Sharp Shootin' Cowboy (Hot Cowboy Nights, #3)(24)

She halted, digging her heels into the sand. “What kind of things?”

“Haley kind of things.” He guided her back into motion down the beach toward the red roofs of the Hotel del Coronado. “They told me about your mother and father.”

“I don’t have a father,” she protested.

“Sure you do. Have you ever tried to get in touch with him?”

“No!” she snapped. “Why should I? He’s never tried to contact me.”

“There’s two sides to every story, Haley. Maybe you should hear his.”

“You’re justifying what he did?”

“No,” he said firmly. “I’m not justifying anything at all. I just believe in hearing both sides before passing judgment on anyone.”

She snorted. “I suppose it only makes sense when you’re as much of a dog as he was.”

He grasped her tiny shoulders and spun her around. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I told you the night we met that I’ve only been with two women in my life and that number hasn’t changed. I don’t sleep around, Haley. I’m not a liar, and I don’t cheat.”

“You really expect me to believe that?”

He watched doubt and uncertainty warring in her eyes. “You can believe me or not, but it’s still the truth.”

She didn’t comment but began walking again. Minutes later she asked, “If that’s so, then why did you and Tonya split up?”

“I didn’t mess around on her if that’s what you’re thinking. She broke it off with me. She said she didn’t want to wait.”

“Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed. “I suppose I can understand that. Waiting has to be very hard. I think it would take a very strong person to cope with that… I can’t imagine dealing with all the stress and uncertainties of a loved one in such a dangerous situation.”

“So you don’t think you could do it?”

She cocked her head, as if considering the question. “I don’t know. I’d like to think so, but it wouldn’t be easy.”

“A lot of worthwhile things don’t come easy,” Reid answered. “Like you, Haley Cooper. You give ‘difficult’ a whole new meaning. I know it’s hard for you, but I’m asking for your trust.”

She spun on him, hands on hips. “Why? What am I to you, Reid? What’s the big appeal here? I’m not getting it. Is it just the challenge?”

“Maybe that’s part of it,” he confessed. “But it’s a lot more than that, and I’m pretty sure you feel it too.”

She shook her head. “Don’t even try to go there now, cowboy. You passed me up when you had your chance.”

“I had a real good reason for waiting. The timing wasn’t right for either of us. But I’ve thought about this… about you… for a long damned time, so don’t take it as lack of interest on my part.”

“Well, there’s none left on mine.” She jutted her chin defiantly but then licked her lips. “I told you then that it was a one-shot deal.”

“Is that so?” he asked. Vulnerable one moment, bold the next. Haley was a bundle of contradictions. Whether it was conscious or not, she’d issued a challenge and an invitation at the same time. He would have been tempted by either one, but the combination was damn near irresistible.

*

This was supposed to have been a girls’ day out, time alone with her best friend. Not a walk down the beach with an incredibly hot, half-naked marine. What the hell was she thinking? In truth, she’d stopped thinking the moment he’d stripped to the waist.

Her gaze rested at eye level on the USMC tat of an eagle stretching out its talons above his heart. His well-developed pecs, broad shoulders, and rippling abs made her mouth water. She couldn’t deny his physical appeal. Everything about Reid attracted her at the basest level, but she was above all that primal lust. Wasn’t she? She prided herself on her intellect and self-control, but just being with Reid seemed to bring out all these dormant animal instincts, every one of which craved to be satisfied.

He stepped in closer, intentionally invading her personal space, and then his mouth came crushing down on hers. He suddenly swept her up into his arms and waded, jeans and all, into the surf. She screamed as the icy waves blasted over them, but he muffled the sound with his glorious mouth. Within seconds, the heat of lust displaced the cold, her protests forgotten with the invasion of his hot tongue.

He gripped her ass and she moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist, seeking his hardness to ease her ache.

“I want you, Haley,” he groaned. “Come with me.”

“Here?” she asked.

“No,” he chuckled. “That’s not quite what I meant. I have a room. A bed. I want to take you there. Will you go with me?” His gaze met hers with an intensity that made her shiver. “I held back the last time and regretted it the whole time I was away. I don’t believe in living with those kinds of regrets anymore. Life is too damned short.”

Seconds ticked by. Her mind whirred with irresolution.

She wasn’t ready for a relationship, but she still wanted him. Reid excited her in a way she’d never experienced with anyone else. They were still nearly strangers, but seemed to connect on a level that she didn’t understand. Maybe it was only lust, but what did it matter? She desired him too. She needed to feel passion at least once in her life.