pulled away and tried to catch her breath. “Will, let’s get back to safe topics and just talk.”
“All right, for now.” He stood beside a sofa. “Come sit while we talk.”
She curled up in one corner of it. He sat facing her a few feet away, but he stretched out his arm across the back to touch her hair and wind his fingers in it. While the slight tugs on her scalp made her tingle, she tried to ignore them.
“So do you know where to get a puppy like the one she picked out?”
“Yes. I’ve even seen the available litters and all are either ready to pick up this week or will be by next week. The puppies are twelve weeks old now, which is a good age. We’ll have to drive to Fort Worth to get the one she selected.”
“That’s all great, Will.”
“The Yorkie litter is in Lubbock. Frankly, I’m glad she didn’t pick that one or we would have had a long drive.”
“Which you would have done without any protest,” she said, amused that he even voiced the complaint about the drive when he was so eager to make Caroline happy.
“Besides, you could meet my parents, since they live in Lubbock.” She smiled. “I think Caroline will love having a puppy so much.”
He turned strands of Ava’s hair in his hand. “I like being at home in the evenings. I’ve always traveled a lot so this is new for me.”
“Good. It’ll be better for your niece. That could be why she was more responsive tonight.”
“I don’t think so. We got more out of her today—that’s your doing. And the pup. I’ve been around all along. Though, granted, not for those two weeks. So how did reading with her go today?” he asked, winding the lock of hair around his finger.
“No different than yesterday. I don’t see that as a setback.”
“I agree. I had lunch with my brother Zach today. I couldn’t bring him home because he was short on time. He’ll be back when they read Dad’s will. You’ll meet all my family then—my mother will be here briefly, both brothers. Garrett, who you met at the opera, will be present because he’s like a brother. His dad worked for mine and they were close. The reading shouldn’t take long and I expect it will occur soon.”
Listening, she looked into his thickly lashed dark eyes and thought about their kisses. The new dog, Will’s enthusiasm, his conversation, all of it diminished until she didn’t hear anything for thinking about his kisses and how she was getting closer to him, drawing nearer to seduction.
After a while he leaned toward her and held her chin lightly with his fingers. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying.”
Jolted, she focused on him. “Yes, I have.”
“Right,” he stated in a tone that conveyed the opposite.
“So what do you think?”
Her face was hot. “Sorry. I was thinking about Caroline’s puppy.”
“No, you weren’t. You were thinking about us.”
“There is no ‘us.’”
He smiled knowingly. “So tell me, where’s this school of yours going to be located? Do you have property yet?”
“I’m looking at areas in Austin and also San Antonio. San Antonio has a diverse population, although there isn’t a city in the U.S. that can’t use a school focused on reading. It will probably be Austin because I know the city better and it will be easier. I won’t have to move.”
“What about Dallas?”
“No. Austin is where I live and I’m more familiar with the city.”
“Who is looking for property for you?”
She told him the name of the real estate group, aware he had scooted closer and stroked her nape lightly, stirring far more tingles than he had by twisting locks of her hair. He asked questions about her plans, nodding, making few comments and no suggestions, which surprised her. She suspected wheels were turning in his mind and he could make quite a few suggestions if she asked for them.
Several times while they talked about various topics, she intended to tell him it was time to go. Instead, she was pulled into the conversation until she saw it was almost three in the morning. She stood. “Will, it’s so late. I’ll fall asleep tomorrow while I play with Caroline.”
“I doubt that, but we can turn in,” he said, standing and draping an arm casually across her shoulders as he walked beside her.
Chatting about the next day’s schedule, they headed out of the room. She waited while he locked the front door and then they climbed the steps. Each step brought her closer to telling him good-night and the awareness they would kiss sent her pulse galloping again.
Would she be able to turn him away at her door?
Seven
He entered her suite with her, closed the door and drew her into his arms to kiss her. She held him tightly, kissing him with pent-up passion that was tinged with anger that he had broken through the barrier she had kept around herself for the past six years.
Leaning against the closed door, he pulled her against him while he kissed her. Desire blazed, a stronger need than ever. After a few moments, he shifted slightly and his fingers tugged free the buttons of her blouse. While his hands flew over her, clothing fell away. His warm hands cradling each breast fanned flames. His gaze roamed slowly, carefully over her.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, his dark brown eyes a silent echo of his words. He leaned down to draw his tongue in circles on her nipple, a leisurely torment before he moved to her other breast. Gripping his arms, she gasped with pleasure. Wanting the slight barriers between them gone, she yanked free his shirt. He pulled it over his head to toss aside.
His bronzed chest rippled with muscles, capturing her attention. She had to touch the thick mat of chest hair that narrowed to a single line that disappeared below his belt. The moment her fingers made contact, he groaned, his response stirring her in turn.
“We do things to each other,” she whispered.
“Magic,” he whispered, then kissed her neck.
He wrapped her in his arms again to hold her close and kiss her. Why did it seem urgent to kiss him? Realizing she was racing headlong toward calamity, she stopped.
She stepped away, yanking up her blouse and holding it in front of her.
“Good night, Will. You have to go.”
His dark gaze bore through her while he reached out to grasp her shoulder. “Sometime soon you will not tell me to go.” His eyes burned with such intense desire, her knees were weak. He leaned close to brush a kiss on her mouth while he caressed her nape. She gasped and closed her eyes. “See, you respond. You can’t keep from it because this is what you want, too, darlin’. It’s good between us, but there is so much more.”
“What
