A Daddy for Dillon by Stella Bagwell Read Free Book Online

nothing. Quint carried his boys on a horse when they were three months old.”
    She didn’t know what this man was doing to her, but somehow he was opening her eyes and she was beginning to see she needed to let loose. She needed to open her mind from the tiny world she’d boxed around herself and her son. And before she even realized what she was doing, she laid a hand on his forearm and smiled.
    “Laramie, I’m not used to ranching life. Dillon isn’t the only one who’ll be learning. So I—I’ll try my best to trust you on these things. And I do want him to make friends. Really.”
    * * *
    When Laramie had decided to come down to the kitchen for coffee and pie, this was the last thing he’d expected to happen. As late as it was, he’d been very surprised to see her walking into the room. And even then he’d expected her to give him the frigid treatment. Instead, she’d apologized and now she was actually touching him and smiling with the first genuine warmth he’d seen in her dark eyes. He didn’t know what he’d done or said to change her attitude, but whatever it was he was relieved. He was also very, very aware of her softness, the sweet scent of her hair and the seductive curve of her lower lip. The feel of her hand was light and teasing, like a warm gentle breeze slipping over his skin. And he wanted to be closer. Oh, so much closer.
    “I’m glad you feel that way, Leyla.” His voice sounded husky and intimate, so he cleared his throat before he went on. “Whenever I look at Dillon I see a whole lot of myself. And I want things to be good for him.”
    “I hope you truly mean that.”
    “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”
    She turned away from him but not before Laramie caught a bitter sort of resolve in her eyes.
    “Dillon’s father said plenty of things he didn’t mean,” she said flatly.
    Her words cut into him. It hurt for her to compare him to the bastard who’d deserted her. It also pained him to think what the man’s lies must have done to her.
    Laramie dared to lay his hand on the back of her shoulder, and the fact that she didn’t scurry away filled him with a strange sort of joy. Like when a frightened colt suddenly decided to turn and tiptoe back to his outstretched hand. Trust. Yes, he figured earning Leyla’s trust would be a major undertaking.
    “Maybe it’s time you forget all of that,” he said softly.
    That turned her back around, and she looked at him with sheer disbelief. “So I can let another man make a fool of me? Oh, no. I won’t ever forget.”
    “The way I see it, you let Dillon’s father ruin a part of your life. But there’s no sense in letting him ruin the rest of it.”
    Doubt flickered in her eyes. “Who says I’m letting him ruin anything?”
    His hand left her shoulder and slid slowly up the side of her neck until his palm was cradling her jaw. “I do. I see it in your eyes. On your lips. They should be soft and sweet. Instead they’re hard and sour.”
    “And I suppose you think you could make me forget—and soften me up.”
    Her voice had dropped to a breathy whisper and the sensual sound skittered over his skin like tempting fingertips. He shouldn’t be this close to Leyla. And he especially shouldn’t be touching her. But it had been a long time since he’d wanted to kiss a woman, to feel her soft curves yielding against him. And like it or not, Leyla touched him in a way that went beyond the physical. He wanted to see past her pretty face and straight to her heart.
    “I wouldn’t know,” he said in a low voice. “Until I tried.”
    The tight line of her lips fell open and Laramie didn’t stop to think. His head swooped, and like a starved man, he fastened his lips over hers.
    The initial contact caused her to flinch, but she didn’t jerk away, and he was encouraged enough to deepen the pressure of his lips.
    Soft, sweet and deliciously warm. The sensations rushed through Laramie like a sudden burst of wind, sweeping away