Page 33 of A Rancher's Bride
She’d laid her hands on his shoulders, and the light pressure was the only thing keeping him from falling over. “Wait. You’re saying—?”
Kelli didn’t offer any more explanation. Her lips pressed together in a serious smirk. One brow rose as she waited for him to clue in.
Oh, he’d heard every word, but he was having a hard time processing. Until today he’d spent so much time and energy making sure he didn’t think about her as a woman, tossing that aside was the equivalent of picking up an entire truck.
“You want to sleep with me.” The whispered words sounded far too shocked, like an indignant turn-of-the-century virginal maiden.
“I assume sleep will be involved at some point, but I am talking about sex.” She straightened, her expression only the slightest bit embarrassment, but instead mostly determination. “I planned to seduce you, but I obviously have zero skills. And to demand sex be put on the table would be wrong, because I don’t want you thinking wehaveto fool around. If you’re not attracted to me, I’m not about to get mad. I know I’m not the most feminine—”
“Dammit.” He caught her by the hand and tugged, rotating so she ended up on the seat next to him.
The shock of the movement stopped her ramble, which was a good thing. If she’d kept talking, his brain would get fuller, and there was zero space left between his ears to begin with.
“Two ears, one mouth,” he repeated.
“Shut up?” she asked primly.
He nodded, taking a deep breath and examining her closely.
She wasn’t pulling his leg, which meant sometime in the past few minutes he’d entered the twilight zone. Which explained why the number-one thing racing through his brain had nothing to do with the tangled knot she’d tossed his direction.
“What are you putting yourself down for?” he demanded.
Kelli tilted her head to the side.
“Not the most feminine—? Total load of bull right there. What the hell does that even mean?”
Her brows popped up. “It means I’ve been around the ranch for a long time, and you’ve never once looked at me like I’m a woman. And I get that part of it is the whole ‘working together’ thing. But just because I’ve had the hots for you forever doesn’t mean you feel the same way. And that’s okay.”
It was a good thing he was sitting down, or he would’ve fallen over.
A snicker escaped as she adjusted position on the heavy blanket, curling her legs up and sliding in a little closer. “Your face is hysterical right now.”
“You’re messing with my mind,” he confessed.
“I feel a little giddy,” she returned. “I’m not drunk, but I may as well be considering I’m spilling all the beans I’ve held back for so long.”
Luke shook his head. “I had no idea.”
“That was the whole point,” Kelli informed him. “And honestly, I’m not telling you this for any reason other than if it’s something that you want as well, I’m saying this would be a pretty awesome time to have a bit of a fling. You know, if there’s any chemistry. But no harm, no foul if there’s not.”
The words were beginning to register, but inside, he was still a mess. “I can’t—”
“And don’t think you have to jump me right now, or tell me no. Just… Green light, that’s all I’m saying. If nothing more comes of it, I promise you will never hear another word from me about this.”
“I—”
“And if anythingdoeshappen, I don’t expect it to last beyond the gala. We go home, it’s over and will never be mentioned again.”
Luke nodded because she was still talking, and he couldn’t really speak right then anyway, but it seemed polite to acknowledge he was sort of comprehending.
“Only, one thing? Nonnegotiable.” She twisted, half-launching herself off the seat.
Instinctively, he threw his arms out to grab her and when the dust settled, Kelli was sitting in his lap, her arms draped around his shoulders.
Face to face.
His turn to swallow hard.
