The Bobcat's Tate (10 page)

Lainey
shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but it doesn’t really work that way for me. I like some actual emotion to go with my sex.”

He let out a small, self-mocking chortle. “Maybe I’m losing my touch.”

Suddenly, Lainey felt an odd tingling sensation that she’d only felt when Tate was nearby. It was like a new sixth sense she’d developed–a Tate detector. It made the hairs on the back of her neck lift, and she had to fight an almost irresistible urge to purr. She didn’t want to purr because she was sitting next to a morose but seductive Lothario who’d think that she was purring for him.

She
looked around, and sure enough, Tate’s truck was parked down the street. He was standing there watching her, an odd expression on his face. Almost—dare she think it? Almost as if he were jealous.

She hesitated. Should she get up and go try to talk to him
? Was there any point?

With a scowl, Tate turned away
. He climbed in the pickup truck, slammed the door and drove off with an angry squeal of tires. Lainey was surprisingly disappointed to see him go. She wished he’d walked over to her, flirted with her again, made her feel like the sexiest person on earth the way he did just with the way he looked at her…

She
sighed and stood up. “Good luck, Hamilton. I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

Well, at least someone wants to have sex with me, even if it’s not the right guy,
she thought glumly, heading off to her car.

* * *

Either I look totally hot, or I’ve grown horns and a tail without noticing it
.

Absolutely everyone was staring at
Lainey as she walked into the Hoot Owl, the local honky-tonk where Marigold’s fiancé worked nights as a bartender.

Lainey
had been edgy and restless at the boarding house, and had finally decided to head into town for a couple of drinks to take her mind off her problems. And Tate.

She
wore one of her new dresses, a midnight blue halter-top dress with blue lace tulle over a flared skirt. Before she’d left, Marigold had insisted on tucking a white rose behind her ear.

The bar was hot and smoky
and crowded. There were couples on the dance floor, swaying slowly to the strains of a Tanya Tucker song. Lainey made her way to the bar and ordered a Seven and Seven. She downed half of it in one gulp, self-conscious from all the men staring at her.

Her mother’s voice
rang in her ears, chiding her, telling her “girls like you” really should never let themselves become the center of attention. People would just make fun of her.

But here she was, flaunting her assets, and nobody was making fun of her
. Instead, people were staring at her as if they were undressing her with their eyes.

“Well, hello,
darlin’,” drawled a mildly intoxicated cowboy who was leaning on the bar, his hat tipped back. “If you aren’t just the cutest bobcat I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

W
hat should she say? She really didn’t have this whole sexpot thing down at all.

“I am?” she echoed stupidly. Hell
. Could she sound any more awkward?

She downed the rest of her drink in two gulps, as the cowboy stared at her cleavage, and then she felt that tingling again, and a strong, calloused hand closed on her shoulder.

She turned to stare up into Tate’s eyes, and her heart leapt into her throat.

H
er pulse accelerated again. The man should come with some kind of warning sign:
Danger: This ride should not be attempted by women who are suffering any cardiac condition. May cause racing heartbeat, dry mouth, sweaty palms, and extreme sexual arousal.

“Hello, Tate,” she said. “Where’s your adorable entourage?”

“Kyle and his wife are watching them. Where’s your handsome movie star boyfriend? Although I see you’ve already found a new friend.” He glanced resentfully at the cowboy.

Lainey’s
eyes widened in surprise at the anger in his voice.

He winced. “Sorry. That came out snappier than I meant it to.”

“Good lord, Tate, it almost sounded like you were jealous just then.”

“I was,” he said
. “When I see another man talk to you…honestly, I can barely contain myself. When I saw you talking to Hamilton today, and I saw how he was looking at you, I wanted to throttle him.”

She was ridiculously pleased to hear that
. “But you barely know me.”

“I know, but ever since the first moment I laid eyes on you…no, before I laid eyes on you…I just had this feeling. I know that sounds crazy, but when you walked up to me I felt this tingling even before you tapped my shoulder, this feeling of excitement and so
mething I can’t describe.” He said it carefully, as if he were afraid she’d laugh at him or stomp off in disgust.

“Me
, too,” she blurted out.

He looked at her, his blue eyes pleading
. “Tell me about yourself. Tell me where you’re from. I want to know all about you.”

She hesitated. She wanted to, she desperately wanted to
. She wanted to share everything about herself with this man. She wanted to share her heart, her soul, her life story and all her pains and disappointment and hopes and dreams, and her bodily fluids.

It wasn’t that easy, though
. A lifetime of disappointment with men, capped with finding out the real reason that her fiancé had proposed to her, hadn’t just damaged her ability to trust, it had stomped on it with steel-toed boots and left it crushed and flattened. She’d just met this man. How could she be sure that he really cared about her? Sure, it seemed as if he really liked her, but it had seemed as if Miles liked her, too.

She took a deep breath, and met his gaze. “I want to tell y
ou. I just can’t. There are reasons why I can’t.”

“It seems like you’re running from something,” he said, and then the next song came on so loud
ly that she couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“What?” she shouted.

“Let’s get out of here!” he yelled.

Now, that was a tempting offer
. She knew she shouldn’t, because every minute she spent with this man, she felt as if she were falling for him more and more, but she couldn’t stop herself. Hanging out with him for one evening didn’t mean any kind of commitment, did it?

“Let me just use the rest room,” she yelled above the noise. That drink had gone right through her, and she didn’t want to try to flirt with a full bladder.

When she got to the restroom, she turned to glance back at him, and saw him holding up the glass that she’d just been drinking from. Odd, she thought. But then she put it out of her head, used the bathroom, and spent several minutes checking her hair and makeup before she finally went back out to meet him.

The two
of them left the bar together, and he put his arm around her shoulders as they walked to his pickup truck. His touch felt so right, so strong, so comforting.

“Are you purring?” he asked
, as they reached the passenger side door.

“What? No!”
She blushed furiously.

He put both his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him, and she felt the thick length of his erection pressing against the fabric of his jeans.

“I was hoping you were,” he said in a low, sexy murmur. “I want to make you purr.”

“Okay,”
she admitted, looking up at him. “Maybe I was purring a little bit.”

She’d never, ever purred for a man before
. And a wolf shifter, at that! What was happening to her?

He smelled so good, she wanted to bury her face in his hair and breathe him in
. His arms were as strong as steel, looping around her, pressing her up against him. He was rock hard, from head to toe.

He looked into her eyes and for a moment she thought, prayed, that he’d kiss her lips, but instead he just
smiled, a slow sensual curl of his lips that sent a rush of moisture to her already soaked panties.

“I want to take you to a beautiful spot,” he said, and he let go of her and opened the door to the truck
. She wanted to fling herself back into his arms and rub herself up against him, but she bit her lip and forced herself to cling to the last little bit of her dignity.

“I can’t wait,” she said, and climbed into the truck.

It wasn’t the view that she couldn’t wait for.

He turned on the radio and country music blared from the truck’s speakers, songs of love and heartbreak
. They drove without speaking for several miles, the wheels rumbling over the country roads, and he turned down a dirt path that took them to the top of a small clearing, where he parked. She climbed out without speaking, hands trembling with anticipation.

This incredibly hot man is going to have sex with me
. It will be the best I’ve ever had.
She didn’t even try to hide the purr that vibrated in her throat.

The
summer air was sultry and warm, and the faintest of breezes caressed her and rustled through the tree branches. A chorus of cicadas serenaded them.

“What I was starting to say back at the bar…it seems like you’re running from someone,” he said.

He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him, and she felt desire shuddering through her. She leaned into him, drinking in his warmth, his earthy scent.

“You could say that,” she said.

“I would never let anyone hurt you.”

“It’s not like that,” she said
. “Family stuff. Complicated family stuff.”

“Isn’t it always
?”

“I have to leave in a week and a half now. I just came here to get away from it all.
To forget. To be a different person.”

“Why? What’s wrong with the person that you were?”

“The person I was?” Tears suddenly pricked her eyes, and she blinked hard. She didn’t want to cry, to ruin this night of incredible magic. “She let people walk all over her, and she felt fat and ugly and undesirable. Then she came here and met an incredibly handsome wolf shifter who made her feel sexy and desirable for the first time in her life.”

“Are men blind where you come from?” he asked, and bent down to kiss her
. His large, rough hands were gentle as they cradled her face. He brushed his lips against hers, and she let out a small moan.

Her lips parted to accept his kiss, and he probed her mouth, tongue sweeping through
it, swirling with hers in an intimate dance. The world seemed to drop away from her, and she closed her eyes and let him lead her in the most intimate and sensual kiss she’d ever experienced.

He probed the inner recesses of her mouth, his tongue care
ssing, strong and firm.

Her breath hitched in her throat, and she felt a low moan rumbling from deep inside her
. She put her arms around him, fingers lacing behind his neck, and kissed back, hungrily. He tasted sweet and smoky, so delicious, she felt as if she’d never need food again. He could feed her every hunger.

Finally
, he pulled away slowly, still cradling her face and staring into her eyes. His gaze was the most intimate that she’d ever experienced, and it was tender and full of longing.

“You are sexy and desirable
,” he told her. “I want you so bad it hurts. If I can’t have you forever, can I have you for tonight? We can just take it day by day. See where it goes.” His tone was rough and trembling at the same time.

She was still dizzy, dazed with pleasure from his kiss.
“What did you say? Tonight…yes…”

He moved to kiss her again, and at the same time untied the straps of her halter dress. The straps fell to her waist, exposing her breasts, and he cupped them gently, his thumbs caressing her nipples.

Clothes. He was wearing too many clothes. She needed to feel him up against her now, skin against skin. If they only had tonight, she didn’t want to waste a single second of their time together.

The two of them began fumbling with each other’s clothes, frantic and clumsy, tearing and yanking and flinging
aside his jacket, her dress, her panties, his jeans…

Then Tate swept her up in his
arms as if she were light as a feather, cradling her like something precious. He sank to his knees and laid her down on the soft grass.

She lay there, looking up at him, marveling at his rugged good looks
. His body was broad and muscular, his flat stomach carved out in a perfect six pack. There were four claw marks down the front of his chest, which had left permanent scars. They only made him look that much more ruggedly handsome. He had a light dusting of hair across his chest, and a treasure trail of curly hairs that started at his navel and led down to, oh God, the most glorious cock she’d ever seen. It was thick and it was rigidly erect, pointing up so high it was almost pressed up against that flat stomach.