The Texan's Contract Marriage - By Sara Orwig Page 0,48

to what she was telling him.

He kissed her hard, his tongue playing over hers and going deep, possessively, as he pulled her tightly against him.

Winding her fingers in his hair, she kissed him in return. Finally, she slipped off his lap and walked away. “I should call it a night.”

“Not at all. Sit and talk. It’s early. We don’t have a full day tomorrow. I’ll send Ashley in the limo to the plane. Ginny and the girls will come to get Noah. We’ll do what we want.”

“You’re right,” she said, sitting slightly farther from him on the sofa.

“How did you decide on the name Noah?” he asked, his dark eyes holding passion.

“That was my grandfather’s name. He’s named for my grandfather and for his own father,” Camille answered while trying to calm and wishing her voice wasn’t as breathless.

“Does your dad mind being skipped over?”

“No, one of the granddaughters is named for him. Chelsea Taylor Avanole.”

“Nice name. I’m glad you gave Noah Kern’s name. I remember your text from Kern. The name made Kern happy. When he’s old enough, I’ll get a small, gentle horse for Noah. Long before that he can ride with me.”

“I can’t imagine my baby on a horse,” she said. “You and I know little about each other’s worlds.”

“That makes life interesting,” Marek said, smiling at her and moving closer. “And you’re too far away,” he said, slipping his hand lightly on her nape. “I’ll take you to a rodeo and we’ll also go dancing sometime and you can learn the two-step if you don’t already know it. When you see the ranch house, just remember that we can remodel and redecorate any way you want. This is my house that I had built, and it’s not old and filled with sentimental memories.”

She listened and watched him while he talked, only half hearing what he told her, remembering their kisses and fighting the urge to reach out and touch him. If she did, she would be in his arms again.

In her wildest imaginings, she had never expected to have a marriage of convenience, a honeymoon without making love, a husband who didn’t love her. Yet they were getting to know each other and there was a physical attraction that neither one of them could resist.

It was two o’clock when she stood. “Now I do have to go to bed. I’m sleepy,” she said, picking up an empty glass to take to the kitchen.

He went with her, and as they walked to her new bedroom that adjoined his with closed double doors between them, he draped his arm across her shoulders to draw her against him.

“You’re not staying in here tonight,” she whispered.

“I know I’m not,” he replied. He gazed down at her. “Guard your heart well, Camille. Mine is frozen, and, make no mistake, it won’t thaw.”

“I’ve got your warning,” she whispered. “I’ll take care of myself.”

He kissed her lightly and left.

*

Marek walked to his room, his thoughts on Camille. He would never fall in love and already she had a starry-eyed look and was telling him this would mean more to her with each kiss. He should leave her alone, but that was impossible. She was a desirable, beautiful woman, now his wife, as legally binding as any marriage.

Startled, he realized he was coming back to life fully. It still surprised him how much and how fast she had brought him out of his grief. How huge the transformation since the day Camille had walked into his office! The diminishing of his heartache had been subtle, gradual, but he was less steeped in heartbreak, each week more lusty. Camille was filled with life, her passion for living spilling over onto all around her, including him. He rubbed the back of his neck and wondered where they would be in this relationship a year from now.

Images and memories of Camille returned full force: of Camille in his arms, of kissing her, of her soft lips, of her body, dancing the samba with her and her seductive moves. The memories set his pulse racing and sent his temperature soaring. Maybe someday he would fall in love with her—something that seemed impossible now, but she had brought about changes he would have thought impossible three months ago.

It shocked him how much he wanted her. A month ago, he was completely oblivious to women. But from the moment Camille had slipped into his life, hot, passionate, she had stirred responses from him he hadn’t known he could possibly give