“Babies?”How wonderful.
Cautiously, she got to her knees.He handed the binoculars to her, then showed her how to adjust them until she had a clear image.She zoomed in, entranced.
They were adorable.The little ones danced with joy while the biggest ferret watched over them.She and Jayce passed the binoculars back and forth for a while, until finally, the adult herded the little ones back to the burrow.
Then, the adult darted off into the grass.
Malika blinked.How irresponsible of it.It must not have much experience with babies.
“What if something happens while the mother isn’t there to protect them?”she asked.“Shouldn’t we get closer and watch them for her?”
“No.”Jayce caught her arm to stop her from standing.“That’s the last thing we should do.They’ll have to figure out how to survive on their own.They’re safe enough where they are.Besides, black-footed ferrets are solitary.The mother will move them into their own burrows before very long.”
Malika would have to trust that he knew what he was talking about, although this wasn’t the same as the bear spray.She sighed.This was about babies—and women had protective instincts about babies that men couldn’t possibly understand.
His hand remained on her arm.Their thighs touched.The earth underneath them was warm from the sun.They’d created a small, intimate nest for themselves in the wheat, canopied by the night, which had fallen.She wanted more of what they’d begun by the river.
She wriggled closer.And still, he did nothing.
The man couldn’t grasp the nuances of flirting, let alone outright invitation.A more direct approach was required.
“Do I not kiss as well as Belle does?”she asked.
Chapter Fourteen
Jayce
Jayce didn’t rushwith an answer.He’d battled with himself the entire day, and he was exhausted.She might be a grown woman who knew her own mind, but she didn’t know as much about sex as she liked to think.
Her engagement to another man was a bigger problem for him than her lack of experience.She wasn’t free.If they took matters to their logical conclusion, they’d have to get married.
He had no real objections to marrying Malika.She wasn’t hung up on romance the way most women were, which was good.She fit in well with ranch life, and Burning Scrub too.His mom and dad liked her.There was also the next generation of Hansons to consider, and right now, she was his best bet.She liked children.All women loved babies.
She went on and on about how marriage required compatibility in the bedroom, and that requirement was shaping up well, so he couldn’t imagine she’d have any objections to him in that regard.He wasn’t rich, but he wasn’t poor, and she didn’t really have a good handle on the distinction between them—which was a point in his favor.
He’d need Ali’s permission, of course.He understood that much.He didn’t think Ali would mind.Not enough to have him killed.
Thebought and paid forproblem his mother had raised would be the real issue.Her fiancé would need to be compensated.
But that was a problem for later.He hadn’t yet made up his own mind about the direction this evening would take.The final decision was hers.
“There is no comparison,” he said, because when women brought up other women, he knew it meant danger.“You’re two different people.”
“But you still think about her.”
He took his time sorting his answer out in his head.Belle might have seemed perfect in ways he’d thought mattered to the ranch and its future, but he was no longer as sure.She was more interested in science than ranching.She always had her head in a book.
“I think about how happy she is, and how well suited she and Beau are.They make each other happy.And I’m happy for her.For them both.”Even if Beau Jones was an ass.
His arm worked its way around Malika’s shoulders.
His fingers played with the collar of the sweatshirt she wore, brushing the smooth skin underneath.“Right now, I’m here with you, and I’m perfectly happy about it.”
She tilted her chin so that it fit into the curve of his shoulder.Her eyes studied him.Hard.Her palm heated the crease between his hip and thigh.She enjoyed touch and wasn’t the least bit shy about exploration, and he really liked how physical she was—unless she was fighting him off due to a misunderstanding.He could live without that.
Her eyes challenged him.“If you’re so happy, then why aren’t you kissing me now?”
Another fair question.
