Page 63 of Falling for the Cowgirl
“I can handle anything that comes my way.”
He pressed his lips together, clearly fighting back words. He wouldn’t give up this beautiful thing happening between them, would he? He’d walked away from her after the confrontation with Wyatt and Flynn at the church. He’d let her ride off after the dance. And from the sounds of things, he was intending to push her aside again today.
“Don’t leave me again,” she whispered.
The firelight was dying, and it was time to add more fuel. But the dim light couldn’t hide the tempest raging in his blue eyes. “I knew it was a bad idea to come back to Colorado. I should have given the assignment to someone else.”
Irritation speared her. “Maybe you should’ve.”
His jaw flexed.
“Maybe you oughta just tuck tail and run. Since that’s what you’re good at.”
“Are you calling me a coward?”
“I ain’t saying it. But from where I stand, sure looks like you’re trying to cut me loose as fast as you can.”
“That’s because being with me will only put you in danger.”
The thread of desperation in his voice snuffed out her ire. After all he’d revealed about his mom, Ivy couldn’t blame him for being afraid. But somehow, someway, she needed to show him she was different, that he didn’t have to worry about her.
She had to win him over. Maybe if she could make him care about her enough, he’d put aside thoughts of having their separate lives. Maybe he’d work harder to find a way for them to stay together.
The only means she had to convince him was a kiss. Without giving him a chance to set her aside or stalk away again, she stood on her toes, wound her arms around his neck, anddragged him down, chasing and catching his mouth with hers. She moved with the same force and precision she used when roping cattle, knowing she couldn’t waste a single second with indecisiveness, or she’d lose her chance.
For a moment, he held himself back, as if he had every intention of resisting, perhaps even of bolting. But she deepened the kiss, delving in passionately. In the next instant, he released a murmur and slipped his arms around her, drawing her close, almost fiercely so. He returned the kiss with an intensity that stirred her emotions into a whirlwind.
His powerful wanting seeped through her. She sensed that she could keep going, that he wouldn’t stop her. In doing so, she’d capture him, and he’d be hers.
But as quickly as the thought came, she slowed the kiss. She didn’t want to win him through manipulation. She didn’t want him to be with her because she’d trapped him into doing so. If he stayed, she wanted him to choose to do so.
She pulled back and broke the kiss. His hands on her back tightened, and he followed her lips, clearly not sated. She wanted to meet him kiss for kiss and didn’t want to sever their bond, not after wishing for it so long and finally getting it. But she turned her head, caring for him too much to win him this way.
His lips landed on her jawline and made a trail to her neck. His breath was hot and his kisses hungry, almost as if he needed her more than he’d recognized. What if he loved her? He hadn’t come right out and said it, but how else should she take what he’d alluded to moments ago?
She’d always loved him. She could admit it. Even though she tried to stop herself from caring, deep inside her feelings forhim ran strong and steady and unshakeable. But she couldn’t say so, not now.
Instead, she said the next best thing. “I’m willing to face danger to be with you, Jericho.”
His trail of kisses came to a halt. “No.” His answer was hoarse, as though he was battling himself to say it.
“Don’t say no yet. Think about it first.”
He shook his head and started to speak, but she touched her finger to his lips, cutting him off. “Please?”
His brow furrowed.
She peered up at him, loving every nuance of his chiseled features, the strength of his mouth, the hard lines of his jaw, the purpose in his eyes. He studied her face too, and in that moment she felt as though her heart was inextricably linked to his. The thought of him walking away and out of her life again was too difficult to contemplate.
He retreated a step, putting some distance between them, almost as if he needed it to bring his thoughts into coherence. “If I say I’ll think about it, in the end will you accept my final decision?”
Could she? What if he said no to being together?
“It’s not you, Ivy. Remember that.”
She buried the rising need to cling to him no matter what. “Fine. If you decide to move on, I won’t pester you.”
He watched her as though testing the sincerity of her words. “And I promise not to hang on to you.”
