Page 63 of A Baby for the Texas Cowboy
“It’s cute. I like the Z. And I like the T and Z together.”
“It sounds like tin.”
“It does. With a Z.”
“You coming to bed or not?” She sounded resigned.
And that was the dilemma. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He’d be uncomfortable with wanting her if he slid in beside her, and miserable and uncomfortable without her. And it might feel like rejection. Maybe for all Tinsley’s independence, she needed him to take those first steps back to her.
He lifted the covers and lay down beside her. He was silent for several minutes. He could feel her warmth. Her sexy, slightly spicy scent enveloped him, making him ache to hold her, to feel her skin against his.
He thought of what he could say to break the ice and discarded each comment. In the end, he just let himself drift, listening to her breathe.
“In school kids called me Tin because they said I was like the Tin Man inThe Wizard of Oz,” she said after he thought she’d fallen asleep. “Hollow. No heart. Empty.”
She said it as if stating a fact, but he could hear the suppressed hurt in her voice. He sighed and rolled toward her and, thankful that it was his left side that was bruised and not his right, he pulled her rigid body into his arms.
He nuzzled her neck. “You are the warmest, most vibrant woman I’ve ever met,” he whispered against her throat. “But I confess, I was crazy about the nickname Whiskey.” He nuzzled her neck and kissed his way up to her ear. “Whiskey sounds like a party, delicious, fun, hot as hell, but now that you are oh-so-proper in a wine tasting room maybe we’ll have to think of something else like…heck, I don’t even know what my brother grows. Catalina used to make Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. I know because I caught up with her when I rode in Portland my first season, and she made me drink the damn stuff. How about Pinot or Riesling. Is that a wine? I could call you Ries.”
She laughed, and he felt his pain and cares slip away. It felt like heaven to hold her in the dark and laugh with her.
“Do you have to shorten everything? Oh, that’s right. You’re a bull rider, and I’ve heard bull riders are always fast. Eight-second men.” He heard the laughter in her voice.
He wrapped himself even more firmly around her and nuzzled her sensitive nape with his nose and then his lips. “I am going to remind you how wrong you are someday soon. Very, very soon.”
Tinsley let her eyes drift close. “Maybe I’ll let you.”
He kissed her delicate shoulder and then traced the small tattoo of the unusual animal she had there—a firebird, she’d once told him. He liked that she had a little splash of ink. It was sexy and unexpected—just like the woman.
“Get some sleep, Tinsley.”
“You too,” she said softly.
But Anders lay on his back, eyes closed, trying to calm his mind and body enough to try to fall asleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Tinsley curled up,her back to Anders’ side but without touching. She wanted to. She wanted to roll over and wrap herself around him and beg him to take her out of her mind—push away the memories at least for tonight.
She squeezed her eyes shut against the burning tears. She’d learned long ago that crying only brought on a puffy face, headache and scorn. She sucked in a shaky breath. She had to sleep, but her emotions raced all over the place—longing to believe Anders, give in to him so she wouldn’t feel so alone, but then the fear kicked in. She was scared she’d start to love him and lose all the independence she’d gained.
Anders sat up, his movements so fluid she barely noticed he’d moved.
“What’s wrong? What do you need?” She rolled over and also sat up, her hands reached for him, checking for bleeding or…she didn’t know. Probably she just wanted to touch him. She’d always loved touching him. She’d missed him when they’d walked away as agreed.
“Tinsley, you are so tense, baby.” He cupped her cheek. “You need your rest. I’m interfering with that. I’ll head home. I shouldn’t have come.”
“No. I’m—” She stopped. She wasn’t fine, and she needed to stop lying to him and to herself. “I’m confused, but I don’t want to argue anymore.”
“I didn’t come to argue. I came to get to know you better. To spend time with you that wasn’t…you know…” He paused and even though the room was mostly dark, she sensed his embarrassment. “Just physical.”
“Sex,” she said. Her body was already aroused. Just seeing him affected her. Being close to him jarred awake every nerve in her body. “Would sex be so bad?”
Yup. She just went there.
“Sex with you is amazing.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, “Better than that, but that’s not all I want from you, Tinsley. Not even close.”
“What if that’s all we have?”
