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  “Never mind!” she exclaimed, her cheeks turning pink.

  “I don’t want you to think I’ve forgotten anything. I recall in finest detail how soft you—”

  “Boone! Stop that! I believe that you remember and I don’t care to hear a recital!”

  “Why not?” he drawled, his talk just making him want her more than ever. He didn’t want to drop the subject because in a minute they would be back at the house and he had hopes of getting her to himself again and into his arms. Especially if he kept her mind on last night.

  “You’ll embarrass me.”

  “Embarrass you—or make you want to do all that again? Are you scared to hear about last night? I thought it was mighty great and I can’t wait to make love to you. And when I do, I want to kiss you all over, darlin’. Slow, wet kisses,” he said softly, drawing out his words and running his fingers along her arm and up to her nape to lightly caress her.

  “Kisses that go—”

  “Boone, stop now,” she whispered. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel. “Stop or I’ll have a wreck.”

  “There’s nowhere out here to have a wreck, and no one else to get tangled up with. You’re perfectly safe.”

  “The last thing I am is safe,” she said through clenched teeth. “You stop trying to seduce me while I’m driving or I won’t eat with you tonight or go out with you or anything else.”

  “One would think that you don’t like me,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “I like you too darn well, and you just stop talking, and behave and keep your hands to yourself.”

  “Won’t that dull things down a lot? Seems to me this is much more exhilarating.” Once more, he drew his fingers lightly across her nape. “There. Doesn’t that make you tingle? Would you rather have me ignore you and keep my hands to myself?”

  “At the moment, yes,” she replied, staring straight ahead.

  He laughed softly. “All right. I’ll wait until you’re not driving.

  When she flashed him a scalding look, his pulse jumped. She looked hot and flushed and desire had darkened her eyes. Her words had slowed and her breathing had become ragged, so he knew she was more aware of him than she indicated as she still blithely talked about ranch history and her family.

  “Uncle Perry is widowed. Aunt Corrine had a fatal heart attack last year. He has two boys, Bret and Nick, who are in college.”

  “Any other relatives who work here?” Boone asked, and she shook her head.

  When they got back to the house, he met three of the groundskeepers. Next, he met Nan and Gordy Barnes who cleaned, but it was the cook, Hettie Price, a gray-haired woman who gave him a steely-eyed look, and he suspected she was one more old family retainer who was protective of Erin.

  Erin led him to the family room and turned to face him. “Now you’ve met most of the regular staff and some of the cowboys and our foreman. There are a lot more cowboys who work here and we have trainers plus two more who help with the grounds and one handyman who does a lot of house repairs. Hettie cooks for me two days a week.”

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s after three. Let’s go for a swim and then I’ll put steaks on the grill tonight and we’ll send this army of people home and have the place to ourselves.”

  “Thanks,” Erin said, smiling at him as she began to move toward the door. “I need some time to catch up on things while I was away. If you want to eat dinner here tonight, I’ll come back about half past six.”

  “I’ll walk you home.”

  She laughed. “No need for that! I can’t get lost. See you at half past six.” She left the room, and he trailed after her, standing in the hall and watching her stride away.

  He wondered if she was going to walk right out of his life after the greatest night he’d ever had.

  He dismissed the help, telling them that he wouldn’t need them for the evening or the next day. He didn’t want cooks and cleaning people bustling around the house if he could get Erin to stay or join him in his room—an event that was beginning to seem highly unlikely.

  He strode through the mansion, unable to feel like the owner. In another twenty minutes he was in the pool and swam as if he were getting ready for competition. He wanted to let off steam and get Erin out of his thoughts and try to cool down, hoping to exhaust himself.

  By a quarter after six, his pulse raced as he went out a side door, crossed the lawn and headed toward her house, determined that she would not be so evasive and aloof this evening. Seduction of the most luscious and interesting woman he had ever known was his goal for tonight.

  Five

  E rin brushed her hair, studying her image while butterflies tickled her insides. She tried to bank her eagerness. Dismayed how easily she had fallen into Boone’s arms and into his bed last night, she could not keep from being giddy and nervous about being with him again.

  She tried to remind herself that Boone probably caused that hot chemistry with every woman he focused his attention on. But Erin knew that she couldn’t move into his bed and his life after one wild night of passion. She had to slow down and gather her wits and see what she really wanted before it turned out to be a broken heart when Boone moved on.

  But, oh, how difficult it had been to keep him at arm’s length all day when all she had wanted was to walk right back into his arms and let him make wild, passionate love to her! The thought of the night before heated her up as well as any fire.

  His body was masculine perfection and he was a consummate, considerate lover.

  “How would you know?” she asked her image, wrinkling her nose. After all, he was her only lover. Yet she knew she was right. All the more reason to be cautious and careful.

  She studied her reflection intently, trying to see herself through Boone’s eyes. She wore a turquoise cotton sundress with spaghetti straps, a full skirt and a narrow leather belt. She slipped her bare feet into sandals. A dab of perfume behind her ears and on her throat and wrist gave her a light, flowery scent.

  She caught her hair up on either side of her head with clips. She had already changed outfits three times and she was not going to change again. Did she look too plain? Too country? He was cosmopolitan and worldly. The house had awed him somewhat, but only briefly, and then he seemed to accept it as easily as if it had been a six-room bungalow.

  His knowledge of quarter horses was slim, but he really didn’t need to know anything. John Frates hadn’t known a lot about them, either.

  The worry nagged her that Boone might sell the ranch. He obviously preferred his charter service. Once, right after John Frates’s death, she and her uncle had discussed going in together to try to buy the place. Neither wanted the debt. She rubbed her forehead, worrying about the future of the Double T and her own future as its manager.

  How long would Boone stay? If she accepted his invitation, he might stay for a time. She might persuade him he should keep the Double T. If she didn’t, she guessed he would be gone within a week. There was nothing here for him, and he had a business already.

  Hettie looked as if she wanted to chase him off the place instantly. Erin smiled as she put diamond studs in her ears. The cook was protective and probably didn’t approve of Boone since she’d found out he hadn’t grown up in Lago or Piedras counties, or even in Texas for that matter, and that seemed to be the ultimate requirement for Hettie.

  Erin checked her watch and glanced out the window to see Boone walking across the lawn. She moved closer to the window to watch his long-legged stride that covered the ground swiftly.

  Excitement escalated in her and all her caution melted like ice cream beneath hot fudge. He wore navy slacks and a navy knit shirt and he was handsome enough to scramble her wits. How could she keep this man at arm’s length?

  She wanted to rush downstairs and into his arms. Instead, she took a deep breath and thought about the broken hearts he probably had in his past, the women he had been dating only a week ago—or a couple of nights ago. The thoughts cooled her slight
ly, but not enough to be real proof against his charms.

  With another deep breath she left her room, going through the house and then pausing, having no intention of rushing to meet him no matter how badly she wanted to.

  She walked sedately to the front door, opening it and catching her breath because at close range he was even more devastating.

  “Hi,” he said, his warm gaze taking her in. “I thought I’d walk you to my house. You look gorgeous.”

  “Thank you,” she replied, closing the door behind her. He took her hand, which surprised her. “You’re going to send shock waves across the ranch,” she said.

  “How so?” he asked, looking down at her.

  “Holding my hand. We’re out in plain sight and maybe no one will see us, but more than likely someone will and then rumors will fly over the Double T like wildfire.”

  “You haven’t ever walked around holding hands with a guy before?”

  “Not since I brought a friend home one year when I was in college and I don’t think we held hands, but I did bring him home to meet my dad.”

  “How serious were you?”

  “Not too serious. We dated for about six months that year and then the relationship fizzled. There never has been anyone else.”

  “I find that most amazing except I still think it’s because you’re buried out here with the horses.”

  “I’m not buried. It’s my life.”

  “So do you mind rumors flying?”

  She shook her head and smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. “I don’t mind. But you better watch out. Between Hettie and Uncle Perry, you should be careful. They’ll give you a hard time and may try to run you off.”

  “So it’s not me personally. It’s any guy who steps in?”

  “Well, sort of. If you were a Texan and from this county and a rancher or someone who had grown up in these parts and would always live and work here, then you would have passed some major hurdles. There would always be obstacles—questions about the usual character qualities.”

  “Hettie isn’t your mother and Uncle Perry isn’t your father.”

  “They think they’re substitutes and doing what they should do since I no longer have a mother or father to protect me.”

  “Whoo,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t recall any female who had to be protected from me—maybe one or two protected by me, but not from me. You’d think I’d sprouted fangs. Don’t they know there’s a world outside of Texas?”

  “Is there really?”

  He grinned and pulled her close against him. “All right then. Let’s give them something to worry about and they can just start protecting you from my fearsome presence,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.

  He had caught her off guard and her first inclination was to step back, but it transformed into a whole different impulse. His tongue went deep and her insides clenched while her temperature soared and all the banked feelings she had tried to squelch through the day burst into scalding needs.

  She wasn’t aware of wrapping her arms around his neck. She wasn’t aware of the ranch or that they were standing in front of his gate or that she was tossing aside her defenses and letting down all barriers. The caution she had fought to preserve throughout the day was evaporating, disappearing beneath hot kisses that made her melt, her knees turn to jelly.

  Combing her fingers in his hair, she held him close. She trembled with desire as she kissed him, putting all her longing into her kiss, wanting to drive herself into his memory where she wouldn’t be just another dazzled female in a long line of conquests.

  How long did they stand and kiss? She didn’t know because time ceased. Finally, though, beyond the driving need that was consuming her, reason whispered. Reluctantly, she struggled to regain control of her actions. She pushed against his chest and then shoved more forcefully, twisting away to look up at him.

  Their breathing was ragged and for a few seconds they could only stare at each other. Pinpoints of fire in his blue eyes relayed his desire while his fingers toyed with her hair. With a racing pulse, she took his hand to lead him toward the house.

  “Come on. We’ve probably sent someone into shock and talk will be all over the county by this time tomorrow. We’ll hope Uncle Perry doesn’t come after you with a shotgun.”

  “That went out with buggies and muzzle-loading rifles,” Boone replied.

  “Not around here.”

  He walked beside her and they went through the gate and across the lawn in silence. She glanced at him, wondering about his uncustomary quietness.

  “You’re at a loss for words. I’m surprised.”

  “We’ll get inside and talk,” he said in a tight voice, and she knew she was going to have to make a decision because he sounded solemn.

  As soon as he closed the imposing front door behind him, he caught her hand to pull her around to face him. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I want you, Erin. Move in with me. I want you here tonight, tomorrow night, every night in my arms.”

  With a pounding heart she gazed into his eyes and knew that while he sounded as if he wanted a long-term commitment, he could not possibly mean it. He had firmly declared he was not into commitment and he never would marry. As handsome as he was, she guessed he went from woman to woman easily.

  Did she want to be seduced into his bed on his terms? Did she want to move into his bed at all? Her racing heart was her answer. She wanted to say yes and walk back into his arms and continue kissing him, but she knew that was the path to heartbreak. At least think it over, she told herself.

  She placed her hands on his cheeks. “You’re rushing me, and this is a big step. Give me a little time, Boone, long enough that I’m sure about what I’m doing.”

  He groaned and pulled her to him to kiss her hungrily, leaning over her and wrapping one arm tightly around her waist and tangling the other hand in her hair. Her heart thudded while she lost track of her argument. His fingers played down over her throat, pushing away a spaghetti strap and reaching down to cup her breast. He pushed away her lacy bra and his thumb circled her nipple.

  Erin moaned, sensations rocking her and making her want him more than ever. Kissing her throat, he tugged down the zipper of her dress and pushed the top away so he could kiss her breast. His tongue circled her nipple and she gasped, her fingers tensing as one hand tugged his shirt out of his slacks. Her hand slipped beneath his shirt and she moved her fingers across his muscled chest. His chest was hard, warm, marvelous, and she wanted to keep touching and kissing him even though she knew it was contrary to what she had just told him.

  She could feel his arousal, knew he wanted her badly. Why did it seem an eternity since they’d loved?

  “Erin,” he whispered. “I want you—”

  The doorbell chimed, a dim sound that barely registered with her for a few seconds and then she twisted away. “Boone, that was the door. Someone’s here—”

  “They’ll go away,” he whispered.

  “Boone! No one on this ranch is going to go away. It isn’t a salesman peddling wares.” She pushed away and wriggled into her dress and turned, holding up her hair. “Please zip me up.”

  “Damnation,” he snapped, zipping her dress.

  She turned around. “You see to it. I’ll be right back,” she said and hurried across the hall and into the formal living room.

  “Erin, come back here, dammit. It’s someone you probably know and I don’t.”

  She ignored him, curious who would be at the door but wanting to get herself pulled together before she faced anyone she knew. She stepped in front of a mirror and looked at her flushed face, her red lips and disheveled hair. She pulled the clips out of her hair and combed it with one, dropping them both into her pocket while the door chimes rang again.

  She wondered if Boone was trying to cool down and get his shirt back into his slacks. She heard the door open and heard a deep male voice. When she recognized Uncle Perry’s voice, she had to smother a laugh.

  She had
warned Boone about Hettie and Uncle Perry, and she would bet a great deal that Uncle Perry’s unannounced appearance had something to do with Boone holding her hand and kissing her out in the yard in plain view of anyone who was in the vicinity.

  She heard them talking but couldn’t distinguish words.

  Her amusement vanished as she thought about Boone and his wanting her to stay with him. That was the way to heartbreak; she couldn’t see it any other way. Yet if she told him no, he would probably pack and go out of her life almost as swiftly as he had come into it. And get rid of the Double T, as well.

  Did she want to send away the most special man she had ever known without giving a relationship with him a chance? She knew she didn’t want to lose the ranch, but she couldn’t accept his proposition just to keep it.

  Tormented and torn, she rubbed her forehead while most of her inclinations were to say yes to him.

  She heard the door close. Tiptoeing to the door, she gazed into the empty hall and wondered where Boone had gone. When she looked out the window, she saw two of the men who worked on the ranch and guessed that Uncle Perry had brought some of the cowboys to the house to meet Boone.

  Shaking her head, she went through the house to the kitchen where she found Boone had a table set and steaks ready. A tossed salad was in the refrigerator, potatoes were baking in the oven.

  She saw the bottle of wine in a cooler on the counter. A scene set for seduction. The idea heated her and she longed to be back in his arms, but she knew she should take this quiet time to think things over and decide what she wanted tonight and for her future.

  She went outside to sit on the patio. The patio had air-conditioning piped outside and it was enough to keep the area near the house cool. She thought about Boone’s repeated statement that he wanted her. She knew he did, just as she wanted him, but it wasn’t that simple. And all her willpower had turned to jelly in the past few minutes. She had meant it though, when she told him that he was rushing things.

  It was thirty minutes later when he strode outside to join her. He shook his head. “You’re not underage, are you?” he asked.