the sweeter. The fact that she had come to him. The fact that even though she was still conflicted about all of it, she couldn’t resist any longer.
He cupped her cheek, calling on all his restraint—what little there was—to allow her to lead this, to allow her to guide the exploration. There was something so unpracticed about that pretty mouth of hers, something untutored about the way her lips skimmed over his. About the almost sweet, soft way her tongue tested his.
What he wanted to do was take it deep. Take it hard. What he wanted to do was grab hold of her hips and press her back against the barn. Push her jeans down her thighs and get his hand back between her gorgeous legs so he could feel all that soft, slick flesh.
What he wanted was to press his cock against her entrance and slide in slowly, savoring the feel of her desire as it washed over him.
But he didn’t.
And it was the damned hardest thing he had ever done. To wait. To let her lead. To let her believe she had the control here. Whatever she needed to do so she wouldn’t get scared again. If he had to be patient, if he had to take it slow, he could. He would.
If it meant having her.
He had to have her. Had to exorcise the intense demon that had taken residence inside of him, that demanded he take her. Demanded he make her his own.
His horse snickered behind them, shifting her bulk, drawing Danielle’s focus back to the present and away from him. Dammit all.
“Let me get them put away,” he said.
He was going to do it quickly. And then he was going to get right back to tasting her. He half expected her to run to the house as he removed the tack from the animals and got them brushed down, but she didn’t. Instead, she just stood there watching him, her eyes large, her expression one of absolute indecision.
Because she knew.
She knew that if she stayed down here, he wasn’t going to leave it at a kiss. He wasn’t going to leave it at all.
But he went about his tasks, slowing his movements, forcing himself not to rush. Forcing himself to draw it out. For her torture as well as his. He wanted her to need it, the way that he did.
And yes, he could see she wanted to run. He could also tell she wanted him, she wanted this. She was unbearably curious, even if she was also afraid.
And he was counting on that curiosity to win out.
Finally, she cleared her throat, shifting impatiently. “Are you going to take all day to do that?”
“You have to take good care of your horses, Danielle. I know a city girl like you doesn’t understand how that works.”
She squinted, then took a step forward, pulling his hat off his head and depositing it on her own. “Bullshit. You’re playing with me.”
He couldn’t hold back the smile. “Not yet. But I plan to.”
After that, he hurried a bit. He put the horses back in their paddock, then took hold of Danielle’s hand, leading her deeper into the barn, to a ladder that went up to the loft.
“Can I show you something?”
She bit her lip, hesitating. “Why do I have a feeling that it isn’t the loft you’re going to show me?”
“I’m going to show you the loft. It’s just not all I’m going to show you.”
She took a step back, worrying her lip with her teeth. He reached out, cupping the back of her head and bringing his mouth down on hers, kissing her the way he had wanted to when she initiated the kiss outside. He didn’t have patience anymore. And he wasn’t going to let her lead. Not now.
He cupped her face, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. “This has nothing to do with our agreement. It has nothing to do with the contract. Nothing to do with the ad or my father or anything other than the fact that I want you. Do you understand?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes,” she said, the word coming out a whisper.
Adrenaline shot through him, a strange kind of triumph that came with a kick to the gut right behind it. He wanted her. He knew he didn’t deserve her. But he wasn’t going to stop himself from having her in spite of that.
Then he took her hand and led her up the ladder.
Seven
Danielle’s heart was pounding in her ears. It was all she could hear. The sound of her own heart beating as she climbed the rungs that led up to the loft.
It was different than she had imagined. It was clean. There was a haystack in one corner, but beyond that the floor was immaculate, every item stored and organized with precision. Which, knowing Joshua like she now did, wasn’t too much of a surprise.
That made her smile, just a little. She did know him. In some ways, she felt like she knew him better than she knew anyone.
She wasn’t sure what that said about her other relationships. For a while, she’d had friends, but they’d disappeared when she’d become consumed with caring for her pregnant mother and working as much as possible at the grocery store. And then no one had come back when Danielle ended up with full care of Riley.
In some ways, she didn’t blame them. Life was hard enough without dealing with a friend who was juggling all of that. But just because she understood didn’t mean she wasn’t lonely.
She looked at Joshua, their eyes connecting. He had shared his past with her. But she was keeping something big
