Rosemary Carter - A Husband Made In Texas

‘Today,’ he answered her firmly.

Still she tried. ‘It really isn’t convenient.’

‘You have your calf safely back. What excuse do you have now? I’m sure you must have thought of one.’

Her head jerked. ‘What are you saying, Flynn?’

‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the girl who thought the eager cowboy would come running every time she beck oned. That he would disappear from the scene when it didn’t suit her to have him around.’

Kaitlin’s face whitened. ‘It was never like that.’

‘Wasn’t it, Kaitlin? Your memory is letting you down if you think otherwise.’

‘My memory is just fine, thank you very much. But you have one huge chip on your shoulder. I think you should leave now, Flynn.’

‘I’ll leave when we’ve talked. And don’t tell me again to phone you: you’ll always find some reason to put me off.’

She hesitated. ‘Flynn—’

‘We’ll talk today, Kaitlin. I have no intention of leaving till we do.’

CHAPTER TWO

‘MAKE yourself comfortable, Flynn. There’s beer in the fridge.’

‘You’re not going to join me?’

‘I’ve spent the morning in the sun. I need to shower and change into other clothes.’

‘Can I help?’

Flynn was grinning, an inexplicably wicked look in the dark eyes. Great dark eyes, just as Kaitlin remembered them, with golden glints where the light caught them, and long thick lashes that had always seemed wasted on a man. His shoulder-length hair was as dark as his eyes, thick and glossy, tempting a woman to bury her fingers in it.

Looking up at Flynn, Kaitlin tried to remember if he had always been quite so tall. His shoulders had been broad, but surely they had become even broader, emphasizing the length of his legs and the narrowness of his hips. And the look of strength and toughness, of utter self-confidence, that was new too: as was an aura of danger that was spinetinglingly sexy.

Already she was reacting to him. Just a short time in his company, and a core of femininity that had been dormant deep inside her was awakening. Be careful, Kaitlin sent herself the mental warning.

Why was he here? That was the question she had been asking herself over and over again from the moment she had laid eyes on him two hours earlier. The question that spoiled her pleasure at seeing him again.

Five years ago he had walked out of her life, Flynn Henderson, with whom she had been so deeply in love that she could not have imagined herself sharing her life with anyone else.

Even now, so many years later, she still had nightmares about that dreadful evening. There were times when she jerked upright in bed, damp with sweat, heart pounding, knowing that once again she had dreamed about Flynn. Even in the daytime, she had only to close her eyes to picture him at the Formica table of the bar, his expression arrogant and mocking: on his lap a red-haired woman, her face plastered with too much make-up, her head cradled lovingly against his chest. Flynn should have been at Kaitlin’s party—why had he been with that dreadful woman instead?

Kaitlin had managed to keep her head high as she fled from the bar. But she had wept all the way back to the ranch.

In the years since then, nobody had ever hurt her as much again as Flynn had hurt her that night. One thing was certain, she decided grimly, she must not let it happen again.

Her expression was hard as she looked at him. Five years without an explanation or a word of apology. And now here he was, on her ranch, expecting her to welcome him. The utter nerve of the man!

‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘but I’ll get myself something to drink when I’m ready for it. I’m not much of a beer-drinker anyway.’

‘I wasn’t thinking of beer. Thought you might like me to wash your back for you.’

In a second, a flood of heat cascaded through Kaitlin’s body. Keeping her eyes averted from Flynn’s, she said, ‘You don’t really expect an answer.’

‘Don’t I?’ His tone was so seductive that Kaitlin had to suppress an involuntary shiver.

‘I’m sure you don’t,’ she said shortly.

‘Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve washed your back, Kaitlin.’

Glad that her face was turned from his, she closed her eyes for a brief moment. It horrified her to realize that despite her resolve not to let him get to her, his sexual attraction was as powerful as ever. More powerful even.

‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, Kaitlin.’

‘That was different,’ she muttered unsteadily.

Then you do remember.’

Kaitlin swallowed hard. ‘You know what happened, Flynn. I’d fallen, my back was all scratched up. It... It was important to get the grit out of the scratches. It could have gotten infected...’

‘Your parents were out and you sneaked me into the house.’

‘Yes...’

‘You got into the bath.’

‘The way you make it sound! I had my clothes on, Flynn.’ Tersely she added, ‘To begin with, anyway. And when I did get undressed, it was only because my blouse was getting so wet.’

Flynn laughed, a low husky sound that made her shiver. ‘I’ll never forget the moment when you stripped.’ His voice deepened. ‘I can still feel your soapy skin beneath my fingers.’

As she could still feel his fingers sliding over her wet skin: sexy, and so exciting that her body had burned with desire for him.

Involuntarily, Kaitlin’s eyes went to Flynn’s hands. When she lifted her head a moment later, she found him watching her, his expression enigmatic. Did he know what she was thinking?

‘That’s enough!’ Kaitlin ground out hoarsely.

But Flynn ignored the protest. Closing the distance between them, he cupped her face in his hands. ‘I was washing your back, and it didn’t take long before I was wet, too. And then I was in the bath with you, and—’

‘There wasn’t much water in the bath,’ she reminded him hoarsely. ‘And whatever you may be trying to insinuate now, you were only trying to help me.’

The pressure of the fingers on her face increased, sending shock waves of excitement cascading through her. Flynn said, ‘It might have been that way at the start. But you wanted more than my help, even if you were playing for time. We both did.’

Restlessly Kaitlin shifted her feet, only to regret the movement when she found that it brought her closer to Flynn. Though he was only holding her face, she was aware of every inch of the long body, from the rock-hard chest to the corded muscles of his legs. She felt his breath stir her hair.

A sudden fire burned deep in her loins. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been so aware of the demands of her own body. Aware of a man... For the last year she had barely thought of men: there were so many other, more serious matters on her mind.

‘If I’d had my way, Kaitlin, we’d have filled the bath to the top and lain together in the water. And then we’d have made love.’

‘Don’t you know that you can’t rewrite history?’ It took all her strength to keep her voice from shaking.

‘Maybe not, but it’s always possible to create new history. ’

Flynn’s voice was almost unbearably seductive. Inside Kaitlin the fire was turning into a conflagration. But she didn’t want to be aroused Not when the man was Flynn.

‘New history? Oh no, I don’t think so,’ she said, as firmly as she could.

‘Do you remember how we used to kiss, Kaitlin? Don’t shake your head at me, because I know you remember.’

For some reason she seemed unable to move away from him: it was as if her brain refused to send the right messages to her legs. ‘Flynn—’

‘But kissing was never enough. We both wanted so much more.’

She couldn’t deny it, because they had talked about it so often. God, how she had wanted to make love with him! Two young people, madly attracted to each other. Kaitlin, just turned eighteen, Flynn going on twenty-four. Hormones crying out to each other. Standing so close to him, listening to the things he said, the desire she had experienced then gripped her again now. The intensity of her feelings shocked her.