Page 66 of The Cowboy and the Baby

My heart slammed, and the dizzy whirling came again even though we barely moved. I gripped him harder, and he pulled closer. Any tighter against him and I’d have to bend backward.

“There’s only one person in this room who I care about,” he rumbled, his lips a caress against my temple.

I didn’t need to ask who. Because he tilted his head gradually closer to mine. Our noses touched, and his breath was a minty slam on my cheeks. My eyes went to half-mast, drunk on the feeling of Cade surrounding me. My fingers tightened around his neck while Garth Brooks belted a ballad that would forever imprint on my heart.

“Cade?” I whispered.

“Hmmm?”

His throaty noise almost broke me. If I moved my lips, he’d touch them. And oh, how I wanted nothing more than Cade’s lips on mine.

“Kiss me.”

He brought us together in a gentle, but fierce, attack. The pressure of his lips, the warmth of them opening, sent a bolt into my toes. His hand glided up my side, cupping the back of my head. The other tightened around my waist, forcing me to tip my head back for better access. I lost the battle.

Let go.

Trust.

Surrender.

It encompassed everything in the softest, most ravaging kiss I’d ever felt. There on the dance floor, swaying to Garth Brooks and the raucous sound of other cowboys and women. My heart was a murderous staccato against my ribs when he pulled away, breathing hard. Cade pressed his forehead to mine, eyes closed. In all that, he hadn’t stopped swaying.

“Noelle?”

“Hmm?”

His voice was a rasp. “I’m sorry. It’s not very gentlemanly to paw you in a public place like this. But I wanted them to know—all of them—where I stood. Here, with you. They can leave me alone. It would be better where we had some privacy, but I . . .”

I kissed him again. He moaned, giving as good as he got, until I almost melted to the floor. With a frustrated grunt, he pulled away.

“I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that, Noelle. Well, yes I can. Since I saw you in the airport.”

Laughing, delirious, I pressed a hand to his cheek.

“Me, too.”

“I think I’m done here.” He searched my eyes, looking agitated, frustrated. “Can we go home? I don’t want to be around all these people.” His brow furrowed into deeper grooves. “I just want to be with you.”

“Home,” I whispered in agreement.

23

CADE

The two knuckleheads whooped from somewhere behind us, catcalling as I wrapped an arm around Noelle’s shoulders and escorted her off the dance floor. Garth ended and a rowdy song queued up. It used to be my favorite.

Now?

Barely even heard it.

My head buzzed with songs and Noelle and dancing and Noelle and those two idiots I employed who exchanged money like they’d been betting on this happening.

And Noelle.

Winter air assaulted us as we stepped outside, and Noelle let out an adorable squeak. The rush of cold after the swelling heat between us had me muttering curse words under my breath. I grabbed her coat, wrapped her in it, then put mine around her, too. She almost protested, but I hauled her outside too quickly and toward the truck.

The cold felt good.