Page 24 of Pure Temptation in Cowboy Boots

“How could you tell?”

“Your skin was flushed, and you were breathing faster, and... your nipples were hard.” Mac clutched her hand a little more tightly and cleared his throat again.

“Oh.” Which described exactly the way she was feeling right now. When Mac didn’t continue with the dream, she prompted him. “Did you wake up then?”

“No.”

“What happened?”

“You had an orgasm.”

“Oh!”

“Which turned me on, and I pulled you off the horse and made love to you right on the ground.”

Tess wasn’t sure who was holding on tighter, her or Mac, but they had each other in a death grip. “Was it... nice?”

His voice was hoarse. “It was a dream. You can’t put dreams up against the real thing.”

Disappointment shot through her. “Then it wasn’t nice.”

“No, it wasn’t nice. It was wild and primitive, no holds barred. I bit your neck and you dug your fingernails into my back. It was... fantastic.”

“Wow.” She wondered what he’d think if he knew how her body was throbbing this very minute. Being thrown to the ground and ravished sounded perfect. She loosened her grip when she realized she might already be digging her nails into his hand.

He released her hand and turned on his side to face her. “I don’t want you to be scared by that description, Tess. I would never be that rough in real life.”

She turned on her side, too, pillowing her head on her arm. But her casual posture belied her racing heart. “Too bad.”

He sucked in his breath. “You’d want that?”

“Would I want you to be so overcome with desire that you’d pull me from my horse and make love to me on the ground? Of course I would. But as you said, it was a dream. In real life⁠—”

“In real life I want you even more than that.”

She gasped. “You do?”

He lifted a hand to her cheek, and as he caressed her, his hand trembled. “In real life, I want to rip that dress away and take you now, right now. But I won’t. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“It would so be fair!”

His laugh sounded strained. “No, it wouldn’t.”

She’d never heard that edgy tone in his voice, and it was more exciting than the tenderest of murmurs. She almost wished he would be that reckless, but of course he wouldn’t, which was why she was lying here with him now. She trusted him. “But taking it slow doesn’t seem fair to you,” she said.

He slid his hand to the nape of her neck, massaging gently. “Fair doesn’t even come into it. I never imagined I’d be lying here with you like this. It’s like getting a present I didn’t have sense enough to know I wanted.” He fingered the clasp of her necklace. “What made you decide to wear this tonight?”

“It seemed right.”

“It was,” he murmured. His lips found hers and his kiss soon brought her to a fever pitch.

She didn’t realize he’d begun unzipping her dress until the material loosened over her breasts and he drew back slightly, gently ending the kiss. She opened her eyes. His face was in shadow, but she could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he eased the zipper the rest of the way down.

“Stop me whenever you want,” he said in a husky voice.

“I don’t want to stop you.” Her heart pounded as the thin strap of her dress dropped from her shoulder.

“Just know that you can.” He took the strap carefully between his fingers and pulled it down, bringing the bodice of the dress with it, gradually exposing her breast. His breath caught. “Oh, Tess.” He eased her to her back and expertly drew the dress down to her waist. Then he groaned and shook his head.