Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)(50)

Wanting to prolong the moment as much as possible, she put her fingers on his shoulder. He was all hard muscle under his cotton shirt. Masculine to her feminine. His palm cupped her arm, drawing her closer, then he stroked his tongue against her lower lip.

She parted her lips immediately. Even before he moved inside, her body began to melt. Liquid longing poured through her, causing her br**sts to swell and her thighs to press tightly together.

She wanted to wrap both her arms around him and lose herself in the moment. She wanted more than his tongue brushing against hers. She wanted him naked, taking, pleasing, doing all the things a man like him would do to a woman. When it came to Rafe, she might not be willing to risk her heart, but apparently she was ready to put her body on the line.

But they were sitting in a park in Fool’s Gold, and a little French kissing was all that they could get away with. So she kissed him back, getting lost in the desire that filled her, telling herself it was enough and almost believing it.

He drew back, his dark eyes bright with something she really hoped was lust.

“Nice,” he murmured, then cleared his throat. He drew back. “We can sit here for a minute, right?”

The question confused her. “Why would we… Oh.” Right. Because walking around would make a few things obvious. She risked a quick glance and saw an impressive erection making its presence known. A shiver raced through her.

He took her hand in his and lightly kissed her palm. “If you want to leave this bench anytime soon, you need to stop looking at me like that.”

She wanted to ask, “Like what?” but had a feeling she knew what he was talking about. She was probably looking at him as if he were the one man on earth she had to have.

He shifted so that he was facing front, his ankle resting on his opposite knee. He draped an arm around her, drawing her close.

“Let’s pick a more neutral topic,” he suggested. “And if you could speak in a squeaky voice, that would help, too.”

She laughed. “What’s wrong with my regular voice?”

“It’s sexy.”

She cleared her throat, suddenly unable to think of anything to say. “You never did tell me about your date.”

“And I’m not going to.”

“Any dates planned in the future?”

He glanced at her, his dark eyes bright with amusement. “Could we not talk about me dating?”

“Sure. Um, the carnival is coming to town in a few weeks.”

“Your carnival? The people who taught you to hate townies?”

“Yes, and they didn’t teach me that. I learned on my own.”

“Will someone show me how to tame a lion?”

“That’s the circus. This is the rides and games.”

“I always did like a good Tilt-A-Whirl.”

“Then you’ll have to go on it.”

“You coming with me?”

She shook her head. “They make me throw up.”

“Lightweight.”

“Townie.”

He laughed. He might have a thing for her voice, but she liked the sound of his laughter. It made her feel safe and happy, as did pressing against him, with his arm around her.

All dangerous, she thought. Good thing she wasn’t the type to fall in love.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

HEIDI FINISHED THE LAST of the milking, then poured the still warm, creamy liquid into pans for the waiting cats.

“I should put a camera on the three of you,” she said, as her feline guests lapped up the milk. “One of those pet cams, so I can find out where you live.”

Or she could simply ask around. Someone would know who owned the cats. But she liked the idea of a mystery, of being able to pretend the cats had exciting secret lives after they left here.

She put away her stool, checked to make sure the goats had plenty of water, then picked up the buckets and walked back to the house. She entered to the smell of coffee. As she poured the raw milk from the stainless-steel bucket to the glass containers she would put in the refrigerator, she told herself it was nice that May had gotten up early and made coffee. That Rafe wouldn’t be the one waiting for her when she walked into the kitchen. Because anticipating anything about him would be very, very bad. But anticipation nearly overwhelmed her now, as spending mornings with him was often the best part of her day.

She was finding it more and more difficult to remember that he was the enemy. Being around him was…nice. He made her laugh, and she looked forward to spending time with him. In other circumstances, she would have taken the chance and offered him her heart. But these weren’t other circumstances, and if she forgot what he wanted, she could lose everything.

Heidi put away the milk, closed the refrigerator door and walked into the kitchen. Rafe stood leaning against the counter, his dark eyes brightening when he saw her.

With all the hard work he put in on the ranch during the day, he usually showered before dinner rather than first thing in the morning. There was something to be said for a man who wasn’t so crisp around the edges. She liked the faint shadow of stubble on his jaw, the slight muss to his hair. He wore a plaid cotton shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and faded jeans with a tear by the front pocket.

Somewhere along the way, he’d ceased to be the guy in the suit. Now he was just Rafe. And just Rafe was turning out to be a lot more dangerous.