Page 19 of Ride a Cowboy

Maybe if she distracted him with her tits, she could buy herself a little more time to admire him.

That plan failed. Hank was a doer, not an observer.

“Add the pants and panties to that pile while you’re on a roll.”

She unfastened her jeans. Slipping off her shoes, she slid everything down in one fell swoop and stepped out of it.

“Now you.” She was no stranger to making her own demands.

Problem was, unlike her past lovers, Hank wasn’t so easy to boss around. And he was never in a hurry. Which was only partly annoying because he sure as fuck knew how to pass the time.

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Hank.” She started to walk toward him, intent on helping him speed things along, but he lifted his hand.

“Stop right there.”

Speaking of annoying things…

Hank gave her a command—a fucking command—in that tone of voice, and her body responded before her brain had a chance to give him the what-for.

“Get on the bed, Whiskey. Lay down on your back, open your legs, and let me look at you.”

Well, that seemed like a way to get things moving. She turned, taking in his room as she walked to his bed. It was a sturdy, four-poster king bed that matched the house. What gave her pause was the elegant red-silk bedding, the abundance of soft throw pillows, the rich beauty of it all.

It didn’t fit Hank. It fit…

“Dammit,” Hank muttered.

“It’s okay,” she said, aware her tone was too wooden for believability.

“I didn’t think, Macie.”

“Her sheets?”

“Sharon spent a lot of her last year in bed. She liked pretty things. Soft things.”

“I see.” She did. She saw it all. And she hated it.

Then she hated herself for feeling that petty, that stupid.

He stepped behind her, his hands resting on her waist loosely. While they both knew he could nudge her forward and put her wherever he wanted in that sexy-as-sin, domineering way of his, he simply held her. Gave her time to come to grips with something that hadn’t bothered her until that moment.

“I’m sorry.”

She nodded, feeling ridiculous for her sudden, uncontrollable jealousy of a dead woman and touched by the sincerity of his words. He had loved his wife. God, part of her undeniable attraction to him was the fact he had been a wholly devoted, loving husband.

Macie twisted to face him.

Hank gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. “I should have changed the sheets.”

“I’m being silly, I know that.”

“No. You’re not. Not at all. If you’ll give me just a second…”

It was clear he was ready to strip the bed, get rid of all reminders of Sharon.

Macie held up her hand to stop him. “Don’t. I’m okay now.”

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