he studied several more shots of her in her bronc riding days. Those would have been right after high school, when he had begun to really compete with her to prove to himself—and to her—that she shouldn’t have slapped him over that first kiss, or given him dirty looks all through high school. Mam used to tell him that things happened when they were supposed to, not necessarily when folks wanted them to. Maybe he and Alana weren’t supposed to be friends or even more until now.
“If that’s the case,” he muttered, “then what has a fake engagement got to do with anything, and where is it leading us?” Finally, he sat back down, turned on the television, and started channel surfing.
He was watching a bull-riding event when she finally came out of the bathroom. She’d twisted a white towel around her head, and a pair of bright red shorts with turquoise trim peeked out from under an oversize T-shirt. She smelled like vanilla and roses mixed together, and there was a whiff of coconut when she removed the towel and shook her blond hair out.
“Oh, I love bull riding,” she said as she sat down beside him, reached across him, and picked up his beer. She took a long drink and then handed the bottle to him. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“I don’t mind sharing with a beautiful woman.” He winked at her.
“I sure don’t feel pretty with wet hair and dressed like this,” she said.
“Well, darlin’, Mam always said that beauty from the inside outshines anything on the outside,” he told her.
“My mama said the same thing,” she said and then got quiet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Tomorrow will be the first Sunday since Daddy told me…about…his…time,” she stammered.
Pax scooted over and put his arm around her. “I’ll be right there beside you. After all, we are engaged.”
“I’m scared, Pax,” she whispered. “I’ve always plowed ahead like a bull going through a flimsy fence, but I look at this huge ranch, at everything I’ll need to do. Daddy has taught me well, but to think about making all those decisions I’ll have to make without him is terrifying.”
“You could run this place with one hand tied behind your back, woman, but remember you’ve got good neighbors, as in a cowboy sitting right here, who’s willing to help. All you have to do is holler, and I’ll come runnin’. Not only through however long we’re married, but as long as you need me. And you can talk with me about any decisions you need to make.” He assured her with a sideways hug.
“I couldn’t get through this without you.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “Having someone to talk to is a comfort.”
“I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through, darlin’.” He tipped her chin up and gave her a soft kiss.
She cupped his face in her hands and brought his lips to hers in a long, lingering kiss. That led to even hotter kisses and then she tugged his shirt out of his jeans, unfastened all the pearl snaps with one tug, and ran her fingers over the hair on his chest.
“My God, Alana, I can’t take much more of this,” Pax groaned.
“Me, either.” She panted as she undid his buckle.
“Whoa!” Pax leaned back and put his hands on her shoulders. “Is this going to complicate things?”
She covered his mouth with another kiss. “I can’t worry about tomorrow. Let’s live for the moment right now.”
Pax ran the back of his hand down her cheek. “You are so damned gorgeous that it takes my breath away.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that ten years ago?” She traced his lips with her forefinger.
“Because I was young and stupid,” he said.
He was already throbbing with desire. He ran his hand up under her nightshirt, expecting to find a bra, but there was none. Her breast filled his hand like it had been formed purposely for him. Then she whipped the shirt off over her head and tossed it on the floor. She unzipped his pants, asked him to stand up, and tugged them down. She pushed him back down and pulled pants, boots, and socks off with one fell swoop and peeled off her shorts.
His breath caught in his chest at the sight of her, standing there like a goddess. Then she was beside him on the futon, her warm naked body next to his, and the kisses began again. Making love to Alana was more intense than he’d ever thought it