“You could have broken an ankle,” he growled. She raised her head and opened her mouth to protest. He took hold of her chin and kissed her hard. She gave a soft gasp as his tongue slid inside to taste and touch her sweet softness. Her tongue tentatively stroked his, and he groaned. His cock was hard and pulsing. He ravished her mouth and then kissed her eyelids and her throat. When she wiggled, she moved against his cock, and his desire went straight out of sight. He carried her inside, unlocking the door with the key in his hand, kicking the door shut behind him, and heading to his bedroom.
When he strode through the doorway, he snapped on the light, and suddenly his brain clicked back into place. He set her down so fast he almost dropped her.
“What the hell am I thinking?” he asked and ran his hand through his hair.
She stayed close and went up on her tiptoes. “I want you, too.” She blushed saying the words.
He walked across the room, putting distance between them. His heart raced, and he was breathing heavily. “No, you can’t want me. I’m not an easy man to be around, and I’m a confirmed bachelor. I’ll break your heart when I take you back home. And I will take you.” He strode out and went into his office, closing the door behind him.
He’d never run from anything, but he knew this time he had to. She was too sweet, too pretty, and he wanted her too much.
* * * *
Gina slowly walked into her bathroom. Her cheeks were hot and red. She splashed cool water on her face. Twice tonight she’d made a fool of herself, at the dinner when she cried in his lap and now when she offered herself to him only to be rejected.
Trying to put him out of her mind, she got in the shower and let the water run over her head and down her body. Perhaps the warm water would relax her and help her sleep. Tomorrow promised to be a busy day, and she had to be in control of her emotions before she saw his family again. This wasn’t like her at all. She was usually calm and rational, not a weepy marshmallow.
She’d show him and his family how strong and determined she could be. She just had to decide whether to ignore and reject him, or drive him crazy with need and have him begging for her attention. That idea brought a smile to her face. Her strong attraction to him was different than anything she’d experienced. She wanted him for the long term.
I’m going to try to drive him crazy, much more fun than pretending to ignore him.
A knock on the door woke her. After making her decision, she’d fallen asleep. Sunlight peeked around the curtains.
“If you want to go shopping, it’s time to get up,” Graham said.
Gina glanced at her wristwatch, seven a.m. She had two and a half hours.
“There’s nothing in the house to eat. I’m going to Millie’s place, the best restaurant in town for breakfast. Hurry and dress, and you can join me.”
She jumped out of the bed and threw on a pair of jeans and a green T-shirt. Her tennis shoes were all she had to wear with her outfit, but she was putting boots on her list for today. She gave her long hair a brief combing and a touch of lipstick, and she was ready. Thank goodness her hair had a slight curl. She didn’t need to do much to make it look good.
“Twenty minutes, not bad,” Graham said, looking at his watch. “Come on.” In minutes they were driving down a two-lane highway headed west. Millie’s restaurant was on the edge of town.
A short woman with a round face and snow-white hair greeted them at the door. “My, my, who is this with my favorite handsome cowboy?” She smiled at Gina.
“Millie, this is a friend of a friend. She’d never been to Montana, so she’s here for a visit.”
“Welcome to Frontier City.” She chuckled. “Not that it’s much of a city. Follow me and I’ll find you two a booth.” The dining room was crowded as usual, and several people waved or called out hello as they passed. All looked questioningly at Gina.
Millie stopped beside a side booth. Gina was glad to slide into the seat, giving her a small degree of privacy. Millie handed them menus. “I’ll be back with coffee and take your order. Unless you’d like tea or juice,” Millie added.
“Coffee’s great, and I’d also like a glass of orange juice.”
“Coming up.” She walked briskly off toward the kitchen.
“Millie’s amazing, a good cook, and always happy and pleasant. She does a good business.”
“I like her.” Gina turned her attention to Graham. “You don’t look like you slept well.”
“You look well rested,” he said, avoiding answering her comment.
“I slept like a baby. It must be the quiet and feeling like I’m on vacation.’
His mouth twitched. It was hardly noticeable, but she caught it. This tormenting was going to be fun.
“Don’t go crazy buying food today. We can always come to Millie’s.”
“So you’re a regular customer?”
“Sometimes, or Mom will feed me.” He did that half grin that made her insides clench with desire. “I can live a long time on peanut butter and jelly. I just ran out.”
Before she responded, Millie was back with her juice and their coffee. After placing the cups and her glass on the table, Millie held her pen ready to write down their order.
Graham took time for introductions before saying, “I’ll have my usual.”
Gina hadn’t looked at the menu. She opened it and glanced at the first few items. “I’ll take scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, sausage, and biscuits, with honey,” she added.
Graham stared at her, and Millie laughed. “I’m going to be surprised if you can eat all that, little lady.” She hurried off to refill several cups of coffee on her way to the kitchen.
“You must be hungry.”
“I am. I treat myself on special occasions. Usually I don’t eat as much.”
“This is a special occasion?” Graham asked.
“I’m in a new place, meeting new people, and I’m going shopping today. Women, as I’m sure you will attest to, love to shop.” His worried look made her smile.
“Don’t get carried away,” he cautioned.
“A woman can never promise that.” Forcing herself to look across the room and away from his handsome face, she turned her head and smiled at the couple sitting closest.
The man and woman were finished and getting up. They strolled to the booth.
“Hello, Graham. Haven’t seen you out and about lately,” the tall blond man said.
“You know me. I keep busy at home.”
The woman, a short blonde with a wedding ring on her finger, leaned around her husband. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Graham?”
“This is Regina. She’s staying with my family for a few weeks. This is her first visit to Montana.”
The woman put out her hand. “Welcome. I hope we see you around Frontier City. It’s small, but there’s quite a bit to do. Do you knit?”
“I’ve always wanted to learn.”
“Then you must come to our knitting group. We’re meeting at my house on Wednesday at one. Ask Mrs. Brodie to bring you. She’s a member.”
“Thank you, I might do that.”
They excused themselves and went on out. Graham frowned as soon as they left. “Now you’ve done it. Everyone’s going to stop by and talk on their way out. Plus you agreed to join their knitting group. You won’t be here long enough to learn how to knit.”
Gina leaned back and smiled brightly. “I couldn’t not talk to them. I can’t be rude. And I’m a fast learner. I want to knit a blanket for your niece and nephew. It’ll give me something to do.”
Graham looked at her strangely, but she had no idea what he was thinking. Millie arrived with their meals at the right time.
She hated to admit it, but Graham had been right. Couples, cowboys, and a family all stopped briefly for an introduction. Since she and Graham were eating, they didn’t linger long.
Gina loved this town. The people were curious, but they were also pleasant and everyone knew everyone, so a stranger would stand out. The idea gave her some comfort. She felt safe here.
They arrived back to the cabin just before his mother’s car turned into the drive. Gina waved. “I’ll be right out. I just need a minute.” She ran into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and freshened up. When she came out, Graham was talking with his mother.
“Good morning. Graham said he took you to Millie’s.”
“I loved it, and the people are all so nice,” Gina said.
Graham groaned. “They’ll probably want to stop by and visit her.”
“There’s nothing wrong with her making friends,” his mother said.
“She isn’t going to need friends.” He raised his voice then lowered it when his mother frowned. “She won’t be here long.”
Yesterday, Gina would have been crying inside, but today she was giggling silently. What was the old saying?
Ye doth protest too much.
Her flicker of hope was getting stronger.
Mrs. Brodie stopped at Chelsea’s, and then they headed for town. “What do you want to buy, Gina?” Mrs. Brodie asked.
“Definitely groceries, and a pair of boots, but what I’d really like to buy is a can of paint.”
Chelsea stared at her from the backseat. “You’d have to be brave. He’ll blow up if you try to change anything.”
“She’s right,” Mrs. Brodie said. “I repainted his room once years ago, and he stormed out of the house. When he returned, he didn’t speak to me unless it was necessary for a week. Still, in spite of his displeasure, I think you should fix up your bedroom however you like. That is the room you’re thinking about changing, isn’t it?”
“Yes, to start with.”
Both Chelsea and Mrs. Brodie laughed. “I like you a lot,” Mrs. Brodie said. “You are the perfect woman to challenge Graham. I can tell he likes you. He’ll see how it can be to have a woman in his personal space. He claims he’d go crazy with a wife, but I think you may prove him wrong.”
Gina went about her shopping with a lighter heart. Basically, his mother had given her stamp of approval on Gina’s plans.
She found the boots and a cowgirl shirt in green with silver trim, then they went to shop for items for the house. She bought a few kitchen utensils she was certain he wouldn’t have.
“I love to cook, and some of my dishes are gourmet,” Gina explained to Chelsea and Mrs. Brodie. Each item she bought made Mrs. Brodie’s smile brighter. They left the kitchen department and walked over to the curtains. Gina chose cheerful red-and-white curtains for the kitchen and yellow and white for her bedroom.
At the paint center she bought a light-yellow paint for her bedroom and finished her shopping by buying a few small pictures.
Mrs. Brodie drove them to the grocery store. “This is it.” She pointed to a medium-size store. “If you want items they don’t have, we’ll ride to Wagon Wheel on another day and go for lunch, see a movie, and get what you need. There are several large grocery stores there.”
“Millie’s is just down a block. Shall we have lunch before we finish our shopping?” Chelsea asked.
“Great idea, if Gina’s not already tired of Millie’s cooking,” Mrs. Brodie added.
“Not at all.” Gina opened her door, and they all walked down the block to the restaurant. Since it was one in the afternoon, the crowd had thinned, thank goodness.
Everywhere they’d gone today people had stared, and many stopped to speak with Mrs. Brodie and Chelsea, which got them an introduction to Gina. Gina liked them all. She just wanted to get over being the new topic in town.
It was four o’clock before they got back to the cabin. Graham came out to the car. “I was beginning to worry,” he said.
His mother hugged him. “We had a lovely, slow lunch. We women do like to talk and get acquainted, and we took our time shopping.”
Chelsea and Gina were at the trunk while Graham’s mother kept talking to him. He glanced at them carrying in bags, but as they expected, he was too polite to leave his mother and demand to see Gina’s purchases.
Gina quickly took the curtains and paint into her bedroom and put them in the back of the closet. Chelsea was putting the food in the refrigerator and cupboards when Gina got to the kitchen. Shortly afterward, Mrs. Brodie and Graham joined them.
“You bought a lot of groceries. I don’t cook. We could eat at Mom’s or Millie’s.” A frown creased his forehead.
Gina brushed her hand across his brow. “You’ll get wrinkles if you don’t stop frowning so much.” She started helping Chelsea.
“Who’ll cook all this stuff?” Graham persisted.
“I will. I’m a gourmet cook.” Gina smiled at him over her shoulder and grinned at Chelsea when she heard him groan.
“I don’t eat much. I like plain, simple cooking like Mom’s.”
“Plain cooking?” his mother asked. “What do you mean by such a comment?”
“I’m not criticizing, Mom. I love your cooking.”
“You’d better, as much as you’ve eaten of it. But give Gina a chance. I’m sure you’ll enjoy having someone right here fixing your meals.”
“We’ll see. I’ll talk to you later, Mom. See you, Chelsea.” He stomped through the living room to his writer’s den.
“He’ll stay in there for a while, but his curiosity will get the best of him, especially when he smells the scent of good food, flavored with herbs and spices, cooking in his kitchen,” Mrs. Brodie reassured Gina.