Robyn Grady - Unbiddable Attraction

As they walked into the barn, Chance gave in to temptation and casually draped his arm across her slender shoulders. She gave him a sideways glance, but he took it as a good sign that she didn’t protest.

“The only time the four of us weren’t together was at night when we went to bed,” he explained. “Uncle J.D. gave my mom and me one wing of the house so that we would have our privacy, while he and his kids took the other wing.”

“You must have had a wonderful childhood with other children to play with,” Fee said, sounding wistful.

“I can’t complain,” he admitted. “What about your family? Do you have a brother or sister?”

She shook her head. “I was an only child.”

When she failed to elaborate, Chance decided to let the matter drop. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it and he’d never been one to pry. If Fee wanted to tell him about her family, he would be more than happy to listen. If she didn’t, then that was her call.

Walking down the long aisle between the horse stalls, Chance pointed to a paint mare that had curiously poked her head over the bottom half of the stall door. “That’s the horse you’ll learn to ride tomorrow.”

Fee looked uncertain. “It looks so big. Do you have one in a smaller size?”

“You make it sound like you’re trying on a pair of shoes,” he said, laughing. “Rosy is about as small as we have around here.”

“I’m not so comfortable with large animals,” she said, shaking her head. “When I was little girl, my grandmother’s next door neighbor had an overly friendly Great Dane that knocked me down every time I was around him. I know he wasn’t trying to hurt me, but I ended up with stitches in my knee from his friendly gestures.” She eyed the mare suspiciously. “She’s bigger than he was.”

He guided Fee over to the stall. “I promise Rosy is the gentlest horse we have on the ranch and loves people.” Reaching out, he scratched the mare’s forehead. “She’ll be the perfect starter horse for you and she won’t knock you down.”

“Rosy likes that?” Fee asked.

He nodded. “You want to try it?” When she shook her head, he took her hand in his. “Just rub Rosy’s forehead like this,” he said, showing her how. “While you two get acquainted, I’ll go get a treat for you to feed her.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chance.” He heard the hesitancy in her voice as he walked across the aisle into the feed room. “She looks like she might have pretty big teeth. Does she bite?”

He shook his head as he walked back to the stall with a cube of sugar. “Rosy might nip you unintentionally, but she’s never been one to bite.” He placed the cube on Fee’s palm. “Just keep your hand flat and Rosy will take care of the rest.”

When Fee tentatively put her hand out, the mare scooped up the sugar cube with her lips. “Oh my goodness!” Fee’s expression was filled with awe when she turned to look at him. “Her mouth is so soft. It feels just like velvet.”

Seeing the wonder in her eyes and her delighted smile, Chance didn’t think twice about closing the gap between them to take Fee in his arms. “Do you remember what I told you this afternoon?”

The glee in her vibrant blue eyes changed to the awareness he’d seen in them earlier in the day. “Y-yes.”

“Good.” He started to lower his head and was encouraged when she brought her arms up to encircle his neck. “I’m going to give you that kiss now that we’ve both been wanting.”

When he covered her mouth with his, Chance didn’t think he had ever tasted anything sweeter. He took his time to slowly, thoroughly explore her soft lips. They were perfect and clung to his as if she was eager for him to take the kiss to the next level. When she sighed and melted into him, he didn’t think twice about tightening his arms around her and deepening the caress.

The moment his tongue touched hers, Chance felt a wave of heat shoot from the top of his head all the way to the soles of his feet. But when she slid her hands beneath the collar of his shirt to caress the nape of his neck, it felt as if his heart turned a somersault inside his chest. The magnetic pull between them was more explosive than anything he could have imagined and he knew as surely as he knew his own name it was inevitable—they would be making love. The thought caused the region south of his belt buckle to tighten so fast it left him feeling lightheaded.

Easing away from the kiss before things got out of hand, he gazed down at the dazed expression on her pretty face. She was as turned on as he was and, unless he missed his guess, a little confused by how quickly the passion had flared between them.

“I think we’d better call it a night,” he said, continuing to hold her.

“I-it would...probably be a good...idea,” she said, sounding as breathless as he felt.

“Mornings around here start earlier than you’re probably used to,” he advised, forcing himself to take a step back.

When he put his arm around her and started walking toward the open doors of the barn, she asked, “How early are we talking about?”

He grinned. “Well before daylight.”

“Is it that imperative to get up so early?” she asked, frowning.

“The livestock get breakfast before we do,” he explained, holding her to his side. “Besides, in the summer we get as much done as we can before the hottest part of the day. The earlier we get up and get started, the better chance we have of doing that.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” she said as they climbed the porch steps and went into the house. “Why don’t you wake me up when you get back to the house after you feed the livestock?”

“Hey, you’re the one who’s here to observe what a real cowboy is all about,” he reminded, laughing. “That includes the morning chores as well as what I do the rest of the day.”

“No, I’m here to talk you into being the spokesman for your family’s PR campaign,” she shot back. “It was your idea that I needed to see what you do.”

Walking her into the foyer of the homestead and up the stairs, they fell silent and Chance cursed himself as nine kinds of a fool the closer they got to their bedrooms. After he had put her in the room across the hall from his, he’d realized that it probably hadn’t been one of his brightest ideas. But now that he knew the sweetness of her lips and how responsive she was to his kiss, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it was the dumbest decision he’d made in his entire adult life. But at the time, he’d thought she might like the room with the window seat. It was the only one of the six bedrooms that was the least bit feminine.

When they stopped at the door to her room, he barely resisted the temptation of taking her back into his arms. “Sleep well, Fee.”

“You, too, Chance,” she said, giving him a smile that sent his blood pressure skyrocketing.

He waited until she went into her room, then quickly entering his, he closed the door and headed straight for the shower. Between the kiss they’d shared in the barn and the knowledge that at that very moment she was probably removing every stitch of clothes she had on, he was hotter than a two-dollar pistol in a skid-row pawn shop on Saturday night.

He’d have liked nothing more than to hold Fee to him and kiss her senseless. But that hadn’t been an option. If he had so much as touched her, he knew he wouldn’t have wanted to let her go. And that had never happened to him before.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t experienced a strong attraction for a woman in the past. But nothing in his adult life had been as passionate as fast as what he had felt with Fee when he kissed her. He hadn’t counted on that when he asked her to stay with him. Hell, the possibility hadn’t even been on his radar.