Page 23 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

Aria gasped, then glowered at him. “Daniel!”

“I’m cutting in,” he said, staring hard at the man sputtering to find his words.

The guy had the poor sense to curse, so Daniel positioned himself in front of Aria.

“Is that any way to speak around a lady?”

Aria grabbed at his arm, attempting to move around him, but Daniel wouldn’t allow it. “Daniel!” she snapped again. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The man looked Daniel up and down, a sneer crossing his face before he huffed and left through the crowd.

Daniel turned to face her. “The song’s almost over anyway. And I didn’t like the way he was touching you.”

Her mouth fell open, and then she snickered. “You’re not serious.”

“I’m dead serious. Did you not feel what he was doing?”

Aria sobered, and that was all the proof he needed. He turned to leave, but she grabbed his hand, tugging him back to her. “Oh, no, you don’t. You can’t cut in and then leave me here alone. You’re dancing with me.”

He stiffened. Apparently, he hadn’t thought this through. He hadn’t liked seeing the other guy touch her like she was an object. It had done something to him he wasn’t ready to decipher.

But for Daniel to dance with her?

A swirl of desire he hadn’t been prepared for caused an earth-shattering shift within him. Aria’s eyes flashed. She hadn’t released his hand; on the contrary, she was tugging him closer. “Come on, don’t be a baby.”

His throat closed up. Even if he had a retort for her, he couldn’t voice it. His feet shuffled along the floor against hisbetter judgment. She brought his hands around her waist, and he barely touched her, fearing she’d pull away from him like she had last night.

Then she captured him by lacing her fingers behind his neck.

Aria’s expression shifted slightly. Her eyes studied him with contemplation more than anything else. She moved closer and closer until their bodies touched. She wasn’t pressed up against him, but she didn’t have to be. His skin felt like it was on fire. The music faded only because his ears were now ringing.

A soft smile touched her lips, and she looked away. Conversation between them had been stilted since last night. They’d barely had anything to say to one another over dinner. She hadn’t brought up what they’d discussed or how she’d behaved when he’d touched her.

If he had to guess, he would assume that she wanted it to be forgotten.

That was fine by him.

For now, he was having a hard enough time not letting his thoughts go somewhere they shouldn’t.

Her body was soft and warm—so, so inviting. She moved even closer, and he stiffened until she rested her cheek against his chest. They swayed back and forth until the song ended and another one began.

No words. They didn’t need them anyway. Right now, they were kindred spirits who had dealt with their own demons in their own ways.

They could pretend they weren’t broken.

She smelled like apple blossoms and vanilla. It was intoxicating. If he closed his eyes, he might drift away into a universe where it was just the two of them.

But he couldn’t do that.

Reality had to sink in and fast if he wanted to avoid getting hurt.

Daniel couldn’t afford to develop feelings for her. There weren’t any guarantees that she’d stick around in Copper Creek.

He could already sense the devastation of falling for someone who didn’t want to stay here.

The song ended and he couldn’t release her fast enough. He took a decided step backward and gave her a curt nod. “I think we should be heading home soon.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “I came here with Camilla.”

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