Leanne Banks - Flirting with Fortune

“My mother made some this morning, and I brought a few slices with me.” Jude shot her a wink and slipped off the back of his horse with an ease Gabi envied. “I could be persuaded to share.”

“I’ll start working on appealing to your altruistic side,” Gabi declared. “Once I quit gazing longingly at terra firma.”

Taking hold of the chestnut’s reins, he assisted Gabi off the horse. She stood there for a moment, her hands resting on his muscular forearms.

“It feels odd,” she murmured.

He grinned. “Being on solid ground again?”

“No.” Gabi cast a wary glance at the pond where their horses now stood drinking. “Being this close to water and not being on alert.”

Jude cocked his head.

“Back home, when you see water that isn’t the ocean, you think snakes and alligators.”

The look he shot her was clearly skeptical. “You’re making that up.”

“I’m not,” she insisted. “The church I attend in Miami has a couple of lakes on their property. They got rid of the gators once but had to bring them back. Know why?”

“No clue.”

“The snake population exploded. They even got into the building.”

He gave a disbelieving snort.

“Honest to God.” She swiped a finger across her heart. “We brought the alligators back to keep the snakes under control. And not just any snakes, water moccasins, the deadliest of all.”

Jude shook his head. “You like living in such a place?”

“It’s been my home for as long as I can remember,” she said simply. “But it doesn’t feel that way so much since my mom died and my dad moved away.”

A wave of sadness washed over her at the realization that her father’s departure had changed everything. In an attempt to shake off the unwanted melancholy, she performed a couple of stretches then shook out her hands, which had been holding the reins in a death grip. By the time she straightened, her mood had lightened.

“I could have been a Texan,” she announced.

If Jude was surprised by the out-of-the-blue pronouncement, it didn’t show. “Could have been? Or could be?”

“Could have been,” she repeated. “My father and his brothers were born in Texas, but relocated to Florida when they were young.”

He slapped his hat against his dusty jeans. “That explains it.”

She lifted a brow.

“You’re a natural on a horse,” he told her. “You’re a born cowgirl.”

Gabi laughed.

The sound made Jude smile. She captivated him. As she had from the first moment he’d seen her.

“Where’s my banana bread?” Gabi asked.

“I thought you were going to persuade me to share.”

She stared at him for a long moment, a speculative gleam in her eyes. “What’s it going to take?”

He simply smiled, enjoying the game.

“A little buttering up?”

He grimaced. “That makes me sound like a tub of popcorn at the movie theater.”

She fisted her hands on her hips, considered. After a second, she took a step closer, slid her hands up his chest to the lapels of his shirt. “Oh, Jude,” she simpered. “You’re so handsome.”

He cocked his head and stared pityingly at her.

She dropped her hands, frowned. “You’re right, way too cliché.”

“But you’re on the right track,” he admitted, making her smile.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, let it out slowly then tipped her head and gazed up at him through lowered lashes. Her voice became a sultry purr. “Have I told you that I absolutely adore your muscles?”

He appeared to consider then shook his head. “I don’t believe you have.”

“I do,” she said, all wide-eyed and innocent. “I know some women go for the starving-poet look. You know—guys with that long shaggy hair and not a manly muscle in sight.”

“I take it you’re not one of them.”

Gabi trailed a finger across his biceps, a hint of a smile curving her lips upward when the muscle jumped. “I prefer men who look like men. I like them gentle but strong. You know—the kind of man a woman can depend on.”

She stopped, as if she’d taken it further than she’d intended. But Jude liked knowing that she found him attractive, that his body appealed to her. And since they were exchanging confidences...

“Have I told you the kind of woman who appeals to me?”

Gabi shook her head, a cautious look in her eyes.

“Short women with dark hair?”

“Not just any short woman with dark hair.” He took a step closer. “You.”

She inched back. “Ah, that’s sweet.”

“I mean it.” He took her face in his hands and gave her a smile so warm it made something inside her ache. “I’ve dated women of all shapes and sizes and found many of them attractive. But none compare to you.”

She feigned a look of mild interest. “Tell me more, smooth-talking cowboy.”

“I speak the truth.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Seriously, I love the way your hair shines like dark walnut in the sun.” He touched those silky strands as he spoke, marveling at the softness. “Your eyes remind me of the finest Venezuelan chocolate.”

“They don’t make chocolate in Venezuela.”

He smiled. “They do. My mother received some as a gift for Christmas from Sawyer. I remember the rich, dark color. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw your eyes.”

She blinked. “Well, thank you.”

“And your body.” His gaze slid up and down from the cowboy hat to the tips of her dusty boots. “You’re small and muscular, but you have curves in all the right places. When you’re against me we fit together perfectly. You fit me perfectly.”

“If you were the one trying to convince me to give you a piece of banana bread, it’d already be on your plate.”

Jude let his gaze linger on her lips. “I’m not hungry for banana bread.”

Her dark eyes sparkled in the sunlight. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.

“I admit I’m tempted to kiss you,” she said in that sultry tone he found so incredibly sexy, “but I’m not into public displays of affection.”

Confused, Jude glanced around to see who was riding up. But he saw only cows and pastureland. “We’re the only ones here.”

Gabi gestured with her head toward the herd of longhorns eyeing them suspiciously from behind a string of fence.

He grinned and shook his head. “They don’t count.”

“Maybe.” When she looked like she might be thinking of making a run for it, Jude grabbed her hand and tugged her to him.

“Not so fast, darlin’,” he said in a deep voice with the faintest hint of a Texas drawl. “First things first.”

Gabi stood so close he could see the flecks of gold in the rich brown depths of her eyes.

“Oh, that’s right.” She gave a throaty laugh and batted those long lashes. “You owe me a slice of banana bread.”

“I want to kiss you.” His gaze met hers. “And you want to kiss me.”

“I guess we might as well go ahead and lock lips.” Though Gabi’s voice had a slightly bored edge, the flicker of desire in her eyes gave her away. “It’s not like we have anything better to do.”

“We could eat the banana bread.” He trailed kisses up her neck.

She arched back, giving him full access to her throat. “Too many fat grams.”

He nibbled on her ear, inhaling the light floral scent of her perfume. “We’ll stick with this, then.”

“I thought you were going to kiss me.” Her breath came in little puffs.

“I think that’s what I’m doing,” he said, nipping her shoulder through the fabric.

When his hands began to slide slowly upward, Gabi inhaled sharply, her body quivering.

“You haven’t come close to my mouth,” she said in a breathless tone.