Authors: Deborah Camp
“Possibly.” Her busy hands finished with the unbuttoning and stroked up his chest to his shoulders. “Do you know what you’re really asking? To be bound to me for the rest of your life? To bring a Payne into your family?”
He kissed the side of her neck and breathed in the scent of wild flowers. “You’ll improve the bloodline.”
She laughed at that. “Your father probably won’t agree.”
“Pa has been after me to throw a lasso over you for a couple of months.”
She stared, wide-eyed, at him. “He has?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Her arms came around him. Her thighs bracketed his hips. “Although I have no first-hand knowledge of it, I know what we’re about to do.” She bit his earlobe. “Callum?”
Reluctantly, he lifted his head from kissing her ear and the curve of her neck to meet her glimmering gaze. Was she stopping him? “Yes?” he asked, warily.
“I want you to understand that I’m accepting your proposal of marriage – such as it was – so if we do this, I expect you to honor it – and me.”
He mulled over her words. Had she just accepted and did she insinuate that his proposal was lacking? Couldn’t have that, he thought. He’d never hear the end of it! So, he kissed her eyelids, her nose, and her sweet, sweet lips slowly, even though his body throbbed with pent-up desire.
“Banner Payne, I will not only honor you, I’ll love and cherish you for as long as I draw a breath. How could I not? You’ve made me feel alive again. I thought I was dead inside until you proved me wrong.” He couldn’t resist another plucking pull on her lips before adding, “Is that a good enough proposal for you?”
She smiled against his smile. “It’ll do.”
“Will you allow me to make love to you now?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
“That’s right, sweetheart.” He put all of his feelings for her into his next kiss and her eyes were half-lidded and full of desire when he peeled his lips from hers. “I mean to pleasure you and please you now and forever.”
“Forever,” she breathed as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. “Looks like you’re going to get my ranch, after all.”
That felt like she’d jabbed him with a hot poker, so he lifted himself up a little and was relieved to see mischief in her eyes.
“And I’ll make you earn it,” she told him, weaving her fingers in his hair and wiggling a little under him as if she were growing impatient or, more likely, a mite nervous. “Don’t you doubt that.”
He took her lower lip between his teeth, nipping tenderly before letting go. She made a low, hungry sound that fired his blood. “I don’t mind paying my way where you’re concerned,
partner.”
“Best deal I ever made,” she whispered before giving herself, all of herself, to him.
The End
Author of more than 45 novels, Deborah lives in Oklahoma. She has been a full-time writer since she graduated from the University of Tulsa. She worked for a few years as a reporter for newspapers before becoming a freelance writer. Deborah's first novel was published in the late 1970s and her books have been published by Jove, New American Library, Harlequin, Silhouette, and Avon. She has been inducted into the Oklahoma Authors Hall of Fame and she is a charter member of the Romance Writers of America. She is also a member of the Author's Guild.
Lover of the west and the people who tried to tame it, Deborah likes to write about strong, independent women and the men who are their equals. She grew up on a diet of TV westerns which have served her well. Since she appreciates men with devilish twinkles in their eyes, she likes to mix laughter in with the love scenes in her books.
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