Page 34 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

“Hi, Lane.”

He didn’t have to turn around to see that it was Rachel standing behind him.

“Rachel.”

“You are a terrific dancer. I think you’re the best one here,” Rachel said. “Will you dance with me?”

“No,” Lane said.

He was shocked when Rachel pulled his head down and pressed her lips against his. At first, he was frozen. She released him before he could push her away.

“That was nice, Lane.” She winked at him and walked away.

Involuntarily, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. It was all he could do to not yell, “Yuck.”

Taylor walked up as Rachel smirked at her and faded into the crowd.

“You saw that, didn’t you?” Lane asked.

“I did,” Taylor replied, her eyebrows raised and her lips slightly pursed.

“I’m sorry. That was very disrespectful to you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. First of all, I’m willing to bet that she instigated it. I know Rachel’s kind and I know what kind of man you are,” Taylor said. “She is the kind of person who would do just about anything to get a reaction out of people. You are a man of honor who would never kiss another woman if he was engaged.”

Lane nodded.

“Second, we aren’t in any kind of committed relationship. We are seeing each other,” Taylor said.

“That is something we need to talk about later,” Lane said. “But since we’re still the center of attention, why don’t we give everyone something to tut-tut over.”

He pulled her close, lowered his head, and pressed his lips against hers. For a moment, they stood alone in the world as they were wrapped up in a cocoon of want and need. Taylor had touched something deep inside of him that was primal.

Lane lifted his head. In a husky voice, he said, “I think that we’ve been here long enough to satisfy the societal protocols. I think we can slip away.”

They headed downstairs and caught a cab to take them back to the mansion, leaving the limos for everyone else. When they were finally in Lane’s old room, he yawned widely.

“You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. I’m used to going to bed early,” Lane said.

Taylor nodded. “No argument from me. Can you unzip me?”

She headed into the bathroom to change.

Lane quickly took off the tux and changed into sweats and a T-shirt. He called out, “I’ll just sleep in the chair again.”

He really wanted to change his mind when Taylor came out of the bathroom wearing a T-shirt and panties. Lane looked away and sang the song, “The Wheels on the Bus Go ’Round and ’Round a few times to take his mind off of how enticing she looked.

Both of them fall asleep rather quickly. Even though the recliner wasn’t as comfortable as he had claimed, he slept hard, completely exhausted from the last couple of days interacting with so many people.

Lane was startled awake the next morning by someone knocking on the bedroom door. He hurriedly hopped out of the chair and threw the blanket and pillow onto the bed.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Lane asked, his voice panicked when he saw the tears streaming down her face.

“Your grandfather died in his sleep last night,” Caroline said, wiping her eyes.

Lane’s heart fell to the ground. His grandfather had been his idol. He had built the ranch from the ground up until it became the empire that it is today.

He pulled his mother into a tight hug and said, “We’ll get dressed and be down shortly.”

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