Page 32 of Snow in Texas

And froze.

Colin had shed his cut and stood before her in his jeans and a plain white t-shirt that clung to…everything. Men spent thousands of dollars in gym memberships to look like him. Tall, dark, broad-shouldered, defined…he looked nothing like Riley, and with nothing more than his presence, he wiped her ex from her mind.

“No,” she said quietly. “Definitely not that.”

He gave her a tentative half-smile and took one large step toward her. “No?”

She smiled back. “No.”

Another step and he was right in front of her, and she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he asked, dark eyes sparkling because he’d already figured the answer.

She sighed and nodded.

“Then you’ll be glad to hear I’ve practiced a lot.”

A startled laugh left her lips, and that was when his arms went around her and he kissed her.

They’d already had a taste of one another, so the shock was this new twist, the way he took his time exploring her mouth, tongue dancing against hers. Jenny closed her eyes and softened all over, letting herself fall into the magic spell of it, the perfect melting that came with kissing a talented man.

Time and self-consciousness slid away. Jenny tangled her hands in the front of his shirt and wanted to tear it off of him. It was suddenly essential to see what had been hiding under his clothes. She needed to lay hands to it.

She didn’t realize Colin had been walking her backward until her legs hit the edge of the bed. She sat down, surprised and dismayed when their lips came apart.

But then he reached for the hem of his shirt. Drew it up, and over his head, and off.

Okay.Nice.

He had tan lines, the pecs of a superhero, and a little tattoo over his ribs that she didn’t have a chance to explore. Her stomach grabbed tight, a hard clench of desire as her eyes raked over him. Even if he proved terrible in bed, the stunning visual was worth it.

Then he reached for his belt.

Then she realized she needed to ditch her own clothes.

A shiver stole through her once she was naked, a fast flash of self-awareness she would rather not have had. She hadn’t thought about her body as anything other than a frame for her clothes lately, and she wondered now if she could shift gears, reconnect with the sexual side of herself.

She shouldn’t have worried, she realized, because Colin didn’t hesitate. When they were both down to skin, Colin urged her back across the bed and prowled over her, the mattress sinking beneath his weight. One of his hands went to her waist. She felt his gaze move down and then back up her, bold as any touch. And then his eyes locked onto hers and he grinned. Not the predatory smile she’d expected, but one of pure boyish delight.

“Hotdamn.”

She felt a laugh building in her chest. “A good ‘hot damn’?”

“The best.”

~*~

Colin

Jenny had a body built for sex, and he swore it glowed in the lamplight. She leaned up into him, her arms going around his neck, the full curves of her breasts pressing against his chest.

This needed to be good for her: a conviction that swept through him like a chill. Something about the spark in her eyes struck him as a challenge. He didn’t think she’d be one of those silly, flighty females who came unraveled with a single touch. No, he was going to have to work at it, and her gaze was all invitation.

He kissed her. Her mouth was soft and tasted of wine. Her tongue flexed and danced against his.

He felt her foot run down the length of his calf. Felt the soft insides of her thighs flirting against his hips.

Oh hell, he was going to have to start thinking about baseball, wasn’t he?

He broke away from her mouth, kissed her jaw, her throat, the little hollow above her collarbone. Her lotion held a faint hint of vanilla; it filled his nose, funneled into his brain. He was always going to associate vanilla with her afterward, especially once he moved down to her breasts. Pale, and large, and most importantly,real. Christ. He sat back on his heels so he could fill his hands with them. Watch her eyes flutter shut, hear her sharp intake of breath. Her chest lifted as she sought his touch. He lowered over her once more, so he could taste her.

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