Read Just Gettin' Started: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch Book 1) for Free Online

entwined bodies struck him hard and he got dizzy with the implications. Or maybe he really did need to more air. Pulling back, gasping, he caressed the soft skin of her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her lids raised and he saw them glisten. His heart caught and skipped.
    “Graeme.” Her voice was a whispered… plea? Prayer? Warning? He wasn’t sure and for an instant he froze, scared he’d gone too far. He had just one more thing he wanted to do with her. To her. Seizing the moment as it whizzed by, he sucked her bottom lip between his teeth and suckled hard. With tiny nips he teased her flesh, turning her lips ruddy with the flush of blood. As he let go, he noticed how well-kissed she looked. How utterly seductive and supremely lovable she truly was.
    He wanted to do so much more, but Graeme pulled away.
    This wasn’t the time to push her right over the edge. He had pushed the chance for their first kiss far enough—perhaps too far—already. If he wanted to do this right, he needed to give time to her, to himself. He wanted a relationship, not a one-night stand. Neither of them deserved that. And considering that look in her eyes, he was afraid of just how close to a rough and tumble round in the sack was. Damn, he’d never known he was such a good kisser. Perhaps it was her.
    “I want to apologize…but I’m not sorry.”
    She put a finger on her lips. “We shouldn’t have…”
    “Why not? Is it because I’m working for you?”
    She took a careful step back. Her dark eyes were filled with confusion, trepidation. “Don’t be silly. I just—like to keep my distance.”
    Graeme couldn’t help the smile that lifted his lips. “You’ve got to admit, Cullen. In our case, that’s not going to work. Every time I look at you, it’s instantaneous combustion.”
    “It does boggle the mind.”
    “And heart,” he admitted. “So, what are we going to do?”
    “Forget this happened?” she suggested.
    He reached out, pulled a lock of her dark hair and watched it spring back. He was drowning in the depth of her eyes. The way she gazed at him felt as if she could see right into his heart. He didn’t have any defense against her. Graeme felt vulnerable, scared even. This wasn’t going to be one tumble in the hay. No way. She was trouble. Not because she was prone to hurt him, but because she mattered.
    He hadn’t met a woman who mattered this much. “Can you forget that this happened?” he said.
    After a brief moment of hesitation, she shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
    “Neither can I.” Graeme took a deep breath. Third time lucky, perhaps? There was no harm in taking the plunge. If she said no, he wouldn’t be better than what he was, but he wouldn’t be worse off either. “Blaze, one of the bars in town, is holding a barn dance on Thursday night. Would you like to go with me?”
    “A barn dance?”
    His heart skipped a beat. Would she refuse him yet again? “I could shake a leg or two. What about you?”
    Cullen kept opening and closing her mouth as if she was struggling to find the right words to respond to his question.
    He could almost see the wheels turn in her mind. For a moment, he thought that she would say no.
    Then, much to his delight, she nodded. “Why not?”
    “Why not, indeed.” Even though he longed to kiss her again, Graeme took a step back. It was time to give her some space. At least, for now. “I’ve got work to do…guess I’ll see you around.” He strode out before he would be too compelled to draw her into his arms again. He chuckled softly to himself. This was good. He’d won his first date, and as far as Graeme was concerned, things could only move forward.

 

    Chapter Five
     
    T emporary insanity was her only defense.
    Cullen wasn’t sure why she agreed to go out with him. Damn it! She wasn’t some high school girl who was embarking on her first date, but it felt like it. As she checked her reflection in the mirror and ran her hands over