Slow Hand (Hot Cowboy Nights, #1)(53)

Nikki seemed his match in almost every way that mattered. She was smart and sexy as hell but most importantly, she made him laugh. Made him forget. He loved her smile and her Southern sass. Not that he could ever forget her sweet womanly ass or the way she gazed up at him with her beautiful passion-filled eyes, with her silky brown hair splayed out on the pillow as he drove into her. He wanted to go to bed with her and wake up and make love to her all the hours in between. Hell, he was getting hard again just thinking about her. He didn’t recall any other woman who’d ever affected him this way.

When he drove into the yard, he saw Allie’s Escalade. He was filled with relief that the deal was still on the table but dreaded having to smooth her ruffled feathers after walking out on her. Not wanting to wake anyone, Wade pulled off his boots at the door and crept up the stairs to his room, scowling at the crack of light shining under his door. She wouldn’t. He turned the knob and pushed the door open. Hell yeah, she would. Allie was in his bed.

She threw down her copy of Cosmo and cocked a brow. “Fun night?”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“You said we’d talk when you got back.” She flashed an overbright smile. “Well, now you’re back.”

“It’s one a.m.”

“You walked out on me today. I didn’t appreciate that, Wade. Are you just eager to score a new piece of ass or is all this just payback because I was pissed and wouldn’t let you stay the other night? Either way, you didn’t have to take it that far. All you really had to do was ask me nicely.”

“I shouldn’t have to beg for favors like a lapdog, Allie.”

“All right, maybe I took a few things for granted,” she conceded. “But now that we’ve cleared the air, let’s just put all this behind us. Come to bed now, baby.” She patted the space beside her. “I’m willing to kiss and make up now. And make-up sex is always the best kind.”

“I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean?” Her eyes flickered with disbelief.

“C’mon, Allie. You and I both know this is going nowhere and that’s no good for either of us.”

“What do you mean going nowhere? We have an ideal alliance, Wade. Daddy’s retiring soon and—”

“If I ever marry again, it’ll be for a wife, not an alliance, and if I take over the firm, it’ll be by merit not nepotism.”

She licked her lips with a nervous laugh. “But what is marriage if not the ultimate partnership?”

Wade shook his head. “Look, Allie, you’re a beautiful woman. I respect your intelligence and your drive, but those aren’t the qualities I want in a long-term relationship.”

She rose naked from the bed, approaching him with a sway of her lithe hips. “You never complained about our kind of relationship before. You’re not thinking clearly, Wade. You have your future to consider. Once you’ve unloaded this money-sucking ranch and move back to Denver—”

“But that’s just it, Allie. I am thinking about my future now. For the first time in a long while I’m thinking about what I want from life.”

“And you’ll have it all. In Denver. With me.”

“I’m not sure that’s what I want.”

“But it’s all we’ve talked about for years,” she insisted.

“No,” he said. “It’s all you’ve talked about. I was always ambivalent about the idea at best.”

“But Wade. Baby,” she was almost pleading. “It only makes sense for us to be together. Imagine what you could achieve with Daddy’s connections. A few years in Denver and you could even pursue the political career you’ve talked about.”

Shit. How he hated this. Although she had her faults, Allie had been a friend when friends were scarce. He took her gently by the shoulders. “Allie, I’m sorry. It was never my intent to hurt you—”

Her green eyes flashed. “Then don’t!”

“—but we both just need to move on now.” Even as he apologized, he knew it was only stung pride. She didn’t love him any more than he loved her.

“You’ll regret this big-time once she’s gone and you aren’t thinking with your prick anymore.”

“This goes much deeper than just Nikki and you know it.”

“I don’t think so,” she said. “Everything was fine before. C’mon, Wade, I’ve accepted your punitive damages with grace.” She came closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Can’t we just start over?”

He gently uncoiled her arms. “No, Allie. We’re going in different directions. We don’t want the same things.”

“What things? Success? Financial freedom? Tell me who doesn’t want those things? Especially these days?”

“How about love…affection…family?”

Her gaze wavered. For the first time in their acquaintance she looked unsure of herself.

“Family? You mean kids? Is that what this is about? That I don’t want kids?” She gave a sigh of capitulation. “If I’d known that was a deal-breaker for you—”

“Deal-breaker? You just don’t get it at all.”

“Oh, I get it all right.” She retreated a step, hugging herself. “I just thought you were more intelligent. Three days ago Little Miss Peaches comes along and suddenly you have visions of the stay-at-home wife and one-point-five kids? I had no idea you clung to such ridiculous fantasies of domestic bliss—especially given how things worked out for you the first time.”