Reunited...With Baby

He turned to look at her. Startled, she realized how she stared as his gaze narrowed. She spun away and bent over a horse to cleanse and patch a wound while her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

She lost track of time until she glanced at her watch and saw it was after two a.m. About ten minutes later, Luke appeared and caught her wrist, lifting it as she was about to give a horse a shot.

“I think you should call it a night.”

“Luke, there are still horses here I haven’t treated. I don’t want to stop.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Yes, but I can keep going and I want to.”

He studied her and nodded. “Okay, a little while longer.”

When he turned and left, she went back to work. The next time he appeared, he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Scarlett, it’s late,” he said. His voice was husky, his hand lightly squeezing her shoulder.

She turned to look up at him. He stood close, and her heart beat faster as she shook her head. “I can’t quit.”

“Yes, you can, for a little while. Come on. Let’s get a couple of hours of sleep before the sun comes up. I’ve got a blanket in the back of the pickup.”

Luke was bare chested, too appealing, too sexy, too damned handsome. His looks had only gotten better over time. Her gaze drifted to his mouth, to scorching-hot memories of his mouth on her body.

“You remember just as much as I do,” he said in a deep, husky voice that played over her like a caress.

She drew a breath and met his gaze, her cheeks burning. “I may remember, but that’s all. It won’t go any further than that,” she whispered.

“Scared to kiss me, Scarlett? After all this time, it won’t mean anything.”

“Don’t try to goad me into doing something in anger that I wouldn’t do otherwise,” she said, annoyed with him, and with herself, because she wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him until he would wish he hadn’t pushed her into it. But she knew better than to do that.

“Okay, Scarlett, go back to work. So will I. I’ll come back in half an hour or so. If you want to quit before then, just let me know.”

“Of course I will,” she said sweetly, running her hands lightly over a horse, feeling its bones and wondering how it could even stand. She forgot about Luke as she went back to work. She finally began to feel tired, but she still didn’t want to stop. As she worked, Luke appeared again. He reached out, and his hand closed on her wrist. “C’mon. Let’s get a little sleep. The sun will be over the horizon in a couple of hours. We’ll get back to this when the sun comes up.”

Nodding, she didn’t argue. She left him, hurrying to the barn and the tiny room with minimal facilities. Even so, she felt refreshed when she stepped out. She was so tired it shouldn’t matter if they both slept in the back of his pickup, except she knew it would.

“Luke, we can’t both sleep in the back of your pickup.”

“Why the hell not? There’s nowhere else—all of West Texas has rattlers, so the ground is out. The front seat isn’t big enough. You can keep your hands to yourself, and so can I. Don’t tell me you find me that irresistible?”

She knew the last part was said in jest, but she was tired and frustrated because she didn’t want to end up handing him her heart again, and, if they made love, she was afraid that was exactly what would happen.

Annoyed, she stepped close to stab his chest with her forefinger. “You know you’re attractive. You know I feel something, and I know you feel something, too. If we get in the back of your pickup, we won’t sleep. I’m realistic enough to know that and honest enough to admit it. I can sleep inside on the front seat, and that’s where I’ll be. The sun will wake me.”

“You sleep where you want, but after that little speech you just made, there’s no way in hell I can resist,” he growled, drawing her into his arms and leaning down, looking directly into her eyes. Her heart thudded. He intended to kiss her and she couldn’t resist him, either. Especially when he was holding her in his arms and his mouth was only inches away, his blue-green eyes glimmering with raw, unsuppressed desire.

“Luke,” she whispered, wanting him, knowing she was crossing a line she would regret, yet still unable to say no to him. The look in his eyes made it crystal clear that he, too, wanted her with all his being. Then his mouth was on hers, opening hers, and his tongue slipped inside, going deep, stroking and making her tremble, sending lightning streaking through her.

Desire shook her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing against him and kissing him in return, pouring all the pent-up longing and aching need that she felt for him into that kiss. She wanted him to remember kissing her, to want her the way she had wanted him. She hoped her kiss haunted him, caused him to lie awake at night to deal with the desire and the memories. And she wanted to relish this moment in his arms, being kissed by him, a dream fulfilled if only for a few precious minutes. His erection pressed against her, urgent, hard, ready, and she wanted him with all her being. But then she remembered her tears, her heartbreak, her longing—he had walked away without a qualm. She wasn’t going back to that.

She tore her mouth from his and then stepped away. “I’ll be up with the sun,” she whispered and turned to climb into the front seat of his pickup, lock the door and lean back against the seat.

She fought the urge to turn to see what he was doing. She fought an even greater urge to go back and join him, but she wasn’t climbing into the back of his pickup this first night he was in town and sleeping with him. Scarlett released a shuddering breath. Was she ever going to really get over him? She thought she had—she told herself she had when Tanner Dupree entered her life, but after Luke’s mind-blowing kiss tonight, she knew that Tanner had never held the appeal that Luke did.