The Heart Won't Lie. Vicki Thompson Lewis

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СКАЧАТЬ sat eating his meal with the Chance family in the formal dining room. She wondered how he’d liked the mashed potatoes, which she’d beaten until there were absolutely zero lumps. She usually didn’t take such care with the potatoes.

      Despite Mary Lou’s warning not to look, Keri turned in her chair and her gaze met Michael’s. She knew before he spoke that he’d come searching for her. Her pulse ratcheted up another notch. He was one good-looking man.

      Mary Lou stood. “If you’re after another slice of cake, you’ve come to the right place. We’re all having seconds.”

      Michael took in the scene and hesitated for a moment. He didn’t seem to have come there for cake. Then he smiled. “I’d love another piece. Thanks for asking.”

      “Have a seat next to Keri. I’ll get it for you.” Mary Lou opened a cupboard and took down another dessert plate.

      Michael’s presence next to Keri created a dramatic change in temperature. He also took up space, and she moved her knee so she wouldn’t brush against his. She became aware of his slow, measured breathing and the scent of his aftershave. Until this moment, she’d avoided being close enough to smell it.

      “Coffee?” Mary Lou asked.

      “Sure. That would be great.”

      “Cream and sugar?”

      “Just black.”

      His voice stroked her nerve endings, putting them on alert. She felt tension coming from him, too. If she had to guess, she’d say he was as hyperaware of her as she was of him. This would be an interesting week.

      “I’m Watkins, by the way.” The barrel-chested cowboy reached across the table to shake Michael’s hand. “Mary Lou’s husband.”

      “I’m so sorry!” Keri was mortified. “I should have introduced you two. I forgot Michael doesn’t know everyone.”

      “Don’t worry about it.” Michael glanced at her with a smile. “I barged in here uninvited. I hope I’m not intruding.”

      “’Course not.” Mary Lou set a piece of cake in front of him, along with a fork and napkin. “My kitchen’s open to anyone on the ranch. Sooner or later, everybody comes through here.”

      “After tonight’s meal, I can see why,” Michael said. “Dinner was great. The mashed potatoes were perfect.”

      “Keri made those.” Mary Lou poured coffee into a ceramic mug and brought it to the table.

      Michael turned toward Keri again. “Well, you did a terrific job on them.”

      “Thanks.” Keri’s cheeks warmed. Men had given her compliments before, but never about her cooking. Until she’d moved here, she’d only known how to operate a coffeepot and a microwave. “Mary Lou’s a good teacher.”

      “Apparently I am,” Mary Lou said with a laugh. “You knew squat about cooking when you came, and now you’re not half bad at it.” She reclaimed her seat at the table.

      “Yep.” Watkins beamed at Keri. “You caught on real quick. Today you graduated to the mouse-burying business. Next thing I know, you’ll be shoveling out stalls.”

      “Bring it on.” Keri felt Michael’s attention on her, and she tried to squash the squiggles of excitement that attention produced. “I’ve cleaned up after eight adolescent boys. Nothing scares me.”

      “Wish I could say the same.” Michael picked up his fork and started eating his cake. “But Jack Chance scares the bejeezus out of me.”

      Watkins chuckled. “He likes doing that with greenhorns. You’ll be okay.”

      Michael swallowed a bite of cake and reached for his coffee. “That’s what I told myself, until Sarah mentioned the liniment and Epsom salts. Now I’m worried.” He turned toward Keri. “She said you’d find them for me. That’s why I came looking for you. I’m glad I did.”

      Her breath caught at the unmistakable flicker of desire in his eyes. “Yeah, you got an extra piece of cake out of the deal.” She hoped Mary Lou and Watkins hadn’t noticed her tone was slightly strained.

      “Exactly.” His gaze held hers for one more heartstopping moment. Then he broke eye contact and went back to eating his cake and asking questions about the ranch as if nothing of significance had passed between them.

      But, oh, it had. She started to pick up her coffee mug and had to wait a moment until she stopped trembling. Good Lord. She wanted this man, and he wanted her right back. They’d be sleeping across the hall from each other for a week. Keeping a lid on this mutual attraction was going to be a real challenge.

       4

      AFTER A COZY half-hour spent eating cake and drinking coffee in Mary Lou’s kitchen with Keri sitting right next to him, Michael’s defenses were down. Circumstances had presented him with rich chocolate, a tempting woman and the prospect of going upstairs with her after they’d finished their dessert. A guy could only take so much before he cracked.

      On top of that, he discovered that Mary Lou and Watkins had only been married a year, which explained the friskiness going on between them. Knowing that Mary Lou and Watkins would soon be getting it on didn’t help Michael’s state of mind. They shooed both Keri and Michael out of the kitchen once the dishes were cleared from the table.

      That left them little choice but to walk through the silent house and climb the stairs together. The intimacy of it grew with each step they took. Michael made small talk along the way, and Keri responded as if she thought his conversation was brilliant.

      She wasn’t fooling him, and he doubted that he was fooling her, either. They were on thin ice, but maybe if they didn’t acknowledge that, they’d get to their respective bedrooms without incident. What a damned inconvenient time to lust after a woman.

      They kept up the inane chatter, but the winding staircase seemed endless. She was a step ahead of him, and her scent, a combination of sweet perfume and warm woman, drifted back to him, tugging at his resolve. He considered laying a hand on her shoulder. That might be all it would take.

      She’d turn back to him, and then…then he would kiss her. But it wouldn’t stop with a kiss, and he knew that. He’d never made love to a woman on a staircase, and he wasn’t about to do it now. Still, that didn’t keep the images from bombarding him until he was hard and aching.

      “Do you want me to dig out the liniment and Epsom salts tonight, so you’ll have them available when you come back from riding tomorrow?”

      “Sure.” He shouldn’t have said that. Every extra minute they spent together increased the possibility that one of them might do something that would make them both lose control. He was willing to take that risk if he could be with her a little bit longer.

      “I think they’re in your bathroom.” She walked down the hallway, lit only by a small wall sconce.

      He followed, all the while lecturing himself to get a grip on his libido. This wasn’t like him. Then again, she wasn’t like any woman he’d met before. She had secrets, and he had to believe they were interesting secrets. Apparently curiosity СКАЧАТЬ