Beauty and the Cowboy by Nancy Robards Thompson - Beauty and the Cowboy Read Free Book Online

kisser.
    Charlotte fisted her hands in his hair and pulled their bodies even closer. Jesse was her touchstone, her constant. He always had been. Why had she not realized it until now?
    But that didn’t matter anymore. Jesse’s hands were on her back, and his mouth was on her lips, and her entire body sang. Every sense was heightened, as if his touch had awakened an animal that had been sleeping for a long, long time.
    Ohh, yes. Ohh, hell yes.
    She heard the ragged edge of his breathing just beneath the sound of blood rushing in her ears. She felt the heat of his hands on her back. He smelled like heaven: subtle aftershave with grassy notes and something leathery and masculine. The way he tasted nearly pushed her over the edge. The seductive mix teased her senses, made her feel hot and sexy and more than a little bit reckless.
    As he tasted and teased, she melted into him and let go of the last bit of reason she possessed. It had been far too long since a man’s touch had heated her blood and made her body thrum and long to be ravished.
    It may have taken some liquid courage to get her here, but her head was as clear as the cloudless, blue Marietta sky on a hot, hot summer day. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted him. Right here. Right now. She’d always wanted him, she realized, for as long as she’d know what it meant for a girl to want a boy…woman to want a man. And she wasn’t leaving here until she’d gotten exactly what she wanted.
    Her hands pushed their way between them, finding his belt buckle. As she fumbled with it, determined that nothing would stand between them—nothing fabric or leather or metal—there would be nothing but skin on skin. Him inside of her. And the sooner, the better. But before she could finish, something else pushed its way between them: the determined yip, yip, yip of…a puppy?
    Lulu. Mattie’s dog.
    The barking sounded like it was coming from the garage.
    Jesse had obviously heard it, too, because he pulled away. With one clean movement, he’d not only removed her hand from his fly, but also managed to rebuckle his belt.
    Then he stood there for a moment, stock still. His hooded blue eyes, dark with need and hunger, locked with hers. His eyes were like a mirror reflecting everything she was feeling.
    “Wow,” she murmured.
    “Yeah. Wow.” He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m not going take advantage of you, Charlie. You’re vulnerable. You’re not thinking clearly.”
    “This is the clearest my brain has been in years, Jesse.”
    He shook his head. “Eat your eggs. I’m going to go check on Lulu, and then I’m going to give you a ride home.”
    He turned and walked away from her. If she hadn’t felt vulnerable before, she did now.
    Her fingers found her lips, which were swollen and throbbing from his kiss. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel his mouth moving on hers. He’d kissed her back with the same driving need she’d felt, a need that had nearly landed them in his bed. Or right here on this couch.
    The thought made her dizzy. She took a step back and landed with a graceless plop on that sexy couch.
    She propped her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. Oh, God, what had she done?
    Her head swam, but need and longing for him—for Jesse—still coursed through her as strongly as it had when she’d leaned in and kissed him.
    But then he’d walked away.
    Oh, God. Oh, no. She had to fix this.
    She would fix this.
    She couldn’t lose Jesse, too. Tom…Tom could take a flying leap, for all she cared. But Jesse… He was worth fighting for.
    Her elbow was digging into her knee. So she moved her arm to the couch’s left armrest and supported her aching head.
    Maybe if she just closed her eyes, she’d find the right words to convince Jesse that what had just happened between them was a good thing. The words that would keep him from walking away from her for good….
    *
    Jesse stayed outside for a long ten minutes. He