Now she was in his bed. “Absolutely.”
Relieved, her expression softened.
“You didn’t really doubt that, did you?”
She smiled, a stunner that made his body go completely rigid. He was through talking and ready to give Erin a much better ride than she’d had on that bull.
* * *
Erin was taking a risk, making a memory she’d bring back to Seattle when her time in Texas was up. She wasn’t going to dwell. She wasn’t going to admonish herself. She was all in. Dan’s size thrilled her. He towered over her, all brawn and muscle, solid and sure, yet his touch was tender. She placed incredible trust in this man already. She loved his hands on her, his fingertips caressing her face as he kissed her. She responded to him carnally, soft murmurs of approval and pleasure parting her lips.
Dan kissed a path down her throat, his hot breath searing the slope of her breasts. In just a second, he had her blouse unbuttoned and his mouth moved over her, teasing her nipples to rosy points. She moaned, relishing the laps of his tongue on her skin. Her bra disappeared magically, Dan’s talent making her head spin. She loved this feeling of being loose, unbridled and unaware of anything but the man spreading heat and excitement through her body.
Her zipper was down, her jeans pulled off and Dan was there, cupping her panties in his large palm. The warmth seared through her, the pressure unbelievably perfect. He lay beside her on the bed, making her dreams come true. And just then, she stopped, a coherent thought pressing through the pleasure. His shirt was still on. He was fully clothed and that just wasn’t fair. She needed to touch him, to make him lose all thought the way he was doing to her. She needed her hands on him and pulled at the snaps of his shirt. They opened easily, and with his help wrestled him out of his shirt.
Oh wow. His shoulders, squared and broad, were massive in size. There was just so much of him to touch and she didn’t hesitate. She laid her palms on him and his eyes shuttered closed. “Sweetness,” he rasped.
She explored eagerly, sinking her hands over his taut muscles, the ripped cords of his skin and lower still until she met with the fine hairs below his torso.
His erection pulsed against her.
“Dan,” she murmured, and pressed over the bulge.
“Hang on, woman.” He gritted.
Instantly, she was on her back again, his one hand tying her wrists above her head, while the other worked her panties down her legs. When he touched her folds, her eyes squeezed shut and her hips arched. The strokes of his fingers were like music, each one bringing her to sighs and moans and desperate whimpers. He played her sweetly and then the strokes came stronger, harder and her breaths hitched higher and higher.
She was ready. So ready.
She cried out, her release overpowering. And Dan was there, kissing her, stroking her hair and making it all so much better. She came down slowly and dared to look in his eyes.
They were dazzling, gleaming and hungry.
“That was a beautiful thing,” he whispered.
She had to agree.
She’d poked the bear and he wouldn’t be denied.
Thank goodness.
He kicked off his boots and she reached for his belt buckle. He was all too willing to help her divest him of his clothes.
Naked now, Dan’s raw power excited her all over again. His beauty lay in his solid strength, his massive frame, the tenderness in how he made love and as she gazed below his waist for the first time, she took a big gulp of air.
Dan caught her eyeing him and concern wrinkled the corners of his eyes. He said so much in his expression and she heard him loud and clear in the nonverbal way he seemed to like to communicate. Relieving him of any worry, she rained kisses on him again and tucked her body under him.
Her explanation went a long way in making him understand and he wasted no time in searching through his jeans to pluck out a condom. Then he rose onto his knees, this beautiful man towering above her and the image seared her brain, not to ever be forgotten. Ready now, she pulled him down and dipped her tongue into his mouth. It was heady to be the aggressor, to show him how much she wanted him, to hear him groan and whisper her name.
Dan took over from there and she followed his lead as he feather-touched her breasts until she was ready to scream, nudged her legs apart, grabbed on to her hips and guided himself home.
Erin opened her eyes thirty minutes later and found herself alone in Dan’s king-size bed. Her entire body was one sweetly serene sigh. If only she could bottle that feeling and keep it close, she’d be satisfied forever. It was truly luck and her clumsy attempt at the bull that brought her here, to Dan. She smiled and rolled over and came face-to-face with a gray-and-white fur-ball of fluff. “Hello,” she said to the cat sitting in a regal pose on the nightstand beside the bed. “Who are you?”
The cat blinked several times.
She chuckled. “A big talker, I see. Just like your owner. So where do you suppose he is?”
She didn’t wait for the cat’s reply. She grabbed Dan’s shirt from the floor, laced her arms through the sleeves and fastened a few snaps.
She rose to check out her appearance in the mirror and was happy she didn’t find a bad case of bed head. Considering how often Dan had run his hands through her hair, she took it as a good sign and strode out of the room. As she made her way down the hallway, she was met with a cocker spaniel mix of some sort with short stubby legs who was doing his best to keep up with her. The dog was much too animated for this time of night. As she reached the top of the stairs, she looked into the soulful eyes of a friendly black Lab. Friendly, she assumed, because his tail had started wagging as soon as he spotted her.
“You’re a pretty one,” she said, giving the dog a pat on the head. Then she made her way down the stairs with her entourage following behind.
She entered the kitchen and found Lucky sound asleep on his cozy bed. He was just as they’d left him, dozing calmly, and it did her heart good to see him resting. Then her gaze drifted to the other end of the room, where she noticed Dan by the counter, filling a bowl of fresh water for the dog. His concern for Lucky was touching and incredibly sweet, but nothing, and she meant nothing, compared to how her breath caught at the sight of him.
The dim kitchen light illuminated his very tanned, very bare chest, the dip of his low-slung black jeans and the sharp, almost too rugged planes on his face. Handsome to a fault, she thought. She wrapped her arms around her middle, suddenly a bit shy. “Hi.”
He strode over to her, his eyes narrowed on the shirt she wore that touched her midthigh. His brows lifted in an approving way. “Hi.”
Then his hands came to her waist and he gave a little tug, drawing her closer, and kissed her softly on the lips. Her shyness disappeared and she smiled. “Checking on Lucky?”
“Yep.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Seems fine,” he answered, never taking his eyes off her. “I like you in my shirt.”
“Oh, um, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Hell no, I don’t mind.” He dipped his head to meet her eyes and gave her waist a squeeze. “Everything okay?”
“Mmm, everything’s fine,” she assured him. “I met some of your friends.” She pointed to the two dogs sniffing around Lucky’s bed. The cat began rubbing her cheek up against