Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
C olton checked his blackened eye in the bathroom mirror after wiping away fog. Dark and purple. Yep. He’d had worse, but it was still a shiner.
Melanie combed out her wet curls next to him, her silence speaking volumes.
After having sex, they’d washed up in her tiled shower, and it was all he could do not to take her again. But he’d been rough, and although Mel thought she was tough, she had a delicacy that had always concerned him.
The moment held intimacy, and a part of him wanted to dive right into it. Sex with Melanie was different. Better than anything he’d felt before…more real.
But this was Mel . And they’d had sex. He made sure the towel stayed fastened tightly around his waist before turning toward her. “Are you all right?”
She started and glanced up at him. Pink wandered across her cheekbones. “Fine. You?”
The crisp tone nudged his temper. “Yes. Did I bruise you?”
She whirled toward him, fire lancing through her eyes. “You mean when you spanked me?”
She was pretty. Stunning even. The challenge shooting from her had the dual benefit of ticking him off and amusing him. The woman was trying to deflect the situation, and a part of him didn’t blame her. So he stepped into her space. “If I had really spanked you, darlin’, you’d know it.”
Her outraged intake of air was his only warning before she smacked his thigh with the hairbrush.
“Ow.” He rubbed his skin. “You’re a brat.”
“Maybe.” She went back to brushing her hair, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “I don’t know what to say.”
Neither did he. His usual urge to run after sex seemed to be absent. Instead, he wanted to grab her again and spend the day playing in her bed. All day. “What do you want to say?”
She frowned. “I’m not sure. Part of me is freaking out, part is happy, and part is wondering if I just betrayed Hawk.”
Colton swallowed. “Hawk?” His mind reeled. “I mean, you and Hawk haven’t?—”
Melanie snorted. “Of course not. But the three of us make a friendship.”
“I know.” Colton’s shoulders relaxed. The idea of Mel and Hawk together had hit him in the gut. Hard. “He told me to go for it with you before he left.”
Mel arched an eyebrow. “Go for it?”
Heat rose through Colton’s face. “Not in a juvenile way, but in a good way. He likes our friendship but has always thought you and I might become more.”
“Are we? Becoming more?” Her chocolate eyes darkened.
“I don’t know.” If she could dig deep and be honest, so could he. “Do you want to become more?” What was he asking? What did he want? He needed to step back and think a little. Come up with a good plan.
She grinned. “Look at your mind spin.”
He settled. “What do you want, Melanie?”
She blinked. “I, ah, well, things are a little odd right now. With going to the sperm bank and all.”
No shit. “I know.” He rubbed the bruise at his eye. “For now, why don’t we just take it easy? I mean, let’s keep this between us until we figure things out.”
She nodded, sending curls flying. “Definitely keep it between us. The last thing we need is gossip.”
“Exactly.” He expelled a deep breath.
“Um, do you still want to come to Seattle with me?” she asked.
Frankly, he had mixed feelings about the sperm bank. “I wish we had more time to figure this all out.”
“Me too.” She slid the brush onto the counter. “At first, I planned to be proactive by freezing the eggs. But now, if I don’t give in vitro a try, then I might never have a biological child.”
“What about adoption?” he asked.
She shrugged. “That’s certainly an option, and a good one, but I’d still like to get pregnant. Just once. Maybe see my mother in a baby, you know?”
“I’m definitely going to Seattle with you.”
“Because of the business problems.”
He shook his head. “Because you need support. Dealing with the business problems is a bonus.”
She grinned. “Stop flirting with me.”
“I’m not flirting.” Although he appreciated her attempt to lighten the mood.
“You don’t even know when you’re flirting.” She grabbed his towel and pulled.
He reached for the material, only to have her laugh and run out of the bathroom, leaving him buck-assed naked. If she thought that would stop him, she didn’t know him at all.
Grinning, he leaped after her with his battle cry echoing.
Her laughter turned to near giggles as she ran through the house in her towel, almost tripping but never quite slowing down enough for him to pounce. It figured that intimacy with Melanie would be fun as well as sexy. This was new.
The front door shot open, and Colton turned to block Melanie from any threat.
Quinn stood framed in the doorway, water dripping from his hat.
Colton choked back a laugh. “Hi, sheriff. What’s up?”
“I heard a scream.” Shocked would be an accurate description of Quinn’s expression. “Where are your clothes?” Slowly, he turned his head as Melanie padded out from the kitchen, still wearing her towel. “Oh.”
Melanie clutched the towel to her breasts. “Morning, Quinn.”
Quinn flushed ten shades of red. “Mornin’.”
Colton bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud. “What’s up?”
Quinn tapped his hat against his leg, sending droplets flying. “Um, some of Melanie’s cattle wandered down to our eastern pasture, and I thought maybe she had a fence down.”
“She does.” Colt scratched his head and caught the towel Mel threw at him. He wrapped the material around his waist, keeping his gaze on his brother. “Go get dressed, Mel.” Suddenly, he really didn’t like anybody, even his brother, seeing Melanie half dressed.
Relief crossed Quinn’s face. “Good idea. Then we can, ah, figure out which fences need repairing.” Quinn waited until Melanie headed into the bedroom to pin Colton with a hard stare. “What in the hell are you doing?”
Colton lost his grin. What was he doing?