Secretly Hers (Sterling Canyon)(21)

 

“We’ll just have to agree to disagree, Trip,” Kelsey said. “I’m all for more options in this little town. And I’m counting on the commission from this deal to set me up to invest in some rental properties of my own.”

 

“I wouldn’t rely on that if I were you.” His tone and posture issued a warning, but what did Trip know about investing?

 

“Leave Wade and real estate to me, cowboy. Stick to what you know best—the slopes and women.”

 

He shook his head before he cocked it. Studying her thoughtfully, his eyes never drifting below her chin. Perhaps she’d gained a little of his respect? Then his facial muscles relaxed and he ruined the moment by wiggling his brows suggestively. “Tell the truth, your real interest in Wade’s got nothing to do with these deals, does it?”

 

“Why is your mind always in the gutter?”

 

“It’s fun in there.” He lazily leaned back in his chair, which he’d turned to face her, stretching one leg forward until his foot nearly touched hers, like the snake in the Garden of Eden. “In fact, I think you should join me for a while before you wind up married and bored.”

 

“Bored?” She cocked her head, annoyed. When he started fiddling with a pink eraser, she asked, “Why would I be bored?”

 

“Because everyone who gets married ends up bored. One person—forever?” He tossed aside the eraser he’d been tapping on the desk. “Good God, I’m bored even thinking about it.”

 

“Naturally you’re bored. You can’t even be with the same woman for a whole weekend.” His unrepentant shrug prompted her to lean forward. “You may be proud of that fact, but it tells me you only have a few moves and no imagination.”

 

His cocky expression transformed to heated indignation and then something . . . else. He hooked his foot around the leg of her chair and yanked it toward his own. After planting his hands on the arms of her chair and caging her with his body, he murmured, “Honey, you can’t throw down a challenge like that unless you’re willing to let me prove you wrong.”

 

Before she could respond, he unclipped her hair and ran his fingers through her curls. Every hair on her body vibrated in anticipation as his gaze dropped to her mouth.

 

Bewildered. Excited. Confused. A little terrified. The conflicting emotions coursed through her veins, making the one at the base of her neck throb so hard she thought it might burst.

 

“Tri—” she began, but he silenced her with a breathtaking kiss. Firm, a little rough, a whole lotta hot. She didn’t want his kiss, or at least she hadn’t been angling for one, and yet its carnal power swept her away.

 

He groaned, making her heart thunder. In a fluid movement, he lifted her as if she weighed no more than a Styrofoam cup, plunking her bottom onto the desk. Settling his hips between her legs, he dragged her to the edge of the desk, using his hands to coax her legs around his waist. He crushed her against his body while hungrily kissing her mouth, jaw, and neck.

 

Whatever happened in the future, she could no longer make wisecracks about his skill. Her entire body burned like she’d been thrown in front of a bonfire.

 

His hands were everywhere—seeking, touching, kneading—turning her on way more than she could handle. Granted, it had been a while since she’d been with a man, but the way he overpowered her, took what he wanted, and knew what to do with it, well, it unleashed yearning buried deep inside, which took hold like some kind of drug.

 

He broke the kiss to catch his breath, then immediately pressed his mouth to her neck. She gasped as he pulled her closer to his body. He practically growled when the hard ridge of his erection rubbed against her panties, making her wet and needy and panicked.

 

This could not happen. Not here and now.

 

Not with Trip, of all men.

 

That thought broke through her lusty haze so she shoved at his chest. “Wait.”

 

“Why?” He barely got the word out as he continued his hot assault on her body, his thumbs now circling her nipples through the fabric of her dress. “Let’s do this, Kelsey. We both want it.” He kissed her again, and like the hungry fool she was, she kissed him back. “That’s my girl.”

 

His cocky tone coupled with the little smirk she felt against her cheek gave her the strength to push him away.

 

“Trip, please. Stop.” She kicked him again, this time in the thigh.

 

“Hey, those damn heels are lethal, especially in this vicinity.” He waved his hand in front of his crotch.