Catch Me A Cowboy (15 page)

‘I'm sorry,' he said gently.

‘It's okay. Honestly, it's fine. I knew it was going to be me. So I was prepared. Thank you for sharing your time with me.'

He nodded.

‘Bye,' she said and waved to the other girls before striding out of the barn with her head down.

Emily drew in a deep breath and sighed with a mixture of relief and anguish. As much as these women got on her nerves, an elimination night was never pleasant.

‘We are down to only eight ladies. But, we have some exciting news. Tomorrow will be the start of individual dates. You all understand the importance of these dates because you will get to spend quality one-on-one time with Wil.' Missy turned to the camera. ‘And will the individual dates set love into bloom? Stay tuned to find out tomorrow night.'

Emily felt a spark of excitement surge through her veins and a smile spread across her face. She met Wil's gaze for a brief moment, and she was certain she saw the same emotions reflected in those blue eyes.

A little later on, Emily was making her way across the barn, excited to sneak a call to Xanthi, so she could tell her she had survived the next elimination round.

‘Em,' came Wil's voice from behind. She spun to find him striding towards her, his expression serious. ‘I need to speak to you for a moment,' he said when he stood in front of her.

‘Oh, okay,' she said.

He grinned. ‘I wanted to thank you for a great night.'

She smiled, but her brow was furrowed. She sensed he was not saying what he truly needed to say. ‘You're welcome. I had a wonderful night too. You can really work a dance floor.'

He chuckled. ‘I try my best. Anyway, thanks again. And you have a good night.'

She nodded. ‘You have a good night too.'

He reached for her hand and leant in closer to kiss her on the cheek. But when his hand touched hers, he pressed something into it. Emily forced her expression to remain the same though her heart was racing and her curiosity was peaking.

‘Good night,' she managed against his ear.

He released his hand and she casually squeezed the contents in her fist, gave him a final smile, and strode out of the barn.

Chapter 19

The note Wil had slipped into Emily's hand had two words scrawled across it:

Tree. 11 pm
.

He couldn't let her walk away after a night like that without seeing her in private—no cameras, no microphones, just the two of them. And now he was late for the appointment he had organised. The directors kept going on and on with question after question about each little glance and comment made by every contestant and what he thought about it. When all he wanted to do was tell them that it was only Emily he was interested in. But he was one hundred per cent certain that was not what they wanted to hear.

Eventually, after he grew agitated, they presumed him to be exhausted so agreed to continue filming the next morning. When the production crew left for the nearby hotel they were staying in, he jogged out the back door and rushed across the fields towards the contestants' quarters. He kept glancing at his watch every few minutes. It was already past eleven and it was cold outside. He couldn't expect Emily to have waited around for him in this weather, but he hoped she had. His muscles tightened, his fists clenching as he marched ahead.

Damn it. She was going to think he had changed his mind.

The grass was noisy under his feet against the backdrop of silence. He looked up into the night sky. The moon was big and bright, lighting his path. After a few minutes, the tree came into view, but the shadows cast by the branches hindered his vision. He moved faster, hoping she'd be there. Then he saw Emily, pulling a cardigan tighter around her as she walked back to the contestants' quarters. He had to get her attention or he was going to miss her.

‘Em,' he called, a whisper, but with strength to reach her. ‘Em,' he called again, louder when she didn't respond.

Emily stopped, spun to face him and made her way back to the tree. He strode to meet her until it felt like he wasn't moving quick enough and jogged instead.

‘I'm so sorry,' he said. ‘They wanted to do some filming. Ended up asking me a billion and one questions and I couldn't get away.'

Emily smiled. ‘I was getting cold—' she pointed with her thumb towards the cottage, ‘—and I wasn't sure if you were going to come.'

‘Thanks for waiting.'

She shrugged. ‘That's okay.'

She was still wearing the dress she wore to the cocktail party and those boots that made him think hot, wicked thoughts. Looking at her, illuminated by the moonlight, her hair falling softly around her shoulders and those full kissable lips, he was certain she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

‘I wasn't sure if my plan was going to work. When I pressed that note into your hand, I was worried you may not realise what I was doing. But I had to take the chance.'

She blinked. ‘Why?'

He breathed in deeply and pawed a hand through his hair. ‘When I saw you tonight—' he dropped his gaze to her dress, down to her boots, then back to her face, ‘—you looked so damn sexy. That dress. Those boots. I thought I'd lose my mind.'

Emily's eyes widened.

He grinned cheekily. ‘And then I couldn't talk to you properly … all those cameras and the other women. I wasn't spending another night alone in bed thinking about how much I want to kiss you.'

Emily's lips parted and she slowly shook her head, as though not believing what she was hearing. ‘Are you serious?' Her question was a breathless whisper.

Wil took a step closer, loving how her heat wrapped around his body. He reached for her and gently framed her face with his hands. ‘I know you feel that between us, Em. Tell me you do.'

She nodded.

That's all he needed to know—that she felt the same way too. His shoulders relaxed and he moved closer until his chest was pressed against hers. He wanted to groan, feeling her breasts pushed against him. He bent down, nearing his face to hers. And still his hands held her so she couldn't turn away. ‘Then dancing with you and feeling your body under my hands and not being able to touch you, how I was—
am—
aching to touch you …'

‘You … want to …' she whispered, her lips nearing his.

‘I want to do more than touch you, Em.' His deep, rumbling voice echoed his need, it surprised him to hear it. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. A hand fell to her waist drawing her flush to his body, the other gripped the hair at her nape, holding her head just right. He opened her mouth with his and moaned as he tasted her tongue. Warm and lush.

Emily gripped his waist tighter and she kissed him deeper. Oh God, it almost stole his control to feel the fervour in that mouth and the hot press of her body against his. He wanted to push her back against the tree, wrap her legs around his waist and …

He pulled away and took her hands in his. He was breathing heavy. He needed to back up a bit, or this show was going to be over. God, he wished he never signed that contract now.

‘I know how you feel about this show.' His voice was hoarse. ‘It doesn't sit right with me either. I thought—my brother thought—it would be a bit of fun … but then there's you and … it's complicated now.'

She frowned. ‘I complicate things?'

He shook his head. ‘Not in that way.' He drew a hand away and rubbed his face. ‘I have to give equal attention to everyone. It's not …
me
, to be like that, but I'm contracted. There are requirements.'

She nodded. ‘I understand.'

He stepped closer and gently held her face. ‘Do you? Do you understand that you're the only one I want to spend time with?'

She smiled. ‘I do now.'

He chuckled and pressed his lips to hers, lingering for a long moment. ‘I see you getting frustrated and I want to say all this to you, but the cameras are always there, and the other girls. I need you to understand that. We're on a dating show, and I'm obligated to give my attention to other women, but I only want to be dating you.'

She gazed into his eyes. ‘This is
real
?'

Again his mouth fell to her lips and his tongue slid against hers. He couldn't help himself. He'd watched the dating shows, where the man got to kiss a dozen beautiful women and whisper sweet nothings to all of them. He deepened the kiss, and the urgency grew, his mouth hard against her hot lips and he could no longer doubt that this was real. And he knew there was only one woman he wanted to be kissing. Emily was real. His emotions. The little sighs that sounded in her throat when he pulled her closer. The electricity sparking. All real, intense and alive.

Wil pulled away, his breaths heavy. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. ‘If I don't stop kissing you, I'll want to throw you over my shoulder and carry you back to my bedroom.'

Emily's eyes widened. ‘We wouldn't want that now, would we?' Her words were weak with a sarcastic lilt.

He arched a brow. ‘Are you tempting me to, Emily?'

She said nothing.

He chuckled and drew her into his arms, cuddling her to his chest. She was warm and soft and fitted perfectly to him. ‘Tomorrow we start the individual dates.'

She nodded against his chest.

‘How do you feel about that?'

Releasing herself from his embrace, she looked into his eyes. ‘I don't have a claim on you, Wil.' She grinned. ‘I'd like to, but I'm not that naive. You've got to do what you need to do.'

He smiled. ‘I keep thinking if it was you I was competing for, against a bunch of men, I'd be losing my cool.'

She laughed. ‘Believe me, I've had to mentally pull myself back from getting my claws out. Especially with the comments I've had thrown at me. Then getting pushed in the mud …' She shook her head.

He frowned and sighed. ‘I didn't want this to get nasty.'

‘I know.'

‘What type of comments?' His voice had an angry edge to it.

She lowered her gaze. ‘You heard a few from Amber.'

‘She was a nasty piece of work.' His eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched tight. It fascinated him that he, already, felt so
protective
of Emily.

‘Then the other night, I was called a cheat,' Emily said.

He shook his head, brow furrowed. ‘Cheat?'

She smiled sardonically. ‘Some girls think I'm spending more time with you than them …' Stopping, she groaned. ‘I shouldn't be saying this to you.'

He took her hand in his. ‘Em, I want you to open up to me. Good and bad.'

She sighed. ‘It's so easy to forget this is a game show. And then I hear myself bitching like that, and it's a big reality check. I don't want to be … I can't be …'

He tilted her chin when she could no longer look at him. ‘What?'

‘I can't be one of those women who fall for a guy like you.'

It hit him in the guts like a punch.
A guy like me?
So this is what she had been fighting against. Not the show so much, but the man who would choose to be the centre of it.

Wil inhaled noisily, but he didn't let go of her hand. He reached for her other hand. A strong grip. ‘I get it, Em. I told you that. I've seen other dating shows. I've seen what some of those men are like. I've seen the drama. But, if I tell you my intentions are honest, will you believe me?'

She shrugged. ‘I knew from the first moment you opened your mouth, you were different. But I have these niggling doubts in the back of my mind.'

‘We'll work through that barrier, Em. Just give this—give us—a chance.'

Her honey-brown gaze firmly locked with his, and she asked, ‘You truly want that?'

He nodded without hesitation. ‘Yeah. I really do.'

She looked out over the darkened fields, hidden under the cloak of night, then peered back at him. ‘Okay. Let's give this a go.'

He drew her to him and kissed the top of her head.

Emily stayed in his arms for a while longer. But being together was a risk—especially with the other contestants. He didn't want that trouble for her. And this would only make it harder.

‘I better get back,' she said.

He nodded, understood.

‘If you need help with your duties, you know who to call. Pigsties and I are as compatible as chocolate and cherries.'

He laughed softly into her neck and inhaled her intoxicating scent—so sweet. He kissed her cheek. ‘Have a good night.'

‘You too.'

Wil pulled away from her, releasing her from his arms. He smiled and when she smiled back, he melted that little bit more. ‘See you tomorrow, Em.'

She nodded. ‘Looking forward to it.'

He strode away and she left in the opposite direction, yet so badly wished they were leaving together. As he walked, he breathed in deeply and shook out his hands, trying to expel some of the sexual tension tingling through his body. There was no way he was getting much sleep tonight.

Chapter 20

Emily pressed her fingers to her lips when she woke. She could still feel Wil there, taste him. An excited energy swirled through her veins just thinking about last night—sparking her to life. She rolled out of bed and took her time showering, dressing and eating breakfast. Her date with Wil wasn't until this afternoon. He was spending the morning with Tatiana. She'd be lying if she didn't admit the thought of Wil on a date with a woman as gorgeous and smart as Tatiana made her skin crawl.

But she was committed to the words she had spoken to Wil last night: she didn't have a claim on him, and he had to do what was required by the show. It felt wrong to direct his actions. Sure, she wanted to win this. And she would love to get to know Wil more. She definitely desired to kiss him again, a thousand times over and run her hands over the hard slopes of his body. But this was temporary. It had to be.