Cardwell Ranch Trespasser - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,39

he saw her. “You look beautiful.”

She felt beautiful.

“I don’t think you have any idea what you do to me,” he said, his voice sounding rough with emotion. “You make me tongue-tied.”

“I really doubt that,” she said with a small nervous laugh. The desire in his gaze set her blood aflame.

He took a step to her, ran his fingers along one bare arm. She felt her heart jump. Goose bumps skittered across her skin. His gaze moved over her face like a caress before it settled on her mouth. If he kissed her now—

“We had better go to dinner,” he said, letting out a breath as he stepped back from her. “Otherwise...” He met her gaze. “I want to do this right, you know.”

She smiled. “I do, too.”

“Then we’d better go. I made reservations up on the mountain. It’s such a nice night....”

She grabbed her wrap. Montana in the mountains was often cold, even in the summer after the sun went down. She doubted she would need it, though. Being this close to Colt had her blood simmering quite nicely.

They didn’t talk about Dee Anna Justice or the scissors and other evidence locked up back at the house. Colt asked her about growing up in Chicago. She told him about her idyllic childhood and her loving parents.

“I had a very normal childhood,” she concluded. “Most people would say it was boring. How about you?”

“Mine was much the same. It sounds like we were both lucky.”

“So your parents are professors at the University of Montana.”

“My mother teaches business,” he said. “My father teaches math. They’d hoped I would follow in their footsteps, but as much as I enjoyed college, I had no interest in teaching at it. I always wanted to go into law enforcement, especially in a small town. I couldn’t have been happier when I got the job here at Big Sky.”

He had driven up the winding road that climbed to the Mountain Village. There weren’t a lot of businesses open this time of year, but more stayed open all year than in the old days, when there really were only two seasons at Big Sky.

The air was cold up here but crystal clear. Colt was the perfect gentleman, opening her door after he parked. Hilde stood for a moment and admired the stars. With so few other lights, the sky was a dark canopy glittering with white stars. A sliver of moon hung just over the mountains.

“Could this night be more perfect?” she whispered.

When she looked at Colt, he grinned and said, “Let’s see.” His kiss was soft and gentle, a brush across the lips as light as the breeze that stirred the loose tendrils of her hair. And then he drew her to him and deepened the kiss, breaking it off as the door of the restaurant opened and a group of four came out laughing and talking.

“We just keep getting interrupted,” Colt said with a laugh. He put his arm around her waist and they entered the restaurant.

Hilde had never felt so alive. The night seemed to hold its breath in expectation. She could smell adventure on the air, feel it in her every nerve ending. She had a feeling that tonight would be one she would never forget.

* * *

OVER DINNER, they talked about movies and books, laughed about the crazy things they did when they were kids, and Colt found himself completely enthralled by his date.

Hilde was, as his grandfather used to say, the whole ball of wax. She was smart and ambitious, a hard worker, and yet she volunteered for several organizations in her spare time. She loved nature, cared about the environment and made him laugh.

On top of that, she was beautiful, sexy and a good dancer. After dinner, they’d danced out in the starlight until he thought he would go crazy if he didn’t get her alone and naked.

“Is it just me, or do you want to get out of here?” Colt said after they took a break from the dance floor.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He laughed and they left. It was all he could do not to race down the mountain, but the switchback curves kept him in check.

Once out of the vehicle, though, all bets were off. They were in each other’s arms, kissing as they stumbled toward her front door. Once inside, they practically tore each other’s clothes off, dropping articles of clothing in a crooked path before making it only to the rug in front of the fireplace.

“Hilde,”