Page 10 of In Bed with the Rancher

Three

When she rejoined him in the large living area, he turned from the window and gave her a smile. And that’s when Ava knew exactly how hard it would be to resist this man. Whoever he was.

“Ava, I can’t thank you enough for coming back for me today. Not everybody would have done that.” He walked toward her and his focus was intently on her eyes. “I’m very grateful.”

Better he be grateful from a distance, she thought, sidestepping him and turning toward the kitchen. “No problem. How about that dinner now? Are you ready to eat?”

“That sounds great. Let me help.”

Not only did she want her space, but she also remembered Molly’s directions. “You should take it easy. I’ll get everything on and you can sit and watch. Molly told me you shouldn’t sleep right away and no alcohol. She gave me a list of foods good for you and, fortunately, what they had for dinner tonight is good for you—bass.”

“Yeah, she told me when she worked on my shoulder that the bass is great.” He flexed his shoulder a bit. “My shoulder doesn’t bother me as much as my head and my memory loss. I hope she’s right that the memory loss won’t last.” He followed Ava into the kitchen. “I can help you get things on the table, at least.”

As she took dishes out of a cabinet, she said, “No way. You sit and watch.” Only when she turned did she realize how close he had been standing behind her. She was caught again by those deep brown eyes as her gaze locked with his, and she was swamped by another moment of intense awareness. Another moment of desire. She should move, look away, do anything except what she was doing—standing immobile, barely able to breathe, her heart racing. But she felt trapped in his gaze. Her pulse drummed when she looked at his lips—he had a well-shaped mouth that took her breath away even more.

“I don’t know why this happens.” She thought she’d only said it to herself, until his eyes flared. “I—I think you should go sit across the room.”

But he didn’t move. He held his ground and held her gaze. “I don’t know why this happens, either. But I’m your guest so I’ll do what you want. But we may be missing something here by our restraint. After all,” he said in a husky voice, “a kiss isn’t a commitment. And this is a good night for a kiss.”

His head lowered toward hers, but to keep him away, she placed a hand on his chest—a hard, muscled chest that did nothing to douse the desire that was burning inside her. “I think we should stick to restraint,” she cautioned, making herself say the words. “We can’t go wrong with restraint.” She felt like she was lecturing herself instead of him. Her words were breathless. How could he ignite desire by just looking at her and standing close?

He paused a moment before he spoke. “Your call,” he said, then turned and walked away. As he crossed to the table, she let out her breath. She watched him pull out a chair and sit to face her.

“I’ll get dinner on,” she said, aware her words were still spoken breathlessly. She was acutely conscious of his dark-eyed gaze following her as she got out dishes to set two places.

“I don’t have any memory of my life. You, on the other hand, remember your life full well. So tell me about yourself. Is there a man in your life?”

“No, not at all.”

“I find that difficult to imagine,” he remarked dryly and she had to smile at him.

“I was engaged and we broke it off and I really haven’t wanted to go out with anyone since that happened.”

“May I ask why you broke the engagement?”

“Sure,” she said, avoiding looking at him and trying to sound casual, busying herself with removing the containers from the fridge. “Actually, he broke the engagement to marry someone else. That was early last spring. I really haven’t wanted to go out with anyone since then. That may change someday, but right now because I got hurt, I’m not ready for a relationship.” She stopped to look at him and smiled. “Definitely not with anyone who doesn’t know his identity. I’m sure you agree on that one.”

“Oh, yeah—I don’t want to have complicated my life in the meantime.”

While the fish and vegetables reheated, she set a tossed green salad on the table, along with tall glasses of water for him and for herself.

His fingers closed around her wrist, stopping her and holding her near him. “This may not be the time to pursue it, but you can’t deny there’s something between us. Something that comes out of the blue. I won’t forget it, Ava, and I know there may come a time to explore it a little.”

She didn’t deny it, knew she couldn’t, not when he could feel her pulse jump and race as she looked down at him. “I’ve never had it happen with a complete stranger,” she whispered and he flashed that smile that made her heart pound and made her want to step closer to him. “I better move away right now,” she said breathlessly without moving an inch. He stood, putting him even closer to her. Mere inches were between them and his gaze held hers and stole her breath.

“Damn, I wasn’t going to do this,” he said in a husky whisper. “We both just agreed we wouldn’t, but I can’t resist when you get me wound up with just a look. I know full well you don’t even want to have that effect.”

“No, I don’t,” she whispered. They stared at each other. She couldn’t move or look away.

“You don’t want to step away any more than I want to. Just say to hell with it,” he whispered and closed the last tiny bit of distance between them. He paused just long enough for her to put her arms around his waist, then he took her into his arms and kissed her.

As if she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings, she turned her mouth up to his and closed her eyes.

When his lips brushed hers lightly, longing burst through her with a hungry need for more. While she tightened her arms around his waist, her lips parted. His tongue ran over her lips and common sense vanished.

As she pressed against him, her tongue slid over his and then his mouth came down hard and possessively. She had never been kissed this way in her life, nor had such an explosive reaction to a kiss. She wanted to kiss him the rest of the night. He leaned over her, his strong arms holding her. She felt his erection pressing hard against her as she clung to him.

She didn’t know how long she held him and kissed him, until finally, reluctantly, she got her wits together and pushed slightly against him. He straightened to release her. They both gulped for breath as they stared at each other.

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