The Cowboy's Surrender (10 page)

Gillian glanced up at him. "Do you see them? Aren't they cute?" She quickly focused her camera and snapped several shots.

Striving for control, Dallas raised his eyes to the other side of the creek bed. Skunks. The woman was taking pictures of skunks.

That was it. He jerked her to her feet.

Gillian almost dropped her camera. "Hey, watch out!" She reached for the strap, lost her footing and started to fall forward. Dallas grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him. Her soft curves nestled snugly along the length of his body. He immediately grew hard from the intimate pressure to his groin.

Quickly and before he did something stupid, he turned her around and held her at arms length. That was a mistake. Gillian's brown eyes dilated with awareness. She held her camera pressed to her breasts. Her breath came in irregular gasps and he could see her nipples straining through her bra and the thin white fabric of her shirt.

Gillian wrenched away from his hold. "Aw, you scared them away." She checked her camera for damage. Two red spots burned in her cheeks. "You scared the baby skunks away."

Dallas wanted to drag her back in his arms. Instead, he kept his hands at his sides. "What the hell are you doing out here all alone? Are you crazy? This is Cooley land. Didn't you see the
No Trespassing
signs? Old man Cooley hates people on his property. He's known to shoot first and ask questions later."

"I didn't see any signs," she said. "And quit yelling at me. I'm not hurting anything. I wanted to take a few pictures. That's all." She turned away and started climbing up the embankment.

Dallas was right behind her. "I don't think you understand. Malcolm Cooley is an oddball. A lunatic. What if he had found you, instead of me?"

Gillian kept on climbing. "The chances of anyone finding me out here are nearly zilch. Besides, if he's so dangerous, why isn't he locked up?"

"Everyone around here knows to keep off Cooley land. If you want to take pictures, you should stay on the Diamondback Ranch."

Dallas followed closely behind, his head level with Gillian's lush derriere. He was having a difficult time ignoring it. If he leaned forward a couple of inches, he could kiss that firm little butt. Images of what else he could kiss intruded on the conversation.

Gillian stopped in her tracks and spun around. "Hah! You told me in no uncertain terms to keep my pretty little ass off your property."

Well, hell
. Dallas stared at the savage finger poking at his chest. The gesture should have infuriated him. Instead, it fueled his desire. His body burned for more intimate contact. He caught Gillian to him, pulling her into his arms. His mouth crushed down on hers as he tasted her sweetness once again.

Gillian clutched his shirt, holding on for support. She swallowed a strangled sob and opened to Dallas's probing tongue.

Her willing response made his blood pound with need. She fit perfectly against his body, tasted so good. He could forget his anger and frustration about the drilling when he was kissing her. Nothing else seemed to matter when he had Gillian in his arms.

Dallas hugged her closer, lifting her slightly to rest against his hard arousal. The exquisite friction between them brought a bead of sweat to his brow. His body screamed for release. Every nerve ending throbbed with desire. He wanted to prolong the sweet agony. He wanted the sensuous torture to continue forever. He wanted to be inside of her.
Now
.

Gillian was liquid fire in his arms. A smoldering blaze ready to ignite into a blasting inferno. Sexy little moans erupted from the back of her throat driving Dallas closer to the edge.

They were standing at an angle on the side of the ravine, and the force of their passion made it tricky to keep their balance. More than anything, Dallas wanted to push Gillian to the ground, strip her naked and make love to her. With infinite regret, he broke contact with her sweet lips, kissing her nose and eyes and forehead.

"We have to stop." He forced himself to let go of her and step away. Why was he so strongly attracted to this woman?

Gillian opened her eyes and drew in a ragged breath. "Yes, we have to stop." Without another word, she turned and ran the rest of the way up the hill.

Dallas stayed where he was and watched her flee. He wouldn't go after her. Not this time. Except now that he'd held her in his arms and tasted her sweetness, he didn't think he'd be able to ignore Gillian Bankston any longer.

****

Gillian sat alone at a booth in Sarah Sue's Cafe, picking at her salad, gazing out the window. The place was full to overcrowded with the lunch bunch. She could have eaten in her trailer, but she was tired of her own company and needed to get away from the site. Besides, she liked Sarah Sue.

She took a long sip of iced tea. The heat of the summer reflected off the pavement outside the cafe. She watched as a big tan truck pulled into a parking place. She groaned inwardly when Dallas McCade climbed out of the pickup.

For the past week, Gillian had attempted to put the sexy rancher out of her mind. She'd tried not to relive the kisses they'd exchanged or the disastrous dance they'd shared at Billie G's. She'd tried, but failed miserably.

Quickly averting her face, she hoped he wouldn't see her; she hoped he'd sit on the other side of the cafe as far away as possible. She would finish her salad and leave, hopefully avoiding another mind-jolting encounter with the man.

Gillian almost jumped out of her skin when Sarah Sue walked to her table and touched her shoulder. She was ready to sink when she saw Dallas standing behind the waitress.

"Darlin', you know my policy of seating customers," said Sarah Sue. "You can see the place is full. Dallas seems to think you would object to him sitting with you. You wouldn't mind if he sits here, now would you?"

Gillian glanced up at the rugged face. His crystal blue eyes held a hint of challenge. What did he expect her to do? Make a scene in front of all these people? Lifting her chin, she forced a beaming smile. "Of course, I don't mind. I'm almost finished anyway. Mr. McCade can have the table to himself when I'm done."

Sarah Sue placed a menu and tumbler of water on the table. "There you go, darlin'," she said to Dallas. "I'll be back for your order in a jiff."

He slid into the seat opposite Gillian. She continued eating as he picked up the menu. When his boot scraped against her shoe under the table, her fork froze in mid-air. Her head snapped up and she watched him warily.

"Don't look so scared," he said. "I won't bite." He paused. "At least, not until you want me to."

Gillian sputtered in her iced tea and glared at him. "I
don't
want you to.
Ever
."

Dallas raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Don't lie to me or to yourself. You want me. You wanted me when I kissed you. And you wanted me when we danced."

Gillian swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'd rather we forget all about that, if you don't mind."

"Oh, but I do mind." He took a drink of his water.

Gillian watched his throat work as he downed the whole glass. A fleeting vision of placing kisses up and down his neck and him doing the same to her made her stomach clench. She
was
lying. She did want him, but she could never let him know it.

Setting the glass down, Dallas raised his brows again, locking his eyes on hers. "I don't think you really want to forget, do you, sweetheart?"

"Don't call me 'sweetheart.' And don't you dare call me 'lady' either," she said.

"What do you want me to call you then?"

"I don't want you to call me anything." She took another bite of salad, angry to see that her hand was trembling. Damn the man.

"I have to call you something. We seem to bump into one another on a fairly frequent basis."

"Well, that needs to stop, too."

"Tell me truthfully if you really never want to see me again." Dallas frowned at her with squinting eyes, the skin at the outer corners creasing like leather from his hours in the sun.

Sarah Sue walked back to the table, saving Gillian from having to answer. Thank goodness, because Gillian wasn't quite sure what she wanted when it came to Dallas McCade.

The waitress smiled as she wrote down the order, and her eyes gleamed with speculation. "You going to the Founder's Day Jubilee, darlin'?" she asked Gillian. "It's at the fairgrounds and it's always a lot of fun. Isn't that right, Dallas?"

He nodded. "That's right."

"The Founder's Day Jubilee?" Gillian said. "When is it? I haven't heard anything about it."

"You haven't heard? Why it's next Saturday. You really ought to go," said Sarah Sue. "And bring that Harold with you. He works way too hard and needs some fun in his life. I'll be there around four near the kissing booth. I'll be glad to take him off your hands so you can go about your own pleasures."

Gillian smiled. "I'll think about it. Thanks."

"You all are going to be there, aren't you?" Sarah asked Dallas.

"Ma wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I thought so." The waitress winked at Gillian before hurrying away to another customer.

"What was that all about? Why was she smiling like that?" Gillian asked.

Dallas shrugged. "She's matchmaking."

"Yes, she certainly has an eye for Harold, doesn't she?"

"He's not the only one she's trying to make a match for," he said.

Gillian swallowed a bite of salad. "You can't mean she thinks you and I--?" She shook her head in denial. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Is it so ridiculous?" he said, leaning forward. "There's definitely something going on between us. You know it. I know it. I want you, Gillian. And you want me. So, where do we go from here? What are we going to do about it?"

"Nothing. Nada," she said, keeping her eyes on her plate. "We are not going to pursue this any further. I intend to ignore it. I recommend you do the same." Gillian laid her fork and knife across her salad plate and prepared to leave.

Dallas leaned even closer and grabbed her wrist. "Don't you think I've tried to ignore it?" he said, his voice a low growl. "I don't like this any better than you do. You're involved with the drilling on my land, for Christ's sakes. You
know
how I feel about that."

Gillian stared at the large hand holding hers in a firm grip. He wasn't hurting her, but had her effectively caught just the same. She tried to pull away; he tightened his hold.

"Then keep thinking about those feelings," she said. "That should make it easy for you to ignore what's between us. Besides, you don't even like me."

"I wouldn't say that exactly." His mouth tugged upwards in that half-smile that made her insides melt.

"Well, I don't like you." She quickly extinguished the dreamy feeling in her tummy. Dallas McCade was not for her. It would be foolish to get involved with him. "Nothing can come from any of this. We should just ignore it and hope it goes away." She tugged her wrist again. This time he released her.

"It's not going to go away." He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, we don't have to act on it, do we?" She stood up and grabbed her purse. "Good bye, Mr. McCade."

"The name is Dallas."

She shot him a look before leaving the table, and Dallas watched her walk to the cash register. She was wearing those khaki shorts again. The ones she'd worn the first time he'd seen her. The ones that hugged her bottom so well.

Just like that, he was hard for her. Hell, ever since he sat down, he'd been aroused. Would she go to the fairgrounds on Saturday? He hoped so, because he planned to be there. Waiting. But the waiting was nearly over. He'd made up his mind. It was time to snatch a little happiness from life.

Gillian was the first woman he had really wanted in a long time. So what if she worked for Copper River Oil? He couldn't do anything about that. But he could damn sure do something about getting her into his bed. And like Austin said, he didn't want to marry her or anything like that.

Hell, he didn't want a relationship with Gillian. He just wanted to sleep with her. Get her out of his system. Nothing more than that. Certainly, it was nothing more than that.

Dallas smiled as Sarah Sue set his lunch on the table before him. It had been years since he had flirted and made a move on a woman like Gillian. The women at Billie G's didn't count. They weren't in the same league as Gillian.

Picking up his sandwich, Dallas took a huge bite. Just knowing he had chosen a course of action helped ease the strain he had been under lately. The idea that he might actually have a chance to sleep with Gillian made him feel a hundred percent better. Life suddenly looked a whole lot brighter.

CHAPTER SIX

When Gillian returned to her office, Harold was waiting inside. Something was wrong; the foreman was frowning heavily.