Cathy Thacker - A Cowboy Under The Mistletoe

“Which is why your dad was here this morning.”

Her insight caught Hank off guard. “That was part of it,” he allowed cautiously.

She stepped closer. “And the rest?”

Hank’s jaw set. “It’s not relevant to this.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Why don’t you let me decide that? Seriously. You want me to trust you? Then you need to reveal more about what’s going on with your situation, too!”

Fair enough. “My parents think I need their help to succeed.”

Ally let out a disbelieving laugh. “You? The guy who was Mr. Everything in high school? Student body president, star athelete, class heartthrob-”

Hank focused on the most important of the litany. “Class heartthrob?” he repeated. Was that how she’d seen him back then?

Ally flushed. “Never mind. Forget I said that.” She drew a breath and settled on a step of the ladder, turning businesslike once again. “Back to your very implausible story.”

Hank’s gut twisted with the irony. “It’s true,” he said, just as quietly. He edged close enough to rest an elbow on the top rung of the ladder. “My parents think I flipped out after Jo-anne’s death. That was why I joined the marines and stayed in for ten years.”

Ally tilted her head to look up into his face. “Was it the reason?”

His voice was edgy with tension as he answered, “I admit I was depressed and angry after she died. You can’t not be if one of your loved ones dies in something as senseless and unexpected as a terrorist attack. But…” He paused reflectively, then shrugged. “I got over it.”

The tenderness in Ally’s eyes encouraged him to dig a little deeper into his feelings. “I grew up, I guess, came to accept that bad things happen in life to everyone. And what counts is your ability to pick yourself up and make something good happen-even in the worst circumstances-and move on. And that’s what my career in the marines was all about. I helped save a lot of lives. Now I’m out…and ready to move on with the next chapter of my life.”

Ally stood and moved away from the ladder once again. “But your mom and dad can’t accept that.”

He watched her amble back to the wall where she had been working, and spritz an area within reach.

Hank picked up a scraper and walked over to help. “My parents blame themselves for my taking off in the first place. They think they failed me somehow, after Jo-anne died. They don’t want to be caught short again. And they’re afraid if this ranching thing doesn’t work out, I’m going to leave again.”

For a second, a flash of alarm appeared in her eyes. “Will you?”

Was it possible, Hank wondered, she wanted him to stay around, as much as he was beginning to want her to do the same? “No. Texas is my home and always will be. That’s one thing I figured out while I was overseas.”

She scowled at the piece of wall covering she was working on, then tilted her head up to his. “When you say Texas,” she murmured, looking at him from beneath her fringe of thick lashes, “do you mean Laramie, or anywhere in the state?”

“I got a hundred head of cattle, and I have to find somewhere of my own to graze them.” At the moment, Mesquite Ridge was the only ranch available for lease or sale in Laramie County.

“So if it’s not here…?”

Hank studied the way she was biting into her lower lip. “It’ll be somewhere.”

“That’s all very interesting.” She ripped off the stubborn piece of wallpaper with more force than necessary and dropped it into the trash can. Then she whirled around and chided, “But it doesn’t explain why you just acted so protectively toward me.”

He’d been wondering when she would bring that up.

Hank refused to apologize for giving Graham Penderson the old heave-ho. “I wouldn’t think I’d have to explain that,” he answered drily.

She lifted a blond brow. “Apparently,” she said, perfectly mimicking his deadpan tone, “you do.”

Was it possible? Was he really that hard to read that Ally had no clue how he was beginning to feel about her?

“Then how about this for an explanation?” Hank said, leaning in for a kiss.

His move wasn’t all that unexpected. The woman in Ally had known Hank was going to kiss her again. She just hadn’t known when-or where.

The question was, Ally mused, as his arms wrapped around her and drew her close, what was she going to do? Was she going to acknowledge the rapid thudding of her heart and the weakening of her knees, and give in to the ever so slow and deliberate descent of his lips to hers? When the professional businesswoman in her knew she should not-at least until the matter of the sale of Mesquite Ridge was settled? Or would she go with her feminine side, and the instinct that told her to grab this opportunity to see if their chemistry was as good as she’d suspected?

Unable to keep herself from slowing things down a little and speaking her piece, Ally planted a palm in the center of Hank’s chest. She drew in a quick, bolstering breath and looked him square in the eye. “This won’t change anything, you know.”

Grinning, Hank threaded a hand through the hair at her nape. “I know you think so,” he murmured, just as confidently.

And then all heaven broke loose as his lips finally took command of hers…

My goodness, did this man ever know how to kiss! With finesse and depth and stark male assurance. He kissed her as if kissing was an end in itself, and there was no one but the two of them in the entire universe. He kissed her as if he meant it-and always would. He kissed her as if she was the most incredible woman he’d ever been privileged to know.

And darn it all, Ally thought, as she threw caution to the wind and rose up on tiptoe to meet him with every ounce of womanly passion she had. She felt the same!

She never wanted this moment to end.

She wanted to stay just like this, with his arms wrapped around her, his strong body pressed ardently against hers.

She wanted to savor the peppermint taste of his mouth, and the incredible heat that exuded from every sexy inch of him.

And she wanted more. Much more than she had ever wanted in her life…

Right now. Right here.

And since it was Christmastime, and she had no other gifts headed her way, why not present herself with the most thrilling experience of all?

Ally broke off the caress to murmur, “I want you.”

Hank looked down at her with a mixture of affection and longing. He threaded both his hands through her hair and tenderly cupped her face between his palms. “I want you, too, but only,” he said soberly, “if you’re sure.”

Ally had never been impulsive. Until now. And darned if she wasn’t enjoying the experience. “I’m sure,” she said, just as earnestly.

He nodded and swung her up in his arms. “Then we’re going up to my bedroom and doing this the way it should be done.”

“And how is that?” Ally asked, her recklessness soaring with every step he took, until at last Hank set her down next to his neatly made bed.

“Slowly.” He paused to kiss her again, even more deeply this time again. “And with great attention to detail.”

She liked his approach. It kept her from thinking too much about her feelings. Emotions could be her undoing. Better to think about the task at hand…

“Detail’s good.” Ally let her head fall back as he nibbled his way down her neck, lingering over her collarbone. She shivered when he eased her old college T-shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor. His eyes darkened as he took in the curves of her breasts, spilling out of the lace of her bra.

“Very good,” Hank murmured thickly, as he eased the fabric from her arms and reached behind her to undo the clasp.

The lace slid away. He bent her backward over his arm. Cool air assaulted her nipples and her breasts tingled in anticipation. Unable to bear the excitement, Ally let her eyes flutter shut. She felt the warmth of his mouth, the caress of his tongue, the nip of his teeth, while his hands conducted a very thorough exploration of their own. Despite her efforts to keep this a purely physical experience, feelings welled up inside her, mixing with the sensations. The combination of the two was overwhelming and incredibly enticing…

Ally’s heart slammed against her ribs and her breathing grew short. It was suddenly imperative, she decided, that they both get out of their clothes.

Hank seemed to have the same thought, because he was guiding her upright again so he could use both hands to unbutton and unzip, and help ease off her boots and jeans.

“You, too,” she said, jerking the shirt hem free of his jeans, working at the fastenings, spreading the fabric wide. His chest was every bit as sleek and hard and masculine as she had imagined it would be. Swirls of dark hair covered his flat male nipples and arrowed down past his navel.

Anxious to discover more, she let her hands move to his belt buckle.

Hank kissed his way from the shell of her ear down her neck. “I thought we were taking this slow.”

Ally eased both her hands inside the waistband of his jeans. He was throbbing, ready, full. Heat poured through her, curling her toes and she rose up to meet him. With her heart slamming against her ribs, she kissed him full and hard on the mouth. Given the way she felt… “We are.”

He grabbed her close and kissed her back, just as ardently. The hot skin of his muscular chest pressed against her bare breasts. She felt his urgency. And still he kissed her thoroughly. As if she was the most beautiful, wonderful woman on earth, and he was the only man for her. It felt as if they were meant to be together, meant to celebrate the upcoming holiday in just this way. And though Ally had never liked Christmas, never let herself want presents, she did want this.