The Lone Rancher - By Carol Finch Page 0,32
happy as touching her intimately…
Careful, Cahill, you don’t want to end up like brother Bowie, who got his heart trampled. And damn! I’m suddenly sympathizing with him.
“Yes, let’s blame it on a momentary lapse of sanity,” she replied aloofly. “That’s what it was.”
He noticed the proud tilt of her chin and decided Boston was as cautious as he was. Emotional vulnerability could lead to humiliation and disaster. Quin wanted no part of it.
“Whatever the reason, I should warn you that kissing me with an audience of cowboys is an invitation to more gossip.”
She expelled a frustrated breath. “I was trying to dispel the notion that we are feuding, because my cowboys were quick to assume you would blame me for the fire. I wanted them to think we are on friendly terms.”
“It might backfire,” he cautioned as they trotted toward the treed hill where the grand ranch house his parents had built stood like a fortress overlooking the barns, sheds and corrals at 4C headquarters. “I suspect the next round of gossip will suggest that I’m trying to romance your ranch out of you because driving you out of Texas hasn’t worked worth a damn.”
She snapped to attention and scowled. “Blast it, I should have thought of that. From feud to affair. Well, I suppose we’ll have to keep our distance to quell that rumor.”
Quin smiled wryly. “Or I could insist that I’ve decided I don’t want your ranch and that I’m after your luscious body.”
Although he’d meant to tease her, she stared at him very seriously, surprising him. “No more and no less?” she asked.
“Would you be offended if I answered yes?”
His appreciative gaze drifted from the rise of her ample bosom to the trim indentation of her waist. Suddenly, he wished she was straddling him and no one was around to catch them doing wildly erotic things to each other. The tantalizing thought sent unappeased desire rippling through him and he gritted his teeth to prevent groaning aloud.
Her deep-green eyes locked with his and he nearly fell off Cactus when she said, “It would be only for your pleasure and mine. We won’t expect favors of any sort. Agreed?”
Hungry need pounded him like a sledgehammer. He had been too long without the sexual favors a woman could provide. Not to mention that wanting Boston in the worst way had been eating him alive since he’d met her.
“If it’s your intent to torment me, Boston, it’s working. But the answer is yes. I want you. Badly. No strings. No expectations. That is, if you want me, too…. Do you?”
She smiled impishly as they approached his house. Instead of answering his provocative question, she asked one of her own. “Mind if I come in? I haven’t toured your place yet. I’m curious what a real Texas ranch house looks like.”
“I’d like to show you my bedroom,” he said under his breath. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen because there were too many cowboys lurking around. It would have to be a quick tour.
“Elda!” she called out when the stout cook appeared at the door. “How nice to see you. Cahill is giving me a tour of his home. I hope he’s treating you well. Otherwise, he will answer to me.”
Quin noticed the exchange of glances between the two women. He knew Boston had spoken loudly to ensure the curious cowboys knew Elda was their chaperone, but whatever had passed between her and Elda excluded him.
Disappointed that yet another erotic fantasy had gone up in smoke, Quin watched the seductive sway of Boston’s hips as he followed her into the house. He didn’t want to turn to one of the soiled doves who lived in the red-light district on the wrong side of the tracks, but he needed some relief. Perhaps the ten-mile trek to Wolf Grove for supplies was in order. Still, he doubted another woman would satisfy him when this spirited hoyden was the only one he wanted.
It didn’t take long for Adrianna to realize Elda’s assessment of Quin’s home was right on the mark. All of his sister’s clothing hung in her wardrobe and the room must have been left exactly as she had decorated it. The same went for Bowie’s and Chance’s quarters. Quin’s bedroom was neat and tidy but the master suite didn’t have that lived-in look.
Adrianna shivered uneasily. It was clear that Quin hadn’t moved on. She wondered if he had taken time to mourn the loss of his parents or simply harbored resentment against