Barbara Dunlop - A Cowboy in Manhattan

He couldn’t help but smile at her joke. “I also dance.”

“The two-step?”

“If that’s what you want.”

She cocked her head. “This is a waltz.”

Reed removed his arm from her waist, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm. “Then let’s waltz.”

He steered her toward the dance floor where the ensemble was playing a classic ballad. There, he drew her into his arms, and his entire body seemed to sigh in satisfaction as she settled against him.

She was fluid and graceful, light on her feet, sensitive to his slightest nuance. He tucked her more closely to his body, his hand coming in contact with the bare skin revealed by the plunging V at the back of her dress. Her soft skin was so distracting that he struggled for something coherent to say.

“You’re a very good dancer,” he opened.

There was a smile in her voice when she answered. “Thank you. I’ve had a few lessons.”

He gave a sheepish grin in return. “I guess you have.”

“But it was nice of you to notice,” she continued with what sounded like sincerity. “And you’re not so bad yourself.”

“High-school gym class,” he admitted. It wasn’t something he’d done frequently since then, but when he did, he always enjoyed it.

The lights dimmed further, and the band switched songs to another famous fifties cover tune. Reed saw no reason to let her go, so he let one song blend into the next, keeping her snugly in his arms.

They silently wound their way toward a set of doors that were open to a wide veranda. It was darker at this end of the ballroom, the music was lower and a cool breeze wafted in from the riverbank. She molded closer against him.

“Cold?” he whispered, gathering her tight, even as he turned so that his body was blocking the breeze.

“I’m fine,” she answered into his chest.

Reed was fine, too. In fact, he was a whole lot better than fine. He wished that time would stop, that the world would fall away and leave him here alone with Katrina.

But then he caught sight of Travis far across the room, closely watching their every move. And he knew the world wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Not that Reed blamed Katrina’s brother for worrying. Reed definitely shouldn’t be trusted with her.

“You go to things like this in New York City?” he found himself asking, curious and wondering how safe she’d be with neither of her brothers around to run interference.

Did she dress this provocatively for functions in New York? It was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra, and he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she had on underneath the clingy satin dress.

“Things like what?” she asked, voice slightly dreamy.

“Dances, charity functions.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “We’re contractually obligated to make public appearances. It’s good for contributions to have recognizable performers attend Liberty Ballet fundraisers.”

Reed didn’t like the sound of that. “It’s compulsory? What if you don’t want to go?”

She tipped her chin to look up at him. “It’s my job.”

Reed’s spine stiffened. “It’s your job to dance with random men?”

“Random men with a lot of money to contribute.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Really?” she drawled. “And your opinion counts why?”

Reed didn’t have a good answer for that. “What about your brothers?”

“What about them?”

Reed’s glance darted to Travis again, finding him absorbed in a conversation with two other men. “Do they know?”

“You mean, do they know…” she made a show of glancing surreptitiously around the dance floor then lowered her voice to a stage whisper “…about my wicked little ballroom-dancing secret?”

A surge of jealousy hit Reed at the thought of her other dance partners. Giving into impulse, he stepped through the patio door, spinning her outside, away from the crowd.

“Hey,” she protested.

But instead of stopping, he let their momentum carry them along the fieldstone wall. He came to a halt beside a square stone pillar, his forearm tightening across the small of her back, the darkness closing around them to give privacy.

She gasped in a breath, lips parting, eyes wide.

He gave her half a second to say no, then swooped in for a kiss. He came down harder than he’d intended, openmouthed, tongue invading, greedily savoring the sweet, moist heat of her mouth.

After a startled second, she tipped her head back, welcoming him, her tongue tangling with his. Her spine arched, and her hips pressed against the steel of his thighs. Her arms twined around his neck, and his free hand closed over her rear, the thin fabric of her dress all but disappearing in his imagination.

“Are you naked under this?” he rasped, kissing her neck, her shoulder, brushing a spaghetti strap out of the way to taste her tender skin.

“Are you naked under that?” she asked in return, tone teasing, her hands slipping beneath his jacket to wrap around him, branding him through the cotton of his shirt.

“Yes,” he hissed, then resumed the kiss that went on and on, pushing want and need into every fiber of his body. His world contracted to Katrina, her taste, her feel, her scent. His hands roamed, while his lips savored, and her lithe body imprinted itself on his skin.

A woman’s laughter penetrated his consciousness, as a group of people wandered onto the deck.

Reed forced himself to let go, fisted his hands and gritted his teeth, struggling hard to bring himself back under control.

When he found his voice, it was a mere rasp. “What are we doing?” What was he doing? What on earth had gotten into him?

Her hands were still braced on his chest, and her lips curved into a secret smile. “I believe it’s called kissing.”

It was so tempting to fall back into the moment. But he couldn’t allow it. This chemistry between them flew out of control the instant he let his guard down.

“What is the matter with me? ” he ground out.

Why couldn’t he leave her alone? She was a family friend and a neighbor, soon to be an in-law. She wasn’t some temporary pickup in a honky-tonk.

She eased away, straightening the strap of her dress. “Are you saying ‘not here’?”

He wished it were that simple. “I’m saying not ever.”

Her smile faltered, and he immediately felt like a cad. Bad enough he’d accosted her. Now he’d insulted her. He hadn’t meant it the way it sounded. He raked a hand through his short hair, putting more space between them. “I’m sorry.”

She pressed her lips together. “No problem.” She made to move around him.

He reached out. “Katrina.”

But she brushed his hand away. “No need for an explanation.”

He snagged her wrist, stopping her. “It’s not that I don’t want-”

“You’re embarrassing me, Reed.” Her tone was brittle; her crackling blue gaze staring straight ahead.

He leaned down, lips close to her ear, attempting to make it better. “Listen to me.”

“No.” She tried to free her wrist.

“I want you, Katrina,” he confessed. “I want you very, very badly.”

“I can tell.”

He mustered his strength. “Give me a break. Your sister is marrying my brother.”

She pinned him with a glare. “Is this some archaic chivalry thing?”

“Yes.” For want of a better term, it was.

She leaned into him, the tip of her breast brushing his arm. “Well, you might want to get over that.”

“Katrina,” he warned on a growl.

“Because I want you, too, Reed. Very, very badly.”

His hand went lax at her frank admission. It gave her a moment to escape, and she took it.

Katrina couldn’t believe the way she’d taunted Reed. She’d never said anything remotely that bold to a man.