His Hometown Cowgirl (10 page)

Kelsey stood in front of the coffee table and
gazed down at the man and his dog. Beneath one of Pete's eyes, the
skin was turning an interesting shade of green. Great. Just great.
Not only was his nose smashed, he was going to have a black eye,
too.

Thanks, Dad
.
Thanks a lot.

"Hey, how you doing?" she asked. "I need to
get on back home ASAP." She tried to keep her voice upbeat and
cheerful, instead of sounding embarrassed and awkward like she
really felt. "What can I do for you? Need more ice? How about
something to drink? A soda?"

Pete looked at her over the icepack he still
held to his nose. "You could help me take off my boots."

And touch you?
Kelsey swallowed hard.
"Sure, I can do that."

He lifted one of his legs. "Thanks,
Kels."

"Hey, no problem." She grabbed hold of the
heel of the boot and gave a strong tug. It didn't budge.

Pete grinned. "Here, let me help."

Kelsey shook her head. "No, I've got this.
Really." Hell, she
should
have it. She used to help her dad
take off his boots all the time. Once again, she took the boot in
hand and pulled with all her might. Nothing. She tugged harder, and
the boot finally slid off causing Kelsey to nearly tumble backwards
onto her butt.

Ranger jumped down from the sofa to find a
more restful place for his slumbers.

Pete's low chuckle oozed over Kelsey like
warm chocolate syrup, and delicious tingles skittered down her
spine. She frowned and tried to rein in her errant libido. This
situation was fraught with danger. She couldn't let things get out
of hand. Not with her hormones acting up the way they were. "You
think this is funny, mister?"

He shook his head and deliberately set the
icepack beside him on the sofa. "No, ma'am." He lifted his other
booted foot, his dark eyes lasered in on her.

Kelsey set the boot she'd remove on the
floor, smoothed her blouse down over her torso, then grabbed the
boot on Pete's uplifted foot. She ignored the heat in those dreamy
brown eyes and concentrated on her task. The boot came off with the
first tug, and Kelsey held it to her chest for a moment gazing at
Pete.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" His voice
didn't sound the least bit groggy now.

She dropped the boot near its mate and stared
at the man who'd disturbed so many of her youthful dreams. And if
she were honest with herself, a few of her not-so-youthful dreams.
Okay. A whole lot of them in the past couple of months.

Walking around the coffee table, Kelsey
picked up a pillow from the floor. "Are you sure you don't want a
drink?" she asked. "Bottled water? Tea? You probably don't want to
mix beer with those pills. I could make coffee." She was babbling,
damn it. She hated when she babbled. It was a bad habit she really
needed to get rid of.

"I don't want a drink," Pete said. "All I
want is you." He reached out and took the pillow from her limp
grasp, grabbed one of her hands in his and smiled a crooked
smile.

Kelsey's stomach turned a somersault. He
looked younger for some reason, a little vulnerable, but still
dangerously handsome.

Even though his touch was burning her up,
Kelsey couldn't help smiling back. "You definitely don't need any
alcohol. Those pills are making you goofy enough as it is."

Pete frowned and after a couple of false
starts, he pushed himself to an upright sitting position, his feet
hitting the floor with a muffled thump, her hand still in his
strong clasp during the whole process. He lifted his chin and
blinked as if trying to focus. "I'll have you know, I outgrew goofy
a long time ago."

Kelsey tried not to laugh. "I'm sure you
did."

He tightened his fingers around her hand and
yanked her down to sit beside him. "Damned straight I did."

All traces of laughter fled. Sitting so close
to Pete, Kelsey couldn't keep from inhaling the intoxicating scent
of his aftershave. Pete had always smelled delicious. In spite of
everything, she longed to wrap her arms around his shoulders and
snuggle close. The heat of his body and the lure of his eyes made
her want to throw caution to the winds and beg him to make love to
her right here on the sofa. Or she wouldn't mind if he carried her
to his bed. That would be even better. She was tired of thinking.
Tired of feeling so sad. She longed to give into temptation and
lose herself in a sensual web of passion. With Pete Lafferty.

Damn, Kels. Those are crazy thoughts, for
sure.

She tried to scoot away from Pete, to put
some distance between them, but he wouldn't let go of her hand.

"Pete?" She licked her dry bottom lip. His
eyes dilated and the hard planes of his face sharpened. Dear God,
she had to get away before they did something foolish. Something
they'd both regret.

"I really have to go." She tugged her arm,
but still he didn't release her.

"Don't leave. Stay with me," he said, his
voice low and urgent. Was it an invitation or a command? "Just for
a little while."

"I don't think that's a very good idea,"
Kelsey said with a shake of her head.

Probably not,
Pete thought
.
He
kept a tight hold of her small hand to prevent her from moving to
the other end of the sofa. The room was spinning like crazy, and
his nose hurt like a son-of-bitch. He ignored the pain and tried to
focus his blurred vision on the woman he couldn't seem to get out
of his thoughts and dreams.

Now that he had her seated next to him, he
wanted to kiss her again. Taste her again. Hold her close. He
breathed in her sweet fragrance. Pain wrenched his nose, but it was
worth it, because she smelled so good. He looked at her lush lips,
and just like that his body went on instant alert. What was it
about Kelsey that appealed to him so? Beckoned? Made him want to
toss away all logic and reason? Made him ache with longing?

One kiss and he'd let her go. What could one
more kiss hurt? It wasn't like they hadn't done it before. His body
hardened even more as he thought of the kiss in Kelsey's office.
Had it only been this afternoon when he'd finally held her in his
arms and kissed her? Felt more like days. He'd tasted paradise, and
he wanted more.

Hell, he shouldn't want more. He shouldn't
want
to kiss Kelsey again. Hadn't that one kiss gotten him
into enough trouble?

Damn Lafferty, who the hell are you trying to
kid?

No amount of trouble would be too much, as
long as he could be with her, kiss her, make love to her.
Aw,
crap
. That pain medication
was
messing with his
mind.

"Pete?" Her hand trembled beneath his
fingers. He raised it to his lips and kissed the soft skin on the
underside of her wrist. Her pulse accelerated beneath his lips.

"Um . . . Pete?"

"Yes, darlin'?" He felt like he was floating
in a dream. He gently touched her cheek with one finger. Her breath
hitched, his body flexed.

Oh, yeah.

"Please let me go." Her voice was a thread of
a whisper.

"I don't want to let you go." He traced the
line of her jaw with a sure finger, fascinated with the satin
texture of her smooth skin. "I
never
want to let you
go."

"Pete, I
have
to go. We can't do this
again. It's too dangerous."

"I'll keep you safe," he said. "I kept you
safe when you were young and following me all over kingdom come,
didn't I?"

"Yes, but this is different. Besides, you're
injured and those drugs are making you loopy. You probably should
take a nap or something."

Pete tucked a strand of her golden hair
behind the delicate shell of her ear. "I choose
something,
"
he said softly. "And that something is a kiss. Just one kiss,
honey. One kiss, then I'll go to bed . . .
alone
. . . and
I'll let you go home."

She searched his face. "Promise?"

Pete blinked again, trying to focus his
drug-induced blurred vision. "Cross my heart."

Kelsey sat there, gazing at him with
trepidation in her eyes, biting her lip--that self-same lip Pete
wanted to taste again and again and again. But he'd promised her
one kiss, and one kiss only. It would have to be enough.
For
now.

He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled
her close. Her breath caught and those blue eyes sparkled like
jewels. Her pink tongue darted out and dampened that lush bottom
lip. Pete groaned as his stomach clenched. He gathered her in his
arms and bent to capture her mouth with his.

Dear God in heaven
. She tasted better
than he'd remembered, and he drank from her sweetness as if he were
a man dying from thirst. For a few heart-pounding moments, she
responded deliciously to his kiss, tilting her head inviting him to
delve his tongue deeper inside her mouth. Her small hands gripped
the front of his shirt, holding on as if she were afraid he'd move
away.

Fat chance of that. He was right where he
wanted to be.

Pete reached down between them and cupped one
of Kelsey's rounded breasts, gently palming the pert nipple. She
moaned into his mouth and tightened her grip on his shirt. Her
fingers burned through the cotton fabric, scorching his chest,
making the blood flow hot in his veins.

Before he could caress her other breast,
Kelsey tore herself away from his embrace and jumped up from the
sofa. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Pete. I can't do this. I have to go
home. I wish . . ." With a trembling hand, she swiped back her wild
mop of hair swirling around her troubled face. "Goodbye, Pete."

"Wait!"

"I can't," she said, her voice choking on a
sob. Kelsey didn't look back, just headed out the door.

A feeling of emptiness clutched at Pete's
heart as he watched the door close behind her. With jaws clamped
tightly, he fell back onto the couch cushions, grabbed the icepack
and held it against his aching nose again.

His body was on fire, with no one to
extinguish it, no relief in sight. It was just him and the damned
icepack. He thought about holding it against his throbbing groin,
but that wouldn't help
.

Instinctively, Pete knew the only way to
extinguish this particular fire would be to make love with Kelsey.
No other woman would do. And making love with Kelsey wasn't going
to happen.

He was doomed, damn it. Doomed.

****

Twenty minutes later, Kelsey walked into her
grandmother's kitchen. Ruth stood at the stove, frying a skillet of
chicken. The delicious smell permeated the room. Kelsey's mouth
watered as the aroma of baking biscuits melded with the sizzling
chicken, making her stomach rumble with hunger. After all that had
happened this afternoon, she hadn't thought she would ever eat
again what with her emotions all jumbled up brought on by Pete's
kisses
.

"Hey Grams."

"Hey yourself, sweetie." Ruth smiled at her,
then frowned. "Something's wrong. What is it? Do you want to talk
about it?"

Grams had always been able to tell when
Kelsey had troubles. She'd been very lucky to have such a loving
and supportive grandmother to help raise her and manage the rocky
road to adulthood.

But what to say? How to explain? She was so
confused by her conflicting emotions. How could she have responded
so strongly to Pete's kisses when she was still trying to get over
Chris' death? When she knew good and well there could be no future
for her and Pete?

Kelsey moved close to Grams and kissed her
soft scented cheek. She stood next to her and watched as she turned
the crispy golden pieces of chicken in the hot oil. Ruth adjusted
the flame beneath the cast-iron skillet, then wiped her hands on
her apron.

"Something
is
wrong," Grams said.
"Come sit down a minute and you can tell me all about it. But only
if you want to. You certainly don't have to, if you'd rather not.
Just know that I'm here to listen if you do."

"Oh, Grams. I don't know what I would do
without you." She felt like crying. But hadn't she cried
enough?

Grams pulled back a chair at the old oak
table and took a seat, waiting expectantly for her to do the same.
Kelsey hesitated only a fraction of a second. If anyone could
understand what she was going through, it was Grams. She'd lost her
husband at an early age, and she'd never remarried. Kelsey had
often wondered why.

Sitting in the chair on Grams' right, Kelsey
folded her hands on top of the table. "It's . . . complicated."

Ruth leaned over and patted Kelsey's hands.
"It always is, dear. Especially if it involves a man. Are you
having man trouble? Who in the world is it?" Ruth's eyes lit up,
and she smiled knowingly. "It's Pete, isn't it?"

Kelsey stared at her grandmother. "Dad hasn't
been here today, has he?"

Grams blinked her eyes wide. "Why heavens no,
I haven't seen him all this week. Why?"

Kelsey shook her head. "Nothing. How'd you
know it's about Pete?"

Ruth shot her a mischievous look. "Well, I've
noticed how he watches you whenever you're in his vicinity. Like at
my party . . . that young man never took his eyes off you the whole
time."

"Really?
Oh God, Grams
. I acted so
rude, leaving him high and dry on the dance floor, running away
crying. It was awful.
I
was awful."

"You're not awful," Ruth said, patting
Kelsey's hand again. "You've been under a lot of stress for the
past year or more. Have you apologized to Pete?"

"Yes, and I've assured him it wasn't his
fault." Kelsey pulled her hand away and bit her bottom lip, not
knowing exactly how to continue.

"Why
did
you run away from him,
honey?"

Kelsey met her grandmother's nonjudgmental
gaze. Grams was such a dear. "I was having such a good time dancing
with him, when all of a sudden, I felt guilty. My feelings for Pete
seem to be changing, and I don't want them to. I'm so
confused."