Page 38 of All Night with the Cowboy
“Stop looking at me like that,” she whispered when they were alone again.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re about to eat me alive.”
He laughed, not bothering to respond. She clearly knew him too well.
They ate in silence, her stealing glances at him that he couldn’t help but notice as he downed his dessert and patiently waited for her. She devoured every last bite and then slowly, almost shyly, met his gaze.
“How’s your body feeling?” she asked.
“My body?” he laughed. “Mybodyis feeling great right now.”
“I mean how are you feeling post-treatment? I’m really hoping the turmeric will help with your recovery and combined with—”
Tanner stood and held out a hand, pulling Lauren up to her feet and then placing a finger across her lips. “Stop talking.”
She kissed his finger and he shook his head, not expecting her to flirt with him so unashamedly when before she’d been blushing.
“Come with me,” he said, taking her hand and linking their fingers. Tanner nodded his thanks to the waiter and led Lauren away, down the beach heading for the Beach House. She dropped her head to his shoulder and it took him back in time, back to the woman who’d driven him crazy with lust.
When they were almost there, Tanner stopped walking and turned into Lauren. It was completely dark out, but the flaming torches provided enough light to illuminate the sand they were walking on and for Tannerto make out the features of Lauren’s face. There was something about relaxing into a routine with her, their days full of nothing other than sunshine, rehabilitation, and… whatever the hell was going on between them.
He cupped her cheeks, looking into her eyes as he dipped his mouth to hers. Her arms encircled his neck and her mouth met his, lips hungrily searching out his as they kissed. Tanner rubbed the pads of his thumbs across her skin, then slowly released his hands and let them skim down her shoulders and to her waist. When his hands stopped, she leaned into him, drawing him closer, fusing their bodies together, chest to chest, hip to hip, thigh to thigh.
Tanner knew they should start walking again but he didn’t want to stop. Her lips, her butt as he ran his fingers further down and stopped at the delicious curve, her soft moan against his mouth. It was already shaping up to be one hell of a rematch and they hadn’t even started taking their clothes off yet.
It was Lauren who finally pulled back, her hands slipping between them and resting against his chest. Tanner’s heart was beating rapidly beneath her palms, and when she tilted back to look up at him, he could see a desperation in her eyes that he recognized only too well.
“Take me to bed, cowboy,” she whispered.
“Honey, I’d sweep you up into my arms if I could, but tonight you’ll have to settle for an arm around you.”
Lauren nestled under the crook of his arm, her hand slipping into his back pocket as she settled in snug to his body. He dropped a kiss into her hair and walked as quickly as his awkward limp would let them.
Chapter 12
LAUREN stood in the bathroom, trying not to double over. She stared at herself in the mirror, knowing that if she didn’t give herself a damn good pep talk soon, she’d end up chickening out of this entire… she didn’t even know what it was.Sex.That’s what it was.
“Sex,” she whispered to herself, looking into her own eyes in the reflection and wishing they looked more confident and less scared little mouse. “You don’t forget how to do it, girl. It’s like riding a horse.”
It hadn’t been that long, had it? She thought back to the last guy she’d been with and shuddered. Oh yeah, it had been that long. It seemed like only recently they’d ended things but… she gulped. But this was Tanner. If she’d needed a boost to her libido, then he’d already done it, but actually walking out that door and into his naked arms? Her pulse started to race again. She should have drunk more at dinner, and then maybe she wouldn’t be having such a panic attack.
Knock, knock.“Everything okay in there?”
Holy shit. She needed a paper bag to breathe into or a big glass of whisky or…
“Lauren?”
She sucked back a breath. “Everything’s fine,” she said, hearing the hesitation in her own voice.
“Can I come in?”
She didn’t answer, just kept staring at herself for as long as she could until Tanner appeared and she turned around.
“Hey,” he said. “You look—”
“Scared?” she whispered, knowing how pathetic it was that she’d talked the talk but was now holed up inside his bathroom. She inhaled the smell of his cologne, still clinging to the bathroom from when he’d showered and gotten ready to go out for dinner. As he stepped closer, she could smell it all over again, only this time it was mixed with the masculine smell that was all Tanner.
