Page 42 of A Rancher's Bride
“It’s Rose’s. You should see how good it looks against her dark skin.”
He snorted. Deflection, again. “It looks good onyou.”
“Thanks.”
They sat in silence. Luke was tempted to slide forward until he sat right behind her. Close enough he could rub his cheek against hers. Maybe press his lips to the spot under her ear that, when he’d touched it earlier that day, had made her quiver in his arms.
Close enough that he could reach around and undo the buttons on that blouse, one by one, until the fabric slid apart and more of her skin was exposed to the dancing light from the orange and red flames.
He wasn’t sure anymore what was stopping him, other than they were in a semipublic room, a problem that could be fixed with a quick change of location.
Her eyes drifted open, and she twisted toward him. “Tell me about Penny.”
Okay, there was an instant libido killer. He raised a brow. “Now? I thought you told me not to mention her name.”
“We were in the middle of a fight, and it wasn’t an appropriate time. But over the course of the evening enough people mentioned her name that I realized I probably should know a bit more.”
“I don’t think most men talk details about their ex-fiancée with their current fiancée,” Luke drawled, folding his arms behind his head. “If anyone was asking you about her, they were out of line.”
“Duly noted, and yet me being me, I am curious.” She untangled her legs and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Why were you with her? I mean, I watched Caleb fall in love. There’s plenty of good reasons why Tamara kicked his feet out from under him. And I get why Walker’s with Ivy. But I never understood why you were with Penny.”
“That’s why we’re not together anymore, I guess,” Luke confessed. For some reason it was easier than he’d expected to keep going. “You know parts of this. We met at the Stampede. She was actually getting harassed by some dude. I stepped in and pretended I was her boyfriend to get him to lay off.”
Kelli rolled her eyes. “Dear God, don’t tell me this fake relationship thing is a habit with you.”
“Twice in over thirty years. I don’t think that’s a habit.”
But she was smiling. “Go on.”
He stared into the fire. “She was all excited about Silver Stone and the things she said she was learning from me, but when I think back, it might’ve been more that she wanted to be excited about something. It made her seem more serious so her father would agree she should be brought in on their family business. I was convenient, and after a while, so was she.”
The lights on the plastic piece of log rotated again, a pattern that was too easy to predict. Fake, not full of life and unexpected, the way a true fire would dance.
Kind of like his relationship with Penny had been, if he was honest.
“Being with her—associated with her family—wasn’t a bad thing for Silver Stone,” he confessed.
A soft curse drifted from Kelli. “That’swhy it went on for so long. That’s the part I couldn’t figure out.”
He dragged his gaze up to hers. “So, you see, it’s not as if she was the only one who made a mistake. She’s not a terrible person, but in the end, we weren’t right for each other. I wish her well.”
She watched him intently before dropping her chin firmly. “You’re a good man, Luke Stone.”
“I make mistakes, same as anyone. Some more spectacular than others,” he said wryly, drawing a smile from her.
She rubbed her palms against her thighs then unraveled herself to vertical, looking down at him. “I’m gonna grab a quick shower then crawl into bed. Good night.”
Luke stared after her, watching her heart-shaped ass sway as she strode across the room and disappeared behind the bedroom door. He stayed where he was, desperately trying not to think about her getting naked under the water. To not imagine the heated streams rolling down her skin, or her hands moving over her breasts, between her legs…
He closed his eyes and fought with himself. Staying there as time ticked past to give her time to get wrapped up and safely under the covers, because there was one thing he’d just realized with complete and utter surety. Didn’t matter that she’d called him a good man not even thirty minutes ago.
The things he wanted to do to Kelli James were utterly wicked.
10
The room was dark when the door finally cracked open and Luke slipped in. Kelli lay curled up on her side of the bed, eyes closed so she wasn’t tempted to gawk.
The bathroom door opened and closed, water ran, and enough time passed that under any other circumstances she would have fallen asleep.
