Chapter Five #2
Carly bit her lip. She shouldn’t keep teasing him, but it was so hard to resist when he acted all tough, macho man. Maybe one quick, little jab wouldn’t cause too much trouble. “You know those papers you signed in my office?”
He nodded.
“One gives us permission to use photos taken of you during sessions and at any Horses for Heroes events.”
He paled, and his eyes widened for a second before he regained control. “You can put my picture on the website or wherever you want without my permission?”
“Technically, I already have it.”
Owen straightened, and his dark gaze zeroed in on her as he stepped closer. Not enough to invade her personal space, and yet, somehow, he did. “Like hell you will.”
She laughed to ease his tension and hers. “It’s so easy to make you go all hard ass military, and it’s so fun, but there’s no reason to worry. While legally we wouldn’t need to ask before using your picture, we always check with clients first.”
“For the record, there is no way on God’s little green earth I’ll agree to a picture of me wearing a helmet seeing the light of day. Are we clear?”
“Absolutely. No pictures of you with the helmet.” She pointed toward the helmet straps dangling by his face. “If you fasten that, I’ll check the fit.”
After completing the task, he spread his arms wide. “Inspect away.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his loaded question. If only she could thoroughly check him out.
Major wrong turn. She thought about the volunteer applications she needed to process, the fundraising proposal the board wanted, and that the only two ideas she’d had were winning the lottery and hitting a major Vegas slot jackpot.
Her pulse slowed. She moved to stand in front of him.
His clean, earthy scent teased her. His warm breath fanned against her cheek as she tightened the helmet.
When her fingers slid under the straps to double check the fit, she brushed against the skin near his ear, and he shuddered.
His hands slid to her waist, and her body melted toward him.
Warning bells clanged in her head. If she inhaled deeply, her chest would brush his.
She jumped away and swept her hair off her face.
How could she have believed she could keep things with Owen strictly professional?
Rolling around naked with a man in his truck bed under a blanket of Texas stars changed a relationship.
All she could think of was how they’d been each other’s first lover.
How his hands brought her more pleasure than any man had since.
A woman never forgot her first lover’s touch. “I can’t do this.”
“Do what? Did I miss something?”
Addie was wrong. Her and Owen working together in any capacity wasn’t best for either of them for a multitude of reasons, but the sexual tension simmering between them scared her most.
“I haven’t worked with clients since becoming executive director. I made an exception with you because Addie asked, but I can’t work with you. It’s not good for either of us.”
“I’m not complaining.”
Her brittle laughter swirled around them in the barn mixing with the horses nickering. “That’s rich. You’ve complained and wrestled me for control since the moment you walked into my office.”
She rattled off the list. How they’d struggled over the cane, who controlled their initial meeting, wearing a helmet, and there were probably more issues she’d forgotten. “You’ve continually questioned my authority and actions. That tells me you don’t trust my judgement or my ability to help you.”
He slid close enough for her to see the blue flecks in his green eyes. Her common sense screamed for her to run. With his slowed gait, she could outdistance him at a jog, and yet, she couldn’t move.
“If I didn’t trust you, darlin’, I wouldn’t be here.” Owen’s low voice filled with confidence and faith in her rattled through Carly. Her knees grew weak.
This was bad. Moving the Dallas Cowboys to New Jersey kind of bad.
“Don’t call me darling.”
And definitely don’t look at me like I’m Obi Wan Kenobi, your only hope. I don’t want anyone else relying on me. I can’t bear it. Not when she was close to having her own life and putting herself first. No more regrets.
Her chest tightened as if a fist pressed against it. The pressure made breathing difficult. She wrapped her arms around her middle to keep from reaching out to him.
His hawk-like gaze pinned her with an intensity she remembered all too well. “Does me calling you darlin’ bother you?”
The sparkle dancing in his gaze told her he knew it did. “Stop looking at me like that,” Carly snapped.
“Like what?” he asked, a deadpan expression plastered on his face. One she didn’t buy.
“You know well and good what you’re doing, and it needs to stop this instant.” She stomped her foot. When he stepped closer, she placed her hand on his chest, forcing him to keep his distance. His rapid heartbeat pounded against her palm. “That’s close enough, cowboy.”
“To be clear and to avoid future misunderstandings, tell me what look bothers you.”
Maybe with his brain injury he didn’t realize. “You’re eying me the way you used to before you kissed me.”
His gaze darkened, mesmerizing her, drawing her in with promises of fulfillment. “That’s because since I walked into your office, I’ve thought about taking you in my arms and kissing you until neither one of us can see straight.”
Her mouth went dry, while other parts of her grew decidedly wet.
Oh, dear. She wished he’d return to questioning her authority because Mother Teresa would’ve lacked the willpower to resist this onslaught, and Carly didn’t possess anywhere near that woman’s self-control.
She had plans, and relationships meant sacrifices. Ones she no longer wanted to make. Getting involved meant eventually choosing between the relationship and her dreams, her freedom.
“I say we go ahead and do it. Us kissing is the practical action since we’re both thinking about it,” Owen said.
“This I’ve got to hear. Why is it the practical thing to do?”
“What’s getting us wound up is anticipation and wondering.
” His rough voice sent shivers darting through her as if he’d stroked her bare skin.
His presence surrounded her, becoming incredibly intimate.
“The fantasies we’re imagining are tossing leaves on a bonfire.
But if we kiss, reality will replace our fantasies. ”
“I am not fantasizing about you,” she snapped.
Not this moment anyway. Now later? She intended to let her imagination run crazy until she wore herself out.
“Honey, go right ahead and say that, but we both know different. For me, you’re all I can think about, and I’ve had some damn fine fantasies about us.”
Desire, heady and potent, blasted through her at his heated words paired with the hoarse timbre of his voice.
She wiped her hands on her jeans. How much longer could a gal who hadn’t had sex or even been kissed in over two years hold out before she melted into an embarrassing puddle of feminine need?
She’d lost her mind. Her trolley had derailed. Her common sense had moved and left no forwarding address.
For once she wanted to be wild and impetuous. She wanted to be in a man’s arms. Who was she kidding? Any man wouldn’t do.
As if sensing her need, Owen slid closer. His hands cupped her face. “One little taste, and then we can move on.”
Could he be right? One kiss. Simple. Innocuous really, and then she’d know.
She placed her hands on his broad shoulders.
Despite his recent injury, his strength rippled through her.
His eyes darkened to the color of Lake Hope at night, drawing her in with promises of what could be, but he held back, giving her one last out.
Unable to resist, and reveling in being in charge, she pressed her lips against his.
Her body melted against his hard frame, and passion exploded inside her, seizing control.
She clutched his cotton shirt to keep from collapsing.
As Carly deepened the kiss, she realized three facts. One, kissing Owen again could be the biggest mistake of her life. Two, he’d learned a lot about kissing since high school, and three, she was in major trouble, because she’d never wanted a man this much.