Sure, the tavern was crowded, but it wasn’t as if he’d lose track of her in such a small place. Instead it seemed as if he didn’t want to break the connection they’d had on the dance floor. She didn’t want to break it, either.
Only one stool was available and he gestured for her to take it. “I’ll stand.” When Ike came over, Mac ordered them each a beer. He ordered her favorite without having to ask, too. Apparently he’d paid attention to that.
Swiveling her stool away from the bar, she gazed up at him. “That was fun.” Understatement of the year.
“It sure was. You surprised the hell out of me. I had no idea you could dance like that.”
“We used to go dancing every weekend while I was in art school. It also helps to have a good partner.” She smiled. “You more than lived up to your reputation.”
Eyes twinkling, he touched the brim of his hat. “Thank you, ma’am. I have to admit I was showing off a little. But you kept up with me.”
“Hey, my reputation was at stake, too.”
“How come I’ve never heard that you were so good?”
“Why would you? We haven’t had live music in Sadie’s since I came home from school.”
“Guess so.” He glanced past her to the bar. “Our beer’s arrived.” He picked up the lighter colored one and handed it to her before taking his. Then he touched his glass gently to hers. “A toast to the best dancer I’ve ever partnered with.”
“Oh, I doubt that.”
“It’s true. Drink up.”
“Okay, and thanks for the compliment.” She sipped her beer but she didn’t need alcohol to get a buzz. The way Mac was looking at her would make any girl high.
“I am confused about something, though.”
“What’s that?”
“I wonder why— Hang on, you have some foam.” He leaned down and gently swiped his finger over her upper lip. “Got it.” Then he held her gaze for a long, heart-pounding moment. “You do tempt me, Anastasia.”
Her chest was so tight she could barely breathe. “Is that the question: You wonder why I tempt you?”
“Oh, no, I know exactly why you tempt me. It’s a good thing that we’re surrounded by all these people,” he murmured, “or I swear I’d forget myself.”
“I know what we said before, but honestly, would that be so terrible?”
He looked into her eyes as if weighing his answer. Then he straightened. “Yeah, it would.” He took another swallow of his beer.
She could ask him to explain that, but he wouldn’t do it now. Sadie’s was jumping tonight, which was good news for the town and for Steve and Myra. But a noisy saloon wasn’t the place for confidences. She’d have more opportunities to talk with him privately as the week progressed.
“My question has to do with your dancing.” He had to stand close so they could hear each other.
That was fine with her. She loved admiring the way his shirt emphasized the width of his shoulders. From this angle they seemed a mile wide. As a matter of self-preservation, she didn’t let her glance move down as far as his belt, though. They’d had the crotch conversation and this wasn’t the place to rehash it.
She glanced into his eyes, another feature she could enjoy without blushing. “What about my dancing?”
“I didn’t expect that level of skill after all the talk about you being a klutz. So what’s the deal? How come you’re perfectly coordinated on the dance floor?”
The man sitting on her left was talking really loud so she missed a little of Mac’s question but she filled in the gaps by reading his lips. His beautiful lips. “It’s the music.”
“Music makes you more coordinated?”
“Yep. I took an exercise course once and it was the same thing. For some reason music flips a switch in my brain. I focus on it and that seems to cancel out the clumsy tendencies.”
“Hmm.” He took another sip of his beer. “Do you have music loaded on your phone?”
“Sure.”
“Then what if you tried riding a trot using earbuds?”
She thought about that for a minute. “Interesting idea. I don’t know if it would work or not, but if I’m listening to music I couldn’t hear you.”
“That’s okay. I’d rather have you find a way to tune in to the movements of the horse than to listen to me yelling instructions.”
“We can try it in the morning and see what happens.”
“It’s definitely worth a shot.” He lifted the beer glass to his lips and drank.
She’d never tried to draw him actually drinking a beer. She should, because the way his lower lip curved under the rim of the glass was very erotic. She also liked how strong the tanned column of his neck looked when he lifted his chin.
That would make an interesting study, his neck, a bit of his shirt collar, the underside of his chin, and his lip curved around the beer glass.
Kissing him along the curve of his throat would be a pleasure, too. She could imagine how his skin would feel against her mouth—smooth except where his beard grew, and there she might find a hint of stubble. Right now he’d taste salty because he’d worked up a little sweat on the dance floor.
He lowered the glass abruptly and leaned down so his face was inches from hers. “What are you doing?”
Her cheeks grew warm. “I . . . um . . . had an idea for a drawing. . . .”
“Of what, for God’s sake? You were staring at my neck like a vampire looking for a meal.”
“You have a nice neck.”
“So what? You want to suck my blood?”
“No, I want to . . . draw your neck and chin.” Then I want to kiss it and lick it. And while we’re on the subject, that goes for the rest of you, too.
He gazed at her as if she’d gone crazy. “Give me your beer.” He set it on the bar and put his next to it. “We need to dance.” He lifted her neatly off the stool, laid his hat on it, and led her into the throng of dancers swaying to a slow tune. Then he pulled her in close.
With almost no room to move they would have been forced together, anyway. But judging from the way he’d engineered this situation, he’d intended to hold her close. Thank goodness, because she’d wondered if he’d risk it at all tonight. He had, and she relaxed against him.
Leaning down, he nestled his cheek against hers and put his mouth close to her ear. “I don’t know what to do about you,” he murmured. “It’s becoming a real problem.”
“I know.” And she wouldn’t apologize for it anymore. She could be a good problem to have if he loosened up.
“I keep telling myself to keep my distance, but that’s not working out.”
“Are you upset?”
“Definitely. You’ve turned me upside down and sideways. I feel like I’m on the Tilt-A-Wheel at the carnival.”
She had a disturbing thought. “Please don’t cancel the lessons.” She needed them for many reasons.
“I won’t do that. Maybe it’s ego, but I feel as if I’m the one person who can help you.”
“You are.”
“But the more we’re together, the more I want you. We shouldn’t be dancing this way but here we are.”
She wound both arms around his neck and leaned back to look into his eyes. “I can’t speak for you, but I like it.”
“I like it too much.” He settled both hands at the small of her back. “But it’s safer than being together in the barn. I’m not about to kiss you with the whole town of Bickford watching.”
“But you want to?”
“Oh, yeah.” His gaze drifted down to her mouth. “I want to.”
Her pulse rate had been in the red zone but now the needle was over the line. “How do you know they’re watching? Maybe you could kiss me and nobody would notice.”
“Considering how I’d like to kiss you, they’d notice all right.”
“You’re flirting with me.” He smiled. “In fact, you’ve been flirting ever since I walked in here tonight. What’s that all about? What’s changed?”
“My attitude. I know you’re worried about Georgie’s reaction, but I just talked to her and she wouldn’t make trouble for you.”
“Unless I break your heart. Then she’ll come down on me like a blacksmith’s anvil. She sent a message to that effect through Vince today.”
“You can’t break my heart if I won’t let you. You can’t interfere with my work if I don’t let you. I’m the one in charge of my reactions. I finally figured that out. So the only thing standing between us is whatever blockade you throw up.”
“I see.” He pulled her in a little tighter. “Not going to make it easy on me, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Okay.” He released her and gently unhooked her arms from around his neck. “Then come with me.”
For one wild moment she thought he was about to take her upstairs to one of the hotel rooms. Instead he grasped her hand and ran interference through the crowd before ushering her through the door that opened onto the street. After the heat of the dance floor, the cold air made her gasp. “Mac, you left your hat in—”
“I’ll get it later. Come over here.” He led her around the end of the building into the shadows. “We have something to discuss and we need privacy.”
“All right.” A slight breeze made her shiver.
“But first I have to do this.” He drew her into his arms.
So like dancing, and so not. Heart racing, she nestled against him. “I think I’m going to like this part.”
“I hope so, because I’m going crazy, and if I don’t kiss you, I’ll go completely insane.”
“Can’t have that.” She lifted her mouth to his and he met her halfway. Heaven.
CHAPTER 15
Ever since Mac had noticed Anastasia watching him from across the saloon, the urge to drag her into his arms and kiss the living daylights out of her had simmered like a hot bed of coals. Kissing her ignited the flames. Her mouth welcomed him, teased and taunted him with what he could have if only he’d let go. He was damn close.
Yesterday morning he’d only cradled her face in his hands while he’d delved deep and sampled the lush taste of her. But after molding his body against hers for that slow dance, he had to have more.
Her plump breasts yielded as he pulled her in tight. His fevered brain pictured the rich promise of her hips and thighs as he stroked downward. Shoving his hands in the back pockets of her jeans, he cupped the sweetest little ass to ever grace a saddle.
She moaned as he pulled her against his rapidly stiffening cock. Clutching his shoulders, she arched against him, inviting him to take what he so desperately wanted. The muted sound of the band playing another two-step filtered through the wall of the saloon. He wondered if she liked making love to music. He wanted to find out.
As the red haze of lust saturated his brain, he imagined pushing her deeper into the shadows and bracing her against the side of the weathered building. He could take her hard and fast. The music and crowd noise would drown out their cries. No one would ever know.
The heat of that vision nearly made him come. Shaking with the effort to control the urgent demands of his body, he slowly released her and stepped back. He could barely breathe and his heart was pounding like the hooves of a runaway.
Vince had told him to carry condoms. He’d deliberately left them at home tonight. But in his aroused state, he seriously considered going there with her now. He could say Come home with me and she’d do it.
She was breathing as hard as he was, and her kiss . . . My God, the woman was a volcano ready to blow. The noise from the saloon might not be enough to drown out their cries, after all. If he did take her home, they might break the bed.
“Mac.” She took a step toward him.
“Hang on.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I haven’t recovered.”
“Do you need to? Can’t we just—”
“No. We have to talk.”
“Oh. Is this about the blockade?”
“Yes, ma’am, it is.”
She sighed. “I had a feeling. Lay it on me, cowboy.”
He let out a strangled laugh. “You have no idea how much I’d love to do that very thing.”
“You think not? I was on the receiving end of that kiss and I was fully aware of . . . other indications. If I had my sketchbook, I could draw an accurate representation of what was going on with your—”
“Never mind.” She had a smart mouth in more ways than one. “You need to know something about me. I’m divorced.”
It took her a split second to respond. “That’s the blockade?”
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t get it. Is your ex a psycho who’ll murder any woman who tries to take her place?”
“No.”
“Are there kids involved?”
“No.”
“How long were you married to this person?”
“Less than a year.”
“Less than a year?” She blew out a breath. “So you made a mistake and married the wrong person. No big deal. Happens all the time. At least the two of you figured it out early on, before you had kids and things got complicated.”
He could let her believe that sanitized version and his image would remain untarnished. He’d really enjoyed being the object of her admiration and lust. Giving that up wouldn’t be fun, but honesty made him tell her the rest of it.
“The thing is, we didn’t come to the decision together. She left me after less than a year because I wasn’t making her happy. She said I was lousy at relationships and didn’t understand her at all.”
Anastasia met that with silence, which he took to mean his shiny image now had raw egg all over it. He’d expected that to happen, but he still didn’t have to like it. This moment had to come, though.
He scrubbed his hands through his hair again. Usually during moments like this he fooled with his hat, but he’d left it inside. “Anyway, now that you know the story, you’ll probably want to go on back inside and enjoy your evening. I’m thinking of heading home.” The hat was for special occasions so he didn’t need it immediately. He could pick it up tomorrow.
But instead of walking away, she kept standing there gazing at him. “Did you love her?”
“Does it matter?”
“It always matters.”
“I sure thought I did. But it’s possible I don’t understand love, either.”
“Do you still love her?”
He knew the answer to that one. “No. If I did I’d think of her a lot and want her back. I don’t. But I sure learned my lesson about marriage. I’m not cut out for it. I mean, if she was sick of me in less than a year, what does that say about my skill as a husband?”
Anastasia stepped closer. “So you got married, spent a few months together, and then she got fed up and walked out. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Pretty sad, huh?”
“Pretty confusing! Did she complain about your behavior but you refused to change?”
“Well, no. I thought we were rocking along okay.”
“Did she suggest the two of you go to counseling?”
“I asked her about that and she said it was no use. I didn’t understand her and I wasn’t going to. When I asked her what she meant, she said that if I really loved her I’d know what she meant. She wouldn’t have to explain anything.”
“Oh, Mac.” She moved right in on him and cupped his face in both hands.
“Look, I didn’t tell you so I could get your sympathy.” He shouldn’t put his arms around her again, but he did, anyway.
“Too late. You have it. And I want to strangle that stupid girl.”
“If that’s her name, yes, I do. Did she think you were supposed to be some sort of mind reader? She’s the one with the problem, not you.”
He smiled. “Now you sound like Vince.”
“And Vince is right! Who else have you talked to about this Sophie person?”
“Nobody, not even my folks, although my mom tried. I was embarrassed that I married somebody who left me so quick. I mean, who wants to talk about that? I gave Sophie all the wedding presents and decided it was an episode best forgotten.”
“Except you haven’t forgotten it.” She wound her arms around his neck and tilted her face up to his. “That episode is what’s keeping you from getting involved with me.”
“Which it should. That’s why I’m telling you all this, so you’ll understand there’s no future with a guy like me.”
“No future? A guy like you? What does that mean?”
“Just that. I’m a dead-end street.”
“As opposed to what? A main thoroughfare that leads to the altar?”
“Eventually, yes.” She was within kissing range again, but he tamped down the urge to take advantage of that. They should get this issue resolved, and kissing wouldn’t help.
“Where the hell did you get that ridiculous idea?”
“From Vince.”
“Now I feel like strangling Vince. Did he say that in so many words?”
“Not exactly. But he said you believed in the fantasy, the knight on a white horse and all that. And from what I’ve seen, he’s got it right. You’re a dreamer, which is one of the things that makes you such a great artist.”
“I’ll admit I’m a dreamer, but my dreams are a lot more X-rated than my dear brother-in-law-to-be thinks. Sure, I wouldn’t mind ending up with a guy who loves me more than life itself. Who wouldn’t want that? But—”
“See what I mean? You crave the happily-ever-after, just like he said.”
“Yeah, eventually. But I don’t plan to lock myself in an ivory tower until that prince rides up on a white horse to rescue me and pledge his undying love. I’m an artist. I need to sow some wild oats.” She wiggled against him. “Want to help me?”
Wild About the Wrangler Page 16
