“As you can see, we take care of them. We make sure they get the best feed and the medications to help them stay healthy.” He pushed his hat back and found her eyes. “I love my cattle, but I understand that they’re not pets. Cattle ranchers supply a necessary service to help feed people, but we make sure their lives and their deaths are handled the right way. Got any questions?”
The only questions she wanted to ask were about him. She couldn’t do that. “No. Not yet.”
If she’d dared, she would’ve asked him if he felt the same sizzle that she felt. But if he did, then what? Did he feel the same urgency? An urgency to grab hold and make him kiss her until her legs gave out? Did he feel the urgency to thrust her chest against his and fondle her breasts?
She wanted him and his brother more than she’d have thought possible. It didn’t make any sense, but the compulsion was there. It went crazy inside her. If they’d given her half a reason, she’d have let them strip her clothes, leaving her naked and vulnerable. Even with Kid standing nearby.
The world swayed around her as another flash of energy—is it lust?—swept over her. She had no choice but to reach out for anything—him!—to keep from falling over. Her hand fisted in Rick’s shirt as her hand disobeyed her mind.
“Mallory?”
Somehow, she’d ended up in his arms. Her heart pounded in an uneven rhythm. Her breath hitched in her throat. Her knees still felt weak, barely able to keep her standing.
“Are you all right?”
She lifted her gaze and found his mouth. His lips were firm, yet she had reason to think they’d be soft at the same time. She wanted, hell, needed to kiss him. Like a deep sea diver, she needed his kiss like it was air to breathe.
It wasn’t until her eyes found his that she lifted her other hand and took a hunk of his hair. Tugging his mouth to hers wasn’t professional, but to turn him loose wasn’t an option. If she didn’t have his lips on hers, she had no doubt she’d die.
His groan echoed the yearning inside her as his mouth crushed against hers. The groan flowed inside along with his tongue. He yanked her into his arms, forcefully molding her body to his. Answering him with a moan of her own, she nibbled on his lower lip until he tilted her head and deepened the kiss. The breath his kiss had given her was gone in the next moment as he stole it away. She welcomed his tongue inside, skimming hers over his to draw up more of his taste. Strong, girder-like arms enveloped her, bringing her onto her tiptoes. She reached up even more and bent him low over her body.
She thought she knew how to kiss and be kissed, but she was wrong. Until Rick had put his mouth to hers, she’d only been fooling herself. Other men’s kisses paled in comparison. What she’d believed to be desire before now diminished into a child’s fantasy. This was so much more, yet she couldn’t find a word that could describe it. Rick kissed her like a woman should be kissed, with power and control dominating her until she wanted to beg him to kiss her between her legs. She had to have more kissing and, God help her, more everything.
“Mal?”
At first she didn’t recognize her own name. Rick had called her Mallory and now nothing else seemed to fit. She was lost to him, ready to sacrifice the life she’d known for a few more moments of his kiss.
Someone cleared their throat and she dismissed it. Who cared what else was going on around them? Who cared if anyone else was alive?
“Are you having fun, man?”
Gunner.
At once, her body and mind was at war. She wanted Rick, craved him, and yet there was another she yearned for just as much. Could she have both of them?
It was Rick who finally broke the kiss and held her away from him. A rush of emotions overwhelmed her. Disbelief gave way to disappointment, and anger came and went in blistering speed, to be replaced with humiliation.
Gunner and Kid stood in the shade of the barn, staring at her. She would’ve expected Kid to be stunned at her behavior, but he wasn’t. Like Gunner, he had on a knowing smile that changed into a smirk that said “I told you so”.
“Hell, yeah.” answered Rick. He tipped his hat at her in a “thank you, ma’am” kind of way and stepped back from her.
“You’re all right, aren’t you, Mal? You didn’t like inhale too much horse shit and have a stroke, did you?” At her narrowed eyes, Kid attempted to cover a chuckle with a cough.
She wasn’t about to stand there and let Gunner and Kid make fun of her. Putting her head down, she marched past them. “Come on, Kid. Let’s get moved into our rooms.”
Yet when she was halfway down the middle aisle of the barn, she couldn’t help but overhear Gunner’s teasing words.