Page 45 of Wrangling a Texas Hometown Hero

Or maybe he’d just had too much to drink.

“Are you drunk?”

His gaze lowered to her mouth. “Not on alcohol.” Before Hallie could get over the wave of heat his words evoked, the band started playing Zac Brown’s “Chicken Fried” and Jace’s face lit up. “I love this song.”

Before Hallie knew what was happening, Jace started twirling her around in the country swing. He had always been a good dancer and she had always loved to dance. So she forgot about the look in his eyes and fell into step.

They danced well together. Usually, Hallie struggled with wanting to lead. But Jace never gave her the chance. He spun her around like a top, using his hand and the occasional touch on her waist to guide her where he wanted her to go. They danced two straight country swings. By the time the second song was over, she was dizzy and breathless. She became even more so when the next song started and Jace’s strong hand settled on her hip and he pulled her against his muscled chest. His eyes glittered down at her as he started waltzing her around the floor.

“I think we need to talk,” he said.

Talk? It was hard to even think with the press of his muscled body and the flex of his broad shoulders beneath her fingertips. Not to mention, the alluring scent that oozed from his pores and made her want to bury her face into his neck and take big gulping breaths.

It took all her concentration to reply. “About what?”

“About this thing between us.”

That got her attention. “There’s nothing between us, Jace.”

He leaned in closer, the stubble of his jaw rasping the side of her face and sending goose bumps skittering across her skin as his warm breath brushed her ear and caused a tremor to run through her. He felt it. She knew he felt it. His hand tightened on her hip as if he had no intentions of ever letting her go. When he spoke the same desire that raced through her veins was thick in his voice.

“Liar.”

She was a liar. There was something between them. Something she could no longer ignore. But she couldn’t give in to it either. And it wasn’t only because of the oath she once took. Or the town gossip that would hurt her family. It was because she was scared. She was scared that what she felt for Jace was more than just desire. For a woman who had worked so hard to break away from her domineering father, to make sure no man ever controlled her emotions again, the thought of being emotionally attached to a man was terrifying.

And something she wasn’t about to let happen.

She pulled away from him and walked off the dance floor.

“Hallie, wait!” he called.

She ignored him and headed for the door, waving at her parents and Mimi as she passed the bar. She made it to her truck before Jace caught up to her. He took her arm and spun her around. He looked like the angry thunder god again, but she was feeling like an angry thunder goddess so they were on equal footing.

“Stop manhandling me!” She shoved him hard in the chest. He didn’t budge.

“Then stop running away from me. We can’t run anymore, Hallie. We have to face the fact that the morning we spent together can’t be swept under the rug. At least not by me.”

She hated the giddiness that settled in her stomach at his words. He couldn’t forget that morning. He couldn’t forget her. She shouldn’t be happy about it, but she was. Probably because she knew she would never forget it either. She had tried to forget and failed miserably. She was glad she wasn’t the only one.

But that didn’t make it right.

“It might not be forgettable, but it can’t be repeated.”

“Why not? We’re two single adults. We have the right to our own lives. And if you’re still worried about me having feelings for Sweetie, I don’t. I don’t think I ever did have those kind of feelings for your sister. We just got together because it was easy and what everyone expected. But what your sister figured out sooner than I did was that we didn’t have one thing in common besides me being the hometown football hero and her being the hometown sweetheart.” He stared at her and his eyes held a look that made her stomach feel like it did when she used to jump from the hayloft.

“But you know who has things in common, Hallie? Do you know who likes beer and football and ranching and dancing? Do you know who makes me laugh and pissed off and completely out of my head with desire?” He placed a hand on the roof of her truck and leaned closer. “You, Hallie. You make me laugh and so angry I see red and so hot that I can’t think about anything but kissing you and doing all the things we did that morning in Austin. If that’s wrong, then let me burn in hell. Because I’m already in hell not being able to touch you like I want to touch you.”

His eyes turned pleading. “Please, Hallie, let me touch you.”

Chapter Fifteen

The need that flooded Hallie’s body at his words proved the control Jace had over her. She was still terrified, but she could no more deny her feelings for him than she could fly to the sun.

“Then touch me.”

His lips parted on a soft exhalation. He studied her with those smoky-blue eyes for what felt like an eternity before he stepped closer. His heat surrounded her and his breath was warm as it brushed across her uplifted face.

“God, you are so beautiful.” His hand lifted, his warm fingers sliding along her jaw and his calloused thumb coming to rest on her lips. He stroked it back and forth. “Do you know how many nights I’ve thought about kissing you? Every single night since I did.” He removed his thumb and cradled her face in his warm palm as he leaned closer, his lips only a scant breath away. “Every single night, I lie awake in bed and think about these soft, tempting lips and how good they felt pressed against mine.” His gaze lowered to her mouth. “Wet them for me.”

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