Page 27 of Wrangling a Wild Texan

An extremely bad idea.

Unfortunately, before he could make his excuses and get the hell out of there, Sunny took matters into her own hands. With a needy moan that Reid felt all the way down to the toes of his boots, she replaced her warm finger with her soft, warm lips.

It was like pulling the trigger on a cocked gun.

The need and desire he’d been holding back exploded. Before he knew it, he had her shoved back against the truck, his hard body pinning her as his lips took what he wanted.

He wanted a lot.

He ravished her sweet mouth with hungry pulls of his lips and deep strokes of his tongue. She didn’t taste like strawberries or bubble gum. She tasted like . . . sunshine, and he basked in her glow and heat like a man who had been living his entire life beneath a dark cloud. He never wanted to go back under that cloud. He wanted to stay right here, surrounded by this vibrant woman’s energy forever.

He might have done just that if they hadn’t been interrupted by a loud throat-clearing.

He drew away from Sunny to see Mrs. Stokes standing on the sidewalk in the ratty-looking fur she always wore. He blinked back to reality and realized what he’d been caught doing—mauling his boss’s little sister smack dab in the middle of town.

He untangled his fingers from Sunny’s hair and stepped away. He didn’t know what to say so he just stood there feeling like a fool. Thankfully, Sunny came to his rescue. She pinned on a bright smile as if he hadn’t almost taken her against his truck.

“Hey, Ms. Stokes! How are you doin’ this fine day?”

Mrs. Stokes cocked a dark red eyebrow that matched her bouffant hair perfectly. “Not as good as you seem to be doing. A new gallery and now a new beau. Lucky girl.”

Reid finally snapped out of his speechlessness “No! I’m not Sunny’s beau. That was just . . .” He scrambled for an explanation for what had just happened, but came up empty.

Once again, Sunny jumped in. “All me.” She shrugged. “What can I say? I have a hard time controlling my impulses.”

Mrs. Stokes chuckled. “I understand completely. I never could control my impulses with hot cowboys either.”

Sunny laughed before she sent the woman a pleading look. “I hope you’ll keep this between us, Ms. Stokes. I would hate for word to get back to Corbin. He’ll never let me hear the end of it if he finds out I accosted his foreman in the middle of town.”

“It looked to me like Reid didn’t mind much.” Mrs. Stokes shot him a calculating look before she returned her gaze to Sunny. “But you don’t have to worry about me saying anything to Corbin. I have firsthand knowledge of how well your brother likes to control everyone in his life. Which reminds me. Please inform him that time is ticking on his part of our bargain. I understand he’s been distracted by his new wife and their growing family, but a deal’s a deal.” She adjusted her fur around her shoulders. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a hair appointment.”

Once she was gone, Sunny turned to Reid. She looked thoroughly kissed. There were whisker burns around her mouth and her lipstick was completely gone and her lips slightly puffy. Even though she had been the one to make the first move, he owed her an apology for how quickly he’d let things get out of control.

“Look, Sunny, I’m sor?—”

She pressed a finger to his lips once again. Once again, he had to fight the liquid desire that spread through him like a fast-acting drug.

“Let’s not ruin a pleasant little interlude with a bunch of excuses for why it shouldn’t have happened and why it can’t happen again. I get it. You have a lot to deal with right now and you don’t need any more complications. Believe me, I don’t need any more complications in my life either.” She removed her finger from his mouth and tapped his nose. “Now you better get your bunny home. I wish I could be there to see Sophie’s face when she gets home from school and sees Patsy.” She playfully socked him in the arm. “Good job, Uncle Reid.” She turned andheaded to the big ol’ monster truck that was parked a few spaces away.

He should be overjoyed that she hadn’t made a big deal about the kiss.

But all he felt was a sad disappointment that he’d never taste sunshine again.

Chapter Ten

Sophie was right. Sunny was one lucky girl who should be thrilled with her blessed life. But it was hard to be thrilled when she knew she didn’t deserve any of her blessings. Not when she had lied to everyone. And was continuing to lie to everyone.

She knew she needed to come clean, but how could she do that when Corbin had spent so much money on her becoming an artist? He’d paid for art classes, supplies, the art school and apartment in Paris, and now a gallery. She couldn’t face the disappointment in his eyes when he realized he’d thrown all his money away on a failure. Especially when all she’d ever wanted to do was make him proud. And not just him, but Jesse and all the Holidays who had welcomed her into their family with open arms. What would they think of her if they found out she was nothing but a fraud and liar?

Punching her pillow in frustration, she sat up in bed and looked across the room at the painting sitting on the easel. She’d painted it last night when she got back from packing up her apartment in Houston. It had started out as a painting of Jesse and Liberty’s pug, Buck Owens, frolicking in the fields behind the carriage house. It had ended up another “angry art” painting—a graffiti mishmash of mars black and yellow ochre and copper gold and Bordeaux red. Although, in the morning light, the splatters and slashes resembled two people kissing.

She wasn’t surprised.

The last few days, when she wasn’t thinking about being a failure, she was thinking about kissing. Or not kissing as much as one kiss. One hot, steamy, knock-your-knickers-off kiss.

She had kissed a lot of men in her life, but not one had ever kissed her like Reid. Not one had kissed her as if his life had depended on it—as if he’d been walking through a hot, barren desert for days and she was a tall glass of water he needed to drain dry or he’d die. Of course, once Mrs. Stokes interrupted them, Reid had acted like the kiss had been the worst mistake of his life.

And it was a mistake.

---