by June Faver
“What?” She stumbled.
“My brother Colton. You have figured out he likes you, haven’t you?”
Misty swallowed hard. “Um, no…I didn’t know that.”
Beau smiled and twirled her under his arm. “Well, he does. I didn’t want you to miss it, in case he’s being too subtle for you.”
She gazed back to where Colton was sitting, staring at her. He raised his beer to her and took another drink. “I, uh…I don’t know what to say. Joe said all the girls were crazy over him when he was in school.”
“They were,” Beau agreed amiably. “But it didn’t go to his head. He always had a lot of responsibilities around the ranch. He’s a pretty serious guy.”
She tried to absorb what he was telling her. She couldn’t, really. She wondered if Colton had conspired with Beau to tell her this…and if it were true.
When the song finished Beau started to escort her back to the table, but Colton met them half way.
“My turn,” he said, holding out his hand.
She considered what Beau had told her as she was wrapped in Colton’s arms again. Does he really like me, or was Beau teasing me? Something she saw burning in the depths of Colt’s eyes made her think Beau’s words might be factual.
* * *
At last the band played a slow song and Colton could draw Misty close. The house lights went down, lending an illusion of intimacy. She seemed to soften against him, her pretty face pressed against his shoulder. He buried his lips in her hair, inhaling the fragrance—something floral that he couldn’t identify.
She circled her arm around his waist, snagging his belt loop with her thumb to hang on to. Her body melted against his, and he thought he had reached heaven, or at least a place nearby.
When the song ended, he reluctantly lifted his head and gazed into her beautiful eyes. Without thinking he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. It was just the merest hint of a kiss, but she didn’t draw back. He dipped his head for another, this time parting her sweet lips with his tongue. The kiss deepened as they stood in the middle of the dance floor and the band struck up another song. Couples danced around them, but he was oblivious to everything except the woman in his arms. When he pulled away, he felt slightly dazed. He glanced around and led her back to the table, hoping he hadn’t ruined his chances with her.
For her part, Misty was quiet and somewhat subdued. As Colt seated her, Joe Dalton pulled up a chair opposite them.
“Oh, Joe,” she said. “I didn’t see you come in.”
He let out a derisive snort. “You were otherwise occupied.”
Colt frowned, narrowing his gaze at Joe.
Misty blushed as though being caught kissing Colton was a bad thing. “Where is Mark?” she asked.
“He went home with one of his school buds. The Tates took him for a sleepover.”
She looked uncertain. “He didn’t have a change of clothes.”
Joe waved his hand at her. “You worry too much. He’ll be fine.” He lifted his longneck and chugged down his beer. “Like I’m fine with this nice fat check for the stock sale.” He pulled it out of the breast pocket of his shirt, unfolding and displaying it for them to see. “Thank you, Garretts, for buying my horses.”
“Thank Colt,” Beau said. “He was the one who bought them.”
Joe nodded to Colton, raising his beer in a salute but spilling some of it. He started to fold the check, but it slipped from his fingers, landing in the puddle in front of him.
Misty snatched the check and blotted the spilled beer off it. “They weren’t your horses, Joe,” she said gruffly. “And this isn’t your money. It belongs to Dad, and I’ll see that he gets it.”
She folded the check and tucked it into her bra.
Joe leaned across the table, grabbing her shirt, but Colton’s hand shot out to grip Joe’s wrist.
“Not a good idea.” Beau wagged his finger at Joe. “Do not make the big man mad.”
Joe froze, glancing from Beau to Colt and back again. Slowly he uncurled his fingers from the fabric of Misty’s shirt.
Colton pushed Joe’s hand across to the other side of the table, giving him a stern glare.
“Okay, okay. I’m sure Little Sister will be persuaded to turn over the check later.” He smirked, giving Colton and Misty the benefit of his smug expression.
“I think this money better make it to your father’s hands,” Colt said, his voice low and deadly. It occurred to him that Joe had imbibed more than a few beers before he got to the Eagles Hall.
“We’ll see,” Joe said in a singsong voice. He drained his beer and stood up. “I’m going to the ranch, Misty. Come on.” He jangled his keys in front of her.
Beau stood, grabbing the keys. “I think you’ve had a little too much alcohol to be driving anyone home tonight. I can drive you, and Colton can follow to pick me up.”
“Nobody’s driving me home. I’m perfectly capable of getting us back to the ranch. C’mon, Misty.” He was slurring his words, but he made a swipe at Beau, snagging his keys in the process.
Misty frowned, pressed her lips together, but stood as if to leave with him.
Colton stood beside her. “I’ll drive Misty home,” he said, his hand on her arm.
Joe glowered at her, then turned and stomped across the floor, almost lurching into a couple. He pushed his way out of the hall and into the night.
Colt looked at Misty. “Sorry about that. I hope there won’t be any trouble later.”
She shook her head. “He’ll be all right. But I do want to be sure this money gets in the bank. We can’t afford to waste it.” She patted her breast.
Colt grinned at her. “I think it’s in a pretty secure place right now. Let’s dance, and then I’ll make sure you get home safely.”
Chapter 3
Misty lingered at the Eagles Hall, dancing mostly with Colton and occasionally with Beau. She wanted to make sure Joe had a chance to get home and hoped he would be passed out and sound asleep by the time she was delivered by the Garretts. She didn’t want to have any kind of ugly confrontation with Joe while he was drunk. Tomorrow, she would show her dad the check and get him to sign it for deposit only. Then she would make sure it got to the bank, hopefully without an all-out battle with Joe.
In the meantime, she was having a great evening being entertained by both charming brothers. After the interlude with Joe, both the Garretts seemed to step up to the task of taking her mind off her troubles.
When Colton led her to the dance floor, she was very aware of him, of his hands guiding her, of his very muscular arms surrounding her, of his granite-hard chest when he pulled her close for a slow dance.
Careful, girl. He’s just being nice. You can’t fall for him.
When she yawned, Colt pushed back from the table and stood up. He pulled her chair out. “Guess you’re turning into a pumpkin. Time to take you home.”
Reluctantly, she stood and smiled up at him. “Thanks to both of you for babysitting me tonight. I’m sure you had better things to do.”
Colt took her hand and pressed a kiss against her palm. “Not me. This was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
A shiver ran down her spine given the intensity of his gaze and the brush of his lips against her flesh. She swallowed hard. “Th—thanks. It was great fun for me.”
He pressed her palm against his chest, and she could feel the reverberation of his heartbeat. Somehow, this steady rhythm reached out to annex her as a part of him.
A shiver spiraled through her body as she stared into the bluest eyes on the planet. All of her senses were completely aware of this man, as though someone had flipped a switch and suddenly she was alive.
Colt ran his other hand up and down her bare arm. “Cold?”
Misty shook her head, unwilling to search for the words to explain how she was feeli
ng.
“I had a good time too, and now I’m out of here,” Beau added. He scraped his chair back and rose to his feet. “But I think Colt got the best end of the deal. Goodnight. I’m going home.” He winked at her and headed for the door.
Although the hall was full of people, Misty felt as though she was suddenly alone with Colton. He gazed down at her, holding her close but not close enough. A sudden ache washed through her. She wasn’t sure what more she wanted from him, but she wanted more.
Rising on her tiptoes, she raised her chin, and a smile flickered on Colt’s lips.
He wrapped both arms around her and lifted her against him. A brief glance before his lips met hers.
Misty circled his neck with her arms and enjoyed the best kiss she had ever received. Pressed so tightly against him, she could feel her heartbeat pulsing her body.
Colt’s mouth was all she could think about as the kiss continued, his tongue caressing hers, inciting her entire body into a state of arousal she had never experienced before.
When at last he drew back, he held her for a moment, still gazing into her eyes as though asking a question before setting her back on her feet.
Silently, he took her hand, leading the way out of the Eagles Hall and into the cool night. They walked down the stairs together and stepped onto the pea gravel of the parking area, their boots making a crunching sound with each step.
Misty glanced up at the moon, sharply defined in the clear night sky. A million stars shone brightly to accompany it, but the moon took center stage, almost half full.
She looked at Colt, his handsome face bathed in moonlight.
“I hope you’ll be able to have dinner with me tomorrow night.” He arranged his Stetson on his head, throwing his expressive face into shadow. “We still need to celebrate your birthday in style.”
“I hope so too,” she said. “There was no other celebration. I didn’t even tell Dad it was my birthday. I didn’t want him to feel bad about forgetting it.”
Colt huffed out a breath. “Too bad. I’m pretty certain we can do better.” He lifted her hand to kiss the back of her fingers.
When they reached his truck, Colton held the passenger door open for her. He gave her a hand up into the cab, and when she was settled, slammed the door with a solid thunk.
Colt climbed in on the driver’s side and reached behind him. He pulled a jacket from the back seat and wrapped it around Misty’s shoulders.
She gave him a smile of acknowledgment as he started the big diesel motor. The truck roared to life as he revved the engine a couple of times, then put it in gear and drove out of the Eagles parking lot.
Once on the highway, it was as though theirs was the only vehicle on the road that night. It was a long, straight highway, bathed in moonlight, the darkness falling off on either side as they sped along.
A country station was playing softly on the radio, the only sound other than the diesel engine’s soft whine.
Misty lolled her head back, and Colt reached for her hand. It felt nice. It felt as though someone cared, which hadn’t happened for a long time.
When Colton turned onto the farm-to-market road leading to the Dalton ranch, Misty sat up, alert to see what was going on at the house.
The family truck was parked close to the house, so obviously Joe had made it home safely. All the lights were off, which gave her hope that he was sound asleep and wouldn’t confront her about the check when she went inside. She heaved a sigh of relief.
Colton drew to a stop and put the truck in gear. He opened the door and reached out a hand to help her down.
Walking to the front door, her hand tucked in the crook of Colt’s arm, she reflected that this had been a great day for the most part. Sad that they had to sell the horses, but great that they had received a significant amount of money from the sale. And best of all was the time she had spent with Colton. She had no idea what their relationship was, or if they had one, but for this moment in time, her insides were buoyant.
Colt’s arm felt like steel with a warm layer of flesh over it. She couldn’t imagine what he did to develop muscles like that, but whatever it was, she found the result thrilling.
At the front door, he gazed down at her tenderly before cupping her face in his big hands. He leaned down to kiss her and then wrapped her in his arms for a hug.
“Go on inside, Misty. I hope to see you tomorrow.”
She expelled a sigh. “I’m not going in the house.” At his puzzled expression, she went on. “In case Joe gets ugly, I’m just going to sleep in the little house out back.”
“Then I’ll see you to that door,” he said.
She nodded, leading the way behind the main house, past the barn to the little cottage tucked away by itself, out of sight.
“What is this place?” Colton asked.
“My dad built it for the couple who live with us, Paco and Rosa Hernandez. They’ve been with my family since before I was born.”
“And you’re going to stay with them tonight?”
Smiling, she shook her head. “Just me. The Hernandezes moved into the big house when my dad became ill. Rosa is a great help, and Paco has completely taken over tending the livestock.”
“And you’re going to be okay out here all by yourself?” Colton’s expression touched her deeply.
“Sure. Want to see inside? It’s adorable. I’ve fixed it up some since it’s been vacant.” She opened the door and flicked on a small lamp. A soft glow spread around the room.
Colton looked oversized in the small space. “This is real nice, Misty. It looks homey.”
She let out a giggle. “It looks girly. I’ve treated it like my own dollhouse. Being the only female, I guess I needed a place to be a girl.”
He grinned at that, grabbing her and lifting her as he spun around in a circle. “You go ahead and be a girl all you want. I love your girly stuff.” He stopped, gazing up at her. “In fact, I love everything about you.” His voice had become husky on the last part.
The intensity in his eyes caused a warm flush to spread through her insides. Slowly, he lowered her until they were at eye level.
Without thinking, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging to him and feeling the heat coil through her.
He held her tight against him, cupping her butt with one hand and her head with the other. The first kiss felt as though a lit match had landed on dry tinder. The next felt like a full-fledged forest fire.
She tugged at his shirt, and then clothing started falling to the floor, first his shirt and then hers. He tentatively stroked her shoulder, his fingers caressing her bra strap, as though asking permission to go on. Misty released the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding then met his gaze. The intensity scorched her.
He glanced around and headed through the door to the small bedroom. Once again, he hesitated. “Are you sure you want this?”
She nodded. “I need you.” Her voice came out low and raspy, like the growl of a feral animal.
He set her on her feet and slid the bra strap from her shoulder, tracing the line first with his finger and then with his lips. His touch sent swirls of passion spiraling low in her belly.
Grinning, he unbuckled her belt, stripped it from its loops, and then dropped it beside the bed. “You can do me,” he offered, spreading his arms.
Misty fumbled with the Western buckle, but suddenly it was open, and she pulled on it, as Colton had done, and then slid the belt from around his waist. Nerves got the best of her, and she giggled.
Colton gathered her in his arms and kissed her. He eased her back onto the bed then stood back gazing down at her. “I swear, Misty. You’re so beautiful I just can’t stop looking at you.”
She felt a rush of heat, and a deep blush crept up from her neck. “I’m not beautiful,” she denied. “I’m just…me.”
“That�
�s plenty good enough for me.” Colton grabbed one of her boots and wrested it off before going after the other one. “I think you’re beautiful, and nothing you say will change my mind.” He pulled off her socks and held both of her bare feet in his hands. “Your feet are cold. Let me warm them up for you.” He rested them against his rock-hard abs and rubbed them with both hands.
He couldn’t possibly know how vulnerable she was or how starved for affection. Everything he did overwhelmed her, both physically and emotionally.
She sucked in a breath and reached to unfasten the waistband of her denims, but Colt was watching her intently. When she fumbled with the zipper, he kissed the sole of her foot and placed them both on the bed before leaning over her with an expression of such tenderness she almost cried out.
Colt finished opening the zipper and gently slipped the jeans off, devouring her with his gaze. “So beautiful,” he whispered. He deftly removed his own boots and Wranglers before divesting himself of his underwear.
Misty tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help herself. Her heartbeat pulsed in her ears, almost frightening in its strength.
Colton picked up his Wranglers and removed something from his wallet before stepping closer. When he climbed onto the bed beside her, every fiber of her being was on fire with anticipation. She didn’t want to show him how inexperienced she was, but she yearned to be loved by this man, and she wasn’t sure how to let him know.
All at once he was kissing her…touching her…setting her on fire. She arched against him, grazing her nipples against the dark hair swirling across his chest. A sound escaped her throat, and that was all it took to push Colton into overdrive. He touched her and kissed her, heightening her frenzy. He took a moment to don a condom before entering her.
Colton had teased and pleased her. Now he set about to bring all her hungry desires to a head. Rhythmic stroking hit all her nerve endings until she reached the pinnacle of desire and everything shifted into slow motion. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe…could only feel the building of sensation that finally, deliciously, culminated in a detonation of passion.
