A Real Cowboy Never Walks Away (Wyoming Rebels Book 4) by Stephanie Rowe Read Free Book Online

able to figure out how to connect with her. So, that meant... "Or has it been nine years because there's been no one?"
    She stiffened slightly. Not much, but he was so attuned to her that he noticed. "It's been my choice," she said stiffly.
    His heart turned over for her. "Sweetheart, you don't need to convince me of your appeal. You had me the moment you walked in from the kitchen and smiled at me." He pressed a kiss to her hair.
    "Sweetheart?" She pulled back, searching his face. "Don't do that, Travis. I know I'm not your sweetheart."
    Her sudden tension made alarm rush through him. He didn't want to lose this moment. "Lissa," he said carefully, "I'm not playing you. There's a connection between us that is about more than one orgasm. We both know it. The endearment slipped out because I meant it—"
    "No." She shook her head. "I can't get involved with you, or anyone, Travis. I didn't mean—"
    "Hey." He put his finger over her lips, scowling as the familiar darkness settled down around him again, as the truth gripped him. This moment with Lissa wasn't reality. It was a brief oasis, a mirage that would vanish the moment he walked out. "Please don't," he said. "I needed tonight as much as you did. Don't push it away. I have to leave here in a few minutes, and all we're going to have is the memory of it." He couldn't keep the desperation out of his voice. "Let it be what it is. When I called you sweetheart, I meant it. It wasn't a fake endearment, it was just..." Hell, what was it? "It was just right."
    "But—" Her protest faded as she searched his face. Something in his expression made her stop, and she stared at him. Finally, she nodded. "Okay," she whispered.
    Relief rushed through him, "Okay."
    She sighed. "But I meant it when I said I don't date. I can't afford to, on so many different levels. I don't want to get involved with anyone. So, this—" She ran her hand over his chest. "This was a beautiful moment." She smiled at him, a smile so tender that his heart turned over. "I needed your touch tonight," she said. "The same way you needed mine. For tonight, our lives intersected, and we helped each other, right?"
    He nodded, a mixture of relief and resistance twisting through him. He couldn't get involved either, but at the same time, he didn't want to let go of this moment, of her, of how he felt when he was with her. But he had no choice. He wasn't the guy he'd been tonight. He wasn't someone who could hunker down in Rogue Valley with a café owner. He was incapable of trusting a woman, of becoming emotionally intimate with anyone, of putting himself out there the way she deserved. Plus, he had seventy more tour stops left before the end of the year. He wasn't the guy who could make a home with a woman like Lissa, on any level.
    This was as close as he'd ever get to what his brothers had found. It would have to be enough, because the night was over. The moment...over. He took a deep breath. "I guess I should go, then."
    Regret flickered over her face, but she nodded. "One more hug?"
    "You bet." He pulled her against him, and she came willingly, burying herself in his arms again. He held her tight, tighter than he intended, but the darkness was already starting to descend again, knowing that he had to walk out of there, and back to his life. His life...hell... What would she think when she realized who he was? Would she think he'd played her?
    He swore and pulled back, framing her face with his hands. "Lissa, tonight mattered to me. I want you to know that."
    She smiled, reaching up to trace her fingers along his jaw, her fingertips sliding over his whiskers. "I know it did. I felt it. The connection was real."
    He put his hand over hers. "Another place, another lifetime."
    She sighed. "Maybe this place and this lifetime is what made it magical."
    "Maybe." He leaned forward and kissed her again, lightly. "Thank you," he whispered. "I'll never forget tonight. Not just the kiss. The burgers. Howling like a dog you don't