Page 19 of A Fortunes of Texas Christmas (Fortunes of Texas)

She pulled on what was left of her good sense and dragged her mouth from his, breathing hard, and she stepped back, wrenching herself free of his embrace. He released her instantly, not looking anywhere near as overwhelmed as she felt. He looked his usual infuriatingly cool self. And he was smiling, as though he knew exactly the effect he had on her.

“Robin,” he said quietly. “Breathe.”

Her chest shuddered. “You’re such a jerk.”

“I’m a lot of things. But I think we just proved that we’re going to be good in bed together.”

She tried to laugh at his arrogance and failed. Her thighs felt like Jell-O, her girl parts ached, her hands were shaking and her lips throbbed from the intensity of their kiss. She didn’t want to laugh. She wanted to kiss him again. And more.

But it wasn’t the time or place. And Robin wasn’t about to jump into bed with a man she’d known for only a little over forty-eight hours. Crazy, spirited and sometimes a little unorthodox she might be, but easy? Not a chance.

She’d brought him to the ranch to prove a point. Okay, so her plan to make him look like a failure on a horse had seriously backfired, but she still had phase two of her plan to put into action. Dinner with her sweet-natured folks...filled with enough parental pressure to make him grab his keys and run and never look back.

“I should make good on the dinner I promised you.”

He smiled and dusted his hands together. “Can I wash up first?”

She nodded. “Sure. Follow me.”

They left the barn and headed for the main house. She led him through the mudroom, conscious of his presence close behind her, and as they entered the kitchen, they were assailed by the aroma of her mother’s famous pot roast.

“Our dinner,” she said and managed a smile. “We’ll be eating with my folks tonight,” she explained and waited for his refusal. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Sure,” he said easily. “I look forward to meeting them.”

Robin noticed a tiny pulse beating in his cheek and r

ealized he wasn’t as cool as he was making out. Good. A dose of her parents over dinner would have him running out the door and back to his hotel within half an hour. Seeing as she hadn’t brought a man to the house since she’d broken up with Trey, she knew her parents would be pumping out questions to Amersen over their meal. And she couldn’t wait to see him squirm.

“You’ll love them,” she assured him. “They’re wonderful people.”

And right on cue, her mother entered the room. Veronica Harbin was the kind of mother everyone wanted—kind, considerate and always on hand for her children. A little on the plump side, she always wore floral dresses, cowboy boots, and tucked her curly blond hair behind her ears. Her mother was her best friend, and Robin loved her dearly.

“Mom, hi,” Robin said cheerfully. “This is Amersen. He’s staying for dinner.”

She watched as her mother came forward and grasped Amersen’s hand. “Lovely to meet you.”

“Likewise, madame,” he replied. “It is a pleasure.”

Robin saw her mother flush. Like mother, like daughter, she thought, swooning over a sexy accent. “We’ve been out riding, so I thought I’d loan Amersen some of Evan’s clothes.”

“Of course,” her mother said and smiled. “You know where they are. Dinner will be on the table soon, so don’t be too long,” she said and winked.

Robin grabbed his hand, ignoring the way heat immediately flared in her belly, and dragged him from the kitchen. Once they were out of earshot, she dropped his hand as though it was a hot poker and spoke. “How do you feel about a shirt and jeans? Mom hasn’t cleared out my brothers’ rooms, even though they left years ago. And you’re about Evan’s size.”

“Great,” he said agreeably.

Too agreeably. She knew he didn’t want to wear her brother’s old clothes. But he was too stubborn to say so. They were a lot alike, she realized. It made her long to stop being so aware of him. But he was right—they were attracted to each other. And their kiss had proved it. Who knew why they pushed one another’s sex buttons? She’d never really understood physical attraction. If she did, she might have had a reason for Trey’s infidelity.

She heard the television blaring in the front lounge room and knew her father would be watching his favorite game show before dinner. She beckoned Amersen down the hallway and up the stairs, stopping at the first door. Her brother’s bedroom was exactly as it had been when he was a teenager—sports trophies on shelves, old posters on the walls. Evan still used the room if he stayed at the ranch for a weekend, so she knew he had spare clothes in the closet. Robin rummaged through the clothing and pulled out a soft plaid shirt, a pair of jeans and a lightweight Sherpa jacket.

She turned around and looked at Amersen. His suit and coat looked crumpled and grubby but redeemable, and she figured that a visit to the dry cleaner’s should fix it. She passed him the clothes and shrugged.

“You can change in here. Meet you downstairs.”

She left the room and closed the door, refusing to think about how he would be nearly naked with just a wall between them. She waited at the bottom of the stairs, and when he opened the bedroom door and stood at the top of the stairs, she simply stared at him.

Oh, dear god, he was too gorgeous for words.

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