Plain Jane's Texan

She glanced upward, looked into his face, and tried to say something intelligent. No words came. Not a croak. Not a whisper. Not a stammer. Nothing.

He lifted his brows and offered the glass again. She took the champagne and clutched the flute in a death grip.

“Grandpa Pete?”

“I wouldn’t mind one of those to wet my whistle,” Pete said, taking one of the remaining two.

“Did I interrupt something?” Matt asked.

“I was just trying to convince Eve to move to Texas so she could have lots of room for her animals. Eve, this here’s my grandson, Matt.”

Matt’s dark eyes bore into hers. “Oh, do you have animals?”

She tried again to speak, but her mouth was dry. She took a sip of champagne and managed to whisper, “Yes.”

“Did he convince you?” Matt asked.

Convince her? Of what? She tried to think, to recall the earlier conversation, but thinking was like trying to walk in knee-deep mud. He obviously noticed her perplexity because he smiled and said, “Did Grandpa Pete convince you to move to Texas? Sounds like a great idea to me.”

She shook her head. “Impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible.” He tossed back his wine in one swallow and set the glass aside. “Dance?”

“I—I’m not much of a dancer.”

“I don’t believe it. Angels float on air.” He peeled her fingers from the stemmed glass and handed it to Pete. “Come,” he said, holding out his arms to her.

She stepped into his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and they began to waltz. Eve, who’d always had two left feet, glided across the floor in perfect synchronization with Matt’s lead.

They danced on and on, swirling around the floor until laughter rippled from her throat like bubbles from Dom Perignon. He smiled down at her, his eyes shining like a starry midnight, and an unbelievable thrill went through her body.

The tempo of the music changed to a ballad, and he pulled her close. Her forehead rested perfectly in the hollow of his cheek. Still in perfect sync, their steps became slow, but as their bodies touched, her pulse began to accelerate. She could feel heat radiate from him, and his warm scent, a unique mixture of spice, citrus and musk, filled her nostrils and titillated the synapses of her spine. Everything emanating from Matt Crow proclaimed his total, visceral maleness, and everything in her responded. Chill bumps raced across her skin while a writhing hot mass swelled deep within.

Eve began to tremble.

She pushed away. “I—I don’t want this.”

The expression in his eyes almost made her weep. “What don’t you want?”

“This. This—” She pushed against his chest, but his arms held her fast, and their feet still moved in cadence. Her reaction to Matt Crow was scary, and she was quickly getting in over her head. He was way out of her league.

“Explain.”

Feeling as awkward as a teenager with a crush on a movie star, she shook her head. She was too embarrassed to explain her feelings. After all, she was simple, gawky Eve Ellison, and he was...well, he was a sophisticated man, a Texas millionaire used to bevies of beautiful, sophisticated women.

He pulled her back against him, and his lips brushed her ear. “It seems almost overwhelming, doesn’t it? From the moment I saw you, I felt as if I’d been kicked by a bull. I knew that you were the most perfect woman God had ever created. It’s only right that you should be named Eve.” His tongue traced the curve of her ear. “Offer me an apple, sugar, and I’m yours body and soul.”

Eve’s knees gave. She sagged against him.

“Let’s find someplace private,” Matt whispered. “I think I may die if I don’t kiss you.”

She thought that she might die, too. He was a smooth one, all right. Oh, she knew his type. She knew that he was feeding her a line a mile long, but her brain didn’t seem to have one iota of control over her body. Despite her every effort, her head nodded.

With his arm around her waist, he guided her from the dance floor and maneuvered her through the crowd. Her pulse was racing, her heart pounding, and she felt in imminent danger of hyperventilating. She should dig in her heels and put a stop to this nonsense right now. But her feet didn’t pay any attention, either. They padded right along beside Matt like a lamb to slaughter.

He located a secluded alcove and pulled her into it. Instantly his mouth covered hers. She almost fainted. Her hormones began to run amok like crazed, marauding elephants smashing into each other and flattening everything in their path. She plastered herself against him and kissed him back.

After about five minutes of fervent French kissing, Matt pulled away. His breathing was ragged. “Good God in Heaven, darlin’. I think I’m having a heart attack. Will you marry me?”

Some measure of sanity returned to Eve’s brain. “Marry you? Certainly not. Are you mad?”

“I may be. Something strange is going on, that’s for sure. There’s magic between us. Don’t you feel it? If you won’t marry me, will you at least come home to Texas with me? If we live together for a while, maybe you could get used to the idea.”

The marauding elephants stopped dead in their tracks. “You are mad. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Why not?”

“I should think it would be obvious. You’re practically a stranger. I don’t know anything about you.”

“We can soon remedy that. What do you want to know?”

He started to kiss her again, but she averted her mouth. “Don’t do that,” she protested.

“I thought you liked it.”

“You were mistaken.”

“Was I?”

She’d often heard the term “rakish grin,” but she’d never completely understood the power of one until that moment When he looked at her and grinned in that captivating way, she melted. This tall Texan was totally beyond her experience; he was way, way, way out of her league, but she kissed him again anyhow.

A strident noise blared between them, and she startled. He cursed. “Damned phone. Sorry, honey. It must be an emergency.” Scowling, he pulled a slim cellular unit from inside his coat. “This had better be good,” he said to the caller. After a minute of listening, he added a few other colorful phrases. “I’m on my way.” He stuck the phone back into his pocket and took her into his arms once more. “I have to leave. Come home with me,” he murmured as he nipped her ear and nuzzled her neck.

“Impossible. I can’t just run off on a whim. I have a career. I have obligations.”

“Quit your job. You won’t need to work. I’ll take care of you. Come with me, Eve.”

“Take care of—” A bucket of cold reality splashed her, and she stiffened in his arms. What kind of person did he think she was? “No way.”

Matt cupped her nape and searched her face. “Why not? Kim said that you weren’t married or engaged. Is there someone else?”

Deciding to take the easy way out, Eve crossed her fingers behind her back in a childish gesture. “Yes. Yes there is. Charlie.”

“Ditch him. You couldn’t care much about the guy and kiss me the way you did.”

“You’re wrong. I adore Charlie. We’ve lived together for the last two years. I couldn’t leave him.” At least that part was true.

Standing with his gaze downcast, Matt was quiet for a long time. Then he looked up. “I see.” If Eve hadn’t known better, she would have thought there were tears in his eyes. A trick of the lighting, she was sure. “For a while there, I really thought this was it.” He gently kissed her forehead. “Charlie is a lucky man. So long, angel. Would you tell everyone goodbye for me? I’ve got an emergency, and it’s something serious. I’ve gotta go.”