She nodded and scrunched up her face in a cute kind of wince. Peeked up at me. I had no idea eyelashes could be so red. “I don’t like cheaters.”
I studied her, saw that fire in her gaze again. This time, it wasn’t directed at me. No, it was some internal anger. Someone had hurt her before, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out a guy had done her wrong. A married one. I didn’t blame her for being cautious.
“Yeah, I got that.” When she didn’t say anything, I continued. “If you’re my woman, you’re it,” I told her, pointing at her then at my chest. “Meaning I don’t stray. You don’t like cheaters, I don’t like liars.”
Tina had lied about her interest in me. She’d lied about her involvement in our relationship. I’d bought her a ring, was ready to commit to her, but she hadn’t wanted me. She’d wanted my money, not the simple life of a firefighter’s wife. The Manning ranch was huge and went back generations. She’d wanted to play Lady of the Manor or some shit. I loved the family land and money, but it didn’t define me.
Kelsey wasn’t Tina, but I was going to make it clear right from the start because it seemed she liked things clearly spelled out.
Her eyes widened at my statement, those arched brows winging up. “Okay,” she replied then gave me a nod.
“You’re the one who bought me, so I’m your man,” I added, and I couldn’t help but grin. I liked the sound of that. I also liked the look on her face when I said those words, knowing she’d react.
A warm breeze kicked up and played with her curls. I wanted to tuck them behind her ear. For a second, I resisted. Fuck it.
I reached out and pushed the locks back and watched as one slid free. She frowned, that green gaze narrowing. Since she hadn’t flinched or stepped away, I assumed the look was because of my words not my action.
“You’re my… what?” The eyebrows went up again, and her pale cheeks flushed pink. I had to wonder what else on her body was such a pretty shade of pink.
Fuck yeah. There was that hint of fire that, for some crazy reason, made my dick hard. Why couldn’t I be hot for Sally Jensen or Lily Sanchez? They were sweet, kind women who I’d grown up with. Single. They were the kind of women who needed a guy to rescue a cat. I did that shit, even got paid for it. Alice would be off my back if I was into either of them. But no. I had to be attracted to the only woman in town who’d kneed me in the balls and asked me to thank her for it and had a smile on her face while doing so.
I shifted my stance, my jeans suddenly very uncomfortable. Yeah, I was losing it. Especially when I said, “You bought me. I’m yours.” I thumbed over my shoulder toward the building.
“Yeah, um… about that.” She bit her lip and studiously studied the snaps on the front of my shirt.
I waited. Not because I was patient but because I was thinking about that plump lip and all the things I wanted to do with it. And that was only one tiny part of her. There was so much of her to explore.
“Like I said, I bid to save you from Delilah,” she admitted.
“That’s the only reason?” I asked, giving her a wink.
Her green eyes narrowed again, and she set a finger over my lips. “After you came out on stage, Irene and Sarah Jane told me you weren’t married, and I remembered what you said the other day about Delilah. How you disliked her. After what I’d done—” She dropped her hand and pointed toward my crotch which only got me even harder. “—I couldn’t let you get stuck on a horrible date.”
“It would’ve been horrible,” I admitted. “I’d rather get snagged on barbed wire and spend an evening getting a tetanus shot in the ER than go out with Delilah.”
That made her grin although I was dead serious. “That bad?”
“That fucking bad.” I remembered her laying in my bed waiting for me. I tried not to shudder.
Her smile slipped. “The thing is, I… I wasn’t thinking. I was so surprised when they said you were single. I mean, I figured you just had to be married.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, and she plowed on.
“Then I saw Delilah’s face when she’d bid the highest. All I wanted to do was save you from her, but I... I don’t have five hundred dollars.”
I stared at her. Fuck, this woman. She was loyal and devoted and didn’t even understand that. She’d saved me.
I was the one who usually did the saving, so everything about this… this with her was weird. And yet I reached around and cupped the back of her neck. Held her in place as I lowered my head and kissed her. Not rough, just a gentle swipe, but fuck, I’d been wanting to do that since I first laid eyes on her.
She was still at first but then relaxed, and that… that had my dick leaking pre-cum, even though it had felt the wrath of her knee the other day. The feel of her giving over to me was even more triumphant after how much she’d fought. Not me, but this pull between us. She’d felt it right from the start, too, otherwise she wouldn’t have been so pissed when I’d asked her out. Fuck.
“This wasn’t part of the deal,” she murmured against my lips.
“Do you want me to stop?” I asked.
“No. God no.” Then she kissed me right back. Her lips were soft and full. Her scent was flowery. Her taste, when she gasped and I took the opportunity for my tongue to explore, was sugary and sweet.
She moaned.
I groaned.
We were in the community center parking lot. Not the place to take things further, so I pulled back and set my forehead to hers but kept my hand in place at her nape.
“What was that for?” she whispered. Her green eyes were bright but blurry. Her lips swollen and slick. And now the bright color on her cheeks was from arousal.
“I love that you weren’t thinking when you saved me from Delilah. You weren’t thinking with your head.”
She stared at me, and that little V formed in her brow again. “It wasn’t with my heart. I don’t even know you. What else do I think with?”
When she licked her lip, I stepped close, close enough so her soft body was pressed against my hard one. With our height difference, my dick was pressed against her belly. My leg settled between hers, and my thigh nestled into the apex of her thighs.
A gasp escaped her lips, and she shifted her hips, which only rubbed her core on me.
“Your pussy.”
Her mouth fell open, and then she pulled back. I turned my body slightly, prepared for another knee since my talk was crude. Hopefully not too crude that would set her off again. She moved a few feet back and stared at me, covered her lips with her fingers. I stared at her right back. Waited.
Yeah, this was happening. I wanted her. She wanted me, even though she may not have realized it until now. She didn’t have to say the words I want you. Her actions, winning me at the auction to protect me, spoke for her loud and clear, even if she didn’t realize it.
She was fierce and shit, I had no idea that was such a turn on. I wasn’t done with her, not by a long shot.
I crooked my finger. “Thank you for saving me from Delilah. As for the money, I’ll square up with Alice and the organizers. Come on. Let’s get out of here before the auction’s over. I’ll show you around town.”