Donna Alward - The Cowboy's Christmas Gift

Her lips were soft and pliant, and to his surprise she didn’t take any coaxing. Her tongue tangled with his as the kiss exploded, and Duke’s body felt as if it was expanding within his skin. He heard a sound echo in the cab of the truck—Good Lord, had he made that moaning sound?—as she nibbled on his bottom lip. Her mouth tasted of sweet soda and sharp rum and sultry woman and he decided on the spot that he’d made a good call on the dance floor after all. He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t expected anything this instant, this gratifying.

His hand slid from her neck down to her jacket and he pulled the zipper all the way down until the two sides parted. Inside the material she was warm, and he cupped her breast, finding the nipple hard either from his touch or the frigid air in the cab of the truck. He found the hem of her shirt and slid his hand underneath, encountering a lace-edged bra.

“Mmm,” she murmured, arching into his palm. Before he could reach around to the clasp, she pulled away.

“Slide over to the middle of the seat,” she commanded. He shifted a foot to the right and she straddled him, her knees on either side of his hips, her mouth on his again. God, she was sweet. Sweet and hot and amazing...

And she was sucking on his earlobe.

“I thought the steering wheel would get in the way,” she murmured, her hot breath and soft words sending shivers down his spine. She unzipped his coat, too, and spread it wide, so that their bodies were only separated by a few layers of denim and Duke was rapidly losing coherent thought. He slid his hands beneath her shirt, unfastened her bra and, in one quick movement, lifted the fabric and fastened his mouth on her breast.

She cried out at the contact and it was all he could do to not flip her down on the seat and make love to her right then and there. The windows had steamed up and without the heater, the interior of his truck was cooling fast despite the heat they were giving off.

He wanted to do this right, wanted to make love on a soft bed with lots of room and no worries about anyone wandering by and discovering them. “Inside,” he grated out roughly. “For the love of God, Carrie, let’s go inside.”

She ground her pelvis against him and he swore his eyes rolled back in his head.

“What if someone goes by and sees us?” He put his hands on her shoulders and held her away a little. “It’s cold. If we’re only going to do this once, I want to do it right.”

Her gaze burned into his and she slid off his lap. In the time it took her to get right-way around and grab her purse, he was out and at her door, reaching for her hand. Halfway to her back door he swept her up in his arms and she let out a musical, sexy laugh that made him smile. After a quick search for keys, he carried her through the door and into her small foyer, then let her down. Her legs slid against his until her toes touched the floor. Once they were stable he moved forward until her body was pressed between his and the wall.

Articles of clothing began to come off; coats dropped to the floor, a few buttons popped as she struggled to release him from his shirt, and her braid was tattered from both his hands and the tangle from pulling her shirt and bra over her head.

It wasn’t until Duke’s hands got busy beneath the waistband of her jeans that things suddenly seemed to be too much for her. Soon they’d cross a line they couldn’t turn back from, and he sensed the moment Carrie’s doubts started to creep in. She pulled back a little. Didn’t resist his touch but didn’t lean into it either, and he slowly got back his control and decided that perhaps a little finesse was required.

“Duke,” she breathed, and he was pretty certain his name had never sounded quite that sexy before.

“Hmm?” He nuzzled at her neck, taking his time. It wasn’t a race after all.

“I don’t think I can do this.”

Damn.

He swallowed. Took a deep breath.

“Is it because I’m your boss?” He dropped light kisses on her cheeks, across the soft curve of her ear, resting his hands on the warm skin just above the waist of her jeans. “Because that doesn’t matter. Trust me. I can always fire you and then it won’t be an issue.”

She let out a breathless laugh but it faded quickly. “No, it’s not that. Not entirely. I’m...I’m not ready. That probably sounds stupid.”

They hadn’t even bothered to turn on a light when they’d come inside. In the shadows Carrie’s eyes appeared dark and apprehensive.

Several seconds spun out while Duke tried to regain his equilibrium and common sense. “Whew,” he finally said, down low. “Okay. Okay.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Of course not.” He frowned. “You always have the right to say no, you know.”

“I thought you’d be disappointed.”

And, oh, he was. His body was still jacked up from all the stimulation, and he was going to have to find some sort of displacement activity to burn off the energy. “Hell yeah,” he murmured, running his finger over her bare shoulder. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But not disappointed in you. Right now I’m just cursing your sensible side. You’ve got me wound pretty tight, Miss Coulter.”

“It would appear we have some chemistry going on.”

He chuckled. “And that’s the understatement of the century.”

He bent and picked up her top and helped her get it over her head, but she wore it without her bra, and the idea of her bare breasts beneath the fabric didn’t help deflate his libido one bit. As he shrugged on his own shirt, she hiccuped softly and he knew without a doubt that she’d been right to put on the brakes. She wasn’t drunk but she wasn’t quite sober either, and he didn’t want that on his conscience. If they ever did go through with it, he wanted her clearheaded and present for every single second....

And that line of thinking wasn’t helping cool his jets, either.

“I should go,” he said quietly. “Are you going to be okay?”

She made a dismissive sound. “I’m not that drunk.”

He laughed. “No, ma’am.” He went forward and put a finger beneath her chin, lifted it and dropped a light kiss on her lips. “You are, however, a very difficult woman to walk away from.”

He’d surprised her with that. He could tell in the way her lips dropped open the slightest bit and her eyes widened.

“It’s probably better this way anyway,” she said, stepping back. “If we...you know...it would be awkward at the ranch.”

Only if they let it be, but he understood her concern. “I had a nice time tonight,” he admitted. “And that was unexpected, so thank you, Carrie.”

She nodded quickly. “Me, too.”

“I’ll be going, then. Unless...”

There was a short pause. “No, it’s better this way. I’ll see you later.”

It was another awkward moment where neither of them seemed sure what the right next move was, so Duke stepped forward and placed a kiss on her forehead before sliding out the door and heading for his truck.

He was backing out of her driveway when a light came on inside, and when he went to put the truck in Drive he noticed his hands were shaking.

It bothered him to realize how much he’d truly wanted to stay. And bothered him even more to know that he’d temporarily lost his mind simply because he’d danced with her. Who knew a woman could have such a rapid and visceral effect on him?

It was going to be a problem, though he would never admit that to Carrie. He’d have to either forget about her or get her out of his system. Considering she would be at the ranch day in and day out, forgetting didn’t seem like the most likely option.

* * *

CARRIE’S HEAD SEEMED to pulse at the same tempo as her heartbeat. She swiped her hand across her eyes, scraping away the grittiness in the corners and wincing at the pain that throbbed just behind her forehead.