Date with a Cowboy: Iron Cowboy / In the Arms of the Rancher / At the Texan's Pleasure

“Sara, is that all right with you?” Harley asked gently.

She nodded. “It’s okay. What is it? Or can’t you say?”

Harley shrugged. “I really can’t,” he replied. He forced a smile. “We’ll do this again, Sara.”

She smiled back. “Of course.”

He nodded to Jared and walked off toward the parking lot, looking forlorn even from behind.

Jared was smiling.

Sara frowned. “Did you have anything to do with that?”

“You mean, did I ask Cy to occupy Harley so that I could take you home? Of course I did. I don’t like competition.”

She was gaping. “Excuse me?”

His arm contracted. His eyes were strangely darkened as he met her own. “I’m possessive,” he said softly. “Territorial.”

“About … me?” she asked, unbelieving.

“Of course about you,” he muttered.

“But Max is beautiful,” she began.

“Max is the past,” he said bluntly. “She knows it.”

That was thrilling. Exciting. Her whole face lit up. He was serious!

He stopped dancing and traced her mouth with a long forefinger, teasing her lips apart in a sensuous tension that grew by the second. “You’re tired,” he whispered. “You’ve done too much. You need to go home, and I have to take you because Harley left early.”

She nodded, wordless.

He caught her by the hand and tugged her to Cy and Lisa. They said their goodbyes. Jared asked Cy to tell Tony where he’d gone. He put Sara in the Jaguar, buckled her up and revved off toward her small house.

They didn’t exchange a single word during the short drive. The tension between them was so thick it was almost tangible. Sara felt hot all over. The feel of Jared so close to her had removed all her inhibitions. She couldn’t think past wanting to kiss him until her mouth hurt.

He cut off the engine in front of her house and turned to her. “We’ve reached the point of no return,” he said curtly. “Either we go ahead, or we stop seeing each other. I’m too old to stop at kisses.”

She stared at him helplessly, all her upbringing urging her to tell him to leave, to go inside by herself. All her life, she’d done the right thing, the safe thing. But she loved this man. If she said the wrong words now, she knew she’d never be in his arms again. The thought was torture. Then she caught herself. She was being overly worried. He wanted to do some heavy petting. Of course. He wasn’t a kiss-at-the-front-door sort of man. And if things got too hot, well, she’d just find an excuse to get up. Easy.

He got out of the car, opened her door and locked the sleek vehicle before he followed Sara up onto her porch. Nervously she unlocked the door and went inside. She reached for the light switch, but he was right behind her. He stayed the movement, locked the dead bolt and suddenly swept her up into his arms and brought his mouth down on her soft lips.

The sofa was only a few feet away. It was long and wide, just right for two people to lie on. Sara felt his weight with a sense of destiny. It was the most glorious thing she’d ever felt, all that hard, warm muscle down the length of her body. She seemed to throb like her own runaway heartbeat while Jared made a midnight snack of her mouth.

Before long, she was as anxious as he was to have her blouse and bra out of the way so that his hands, and then his mouth, could explore the softness of her warm skin. By the time he slid his hands under her skirt and against her bare legs, she was shivering all over.

She felt his body vibrate, as if he was as electrified as she was. He whispered something under his breath that she didn’t understand. Apparently it wasn’t too important, because only seconds later, she felt him against her in a way that was as new as it was frightening.

She started to protest, but it was already too late. His mouth ground into hers as his body suddenly invaded the most secret place of her own. The delicious sensations she felt when they began were now absent as she felt him insistent and demanding, his big hand under her hips, holding them steady as he pushed down hard. He groaned as he felt the soft barrier give. His control was gone at once. He drove for fulfillment; abstinence and too many beers had robbed him of self-control. He felt the rush of pleasure like a hot wave over his body, leaving him to shudder in a tense arch that was like rain after the baking desert.

When he regained his control, he felt her trying to get away from the crush of his body. He was aware of broken sobs. Trembling. Audible misery.

He lifted his head. He couldn’t see her in the darkness of the room, but his hand touched her face and felt the wetness.

“Please,” she sobbed, pushing at his chest.

He was shocked at his lapse. He hadn’t really meant to go this far, not the first time they were intimate. But it was too late now. He moved away, fastening his slacks. He heard her move, heard fabric against skin. At least she’d stopped crying.

“I’ll get the light,” he said gruffly.

“No!” She was standing now. “No,” she added in a more controlled tone. “Please don’t.”

“Why not?” He moved closer to her. “We made love. What’s so horrible about it?”

She was shivering with self-revulsion. “Please go,” she whispered.

“Sara …”

“Please!” she sobbed.

He drew in an angry breath. “Small town girls and their damned hang-ups,” he muttered. “What now? Do you think you’ll go to hell for sleeping with a man you haven’t married?”

It was so close to what she’d been taught all her life, that she didn’t even bother to reply.

“I don’t believe this!” he raged. “I can’t be the first man to—” He stopped dead, remembering the barrier that he’d dealt with. “I was the first,” he said slowly. “Wasn’t I, Sara?”

“Please go,” she pleaded tearfully.

He drew in a long breath. “Tell me you’re on birth control,” he demanded.

“I never needed to be,” she bit off.

“Great!” he burst out, furious. “That’s just great! And you see me as a meal ticket, don’t you? If I made you pregnant, you’ll have a free ride for life! Except you won’t,” he added coldly. “I don’t want children ever again. You’ll have a termination or I’ll take you to court and show everyone who lives here how mercenary you are!”

He was talking about a possibility she hadn’t even considered. She’d tried to stop him. Why did he expect every woman to be prepared for sex? Was that the way people thought in big cities? Were they all prepared, all the time?

“Don’t worry,” she said through her teeth. “I promise you, there won’t be any horrible consequences. Now will you please go home?”

He started for the door, still furious. But he paused with it open and looked back toward her. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said uncomfortably.

She laughed hollowly. “My whole life has been nothing except pain. Why should this be any different?”

She turned and went into a room down the hall, closed the door and audibly locked it.

He left, frowning, curious about the remark. He didn’t want to think about how much he’d hurt her. He honestly hadn’t planned to seduce her, but she wouldn’t believe him. She was hurt and shocked and outraged. Probably she’d been taught that premarital sex was a sin, and now she was going to punish herself for falling victim to demon lust.