Taming a Texas Devil - Katie Lane Page 0,59
and come out wrong when I read aloud. I guess it was pretty funny.”
Lincoln didn’t crack a smile. “If the teachers knew you were dyslexic, why were you reading with the other kids? My best friend was dyslexic. He had a special class he went to with children that were reading at the same level he was. I’m surprised your overprotective father didn’t make sure you had the same opportunity.”
“How do you know my father is overly protective?”
He paused for a moment before he shrugged. “You’re an only child. It makes sense. So why didn’t he make sure you got the special help you needed?”
She had already told Lincoln much more than she’d ever told anyone else. If she had trusted him with her virginity, she knew she could trust him with all her secrets.
“Daddy doesn’t know I’m dyslexic. Mama thought it was best if he didn’t know. So he thinks I’m just another brilliant Meriwether who can ace law school and follow in his footsteps. He doesn’t realize that I didn’t get the Meriwether brains. I’m just a pretty face with a below average IQ.”
She tried to say it in a lighthearted manner, but she could tell by the sympathy in Lincoln’s eyes that he had read through her lightheartedness. Up until this moment, she hadn’t felt the least bit naked in front of Lincoln. But now she did. Now she felt totally exposed and vulnerable.
She quickly got up and grabbed the robe draped over the chair. “I’ll just go get that ice.” She left the room without waiting for a reply.
Once in the kitchen, she chided herself for telling him more than she should have. Now he probably did think she was a complete ditz. He was no doubt lying in bed right now trying to figure out how he could get out of there without hurting the pathetic woman’s feelings.
Which was why she let out a squeak of surprise when she closed the freezer after filling a baggie with ice and saw Lincoln standing there. He was still naked, and her insides flushed with heat at the sight of all his hard maleness. But she refused to add sex-crazed to ditzy.
“Here’s your ice.” She held up the baggie. “And since you seem to be sober, you probably—”
He stepped closer, forcing her back against the refrigerator. He slid a hand in her hair and tipped up her chin to meet his hot mouth. The baggie slipped out of her hand. When his kiss had melted her bones like the ice cubes scattered all over the floor, he drew back and looked at her.
“You are beautiful, Dixie Leigh. You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life.” He smoothed a strand of hair away from her face and rubbed the back of his fingers against her cheek. “And I thought you were just another pretty face. But you proved me wrong. You’re more than just a pretty face. You’re a damned good deputy. And you couldn’t be a damned good deputy if you weren’t smart. Real smart. So don’t you ever belittle yourself in front of me again. Do you hear me, Deputy Meriwether?”
With her throat clogged with emotion, all she could do was nod. She should’ve known it wouldn’t be good enough.
“I said did you hear me, Deputy Meriwether?”
“Yes,” she squeaked.
He smiled an extremely sexy smile. “Yes, what?”
“Yes, sir.”
His gaze grew dark and dangerous as he traced a finger down her neck and slipped it beneath the edge of her robe. “I don’t need ice. But I am hungry.”
Her breath rushed out as his finger circled her nipple with tingly heat. “What for?” she croaked.
He pushed back the edge of her robe and lowered his gaze. “I’m thinking now that we’re finished with sweet cherry cobbler, we should move on to hot apple pie.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Yeah, I remember Sam Sweeney.” Cal continued to work on the engine of the old Pontiac as he talked. Dixie leaned on the fender of the car, doing a damn fine job of questioning. Which left Lincoln nothing to do but check out the way Dixie’s butt filled out her skinny jeans. He’d touched that shapely butt. He’d touched it repeatedly the night before. And damned if he didn’t want to touch it again. He wanted to cup the firm flesh in both hands and press his face in the soft spot where her shoulder met her neck. Then he wanted to breathe her in. He wanted to fill his lungs