This Kiss (Made In Montana Book 12) (3 page)

Ethan frowned and glanced back at the Watering Hole. “Am I still walking too fast?”

“No. We just passed my car and I wanted to grab my jacket.”

He started to follow her, but she shook her head while inching backward and digging for the key in her pocket.

“It’s kind of a mess,” she said, relieved that he only smiled and stayed put.

She unlocked the driver’s door. And kept an eye on him while she quickly transferred the handcuffs from the glove box to a deep pocket in the puffy down jacket she’d left on the passenger seat. Pausing, she considered scooping up her purse hidden on the floorboard.

Couldn’t hurt. She probably could use some lip gloss about now. Jeez.
This is not a date.

The door was closed and locked, her purse in hand before she considered the incriminating ID and
bail piece
authorizing her to arrest him inside her bag. It didn’t matter, since she was going to do this thing quickly. Preferably the minute they were inside his room.

Instead of continuing to walk when she rejoined him, he studied her car. “I’ve always liked Jeeps. Looks new. Have you had it long?”

“I bought it last year.” She drew in a breath. He was staring at her plates.

“You from Wyoming?”

“Not originally, but I’ve lived there for a few years now.”

“What part?”

“Sheridan,” she lied, purposely choosing the farthest town from Wattsville that she could think of.

“I’m from outside Casper myself.” Either he was a very good actor or the Wyoming coincidence didn’t bother him.

“Really? We’re not exactly neighbors, but still...”

“Here, let me help you with your jacket.”

Sophie thought she heard the handcuffs clink and clutched the jacket to her chest. Giving him a come-hither smile, she said, “I’d rather have your arm around me.”

“Always happy to oblige a beautiful woman.” Ethan took her free hand and drew her close. The jacket served as an unwanted buffer. “You aren’t a rodeo fan, are you, Sophie?”

“Um, a little...”

He smiled. “It’s okay. My ego isn’t that fragile.”

“I know who you are. That should count for something.”

His puzzled frown sent up a warning flag. It lasted only a moment before the smile returned, and he started them walking again. “So you aren’t here for the rodeo.”

“No.” Wrong answer. She wasn’t sure why, but it felt wrong. She was missing something. “Well, yes, sort of. Does it matter?”

“I suppose not.” He checked for traffic and guided her across the street, his arm tightening around her shoulders.

The Boarding House Inn was just up ahead. They had another half a block to go and she hoped the men standing on the porch steps deep in conversation would hurry up and leave. If she did her job well, by tomorrow morning it would appear that Ethan Styles had disappeared into thin air. And she preferred not to be identified as the last person seen with him.

That was where the wig came in handy. As a blonde, she barely recognized herself.

Luckily the porch cleared just as they approached. The silence that had fallen between her and Ethan was beginning to feel awkward. She slanted him a glance and caught him watching her. The porch light shone in both of their faces and he stopped, right there, several feet from the steps. Turning to face her, he nudged up her chin and studied her mouth.

She held her breath, certain he was about to kiss her.

“I have one question,” he said. “Are you a reporter?”

“What? No.”

Something in her expression must have made him doubt her. His gaze narrowed, he seemed to be trying hard to remember...

“Why on earth would you think I’m a reporter?” It hit her then that everything would have been so much easier if she’d just pretended to be one of his buckle bunny fans. The wariness in his face convinced her to fix that situation right now.

“Okay, I lied,” she blurted, the words rushing out of her mouth before she could think. “I’m a huge rodeo fan. The biggest. I go to rodeos all the time. I’m a buckle bunny. I didn’t want to admit it and I—” She cleared her throat. “I wanted to stand out to get your attention, and that’s why I lied. About not being a fan.” She held in a sigh. “Does that make sense?”

Ethan looked as if he was going to laugh.

So she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a blazing kiss.

3

E
THAN
RECOVERED
FROM
her sudden burst of enthusiasm, thankful he hadn’t landed on his ass. Sophie was small but strong, too. Strong enough that she’d forced him back a step. He put his arms around her and slowed down the kiss, taking the time to explore and sample the sweet taste of her mouth.

They were standing on the porch, under the light, in full view of Main Street where anyone passing the inn could see them. That didn’t bother him. He just couldn’t figure out what had caused her unexpected display of passion.

Way before he was finished with the kiss she stepped back, only to stare up at him with dazed eyes, and was that regret? Probably not. He wasn’t seeing so clearly himself.

Damn, he should’ve moved them to his room before now. “How about we go inside where it’s warm?” he asked.

She jerked a nod, clutched the jacket to her chest and inched farther away from him, as if she was afraid he was going to grab her.

Wondering if she’d ever picked up a guy before, Ethan was careful to give her some space. More practiced women who followed the circuit had a completely different air about them. He opened the door and motioned for her to go inside. The lobby was tiny, furnished with a desk and two wing chairs, a small oak table on which rolls and coffee would be set out in the morning, or so he’d been told.

“Turn right,” he said, and she did so without a word or a backward glance. “I’m near the end.”

He watched her as she led the way, admiring the view. Sophie claimed they’d never met, but he wasn’t so sure that was true. Once he’d seen her up close, he was even more convinced they’d met before. The shape of her pouty lips had given him the first inkling that he knew her from somewhere. Even now, watching the slight sway of her hips tugged at his memory. It wasn’t a particularly distinctive walk, so he didn’t get it.

Hell, he could’ve seen her in the crowd at a rodeo. She’d admitted she was a fan. But that didn’t feel right, either. If it turned out she’d lied and really was a reporter, man, he was going to be pissed. So far he’d been lucky. The public didn’t know about his arrest. But one more media question about the black cloud that seemed to follow him to the finals every year and he’d shut them all out. No more interviews. No more sound bites. Screw ’em.

Sophie stopped to examine the baseboards and then looked up at the ceiling. “I think this place really was a boardinghouse at one time.”

“Yep,” Ethan said, glad she seemed more relaxed. “It was built around the 1920s. The new owner bought the place last year and kept the renovations as close to the original structure as possible. She even tried to replicate the detail in the moldings.”

Sophie grinned at him. “I like that you know all that stuff.”

With a laugh, he pulled the key out of his pocket. “It was on the website.”

“The halls are awfully narrow. Men couldn’t have had very broad shoulders back in the twenties...” Her voice trailed off, her gaze flickering away from his chest.

“Two doors down,” he said, staying right where he was, waiting for her to start walking again so he wouldn’t crowd her.

He had to decide what to tell her. That kiss kind of ruined his plan. He hadn’t actually been hitting on her. Blackfoot Falls was small, and with all the fans in town, he’d been rethinking Matt’s offer to stay at his ranch. Ethan knew some of the guys had parked their motor coaches there instead of at the RV park outside of Kalispell.

Still, it would be quiet out there. He could help Sophie out by giving her his room. And staying at Matt’s meant less chance for Ethan to get in any trouble.

He stuck the key in the lock and glanced at Sophie. With those soft brown eyes and that generous mouth, she looked like big trouble to him, tasted like it, too.

Who was he kidding? If he’d really wanted to just give her his room, he would have said something when they were outside. By her Jeep. Now, though, it would be awkward as hell to pack up and leave. He pushed the door open and she went right on inside.

After glancing around at the antique chair and the old armoire, she focused on the queen-size four-poster bed that took up most of the small room. She moved closer to it, stopping a moment to check out the patchwork quilt, and then ran her hand down the oak post close to the wall.

His cock pulsed.

When she wrapped her fingers around the smooth wood and stroked up, Ethan had to turn away. Yeah, he needed to erase that image real fast.

Between her obvious interest in the bed and his dick’s growing interest in her, he decided it was time to offer the room as he’d intended, even if it would make him look like an ass.

“It’s nice,” she said, smiling, walking close enough he could inhale her sweet scent. “Quaint. Too bad the furniture is so small. I bet you can’t even sit on the chair.”

She laid her jacket over the back of it, sat on the edge and pulled off a boot.

And there went his last good intention. Ethan sighed. If even her red-striped sock turned him on, he wasn’t going anywhere. She was already here. He was here. They were consenting adults. So he couldn’t see a reason to deny himself a little recreation before heading to the Lone Wolf. Matt had left the invitation open.

“Need help with your boots?” she asked, mesmerizing him with those eyes the color of melted chocolate.

He pulled both his boots off before she’d finished removing her second one. “Tell me you’re over twenty-one,” he said, straightening and pausing at the first snap on his shirt.

Sophie laughed. “Are you serious? I don’t look that young.”

“I just like to be sure.”

“Well, you can relax. I’m twenty-six. Anyway, I think the age of consent is sixteen in Montana.”

The same as in Wyoming, not that he paid it any mind. Twenty-one was his personal cutoff.

Getting to her feet, she pulled her shirt from her jeans, then stopped and frowned. “Is something wrong?”

His snaps were still intact. “I have one last question.”

“Okay,” she said, taking a step closer, her sultry smile designed to scramble his brain.

“Are you married?”

Her eyebrows arched and her lips parted. She looked startled, and maybe confused. “No. Of course not.” She shook her head, her eyebrows lowering into a delicate frown. “No, I’m not married, nor have I ever been married.” She drew in a breath, seemed to calm herself and took over unsnapping his shirt. “Would it really matter?”

“If you have to ask, damn good thing you’re still single.” He could see he’d irritated her. Too bad. He wasn’t about to get into another scrape like the mess he’d narrowly escaped in Wyoming. After discovering Wendy was married, he’d refused to sleep with her. To get back at him, she’d filed a false charge that he’d stolen some jewelry.

Sophie looked torn for a moment and then unfastened his next snap.

He caught her hand and inspected her ring finger. No mark, not even a faded one. “Sorry, but I’m touchy about the issue,” he said, staring into her wary eyes and lifting her hand to his lips for a brief kiss before releasing her. “It’s nothing personal.”

Without another word, she finished unsnapping him, her eyes cast downward, until she parted the front of his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. Her preoccupation with his bare chest was flattering but somewhat awkward. He finished shrugging out of the shirt, impatient to see what was under hers.

Uncertainty betrayed itself in the soft, hesitant palms she skimmed over his ribs and then his pecs. Her touch was almost reverent, her expression dreamlike. A few buckle bunnies he’d been with had tried to use their phones to sneak pictures of him shirtless, and even buck naked. But this was different. This seemed more...personal.

Jesus, he hoped it didn’t turn out she was one of those crazy stalkers.

He captured her hands and gently lowered them from his chest. When he tried to draw up her T-shirt, she tensed, angling in a way that cut him off.

He took half a step back. “You change your mind?” he asked, keeping his tone low and even, letting her know it was all good. She was allowed.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I haven’t.”

He tipped her chin up so he could see her face. “It’s okay if you have. Tell me to stop and I will.”

Sighing, she pulled off her own shirt and tossed it somewhere over her shoulder. He was too busy taking in the pink bra and creamy skin to see where it landed. Her breasts were the perfect size. They’d fit nicely in his hands. Her arms and shoulders were well toned, and her abs...a woman didn’t get that kind of definition from casual exercise. Sophie took her workouts seriously. But she hadn’t gone overboard, either, which he greatly appreciated.

He drew his thumb across the silky skin mounding above her bra. She had no freckles, just the faint remnant of a summer tan.

Damned if he wasn’t the one staring now.

She shivered and shrank back.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, and looked up to meet eyes filled with disbelief. “I’m sure you get that line a lot, but I mean it.”

She let out a short laugh and went for his belt buckle. He wished she wasn’t so nervous. But if he brought it up, it would probably spook her into leaving.

Would that be the right thing to do?

Her frenzied movements confused him. It was as if she was racing the clock. Or...maybe she had someplace else she needed to be. Dammit, he couldn’t figure her out. Although once they were in bed, he could slow things down. Make her feel real good.

“Hey.”

When she looked up, he caught her chin and kissed her, taking his time, enjoying the velvety texture of her lips, trying to show her he was in no hurry. Although his dick wanted to argue.

She opened up for him and he slid his tongue inside, where it found its mate. The funny little tango that followed made them both smile. He’d always liked kissing best when tongues were involved, but simply moving his lips over hers felt more than satisfying. They found their rhythm and he deepened the kiss while pulling her tighter against him.

Sophie made a startled little sound in the back of her throat and stiffened. But she had to know she was making him hard. Thank God she didn’t pull away. She pressed even closer, until her breasts pillowed his chest.

He reached behind to unfasten her bra, anxious to see her bare breasts, to watch her nipples harden and beg for his mouth. With his free hand he cupped her nape, slid his fingers into her hair. A sexy moan filled the inside of his mouth with her warm breath.

All of a sudden she froze.

She let out a squeak and wiggled out of his arms, her hand shooting to the top of her head.

“What happened?” Staying on the safe side, he kept his hands in plain sight. “Did I hurt you?”

They just stared at each other.

She didn’t strike him as a woman who’d care if a man mussed up her hair. So what the hell?

“Sorry,” she said, her cheeks pink. “Really sorry. I’m not freaking out or anything. About being here...you know...in the room with you. I promise I’m not.”

Could’ve fooled him. “Look, we don’t have to—”

“Let’s get in bed, okay? I’ll feel more relaxed then.”

After a quick look at her parted lips, he watched the alarm fade from her eyes. “You don’t like leaving the light on?” Ethan asked, worried he was missing something that would come back to bite him. “Is that it?”

“I don’t care about the light.” She smoothed back her hair and smiled as if nothing had happened.

Now that his body had cooled off some, he needed to think before she took another step toward him. This year he faced more pressure than ever to claim another championship title, partly because of his age, and also because of his kid sister. Mostly, though, it was about his left shoulder. It didn’t hurt all the time, but he knew his rodeo days were numbered.

Sophie came up flush against him and looped her arms around his neck. Her pink lips parted slightly as she tilted her head back. She was still wearing the damn bra, not that it seemed to matter, since his mind went blank.

He put his hands on her waist, waiting, hoping he wasn’t in for another surprise squeal. Her skin was soft and warm above the jeans waistband. The satiny texture made him itch to explore the rest of her. He settled for rubbing the small of her back, then moved his hands over the curve of her firm backside. Squeezing through denim was better than nothing, he supposed.

Screw that.

The jeans and bra both had to come off.

His request was preempted by an urgent tug. Sophie pulled his head down while she lifted herself up to meet his lips. When she leaned into him, moving her hips against his born-again erection, his whole body tightened. He slid his tongue inside her mouth and touched the tip of hers before circling and sampling the sweetness of her.

“Bed,” she whispered.

He lifted her in his arms. With a soft gasp, she hung on tight even after he’d laid her down against the pillows. She resumed the kiss, refusing to let go of his neck, even as he followed her down. The fierce way she was clinging to him made things tricky. He stretched out alongside her, keeping his weight off her and on his braced elbow.

He dragged his mouth away from hers and trailed his lips along her jaw to her ear, wondering where she might be sensitive. After a few nips at her earlobe, he cupped a breast and murmured, “How about we get rid of this bra?”

She vaguely nodded, then stiffened. “Wait.”

“For?”

She sat up and sighed. “I forgot something.”

Ethan fell onto his back. She just wasn’t going to make it easy, was she? “What did you forget?” he asked as she crawled over him and got off the bed.

“Just one sec,” she said, raising one finger before she headed for the chair with her jacket draped over the back.

Ethan watched her rifle through the pockets and found it in his heart to forgive her for the interruption. Only because she had one helluva nice ass. Which he hoped to see in the flesh, preferably before the next full moon.

Okay. He finally understood the problem. “I have a condom,” he said, rolling to the side and reaching into his back pocket. “It’s right here. You can stop looking.”