Saving Her Billionaire Cowboy Hero - April Murdock Page 0,39
didn’t come out right either.” She pressed her lips together. “I get that people can change, and it isn’t for me to say whether you have or not. We barely know each other.”
Brady’s hand grabbed hers, his fingers tightening. “I want to change that.”
Dakota met his eyes. “If things were different…”
His brows lowered and he shook his head. “Things are different—at least for me. Let me show you.”
She tugged on her hand but he didn’t release her. “That’s just it, Brady. You’re a charmer by nature. How can I trust what you are saying is real or if you’re just telling me what I want to hear?”
“You can’t.”
Her head shot up. Did he just say that?
His lips quirked into a smile. “You didn’t think I’d say that, did you?”
“Not really.”
“I need you to know I’m being straight with you.” Brady dropped her hand and brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. “I haven’t felt like this before with anyone else.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m going to prove it to you.”
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Her voice squeaked and she cleared her throat before attempting to respond. “That doesn’t mean that it will work out. Just because you think there’s something here doesn’t mean—”
“Just because I know there’s something here. And I know you feel it too,” he interrupted her.
“It doesn’t mean everything would work out.”
Brady smiled. “I’ll have you know, sweetheart, I have a track record with things like this. I can feel it in here.” He pounded his chest with his fist. “There’s only one thing that could possibly stand in our way.”
“And what’s that?”
“No more secrets.”
Dakota gasped. “I didn’t keep any secrets from you!”
A chuckle erupted from his throat. “You’ve spent the last couple days knowing we’ve met before without letting me in on it. I call that a doozy, sweetheart.”
She rolled her eyes and got to her feet. “You really should stop calling me that.”
“I think it suits you.”
“It’s statements like that one that make me wonder if this is all a show.” Dakota picked up her folding chair and returned it to the wall it was leaning against.
Brady’s expression sobered. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Why?” A crease formed between his brows as his eyes followed her around the room.
Dakota paused to give him a disbelieving look. “Words like love, sweetheart, darling, etc. should be reserved for those who are special to you. We don’t have the history for those kinds of pet names.”
Brady scratched his cheek, the scruff whispering under his fingernails. “I thought those words were endearing.”
“Not when you use them for every girl you bat those eyes at.”
“I do not bat my eyes.”
Dakota laughed. “You absolutely do. Between your big eyes, that gorgeous smile, and your model physique, of course anything you do will be met with smiles.”
She placed a few supplies back in a drawer.
“So why don’t my wily charms work on you?” His low voice came right behind her.
Brady’s hot breath brushed against her neck. Dakota’s mouth suddenly went dry. If she turned around to face him, she’d practically be pinned against the drawers. Her pulse accelerated. Dakota swallowed and closed the drawer. “I’d like to think it’s because I can see someone’s true intent better than the typical person.”
His quiet laugh rumbled from him. Was he waiting for her to turn around? This had to be one of his strategies. She felt her walls coming up again. This was his game. Dakota closed her eyes briefly. She’d seen how upset he’d been over their argument; she owed him the benefit of the doubt, at least for the time being.
Slowly she turned around and rested her palms on the counter behind her. Brady stared down at her, his eyes filled with desire. It was the same look he’d given her before he kissed her.
Dakota looked away. He’d been right, of course. The kisses they’d shared had been something else. Her insides ached for him. She wanted to feel his touch just as much as any twitterpated, hotblooded woman.
Brady hooked his finger under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze again.
Dakota licked her lips and shifted, her body leaning slightly closer to him, the beating in her chest signaling she was ready.
“I’m not going to kiss you, Dakota.”
She blinked. “You’re not?” She chomped down on the last word, hating the disappointment that seeped out.
He shook his head, not smiling. “I understand now what’s going on between us.”
“You do.” Well, now she was confused.
“There’s been