Kathie DeNosky - His Marriage Pact

He intended to stop it before they went too far. Stop short before it went too deep. But when she pressed that sweet body against his, he tossed all those well-intentioned plans to the plains. And the longer this went on, the more he wanted to take her back onto the bed...or ignore all formality and take her down to the floor.

Without warning, Paris pulled away and touched her fingertips to her mouth like she’d been burned. “I’m not normally that bold.”

He liked her that bold. “You’re not thinking straight.”

“I’m a little bit tipsy,” she said, her speech slurred. “I came here to convince you to hire me, not to drink and make out with you.”

That made him feel like an oversexed teenager. “It was just a kiss, Paris.” One knock-em-dead kiss. “And I’m the one who should’ve stopped it.”

Paris dropped down on the edge of the mattress. “I’m really not...normally...like this.” She followed the comment with a hiccup and a giggle.

“You’ve got a good excuse,” he said as he pulled her up again and set her aside to turn down the comforter. “Now lie down and sleep it off.”

“Okay,” she said through a yawn. “But don’t let me sleep too long. I have to...” Her eyes drifted closed then opened again. “Hmmm. I have to do something tomorrow but I can’t remember what.”

Dallas suspected she’d be there all night, and he’d be spending the evening in another bed, wishing he was beside her. He hooked a thumb behind him. “The bathroom’s there if you need it. Make yourself at home.”

She pulled the band that secured her low ponytail and set it on the nightstand before she perched on the edge of the mattress. “Thank you, Dallas Calloway. You’re a nice man, and I’m sorry I’m not acting like a nice girl.”

He liked his girls a little naughty, he started to say, but began backing to the door when he noticed how sexy she looked with that blond hair curling around her shoulders. “No need to apologize. Just get some rest.”

She stretched her arms over her head and sent him a sleepy smile. “Since I probably blew my chances at the job, I wouldn’t mind another kiss good-night.” She tapped her cheek and smiled. “Just a peck.”

He might laugh at that if he hadn’t been so damn uncomfortable, or tempted to do more than give her just a peck. “We’ll talk later when you’re sober. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

Before he traded in his honor and gave in to animal urges, Dallas rushed out of the room, closed the door behind him and then headed down the hall to confront the culprit who’d created the chaos. Once he reached the kitchen, he found Jenny loading the last of the dishes into the washer. “What in the hell did you put in those drinks?”

Jenny turned toward him and had the gall to look surprised. “Why, honey, just the usual. A little mint, some sugar and water, bourbon. And maybe a touch of tequila.”

That explained a lot. “You added tequila on top of the bourbon?”

She didn’t bother to look contrite. “Yes. It gives the julep that special kick everyone raves about.”

“It kicked my date right into drunk mode.”

Jenny grinned. “Your date?”

“Guest,” he corrected, although he didn’t see much point in getting the details right.

“Maybe I put a little too much alcohol into the drink,” she said, “but I thought it would help Paris relax.”

“Hell, she’s relaxed all right. She’s passed out in my bed.”

“Then why are you in here?”

He was asking himself that same question. “Because there is no way I’m going to seduce a woman who’s intoxicated.”

Jenny leaned back against the counter. “Of course you wouldn’t, sugar. You’re too good for that. However, she won’t be drunk in the morning.”

Of all the confounded suggestions. “I’m going to check on Paris and then I’m going upstairs.”

“I’ll have a nice breakfast waiting for the two of you in the morning.”

“Great.”

Without further comment, Dallas turned around and nearly ran into his other stepmother. “’Night,” he muttered, looking for a quick escape.

Maria had other ideas, he realized, when she grabbed his arm. “Why is the woman still here?”

He didn’t have the energy to explain. “Ask Jenny,” he said as he brushed past her and headed toward his bedroom.

Once there, he opened the door to find Paris curled up on her side, the covers shoved to the end of the bed. She’d stripped down to a white strapless bra and damn if she hadn’t taken off her skirt, giving him a prime view of a pair of lacy, black panties.

Damn, damn, damn...

He should probably turn tail and run, but he worried about leaving her all night in her current state. He could crawl in next to her, or he could be the man Maria had raised him to be. A gentleman.

With that in mind, he strode into the bathroom, dressed in his boxers and a T-shirt, then prepared to sleep in the lounger. But before he settled in for the duration, he paused a few moments to study the gorgeous woman in his bed.

With her arm crooked beneath her head, her hair a sexy, tangled mess, she looked somewhat innocent in sleep, and someone he wouldn’t mind waking up to in the morning. He liked her wit, her brain and her body. Definitely her body. Too bad he hadn’t met her a year ago, when he still had time to court a woman in an effort to meet his match, and circumvent the terms of the will.

But unfortunately that time had passed, and unless he wanted to propose to someone he’d met only a few hours ago, he could just let go of that pipe dream. Then something suddenly occurred to him. Something the mothers had suggested.

Nah. That would be too weird, not to mention she would never agree to it.

Following a quick shower, Dallas took one last look at the pretty lady, turned off the lights and kicked back in the lounge chair. He still had trouble shutting down his thoughts for several reasons, including the damned deadline on the will. He’d be better served if he accepted his fate—his youngest brother would have controlling interest over the ranch. Short of a miracle, that would come to pass. Unless...

Maybe the harebrained idea could work if he handled it right. If he made it worth Paris’s while. Or she could laugh in his face and leave. Still, it couldn’t hurt to ask, if he found the courage to do it. Hell, he’d ridden some of the rankest bulls in the world. He could propose a marriage pact to a woman.

Probably best to sleep on it for now and decide in the morning—if he actually got any sleep at all.

Three

Shaking off the fog of sleep, Paris came into consciousness slowly in reaction to a ribbon of light landing on her face. She opened her eyes and squinted at first, until she spotted the man with an open chambray shirt sitting in the chair in the corner, putting on his boots. Her eyes went wide when she remembered her current location—a stranger’s bed.

Then it all came back to her, one frame at a time, like a mortifying slide show. Dinner with Dallas Calloway. Two drinks. Getting drunk. Getting into his bed. And that kiss she’d instigated.

Paris resisted the urge to pull the covers over her head and hide away until he left. Or she could choose the mature path and apologize again for her stupid behavior.

After scooting up against the tufted leather headboard, Paris pushed her hair away from her face and cleared her throat to garner his attention. “What time is it?”

He glanced at her, rose to his feet and began buttoning his shirt, but not before she caught a good glimpse of his toned chest, ridged abdomen and the thin happy trail leading to his open fly. “It’s after nine,” he said. “I thought for a minute there you might sleep until lunchtime.”