Page 7 of A Cowboy's Bride
Petra shrugged. “You know you did, but it’s okay. Just taking a moment to wrap my brain around it, that’s all.”
Aiden nodded. “We’ll go at your speed, but we had a lot of fun last time.” He paused. “Or at least I had a lot of fun, and I tried to make sure you did as well.”
“Oh, it’s not that at all,” Petra reassured him. “That night lives on as fodder for my battery-operated pleasure-fests.”
He blinked, then his grin grew even wider. “Good to know. And damn if you didn’t just give me a visual that’s going to entertain me for a hell of a long time.”
A quick glance at the dance floor showed that her friends were heading her direction. “Your brothers? You’ve all moved here?”
“We’ve taken over the animal shelter,” Aiden informed her.
Oh,really? Petra had been in town for less than twenty-four hours, but she’d been kept up to speed over the past months, between Tansy’s texts and Rose’s emails, regarding everything going on in their extended family. AKA, Petra knew that their Grandma Sonora, who used to own said animal shelter, was moving, but not who had bought the place.
Small towns were small. There wasn’t much that happened without it affecting someone you knew.
Tansy arrived at that moment, swinging into Petra’s space. “You’re not going to believe what Declan just told me.”
“That the Skye brothers are the ones who bought your grandma’s place?” Petra laughed as Tansy planted her fists on her hips and pouted. “Look, I don’t get to pull a fast one on you very often, sota-da.”
Sydney dipped her chin at Jake then took off back onto the dance floor with another partner.
Jake shrugged then gestured toward a table of ladies in the corner. “Declan. You coming?”
“Thanks for the dance, Tansy.” Declan shifted a little uncomfortably.
Tansy went full-on Tansy. She grabbed him by the collar and tugged him down to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I had a great time dancing with you, but we have zero chemistry. So go—there’s some lady out there you’ll light up the night with, but it’s not going to be me.”
Declan’s rarely present smile slipped fully into place. “I had a great time dancing with you, too. Plus, you are about the most blunt-spoken woman I’ve ever met. You let me know if you need me to act as big brother. Anytime.”
The next moment both Declan and Tansy took off in different directions leaving Petra and Aiden standing there.
Amusement rose hard and fast. “So much for triple dating,” Petra offered.
“Thank God,” Aiden said. “I meant it. They’re not assholes, but I like dating to be a two-person event, not something run by committee. Jake tends toward liking things very much by the book. Very straight and narrow. Declan is a lot more likely to go with the flow and make last minute changes.”
Which made things even funnier. Petra tugged Aiden toward the exit. “Maybe they have too much in common. Sydney makes lists of lists. I swear she organizes her day with three backup calendars and a host of alerts. By comparison, Tansy flies by the seat of her pants the entire time. She’s a fantastic cook, yet she somehow does it without ever setting a timer. It’s as if she’s got this internal stopwatch that tells her exactly when things need to happen.”
They were outside now in the cooling fall night. Petra had already forwarded Aiden’s contact information to Tansy, but considering everybody in town would know who the Skye brothers were before the day was out, she felt safe enough alone with him. Again.
She linked her fingers in his and tugged him down the boardwalk until they were outside of the pub’s bright lights. “You okay with this?” she asked.
“Don’t know. Do you plan to take advantage of me, Ms. Sorenson?” Aiden leaned against the wall of the mercantile and pulled her between his legs. “What will I do when I’m at your mercy?”
“Hopefully you haven’t forgotten all your moves,” Petra teased back.
She pressed her hands to his chest and slowly slid them upward. The soft fabric of his brushed-cotton shirt contrasted nicely with the powerful muscles under the material, and she hummed happily.
Easing closer, she tilted her head and lifted up on her tiptoes to offer her lips.
He needed no second invitation. Aiden cupped the back of her head, cradling her as he gently brought their lips together. A single brush, pleading and tender. The breath rushing past her warm compared to the cool night air. He pressed his other hand against the small of her back, and everything lined up so perfectly that Petra sighed again.
Another kiss, this one with lingering pressure. Another, his fingers guiding her head slightly to the side to take it deeper, slipping his tongue over her lips before easing away. And again, making contact and sending a thrill through her that made goosebumps rise and an ache start deep in her core.
His breathing kicked up a step, and the kiss turned into a taking. He owned her, controlled her. Ravished her lips in a way that made her head spin and her heart pound and everything in her ask for more.
Her memories had not failed her. Not one bit.
Petra wanted to climb him right there. To hell with being smart and waiting until the time was more appropriate. This man knew how to make every one of heryesbuttons chime loudly. Consistently.
