Cowboy Up(64)

I still don’t move. I can’t even blame it on the fact that he scared the crap out of me while I had been in la-la land. Nope. I don’t move because he’s looking at me in a way that has sucked the air out of my body and melted all my bones.

“Linney, love,” he rasps, “you look cute as hell right now, but I need you to stop lookin’ like shock’s got you trapped and get outta the car so I can get you in my arms.”

“You scared me,” I whisper, shaking my head in the smallest movements. So much for being a big brave girl. I was a fool to think I could handle a conversation of this magnitude without feeling a little trepidation.

“I noticed that, darlin’.”

“You don’t sound upset about it.” I huff out a breath and cross my arms over my chest. Clayton’s eyes move down and I follow his gaze to see that my flowy tank is giving him one heck of a show, the shirt’s front now pulled low with my arms being crossed. The tops of my breasts and some of my white lace bra peek out of the wide scoop neck. I roll my eyes when he still doesn’t look away, uncrossing my arms and pulling the material up. “A gentleman wouldn’t have looked, Clayton.”

“Sweetness, when it comes to you there isn’t anything gentlemanly about the thoughts that constantly keep me company.”

“Well . . .” I trail off, not having a good retort. “I didn’t even show you much. You’d think I didn’t keep you satisfied the way you’re reactin’ to a small glimpse of my boobs. Next time I’m tryin’ to throw a fit, you could at least not be all swoon-worthy and distractin’.”

“Linney, all it would take for me to react and be ready to feel your heat around my cock is you walking into a room. You don’t need to give me a tease. But the lace was a bonus. . . .”

“You’re incorrigible.” I sigh with a smile, turning off my car and getting to my feet between the car and Clayton’s body when he doesn’t move to give me more space.

His hands come up, fingers brushing against my cheeks. I rest mine at his waist and tip my head up to study my dark cowboy as he gazes at me. His eyes devour me, his hands not idle as he drags his fingertips down the column of my neck and down my bare arms until he reaches my elbows. Then he repeats his trail back up until he’s holding me with his palms right under my jaw. He pushes his fingers lightly into my hair as best as he can with it up in a ponytail, and his thumbs rub against my cheeks with slow glides that awaken every inch of me.

“Hey,” he whispers in a bold tone that makes his already deep voice sound a few degrees deeper. Velvet and sandpaper.

“Hey,” I parrot back, sounding like I just ran a marathon. The way he’s looking at me right now, this is something I’ve never seen from him. This, right here, is my dark cowboy giving me everything silently. Himself, his love, our future. All of it is shining bright down on us. The warm buzz that travels over my skin has nothing to do with the summer Texas sun high in the sky.

My fingers flex, doing nothing more than move against his stone-like muscles, as I make no attempt to gain purchase on his skin. My feet shuffle forward until I feel the toes of his cowboy boots. My hands go behind his back as I press my body against his and tip my head up. His back flexes under my touch, but other than that, he doesn’t move an inch. Just gazes down at me, holding me gently.

“I got a lot I want to say about your call earlier, Caroline,” he tells me softly. “You’ve got my head all twisted up, though, and I can’t figure out if now is the time to say even half of the shit that’s rollin’ around without freakin’ you out. But you brought it up, and now I don’t think I can sit on it any longer.”

The rapid tattoo of my heart has my breathing speeding up, but with his bright green eyes showing me nothing but the enormity of his love, I feel it—the fearlessness that only Clayton brings out in me.

“It’s time,” I rush without hesitation.

His face gets soft and he bends slightly to press his lips lightly against mine. He doesn’t deepen the kiss, just gives me a brief peck before lifting his head a degree as he keeps his eyes locked on mine. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.” My breathy affirmation is met with his eyes flashing with pleasure, the corners of his mouth tipping up, and the laugh lines around his eyes coming out. He adjusts his hold, his hands falling down a little until his palms are resting against either side of my neck.

“You . . . God, Linney,” he drones, shaking his head but still smiling. “First, you’re okay?”