Shane turned to smile at one of his late father’s oldest friends. “It’s good to see you, too, Senator Kurk. How have you been?” he asked, shaking the man’s hand.
“Can’t complain,” the senator said, smiling. Tall and commanding, the white-haired man had been a member of congress for as long as Shane could remember. “It’s always good to get out of Washington for a few days and come back home to spend a little down time with my friends and family.”
“I’m sure it is,” Shane agreed. “I’ve heard they’re keeping you busy these days with several important national issues.”
Senator Kurk chuckled. “And if that isn’t enough to keep me awake at night, I’ve been named the head of a new investigative committee.” He looked thoughtful. “Aren’t you an architect?”
Shane nodded. “I specialize in stables.”
“Interesting,” the man said. “I suppose your studies included other areas of architecture, as well?”
“Of course.” When the man remained silent, Shane started inching away. “I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of whatever it is your committee is looking into, Senator,” he said, hoping the man wasn’t at liberty to share what the committee was investigating.
As much as he liked Patrick Kurk, the good senator could be as long-winded and boring as any other politician, and Shane had plans that didn’t include listening to him drone on about what ailed the nation. The sooner he got over to the lodge, the sooner he would start what he was certain would be a very enjoyable weekend with one of the most exciting women he had ever had the pleasure of knowing.
“Excuse me, Senator,” one of the man’s aides said, hurrying up to join them. “The Rotary Club meeting is about to begin and your speech is first on the agenda, right after the opening remarks.”
Relieved that his trip over to Willow Lodge wouldn’t be delayed any further, Shane smiled. “I won’t keep you, Senator. Maybe we can get together for some trout fishing on the Rainbow River the next time you’re in town.”
“I’ll take you up on that the first chance I get,” Senator Kurk said, turning to go. “It was good seeing you again, Shane.”
Walking out of the resort, Shane forgot all about politicians and senatorial committees as he started out. He was on a mission to get Lissa to join him for the three-day weekend and he wasn’t going to give up until he got what he wanted.
Given her concerns about feeding the gossip mongers at the resort, he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be all that easy to talk her into staying with him at Rainbow Bend. But there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that what they shared would be worth whatever he had to do to convince her.
Shane shook his head as he looked around to see if anyone was watching, then took the hidden shortcut back toward the luxury lodges. He had been jumping through hoops for the past couple of months just to please her, and it was beginning to get old.
Instead of going directly to the lodge where she was staying, it had become a ritual for him to head toward the stables, then cut back through a small patch of woods. She had insisted that no one would think anything of him going to check on the herd of horses he had sold the resort, and he supposed she was right. But he couldn’t control other people’s opinions of him and didn’t give a damn what they thought anyway. Lissa, on the other hand, was a very private person and he respected her need for discretion even if he didn’t completely understand it.
Slipping through the stand of pine trees behind Willow Lodge, he took the porch steps two at a time. Just as he raised his hand to knock, Lissa opened the door.
“What took you so long?” she asked, taking him by the hand to pull him inside.
As soon as they cleared the doorway, he took her into his arms and used his boot to shove the door shut behind them. “I don’t know a man alive who doesn’t want to hear a woman ask that question, angel.”
She looked as if she had something more on her mind, but it would just have to wait. It had been almost three days since he had held her, kissed her, and he had every intention of immediately remedying that particular problem.
His mouth came down on hers, and she let out a startled little squeak, but to his satisfaction, she didn’t protest or try to push him away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself against him.
Her response to him never failed to send a flash fire rushing from the top of his head straight to the region south of his belt buckle. Today was no different. In the blink of an eye, he was hotter than a two-dollar pistol on a Saturday night.
Shifting to pull her more fully into him, Shane deepened the kiss. As he stroked and teased, her sweet taste, the floral scent of her silky blond hair and the feel of her soft body pressed to his much harder one had him feeling as if his jeans had shrunk at least two sizes in the stride. He quickly decided that he would do well to end the kiss or there was a good chance he’d end up emasculating himself.
“I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I saw you at the resort this morning,” he said, leaning back to smile down at her.
The dazed look in her vibrant blue eyes and the heat of passion coloring her creamy cheeks was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever been privileged to see. Soft and feminine, Lissa looked the way a woman was meant to look when a man kissed her.
She shook her head as if to clear it. “Shane, before this goes any further. We need to talk.”
“Yes, we do,” he agreed.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Me first,” he insisted.
He took her by the hand and led her into the great room. Settling himself into one of the oversize leather chairs in front of the stone fireplace, he pulled her down to sit on his lap.
“This is really important, Shane. There’s been an unexpected development that—”
He placed his index finger to her soft lips. “It’ll have to wait.”
“This is something that can’t wait.”
He gave her a quick kiss to divert her. “I have something I want you to do with me this weekend.”
The kiss distracted her just as he had intended. “W-what?”
“I want you to spend the next few days at my ranch with me.” When it looked as if she was about to protest, he shook his head. “Hear me out, angel. Most of my ranch hands are off for the holiday weekend and the ones who aren’t couldn’t care less who I have staying with me. Cactus, my housekeeper, has already left to visit his sister in Denver for the next few days, and we’ll have the entire house to ourselves. Unless you tell them, no one who cares will ever be the wiser that you stayed with me.”
She looked thoughtful for several long moments before she finally nodded. “We need to discuss something at length and I think it would be a very good idea to have the privacy of your ranch to do it.”
Surprised and more than a little pleased by how easily she had agreed, he hugged her close. “Talking wasn’t what I had in mind when I asked you to go with me. But I guess we can hash over whatever you think is so important while we rest up from
