Read Cougar in Texas: 3 (Rugged and Risque) for Free Online Page A

applied a bit more makeup than what she’d had on earlier. Caleb seemed to like what he saw.
    Yet she couldn’t help reminding herself she wasn’t looking for a new man. And certainly not a younger one. Though five years wasn’t a huge difference, it’d be nice if they’d at least been born in the same decade. Him being a twentysomething made her feel as though she was trolling for a younger man to spite her ex. That was not the case at all, particularly since she’d decided yesterday she needed to cut the ties with the past. Let it all go.
    Caleb leaned toward her and asked in a low tone, “You two-step, darlin’?”
    “Not in a very long time.”
    “Like riding a bike,” he said in her ear. “You game?”
    She spared a glance at her friends, all of whom wore expressions of encouragement. She debated the situation a moment. Despite all of her reservations though, the offer was simply too tempting to pass up. Placing her hand in his, she let him lead her onto the dance floor.

Chapter Three
     
    Caleb pulled Reese into his arms and had to bite back the sigh of relief that sprang up on him. From the minute Jack had suggested they head to the saloon, all he could think of was dancing with her. It was a wonder he’d been able to get through the conversation about his new business on the drive over, though it was such a grand passion he could talk about it extensively with little thought. Reese, he’d discovered, had incited a different kind of passion.
    They moved together easily as he guided her around the dance floor. He kept her close to him, which didn’t go unnoticed by those in the near vicinity. He caught the curious glances shot their way and knew Reese did too, because her body turned rigid.
    He smiled at her and said, “Relax, darlin’. We’re just dancing. That’s hardly newsworthy enough to set the rumor mill on fire.”
    “You have a lot to learn about this town.”
    With a chuckle, he added, “I can take the heat.”
    But he wondered if she could. She seemed preoccupied with the indiscreet attention they received.
    When the song ended, he asked, “Ready for that beer?”
    “Definitely.”
    Despite her obvious tension related to the scrutiny from the townsfolk, Caleb didn’t miss the flash of awareness in her eyes. Something more than self-consciousness edged her tawny irises. An unmistakable flicker of desire told her she’d liked being in his loose embrace. So he didn’t think twice about taking her by the hand as they strolled over to rejoin their party. They took the empty seats and sipped the cold draught beer awaiting them.
    George said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out on the dance floor, Reese.”
    “Not since my wedding reception, which was a few months before you came to town,” she told him, a distant tinge to her voice.
    “Looked like you were enjoying yourself,” Jess added.
    Caleb watched as her gaze slid to the dance floor and then returned to him. She smiled.
    “I was enjoying myself. Too hell what anyone has to say about it. Wanna get back out there?”
    The band covered Garth Brooks’ lively American Honky-tonk Bar Association . He reached for her hand again and said, “Damn straight I do.”
    He heard George’s laugh as they left the table. Whether the half a pint she’d had while they were sitting helped to calm her nerves, or she really did want to brush off the busybodies, he wasn’t sure. Nor did he care. All that mattered to him was that she settled comfortably in his arms this time and was much more relaxed as he led her across the floor. Song after song, he twirled her and shuffled her around They moved together in a natural way, as though effortlessly in tune with one another.
    When the band slowed it down, Caleb didn’t let her go. He pulled her closer to him, so her breasts nestled below the ledge of his pectoral muscles. She stared up at him, that lusty flicker in her gaze again.
    “You’re a very good dancer.” Her tone was provocative