From This Moment On - By Debbi Rawlins Page 0,23
told him he should ride back to the house with me. He shook his head, told me to go, and I was still mad, checking my watch and my phone, too anxious to jump in the shower to care what he did.
“The next day, he and my mom sat all of us kids down. Jesse was home for the weekend from college. And they told us Dad had cancer. He’d taken too long to go see the doc. The late diagnosis meant he didn’t have much time left.” Trace swallowed. “We never did finish the fence line together. That afternoon in the north pasture was the last day he got his hands dirty. When he’d said there’d be another time, he’d lied. He knew he was too weak. He’d wanted to give me that last day and I was a total friggin’ self-centered asshole.”
“Oh, God, Trace, don’t—” She tried to look at him but he wouldn’t let her. Unsure what emotion she’d find in his face, she let him have his dignity and just hugged him. “I hope you’re not still holding on to that argument. From what I’ve heard about your dad, he would never want that for you.”
“Wanna know what I regret the most? I never brought it up. It ate at me yet I pretended the argument never happened. Hell, it wasn’t an argument, it was me mouthing off. I was so ashamed and stupid. That damn McAllister pride that kept him from seeing the doctor kept me from telling him I—” His voice broke. “Talk about stupid. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
Nikki knew why. He’d given her a piece of himself so she’d feel comfortable confiding in him. What an incredible gift. Her eyes were moist, and she blinked like crazy when he leaned back, threading his fingers through her hair. She finally looked up at him, and found his tender smile almost more than she could take.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“I didn’t do anything.”
She just smiled back, amazed at how familiar his face had become. His green eyes had darkened and his mouth looked firm and soft at the same time. “I don’t suppose one kiss would hurt,” she said, her heart pounding. “Do you?”
His brief hesitation surprised her, then he slowly lowered his head, and she pushed up onto her toes to meet him halfway.
6
HE SLANTED HIS MOUTH to fit hers better, and flipped the hat off his head when it got in the way. A soft kiss, a few nibbles, teasing her lips before he ran his tongue along the lower one. She opened for him, eager to taste him, anxious for him to give her more. She smiled a little against his mouth. If he didn’t want to be hurried, it wouldn’t happen.
Trace’s lips moved in a faint smile in return, his warm moist breath gliding over her tongue and melding with her own. His fingers tightened in her hair and she wasn’t sure whose heart pounded faster when he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.
She’d thought about this moment...what it would be like. Back in Houston right after she and Matt had returned. For a few nights she’d lain awake in bed wondering what kind of kisser Trace would be. In the end, she’d decided that while he might be a flirt, he’d be considerate. Trace would want to leave a woman satisfied.
Too soon he withdrew, but before she could object, he trailed his lips to the side of her neck. He nipped at her earlobe as he ran a hand down her back, stopping at the curve of her ass. His soft moan against her sensitized skin flooded her with longing. He found her lips again, the urgency clear, his tongue thrusting against hers. She tasted his desire and passion, and fisted her hands, torn between pushing him away and pulling him to the ground with her.
But it was Trace who ended up gentling the kiss. Then drew back so he could see her eyes. His seemed troubled. “What are we doing?”
Looking at him made it hard to answer. “I don’t know,” she said, burying her face in his shoulder. He held her against the warmth and strength of his chest, and while part of her wanted nothing more but to be right where she was it also scared her to feel so safe, even for these few fleeting moments. “Maybe we should stop until we do.”
“I reckon that’s wise,” he muttered, sounding as confused and miserable as