LITMIR.BIZ

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designed to scramble his brain.

      “Are you married?”

      Her eyebrows arched and her lips parted. She looked startled, and maybe confused. “No. Of course not.” She shook her head, her eyebrows lowering into a delicate frown. “No, I’m not married, nor have I ever been married.” She drew in a breath, seemed to calm herself and took over unsnapping his shirt. “Would it really matter?”

      “If you have to ask, damn good thing you’re still single.” He could see he’d irritated her. Too bad. He wasn’t about to get into another scrape like the mess he’d narrowly escaped in Wyoming. After discovering Wendy was married, he’d refused to sleep with her. To get back at him, she’d filed a false charge that he’d stolen some jewelry.

      Sophie looked torn for a moment and then unfastened his next snap.

      He caught her hand and inspected her ring finger. No mark, not even a faded one. “Sorry, but I’m touchy about the issue,” he said, staring into her wary eyes and lifting her hand to his lips for a brief kiss before releasing her. “It’s nothing personal.”

      Without another word, she finished unsnapping him, her eyes cast downward, until she parted the front of his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. Her preoccupation with his bare chest was flattering but somewhat awkward. He finished shrugging out of the shirt, impatient to see what was under hers.

      Uncertainty betrayed itself in the soft, hesitant palms she skimmed over his ribs and then his pecs. Her touch was almost reverent, her expression dreamlike. A few buckle bunnies he’d been with had tried to use their phones to sneak pictures of him shirtless, and even buck naked. But this was different. This seemed more...personal.

      Jesus, he hoped it didn’t turn out she was one of those crazy stalkers.

      He captured her hands and gently lowered them from his chest. When he tried to draw up her T-shirt, she tensed, angling in a way that cut him off.

      He took half a step back. “You change your mind?” he asked, keeping his tone low and even, letting her know it was all good. She was allowed.

      “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I haven’t.”

      He tipped her chin up so he could see her face. “It’s okay if you have. Tell me to stop and I will.”

      Sighing, she pulled off her own shirt and tossed it somewhere over her shoulder. He was too busy taking in the pink bra and creamy skin to see where it landed. Her breasts were the perfect size. They’d fit nicely in his hands. Her arms and shoulders were well toned, and her abs...a woman didn’t get that kind of definition from casual exercise. Sophie took her workouts seriously. But she hadn’t gone overboard, either, which he greatly appreciated.

      He drew his thumb across the silky skin mounding above her bra. She had no freckles, just the faint remnant of a summer tan.

      Damned if he wasn’t the one staring now.

      She shivered and shrank back.

      “You’re beautiful,” he said, and looked up to meet eyes filled with disbelief. “I’m sure you get that line a lot, but I mean it.”

      She let out a short laugh and went for his belt buckle. He wished she wasn’t so nervous. But if he brought it up, it would probably spook her into leaving.

      Would that be the right thing to do?

      Her frenzied movements confused him. It was as if she was racing the clock. Or...maybe she had someplace else she needed to be. Dammit, he couldn’t figure her out. Although once they were in bed, he could slow things down. Make her feel real good.

      “Hey.”

      When she looked up, he caught her chin and kissed her, taking his time, enjoying the velvety texture of her lips, trying to show her he was in no hurry. Although his dick wanted to argue.

      She opened up for him and he slid his tongue inside, where it found its mate. The funny little tango that followed made them both smile. He’d always liked kissing best when tongues were involved, but simply moving his lips over hers felt more than satisfying. They found their rhythm and he deepened the kiss while pulling her tighter against him.

      Sophie made a startled little sound in the back of her throat and stiffened. But she had to know she was making him hard. Thank God she didn’t pull away. She pressed even closer, until her breasts pillowed his chest.

      He reached behind to unfasten her bra, anxious to see her bare breasts, to watch her nipples harden and beg for his mouth. With his free hand he cupped her nape, slid his fingers into her hair. A sexy moan filled the inside of his mouth with her warm breath.

      All of a sudden she froze.

      She let out a squeak and wiggled out of his arms, her hand shooting to the top of her head.

      “What happened?” Staying on the safe side, he kept his hands in plain sight. “Did I hurt you?”

      They just stared at each other.

      She didn’t strike him as a woman who’d care if a man mussed up her hair. So what the hell?

      “Sorry,” she said, her cheeks pink. “Really sorry. I’m not freaking out or anything. About being here...you know...in the room with you. I promise I’m not.”

      Could’ve fooled him. “Look, we don’t have to—”

      “Let’s get in bed, okay? I’ll feel more relaxed then.”

      After a quick look at her parted lips, he watched the alarm fade from her eyes. “You don’t like leaving the light on?” Ethan asked, worried he was missing something that would come back to bite him. “Is that it?”

      “I don’t care about the light.” She smoothed back her hair and smiled as if nothing had happened.

      Now that his body had cooled off some, he needed to think before she took another step toward him. This year he faced more pressure than ever to claim another championship title, partly because of his age, and also because of his kid sister. Mostly, though, it was about his left shoulder. It didn’t hurt all the time, but he knew his rodeo days were numbered.

      Sophie came up flush against him and looped her arms around his neck. Her pink lips parted slightly as she tilted her head back. She was still wearing the damn bra, not that it seemed to matter, since his mind went blank.

      He put his hands on her waist, waiting, hoping he wasn’t in for another surprise squeal. Her skin was soft and warm above the jeans waistband. The satiny texture made him itch to explore the rest of her. He settled for rubbing the small of her back, then moved his hands over the curve of her firm backside. Squeezing through denim was better than nothing, he supposed.

      Screw that.

      The jeans and bra both had to come off.

      His request was preempted by an urgent tug. Sophie pulled his head down while she lifted herself up to meet his lips. When she leaned into him, moving her hips against his born-again erection, his whole body tightened. He slid his tongue inside her mouth and touched the tip of hers before circling and sampling the sweetness of her.

      “Bed,” she whispered.

      He lifted her in his arms. With a soft gasp, she hung on tight even after he’d laid her down against the pillows. She resumed the kiss, refusing to let go of his neck, even as he followed her down. The fierce way she was clinging to him made things tricky. He stretched out alongside her, keeping his weight off her and on his braced elbow.

      He dragged his mouth away from hers and trailed his lips along her jaw to her ear, wondering where she might be sensitive. After a few nips at her earlobe, he cupped a breast and murmured, “How about we get rid of this bra?”

      She vaguely nodded, then stiffened. “Wait.”

      “For?”

      She sat up and sighed. “I forgot something.”

      Ethan fell

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