Lies And Lullabies: Courting the Cowboy Boss

Resting her hand on his shoulder, she let herself lean on him. “Don’t be silly. You gave me a compliment. I was flattered. And the truth is, you’re not my boss. You were right. We’re equals. A man and a woman.”

“And last night?”

When she slept in his bed, holding him in her arms? “Last night was nothing,” she said. “You were sick. I couldn’t very well leave you here alone. I’m glad you’re on the mend.”

When she sat down and took a bite of her lasagna, she almost choked at the look on Case’s face. His laser stare made her squirm in her seat. There was no way he could know for sure. He’d been too feverish and addled to understand that she had held him like a lover, doing everything she could to give him comfort.

He finally picked up his fork, but he never took his eyes off her. “Parker told me I lost an entire day...that I had a very high fever. He said I might have ended up in the hospital if you hadn’t been here to look after me.”

“I think your friend exaggerates. It was no big deal.”

Case leaned across the table and put his hand over hers. “It is to me. Thank you, Mellie. For everything.”

Eight (#u047f3563-69a3-5384-8cea-74b4d0356db5)

Case knew he had shocked her. Hell, he had shocked himself. He wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of guy. Beneath his hand, Mellie’s fingers were soft and delicate. An impression at direct odds with what he knew to be the truth about the woman. She was strong and independent. She didn’t need a man to take care of her. Which made it all the more inexplicable that he had the strongest urge to do that very thing.

He forced himself to release her. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” She had the look of a rabbit frozen in the grass, trying to appear invisible.

Mellie shook her head. “I’m not uncomfortable. But I’m trying to figure you out.”

When he made himself take a bite, he realized how hungry he was. He chewed and swallowed, weighing her words. “I’m an open book.”

She snorted and tried to cover it up as a cough. “Um, no.”

“Explain yourself, woman.” He waved a fork in the air. When Mellie smiled at him, he felt a tug of desire low in his belly.

“First of all,” she said, “you’re wealthy and available, but you don’t date. At least not in Royal.”

“How would you know that?” She had him spot-on, but that was beside the point.

“I have my sources.” Now her smile was wry.

“Go on.”

“You’re a self-professed privacy junkie, but you know everyone in town, and you are so popular and well regarded the powers that be elected you president of the Cattleman’s Club.”

“Liking privacy is not necessarily the same as being a hermit.”

“True.”

He circled back to the most promising point. “I’m flattered that you’ve studied me.”

Mellie shook her head. “Don’t be. Your ego is too healthy as it is.”

“Ouch.” He paused, realizing that he was deliberately flirting with Mellie. But his sexual overture wasn’t necessarily being reciprocated. “Ego is neither good nor bad. I think it’s a matter of degree.”

“And where would you fall on that scale? Somewhere near the top, I think.”

He stared at her, no longer amused. “You might be surprised.” Finishing his meal, he stood and poured himself another glass of wine, cursing the fact that his legs were wobbly. Sadly, it had nothing to do with the modest amount of alcohol he had consumed. How long was this damned flu going to keep him down? He had places to go, people to see.

At his best, he would have enjoyed sparring with Mellie Winslow. But he was definitely not at his best. He brought the bottle with him to the table and collapsed into his chair, trying not to let on that he was light-headed.

Mellie studied him. “You need to be in bed,” she said.

“Will you join me?” The words popped out of his mouth uncensored. His subconscious was an uncivilized beast.

His dinner companion gaped. Her mouth snapped shut as hot color reddened her cheeks. “What is it about men?” she muttered, the question apparently rhetorical.

Now he had her measure. If he wanted to keep Mellie off balance and not the other way around, all he had to do was give her the unvarnished truth about what he wanted from her. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “You’re barely able to stand, and still you obsess about sex.”

“It’s in our DNA. We can’t help it. Especially when a beautiful woman brings us dinner and plays nurse.”

“I wasn’t playing last night. You were sick.”

“I’m only sorry I wasn’t able to enjoy it.”

“Case!”

Now it was out in the open. He wanted her. And he was almost certain she wanted him, too. But he needed confirmation before he went any further. He would never pursue a woman who wasn’t interested.

“There’s a strong spark between us. But tell me you don’t feel it, and I’ll leave you alone. Am I wrong?”

He saw the muscles in her throat work as she sputtered and looked anywhere but at him. “You’re not wrong.”

Three words. Three damn words, and he was hard as granite. He studied her, unable to come up with a response. She wasn’t wearing her uniform. Instead, soft denim jeans outlined long legs and a narrow waist. In deference to the weather, she wore a pale green pullover sweater. The V-neck exposed a long porcelain-skinned throat and fragile collarbone.

A man could get lost nibbling his way across that territory.

Under other circumstances, he would have stripped her naked and taken her on this kitchen table. Tonight, however, he had to accept his limitations. “Sadly, I don’t have the stamina at the moment to follow up on that interesting admission.”

“There’s no reason you should.” She appeared entirely, frustratingly calm...until one noticed the way her lips trembled the tiniest bit.

“We’re dancing around this, aren’t we?” The woman who almost certainly didn’t have casual sex and the man who wanted more than he was able to give at the moment.

Mellie stood, resting her hands on the back of her chair. “I’ll come back tomorrow...with more food.”

“Don’t be afraid of me, Mellie.” He meant it. He couldn’t bear the notion she might think he was blasé about this. The level of his fascination with her, the depth of his hunger, made no sense. But he wasn’t a man to walk away from something he wanted. Even when having her and protecting her seemed to be two diametrically opposed behaviors.

And that wasn’t even considering the fact that his actions might spark the wrath of Amanda Battle...or worse, her sheriff husband.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Mellie said, her beautiful eyes grave. “Or even afraid of the possibility of us. But I’ve never started a physical relationship with a man, knowing up front that it had an expiration date.”

Her words made sense. He even understood her caution. The feminine hesitation, though, only made his libido fight all the more to be heard. “It’s not necessary to plan every turn in the road in advance...is it?”

Temper sparked in her expressive eyes. “Do me the favor of not pretending, Case. If I have sex with you, we both know it will be a physical thing only. No hearts and flowers. No pledges of undying love.”