that suggestion with total disbelief that it was necessary, and even if it was, that he was the man for the job. But as strong as Shannon was, right now she felt small and soft and vulnerable, and he wanted to tell her that no matter how tough things got, he’d always be there for her.
But the truth was that he wouldn’t always be there. His life consisted of crisscrossing the country, riding bulls, driving hard for the championship he was sure would finally make his life complete. And she had her life in Rainbow Valley, with her friends and family and a bunch of homeless animals. He had no doubt that the man who eventually married her would have everything he didn’t. A college degree. A stable life. A lucrative profession. People who respected him.
And the woman he wanted more than anything.
Luke fought the memories, the ones that made him feel less than other people. And it was because of this town. Nowhere else on earth did he feel that way. Only here. He’d thought if only he knew for sure his father was in the ground, it would all be over. But it wasn’t. As much as he professed to have gotten past it all, it took nothing for old memories to be triggered, ones he still didn’t want to face.
The festival was starting in a few days. Soon he’d be getting on the road to Denver. He needed time to drive there. To acclimate himself back to the rodeo arena. To get his mind back in the game and let this life go.
To let Shannon go.
Lately, though, a daydream had filled his mind more than once. He imagined it was the final round at the World Championship, and he’d just gone the distance on the biggest, baddest bull he’d ever ridden. He’d turn to the stands and search the people there, finally locating Shannon’s beautiful face. For the first time in his career, there would be somebody he cared about in those stands. Somebody who cared about him. Somebody who searched him out afterward, win or lose, and then they went home together.
But that would never happen. Shannon would never leave this town, and he couldn’t stay. It was time to stop wishing for things that could never be.
“Thank you for this place,” Shannon said. “I won’t ever forget it.”
Her eyes were still glistening with tears, and her warm, sincere expression went straight to his heart. And I won’t ever forget you.
They drove back to the shelter. When Luke parked in front of the office and killed the engine, the silence just about drove him crazy. He didn’t want to get out of this truck. Didn’t want this night to be over. Didn’t want to walk inside to his empty apartment only to lie in bed and think about Shannon.
He turned to look at her. She reached out her hand, and he took it in his. Then she leaned over the console, put her other hand against his face, and kissed him on the opposite cheek. Instead of pulling away immediately, though, her hand lingered against his face, and he felt her warm breath against the side of his neck.
He didn’t know what it meant. It was too chaste to be a come-on, too sensual for just friends. Never in his life had he wanted a woman the way he wanted her, but this wasn’t just fun and games anymore. He couldn’t ruin this night by coaxing and coercing her, maybe even making promises he couldn’t keep. Damn it, he just couldn’t—
Then the warm breath on his neck became warm lips.
His heart jolted hard, then shifted into a chaotic rhythm. The warm lips moved closer to his, trailing kisses along his cheek. Her hand crept to his thigh, squeezing, releasing. When her lips finally landed against his, he felt a surge of heat that just about set him on fire.
This was no good night kiss.
“Let’s go inside,” she whispered, and all his reservations went right out the window.
Chapter 17
What happened next was a blur to Shannon. She and Luke got out of the truck, but the moment they crossed in front of it and came back together, he pressed her up against the hood, cradling the back of her neck in his hand and kissing her long and hard. There was nothing gentle about it, but that wasn’t what she wanted right now. She wanted to feel how much he wanted her, to bring out that wild