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“No problem,” he bit out. “Besides, I prefer blondes, remember?”
She was sick of hearing that, too, and scoffed. “Men take whatever they can get, preference be dammed.”
His eyes narrowed, and it was obvious her veiled accusation offended him.
“Not this one,” he stated, spinning to walk away.
“Prove it.”
He turned back with a look of disbelief. “What?”
Yeah, what? Okay, so maybe she was sick of the lies he told…or, more accurately—and fairly—the lies of men in her past. But Colton was so sure of himself she couldn’t resist demonstrating to him how weak all men really were.
“I said, prove it,” she repeated with unmistakable challenge.
His gaze swept over her, heating her on the inside. “And how do you propose I do that?”
Great. She’d started this one, now she couldn’t back down. Then again…maybe what she really wanted was another glimpse of the feelings he’d stirred the other day when his lips covered hers. Something had awakened that now refused to go away whenever he was near. The dream she’d been having just before waking in his arms didn’t help, either.
Desperately nervous, Kendra forced the next step to the last, stopping inches from his tall body. His warmth enveloped her, heating her on the outside. He didn’t move a muscle save for the one ticking along his clenched jaw. Then she noticed the pulse at the base of his throat beating in time with her own.
She reached up, linked her hands behind his neck and pulled his head down as she rose up on her tiptoes. Though he’d closed his eyes, his lips were firm, cool and unresponsive. Heart racing as her own lashes lowered, she lightly brushed her mouth back and forth on his. Colton stood still. Forcing herself to continue, she increased pressure and tentatively pressed her tongue against the seam of his lips. Still nothing. Even his hands remained rigid at his sides.
Good lord, had she read him wrong?
His sudden indrawn breath revealed she hadn’t. A crazy sense of relief softened her mouth against his, easing the brash determination to prove her point. She angled her head, senses registering the fullness of his bottom lip along with the taste of beer and mint. Basic instinct took over and her tongue slid between his parted lips as she unconsciously sought the heady experience of her earlier dream.
Colton’s shoulders bunched beneath her forearms, her only warning before he gathered her tight against his hard body with a deep, surrendering groan.
Distantly, an alarm bell rang in her head. The rational part of her brain demanded she end the kiss. She’d achieved her objective. There was no further reason to continue.
Except…he was so warm. And the kiss that she began, he’d just completely taken over, and she hadn’t thought that far ahead.
She’d kissed a few men in an attempt to move on after the rape, but never had she been kissed as good as Colton kissed. Nothing prepared her for the onslaught of sensation that wiped out coherent thought as his mouth alternately coaxed and demanded her response.
He caught her bottom lip between his teeth, sucked lightly, then stroked his tongue against hers. All the while, he held her tight, his hands threading her hair.
She became aware of the beat of his heart against hers at the same time she felt something soft, yet firm against the back of her knees. Colton reached out with one hand to brace their decent, and she clung to his shoulders as he lowered her…onto her bed.
It took a dazed moment for her to realize he’d maneuvered them into her bedroom. The fact that she hadn’t even been aware they’d moved was as sobering as finding out her half-brother wanted her dead. When Colton’s weight pressed her into the mattress, she felt a hard bulge through his jeans against her thigh.
The ramifications of her current position hit home with dizzying force. She stiffened in panic. Sensations that had been so wondrous moments ago paled with the memory of how she’d tried to fight Jeremy. How he’d beaten her into submission. Paralyzing helplessness washed over her, wiping out any thought of self-defense.
Colton felt for the hem of Kendra’s pajama top. The moment his palm connected with the silky skin at her waist, he felt her tremble beneath him. Then her entire body went rigid,
including her lips. He lifted his head, his hand frozen on her ribcage. “What’s the matter?” he asked gruffly.
The fear in her expressive eyes shocked him. She’d kissed him; why would she be afraid now? His confusion compounded when she drew a shuddering breath and a growing determination sharpened her features.
“I believe I’ve proved my point,” she stated.
Her icy tone, shaky though it was, hit him like a bucket of mountain spring run-off tossed in his face. Comprehension dawned and anger swept away concern. He shoved off the bed with a single violent push. She flinched, but he didn’t pause on his way to the door. He was more furious with himself than he was with her; he’d played right into her hands.
The door he’d closed only minutes earlier banged against the wall and swung half way closed as he strode through. His anger carried him outside, straight to the barn, into Lucky’s stall. The Arabian approached, searching for the treats he usually kept in his pockets and Colton fed him absently while his mind whirled.
He was a complete idiot. He’d known what she was doing—hell, she’d flat out challenged him to prove her wrong. And he hadn’t even been able to last a damned minute before any rational thoughts flew out the frickin’ window. What the hell was it about her that he couldn’t resist?
He hadn’t been lying—he did prefer blondes. He couldn’t remember a single woman he’d dated more than once that hadn’t been blonde. He’d even harbored a crush on Britt for the first year of his employment, before he’d matured and recognized their friendship deserved better than that.
