by Lori Wilde
Even saying those words hurt, but she meant what she said. She wanted him to be happy, even if that meant he might never return her love.
Chase looked at her, his expression resigned. “Megan, I care enough about you not to want to see you hurt. But I’m having one hell of a time fighting you, my family, plus the entire town of Honey. A man’s only got so much self-control, and mine’s running out.”
Her heart fluttered a little at his confession. Chase wasn’t immune to her; he was just worried about her. But he also felt the simmering sexuality dancing between them.
Still, Megan had no intention of using that knowledge against Chase. As much as she wanted them to be lovers, she accepted that he didn’t.
“Let’s get out of here,” she suggested. “We’ll go explore and have dinner somewhere.”
For a second, Megan thought Chase was going to argue, but then with a sigh, he stood and nodded toward the door. “Lead on. The way my day is going, I’d probably choose a restaurant that only serves oysters.”
10
Chase had never slept on a bed of nails, but he’d be willing to bet his favorite bull that it was more comfortable than the floor in their hotel room. For the hundredth time, he rolled over, trying to find a comfortable position. But it just didn’t exist. The floor was tougher than the rockiest Texas ground.
“Why don’t you come join me in this soft bed?” Megan’s voice drifted down around Chase like a siren’s song.
Oh, no, she wasn’t tempting him now. Not with a soft bed and an even softer body. No, sir. He’d withstood so much already. He could make it through the night without making love to her. He was strong.
Sort of.
“Thanks, but I’m fine down here,” he lied. “You go on to sleep.”
“I can’t. I feel terrible that you’re stuck on the floor. Here you were so nice to agree to come on this trip with the winner of the auction, and now you end up sleeping on the floor. The guilt is killing me. Besides, this is silly. We’re mature adults. We can share a bed without having sex.”
Chase didn’t mean to laugh, but he couldn’t help himself. “No, I don’t think we could.”
Her voice was indignant when she said, “You really can trust me. Just because I have feelings for you that are more than those of a friend doesn’t mean you can’t trust me. I promise I won’t try to seduce you.”
Yeah, but if he got in that bed, he’d have to resist two people—Megan and himself. Ticking him off big-time was the fact that most of his body thought sleeping with Megan was a dandy idea. The only organ holding out on the plan was his brain. Okay, and maybe his heart. But that added up to slim defenses if his libido decided to get rowdy during the night.
No, the smart move was to remain where he was. On the blasted floor in this stupid room.
“Chase, you didn’t answer me. I said I promise I won’t seduce you. Please get off the floor and come to bed. I’ll stay on my side. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“Yeah, I will.”
“No. I promise. I won’t come anywhere near you. I’ll be good.”
See now, that was the problem. Most of him didn’t want her to be good. Most of him was rooting for her to be very, very bad. As far as he was concerned, there wasn’t a bed in the world wide enough for the two of them to sleep in.
“Thanks, Megan, but I’m going to stay here.” He rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes, praying for sleep.
After a couple of seconds, a soft shuffling sound made him turn onto his back. In the faint light drifting in from the partially opened drapes, Chase saw that to his horror, Megan was sliding off the side of the bed. He jackknifed into a sitting position.
“Dang, Megan, what are you doing?”
“It’s not fair that you sleep on the floor. Since you won’t sleep on the bed, I’m joining you on the floor,” she said, dropping her pillow next to his. “Scoot over. The bed takes up so much space there’s not much room here on the floor.”
Chase felt as if he’d forgotten how to breathe. For a couple of seconds, he watched her, dumbfounded, while she fluffed her pillow and pulled the blanket off the bed.
“Now there, isn’t this better?” she asked. “Come on. Stretch out and close your eyes. We need to go to sleep.”
He finally recovered from his shock enough to tell her, “This isn’t going to work. If I’m not willing to make love to you on the bed, I’m sure not going to make love to you on the floor.”
Although, as much as he hated himself for it, he really, really wanted to. She smelled wonderful and looked tempting as sin curled on the floor, smiling up at him.
“I already gave you my promise that I wouldn’t seduce you. Now let’s go to sleep.”
He sucked an unsteady breath into his lungs. “Get back up on the bed,” he said, but he was disappointed when rather than a stern command, the words came out more like a plea.
She merely laughed. “I will if you will.”
With a huff, he stretched out next to her, figuring the floor was probably so uncomfortable it would ward off any licentious thoughts he might have. But this close, he could smell her soft scent, part citrus shampoo, part warm woman.
“I never realized what a mean woman you are,” he said after a couple of minutes.
“Thank you. I’m working on my mean side. Exercising it on a daily basis. I read a book recently, Be a Bully, that says to be truly happy, you have to do what you think is right, even if it upsets other people.”
“Well, you’ll be happy to know you’re upsetting the hell out of me right now.”
“Sorry about that,” she said, but he didn’t believe for a second that she meant her apology.
Long minutes ticked by while the two of them lay on the floor, side by side with only a ribbon of space separating their bodies. Chase tried to keep his mind on anything but the woman next to him. In his mind, he balanced the ranch’s books, decided how much feed he needed to order when they got back to town, figured out what livestock he was going to enter in the state fair next year...
And wondered what color bra Megan had on. Maybe white, with lace. Or a pale pink, like her T-shirt.
Or maybe midnight-black. One of those that pushed everything up.
Chase groaned and jumped to his feet.
“Okay. You win.” He grabbed his pillow and blanket off the floor and tossed them on the mattress. Then he turned on the lamp, sprawled on the bed, and told her, “I give up. I’ve been trying to be a decent guy, but for the past couple of months, I’ve been shanghaied, bamboozled, and railroaded by everyone I know. I can’t take it anymore. You want to have sex. Fine. Here I am. Have sex.”
When Megan didn’t say anything, he turned his head and looked at her. She stood next to the bed, her green eyes wide. He watched her debate her next action and felt the blood hum in his veins while he waited for her decision.
“Um, this isn’t quite what I had in mind,” she said. “I wanted it to be romantic.”
“But sex isn’t romantic,” he pointed out, his emotions on a roller-coaster ride. He wanted her.
Really, really wanted her. But he also knew she’d end up getting hurt. “Sex is just sex, Megan. But hey, if that’s what you want, then I’m willing to be a good friend and help you out.”
She frowned. “Gee, thanks for the offer, but this isn’t right, Chase. I’d feel like I was taking advantage of you,” she said, although he noticed she put her pillow and blanket back on the bed. When she sat on the side of the mattress, he moved over to make room for her. “I can’t have sex with you if you don’t want to have sex with me.”
“I’ll survive.” His heart raced in his chest, and he honestly didn’t know what he wanted her to do. He couldn’t stand this anymore, so he was trying to prove a point. He could only be pushed so far before he’d snap. But now, looking at her, he couldn’t help wishing she’d take him up on his offer. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
She shook her head. “Not like this,” she said
softly, and he figured she was talking more to herself than to him.
Without saying anything else, she reached out and turned off the light. Then she moved over to the far left side of the bed and said, “Good night, Chase.” After a few minutes, he heard her breathing become soft and rhythmic. He figured it would be hours before he could fall asleep, but the bed really was comfortable, and he was exhausted. Not ten minutes later, he felt himself drifting off.
Right before he fell asleep two things crossed his mind—first, that Megan had managed to find a way to get him to share the bed with her after all.
And second, that he still couldn’t help wondering what color bra she had on**
Megan tapped on the bathroom door. “Chase, are you all right? Has the swelling gone down yet?”
For at least a full minute there was no response. Then Chase threw open the bathroom door and frowned at her. “What did you say?”
He looked so yummy, standing there with only a towel wrapped around his waist, that Megan completely forgot what she’d said to him. Instead, she was one hundred percent focused on his tanned chest.
“Up here, Megan,” Chase said dryly. “My face is up here.”
“Hmm?” Blinking, she pulled her attention away from his chest and forced it to stay on his face. He must have just finished shaving because a tiny spec of shaving cream rested in the slight indentation in his chin.
“Megan,” he said impatiently. “Pay attention.”
She blinked again. A couple of times. Then tapped down on her libido and concentrated on what she’d been saying.
“I asked if the swelling has gone down yet,” she said, not really surprised when her voice came out sounding more than a little breathless.
Again, he frowned at her. “I’m going to guess you’re talking about the wasp bites and not something else. So yes, the wasp bites are better.”
“Good.” She glanced over his torso again, this time telling herself she was only looking at all that tanned, gorgeous skin to see if he was okay. One large purple bruise darkened his left side. “And the bruises? Do they still hurt?”
Chase sighed. “I’m fine. Let me finish getting dressed, then we can talk.”
She looked back up at his face. “And the bump on your head? Is that fine, too?”
“Yeah. I’m in dandy shape.”
With that, he closed the bathroom door again. Megan walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Poor Chase. He was having a terrible day. It seemed the more things went right for her, the more they went wrong for him.
This morning she’d blissfully woken up in his arms. As much as she’d promised to stay on her side of the bed, she’d accidentally wandered over his way and wrapped herself around him like a vine.
For several wonderful moments, she’d simply enjoyed being held by him. That was until he’d woken up, taken one look at her snuggled in his arms, and then jumped out of bed as if he’d caught on fire. Unfortunately, his foot snagged in the blanket, and he ended up crashing onto the floor, giving himself a couple of good-size bruises.
Then at breakfast, she’d had a wonderful time because Chase had been his most charming. He’d told her he wanted the trip to be enjoyable for her, so he’d decided to stop being a grouch. He’d made good on his promise by telling her funny stories. At least he had until a distracted waitress had whacked him, rather hard, in the back of the head with a metal coffee carafe.
Finally, once Chase had been feeling better, they’d headed over to the Alamo. Exploring had been fun and educational, and several times during their tour, she’d caught Chase looking at her with a lot more than mere friendship in his eyes. One of those times, when his gaze had locked with hers, she’d winked at him. The gesture must have startled him, because he’d backed into a tree and ended up getting stung by a couple of angry wasps.
But the absolute low point had come during their walk back to the hotel. A young man had hurried by them, bumping into Megan. When she’d started to lose her balance, Chase had grabbed her. Thanks to his quick thinking, she hadn’t fallen in the water fountain they’d been walking by.
Unfortunately, Chase had.
Altogether, the poor man had had quite a day. Well, at least she had good news for him now.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Chase came out. Although he looked wonderful, Megan couldn’t help regretting that an unbuttoned cotton shirt covered most of his gorgeous chest and jeans covered his sexy legs.
“You look better,” she said brightly.
He nodded. “Hard not to look better since earlier I looked like a drowned rat.”
Not exactly a rat, but he had taken quite a dunking.
Hoping to make him feel better, she held up a room key. “I convinced Judy to let me rent another room, so we won’t have to share tonight. You can sleep in this bed all by yourself without worrying about me taking advantage of you.”
He stared at the key for a moment. “Judy must have wondered why you wanted another room. I mean, she thinks we’re a happily engaged couple.”
“She was curious, so I told her that you and I never spend more than one night together.”
His blue eyes studied her intently. “Run that one by me again.”
Megan shrugged. “I tried every other explanation I could think of, and she didn’t buy a single one.”
“No?”
Ticking them off on her fingers, she said, “I told her you needed time alone after the bad day you’d had, and she said I should be supportive and nurturing.”
“That was sweet.”
“Then I told her that you were mad at me, and she said you seemed like a really nice guy and you’d cool down eventually.”
“I am thawing…”
“Finally, I told her I was mad at you, but she said all I needed to do was tell you why I was upset, and she knew you’d do whatever it took to make the situation right.”
“Intriguing.”
Megan took a deep breath, then added, “At that point I had no idea what else to say so I told her we were superstitious and didn’t want to spend more than one night together before the wedding.”
Chase chuckled. “She must think we’re odder than two alligators trying to ice skate.”
“That’s probably an understatement,” she admitted, a smile tugging at her lips. “And I hate to think what she’s going to tell Amanda. But I knew you’d be more comfortable if I moved to another room.”
For several long seconds, Chase just looked at her, and Megan felt her heart race. Say you want me to stay with you, she chanted over and over in her mind.
Unfortunately, her telepathic abilities seemed to be on the fritz because what really came out of Chase’s mouth was, “That’d probably be the best idea.”
Drat. Oh well, it’s not like she’d expected him to change his mind. That whack to the head he’d gotten hadn’t been that hard.
Chase picked up his wallet and the room key. “I’ll pay for the other room. And I’ll be the one to move so you don’t have to repack your things.”
“Always the gentleman,” she said, tracing the floral pattern on the bedspread with her index finger.
He sat down next to her. “I’m trying to be one, Megan. But like I said last night, I’m starting to run out of willpower.”
As much as she hated herself for being thrilled to hear him admit that, she was. Thrilled beyond words. Losing his willpower implied that he found it difficult to resist her, which in turn meant he felt a lot more for her than mere friendship.
There was hope yet.
“Why don’t we discuss this over dinner?” she asked, standing and heading for the door. “After the day you’ve had, you must be hungry.”
He smiled. “Sure. Let me finish getting ready.” He stood and buttoned his shirt. Megan watched him dress, enjoying the feeling of intimacy caused by such an innocent action. Somehow watching Chase buttoning his shirt and tucking his wallet into his back pocket seemed very personal. This morning, he’d left the room while she�
�d gotten dressed, so she’d left the room when it had been his turn.
But watching him was exciting.
When he was done, he asked, “Ready?”
Mutely, she nodded and picked up her purse.
He must have misunderstood her silence, because he said, “You know, I’ve had a lot worse days on the ranch, so stop worrying about a few bumps.” He grinned and added, “But for your own safety, you might want to give me a wide berth.”
That was the last thing she wanted to do. What she really wanted was for Chase to kiss her senseless. Unfortunately, she knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“Let’s go,” she said.
As they headed down the stairs, Chase asked, “Where do you want to eat?”
“Let’s not tempt fate. Let’s eat someplace away from the River Walk.”
They asked Judy, who recommended a small barbecue restaurant just down the street from the B&B. Megan was worried that it would be a dark, intimate place, but instead it was rowdy and bright, with singing waitresses and food out of this world.
“This is a fun place,” Chase observed, settling back in his chair.
Megan took a bite of her steak and felt as if she’d tasted heaven. “The food is wonderful.”
When their waitress, Darla, stopped by again, she had a broad grin on her face and a couple of her coworkers in tow. “Judy from the B&B called. I understand you two just got engaged.”
Oh, no. Megan subtly shook her head at Chase, but he seemed resigned to their fate.
“Something like that,” he said.
Megan sensed what was coming and wanted to slip under the table, but no such luck. With a nudge to Chase, Darla said, “Well in that case, sweetie, you need to remember a few things if you’re going to make a good husband.”
With that, she and her two coworkers launched into the country song, “Any Man of Mine.” As they detailed the many things Chase would need to do and say to make the woman in his life happy, Megan couldn’t help smiling. The poor, poor man.
