Page 24 of Falling For Her Cowboy
She realized he did that often and that was probably one of the reasons why she was immediately comfortable with him.
“Let me drop you off at the bunkhouse.”
“You don’t have to, I can?—”
“I want to.”
Melah paused and looked at him. His smile slowly disappeared. He reached for her hand and took it in his. The warmth covered hers. It was callused from hard work, and the sensation of his hand holding hers had her brain going somewhere carnal. Her breath caught in her throat at the fantasy of his rough palms sliding along her smooth thighs to push them open.
She blinked to erase that image from her mind. Her heart rate had skyrocketed at the thought.
“Okay.” In all honesty, she didn’t want the night to end. This was one night where she felt whole, like a normal person. Even though it hadn’t been considered a date, it had all the feelings of one.
Ridge gave a short nod and guided her back tohis truck. He helped her inside again. She pushed down the giddiness that filled her. The woman inside her liked the feeling he gave her, while a voice of reason tried to kill her high by suggesting he was probably helping her inside again since it was a high truck and she’d almost fallen out of it before.
The ride took a couple of minutes. He parked in the exact spot he had when he’d picked her up. She turned to him and met his gaze. They didn’t say anything for a moment, then a bubble of laughter came forth. She didn’t know where it was coming from or why.
“What’s so funny?” Ridge asked with a smile lingering on his lips. He combed his fingers through his hair and focused on her.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. She glanced at the house. A soft light glowed in the room where Aimee was staying. She already knew Aimee would wait up until she returned home. If the shoe was on the other foot, Melah would stay up until Aimee made it home safe. “I hadn’t figured I would meet someone like you here.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
“Well, I figured all of the men on the ranch would be older, other soldiers who were like me. You know, fucked up in some kind of way.” She trulyhadn’t known what to expect. She’d been so focused on the fact the ranch offered a way for a person to get on their feet that she hadn’t thought she’d meet someone as handsome and kind as Ridge.
Someone she was wanting to have a physical relationship with. Her legs clamped together with that thought.
“Well, you aren’t too far off the mark. Most of the hands are ugly sons of bitches.”
That brought a giggle out of her.
He reached over and held her hand. “And just because I smile and joke, don’t mean that something’s not off up here.” He pointed to his head. He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it.
She tilted her head and regarded him again. Did Ridge have skeletons in his closet? He had served, too, so there was quite a possibility. He hid it well if he did.
“You better head in. Aimee has peered out the window at least twice since I’ve parked.”
Melah looked over at the house and, sure enough, Aimee was watching them from the window. He was right. She’d better go in before Aimee came out to check on them.
“I really enjoyed myself tonight,” she said.
He released her hand, and she felt saddened by it. She liked the feeling of his larger one holding hers. She gripped her purse to keep from reaching for him again.
“I did, too. We should do it again, but maybe next time I’ll do the paying.”
“What? You didn’t like having a woman pay for your meal?” she teased.
Not Ridge, being chauvinistic. He grinned and reached for the handle of his door.
“It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just prefer to be the one providing a good meal for a beautiful woman.” He got out of the truck and shut the door.
Her mouth opened slightly.
He thought her beautiful.
Her cheeks warmed. Was this embarrassment? She’d never done well with compliments. He arrived at her door and opened it.
“Thank you.” It was the least she could say. Vernon Battle had taught her manners.
