Beauty and the Bull Rider (Hotel Rodeo #3)(29)

“I don’t need help, Zac,” she protested.

“I know that, but it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides, it’s a great excuse to put my hands on you.”

She looked hesitant, but then dropped her reins and reached for his shoulders with a smile. “If that’s the case, who am I to argue?”

It warmed his insides every time she smiled. It warmed him even more to lift her down and hold her in his arms. She fit so perfectly there, as if she had been made just to be held by him. So he took his damned sweet time letting her go. He could feel her begin to relax into him by slow degrees. He lowered his face toward hers.

Her breath hitched and then she abruptly broke away. “Should we tie the horses?” she asked.

“Let’s unsaddle them and turn them loose,” he said. “The grass by the lake is green and lush. They won’t wander far.” Once freed, the horses gave a snort and trotted off a few yards, where, just as Zac predicted, they began cropping the grass. Delaney’s face lit with delight at the picnic site complete with china, silver, and stemware he’d pilfered from the house, and a blanket to sit on.

“I can’t believe you did all this!” she gushed.

“I won’t take all the credit,” Zac said. “I had some help from Rosa.” He handed her two wineglasses and opened the bottle of Rioja. “I admit I was counting on the view compensating for any shortcomings with the dinner.”

“You were right about that,” Delaney said. “I’d eat spam out here and be happy.”

“Spam? Dang!” He slapped his thigh. “I didn’t even think of putting that on the menu. I hope you like this stuff.” He poured the dark, fruity liquid into her glass. “I’m not much for wine.”

He watched her nose wrinkle as she sniffed. “Smells wonderful,” she replied and took a sip. “Rioja’s an unusual choice.”

“I thought it would go with the dinner.” He didn’t tell her he’d found it on the Internet.

“Oh yeah?” She wandered toward the Dutch oven sitting on a bed of coals. “So what are we having?”

“I asked Rosa to make your favorite food.”

“She made tamales?” Delaney looked surprised. “Rosa must really like you.”

“What’s not to like?” he replied with a look of mock affront.

“I don’t know,” she countered playfully. “Are you looking for me to inventory your charms, Zac?”

“I think I’d rather take a detailed inventory of yours.”

Delaney met his gaze with an arched brow. “Sure looks like you had something real close to that in mind. Blanket. Check. Wine. Check. Romantic setting. Check.”

He tossed his untouched glass to the ground and jammed his hands into his pockets. “You think I brought you out here to seduce you?”

Her gaze narrowed. “Check.”

“I want more than sex, Delaney. I want this to be different . . . to be more . . . for both of us. . . .”

“And if it isn’t?” she asked, breathlessly.

“Why would you even think that?”

“Because I’m afraid you’re setting your expectations too high,” she said, her blue eyes clouding. “I wasn’t enough for Ty. . . . Why would you think I’d be enough for you?”

“Because I’m not Ty. What more can I do to prove it to you?”

All of a sudden her wariness made perfect sense. It wasn’t so much mistrust of him as her own insecurity and feelings of inadequacy. He silently cursed Ty for doing this to her. The pain in her beautiful blue eyes made Zac want to pound his best friend into dust.

He stepped into her space and took her face in his hands. “Is that what you believe? That you were at fault?”

Her eyes misted. “We had a home, but my husband was never there. He didn’t want me. I wasn’t enough to hold him.”

“It wasn’t you. It was Ty. He had a problem. It was more than he could handle.”

“I’d like to believe it was only that, Zac, but he’s with someone else now. And he seems happy. I couldn’t make him happy.”

Zac was overcome with a powerful urge to kiss her. So he did. Slow and soft, long and deep, taking his time to explore and savor the sweetness of her lips. She didn’t fight it. Didn’t pull away this time, but melted into him like frost beneath a rising sun. “I want to make you forget him, Delaney. Right now I want to make you forget everything in this world but me.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” she replied softly. “He’s nothing more than a memory, and that memory is fading fast.”





Zac’s eyes darkened with desire as he drew her into his arms. Unlike the first time, there was no tenderness in this kiss. His mouth claimed hers with a burning passion that instantly ignited her own. She twined both arms around his neck and threw herself recklessly into his kiss. Slick and swirling his talented tongue tangled with hers. Zac was commanding, yet also so very responsive to her every sound and signal—a damned good sign of things to come.

They never stopped kissing as his hands anchored on her hips and he lowered her to the ground. She shivered as he ran the backs of his fingers down her neck to the hollow between her collarbone. He moved lower, cupping her breast, and caressing her hardened nipple with his thumb. She released a moan into his mouth as she arched into his hand. He rooted into her neck as his other hand slid under her shirt, and then trailed his searing mouth down her throat.