Two in the Saddle. Vicki Thompson Lewis

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СКАЧАТЬ that’s cutting it close,” Sebastian muttered as he let the garter fly.

      Gwen knew Travis had amazing reflexes. He could rope and tie a calf faster than anybody in the valley, and he wasn’t shy about saying so. But the lightning moves he demonstrated as he snatched the garter out of the air left the women gasping and the men swearing.

      “What’d you do that for?” complained Jason Litchfield, a lanky cowhand who’d been hitting on Gwen all night. “Everybody knows you’re not lookin’ to get tied down, and catching that thing means you’ll be the next one hitched.”

      Travis shrugged and tucked the garter in his pocket as he started toward Gwen. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’ve been wanting to dance with the maid of honor all night, and you boys have been keeping her so busy, I haven’t been able to get close.”

      Gwen stood frozen in place, her heart beating like a rabbit’s. There would be no baby between them this time.

      Just before Travis reached her, Sebastian came over and clapped him on the back. “Congratulations on catching that garter. It would do my heart good to see you finally settle down with the right woman.”

      Travis glanced at him. “It’ll take more than a garter to get me to the altar, buddy.”

      “Oh, I’m sure it will.” Sebastian winked at Gwen. “But it’s a start. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find the previous owner of that garter and take her for a turn around the floor.”

      Travis gazed at Gwen. Then he swept out an arm and bowed. “May I have this dance?”

      “I guess so.” She put her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Just the casual interlacing of their fingers quickened her breath. “You worked hard enough for it.”

      “Piece of cake. Hand-eye coordination has always been easy for me.”

      “And you’re so modest about it, too.”

      He chuckled and swung her into his arms.

      She rested the hand holding the bridal bouquet on his shoulder, and with every swirl of the waltz step, the fragrance of roses and lavender drifted around them, toying with her senses. She’d expected an aggressively sexual man like Travis to pull her in close and get all the body contact he could manage. Instead he kept several inches between them, guiding her with a firm hand at her waist while cupping her right hand gently, yet expertly, in his.

      But once again, he held her captive with his gaze. And Travis could do more with his eyes than any man she’d ever met. She’d danced with many partners tonight, and all of them had pulled her in tight, blatantly announcing their sexual interest with their bodies. Not one of them had made her sizzle.

      She was sizzling now. The spot where Travis pressed the small of her back became an erogenous zone, sending arousing signals to every part of her body. His eyes seduced her, inviting her to imagine making love with him. His rhythmic skill on the dance floor hinted at his legendary skill in the bedroom.

      She’d heard the whispered rumors about Travis, and her imagination filled in the rest. She guessed that he was the kind of lover women dreamed of in their deepest, most erotic moments. The kind even she had dreamed of, but never planned to have.

      Because he was dangerous. He could break her heart so that it would never heal. And yet…he could make her secret fantasies come true, teach her things about her own sensuality that no other man could. But he would not stay. He would never stay.

      The silence between them became heavy with unspoken desire. She struggled to break the spell. “I’m amazed you went for the garter,” she said. “I guess you’re not superstitious.”

      “I am sort of superstitious.” His grip at her waist tightened a fraction. “But this looked like the only way I was going to get another dance with you. I decided it might be worth tempting fate.”

      She swallowed. “And is it?”

      “Oh, I think it will be.” His glance swept her face, slid down her throat, settled for a second longer than was polite on her breasts. Then he returned his gaze to her eyes. Hunger flickered there as he drew her a bare inch closer, so that the bodice of her dress brushed the front of his tux shirt, catching lightly on the pearl studs with each movement.

      The contact was faint, subtle. Yet her nipples tightened and her breathing grew labored.

      “Is that bed and breakfast of yours full?” he murmured.

      “Why?” She had to keep her head. “Are you angling for personal service?”

      “Nope.” He drew her in a little bit more, causing her sensitive breasts to be crushed gently against the hard wall of his chest. “Just wondered how business was.”

      She could feel his heartbeat, rapid like hers. She should push away from him, but couldn’t make herself do it. For the first time in months, maybe years, she felt alive again. “Business is a little slow right now.” She cleared the hoarseness from her throat. “The skiers are gone, and the summer season doesn’t usually get going until after Memorial Day.”

      “Hmm.” Neatly, without fanfare, he broke eye contact, snugged her up close and laid his cheek against hers. “So what do you do with yourself all day?”

      She closed her eyes against the wash of passion that left her shaking. “I weave,” she whispered. With each movement they made, she felt the nudge of his erection. Her body moistened, pulsed, yearned.

      His lips touched her ear. “I like the blanket you made Lizzie. It’s so soft.”

      “Mmm.” Oh, she ached as she’d never ached in her life.

      His voice was like velvet. “Say yes, Gwen. Say yes and let me love you.”

      Her heart thundered in her chest. She didn’t hear the music stop.

      But Travis obviously had, because he slowly released her and drew back to look deeply into her eyes. Heat burned in his gaze, and his hands at her waist quivered with urgency. “Please say yes,” he whispered. “I need you.”

      She couldn’t speak. His obvious desire called out to her, teasing her with the promise of fantasies fulfilled, begging her to forget everything else and be swept away by shared passion. Calling upon the last scrap of sanity left in her fevered brain, she shook her head.

      4

      TRAVIS DIDN’T TAKE Gwen’s rejection personally. And because he was an expert at reading women, he didn’t even believe it. Other guys might get themselves into trouble with no-means-yes situations and either miss an opportunity or, worse yet, force the issue and get slapped.

      Travis had never missed an opportunity, and he’d never been slapped. He’d been told by some of his drinking buddies that he should give a clinic on how to understand a lady, no matter what words came out of her pretty mouth.

      The secret could be summed up in two words—body language. When he’d propositioned Gwen, and he’d done a damn fine job of it, too, she’d shaken her head no. But he’d be a fool to accept that.

      At the same time she was shaking her head, her skin was flushed СКАЧАТЬ