from the bottle in his hand and stared out into the night as he tried to forget about the desirable woman upstairs. He needed to make a trip into town tomorrow for some supplies, as well as to stop by Lassiter Media’s Cheyenne office to pick up his tickets for Frontier Days at the end of the month. Because Lassiter donated the use of some of their audio and video equipment for the annual event, the rodeo organizers always gave the company complimentary tickets. He attended the finals of the event every year and he thought Fee might enjoy going with him, even if she was back at the rental house by then.
Lightning streaked across the western sky, followed by the distant sound of thunder. It appeared the weather was as unsettled as he was, he thought as he downed the rest of his beer and headed back inside.
As he climbed the stairs a flash of lightning briefly illuminated his way and by the time he started down the upstairs hall, a trailing clap of thunder loud enough to wake the dead rattled the windows and reverberated throughout the house. He had just reached the master suite when the door to Fee’s room flew open. When she came rushing out, she ran headlong into him.
“Whoa there, sweetheart.” He placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from falling backward. “What’s wrong?”
“What was that noise?” she asked breathlessly.
“It’s getting ready to storm,” he said, trying his best not to notice how her sweet scent seemed to swirl around him and the fact that she had on a silky red nightgown that barely covered her panties.
“It sounded like an explosion,” she said, seeming as if she might be a little disoriented.
“It’s just a little thunder.” He should probably be ashamed of himself, but he had never been more thankful for a thunderstorm in his life. “You have storms in L.A., don’t you?”
Nodding, she jumped when another clap of thunder resounded around them. “Not that many. And I never liked them when we did.”
Chance put his arms around her and tried to remind himself that he was offering her comfort. “I guess I’m more used to them because at this time of year we have one almost every day.”
“Really? That many?” She was beginning to sound more awake.
He nodded. “Occasionally we’ll have severe storms, but most of the them are a lot like Gus—more noise than anything else.”
“I think I’m glad I live in L.A. The city noise masks some of the thunder,” she said, snuggling against his bare chest. “I’d be a nervous wreck if I lived here.”
Chance felt a little let down. He wanted her to love the Big Blue ranch as much as he did even if she was only in Wyoming for a short time. But it wasn’t as if he had been hoping she would relocate to the area. All he wanted was a summer fling.
Right now, he didn’t have the presence of mind to give his unwarranted disappointment a lot of thought. Fee was clinging to him as if he was her lifeline and her scantily clad body pressed to his wasn’t helping his earlier restlessness one damn bit. In fact, it was playing hell with his good intentions, causing his body to react in a way that she probably wouldn’t appreciate, considering the situation.
“I’m going to drive into Cheyenne tomorrow to pick up some supplies and rodeo tickets,” he said in an effort to distract both of them. “I thought we could have lunch at Lassiter Grill. Dylan and Jenna are back from their honeymoon and I figured you might like to see them.”
“I’d like that very much.” Her long blond hair brushed against his chest when she nodded. “Jenna and I became pretty good friends when I worked on the ads for the grand opening,” she added, oblivious to his turmoil. “I also helped her out when one of the reporters became obsessed with her at the opening of Lassiter Grill and started asking questions about her and her father.”
Sage had told him about Jenna’s father being a con artist and that the man had made it look as if she’d been in on one of his schemes. He’d also mentioned the incident with the reporter at the restaurant’s opening and how effectively Fee had handled the situation.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he said, finding it harder with each passing second to ignore the heat building in his groin.
Another crash of thunder caused Fee to burrow even closer and Chance gave up trying to be noble. He had reached his limit and he was man enough to admit it.
“Fee?”
When she raised her head, he lowered his and gave in to temptation, consequences be damned. It wasn’t as if he’d been able to sleep anyway. He was going to give her a kiss that was guaranteed to keep them both up for the rest of the night.
When Chance brought his mouth down on hers, Fee forgot all about her vow to be strong and try to resist him. The truth was, she wanted his kiss, wanted to once again experience the way only he could make her feel.
As his lips moved over hers, a calming warmth began to spread throughout her body, and she knew without question that as long as she was in his arms she would always be safe. But she didn’t have time to think about what her insight might mean before he coaxed her with his tongue.
When his arms tightened around her and he deepened the kiss, she felt as if her bones had turned to rubber. The taste of need on his firm male lips, the feel of his solid bare chest pressed against her breasts and the hard ridge of his arousal cushioned by her stomach sent ribbons of desire threading their way through her.
He brought his hand around from her back up along her ribs. When he cupped her breast, then worried the taut peak with his thumb, her silk nightie chafing the sensitive nub felt absolutely wonderful and she closed her eyes to savor the sensation.
“I know all you want from me right now is reassurance,” he said, nibbling kisses from her lips down the column of her neck to her collarbone. “But I’ve wanted you from the moment I first saw you at my sister’s wedding.” He left a trail of kisses from her chest to the V neckline of her short nightgown before pulling away. “If that’s not what you want, too, then now would be the time for you to go back into your room and close the door.”
Opening her eyes, she saw the passion reflected in his and it thrilled her. Fee knew what she should do. She should return to her room, pack her things and have him take her back to the corporate rental house in Cheyenne the first thing tomorrow morning. But that wasn’t what she was going to do. It could very well prove to be the biggest mistake she’d ever made, but she wasn’t going to think about her job or the danger of doing something foolish that could cause her to lose it.
“Chance, I don’t want to go back to my room,” she said, realizing she really didn’t have a choice in the matter. They had been heading toward this moment since she looked up and watched him escort the matron of honor back up the aisle at his sister’s wedding.
He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath before he opened them again and gazed down at her. “I’m not looking for anything long-term, Fee.”
“Neither am I,” she said truthfully.
She ignored the little twinge of sadness that accompanied her agreement. She wasn’t interested in anything beyond her time in Wyoming. At the end of her stay, she would go back to her life in California and he would stay here on the Big Blue ranch. Other than a trip back to film the video for the Lassiter PR campaign, they wouldn’t be seeing each other again. That’s the way it was supposed to be—the way it had to be.
“Let’s go into my room, sweetheart,” he said, taking her by the hand to lead her across the hall to the master suite.
The lightning flashed and thunder continued to rumble loudly outside, but Fee barely noticed as Chance closed the door behind them and led her over to the side of his king-size bed. When he turned on the bedside lamp, she looked around. The furniture was made of rustic logs, and with the exception of a silver picture frame