by Jeanne Allan
J.J. refrained from making an issue of his conceited assumption. “I’m not worried about her. She’ll make Burton an excellent wife and Carrie a wonderful mother.”
Luke abruptly rose to his full height. “Susan and Alexander? What does that mean?” His eyes narrowed. “You and Alexander aren’t getting married?” Luke inhaled sharply when she shook her head. “And you didn’t bother to let me know?”
“Why should I? What difference does it make to you?” She backed away at the predatory look on Luke’s face.
“I’ll tell you what difference it makes, O’Brien.” He stalked her across the bedroom floor. “Not only am I retracting my blessing, but I’m refusing to sign any divorce papers.”
“You can’t do that. I refuse to stay married to a man who loves a stupid cardboard image of the perfect wife.” The foot of the bed stopped her retreat. She inched slowly around it. “I want, I need, a husband who loves me—the me I am.”
Luke’s steps mirrored her every move. “How ’bout what I want?” he asked silkily, encircling her throat with his hand.
JJ. involuntarily stepped backward, stopping when she rammed into the side of the bed. “Wanting me isn’t enough,” she half whispered.
Luke moved his- hands down to warm her breasts. “But I like wanting you.” A heavy-lidded look of male satisfaction rode his face as her nipples hardened beneath fleece to push against his palms. “And I like you wanting me.” His thumbs brushed against sensitive tips.
“I don’t.” J.J. jerked back, away from his mind-numbing touch. The bed caught her behind her knees, and she toppled backward.
Luke followed her down, pinning her to the mattress with his long, hard body. “You want me, so you must mean you don’t like it.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “Why not?”
“You don’t love me,” J.J. said bleakly.
“Don’t tell me who I love or don’t love, lawyer lady.” Luke fiercely gripped her head, his eyes blazing down at her. “I love the way you stride through life. I love the way you do what you have to do, whether it’s tough or inconvenient or frightening. I love your independence. I love your bimbo mouth and your sexy beauty mark, but mostly I love that damned defiant chin. I love everything about you,” he said in a harsh voice, raw with need, “but say the words, and I’m out of your life forever.”
“What words?” Her heart pounded in her throat.
“Tell me you don’t love me.”
JJ. swallowed. “I can’t. I never could.”
Relief swept across Luke’s face, chased away by a look loaded with triumph and sexy male complacency. “That better mean you intend to stick with a slowlearning cowboy. I have Ethel to clean and cook, and Jeff and Dale to help on the ranch, but I need a woman to love me.” He warmed her cheeks with his palms, his thumbs resting against the corners of her mouth. “A special woman. A capable, independent, mouthy, strong lawyer lady.” He smiled lazily, sure of himself now. Sure of her. “That doesn’t mean I won’t try to persuade you to practice law here instead of in Denver.”
JJ. could have told him then she’d resigned from the Denver firm. Instead she gave him a look from under lowered lashes. “How did you plan to go about that, cowboy?”
“I bought an office building in town,” he muttered against her lips.
J.J. froze, then, with an enormous heave, she pushed him off her. He landed on his back beside her. “You bought a building?” she asked in a deadly calm voice. “The insurance office?” At Luke’s nod, she thrust her face down to his. “Who appointed you to make my decisions?”
“I’m not trying to run your life,” Luke said carefully. “If you want to stay with the law firm in Denver, I’ll support your decision.”
JJ. eyed him doubtfully. “You wouldn’t care if I lived in Denver and we only saw each other on weekends?”
“I’d care, but I’d accept it. I love you, O’Brien. I want you to be happy. I’d be happier if you practiced law closer to home, but I didn’t buy the building to force you into quitting the Denver firm. If you don’t want the office, I’ll rent it to someone else.”
“And that would be the end of it?”
“Absolutely.” Luke pulled her over on top of him.
“Liar.” J.J. pinned a scowl on her face. “You know very well you intend to nag and bully me until you get your own way.”
He widened his eyes in astonishment at her accusation: “I’d never bully you.” One corner of his mouth twitched. “I might try a little bribery. Generous rental terms for the office.”
J.J. gave him a suspicious look. “How generous?”
Luke laughed softly, tugging her head downward. “Free rent,” he said against her mouth, “in exchange for giving your beauty mark to all our daughters.”
“Daughters, yes.” She helped Luke pull the sweatshirt over her head. “Beauty mark, no.” Laughter puffed warmly against her breast. “I’m serious, Luke. You cannot change my mind.” She wondered how the beauty mark would look with hazel eyes.
“I’ll bronze the elk antlers.” He slid his hands beneath her waistband. “They’d look great over your desk.”
J.J. knew he didn’t mean over her desk in Denver. “Give me one good reason why I should move out here to the boonies.”
He gave her more than one. All very good ones.
AUTHOR NOTE
There are over fifty areas of thermal activity in Colorado, but I don’t know of any hot springs in North Park. If you want to tell Luke Remington he can’t have a hot spring pool on his ranch, be my guest.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-7014-5
DO YOU TAKE THIS COWBOY?
First North American Publication 1997.
Copyright © 1997 by Jeanne Allan.
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