Page 26 of In Bed with the Rancher

He picked her up to carry her back to the bedroom.

“I can walk, you know.”

“I can’t stand you being that far away from me.” He took her to the bedroom, placed her on the bed and turned to get a condom. As he did, her gaze ran down the length of him and her pulse drummed faster. Naked, he set her body afire. She was ready to make love again and again.

* * *

When the first rays of sunrise spilled into the room, she stirred. She turned to look at the man sleeping beside her. How many times had they made love last night? The bigger question was how much of her heart had she given him?

Until they made love, she could have walked away after telling him goodbye and her heart would still have been intact and unbroken.

Now she wondered how deep her feelings ran for him. One night shouldn’t be everlasting love. But temporarily, he was part of her life and he was incredibly sexy.

She knew the risks when she’d agreed to go to bed with him. What was done was done and there was no way she could regret the lovemaking they’d shared. He was going to be impossible to forget. She hoped he had a nice family and she hoped his memory returned swiftly. And she hoped with all her heart she hadn’t fallen in love with him.

She slipped out of bed and went to shower. When she returned, the bed was empty and she suspected he was in another shower. She left for her own suite to get dressed, but she couldn’t keep him from invading her every thought. He was going home to a big family and to discovering all about himself. Did he look forward to it...or did he dread it?

After she dressed, she entered the family room, immediately spotting him standing by the window. Wearing jeans and Gerald’s blue-and-red plaid shirt, Wynn turned and his gaze swept over her and he crossed the room to her. Her heartbeat accelerated while she stood watching him, looking into his eyes and knowing he was going to kiss her. While her pulse raced, she felt a flash of desire.

“Remember, we have a plane to catch today. A commercial flight, so we’ll have to be on time,” she said.

“I’ll remember, and this will just be a quick kiss. You look terrific, by the way,” he said, taking in her jeans and blue sweater.

“Thank you. You look rather good yourself.”

“When I get home, I’m going to give these clothes to charity, but I’ll guarantee you, I’m glad to have them now because my own were in tatters.” He stepped closer and slipped his arm around her waist.

“Last night was fantastic. The best,” he said solemnly.

“I agree.” She gazed up at him. “Are you going to kiss me or just keep talking?”

She saw his answer in his expression, and his arms tightened, drawing her into an embrace.

The minute his lips met hers, she wanted nothing more than to hold him, to have him stay with her. To strip off their clothing and cancel their flight. But she knew she had to let him go. He had to get back to his real life.

Finally, she stepped away, smoothing her sweater and trying to catch her breath and cool down. “We’re running out of time.”

For just a moment she thought he was going to reach for her again, but he let out a long breath and turned away. “Yeah. We need to get to the airport. I need to go find my life and my past.”

As she watched him walk away, she thought, Yes, and I’m not part of either one except for the hours you spent in my cabin.

* * *

Ava drove them to Houston to the nearest airport, parked and they flew the rest of the way into Dallas. They took a shuttle to get her car and then he gave her the addresses he had been given by the sheriff to his Dallas condo as well as his parents’ home.

The whole time she tried to avoid thinking about telling him goodbye. They got her car, she put the address of his condo in her GPS and drove to a high-rise building overlooking downtown Dallas. As arranged earlier by the sheriff, Wynn got a key from security and they rode to the penthouse condo.

He was told he had a private entrance and they used it to take the elevator to the fifteenth floor where they stepped out into a hallway. He unlocked his condo door and entered. Sunlight spilled through a wall of windows as they walked through an entryway into a large living area. Walls, furniture and throw rugs were all white, with glass and stainless-steel contemporary furniture.

Wynn paused as he looked around and shook his head. “I don’t remember one thing here. I’m not even sure I like it.”

“Maybe you’ll feel differently after you’ve been here a while.”

He looked around and turned to her to place his hands on her shoulders. “The only thing that looks familiar in here is you. Come here. It’s been a long time since we left your place and all I could think about most of the time was getting somewhere alone with you so I can kiss you.”

He reached for her and she placed her hand on his chest to push lightly. “Whoa. One kiss only, because you don’t have a lot of time. We need to allow thirty minutes to get to your parents’ house. You told them you’d be there at five.”

“We’re wasting some valuable minutes here,” he whispered, sliding his arm around her waist to draw her to him and kiss her. With every kiss now, she thought it was a goodbye, but then he found a time and place where they could kiss again. The real goodbye was coming tonight or tomorrow, she was certain. She stopped thinking about it because while his mouth was on hers she couldn’t think about anything except his kiss.

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