longing for a childhood he’d never have, unresolved anger toward his parents, or the longing for a woman who had somehow infiltrated the walls he’d built around himself and who’d overtaken his thoughts in the space of a few hours.
“Well, bro,” Hugh said. “You’re here now. Let’s get you settled in.”
Settling in wasn’t something Eric had ever been good at, but between the Bradens’ welcoming arms and the knowledge that Kat was inside, he wanted to try.
Chapter Four
AFTER A SLEEPLESS night of beating herself up for what she’d done with Eric, Kat decided to forgive herself. After all, she was only human, and Eric James was some kind of sexual god. Any woman would have given in to his sweet seduction.
Now if she could only stop thinking about him.
That wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon. She’d spent the entire night reliving their last kiss, playing over the sound of his voice when he’d said he felt like he’d known her forever. She couldn’t deny feeling a thread of familiarity when they’d kissed in the driveway, but she’d assumed it was because they’d been kissing in the airport and those kisses were still fresh on her mind. As was the rest of what they’d done.
It was almost six o’clock Saturday morning, and Kat was sitting on the back patio, listening to the sounds of the ranch coming to life. She’d always been an early riser, and with the time difference between Virginia and Colorado, her body thought it was eight o’clock. The sun peeked over the mountains, sending ribbons of pink across the sky, and not for the first time, she wondered what it would be like to live someplace like this, away from the noises and smells of the city and surrounded by family. Hal’s sons Treat and Rex owned the neighboring properties to the ranch. She knew Treat and his family were away at one of the many resorts he owned. She’d seen Rex, a burly cowboy with linebacker shoulders and long, ink-black hair topped with an ever-present Stetson, down by the barn when she’d come outside. Rex ran his father’s ranch, and it seemed to Kat that he worked from dawn to dusk.
“You look a million miles away,” Eric said as he came through the patio doors, looking devastatingly handsome in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt that stretched tight over his muscular chest and biceps. His voice still carried the grogginess of sleep, and his hair was standing on end, as if he’d just rolled out of bed. She wondered if that was his daily look, sexily rumpled .
He sat in the chair beside her, and she noticed his feet were bare, and for whatever reason, it upped his sexy factor even more. She loved a man who was confident and comfortable in his own skin, and Eric was the epitome of both. She smiled, taking in the warmth in his eyes and the absence of the intensity she’d seen last night.
“Just thinking about what it would be like to live here,” she answered.
He handed her his coffee mug. “Sip?”
“Sure. Thanks.” She closed her eyes, savoring the warm liquid. “You take cream and sugar, too. That’s convenient.”
“I’m sure we have a lot in common,” he said as she set the mug in his hand. He raised his index finger and placed it over hers, holding her hand gently in place.
Her pulse quickened. Guys hit on her all the time at the bar and she never paid them any mind. But something about Eric made her entire body take notice, and most curiously, her heart warmed when he was near.
He smiled and released her finger. Even without his touch, their threaded connection remained, and she tried again to remind herself that he was a one-night stand, not a potential boyfriend.
“I have a place in upstate New York like this, in the Silver Mountains. I don’t have horses like Hal does, but I’ve got about a hundred acres of wooded mountain property with a stream that runs through it. It’s nice. Quiet.”
“Sounds beautiful. Do you spend a lot of time there?”
He sipped his coffee
Michele Boldrin;David K. Levine