He walked her to her car, opened the door and bent in the opening after she sat down. His arm brushed her breasts as he fastened her seat belt. It was a slow, deliberate move that nearly caused her to have a meltdown right there on the leather upholstery.
“If you change your mind, don’t answer the door. No hard feelings.” He closed her door and walked off before she could think of a reply.
Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Caleb had a mile-wide gallant streak.
If she had to take a walk outside her comfort zone, at least she was doing so with someone she believed she could trust.
The question was could she trust herself?
Three
Caleb didn’t expect Brooke to answer the door when he knocked. He figured she’d come to her senses once she was out of range of the attraction flaring between them and decide not to waste herself on a lowly cowboy. And he wouldn’t let himself be disappointed.
He rapped once and she eased the door open. She’d kicked off her shoes. Her painted toenails dug into the carpet, and her teeth dug into her lip. “Come in.”
Judging by the way his body saluted her husky voice and bare feet the show would be over quicker than he could hog-tie a steer. He needed to slow things down. So even though he wanted to toss her on that motel mattress, bury himself inside her and ride like the wind, he rocked back on his heels, hooked his thumbs through his belt loops, and said, “Make me.”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. “Excuse me?”
“If you want me, city girl, come and get me.”
She looked left and right down the deserted walkway, but in this back corner of the motel they were the only ones around. She folded her arms across her chest. “I thought you were a big, tough cowboy who knew exactly what you wanted.”
He winked. “You got part of that right.”
Her gaze dropped to his distended fly. She blushed and looked away. Her nostrils flared and her breasts rose as she drew in a deep, shaky breath. He was beginning to think he’d chosen the wrong strategy when she peeked at him from beneath her lashes. The spark in her eyes combined with a sensuous curving of her lips sent a jolt through him.
Very deliberately, Brooke untied the silk belt knotted at her waist. Caleb’s pulse leaped and only raced faster as she eased the strip of fabric inch-by-inch through her belt loops. Once it was free she pulled it taut between her hands and ever so slowly twisted the ends around her palms. Every adolescent fantasy he’d ever had came rushing back.
She arched the slip of fabric up and over his hat. Cool and slick, it curved around his nape. She tugged him into the room one step at a time.
He’d challenged her, but he hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic response. He wanted to kick the door closed and grind his lips and body against hers. It nearly killed him to wait for her next move.
Without breaking eye contact, she transferred both ends of the tether to one hand, freeing the other to remove his hat and place it on the table beside the door. His heart nearly knocked a hole through his chest when she pursed her lips and considered him from his boots to his eyebrows.
“I’ve never done this before,” she confessed in a whisper and shut the door.
It was difficult to think with her soft fingertip tracing his bottom lip, but surely at her age she didn’t mean what he thought she meant. He opened his mouth and tried to taste her but she’d moved on to tease his ear.
“Which this? Making love or tying a man in knots?”
Her quiet laugh drifted over him like a cool breeze on bare, damp skin. “Am I tying you in knots, Caleb?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She tugged on her belt, pulling his head down and positioning his lips at a reachable height. His mouth watered, anticipating her taste. To keep from grabbing her he gripped his belt loops so tight his thumbs went numb.
Her breath fanned his lips, but at the last minute she veered left and kissed his jaw. Her lips were soft, cool and dry. He could rectify that and have her hot and wet—inside and out—in seconds, but he waited, determined to let her set the pace even if it killed him. And it might. But he’d rather be dead than go off like a misfired cannon. He wondered if mentally calculating feed ratios would cool him down.
She nibbled along his jaw, dipping the tip of her slick tongue in the cleft of his chin. His knees nearly buckled. He swallowed, but a knot the size of an armadillo stayed stuck in his throat.
She drew back a fraction, aligning her mouth with his once more. “I’ve never made love to a man I wasn’t committed to.”
Alarmed, he drew back. His mother had been a cheater. He would never be the one responsible for breaking up a family. “You’re not married, are you?”
“No.” She sounded a little disappointed. “You’re currently the only man in my life, and that’s just for tonight. You understand? Afterward we say goodbye and forget this ever happened.”
Usually he was the one to make his intentions clear up-front. It felt a little funny to be on the receiving end. Even though he agreed they had no future, he sure as hell didn’t intend to be forgettable. “Fine by me, but I want all night, not just one go’round.”
She shivered. “All right. How does one go about a one-night stand, Caleb? I don’t know what to do next.”
Oh man, did he ever have suggestions, but he was game for whatever she dished out. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”
She tugged on the silk. “Should I tie you up or will you be a good boy?”
The look she shot him from beneath her lashes nearly caused a problem he hadn’t had since his first time. He tensed every muscle and fought for control. Sweat popped out on his forehead and his throat closed up like somebody had put a noose around it. His chest was tight and he could barely breathe. “I’ll be good whether you tie me up or not.”
Tingling in every inch of her body, Brooke drew back in surprise. She’d made the absurd remark half-hoping she’d frighten Caleb away. The men in her life had always tried to dominate her in bed and out, and control wasn’t something she handed over easily. Ask any of her former lovers. More than once she’d suspected her inability to let go had contributed to her unsatisfactory sex life. Caleb, on the other hand, seemed willing to let her lead.
“You mean you’d let me?”
Although he shrugged casually, his heart pounded harder and faster beneath her palm. “Don’t see why not. Hadn’t tried it before. Might be fun.”
Desire had never, ever affected her so strongly that she trembled with anticipation for what would follow. Caleb made her yearn to experiment in ways that had never tempted her before. She mentally shuffled through every sexual act she’d ever been curious about and never had the nerve to try and wondered if she was brave enough to explore the forbidden with a man she’d never see again.
No. Even though there was safety in anonymity, she was more of a navigator than an adventurer. She liked to know where she was going and how she’d get there.
But you’ll never see him again, her conscience insisted.
“Sweetheart?” He interrupted her search for explanations.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t mean to be pushy here, but could we move along?” The huskiness of his voice told her that she wasn’t the only one fighting overpowering need.
“You have somewhere to go, cowboy?”
He