her. To press my lips to hers and feel how soft they would be. How they would respond to my own. How her tongue would feel. How she would taste. I wanted her so badly.
But that would be wrong. This was a business, and I was representing my family. I had to be more careful than that. Especially after the teasing had begun already.
My brothers were wary of me bringing these groups out for lots of reasons, not the least of which was the girls that came. Word seemed to spread that handsome young cowboys who also happened to be single were running a dude ranch, and suddenly, there was no shortage of single ladies wanting to take long rides out into the wilderness.
Despite my reputation among the brothers, I was not nearly as unprofessional as they seemed to think I was. I wasn’t going to complain about the scenery when younger ladies joined the drives, nor was I shy about chatting them up, but dalliances with them were few and far between. And they were usually on the last night of the drive, a last-ditch, Hail Mary always thrown by them to me rather than the other way around. I always let them make the move. But I always waited for the last day.
But something was different with Jane. It was much more than just a pretty girl who I might want to spend an evening with. It was much different than a diversion from the loneliness of the ranch and the distraction of being left behind while my brothers started finding wives one by one. It was something new and deeper.
And absolutely terrifying.
Her breath was getting shallower beside me, and I could feel the urge pulling stronger, making me weak in the knees and stealing over my mind. My thoughts were liquid, swirling around her big hazel eyes and pink, thick lips. My stomach clenched and I tried to focus on the fire. Something that could keep my attention and not focus on her.
But even the fire reminded me of the woman sitting beside me. It burned, wild and dangerous. Every fire was unique, and the best ones burned just barely under control. The heat was intense, and suddenly it felt like it was all aimed just at me. The blanket over our shoulders was making me sweat, but I wouldn’t take it off because it kept me touching her. Our thighs pressed against each other, and I could feel her pulse through both layers of clothes. Her heart was racing. Or was it mine?
Maybe I could control myself. Maybe I could just kiss her, let her know that I was, in fact, interested. That what was happening between us could lead somewhere. And then I could break it off and head back into the bunkhouse. Get myself some sleep and let my dreams imagine what I wanted to do with her.
I knew better, though. In the back of my mind, I knew that the second I touched my lips to hers, the second I held her in my arms, it was over. I wouldn’t be able to control myself, and stopping short of stripping her clothes off right there just a few feet from the bunker would be almost impossible. It was testing my abilities not to do it already, and only our thighs were touching.
I desperately tried to think of something to talk about. Something to take our minds away from the tension that was building around us like a thunderstorm. But nothing was coming to my mind.
Nothing but asking her if she wanted to slip around to the overlook a mile away where I had another fire pit for when I came out this way myself in the cool spring and autumn weather. When I didn’t want to be inside and didn’t want to be near buildings.
If I got her there, though, all bets would be off. The rest of the drive would be ruined, and I would be behind the eight ball trying not to acknowledge it in front of her father and sister, while also not angering her or showing her too much attention and angering everyone else. It would be a tightrope to walk that I wasn’t prepared for and I didn’t want.
Or at least, I didn’t want to have to deal with it. I most certainly did want her.
My mouth opened to say something, but again, the train of thought left just as my vocal cords started vibrating. Instead, just a