Page 80 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

He gave her a crooked smile. “Why the hell would I be scared to go to a picnic?”

“You might be afraid it will change your lifestyle,” she said, teasing him, but also wondering why he wouldn’t accept her invitation. “You have time to go. Come home with me. Sunday you can fly back here. C’mon. It won’t hurt you to meet my family, the people I work with and the kids. It will broaden your outlook a bit.”

She waited while he toyed with long locks of her hair. “Okay,” he said, and satisfaction flowed through her. She smiled at him. “You can fly back to Dallas with me and leave from Dallas Monday morning to go to New York. You can fly in my private jet. I have to be in Chicago, so I’ll go that far with you. You do that, and I’ll go home with you this weekend,” he said, studying her. “I want one more night with you in my arms,” he whispered, his breath warm on her throat.

As with all his invitations, she was torn between what she should do and what she wanted to do. What was the appeal that Blake held? She had never been attracted to another man the way she was to him—it was purely physical, sexual, lustful—and she couldn’t understand it.

“You’re arguing with yourself. C’mon, Sierra. This is a brief moment in your earnest, do-good life. Live a little, darlin’, and stay. You’ll get me for the weekend, and you can show me some of what you do. I’ll see how you live, and you’ll be back here to see a little more about how I live. One more day together won’t be earth shattering.”

She had to smile at him. “You’re wicked, Blake. The proverbial bad boy all grown up into a wicked man.”

“Then save me. You stay, and I’ll go home with you for the weekend, and maybe the visit will transform me into an everlasting do-gooder,” he said.

“It would serve you right if that is exactly what happens,” she said, staring intently at him. “All right. I’ll fly back to Dallas Sunday night, and Monday morning, I leave Dallas for New York. That means canceling my commercial flight.”

“You’ll get a refund,” he said.

“There won’t be any privacy at my house,” she warned him. “Not only that, everyone will be busy getting ready for the picnic.”

“We might find a moment alone. Tell me you don’t want more kisses,” he said, shifting to look at her mouth and causing her heart to lurch. The joking and lightness of the moment vanished.

His arm tightened around her, pulling her against him while his mouth came down on hers. He kissed her, his tongue stroking hers while his free hand played along her hip and then between her thighs.

Moaning softly, Sierra kissed him in return. She wanted to tell him that he wasn’t fair. He had to get his way about everything, but words were lost, and in minutes her thought processes scrambled. All she wanted was Blake—his hands, his mouth and his body. She wanted his kisses, caresses and his lovemaking. She wanted him inside her, thick, hot and hard. With a gasp, she shoved him down on the bed and shifted over him, straddling him, shaking her head to get her hair away from her face.

His warm hands cupped her breasts, and his thumbs drew lazy circles over each taut bud.

“Ah, darlin’, you set me on fire,” he said.

Barely hearing him, she showered kisses on his throat, feeling his hands moving over her bottom and down the backs of her thighs. Tingles radiated from his touch and desire flashed into a raging need. She wanted him—his arms, his hard body, his energy.

“Where you’re concerned, I don’t have a backbone,” she whispered, wondering how she could possibly be so attracted to someone so wrong for her.

“I thought you had a backbone,” he whispered. “Let me see.” His fingers slid down her spine, and then his hand spread lightly as he rubbed her bottom and she gasped, thrusting her hips against him.

He rolled her over, moving on top while he kissed her, and she was lost to his lovemaking for the rest of the night.

Friday afternoon Blake gazed out the window of his private jet at the broad channel of the Red River as they flew north toward Kansas. A silver ribbon of water followed the curving banks.

Blake figured the weekend would be spent meeting people and watching Sierra chat with those she had helped. Tagging along was fine with him if it meant she would return to Texas with him. She’d promised only Sunday night, but that was better than telling her goodbye in Kansas City and each of them going different places.

At the thought of another night in bed with her, his pulse jumped. For a night with Sierra, he could easily sit through a family picnic.

He still couldn’t understand the hot attraction that burned between them, but he wasn’t questioning it any longer. He wanted her in his bed, and he thought about her constantly when he wasn’t with her. Of all the women he had ever known, he would have guessed that she would have been one of the least likely to generate this fiery, irresistible appeal.

Not only were they complete opposites, he couldn’t understand her outlook on life or her lifestyle any more than she could understand his. She actively disliked his way of thinking, and he thought she was throwing away her talent and her future by taking a low-paying, thankless job that would be endless work with few rewards.

Next to him, she gazed out the window. She took his breath sometimes. When he had danced with her, just a two-step, she’d had a sway to her hips that was tantalizing. He wanted to kiss her slender throat. She responded to any touch, even the most casual kiss.

He was ready for Sunday night in Dallas.

To get his mind off the temptation of Sierra, he tried to think about her family and get their names straight. He couldn’t imagine growing up the way she had—a house filled with kids who brought other kids home with them. And providing for a family on a minister’s salary had to have been a struggle, but Sierra never sounded as if it had been and she didn’t particularly care about money. She was truly indifferent to Blake’s wealth, which was something he couldn’t say for any other woman he had met.

Yes, Sierra was different. She had him willing to meet family and spend the weekend in separate rooms just for one more night with her.

Once during the evening, when the noise level was high, Blake gazed at the chaos around him. Three toddlers played with blocks while kids ranging in age from elementary school to middle school were occupied with electronic gadgets. Women bustled in the kitchen, getting big platters of food cooked and ready for Saturday. The delicious smell of baked beans was enticing, even after a big dinner.

He helped her dad and two brothers load games, balls, rackets, bats and equipment into two pickups. Her family amazed him. They worked together and they had a good time, getting things done without tempers flying in spite of kids needing attention and toys breaking.