Page 31 of Irish Rose
The damnedest thing was, he wasn’t thinking about Monte Carlo or playing the wheel anymore. It was becoming easier and easier to stay in one place. And think about one woman.
“You won!” Suddenly she was laughing and her arms were around his neck. “You won by two lengths, maybe three, I couldn’t tell. Oh, Burke, I’m so pleased for you.”
“Are you?” He’d forgotten the race, the horse and the bet.
“Of course I am. It’s wonderful that your horse won, and he looked so beautiful doing it. And I’m happy for me, too.” She grinned. “The odds were eight to five.”
Then he stunned her by dragging her closer and kissing her with a power and passion that left her limp. She didn’t protest but, held trapped in his arms, allowed herself to be buffeted by the storm.
“The hell with the odds,” Burke muttered, and kissed her again.
Chapter Six
She didn’t know what to think. No one could have been kinder than Burke the day Erin had spent with him. She’d watched the races, the strong, beautiful horses striving for speed. She’d seen women dressed in elegant clothes and jockeys in brilliant silks. She’d heard the noises that came from thousands of people in the same place. She’d seen exotic birds and flowers, had sipped champagne in a private plane. But her clearest memory of the day was of sitting on the grass in Burke’s arms.
She didn’t know what to think.
Since then, the days had passed routinely. Erin had to remind herself she was doing exactly what she’d set out to do—making a wage, starting a life, seeing new things. But Burke’s visits to her office had become few and far between. She began to catch herself watching the door and wishing it would open.
She told herself that her feelings for him were surface ones. He made her laugh, showed her exciting things and could be kind enough when it suited him. He was just arrogant enough to keep an edge on without alienating her. A woman could like a man like that without putting her heart at risk. Couldn’t she? A woman could even kiss a man like that without falling too deep. Wasn’t that right?
And yet she knew she’d come to the point where she thought of him a bit too easily and watched for him far too often.
He’d stayed away from her long enough. That was what Burke told himself as he came in through the back of the house from the stables. He’d stayed away from her since their quick trip to Florida because his feelings were mixed. He was used to clear thinking and well-defined emotions, not this jumbled mess of needs and restraint.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d looked at the track, watching the horses race by. She’d been vivid, excited, exciting. The kind of woman he could handle. Yet he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d looked when she’d fainted all but at his feet. She’d been pale and helpless, frightened. He’d needed to protect and soothe.
He’d never wanted the responsibility of a woman who needed protection or care. Yet he wanted Erin. She wasn’t the kind of woman you took to bed for a night of mutual enjoyment, then strolled away from. Yet he wanted her. For all her strong talk, she was a woman who would put down roots and sink them deep. He’d never wanted the restriction or the responsibility of a home in the true sense. Yet he still wanted Erin McKinnon.
And he’d stayed away from her long enough.
When he walked into the office, she was marking in the ledger in her clear, careful hand. She knew it was him—even without looking she knew—but made herself finish before she glanced up.
“Hello. I haven’t seen much of you lately.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“That’s clear from the papers on my desk. I’ve just paid your vet bill. Dr. Harrigan back home could live a year off what you pay a month. Are the new foals well?”
“They’ll do.”
“I see you’ve hired a new stable boy.”
“My trainer sees to the hiring.”
Erin lifted a brow. So he was going to play master of the estate, was he? “I see your Ante Up ran well at Santa Anita.”
“Reading the sports page these days?”
“I figure living with the Grants and working for you I should keep up.” Erin picked up her pencil again. “Now that we’ve had such a pleasant little talk I’ll get back to work, unless there’s something you’re wanting.”
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“I said come with me.” Before either of them had a chance to think it through, he took her arm and hauled her to her feet. “Where’s your coat?”
“Why? Where are we going?”
