Page 39 of A Rancher's Bride
She took total advantage and buried in tighter, wrapping herself against his side. Luke stiffened, and she debated backing off, when he sighed, relaxing and twisting toward her.
His familiar features were still for a moment, and then he smiled. Not the wide optimistic grin she loved, but the one he made when he was happy because something special had happened. Like the arrival of a foal, or the time she’d dragged him across the fields to show him the first crocuses of spring she’d discovered, poking their heads up way too early one February.
He slipped his fingers under her chin. “You are one big complication, Kelli James. But I guess I like complicated.”
Luke tipped her head and leaned toward her, the faintest brush of his lips over hers sending her senses reeling.
Something had changed. Between unpacking and stepping out here in front of the window, something inside Luke seemed to have softened. She didn’t want to think too hard about what it might mean other than he was kissing her.
Gentle but insistent. Nothing but his fingers under her chin, his mouth against hers, but their entire bodies could have been naked and pressed together for how turned on she was.
He licked her top lip, and she gasped. The next second he’d taken advantage of the opportunity, teasing his tongue against hers. Drawing back before she could fully engage. Making her wild as he pressed his teeth into her lower lip for the briefest second.
Something tugged deep in her core, but she forced her hands to stay at her sides instead of reaching for him for fear that adding to the touch might destroy the whole dream.
A distinctiveclicksounded as the door to the other suite opened. Luke pulled back far enough that when her lashes fluttered open he was inches away, that secretive smile still in place.
“You ready for this?” he asked.
She’d been ready years ago. Heck, three seconds ago she would have climbed him like a tree, and waiting any longer—
Oh, wait. He wasn’t talking about sex.
Their roomies were chatting as they entered the room, and there wasn’t really time to answer Luke’s question now that Kelli had figured out what he was actually talking about.
Still, she took advantage of how close they stood to slip her hands around his waist, keeping their bodies together as she turned to smile at Diane’s greeting.
“Now, don’t you two look cozy,” Diane offered, sliding onto the couch and patting the space next to her. “If I can drag her way from you, Luke, I’d like to borrow your woman.”
“We’re supposed to be heading downstairs, sugar,” Jack warned.
Diane gave a dramatic sigh, but she winked at Kelli. “The man is right. Come on, girlfriend. Let’s pull on our dancing shoes and go see what mischief we can make.”
Kelli glanced at Luke, not quite sure what was going on. All the agenda had said was the name of a room, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to be separated from him, for more than one reason.
He nodded briefly, tugging her in tight for a hug. “Jack and I are coming with you girls,” he promised.
She could’ve sworn he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he let her go. What was certain was he patted her on the butt as she stepped away. She did a double take back at him and set him grinning.
Jack laughed. “This is going to be fun,” he said, clasping Luke firmly on the shoulder before the two men grabbed shoes and light jackets and passed them around. “I’m not sure who’s more trouble, yours or mine.”
“Two are always better than one,” Kelli pointed out, “especially when it comes to making trouble.”
“Amen, girlfriend.” Diana raised a fist in the air. Kelli bumped their knuckles together.
Easy talk and comfortable laughter hung around them as they made their way to the second floor where the room was rented for the evening.
This was the best part of having met someone already. There was a whole crush of brand-new people in the room. The hotel had done their best to turn the place into a welcoming environment, but it was busy. Not a thousand people busy, but still clusters of strangers, and Kelli shifted closer to Luke’s side before she realized what she’d done.
It was amazingly comfortable to feel his hand slide to her lower back, centering her and rooting her. “You got this,” he said, bending until his lips were right beside her ear.
She tilted her head to respond which put her mouth a fraction of an inch away from his. “Piece of cake, baby.”
A huff of amusement escaped him, air brushing her cheek, and it took a great deal of control to stop from simply closing the gap between them.
The way he was looking at her told her she wasn’t the only one with that thought, and suddenly the tangle inside unraveled just a little.
It didn’t really matter how many strangers she was about to have to impress. Luke Stone was watching her with eyes that said this entire roller coaster ride of second-guessing their sexual tension might not be headed toward derailment.
