Debbi Rawlins - Texas Blaze

He stopped in the bathroom to brush his teeth before going to his old room. Now that he was six-one, he wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in the double bed that had been perfectly fine until college. His parents had a king-size bed in the master bedroom that would be more comfortable, but the pull of his old room was too strong.

The moon’s glow continued to provide enough light until he got to the end of the hall. His parents had left most of the furnishings, but surprisingly, he noticed the few missing pieces they had taken with them. As a kid he couldn’t have cared less about the cherry table his father had painstakingly labored over for two winters or the grandfather clock his great-great-grandmother had brought with her from Germany, but their absence produced a pang of sadness he couldn’t explain.

When he got to his room, he stopped short of flipping on the switch for the glaring overhead light. Instead, he used the moonlight to guide him to the lamp.

“Mitch?”

The soft voice startled him and he nearly knocked over the lamp. “Who the—Katie?”

“Yes.”

He righted the lamp, found the switch and muted light flooded the room. Lying in his bed, the blue handmade quilt drawn to her chin, she blinked and squinted at the invading glow of the lamp.

“Damn it, Katie, you scared the hell out of me.”

Her mouth curved in a tentative smile. “I didn’t think you were afraid of anything. You even worked as a bodyguard for that TV actress for a while, didn’t you?”

“What are you doing here?”

Her lips thinned and she shrank back. “Waiting for you.”

“In my bed?”

She blinked, uncertainty and embarrassment filling her green eyes. And then she lifted her chin. “You want me to leave?”

Mitch stared at her, feeling more helpless than he had in a long time. His mind flashed back to the earlier scene at the bunkhouse. Obviously that’s what this was about. She was hurting, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d only make her feel worse. But this was Katie…in his bed. Shit. This was totally messed up.

“No, I don’t want you to leave,” he said finally.

She gave him a fleeting smile of relief, and then moistened her lips. “The front door was unlocked.”

“Old habit. Maybe not such a good idea these days.” Giving her his back, he walked to the dresser to toss his keys, feeling like a flustered fourteen-year-old.

“Probably not,” she said, sounding wounded.

He realized what he’d said, how she had taken it, but he had no idea how to backtrack. Or move forward. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Remind her she was engaged? Yeah, that would go over real well. He tried to get a furtive glimpse of her in the mirror but the angle was wrong. What was she wearing? She had the quilt pulled so far up he couldn’t tell. A succession of possibilities flitted through his head, the one of her totally nude shocking him back to reality.

He cleared his throat and slowly turned around to face her. “What’s going on, Kate?”

She hesitated, and then calmly lifted the quilt and folded it back. “Just keeping your bed warm for you.”

Black lace and bare creamy skin. Just this side of naked and as tempting as sin itself. All thoughts of her as his friends’ skinny sister fled as he slowly traced the curves of her body. Everything about her was lush and inviting, and his cock hardened in response.

Somewhere deep in the recesses of his brain he knew he should look away. But he just stood there, mesmerized. The sight of her plump pink-crowned breasts sent his ache deep. Visible through the sheer black material, her nipples were large and budded. His whole body tensed. Man, he had a thing for large pink nipples. He could almost taste them. Hungered to roll his tongue over those tight nubs as he thrust into all that magnificent heat. He stepped forward, reminding himself he was invited.

Then he saw her hand tremble. He gave himself a mental shake, and moved back as he lifted his gaze to her face. “This isn’t a good idea.”

She blushed. “I’m not a kid anymore.”

In spite of himself he glanced at her breasts. “No, you certainly aren’t.”

She looked pleased, and then her brows drew together in a frown. As if the thought had just occurred to her, she slowly asked, “Are you involved with anyone?”

“No.” Too late he realized he should’ve lied.

“Good.” Her attention shifted to below his belt.

No use trying to hide his erection, which only grew at her blatant stare. He had to do something now, stop this before he made a huge mistake. “I’m not involved, but you are.”

Her eyes widened, flooding with hurt and humiliation, before she shuttered them. Her chin quivered, and she pulled the quilt back over her body. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

A rush of fierce protectiveness hit him like a tidal wave, sweeping away his common sense. She looked so crushed and vulnerable he wanted to go to her, hold her. But that could be a mistake. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust himself…

That was a lie, and he knew it. He shouldn’t still be hard, knowing what she’d been through, but damn it, he was. He wanted her something fierce, almost enough to ignore his duty, their friendship.

Like the coward he was, he sat at the far edge of the bed.

“Look, Kate,” he said quietly, clasping his hands together and putting his elbows on his knees. “I understand why you’re hurt and angry. But the guy’s obviously a jerk and isn’t worth you doing something foolish that you’ll regret later.”

“Must I repeat that I’m not a kid anymore? As far as your patronizing tone—” She abruptly stopped, her expression guarded. “What did you mean? Why should I be hurt and angry?”

Mitch cursed himself. He tried to think of something quick to cover his slip, but he was at a total loss.

“Why do you think Dennis is a jerk? You haven’t even met him.” Suspicion clouded her face and she stared hard at him, as if looking for a clue.

He shrugged. “You two obviously had a fight.”

She raised herself to one elbow, oblivious of the quilt slipping from her body. Her gaze stayed fixed on his until guilt got the better of him and he had to look away.

“You saw—Oh, no.” Her words ended in a whimper. She shoved back the quilt, kicking it free of her legs and tried to crawl out of the bed. She managed to get one foot on the floor.

Mitch lunged and caught her around the waist. “Katie, wait.”

“Let me go.”

“Hear me out.”

“You were right. This was a mistake. Please.” Her voice caught. “I have to go.”

He tightened his hold, bringing her quivering body to rest against his chest. Selfishly, he was glad he couldn’t see her face. The pain he knew was there would tear him up inside. “Stay.”

“I can’t.”

He settled back and drew her onto his lap. “I promise I won’t touch you. I know you don’t want to go back and face your brothers. You think I’m an insensitive idiot…”

A strangled laugh broke from her lips, and she sniffed. “I’m okay. Really.”

“I’m not. What if the rustlers come back? You want to leave me here all alone?”

She twisted around to look at him, amusement gathering in her watery eyes. “You’re a dope.”

“Yep.” He smiled and hugged her closer. “Stay the night. We can talk if you want to. I’m still your friend, Katie, and you shouldn’t be alone. Stay.”

“EXCUSE ME, but five minutes ago you asked me what the hell I was doing here.” Kate tried to sound spunky but she sounded more like a whipped puppy.

Mitch chuckled. “Sorry, must be getting old. A beautiful woman wants my company and I fold just because I’ve been driving for two days.”