Page 37 of The Rancher's Secret Son

Nine

Claire gave up on sleep. She was on fire still from Nick’s kisses and his caresses. She wanted to be in his arms, while at the same time she wished she hadn’t let any of it happen because kisses could only complicate their relationship. They were getting over the past, building a relationship in the present. They didn’t need lust complicating their lives.

She should have stopped Nick much sooner tonight, but she couldn’t. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, she had wanted his touch, wanted to hold him. Now sleep was gone, and once again their relationship had changed. No matter how either of them tried to deny it, the spark between them was still there, had never been extinguished. They could no longer deny the passion that shadowed every moment they would spend together. Everything would be different between them now.

How was she going to get through this time with Nick? Could she manage to just see him when she had to?

How would she get through this long night without him?

* * *

Wednesday morning after her shower she dressed in jeans, a black knit shirt and tennis shoes. Cody was still curled in bed asleep.

When she entered the kitchen, Nick was cooking and the tempting aroma of hot coffee and hot bread filled the air.

Her heart jumped as she looked at him. A blue plaid long-sleeved shirt covered his broad shoulders and was tucked into tight jeans that emphasized his long legs. A hand-tooled leather belt circled his narrow waist. Just like that, he had turned into the sexy rancher.

“Good morning,” she said.

He turned to smile at her, moved a skillet and crossed the room to her. “Good morning,” he said in a husky voice. “You look pretty.” He hugged her lightly and paused to look into her eyes while his arm still circled her waist. Desire was obvious in his blue eyes and she needed to move away, but for an instant she was immobile, caught and held, wanting him to lean down and kiss her.

With an effort, she stepped away.

“I want to take Cody to look at the horses today and let him ride with me. Want to go with us?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t miss Cody’s first ride. I’ll take pictures. Right now, he’s still sleeping soundly.”

“We’re just hanging out at the ranch and I’m not joining the guys to do any work while we’re here, so if you want to go into town or do something, let me know. This is a very quiet place.”

“Frankly, a very quiet place sounds wonderful. Cody’s going to have a great time. I know you’ll look out for him and I’ll be in charge of pictures. This will be special for him.”

“It’s special for me in a lot of ways,” Nick said, touching a lock of her hair. “I forget how much I love it out here and I want both of you to like it, too. I’ve hardly been here in the past couple of years.”

“You’re too busy. Nick, you’ve got to slow down and smell the roses.”

He smiled at her. “There are some other things I’d rather slow down to do,” he said in a husky voice.

“And just what would you like to do?” she asked in a breathless voice, knowing she might as well toy with sticks of dynamite, but it had been aeons since she had flirted with anyone.

She caught the brief startled look as his eyes widened, and then Nick stepped closer. “Kiss you good morning,” he said, taking her into his arms.

She had opened her mouth to say something, but words were lost when his mouth covered hers and he held her tightly to kiss her.

After the first startled moment, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him in return, her heart pounding, knowing that she was going up in flames and encouraging him in every way. Guarding her heart had gone away days ago.

She finally ended the kiss and stepped away from him, fanning herself with her hand. “That starts the day with fireworks.”

“That starts the day in one of the best possible ways.”

She turned to find him watching her intently. “I’m not asking what the other possible ways are. I think I’ll cool down with some orange juice.”

“Coward,” he said softly, but there was no bite in his words.

He walked back to get her a glass of juice. “I’ll cook you an omelet. Tell me what you’d like.”

“I can cook my own, Nick.”

“I know you can, but I’ll do it. Look at all the ingredients I have.” She walked closer and saw little dishes of chopped mushrooms, onions, sweet peppers, jalapeño peppers, garlic, asparagus, basil leaves, spinach leaves. She looked up in surprise. “How early did you get up?”

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