One Tall, Dusty Cowboy - Stella Bagwell Men of the West

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an extension of the dance floor. As they leaned against the tall railing, the cool night air prompted Rafe to pull her shawl up on her shoulders, but it was the warmth of her skin seeping through the thin fabric that made his hands linger there.

      “Oh, the moon looks so gorgeous hanging over the water.” She let out an appreciative sigh. “It makes it look like liquid silver.”

      “I’m glad you’re enjoying the view.”

      “It’s a far cry from the emergency room,” she admitted.

      “And you’re a far cry from the branding lot.”

      That brought her head around to his and Rafe’s gaze barely had time to connect with hers before it fell to her parted lips. The pink, moist curves sent a shaft of longing right through him.

      “Now I suppose you’re going to say that I look so beautiful in the moonlight that you just have to kiss me.”

      Her jaded tone told him that she’d been disappointed by one or more men in her life. It also told him that she wasn’t a naive girl that he could easily wrap around his finger. But then, Rafe wasn’t sure he’d want to do that, even if he could. He was smart enough to know that Lilly wasn’t the type of woman a man could make love to then simply walk away. And he was the walk-away type. He didn’t want the fuss or complication of having one special woman in his life. Besides, he was already married to the ranch. He didn’t have room in his heart for a woman.

      “Actually, I was going to say the moonlight makes your hair look like silver, too.” He thrust his fingers into the soft, blond waves and dipped his face close to hers. But your idea is better. Much better.”

      “It wasn’t an idea—it was—”

      Her words stopped as his lips hovered over hers.

      “Was what?” he prompted.

      She turned her face away from his and stared out at the lake.

      “Men like you have all the cheesy lines—all the slick moves,” she said flatly. “It doesn’t impress me. It bores me.”

      “Then maybe this won’t.”

      Without giving her time to guess his intentions, he tugged her face around to his. Surprise flashed in her eyes, but it didn’t stop Rafe from lowering his mouth to hers. He had to kiss her. Had to show her exactly the sort of man she was dealing with. A man who would never be her pushover.

       Chapter Three

      Somewhere in the middle of the kiss or after it had ended, Rafe wasn’t sure which, the realization that he was in trouble struck him hard. This wasn’t the way any of it was supposed to go, he thought.

      He was supposed to be feeling triumphant and smug and she was supposed to be swooning in his arms. Instead, she was staring at him as though she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to slap him or run a dagger through him.

      “If that was a sample of your charms, then I’d advise you to save them for some unsuspecting woman. And that isn’t me.”

      She stepped around him and Rafe had little choice but to follow her. Once they were inside, he quickly settled the bill and in a matter of a few short minutes the two of them were in his truck, traveling back to Carson City.

      During the whole process, Lilly said very little and for once, Rafe couldn’t come up with anything useful to say. How could he? He’d never dated a woman like Lilly. His usual glibness wouldn’t have the same effect on her.

      Maybe you should try open honesty, Rafe. That would be a refreshing change.

      The voice in his head had him scowling as he stared at the dark highway in front of him. Being honest with a woman would get him into far more trouble than an unwanted kiss.

      “I don’t know why you’re frowning, Rafe. Up until that kiss, I had a lovely evening.”

      That jerked his head around and for a split second, he forgot about keeping his eyes on the highway. “Just exactly what was wrong with that kiss?”

      “As far as kisses go, it was very pleasant. But I didn’t ask for it. That’s what was wrong.”

      Rafe wasn’t accustomed to asking for anything. Whatever he wanted, he took. Clearly, that wasn’t going to work with Lilly.

      “I’m sorry,” he said in a mollified tone. “Can you forgive me?”

      “Of course I can. I already have.”

      It was downright silly at how much her words perked his spirits.

      “You can—you have?”

      “Why wouldn’t I? I don’t hold grudges. Besides, since I have no intention of kissing you again, none of this really matters. So I apologize for getting a little testy with you.”

      “Oh, Lilly, that’s—” Totally confused by her attitude, he glanced over to see she was staring out the passenger window instead of at him. That wasn’t a good sign. “Why aren’t you going to kiss me again?”

      She sighed. “Look, Rafe, I agreed to this date because I knew you wouldn’t give up on a challenge. I figured once we’d gone out you’d see we wouldn’t suit and you’d be on to the next girl. I thought that would make everything easier, because you’re just not my kind of guy.”

      He couldn’t remember any woman ever telling him that. But instead of making him feel angry or humiliated, he was more perplexed than anything.

      “What is your kind of guy, Lilly? One who spends his evenings at home quietly reading the newspaper and saying yes, dear or no, dear?”

      Long moments passed before she finally answered, “Could be that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

      He muttered a curse under his breath. “Sure. This from a woman who chose to give up therapy to work in the E.R. Yeah, you want a dull man, all right.”

      “Don’t try to figure out what I want, Rafe. You might hurt yourself.”

      She was right about that. He needed to give her a quick goodbye and never even glance in the rearview mirror. She was the kind of woman who could cause a man a deep-down hurt and he hardly needed more pain in his life.

      Rafe was still telling himself that when ten minutes later, he parked the truck in front of Lilly’s house and helped her to the ground. But the touch of her hand upon his arm as he walked her to the door made it very difficult to concentrate on the mental warning.

      When they reached the porch, she said, “I did offer you a drink before we left this evening. The offer still holds if you’d like a coffee. Just as a thank-you for the nice meal. Nothing else.”

      Normally, he would have jumped at the chance to spend more time with this woman. Especially since she was being nice enough to invite him into her home. But to be honest with himself, he was feeling a little more than rattled. Some of the things she’d said had left him bruised and raw.

      “Thanks, but I’ll take a rain check. You have to be up early and I’ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”

      She smiled at him and for one split second, Rafe wondered if he’d lost his mind.

      She raised up on tiptoes and placed a kiss against his cheek. “Thank you for the dinner and the dancing. It was very nice.”

      “My pleasure, Lilly.” He pressed her hand between his. “Good night.”

      “Good night, Rafe.”

      He turned and quickly walked to his truck, but as he drove away he couldn’t stop himself from looking back. And as he watched her step into the house and close the door behind her, he felt an inexplicable loss. One that he’d never expected to be feeling after a date with a beautiful woman.

      *

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