Grant (Riding Hard) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,52
T-shirt with Circle C Ranch on it stretching over his chest. “Have a ranch not too far down the road. My family does, that is. We own it together.”
“That sounds nice.”
The beer landed on the table. The waitress winked at Christina then turned away.
Grant picked up the foaming mug and took a preliminary sip. “What do you do?”
“Well, starting now, I run this bar. The whole thing.” Christina made a sweeping gesture that took in the room.
Grant blinked and dropped the pretense. “You do?”
“Yep. Karen made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Grant’s brows went up. “Karen, the woman you vowed you’d never, ever work for? At the top of your lungs?”
Christina flushed. “Yes, okay. Turns out, she’s not so bad.”
Grant chuckled, and the sound did things to Christina’s heart. “It took me a while to warm up to her too.” He glanced at the crowd. “Come and dance with me. I want my arms around you.”
Now that was a good pick-up line. Christina rose to her feet. “Sure.”
Grant flashed his warm smile and led her out to the dance floor.
Christina never got tired of being held by his strong body. Grant spun her around with the athleticism that showed when he rode, his steps sure. He never let her get out of sync with the music.
Christina floated on a cushion of sound, steadied by Grant’s arms. She loved that cowboys could work hard all day and then put on clean clothes and dance the night away.
Everyone in town seemed to be here tonight, dancing, forgetting cares, enjoying themselves.
Grant pulled Christina a step closer, leaned down, and kissed her.
A slow, warm, loving kiss. Christina felt her heart lighten, her devastation about her visit to Dallas easing for a brief moment. Grant was here, and they might have another chance.
She let him walk her home. Christina debated whether she should end the “date” with a simple good night or invite him in for a wonderful evening’s natural conclusion.
When Grant kissed her under the porch light, Christina wrapped her hands around the lapels of his shirt and pulled him inside.
Grant’s hopes were high as he lay with Christina that night, their bodies together in the darkness. This was the way it used to be, the two of them making love, then talking together, then kissing in quietude, then making love again.
Grant was still in her bed when the sun came up, touching them both with warmth. They rolled out of bed at the same time, covered their nakedness with what they could grab, and went out to make breakfast in the kitchen.
Like old times. How easily they fell back into the routine.
“Come to the shoot with me,” Grant said as he poured himself another cup of coffee. Christina was sexy as hell in a short robe over nothing at all, backless slippers on her feet. “We’re doing the interior shots today. And maybe jumping from the moving cars, if we have time. You can watch me try not to break my neck.”
Christina hesitated. Grant took another sip of coffee, waiting for her to say no.
She’d explain that they were taking things too fast, she wasn’t ready, all the many things women liked to say when they wanted a man to go away. Don’t let the screen door hit you.
Then Christina nodded. “Sounds fun. I’m not meeting with Karen about the job until this evening. I have the day free.”
The relief Grant felt surprised him. He hid it with another sip of his thick black coffee.
She didn’t have to worry, Grant thought. He wasn’t about to push them into moving in together, marrying, settling down. Not yet. He’d give her time to heal, to get used to the idea. But he wasn’t going to let it go either.
Christina taking the job at the bar meant she was staying in Riverbend. They’d have time to become comfortable with each other again. No pushing.
They’d broken up last time from all the pushing. Maybe they were older now, and wiser.
Not so old Grant couldn’t get hard watching Christina swish around the kitchen in that thin little yellow robe. Not long later, she was straddling him in a kitchen chair, while the room rang with their cries of passion and the bacon burned.
They were late to the shoot, but Carter’s annoyed look turned to understanding when he saw Christina get out of the truck with Grant.
“She’s going to be an extra in the robbery scene,” Grant explained.
Carter gave Christina a nod. “Good. We need more women. Costuming is