have over a dozen ranch hands,” he added. “Plus, the house has a security system wired to every window and door. I can’t swear you’ll be one hundred percent safe here, but I can say that I’ll do anything to protect the baby and you.”
And that’s what she feared, that she would get Clayton shot again. Still, she wouldn’t refuse his offer of protection. For now, anyway.
She nodded and expected her tentative agreement would spur a good-night from him. But he didn’t move. He did give her another of those heated looks again, then mumbled something she didn’t catch.
“Yes,” she agreed. “This is a distraction we don’t need.” She didn’t clarify this, because Lenora was certain he knew what it meant.
“I’m trying to remember why it wouldn’t be a good idea to kiss you.”
That robbed her of her breath and a good chunk of her common sense. “Because we have other things we should be doing.”
“We’re waiting,” he pointed out, tipping his head to the laptop.
True. But there were other reasons. Ones that took a moment to recall. “You don’t even remember being with me.”
“My body does.”
Oh, mercy. It was a bad reminder, and Lenora forced herself to remember there would be consequences for something as simple as a kiss.
“There’s the baby.” Her voice was whispery now. “You’re still dealing with the notion of parenthood with a practical stranger. It’s probably best to work that out before we add anything else to the mix.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. And he even added a nod. But that wasn’t agreement in his eyes.
Clayton reached out, slid his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her to him. His mouth was on hers before the little sound of surprise could make it past Lenora’s throat.
The pleasure was instant and so were the memories of their other kisses that had landed them in bed. That should have been a big red-flag warning to Lenora. She should have just pulled away.
But she didn’t.
She kissed him right back.
Kissing him was like sipping expensive whiskey. And lots of it. She felt drunk and completely aroused after just a few seconds.
He wasn’t exactly gentle. There was an urgency in the kiss that raced through her like wildfire. He deepened it, reminding her of his taste and also reminding her that he was very good at this.
Without breaking the kiss or the hold he had on her neck, Clayton eased the laptop onto the dresser, hooked his arm around her waist and brought her even closer to him. His body against hers.
Oh, yes. More memories that she didn’t need.
Did that stop her? No. Lenora took everything she shouldn’t be taking and allowed the heat to slide over every part of her.
It didn’t take long for the urgency and hunger to get stronger, and while he took her mouth as if he owned it, they began to grapple for position. Trying to get closer to each other. Not exactly possible with her baby bump, but soon it seemed as if every part of her was touching every part of him.
Well, almost.
There was a part of her burning for a touch of a different kind, and she had very vivid memories of that, too. Clayton wasn’t just a good kisser. He had carried that good directly into bed.
And if she didn’t stop, that’s exactly where they’d land now.
Lenora forced herself to move away from him. Not easy to do. That unsatisfied part of her let her know it wasn’t pleased with her decision. But it was the right thing to do, and she was certain when her body cooled down that she would remember why it was right.
Maybe.
“Did it bring back any memories?” she asked, trying once again to keep things light. Hard to stay light, though, with her breath gusting, and she was sure her face was flushed with arousal.
He was pulling in hard breaths, too. “Not yet. Maybe we should experiment one more time.” And then he smiled.
Her stomach did a flip-flop, because that smile was a powerful weapon in his manly arsenal. She wondered how many women that smile and those kisses had seduced.
But she really didn’t want to know anything about his previous lovers, so she pushed that uneasy thought aside. It became even more uneasy, because it shouldn’t have made her uneasy in the first place.
Good grief.
She was falling for him.
Hadn’t her experience with men taught her anything? She sucked at relationships, and if the danger didn’t tear them apart first, she’d find some way to