Page 6 of A Cowboy's Bride
“Neatly done,” Petra watched her friends for a moment before focusing back on him.
“I was highly motivated to get your friends otherwise occupied.” He turned her smoothly, welcoming the pressure of her curves against him. “You’re looking good.”
“Thanks. You’re looking like you’re here, in Heart Falls.”
He paused. “Is this a trick question?”
“No. But I could’ve sworn that night we spent together you said you didn’t live here.”
Aiden leaned her over his arm, staring into her eyes as he dipped her with the utmost control. “You said you didn’t live here either.”
“Touché.”
He pulled her upright, and they danced in silence for a moment, deep appreciation for the way she moved in his arms rising again.
“After I danced with you last time, I knew I wanted you in my bed,” he admitted. “You’re so responsive. Makes it easy to guide you, which means both of us get to enjoy thedanceas much as possible.”
Petra smiled, the hand on his shoulder rising until a gentle caress drifted over the back of his neck. “My sisters always told me that if a couple couldn’t dance well vertically, they couldn’t dance horizontally, either.”
“Makes sense.” His body was heating up from all the contact points between them. She knew it, the minx. Her hips swayed the slightest bit more than necessary so that the thickening ridge of his cock was brushed more intensely. “We going to do more dancing tonight than right here? Right now?”
Heat rose in her eyes, but her head shifted slightly from side to side. “I’m interested, but that’s not something that can happen tonight. I’ve just moved to Heart Falls, and I’m still settling in. This isn’t a great time for me to sneak away, no matter how much you tempt me.”
“Well, that’s the saddest thing I’ve heard in a good long time.” And yet, to be truthful, he was a little relieved. Figuring out the logistics of taking her home, with all of them settling in would be awkward, to say the least.
It also made him question what had appeared to be a perfectly reasonable living arrangement. Temporarily sharing a house with his brothers was one thing. Agreeing to remain celibate for months was another. Aiden was sure he wasn’t the only one.
First thing on the agenda at tomorrow morning’s meeting was a check-in of the building situation at the new High Water ranch.
He spun Petra because it brought her in close and let him torment himself with thoughts of what he’d have to wait a little longer to enjoy.
“Here’s the good news,” Petra told him, her eyes flashing with mischief, aware of what he was doing and fully on board. “Since I am living here now, when you’re traveling through the area you’ll know where to find me. Maybe this time we could exchange phone numbers. Keep in touch.”
She was brilliant, beautiful, and one of the high points of moving to Heart Falls. “I’d like that very much.”
The song was coming to an end, so he guided her back toward the side of the room. A quick glance told him that both his brothers were still on the floor with Sydney and Tansy.
He grabbed his phone and opened his contacts. “Type yours in.”
She eyed him for a second then tapped in her name and number. “Please do not end up being weird this time around. My phone is set to Do Not Disturb from midnight till eight a.m., so if I wake up to find a long message of increasingly fucked-up messages, or a single dick pic, I will forward Sydney your number. And your address if necessary.”
Aiden laughed. He took the phone from her and quickly typed in his information, hitting Send on the message. “There. My address for you to send to Sydney in case I get weird. But I promise the only ulterior motives I have regarding you are crystal clear.”
She glanced down as her phone pinged with his incoming message. Petra blinked, and her head snapped up. “What’s this?”
“My address,” he said again. “Since I now live here in Heart Falls as well, we won’t have to wait for me to travel through the area to give you a shout to let you know that I’d like to get together. Got any plans for Friday night?”
Petra’s friendswere never going to let her live this down. Especially Tansy’s sister, Rose, who they’d all been wildly teasing because Rose’s one-night stand was now her fiancé.
It seemed Petra had managed the same damn thing?—
At least in the messing up thewe’re doing this one time and it’s only for fun because I’m never going to see you againkind of way. Not in thethis is a full-on relationship and we’re going to be together foreverbusiness.
Not that she had anything against marriage. She had a ton of shining examples of how to do it right in her parents and her siblings. But she wasn’t ready to take the plunge yet.
Her last boyfriend had left a nasty taste in her mouth.
Her brain was still in scramble mode when Aiden tucked his fingers under her chin and lifted, smiling into her eyes. “Did I throw you for a loop, darlin’?”
