Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,48

don’t have anybody to take pictures of me...”

While she was speaking, Mikey took out his expensive cell phone and snapped photos of her from all angles. He showed them to her in his photo app.

“You’re really good at this,” she said, surprised as she looked at herself in the pictures. She looked happy, mysterious, almost pretty. She laughed. “These don’t even really look like me!”

“They do. You don’t laugh a lot,” he replied. His face tightened. “I love it when you laugh, Bernie,” he added. “You’re beautiful when you’re happy.”

She felt her heart almost bursting. He thought she was beautiful. He wanted a painting of her. She could have floated up to the ceiling, she was so lighthearted.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

He wrinkled his nose at her and grinned. “We’ll have to wait until that movie we were watching comes out on pay-per-view and we can watch it together.”

“I don’t have pay-per-view,” she said morosely.

“We do,” Sari said, and grinned. “You can watch it in the library. In fact, we already have it. The drive-in is showing it, but it’s not a first-run movie. Wouldn’t you like to see the rest of it?”

Mikey pursed his lips. “Would I! It’s a great movie.”

“It is, but I’d need tissues,” Bernie confessed. “One reviewer said it would twist your heart open.”

“You can have tissues and more coffee,” Sari said. “Mandy, can you do refills and find a box of tissues for Bernie?”

“You bet!” Mandy said, and went to get both.

* * *

The government agents left shortly after. Mikey took Bernie into the luxurious study with its plush couch and chairs and the expensive media center, with a fifty-five-inch television screen.

“Wow,” Bernie said as Mikey closed the door behind them. “This is awesome.”

“They’ve refurnished it since old man Grayling died,” he told her as he went to turn on the television and set up the movie. “In fact, they’ve redone the whole house. It has some bad memories for Sari and her sister.”

“I remember hearing about how badly their father treated them,” Bernie said. “He must have been a horrible father.”

“From what I hear, he was.” He grimaced. “Mine was pretty bad, too.”

“My dad was a sweet, kind man,” Bernie said sadly. “He died much too young. He lived through a lot of trauma. I think it affects people, you know? Affects their health.”

“Maybe so.”

He turned on the movie and brought the controller back as he dropped down onto the plush couch beside Bernie. He put the controller on the coffee table and turned to Bernie.

“Gee, look, we’re all alone,” he said with a grin, “and there are no cars around us.”

“Isn’t that fascinating?” she laughed.

“Oh, you bet.” He pulled her onto his lap, letting her head fall back on his shoulder. “And I have some really interesting ideas about what we could do while the movie runs.”

Her arms looped around his neck and her eyes riveted to his wide, sensuous, chiseled mouth. “You do?” she whispered.

He drew her close and bent his head, smiling. “Oh, yes. Very, very interesting.”

As he spoke, his mouth slowly covered hers. She sighed and sank against his big, muscular body, letting him take her weight while he kissed her.

“I could get used to this,” he whispered.

She smiled under his lips. “Me, too.”

He nibbled her upper lip and traced under it with just the tip of his tongue, loving the way she reacted to him. She wasn’t coy or reticent. She met him halfway. If those long, soulful sighs were any indication, she loved what he was doing to her.

He shifted her and his fingers ran gently up and down her rib cage, setting fires, making her hungry. His mouth grew slowly insistent. She twisted against him, hungry and burning with new needs.

His big hand slid under the sweater she was wearing and teased around her breast while he kissed her slowly.

She moaned and twisted up toward that maddening hand whose touch was making her wild for more.

He smiled against her soft lips because he knew that. His thumb slowly trespassed under the lacy cotton cup and against her firm breast. She gasped under his mouth, but she didn’t try to stop him. He loved that. His mouth opened on hers, deepening the kiss, diverting her while his hand went to the hooks that held the bra in place and snapped them open. His hand, warm and strong, moved slowly back around, teasing just under her breast. He could hear her breathing change, feel the need in her grow, as it