Page 51 of Untamed Heart
‘You’ve got a big ol’ heart, haven’t you, honey?’
His voice was soft, matched by his eyes.
‘I can’t stand the thought of anyone I care about being hurt,’ I whispered, the words simple but the meaning clear.
The rest of the meal passed in a blur of more questions and answers about life, our points of view aligning on almost everything, to my surprise. Somehow I’d imagined the difference in our backgrounds would create more of a gap in our thinking, but it turned out the opposite was true.
‘Hey, hey – none of that,’ he said, waving me away as I opened my bag to reach for my wallet when the bill arrived. ‘It might be old-fashioned compared to the way you do things back home, but out here, a guy pays on the first date and there’s no argument.’
I raised my hands in mock surrender, a little worried about the bill in such a nice place. I had no idea what being a ranch manager paid, but I didn’t want to assume.
‘Listen,’ he said, as though he could hear my thoughts. ‘I’m no investment banker with a rich daddy, but I did well enough from competing – had a couple of sponsors, too.’
‘And now you’re a social media star,’ I added, making him chuckle. But as we walked out, the lights catching his sun-kissed skin and highlighting the bright warmth of his deep brown eyes, I realized how much he looked the part.
Leaving the restaurant, we fell into step, his right hand catching my left as we crossed the street.
I caught his eye.
‘Friends hold hands sometimes,’ he said, shrugging, but the grip changed, my fingers sliding between his, locking together with an ease that made me wonder how I’d only known him for a couple of weeks.
‘I feel like I’ve known you for so much longer,’ I admitted as we reached his truck.
He paused, his hand on the handle. ‘I was just thinking the same. That and it’s real difficult staying well behaved.’
I nodded, smiling, and he opened the door and waited for me to climb in.
He flipped the radio on low before we set off, catching the beginning of a song I knew.
‘I like this one,’ I said, smiling as he turned it up a little and gave me a quick grin as we set off.
‘You know it?’ he asked quizzically.
‘Sure, I like a bit of country.’ I shrugged. ‘Mom still listens to it, and I grew up on Dolly and John Denver, Johnny Cash . . . I’m more of a Riley Green, Lainey, kinda gal, though.’
He shook his head, then reached over with his right hand and grasped my left, squeezing it.
‘Well, looks like we’ve got the same taste in music too, Princess.’
The rest of the drive back to the ranch was spent humming and singing along to song after song, Cole eventually switching to Spotify to play some of his other favourites. Our hands remained clasped, and as the turn-off to the ranch approached, I didn’t want our date to end.
‘Thank you for tonight,’ I said as we turned off the interstate, up the beginning of the drive. ‘A perfect gentleman and a perfect date.’
As Cole slowed the truck to a stop, I turned, but before I could say another word, his hand was on my cheek and he leant closer, coming right in to brush his lips over mine.
‘No, Princess, the perfect is all you. From these lips to singing in that cute accent,’ he said.
I drew a shaky breath, my body suddenly lit on fire at his touch.
‘Cole, you have no idea what you do to me,’ I admitted, closing my eyes as he kissed my jaw.
‘Honey, I get turned on just hearing your voice, especially when you say my name,’ he whispered.
And this time, in the darkness, it all clicked together so quickly that my head spun as he began to kiss me, gently at first, then pressing harder. There was beginning to be something familiar about his touch, the way we responded to each other, the way his tongue felt on mine and the rapid sense of need that built and built inside. My hands wandered down his shirt, further, down to his jeans.
He pulled away too quickly, leaving me gasping.
‘I can’t have you thinking it’s easy holding back on you,’ he said, breathing hard himself. ‘I try to be a gentleman, but I’m really not perfect.’
