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She pulled back to meet his gaze. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
He looked at her for a moment and then said, “Nothing.”
There was something. Had he picked up on her confusion? That’s the last thing she wanted. More than anything she needed a settled mind as to what had to be done. When she left the ranch, she wanted him to know how it felt to believe someone wanted you and to find out they really didn’t.
Dylan lowered his mouth to hers and the touch of his lips sent sensations swirling in her stomach. She kissed him back until she remembered where they were. If any of his men walked out of the barn or if Hazel had glanced out the window, they would have seen them kissing. It was bad enough that Ren had been a witness to one of their heated kisses yesterday.
Breaking off the kiss, she said, “I think we need to leave and go somewhere private, don’t you?”
She figured she could start working on him at lunch and then in a few days he would assume she was ripe to be bedded. That’s when she would take pleasure in not only telling him what he wouldn’t be getting but what he would never get from her again.
“You’re right. It’s getting harder and harder to resist you, Charm.”
“Um, maybe you shouldn’t try resisting me, Dylan.” There, she’d given him ideas. Ideas that would hopefully set her plan into motion.
“This place is beautiful, Dylan. And the lake is huge.”
Dylan had hoped she would like it. Of all the spots on the ranch, this particular one was his favorite. He would bring his guitar here many days and sit with his back against that huge oak tree and play to his heart’s content. This place was also the inspiration for a number of his songs. After he’d met Charm, he envisioned sharing this place with her while he played his music to her. After their breakup, it had taken a long while before he could come to the lake and not think of her.
He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, not wanting to recall his heartbreak. What was important was that for whatever reason, fate had intervened and they were together again. He was willing to let bygones be bygones and move forward with a new beginning.
After spreading a blanket on the ground, he sat down and then pulled her down with him before grabbing for his guitar. “This song I’m about to play for you was one I wrote after losing my grandparents. It was a difficult time for me and my parents. I think we thought Gramps and Gramma would be around forever.”
She reached out and placed her hand on his. “And they will be, Dylan. In your heart. I told you what happened with me when I lost my grandparents within a year of each other.”
Yes, he remembered. She couldn’t handle the loss and rebelled.
“There’s not a day that I don’t think of them,” he said. “I feel their presence even more whenever I come to the ranch.”
She nodded. “Were you surprised your grandparents left the ranch to you and not to your parents?”
“No. Dad said years ago he wasn’t cut out to be a rancher. He couldn’t wait to leave for college and didn’t plan to return, other than to visit. I knew from the time I was in my teens that the ranch would one day be mine. My grandparents had told me so. They knew how much I loved it here. I couldn’t wait for school to end so my parents could send me to Idaho for the summer.”
He chuckled. “I even tried talking them into letting me live with my grandparents year-round but they refused to do that. They didn’t mind sharing me during the summer but the rest of the year they wanted me in Memphis with them.”
“That’s the only time you came here? During the summers?”
“No. We always came as a family at Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas. Holidays here at the ranch were the best.”
He didn’t say anything else for a minute but noticed her hand was still on his. It was meant to be comforting, but he was beginning to feel more than comfort from her touch. He met her gaze and knew she felt it, too. She did something at that moment that he hadn’t expected. She leaned toward him, traced her fingertips along his lips and whispered, “Kiss me, Dylan.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. He did more than kiss her; he pulled her into his lap as he took possession of her mouth. Nothing was better than this. Everything about her turned him on. He hadn’t seen her often in jeans but the pair she wore today tightened around every curve. When she’d stepped on the porch, he’d done a double take. It had been hard keeping his concentration on milking the cows. She looked as if she belonged on his ranch.
When he noticed his ranch hands’ gazes lingering on her more than he’d like, the look he’d given them let them know he would excuse their interest once. After all, they were men with a keen appreciation for beauty. But that same look also told them she was off-limits. Knowing his men, they got the message and would act accordingly.
He released her mouth. If he didn’t, he would be tempted to start removing her clothes. Although she’d asked to be kissed, he didn’t think she was ready to move beyond that yet. He was, but he wouldn’t rush her.
“I guess we need to see what Hazel put in the basket for lunch,” she said, licking her lips, which made his stomach tighten.
“Yes, I guess we’d better,” he said, placing her off his lap to sit beside him before reaching for the basket.
He pulled out chicken salad sandwiches, chips, apples and a jug of iced tea and cups. Handing her one of the napkins that was also included he said, “You’re going to love Hazel’s chicken salad sandwiches. They are the best.”
“I believe you. The dinner she prepared last night was great.”
“Her dinners always are.”
They ate while he told her more about the ranch and the land it sat on, including the number of generations it had been in the Emanuel family. After eating they took a walk around the grounds and then returned for him to play several songs. While in college he had often played for her over the phone when they’d been miles apart.
