Debbi Rawlins - Texas Blaze

She lightly pinched his ribs. At least she tried. But he had no spare flesh. Just lean muscle that reminded her how near-perfect he was, and that she hadn’t exercised since school let out last month. “Tell me you didn’t practice kissing when you were a kid.”

“I did my share, except it always involved a girl.”

“Of course, silly me. You had them lining up.”

“You have a warped sense of history, young lady.”

Kate knew better, but she said nothing. If she were to pinch anyone, it should be herself. She was lying in bed with Mitch Colter. So he had on his clothes, and she was stiflingly swaddled like a newborn. It didn’t matter that the AC was on, this was July and the evenings didn’t cool down all that much. Normally she’d sleep with only a sheet covering her lower half. The heat from Mitch’s body didn’t help, either, or maybe it was her own rising temperature, but she had no intention of moving.

Her mind helplessly returned to Dennis. If it were him beside her, she wouldn’t hesitate to put some distance between them or tactfully point out that it was too warm to be this close. Not that he’d ever been the physical type. The lack of affection had bothered her at first, but after a while she’d gotten used to it. In fact, she’d never been crazy about the way he kissed. Too stiff, too perfunctory. And damn it, kissing was important to her. So why had she been willing to overlook such a major flaw?

“Dennis was a lousy kisser,” she muttered, for an instant uncertain whether she’d said that out loud, and then wishing she hadn’t.

Mitch shifted slightly, his chin grazing her temple, but he didn’t comment.

“Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t be talking about him.”

“Go ahead. I told you we could talk. Let it out.”

She sighed. “Maybe it was me. Maybe I just wasn’t…” She paused. This wasn’t helping. She was still too raw to censor herself, and this wasn’t the kind of conversation she wanted to have with Mitch.

“Wasn’t what?” He almost sounded angry.

She’d clearly overstayed her welcome. First she’d barged in uninvited, and now she was depriving him of sleep. “I should go. It’s late and neither of us is likely to get any rest.”

“If we don’t get to sleep, it’s because it’s too damn hot.” He freed his arm and swung his feet to the floor.

She threw back the quilt, untangling her legs, and preparing to crawl around him. Facing him tomorrow was going to be a bear. But right now she only had to worry about getting to her car, which she’d parked in the back, in the dark. Crap.

“Hold on. I’m just taking off my shirt.”

She swallowed, tempted to linger and get a good look at his naked chest. She rose before she changed her mind. “This is crazy. There’s no reason for me to stay.”

“Look, if you leave now, I’ll have to follow you back to your ranch,” he said, sounding weary. “Someone will hear us. Then Joe or Clint will come out and want to know what’s going on. Is that what you want?”

“I live fifteen minutes away, in case you’ve forgotten. You’re not following me back.”

“You’re not leaving unless I do.” He unfastened the last button, and then met her eyes with irritating authority.

“Wanna bet?” She planted a hand on her hip, ready to do battle, but then he did something totally unfair.

He shrugged out of the shirt.

The moonlight hit him just right. Helplessly, she stared at the rippling muscles of his smooth chest, the way they flexed and relaxed with the flow of his movements as he tossed the shirt toward the oak chair in the corner.

When she finally lifted her gaze, she found that he was staring at her breasts through the sheer black teddy. His preoccupation made her feel marginally better. At least he hadn’t caught her ogling him.

He blinked, briefly met her gaze and then pushed the quilt to the foot of the bed. “A sheet should be enough,” he murmured.

“Enough for what?”

The question drew a crooked smile from him. “Get back in.”

Kate pressed her lips together. She was enjoying this. No matter how small the chink in his armor, this was a human side to Mitch she’d never experienced. He’d always seemed controlled and in charge.

“Do I have to pick you up?” he asked with one arched brow.

“I thought you were afraid of bodily contact.”

“Afraid, hell,” he scoffed. “I’m terrified down to my little toes.”

She grinned. He was being sweet, and she appreciated the gesture. “You know, there is a sensible solution. I could sleep in your sister’s old room.”

He hesitated, considering the possibility. “Too dusty. It took me half an hour to get this room ready.” He yawned heartily. “How much longer are we going to argue about this?”

Disappointment dampened her spirits. She’d enjoyed the brief flirtation, but apparently she wasn’t that irresistible. Like the good girl she’d always been, she crawled back into bed.

The truth was, she didn’t want to have to talk to anyone else tonight. Or disrupt the whole house by trying to sneak back in this late.

The sheets were nice and cool compared to the heavy quilt. She slid between them, and then shrank close to the wall to give him as much room as possible.

After Mitch got in beside her, he pulled her back to lie on his chest again. But this time there was no fabric between her cheek and his smooth taut skin. She fisted her hand, afraid she might unconsciously grope him.

He stroked her back. “Am I crowding you?”

“No.”

“Then relax,” he whispered.

She thought he might have kissed the top of her head, but she wasn’t sure. “I have one more question and then I promise I’ll shut up.”

“What’s that?”

“Did you get a good look at her?”

His hand stilled; she missed the soothing motion. “Who?”

“The woman.” She cleared her throat. “The blonde who was with Dennis.”

“No,” he said reluctantly.

“It happened so fast that I—” She couldn’t seem to clear the obstruction in her throat. “I know she had blond hair, that’s about all.”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not,” she said softly.

“The guy is a friggin’ dirtbag,” Mitch said hotly. “And an idiot.”

She smiled, knowing Mitch’s fervor burned in her defense. “And a lousy kisser. That’s quite unforgivable, actually.”

Mitch caught her off guard by hooking a finger under her chin. As he forced her to look up, he tilted his own head back. “Any man who doesn’t take the time to kiss you thoroughly isn’t worth his salt.”

She held her breath. Was he simply making a point or was he going to kiss her? At this angle she couldn’t be sure, but she could feel the tension in his body, like a tiger restraining himself from pouncing on his prey.

He gently brushed his lips across hers. “You deserve better, Kate,” he said quietly. “You’re pretty and smart and kind and—”

“A real girl next door, huh?” Her shoulders sagged. He wasn’t going to kiss her. He was patronizing her again. “Guess the only way I’m ever going to light a fire is with a book of matches.”

He chuckled. “And you have a sense of humor.”

“Yeah, I’m hilarious.”

“Ah, Katie, I am sorry about what happened tonight. But don’t let that guy do this to you.”

“Deep down I think I’ve known for a couple of weeks what I had to do, but I hadn’t wanted to face it.” Damn, but she had to stop trembling. “I probably owe Dennis a thanks. He saved me the trouble of having to call off the wedding myself. I always did have a knack for picking out the wrong men. I should just plain give it up.”

MITCH STIFFENED. She wasn’t thinking clearly, that was for certain. It wasn’t like her to indulge in this kind of self-pity, even though she deserved to wallow. And here he’d been about to take advantage of her vulnerability. Hell, it was only going to be one kiss. Still, bad timing. But he knew she was feeling unwanted and unattractive, and it wasn’t right. He hated that the ass had her second-guessing herself. A kiss from him wasn’t going to fix that.