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He shook his head again, more adamantly this time. “No,” he repeated. “A kiss goodbye would mean you have to leave. And I don’t want you to go.”
Good Lord, she didn’t want to either. This man did things to her; crazy, beautiful, wonderful things. He made her feel sexy, stronger, alive, cherished. She wanted to consume him whole and carry a piece of him around with her always so she could be this happy for the rest of her life.
Her fingers traced the outline of his face, delighting in the texture of his skin, the warmth and vitality emanating from him.
“How about we make it a kiss hello then,” she decided.
His lashes fluttered as he inhaled. “That,” he answered, “I can do.”
When his lips met hers, a shockwave of sensation seized her, catching every nerve ending in her body and wringing them taut with pleasure, and not just pleasure of the body either; pleasure of the soul.
She felt like she was finally home.
Behind them, the barn doors gaped open wide. Anyone could wander in; his mother, a rooster, some traveling salesman. But Jo Ellen didn’t care. The soft crush of his lips, the secure weight of his body as he embraced her, the achy groan that rippled from the base of his throat only made her want more of him. More of this and everything else he had to offer.
She opened her mouth against his and urged the kiss deeper, drawing him into oblivion. He tumbled with her, his mouth coaxed into participating as he sipped from her joy. When he finally pulled back, it took him a moment to open his eyes. His brows rose a full second before his lashes did. When he looked at her, the shock on his face made her laugh.
“Wow. That was…that was…not how I was expecting to spend my afternoon,” he admitted.
Giddy pleasure spread through her. She liked surprising him, liked placing that adorable awed and dazed look on his face. She liked how feminine and sexy he made her feel. Alive with vivacity and glad she no longer felt guilty about hurting him this morning, she rested her cheek on his shoulder and hugged him tight, unable to keep her hands off him. Tucked between the driver’s seat and the steering wheel right along with him, she pressed so close her toes curled with satisfaction. “Can I see you again?”
“Jesus,” he whispered, sounding almost scared. “This is a dream. I’m going to wake up now, aren’t I?”
She lifted her face and rolled her eyes at his horrified expression. Pinching his bicep, she announced, “Not a dream. So…can I see you again or not?”
He swallowed audibly, and then bobbed his head. “Yes. Hell, yes. You can see me again.”
“When?’ she prodded, hushing her voice as she lifted on her toes and drew his face closer to hers.
His lashes fluttered as he tipped his head enough to meet his lips with hers. “Whenever you want. Tonight.”
“Tonight,” she agreed, then wrapped her arms around him and kissed him breathless.
“Or you could just stay until then,” he coaxed, talking against her mouth. “Keep me company while I tinker on this old thing. Then maybe I could show you what the hayloft looks like in the daylight.”
Without letting her answer, he fused them back together, kissing her long and lazily, making her body stir to life.
Euphoric about seeing him again later and aroused from even hearing the word hayloft, she whimpered. It took her quite the effort to force herself to pull back. “I can’t stay the whole day. I’m sorry, I promised my sister-in-law I’d stop by this afternoon and visit her and Grady before I leave town. I was actually on my way there when I passed your place and decided to drop in to say hi.”
He studied her before his lips tipped up in a grin. “Well, feel free to drop in and say hi anytime.” He lightly traced her face with the tips of his fingers. “I think I could become addicted to the way you say hi.”
Jo Ellen glowed. As Cooper took her hand and walked her back to her car, they laced their fingers together in such a sweet, platonic way, she blushed when she thought of their saucy, totally non-platonic make out session in his combine.
A giggle crawled up her throat. She couldn’t believe she wanted to giggle. Jo Ellen Rawlings hadn’t giggled since she was a schoolgirl, probably since she’d gotten pregnant at eighteen and suffered a devastating miscarriage. But Cooper Gerhardt made her giggly.
He kissed her at the driver’s side door of her car, which had her smile stretching wider.
“Tonight,” he promised, brushing his forehead against hers as he toyed with her fingers as if he was loath to let go of her quite yet.
She bit her lip. “Tonight.”
“Let’s make it a true rendezvous.” A conspiring gleam glittered from his whiskey gaze. “Why don’t you meet me at midnight at the end of the lane? I know just the spot to take you.”
Though her cheeks heated from the sensual assault his words take you had on her, she narrowed her eyes, trying to look suspicious. A second later, she giggled and agreed, “Okay.”
He pressed another soft kiss to her mouth before letting go of her hand, making contact with every inch of her fingers before they finally broke contact. When he turned and started away, she panicked.
Unable to leave him just yet, she said his name on a hushed question. “Cooper?”
