Capturing the Cowboy's Heart (26 page)

“Dalton,” he
muttered
as he tried to see past the very feminine body stretched across him
,
“I can’t see the road.”

Only breasts!
 
And they were making it damned impossible to think. 

“Aren’t...they...so...”  Lacy slid slowly downward, passing out face down in his lap.

“Dalton?” 

Her only reply was a soft snor
e
.

He
groaned
aloud
as the warmth of her breath
seeped
through the front of his jeans. 
He reached down to
shake her.  She didn’t move. 

Damn.

“
Hey, Dalton, I can’t drive like this. 
W
ake up.”  He tried pushing her from his lap,
only to have her slide toward his knees.  He caught her and held her in place. 
The last thing he needed was her head down by the pedals. 

Curling an arm snugly about her slender waist to hold her
there
,
he
tromped on the gas.  The sooner they got home, the better. 

When they finally arrived, relief swept through him.  He’d never been so glad to see that plain old ranch house.  Now Burk was another story.  But there he was, leaning against a porch beam, coffee cup in hand.

His friend
gave a wave and set his cup
down on
the porch rail.  Then he sauntered out to the truck before Cade could get Lacy’s head off of his lap. 

Oh, hell. 

His friend stuck his head in through the passenger window
, his gaze dropping down to Lacy. 
“What, pray-tell, are you two doing in here?”

“It’s not what it looks like.”  Heat crept up from beneath the collar of Cade’s shirt. 

“So you say
,” Burk snorted,
making no attempt to hide his
amusement
at seeing Cade’s predicament.  “Must be your lucky night.”

“She’s tanked.  Someone forgot to tell
Dalton
that wine and allergy medicine doesn’t go well together.”

“Looks like you made out all right.”

“Just get her off me!”

Chuckling, Burk took his good old time opening the truck door.  He helped lift Lacy off of Cade
’s lap
and
back
into a sitting position on the seat.

“Hey, Burk,” she said, her head lolling back and forth.

“Someone had a good time tonight.”

“The best,” she said with a hiccup.  “I danced with Cade.”

“You did?”

“Mmm...hmmm...” she mumbled sleepily.
 

Cade walked around the truck and took
her
from Burk, draping her over his shoulder.  “
Don’t ask.”

“My hero,” she mumbled as he hauled her into the house like a sack of potatoes. 

He would have
carried her in his arms, but
doing so would bring that beautiful face too close to his.  That body too int
imate
ly against his.  Slung over his shoulder kept him safe from the things she had him feeling tonight.  Emotions he
wasn’t ready to deal with
yet
. 

“What about her purse?” Burk called after
him
.

“I think you can manage that.” 

“Sure thing.”
  He reached into the truck, grabbed for her bag and slung it over his shoulder before chasing after Cade.

Lacy lifted her head and giggled.  “Leopard print really clashes with flannel.”   

He
chuckled.  “Thanks.  I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Cade’s taking me to bed,” she
announced happily as Cade carried her into the house through the kitchen door
.

“I
think he’s got the right idea
,” Burk replied with another chuckle as he followed them down the hallway.

“You know,” she continued, “
he’s always so moody around me
I thought he’d never ask.”

“Don’t say a damn thing,” Cade warned when he heard Burk’s muffled laughter behind him.

“Not a word.”

“Doesn’t he just have the
sexiest
butt you’ve ever seen?”  Lacy gave it a loving pat.

Burk choked
and then burst out laughing
.  “Most definitely the
sexiest
butt I’ve ever seen.”

“Sorry, Burk, you’re not my type,” Cade grumbled as he lowered
the sassy little reporter
onto the bed. 
Then he
moved around to remove her heels, trying not to think about the shapely legs connected to them.  

Burk dropped
her
purse onto the bed beside her.  “So, about what she said back there...  You know, about how she thought you’d never ask her to bed.  That doesn’t mean what I think it means, does it?”

Cade
glanced back at him with a frown
.  “She’s drunk.  I never asked Dalton
to
...  Hell, I’m putting her to bed, not taking her to bed, and that’s all I want to hear about it.”

“But you wouldn’t mind?” Burk countered.

“Is sex all you think about?”  He refused to give his best friend the satisfaction of knowing he was right on the money where Lacy was concerned. 

“Yep.”
Burk looked down at Lacy.  “Nothing better in life than pretty women, stubborn bulls, and a good ride.”  Without giving Cade a chance to reply, he turned and walked out of the room.

There was no missing the double meaning to Burk’s words.  His gaze returned to Lacy, a woman who had more
fire in her than any other woma
n he had ever known. 

“Forget it, Tyler.  You have nothing to give her.  Not even your heart.”  Forcing himself to turn away, he strode from the room, closing the door behind him.

*
             
*
             
*
             

Lacy groaned as she
roused
from sleep.  The only light in the room came from the small tulip-shaped lamp on the nightstand which cast the room in muted shades of pink and gold.

Sitting up, she placed a hand to her aching
head
.  Looking down, she found herself fully dressed, except for the heels she’d worn the night before, ones she couldn’t for the life of her remember removing.  She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and reached for the clock. 

5:03 a.m.
 

At least she had managed somehow to get herself to bed.  She would never mix alcohol with medication ever again.  If she hadn’t of been so distracted by her problems with Cade she might have considered what mixing the two would do.  But she hadn’t thought about it.  Only about Cade.

Standing, she fumbled with the zipper on her skirt, sliding it down.  She pushed it down over her hips and let it fall to the floor.  Her sleep wrinkled shirt followed, until all that remained was her favorite red lace bra and matching panties.

Throwing on her robe, she made her way into the bathroom where she splashed a handful of cold water onto her face.  It was incredibly refreshing, just what she needed to clear a hangover muddled head. 

She reached for her toothbrush, which hung suspended from a cactus shaped holder on the wall and smiled.  Only in a cowboy’s house.

When she was through, Lacy slipped quietly back to her room.  Or tried to.  Her foot
came down on what had to be one of her discarded shoes, twisting her ankle.  She
tumbled to the floor with a loud thud
. 

Seconds later, the door flew open.  “Dalton?”
Cade called out in the semi-darkness.

“Down here.”

He
reached out to flip on the overhead light,
his
gaze dropping to the floor where she lay sprawled across the throw rug. 
“What are you doing down there?”

“The bed was too soft,” she replied with more than a little sarcasm.

“The what?”
  His dark hair was disheveled, hanging down over his thick brows and fresh stubble shadowed his square jaw. 

“I
stepped on that,” she said, pointing
to the
high heel responsible for her embarrassment.

He knelt beside her, a worried frown marring his handsome face.
  “Are you hurt?” 

“I think I...” her words drifted off as her gaze moved down his bare chest. 
She
swallowed hard.

“You what?”

“I...I
t
wisted my ankle.”

“Let me take a look.”  His hands moved down her calve to examine her tender ankle. 

The feel alone of
his
gentle hands gliding over her skin made her pulse race.  She breathed in his musky male scent and closed her eyes as he continued his thorough examination of her ankle.  Maybe she should tell him she twisted her knee, too.  Hip for that matter.  Keep him moving in the right direction.

“It doesn’t appear to be broken.”  He ran his thumb over the bone.  “
Does it hurt.”

“Not really.”

“I don’t think it’s sprained, but it might be tender for a few days.
”

A soft moan slipped past her lips.

He ceased his tender ministrations.  “
So it does hurt?
”

She
opened her eyes and took a deep breath, needing more air than she seemed to be getting at that moment.  “No.”  

His
gaze
shifted lower and his expression changed.  Then
he looked away.  “Your robe,” he muttered tightly.

She
looked down to see
it
hanging agape, the low cut lace of her bra covering
very little
.  Cade had
definitely
gotten an eyeful. 

She reached up to close the gap
with a soft gasp
. 
Could she embarrass herself any more? 
“You can look now.” 

“Let’s get you up on the bed.” 
He
scooped her up in his arms and carried
her
the remaining few steps back to the bed.

She clung to him, even as he lowered her onto the mattress.
 
Looking up, she met his heated gaze.

He worked her hands free of his neck.  “I really should go.”

She reached up to touch his cheek. 
“Don’t go.” 

A muscle in his jaw twitched.  “You don’t know what you’re asking.  Your judgment’s
impaired
.”

“You’re wrong
,” she countered.  “
I know exactly what I’m asking.  I need you.  Please stay.”

He groaned
. 
“Lacy...”

“Make love to me, Cade,” she pleaded softly.  “If only this one time.”

He moved over her
.  “Damn it, Dalton,
what I should be doing is getting ice for your ankle.  Not this.”  He lowered his mouth to hers as
he slid the robe from her shoulders.

The cool morning air caressed
her
heated flesh, teasing her already heightened senses.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he
murmured against her lips as he ran
a finger down the lacy dip of her bra. 

The pounding in her head long forgotten, she
ran her hands over his bare chest, exploring its finely chiseled contours.  Giving in to temptation, she let her hand glide lower to the
thick arousal pressed against his
briefs.

He caught her wrist
with a low growl
.  “
Dalton
, I need to slow down. 
I’m too damn
close to the edge.”  His free hand found her other wrist, pinning them both to the feathery pillow beneath her head.

She looked up at him, seeing the
burn of desire
in his eyes.  “Kiss me, Cade.”

He captured her mouth with an urgency she felt clear down to her toes.  Parting her lips,
she
beckoned him to taste her.

His tongue swept across her lips before slipping inside to tangle with hers
.  Letting go of her wrists,
he
buried his hands in her hair, deepening the kiss.

Her hands settled on those
broad shoulders
, clutching him to her as
their heated bodies writh
ed
atop the tangle of cool cotton sheets.