Vicki Lewis Thompson: Do You Take This Cowboy?

“On second thought, maybe I did.”

“Let me make it up to you.” His heart thundered as he brushed his mouth over her velvet lips. He could barely feel her hand as she slipped it around his neck, yet knowing she’d reached for him heated his blood.

He moaned and fit his lips to hers, pressing a little, then a little more. Her grip on his neck tightened a tiny bit. Slowly he began to explore with his tongue, savoring the warm, arousing taste of her. Her jaw slackened ever so slightly. Easy, easy...

Drawing back, he changed the angle, settling down more firmly this time and becoming bolder with his tongue. A tiny whimper, a quick gasp, and she surrendered completely, opening to him with a rush of passion that made him dizzy.

He rose to his knees and cradled her face in both hands. She mirrored him, gripping his shoulders as she balanced on her knees and turned fully into his kiss, her intensity matching his.

Breathing hard, he lifted his head. “We should probably—”

“I know.” She gulped for air and leaned back, but she didn’t let go of him. “This is crazy.”

“Feels good, though.”

“It does, but...” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I think—” She sucked in a breath and let it out again. “I think we need to slow down.”

“Agreed.” He reminded himself he was in this for the long haul. He combed his fingers through her silky hair and resisted the urge to grip her head and kiss her again. “We met a few hours ago.”

Letting go of him, she took another deep breath and settled back on her heels. “We’ll deal with this sudden attraction like two intelligent adults.”

“One intelligent adult. All my brain cells are swimming in testosterone right now so I don’t qualify.” But one thought did make it through his fevered brain. “I’m buying a truck tomorrow.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“I’ll have my own truck by tomorrow afternoon.” He retrieved his hat and put it on.

“What’s having your own truck got to do with anything?”

“It’s a guy thing. I don’t want to borrow the ranch truck every time we go out. Which reminds me. Are you free tomorrow night?” He sat back and winced at the sharp pinch of unforgiving denim on his privates.

“No, I’m not. I’ll be camping at the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Refuge so I can get more video of the mustangs.”

“Oh.” He hesitated. Asking her to change her plans seemed pushy, even for a guy who liked to seize the moment. “I’ve heard about that place. Never been out there, though. Sounds interesting.” Maybe she’d agree to put it off. Tomorrow night was his window of opportunity because the following night was Cade’s bachelor party. Then they were into the weekend wedding activities with the rehearsal Friday and the wedding Saturday.

“It’s fascinating out there. I have a friend who works at the center and she keeps me posted on the herd’s activities. Right now the horses are hanging out in an ideal location for the kind of footage I’m looking for.”

“You probably need to grab that opportunity while you can.” His chances of spending an evening with her anytime soon were growing dimmer by the minute.

“Right. I would have gone this afternoon except Lexi and Cade asked me to film the video for their folks and it had to be edited right away. I like to get out there in the late afternoon and set up camp, so I couldn’t see that working out today.”

“So how about this. What if I went with you?” It was a bold suggestion, but tough times called for tough measures.

She blinked. “Um, I’ll be camping overnight.”

“So you’d rather not?” He didn’t want to push her. “Look, I realize that might not work for you. Like we’ve said, we just met.” He hesitated. “I could bring my own tent.”

“Do you have one?”

“No, but I’d have time to go into town and pick one up.”

“That seems silly. Mine sleeps two.”

Now there was an encouraging remark. He didn’t think they’d spend the whole time sleeping but decided not to say so. “I’d be honored to be your Sherpa. I’m good at carrying things, setting up tents and building fires. I’d bring the food and do all the cooking. And I’ll drive us there in my new truck.” He was already picturing that it would be black.

“That makes no sense. The ranch is on the way to the refuge. If you come, I should just swing by and pick you up.”

“That would be fine.” He still needed to buy that truck, but maybe not tomorrow.

“I was planning to leave around four. The best times to film the horses are at dusk and dawn.”

He thought about all the time that left in between but again decided to keep his mouth shut about it. Instead he offered her a way out of taking him along in case she had any second thoughts. “If I go along, I promise not to mess with your schedule for getting good videos. But if you’d rather go out there alone, I’ll back off. I’d never want to interfere with your job.”

She reached out and touched his cheek. “Don’t back off. Persistence is sexy.”

Capturing her hand, he turned his head so he could place a kiss in her palm.

She moaned softly and pulled her hand away. “And so are you. Let’s go back before we both forget this is only our first date.”

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