The Cowgirl & The Unexpected Wedding

“A gentleman wouldn’t need to be asked,” Lizzy declared.

Before the words were out of her mouth, he slipped up behind her. She felt his hands circle her waist and the next thing she knew she had been lifted off her feet and settled snugly into the passenger seat of the 4X4. But Hank wasn’t half as quick to release her as he had been to lift her up. His work-roughened hands slid from her waist to settle briefly on her thighs. Her suddenly all too bare thighs.

Lizzy’s breath caught in her throat, and heat climbed into her cheeks. Her pulse ricocheted wildly as Hank leaned closer and closer still until his lips were almost on hers. She waited impatiently for him to close the distance between them.

The man had impeccable timing. She’d give him that. Just when she thought her heart was going to burst with longing, his mouth settled over hers, soft and gentle and coaxing. It was nothing like their greedy, frantic kiss that morning. This one was all about subtle nuances and pure temptation.

The kiss lasted an eternity, or maybe it only seemed that way because it stole her breath and left her reeling. If she was over the man, his kisses shouldn’t have any potency at all. One should have been pretty much like another.

Instead, they seemed to get more and more devastating. That morning, Lizzy had been thoroughly shaken by the discovery that time hadn’t dimmed the power of Hank’s kiss to rattle her completely. She was even more shaken by this one, in part at least because he had initiated it. It only confirmed the risk she was taking in seeing him tonight Somewhere along the way, he’d gone and changed the rules on her.

First he’d openly flirted with her, and now this kiss. Whatever restraints he’d placed on his actions years ago seemed to be a thing of the past. The turnaround was unexpected and dangerous, but it played nicely into her own plans. For once she wasn’t going to worry about risks or consequences. She was dedicated only to discovering whether old dreams could be turned into reality.

She suspected they both knew where this date was going to end up. Heck, she’d wanted to throw him down on the ground out in that pasture and make love to him right there. Discovering after all this time that he was not nearly as indifferent to her as he’d always pretended had only heightened her desire. At this rate, they’d be lucky if they made it to the end of the very long White Pines driveway before they started ripping each other’s clothes off.

“Hank?”

“Hmm?” he murmured, clearly reluctant to release her.

“Cody’s inside. He’s probably been watching every move we’ve made. My hunch is he’s halfway between the living room and the gun cabinet.”

Hank pulled away and sighed. “I suppose you have a point.”

“Believe me, no one wishes it were otherwise more than I do.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to be satisfied with the fact that we’re only twenty minutes down the road from my ranch.”

“We could make it in five, if we took the horses, instead of driving the long way around,” Lizzy argued.

He studied her intently. “Surely you can hold the thought a few extra minutes.”

Lizzy refused to admit that she’d been clinging to the same thought for years. “I’m not sure. You might have to remind me.”

“Not a problem,” he said, regarding her with a look every bit as hot as a branding iron. “Not a problem at all.”

* * *

Hank was pretty sure he was in way over his head. One look into Lizzy’s sparkling, expectant eyes, and rational thought fled. He’d always known she wanted him, always forced himself to ignore the blatant desire in her eyes.

Tonight, though, there would be no ignoring the obvious. He had the distinct impression if he tried to exercise a little restraint, Lizzy would take matters into her own hands. Clearly, the woman was out of patience, and he was darned sure out of willpower.

Hank doubted Cody had intended him to seduce Lizzy the first chance he got. He also figured it was none of her big brother’s damned business what they did. Lizzy was twenty-four now and certainly knew her own mind, and this had been a long time coming. Not that Lizzy’s desires would enter into it for Cody—or any other Adams. If their protectiveness kicked in, Hank was done for.

For once, though, Hank was only going to worry about one Adams, the woman seated beside him with her eyes on the road and her hand resting less than subtly at the top of his thigh.

Lizzy’s touch was so intimate, so disturbing that he forgot completely about the call he’d intended to make to his housekeeper. He had to concentrate very hard to keep his eyes on the road or they’d end up in a ditch.

Because of that, they walked into the ranch to find the lights on, but the oven cold and not so much as a whiff of Lizzy’s favorite bread in the air, much less the scent of dinner.

“Damn,” Hank muttered, gazing around in dismay at the tidied room and bare table. “Mrs. Wyndham’s gone.”

“Were you feeling the need for a chaperone?” Lizzy inquired.

“Actually, I was more concerned about the dinner I promised you.”

She stepped up close and slid her hands up his chest “Oh, I think we can improvise. I’ll bet you know your way around a kitchen.”

She might have been talking about cooking, but Hank got the distinct impression that dinner was the last thing on Lizzy’s mind.

Still, he made a valiant attempt to get her to focus. He extricated himself from her clever, wandering hands and aimed for the refrigerator. Maybe a quick blast of chilly air would cool him off sufficiently to keep his wits about him. After all these years of waiting, he didn’t want to hurry things along too much. There was something to be said for anticipation, though he’d thought until now that he’d had his fill of it.

“Hank?”

“Yes?”

“Am I making you nervous?”

“Sweetheart, a tornado makes me nervous. You scare the daylights out of me.”

She seemed surprised and just a little fascinated by that. “I do? Why?”

Hank grinned at her. “Oh, no. I’m not giving you any ammunition to use against me. You’re way too sure of yourself as it is.” He deliberately turned back to study the contents of the refrigerator. “How about baked ham?”

Instead of a response, he felt the glide of a hand up his back. His body jolted at the touch.

“Lizzy.” It came out in a choked voice, part plea, part protest.

“Yes, Hank.”

She sounded amused. Obviously, Lizzy had learned a lot about seduction since she’d been away. Hank wanted to murder the man who’d taught her. He swallowed hard and forced a nice, neutral tone into his voice.

“I asked if you wanted baked ham.”

“I want you.”

Well, hell. The game was pretty much up now, Hank thought desperately. He slowly closed the refrigerator door and turned to face her. “Lizzy...” he began, intending to be rational and very, very careful in what he said next.

She cut him off by slanting her mouth over his and snuggling up so tight that his entire body went on red alert. He locked his fingers around her elbows, intending to push her away, but a moan of pure pleasure escaped instead.

She tasted like mint and felt like satin and fire. Hank’s ability to fight the potent combination pretty much wilted on the spot Years of pent-up hunger rampaged through him. There was a brief moment—no more than an instant—when he could have backed away, but as if she sensed it intuitively, Lizzy chose that precise second to slide her tongue into his mouth, to rock her hips against his already throbbing arousal.

Hank was lost He’d wanted her for so long, dreamed of having her in his arms, in his bed, hot and willing and filled with just this kind of urgency. He broke off the kiss and scooped her into his arms, then headed for the master suite. At the door, he locked gazes with her.

“Are you sure?” he asked, because it was the right and honorable thing to do. Even so, he prayed he already knew her answer, because if she said no now, he was pretty sure his body would shatter into a thousand pieces.

She touched a finger to his lips and smiled. “Stop fretting, cowboy. I’ve been sure forever.”

Hank believed her because he was desperate to. He carried her into the suite and kicked the door closed behind him. Slowly, he lowered her to the king-size bed, then went to pull the drapes across the wall-to-wall glass with its view of the wildflower-bright fields at sunset.