"Well, that breaks my heart," she says. "A good man like you deserves to hear more compliments, especially when they're so true."
"Well, in that case, I think you'd make a mighty fine mother."
"Really?" she asks. "I've never thought that because I never had a mom."
I shrug, "Well, I never had a dad."
"Fair enough," she says.
"But you're gentle, Laura. That's what a child needs: someone who's nurturing, caring, kind."
"Even though I judge a book by its cover," she says with a smirk and she rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry I was such a fool. I was making judgments on you that were not fair."
"Well, maybe I was making judgments on you based on what you were reading. I know you have a thing for dukes and dirty professors."
Her cheeks go red; I can see it by the light of my phone. She says, "You're going to make me regret this."
"You sure about that?" I ask. I shove my phone in my pocket then wrap my arms around her waist. "I don't think you're going to regret anything."
"Are you going to show me the rest of the house?" she asks.
"Maybe," I say. "But first I need another kiss." I lean down and this time the kiss I give her is deep, sincere and fucking true.
I kiss her long and hard until she's out of breath.
My hand moves from her waist to her and I squeeze it tight. She whimpers against me, kissing me hard.
And this time, when our lips part and her tongue finds mine, I groan with a need that's demanding.
"You're making me mad with desire. Fuck, I want you."
"I thought you wanted my cherry pie," she teases.
"Oh, I want that too," I tell her. "I want it all."
"I've never done this," she says. "I've never been with a man, let alone with a cowboy."
"Well, I've never done this either," I tell her.
Her eyes search mine under the moonlight. "Never ever?"
"Not once. I guess both of us can teach one another something, huh?"
She swallows. "You sure you want to do that with me?"
"Laura," I say, my voice low and growly, "You’re the only one I want to do this with." I pick her up and her legs wrap around my waist. All my desires are wrapped up around me and damn, I could die right now and go to heaven a happy man.
But there is more to come. With her. For us.
I carry her out of my house and toward my truck. I lay the blanket from the picnic out in the truck bed and she crawls onto it, on her knees.
"This is pretty romantic,” she says, looking at me, standing at the edge of the truck bed. “Two virgins on Valentine's Day."
"It's more than I would've bargained for," I say.
"So what happens next?" she asks.
I sit on the edge of the truck bed, turning to her. "I think we both give and we both take."
With that, she crawls over to me, sits in my lap. "Then take, Cole. Take whatever you want."
8
LAURA
The words I just uttered—take whatever you want—feel reckless in the most wonderful way. I don't want to be a contradiction, especially when Cole makes me feel so warm, so safe. So damn good. Maybe it took meeting a cowboy like him to realize I was judging everyone wrong.
Judging him wrong.
Now I'm in his lap and he's looking down at me as if I’m the only woman in the world. "What are you thinking?" I ask him. I've just offered him anything he wants from me.
"I'm thinking, Laura, that I've wanted this moment. I've been dreaming of this since the day I first laid eyes on you. For one whole month I've been passing you every morning thinking, ‘Whoever ends up with her is a lucky bastard.’"
"I wish you would've said something," I tell him. "Let me know what you were thinking. I didn't have any clue."
"Eh," he smirks. "You were busy reading your romance novels. You didn't have eyes for me then. But now, well," he tucks a strand of loose hair behind my ear, "I like to think, Laura, you see me as I really am."
I swallow. The warmth in my body pulses through my veins as I feel a desire I've never experienced before.
"I'm so glad I told you about the auction yesterday," I whisper under the light of the Texas moon.
"And I'm glad Luke told me I best come prepared with cash."
I smile up at him. "I want you to make love to me," I tell him.
His eyes widen. "You sure about that?"
I nod. "I've waited my whole life to feel something like this. Something pure and real. Something free. I've always been taking care of my pa, and I wasn't sure I'd ever meet a man who'd want to take care of me."
"Laura, if we do this, it changes things. Do you understand?"