Page 14 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

Shaking his head he thought,Knock it off. Lately, I’ve been more like a teenage boy than a grown man.

Lane led Loki back to the cabin and ground tethered him. The horse had a hackamore bridle, which didn’t have a bit, so he could comfortably snack on the grass.

Taylor had a fire going in no time. Without even thinking, Lane peeled off his shirt and put it in front of the fire. He pulled off his boots and socks.

He heard a gasp and saw Taylor looking at him, her eyes wide.

“I promise, the pants stay on,” he laughed.

Blushing so red that he thought her face was going to ignite, she hurried off to the bedroom. She was wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants when she came back.

“I have a robe. It’s powder blue, but it would cover you if you wanted to take off your pants and things.”

He had to laugh at the many different shades of red she turned.

“The fire is doing a nice job.”

Grabbing his shirt, she tossed all of their wet clothes, except his pants into the dryer.

He closed his eyes for a second, enjoying the warmth of the flames. It was almost as hot as the fires that were starting to burn inside of him. The image of her body as her wet clothes clung to her made him want to pull her close to him and warm her up the old-fashioned way.

Chapter 6: Taylor

Oh, my heavens. That man looks like he stepped out off the pages of a magazine,Taylor thought.

It took her a full minute to catch her breath and to will her heart to slow down. The butterflies in her stomach were exploding exponentially.

His upper body was tanned and he had the perfect rancher’s body. His arms were thick and the muscles on his chest were clearly defined. He had the standard six-pack abs.

Taylor hadn’t felt an attraction to a man so intense since she first started dating Carl. Biting her bottom lip, she thought,You must get yourself together.

She went into the kitchen and made him a cup of coffee and a cup of hot tea for herself.

“I got the idea that you aren’t a super huge fan of hot tea.”

The sexiest grin she had ever seen flashed across his face. “Not really, no. Thanks for this.” He raised the coffee cup and took a sip.

She sat down next to him in front of the fire. “You know, when your pants dry, they are going to be so incredibly stiff, you might not be able to walk.”

“It could be a challenge. I’m wondering if I should roll over, though, to give my backside a chance to dry, too.”

Taylor had already noticed that the man had a nice-looking hiney. The thought of him laying on her floor, without a shirt, showing his butt, even if it was encased in perfectly fitting jeans, was almost too much.

He rolled over and Taylor closed her eyes and took a sip of tea to hide her reaction.

“Thank you for going into the creek after the calf. It only swells like that a week or so out of every year unless we get a lot of super heavy rains,” he said. “Those waters can be very dangerous and you could have easily been swept away.”

“I know, but I couldn’t let that terrified baby drown,” she said. “She might be dinner later, but right now she’s just a baby who needs to be happy grazing and being with her mama.”

“They should be happy while they are alive,” he agreed.

“I know about the rise and fall of creeks, though. I have a great friend who lives in Kansas. There is a creek out there, called Stranger Creek. Most of the time it is dry or nearly dry. I was visiting during a rainy season and I kid you not, I saw a combine floating down the creek.”

“Large amounts of rain in a short amount of time will definitely have that impact,” he said. “I’ve never lost an animal to it, though. The calf must have wandered off,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

He turned back over and sat up. The flames made him look like he was glowing or had some kind of golden aura about him. Lane stared into her eyes and then leaned over. He put one hand on her cheek and pressed his lips to hers.

At first, it was a very gentle kiss, but as she responded, the kiss deepened. She inhaled his scent and it seemed to permeate through all her cells. Embers that she had thought were dead kindled back to life and flames of desire started to burn deep inside of her.

---