Dangerous Secrets (Montana Men #6)(13)

She was sitting back, trying to get comfortable and catch her breath after her race in from the parking lot when a large, male body sat down next to her. She was in the last pew and it was mostly empty, so she glared up at Mike, silently telling him to go around her because there was plenty of space on the other end of the pew.



       
         
       
        

Did he listen to her silent command?

Absolutely not! Jerk!

So she quickly scooted over in order to avoid being squashed by his enormous body. Of course, he wasn't fat in any way. It was just his body and his height, his brawn that took up so much space. Well, and his personality. He was a big man with an even larger aura about him.

It was bad enough that he was sitting next to her. She grudgingly made space for his shoulders, but he wouldn't allow her to slide over far enough for her peace of mind. She should have walked out of that town council meeting Friday afternoon as soon as he'd sat down next to her! Because now he thought he had the right to … well, that was silly, because of course he had the right to sit anywhere in church. But she hadn't really given him permission to sit next to her. Not this close!

Annoying man! When she slid too far for his preference, he simply put his hand on the other side of her thighs and pulled her right back against him. And then his bulky arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Ugh! She was almost surrounded by the man! One side of her body was heating up. She felt like heat was coming off of him in waves and he wouldn't allow even an inch of space between their bodies. "Move over!" she hissed at him.

In response, he pulled her closer, his fingers sliding along the back of her neck. The minister couldn't see what he was doing because Mike's hand was hidden by her hair. She stopped breathing when his fingers tickled along the back of her neck, right along her hairline. She'd never known her neck to be an especially sensitive place, but with his fingers doing that, she felt like melting into a puddle of desire right there in the church.

Back and forth, his fingers teased the nape of her neck, touching, sliding, and torturing her with his erotic touch. Halley tried to move her head, to pull away from his hands. But when she tried it, his fingers held her still, tightening on her neck. Making her very aware of his strength.

"Sit still or the minister is going to think something is wrong," he admonished, leaning so close that she felt his warm breath on her cheek. She shivered at that sensation and tried to suppress it. But she felt his fingers tighten ever so slightly, indicating that he knew exactly what had just happened.

"Let me go," she whispered back up at him furiously.

He smiled and her stomach tightened with that smile. He wasn't letting her go. Nor was he moving his hand. Instead, he started that light, dangerous sweeping with his fingers again. She shivered and wanted to grab his hand, to move, shift, or maybe lean forward … anything to stop the exquisite torture. So what did she do? She closed her eyes and leaned her head slightly towards him, silently, uncertainly encouraging him. Oh, to be free of his touch, to move away. She wasn't sure which would be harder, to not feel his fingers making her crazy against her skin, or to feel his fingers fade away. She didn't want either, so she was stuck, her traitorous body craving more while her ambivalent mind told her to slap his hand away. 

Halley had no idea how long they stayed like that. All she knew was that he was touching her, back and forth, his fingers moving against her skin. She could feel her heart racing, her body leaning towards his. She was unaware of her hand drifting from the wooden pew to his hard, muscular thigh. Nor was she aware of her fingers tightening as her body responded to his touch. All she knew was that he was here, he was strong and powerful and his hand felt incredibly good!

Suddenly, the congregation stood, preparing to sing another hymn. Halley jerked back to the present, her mind horrified by what she'd just allowed to happen. She was so startled, she dropped her hymnal, then stepped backwards when Mike leaned forward to retrieve it.

But was he a gentleman and simply picked up the book? Nope! One hand lifted the hymnal off of the floor while the other slid against the back of her calf, higher, along the back of her knee. The sensation was so startling, so erotic that she had to grip the pew in front of her. And still his hands moved higher! His fingers pulled her skirt higher and her mouth fell open as she held her breath. Thankfully, he didn't lift it any higher than a few inches, but when his hand was gone, she still couldn't stand up straight. Darn him!

"Don't do that!" she snapped at him when he finally stood up next to her, but she'd said it in low enough voice that the family in front of them didn't hear.